See first part for Disclaimer, etc.
January 6, 1997
7:50 PM
Street behind the Bronze
Willow couldn't believe her eyes. The scene she had just witnessed was too unreal. It was utterly impossible. Because there was no way that her best friend since pre-school, the man she loved, Xander Harris, had just killed someone. There was no way.
The horrible scene kept replaying in her mind. She and Jesse had just turned a corner on their way to the Bronze, when they saw two girls struggling on the sidewalk, and Xander kicking the one on top off. Then he'd splashed something on her face that caused her to scream out in pain. Acid? the analytical part of her mind wondered. As if that wasn't enough, her friend had then dropped to the ground and stabbed the woman in the chest. No hesitation. Just killed her. Then the woman had exploded into dust.
WHAT!?!?!? she screamed to herself. People don't disintegrate when you stab them!! What is going on here!?!?
The blond girl on the ground had sat up, but Xander's back was still to his friends, oblivious to their presence. Willow finally recognized the girl - Buffy. Buffy the new girl from school who was nice to her at lunch. Buffy at last noticed Willow and Jesse and grimaced at their shocked expressions. Xander still hadn't, though, instead standing and extending his hand to Buffy to help her up.
"Xander!?" Willow finally blurted out. He spun around in shock at Willow's voice, and a momentary silence fell over the four. Then Xander grinned that lovable grin of his and spoke.
"Uh, hey guys," he paused. "What's up?" he asked in an upbeat voice.
Willow didn't know if she wanted to scream or laugh her head off. So, she didn't do either, and the eerie silence settled in again. If was broken again by Jesse's shaky voice. "Xander, man, w-what did you do?"
Xander seemed to think about that because he didn't reply for a few seconds. "Uuuuh, I saved Buffy from a vampire," he drawled out slowly.
I must not be hearing him right. It sounded like he said 'vampire' "What?" Willow squeaked out.
"Um, that," Xander said calmly, pointing to the pile of ashes in front of him, "was a vampire. I killed her with a wooden stake to the heart," he finished, holding up his knife - no, Willow saw, it was indeed a sharp piece of wood.
"B-but, vampires don't exist. Th-they're n-not real," Willow stuttered out quietly. Jesse was still at a loss for words, she saw.
Buffy had gotten to her feet on her own as the trio had their disjointed conversation. She stepped forward to back Xander up. "They do, Willow. See," she said, bending down to grab a handful of Darla-dust and letting it seep through her fingers. "Dead vampire. That's what happens when you kill 'em. They poof into dust." She wiped her hands together, getting the dust off.
"Yeah!" Xander put in excitedly. "And this," he said, indicating the half-full bottle of liquid still in his hand. "is holy water. Burns 'em," he smiled, turning to Buffy for more help.
"OK, OK," Willow interrupted. The shock-induced over-rationality had largely worn off when Xander had started acting Xander-y again. "If these are vampires, how do you know about them?" she asked.
"Well, uh, Wills," Xander answered, "Buffy here kills them for a living. Not that she, y'know, gets paid or has a dental plan or anything."
Buffy rolled her eyes and smirked up at Xander, "Maybe I should go on strike."
"But she's a girl!!" Jesse blurted out without thinking. Willow couldn't believe Jesse had said that. Buffy had turned a narrow-eyed glare of death at him, and Willow was really surprised her friend hadn't burst into flames under it.
"Jesse, man," Xander said, grabbing Buffy by her shoulders, in what he obviously deemed a necessary measure to keep his friend from being ripped to shreds. Willow felt a flash of jealousy when Buffy didn't shrug him off like most girls would Xander. "ain'tcha ever heard of Girl Power?"
Everyone turned confused gazes at Xander. "Spice Girls around yet?" he asked, which caused even more confusion. "Guess I need to de-update by pop culture references."
"Xander, what on earth are you talking about!?" Willow exclaimed in frustration.
Xander sighed and held his hands out to Willow in surrender. "All right. Look, Wills, Jess, it's kinda a long story. How about we all meet tomorrow at lunch in the library, and I'll explain everything. OK?" he asked.
