Chapter 7
Abandoned Factory Sunnydale Outskirts
Giles, Angel, Buffy and Willow had spent the last hour watching the factory from a distance, hiding in the shadows waiting for Spike or Drusilla to show up. Unknown to them they had been spotted by Dru before they even set foot in the factory, and so the gang were waiting for someone that was never going to arrive.
About an hour before first light, Giles offered Angel a lift back to his mansion. He also suggested to Buffy and Willow that they come along too. "Buffy, if Spike returns in the last hour before sunrise, he won't be going anywhere after that. We have all day to come back and investigate. Either way, Angel has to leave now. What do you want to do?"
"I'm going to wait here Giles. Willow, you can go with Giles if you want, but I think someone needs to stay here" said Buffy.
"I'll stay here with Buffy" said Willow in a low voice.
Giles turned to the girls. "Ok, but for goodness sakes be careful! The last thing I want is to have to search for one of you as well. This is hard enough as it is" said Giles. As he said it he realised just how much everyone, including himself, would miss Xander, and it surprised him a little that he hadn't thought about Xander being so integral to the gang before now.
Giles and Angel got into the car and drove off towards Sunnydale, the echo of the engine noise fading gradually into nothing. Buffy and Willow looked at each other in silence, then resumed their observation of the nearby factory. It wasn't long however before the familiar sound of Giles' car could be heard, and a minute later he pulled up with Angel still in the front seat.
Buffy turned to face Giles with a quizzical look, as if to say 'why are you back so soon'?. Before she could give voice to the thought, Giles literally leapt out of the car and yelled out "quickly, get in" while motioning with his arm for both of them to hurry.
Any pretence that they might have still been in hiding disappeared with Giles arrival. Buffy and Willow hurried over to Giles and got in the back seat of his car.
"Giles, what is it. What's wrong?" asked Buffy, sensing bad vibes from Giles.
Giles turned up the volume on the radio and said simply "listen".
'. and to repeat this morning's breaking news, we have unconfirmed reports that the only daughter of Sunnydale's richest man, tax attorney William Chase was found murdered this morning in the front yard of their home. To date there has been no comment from either the family or police, but we will keep you informed when there are any developments to this tragic story. Again, the teenage daughter of ."
"Switch it off" said Buffy in a cold voice.
Giles leant forward and turned off the car radio, and for a long moment there was nothing but silence.
Buffy spoke first, deflated. "So I guess that's it then."
"No Buffy. We don't know for sure. It could have been an actual murder, it, it." began Willow, before breaking down into sobs at the harsh reality.
Giles tried to remain optimistic "Buffy, we really should investigate further before we jump to any conclusions. There may be another explanation."
"No" said Buffy, more harshly than she meant. "I can just feel it. I can't believe it but it makes sense" continued Buffy, saying the words but still not really believing them.
"Cordelia may have been many things, but she wasn't stupid. If she was found in the front yard, then she came outside willingly, and that means she must have been lured outside by someone she trusted. Xander"
Part of Buffy was waiting for someone to tell her she was wrong, that Xander was really ok. The other part was replaying the scene from earlier in the night, except this time Buffy did all the things that hindsight allows, and was able to prevent Xander from being taken. Each time after saving him in her mind Buffy had to face the reality that he was now lost for all time. It would be a while before Buffy realised that the job of killing vampire Xander would fall to her.
Giles pulled out on to the road and drove silently down the highway heading back towards his apartment. Willow was staring blankly ahead, while Buffy still had her head between her knees with her hands covering her face. Neither of them were remotely capable of dealing with the situation right now. Giles was also in shock, but he knew that most likely there was a new vampire wandering about who had intimate knowledge of the Slayer's routines, methods and strategies. Giles rationalised that the Xander he had known was now dead, and instead he was dealing with a demon who had assumed his form and was now a real danger to all of them.
Angel was watching the road pass by under him as his thoughts returned to the day he was sired and first rose as a vampire. He remembered the blood lust, the overwhelming thirst he experienced before first draining the man patrolling the cemetery. As Angel's thoughts returned to the present, he realised that Xander most likely was sired by either Spike or Drusilla. That would make him a little more powerful than the average vamp they came across day in, day out. For reasons Angel couldn't explain, he knew that somehow the vampire who turns you somehow passes on certain traits, almost like a mother to her child. 'Better find him quickly' thought Angel, 'before he gets to full strength.'
