A/N:Don't you love warnings? ^_~ Thanks, once again, to my beta Dora. Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You make my day -- and that's almost literal. Without you guys, posting this wouldn't be nearly as much fun! So, on that note - keep 'em comin', and I'll do my best to do the same!
Xander has called his friends in Sunnydale and told them he will be staying indefinitely in LA, and to not worry about him, he will come back as soon as he can, and he misses them greatly. Meanwhile, Wesley has gotten the books he wanted from his friend in England and has been poring over them, while Xander occupies himself by looking through internet sites. Once again, a meeting has been called for Wesley to share his findings.
"Alright, Xander. According to everything I have found, on your twentieth birthday, your aura will begin to change. This is in preparation for your transformation in a year, on your twenty-first birthday."
"Transformation?" Xander asked slowly. "Does that mean... I'll turn into a girl?"
Wesley sighed. "No, you'll still be male. I suppose I should have said manifestation. When you turn twenty-one, the demonic aspect will be in full possession."
"Oh, there are words I like!" Xander said caustically. "'Demonic aspect'! 'Possession'!"
"Xander!" Wesley cried. The boy was almost hysterical. "Look. I know this is a very trying experience."
"No, Wes, you don't! You don't understand what this is like for me, okay? You don't. I have always been the normal one, the Zeppo. Now I'm a demon! I am a heterosexual male, but you're telling me that in just -- I mean just -- over a year, I'm gonna have to have sex with another guy!"
Wesley seemed about to say something, but then thought better of it. When he finally did speak, he kept his voice low and non-threatening. "Perhaps we should hold this off until tomorrow."
Xander took a deep breath. "No. No. Just... just give me a little while. I'll be fine. Sorry I blew up at ya, Wes." Xander left the room, already introspective. Cordelia was about to follow him, but Angel grabbed her arm. When she turned to look at him, he simply shook his head. "Let him have some time alone. He needs to come to grips with this himself. You won't be able to help him." Cordelia watched Angel's face for a moment more, then she retook her seat on the couch.
Xander came back a little over an hour later. Cordelia had gone out and gotten some hamburgers, on which she was happily munching. When Xander entered the room, she silently offered him the brown paper bag with the rest of the hamburgers, which he took. Cordelia watched as he sat down -- he seemed to be okay now, but she noticed he very deliberately sat far enough away from her that she wouldn't accidentally brush against him. Xander had always been somewhat shy about physical contact, but it had been quite a while since he'd been bothered by her touch.
Wesley finished his own sandwich, wiped his face and hands on a napkin, and resumed his 'lecture' mode. "Shall we continue?" The question appeared to be addressed to all three of them, but Wesley waited until Xander nodded. "Hit me," he said, a grim smile on his face.
"Well. First of all, I should apologize. I should have realized that the words I had chosen to explain the situation weren't the most comforting. They were accurate, but I could have explained it better. So, I'll try again.
"First of all, the words you had trouble with -- 'demonic aspect' and 'possession'. When I say possession, I don't mean Linda Blair in The Exorcist."
"You know that movie?" Cordelia asked.
Wesley looked at her. "Of course. It's based on a true case study of possession in--"
"Could we get back on topic? Please?" Xander interrupted.
Wesley nodded. "Of course. When I said possession, I meant you would possess the full aspect."
"Maybe it'd make more sense if you told us what you mean by 'demonic aspect,'" Angel suggested.
"Yes. In this instance, the aspect of the demon consists of several non-human qualities -- all of them psychic, not physical," he assured Xander. "On the outside, you will appear to be an ordinary young man. When you turn twenty, your aura will begin to change. Most people can't actually see auras, but they subconsciously respond to them. Someone with a sickly aura, people will unconsciously avoid, while someone with a vibrant aura, people will clamor to be near. The aura is actually what someone senses when they say they get a 'feeling' about someone.
"Your aura will change, to attract a certain type of person."
"Men," Xander said glumly.
"Actually, I'm not sure," Wesley confessed. "Since we are talking about attracting the same sex, I'm not sure if you will attract all men, just men who have a preference for the same sex, or... any man who's ever considered such a preference." He sighed. "We'll just have to wait and see. But whatever it is, that specific type of person will want to be with you. You might call it 'animal magnetism', if you wish.
"Another part of the aspect is that... supposedly, you will..." Wesley grimaced. "Gain grace. You should become more fluid in your movements. Your aura will only attract certain persons to you -- it's the succubus' job to want them to sleep with her."
