Disclaimer: BtVS and nothin' else mine. 'Cept the plot. Sorta. Eh… General Xander costume something else Halloween episode fic. Also note that some of the characters may sound a bit off as I haven't watched Buffy in a long while and am running off memory of what they sound like as well as fanfics. Chapter titles come from all three DMC OST's.
Chapter 10 – Show Time!
Xander and Faith were in the library sparring with practice swords when Buffy came in with one hand on her head. The half devil immediately blanked his mind as best he could as he remembered the blonde Slayer was infected with the telepathic abilities of a demon she'd killed. It really wouldn't do for her to get some idea of what was stuck in his head.
For a few minutes it looked like it was working as she looked up and smiled at him then her expression turned to one of horror.
"Oh my God, Xander," she breathed as she stared at him. "All those demons…and was that Hell? Oh…"
"Buffy!"
The half devil had dropped his sword and moved to catch the collapsing Slayer so quickly that even Faith had trouble following him. He carefully levered the blonde up into his arms and threw a concerned look at his sparring partner.
"Looks like it just got worse," he said softly.
"Damn," muttered the dark-haired young woman. "I'll go hunt down Giles and Wussley."
Xander just nodded and watched her as she left then looked down at the unconscious young woman curled in his arms.
"Oh, Buff, what am I gonna do with you?" he muttered to himself before carrying her into Giles office and the couch there.
When he came back out of the office, Faith had returned with Giles and Wesley in tow. Both older men looked concerned and he frowned, saying, "We've got to fix this. Now."
"What happened?" asked Giles, worry for the girl he felt as a surrogate daughter showing in his voice.
"Slaygirl there and me were sparring when Buff came in. I thought all was fine and dandy despite the telepathy stuff and then…"
"What?" asked Wesley impatiently as Xander trailed off.
"She got in my head. Saw some stuff…well, some stuff I really would rather she hadn't seen."
Both Giles and Faith paled as the half devil had told both of them a bit about the sort of things Dante had done and what he'd been through. Most of it wasn't that pretty.
Xander sighed and shook his head, muttering, "I just hope she didn't see my…Dante's mom's murder. That…that's not a very pleasant memory."
Faith frowned and reached out to touch his shoulders.
"Hey, X, you know you're slippin' don't'cha? Nearly talkin' like you're him and all?"
"Yeah, I know, Slaygirl… Damn, but I know."
He then shook himself and looked at the three, saying, "But my own problems aren't what we need to be concerned with. I can deal with them on my own. Right now we gotta figure out how to fix Buff."
"We need the d-demon's h-heart," stammered Wesley, who was still a bit nervous around Xander. "For a p-potion."
"Heart of the demon. Right. Slaygirl, you ready to do some hunting?"
"Always, X."
"Good. G-man, you and Nancy Boy get ready to make that potion when we get back," said Xander as he moved over to the weapons cabinet and pulled out two swords, tossing one over to Faith. He then grabbed two pairs of leather gloves and tossed them to the dark Slayer as well, who stared at him. "Don't want this happenin' again," he said with a wink then was gone.
Faith blinked then pulled on the gloves and waved at the two Watchers before disappearing.
Wesley finally managed to gather himself up and sputtered, "N-Nancy B-B-Boy! H-how dare h-he!"
Giles gave the younger man an amused look then cuffed him on the shoulder, saying, "Come on, Nancy Boy, we've got work to do."
"Not you too, Mr. Giles!"
The next day Buffy was telepathy free and was raking the school over furiously during lunch in search of Xander. Willow pulled herself from cuddling with Oz for long enough to suggest she look outside and the blonde Slayer took her suggestion.
She found the white-haired half devil sitting with his back to a tree in the grass, his eyes closed. As she approached him slowly and as quietly as possible, she saw his nostrils flare and smiled. A moment later the crystalline blue eyes winked open and a smile twisted his lips.
"Hey, Buff," he murmured. "Wanna sit?"
