A/N: I have determined that I am no good at descriptive/back story chapters. So, deal with what you get in this. Anything that isn't explained will be if it's needed. I lied before, there will be more to this story. Let me know what you think. Enjoy people. Oh, and check out "Our Mr. Tam" By JMD-009. It's really fun and amusing.
Disclaimer: I own everything! I own these characters, and their stories and Fort Knox and a school bus. I own your homes, all of them! Yep, you heard right. I also own all the lawyers so don't even bother suing me. Enough with my insane rambling, on with the reading.
Xander had never been one to really get a laugh out of shocking other people into silence but it was becoming very hard not to burst out at the moment. He had just finished giving a very basic explanation of what the Nightside was, which didn't even scratch the surface of the place, and everyone was sitting there as still as statues and had been for the past five minutes. He watched as Giles opened his mouth to say something then stopped, closing it. OK, so maybe he was having a bit of fun seeing their reactions.
It didn't surprise him that Buffy was the first one to break the silence. "Xander...are you, um, feeling alright?"
Giving her a half smile he said, "Well, aside from the internal injuries and bruises, I'm just peachy."
"And they said your head was OK?"
"Buff, I'm not crazy," Xander sighed. "The Nightside is a very real and very dangerous place. Ask Willow, she was with John when he was here. Some of the people in Sunnydale know about it and have been there," Xander told her, looking over to Willow for back-up.
The red head snapped out of her shock and nodded. "It's true. Spike even met John."
"Great, so where going to be taking Spike's word on this?" Buffy said unbelievably.
Raising his hand slightly to get everyone's attention, Giles looked at Xander. "Xander, you can understand how this might seem...a bit unbelievable to us. What your suggesting i-i-is incredible. My own investigation into this place turned up nothing but dead ends which does suggest that a place called the Nightside does in fact exist but still. Maybe if you tried explaining it again. The Nightside is...?"
Sighing, the dark haired youth knew that he would probably have to explain some of these things several times but that didn't mean he wanted to. Still, at least they hadn't just thought he was crazy and ignored him.
"OK, the Nightside is a city in London. Well, sort of. It's been called the secret dark heart of London and is basically the place where all the really bad things live. Not like here or any other Hellmouth. This place is where the really wild things are. It's a city with teeth and claws and in the very literal sense. No one really knows how big the place is, it seems to ignore all the laws of space and, once in a while, time as well. You almost have to know about it in order to find it but it's not unheard of for people to stumble into the place.
"They whole concept of the Nightside is that it's the one place on Earth where Heaven and Hell can't interfere. I guess that they decided not to cause that never really made sense to me, but that's not important."
"Wait, Heaven and Hell? I mean, yea, we fight vampires and demons but..." Buffy said interrupting him but trailed off not knowing how to finish.
Knowing what she meant, Xander nodded his head, "Yea, Heaven and Hell. Which means that there's bound to be a God, capitol G there and Lucifer. But, well, god's, lower case g I guess, are a dime a dozen in the Nightside. There's a Street of God's actually where you can pick who and what you worship but there's no guarantee that you'll get anything out of it or that if you do you'll like it. Besides, it's not as if any of them are actually all that tough. God's are easy to deal with for the most part. A bribe here, and token offering there and they mostly stick to themselves. It's the Power's and the Dominations that I would worry about. Those are the real mover and shakers of the Nightside.
"You can find anything you want in the Nightside. You can find your salvation or damnation and everything in-between. Every sin and appetite that you could think of and so many more that you never could fathom is there being sold and traded. The prices vary but often times it's a bit of your soul or at least somebody else's. It's the place you go to because the normal sane everyday world just can't cater to the appetites of some people."
Xander got quiet, lost in thought. Talking about the Nightside like this was bringing up a lot of memories of John's life that cut right through Xander. Watching too many people, some friends and some that weren't, brought down by the very fact that they lived in the Nightside not to mention how many people he had gotten killed. It hurt to think about them and all the people that where in pain in that place and he knew that John stayed there for that very reason as well as the fact that he didn't belong anywhere else. John had only admitted it to himself very rarely but one of the advantages of living inside someone's head was that it gave you a very interesting perspective on their life. He saw the choices that he had made and why when sometimes even John didn't know. But, the down side was that Xander had felt everything and was just as torn up over the same things that John was.
