See Part I for disclaimer and details.


Part II: A Life Less Ordinary

Sunnydale, California. Late September, 1999

The blonde Slayer Buffy Summers had had a very Slay-heavy summer, but now that fall had arrived things were looking much better. Walking with her best friend, the redheaded amateur witch known as Willow Rosenberg, Buffy was finally starting to relax for the evening.

"So, heard anything from Xander lately?" the Chosen One asked.

"Nope, nada. Not even a postcard," Willow said grumpily. "I mean, I know he said he was gonna do the whole Jack Kerouac thing and visit all 50 states...but he don't write, he don't call?"

Buffy laughed. "Well, he'll be back eventually. And I'll bet Xand'll have lots of good stories to tell us about his travels! What with the whole Bohemian anti-establishment attitude he left with, back in August..."

The laughter echoed along the street, as Drusilla stepped out from behind the trees and stared at the departing duo, with her game face on.

The vampiress was not in a good mood. She had arrived back to the Hellmouth not long ago, and learned that her sire had left town – given how there was no trace of Angel anymore, at his old mansion. So she had decided to find the Slayer and get the information on where he was out of her, after a quick trip to the local snitch Willy had proven fruitless.

But just as she had been about to leap out and attack, Dru was reminded of the Slayer's male friend, that she had once tried to turn while under the influence of a love spell...

A group of three masked commandos then came out of the shadows behind her. Two darts from a taser hit the 139-year-old creature in the back; the vampiress convulsed and then fell down, still conscious. The figures stepped forward, one having a coil of rope, another having a pistol and the third possessing a rifle. Quickly tying Drusilla up, they took her away – to a fate worse than staking.


Underneath a fraternity house located within UC Sunnydale California, a demon-hunting outfit called the Initiative was busy setting up shop. The operation was still relatively new, but quickly getting organized; it basically consisted of military teams capturing vampires and demons for study, by the scientific personnel stationed at the base.

Their secret aim was weapons research, but the fact was that they had no idea what they were about to tangle with...

The person in charge, one Professor Maggie Walsh, started talking to one of her colleagues called Dr. Angleman. "What's the latest?" the blonde, 40-year-old woman demanded, as they walked along one of the underground corridors.

"Alpha Team's captured some more hostile sub-terrestrials. One of them's atypical, she appears to be a British female..."

Walsh stopped, and turned to stare at the man. "How does that make her atypical?"

Angleman shrugged. "It's not her nationality, but after she drank the blood and was fitted with the behavior-modification implant, she started ranting and raving. Initially we thought the chip had malfunctioned, but..."

"You should know better than to keep me waiting. Get on with it," Walsh hissed in a low voice.

Her companion gulped. "Right. Well, she kept on talking about someone she called her "kitten". The sub-T provided enough details to check it out though, and apparently the guy really does exist. High school graduate named Alexander Harris, last known address 17619 White Oak Drive in Sunnydale."

Walsh narrowed her eyes. "Another HST?"

Angleman shrugged. "Doubtful. We have a name, a picture ID and history. He's listed in the Sunnydale PD database as a troublemaker; something about gang members on PCP..."

"Have the residence staked out, and the man in question brought in as soon as possible. And use men that won't care whether he's a sub-T hostile or not."


Some days later, at the same time as Willow and Buffy were sitting around in a graveyard at night and chatting about what they were going to do when college started the next day, Xander Harris finally came home.

The guy had had the ultimate nightmare of a so-called road trip. Basically he'd gotten as far as Oxnard, and then the engine had literally fallen out of his car. He'd ended up washing dishes at 'The Fabulous Ladies Night Club' for about a month and a half, while trying to pay for the repairs; and one night when one of the male strippers had called in sick, he'd been bullied into going up on stage and making a complete fool of himself.

Luckily though Xander had finally managed to make enough dough to trade in the car for one that wasn't entirely made of rust, and had now arrived back at his house to recuperate from all the humiliations he'd suffered lately.