1 Hour Earlier Chase Residence
Xander finished draining Cordelia and let her corpse fall to the ground with a dull thud. There was no remorse, no conscience telling him his actions were wrong. He was hungry, he fed. So much the better that there had been an element of retribution in there too.
Xander checked his watch again and saw that there was still about 90 minutes till sunrise. Not wanting to cut it too finely, he headed off towards the centre of Sunnydale to find somewhere to crash. Xander resisted the urge to pay his parents a visit, for now. Not only would the Slayer probably look there first, but after tasting the sweet fresh blood of Cordelia he didn't want to spoil the taste in his mouth with the filth circulating through his parents veins. 'Better to just go and get a bottle of Jack Daniels' thought Xander.
As he walked along Xander hummed quietly to himself. He was surprised to find that although he didn't need to draw breath, he still could. Not wanting to lose focus, Xander dismissed the thought and turned his mind back to finding shelter before daylight. Mainly he wanted to find somewhere that Buffy and her cronies wouldn't think to search, because that just wouldn't do at all, especially during daylight. Within a few minutes of running through places in his head, Xander came upon the perfect hideaway.
About a year after Jesse had died, his parents had left Sunnydale to try and make a fresh start and moved to the other side of the country. With real estate in a slump, they hadn't been able to sell their house and now almost twelve months later it was still uninhabited. Willow had always been more of a friend to Xander and had befriended Jesse only through his acquaintance, so when Jesse's parents had moved away Willow didn't know, and Xander thought that she probably still didn't know. That made it a perfect place to stay for the time being.
'I only wish I hadn't staked him' thought Xander. As he remembered, he realised that he hadn't really staked him, a student fleeing the harvest had bumped into Jesse and impaled him on Xander's stake, but the result was the same. 'If Jesse were here now, we could really create some havoc' thought Xander almost regretfully.
Xander made his way around the back of his dead friend's house. He tried the back door first and wasn't surprised to find it locked. He then continued around to a bedroom window, thrust his fist through the glass and unclasped the latch. Silently he climbed in, closed the window and the blinds, and headed for the master bedroom where he knew the only window there faced west. Reaching the bed, Xander flopped down on it and closed his eyes. Already he was looking forward to tonight, when he could begin on the idea that had occurred to him on the way over here - recruitments, starting with good old Willow.
Abandoned Factory Sunnydale Outskirts
Giles, Angel, Buffy and Willow had spent the last hour watching the factory from a distance, hiding in the shadows waiting for Spike or Drusilla to show up. Unknown to them they had been spotted by Dru before they even set foot in the factory, and so the gang were waiting for someone that was never going to arrive.
About an hour before first light, Giles offered Angel a lift back to his mansion. He also suggested to Buffy and Willow that they come along too. "Buffy, if Spike returns in the last hour before sunrise, he won't be going anywhere after that. We have all day to come back and investigate. Either way, Angel has to leave now. What do you want to do?"
"I'm going to wait here Giles. Willow, you can go with Giles if you want, but I think someone needs to stay here" said Buffy.
"I'll stay here with Buffy" said Willow in a low voice.
Giles turned to the girls. "Ok, but for goodness sakes be careful! The last thing I want is to have to search for one of you as well. This is hard enough as it is" said Giles. As he said it he realised just how much everyone, including himself, would miss Xander, and it surprised him a little that he hadn't thought about Xander being so integral to the gang before now.
Giles and Angel got into the car and drove off towards Sunnydale, the echo of the engine noise fading gradually into nothing. Buffy and Willow looked at each other in silence, then resumed their observation of the nearby factory. It wasn't long however before the familiar sound of Giles' car could be heard, and a minute later he pulled up with Angel still in the front seat.
Buffy turned to face Giles with a quizzical look, as if to say 'why are you back so soon'?. Before she could give voice to the thought, Giles literally leapt out of the car and yelled out "quickly, get in" while motioning with his arm for both of them to hurry.
Any pretence that they might have still been in hiding disappeared with Giles arrival. Buffy and Willow hurried over to Giles and got in the back seat of his car.
"Giles, what is it. What's wrong?" asked Buffy, sensing bad vibes from Giles.
Giles turned up the volume on the radio and said simply "listen".
'. and to repeat this morning's breaking news, we have unconfirmed reports that the only daughter of Sunnydale's richest man, tax attorney William Chase was found murdered this morning in the front yard of their home. To date there has been no comment from either the family or police, but we will keep you informed when there are any developments to this tragic story. Again, the teenage daughter of ."
