"You could have told me."
Xander looked up to see Willow standing beside his booth at the Espresso Pump. Without another word, she slid in aaccross from him, and tried to smile.
"I would have understood, I think."
"You mght have, but Buffy, she's not showing much understanding."
"Well you got her wigged big time. You used to be normal human, sweet goofy and normal, nothing speacial about you, except that was what made you special." Willow frowned. "Now you're not, normal I mean. You're something different."
"I'm still the same Xander I alway was." Xander signalled for the waitress. "That part hasn't changed."
"Except that now, you're an Angel of Death."
"Have you ever wondered what happened to the soul after death?" Xander paused when thhe Waitress reached their booth and ordered another coffee for himself and a lo-fat latte for Willow. "I mean not just the leaving the body and going to Heaven or Hell bit, but how they get there."
"Well no, but..."
"You remember that night, in the cemetery six months ago?"
+++++
"Hey Buff," Xander winced as he backed into a mausoleum, scrambling to get out of the way of a very large vampire. "A little help here."
"Kind of busy here," Buffy struggled with three vamps, who had come out of the darkness, along with one each for Xander and Willow. She could see that Xander was struggling to get away from his, while Willow was faring a little better with hers, but not much. She took two out, and was squaring off with the third whaen she saw that Willow had dusted her's and jumped onto the back of Xander's, just as it was sinking in it's fangs. She made short work of hers, and then helped Willow before turning to Xander.
-------
Xander stood watching as Buffy and Willow crouched beside his body. How could he be standing here and laying there, and why couldn't they see him.
"Buffy?" He asked experimentally. No, they couldn't hear him either.
Could he be dead?
"Almost, but not yet?"
Xander jumped, and turned to see a wisened old man standing beside him. He was wearing a black suit topped with a black bowler, carrying a silver tipped cane. "Who are you?"
"Fred. Frederick actually, but you can call me Fred."
"And your here because?"
"To offer you a choice." Fred watched as Willow streaked off to get help. "She won't return in time you know." He glanced down at Xander's body. "Not enough kife left."
"You mean," Xander "I'm...." He couldn't finish the sentence.
"Well technically no, but soon real soon. Before help gets here."
"Then what..."
"Do you know what happens to the soul after the body dies?"
"WEll, I never gave it much thought. I always figured to find out some day. Some day far far in the future."
"That can still happen." Fred turned to watch the scene. "That can still happen," he repeated.
"When the body dies," he went on to explain, the soul must go to where it is destined to go, but sometimes, often in fact, it doesn't know where to go or how to get there. That is hat I do. I come for the soul, and deliver it to where it has to go."
"Where am I supposed to go?" Hell for sure, thoght Xander dreading the answer.
"I always know where to deliver the soul. The person, as you have, has made the decision while they are still alive, and the destiation is set by their choices and the way they lived their life. Sometimes, if I arrive before the body dies, I am allowed to help that soul to reconsider to rechoose."
"How do I do that, this rechoosing thing." Time was growing short, and Xander was starting to panic. "C'mon tell me."
"Or I can offer them a third choice." Fred smiled. "As I am going to do with you."
"What choice?"
"Fred smiled gently. "More people are being born, more people are dying. We need more help."
"What..."
"We have watched you, over the years. You're compassionate, caring, make it easy for your friends, even though they don't seem to do so wih you. Still you try. You have all the qualities we're looking for."
"You want me to be an Angel?"
Fred chuckled. "Hardly an Angel. But we would like you to be, what we call, a Harvestor. One who gathers souls, and guides them to where they have to go."
"Even to Hell?"
"If that is the result of their choice. Then yes."
Xander thought a moment. "Would I have to be dead to do that?"
"No. You can be alive."
"So I could still help Buffy and Willow?"
"Yes, you could, as long as you understand that your responsibilities may prove counter to the Slayer's"
"Then I'll do it. Xander wondered if it had been any decision at all.
------
"Xander." He moved his head and saw that he was in a hospital room, with Buffy Willow, and Giles.
+++++
"You mean that...you died that night. But you're alive now? That's when you..."
"Don't worry Will," Xander grinned as he saw the fear in Willow's eyes. "I'm real, I'm alive, just like I've always been. With some changes."
"Like when Buffy tried to grab you and couldn't?"
"Like that and other ways. Ways I can't really talk about." Xander sipped his coffee and frowned.. "You think Buffy will ever understand?"
Willow contemplated the cooling latte in fron of her. "How do you know?"
"I have a palm pilot type thing. They put a list on it, and I cross off each name as the job's done."
"So, it's just a job?"
"No, it's more than a job, but you can't get too attached. Do much thinking about it, especially if it's a friend and they don't make the right choices."
"But if you know, can't you just phone up that person and tell him? So that he can make the right choice."
"No, because of the whole free will clause. We all get to make our own choices, live our lives the way we want. We are free to do that. But we are also free to accept the consequences of our choices. You saw with Mrs. Hoffenmeyer, if He thinks there is a chance, He'll reach out to the last possible second. But I can't tell them what choice to make, cause that would negate their free will."
"But what if they don't want to go to Hell, and don't know that's where they are going?"
It was a question Xander had always been bothered with, ever since he had started this job. He had asked Fred that once, and had been told that proisions had been made. Nobody went to Hell, except that they had every chance, in this life, to make the choice. Wiloow wasn't sure she liked the explanation Xander gave her, but she supposed it was all she was going to get. For now.
"Can I see it?"
Xander arched an eyebrow.
"Your list of names. Who you'll be um harvesting."
"If there was a name on there, one that you knew, what would you do, and if it was a close friend do you really want to know?"
"No, uh, I guess not. So, no see then."
"No, I'm afraid not."
"If , when I die, will it be you?"