But just when the youth was about to go through the front gate, three Initiative soldiers blasted him with a taser – and set about making his summer vacation look like an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.


In the classified area of the Initiative known as "314", Xander had been strapped to a gurney and talking for hours under the influence of a truth serum. Professor Walsh and Dr. Angleman finally left the room after the boy had started repeating himself during his babbling, and decided to compare notes.

"Well, what do you think?" Walsh asked her colleague.

Angleman shrugged. "I don't know how much of his story I'm willing to believe. There have been reports about a possible bogeyman amongst the HSTs, that match his description of this "Slayer" – but what the guy said about being possessed by a hyena? Being a real soldier for one night during Halloween? Stopping a bunch of zombies from blowing up his high school? Come on!"

The blonde who worked undercover as a psych professor nodded. "He's obviously a liar or mistaken about that last one, as I've seen that high school with my own two eyes. It was obliterated a few months ago, due to a gas leak and not some whale-sized snake demon...yes, upon further consideration, I think we should disregard practically everything he said."

"Right. So, what do we do about this Buffy Summers that Harris mentioned, that's supposedly this Slayer?"

"Have her put under surveillance, just in case. Tell Agent Riley Finn to get close to her, but don't tell him why; just that it's a special assignment, and that he should report only to me about it."

Angleman made a note on his clipboard. "And what about him?" the doctor gestured towards Xander.

Walsh smiled coldly. "We can't just let him go and have the man start spreading stories about how he was abducted by a bunch of mad scientists, now, can we? He's seen too much, so as far as I'm concerned we can pretty much do whatever we want with him. Set him up for a series of tests..."

The male researcher was slightly worried about that. "He may be crazy, but he's still a U.S. citizen. Technically, we're not allowed-"

He was silenced with a glare. "Set up plausible deniability. Postcards to friends and family, that sort of thing. And don't ever question my orders again," Walsh slitted her eyes, and wondered whether Angleman was worthy of his position as her assistant.

The guy just nodded though, concealing his emotions well. "As you wish..."


Sunnydale, California. Late November, 1999

One night a few months later, Spike headed for town in his black 1959 Dodge DeSoto, and spied the 'Welcome To Sunnydale' sign. With a huge grin, the undead killer gunned the engine, pointed the vehicle straight at it and quickly slammed into the signpost with his car.

The vampire then got out, stared at the mess, then looked around and announced, "Yeah, now this is tradition!" With another grin, Spike then got back into his pride and joy and headed for the old mansion.

Later, the blonde demon had lost his happy smile. He had missed Drusilla, much more than he wanted to admit to himself; and after months of hearing nothing, Spike had finally swallowed his pride and come home in order to find her.

The problem was, there was no sign of Dru or her sire anywhere.

Making his way to Willy's Alibi Room, Spike learned from the snitch/bartender that no one had seen Drusilla and Angel for months. And the platinum-blonde Englishman was just about to leave, when he heard a fellow vampire babbling excitedly...

"I'm telling you, it's there! I saw it! There's a whole bunch of soldier guys in town now, that abduct us for doing some sort of experiments. But that's not the worst part – before I escaped, I had to listen to some nut job raving in the cell next door about the moon and the stars and whatnot..."

Spike froze. { Drusilla? Somebody's kidnapped my sweet, sick, evil Dru? }

The former Master vamp of Sunnydale in the good old pre-Angelus days wasted no time in grabbing the loudmouth, and forcing his undead comrade to guide him to the hidden entrance of the Initiative from where he had escaped. And as thanks, Spike staked his fellow demon and cautiously made his way in to find his wayward sire.

Not that far but deep within the area known as the 314 project, Walsh and Angleman were conversing in low tones, despite the fact that Xander was completely out cold on the gurney in front of them. "What's the next sample to be trialed?" Walsh said, looking down at her notes.

Angleman glanced up, "X-21. This one is a bit different than the others, actually; it's a hormone-like compound, extracted from the non-hostile creature denoted as Species 57. Something that calls itself a "prescient demon", as I recall," he shrugged. Then the doctor looked excited, "It's a long shot I know, but what if the creature really is that? Just imagine the implications this might have for the ADAM prototype..."

