The Fifth Race By TopQuark

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners... none of which are me.

Summary: The Zeppo gets a makeover and a vacation all in one. Too bad the Hellmouth booked the reservations.

Warning : Crossovers ahead.

Rating : PG13. For mature themes, sexual content, and all the other fun stuff that rarely makes network TV.

Most of the ideas came from Tenhawk, when I started whining that I couldn't finish my other fanfiction.

Feedback, It's the coin of the realm. Thanks everyone for the feedback, thanks to vega keep, tenhawk, enterprise, yawn, Teri, and everyone else that replied and read my prologue. I've been told that I made Cordy too mean, oh well hehehe.

Previously on The Fifth Race

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"Hey loser, don't you walk away from me," yelled Cordelia as he continued to walk through towards the doorway to the boiler room.

****

"Well thanks to you, I remembered a promise I made a long time ago. No matter what, no matter how weak or badly beaten I am, I will never abandon my friends. Yeah, I am the Zeppo... but you know what?" Xander paused and gave her an odd little smile. "I'm comfortable with that."

****

Time moving slowly as he slowly arced his back further and in a way that seemed unnatural; she wanted to run to him to help him, and then time snapped back into place, "XANDER!" she screamed over and over. She then heard it a sound that would haunt her for years to come, his scream; it seemed so unnatural, so unXander like. She tried to reach him she really did, but by the time that she made it to his location only dust was present. Tears left her eyes as she searched for the artifact and the crack on the floor but both where gone just like Xander was.

****

And Now.

She didn't mean it, she didn't want him to suffer like she saw him suffer for those long minutes. She couldn't believe that he was gone; she searched the whole boiler room but only returned to the pile of dust. Crying she ran to her locker and grabbed half empty water bottle and emptied it. "No, No, No! Not like this!" she cried over and over as she picked up his ashes and poured them into the bottle. After finishing she just started at the bottle and cried as she thought of all the times they had together, for once when she thought of what he did with Willow the anger wasn't there.

Slowly she got up and very slowly ascended the stairs and walked towards the library. Her mind had shut down, she couldn't think anymore, didn't want to. As she finally reached the library, feeling relieved no one was there she sat down at one of the tables and waited. She placed her head down on the table and quickly fell asleep from the stress of the situation she had just experienced.

**** She was shaken awake and jumped in surprise, she looked around confused for a moment and then her eyes came across the water bottle that held the remains of her ex-boyfriend. Her eyes teared up and she grabbed the bottle and hugged it as Giles placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Is something wrong, Cordelia? Is there something I could do?" he asked gently.

She kept crying ignoring Giles as he tried to find out what was wrong with her, he even went as far to try to get the bottle out of her hand, but she pushed him away and scratched his face as she screamed, "Noooooooo! It's all I have left!"

Extremely confused at her reaction and the way the future seer was reacting he left to get Buffy and Willow. He quickly stopped before he reached the doors and turned back. Grabbing a chair and sitting next to the distraught young teenager he slowly placed his hand on her shoulder and quietly asked her what was wrong.

Calming a little and sniffling as she tried to release the waves of panic that passed through her, "He's gone Giles, Why?! Why?!" She sprang up from her chair and went to hug Giles, looking for any type of comfort. She mumbled incoherent words as he returned the hug and hoped she would calm herself enough to give him some idea what was going on.

Quietly she turned her head towards his and stepped back into her chair, "Can you get Buffy and Willow please." He could tell that she was barely holding herself together and he decided to do as the girl wished. Cordelia just rocked back and forth on the chair as she clutched the bottle; the image of the way she saw Xander die will never leave her. She knew it had to be very painful, she just kept crying even as Buffy and Willow joined Giles in the library.

Buffy and Willow seemed worried since they couldn't find Xander earlier in their call and now Cordelia was crying hysterically. As Cordelia saw them enter the library, she did something that took all present by shock, she ran towards Buffy and Willow and started screaming, "He's gone, he's gone! What are we going to do?!!"

