Title: One For All (9/?)
Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at
Rating: I'm gonna go say PG-13.
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.
* * *
"C'mon, Kitten," Spike grinned, stepping into the hotel room, unbarred by her temporary residence, "let's have some fun."
Something in Tara's mind snapped. She wasn't going to let him get her, not again. She reacted, driving her heel into his crotch. As the vampire doubled over, she scrambled to her feet and ran, shoving him aside.
"Bloody _bitch_!"
* * *
"All right," Xander said. "We've got to regroup, guys. Hellmouth's reopening, Oz was kidnapped, and..." he trailed off and looked around, "...where's Faith?"
"Um, perhaps she's still out looking for you," Giles suggested. Buffy and Willow both shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the dark-haired Slayer.
Xander shook his head, "When I stopped by Buffy's, I told her to take my bike back here. It's in the parking lot downstairs."
"She went for a walk." Giles and Xander turned to Angel, who elaborated, "She said she had some things to think about."
Xander snorted, "Knowing her, she's looking for vamp ass to kick." He shook his head, "But why now? She knows we're on a timetable here. Hell, she gave me a lecture about it not more than an hour ago."
Willow frowned. Faith? Being responsible? She shot an incredulous look at Buffy, but the ex-Slayer wasn't surprised. Unlike Willow, she'd gotten to know the reformed Slayer even when the spell was still active, and she knew just how much Faith had matured over the years.
Angel shrugged, "I stopped trying to figure that girl out a long time ago, Harris."
Xander sighed. Things were falling apart, and...
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Xander whirled around and grabbed his shotgun. Pumping a slug into the chamber, he held the weapon ready, pointed at the ceiling, and waved everyone else back. He opened the door.
And caught Tara as she stumbled into his chest, crying hysterically. He reflexively pulled her into a hug with his left arm and shifted so that he was between her and the door. He let the shotgun in his right hand drop level, his eyes quickly scanning down the hallway for trouble. Faith had chosen an apartment located at the end of the hallway, so he had a clear view of the entire corridor.
It was empty.
Keeping the shotgun leveled and ready, he looked down at Tara, "What's wrong?"
Buffy and Willow watched uncertainly... and with a hint of jealousy. Who was this woman?
"I-it's _him_," she managed in a small voice.
"Who?" Xander asked.
"Me."
Xander looked up and hissed, "Spike. I see the sunburn got better."
"Nice to see you too, Droopy Boy," Spike replied. "Ready for another rematch?"
The Hunter ignored him and looked down at Tara, "What did he do to you?"
She shuddered, and Xander wondered just what Spike could have done to shake her up so badly. What had happened to the calm and methodical warrior-witch that had saved them from Valkorr?
"The scars," she whispered. He blinked uncomprehendingly for a moment... then suddenly, he understood.
He closed his eyes and lowered the shotgun to the ground. He extracted two sets of brass knuckles and slid them on, then stepped out into the hallway. "You want a rematch, Spike? Well, come on then."
"That bird must be mighty important to you," Spike smirked. "You _really_ want to make me hurt." It was true. Had he followed his recent fighting patterns, the Hunter would have gone straight for the easiest and fastest kill.
"We gonna talk or fight?" Xander snapped.
Spike sniffed the air, then snapped his fingers in melodramatic realization, "O' course!" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Xander and said, "She's a real screamer, that one. But then," Spike's smiled turned sinister, "you already knew that, didn't you, mate?"
Xander roared incoherently and charged Spike, while behind him, Tara looked away and cringed. She didn't want to think about it, but her mind wasn't cooperating.
Spike dodged the first blow, but the second one plowed into his gut, causing him to double over. He stumbled back and shook his head clear. That punch had _hurt_.
Xander held up his fists, and Spike muttered in grudging admiration, "Clever."
Tiny crosses were etched into the striking surface of the brass knuckles.
