Title: Phoenix Risings
Rating: PG-13/R
Chapter Number: 4
Author: White Werewolf
Category: Buffy/Xander, Sam/Daniel, Gabrielle/Joxer
Spoilers/Timeframe: All I know for sure it is after "Becoming Part 2."
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the ideas and my computer.
Summery: After Buffy leaves Sunnydale, Xander decides to go looking for her. On the other side of the universe, Ninedinna wants the book she created...the Necronomicon Ex Mortis: the Book of the Dead.
Special Thanks: Danii, Tenhawk, Teri, Silent Bob Foley, BMT, Joshua, and X-Lander
Crossovers Planned:
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys
Evil Dead
Stargate SG-1
Xena: Warrior Princess
Three's Company
Cameo Crossovers are sudden to appear. See if you can spot any.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
***
Of course Cordelia didn't answer Buffy.
Buffy turned to Alex and asked in a worried voice, "What's going to happen to her?"
Alex sighed, "Take a look."
She nodded slowly as she glanced back to the two vampires and the frightened human.
"Get your hands off me!"
Spike chuckled, "I don't think so. Y'see. My Buffy here is hungry, and she's in the mood for a real pain in the ass!"
Cordelia looked at the blond vampiress, "If you lay one finger on me, my boyfriend is going to go all OJ on you."
Vampire Buffy laughed, "I don't think your boyfriend will help you."
The brunette showed a confused look, "How come?"
The bleached blond demon smirked, "I killed him before we came got here."
Her eyes flared, "You bastards! I'll kill you for that!"
Buffy's doubleganger showed her vampiric face. "I don't think so." Then she opened her mouth and let her fangs glisten in the light. "Say nighty night."
Then she lowered her fangs and punctured into her vein. Soon, she started to suck her blood.
Buffy went to her pocket to pull out a stake. "Shit," she cursed as she realized that she didn't have a stake with her. Then the blond watched in horror as Cordelia's body became limp.
"Cordelia! I'll kill you, you bastards!" Buffy yelled as Cordelia fell to the ground.
When no one answered, she yelled, "What are you death? Answer me!"
"Buffy..."
She didn't answer.
"Why won't you answer me?" She asked with tears soon appearing in her eyes.
"Buffy?"
Anger filled her voice as she turned to face Alex, "What?"
"They can't hear you remember? This is a dream."
"Oh," she said in realization. "Sorry. Once I saw Cordy fall, I lost it."
Her guide smiled, "Well, it looks like I'm definitely not wasting my time. There's hope for you yet."
A confusing look appeared on her face, "What hope? What are you talking about?"
***
Hercules repeated himself, "I'm Hercules."
"I see." Xander said drawling out the word.
Kevin chuckled, "I'm serious. Remember that episode where I played myself in the current timeframe?"
The teenager nodded taking in the information. "Yeah, I remember that episode..." he said. Then his eyes widened, "you mean that episode was real?"
The demigod nodded, "Where do you think I got the idea. All the actors on that show resemble the real people I remember from Greece."
"So, that means Ioulas and Autolycus actually existed?"
The son of Zeus nodded, "Yeah. Ioulas lived to be 100. Autolycus only lived to 92. But they had good lives and children. Ioulas was able to settle down with Nebula after. "
He showed a confused look, "Nebula?"
Hercules chuckled, "Yeah. I forgot. The show didn't cover her yet. But, she will be on it."
"Oh," was his response. Then he started to go back into the show's history. "I bet you miss Deianeira and the kids."
He sighed, "Yeah, I do. But, I know Hades is keeping them safe. The whole deal with him and Persephone happened too."
"Cool," was his statement. "It looks like you retired the hero business, huh?"
Hercules shrugged, "I tried. But, I couldn't stay away. After realizing that what Zues gave me, I couldn't just forget about it. It's a part of who I am."
Xander grinned, "I understand. That's why I'm trying to find Buffy. She sent her boyfriend to hell, and ran away. I just had to go after her. I just had to."
