6.June. 2014. Location: Chris Giles mansion, Cardiff. And New York.
The hall
10.30.am
Waiting for The Invulnerable. And why the hell did that
(bloody Order of Taraka meddle in our business.)
As the others went to their tasks Xander waited for The Invulnerable to come. He was more scared than he could remember ever being, but he should be damned if he was gonna show it to her. She shouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing him afraid of her.
Still, he was pacing the floor nervously when she came, about ten minutes after the others left. She was clad in a king blue tanktop, reddish brown suede jeans and boots. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail. Shortly, it was as if it was Buffy standing there and not a cold-blooded killer.
"So then," she said. "Lets rock and roll." And that was the last time either of them spoke for hours. They didn't say anything on the way to the airport, they didn't say anything onboard the plain. And they didn't say anything as they got out of New York airport. They just hastened through the parking lot and put their gear into a silver Lamborghini Diablo that obviously belonged to The Invulnerable, according to the licence plate. It read Scooby 96. As she started driving she glanced at Xander.
"So what's eating you up," she asked. "Oh wait, I know. You can't figure me out. You don't know where I stand. Well let me put it this way. As a Slayer Vampire, I don't need as much blood as an ordinary vampire. And I have been feeding regularly the last week. So don't worry. But try not to look like you are scared shitless. Pull your act together, cause we need to hurry up."
She pulled out the tracker, and showed him that the five Watchers they were chasing had split apart.
"The first one is not far from here. But to look for something here is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. My senses can't separate any person out of this stinky noisy city. We need some information," she said. "And there is no Willy we can beat some answers out of here."
"Don't be so sure," Xander said in a tough tone. For a moment she got a glint of the calm and effective Agent he was. "Remember, you are on my turf now," he stated. "Just turn that corner and park in front of the jewellery" She turned the corner practically on two wheels, and parked outside the store. They waited for half an hour before a skinny man with long raven-black hair came out.
"There we have our Willy. Actually, his name is Brian. But he'll do. What he doesn't know about what's going on here isn't worth knowing."
With that he jumped out of the car, while letting out a sharp whistle. "Hey, Girlie! Haven't I told you to get a haircut?" The stranger turned slowly around.
"Did you call me girlie. No one calls me girlie and gets away with it." He released a roundhouse kick aimed for Xander's head. The next second Brian found himself on the pavement with one foot bent forward almost to the point of breaking.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Won't you ever learn? That has to be the, what… 10th time you have tried to clock me? Can't you just realise that you ain't having a snowballs chance in hell against me. Now why don't you tell me what's going on in your neighbourhood before I run out of patience and give you to my associate here. And believe me, she can make a stone beg for its life."
Brian just spat in Xander's face. "I ain't telling anything to no damned Agent."
"Oh yes, you are." Xander smirked evilly and forced his foot even higher.
"Ahhhhrgh!! Okay, okay!! I'll tell you. What the bloody hell do you want to know?"
"I want to know about five persons running from the night people. Where do I find them."
"I don't know."
"AAAAhhh! Okay!! I know of one of them. He is hiding at the black shadows hospice. But you better hurry. I heard that they had a daywalker looking for him."
"Nice speech. I'll let you go for now. But just a bit of friendly advice: Don't play with explosives. Do you hear me?"
"Yeah, I heard," Brian whimpered and tried to massage the blood circulation back into his foot as they left him.
"Now what was that? I don't remember you playing bad guy," the vampire asked.
"Now well. He owes me big. A few years ago I broke up his heroine syndicate, and he tried to blow me up in my car. I was hospitalised for a month. The damned bugger walked because he could pay with his dirty money for the best lawyer in town. So as soon as I got out of hospital, I sought him up and beat the crap seriously out of him. The poor shit couldn't sit or lay on his back for a week. Ever since, I have beat him up a few times a year, and made him one of my best snitches. Now let's hurry."
The vampire answered with levelling the accelerator to the floor.
As they stopped outside the hospice they could hear the sounds of a heavy fight. They followed the sound of fighting to the second floor, where all hell was loose. A short but muscular redhair they recognised as Patric O`Malley were fighting for his life against a giant of a man. Even without a vampire visage, the giant was ugly as hell. His whole face was scarred and one eye was covered by an eyepatch. His ears were slightly pointed and came seemingly straight out of a dirty grey forest of hair. The giant grabbed Patrick and threw him straight against Xander and The Invulnerable. She just stretched out her hand and caught him before she walked towards the daywalker.