Spike stretched his neck out and leaped toward the Hunter, lashing out with over a century's worth of combat experience. Xander whirled around and nearly caught Spike in the throat with his foot, but the vampire ducked under it and caught hold of the Hunter's leg, slamming him against the wall.
"Time for dinner," Spike grinned, baring his fangs.
"Not tonight," Xander shot back... and jammed his foot down on Spike's, crushing the extremity. He shoved the vampire back against the opposite wall, then hauled him up and hurled him down the corridor, away from Faith's apartment. Reaching out toward the apartment, Xander telekinetically sent his shotgun skittering across the floor toward him. Catching the weapon and bracing it against his shoulder, he fired.
Spike stumbled back and gurgled as his stolen blood flooded his punctured right lung and spilled out his mouth. Xander flipped the selector to the tube magazine and chambered a flare shell.
Just as Xander pulled the trigger, Spike hurled himself across the hall, crashing through the apartment door. The cone of flame narrowly missed the vampire.
"Damn!" Xander muttered, pumping another flare shell into the chamber and running in pursuit. He swung around just before reaching the apartment and, spotting Spike, fired.
And missed as the vampire dove into the next room. Xander followed, working the pump again. He found himself in a kitchen and leveled the shotgun again. Another blast of fire missed its target as Spike took cover behind the counter and struggled with the window.
Xander pumped the shotgun and fired again, just as the badly-wounded vampire tumbled out the window. Spike felt the blast of flame physically shove him out as he tumbled down the side of the building and into the back of a passing garbage truck.
Running over to the window, Xander leaned out with the shotgun and worked the pump again. He lined up the ring sight on Spike and pulled the trigger.
Click.
"Damn it!!!" he cursed furiously. He was muttering to himself as he stalked back out. "How the hell did he get in here anyway without an invi-..." he trailed off as he saw the answer to his unfinished question.
Taped to the apartment door -- which was now lying on the floor just inside the doorway -- was a paper sign with a phone number and the words "For Rent" printed in large orange letters.
* * *
Buffy and Willow leaned out on the railing of the balcony. They were waiting for Faith, and Xander had taken Tara into the guest room for a quiet heart-to-heart.
"What did he _do_ to her?" Willow wondered aloud.
Buffy shook her head and replied distantly, "I don't know, but I can make a few guesses. I've seen that look before at the precinct."
"You have?"
"Yeah," Buffy said, "but it's not my place to tell." The ex-Slayer's eyes dropped, "And it's all my fault."
Willow turned and stared at the blonde incredulously, "_What_?"
"Seriously!" Buffy said, meeting her gaze. "I... remember when Spike kidnapped you and Xander? Wanted you to cast a love spell on Dru for him?"
"Yeah," Willow said uncomfortably. _That_ had not been one of her favorite nights, and it wasn't even because of the whole kidnapping bit.
"After he gave up on the spell," Buffy said, "he told us where you were and walked away. I... I had a chance, right there. I could have staked him. I _should_ have staked him... but I didn't. I just let him walk away, and Tara paid the price. Tara... and who knows how many others."
"No."
They both spun, and Willow asked tentatively, "H-how's Tara?"
"She's coping," Xander said. He looked at Buffy, "But let's not change the subject here. Don't blame yourself, Buff; it's not your fault."
"Isn't it?" Buffy snapped. "If I'd staked him, he'd never have..." she stuttered to a halt. It wasn't her place to talk about what she'd recognized in Tara's face. After all, she could be wrong.
"Maybe," Xander said. "But Buffy, odds are, he would've gotten away anyway."
"Xander," Buffy argued, "he was drunk."
Xander shook his head, "He's cunning, skilled, and luckier than any being on this Earth has a right to be. I've run into him a dozen times over the last seven years. Sometimes he was sober, sometimes he was drunk, and sometimes he was high on something else and even more out of it. But each time, he got away. He's got more lives than a cat. Besides, what he does isn't your fault. It's his and no one else's."
"But, I..."
