Xander held his head feeling groggy what the hell is he doing in the Sunnydale high basement. How the hell did he get here? He's not dreaming, there are too many other people here, and Caleb hasn't shown himself. He looks over and sees a black gooey hand rise up from a hole in the floor that he was digging in apparently from the pick axe right in front of him. He sees the black gooey hand belongs to Buffy whom has apparently killed the monster.

Xander nods realizing quickly that this was Bo Bo Zoe… something like that. His original plan was to let Buffy and him save the day but, the one thing different is Cordy did partner with him, she did not however hard boil the egg like he told her to, and as a gentleman he carried her backpack to bio lab while the little …sucker latched onto his back. Xander looked at him as reality caught up to him as he asked clenching his head. "Does anyone else have a headache?"

Cordy looked away guilty. No one can ever know she whacked him in the head with a pipe. "No, it's a mystery."

Willow looked at them. When they're not fighting they're nice it's getting weird between them.

Buffy shrugged she's going to be in trouble when this is over; especially with her mom here and already on the warpath.


Xander looked around the army compound seeing it really was truly deserted this much he easily slithers through the fence. He keeps his distance and easily avoided the one guard who caught him last time as he sneaked into the armory. He closes the door and looked around seeing several different weapons inside the armory. Now he has a choice to make. He can just get what he came for, let Sunnydale syndrome protect him, or he can take one of everything and throw off the system. He knows what kind of monsters are in the world and quickly makes his decision and grabs a flashlight.

Jonathan looked up seeing the signal in the window as he backed up Xander's truck never in a million years did he think he'd be doing something like this. Xander quickly loaded the truck up with three crates as the man himself gripped to the window before letting go and taking off his ski mask and ordered. "Get us out of here."

Jonathan drove to the inn as the two got out and unloaded the crates into Xander's apartment. Jonathan sighed in exhaustion at one. "How much stuff did you get?"

"I had to steal one of everything or else there'd be a big investigation this way no one is the wiser." Xander replied unloading the last two. Xander opened the first box and just smiled.

Jonathan looked at it and his face dropped. Oh he's so dead for this. "Is that what I think it is?"

Xander nodded with a smile. "Yep" He even got some ammo for it too.

Xander looked into the other crate and saw a pair of thermal goggles. "Well… these could be useful later." He sees a button and hits is as he's blinded by the lamp. "Night vision"

Jonathan looked in another box and saw something between a grenade launcher and a tommy gun. "What is this?"

Xander held that and the riot shotgun out. "The one you see is a Striker 25 rounds in the clip no pump action. This one is a riot gun seven rounds… it's shiny… probably should have closed with the Striker." He looks in and sees some magazine clips mostly along with grenades and five other guns he's just melting with thermite, though he has to save some of it for the judge's arm. Thermite wasn't forged as far as he knows.


Buffy sleeps fitfully. She wakes with a start and puts her hand to her head. She reaches over to her lamp, turns it on and lets out a sigh. She takes her glass from her nightstand for a drink, but finds it nearly empty. She gets up to fill it. Buffy comes out of her room holding the glass and walks down the hall. Behind her Drusilla stalks her. Buffy opens the door to the bathroom and suddenly finds herself at the Bronze. She finds Willow sitting at a table with a large cup of cappuccino and an organ grinder's monkey.

"L'hippo a pique' ses pantalons." Willow told the monkey.

The monkey on the table with her squeaks. Buffy walks up to the table and looks at Willow curiously. Willow smiles at her and waves. Buffy raises her hand back, but remains confused about the monkey.

Buffy turns around and to her surprise sees a dirty Xander covered in rocks to his knees as he keeps hitting the floor with a pickaxe digging.

Xander looked with a smile seeing red metal under all the rocks. "Hey, I'm just about done."

Buffy continues on and finds her mother holding a large cup and saucer.

"Do you really think you're ready Buffy?" Joyce asked as she dropped it and shattered the saucer.

Buffy moves on and smiles seeing Angel at the pool table. Buffy begins to walk towards him as Drusilla appears behind him vamped out and stakes her sire in the back.

"Angel!" Buffy shouted in a panic trying to reach her beloved. Before she can touch him his hand begins to disintegrate. The rings on his fingers fall to the floor. His body doesn't explode like most vampires', but just crumbles to dust.

Drusilla lowers the stake and takes the few steps over to Buffy. "Happy Birthday, Buffy."

Buffy shot up awake if that wasn't the nightmare from hell.


Xander pulled one last one arm pull up before calling it a stressful fiveone armed, thirty all together though. He hopped down. He gets jewelry, he likes the girl for some reason, and Cordy still refuses to admit they're dating. Chips and dips Xander looks at it he can't focus on the negative… focus on the good Buffy and Angel are not together so a semester of hell is just burning an arm tomorrow night.

Xander went for his shirt as the door opened and Buffy, Giles and Ms. Calendar came in.