"Wait -- wait, wait," Cordelia called out, holding up a hand to stop him. "Are you saying... Xander's gonna become sexy?" Xander looked at her with a somewhat hurt look on his face. Cordelia smiled sweetly at him and said, "Xander, I love you, but you know you're goofy. You've worked hard hours on it."
Xander crossed his arms sulkily and slouched down on the couch. "I can be sexy if I want to," he muttered to himself. Cordelia rolled her eyes at that.
Wesley cleared his throat, trying to get back on topic. "As I've said, these are all just hypotheses, based on what females go through before becoming succubi."
Cordelia frowned in confusion. "Well, wouldn't it work the same if you found out what the other ones go through? The male demon, incubus?" She looked at Wesley questioningly.
Wesley blinked a few times at her, before opening his mouth, paused, cleared his throat, and said, "Yes, well... uh, I suppose that might help us, yes. Thank you, Cordelia." Wesley looked distinctly uncomfortable that he hadn't thought of that. Cordelia didn't notice his discomfort, too pleased with herself for having a good idea to help Xander out.
Wesley cleared his throat again, trying to save face. "While that is a good idea, the fact remains that Xander will be turning into a succubus, and as such, we need to focus on their way of life."
Cordelia snorted at that. "Way of life? They sound like a bunch of nymphomaniacs to me." She frowned when Xander glared at her for this flippancy.
"I'm afraid it's much more serious than just wanting--needing-- to have sex quite often," Wesley said, his tone growing serious enough that both teenagers sat up straighter. Wesley looked at Xander and said somewhat consolingly, "Now, I'm going to explain just what happens to a succubus. I want you to be prepared."
Xander took a deep breath, then nodded. "I'm good."
Wesley nodded. "Alright, then. From what I've learned, a succubus can survive for up to two weeks without sexual intercourse. However, that would be like a human surviving without water -- once they start to become deprived, they become desperate. I haven't found any substantial evidence of this, but... it's quite possible that they will resort to drastic measures to get their--their 'fix' of sex."
Xander closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Wesley and stating, "They'd rape someone."
Looking into the young man's eyes, Wesley hesitated briefly before nodding. He hated laying all this on Xander's shoulders, but he would rather frighten Xander with his words than send the boy out into the world unprepared, and have Xander frighten himself with his actions.
Angel, sitting silently off to the side, was frowning. If Xander was a male, but was going to turn into a succubus... would his sexual preferences change? Would he essentially adopt a woman's taste in sexual partners? And if so... how exactly does a woman rape someone? He was about to ask Wesley... but saw the tenuous grasp Xander had on his cool, and decided to wait until later, perhaps ask Wesley in private.
"Well," Wesley said, with an air of forced calm, "those are extreme circumstances. Succubi rarely have to resort to drastic measures, because they usually have their choice of any man around. From what I've read, a truly adept succubus can almost put a man in a thrall, making him disregard his friends, his family -- even his wife, almost without a second thought.
"Succubi seem to have a penchant for... well, they seem to possess sadistic tendencies. But this appears to coincide with our earlier analogy that succubi are like vampires. Vampires are demons, but they have essentially the same personality as their human host, but without its inhibitions. Succubi are the same, but again, in regards to anything sexual. There is no taboo for the succubi, and any inclination they have is acted upon. There are a great many people who have sadistic tendencies, but never act on them, because they are afraid of what society would think." Wesley had gotten fully into his explanation by this point, and seemed to start to forget that he was talking about something personal, instead of just research he had done on yet another demon.
"Now, on a regular night, the succubus will most likely head to a bar or club, since this is where gentlemen are likely to go to pick up a young woman for the night. The succubus is a confident creature, which helps to attract men. I haven't found anything that tells how she makes her selection, but at some point she chooses a man and takes him to her home. Since she needs sexual intercourse, she doesn't waste much time in, er, getting him into her bed. Her zealousness usually causes the man to orgasm quickly, which isn't good for the man. The succubus apparently needs intercourse to last... I'm not sure how long, but usually longer than it does with a human male. If the succubus isn't satisfied, she quite often becomes abusive to the man, belittling him and his performance--"
"Stop!" Xander cried. His face was a pasty white, his eyes were larger than usual, and his hand was trembling slightly as he wiped it over his mouth. Not quite looking at anyone, he stood up and said, "I, uh... I gotta go..." He left the office, the three other occupants watching him leave with varying degrees of worry.