The Following TV Series or books have been included in the story.
Disclaimers appear at the end with the cast list.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Angel the Series
Highlander Adam 12
Louis Lamour's The First Fast Draw
Full Disclaimer listed on First Part of the Story
Last Part
Part 6
Xander's Apartment
Sunnydale Ca.
July 11th 2002, 9:25 PM.
He started walking, not really paying much attention to where he was going, and found himself out in front of one of Sunnydale's numerous cemeteries. Shaking his head, he walked in and headed toward Spike's crypt, just to check whether he had returned yet.
~~~~~**********~~~~~
Buffy had covered most of the small town so far in her search for Xander, and now that it was dark she was beginning to think about checking the cemeteries. Though she was sure Xander was in no condition to go vamp hunting, she was concerned about his attitude, and was fearful that he might be looking for trouble.
As she neared Clearview Cemetery, she was surprised when a familiar car pulled up along side of her.
"Did you find him yet?" Asked Angel through the open window.
"No, and I've been all over town so far. I was just going to check the cemeteries to see if he was trying to patrol or something," Buffy replied.
Angel pulled into the parking area and he and Cordelia got out of his car.
"I didn't think he would even be able to walk yet," Cordelia said, in a concerned tone.
"Well, the doctor said he was healing remarkably fast, and he seemed pretty good when he got out of the hospital…" Buffy said, almost as if she was trying to convince herself.
Angel started to respond to her when his vampiric hearing picked up the sounds of a scuffle coming from the cemetery. And he noted, judging from the look on Buffy's face, so did she. But before they could head that way, there came a blood curdling high-pitched scream that everyone heard.
They all looked at each other then took off running.
~~~~~**********~~~~~
As he neared the crypt, Xander was surprised to find himself suddenly accosted by several vampires.
"Hey look, it's the Slayer's jester, without the slayer to protect him," one of them said.
Xander shook his head, smiling back at the vamps. \\ Time to see how well I learned. //
"Come on, guys, do you really want to do this? I mean cleaning dust off of leather is so expensive nowadays. At least, let me take my jacket off," Xander asked.
"Sure, go right ahead," one of his would-be assailants said sarcastically.
Xander stuck a stake in his back pocket and held on to another as he laid his jacket carefully on a headstone. Turning back to the vampires, he relaxed and prepared himself to just react.
The first vamp to rush him was met with a front heel kick to the knee, breaking it, and followed by a palm strike to the chin, breaking the jaw and snapping teeth. As the vamp started to fall, Xander staked him, leaving the dust to float over the other vamps.
The vamps looked down at the settling dust and were dumbfounded; rumor had it that this guy mostly hurt himself.
Two of the vamps looked at each other, and then charged him at once, intending to simultaneously attack from two sides. Xander followed their every movement and struck with such speed and strength that the two vamps were caught flat-footed.
Moving quickly, Xander launched a high roundhouse kick to the chin of the tallest one, stunning him, and followed it up with a hard straight right handed punch to the center of the chest of the other one. The punch connected with enough force that the sound of bones breaking was clearly audible to all. Swinging around, he unleashed a spinning back kick that snapped the first vamp's head to the side. Unable to reach the vamp's chest to stake him, he stabbed quickly upward with the sharpened piece of wood and caught the vampire in the crotch.
The scream that erupted from the vampire's mouth made the hair on Xander's neck stand up, and caused a shiver to run down his spine. He was startled for a second, giving one of the as-yet-uninjured vamps time to knock him down.
He rolled and came to his feet quickly, and found himself facing an Asian vampire who was twirling a pair of nunchuks around. The vamp made a couple of clumsy attacks with the Chinese martial arts weapon, and then was surprised when Xander pulled them out of his hands.
"Here, let me show how these should be used," the former Zeppo grinned at his attacker.
Standing in front of the astounded vamp Xander proceeded to demonstrate the proper way to use the weapon Bruce Lee made famous.
Buffy and Angel were running towards the sound of the fight and had swung around an aged Mausoleum when they were presented with Xander's demonstration.
The polished wood of the nunchuks flashed in the moonlight and made a whirring sound as they spun over his shoulders and around his body. Before this moment, Buffy had only seen something like this in an old Bruce Lee movie. Now she was watching her best friend display an aptitude she had never seen before. Angel and Cordelia both watched in awe as the weapon twirled in the hands of what could only be described as a master.
As the eyes of the vamp who had previously owned the weapons followed them as they flew through the air, obviously in the control of an expert, he was then treated to the feel of them being used by that same expert. The hard wooden handles, tipped with brass fittings, slammed into his head several times, first knocking him back, and then to his knees. Producing a stake from his back pocket with a flourish, Xander reached out and staked him, putting him out of his misery.
He then turned to face the remaining four vampires and grinned evilly.
"Next?" he asked.
The vamp that had managed to remove the stake from his crotch was still almost insane from the pain that inflicted on him and he foolishly charged right in. The sound of the nunchucks impacting against the side of his head sounded like someone pounding on a coconut with a mallet, and he was rocked back, stunned. But this time, the stake did not miss, and the vampire turned to dust as the sharpened chunk of pine entered his heart.