"Switch it off" said Buffy in a cold voice.
Giles leant forward and turned off the car radio, and for a long moment there was nothing but silence.
Buffy spoke first, deflated. "So I guess that's it then."
"No Buffy. We don't know for sure. It could have been an actual murder, it, it." began Willow, before breaking down into sobs at the harsh reality.
Giles tried to remain optimistic "Buffy, we really should investigate further before we jump to any conclusions. There may be another explanation."
"No" said Buffy, more harshly than she meant. "I can just feel it. I can't believe it but it makes sense" continued Buffy, saying the words but still not really believing them.
"Cordelia may have been many things, but she wasn't stupid. If she was found in the front yard, then she came outside willingly, and that means she must have been lured outside by someone she trusted. Xander"
Part of Buffy was waiting for someone to tell her she was wrong, that Xander was really ok. The other part was replaying the scene from earlier in the night, except this time Buffy did all the things that hindsight allows, and was able to prevent Xander from being taken. Each time after saving him in her mind Buffy had to face the reality that he was now lost for all time. It would be a while before Buffy realised that the job of killing vampire Xander would fall to her.
Giles pulled out on to the road and drove silently down the highway heading back towards his apartment. Willow was staring blankly ahead, while Buffy still had her head between her knees with her hands covering her face. Neither of them were remotely capable of dealing with the situation right now. Giles was also in shock, but he knew that most likely there was a new vampire wandering about who had intimate knowledge of the Slayer's routines, methods and strategies. Giles rationalised that the Xander he had known was now dead, and instead he was dealing with a demon who had assumed his form and was now a real danger to all of them.
Angel was watching the road pass by under him as his thoughts returned to the day he was sired and first rose as a vampire. He remembered the blood lust, the overwhelming thirst he experienced before first draining the man patrolling the cemetery. As Angel's thoughts returned to the present, he realised that Xander most likely was sired by either Spike or Drusilla. That would make him a little more powerful than the average vamp they came across day in, day out. For reasons Angel couldn't explain, he knew that somehow the vampire who turns you somehow passes on certain traits, almost like a mother to her child. 'Better find him quickly' thought Angel, 'before he gets to full strength.'
1 Hour Earlier Chase Residence
Xander finished draining Cordelia and let her corpse fall to the ground with a dull thud. There was no remorse, no conscience telling him his actions were wrong. He was hungry, he fed. So much the better that there had been an element of retribution in there too.
Xander checked his watch again and saw that there was still about 90 minutes till sunrise. Not wanting to cut it too finely, he headed off towards the centre of Sunnydale to find somewhere to crash. Xander resisted the urge to pay his parents a visit, for now. Not only would the Slayer probably look there first, but after tasting the sweet fresh blood of Cordelia he didn't want to spoil the taste in his mouth with the filth circulating through his parents veins. 'Better to just go and get a bottle of Jack Daniels' thought Xander.
As he walked along Xander hummed quietly to himself. He was surprised to find that although he didn't need to draw breath, he still could. Not wanting to lose focus, Xander dismissed the thought and turned his mind back to finding shelter before daylight. Mainly he wanted to find somewhere that Buffy and her cronies wouldn't think to search, because that just wouldn't do at all, especially during daylight. Within a few minutes of running through places in his head, Xander came upon the perfect hideaway.
About a year after Jesse had died, his parents had left Sunnydale to try and make a fresh start and moved to the other side of the country. With real estate in a slump, they hadn't been able to sell their house and now almost twelve months later it was still uninhabited. Willow had always been more of a friend to Xander and had befriended Jesse only through his acquaintance, so when Jesse's parents had moved away Willow didn't know, and Xander thought that she probably still didn't know. That made it a perfect place to stay for the time being.
'I only wish I hadn't staked him' thought Xander. As he remembered, he realised that he hadn't really staked him, a student fleeing the harvest had bumped into Jesse and impaled him on Xander's stake, but the result was the same. 'If Jesse were here now, we could really create some havoc' thought Xander almost regretfully.
Xander made his way around the back of his dead friend's house. He tried the back door first and wasn't surprised to find it locked. He then continued around to a bedroom window, thrust his fist through the glass and unclasped the latch. Silently he climbed in, closed the window and the blinds, and headed for the master bedroom where he knew the only window there faced west. Reaching the bed, Xander flopped down on it and closed his eyes. Already he was looking forward to tonight, when he could begin on the idea that had occurred to him on the way over here - recruitments, starting with good old Willow.