Though Willow was in a place very far from OK, she decided to give her best friend the benefit of the doubt. "OK. But you had better come clean then, Alexander Lavelle Harris!" she stated, pleased at the middle-name-usage grimace that appeared on Xander's face.
"Not the middle name, Wills," he whined. "Anyway, you guys should head home. I think we've pretty much killed the party-mood for tonight."
"What about you?" Jesse asked.
"Uh, Buff and I have an, uh, errand to run," Xander said sheepishly. "Don't worry, I'll be all right. I've got me a bodyguard," he said with a smile, wrapping an arm around Buffy's shoulders.
"Yeah," Buffy said, smiling as well. "And I've got my knight in shining armor to protect me," and she wrapped her arm behind his back.
Willow looked on dubiously at the duo grinning like idiots with their arms around each other. Super. Another girl who is not me for Xander to fawn over she thought enviously.
"Come on, Wills," Jesse said, shaking her out of her jealous stupor. "Let's leave the happy couple alone," he said with a grin. Said couple finally stepped away from one another at Jesse's words.
Willow nodded, and decided to rudely not say 'good night' to Xander and Buffy. She simply nodded at them, turned and walked away the way the came.
"Later, guys," Jesse called to Xander and Buffy as he jogged to catch up to the departing Willow.
Unseen by the four teenagers, a being lurked in the shadows across the street, between two rundown warehouses. He had dragged a screaming and struggling girl there five minutes before Buffy had staked Thomas. After draining his victim, he had observed the fight between the blond girl wielding a stake and Darla, whom he recognized as one of his sire's favorite childe.
He was very surprised when Darla was blind-sided by the dark-haired boy and killed before she could raise a hand to defend herself. Watching the exchange between the four in the aftermath, he realized the blond girl was one of the hated Slayers his Master had told him of after he'd been sired sixty five years ago.
The boy was a mystery, however. He obviously knew of his breed; he had called Darla by her name. Perhaps one of their newer recruits culled from the high school population would know of this Alexander Harris.
The vampire briefly considered following and capturing the boy and girl walking away from the Slayer. After all, the Master was waiting for offerings back in his lair. However, he decided against this. He had been the only one who had witnessed Darla's death, and the Master was a stickler for wreaking vengeance on those that disturbed his family. When the Slayer and Harris retreated back into the alleyway, the spying vampire left his hiding spot, heading for the mausoleum entrance to the Master's lair.
He was not looking forward to his reception there.
* * * * *
January 7, 1997
12:30 AM
Summers Residence
Buffy slowly walked up the stairs to her room, dead on her feet after a four hour long stakeout with Xander. After they parted company with Willow and Jesse, Xander had led them to the crypt he claimed housed the entrance to the Master's lair. They had found the chained entrance, but had not disturbed it. Instead, they laid in wait for Luke, setting up an ambush for the powerful vampire. Unfortunately, as Xander had said may happen, Luke never showed up, and not one vampire came or went for the rest of the night.
The result was one dog-tired Slayer who'd had a very full day. She was very relieved that her mother had not waited for her, and chastised her for breaking curfew by half an hour. Buffy could really do without another dose of mom-ing tonight.
Buffy quietly opened the door to her room, hoping not to wake her mom, and flipped on the light switch. She shed her jacket (making sure to replace her Slaying perephenilia in her locked trunk) and quickly changed into her pajamas. Climbing into bed, Buffy suddenly decided that tonight was a good night to update her diary, considering everything that had happened in the last sixteen hours. Pulling it out from between her mattresses, she reached for a pen on her nightstand and began writing.
*~*~*
Jan. 6/97
Dear Diary,
Remember how I thought the day I met Merrick would always be the weirdest day of my life? Well, move over 'day I met Merrick,' we have a new champion. Today was the weird day that all future weird days, anywhere, will be compared to.
In the plus column, I made some new friends. I hope. As long as my night job doesn't scare them away. That's right. They found out about my Slayer-ness. I'll tell you how in a bit.
Willow and Jesse seem normal enough. Willow's a little mousy, and Jesse's a little sexist (just a girl, my ass), but they were nice. Not like high-and-mighty Cordelia, who rules the school with a velvet-gloved fist. I shudder to think I was so much like her just a year ago.