The surviving three bloodsuckers immediately decided that Xander was not worth the danger and they decided to run for it.
Two of them unknowingly headed toward Buffy and Angel, while the third headed toward Xander at first, then, realizing his mistake, veered away, heading to the back of the cemetery. Buffy stepped out and clothes-lined the closest one, and staked him as he landed on his back. Angel tripped the one who was nearest him and casually swung the sword he was carrying through its neck as it struggled to get up.
Both then turned to watch Xander throw the stake in his hand with enough power and accuracy to dust the last vamp as he ran.
Xander walked over to his jacket and put it on, then leisurely headed toward Buffy, Angel and Cordelia, to face the lecture he was certain he was going to get.
"That was pretty impressive, Xander," the Slayer began. "Where in the hell did you learn to do that, and how did you heal up so fast that you could go patrolling after just getting out of the hospital?" she demanded, a mixture of concern, worry and amazement in her eyes.
"I'm a Pentagram Guardian now, Buffy. If you want the full story, ask Giles. Give me a lift back to the store and he'll fill you in," Xander said flatly, no emotion at all in his voice.
When he said 'Pentagram Guardian,' Angel's jaw dropped. The Oracles had informed him recently that they would be appearing over the next several months.
"You've heard of them, Angel?" Cordelia asked, seeing his reaction.
"Yeah, the Pentagram Guardians are prophesied to be a team of immortal warriors who will protect the world from the increasing forces of darkness. They are supposed to be five pairs of warriors, each pair with their own strengths and powers," he said, his voice trailing off as he looked toward Xander.
The four former Slayerettes started back to the Magic Box, but were interrupted by Cordelia. "Drop me off at my parents Angel, my dad is in town and I haven't seen him for quite a while. You can pick me up on the way back. And don't forget any of the details, I'm going to want to hear everything." She ordered.
When they got to the store Xander immediately headed for his room and locked the door behind him. Buffy and Angel heard the full story from Giles, and the L.A. based hero was preparing to leave when Whistler made an unexpected appearance.
"Hey, Rupes, got a message for you from the PTB," the fashion-victim demon said as he appeared out of thin air.
Giles pulled his glasses off and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
"I told you to stop calling me that," he growled.
Whistler then looked over toward the door and saw Buffy and the souled vamp standing there watching.
"Crap," he mumbled.
Buffy stalked over to him and got into his face.
"What's the deal here Whistler? What did Xander have to give up to get this?" She demanded.
Whistler just looked at her in shock.
"Why you arrogant child!" Whistler started. "Why is it that you, Buffy the almighty Vampire Slayer, expect that you have a right to be told everything?" He blasted.
Buffy and Angel both backed off and winced.
"Xander Harris was one of five male children born in this world with the potential of becoming the leader of the Pentagram Guardians. He alone, out of all five, lived his life with courage, honor and the qualities necessary to be the one who was chosen," Whistler explained. "Not that it's really any of your business, blondie."
"But.." began Buffy.
"No buts about it girl, when the rest of you called him the Zeppo, he endured. When you ignored him when you went to college, he persevered. When you tried to exclude him from your lives, he survived. When one of you lost it and tried to end the world, he saved it. And according to my count, that kid," he said gesturing to the back room, "has saved the world three times on his own, and several more by helping you," the Balance Demon added..
"Okay, I know about the one, when he stopped Willow, but what about the other two you mentioned?" Buffy asked, confused.
"He kept Faith from being killed by one of the 'Sister's of Jhe', pinning the demon to a wall with his car, so she could kill it. The other time was on the same night. While you and your all-so-powerful friends were all fighting to keep the Hellmouth closed, he prevented a bomb from being set off in the boiler room of the school, which would have killed you two and everyone else in the room directly above it. I would consider that not too shabby for a regular guy."
Buffy looked at her feet, and gave every appearance of being ashamed.
"I would say that everything he has done since knowing you has given him all the qualities to be a hero. Don't you, Buffy?" Whistler asked softly as he faded out.
Buffy walked over to the door and left, saying nothing. Angel started to follow, but a word from Giles stopped him.
"Give her some time to accept this, Angel. It is a bit to take in all at once," he said.
"I will. I was just going to stop and pickup Cordelia and head home before daylight. If you need us for anything, give us a call," Angel said, before heading out to his car.
Giles, left alone, closed up shop and headed for his own home.
~~~~~**********~~~~~
When Giles returned to open the store in the morning, he found it already open and Xander working out in the practice room.
From the look of things, he had made several sales already, the money being under the counter, together with a detailed note of the price and tax charged.
When Giles went back to thank him, he was stunned to find Xander moving fluidly through an unknown Kata. Every move was poetry in motion, his movements smooth and graceful. Though not familiar with this particular style, Gules could see that Xander was a master.
"Oh, hey Giles. Morning. Uhhh, I opened for you when I saw a couple waiting outside. I kept track of everything for you and the money is under the counter," he said.
"Thank you, Xander. I appreciate it," Giles smiled. "I was just watching your kata. It was beautiful. Could I ask who your teacher was?" asked Giles.
"Bruce Lee," Said Xander with a straight face.
Very well, Xander. If you don't want me to know, you don't have to tell me, but don't make things up," Giles said, rather stiffly.