Giles looked at her. "I'm sure it was just a dream."

Buffy shrugged seeing his point but Xander has confirmed that Drusilla is still alive. "Yeah I guess I mean I haven't seen Willow with a monkey and Xander isn't exactly playing Paul Bunyan."

Xander looked at her. "You didn't see me riding around with a big blue ox did you?" Please don't be a symbol of the judge?

Buffy looked at him, he's so different now, but he still has moments of the old Xander. "Nothing like that, but it's not like you were digging for something, you weren't digging for something were you?"

Xander looked away damn slayer dream. "It was supposed to be a surprise for tomorrow. And wasn't Paul Bunyan a lumberjack."

Buffy looked at him, he really was playing Paul Bunyan, so was Willow really talking to a monkey? "What was supposed to be a surprise?"

"Showing is easier, if you have the time." Xander said wondering what threw him under the bus.

Buffy shrugged who goes to history anymore. Especially with what's on the line. "I've got the time."

Giles looked at him. He's taken his eye off the teenage boy for too long. "Given how frequently kids visit the library, I have all week."


Buffy watched as Xander waited in the passenger seat. Something seemed to be bothering him. "Hey, are you OK?"

"Yeah, I just wish I knew we were taking Giles' car, I would have rode my old bike here, save half the time, and a gallon of gas." Xander replied.

Giles looked at him, Xander smirked hearing a clucking sound as the Englishman replied. "It's a perfectly serviceable vehicle."

"Only in England." Xander replied, he smiled seeing they're here it might be a day early but he hopes Buffy likes her present. "G-Man pull over here."

Xander hoped out of the car followed by Buffy, Giles got out of the driver's seat and saw Xander walking into a vineyard. "What exactly did you find in a hobble like this?"

"A vampire and a pack of really strong demons." Xander answered as he hopped down the steps followed by the other two. "I trailed him one night from Willy's because he was drunk and was talking about killing the slayer, with her own weapon, I wasn't about to let that happen so I followed him here. I staked the vampire, then paid a criminally small amount of money for the demons to finish the job." Xander walked over and moved a barrel revealing a trap door. "And then I ran into a new problem."

Buffy hopped down, and then Giles followed right behind her. The slayer's eyes widened seeing the shiny red Xander was digging for and apparently found. It looks like a battle axe with a stake at the end of it. Buffy walked to it in awe and saw a black burn and scorch mark at about midway through the pillar. "What is that?"

Xander looked at it, his own attempt at removing the scythe. "That was a pipe bomb made of rubbing alcohol and other household materials. Smile Buffy hope you like the color."

Buffy looked at the rock. She put her hands on the scythe, and then swiftly pulled it out of the rock as a new energy seemed to flow through her. She could definitely get used to this. She feels so much more powerful. "Best present ever." Though now she's worried about Angel.


The next day Xander walked the hall with Jonathan another day at Sunnydale. "So are you coming to Buffy's birthday?"

Jonathan looked at him. "I don't know anyone but you…and maybe Willow."

Xander looked at him. "Yeah why haven't you said a word to Kendra yet anyone with eyes can tell you have a thing for her?"

Jonathan looked at him. "How do I introduce myself to a girl like that?"

"Hi I'm Jonathan what's your name?" Xander quipped.

Jonathan looked at him. "Ha ha"

Xander rolled his eyes. "Honestly man I think she'd be just as nervous as you are besides you're a good guy compared to... most of the people here." He points out Larry looking up Harmony's skirt as proof.

Jonathan looked at him. "That's easy for you to say you've been losing your geek appearance since Halloween."

Xander looked at him. "What you mean working out… yeah it's called training and fighting on a constant basis."

"Then teach me how to do that." Jonathan insisted.

Xander looked away, he probably shouldn't have done that, but he just caught the sight of what he is pretty sure is a gypsy elder going into the computer lab. "Yeah, after Buffy's birthday, and this."

He grabbed Jonathan by the shirt and flung him in Kendra's direction as he went after the old man. Jonathan stopped in front of Kendra and just looked at her. Oh, this isn't going to be pretty.

Kendra smiled but quickly panicked. She's used to traveling with Buffy. "H-hi"

Jonathan weakly waved still nervous, though he is surprised someone as beautiful as Kendra is willing to talk to him. Girl could easily be a cordette if she wanted to. "Hi… I'm Jonathan."

"Y-you may call me Kendra." The slayer replied. She'd rather be in a crypt right now patrolling.

Jonathan looked at her. "So, what are you going to do now?"

Kendra held up a textbook "U-uh Chemistry homework, I did not finish last night." While the council taught her a lot, science wasn't one of them. She's getting straight A's in subjects like foreign language and history its math and science that are proving to be her downfall.

Jonathan looked at it its simple chemistry he always has no problem with. "Well I can help you if you want; I don't think I'm as boring as Mr. Toner."