She just nodded and sank down into the grass beside him, looking at him for a long moment. Then she let out a hiss of air through her teeth and muttered, "How do you do it? How do you get by with all that…stuff…in your head?"
"Just keep living," replied Xander, opening his eyes fully to look at her.
"But all those devils…"
"Some demons and vamps too," he said softly. "Look, I do it just like you and Faith, Buff. You go out nearly every night and patrol and kill things that used to be human. How do you deal with it?"
Buffy stared at him in shock for a moment.
Then she murmured, "Just keep on living."
"Exactly."
They sat in silence for a moment then Buffy whispered, "It feels real to you, doesn't it?"
Xander was silent for a moment, his eyes staring off into the distance, and then he nodded sharply. Swallowing hard, he ducked his head and muttered, "Yeah. It feels real. Way too damn real, sometimes. I keep expecting to wake up and be in the Devil Never Cry and hear Trish downstairs. But I never do. Or to have a devil burst through my front door and try to kill me. But it never happens. It's…it's just way too damn real, Buff."
The blonde Slayer looked at her friend for a long moment then scooted close to him and threw her arms about his neck, pillowing her head on his chest. She felt him stiffen slightly then his arms slowly came around her and pulled her close. He leaned his head against hers and whispered, "Thanks, Buff," after a long moment.
Buffy smiled as she remembered something he'd said to her after he'd opened her eyes to her and Angel never happening the way they wanted.
"Anything for you, Xander," she whispered.
"You really are an angel," he muttered into her hair, chuckling softly.
Buffy smiled into his shirt, happy she had made her friend laugh again. Then she lifted her head and asked, "Are you okay?"
Xander blinked at that.
"What do you mean, Buff?"
"I mean just what I said. Are you okay?"
He heard the worry in her voice and winced as he lied, "Yeah, I'm okay."
The blonde frowned like she didn't believe him then they both heard the bell announcing the lunch period was ending. As he rose and helped her to her feet, Buffy glared at the young man she considered a brother and growled, "You're lying to me, Xan."
"We've all got secrets, Buffster," said Xander, not meeting her eyes. "Let me deal with mine."
"Xan, we can help."
"No," whispered Xander as he walked back towards the school, trying not to think of how inept he felt despite his shiny new powers. "You can't."
Buffy could only stand and look hopelessly after her friend as he walked off.
"Ooo, maroon. I love maroon."
"That's Dante talking, isn't it?" asked Buffy as she and Xander picked up their graduation gowns and wandered towards the library.
"Not really," he replied with a smile. "His favorite color's red."
"Hence the all red outfit?"
"You betcha."
"Hey, hey, guys, did'j'ya hear?"
"Hear what?" asked Buffy as Willow came rushing up behind the two of them with her graduation robes under one arm and a computer printout in the other.
"The Mayor is going to give the commencement speech at the graduation ceremony!"
The half devil and Slayer blinked at this new twist in things then looked at each other for a long moment.
"Well," said Xander, "that throws a wrench into any ideas of a normal graduation."
"Hey, even prom wasn't normal," quipped Buffy, referring to the Hellhounds trained to attack the prom goers that she, him, Angel, and Faith had hunted down for most of that night. "You expect graduation to be?"
"Not really. Just felt like complaining about the lack of normalcy. I'd love some just once."
"Wouldn't we all?" sighed Buffy. She then looked at her two friends and said, "Suppose we should see if Giles knows anything new about the Ascencen thingy."
"Ascension," corrected Xander and Willow as the three of them headed towards the library. Anyanka, who they just happened to be walking by as they spoke, nearly dropped her books in surprise and stared after them. Then she opened her locker and shoved the books in before taking off at a run.
"Sparda!"
"Damnit, stop calling me that!" exclaimed Xander, turning around to glare at the ex-demon running up behind them. "It's Xander for the hundredth time, Anya."