"What is your business with the short one," she asked.
"I have been ordered to terminate him, and nothing can stop me."
"Oh. Well then, I'm nothing," she said as she left the floor and released a series of roundhouse kicks that left him bleeding on the floor, A second later she stood over him, and with a triumphant yell she forced a stake through his heart. He looked stunned at her, and formed the word "slayer" before he disintegrated.
The sudden silence was broken by the metallic sound of a ring falling to the floor.
"Damit!" she muttered as she walked back to the Watcher and Xander. "I'm afraid things are getting worse," she said and gave them the ring.
Xander ran his hands slowly through his hair. "Oh dear, the Order Of Taraka. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."
To the watcher, his voice sounded strangelly calm, allmost casual. While mr O`Malley felt the bile rise in his own throate, as he looked at the feared ring.
"O God, I'm as good as dead. Nowhere is safe! No one has ever survived an attack from the Order."
"Wrong," Xander said and pointed to The Invulnerable. "She did, so stick together with us, and you'll be alright. Now, we need to find the other Council members. We know that one of the others are somewhere on Wall Street. Do you have any idea of where we should be looking?" Patrick calmed down and thought for a while.
"Erick Crighton used to be a stockbroker. Try the actual stock market."
"It's almost impossible to find anyone there." Xander sighed in frustration. "Well then, off we go."
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6. July. 2014. LondonThe Trotter's Rest
15.02.pm.
"Bloody hell!! Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to be a slayer.
(Why me!!. Oh shit! I broke a nail. And look at my hair!!!")
Ishmael Anderson tried to blend in with all the rest of the people on the pavement, trying not to show his fear, exhaustion and sorrow. He had split up from Alicia and Andrea two days ago. He had said that he would draw less attention as a single person, than together with two frightened women. So he had left them somewhere in the city. But he had soon regretted that decision.
Now he didn't have anyone by his side, telling him that everything would be all right. And to his own surprise he felt guilty for deserting Andrea and Alicia in such a rotten way. It didn't help that he tried to justify his own actions by saying that in such situations, the only rule that counted was the survival of the fittest. He sat down at an outdoor restaurant and ordered a cup of black coffee and a sandwich; the first thing he had eaten all day. He had been too frightened to think of food earlier. But now he had to eat something.
He quickly devoured the ham and cheese sandwich, and felt some of the strength return to his body. He was almost finished with his coffee. Enjoying the feeling of the bittersweet liquid down his throat, when his current paranoia told him to look up. He saw a stunningly beautiful brunette hastening towards him. The same brunette he had been trying to shake off for hours now. He turned to run but stopped when he saw a man in a grey suit lifting his gun at him.
Ishmael did the only thing he could he ducked and rolled under a table and out on the road. He could see the ring on the man's finger, and cold chills ran down his spine. The Order of Taraka. He was doomed, he thought as he felt the bullet making a long rift into his shoulder before it hit a car. His already exhausted body couldn't deal with the pain, and his knees disappeared under him. He looked up and saw the barrel of the gun, and the finger that slowly pressed the trigger.
Suddenly his attacker's eyes went wide in shock, before he fell to the pavement, unconscious. In front of him stood the brunette. Panicking he got to his feet and ran as fast as he could. He ran 'til he could feel the taste of blood in his mouth. But all the time he could hear her coming after. Finally his running stopped as he came into a back alley with no exit. Like a frightened animal he stood there, backed against the wall and bent into a fighting stance.
The woman stopped in front of him, eyes glinting of fury.
"Ishmael Anderson!!! You really need to figure out who is your enemy, and who is not. They have a name for people like you."
"Paranoid."
She cooled down a bit. "Well, I guess you have a reason for being paranoid. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cordelia O`Rourke."
"And I happen to be the current Slayer. So come with me now. We need to get out of here before that Taraka guy wakes up. I broke his back, but with those guys you never know."
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6. July. 2014. New York.The Invulnerables Lamborghini.
14.04.pm
Starting a new gang. How to get information,
(how to negotiate. And I hate Russian guns.)
"Damit! We nearly had him." Xander smashed his fist into the dashboard of The Invulnerable's Lamborghini. The trip to the stock market had been a miss. Eric Crighton had been there, but he had escaped. And now they were following his signal trough the streets.
