Title: One For All (3/?)

Author: Cyclone

Feedback: Please be gentle.

Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at

Rating: I'm gonna go say PG.

Spoilers: Up to Graduation, then AU version of events after that.

Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to the almighty Joss. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Summary: Thanks to Xander's sacrifice, the Slayer and Slayerettes can live normal lives... until now.

Author's Note: Read the previous parts -- including the prologue -- or this is not going to make any sense whatsoever.

* * *

Four times, he pumped the shotgun, and four times, he pulled the trigger.

Four times, fire erupted from the shotgun's muzzle and incinerated his target.

Xander dropped the weapon, even though it still had a silver flechette shell in the box magazine, and twirled his sword around. The ensorcelled blade arced through the air and decapitated another vampire as he began to cut a swath of dust through the vampiric horde.

"Xander, look out!" Kennedy warned, hurling an axe toward him. He ducked, and the axe flew over his head, and he felt dust shower him from behind.

He grinned and swung his sword at another vampire, "Thanks, Ken!"

Kennedy scowled at the nickname but decided let it slide. For now.

Dawn fired her crossbow again, and the last vampire crumbled to dust. The Key made flesh grinned and threw up a fist victoriously. "Yesss! _Five_ vampires!"

Conner smiled, "Nice shot."

"Oh, my God!" Cordy cried out, rushing to Angel's side. "What happened?" She turned and glared at Xander, "How could you let something like this happen to him?!"

Xander held up his hands defensively, "Don't look at me. He got torn up all on his own this time."

"Harris..." Angel growled warningly at Xander. Looking at Cordy, he said, "Gremlin. Two feet tall, lightning fast. Had a double-bladed short sword and knew how to use it. But that's not our biggest problem right now."

Cordy nodded, "The Hellmouth." Angel shook his head, and she frowned quizzically, "Not the Hellmouth?"

"He's talking about the Order of Taraka," Xander said. "Someone contracted them to take me out. This whole setup was a trap. Eastern mystic faked up the vision and boosted a Fyarl demon until the damn thing was bulletproof."

"'The Order of Taraka'?" Cordy looked up at him, frowning. "Wait, wait, isn't that the bunch Spike hired to kill B-... _her_?" she asked, not wanting to invoke the former Slayer's name.

Xander nodded as he crouched down to pick up his shotgun.

"And now they're after _you_?!" she shrieked.

"Yeah," he said with a shrug, straightening to his feet. "Let's get back to the hotel."

"Oh, God," she muttered. "We have to do something, get you somewhere safe..."

"Safe? From the Tarakans?" Xander snorted, stowing his gear in the trunk and climbing into the shotgun seat. "No. I go into hiding, they'll find me anyway, and a lot of people might die in the meantime 'cause I'm not out there to save them."

"This isn't the time for your macho heroism, Xander!" Cordy snapped angrily. "They're going to _kill_ you!"

"And how's that different from usual, Cor?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "From the moment I joined the fight, I knew some demon was going to kill me. I accepted that a long time ago, and I'm not gonna quit just because someone started _paying_ them to. Now, are we going or not?"

* * *

"Answer the bloody phone!" Giles snarled as the far end continued to ring. After a moment, he slammed the phone back onto the hook and sighed. "Blast!"

Looking up at Faith, he shook his head, "No answer."

* * *

They filed into the hotel, one by one... and stopped.

"Hey, Miss J," Kennedy grinned.

"Patty," Wesley raised an eyebrow. "You're back."

"Hello, Kennedy, Wes," the woman said, nodding at them in turn and briefly shooting Wesley a small smile.

"What did the Council have to say?" Wesley asked.

"All in good time, old friend," she said absently. Her brown hair was done up in a tight bun, and her icy blue eyes swept across the team, stopping when her gaze rested on Xander. She extended a hand toward him and said coolly, "I don't believe we've met. You must be Alexander."

He nodded and shook her hand, "And you must be Kennedy's Watcher, Patricia Johnson."

She smiled, and her face turned warm and friendly with that single change of expression, "A pleasure to meet you, young man. Pity I have to leave so soon." She looked at Kennedy, "I'm afraid the Council wants us to deal with a... 'situation' that cropped up in Mexico City."

The Slayer frowned, "What sort of situation?"

"I'll explain on the way. We don't have much time," the Watcher said briskly walking toward the door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Kennedy said, holding up a hand to forestall her Watcher. "I can't just up and leave like this."

"I'm sure _Angelus_ can handle things in L.A.," Patricia said frostily, looking evenly at the ensouled vampire. "Unless, of course, you don't trust him."

Kennedy snorted, "I trust him about as far I can throw him... and with Slayer strength, that's pretty damn far. No, I'm worried about Dawn."

"I can take care of myself!" Dawn protested.