"I'm not kidding, Giles. It really was Bruce Lee. I learned several things from him, including Jeet Kun Do, and Kung Fu," Xander answered proudly. "He and several other people visited me while I slept and taught me a lot of things when I was in the hospital," he explained. "It all has to do with the Pentagram Guardians."
"Amazing," Giles said, "Who else did you meet, if you don't mind my asking?" he continued.
"I'd rather just wait and explain everything to everyone at one time," Xander answered, as he began to towel off.
With a reluctant nod of agreement, Giles turned and headed back into the store.
Xander headed to the shower, where he cleaned up and shaved, then dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. When he entered the shop again, he found Giles looking for him.
"Xander, there is a certified courier out here with a delivery, and you have to provide ID and sign for it," Giles informed him.
"Thanks, G-Man," Xander called back as he jogged to the front of the store.
He signed for the package after providing his ID and walked to the big conference table where he sat down. Opening the hard envelope, he slid the Visa card out onto the table, along with the open envelope containing the letter of credit. He read it over and then handed it to Giles, and asked him to keep it in a safe place.
"Xander, this is a letter of credit for five million dollars," gasped Giles.
"Hmmm, Uhhhmmm, yes it is, and I would like you to keep it safe for me," said Xander, who was reading another letter that had been included in the envelope.
A bit perturbed that he was getting no explanation, Giles stood in front of Xander and shook the letter.
"Xander, what is this all about, and where did this money come from?" he demanded.
Xander looked over the top of the letter he was reading and noticed how irritated Giles really was.
"It's money that the PTB provided access to in order to establish the 'Guardians'. I don't know where all of it came from, but I was told that it was from war criminals that died before they could make use of it. Other criminals and drug dealers, who hid their profits away in off-shore banks and could no longer make use of their hidden bank accounts, also provided some portions of it," he explained.
"How did you come into possession of such codes?" Asked Giles.
"Jesse gave them to me, and made sure that I would remember them," Xander said sadly.
Giles backed down and looked upon the young man who now carried a heavy burden, all of it for Buffy's sake. He got up and carried the letter behind the counter and dropped it in the safe, then turned back to find Xander getting up and putting his coat on.
"Giles, you got five bucks I can borrow for bus fare? I'll pay you back tonight. All I have right now is this credit card and that letter. I'll get some cash today," Xander promised.
Giles had to chuckle as he pulled his wallet out; Xander had millions of dollars at his disposal, but still had to borrow bus fare.
~~~~~**********~~~~~
Xander sat alone in the back of the bus as it traveled to Oxnard. Up front was an older couple out for a day trip and several younger adults heading to work, but back here he was alone with his thoughts.
He had planned the day out carefully. First, a trip to Oxnard was on the agenda. This is where Cal Coast Motorsports is located.
He was going to buy a motorcycle there, something inside him pushing him toward the Italian maker Aprilia. \\ Hmm, must be George Badon's influence, // he reflected.
Though he had no direct memories of the people who had shared their abilities with him, he sometimes felt that he was picking up traits and habits of theirs. That was a bit confusing, but he fully expected he would get over it.
When he saw the dealership he wanted, he reached up and pulled the cord to signal the driver to stop. After getting off the bus and stretching for a moment, he walked up the street into the dealer's main sales room. Xander noticed several sales people standing around, and near the back he saw a slightly shy young woman, who looked uncomfortable. Walking up to her, he asked.
"Are you one of the sales people here?"
"Yes, my name is Sandi, can I help you?" She replied.
"What can you show me in an Aprilia?" Xander asked.
"Sport or Touring?" Asked the young woman.
"Touring, I think," he replied.
The two walked to the far side of the showroom and she led him to a sleek black motorcycle. Standing beside it as Xander straddled it, the young woman began describing the various features of the bike.
"This is a Futura 1000, it has a four stroke, longitudinal 60° V twin, liquid cooled with 3 way pressurized circuit double radiator, 6 speed gearbox, and standard electric starter."
"I'll take it," Xander said, smiling at the sales woman.
"You'll take it, just like that?" she asked.
"Yep," he replied smiling.
They returned to her desk where she then called the sales manager.
"Mr. Harris here wants the Futura 1000, and he would like to take it as soon as possible," she said.
"You can have it as soon as the financing is cleared, sir," replied the manager.
"Just put it on my Visa," said Xander, handing him the card.
"Excuse me sir, the down payment?" asked the confused manager.
"No, just total everything up and charge it to my card," Xander replied, smirking at the confused man.
As the manager scurried away, Xander turned to the young woman who was filling out the paperwork.
"Your first sale?" he asked.
"Yes, and I have been so scared that I would never get one," she answered.
"Never let anyone tell you anything, and have more confidence. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I picked you because you had the technical manuals on your desk, not sales awards. And you looked like you needed a break." Xander explained to her.
"Thank you. Making this sale has helped me out a lot, especially after seeing Mr. Randolph so surprised," she smiled at him.
The sales manager returned and handed the young woman the card.
"Go ahead and run it. Mr. Harris has a six figure purchase limit, so write up the sale, the prep team is getting it ready," he said.
"Did you need anything else, Mr. Harris?" Sandi asked.