"I understand, Xander. It seems to me that you're a very caring person."
He chuckled, "Yeah, it's a curse. I've got a good heart."
"Yeah, you do."
Changing the subject, he asked, "So, how's the search going?"
The brunette sighed, "It's going okay. It's only been a few days. But at least I know I'm on the right track."
The demigod showed a perplexed look, "How do you know? Lorne?"
The boy nodded, "Yeah, Lorne. He read my aura. And all I have to do first is defeat a ghost."
"A ghost?"
Xander cleared his throat, and said in his best Lorne voice, "That I don't know, Sweetcheeks. But after you defeat the ghost you'll be closer to finding your friend."
The actor chuckled, "Good impression. It sounds like him."
He went back to his normal voice, "Thanks. That's what he told me. All I have to do this, and then I'd find her. That, and I'm going to need some help trying to stop this."
"Help huh?"
"That's what he said." Xander said with a sigh and clapping his hands together. "So, I was hoping."
"Hoping what?"
He gulped, "Now, that I found out that you're actually Hercules."
"Yeah?" Hercules asked getting the idea.
"Hoping that you could help. Having the son of Zues will definitely help."
"Uh, huh." He said as he got out of his chair.
"I mean, you don't have to help if you don't want to. You do have the show and all. Not to mention you're about to start that Kull movie."
"Xander..."
He didn't answer.
"I mean, you have a public image to hold up with, your busy and you just married your wife."
"Xander..."
Xander stopped his talking, and glanced up at Hercules, "Yeah?"
Alex smiled, "This proves that you actually care about your friends."
She showed a confusing look, "Well, yeah. Of course I care for them. What do you think I am? A self riotous bitch?!"
Her guide immediately shook his head, "Of course not, Buff. In other timeframe, you practically push all your friends away. And you also at one point believe that Spike was the only person that watched your back. I'm just trying to reinforce your caringness, so your future self won't become that person."
"Oh," she said in realization, "you mean to tell me that I become a bitch?"
The guide nodded, "Well, bitch may be too strong of a word. But you did start losing your humanity. As your slayer half became stronger, your human half became weaker."
She crossed her arms around her chest, "So, what am I supposed to do?"
Alex approached her, "Before I answer that, I want to show you something. I want to show what effect you've had on Willow, Xander, Oz, Cordelia, and Giles. I want to show you what they're doing in response to your departure."
Buffy nodded, "I guess that means we're not done seeing things, huh?"
The Spirit Guide smiled, "Not yet. But what I'm going to do is let you have one more experience tonight, and then I'm going to leave you alone. Get a good night's rest, have a good day, and I'll see you tomorrow night. But, right now we're going."
"I guess I'm ready to go then."
He nodded, and soon the room filled in white, and they both disappeared.
***
Hercules smiled, "I'll help you, Xander. Don't worry."
Xander felt better at that moment. Now, he had the help of the great Hercules. "This ghost is as good as toast."
The demigod smiled, "Where do we start to find this ghost?"
The teenager shrugged, "You're guess is as good as mine."
Hercules leaned against the far wall, "Do you know anything that might help find Buffy?"
Xander picked up his bottled water and walked over to his new friend, "All I know is that Buffy is somewhere in LA. I found out from the bus station in Sunnydale before I left."
An idea popped into his mind, "Maybe the local bus station might know something."
He shrugged, "I asked them earlier. They didn't know that much. All they told me was that they saw her walk down the street. So, I followed her, but never found anything. There were times when I thought I was close, but something always happened. Either there was a flower pot falling from above, or a lamppost falling down in front of me."
The big guy chuckled, "Weird."
The brunette chuckled as well, "Weird's the word that would describe it."
The actor crossed his arms, "So, what do we do now? I could try and get the media involved."
Xander shook his head, "I don't know. I don't want vampires to know that she's alone. It might give them the upper hand that they need. Buffy just sent her boyfriend to Hell. She's a total wreck."
