Title: Just Short Of Peace
By: Cheddar
Rating: PG-!3
Summery: Xander is running away from his problems and new ones catch up.
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or Highlander. No one on this site does. Get over it.
Note: Wow! I really wasn't expecting any one to like this story but I am overwhelmed y the positive feedback I've been getting. I'm taking all your suggestions to heart and plan to correct some of them by the end of the week. Just so you know, the story is told in first person by Xander but in third person by Ace and at some points by Amanda. I'm separating their narratives with a * but I can label them better if you all want. Thanks iwbush!
Feedback: Please tell me what you honestly think. I'm sick and tired of people being superficial and fake. I get enough of that in real life.
*
Ace didn't know why but something about this just seemed wrong. His friend and teacher held the boy fast to the car. Delmar had always told him that he would be able to feel a pre-immortal but nothing came from the dark haired boy. No glimmer of a quickening and no taste of fear either. But there was defiantly something different about him. Was this how the pre- immortals felt to immortals? Was this how he had felt to Delmar in the seconds before the sword went into his own back? Ace had no way of knowing.
Delmar was glaring at him now and Ace lay the sword on the kid's back. Ace almost laughed as the realization struck him like a hard blow. Delmar was so convinced he was evil and that he could really kill this innocent boy but Ace knew that he was wrong. He could never kill this goofy looking kid who had probably grown up in a sleepy little town where nothing ever happened. This was probably his escape from wonderful parents that he hated because they were so perfect.
Jerking his sword hand up, Ace could feel the fast approaching presence of yet another Immortal. What was it with these people? Surely they did not travel in packs or anything but they always seemed to be drawn to each other.
Delmar muttered under his breath and Ace saw the impatience growing in his eyes. He had cut a deep gash in the kid's back when the unknown Immortal came into range. He must have also cut his head because there was blood coming out of that body part too. So much blood...
Before he knew what he was doing, Ace swung the sword around and planted it deep in Delmar's back. The older man was dead but looks could be so deceiving. A car pulled its self to a stop throwing dust and sand everywhere. The driver's door opened and a woman with short white blond hair got out.
Ace felt the explanation pouring out of his mouth even before she spoke. "He-he was trying to kill him. He was going to kill that kid!" It all came out in a rush but the woman seemed to be ignoring him. She checked the boy for a pulse and jerked him up and began to carry him to her car without even listening to what Ace was saying.
"I-I grabbed the sword and... look, lady, take the kid. Get him the hell away from here. I'll take care of... Maybe you could train him. I don't know if he's pre-immy or not but there sure as hell is something different about him." The woman nodded.
"Thanks," she said and got in the car. They drove off and the only clue that it hadn't been a horrible dream was Delmar laying there with a sword still in his back.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this." Ace withdrew the sword and as he friend and teacher gasped awake, he swung his sword around taking Delmar's head in a single silent stroke. For a moment all was silent. Then, three hundred years of evil began to spill out of the headless body laying on the ground and it choked the air.
*
The boy beside her would not know of these details until much later but we'll get to that. A week later the two of them were speeding north with the thoughts of Duncan and Immortals working at a car repair place whirled to confusion in her mind. It was confusing. And what had the boy meant when he told her that there was something different about him?
Alex. Now there was a real puzzle. Yeah, she knew he was running away from something. As a thief, running... er... retreating was part of her daily life. But this kid didn't seem like the type to be running away. What could possibly be so bad back where he came from that he saw running away as the way out of it all? He was too young for it to be *that* bad.
But the news she'd watched on the rinky dink television set in her hotel room last night crept into her thoughts. A little girl raped and beaten and left for dead by her foster family. She'd killed herself. Damn. This was one fucked up century.
*
We drove all morning and well into the late afternoon. We stopped over once at a drive through window for lunch just south of San Francisco in a town called Gilroy. I had slept most of the ride and in my few hours of wakefulness Amanda and I talked.
We didn't talk about what had happened. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.. Amanda told me it had been "taken care of" and we left it at that. We didn't really talk about anything in peticular either. We talked about the sights we passed.
As we passed through San Francisco, I thought that maybe I could see myself living here in this wonderful city by the bay. It seemed so full of life and so compleatly different from anything I was trying so hard to forget. But for now it was too close to all of that. And we drove on.
Our general discussions led to a conversation about places to live. Amanda, it seemed, had lived everywhere. She laughed merrily at my enthusiasm over places which she said were horribly over rated. "Greece? It's nice I guess but it's so hot!" But no matter what her gripe over a city or country was I always got the same response when I asked specifics about a place. "It's been a while since I was there."
Oh but once I got her started on Paris! "I love it there. I think you'd like it too. But you need a girlfriend. Paris isn't half as much fun without some one to share it with." I couldn't help it. Anya's face slipped into my mind. I could still hear her going on about Paris.
