Title: Vengeance Satisfied is Justice Served 3/?
Author: 3D Master
Feedback: 3d.master@chello.nl
Website:
Rating: R
Keywords: X-over BtVS/The Crow, drama, action.
Time frame: S7, starts during dirty girls.
Summary: Buffy has a choice to make: Xander or Spike? Who gets to live? XanderZone Challenge response.
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its characters do not belong to me, but to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Productions. The Crow and related concepts are created by James O'Barr.
Vengeance Satisfied is Justice Served
Chapter 3: Righting the First Wrong
The crow soared over the roofs of Sunnydale. Xander followed it, easily. He ran over the roofs with great speed, but without making much sound. When he jumped he flew across any distance, even streets, with ease. He was giddy; this was just awesome. He felt like he was flying, seeing through the crow's eyes increased that illusion even more - the sound of the coat whipping through the air added the illusion of flapping wings.
Finally the crow flew through the open window of a warehouse. Xander understood, he landed on the roof without sound, and settled down, seeing and hearing what the craw saw and heard.
The purple leader of the demons was there, he was obviously frustrated. Throughout the warehouse, which was filled with tools, boxes and other stuff there were more of the blue demons. The crow and thus Xander did a quick count: twenty-five in total.
"This is unacceptable," one of the demons closest to the leader criticized. "Of seventeen, fifteen of us were killed. You said the boy and the vampire were easy, you said if we split up the group the slayers wouldn't be that much of a problem either! All of this to kill one boy, who apparently isn't just a boy! We deserve more pay if nothing else."
"Don't you think I feel the same way? I'll take that up with our contractor, the moment he gets here, he was the one who told us they weren't good fighters!" the leader hissed back at his subordinate.
Xander had had enough, and he stalked into the warehouse. Moments later he was standing high on top a stack of crates, and he called out, "And who, pray tell, is your contractor?" The demons that needed to whirled around to look at him, other just whipped around their heads. Non really recognized him with his painted face. "Come now," Xander sneered, anger burning through his being. He jumped down gracefully, landing on the floor in between them. "You killed me earlier tonight, the name's Xander Harris."
"Kill him!" the lead demon ordered, with small undercurrent of fear in his voice.
Xander jumped down from the stacks, smashing his foot into the closest demon's face on his way down. The demon crashed back in pain, colliding with one of his brethren and both fell to the floor. From Xander's left a demon came at him, swinging his sword. Xander stepped forward and grabbed the demon's wrists, and then kicked the demon in his stomach with all his might, making sure to grab a hold of the sword. When the demon flew back, groaning in pain, accompanied by the sound of some of his ribs breaking, Xander took the sword from him. The demons were advancing all at once, apparently they didn't make the classical kung fu mistake of fighting one at a time. No matter, Xander took one step forward, pushed off and flew at the closing circle, in the direction of the demon leader. In flight he started to screw around his own axis, sword out, thus decapitating four demons in one go. When he landed he stuck the sword forward into the gut of another demon, rapidly turned around - far faster than any of the demons could hope to come close to - and threw the sword like a spear. It sliced through a demon's head, right in the middle, and it fell over dead.
In the mean time Xander had grabbed another advancing demon's shoulder, and smashed his right fist into its stomach, doubling him over. With a quick change in position, and a good yank the demon's neck broke, and it fell down like a sack of potatoes. Xander took the demon's axe, and hacked it into the demon behind his latest victim's chest. As the demon sank to the floor to bleed to death, Xander felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder. He looked and saw a crossbow bolt sticking out. He reached over with his left arm and yanked the crossbow bolt free, pulling along some of his flesh and blood. He turned around and looked at the demons advancing on him. They stopped moving in shock, as they saw the hole the bolt had made close up right in front of their eyes.
"You've already lost," Xander told them with a predatory grin, and attacked them. There momentary stupor gave him the opportunity to decapitate in quick succession another the three demons. When the demons came back into action, Xander made a roundhouse kick backward, hitting one demon in its face sending it dazed to the floor. Xander renewed the kick, kicking a demon three quarters of the way in its throat, causing it to grab its throat and gasp for breath, coughing up blood; he wouldn't last long. A demon came at Xander in anger, letting an axe descend with all its might. Xander saw it from the corner of his eyes, and turned half around, raising his left hand, blocking the blow at the demon's wrists. He then moved forward, turning around to face the demon, yanking the demon's arms down with his left. The demon's arms twisted around, their and the demon's momentum causing him to tumble forward, bent over, running straight into the onrushing axe getting it stuck in his stomach.
