Disclaimer: Joss, WB, UPN et al. own Buffy and its spin offs. I'm just borrowing them.

Title: The Mark of Kayn.

Author: Paradigm Shifter

Rating: R initially for some swearing and Xander's parents. May go up if it gets gory. (Just to be on the safe side, don't want kids getting corrupted, now, do we?) [Should it be PG-13?]

Pairing: Buffy/Xander (I promise this time) some Willow/Oz

Feedback: Yes, please.

Continuity: Err. After Graduation: Parts 1&2. Before Adam or any serious 'initiative' rubbish. Angel Investigations has started up, and is doing well. (Can't remember Episode names. I stopped watching Buffy about ½ way through S4. B/R {shudder})

Like reading stories, bored with the TV series.

Notes: No Anya. Pretend she didn't come back after 'Graduation'. Maybe she became the vengeance demon again? Also, this is updated and expanded, but fanfiction.net insists on ignoring the changes. (It wont put it higher up the hierarchy in the list, or put it in 'just in', and wont give the correct new word count. But other than that it seems to be happy. But I want people to know I've updated it, so I'm gonna have to split it in two, I think.

*

Just another typical night at the Bronze. Willow was sitting on Oz's lap, trying to persuade him to go up on stage and show the band up there 'how it's done'. Oz just sat there grinning at his girlfriend and her attitude to any band that wasn't Dingoes.

"I play up there enough as it is, Willow. What, do you want me to become a permanent fixture or something?" Willow was the only person that Oz ever said more than a few words to.

"Yeah. Show 'em how it's done. This band is simply awful. And that's pretty serious for a band here."

"Now, now, Willow, just because the singer squeals like a castrated pig doesn't mean the rest of the band are bad." Said Buffy from behind them.

Willow gave a small squeak and turned round. Fixing Buffy on the end of a first class 'did you have to do that' scowl, which quickly softened into a smile at seeing her friend.

Oz nodded in agreement. "No, the drummer is actually pretty good, hey, after all, he isn't drooling, and he looks reasonably intelligent. I'd say, oh… ten brain cells?"

Willow had to fight to not laugh, and Buffy just grinned at the comment. It was good to see Oz loosening up around everyone.

Then Willow noticed the boy standing not six inches from Buffy with the distinctly uncomfortable look of a new boyfriend about to be introduced to the friends.

"Who's this?" Willow enquired, waving in the direction of the guy.

"Oh, shoot. Sorry, Wills. This is Riley. He's the TA in Professor Walsh's Psych class. You remember?" Willow indicated she did indeed remember, and thought to herself; I'm not stupid, Buffy. Buffy introduced them. "Riley, this is Willow, and Oz." Continued Buffy pointing first at Willow then at Oz.

"Hi. Buffy's told me a lot about you." Said Riley.

"Hello." Replied Willow; pretty sure she hadn't, but too polite, or possibly just not in the mood to argue.

Oz just nodded at Riley, ignored the hand he stuck out in greeting, and leaned down into Willow to speak into her ear.

"That guy doesn't smell right. He's very nervous, but not in the usual 'I'm a new boyfriend of this really attractive girl I'm standing next to' kind of way. He also smells of steroids." Whispered Oz.

"What? As in 'body building' steroids?" whispered Willow back.

Oz just nodded.

Buffy and Riley sat down, Riley trying to recover a little pride after the old fashioned insult Oz had offered to him, and for a short time, the evening passed pleasantly enough.

*

Xander burst into the Bronze, looking for all the world like the four horsemen of the apocalypse were on his tail. He quickly scanned the crowds for Buffy or Willow and, when he spotted them, wasted no time in diving through the mass of dancing and writhing teens covering the floor to reach them. Even his usual 'accidentally on purpose bump into a girl I haven't got a chance with' was absent.

As he neared the table, he started to spout, "Buffy! Giles sent me to tell you that we have some serious problems with some v…" he looked at Riley and tailed off.

"What?" replied Buffy, slow off the mark with her latest distraction. "Can you say that again?"

Xander tried again. "Gilessentmetotellyouthatwehavesomeproblemswith…" he cast another glance at Riley, but Riley didn't notice; he was too busy sucking up to Buffy "…ourfriendswhosleepalldayandhavenotans."