"If you want."
Xander looked up to see Willow standing beside his booth at the Espresso Pump. Without another word, she slid in aaccross from him, and tried to smile.
"I would have understood, I think."
"You mght have, but Buffy, she's not showing much understanding."
"Well you got her wigged big time. You used to be normal human, sweet goofy and normal, nothing speacial about you, except that was what made you special." Willow frowned. "Now you're not, normal I mean. You're something different."
"I'm still the same Xander I alway was." Xander signalled for the waitress. "That part hasn't changed."
"Except that now, you're an Angel of Death."
"Have you ever wondered what happened to the soul after death?" Xander paused when thhe Waitress reached their booth and ordered another coffee for himself and a lo-fat latte for Willow. "I mean not just the leaving the body and going to Heaven or Hell bit, but how they get there."
"Well no, but..."
"You remember that night, in the cemetery six months ago?"
+++++
"Hey Buff," Xander winced as he backed into a mausoleum, scrambling to get out of the way of a very large vampire. "A little help here."
"Kind of busy here," Buffy struggled with three vamps, who had come out of the darkness, along with one each for Xander and Willow. She could see that Xander was struggling to get away from his, while Willow was faring a little better with hers, but not much. She took two out, and was squaring off with the third whaen she saw that Willow had dusted her's and jumped onto the back of Xander's, just as it was sinking in it's fangs. She made short work of hers, and then helped Willow before turning to Xander.
-------
Xander stood watching as Buffy and Willow crouched beside his body. How could he be standing here and laying there, and why couldn't they see him.
"Buffy?" He asked experimentally. No, they couldn't hear him either.
Could he be dead?
"Almost, but not yet?"
Xander jumped, and turned to see a wisened old man standing beside him. He was wearing a black suit topped with a black bowler, carrying a silver tipped cane. "Who are you?"
"Fred. Frederick actually, but you can call me Fred."
"And your here because?"
"To offer you a choice." Fred watched as Willow streaked off to get help. "She won't return in time you know." He glanced down at Xander's body. "Not enough kife left."
"You mean," Xander "I'm...." He couldn't finish the sentence.
"Well technically no, but soon real soon. Before help gets here."
"Then what..."
"Do you know what happens to the soul after the body dies?"
"WEll, I never gave it much thought. I always figured to find out some day. Some day far far in the future."
"That can still happen." Fred turned to watch the scene. "That can still happen," he repeated.
"When the body dies," he went on to explain, the soul must go to where it is destined to go, but sometimes, often in fact, it doesn't know where to go or how to get there. That is hat I do. I come for the soul, and deliver it to where it has to go."
"Where am I supposed to go?" Hell for sure, thoght Xander dreading the answer.
"I always know where to deliver the soul. The person, as you have, has made the decision while they are still alive, and the destiation is set by their choices and the way they lived their life. Sometimes, if I arrive before the body dies, I am allowed to help that soul to reconsider to rechoose."
"How do I do that, this rechoosing thing." Time was growing short, and Xander was starting to panic. "C'mon tell me."
"Or I can offer them a third choice." Fred smiled. "As I am going to do with you."
"What choice?"
"Fred smiled gently. "More people are being born, more people are dying. We need more help."
"What..."
"We have watched you, over the years. You're compassionate, caring, make it easy for your friends, even though they don't seem to do so wih you. Still you try. You have all the qualities we're looking for."
"You want me to be an Angel?"
Fred chuckled. "Hardly an Angel. But we would like you to be, what we call, a Harvestor. One who gathers souls, and guides them to where they have to go."
"Even to Hell?"
"If that is the result of their choice. Then yes."
Xander thought a moment. "Would I have to be dead to do that?"
"No. You can be alive."
"So I could still help Buffy and Willow?"
"Yes, you could, as long as you understand that your responsibilities may prove counter to the Slayer's"
"Then I'll do it. Xander wondered if it had been any decision at all.
------
"Xander." He moved his head and saw that he was in a hospital room, with Buffy Willow, and Giles.
+++++
"You mean that...you died that night. But you're alive now? That's when you..."
"Don't worry Will," Xander grinned as he saw the fear in Willow's eyes. "I'm real, I'm alive, just like I've always been. With some changes."
"Like when Buffy tried to grab you and couldn't?"
"Like that and other ways. Ways I can't really talk about." Xander sipped his coffee and frowned.. "You think Buffy will ever understand?"
Willow contemplated the cooling latte in fron of her. "How do you know?"
"I have a palm pilot type thing. They put a list on it, and I cross off each name as the job's done."
"So, it's just a job?"
"No, it's more than a job, but you can't get too attached. Do much thinking about it, especially if it's a friend and they don't make the right choices."
"But if you know, can't you just phone up that person and tell him? So that he can make the right choice."
"No, because of the whole free will clause. We all get to make our own choices, live our lives the way we want. We are free to do that. But we are also free to accept the consequences of our choices. You saw with Mrs. Hoffenmeyer, if He thinks there is a chance, He'll reach out to the last possible second. But I can't tell them what choice to make, cause that would negate their free will."
"But what if they don't want to go to Hell, and don't know that's where they are going?"
It was a question Xander had always been bothered with, ever since he had started this job. He had asked Fred that once, and had been told that proisions had been made. Nobody went to Hell, except that they had every chance, in this life, to make the choice. Wiloow wasn't sure she liked the explanation Xander gave her, but she supposed it was all she was going to get. For now.
"Can I see it?"
Xander arched an eyebrow.
"Your list of names. Who you'll be um harvesting."
"If there was a name on there, one that you knew, what would you do, and if it was a close friend do you really want to know?"
"No, uh, I guess not. So, no see then."
"No, I'm afraid not."
"If , when I die, will it be you?"
"If you want."