Xander left the axe there, moving forward to intercept another demon coming at him. He pulled a stake from his coat and rammed it into the demon's chest and heart. He twisted around, and rammed the stake into the side another's neck. Xander took the crossbow from the dying demon and turned to face the group. With a grin he shot the first bolt, loaded the second, fired it, then the third that was on the bow, and fired that one as well. Three demons went down as a result. He then backed up, raising his arms, with a movement a wrist mounted small crossbow shot from his sleeves and he fired both of them. As another two demons died, Xander jumped and swivelled in the air. He kicked out with a devastating kicked, landing his foot into the face of the final demon behind him. The crack of bone in the demon's face demonstrated he wasn't going to survive. The fact confirmed when the demon shot off to its left, crashing into a stack of craters, destroying them, and sending several plastic tons filled with whatever chemicals tumbling noisily to the floor. The demon smacked painfully to the floor, its neck in an unnatural angle.
That left two demons - both of which slowly and dazedly got up from the floor - and the leader. Xander cocked his head to the leader, and calmly walked toward him, starting up the few stair cases leading the slightly elevated platform that he was standing on. The demon back up slightly, fear evident in his face.
"Enough, we're on the same side," a Brooklyn accented voice stated. Xander turned around, facing right and back and looked at a scrawny mane, only Xander new instantly it wasn't a man.
"I take it you're the contractor. Just who the #fuck# are you?" Xander spat out at the demon.
"Name's Whistler, I'm a balance demon," he introduced himself.
"Whistler?" Xander stated darkly, something clicking in his head. "You mean 'let's bring Angel to meat Buffy so he can be a hero, but instead tries to end the world'-Whistler?"
The balance demon sighed. "I admit not one of my best works, I'm also the one who explained to Buffy how to close the vortex," he defended himself.
Xander's eyes narrowed, and with a low dangerous voice he asked, "So why did you have them attack us, and kill me, if you're on our side?"
"Simple," Whistler started his explanation. "He told me to prove to the guys upstairs that the Slayer had lost her way. It was a test. Separate Faith from the rest of you, bring down you and Spike and have Buffy choose. If she chose you all's well, and one souled, but evil psychotic vampire is dust. If she chose him, proof delivered. The sword's were magically imbued, allowing me to resurrect you, and give you some boost in power. A win, win scenario. It worked perfectly . . . other than the fact that you did your own resurrecting and killed several of the good guys."
Xander looked at him, sniggered, laughed. "It seems I'm not the only one not fooled by Sparky's all soulful act, I suppose that should be consolation," Xander said slowly, then looked down at one of the corpses. He bent down and picked up one of the swords. "This one?" Xander asked with a scary grin.
"Yes," Whistler answered taking an involuntary step back.
"I suppose you know what I am, why I'm; to put the wrong things right," Xander said, looking directly at him, and took a step toward him talking onward, "You sent dead boy into Buffy's path, making her dig his all mysterious, soulful - coward - act before she even knew he was a vampire. Without Angel, she'd never be into Spike now. That's a very wrong thing. If it weren't you messing with us, manipulating us - which is a wrong thing in and off itself - we wouldn't be here, with a necrophiliac Slayer. Then you go and attack us with demons, have me killed, more manipulations, that too is a very wrong thing." Xander had slowly advanced on the balance demon during his speech, gently cocking his head from left to right, giving him a very bird-like appearance.
"Listen man, you don't want to do this," Whistle burst out, starting to realize just what Xander was planning. "I work for Him, the One, he'll punish you if you kill one of his people."
Xander just deepened his smile a little, remembering the balance's entity fear of the crow and what it represented. Then he suddenly sped up, and rapidly stuck the sword through Whistler's heart. The balance demon looked astonished at the sword stuck in his chest. "Now I'm putting them right," Xander hissed out, Whistler looking up at him, groaning in pain. With a swift movement of his right arm Xander pulled the sword free, and swung it, severing Whistler's head. The head fell to the floor left, and then a gusher of orange fluorescent blood sprang from the demon's neck. A final blood curdle came from Whistler's mouth as his head bounced on the floor, then his body started dissolving, the orange bubbling blood consuming the body from the inside out, until only a large puddle of the orange stuff was left.