"What?" said Buffy, fending off one of Riley's exploring hands, and his attempts to be subtle while doing it.

"OK, Xander," said Willow, catching what the panting boy was saying, "we'll be there as fast as possible." Making sure Riley wasn't looking, Willow mouthed 'Vampires' to Buffy, hoping she would take the hint. Buffy's eyes widened and she started to get up, much to Riley's disappointment.

"Sorry, Riley, but… err…something…came up…yeah…came up. See ya tomorrow?" Buffy apologised, and Buffy, Willow, Oz and Xander all trooped out of the Bronze to go see Giles.

*

Walking into Giles apartment without knocking is something Buffy really should learn not to do, mused Xander, as they had almost caught Giles, en flagrante delicto with Olivia. Both Giles and Buffy recovered remarkably quickly, while Oz was smiling slightly, presumably because of Giles' muttered comments. Olivia had made herself scarce, sensing the animosity aimed at her from the Slayer.

Buffy was still blushing slightly, wishing that the ground, or at least the carpet of Giles lounge could open up and swallow her.

Giles interrupted this inner monologue of Xander's by walking back into the room in a T-shirt and sweats.

"I thought Brits always wore tweed." The thought was out of Xander's mouth before he could censor it. Fortunately, it only earned him a scowl from the un-en-tweeded one.

"Buffy, I'm glad you're here. We have a problem. Quite a serious one."

"Spill, Giles." Replied Buffy.

"Very well. You are, of course, aware that both you and I are excommunicated from the Watchers council."

Buffy nodded. As if she could forget.

"Well, about seven hours ago, I was contacted by an old friend of mine in the council. I phoned Xander shortly after, and he was looking for you until, presumably, a few minutes ago."

Buffy nodded again.

"It seems that a sarcophagus was unearthed in France a few weeks ago. It was taken to New York for display at a museum. Then it was stolen."

"So?" asked Buffy.

Giles was getting more and more agitated by the second. "The sarcophagus was the Tomb of Kayn. A demon from the very dawn of time. Remember in the Bible? The beginning of Genesis? Where Cain killed Abel?"

"Yes."

"Kayn was the one who tempted him into doing it. Almost every evil deed up to the early twelfth century can be attributed to him in one form or another. Inciting the Jews against Jesus for example. The Knights Templar trapped him in his Tomb. It was one of their final acts before being branded Enemies of Christ and getting hunted down like animals."

"How do you know all this Giles?" asked Buffy.

"My friend was picked as the vessel that the knowledge of Kayn would pour into. In order to do this, the Council sacrificed his entire family."

A collective shudder ran through the group, and both Xander and Buffy gave an 'eww' at the horrible thought. Willow turned white. Oz hugged his girlfriend gently, offering silent support at the grisly idea.

Giles sighed and continued. "The reason that had to happen was that after the Templar Knights sealed Kayn, they systematically hunted down and burned any reference to him, to prevent anyone finding him. He was mentioned in the Bible a few times, but even those references were removed and destroyed. The Templars even swallowed their hatred of Witches and got three of the most powerful Witches Trinities ever to seal the Tomb. Then the trinities buried the Tomb nearly two miles underground. It was totally undisturbed until the French government decided to build a new anti-nuclear installation there. Only modern technology would ever have got down two miles. The Templar's thought the Tomb safe."

"Wow. They were desperate to get rid of that Guy." Interjected Xander.

"Indeed." Said Giles, looking irritated at the interruption, "but that isn't all of the story. The Templar's were so desperate to remove all knowledge of him that they killed the witches that had helped them. The Commander that had been in control of finding and removing Kayn likewise killed all the troops surviving the battle to trap him. All the bodies were burnt and the ashes mixed with holy water. Then the Commander jumped from a cliff into the ocean with full plate armour on. The Pope and the Grand Master of the Templar's were sworn to secrecy. The Grand Master died in the purges a few years later, and the Pope died old and mad, alone."

"Ouch." Winced Xander. "They were desperate to remove Kayn."

Giles looked annoyed at the continual interruptions. "Yes. So desperate that they practically annihilated 50 square miles in the battle against him. That was the end of Kayn until a short while ago when his Tomb was rediscovered. The Council believes that he may be after the Hellmouth, either to return home or to unleash a plague of demons on the earth that will make a thousand Mayoral Ascensions look like a Chimps tea party."