"Patience, doctor," Walsh forced herself not to smile at her colleague's enthusiasm, and also congratulating herself for not getting rid of him earlier in the year. "Let's just see what happens first..."

Angleman nodded, calming down and putting on a pair of plastic earmuff protectors. Walsh saw this and asked, "What are you doing?"

Angleman shrugged, barely making out the words. "I think I'm starting to go deaf, having to listen to his screams whenever we do this. No harm in having some protection for once..."

Walsh looked at her watch and then said, "It's time; the counteragent to the anaesthetic must have done its job by now. He's clean of the drugs." She gestured, "Do it..."

He nodded, and injected a sickly yellow solution into Xander's IV drip. A few minutes later, all hell broke loose.

Xander went completely berserk, as his eyes snapped open and he became part-demon – thanks to the compound unexpectedly integrating itself into his DNA, all throughout his body. Thanks to his thrashing around, the restraints on his arms and legs were then snapped away, and the guy managed to get up to animalistically punch Walsh in the face – before Angleman grabbed a hand taser, and the prongs shocked the teenager back into unconsciousness.

"Well, I think it's obvious we can cross this one off the list for the 314 project," the scientist grunted, as he set the weapon down and tore off the earmuffs.

"Not necessarily," Walsh disagreed, as despite the physical pain her brain was still firmly focused on the results just in. "The enhanced strength it engenders should prove very useful, once ADAM is up and running..."

Then she gestured dismissively, "Put him in a holding cell, till we get those restraints repaired. And get me some ice for my nose, will you?"

Angleman nodded, as he slowly started to drag Xander away.


Xander Harris woke up in an antiseptic white chamber, but nonetheless was sure he was in Hell.

The boy had lost track of how long he had been in here, wherever 'here' was. He also didn't know why they were doing this to him, or even who 'they' were. All Xander did know, was that he had been wrong about demons always being the bad guys in the equation...

It seemed that some human individuals, who supposedly had a soul, could be a whole lot worse than any vampire he had ever met.

"Run and catch, run and catch, the lamb is caught in the blackberry patch..."

The young man froze. The voice coming from next door – he knew it. "Drusilla?"

The insane undead that was responsible for bringing him here was almost catatonic, but still managed to reply, "Kitten?"

Xander had never thought he would be so glad to ever hear the crazy female vampire's voice in his life. Granted, she was evil, but at least she was something familiar... "Are you okay? Where the hell are we? How long have you-"

"Shh, kitten, can't you feel it? Help's on the way..."

And just then, Spike blasted his way into the containment area.

The male vamp had only had the vaguest of hints on how to find his creator; the smell of her was almost nonexistent, as Dru had been kept locked up in the special detention area for months. But then Spike could also almost feel where she was, the sire-childe bond linking them in a special, mystical way.

"DRU!" William the Bloody hissed, as he saw her. "Bloody hell, what 'ave these wankers done to you?"

The female vampire did indeed look a mess; emaciated, worn, unable even to stand up on her own anymore. Spike snarled in rage, his bloodlust soaring, until he heard a vaguely familiar voice.

"Spike?"

The vampire looked at the cell next door, and squinted. "I know you, don't I? Where-" Then the memory came back clearly, and Spike groaned. "Oh, balls, you're the idiot Angelus offered to me back during that bloody Parent-Teacher Night! And Red's sidekick during that thing with my sodding love spell...what the hell are you doin' here?"

"How should I know? These bastards kidnapped me, then decided to use me as some sorta lab rat..."

Spike just shrugged, as he didn't care. He quickly smashed down the barrier separating him from his sire, and ignoring the alarms tried to get her up. "Come on, luv, we gotta get up and movin'..."

But it was obvious Dru didn't have the strength for them to get outta there fast. Making a quick decision, Spike put her down and then quickly released Xander the same way.