"Now isn't the time to be discussing this, Kennedy," the older woman said, a hint of steel in her voice. "We have a reported increase in both the vampire population _and_ their organization, and we've just lost contact with the local observation group. They need the Slayer, and it's far too dangerous to bring another civilian in."

Kennedy hesitated, then turned to Angel, "Take care of Dawn."

He nodded, "She'll be safe."

The Slayer nodded, "C'mon, Miss J. Let's go."

The two departed, and Xander shivered. Angel looked at him, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, "I dunno. That lady just gives me the creeps, the way she shifts gears like that."

Angel shrugged, "She's usually like that. She doesn't like me much."

"Gee, I never would've guessed," Xander said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "What tipped you off?"

The vampire scowled, "Would you let me finish? As I was saying, she doesn't like me, but she's up front about it. Kinda like you."

"Look," Xander said, "can I crash here tonight? It's late, and I sorta want to be conscious when I get back to Sunnydale."

"No," Angel said, "we're leaving now." Xander opened his mouth to protest, but Angel turned and said, "Wesley, can Wyndam-Pryce Investigations pick up the slack?"

"Always," Wesley nodded.

"Cordy," Angel turned to the seer, "I want you in charge. Work with Wesley and make sure everyone stays... alive."

"You got it."

"C'mon, Harris."

* * *

//Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless.//

"Cordelia?" Giles asked.

//Giles, hey! What's up?//

"Something rather important," he said gravely. "Is Xander there?"

//Sorry, you just missed him. He and Angel just left for Sunnydale.//

"Oh, I-I see," he said. "I'll tell them when they get here then. How are things in L.A.?"

//Same as usual. Mostly, anyway. Xander showed up, told us about the Hellmouth. Oh, and Miss Johnson got back from the Council meeting and took Kennedy down to Mexico for some Slayer-related thing.//

"Ah. I see," he frowned. The Council had been keeping closer tabs on Patricia since that awful debacle two years ago... closer than they'd ever done before with any active field Watcher. There were times -- such as now -- when he wondered just what exactly these "meetings" entailed...

//Anything else, Giles?// Cordy asked, breaking his train of thought.

"Uh, no. Th-thank you."

//Later, then.//

"G-goodbye, Cordelia."

* * *

"They're _what_?"

"They're trying to reverse the spell, X," Faith said.

"I-indeed," Giles said, pushing his glasses back up. "I'm still not one hundred percent sure, but that does appear to be the intent of the spell."

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Angel asked.

"I hadn't pinpointed the exact nature of it yet," Giles explained. "As it is, all I know for certain is that the target of the spell is either the spell you cast after graduation or the abilites you gained from it, Xander."

Xander looked over at Angel, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

The vampire nodded grimly, "The Order. It has to be. The timing's just too convenient."

Giles frowned, "Excuse me, but... what 'Order'?"

Xander grimaced, "Sorry, G-man. Haven't filled you in yet. We just found out ourselves last night. Someone's contracted the Order of Taraka to take me out."

"My word."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Faith said. "Someone put a hitman on your tail?"

"Not just an assassin," Giles said gravely, "but an entire order of assassins who will not stop until the contract is carried out. Xander, you should-..."

"No," Xander cut him off. "I heard the same spiel from Cordy, and I'll tell you what I told her: As soon as I got into this, I knew I was on borrowed time. Just because the demons are getting paid this time doesn't change a thing."

"X, I dunno..." Faith said uncertainly.

"It's _my_ life on the line, Faith," he said, glaring at her. "It's my call. I'm not running. I'm not hiding. If they want me, I'm gonna make sure they earn every penny of their fee. Just drop it, okay? Both of you. We have to focus on the Hellmouth."

"R-right," Giles nodded hesitantly. "O-of course."

* * *

Xander whirled his sword around and decapitated the vampire. He frowned, "That's makes six tonight so far."

"And the night's still young," Faith said. It was only four hours past sunset.

"Damn it!" Xander snarled, sliding his sword back into his baldric. "A week ago, it took us all night to get that many. The undead are getting pretty restless."

"Yeah," Angel said grimly. "I can feel the energy. It's building, and the demon in me's getting stronger."

Xander glanced sideways at him, "You aren't gonna go Evil Deadboy on us, are you?"

Angel closed his eyes and shook his head. "I can handle it. I did it before, back when..." he trailed off.

"Back when B was the Slayer." The two each shot her a Look, and she looked at them incredulously, "What _is_ it with you two? Why do you always get so antsy talking about her?"

"Because," Xander said slowly, "it still hurts, knowing that she -- and they -- won't even remember us."

"Oh," Faith said. "I-I'm sorry."

"That's oka- look out!" Xander leaped and tackled Faith to the ground as _something_ hurtled over them. Rolling over and kipping to his feet, Xander took stock of his opponent.