"Yes, a helmet for myself, and one other for passengers," he told her. "Mine in black, and the other in dark gray, please."
The saleswoman wrote up the purchases and one of the other sales people brought the helmets to him. He tried his on and found that it fit perfectly. He signed all the paperwork, the credit card slip and walked out to his new bike. Putting the helmet on and starting it up, he accelerated out into traffic.
As Xander flew down the highway toward Sunnydale, he wondered what Buffy would think of it.
~~~~~**********~~~~~
Brubaker Construction
Sunnydale Ca.
July 12th 2002, 12:05 PM
Xander slowed the bike and pulled into the construction yard. Pulling up to the trailer, he pulled off his helmet and parked the bike. Seeing the foreman over near the building entrance, he walked over to him.
"Hey Matt, how's it going?" Xander said, offering his hand.
"Not too good, Xan. We're shutting down the site, so if you came back for your job, you're out of luck," Matt informed him.
"What happened?" Xander asked
"The company financing the construction went bankrupt. We're eighty percent complete here, and they pulled the plug," Matt explained.
"Is the boss here?"
"Yea, he's in the trailer trying to cancel some orders," Matt pointed to the main trailer.
Xander nodded his thanks, then jogged over to the trailer and went in without knocking. He found Jim Brubaker sitting at his desk, holding his head. He looked up when Xander entered, a dejected look on his face.
"Hey, Harris. I hope you not looking for your job back," he said glumly.
"I heard what's going on, Jim. How bad is it?" Xander asked his old friend.
"Pretty bad," Jim admitted. "The funding's shut down, and I am as deep into this as it gets, since I also own the land. It was supposed to be a package deal for the funding corporation, and they were going to purchase the land from me on completion. I can get control of what is done so far, but I am so deep in debt that I can't afford to finish the building, and can't afford to not finish it. Unless I can find some backing somewhere, I'm probably going to have to shut down and lay everyone off. It may even go as far as the company having to file for bankruptcy," Jim explained sadly.
"I'm sorry, Jim, I didn't know it was anywhere near that bad," Xander said softy.
"Not your fault, Harris. I stuck my neck out and, now it may actually get lopped off."
"How far are you from completion?" Xander asked.
"Pretty close, actually. The first floor is divided and the parking garage is almost done, but the other five floors are still completely open inside, since we were waiting on final details from the companies that were going to lease. Four of the six originally signed have gone belly up as well, and the others are delaying, they don't want to move into a empty shell," Jim explained.
Xander got up and walked over to the plans and looked them over.
\\ This just might be the answer, // he thought to himself, as he examined the blueprints. \\ We can lease out the first floor as originally intended, and put in the legitimate part of the security agency on the second. I can check with Giles on my idea to use the rest of the space on that floor. Then the armory and workout area can go on the third, apartments on the fourth, command center on the fifth, garden and barbeque on the roof. Hmmmm, maybe. //
He turned back to his old boss and friend and began getting more detailed information.
"Jim, how much would it take to finish this building, with some modifications, of course?" he asked.
"Harris, I don't know what you are thinking, but you can't help by getting me all hopeful here," Jim replied.
"Look Jim, I have a friend looking to invest in a place. The building he's currently looking at needs some heavy modifications, and a new building would be perfect. This partially complete state makes it even better. He will probably want to purchase the rest of the block as well. You do own it, right?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, I own it." Jim paused, thinking things out. He sat down and scribbled a few figures, then looked back up at Xander.
"Look Harris, I have this building here, two other leased buildings on this lot, the detail shop next door, who is vacating next month, and Malloy's Performance Center. If I include them, and the modifications aren't too extensive, you're looking in the neighborhood of twelve mill, plus the costs for any extra additions that might come up," Jim said flatly.
"Sounds reasonable to me. Look Jim, I really think we can get this deal made, if you trust me. I can probably arrange to have the funds transferred in the next few days. How about we meet here in the morning, with your attorney present to go over the details?" Xander offered.
"Harris, I do trust you. Up to a point. Twelve million dollars is a lot of money to gamble on just your say so," Jim said uncertainly. "We're talking about everything I own here," he pointed out.
"True," Xander agreed. "So here, call the credit verification center and ask them what the limit is on this card," Xander suggested, handing Jim his new Visa card.
Xander walked back over to the plans and looked them over again. \\ Hmm. I'll need Willow to look these over, and see if she knows someone to put in a communications and computer center. We can do the same for Giles if he wants to go into a new business. Maybe we can move the Magic Box here as well; it'll be closer and safer. //
"Damn kid, I don't know who your friends are, but you've got a deal," Jim said as he handed the card back to Xander. "I am so relieved to be able to finish this. This was going to be my step up to the next level of construction. You've saved me from ruin, Xander." he smiled.
Xander left the trailer, promising to be back the next morning around 10:00. He got on the bike, intending to head back to the store when he impulsively decided to check out Malloy's Performance Center. After parking the bike out front and entering the shop, he felt a buzzing in his head that he knew had to be the result of another immortal in close proximity.
Glancing at the counter in the back of the store, he saw a youthful looking man holding a sword.
"My name is Pete Malloy. I'm not looking for a fight, but I'll be glad to give you one if you are!"