The Scoobies sat in silence, shortly broken by Buffy. "If he's so strong, how do I beat him alone?" mumbled Buffy to her feet.

"Don't worry Buff, We'll be there for you." said Xander gently.

Again, all sat in silence for a few minutes, wondering how they would beat the odds this time around.

Giles looked up suddenly, embarrassment written clearly on his face. "Oh," he said apologetically "I nearly forgot."

Buffy looked up in hope. "What?" The same look of hope was echoed in Willow's, Oz's and Xander's faces.

"Two other things. Number one: Kayn hates other demons and demon hybrids. He will actively hunt them down as he considers them inferior. So if Sunnydale's nightlife suddenly drops off, and it isn't you, you can be pretty sure that Kayn is doing it. Number two, and most importantly: Kayn chooses an Avatar every time he attempts to change something. He will most likely pick one in Sunnydale. There are very few reports of what the Avatar can do, most likely because anyone that encounters the Avatar dies quite quickly. The Avatar is, effectively, the ultimate warrior. I know nothing more than that."

"What would happen to the Avatar when we kill Kayn?" queried Buffy.

"I think if is a better word, but the only Avatar to outlive Kayn was the one chosen for the final battle against the Templar's. He was human, and after Kayn's death, the guilt over the lives he had taken drove him mad, over a very short period of time. For that time, he appeared to retain the power Kayn had given him, but he took his own life over the guilt of destruction."

"What shows the fact that Kayn has chosen his Avatar, or that a person is the Avatar?" Xander's question made Buffy look at him quizzically, but it spurred Giles into action.

"Of course!" Giles slapped his head and shot to his feet, almost upsetting the small table in the centre of the chair arrangement. "Thank you for reminding me Xander."

Giles rushed over to a table at the side of the room, on which a large pile of paper was placed randomly. What looked to be a fax machine sat next to the pile of paper.

"My friend faxed me an image of 'the Mark of Kayn' it was the only engraving on his Tomb. It is also how the Avatar is marked." Knocking the pile of paper on the floor, Giles dug through it, and eventually found the sheet he was looking for. He held it up to show the Slayerettes. "It is a thirteen pointed star, with a coiled snake at the centre, head raised to strike."

"Where does it appear?" asked Xander, curiously.

"It appears directly over the heart, so you will not be able to tell if someone is the Avatar without a very close inspection."

"It looks like it may be Buffy's job to check out all the possible Avatar's. She's seen way more chests than I have. Also, if I start walking round asking to see bare chests then I'm likely to get beaten or slapped, dependent on which sex I ask." Quipped Xander.

It earned him a dirty look from Buffy.

It was Willow's turn to ask a question. "Does Kayn pick only men for the Mark? Or women? Or both?"

Giles concerned look crept back. "Both, but only one at a time." Was the response Willow received.

Oz hugged Willow more tightly. It was further silent moral support time.

"Well," said Xander, "it doesn't look like were gonna get much else done here. Buffy? Do want me to walk you home?" the last question was accompanied by a slight smile, soft and caring.

Buffy smiled despite herself. "No thanks, Xand. But I could do with some help on the Slayage. Care to come with me?" Buffy stressed the word 'come' gently and gave a small wink. Xander nearly lost it there.

"Of course, Buff. No worries on that score."

Giles, Willow and Oz watched on as Buffy and Xander walked out, both flirting carefully, but neither saying no. What the hell were they doing?

"Something is definitely up with those two." Giles voiced what all three were thinking. Buffy and Xander's interactions were often charged with innuendo, but rarely got like that. Willow and Oz followed Buffy and Xander's examples and left as well. After all, there was college tomorrow, and both Willow and Oz were on the 'fast track' schemes. They couldn't afford to miss even one day of college.

*

Sunnydale was deader than usual. Buffy and Xander had been through five cemeteries and were on their sixth when they found their first vamp.