The attacker wore a helmet and a metal face mask that concealed the lower half of his face, leaving only a slit at eye level exposed. He wore a dark purple cape that hung down behind him to knee level, attached to the large metallic shoulder pads. The rest of his costume was black and would have blended into the night were it not for his cape. On his forearms and over his hands were large metallic gauntlets, covered with small hooked blades.

Out of a tiny aperture in the left gauntlet stretched a dull grey line, almost invisible in the darkness, and Xander tracked the line to the other end... where it led into Angel's chest. The attacker yanked his left arm back, and a small harpoon tore out of the ensouled vampire, sending him to the ground in pain as it retracted into the gauntlet, the barbs folding neatly against the shaft.

"Nice outfit," Xander said, drawing his sword again. He _really_ wished he'd brought his shotgun, but ammo for it was costly enough, and it attracted way too much attention for regular patrols. "Let me guess: You're with the Order."

The Tarakan didn't answer. Instead, he thrust his left arm toward Xander and snapped his wrist down. The line shot out toward Xander, and he sidestepped, bringing his sword down on the wire. But the wire -- steel, Xander belatedly realized -- held and suddenly retracted. The barbs had snapped open again and caught his blade, sending it flying from his hands.

Faith suddenly appeared from Xander's left, launching a vicious kick to the attacker's head, sending him stumbling backward. "Huh. So you're a Tarakan." She shook her head, "So far... not impressed."

Suddenly, the assassin surged forward, lashing out with his right hand, and Faith staggered back and groaned, clutching her gut. The assassin rose. Two long blades that had extended from his right wrist retracted back into the gauntlet. The blades were smeared with blood.

Faith's blood.

He thrust his left arm out toward Xander and snapped his wrist down again. Xander steeled himself and grabbed the cable as it shot toward him, stopping the harpoon mere inches from his face, the barbs snapping open and causing him to flinch back.

He yanked the cable, and the assassin stumbled toward him, right into his left cross. The punch crumpled the assassin's metal mask as if it were tin foil... which made sense, as it _was_ tin foil.

Suddenly, the assassin stumbled back, and Xander found himself holding the detached cable as the assassin extended the twin blades from his right gauntlet and lashed out at him. Xander held up the cable between his hands, blocking the slash.

The assassin swung low, and Xander blocked again. A third attack, and Xander blocked and spun around the assassin, looping the cable around his throat and pulling it tight.

For several long seconds, the assassin scrabbled futilely at the cable, his eyes bulging, before he finally slumped to the ground, dead.

Xander sank to his knees for a moment. Picking something up, he struggled to his feet and said, "Faith, Deadboy, you okay?"

"I'll live," Faith said through gritted teeth.

Angel rose to his feet, leaning heavily against the tree.

He limped over to them and swore, "Aw, Christ. Let's get you two back to the Magic Box."

* * *

"Damn it, X," Faith muttered as Giles taped up her injury. "Every time you're around, someone tries to split me open like a trout."

"Yeah, yeah," Xander said. "You can beat me up for it later. Just be glad it was a shallow cut." He looked over at Angel, "How're you feeling?"

"Like the walking dead," Angel said with a smirk.

"Damn," Xander commented, "you must be _really_ out of it. You're making jokes."

"Ha. Ha," Angel glared.

Giles shook his head, "Are you sure it was the Order?"

Xander wordlessly pulled the ring from his pocket and tossed it to the ex-Watcher. He sighed, "Look, I'm gonna go for a walk."

"Is that wise?"

"No worries, G-man. I'm packing," Xander said, strapping on a shoulder holster with a 9mm, then shrugging on his black duster.

After he stepped out, Xander inhaled deeply through his nose, smelling the clean night air. *God damn it,* he thought. *Faith and Angel nearly bought it just for being near me. I can't stay here, or I'll be putting them in danger.*

"You!"

He looked up and smiled, "Detective Summers. What's a good, upstanding citizen such as yourself doing out at this hour?"

"Checking out a report of suspicious activity," Buffy said coolly. "What are you doing outside Rupes' place?"

He raised an eyebrow, "'Rupes'?" *Note to self: Rib the G-man about Buffy's nickname for him.*

"I'm still waiting," Buffy crossed her arms impatiently.

"I'm a friend of Giles," Xander said. "Was in town, thought I'd drop by... and you could say... I needed a little air."

"All right," Buffy said. "Can you at least tell me your name?"

"Alex," he said.

"Alex," she repeated, then smiled. "It's a nice name. Fits you, I think, after saving me like that. So, you gonna tell me what those three goons you saved me from were?"

He shook his head, "Like I said, you're better off not knowing."

"What if I run into more?" she asked, looking out into the dark street.

"I'll be around."

"Yeah, well..." she said, turning, and frowned. "Where'd he go?"

* * *

Author's Postscript:

Again, credit goes to Garrett for his beta work and for suggesting I model the next Tarakan after Shredder.