TBC
Disclaimers appear at the end with the cast list.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Angel the Series
Highlander Adam 12
Louis Lamour's The First Fast Draw
Full Disclaimer listed on First Part of the Story
Last Part
Part 6
Xander's Apartment
Sunnydale Ca.
July 11th 2002, 9:25 PM.
He started walking, not really paying much attention to where he was going, and found himself out in front of one of Sunnydale's numerous cemeteries. Shaking his head, he walked in and headed toward Spike's crypt, just to check whether he had returned yet.
~~~~~**********~~~~~
Buffy had covered most of the small town so far in her search for Xander, and now that it was dark she was beginning to think about checking the cemeteries. Though she was sure Xander was in no condition to go vamp hunting, she was concerned about his attitude, and was fearful that he might be looking for trouble.
As she neared Clearview Cemetery, she was surprised when a familiar car pulled up along side of her.
"Did you find him yet?" Asked Angel through the open window.
"No, and I've been all over town so far. I was just going to check the cemeteries to see if he was trying to patrol or something," Buffy replied.
Angel pulled into the parking area and he and Cordelia got out of his car.
"I didn't think he would even be able to walk yet," Cordelia said, in a concerned tone.
"Well, the doctor said he was healing remarkably fast, and he seemed pretty good when he got out of the hospital…" Buffy said, almost as if she was trying to convince herself.
Angel started to respond to her when his vampiric hearing picked up the sounds of a scuffle coming from the cemetery. And he noted, judging from the look on Buffy's face, so did she. But before they could head that way, there came a blood curdling high-pitched scream that everyone heard.
They all looked at each other then took off running.
~~~~~**********~~~~~
As he neared the crypt, Xander was surprised to find himself suddenly accosted by several vampires.
"Hey look, it's the Slayer's jester, without the slayer to protect him," one of them said.
Xander shook his head, smiling back at the vamps. \\ Time to see how well I learned. //
"Come on, guys, do you really want to do this? I mean cleaning dust off of leather is so expensive nowadays. At least, let me take my jacket off," Xander asked.
"Sure, go right ahead," one of his would-be assailants said sarcastically.
Xander stuck a stake in his back pocket and held on to another as he laid his jacket carefully on a headstone. Turning back to the vampires, he relaxed and prepared himself to just react.
The first vamp to rush him was met with a front heel kick to the knee, breaking it, and followed by a palm strike to the chin, breaking the jaw and snapping teeth. As the vamp started to fall, Xander staked him, leaving the dust to float over the other vamps.
The vamps looked down at the settling dust and were dumbfounded; rumor had it that this guy mostly hurt himself.
Two of the vamps looked at each other, and then charged him at once, intending to simultaneously attack from two sides. Xander followed their every movement and struck with such speed and strength that the two vamps were caught flat-footed.
Moving quickly, Xander launched a high roundhouse kick to the chin of the tallest one, stunning him, and followed it up with a hard straight right handed punch to the center of the chest of the other one. The punch connected with enough force that the sound of bones breaking was clearly audible to all. Swinging around, he unleashed a spinning back kick that snapped the first vamp's head to the side. Unable to reach the vamp's chest to stake him, he stabbed quickly upward with the sharpened piece of wood and caught the vampire in the crotch.
The scream that erupted from the vampire's mouth made the hair on Xander's neck stand up, and caused a shiver to run down his spine. He was startled for a second, giving one of the as-yet-uninjured vamps time to knock him down.
He rolled and came to his feet quickly, and found himself facing an Asian vampire who was twirling a pair of nunchuks around. The vamp made a couple of clumsy attacks with the Chinese martial arts weapon, and then was surprised when Xander pulled them out of his hands.
"Here, let me show how these should be used," the former Zeppo grinned at his attacker.
Standing in front of the astounded vamp Xander proceeded to demonstrate the proper way to use the weapon Bruce Lee made famous.
Buffy and Angel were running towards the sound of the fight and had swung around an aged Mausoleum when they were presented with Xander's demonstration.
The polished wood of the nunchuks flashed in the moonlight and made a whirring sound as they spun over his shoulders and around his body. Before this moment, Buffy had only seen something like this in an old Bruce Lee movie. Now she was watching her best friend display an aptitude she had never seen before. Angel and Cordelia both watched in awe as the weapon twirled in the hands of what could only be described as a master.
As the eyes of the vamp who had previously owned the weapons followed them as they flew through the air, obviously in the control of an expert, he was then treated to the feel of them being used by that same expert. The hard wooden handles, tipped with brass fittings, slammed into his head several times, first knocking him back, and then to his knees. Producing a stake from his back pocket with a flourish, Xander reached out and staked him, putting him out of his misery.
He then turned to face the remaining four vampires and grinned evilly.
"Next?" he asked.
The vamp that had managed to remove the stake from his crotch was still almost insane from the pain that inflicted on him and he foolishly charged right in. The sound of the nunchucks impacting against the side of his head sounded like someone pounding on a coconut with a mallet, and he was rocked back, stunned. But this time, the stake did not miss, and the vampire turned to dust as the sharpened chunk of pine entered his heart.
The surviving three bloodsuckers immediately decided that Xander was not worth the danger and they decided to run for it.