"You kept your word, Buffy," Xander cut her off. "You proved yourself better than him." He leaned on the railing and looked out at the city, then murmured softly, "Better than us."
Buffy turned, "Xander? What are you talking about?"
He closed his eyes and shook his head, "I don't wanna talk about it, Buff."
Buffy bit her lip but acquiesced, "All right. I suppose I'd better get some shut-eye."
With that, Buffy turned and left Willow and Xander alone on tbe balcony, pausing at the door to shoot the Hunter one last lingering look. She called back, "Oh, and Xander? Don't think this means you're off the hook about that spell. We're gonna have a _long_ talk about that later."
He winced and nodded. "Right, Buff, gotcha."
Shaking her head, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
"So," Willow said, "you gonna talk now?"
"Willow..."
"Don't. Resolve Face," Willow said seriously. "This... it's hurting you, Xander, tearing you up inside. I wanna help. I... have to help... or I can't be Willow."
He looked at her for a long moment, then relented.
"I..." he started hesitantly, "...I've killed more than just demons and vampires, Wills."
Her eyes widened, "Y-you mean...?"
"Yeah," he said, his voice raw.
"Who were they?" she asked quietly.
"Lots of different kinds. Demon worshippers, bounty hunters that were after my head, people like Wilkins who sold their souls, even a bunch of lawyers who worked for this evil law firm in L.A."
"Evil people."
"Uh, yeah, I guess, but Wills... they were still people."
"Shh..." She pulled him into a hug, "It's okay, Xander."
"But... I..."
"Xander, I trust you," she said firmly. "I know that... whatever you did... it was only to protect us. All of us."
"Thanks, Wills," he croaked out softly.
* * *
"Giles?"
"Yes, Xander?" the Watched looked up tiredly.
"Can I have a look at some of your Watcher diaries?"
"Umm, certainly. Why?"
"I... have my reasons."
* * *
Author's Postscript:
I'm on a roll here. Next time, we return to 1883 and the fates of Diego Salvatore and Virginia Maxwell.
Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link. Plus, archived at
Rating: I'm gonna go say PG-13.
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.
* * *
"C'mon, Kitten," Spike grinned, stepping into the hotel room, unbarred by her temporary residence, "let's have some fun."
Something in Tara's mind snapped. She wasn't going to let him get her, not again. She reacted, driving her heel into his crotch. As the vampire doubled over, she scrambled to her feet and ran, shoving him aside.
"Bloody _bitch_!"
* * *
"All right," Xander said. "We've got to regroup, guys. Hellmouth's reopening, Oz was kidnapped, and..." he trailed off and looked around, "...where's Faith?"
"Um, perhaps she's still out looking for you," Giles suggested. Buffy and Willow both shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the dark-haired Slayer.
Xander shook his head, "When I stopped by Buffy's, I told her to take my bike back here. It's in the parking lot downstairs."
"She went for a walk." Giles and Xander turned to Angel, who elaborated, "She said she had some things to think about."
Xander snorted, "Knowing her, she's looking for vamp ass to kick." He shook his head, "But why now? She knows we're on a timetable here. Hell, she gave me a lecture about it not more than an hour ago."
Willow frowned. Faith? Being responsible? She shot an incredulous look at Buffy, but the ex-Slayer wasn't surprised. Unlike Willow, she'd gotten to know the reformed Slayer even when the spell was still active, and she knew just how much Faith had matured over the years.
Angel shrugged, "I stopped trying to figure that girl out a long time ago, Harris."
Xander sighed. Things were falling apart, and...
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Xander whirled around and grabbed his shotgun. Pumping a slug into the chamber, he held the weapon ready, pointed at the ceiling, and waved everyone else back. He opened the door.
And caught Tara as she stumbled into his chest, crying hysterically. He reflexively pulled her into a hug with his left arm and shifted so that he was between her and the door. He let the shotgun in his right hand drop level, his eyes quickly scanning down the hallway for trouble. Faith had chosen an apartment located at the end of the hallway, so he had a clear view of the entire corridor.