"I agree with you there, Xander. So, now that that idea is scratched, what do we do?"
He shrugged, "We could try and look for her the old fashioned way."
Hercules looked at his watch, "Well, it's getting pretty late. I've got work tomorrow, and so do you. Meet me at the studio, and I'll show you around. Then, we'll try and search for your friend some more."
Xander smiled, "Thanks, Hercules." Then his eyes widened, "Woah."
"What's wrong?"
He chuckled, "I just called you, Hercules. That just felt so weird-extremely weird."
"I can understand that. But, when we're in public, call me Kevin."
***
Buffy and her guide appeared in the middle of the street.
She looked around, and recognized her surroundings. She was back in Sunnydale. "What am I supposed to do?"
Alex pointed down the street, "The answer you seek is down there."
She showed a confused look, "When did you start channeling Yoda?"
With a shrug, he said, "Since ten seconds ago."
Buffy smiled, "You definitely sound like Xander."
He smiled, "I should hope so, Buff. I chose this form because it's the best way for us to relate.'
She showed a confusing look, "But why Xander? Why not Willow, Giles, Mom, or even Angel?"
Her guide shrugged, "Do you really want to get into that?"
A new look of determination appeared on her face, "Actually, I do."
He sighed, "The thing is Buffy. It's getting pretty late. In the awake world, it's 1 o'clock in the morning, and you got work at 9. I realize being the Slayer you don't need much sleep. But, you really should get a good night's sleep. It will only make your day more tolerable."
She sighed this time, "I know you're right. It's only my third day of work."
Alex smiled, "Good. I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now, in the words of Snagglepuss, 'Exit Stage Left.'"
Buffy giggled, "You're sounding more and more like Xander."
"Is that a problem?"
She looked at the ground, "It's just..."
"Just what?"
In a whispered voice, "It's just that I miss him."
Alex approached her, "I know you do, Buffy. But this proves me being here even more. You care about your friends."
Buffy grinned, "Yeah, I do care."
"Good. Now, according to my watch. We'll run into your friends in about five minutes."
Her eyes widened, "Five minutes? What are they doing out at night?"
"They're on patrol."
Anger filled her voice, "What?"
Alex said in a calm voice, "You're friends, Buffy.
Ever since you left, someone had to take over your
patrolling. Angel's gone and Kendra's dead. What
would you think would happen?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe another slayer
would come."
Her guide stated, "Well, there is another Slayer
coming, but that's not for a while. Or until later
this summer at the earliest. If I'm correct, she's
actually in Los Angeles. But, it's not her time yet.
She's still a potential."
Her eyes widened, "You mean there's another slayer in
Los Angeles? How do you know this? Hell, how do you
know all these future happenings and about my
friends?"
He sighed, "As I told you before, Buffy. I was sent
by the Powers. I was sent because you're in a fragile
state-a very fragile state. And before I was sent
here, I was told everything about you."
"Oh," she said, "but why isn't this potential sent to
Sunnydale yet?"
Alex answered, "Because you need to be taught some
things."
She nodded, "You mean like why my friends are on
patrol?"
Her guide smiled, "Right. With you no longer in
Sunnydale, your friends have taken up your cause."
With that said, lightning flashed, and soon a battle
emerged out of nowhere.
Buffy looked around, and she saw Willow, Giles,
Cordelia, and Oz. They were fighting some vampires,
and she and Alex were standing in the middle of the
chaotic horde.
She automatically went to her pocket looking for her
stake, "Leave them alone, you assholes!"
No one responded.
"C'mon. I'm the one you want! I'm the Slayer!"
Alex sighed, "Nobody can hear you, Buff. Remember, no
one can see or hear us."
She whispered, "I know you're right, Alex. But I hate
this. I hate them having to fight. I want them to
live. They don't have to do this. They could die,
Alex. I don't want that to happen. I love them. I
don't want to lose them."