Not knowing what to do Willow just looked at Buffy to do something about Cordelia. After trying to get the cheerleader to talk and calmed down, the slayer had no choice but to grab, pick her up and carry her into Giles' office.

"Well yes, that is one way to handle the situation," replied Giles as he tried to clean the scratches he had received a few minutes earlier. He nervously looked around wondering what to do, handling hysterical teenagers was not his job. Slayers usually didn't tend to get hysterical.

After being forcefully placed on the couch in the office Cordelia tried really hard to calm herself. She just stared into space as she tried to get the image of Xander being vaporized from her mind. He must have been in so much pain, he had to be! Maybe if I wasn't there to point it out, he would be here, more tears started to leave her eyes. Still clutching on to the bottle, she just wondered what she was going to tell the others.

After a few more minutes of her crying she finally started telling them what had happened, from following Xander to the boiler room. "So I," she sniffled a little, "followed him so I could get some dirt on him to humiliate him," she said with great regret and lowered her eyes as thought of he intentions where. Receiving no questions from the gang she continued, "We argued a little and well he tried to apologize for what happened with Willow," Cordelia glared up at the redhead None of this would have happened if you would have kept your hands of him, "and I ignored it of course. He actually thought that I would forgive him, I wish I had now."

Hearing how she talked about Xander in the past tense the girls where starting to get scared, "Cordelia what happened to Xander? Where is he?" the slayer asked with some force. She stared down at her classmate waiting for the answer and hoping that it wasn't bad news.

Cordelia looked the group tears appearing in her eyes as he prepared herself to tell them, "He's gone? I'll never see him again." She went on to relate what happened in the boiler room leaving out the part about the bomb and O'toole; and how Xander went to pick up the artifact she pointed out and how he was vaporized, "And this is all I have left of him!!" she cried as she clutched the bottle even harder to her chest.

Buffy couldn't believe what she just heard, it couldn't be true. What the hell was he doing in the boiler room?! She glared at Cordelia as she saw Willow collapse onto her knees crying hysterically. But for the first time the Slayer didn't know what to do, there was nothing to slay, nothing to get angry at except the circumstance. So she just stood there frozen glaring at Queen C.

Willow just rocked back and forth from and thought about her best-friend, her first love, her everything at one point being going forever. This can't be happening, why, why?! she kept mentally screaming over and over. She raised her head to look at Cordelia who had started crying again and then she looked at Buffy who was paralyzed from the shock of the news. But something didn't sit right to her, she just couldn't accept this so easily. I'll find him, he's not dead. He's not dead!!! She quickly stood up shocking everyone by her quick movement. She slowly walked up to Cordelia and attempted to grab the bottle, "Please, let me examine it. I have to make sure," she softly said but was shocked by Cordelia's reply.

"NO, This is all I have left. YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!!" Cordelia got up tried to push Willow aside and make an escape. But she was deterred when Willow grabbed her shoulder and tried to grab the bottle.

Buffy again didn't know what to do and just stood there, while Giles was not taking any of the actions of the teenagers calmly. Willow then slapped Cordelia since the Prom Queen refused to let go of the bottle. "Let go you bitch! I have to make sure he's still alive, I have to bring him back!"

Buffy and Giles just stood there shocked at Willow's outburst both thinking that the red head had snapped.

Not one to back down the Queen of Sunnydale High swung back knocking the smaller girl done, "Don't you get involved to you bottle blonde," she screamed at the slayer as Buffy went to protect her fallen friend.

Willow got up and headed towards Cordelia, "Just give it to me!!" She grabbed the bottle and started to pull it out of Cordelia's grip, when she stumbled back from another attack.

"You can't have it!! It's your fault all this happened! If you would have your hands off him then he would still be here with me! I hate you, I blamed him all that time when I should have blamed you. You knew he was mine and you had to try to steal him!"

Getting angry now Willow got up and smiled at the other girl, "Yeah well he wasn't complaining when we were kissing."

Cordelia ran crying from the room after Willow's outburst.

"Well that worked out well," Giles finally spoke.