Anyanka – or now Anya Jenkins as she'd begun calling herself – frowned at him then asked, "Why were you talking about an Ascension?"
The three Scoobies blinked at each other then Buffy asked, "Why do you want to know?"
"Because I witnessed one."
Willow and Buffy both blinked in shock but Xander just reached out and grabbed the ex-demon by the wrist, dragging her with him as he took off towards the library again.
"C'mon," he growled. "Tell us everything you know."
"Or what?" snipped Anya, annoying at him hauling her about.
"Or I'll rip your head off your shoulders. And despite the fact that I'm not Dante Sparda, I can damn well do that, so don't think I won't."
"She's not a demon anymore, Xander. You can't kill her," hissed Buffy in his ear suddenly.
"I know," he hissed back to her with a grin. "But she doesn't know that."
"Sneaky bastard."
"Oh but yes."
Xander walked into the library after carrying out the last load of books to find Buffy sitting on the table they spent so much time researching at crying. He rushed over to her side and pulled her into his arms before he even knew what he was doing, resting his chin atop her head. She curled up in his arms, turning her head to bury it in his sweat-stained black t-shirt.
"What happened?" he whispered, his heart aching for the girl he'd thought of as a sister after he'd gotten over his crush on her as he smelt the sadness rolling off of her.
"Angel's leaving," she mumbled into his chest.
"You still love him."
"Always will." She then pulled away from him and kissed him on the cheek with a small smile. "Thanks, Xan."
"For what?" asked the half devil, confused.
She continued to smile and reached up to touch his face, saying, "For being you. And caring about me after all I've done."
"Hey, you did what you thought you had to, Buffster. I don't hold it against yah. (Not any more, at least, he added silently.) You know that. Now, c'mon, pull yourself together. We need all of you focused on this."
Buffy just nodded then took a deep breath.
It took her a few moments to pull herself back together and then she smiled at him, a shaky but true one.
"I'm ready."
He frowned at the shaky smile but heard the steel in her voice. And a sniff of her scent gave him the confirmation that her sadness at Angel's leaving was fading away, replaced by her usual wild scent that she shared with Faith that he just couldn't describe no matter how he tried.
"Good," he whispered with a smile. Then he grabbed her hand and led her out of the library to finish their preparations.
"Congratulations to the class of 1999. You've all proved more or less adequate. This is a time of celebration, so sit still and be quiet. Spit out that gum! Please welcome our distinguished guest speaker, Sunnydale's own Mayor, Richard Wilkins the Third. I saw that gesture. You see me after Graduation."
Xander sighed and turned his head to look back at Buffy and Willow rows behind him. The blonde gave him a dazzling smile despite what they both knew was coming and he returned it before smiling at his best friend. Willow blinked a bit then smiled sheepishly at him. But there was a glow about her despite the situation that caused the Dante half of his mind to immediately connect the dots and figure out that she and Oz had had sex. And he couldn't be happier for them.
He just hoped they both survived this and had the chance to be happy.
The sky went dark then and he turned back around to see the Mayor start to falter in his speech. His nostrils flared as he smelt pain and then the back of his neck started to crawl.
That was when he realized that the Mayor wasn't turning into some upper-class demon but a true blue devil.
"Fuck," he muttered right before the Mayor transformed into a giant serpent and promptly ate one of the guests as they tried to flee.
"NOW!" roared Buffy from behind him and the senior class surged to their feet, throwing their robes off to reveal an entire armory of medieval weaponry. A few jerked flamethrowers up and began to attack the Mayor, prompting him to eat a student.
Snyder quickly followed the youth into the monsters maw.
Xander turned then at a yell from Oz and saw the vampires coming up behind them and shouted, "Rear attack! Everyone FIRE!" Students armed with arrows began to fire on them, killing a few, which caused them to try and run. But a group with Angel, Faith and Wesley in the lead had rushed in to block off their exit and began to dust the creatures of the night with a great deal of pleasure.