"Well," Alex began, "I know you don't want them to
die. And I know you love them. They know you love
them too. It's just that they can't stay away from
this. They can't just ignore all the demonic
activity. They want to put a stop to it. Throw in
the love they have for you, and they'll never leave
Sunnydale."
Buffy nodded, "I know you're right, Alex. It's just
they don't deserve this. It's my destiny to fight.
They could lead normal safe lives."
"They could do that, Buff. But like I said, they want
to help. Just look at what you did for them. You
opened their eyes to the supernatural. You let them
into your world, and they're not going to leave."
She looked around the area. Her friends were fighting
with everything they had. True, they didn't have the
strength that she had, but they had the heart that was
needed as well as the spirit.
A smile crossed her lips, "Well, at least Xander was
smart enough not to fight. I bet he's at home
watching television."
"You wanna make a wager on that?"
She showed a confused look, "What are you talking
about?"
"Xander's not in Sunnydale, Buffy. He left."
The teenager stormed right up to her guide, "What are
you talking about? Xander would never leave
Sunnydale. It's not like him to just up and move
without telling anyone."
"Normally, you're right. Remind me. When you left
Sunnydale a few days ago on the bus, and you looked
out the window. What did you see?"
After giving it some thought, she answered, "I saw
Xander running after the bus."
"Right. Now, knowing Xander, would he just go back to
class or would he..."
Her eyes widened realizing the truth. She may not
know that much about her friend, but she knew that he
cared about her. "You mean that he's looking for me?"
Alex smiled, "Give the girl a prize. Xander left
Sunnydale right after and is searching for you in LA."
She shook her head, "He can't find me. I'm not ready
to go back to Sunnydale. I don't want him to find
me."
He said in a calm voice, "He won't find you yet,
Buffy. He has some stuff to do before that, and he
won't until your ready to go home. This won't happen
for a while. He needs to go through some self
discovery too."
She showed a confusing look, "What does he have to go
through? Does he have a guide too?"
The Spirit Guide shook his head, "Nope. No guide.
His journey is something for himself to go through. I
have no right to tell you. But, even when Xander
finds you, you two still have a big adventure to
accomplish. That's all I can say to you, Buff.
Remember, I'm going to leave you in a few minutes.
Tomorrow. We'll talk some more and answer some more
of your questions. And you'll learn something else
about Xander that you might not like. But, he did it
for the right reasons."
She showed a confused look, "What did he do?"
"I won't tell you tonight. You went through a lot,
and you should get some sleep."
And before she could say anything, Alex disappeared.
Soon, her friends and the scenery faded as well. All
that was left was a white room, and an echoing voice
saying, "Until tomorrow night, Buffy."
***
Two hazel eyes snapped opened, and two ears heard a
loud ringing noise sounded.
Tiredly, Buffy hit her alarm clock, and turned off the
sound. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat
up in bed.
(What a night,) she thought to herself. Buffy got out
of the covers and went to the bathroom to do her
morning activities.
After showering and wrapping a towel around her waist
and head she looked into the mirror.
Traces of water covered her face. "What happened last
night?" She asked herself.
Buffy remembered everything about her dream. She
remembered her Spirit Guide, Alex, and witnessing some
extremely weird events. Her turning, staking the
Master, kissing Spike, draining Cordelia, showing up
in Sunnydale and seeing her friends fight the undead
with everything they had.
Then she found out that Xander too was in Los Angeles.
Where, she didn't know? Did he find his own
apartment and job? Or was he living on the streets
like a homeless man.
She immediately shook her heads, Xander may be a
slacker when it comes to schoolwork, but she knew he
could land on his feet very easily. Xander was that
type of guy. He was a survivor, and she knew it.
Xander put himself in danger numerous times these past
few years and he was the one person that always looked
out for her. He always put her in front of him. He
saved her from Teresa and the fish people.
Was that the reason why Alex took the form he did?
Was it because Xander cared about her and watched her
back? Maybe. She didn't know, but she could ask Alex
tomorrow night.
