Going to Extremes
Disclaimer: own nothing.
A/N: timeline is majorly screwed with.
Summary: After the lie is discovered, Xander is forced into extreme exile.
ҖECWҖ
"So, this is the arena," Faith said, staring at it from the Eagle's Nest, "It's nice…in a sweatbox kinda way."
"Never said it was a paradise," Xander said, "So…what happened?"
Faith stared at him for a moment, then sighed, deciding that she at least owed him that.
"I'd been fighting a master named Kakistos," Faith said, "He's this real old vamp, so old that his hands and feet are deformed. One night, he caught me and my Watcher…"
She began to tear up as she continued. Xander wrapped an arm around her, and she leaned into him, so overcome with emotion that she was willing to drop her barriers.
"I slashed his face up and ran like Hell," she said, "He sent three vamps after me…that's when you found me. Lynda…"
He shushed her, lending her whatever strength he could, "You did the right thing…you lived."
ҖECWҖ
"So, all of you know," Paul E was beside himself. What had started out as a secret between a select group of people had rapidly become common knowledge, or was, at least, starting to.
"Yeah, we know," New Jack said, "The bigger question is, what're we gonna do 'bout it?"
"We can't start some kinda war against them," Sandman said, "We fight each other for a living, we can't fight demons as a hobby."
"He's right," Tommy said, "We need to be talking about the situation with Faith, and whether or not we should tell anyone else."
"Alright, so, this Faith girl is some kinda superhero," Paul said, "And, she's on the run from a very powerful vampire…why are we going to keep her around?"
"She has nowhere to go, and she might die if we leave her on her own," Spike said.
"If she stays here, we might get invaded by vampires and die," Paul countered, "Or, worse, what if he sends vamps here on a performance night. Think of how many people might be killed."
"Oh, I think we can avoid that," everyone turned around at the voice.
Standing in the locker room doorway was a black man in an immaculate suit, with a sleazy smile on his face. Sandman and New Jack stiffened up as they realized what he was, and Jack wasted no time in breaking his chair and pulling up one of the pieces to use as a weapon.
"Calm down, good buddies," the vampire slinked around them, "I'm not here to fight…I'm here to bargain."
"Get Xander and Faith," Tommy whispered to Spike, who nodded and headed off.
"Bargain," Paul asked, a careful note in his voice, "Why would a vampire need to bargain?"
"You see, it has come to my master's attention that Faith is currently siding with Extreme Championship Wrestling," the vamp said, "Now, any attempt by my master to come and collect her could lead to the…revealing of our race to the world at large. I'm sure you could see what kind of a problem that'd be."
"Trick," Faith snarled as she entered the room, "What the Hell are you doing here? Where's that bastard, Kakistos?!"
"He sends his love and deepest sympathy in regards to Lynda," Trick said with a smile, "He also said that she died begging for your life."
Faith charged at him, only to be intercepted by both Tommy and Xander.
"What are you offering," Paul demanded.
"You have a pay-per-view in a few weeks," Trick said, "My master has worked out a deal with a law firm and the PPV company where Faith shall battle Kakistos in the arena after it has been emptied of all homo sapiens," he spat the last word out.
"Wait," Paul interrupted, "The PPV company? Why're they involved?"
"The agreement," Trick said, "Is that they will air that portion of the PPV to demon bars that request it. Also, vampires and demons will filter in after your humans have left and be the audience for that portion of your show."
"What's to stop them from attacking Faith," Paul demanded.
"Wolfram and Hart have drawn up papers for each being to agree to a non-violence clause, under penalty of mutilation and disemboweling for forty years," Trick said, "Standard clauses of nondisclosure are included, of course."
"…What would the rules be for the match," Xander asked, already disliking this idea.
"The stipulations would be that Faith would only win by killing Kakistos," Trick said, "And Kakistos would win by draining her. Other than that, no member of ECW or Kakistos's clan can interfere."
"Out of the question," Xander said, then he turned to Faith, "You don't have to take him on all by yourself. We can attack him on his own turf!"
"He has dozens of minions, we'd never make it," Faith said, "…I agree."
"Excellent," Trick said with a smile, "The tickets to the event have already had several buyers, such as Archduke Sabasis, Holland Manners, William the Bloody."
"How much are these tickets going for," Paul asked, his mind racing with thoughts.
"About two thousand a piece," Trick said nonchalantly, "For right now, there are about seven thousand bars and clubs across the nation that have begged for the PPV. There are talks of collaboration between several PPV companies overseas to distribute it worldwide. Wolfram and Hart, of course, want a percentage of the profits, about twenty percent."
Paul was speechless. While he was happy that ECW was getting this international platform, he didn't want to even consider sacrificing Faith.
"Paul," Xander called out, "You can't be seriously considering this?"
"X, I need to take him out," Faith said, "In any other fight, his bastards would knock me on my ass more often than he would. This way, it's one-on-one and it's safer."
"…If you get in too much trouble," Xander said, "I'm gonna chop his head off, consequences be damned."
Faith stared up at him, touched that he would go that far to keep her safe. Buffy was a fool to not let him help. He was self-sacrificing, more than capable in battle, and had a willingness to help that she had never seen before. Faith smiled up at Xander for a moment before turning to Paul and nodding.
"…We got a deal," Paul said, feeling as though he had made a pact with the devil…and it wasn't a stretch.