And that vamp seemed more interested in getting the hell away from whatever was chasing it to care two hoots about a Slayer and her companion. As both Buffy and Xander turned to watch the vampire, a dark shape passed between them, faster than they could follow, and as it reached the vampire, seemed to solidify for a fraction of a second, before the vampire had an eight-inch hole straight through his chest. The vamp moaned in silent pain before the shape removed its head and then the vamp had its torment ended as it turned to dust.

"I think we just met Kayn." Mumbled Xander, fear at the close encounter without the demon even caring making him subdued.

Buffy's eyes were wide. "I think I've had enough of patrolling for tonight." She said quickly to him. "Let's go home."

"I agree." Nodded Xander.

Both took off as fast as they could.

*

Xander's home was further than Buffy's from the cemetery that they were in. After seeing Buffy safely in, Xander headed back to his crumbling basement. As he walked along, he heard his footsteps, and another set, which seemed to be trying to fit with Xander's. Xander stopped. It was a choice he would regret for a long time.

"Who's there?" Xander called out.

The steps continued, but no one was there.

"I said; who's there?" asked Xander again, almost panicked.

"No-one." Came back a whisper.

"Who are you then?" Xander was close to pissing himself.

The dark shape appeared again. In front of Xander, a form coalesced out of the night itself. "I am Kayn." The whisper told him, almost reptilian in its sound, oozing malevolence.

"Oh, shit." Despite his terror at the face to face with the latest nasty, Xander's feet were rooted to the spot.

"You are dinner."

The form finished coalescing, showing a six-foot tall, jet-black but with hints of green, well… something. It had a human like face, but with snake like eyes, and a tongue, while not forked, that whipped out, testing the air. The arms ended with hands that had clawed fingers, and its feet likewise had claws. It seemed to exude evil. It looked like a demon, but not like some of the others he had seen, who, while ugly, had the size to back up what the books said. Of course, no book said anything about Kayn.

Xander's fear seemed to disappear, vanishing as quickly as Kayn had appeared. "I'm betting you haven't seen a manicurist about those things, have you?" was the first thing he thought of.

Kayn hissed. He stepped closer. Xander closed his mouth before more potentially life-threatening quips could pop out.

Kayn sniffed, or seemed to, since he didn't really have a nose, per se.

"You were with the sssSlayer. Why? You are jussst a target to vampiresss. You have no sssStrengthsss."

"You underestimate friendship." Was all Xander could think to say. And love.

"You have a sssStrong and noble heart." Kayn seemed to go into a hissing fit, and Xander belatedly realized he was laughing.

"Yet you have a dark ssscentre." Kayn continued. "You will do nissscely."

He stepped back, and Xander breathed a premature sigh of relief.

Then Kayn grabbed him by the neck with his left claw and lifted him off the ground.

"Can't… Breath…" Xander was getting choked. Kayn obviously didn't care.

Kayn's right hand fell over his heart and ripped his shirt open. As Kayn's hand was laid over his heart, Xander screamed from the burning sensation, despite the lack of air in his lungs. Writhing in Kayn's grasp, Xander struggled as the flesh above his heart was burnt into a pattern he dreaded to see.

The Mark of Kayn.

"You will come when I call." Was the last thing Xander heard before he passed out in the street.

*

Xander woke screaming in his bed the next morning. Both his parents were hammering at the door to the basement, demanding that he shut up.

"OK. OK. I'm up." He called. "It was a nightmare."

"Just keep it down or I'll give you the biggest beating you've ever had!" Shouted his father, before tramping upstairs to start the day with a fresh bottle of whiskey.

Xander breathed a sigh of relief that it was just a dream as he felt his chest through the loose t-shirt he was wearing. He got up and stumbled into the bathroom, to have a shower, and a shave. He had to get to Giles and tell him about the dream. Even if he would just laugh.

Tugging the t-shirt off, Xander stepped into the shower. As he looked down to grab his shampoo, he froze.

The Mark of Kayn.

Emblazoned on his chest.

Above his heart.

Damn. Last night wasn't a dream.

Xander immediately forgot all about the shower, ran out and quickly pulled on a sweater and casual trousers. Finding a pair of shoes, and hopping around as he pulled them on, Xander ran out the door of the basement.

*

Xander made it to Giles apartment in record time. Banging on the door as hard as he could, to wake Giles up, after all, he was a 'man of leisure' now, and didn't always get up early. Xander stared in horror as he looked at the gaping hole left by his fist in Giles door.