She didn't know what to do with her life at this
moment. All that matter to her was to keep herself
alive and hope that her friends were alright. But one
thing was for sure. She wouldn't run away from
Xander.
If he found her and when he did. Buffy would talk to
him and make sure he's alright. She missed him, and
it was nice to know that someone out there actually
took it upon himself to search for her.
Buffy had no idea how much he cared for her, but with
what Alex said, it made sense. Xander was a person
that could take care of himself.
She just hoped that she could take care of herself
too.
With that thought, Buffy walked out of her bathroom
and stopped when she saw someone standing in her room.
"Angel?"
Buffy approached her visitor with tears in her eyes. "Is it really you?"
Then she saw something sticking out of the center of his chest. Her eyes widened in terror as she recognized the handle of the object.
Before she could say anything, Angel said in pained voice, "Look what you did, Buffy. You ran a sword through me."
Her tears started to drip down her cheeks, "I didn't have a choice."
He glared at her, "Yes, you did. You should've staked me when you had the chance."
She shook her head, "No, I couldn't. I just couldn't."
"Because you love me, am I right?"
All she could do was nod.
"We never should've gotten involved. All I ever did was cause you pain."
Buffy only wanted to do one thing. She went to grab the sword handle, but her hand went right through. "You're not real."
Angel said, "No, I'm not. I'm in hell because you couldn't end my suffering. If you staked me, Jenny Calendar would still be alive. Her and Giles would've been engaged with a baby on the way."
Tears continued to pour down her cheeks, "No. I love you, Angel. I couldn't stake you. I just couldn't."
"Doesn't matter, Buffy. Because of your selfishness, Jenny Calendar and Kendra died. If they were still alive, you would still be in Sunnydale with your friends and mother. You would've had a better life. But, now look what happened. You let me torture people and you paid the price."
"No! No! Noooooooooooooooooo!" She cried. "I loved you with all my heart, Angel. I couldn't live without you."
He glared at her, "It looks like your going to have to live by yourself. If you staked me when I first lost my soul, you're heart would've healed by now and maybe found someone new. But you didn't. You had to stay with my soulless counterpart."
Continuingly to cry, she said, "But I wanted you back. I kept hoping that there was a way. Some way to get the old Angel back."
He sighed, "I admit Jenny found something. But, look at what happened."
She said, "I'm sorry, Angel. I'm so so sorry. I love you."
"You love me? If you really loved me, you shouldn't have of kept me in pain. Instead, you let me suffer and your friends. What we had wasn't love. You loved the idea of being in love. Of finally having someone in your life that wouldn't leave you. Well, look what happened. I left you, and you're alone. You'll always be alone."
Buffy couldn't take it anymore. Angel...her Angel just unleashed a lot of pain. And rather than saying anything, she crumbled to the floor and cried her heart out. The whole time realizing that she was living a lie. That she never was in love.
She cautiously looked back up and managed to say, "Angel."
But Angel didn't respond. He disappeared. All that was left was his voice repeating, "You'll always be alone."
***
Xander walked up to the front gate and saw a person in a booth next to the gate. He walked up to it and saw a man wearing a black security guard uniform. "Excuse me."
The man looked up, and smiled, "May I help you?"
He nodded, "I should hope so. I've made arrangements with Kevin Sorbo. He said that he would show me around."
"Let me check," he said as he picked up a yellow pad of paper, "and your name is?"
Xander smiled, "Xander Harris."
"Right." The security guard said as he looked at the paper, and said, "I got your name right here, Mr. Harris. I'll call Mr. Sorbo and let him know you're here."
The teenager smiled, "Thanks."
"Not a problem." He said as he picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Mr. Sorbo? I've got a young man at the gate looking for you. His name is Xander Harris. Right. That's what he told me too. I'll get Eric to send him your way. Goodbye."
He then hung up the phone, and picked it back up. After dialing another number, he waited for the other phone to pick up. When it did, the man said, "Hey, Eric? It's me Kirk. Y'know, Kirk Smith. Kevin Sorbo wants you to escort his friend, Xander Harris, to him. Xander's standing here with me. Alright. Thanks. Goodbye."