The vampire was briefly surprised when he realized the guy didn't smell like a human being anymore – and abandoning his original plan to feed the kid to his companion, quickly yelled, "You want out of here? Help me with Drusilla, whelp – I won't be able to get us out, if I have to support her all by meself..."

And then, of course, Walsh and the commandos came in.

The ensuing fight was quick, ugly and brutal. The soldiers were well-trained, and had a pride and esprit de corps that was second to none in the U.S. armed services.

On the other hand, Spike and Xander were pissed and finally had a target upon which to vent their anger. And when you're fighting for your life, not only is everything fair – but you're always sure to have a higher motivation to win.

By luck or design the blaster bolts constantly missed, as the demi-human and soulless demon moved against their opponents; and soon enough, all the troops lay dead at their feet.

Xander glared at Walsh. "She's the one in charge," he said to his companion.

The psych professor babbled in fear, as she had never anticipated being at the mercy of her prisoners, "Don't hurt me, or you'll never get out of here alive..."

Spike just snapped her neck, much in the same way his grandsire Angelus had murdered the woman called Jenny Calendar, and went to gather up Drusilla. Xander went over to examine the corpse, just as William the Bloody snapped out, "Come on, you idiot! Gimme a hand 'ere..."

And that was when Riley Finn came in.

A tall, handsome-looking lad from Iowa, he was the Alpha Team leader of the Initiative – as well as masquerading as Walsh's TA in her Psych 101 class. He was just in time to see the bodies, and Xander leave Maggie to help Spike drag Drusilla out of the cell block.

Riley got out his sidearm, and opened fire; one of the bullets hit Spike, but unluckily for the army man something like that couldn't slow down a vampire for long.

Xander had time only to turn his head, and get the briefest glimpse possible of the soldier in question before the door closed. A man who now wanted him, Spike and Dru dead more than anything.


Somehow, the trio managed to get out of the Initiative – Spike left Xander to carry his sire, and relentlessly cleared the way of anyone who got in their path. Under other circumstances, the guy that had been the heart of the so-called Scooby gang would have been sickened by the carnage; but now, he felt only numb at all the death he witnessed.

As soon as they were out and headed for the streets of Sunnydale, the vampire whose look had been stolen by Billy Idol started to help carry Drusilla again. But just by being outside, Angel's childe seemed to perk up somewhat, and finally was able to start walking under her own power.

Spike then ordered Xander, "Don't even think about trying anything now that we're out, ya understand me Droopy Boy? Or I'll kill you – dead."

Xander shrugged, it wasn't like he'd been expecting gratitude or anything. { Oh yeah, a vamp is a vamp is a vamp... } "So what now? We could try going to Giles' house..."

"Will you shut up? And we're not goin' anywhere near your mates – odds are them nancy-boy soldiers already have 'em all under surveillance. Maybe even got their phones tapped! I'm-"

Then Spike stopped, and sniffed the night air. He then ran off, leaving Dru with Xander; and a few moments later returned with his hand clamped around the mouth of a struggling blonde girl.

A Wicca named Tara Maclay...

"What the hell are you doing?" Xander asked, shocked. Then he mentally kicked himself, { Duh! What do you think they're gonna do with her? Hey, wait a sec, why bother going to all the fuss? How come they haven't already tried to feed, on your own finger-lickin' tasty self? }

Spike bared Tara's neck, as Drusilla came forward hungrily. "Come on, pet, time to eat up – get your strength back..."

"Oh, 'ow nice..." the former London native purred as she went into game face.

Just as Xander moved forward to stop her, the chip kicked in and the female vampire screamed in pain. Spike instantly dropped Tara, and went to check on his beloved. "Dru? Poodle, what's wrong?"

Xander yelled to Tara, "RUN!" And needless to say, she did so without looking back.

The undead couple ignored them. "Tin soldiers put a funny little knick-knack in my brain, my precious Spike. Can't hunt! Can't hurt! Can't kill!" Drusilla screamed, clutching her head. "I can feel it. Little bit of...plastic, spider-webbin' out nasty blue shocks if I get naughty..."

