Chapter 7
…The Kidz Are Aiight…
Xander worriedly followed Buffy down the stairs and into the basement.
"You should be in bed," he said, his voice full of concern.
"No," the blonde said, "I have to help the kids."
A steadying hand on her shoulder prevented the Slayer from falling down the stairs.
"Just how are you gonna kill this thing with 102 fever?" he wondered aloud as even though his core body temperature was hotter, he knew her's was not.
"I thought I'd use violence."
"Right," the transgenic said as he rolled his eyes and pursed his lips in consternation. 'Now I know how Giles feels,' he thought to himself as he followed her.
With his enhanced hearing, Xander could pick up sounds of a struggle. It seemed Buffy could hear it too because she broke into a run.
"Damn it!" the X5 said as he took off after her. He finally turned a corner and saw Buffy fighting something that he could not see. He could tell, though, that she was fighting something as he saw it lift her up and throw her a few feet away. But the Slayer was able to land on her feet and dove back into the fight.
Assured that she was alright for the moment, Xander assessed the situation with the kids. He saw one kid on the floor, a little too close to the fight for his comfort. So the young man strode over to the child and lifted him up into his arms.
"Do you know where the other kids are?" he asked the boy to give him something to do.
The little kid nodded and pointed.
Even though he did not need to, the transgenic followed the boy's lead and found the children huddled together near the boiler.
"Let's get out of here," he said as they eyed him owlishly.
As soon as the children realized he was taking them to safety, they rushed him to get as close as they possibly could to him.
He herded them up the stairs, went into the waiting room and made sure they had settled down before he rushed back to the basement to see if Buffy needed any help.
…Drop Dead Fred…
Xander rushed into the room just in time to see Buffy sail through the air and land on the floor near some cleaning equipment.
Looking, the young man saw nothing and frowned in concern for his friend. He crouched into a fighting stance, unsure of the outcome. If Buffy failed, he knew it would be up to himself to get the job done even though the thing was invisible.
The Slayer kipped up to her feet and dove at the invisible, whatever it was and continued the fight.
Several traded blows later and he saw that Buffy had two hands around what seemed to be the creature's neck. A crack confirmed it and he saw his friend stumble away from whatever it was.
"I'll assume its dead?" the young man asked as he moved cautiously to her side.
"Yeah," Buffy said as she stumbled and would have fallen if not for Xander's quick reflexes and steady hand.
"You gonna be okay?" he asked as he held onto her incase she passed out or something.
"I'm feeling better," she said as she shook off his hand and tried, and failed, to stand on her own.
"Whoa, there, slugger," Xander said as he helped her to remain upright.
"Thanks for helping me," Buffy said nearly weakly.
"That's what friends are for," the transgenic responded as he helped her up the stairs.