"Xander?" Willow asked tentatively, pulling Xander from his inner thoughts.
"What? Oh, sorry. Got lost there for a second. Where was I?"
Giving him a concerned look, Giles said, "We can stop if you like for a moment. If you need to collect your thoughts, no one is going to push you."
"No. It's alright. Besides, there's a lot to cover. I'm trying to condense something that can't really be explained without seeing it for yourselves and there is no way in hell or any other place that I'm going to be taking you guys there," Xander said, trying to emphasize his last point.
"I'm the Slayer, Xander. Whatever's there can't be all that tough. Show up, do a few beheading's and that's that. It seems as if every bad thing out there is afraid of the Slayer and I bet if these people or, you know, not people, have heard of me there wouldn't be any trouble," Buffy said.
Shaking his head, Xander couldn't help but let a grim smile cross his face. "Buffy, the last Slayer that walked into the Nightside looking for a fight lasted all of two minutes and that was only because they wanted to see what she would do. They weren't impressed and since they weren't going to be getting any kind of entertainment from her they took her off and sold her part for part like she was a stolen car. No one knows what happened to all the pieces, though there was a restaurant that did a really good stew that same night. The Slayer isn't a threat to the things and people of the Nightside, she's a joke.
"Guys, this is a place where Gods, Monsters and things that are nothing and everything at once walk around without a care in the world. Some of the things that I've...that John's gone up against would give you nightmares from here to the end of time," Xander said then added softly, "I know they have for me."
A slight pressure on his leg made Xander look down and he saw Willow's hand there giving him a reassuring squeeze. A time ago, he would have dismissed it as being something that was only friendly in nature. Now, he was pretty sure that there was something more to it. The only problem was what to do about it. His own emotions where a mess at the moment but in his mind it had been so long since he had seen his friends or felt any kind of human contact that he welcomed it without hesitation. But, it still left a problem that he wasn't able to deal with at the moment. He had to keep going or else he would get side tracked and never get to the real issues. So, giving her a warm smile he went on, though neither of them made a move to remove her hand from his thigh.
"Even with all of these things going about there's a certain…group that takes it upon themselves to oversee the workings of the city. There's no law really except what people enforce on themselves but really it's whatever you can get away with. But, if there seems to be someone who's threatening the safety of the whole place or that might upset the status quo then the Authorities step in and take care of it. Well, they man that they put in charge does and that man is Walker. Willow already met him. Looked sort of carefree but powerful? Wore a bowler hat and the city suit? Anyway, he's a real bastard. He'll do whatever needs to be done and sacrifice anyone and anything to keep things running smoothly. He has the power to make anyone do whatever he says, no one says no to Walker. They say that he once made a corpse sit up and answer his questions. Actually, that's a lie."
"I would hope so! To be able to command anyone to do whatever he says? The urge to misuse that ability would be far too great," Giles looked concerned and with good reason.
"No, not that. He can and has done it. He's the voice of the Authorities. But I meant that there has been one person to disobey him, well, two actually. John and Lilith. Walker tried to use his voice on John during the Angel War but John fought it off," Xander answered.
"Angel War?" Buffy asked quietly.
"Listen, the Nightside is complicated enough but John is the important person in all this," Xander said ignoring the question. It was far too much to get into it now. "I meant exactly what I said before, Lilith is John's mother. And by Lilith I do mean the first wife of Adam who gave God the finger and went off into Hell and gave birth to pretty much all the demons that walked around on Earth and made it their personal playground for a while. Don't ask me what it really means. She kept saying that it was only a parable and that we couldn't get the complete story since we had itty bitty human minds and all, but I know she did do the whole demon birth thing. I'm not sure exactly what happened for a while after that but at some point Lilith created the Nightside."
"She built the Nightside? She's been walking around since...since that time and had this place built?" Giles asked taking off his glasses and polishing them.
"Um, not exactly. She created it herself, not built it. She sort of...thought about it real hard and poof, there it was. Well, she more stamped it unto reality but you get the idea. This was a long time ago. Before mankind was even a gleam in the universes eye," Xander explained.
"Oh, right. Of course," Giles said softly, looking off into nothing, his glasses still in his hand.