He then hung up the phone, "Eric is on his way. He'll take you to Mr. Sorbo."
"Good."
They stood in silence for the next few minutes when the gate opened, and a blond young man came out. "Hey, Kirk." He greeted.
Kirk smiled, "Hi, Eric. Xander Harris meet Eric Matthews. Eric Matthews meet Xander Harris."
Xander smiled, "Nice to meet you."
Eric smiled, "Nice to meet you. C'mon. I'll take you to meet the big guy."
"Go on, Xander. Mr. Sorbo is waiting for you."
The brunette nodded, "Thanks, Kirk. Let's go."
With that said, Eric and Xander left booth, walked passed the gate, and headed down the studio lot.
"So, how do you know Kevin Sorbo?"
Xander replied, "Met him at a bar and we hit it off."
Eric smiled, "Mr. Sorbo is the that type of guy. He's a nice guy. I met in Philadelphia at a convention. He gave me a job offer."
His eyes widened, "Right off the bat?"
The Guard shrugged, "I just got out of Highschool and couldn't find a job. We talked some, and he offered me a job. He found out that I liked to act. We talked. I told him about my family, brother, and sister. We hit it off."
The Sunnydale resident grinned, "Cool. So, what's it like to work here?"
Eric answered, "The pay's good. It's better than working for your father at a grocery store."
"I should hope so. I just got a job at S-Mart."
"S-Mart's cool. I've been there once or twice since I moved here."
"Yeah, it's a good place to work. I lucked out. The manager was a nice guy."
Eric was about to say something when they got to a door. "This is my stop, Xander." He knocked on the door, "Mr. Sorbo will take you from here. You want to grab a bite or something sometime."
"Sure why not. It was nice to meet you by the way."
Before Eric could leave, the door opened and out came Hercules, "Hey, Xander. Hey, Eric."
Eric grinned, "Hi, Mr. Sorbo. I brought Xander to you."
Kevin chuckled, "I see that. Thanks."
"Not a problem. See ya around, Xander."
Then he left.
----------------------------------------------------
TBC
Rating: PG-13/R
Chapter Number: 4
Author: White Werewolf
Category: Buffy/Xander, Sam/Daniel, Gabrielle/Joxer
Spoilers/Timeframe: All I know for sure it is after "Becoming Part 2."
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the ideas and my computer.
Summery: After Buffy leaves Sunnydale, Xander decides to go looking for her. On the other side of the universe, Ninedinna wants the book she created...the Necronomicon Ex Mortis: the Book of the Dead.
Special Thanks: Danii, Tenhawk, Teri, Silent Bob Foley, BMT, Joshua, and X-Lander
Crossovers Planned:
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys
Evil Dead
Stargate SG-1
Xena: Warrior Princess
Three's Company
Cameo Crossovers are sudden to appear. See if you can spot any.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
***
Of course Cordelia didn't answer Buffy.
Buffy turned to Alex and asked in a worried voice, "What's going to happen to her?"
Alex sighed, "Take a look."
She nodded slowly as she glanced back to the two vampires and the frightened human.
"Get your hands off me!"
Spike chuckled, "I don't think so. Y'see. My Buffy here is hungry, and she's in the mood for a real pain in the ass!"
Cordelia looked at the blond vampiress, "If you lay one finger on me, my boyfriend is going to go all OJ on you."
Vampire Buffy laughed, "I don't think your boyfriend will help you."
The brunette showed a confused look, "How come?"
The bleached blond demon smirked, "I killed him before we came got here."
Her eyes flared, "You bastards! I'll kill you for that!"
Buffy's doubleganger showed her vampiric face. "I don't think so." Then she opened her mouth and let her fangs glisten in the light. "Say nighty night."
Then she lowered her fangs and punctured into her vein. Soon, she started to suck her blood.