"Oooo! I love Paris! It's so romantic! We should go there some time!" I remembered how her voice trailed off. "Well, I guess that when I turned that one man's penis blue and green it wasn't so romantic. Especially for his mistress." The strange smile on the memory's face reminded me how she could some times be a pain the ass. I don't think Amanda noticed how I'd zoned out like that. Thank the PTB.
But she did seem to get the hint that I'd like to change the subject and so our words left Paris and turned instead to the place we were headed. "It's a nice little city." She told me all about her friends we were going to meet.
All about Duncan who owned the dojo. "He's like a big broody overgrown boy scout." I laughed. I couldn't help it. Broody? Boy scout? Was it just me or did this man sound like a living version of Angel. Emphasis on the live part seeing as how I didn't plan on running into any vampires her in Washington state.
As My traveling companion talked, it occurred to me that there was something more to her relationship with the topic of conversation. But I couldn't place it. I was never good at pegging relationships. that was always one of the girls' jobs. But there was something more than nothing there. A friend? A lover? Only time would tell me.
She told me about Richie. "He's closest to your age but he's hardly ever around anymore. He lives in New York." As she told me about his work with his 'beloved' motorcycles, I puzzled over the bit about him being the closest to my age. Amanda here looked my age. But I shrugged it off.
And then she got to Adam. "A beer drinking British pain in the ass," I believe were her exact words. I laughed. I couldn't help myself. Don't tell me we had a Spike wanna-be too!
In a twisted way it almost reminded me of the scooby gang back home. Right down to the old man, Joe Dawson. He struck me as the Giles type. The older know everything or find it in a book sort of man.
As she prattled on about how Duncan was a collector of swords and to not be alarmed by the amount of swords he had in his possession, I realized something. I would either fit right into this seemingly mismatched group of people or I would stick out like a sore thumb and make it very uncomfortable for all concerned. I hoped I'd fit in.
*
TBC
Thanks again to all the people who reviewed this! I loved the stories you all sent me about Xander. I admit to having read a few of them in the past but it was fun to revisit them :-)I think I finally figured out where I'm going with this story. It has a plot! Three cheers. I'm sorry this chapter was a little short but I wanted it to end there. It was kind of a 'after the fight but before the storm' kinda things. If you don't get what I mean by that then I'm sorry. I don't know when I'll get a chance to write the next part. I hope to have it done sooner than this chapter was but I have finales coming up. When they're over I'll have all summer to finish this story and Journey of Legends. (For all you people who read Harry Potter fanfics, please go r/r that one. It's my pride and joy and I actually like it better than this one.) So thank you all for your support and keep it coming!
By: Cheddar
Rating: PG-!3
Summery: Xander is running away from his problems and new ones catch up.
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy or Highlander. No one on this site does. Get over it.
Note: Wow! I really wasn't expecting any one to like this story but I am overwhelmed y the positive feedback I've been getting. I'm taking all your suggestions to heart and plan to correct some of them by the end of the week. Just so you know, the story is told in first person by Xander but in third person by Ace and at some points by Amanda. I'm separating their narratives with a * but I can label them better if you all want. Thanks iwbush!
Feedback: Please tell me what you honestly think. I'm sick and tired of people being superficial and fake. I get enough of that in real life.
*
Ace didn't know why but something about this just seemed wrong. His friend and teacher held the boy fast to the car. Delmar had always told him that he would be able to feel a pre-immortal but nothing came from the dark haired boy. No glimmer of a quickening and no taste of fear either. But there was defiantly something different about him. Was this how the pre- immortals felt to immortals? Was this how he had felt to Delmar in the seconds before the sword went into his own back? Ace had no way of knowing.
Delmar was glaring at him now and Ace lay the sword on the kid's back. Ace almost laughed as the realization struck him like a hard blow. Delmar was so convinced he was evil and that he could really kill this innocent boy but Ace knew that he was wrong. He could never kill this goofy looking kid who had probably grown up in a sleepy little town where nothing ever happened. This was probably his escape from wonderful parents that he hated because they were so perfect.
Jerking his sword hand up, Ace could feel the fast approaching presence of yet another Immortal. What was it with these people? Surely they did not travel in packs or anything but they always seemed to be drawn to each other.
Delmar muttered under his breath and Ace saw the impatience growing in his eyes. He had cut a deep gash in the kid's back when the unknown Immortal came into range. He must have also cut his head because there was blood coming out of that body part too. So much blood...
Before he knew what he was doing, Ace swung the sword around and planted it deep in Delmar's back. The older man was dead but looks could be so deceiving. A car pulled its self to a stop throwing dust and sand everywhere. The driver's door opened and a woman with short white blond hair got out.
Ace felt the explanation pouring out of his mouth even before she spoke. "He-he was trying to kill him. He was going to kill that kid!" It all came out in a rush but the woman seemed to be ignoring him. She checked the boy for a pulse and jerked him up and began to carry him to her car without even listening to what Ace was saying.
"I-I grabbed the sword and... look, lady, take the kid. Get him the hell away from here. I'll take care of... Maybe you could train him. I don't know if he's pre-immy or not but there sure as hell is something different about him." The woman nodded.