It was empty.
Keeping the shotgun leveled and ready, he looked down at Tara, "What's wrong?"
Buffy and Willow watched uncertainly... and with a hint of jealousy. Who was this woman?
"I-it's _him_," she managed in a small voice.
"Who?" Xander asked.
"Me."
Xander looked up and hissed, "Spike. I see the sunburn got better."
"Nice to see you too, Droopy Boy," Spike replied. "Ready for another rematch?"
The Hunter ignored him and looked down at Tara, "What did he do to you?"
She shuddered, and Xander wondered just what Spike could have done to shake her up so badly. What had happened to the calm and methodical warrior-witch that had saved them from Valkorr?
"The scars," she whispered. He blinked uncomprehendingly for a moment... then suddenly, he understood.
He closed his eyes and lowered the shotgun to the ground. He extracted two sets of brass knuckles and slid them on, then stepped out into the hallway. "You want a rematch, Spike? Well, come on then."
"That bird must be mighty important to you," Spike smirked. "You _really_ want to make me hurt." It was true. Had he followed his recent fighting patterns, the Hunter would have gone straight for the easiest and fastest kill.
"We gonna talk or fight?" Xander snapped.
Spike sniffed the air, then snapped his fingers in melodramatic realization, "O' course!" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Xander and said, "She's a real screamer, that one. But then," Spike's smiled turned sinister, "you already knew that, didn't you, mate?"
Xander roared incoherently and charged Spike, while behind him, Tara looked away and cringed. She didn't want to think about it, but her mind wasn't cooperating.
Spike dodged the first blow, but the second one plowed into his gut, causing him to double over. He stumbled back and shook his head clear. That punch had _hurt_.
Xander held up his fists, and Spike muttered in grudging admiration, "Clever."
Tiny crosses were etched into the striking surface of the brass knuckles.
Spike stretched his neck out and leaped toward the Hunter, lashing out with over a century's worth of combat experience. Xander whirled around and nearly caught Spike in the throat with his foot, but the vampire ducked under it and caught hold of the Hunter's leg, slamming him against the wall.
"Time for dinner," Spike grinned, baring his fangs.
"Not tonight," Xander shot back... and jammed his foot down on Spike's, crushing the extremity. He shoved the vampire back against the opposite wall, then hauled him up and hurled him down the corridor, away from Faith's apartment. Reaching out toward the apartment, Xander telekinetically sent his shotgun skittering across the floor toward him. Catching the weapon and bracing it against his shoulder, he fired.
Spike stumbled back and gurgled as his stolen blood flooded his punctured right lung and spilled out his mouth. Xander flipped the selector to the tube magazine and chambered a flare shell.
Just as Xander pulled the trigger, Spike hurled himself across the hall, crashing through the apartment door. The cone of flame narrowly missed the vampire.
"Damn!" Xander muttered, pumping another flare shell into the chamber and running in pursuit. He swung around just before reaching the apartment and, spotting Spike, fired.
And missed as the vampire dove into the next room. Xander followed, working the pump again. He found himself in a kitchen and leveled the shotgun again. Another blast of fire missed its target as Spike took cover behind the counter and struggled with the window.
Xander pumped the shotgun and fired again, just as the badly-wounded vampire tumbled out the window. Spike felt the blast of flame physically shove him out as he tumbled down the side of the building and into the back of a passing garbage truck.
Running over to the window, Xander leaned out with the shotgun and worked the pump again. He lined up the ring sight on Spike and pulled the trigger.
Click.
"Damn it!!!" he cursed furiously. He was muttering to himself as he stalked back out. "How the hell did he get in here anyway without an invi-..." he trailed off as he saw the answer to his unfinished question.
Taped to the apartment door -- which was now lying on the floor just inside the doorway -- was a paper sign with a phone number and the words "For Rent" printed in large orange letters.