"Look, this is a lot to take in, I know. I wouldn't have believed it if someone walked up to me and started talking about it but it doesn't make it any less true." Xander was surprised at how short his patience was and he found himself having to bite back any sarcasm or harsh remarks. He had been so used to everyone knowing about the Nightside while he was inside of John's head and trying to explain to outsiders was getting on his nerves. He wasn't used to playing things soft either. The Nightside was a place where the hard and strong survived and most of the time that meant being nastier and meaner than anyone else. It was something John had taught him and something he was finding hard to shake off.
He then realized something that hadn't occurred to him. Sure, he knew that he was different from the rest of his friends now. For one thing, he could do things that none of them could and had knowledge that would more than likely prove to be very useful to them. But, he now came to find out just how removed he was from them. He didn't fit in with their bright shiny world where everything could be fought back and the heroes won because they where the heroes. Good people die and there's no reason for it sometimes. It was usually chaos in real life but they didn't know that. How could they? Giles, he knew but he was trying to keep them above that sort of thing. Trying to set an example and shield them from the ugly truth. Again, he pushed the thoughts from the forefront of his mind and put it with the other things he would have to deal with later.
"So, this Lilith person just said 'I want a city' and it happened?" Buffy asked, though she still seemed a bit skeptical.
"A bit more forceful, but yea. I won't even get into the fact that Lilith isn't really a person at this point but that's pretty much how it went. She got pushed out by her children because she was too controlling. She wanted freedom but only her kind of freedom. Skip forward an untold number of millenniums and Lilith got out of whatever pocket dimension she had been pushed into. She met up with John's father, had John with the intent purpose of using him to find the perfect version of the Nightside and help her to create it. This is about thirty years after he was born, mind you. He didn't take kind to it especially since he never knew her since she had left and his dad drank himself to death.
"A war happened, nearly destroyed the whole Nightside and would have destroyed...everything actually," Xander's face grew cold and hard. "I mean that. Not just the Nightside was at stake. Not even just the world. It was everything, the whole of existence could have been destroyed..."
His mind flashed to the vision of a possible future John had been too. Everything was dead except for some of the more powerful Power's and Dominations which had been severely reduced. Well, them and a these bug type creatures and a few of Lilith's children that where nothing more than giant crushing...things. There were no words to describe them but he could never forget what they looked like. The universe and everything in it was dying and it had been his and John's fault. He said it like that because he knew that he would have done exactly what John had done in most situations and more importantly, knew why they both had and would have done them. But the simple fact that trying to find out who his mother...John's mother was had almost ended existence was a sobering thought.
"But, obviously it wasn't. I mean, if it was we wouldn't be here," Willow said, giving him a sort of comforting smile. It was strained and fragile but it was there. She had seen what John was like and had heard some of this and it probably wasn't helping the fact that she was associating his face with everything that had happened that night. But, he gave her points for trying.
"Nope, world still spins and wackiness still ensues," he joked.
"Wait, so why is John so important? If this Lilith was so powerful then why couldn't she find out how to make the Nightside? Why him?" Giles asked, his face one of seriousness and concern. Hearing about the end of everything almost happened probably having something to do with it.
Taking a badly needed breath, Xander prepared himself. Now, things were going to get interesting. "Well, John is special. I mean, his mother is freakin' Lilith so it was bound to happen. She made it so that way he would have one gift from her, something that she would need him to have. Something that she herself, didn't and couldn't do. John can find things and by that I mean anything. People, objects, sources of power and sometimes, the answers to questions. It's different how it works depending on what it's being used to find but it works. It can be blocked, sure, but that doesn't mean he can't find it. Some things are harder to find then others. The vaguer the thing he's trying to find, the harder it is to locate."
"Oh! That's what he did! At Willie's place this demon came up to us with a gun and he was all like, whoosh! Then he made all the bullets fall out of his hands," Willow said with a bit of excitement in her voice.
"The bullet thing? That wasn't anything special," Xander said with a small snort. "That's just some trick he learned. It works on other things then bullets but it has nothing to do with John's gift. It's just something that comes in handy and is flashy enough to make people think twice."
"He can teleport things? That's amazing!" Giles said impressed.