"Shit!" Xander heard one of the remaining demons mutter. When no divine retribution came, no lightning bolts, no floods, no volcano opening underneath Xander's feet, the demons decided they're employment had ended and ran for their lives.
Xander turned around and watched them go, taking a peak at where the leader had been. He was gone already, apparently he had come to the same conclusion as his subjects, only a good while sooner. Xander took a running start and threw the sword. It twisted through the air, and neatly sliced through the former to last demon. In the same motion Xander got out one of his guns, aimed, and fired once. The bullet entered the last demon's head, a splash of blood and brain exiting from the entrance and exit wound. The demon collapsed to his knees and then keeled over dead. Xander hadn't slowed down thought, he was already running again, the crow's caw entering his mind. He gained double vision, seeing through the bird's eyes as well as his own. The bird's view showing him where the last demon was running. Xander ran out the building, and turned to his right. He ran as he saw the demon running up ahead, and grinned. He raised the gun, aimed and fired thrice, his inhuman strength allowing him to easily keep the gun steady. The demon screamed in pain, and grabbed to his upper leg, where the first bullet imbedded itself. The second shattered the knee on the same leg, and the third entered the demon's other leg. Instantly the monster crumpled to the ground.
Xander grinned and calmly turned around and walked back into the warehouse. He went back to the puddle of orange blood that once was Whistler and dipped his hand in it. He looked at it dripping from his hand for a moment, and then grinned. He walked a few meters away and started drawing. He had to get back to the puddle twice more, but after that an outline of a crow was drawn in fluorescent orange on the floor of the warehouse. Xander then took one of the previously tumbled about canisters, and went back outside.
Moments later he arrived back with the leader, who had managed to move only a short distance, with the canister and a pack of matches in his other hand. The demon understood what Xander was planning, and he started pleading, "No, please don't. We're on the same side!"
Xander unscrewed the cap of the can, and then poured the gasoline down all over the demon, which closed its eyes and sputtered the liquid away from his face. "You're not on my side, you're a mercenary, you're on the side of whoever happens to be the highest bidder," Xander told it, finishing drowsing the demon in the flammable liquid. He screwed the cap back on the still mostly full can and threw it aside, not wanting it to go up in flames as well.
"Please! Please no! Not like this! Please no! Let me live! Shoot me! Anything, not this!" the demon pleaded with terror in his eyes, as he looked up at the serenely smiling Xander.
Xander lit a match and held it above the demon, and he said, "Since the guy who killed me is already dead . . . you'll have to do." Xander turned around and started walking away at the same time he let the match stick fall.
"NOOO!" the demon screamed, until the burning match stick reached the gasoline fumes and it igniting setting the demon ablaze. "AAAAAAHHH!!!!" Xander's grin deepened as he heard the demon scream in unimaginable pain, burning to death alive. He calmly kept walking, swooping the cannister with gasoline off the street in a smooth motion, behind him the demon screamed trying to turn off the flames by rolling around, but the gasoline was burning too hot.
"Time for a supply run," Xander told himself, as the crow landed on his shoulder and cawed with satisfaction.
*****
As Xander once again soared over the rooftops of Sunnydale, this time on his way toward the military base, he suddenly took in a peculiar sight. The sun was starting to come up, a lighter ridge on the horizon, Xander took in the sight of a family packing their car and a small wagon hooked behind it. Xander stopped running for a moment, frowned and then jumped down. He walked up to the family of four, father, mother and two small kids who were looking at their mother and father busying about in wonder. When the mother caught sight of Xander she shrieked and took a step back. Her reaction made him remember how he was made up, so quickly he raised his arms disarming, one of them holding the cannister, and said friendly, "Coming from a costume party, went out of gas, not gonna hurt you, just wondering what you are doing."
The woman sighed in relief, and relaxed more when her husband reached her. "We're leaving," she answered.
"Leaving?" Xander asked dumbfounded.
"Come on, you must know," the man answered him. "This place is bad, I mean there have been some pretty freaky things happening hear of the years, but this . . ." The woman shuddered during his pause, and he tightened his embrace. " . . . this is worse, you must feel it to, it's as if . . . as if . . . there's a black hole here sucking away every notion of good."