He was met the next second by Giles with a beaker of holy water in one hand, and what appeared to be a silver covered baseball bat in the other. Xander recoiled sharply from the door.

"My God, Xander! What on earth did you do to my door?" Giles' expression showed that he didn't know whether to be angry or worried. Deciding that angry was too much like hard work in the morning, he settled for worried.

"That's nothing." Said Xander. "I walked Buffy home last night and as I was heading back to my house, I encountered Kayn again."

"What do you mean? Again?"

"Oh, Buffy and I met him in the graveyard, he was killing vamps."

"Right. What did Kayn do when you encountered him the second time?"

"OK. First, he was gonna eat me. Then he decided to make me the 'Avatar'. But don't let me just tell you, let me show ya, it's faster." With that, Xander pulled off his sweater to reveal the Mark of Kayn.

Giles' reaction was immediate. He fainted.

"Great." Muttered Xander. "The one person I expect to cope, and what does he do? He faints?"

*

"Come on, Giles. Sleepy time is over!" said Xander, as he dumped a bucket of iced water all over Giles and his carpet. Xander was thinking to himself; Great. This guy faces down vampires for a living and generally helps against the forces of darkness, by faints dead away when the 'Zeppo' has something happen to him.

Giles sat up spluttering and muttering obscenities at the 'little bastard who just soaked my utterly irreplaceable antique Persian carpet'. Then he remembered what put him out and looked back at Xander.

"Why aren't you under Kayn's influence now?" the scientist in him got the better of his fear.

"I don't know. I think that the last thing I heard was 'you will come when I call'" then I backed out."

"So does that mean you have the Avatar's powers, but until you are called by Kayn, you are still yourself?"

"I suppose so. I don't know. I was kinda hoping you could tell me. And also, you know, how to remove it?" Xander's tone was hopeful. His hopes were to be dashed.

"There is no way to remove it."

Xander sighed heavily "Well, there goes my hope for a normal life."

"We had better tell Buffy of this development."

"Let me, huh? But you're right, get them here now. I need to tell them." Xander started pulling on his sweater.

Giles rang Buffy's dorm room.

"Hello, Willow. Is Buffy there?"

~Yeah. Hang on.~

~Yo, Giles. What ya want?~ said Buffy.

"Could you come round to my apartment, right now? It's very important."

~I've got classes, but, what the hell? Sure. Do you want Wills and Oz?~

"Please."

~Can Riley come? He's feeling left out after last night.~ Buffy's voice was pleading. She obviously wanted to score points with Riley.

"No." said Xander, adamant that he did not come. Something about that guy freaked him out.

"No." repeated Giles down the phone.

~Fine. See ya soon.~ The dejection in her voice was easy to detect.

Giles hung up, and sighed at Xander's predicament. The only half normal person in the group, and he was no longer normal.

*

Buffy, Willow and Oz all turned up to Giles apartment block to see a huge hole in the brick work about six inches across, and continuing to his own apartment, to see the door itself with a fist sized hole in it. They rushed inside, ready for a fight.

Seeing Giles was all right, Buffy raised an eyebrow in question. "Who redid your door for you, Giles?"

Xander stepped out from the little kitchen alcove. With a completely straight face he said, "I did."

"You?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Me, Buff. Look." Xander started to pull off his sweater.

Buffy held up a hand. "As much as seeing a Xander strip show appeals, I want to know what Giles wanted so bad that he made me skip class."

"It's Xander." Giles simply said.

"Can I finish now, Buff? Thanks." Xander pulled off his sweater, and Willow and Oz gasped at the symbol emblazoned on his chest, directly above his heart. It took Buffy half a second more to catch on, and she went on the offensive.

Diving across the room at Xander, she pulled a stake, ready to Slay.

Xander sidestepped and laughed humourlessly. "It's the Mark of Kayn, Buff. I'm not some blood sucking vampire."

"You're the Avatar?" said Buffy, getting up from the uncomfortable position that had been her landing place. She still tried to attack.

Xander didn't try to stop her.

"That means you're bad?" Buffy continued.

"Not until he's called." Interjected Giles.

"Called what?"