Two of them unknowingly headed toward Buffy and Angel, while the third headed toward Xander at first, then, realizing his mistake, veered away, heading to the back of the cemetery. Buffy stepped out and clothes-lined the closest one, and staked him as he landed on his back. Angel tripped the one who was nearest him and casually swung the sword he was carrying through its neck as it struggled to get up.
Both then turned to watch Xander throw the stake in his hand with enough power and accuracy to dust the last vamp as he ran.
Xander walked over to his jacket and put it on, then leisurely headed toward Buffy, Angel and Cordelia, to face the lecture he was certain he was going to get.
"That was pretty impressive, Xander," the Slayer began. "Where in the hell did you learn to do that, and how did you heal up so fast that you could go patrolling after just getting out of the hospital?" she demanded, a mixture of concern, worry and amazement in her eyes.
"I'm a Pentagram Guardian now, Buffy. If you want the full story, ask Giles. Give me a lift back to the store and he'll fill you in," Xander said flatly, no emotion at all in his voice.
When he said 'Pentagram Guardian,' Angel's jaw dropped. The Oracles had informed him recently that they would be appearing over the next several months.
"You've heard of them, Angel?" Cordelia asked, seeing his reaction.
"Yeah, the Pentagram Guardians are prophesied to be a team of immortal warriors who will protect the world from the increasing forces of darkness. They are supposed to be five pairs of warriors, each pair with their own strengths and powers," he said, his voice trailing off as he looked toward Xander.
The four former Slayerettes started back to the Magic Box, but were interrupted by Cordelia. "Drop me off at my parents Angel, my dad is in town and I haven't seen him for quite a while. You can pick me up on the way back. And don't forget any of the details, I'm going to want to hear everything." She ordered.
When they got to the store Xander immediately headed for his room and locked the door behind him. Buffy and Angel heard the full story from Giles, and the L.A. based hero was preparing to leave when Whistler made an unexpected appearance.
"Hey, Rupes, got a message for you from the PTB," the fashion-victim demon said as he appeared out of thin air.
Giles pulled his glasses off and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
"I told you to stop calling me that," he growled.
Whistler then looked over toward the door and saw Buffy and the souled vamp standing there watching.
"Crap," he mumbled.
Buffy stalked over to him and got into his face.
"What's the deal here Whistler? What did Xander have to give up to get this?" She demanded.
Whistler just looked at her in shock.
"Why you arrogant child!" Whistler started. "Why is it that you, Buffy the almighty Vampire Slayer, expect that you have a right to be told everything?" He blasted.
Buffy and Angel both backed off and winced.
"Xander Harris was one of five male children born in this world with the potential of becoming the leader of the Pentagram Guardians. He alone, out of all five, lived his life with courage, honor and the qualities necessary to be the one who was chosen," Whistler explained. "Not that it's really any of your business, blondie."
"But.." began Buffy.
"No buts about it girl, when the rest of you called him the Zeppo, he endured. When you ignored him when you went to college, he persevered. When you tried to exclude him from your lives, he survived. When one of you lost it and tried to end the world, he saved it. And according to my count, that kid," he said gesturing to the back room, "has saved the world three times on his own, and several more by helping you," the Balance Demon added..
"Okay, I know about the one, when he stopped Willow, but what about the other two you mentioned?" Buffy asked, confused.
"He kept Faith from being killed by one of the 'Sister's of Jhe', pinning the demon to a wall with his car, so she could kill it. The other time was on the same night. While you and your all-so-powerful friends were all fighting to keep the Hellmouth closed, he prevented a bomb from being set off in the boiler room of the school, which would have killed you two and everyone else in the room directly above it. I would consider that not too shabby for a regular guy."
Buffy looked at her feet, and gave every appearance of being ashamed.
"I would say that everything he has done since knowing you has given him all the qualities to be a hero. Don't you, Buffy?" Whistler asked softly as he faded out.
Buffy walked over to the door and left, saying nothing. Angel started to follow, but a word from Giles stopped him.
"Give her some time to accept this, Angel. It is a bit to take in all at once," he said.
"I will. I was just going to stop and pickup Cordelia and head home before daylight. If you need us for anything, give us a call," Angel said, before heading out to his car.
Giles, left alone, closed up shop and headed for his own home.
~~~~~**********~~~~~
When Giles returned to open the store in the morning, he found it already open and Xander working out in the practice room.
From the look of things, he had made several sales already, the money being under the counter, together with a detailed note of the price and tax charged.
When Giles went back to thank him, he was stunned to find Xander moving fluidly through an unknown Kata. Every move was poetry in motion, his movements smooth and graceful. Though not familiar with this particular style, Gules could see that Xander was a master.
"Oh, hey Giles. Morning. Uhhh, I opened for you when I saw a couple waiting outside. I kept track of everything for you and the money is under the counter," he said.
"Thank you, Xander. I appreciate it," Giles smiled. "I was just watching your kata. It was beautiful. Could I ask who your teacher was?" asked Giles.
"Bruce Lee," Said Xander with a straight face.
Very well, Xander. If you don't want me to know, you don't have to tell me, but don't make things up," Giles said, rather stiffly.