* * *
Buffy and Willow leaned out on the railing of the balcony. They were waiting for Faith, and Xander had taken Tara into the guest room for a quiet heart-to-heart.
"What did he _do_ to her?" Willow wondered aloud.
Buffy shook her head and replied distantly, "I don't know, but I can make a few guesses. I've seen that look before at the precinct."
"You have?"
"Yeah," Buffy said, "but it's not my place to tell." The ex-Slayer's eyes dropped, "And it's all my fault."
Willow turned and stared at the blonde incredulously, "_What_?"
"Seriously!" Buffy said, meeting her gaze. "I... remember when Spike kidnapped you and Xander? Wanted you to cast a love spell on Dru for him?"
"Yeah," Willow said uncomfortably. _That_ had not been one of her favorite nights, and it wasn't even because of the whole kidnapping bit.
"After he gave up on the spell," Buffy said, "he told us where you were and walked away. I... I had a chance, right there. I could have staked him. I _should_ have staked him... but I didn't. I just let him walk away, and Tara paid the price. Tara... and who knows how many others."
"No."
They both spun, and Willow asked tentatively, "H-how's Tara?"
"She's coping," Xander said. He looked at Buffy, "But let's not change the subject here. Don't blame yourself, Buff; it's not your fault."
"Isn't it?" Buffy snapped. "If I'd staked him, he'd never have..." she stuttered to a halt. It wasn't her place to talk about what she'd recognized in Tara's face. After all, she could be wrong.
"Maybe," Xander said. "But Buffy, odds are, he would've gotten away anyway."
"Xander," Buffy argued, "he was drunk."
Xander shook his head, "He's cunning, skilled, and luckier than any being on this Earth has a right to be. I've run into him a dozen times over the last seven years. Sometimes he was sober, sometimes he was drunk, and sometimes he was high on something else and even more out of it. But each time, he got away. He's got more lives than a cat. Besides, what he does isn't your fault. It's his and no one else's."
"But, I..."
"You kept your word, Buffy," Xander cut her off. "You proved yourself better than him." He leaned on the railing and looked out at the city, then murmured softly, "Better than us."
Buffy turned, "Xander? What are you talking about?"
He closed his eyes and shook his head, "I don't wanna talk about it, Buff."
Buffy bit her lip but acquiesced, "All right. I suppose I'd better get some shut-eye."
With that, Buffy turned and left Willow and Xander alone on tbe balcony, pausing at the door to shoot the Hunter one last lingering look. She called back, "Oh, and Xander? Don't think this means you're off the hook about that spell. We're gonna have a _long_ talk about that later."
He winced and nodded. "Right, Buff, gotcha."
Shaking her head, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
"So," Willow said, "you gonna talk now?"
"Willow..."
"Don't. Resolve Face," Willow said seriously. "This... it's hurting you, Xander, tearing you up inside. I wanna help. I... have to help... or I can't be Willow."
He looked at her for a long moment, then relented.
"I..." he started hesitantly, "...I've killed more than just demons and vampires, Wills."
Her eyes widened, "Y-you mean...?"
"Yeah," he said, his voice raw.
"Who were they?" she asked quietly.
"Lots of different kinds. Demon worshippers, bounty hunters that were after my head, people like Wilkins who sold their souls, even a bunch of lawyers who worked for this evil law firm in L.A."
"Evil people."
"Uh, yeah, I guess, but Wills... they were still people."
"Shh..." She pulled him into a hug, "It's okay, Xander."
"But... I..."
"Xander, I trust you," she said firmly. "I know that... whatever you did... it was only to protect us. All of us."
"Thanks, Wills," he croaked out softly.
* * *
"Giles?"
"Yes, Xander?" the Watched looked up tiredly.
"Can I have a look at some of your Watcher diaries?"
"Umm, certainly. Why?"
"I... have my reasons."
* * *
Author's Postscript:
I'm on a roll here. Next time, we return to 1883 and the fates of Diego Salvatore and Virginia Maxwell.