"Damit!" he cursed again as he looked at the tracker. "He is heading for the turf of The Latino Dragons: The worst gang in town. The leader Damien Rodrigues, has in the last ten years built one of the largest crime syndicates in the states. He is only surpassed by the Mafia and Yakuza, with whom he is suspected to deal with. We have tried to take him down for years, but he is just to clever. How are we ever gonna get to Eric now, with out starting a gang war?"
"We are starting a new gang," she said. "But first we need to get Patrick here somewhere safe. And I know exactly where," she said, and concentrated on her driving again.
Ten minutes later, they stopped in front of a luxurious apartment building. Quickly she punched in the code to a private lift that led them straight to the penthouse apartment. On the front door stood Willow and Daniel Ozbourne.
"You know where all of us lives," he squeaked.
"Yes," the vampire simply stated as she touched the lock with both hands. Stunned Xander saw an electric blue mist spread from her fingers as she chanted slowly.
Metal from metal
Wood from woodLet my will be done,
Let me through this portal
They heard a sharp click as the lock opened and they were free to enter.
"When did you learn that," Xander whispered.
"Willow taught me that. But back then I didn't have the power to make it work." She turned around to the Watcher, "You stay here. Lock the door and you don't open to anyone but the two of us. Did you get that?" He nodded and wondered who this woman was. It was something familiar with her, but he couldn't figure it out. But as they left, he suddenly felt a chIll of fear run down his neck. Who were really his friends, and who were his enemies?
"So, what now," he asked.
"Now we go to my place," she said.
"What?! Are you living here in New York?"
"Yes I do. Its not far from here," she said, as the car started with the screech of tires.
Please, do you mind?! There is such a thing as speed limits," he almost shouted.
She just gave him a devilish grin, and stepped on the pedal. Soon they stopped in front of a beautiful villa. As he followed her inside, he looked around completely stunned. The house was even more beautiful on the inside. There were colours everywhere. But still the only way to describe it was tasteful luxury.
"First we need to do something about your hair," she said as she dragged him with her to the bathroom. "You practically smell FBI. Take off your jacket," she said, pushing him down on a chair. How do you want to be? Bad ass criminal? Psycho drugdealer, or what?"
"Bad ass criminal," he answered. "If we are going in there, I might just as well fit in."
"Okay bad ass it is."
He watched her quick and practiced hands change his appearance. After taking care of his hair, she opened a closet and took out what looked like enough makeup to supply the entire British opera. After makeup she tossed him some clothes.
When, after two hours, he finally stood in front of a mirror, he stared at himself in shock. Back at him looked a man clad in black leather pants and a white shirt. Over his shirt he bore a rough outwashed Dongery jacket. His hair was peroxide blond, and would have reminded him of Spike, if it wasn't for the extra 20 cm she had glued to it. It was pulled hard back and secured in a ponytail with a hairband.
His makeup made it appear as if the eyes lay deep. It made them look sharp and dangerous. A disturbing scar ran down the right cheek and disappeared into his shirt.
"Now, am I good, or am I good," she said. "Now help yourself to some food in the kitchen while I get changed."
"Excuse me?" he said. "When did vampires start to eat solid food?"
"Well never, actually. But since I am not a normal vampire, my metabolism can take it, although it doesn't give me any nourishment. But it sure tastes good. Well anyhow, I'll be back in ten minutes."
Xander did as she said, and got out on the kitchen. He realised that he hadn't eaten since breakfast, and made himself a huge ham and cheese sandwich with a diet coke too. As he ate, he tried in vain to figure out what The Invulnerable was up to. The whole thing was just too strange.
All the time something had been bugging him. Something was not right with the whole picture. What was The Invulnerable's real purpose for helping them? And why did she act so out of character? He hadn't seen a shred of violence from her since the evaluation. Except when she took down that Taraka guy, and that was called for. More and more, he got the feeling that she was playing some kind of act.
But for what reason, he couldn't figure out. The nearest he could come, was that she was using them in order to get Enya away, so that The Invulnerable herself could rule the world. But somehow he doubted that. After all she had had seventeen years in which to gain world control. So, why now? He put the last of the sandwich in his mouth and swallowed with the rest of the Coke. And he nearly swallowed it the wrong way, as the vampire came in.