"Not really," Xander replied with a smile. "It's a parlor trick, really. Not teleportation in the sense that you guys are thinking. It's more like it's somewhere one minute and somewhere else the next. John's not even sure exactly how it works but it really is damn useful. His gift is more powerful then something like that. He's destroyed more things with just the power of his gift then any army or weapon could hope to."
With a noise of disbelief Buffy said, "Please. Xander, this is a bit much, don't you think? I mean, let's say that this is all real, which I'm still not sure about cause don't you think we would have heard about it by now? But, let's say it is. How would being able to find something be that powerful? Unless he's got some mystical whatsit that makes him uber-strong then couldn't I just knock his head off if I wanted too?"
Anger and annoyance hit Xander suddenly, which he chalked up to Buffy both not believing him still and the fact that she was questioning his, well, John's gift. Something that had spelled disaster for anyone who didn't believe the stories about it. Xander knew better then to get into it with her, though. The old Xander would have let his emotions and anger take over but he knew how to handle things like this thanks to John. Unfortunately, that meant scarring Buffy a bit which in the short term would be bad for their relationship but hopefully in the long run keep her and him alive a bit longer.
"Buffy, think about," he started and leaned forward towards her. "The gift he has can find anything. That anything includes the thing that makes you the Slayer. The thing that gives you your strength and skill and everything that comes with it. Basically, the source of the Slayer's power. Now, I don't know how ingrained it is with who you are or how hard it would be to find it but the point is that he could and given how long he's had to practice, it probably wouldn't take very long if he had a clear head. Once he found it, how hard do you think it would be for him to reach out with that gift and, oh, I don't know, pull it away and leave you as a normal girl? Sure, you can try and kill him but believe me when I say that stronger things have tried and he's still standing while those other things? Not so much."
The room grew silent. Willow's hand, still on Xander's leg, unconsciously gripped tighter. Giles mouth opened slightly and stayed that way. Not even breathing could be heard in the room as Buffy stared at Xander. Doing something that he had yet to do with the Slayer, he returned her gaze and held it but was careful not to try and put anything into the look. He wasn't sure how that would work, being that he was only aware of a few things he had gained from John, but he didn't want to test it with Buffy. He didn't want what happened to Ethan to happen to Buffy, if not something worse.
Still, she wasn't prepared for Xander to not back down. She had been used to the Xander of old who was good natured, goofed around and had a thing for her. This Xander didn't seem to have any of that at the moment. He was harder then steel and colder then ice. Not in a mean way, just more in a resolved way. The few seconds of intensity in the room did allow for what he had told her to sink in and it hit her that if someone could do that, then it wasn't something to scoff at. She backed down, sort of slumped in her chair, and said, "Oh."
Just like that, the heavy electric like tension in the air was gone and everyone started breathing again.
"Dear Lord, Xander, you can't be serious, can you? Th-th-that kind of power in the hands of anyone, let alone the child of someone like Lilith would lead to chaos!" Giles exclaimed.
Turning, Xander gave the Watcher an exasperated look. "Come on! What have I been going over here. John is good people, you guys. If he wasn't, don't you think we would tell by us either being dead or enslaved or something. Besides, there are plenty of more powerful...things then John Taylor, despite what the rumors say. At the end of the day, he's just a guy."
"You have to admit though, it is pretty scary to think that someone could do all that stuff...that any of what you've been talking about is real," Willow said. She had removed her hand and was rubbing her arms now. Not to keep warm but it looked almost as if she was trying to stop her skin from crawling from whatever it was that her mind had conjured up for her, making Xander sympathized with her.
"It is, I know. But John isn't someone to worry about, trust me," Xander told them.
Happening to look over at Buffy, Xander caught her eye as she looked at him quizzically. It wasn't the same look she had been giving him that said she didn't believe him. No, this one was as if something was starting to get pieced together in her head and Xander had a feeling that it was something that was going to be the defining moment of this conversation between all of them.
"Xand,...how do you know all of this? You spent one night as this guy and suddenly you seem like you're an expert on the place. Some of the things you've said...some of the stories and people you've hinted at couldn't have been learned all in one night and even if it was, no one else can remember anything about their personalities at this point. And...I don't mean to bring this up but, well, I don't think any of us can't tell that you've been drinking. I'm just...it's confusing and I'm worried a bit. You had it worse than any of us that night and I just don't want to think that…that you might have maybe gone…crazy."