Xander figured it out. "They put some sort of anti-violence chip in her head?" The two British vamps looked at him, and he shrugged. "Just a thought..."

Spike started to rant about how he'd let Tara get away, and now he had to find someone else to feed to Dru. "So, I take it visiting the local blood bank is totally outta the question?" the former class clown then quipped as they started moving along, his humor defense mechanism surfacing for a moment.

"One more word out of you, ya dumb git, and I'll rip your damn head off! I'm just sorry neither of us can feed on you..."

"Huh? Why'd ya say that?"

Spike was almost amused as he told the guy, "What, you still think you're one o' the nummy treats? I got news for you, chump, you don't smell human no more! Whatever them bastards did to you, you're safe now from anyone like Drusilla 'n me drinkin' you dry. I mean, why'd ya think you're still alive? I'm not gonna eat you, and I'm not exactly a vamp who's picky about his Happy Meals! Not gonna subject Dru to whatever demon crap is in your blood now, either..."

"It's true, kitten," the former London girl spoke up, as they stopped and she stroked his cheek. "But don't worry though, you're still my brave White Knight..."

Spike growled in displeasure at seeing this, and Xander backed off, looking freaked and in denial. "No way. You're both lying! Undead...liar guys!"

The male vamp just laughed, in true amusement. Then out of nowhere a fleet of military Humvees showed up, trying to locate the escaped trio.

"Bollocks!" the peroxide one shouted, spotting them. Spike then quickly located the nearest car, and smashed open a window. Xander stuffed Drusilla into the back seat, as her childe started to hot-wire the vehicle; Harris got behind the wheel as his companion lay on the floor and finally got the engine to catch, then the mortal drove off with the convoy hot on his heels.

Now normally, Xander was not what you'd call a reckless driver. In fact, there would one day be a girl who couldn't drive, that would claim to be able to drive faster than he could! But here and now, the term 'high speed car chase live on Fox' definitely applied.

"Watch out for over there, ya stupid-!" Spike shouted at him, pointing at one of the trucks trying to sideswipe him.

The former prisoner reacted on instinct; slamming his foot down, he accelerated past the Humvee, then swerved violently – causing the car to slam against the other vehicle.

The military transport turned, and swiftly collided against a wall – whereupon it exploded, instantly killing its passengers.

This freaked Xander out even more, and not looking where he was going – it was too late for him to avoid smashing into a pole, despite the warning shouts from both his soulless passengers. The trio got out and Spike started shouting at the driver, "What the bloody hell is the matter with you? Are ya blind, or what?"

The headlights from the other Humvees hit them, as the escapees hid behind the wreck. William the Bloody then made a decision, "Look, Dru – we gotta split up. I'll lead them away, and you get to somewhere safe, all right? I'll find you..." Then he got up and ran off, with the soldiers right behind him.

Dru started to babble, as she started hearing the moon and the stars whispering to her, "Daddy. My Angel...I got to find 'im..."

Xander tried to resist rolling his eyes. "You think Dead Boy's actually gonna help you? Not that I care, Dru, but the odds are he's gonna stake you on sight!"

The dark-haired vampiress just looked at her companion, and the former geek suddenly had the nasty feeling he'd finally pushed his luck too far. But all that the female demon said was, "You've gotta come too, kitten, or the nasty soldiers will kill you..."

The only son of Anthony and Jessica Harris wasn't sure if this was one of her psychic predictions, or just a general assessment after he'd gotten the people in the Humvee dead; but either way, Xander decided it would be a good idea to come back to town later when things had settled down, and allowed Dru to lead him away.


Los Angeles, California. Late November, 1999

The one and only vampire with a soul known as Angel was talking to his messenger from the Powers-That-Be; a half-Brachen demon/half-Irish seer, named Allen Francis Doyle. They were at the safehouse of a bunch of half-demon refugees, and were talking about the past and the present.