This was The Invulnerable. No doubt of that. She was clad in a black leather bodysuit, black biker shoes, and a blood red leather jacket. Her hair was taken back in a ponytail with a red hairband, And to complete it all, a pair of Raybans. And that dark atmosphere that had surrounded her seventeen years ago, was back. Fear washed through him like a tidal wave. The Invulnerable was back.
But in spite of his fear, he noticed something else. She had the body of a full-grown woman. An incredibly gorgeous woman. And not the teenager she had been seventeen years ago. Yet another discrepancy from normal vampire physiology, he thought.
He was shook out of his thoughts as she opened a closet and revealed what only could be called an armoury. There was any conceivable bladed weapon, tons of stakes and holy water?, crossbows and an impressive collection of guns, and rifles. And one Strella antitank missile launcher with ammunition. "Take what ever you want," she said as she pulled out a drawer and selected only one weapon: a vicious looking Navy Seal knife, which she strapped to her right leg.
"Try these" she said and gave him two semiautomatic guns that were connected to his arms with a mechanism that allowed him to draw faster than he thought possible, and to hide them when he wasn't using them. When she saw his disgusted look she grabbed him by the collar and slammed him up against the wall.
"What is it now, sissy boy!?"
"No, way!! I know that we have to go in there, and save that Watcher. But I will not participate in a bloodbath."
She released him. "What do you think of me," she said with laughter. "Do you think I'm stupid? Of course we are not going to make a bloodbath, in the middle of the day, and with cops only a few blocks away. We don't have time for a bloodbath. We are here to get those Watchers into safety, and nothing must interfere with that."
"But as you surely are aware of, we are going into the lions cave. And we would be stupid if we didn't take with us some kind of weapons. Is your overgrown consciense set at rest now?" He breathed out and nodded. He picked a bowie knife and strapped it to his leg like she had done. "Then lets get this show on the road," she said.
6. July. 2014. New York.Headquarter of the Latino Dragons
17.04.pm
Wreaking a little havoc
(Why crime definitely doesn't pay in New york)
Damien Rodrigues, head of the Latino Dragons, was having his daily workout. He loved the hard physical work. He finished on the treadmill and went over to the weight machine, when his secretary came in.
"Excuse me Sir. But a gentleman and a woman are requesting to meet with you. They say it is important."
"Say them that I'm not available for the moment. And that they can piss off," he said, frustrated. Never a moment for him self, he was fed up with it. He adjusted the weight machine to fifty kilos, and started to do repetitions at a slow and controlled pace. He had just reached 20, when it knocked on the door and the secretary stepped in again.
"I'm sorry to interrupt again, but the gentleman and the woman won't leave. They demand to see you."
"Then call Rico and his goons and let them throw them out. For gods sake, use your brain, woman!" The secretary, Mona, left again, and he could see that she was nervous. Bloody hell, she was never gonna get used to Rico and his men. Still after five years, she was afraid of them. He shook his head in disgust. Such a woozy. But she was a good secretary. Not to mention a magnificent bed companion. He finished his training program and was drying the sweat out of his face when she came back. Visibly shaken, she hesitated before opening her mouth.
"I did as you said Damien, but it was to no use. They beat the crap out of Rico and his men, and they are still demanding to see you."
"Well then, tell them I am coming. I have to see the two that beat up Rico and all his men."
She nodded and left again. He took his time and changed before he walked out into the hall. What met him could only be described with words like chaos and disaster. Chairs, tables, artworks; anything loose was lying around more or less broken. Rico's men, all twelve of them, were lying around in the debris, more or less conscious. And in the middle of the chaos, stood a man and a woman that looked like they were ready to attack at any minute.
The man was tall and muscular. He moved with the grace of a feline. His eyes were those of a warrior. And according to the vicious scar in his face, he was more than used to fights.
The woman was stunningly beautiful. She had the face of an angel, and a body that could turn any man stir crazy. Still, cold chills of fear ran down his spine. He didn't know why, but he got the feeling she could kill him any minute. And she probably would enjoy it.
He took all of this in during the second after he entered the room. "Who the hell are you, and why have you taken out all of my security men?" He spoke with a voice that usually made his enemies shiver with fear. But not these two, they stood there self-certain. Like they owned the fucking place, and not he.
The woman turned to him. "And you are Damien Rodrigues, I presume. Sorry about the mess. But your men gave us a little trouble. But just relax, they will all come out of it.
Eventually."
"Why are you here," he asked. "Are you her to deliver a message from The Mexican Warriors?"