Kendra smiled he seemed harmless enough. "T-thank you"

Jonathan looked at her as the two went for class. "So what's you last name."

Kendra looked at him oddly, she never realized how cruel it was not to have one, now here she is with other people, and she has to struggle to remember her own last name. "Young"


Xander leaned back against the door to the computer class and very quietly opened it a crack to hear the conversation.

"I cannot imagine what is so important to make you ignore the responsibility to your people."

"Well, I've been working and..."

The other voice immediately interrupts Jenny. "The elder woman has been reading signs. Something is different."

Xander quietly entered and saw Jenny talking to her uncle.

"Nothing has changed. The curse still holds." Jenny assured him.

Enyos shakes his head. "The elder woman is never wrong. She says his pain is lessening. She can feel it."

Jenny looks down in a bit of shame; this was on her and Rupert. "There is...

"There is what?" Enyos shouted.

Jenny looks up. "A girl."

Enyos exhales in disgust. "What? How could you let this happen?"

"Hey back off!"

Jenny's eyes widen and Enyos looks back seeing a high school student had just shouted at him.

Jenny looked at him how is she going to explain this one. "Xander, this is…"

"Your uncle I know." Xander assured her. "And no Janna didn't tell me."

Enyos looked at the boy, he was a curious one. How does he already know? "So, what may we do for you?"

Xander looked at him he wasn't expecting this. "Your message is broken Angel and Buffy have been broken up for months now."

"The elder woman is never wrong young man." Enyos replied.

"You're wrong… he wouldn't… not since Halloween." Xander insisted.

Enyos looked at him. "You had faith in that miserable creature. I almost pity you…"

The rest was cut off by Xander slamming him into the wall and holding him by the suit. "That creature… has done more good in the past year and will do more good then any of you damn gypsy have ever done." He bounced Enyos off the wall frustrated. "Angel has saved more people then you including your niece, many more then you could even possibly imagine, and unlike your people, he has evolved, over the past hundred years."

"Then why are you in here talking to me instead of your friend?" Enyos asked.

Jenny and Enyos watch as Xander leaves completely deflated, Jenny turned to her uncle. "We're damned fools."

Enyos shakes his head. "That boy has no concept of us."

"That boy is the only reason we still have a world." Jenny replied.

Enyos stated what was the simple truth. "It's not justice we seek Janna, only vengeance."


Xander went into his room at the Inn collecting and putting on his wrist stakes. Angel can't have been that stupid. Can he? He looked for Buffy but couldn't find her at school and since the sun is still up, Angel would the one that would be much easier to find. What's he going to say? 'Hey Angel are you planning bad naughty time in the next twenty four hours.' Xander went for the door until he rolled his eyes and headed back in. Xander opened his fridge and saw the mohra blood. He went into the shelves and pulled out syringes from a box of medical supplies stolen from the school nurse. He's not a klepto; he's just waiting for the steroid mixture before he calls the KGB.

Xander put a syringe into the glowing liquid. If their time is never up how come he never turned Faith into a vampire to save her from hell? How come he gave up fighting to take on the black thorn to just give the senior partners the finger? Xander looked as he filled the syringe with blood.

He held it up to his eyes. And he's over Buffy… so why didn't he just make Angel human in the first place. He must have had a reason, whatever his reason was, it can't be worse then Angelus, even if he doesn't remember it. Besides this is like plan Z he should just talk to Angel first.


Xander walked out of his room, nothing but his glock, knife, wrist stakes, and a syringe full of mohra blood. He can either break up with Buffy, give up being a vampire, or die. Xander took a couple steps before his phone rung. He rolled his eyes and answered it. "Wes… now not really a good time man… just kind of busy at the moment… alright look it's Buffy's birthday and I just found out her and Angel might still be together. I'm fighting the urge to kill them, not a good time… Don't be ridiculous, of course I'm not going to kill…"

Xander watched as a pot hole from hell opened up beneath the inn parking lot. He watched as the cloved feet of stone landed on the sidewalk as he looked up the stone and grantite until he looked the stone devil in his eyes knowing what he's up against and more importantly, just how screwed he is. Well he knows who's trying to kill him now. And they're likely going to succeed as he looks into the Beast's eyes.

Wes was confused, even since Halloween Xander still never shut up. "Xander… are you there... hello?"

"Take care of my friends."

Wes just heard the sound of gunfire, and a loud smash before something stepped on the phone killing the signal.


Author's Notes

Thanks for the reviews

The Beast emerging seemed like a good place to end the chapter.

I never had anything for bad eggs, I originally planned to just have a quick scene of Xander 'accidentally' crushing the eggs but I loved Buffy rising from the hellmouth in Bezore's blood and haven't had a chance to let her do much in this story.

Does anyone have any advice about paragraph breaks that can be used on this website and twisting the hellmouth?