"It's the last straw," the woman answered, and then returned to do her tasks.
Xander nodded, and looked over into the garage, and his eyes widened at the sight of an off-road bike. *I'm stupid, I'm never going to be able to carry everything all at once,* he thought at the crow, who he knew was around somewhere. He only got a mental caw in return. "What about the bike?" Xander asked casually, pointing at it with his thumb. "You're not taking it with you?"
The man stood up after placing something in the car's trunk and he looked wistfully at the dirt bike. "Doesn't fit, and it isn't that important."
"Could I have it?" Xander asked with a smile, and indicated his cannister with gasoline. "For starters, it would get me to my car a lot faster."
"I don't know," the man said fumbling his key chain in indecision. Suddenly his wife came along, grabbed the key chain from him. "Hey!" the man protested. "We might return one day."
As she took off a key she said, "You promised me you wouldn't ride that death trap again." The man looked sadly as his wife handed the key to Xander with a big smile on her face, "Now it's certain."
Xander took the key, smiling broadly and answered, "Thanks."
"Are you a clown?" a girl's voice sounded and the adults looked down at the five year old girl, who was looking with big hopeful eyes at Xander.
Xander looked astonished at her for a moment, and then smirked. "Yeah, I suppose I am . . . a very bad one thought, with very bad jokes." Xander pouted at her, eliciting a giggle, "I can't seem to make anyone laugh, perhaps it's the clothes, wrong color." The girl giggled again, longer this time. "No, that's not it, I thinks it's that I'm too healthy." Xander tapped his nose, smiling. "Seen their red noses? I never get a big enough cold." Xander gave her a smile and an even bigger pout, and she laughed out loud.
"You're funny," the girl said while still laughing a little, the parents gave Xander a grateful smile.
"Not everybody thinks that," Xander said lightly and then went to the bike. Moments later he had started it and rode out the garage, the man looked sadly at his beloved possession. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of her, perhaps I'll return it to you later," Xander told him smirking.
"Please don't," the woman pleaded, just before Xander rode off.
As Xander rode through Sunnydale he looked left and right, he needed something to put his supplies into. It didn't help much, the garages were all closed, once again the Crow offered assistance. As it flew from one garage to another it looked through the windows, allowing Xander to see as well. "Bingo," Xander said with a grin. He went to the garage, got off his bike, and using his strength he quickly pried open the door. Moments later he came out with a small car, and rope. He bound the car to the saddle of the big, wrapping rope around it a good number of times. He tested his handiwork by yanking the car good several times, when it didn't budge it was satisfied. He placed the cannister in the car, before quickly mounting the bike again and sped off.
*****
The bike made quite some noise as Xander sped through the forest across the dirt road. Jumping a small incline the car went ride along with it, and banged back to the floor. The cannister bounced around a only barely stayed inside. *I really shouldn't do that on the way back,* Xander thought making a mental node of his thought. Eventually he had to turn off the little road, and entered the forest itself. He didn't get far before he couldn't go on with the car, and so he stopped. He couldn't go much farther without the engine alerting anyone on the base anyway, so that was alright. He peered in the distance and could just make out the fence surrounding the army base. He grinned, with his speed he could easily run the distance back and forth a few times.
As he started running the crow went up ahead, cawing happily. The bird quickly reached the base, having a much easier time navigating the trees with its size. It flew up on a roof, checking the buildings contents. It paddled over to the edge and looked down, seeing a guard pull a magnetic strip card through a reader and type in the number 5, 2, 9, 6. With a click the armory door opened and the guard went inside to inspect the place.
*Well,* Xander thought amused, as he reached the fence, and jumped over it smoothly, checking whether nobody was there to see him while in motion. *At least they've upgraded security somewhat.*
He quickly snuck around the building, taking care to avoid being discovered, and flattened himself against the corner. He waited. Not long after, the guard came back outside and walked passed the corner Xander was. Rapidly Xander wrapped his arms around the man's neck in a sleeper hold, squeezing, cutting off the man's ability to call for help. Xander yanked him about, pulling him back toward the fence, cutting off his oxygen supply. When Xander reached the rear of the building he felt the soldier slump in his arms, and Xander quickly put the unconscious man down, and took his keycard. "Sorry about that, but I need this," Xander whispered to him, and quickly snuck back to the front. He pulled the card through the reader, typed in the code, and the door clicked open. Grinning Xander went inside, and looking at the crates, he smiled as the door closed behind him.