"Nope," the peroxide blonde man said. "We are the leaders of the gang that will wipe out both your gang and The Mexican Warriors, if we don't get what we want. We are the leaders of Masters Of War, and we have come for what's rightfully ours."
"And what may that be?" Damien snorted
"We know that you are in possession of a certain Eric Crighton, that accidentally came into your turf. You are to hand him over to us now, or be annihilated."
"Now why didn't you tell my secretary that? She could have told you that I don't have him. But I know where he is. He has occupied an empty apartment building. Its right down the street. You can't miss it. It's the one without windows. Good luck catching him. He has already shot one of my men. As soon as you get into firing range he will shoot. I'll tell you, he has totally lost it. Screaming something about vampires and hellmouth. So, good luck. You'll need it."
"Well, thank you for the concern, but we'll survive," the woman said. With that they turned and walked away, as if nothing had happened.
For a moment he just stood there, then he picked up the cell phone, and dialled a number he knew in his sleep, so often had he used it. "Yeah, hello! Its Damien. I need a shootist team outside the old abandoned apartment building down my street. And I need it yesterday."
As they walked out of the building Xander looked over at his teammate. In the fight he had been shocked how much she moved like a slayer, and not like a vampire. Quick and silent she had disposed of her enemies, with a minimal use of power. Most of the damage on Damiens property, he had caused, while fighting his opponents.
"Masters of War?" She let out a short laugh. Then she looked at him over the top of her Raybans, with the first hint of humour he had seen. "I like it, she said as her eyes turned yellow for a moment. I definitely like it." then she grew serious again.
"So how are we doing this," she asked. "It's obvious that Eric is in a very unstable state of mind."
"One step at the time," he said and started slowly to walk down the street. He stopped just before he entered his quarry's range.
"Eric Crighton!! My name is Alexander Lavelle Harris. My associate and I ask for permission to come closer, so that we can talk." It was silent for a long time. Then they saw something move in one of the broken windows.
"How do I know that you are not a member of The Order Of Taraka," the Watcher shouted.
"You don't. But I can assure you we are not. We are sent here by Christopher Giles to get you to safety. Xander walked a few meters closer before he sat down. Let me tell you about myself. I grew up in a small town in California. Wen the Spanish founded it in the seventeenth century; they called it Boca Del Infierno. Roughly translated, it means The Hellmouth. We just called it Sunnydale."
"My life was pretty normal. Well as normal as it could be living on the hellmouth. But then, when I was sixteen years old, something happened. A new girl came to town. Her name was Buffy Anne Summers. She was the Slayer. And being around her, my friends and I learned of the things that goes bump in the night."
As he told his story, The Invulnerable watched, impressed, as Xander was constantly speaking and slowly walking towards the appartement building. It was obvious that Xander had done this before. She could sense that the Watcher gradually was calming down. And finally after an hour of speaking, they stood in front of the door.
She saw that sweatdrops ran down Xanders face. His eyes were dark with concentration, and his whole body seemed tense like a violin string. "We are coming in," he said and opened the door. Eric Crighton sat leant into a wall with a Kalashnikov in his hands, ready to shoot them. The Invulnerable walked over to him and took the gun.
"Now, come with us and we will take you to Christopher Giles. There you will be protected by two werewolves, and later you also will be surrounded by the rest of the Council, the slayer, Angel O`Rourke, Rupert Giles and his wife, the mother of Buffy Summers. It's the safest place you can be. And on the way there, you will be protected by me and Xander here."
"Who are you," he asked.
"Shit! I had hoped you wouldn't ask that. But well. I'm The Invulnerable. And for the time being you are worth more alive to me than dead. So don't worry. Just know this: Don't provoke me and you will have the best protection possible against Enya and her goons. I have unfinished business with that bitch."
He pulled away from her, and they could feel his paranoia rise again. But after another half an hour of talking with Xander, he agreed to come with them.
The vampire nodded to Xander. "Nice work Xandman. It's no wonder the FBI reckons you to be one of their best Agents. Nice work."
Xander breathed out in relief. He never liked having a gun pointed at him, especially not a Kalashnikov. Some three years ago, he had had an unfriendly meeting with one. He still had the scars from a bullet that went straight through his chest an out his back. He opened the door and walked out, followed by the others.
The Invulnerable looked at Xander as he reached for the door. His broad shoulders were trembling slightly, and she suddenly realised that the calmness had been a play. He had been scared the whole time. And she couldn't but admire the courage that allowed him to conquer such fear. She saw him walk out, radiating relief.