The half devil turned back towards the giant serpent to see its tail hit Larry hard enough to kill him. He then saw the devil turn its ugly head towards Buffy and lunge downward at her with astonishing speed.
The blonde Slayer had her back towards the creature that had been the Mayor as she fended off two vampires and didn't see the attack coming. Just as she dusted the two vamps and turned, something dark with scarlet eyes flashed past her and slammed into the serpent's head.
Staggering backwards, she stared up in shock to see a winged figure in what looked to be red and black armor twisting and turning in the air as the Mayor snapped at it. There was a flash of white hair and scarlet eyes glancing down towards her then the winged form spun and screamed a wordless cry of challenge at the serpent.
"Xander," she breathed after a moment, realizing almost instinctively that the armored figure was his devil form. Then she spun as she sensed a vampire coming up behind her and leapt into the fray once more.
In the air, Xander couldn't even comprehend how he'd managed to transform into his full devil form. He hadn't even managed to get that far in his training with his devil powers. So the only logical reason for it was that when he saw Buffy in danger he'd reacted instinctively. And apparently his instincts had told his body to transform in order to save her.
The serpent's fanged jaws snapped at his foot then and he folded his wings, dropping down then soaring back up as he reopened them. Then he spun with a snarl and dived down, slashing his taloned hands across the Mayor's hideous snout. A pained cry came from the devil and it snarled, "You little half-blooded wretch!"
"Come'n get me," growled Xander, hovering and motioning the big devil forward.
The serpent snarled and lunged at him, mouth open wide to snatch him from the air. But Xander spun and dived down into the school, shouting, "Come on, you worthless beast! You're nothing but scum! Having to use a spell to become a full devil. HA!"
"WRETCH!"
Gotcha, thought Xander as he landed, folding his wings tightly against his back as he took off running through the corridors. He heard the big serpent coming right behind him, its passage ripping lockers from the walls and making new doors.
Grinning ferally, he burst through the doors of the library, hearing them fly off the hinges inches behind him as the Mayor burst through. Spinning about, Xander waved a taloned hand and chirped, "C-ya!" before launching himself backwards through one of the windows in Giles' office.
The Mayor turned and saw the explosives in the room then and seemed to frown.
"Well, gosh…"
Giles set off the explosives as he saw something dark and winged come out his office window – which he could only assume was Xander – and then grinned Ripperishly as the whole school went up in flames. He then stood up and dusted off his hands before stuffing them in his pockets and walking off to where the graduation ceremony had taken place, whistling softly.
Back at the ceremony spot, Buffy and Faith staked the last vampire as one. Then the petite blonde looked at the flaming school and paled severely. It was supposed to have been her who lured the Mayor into the library, not Xander. If he was dead…
"Don't worry, B," said Faith, catching the look on her sister's face. "He's okay."
"How do you know?" asked Buffy in a meek voice.
The dark Slayer smiled and nodded over the blonde's shoulder.
"Because he's right behind you."
Buffy spun and launched herself at the black and red figure lurking behind her, hugging him tightly. She then reached up and grabbed his face in her hands, hissing, "Don't you ever scare me like that again, Xan!" Then she pulled back from him and looked in wonder at the red and black armor that covered his body before peering at the wings that towered behind him.
She caught the slightly frightened look in the scarlet eyes then and took one of his taloned hands, squeezing it tightly as she realized he was scared that she might turn away from him in this form. One of her dazzling smiles crossed her face then and she whispered, "You make a handsome devil."
The scarlet eyes softened then and Buffy found herself hauled off her feet as Xander hugged her close to him. She looped her arms about his neck and buried her face in his armored shoulder, feeling giddily happy that her surrogate brother was alive.
A cough interrupted their hug and they both look over to see Giles standing there. He then smiled at the two of them, happy to see them both unscathed, and said, "You'd better hide or get back to normal, my boy. The ambulances and fire department are on their way."