"I'm not kidding, Giles. It really was Bruce Lee. I learned several things from him, including Jeet Kun Do, and Kung Fu," Xander answered proudly. "He and several other people visited me while I slept and taught me a lot of things when I was in the hospital," he explained. "It all has to do with the Pentagram Guardians."
"Amazing," Giles said, "Who else did you meet, if you don't mind my asking?" he continued.
"I'd rather just wait and explain everything to everyone at one time," Xander answered, as he began to towel off.
With a reluctant nod of agreement, Giles turned and headed back into the store.
Xander headed to the shower, where he cleaned up and shaved, then dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. When he entered the shop again, he found Giles looking for him.
"Xander, there is a certified courier out here with a delivery, and you have to provide ID and sign for it," Giles informed him.
"Thanks, G-Man," Xander called back as he jogged to the front of the store.
He signed for the package after providing his ID and walked to the big conference table where he sat down. Opening the hard envelope, he slid the Visa card out onto the table, along with the open envelope containing the letter of credit. He read it over and then handed it to Giles, and asked him to keep it in a safe place.
"Xander, this is a letter of credit for five million dollars," gasped Giles.
"Hmmm, Uhhhmmm, yes it is, and I would like you to keep it safe for me," said Xander, who was reading another letter that had been included in the envelope.
A bit perturbed that he was getting no explanation, Giles stood in front of Xander and shook the letter.
"Xander, what is this all about, and where did this money come from?" he demanded.
Xander looked over the top of the letter he was reading and noticed how irritated Giles really was.
"It's money that the PTB provided access to in order to establish the 'Guardians'. I don't know where all of it came from, but I was told that it was from war criminals that died before they could make use of it. Other criminals and drug dealers, who hid their profits away in off-shore banks and could no longer make use of their hidden bank accounts, also provided some portions of it," he explained.
"How did you come into possession of such codes?" Asked Giles.
"Jesse gave them to me, and made sure that I would remember them," Xander said sadly.
Giles backed down and looked upon the young man who now carried a heavy burden, all of it for Buffy's sake. He got up and carried the letter behind the counter and dropped it in the safe, then turned back to find Xander getting up and putting his coat on.
"Giles, you got five bucks I can borrow for bus fare? I'll pay you back tonight. All I have right now is this credit card and that letter. I'll get some cash today," Xander promised.
Giles had to chuckle as he pulled his wallet out; Xander had millions of dollars at his disposal, but still had to borrow bus fare.
~~~~~**********~~~~~
Xander sat alone in the back of the bus as it traveled to Oxnard. Up front was an older couple out for a day trip and several younger adults heading to work, but back here he was alone with his thoughts.
He had planned the day out carefully. First, a trip to Oxnard was on the agenda. This is where Cal Coast Motorsports is located.
He was going to buy a motorcycle there, something inside him pushing him toward the Italian maker Aprilia. \\ Hmm, must be George Badon's influence, // he reflected.
Though he had no direct memories of the people who had shared their abilities with him, he sometimes felt that he was picking up traits and habits of theirs. That was a bit confusing, but he fully expected he would get over it.
When he saw the dealership he wanted, he reached up and pulled the cord to signal the driver to stop. After getting off the bus and stretching for a moment, he walked up the street into the dealer's main sales room. Xander noticed several sales people standing around, and near the back he saw a slightly shy young woman, who looked uncomfortable. Walking up to her, he asked.
"Are you one of the sales people here?"
"Yes, my name is Sandi, can I help you?" She replied.
"What can you show me in an Aprilia?" Xander asked.
"Sport or Touring?" Asked the young woman.
"Touring, I think," he replied.
The two walked to the far side of the showroom and she led him to a sleek black motorcycle. Standing beside it as Xander straddled it, the young woman began describing the various features of the bike.
"This is a Futura 1000, it has a four stroke, longitudinal 60° V twin, liquid cooled with 3 way pressurized circuit double radiator, 6 speed gearbox, and standard electric starter."
"I'll take it," Xander said, smiling at the sales woman.
"You'll take it, just like that?" she asked.
"Yep," he replied smiling.
They returned to her desk where she then called the sales manager.
"Mr. Harris here wants the Futura 1000, and he would like to take it as soon as possible," she said.
"You can have it as soon as the financing is cleared, sir," replied the manager.
"Just put it on my Visa," said Xander, handing him the card.
"Excuse me sir, the down payment?" asked the confused manager.
"No, just total everything up and charge it to my card," Xander replied, smirking at the confused man.
As the manager scurried away, Xander turned to the young woman who was filling out the paperwork.
"Your first sale?" he asked.
"Yes, and I have been so scared that I would never get one," she answered.
"Never let anyone tell you anything, and have more confidence. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I picked you because you had the technical manuals on your desk, not sales awards. And you looked like you needed a break." Xander explained to her.
"Thank you. Making this sale has helped me out a lot, especially after seeing Mr. Randolph so surprised," she smiled at him.
The sales manager returned and handed the young woman the card.
"Go ahead and run it. Mr. Harris has a six figure purchase limit, so write up the sale, the prep team is getting it ready," he said.
"Did you need anything else, Mr. Harris?" Sandi asked.