She saw his faint smile of victory disappear abruptly. He staggered as the first bullet hit him, followed by several others.
"Noooooo!!! You bloody bastards. Not Xander!!!"
Without thought for anything but him, she leaped out and tried to cover him. But it was too late. He fell motionless to the ground. Desperately she searched the area and located the positions of the snipers. She turned and saw Eric avoid being hit by a millimetre. She slung Xander over her shoulder, grabbed Eric, and left the ground. She landed on a rooftop, right behind one of the snipers. Seconds later, he lay in a bloody heap before her feet; several ribs and his jaw broken. Mechanically she turned around, sat down and took Xander's head in her lap.
"No! It wasn't supposed to be like this. You weren't supposed to die. Do you hear? You can't die. No!!"
Slowly she let him down on the ground, and rose. Facing the assassins, with a fury that made her levitate a few inches above the roof. She lifted her hands to release a deadly power beam when she was brought out of her rage with a start.
Suddenly, Xander jerked up in a sitting possition. Guns ready to fire. Rapidly he fired at one sniper, rolled around on the roof and fired again. With the skills of an expert shootist he disabled the whole team before they could shoot once, by cutting the nerves to their hands. Then he collapsed to the ground with a howl of pain. Slowly he stumbled to his feet, clutching his chest.
"Damn, that hurts," he said and sat down, back against the chimney.
"How! How is this possible," she said. Her voice almost a whisper. "I saw them kill you. You were hit by at least five bullets. So how did you survive pulling off that stunt?"
Slowly understanding lit up her face. "You are Immortal. You are an eternal warrior?"
Xander let out a short laugh that ended in a painful fit of coughing. "Yeah, I'm a bloody Highlander," he said with dry humour, when he finally could speak again. He pulled aside his shirt and showed her.
"Its called Titan Kewlar. Thank God for bulletproof wests. I never leave home without it. Especially not when I'm fighting to stop Armageddon."
She looked at him in astonishment. Then she started laughing so hard tears ran down her cheeks, before she bent down and kissed him passionately. Then her eyes grew big as she realised what she had done.
"Damit,!" she said as she tore herself loose, and walked to the other end of the roof.
Xander looked at Eric, who lay unconscious beside him. The shooting had become too much for his already thin worn nerves. Then he walked up to The Invulnerable.
"What was all that about," he asked.
Quick as only a vampire can be, she turned around. In full vampmode she grabbed his collar and held him over the edge of the roof.
"Shut up, or I swear I'm going to kill you." She spoke with a low hissing voice that seemed to take away all his strength, and replace it with pure fear. She held him over the edge for what seemed to be an eternity, before she let him back onto the roof. She pushed him aside and walked over to examine the Watcher, before she grabbed both of them and jumped off the roof.
___________________________________________________________________________
Ten minutes later they arrived at Willow and Oz's apartment. Still vamped, she gave Patrick quite a scare. He tried to run away, but didn't even reach the door before he was drawn back by the hypnotic powers of The Invulnerable. Look into my eyes she said, with a spinning voice that dangerously resembled Drucilla.
"Look into my eyes, be in my eyes, be my eyes."
She lifted her hand, and for a moment Xander thought she was going to slit his throat, like Drucilla had done with Kendra. But then she simply led her hand over his eyes in a soft movement.
"Sleep!" she said, and he fell into her arms. Then she carried both him and Crighton into the bedroom.
As she came out, she nearly collided with Xander, who had gone after her. Guns ready, he stood there.
"I know that these won't kill you, but they sure as hell hurts. So out with it. What was that kiss about. And what was all that with me not being supposed to die. Yeah. I heard it." He looked at her. Her face was like a mask.
"Just forget it. It was either kissing you or biting you," she said as her vampire visage melted away.
"I don't think so," he said. "I think you have been acting from the first time we saw you in the living room. Now it all starts to make sense. You saving Christopher Giles. Working with us instead of killing us. I knew you were holding most of your powers back when you evaluated us. And then there were you being capable of eating. And your refrigerator was filled with more food than should be there if you only ate for the taste of it. Nowhere did I find blood. And your extreme control when you fought those goons at Damiens. There was no sign of unnecessary violence. The old Invulnerable would have tore them to shreds."
"The more I think of it, the more I believe that The Invulnerable is gone. And has been so for a long time. Isn't that right, Buffy?"