Doyle said, "When I got the visions for the first time, I thought I was having a stroke. I didn't know what the images meant. But I had to know if what they showed me was a dream – or real. It wasn't a dream," the man finished up, remembering the corpses he had found of the Brachen refugees who had died, because he hadn't helped them.

Angel tried to supportive. "You couldn't have known..."

Doyle dismissed the past, gesturing to the crowd of half-human Lister demons. "These people are going to need more than their mythic Promised One. The contractually-obligated 500 might be a start! You can't fight the Scourge, Angel..." referring to the army of pureblooded demons who had a big hate-on for the mixed heritage types, fanatics who hunted down and killed demon half-breeds like animals.

Angel looked around confidently. "It won't come to that, because we're going to get them out of here."

All of a sudden a truck pulled up outside, and Xander and Drusilla jumped out. Angel saw them at the door and his jaw dropped to the floor, "Drusilla? Xander?"

The vampiress quickly threw herself into her sire's arms, starting to weep uncontrollably. Angel was confused and just said, "What the heck are you two doing here? And, together?"

Xander scowled, "Yeah, good to see you too, Dead Boy..."

Doyle quickly picked up on the hostility. "Hi there. Name's Doyle, man, good ta meetcha," he said in his thick Irish brogue.

"Hey. Xander Harris..."

All of a sudden, Angel let Drusilla go as he came forward to sniff at Xander in amazement. "Xander? What the hell have you done to yourself? Why don't you smell human now?"

The teenager didn't deal well with Angel confirming Spike and Dru's story, but unfortunately there was no time to coddle his feelings. "You should know we got problems, buddy boy," Doyle quickly said to Xander, after his new acquaintance's shouting and/or explanations had died down. "There's a whole bunch o' scary demons out there, that's aimin' to kill us all..."

Angel quickly filled both the newcomers on the situation with the half-breeds, and then looked outside at the truck they had arrived in. "That truck – it's exactly what we need to move the refugees. How did you-?"

Xander shrugged. "It was the first available thing we could find..." Then he wilted under Angel's disbelieving stare, "Fine, I had this...funny feeling I was gonna need it. Dru somehow knew where you were, and so now here we are..."

Angel looked deep in thought. "Doyle, you got your cell phone?"

The half-demon patted his pocket. "Yeah?"

"Good. Stay here with the truck, and wait for our signal. Xander, I want you and Dru to go down to the L.A. harbor; Pier 12, Slip 4, a ship called the Quintessa. Use my name; I know the captain. Tell him he's gonna have passengers on this cargo trip. I'm gonna secure the documents needed, to get these people out of the country..."

Doyle frowned, "What about Cordy? Shouldn't we get her in on the action?" Xander quickly whirled his head around at hearing that, surprised that his ex-girlfriend was also involved with these two.

Angel shook his head. "You heard her attitude towards demons the other day. And besides, we don't need her now for something like this..."


A short time later, after a series of almost-comic misadventures, the refugees were all aboard the ship. Unfortunately, the Scourge had also arrived, and managed to lock everyone in the hold – along with a bomb.

A beacon of death, whose light meant annihilation to any creature with any trace of human blood.

Doyle and Xander climbed onto a platform alongside Angel, who was staring at the giant, crystal-shaped light suspended in its metal frame. The half-Irishman asked, "What does that thing do?"

Having witnessed it in operation before arriving at the seagoing vessel, the vampire said solemnly, "Its light kills anything with human blood."

Both his companions looked uneasy as Doyle muttered, "Well, it's getting brighter and that doohickey – it's fully armed, isn't it?"

The Champion for the Powers-That-Be answered, "Almost. If I pull the cable, I think I can still shut it off..."

Doyle still didn't get it. "How're you gonna do that, without touching the light?"

Xander shook his head, understanding the plan before his companion. "Angel, that's suicide!"

Doyle agreed, "There's got to be another way..."