"Geez, Buff. Sometimes you can be really slow, you know that?" snapped Xander.

Buffy finally landed a punch on Xander. Xander didn't even flinch. Buffy cried out in pain as her fingers broke.

Xander was instantly there.

"Damn it, Buff. I didn't expect you to hit me that hard. Giles and me already tried some experiments. I can hit myself and it hurts, and bruises. Anyone else hits me and I'm pretty much invulnerable. Giles punched me, kicked me, hell, even shot me. With crossbow and pistol. I haven't even got a scratch." Xander held up the bullet that Giles had fired at him. It was an armour-piercing round. "Did you see the hole in the wall outside this apartment block? That was me as well."

"So what you're saying is your practically invulnerable and stronger than me." Said Buffy, tears starting to choke her voice.

"I suppose so, yes."

"And if Kayn can give his Avatar that much power, what does it say about how much he has?" Buffy was practically sobbing, worry about Kayn, and Slayage, and College all piling on top of one another.

"My friend in the council says that Kayn, when he creates his Avatar gives most of his power to the Avatar. He is relatively weak with an Avatar to protect him. Also, once he has given his Avatar the power, he cannot withdraw it. The Avatar must die. Kayn can kill his Avatar with a command, but it takes time for the Avatar to die, a week. And if Kayn dies in that time, the Avatar will not die." Giles sounded unsure, "Probably, anyway."

"Thanks Giles." Buffy sniffed.

"Now he has given his Mark to his Avatar, he will likely hide until he what he wants to occur begins. It will probably be at the Winter Solstice. It is only a few weeks away." Giles finished.

"So you're saying I have about three and a half weeks to be myself, then I become some mental, remorseless killer." Said Xander.

"I suppose so, yes." Replied Giles.

"Wonderful. How can my life get any better?" moaned Xander, "someone care to tell me I've won the lottery but two weeks late to collect the cheque?"

*

In the weeks that followed Xander being 'marked' as Giles had begun to call it, the nightlife of Sunnydale went through the floor. Even in his 'weakened' state, Kayn seemed to be hunting vampires left, right and centre. The one vampire Buffy did encounter after her night patrolling with Xander was dust almost as soon as she spotted it. Kayn may have been evil, but he was superb at eradicating other potential problems and competitors.

One puzzling thing was that at one battle site, modern equipment was littered about, with a lot of blood. Military equipment. One was an almost tazer gun, which fired arcs of lightning rather than running it down two wires attached by a prong mechanism, while another looked like a flame-thrower. While all the gang wondered what the hell it was in Sunnydale involved the military, the primary concern was Xander.

Xander was getting stronger and stronger. It seemed as he became more accustomed to the powers, more became available.

Giles was in full research mode. If the Avatar were as strong or stronger than Xander was currently, when Kayn did call him, Buffy would not be able to stop him. He needed to find some sort of weakness. Willow and Oz helped. All they managed to find was horror stories hidden in books on other subjects. It seemed the Templars were not quite so thorough as they thought. They all ran along the same lines. Kayn wants to kill something or someone, or alter for the worse the course of history. Kayn creates Avatar. Kayn calls Avatar. Avatar goes nuts, killing anyone who gets in the way. Kayn does what he wants, and disappears again for anything between a few decades to a few hundred years.

Giles found one ray of hope. The pope that had been sworn to silence kept a journal. 'And it was that Kayn was imprisoned in a Tomb of Stone. So weakened by the battle was he that when he should rise again, time will pause, and the demon shall return to his own plane to repair.' Which meant that either Kayn had already been back to his plane, or he was trying to get there. If the latter, Buffy may be able to beat him, if the former, we're in big trouble.

Oz found another possibility. It spoke of the Avatar. 'The Avatar can be weakened by one thing alone. The love of his love.' With that cryptic message, Giles, Oz and Willow began the hunt for Anya, who they all assumed to be Xander's 'love'. They should have looked much closer to home.

*

Xander and Buffy were doing their final patrol through the cemeteries of Sunnydale. Well, not so much a patrol as a midnight stroll by two friends. There were almost no vamps left in Sunnydale.

"…and, the more I'm with Riley, the more I feel that he is just… I don't know…" Buffy tailed off.