"Shit, shit, shit," she cursed as she banged her head softly against the door.
"What happened? When did you get your soul, and life back? Cause up there on the roof i noticed that your hands had normal body temperature.
She started pacing the floor as tears trickled down her cheeks. "Damit! When did you become so good at deduction? Oh don't say it. It comes with being one of the countries best lawyers and federal agents."
"Okay then! You got me. When I was turned my soul didn't completely go away. All the time in those six months I was there. But there was nothing I could do. The demon had full control over my body, and all my efforts to break free and stop it were brutally crushed. I had to watch as The Invulnerable tortured my friends, tried to kill my mother. And Angel. How many times did she try to kill him?"
"It was a bloody miracle she didn't succeed. But I fought against it with all my mind, or believe me, all of you would have been dead or vampire by now."
"But when I turned twenty, my slayer powers reached their final level. That and my rage when she attacked the hospital for sheer fun, made me strong enough to break free. I had one last show down with my demon back at my lair. And finally I was free."
She let out a sob, and angrily wiped the tears away. "You can't imagine how it is to watch your own body commit so much evil, and not being able to stop it. And at the same time you feel the demon's joy as if it was your own. It is indescribably terrible. After I finally managed to defeat my demon, all I did for a year was find new ways to kill myself. But all I gained was pain and weakness. I always survived."
"Finally, one night I had planned to jump from a bridge. I knew it was a shot in the dark, but I was running out of ways to commit suicide. I had chained myself to a Betong boulder and was about to throw it and my self of the edge. Then this red-haired boy came. He might have been about fourteen. He climbed up on the railing and sat down beside me."
"You don't want to do that", he said. "I've been there, done that. It doesn't help the least bit. You just get a hell of a time coughing your lungs free from water. Trust me, it's not a pleasant feeling."
Buffy looked up at Xander and sniffled. "You see Xander, he had grown up in a family situation much like yours, with his parents drinking and fighting all the time."
"Well to make a long story short, we sat there for -- I think -- hours. He finally made me promise to not kill myself. The next days we used to meet by the bridge, talking and talking. He told me about his life, and I told him what little I could tell him. After a while he figured that I had killed somebody. But he didn't back away. He just kept on being the one thing that saved my sanity. Or rather rebuilt my sanity. Marco really was the sweetest boy."
"And slowly I rebuilt my life. I became a policewoman, with undercover work as my speciality. I got a few friends, and in reality lived an as normal life as I hadn't done since I was called. But then two years ago, Enya was turned. And my old life came back with a vengeance."
"I stopped her when she tried to awaken Achatla. But she escaped. I thought she would leave me alone. It was stupid. She just bided her time. Marco had fallen in love with a girl his age. And they were about to get married when Enya struck. I found his remains on the porch to my house. He was so molested that I couldn't have done it worse myself. She caressed herself and a deep sob shook her body. He was so sweet and kind, and she shred him to pieces. That's why I have sworn to stop her if it is the last thing I do."
Xander looked at her in shock. "But why didn't you tell us? Do you have any idea of how much unnecessary fear you could have spared us? For seventeen years now, we have lived in constant fear of you returning and finishing up what you had started, while it really wasn't necessary."
Xander was so enraged; he didn't know what to do. He turned away from her and started to pace the floor. It was all he could do to keep himself from going totally berserk on her.
"For Gods sake, you didn't even tell Angel!! If you had, maybe Cordelia wouldn't have lost her baby. She was certain that you were gonna come after her and the child. And now, when we finally meet you again. You continue to play the role as The Invulnerable! Why!!" Finally he lost his temper and turned around to hit her square in the face.
Instead, he saw how her eyes rolled up into her cranium and she fell to the floor. First then he noticed the huge spot of blood on her jacket. Quickly he lifted her up on the coach. Then he took of her jacket and blouse. And there on her back he found two bulletholes. It was impossible, yet she had managed to get both him and Crighton safe, before she lost conscience. Those bullets had to come out he thought.
He was about to go to find something he could use for it, when he stunned watched as the bullets where actually pushed out of her, until they rolled down on the floor. Before his eyes, the wounds closed and looked like they were at least a weak old. It was almost unnecessary to put on a dressing. But he did. He didn't know if the wounds could be infected. After that he slumped down in a stressless chair. Five minutes later he was asleep for the first time since he got the call.