He looked around and noticed that everyone was now giving him that same questioning and worried expression. In Willow's case, it almost seemed doubled on the worried factor while Giles looked more on the questioning side. Buffy, even if she may be starting to believe him, looked like she also might jump up and hit him if he made a wrong move. It might have to do with her Slayer thing and the fact that he knew he wasn't acting like himself or rather, the him that they were used to. He couldn't blame them really. Not too long ago he would have thought crazy or possession or something like that.
"OK, time for the real fun stuff," he said standing up. He didn't bother looking but could feel Buffy's eyes follow him watching in case he made a move to do something that might be harmful. "Something, um, well, happened that night. Something else and it's not something that I fully understand yet.
"Alright, just say it and it will be out there, right?" Taking a few more steadying breathes he said, "I, um, sort of spent thirtyyearsinsideofJohn'sheadwatchinghislifeandnowIcandoeverythinghecando," he said in one quick go which rivaled Willow babble while closing his eyes.
After a few seconds he opened them slightly and saw that everyone was looking at him expectantly.
"Come on! You're gonna tell me that no one has anything to say to that?" Xander cried out throwing his hands up. "I tell you guys that and you all just look at me like you're waiting for me to do something special. What? You want a demonstration?"
"Um, sure, I guess. But can you finish what you were going to say first?" Buffy asked giving him a weird look.
"Huh?"
"You said that you where just going to say it, whatever it is, and then you just stood there," Willow told him.
Stopping, Xander replayed the moment in his head and realized that he had in fact said all of that in his own head. Laughing nervously at his own idiocy, Xander took a breath and started to explain.
After several hours of one of the strangest conversation Xander had ever had, while in his own body anyway, everyone decided that they needed a break. Giles had been floored by what he had told them and even more when he actually gave them a small demonstration. It was probably a mixture of what he had done as well as finding out about the Nightside. Giles was born and raised in England and had thought he had known everything there was to know about London and all its secrets. He was wrong, of course, and it was giving him much to think about.
Buffy had reacted better than he had hoped and didn't try to kill him. He had really been afraid that she would just try and beat him right then and there given what he could do now but she hadn't. He should have known better then to think that of her, though it might have also been due to how he had shaken her a bit with his whole "rip away what makes you, you" thing. He had meant to scare her, just not of him. She was wary, of course and equally freaked out but she didn't jump at him with a stake or any other sharp object so he counted it as a good thing. Still, he probably had to be careful around her in case she thought he was slipping or turning evil or whatnot.
He had been most scared about Willow. She had been distant with him ever since Halloween. Sure, she tried to hide it but Willow lacked anything that even remotely had to do with a poker face. It hurt him more then he let on but he couldn't dwell on it. Not at first anyway. There was too much going on for him to worry about and he had to force it out of his mind. However, once he did get his head straight and figured out what he was going to do it was all that had been on his mind. The entire walk to the school had him running scenarios of how things would go. If it hadn't been for the years of steeling himself, or rather John steeling himself up for things, he probably never would have walked through the doors. But then she had grabbed him into that crushing hug and no matter how painful the hug had been for him physically, it had taken a lot off of his mind and had brought him back mentally somewhat.
Of course, that had been when he was only talking about what the Nightside in an explanatory sort of way. When it became time to tell them the part about the fact that he could now do what John could do as well as his thirty year vacation in John's head, it got a bit more complicated. Then again, how could you explain that you lived for thirty years inside of someone else's head while experiencing every thought, emotion and deed they did while still being yourself at the same time? Needless to say, it was confusing for everyone involved as well as a bit scary. Things only got worse when he explained about his 'gift'. No one believed him, thinking that it was maybe some sort of residual memory or something. Buffy even reminded him of the alcohol that he smelled of. They stopped disbelieving him and started freaking out when he showed off just the trick John had known and made Willow's white stockings appear in his hand and earning himself several smacks from a blushing and embarrassed red head.
When they asked for a demonstration of the gift, Xander had been a bit reluctant at first. He knew that something had been watching and had even attacked John when he had used it here and while nothing had done the same to him when he tried it out a few times, it was still a concern. So, he winked at Giles, reached over and grabbed his arm. Before Giles could ask him what he was doing, Xander opened up his third eye and started looking for what he wanted. Giles saw it the same way he did which was the whole point.