"Oh, yeah," Xander whispered, his dark eyes gleaming. "This is heaven." He rapidly went through the stock, some of the more dangerous stuff locked behind safety doors. Definitely improved upon security. He tried the card and code, but it didn't work on those, apparently the lowly guard didn't have the clearance. Most definitely improved, some people in this world apparently learned from their mistakes, a stolen rocket launcher probably was something too big to ignore. Xander smirked, no matter.
He quickly broke open a few crates. An M16, with several cases filled with lines of ammo. He took two standard .45 pistols, and took another 4 in reserve, just in case, and several hard metal cases filled with clips for them. He balanced it all underneath his arms, and on his shoulders wrapped tight by his coat, which he kept caught beneath his arms. He quickly went outside and jumped over the fence again, barely this time, the load holding him back. When he landed he sank to his knees and felt tendons snap. He winced at the pain, then ignored it, standing up, feeling the pain ebb away as they knit back together. He ran to his bike, and quickly put his new armory neatly in the car. He ran back again, jumped over the fence and reached the guard just as he was coming to. "Tell me," Xander whispered, grabbing the man's head gently. "Who has access to the high security sections in the armory?" The soldier of course wouldn't answer Xander, but it wasn't necessary, the thought following the question was enough. Xander's touch telepathy pulled the information instantly from the soldier's mind, and Xander told him, "Sorry about his." With a well aimed punch the soldier's lights went out again.
Xander looked up to the roof of the armory, directly into the eyes of the crow so very similar to his own now. "Go fetch," Xander whispered.
*I'm not a dog,* was the crow's annoyed and amused answer, even as it flew off to do what was asked of him.
Xander grinned, as he went back into the armory, and found himself ammo for shotguns, and quickly took out several cases. His eye fell on another crate and he grinned. After opening it he took out a shotgun, one that was fully automatic and could be put in semi-automatic and manual. He pulled out his own meager normal shotgun, and whispered, "Oh, I so love upgrades." He placed his own back into his coat, it wasn't smart to leave evidence lying around after all. He took a few of the new shotguns, and looked around. Satisfied he had everything he needed except the heavier stuff, he took his new acquisitions and brought them to his bike again. Upon return he reopened the armory and waited. A short while later the crow arrived, and Xander opened the door. The crow flew inside, and after Xander closed the door it flew to him and dropped the security card in his beak into Xander's right hand.
"Took you long enough," Xander commented with a grin.
*Next time I'll transport the weapons, and you can squeeze through a ten centimeter by ten centimeter hole,* the crow mentally deadpanned back.
Xander grinned as he walked over to a security door, thinking back, *First time I meet someone who can keep up with me verbally.* He slid the card through the first reader on a security door, a flash of a hand typing in the code seen through the hand's owner's eyes went through his mind and he typed in the same code. The door opened revealing flame throwers. Xander smirked, and told his companion, "We're going to have put in a trip back to the warehouse to get some more gasoline." The crow squawked, and Xander pulled out one flame throwing unit. He opened the other security doors one by one. From one he got five more rockets for the rocket launcher he still had at home, from another he took several cases filled with high explosives.
"All set," Xander said with a smile. He went back outside, opening the door, and then heard a gasp. Xander turned around looking into the surprised face of the guard he had knocked out twice already. In once hand he held a walkie talkie, ready to sound the alarm. The soldier took Xander in with the same surprise, checking out what Xander was carrying.
In his haste the soldier dropped his communicator, and grabbed his gun from the holster around his waste, and then pointed it directly at Xander's head. "Don't move," the voice ordered nervously. Xander grinned, and slowly put his shopping down. He then took a step forward, getting the gun directly on his forehead.
"You're nuts," the soldier told him timidly, looking in the twinkling dark eyes of Xander.
"Perhaps, and perhaps I just dead," Xander answered with a grin. Rapidly he moved his hand took the gun from the soldier who looked at him astonished. "Again, I'm sorry, but it's for a good cause," Xander said, then knocked the soldier out a third time. "Three times' a charm," Xander said with a sigh, and quickly gathered his stuff, before heading off to his bike.