"Thanks," she said and got in the car. They drove off and the only clue that it hadn't been a horrible dream was Delmar laying there with a sword still in his back.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this." Ace withdrew the sword and as he friend and teacher gasped awake, he swung his sword around taking Delmar's head in a single silent stroke. For a moment all was silent. Then, three hundred years of evil began to spill out of the headless body laying on the ground and it choked the air.
*
The boy beside her would not know of these details until much later but we'll get to that. A week later the two of them were speeding north with the thoughts of Duncan and Immortals working at a car repair place whirled to confusion in her mind. It was confusing. And what had the boy meant when he told her that there was something different about him?
Alex. Now there was a real puzzle. Yeah, she knew he was running away from something. As a thief, running... er... retreating was part of her daily life. But this kid didn't seem like the type to be running away. What could possibly be so bad back where he came from that he saw running away as the way out of it all? He was too young for it to be *that* bad.
But the news she'd watched on the rinky dink television set in her hotel room last night crept into her thoughts. A little girl raped and beaten and left for dead by her foster family. She'd killed herself. Damn. This was one fucked up century.
*
We drove all morning and well into the late afternoon. We stopped over once at a drive through window for lunch just south of San Francisco in a town called Gilroy. I had slept most of the ride and in my few hours of wakefulness Amanda and I talked.
We didn't talk about what had happened. I wasn't sure I wanted to know.. Amanda told me it had been "taken care of" and we left it at that. We didn't really talk about anything in peticular either. We talked about the sights we passed.
As we passed through San Francisco, I thought that maybe I could see myself living here in this wonderful city by the bay. It seemed so full of life and so compleatly different from anything I was trying so hard to forget. But for now it was too close to all of that. And we drove on.
Our general discussions led to a conversation about places to live. Amanda, it seemed, had lived everywhere. She laughed merrily at my enthusiasm over places which she said were horribly over rated. "Greece? It's nice I guess but it's so hot!" But no matter what her gripe over a city or country was I always got the same response when I asked specifics about a place. "It's been a while since I was there."
Oh but once I got her started on Paris! "I love it there. I think you'd like it too. But you need a girlfriend. Paris isn't half as much fun without some one to share it with." I couldn't help it. Anya's face slipped into my mind. I could still hear her going on about Paris.
"Oooo! I love Paris! It's so romantic! We should go there some time!" I remembered how her voice trailed off. "Well, I guess that when I turned that one man's penis blue and green it wasn't so romantic. Especially for his mistress." The strange smile on the memory's face reminded me how she could some times be a pain the ass. I don't think Amanda noticed how I'd zoned out like that. Thank the PTB.
But she did seem to get the hint that I'd like to change the subject and so our words left Paris and turned instead to the place we were headed. "It's a nice little city." She told me all about her friends we were going to meet.
All about Duncan who owned the dojo. "He's like a big broody overgrown boy scout." I laughed. I couldn't help it. Broody? Boy scout? Was it just me or did this man sound like a living version of Angel. Emphasis on the live part seeing as how I didn't plan on running into any vampires her in Washington state.
As My traveling companion talked, it occurred to me that there was something more to her relationship with the topic of conversation. But I couldn't place it. I was never good at pegging relationships. that was always one of the girls' jobs. But there was something more than nothing there. A friend? A lover? Only time would tell me.
She told me about Richie. "He's closest to your age but he's hardly ever around anymore. He lives in New York." As she told me about his work with his 'beloved' motorcycles, I puzzled over the bit about him being the closest to my age. Amanda here looked my age. But I shrugged it off.
And then she got to Adam. "A beer drinking British pain in the ass," I believe were her exact words. I laughed. I couldn't help myself. Don't tell me we had a Spike wanna-be too!
In a twisted way it almost reminded me of the scooby gang back home. Right down to the old man, Joe Dawson. He struck me as the Giles type. The older know everything or find it in a book sort of man.
As she prattled on about how Duncan was a collector of swords and to not be alarmed by the amount of swords he had in his possession, I realized something. I would either fit right into this seemingly mismatched group of people or I would stick out like a sore thumb and make it very uncomfortable for all concerned. I hoped I'd fit in.
*
TBC
Thanks again to all the people who reviewed this! I loved the stories you all sent me about Xander. I admit to having read a few of them in the past but it was fun to revisit them :-)I think I finally figured out where I'm going with this story. It has a plot! Three cheers. I'm sorry this chapter was a little short but I wanted it to end there. It was kind of a 'after the fight but before the storm' kinda things. If you don't get what I mean by that then I'm sorry. I don't know when I'll get a chance to write the next part. I hope to have it done sooner than this chapter was but I have finales coming up. When they're over I'll have all summer to finish this story and Journey of Legends. (For all you people who read Harry Potter fanfics, please go r/r that one. It's my pride and joy and I actually like it better than this one.) So thank you all for your support and keep it coming!