The whole of Sunnydale was before them at first in that bluish ethereal glow he was used to when he searched for a person. As if going in fast forward the speed through the streets till an apartment complex, similar to Giles's came into view. The image stopped in front of it and Xander could tell that Giles recognized it at once. Again, the image speed onward through the wall and into the living room and the image of Jenny Calendar was seen sitting on her couch with a laptop resting on her knees. Xander gave her credit since she actually stiffened and looked around as they watched her. But, without finding anything, she went back to whatever she was doing and Xander shut down the gift and the image disappeared leaving them in the library once again. Buffy and Willow kept asking what had happened but Xander didn't say and Giles needed a moment.
After all of that, they needed a breather and that's exactly what Xander was doing. Breathing. He walked to the top of the school and was out on the roof looking out over the town. He started to wonder what kind of idiot left the roof door unlocked when he remembered the town he lived in. Still, you would think that someone would have some sort of common sense.
A cool breeze sent a shiver down his spine despite the protection the coat gave him. As he pulled it tighter he heard the squeak of the door being pushed open and someone coming out to join him.
"Hey, mister," Willow said as she settled next to him.
"Hey, Will's," he said, giving her a small smile. "Aren't you cold?"
"Just my legs," Willow said, turning slightly red while giving him a mocking glare.
Xander winced and help up his palms out in defense. "Hey, I needed to do something to get you guys to believe me and Buffy hits way harder than you do."
"Pervert," she said playfully.
Both teens where silent for a while as they enjoyed the night air and each other's company. After a few minutes, Xander spoke up. "So, on a scale from one to ten I think this is what? A hundred thousand on the weird-o-meter?"
"Yea, something like that," she said still staring out on the town. "How'd you manage it? I mean everything that happened and that's happening now it's...it's a lot. I mean, it's a lot to deal with and take in but you're still walking around a joking like it's nothing."
"Yea, it's a lot and it's not nothing. It's definitely a something, alright. But, it's not so bad. Being here I mean. There are, well, actually there's too many memories of what happened with John that I would gladly make go away but...but I can't. So, I focus on the other things, the not so ugly things in life that I can find. Corny, I know, but it's the truth," Xander told her.
She giggled slightly, "Now you're starting to sound like an old man," then she suddenly stopped.
"Huh? What is it?"
"Xander, you lived for thirty years inside of John's head. You're...you're forty-seven!" Willow said turning and staring at him in shock.
He nodded, giving her a half smile. "You figured that one out too, huh? But, it's not as easy as that. I'm still me just...me with a whole of more years in me then before. Alright, alright. It's more then I'm letting on but it's not as if I'm really forty-seven!" he said as she looked at him. "If anything it's more like I'm thirty. That really doesn't sound any better, does it?"
"Not really, no," she told him. "But, hey, at least you're not as old as Angel, right? I mean, that's something."
Xander snorted but appreciated his friend trying to cheer him up but it was something that wasn't going to happen. This was exactly what had hit him in the library. The age difference, the experiences and memories that he had now where going to cause a change between him and his friends. His personality was different and he knew it. The things he had done, felt and, to some degree, did, had changed him in ways that they wouldn't like. Sure, there were some pretty interesting skills that came along with less than shiny new personality but he doubted they would take it in stride when some of the darker aspects came out. He could suppress it, maybe, but for how long? Something would come along at some point where he would need to do something that none of them could do, something that they shouldn't be able to do and then what? He had seen the worst of the worst and he would never be the same.
Hell, he couldn't even remember any of the mundane stuff after, in his mind anyway, being away for three decades. Things like his locker combination, what he was taking and where the classes where and all those little things where hard to remember if you're not doing it every day. Not that it would matter really anymore, but it was still unsettling to try and fake it.
"Will's, there's a bit more," he said growing somber. "You where there when Cheerful-"
"Who?"
"Oh, sorry. The Mayor, sort of a nickname John came up with. Anyway, you where there when he was trying to goad John with talk about more of Lilith's children being here. I don't think he was lying about it, I really think that there may be something or maybe several something's here that are related to John. His gift has a problem that I didn't share with Giles or Buffy yet, Will's. When he uses it, I don't know why, but it brings him to the attention of some things that it would be better if he didn't. Really powerful and strong things that could crush Buffy and make the things we've gone up against look like finger puppets.