And then there's Xander. Where do I start? Normal stuff first. Funny, confident, and smart. Did I mention pretty good looking, too? Well, he is. Now the weird stuff. He knows everything about me. Literally. How, you ask? He's from the future. That's right, I said the future.
He says he died five years from now and some higher power sent him back in time to relive his life in order to help me in my Slaying. Which I've been roped into again. See below for details.
He knows about Mr. Gordo, which no one outside my family does. So he must have been, or will be, a really close friend. Maybe more. He gave me a pep talk today that seemed very boyfriend-y. I could see myself dating him, I think. In fact, he might be the perfect guy to date. He probably knows all my foibles, likes, dislikes, etc. And the biggie, he knows about the whole Chosen One deal. Of course, the 'getting-to-know-you' portion of the relationship would be pretty one-sided, though.
All of this, though, depends on whether the world ends tomorrow night. And we're back to the weirdness. Turns out Sunnydale is just crawling with vamps, and their boss is trying to open a gateway to hell. Which would be bad, according to my new Watcher. Yup, it's a British one, again. And he wears tweed. And he's boring as hell. Yippee.
Anyway, tonight I met Xander at this night club, the Bronze, which is pretty much the only one in Sunnydale. He told me to wear something nice, I thought it was just his hormones talking. But, like I said, he's good looking, so I did. It turned out he just wanted me to be eye candy so I could pick up one of the two vamps we were there to take care of. His plan worked, though, and I dusted mine, while he brought his vamp out to the slaughter. Unfortunately, I haven't trained in months, and the bitca almost beat me. Almost, I say, because Xander saved me and staked vamp-slut where I couldn't. Well, he has been doing this for five years, he said, so he can take care of himself. This is doing nothing to lessen his appeal.
Of course, our timing couldn't have been worse. Willow and Jesse walked up just as Xander staked vamp-chicky, and they saw her explode into ashes. Then there was the normal stunned disbelief. Y'know, the whole 'vampires don't exist' 'spiel. Eventually, we calmed them down, and we'll explain the whole deal to them tomorrow. Xander said that Willow was one of those 'through thick and thin' friends he said I'd have. Jesse ... well, Xander says probably, but he doesn't know for sure. Mainly because Jesse wasn't supposed to survive past tonight, so my time-traveling friend says. But, that's his mission statement: save people that are doomed to die. Worked well tonight.
All right, it's almost one in the morning now, and I've got a big day tomorrow, saving the world and all. So, that's it for now.
BAS
*~*~*
Satisfied, Buffy closed her journal and slid it back underneath the mattress. Turning off her bedside lamp, she soon drifted off into a nightmare-filled sleep.
* * * * *
January 7, 1997
1:00 AM
The Master's Lair
The few minions of the vampire known as the Master unlucky enough to be on duty in his cavern this night were terrified almost out of their minds. Leaving without his permission was an insult punished by an excruciating, drawn out death under normal circumstances. And circumstances were anything but normal. But remaining, considering his current mood, was almost as risky. One of his more trusted minions, Colin, had come baring bad news. He was now a pile of dust in front of the Master's throne.
One of the minions flinched as a candle holder hit the wall a few inches from his head, thrown by a very incensed Master. Since he had arisen from his enforced limbo just five hours before, very little good news had come his way. His promised offerings of young blood were not obtained. There was a Slayer in town to possibly thwart his rising and the return of the Old Ones. And now, his favored childe was dead.
The Master scattered various pots off a table in the corner of his cavern, before lifting a taloned fist and smashing it with a furious roar. The wooden boards broke as easily as a toothpick under his wrath. Never in his seven centuries of existence had he been this enraged. Darla had been his favorite. Luke was probably the strongest of his childe, but he was always subservient. He rarely showed initiative and was even more fanatical to their cause than the Master himself.
But Darla. Darla had had the gaul to walk out on her own sire. Despite what he'd said at the time, he was proud that he had such an independent childe. She had gone off with Angelus and made a name for herself. The Scourge of Europe. The most feared band of vampires in history. It made a father proud.