"Yes, a helmet for myself, and one other for passengers," he told her. "Mine in black, and the other in dark gray, please."
The saleswoman wrote up the purchases and one of the other sales people brought the helmets to him. He tried his on and found that it fit perfectly. He signed all the paperwork, the credit card slip and walked out to his new bike. Putting the helmet on and starting it up, he accelerated out into traffic.
As Xander flew down the highway toward Sunnydale, he wondered what Buffy would think of it.
~~~~~**********~~~~~
Brubaker Construction
Sunnydale Ca.
July 12th 2002, 12:05 PM
Xander slowed the bike and pulled into the construction yard. Pulling up to the trailer, he pulled off his helmet and parked the bike. Seeing the foreman over near the building entrance, he walked over to him.
"Hey Matt, how's it going?" Xander said, offering his hand.
"Not too good, Xan. We're shutting down the site, so if you came back for your job, you're out of luck," Matt informed him.
"What happened?" Xander asked
"The company financing the construction went bankrupt. We're eighty percent complete here, and they pulled the plug," Matt explained.
"Is the boss here?"
"Yea, he's in the trailer trying to cancel some orders," Matt pointed to the main trailer.
Xander nodded his thanks, then jogged over to the trailer and went in without knocking. He found Jim Brubaker sitting at his desk, holding his head. He looked up when Xander entered, a dejected look on his face.
"Hey, Harris. I hope you not looking for your job back," he said glumly.
"I heard what's going on, Jim. How bad is it?" Xander asked his old friend.
"Pretty bad," Jim admitted. "The funding's shut down, and I am as deep into this as it gets, since I also own the land. It was supposed to be a package deal for the funding corporation, and they were going to purchase the land from me on completion. I can get control of what is done so far, but I am so deep in debt that I can't afford to finish the building, and can't afford to not finish it. Unless I can find some backing somewhere, I'm probably going to have to shut down and lay everyone off. It may even go as far as the company having to file for bankruptcy," Jim explained sadly.
"I'm sorry, Jim, I didn't know it was anywhere near that bad," Xander said softy.
"Not your fault, Harris. I stuck my neck out and, now it may actually get lopped off."
"How far are you from completion?" Xander asked.
"Pretty close, actually. The first floor is divided and the parking garage is almost done, but the other five floors are still completely open inside, since we were waiting on final details from the companies that were going to lease. Four of the six originally signed have gone belly up as well, and the others are delaying, they don't want to move into a empty shell," Jim explained.
Xander got up and walked over to the plans and looked them over.
\\ This just might be the answer, // he thought to himself, as he examined the blueprints. \\ We can lease out the first floor as originally intended, and put in the legitimate part of the security agency on the second. I can check with Giles on my idea to use the rest of the space on that floor. Then the armory and workout area can go on the third, apartments on the fourth, command center on the fifth, garden and barbeque on the roof. Hmmmm, maybe. //
He turned back to his old boss and friend and began getting more detailed information.
"Jim, how much would it take to finish this building, with some modifications, of course?" he asked.
"Harris, I don't know what you are thinking, but you can't help by getting me all hopeful here," Jim replied.
"Look Jim, I have a friend looking to invest in a place. The building he's currently looking at needs some heavy modifications, and a new building would be perfect. This partially complete state makes it even better. He will probably want to purchase the rest of the block as well. You do own it, right?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, I own it." Jim paused, thinking things out. He sat down and scribbled a few figures, then looked back up at Xander.
"Look Harris, I have this building here, two other leased buildings on this lot, the detail shop next door, who is vacating next month, and Malloy's Performance Center. If I include them, and the modifications aren't too extensive, you're looking in the neighborhood of twelve mill, plus the costs for any extra additions that might come up," Jim said flatly.
"Sounds reasonable to me. Look Jim, I really think we can get this deal made, if you trust me. I can probably arrange to have the funds transferred in the next few days. How about we meet here in the morning, with your attorney present to go over the details?" Xander offered.
"Harris, I do trust you. Up to a point. Twelve million dollars is a lot of money to gamble on just your say so," Jim said uncertainly. "We're talking about everything I own here," he pointed out.
"True," Xander agreed. "So here, call the credit verification center and ask them what the limit is on this card," Xander suggested, handing Jim his new Visa card.
Xander walked back over to the plans and looked them over again. \\ Hmm. I'll need Willow to look these over, and see if she knows someone to put in a communications and computer center. We can do the same for Giles if he wants to go into a new business. Maybe we can move the Magic Box here as well; it'll be closer and safer. //
"Damn kid, I don't know who your friends are, but you've got a deal," Jim said as he handed the card back to Xander. "I am so relieved to be able to finish this. This was going to be my step up to the next level of construction. You've saved me from ruin, Xander." he smiled.
Xander left the trailer, promising to be back the next morning around 10:00. He got on the bike, intending to head back to the store when he impulsively decided to check out Malloy's Performance Center. After parking the bike out front and entering the shop, he felt a buzzing in his head that he knew had to be the result of another immortal in close proximity.
Glancing at the counter in the back of the store, he saw a youthful looking man holding a sword.
"My name is Pete Malloy. I'm not looking for a fight, but I'll be glad to give you one if you are!"
TBC