"When John was here that night, back in Ethan's shop when he used his gift one of those things caught sight of him and hit him pretty hard. I've got a bad feeling that it might be one of Lilith's little bastard's out there and even if it's not then it's still something that I really don't think we want breathing down all of our necks."
"But, John fought off anything that came after him, right? I mean, he's still alive and if he beat them then can't you? You can do the things he can do plus we can help if anything comes along," Willow told him, fear for her friend's safety showing through.
"He had help, Will's. Not just help but a good deal of luck. Also, if they could be believed, he had some pretty powerful people watching out for him when he was a kid." Shaking his head slightly, he gave her a serious look, "Not that I know that you guys won't help me if I need it but it's not fair. Buffy has got more than enough to deal with without that on her and you know it. She can't be everywhere and if she's busy trying to find whatever is doing this then what will happen to everyone else out there? The vampires and demons in this town will run rampant and innocent people would get hurt. Besides, it's too dangerous for her or for any of you."
"Beside that being the dumbest reason ever, don't you think that should be my choice?" Buffy said from the doorway.
Xander and Willow turned to face her and only then realized how close they had been getting as they were talking. They weren't facing each other but their shoulders where getting very close and it was more then simple contact. Willow blushed slightly but Xander only smiled sadly, knowing that it was something he would have to make up his mind about and soon.
Walking over to them, Buffy shivered in the cold and gave her Xander a light smile. "Did you listen to me when I told you to stay out of it when you found out about the things that go bump in the night?"
"No, but-"
"So what makes you think that I'm going to do that, huh? I don't care what the hell these things are that you're talking about. If they're in my town and going after my friends then they have to answer to me, got it?"
"That goes for me too, buster. I don't care how old you are in that head of yours," Willow told him in full serious face.
"I'm not gonna say that what you've said isn't enough to wig me out but you're my Xander shaped friend and I want to keep you that way."
"You saying you believe me now?" Xander asked, giving her his own grin.
Hitting his arm lightly, Buffy said, "Let's just say that if any of my clothing end up missing from my body, I know who to kill."
Xander started to laugh a little until Willow thwacked him in the arm several times again, still slightly embarrassed about what he had done. He wanted to be happy about the fact that they were so understand and trying to be helpful but he wasn't. Instead he was frustrated and angry that they didn't understand anything they had been talking about for the past few hours. If they didn't grasp it then they were going to end up dead. He couldn't explain it to them anymore though. There weren't any simpler way he could say it to them. Instead of blowing up at them, he let the anger inside of him get bottled up and he put on a warm smile to show his thanks not daring to say anything knowing that he would probably yell at them both for being so foolish.
"I think we should get going. Big day tomorrow what with career day starting up. Any idea what you guys are gonna get?" Buffy asked as they headed back inside.
"Nope. But, I'm not gonna freak out over it," Willow replied.
"Hey, that's good, Will's. Glad to see you're finally starting calm down and enjoy life a bit," Buffy told her.
Willow nodded in agreement. "Yep. I'm going to hold off on freaking out until tomorrow."
Groaning Buffy turned to Xander for support but the young man, still distracted merely shrugged. "Hey, at least she's improving. It's a start."
Angel was getting annoyed and it was causing him to get very angry. Someone had started spreading word around town that was causing major ripples throughout the underworld community. Vampires, demons, wizards, witches and things he didn't really know how to classify all were talking about it. It amazed him that it had gotten around town this fast even with the way demons talked but still, this was something special. Once he had heard what had gotten everyone's attention he beat the hell out of the demon who he had over heard it from till he found out who told him. He had spent the rest of the night going down the line doing pretty much the same thing. He had been pointed in several directions and it was getting a bit tiresome.
It was insane what he was hearing and he was starting to fear that it might be some kind of retaliation on the Mayor's part. It was definitely an odd way to do it but it wouldn't prove to be any less lethal and damaging if people took it seriously. In a way, it was perfect though since no one would ever be able to really connect it to him. It would all be some kind of terrible mistake caused by Halloween and that would be the end of it.