She'd returned to the fold, of course, though half a century later than he'd expected. It was no matter. Darla had become a force to be reckoned with because of her travels. She had feasted on the blood of two Slayers in that time, and taken the lives of thousands. She'd spread his family to all corners of the earth, creating some of the world's most dreaded vampires.
"And now, she has been slain by a mere child!!" the Master bellowed. Colin had told him that much before the Master had taken his un-life in a blind rage, ripping his head off his body. "A boy whose life is meaningless! Whose life blood I could drain from him in an instant! He has taken from me my favored childe!?" he raved. Grabbing a piece of shattered wood from the ground, he lunged at the nearest minion, stabbing him through his chest. The trembling vampire burst into ashes instantly.
Dropping the shard, the Master fell to his knees, still shaking in fury and grief. He knew what had to be done. What he had always done when his childe were slain in the past. He would seek vengeance. In the rare occasions he had ventured up from underground, it had been to seek murderers of his family. His old lair in England he had adorned with the skulls of those that killed his childe. Heads he had ripped off personally in retribution for his fallen family members. The bones of a dozen Slayers had decorated his walls.
He had left that behind when he had come to America sixty years before, thinking he would have no need for such prizes when he ruled over the world. Then that cursed earthquake had struck, just as his moment of triumph had arrived. He'd become trapped, in a house of worship, as vile a punishment as he could imagine. But this was worse. Being stuck underground, while Darla's killer walked free, was gut-wrenching. He swore that the first thing he would do upon his ascension would be to find this Alexander. Find him and torture him in ways his feeble mind could never comprehend. He would torture those he loved. He would destroy them before his eyes. Make him beg for death. Then allow him to heal and break him again. But before that could be done, other tasks needed to be carried out. His ascension to god hood, for instance.
"Luke!" the Master called out. "We must prepare..."
* * * * *
January 7, 1997
11:40 AM
SHS Library
Xander walked into the library alone, and found that he was the last to arrive for their little pow-wow. Willow was pacing anxiously in front of the counter, while Jesse sat on the table, with Giles looking on, frowning at the improper use of his table. Oh, man. Giles is gonna freak. Jesse is just as annoying as I was. OK, am. It'll be like there's two of me
He could hear dull thumps from somewhere out of his sight, and decided Buffy was working over a punching bag in the training area. She was probably feeling less than confident about her martial arts skills after her close call with Darla the night before.
The quiet squeak of the swing doors attracted the attention of the others, and their heads snapped up to look at Xander. He just smiled at his friends. "Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late. I kinda fell asleep during Math, and Mr. Garrison decided to give me a talkin' to."
"Well, if you weren't up all night running an errand," Willow said with irritation. "you would have had to sleep in class." Xander winced at the comment. Willow was pissed. Coming from this Willow - shy, quiet Willow - it was the equivalent of a severe tongue lashing by anyone else. She felt betrayed. He, Willow and Jesse had always shared everything, and she thought he had kept this big secret from her. Luckily, he was saved from answering by Jesse chuckling.
"Jeez, Wills, you don't need to be tired to fall asleep in Mr. Garrison's class," he said with a grin. It earned him a mild glare from Willow.
Well Xander thought. Jesse's already stepping into my old role. Makin' with the jokes to ease the tension
Buffy walked into the library's main room just then, toweling a little sweat off her forehead. She smiled when she saw him. "Hey, Xand."
"Whassup Buff?" Xander said. "What did that poor punching bag ever do to you?"
"It started it," she insisted. "Said this outfit makes my ankles look fat. What do you think?" she asked with a twirl, giving him an all-aspect view of her.
Who are you and what have you done with Buffy? This is shameless flirting! With me!
Xander! OK, time to do the insightful reassurance thing
Looking in her eyes, he spoke seriously. "Don't worry, Buff. You'll kick his ass."
She went a little wide-eyed, but then smiled gratefully at him. Out of the corner of his eye, Xander caught Willow looking on sadly, and realized this little Buffy-Xander moment playing out in front of her was hurting her. He really needed to figure out how to resolve that situation, sooner rather than later.
Giles cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him. "If we could, I'd like to get this over with. I still have some researching to do regarding this-this Harvest affair."