Xander picked up the line. "…an inbred Iowan schmuck." He tried not to grin, and failed miserably.

"Exactly." Said Buffy, not sure she should insult Riley when he wasn't there, but not really caring all that much. Her feelings couldn't have been that strong after all. "I feel like I'm just… marking time… or something… trying to get over Angel before finding who I want to stay with…" Buffy looked over at Xander speculatively "…someone like you." she finished quietly, almost as if she were embarrassed at the revelation.

Xander instantly had a choking fit. "…me?" he managed to stutter out, "What about you not thinking about me… in that way?" Xander regretted the words as soon as he said them.

Buffy was on the defensive, and that was never a good thing. "That was a long time ago, Xand. I've done a lot of growing up since Angel left. And a lot of looking. I don't know why Anya ever left you."

Xander didn't know what to say. So he said nothing, not wanting to put his foot in it.

"Xander, I think… I'm… falling… for you." Buffy finished, so quietly that Xander would not have heard her without the Mark and its associated powers.

"Buffy…" Xander managed to choke out, "I…"

Both of their heads snapped up at a sudden noise off to the right, in a copse of trees. Buffy and Xander rushed over to the trees, stopping just short of entering and slowed down to see what was happening.

A group of army goons were in a firefight with a large group of vampires. Only the troops weren't using standard weapons. They appeared to be using the tazer style weapon, Buffy and Xander had found before, which fired short-range lightning arcs. This incapacitated the vamps it hit, how neither Buffy nor Xander knew, just long enough for an unarmed trooper to run over to them and inject them with something.

"I thought vamps didn't have a heart beat? So how can injecting them make them seize up?" asked Xander.

Buffy was frozen. "Riley…" was all she said.

"What?" queried Xander, "stop thinking about doofus and answer my question!"

Buffy just looked at him and grabbed his arm. Pointing with the other at one of the soldiers, she hissed "Riley! That's Riley! Oz said he didn't smell right! He's…"

"He's captured all the vamps." Deadpanned Xander.

"What the hell does the army want with vampires?" Buffy and Xander asked at the same time, and then grinned at each other.

Riley now seemed to be calling in to some sort of control. Buffy barely caught the conversation, and couldn't hear the controller. Xander heard perfectly.

"Agent Finn to Control. Come in. Over."

~Control. Over.~

"Seven HST's captured. Over."

~Good. Well done. Anything else? Over.~

"One dusted in the fight. Over."

The controller's tone turned icy. ~You will be reprimanded for that loss.~

"Yes, ma'am." Radio protocol was slipping.

~*Sigh* It can't be helped I suppose. Bring in the HST's for processing. Initiative Control out.~

Riley turned to his troops. He seemed to be in command. "Alright. Let's move out."

The troops picked up a vamp each and hauled them away.

Buffy and Xander just sat there staring.

"So that's why we haven't found any vamps recently. It's not just Kayn."

"Oz was right." Interjected Buffy.

"About what?" asked Xander, unsure what she was talking about.

"Oh, yeah… you weren't there then, you turned up later. He said that Riley didn't smell right to Willow when we were at the Bronze. Y'know, just before you rushed in last time. He thought I didn't catch what he said, but Slayer hearing, remember?"

"OK. Fair one." Was Xander's only response.

"It does beg the question however, what does the military want with vamps? Like we said just now."

"Yeah. Also, why was Riley getting chewed out so bad for letting one vamp get dusted? One shouldn't matter with the number round here. And what the hell is the 'Initiative'? Sounds like some sort of ability in a game or something. Not an organisation. Why were they in military kit?" Xander felt a quick jolt in his head. The soldier had made him say the last bit.

"And," said Buffy, "why were all the troops in that squad people from Riley's Frat house? He introduced me, one of them was called Forrest or something I think."

"Stupid name, if you ask me. Forrest? I mean, come on…"

Buffy nodded slightly, trying to think, but with Xander distracting her, it was difficult.

"Lets get back to Giles, see if we can figure this out." Continued Xander.

Both nodded and took off toward Giles apartment.

*

Willow finished drawing the chalk pentagram pattern on the floor, and Giles placed candles on the corners. Oz added the small bowl full of water and weird herbs. Once the candles were lit, he asked the two youngsters once more if they wanted to help him do the locator and subsequent summoning spell, as it may be dangerous.