So now Angel was in the sewers beating the crap out of a vampire who he had heard was the source of the rumor. It was a good way to burn off some of the annoyance he was feeling and hopefully get some information. OK, so maybe it wasn't as tiresome as he had thought.
Slamming the shorter vampire into the sewer wall, Angel made sure to shove his head into it one more time before keeping it pressed up against it. "Tell me what I want to know and I'll stop hurting you. Though I have to say, this is really helping me work out my anger issues."
Mumbling something unintelligible due to his face being smothered by a brick wall. Growling, Angel let up then smashed his head again and dropped him to the floor.
"Let's try this again. We both know that you're one of the things that are going around to anyone willing to listen and I want to know why and you're going to tell me," Angel said in a low, dangerous voice.
The vampire, who was clearly only turned a few years ago at most and nothing more than a minion at best, coughed and looked up at Angel with his yellow eyes. "You can beat me up as much as you want but I'm not talkin'. Anything you do to me would be better then what I would get if the boss finds out I squealed."
Lashing out with his foot, Angel caught the vampire under his chin as he tried to get up sending him tumbling on the floor. "Well, I always did like a challenge. Let's see what I can do first and then you can tell me what's worse. Me or the Mayor. From what I've heard he's been doing this nearly as long as I have."
"The Mayor? What-" the vampire started to say before Angel hauled him to his feet.
Punching him three times in quick succession Angel lifted him off the ground growling. "Yes, the Mayor! I know that he's the one behind this and I want to know what he's planning with this. What, does he just want every demon and no good piece of scum gunning for him, is that it? Is there something else he wants out of this or is he just being petty? Huh? Answer me!"
The vampire screamed out in pain as he was slammed into the wall again and held there by the exposed pipe no sticking out of his shoulder. "Hold on! Wait! What the hell are you talking about? I work for Spike, man. Just...just let me down alright and I'll talk. Christ!"
Angel made no move to get him down and instead slowly pulled his opposite arm sideways earning him another scream from the thing. "Spike? What does Spike have to do with this?"
"ARG! He...he said to go around and spread the word!" the vampire hissed through clenched teeth. "Said to let everyone know. Come on man, this is really fucking painful!"
"What else did Spike say?" Angel asked, not letting up.
"That's it! I swear it! He doesn't share his plans with me. Just said to go around and give people the news and that we were to lay off the kid for now!"
Angel stopped and looked him in the eyes. "That's it? Nothing else?"
Nodding, the vampire started breathing deeply as the pain subsided to bearable.
"Good," Angel said. Taking a stake from his coat he plunged it into the vampires heart, turning him to dust. He wasn't going to get anything else from him and doubted he knew anything else anyway.
This made things infinitely more complicated. As far as Buffy had told him, Spike had actually volunteered to go along with Xander when he was possessed that night. Angel only had a vague notion of the Nightside and who John Taylor was. He had been going insane from having his soul for the better part of a hundred years and only heard bits and pieces. Before that, Darla had told him about the place but she didn't care for it so they never went. Besides, there were so many things to do in the regular world to keep them busy. Spike had of course been different but that didn't explain why he was doing this.
If he had been a willing participant then why go out of his way to try and bring down Xander and why this way? It wasn't like Spike to play games. Well, not if he wanted someone dead. He was a much more hands on type of person and would rather break down a wall and kill everyone inside then sneak in and slit your throat. This was different and that made it that much more dangerous.
He would have to wait till he spoke to Buffy and the others before confronting Spike. In a one-on-one he probably still held the upper hand but it had been a while since he had really been back in the game. Besides, it wouldn't be only Spike. Dru and however many minions would also be at wherever they were hiding and he couldn't take them all on.
No, he would have to play it smart and for the time being gather information and, as much as it might annoy him, watch Xander's back. It would take time to track them down even after he told Buffy what was going on now.
Sighing, he stuffed the stake back into his coat and made his way through the tunnels. Stuffing his hands into his pockets his hand brushed against the small, rectangular stiff paper that had brought this to his attention. He took it out and glared, unable to figure it out. It simply read:
XANDER HARRIS
Private Investigator
That was all. No number or any kind of contact information. Why the hell would Spike go to all the trouble of making up business cards for Xander if he just wanted to kill him?