Xander grinned, his fangs bright in the black face of his devil form, and said, "You betcha, G-man." Then he reached inside himself and focused on the devil energy swirling wildly inside his body still, mostly thanks to the adrenaline pumping through his system. It gave him a little fight but he eventually won out and his devil half retreated – mainly because it was unused to the use of its full form and was tiring out.
Buffy watched in awe as the young man she finally seen for the good friend he really was and felt for as a brother shrank from the seven-foot frame his devil form accorded him back to the six foot two one that the Halloween spell had given him. The armor that covered his body then melted away, revealing the same black t-shirt from earlier and tattered blue jeans. Then the scarlet faded from his eyes, leaving them blue once more, and the spikes his white hair had formed into fell back into its habitual shaggy mane.
He grinned down at her then said, "C'mon. Let's go see the gang."
Faith hugged Xander briefly when they arrived, kissing him chastely on the lips and blushing slightly enough that only Buffy noticed. A slightly soot-covered Willow leapt on her best friend a second later and nearly hugged the life out of him, blabbling out that if he ever scared her like that again, she'd do something really nasty to him. She didn't know what yet but he was rest assured that it would be very, very nasty and he wouldn't like it at all.
"Gotcha, Wills," he muttered before sinking tiredly down onto a surviving bench, pulling Buffy and Faith down on either side of him. The blonde frowned at him then leaned her head against his shoulder like her sister Slayer was doing on his other side.
Angel abruptly appeared, eyes dark when he saw them. Buffy lifted her head and looked at him for a long moment and the souled vampire smiled. He then looked at Xander and said, "You take care of her."
"I will," swore Xander, to both the vampire and himself. "You can be sure of that, Dead Boy."
"Good. Otherwise I'd have to kill you."
"You could try."
Angel smiled slightly and said, "Yeah, I could," before he turned and walked off.
"We made it," said Oz dazedly then as he and Willow joined them on the bench. Cordelia wandered up behind them as well with Wesley's arm resting comfortably around her shoulders.
"Yeah," said Xander. "We survived high school."
"Hoo," commented Willow with a tired grin.
Cordelia sniffed and said, "I knew we'd make it."
"You and your foreseeing, Queen C," quipped Xander as he gently shifted the girls and got up. He then stretched, rolling his right shoulder then look down at his friends. "Y'know what?"
"What?" asked Buffy.
"I think we need to celebrate."
"Paaaaaaaartaaaaaaay!" cried Faith with a happy whoop.
Willow smiled and looked at Oz, who smiled in return.
"I like parties," he said softly.
"Me too," she said. Then she looked at her oldest friend and chirped, "Let's go!"
"You betcha, Wills," said Xander. "Hey, G-man!"
Giles turned and arched an eyebrow at the half devil.
"Party?"
The ex-Watcher's other eyebrow rose to join the other then he shrugged, laughed and said, "Why not?"
"Your place," added the half devil with an evil grin.
"Oh bugger…"
"Xander!" admonished Buffy, punching him in the chest.
"Ow! Whaaaaaaaaaat?"
"Sneaky bastard."
Xander just grinned down at her and said, "You betcha."
He then noticed Faith trying to sneak off and grinned devilishly before picking her and her sister Slayer up and throwing both over his shoulders as the Scooby Gang went off to celebrate surviving their graduation and another battle on the Hellmouth.
"B?"
"Yes, Faith?" asked Buffy as the two Slayer's dangling over the half devil's broad shoulders.
"We're gonna have to seriously humiliate him for this, yah know that, right?"
"Yes. You hear that, Xander? Serious humiliation!"
A deep laugh bubbled out of the half devil's throat and he said, "I look forward to it, girls! But first we have to celebrate! The Mayor's dead, we're alive, but guess what's best?"
The two Slayers looked at each other then at the back of his head and said, "What?"
"Schooooooool's out for the summer!"
Author's NotesPlease note that in this story Xander does not go on his road trip at the end of Season 3 in this story.