Oz just nodded.

Willow said, "Giles, you don't have enough power to safely complete the binding spell by yourself. Remember that I got Angel his soul back."

"Binding spell?" asked Oz, confused, "I thought we were gonna locate, then summon Anya here."

"We are," said Giles, "but just in case we get the wrong person, or Anya has become Anyanka again, I asked Willow to prepare a binding spell. I pray, however that it wont be needed."

"Right. Because if it is, Anya is of no use to us, is she Giles? Because she'll be a demon again." Willow showed her incredible ability to absorb information as fast as she read it once again. It was useful, but dangerous with magic.

"Precisely." Giles nodded to the pentagram, and Willow started to chant. Oz and he backed off, and once a safe distance away, they stopped to watch.

After about 5 minutes of chanting, Willow completed the locator spell. The contents of the bowl glowed an angry red.

"Damn it." Giles was not happy. "She's become a demon again."

"How can you tell?" asked Oz.

"Have you ever seen a demon dimension? It's bloody hard enough for the demons to survive there, let alone a human being. She's become Anyanka again." The last sentence was preceded by a large, world-weary sigh.

"So, what do we do now? We know she's a demon, why bother summoning her?"

"Good question, but I want to know why she did it. Summon her, and prepare the binding spell." Giles tone left no room for argument.

"OK." Willow nodded, and turned back to the pentagram and continued to chant. While the previous chant had made the hair on the back of Giles and Oz' necks stand up, this one made their flesh crawl. It reeked of power. It had to, how else could you tear a demon away from where it wanted to be?

"By all the leprous sons of Baal! Who has summoned me against my will?" screamed Anyanka as she appeared in the middle of the pentagram.

"We did." Giles tone was icy.

Anyanka looked over at him. "Oh, Giles, it's good to see you again, but I was thinking probably I'd next see you when you were dead."

"Thank you, Anya." Giles said dryly.

"Only, well, D'Hoffryn has some huge plans for you, and…" she trailed off, "oh, whoops! I wasn't meant to tell you that." She slammed her hand over her mouth.

"Do you know why we summoned you?"

"Oh, yes. That's easy. Kayn has been freed, and someone has been chosen as the Avatar."

"Do you know who?"

"No…"

"Xander." Replied Giles, covering his ears quickly, to stop his brain exploding at the hideous squealing scream Anyanka let out.

"I'll murder him! Pull his guts out through his nostrils! Kayn! I'll get you!" Anyanka seemed to get mightily ticked off at Xander being Marked.

"Could you calm down long enough to answer a few more questions?" Giles couldn't contain his irritation.

Anya seemed to run out of steam. "Alright. For Xander."

"Do you know anything more of Kayn?"

"Not really, other than he's got a very sm… oh. You probably don't want to know that! Sorry."

Giles tried to hide his disgust at her preoccupation with sex. "Why did you become a demon again?"

"Oh. Right. I expected that question sooner. While I didn't get bored as a human, I got lonely." Anya tried to look sad. "And, D'Hoffryn turned up one night, after my new boyfriend had cheated on me with four prostitutes. Why I don't know, I never stopped." The last was said proudly, but the even more disgusted looks on Giles, Oz and Willow's faces said quite clearly that they hadn't wanted to know that. "Anyway, D'Hoffryn made me a demon again, and the first thing I did as a demon was avenge myself. My ex-boyfriend has lost that which is most important to him, numbers one, two and three, and the four hookers now have every STD under the sun, as well as a few new ones that I invented."

Willows eyes widened.

"Can I go now?" Anyanka asked almost meekly.

"OK. Willow, release the binding spells."

"Done, Giles." Willow replied.

"Bye, guys. I hope to see you again sometime. Preferably not when you want revenge on someone. You have all seen too much, I don't want to try doing any of your vengeance possibilities. That would just freak me out, if I could even do them properly…"

Anyanka vanished as quickly as she appeared, this time with a sparkly twinkle effect.

"Well, that went well." Deadpanned Oz.

"Thank you, Willow, Oz." Giles sighed again. "Goodbye, and see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Giles." Both Willow and Oz said as they headed back to Oz' van.

*

This is the first half…