Angel looked at the terrified refugees and Drusilla below in the hold, then at his companions. "It's all right." The vampire then put a hand on Doyle's shoulder, as if it say goodbye.

The half-demon messenger put his own hand on Angel's arm, unable to let him do this. "The good fight, yeah? You never know until you've been tested. I get that now." To Xander's complete astonishment, Doyle then hauled back and hit Angel with a hard right to the chin, knocking him down into the cargo hold.

Then Doyle turned to Xander. "Please, tell Cordelia that I love her..." Overcome with emotion, he hugged his new friend, and a strange blue light seemed to envelop Xander's body for a moment.

Doyle quickly morphed into his Brachen demon face and jumped for the weapon, as Angel started screaming, "Doyle! Doyle! Doyle! Doyle! NO!"

But it was too late; the young hero ignored him and quickly managed to deactivate the bomb, pulling the cable away just before he burned to ashes – and saving all of their lives in the process.


The next day, Angel was in a sacred temple called 'The Gateway for Lost Souls', located underneath the local post office; and he was arguing with the two mystical beings in there he had met once before, called the Oracles.

The male Oracle said scathingly, "You try our patience. What is done..."

Angel interrupted, "Can not be undone, you keep saying that. But I need Doyle. You can fold time, you've done it before. Bring him back."

The female Oracle stared at him. "To what end? To nullify his noble death? To leave his atonement unfulfilled?"

The black-clad vampire remained unmoved. "If it means he lives."

The brother replied, "He doesn't, so that you may."

His sister added, "You do, so that others will."

Angel was starting to get desperate. "He's my friend."

The woman at least looked sympathetic. "If that is so, then so shall it ever be."

The man did not. "But it is of no consequence."

His counterpart added, "The war rages on."

The male Oracle finished up, "Do not come to us again on so self-serving a matter."

As they turned away, Angel sent in his last shot, "There is one consequence, even by your generous standards: Doyle was my sole contact to the Powers-That-Be. Without his visions – I'm fighting blind."

The female replied, "All will soon be made clear. For every door that closes, another opens."

The male then said, "And for every one that opens..." before he lifted his arm, and they disappeared in flood of light.

Angel found himself outside the temple, and wearily made his way back to the office of the detective agency he had set up, called 'Angel Investigations'. There he found Cordelia Chase in a foul mood, as she was impatiently tapping her foot waiting for him to return. "What's wro-" the former Irishman started to say.

The nastiest girl in Sunnydale history interrupted, "I have to get to an audition. So do us both a favor – make sure the nut and that no-good cheating ex of mine are gone by the time I get back, okay?" She then stormed out, still very upset about Doyle's death.

Angel sighed, even though it was quite unnecessary, and turned towards his guests. "Sorry about that, I guess..."

Xander actually grinned. "I've known Cordy a lot longer than you, Dead Boy. Believe me, that was downright sympathetic – for her."

Angel scowled, "Don't call me that..." Then he frowned. "So, Xander, what are your plans now? You can't go home yet, not after all that you two told me happened..."

The dark-haired guy shrugged. "I dunno. Wait till the heat's off, I guess, then contact Giles and Buffy-"

All of a sudden the teenager screamed and clutched his head, as a vision slammed into his skull. The pain was almost as bad as what he had suffered at the hands of Walsh and Angleman, and Xander collapsed in a heap as the images played out in his mind's eye.

Oddly enough, Dru acted very happy and excited about it. "Oh! Oh my! How exciting, kitten!"

Angel ignored her. "Xander, what's wrong? What's happening?"

"Oh, man!" the new seer groaned, as the vision ended and he slowly got up. "You got any Advil? And what the hell was that? I saw things, inside my head! What, I'm getting visions now or something? What's..."

Then he noticed Angel had collapsed onto a chair in shock, his mouth hanging open. "Angel? What is it?" Xander demanded.

But the ensouled vampire ignored him as he talked to himself, "Oh my God, Xander had a vision...he's my new link to the Powers now? No, they picked the wrong door, this has gotta be a mistake..."

TBC...