Xander and Buffy sat on one side of the table, Jesse and Willow on the other, with Giles at its head. He launched into a familiar lecture, to Xander, at least. Demons ruled the earth ... they were forced out ... last demon mixed his blood with a human. Willow was listening with rapt attention; she'd always been a sponge when it came to new information - she absorbed it quickly. Jesse was bored; he liked lectures as much as Xander did.
"...now," Giles continued. "As long as there has been vampires, there has been the Slayer. One
girl in all the world, the Chosen One."
"They love to do this part," Buffy put in, much to Giles' annoyance.
"All right. The Slayer hunts vampires, Buffy is the Slayer. Don't tell anyone. That is all the vampire information you need." he finished.
"One question," Jesse put up his hand. "How do you kill 'em?"
Sighing, Giles answered. "Well, a wooden stake through the heart is fatal, as is decapitation," Willow squirmed at that, "incineration, and sunlight. Crosses, garlic and holy water burn and repel vampires, but they heal quickly."
"OK," Willow said. "That explains how Buffy is involved in this," she turned her eyes to Xander. "but, Xander, how did you know about vampires?"
Xander had not been looking forward to this. Telling your life long friends that you weren't exactly who they thought you were couldn't be received well by said friends. Xander decided to go into as much detail as possible to explain his presence here; he hadn't really given an adequate answer to Buffy and Giles, so now was a good time for specifics. Taking a deep breath, Xander started with the always popular, "I'm from the future..."
Xander explained for the next ten minutes everything that happened to him in the last (to him) two days. His death, leaving out who his killer was and what he'd been doing that night. Waking up in the white world. Talking with Whistler. Explaining about the shifting Balance between good and evil, leaving out the specifics. The three tragedies he was sent to prevent, though he didn't tell his friends what they were. Accepting the responsibilities and the consequences of his mission. And finally, waking up in his room on Sunday night.
By the time he'd finished, the four other people in the room were in open-mouthed shock. Giles was in awe of the scale of Xander's involvement in the grand game between good and evil. Buffy was stunned at the responsibilities that Xander had willingly taken on his shoulders, even with the damnation failure would bring. To her, it was like accepting the burden of being the Slayer, but with far worse consequences in the end. For Willow and Jesse, the shock came from the fact that the goofy friend they'd known all their lives had lived a whole other life, and had, in fact, grown up. His serious tone and self-confident attitude during his speech was proof enough of that. They'd never seen that in him before.
"Why?" Buffy asked in wonder. "Why would you willingly take on that much responsibility? When, if you screw up y-you go to hell?"
Because if I didn't, the demon in your body was going to kill everyone I love Xander couldn't say. Instead, he just shrugged it off. "I was dead. What else was I going to do with my time?" Buffy was getting ready for an angry retort, but Xander interrupted. "Look! It doesn't matter why. I had my own reasons, that I'd really like to NOT discuss with anyone at the moment. What's done is done. I'll deal."
"Giles," Xander said, snapping the older man out of his trance. "Have you confirmed what I told you about the Harvest?"
"What?" the Watcher asked, still distracted. "Oh, oh, yes. I-I've found several references t-to apocalyptic prophecies for the first crescent moon after the winter solstice, which is tonight. It was as you said. The-the Master vampire can break free by drawing power from one of his minions while it feeds," Giles looked around the library for something, and his eyes fell on a book on the circulation desk. He walked over to get it, flipping through pages as he returned to the four students sitting around the table. Finding what he was looking for, the librarian laid the book on the table for them to see. It showed a three-pointed star. "The vessel, as the minion is called, bears this symbol."
"So, I just dust the vamp sporting this, and no Harvest?" Buffy asked, wanting to be sure.
"Simply put, yes," Giles confirmed.
"So, any idea where this little get together is being held?" Buffy wondered next.
"The Bronze," Xander said simply. "Plenty of defenseless teenagers to snack on."
Buffy and Giles nodded at the logic of that, plus the fact that Xander knew exactly where it
would be held in advance. Turning to Willow and Jesse, Xander smiled his lop-sided grin, and asked,
"So, you guys want to help save the world?"