TITLE:
Slayer's Knight 18 AUTHOR: STEPHEN HOWE
E-MAIL:
sh01@bigpond.com.au
FEEDBACK:
Sure.
DISTRIBUTION:
Ask and ye shall receive!
DISCLAIMER:
All characters belong to Joss! He created everything! Set in season 6.Some spoilers but mostly AU. Xander has
discovered his destiny only to have it ripped away from him. Dawn is still here
.Set just after the battle with Glory REPAYING AN OLD DEBT. The horde split driving a wedge
between those that stood by Xander and the rest of the defenders. They attacked
from all sides giving no quater and asking for none. Xander's mind was set to
one thing and one thing only. Kill the leader before he fell. Buffy and Faith
tried to keep the other Wendol from reaching Xander but they were soon involved
in their own fight for life. Buffy heard a howl and saw Xander decapitate
another Wendol as he marched unnervingly towards his goal. The leader kept moving,
backpeddleing from the insane berserker that was advancing on him like some
sort of killing machine. Xander felt himself beginning to weaken as
the first rush of endorphins faded from his body. He was running on all the
memories of the soldier and those of how Buffy fought. Suddenly the sky lit up
like a July 4th extravaganza and the angry sounds of attack helicopters filled
the campus grounds. Buffy shouts out. " They've done it! The council is
through!" Willow and Tara pause in their efforts at
defending the redoubt to smile at one another but the Wendol, realizing all was
lost, renewed their efforts to avenge their doom on the humans that brought them
down. They threw themselves at the redoubt with suicidal efforts and the people
outside the sandbagged building were hard pressed to defend themselves. Three
beasts attacked Xander at the same time and he brushes two aside, dropping the
leader on to the ground. The leader growled." Today you will Huuman!" Xander watches
the other Wendol encircle him, freeing up Buffy and the others. He laughs then prepares
himself. " Today is a good day to DIE!" He thrusts the sword into its chest and
draws back to give the killing blow. Buffy dealt with the Wendol closest to her
and turned to see how Xander was going, then time seemed to slow. She could see
all his being was concentrated on taking the head of the last leader of the
Wendol. She tried to cry out a warning as a Wendol thrust it's clawed hand down
at Xander's unprotected back. She saw he could see the beast but to stop would
ensure the leader would struggle out of their trap. He braced for the impact of
the strike as he brought the old blade down, cutting through sinew and muscle
before cutting through the bone and imbedding into the soft earth. As the blade's edge made first contact the
leader cried out a high pitched squeal that brought the surviving Wendol to a
stand still. Xander grinned at the monster's pain and was about to share his
thoughts when he felt the claws of the attacking beast dig deep into his back.
He still drove the sword until it bit into the soft earth and Xander cried
out." DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Xander ripped the sword from the ground's
hold and swung it round severing the head of the beast causing it to pull its
blood soaked claw from Xander's back. Xander cried out a victory roar then
carried on, driving the Wendol back. They fled into the forest and were hunted
down by the attack helicopters. Everyone
cheered and held their weapons up high. Buffy searched frantically for Xander
then saw Faith kneeling in front of him as he sat on some scattered sandbags. She
grinned at Faith then recoiled in horror as she saw the look on her face."
NO!" Buffy screamed out as she ran, followed by the others, to stand in
front of Xander. His head was covered in blood, as was his uniform. The lovely
black hair was matted to the side of his face and blood slowly dripped from his
mouth. Buffy
dropped the sword and fell to his side and began working on his wounds her mind
blanking out the fact he never made a sound until Giles placed a hand on her
shoulder. " Buffy... He's gone..." He stepped back as she spat the words at him.
" He's not! He'll be fine we just need to stop all the blood from leaving
his body!" She checked his pulse and then laid him down on the ground and commenced
CPR." Come on Xander! Don't you leave me here all alone!" She tried
to remember her first aid classes and kept up the regimen of breaths and
compressions. " Come on Xand you did this for me and I came back...
Remember?" Riley
signalled the medics to hurry as the others shook their heads." Come on
god dammit!" She started the compressions again and kept shouting at him. "Do
you hear me? Get your lazy ass up now Harris!" Xander watched her efforts from above them. He
was standing on a hill of green grass as Joyce tells him. " Why don't you
go back you know it's not your time." Xander shook his head. " The Host told
me I was born to be sacrificed. I was named for the protector of man. He said I
would die like this so I guess I finally have." "
Damn it Xander! Haven't you learned anything? The Codex also said my daughter
would die at the hands of the Master but she looks pretty alive to me." Xander
looked down. " She looks pissed!" " Then you had better get down
there." Buffy was getting madder by the
minute." Come on live for me! For us! For our life together. Come on live!
I came back for you the least you could do is come back for me!" Suddenly his eyes blink and Buffy checks his
pulse." It's weak but it's there! Come on Xander please fight it! Fight
death as much as you fought the enemy!" Xander blinked faster and mumbled."
Nag, nag, nag! I hope you're not going to be as bad when we're
married!" END OF 18