Buffy went to her pocket to pull out a stake. "Shit," she cursed as she realized that she didn't have a stake with her. Then the blond watched in horror as Cordelia's body became limp.
"Cordelia! I'll kill you, you bastards!" Buffy yelled as Cordelia fell to the ground.
When no one answered, she yelled, "What are you death? Answer me!"
"Buffy..."
She didn't answer.
"Why won't you answer me?" She asked with tears soon appearing in her eyes.
"Buffy?"
Anger filled her voice as she turned to face Alex, "What?"
"They can't hear you remember? This is a dream."
"Oh," she said in realization. "Sorry. Once I saw Cordy fall, I lost it."
Her guide smiled, "Well, it looks like I'm definitely not wasting my time. There's hope for you yet."
A confusing look appeared on her face, "What hope? What are you talking about?"
***
Hercules repeated himself, "I'm Hercules."
"I see." Xander said drawling out the word.
Kevin chuckled, "I'm serious. Remember that episode where I played myself in the current timeframe?"
The teenager nodded taking in the information. "Yeah, I remember that episode..." he said. Then his eyes widened, "you mean that episode was real?"
The demigod nodded, "Where do you think I got the idea. All the actors on that show resemble the real people I remember from Greece."
"So, that means Ioulas and Autolycus actually existed?"
The son of Zeus nodded, "Yeah. Ioulas lived to be 100. Autolycus only lived to 92. But they had good lives and children. Ioulas was able to settle down with Nebula after. "
He showed a confused look, "Nebula?"
Hercules chuckled, "Yeah. I forgot. The show didn't cover her yet. But, she will be on it."
"Oh," was his response. Then he started to go back into the show's history. "I bet you miss Deianeira and the kids."
He sighed, "Yeah, I do. But, I know Hades is keeping them safe. The whole deal with him and Persephone happened too."
"Cool," was his statement. "It looks like you retired the hero business, huh?"
Hercules shrugged, "I tried. But, I couldn't stay away. After realizing that what Zues gave me, I couldn't just forget about it. It's a part of who I am."
Xander grinned, "I understand. That's why I'm trying to find Buffy. She sent her boyfriend to hell, and ran away. I just had to go after her. I just had to."
"I understand, Xander. It seems to me that you're a very caring person."
He chuckled, "Yeah, it's a curse. I've got a good heart."
"Yeah, you do."
Changing the subject, he asked, "So, how's the search going?"
The brunette sighed, "It's going okay. It's only been a few days. But at least I know I'm on the right track."
The demigod showed a perplexed look, "How do you know? Lorne?"
The boy nodded, "Yeah, Lorne. He read my aura. And all I have to do first is defeat a ghost."
"A ghost?"
Xander cleared his throat, and said in his best Lorne voice, "That I don't know, Sweetcheeks. But after you defeat the ghost you'll be closer to finding your friend."
The actor chuckled, "Good impression. It sounds like him."
He went back to his normal voice, "Thanks. That's what he told me. All I have to do this, and then I'd find her. That, and I'm going to need some help trying to stop this."
"Help huh?"
"That's what he said." Xander said with a sigh and clapping his hands together. "So, I was hoping."
"Hoping what?"
He gulped, "Now, that I found out that you're actually Hercules."
"Yeah?" Hercules asked getting the idea.
"Hoping that you could help. Having the son of Zues will definitely help."
"Uh, huh." He said as he got out of his chair.
"I mean, you don't have to help if you don't want to. You do have the show and all. Not to mention you're about to start that Kull movie."
"Xander..."
He didn't answer.
"I mean, you have a public image to hold up with, your busy and you just married your wife."
"Xander..."
Xander stopped his talking, and glanced up at Hercules, "Yeah?"
Alex smiled, "This proves that you actually care about your friends."
She showed a confusing look, "Well, yeah. Of course I care for them. What do you think I am? A self riotous bitch?!"
Her guide immediately shook his head, "Of course not, Buff. In other timeframe, you practically push all your friends away. And you also at one point believe that Spike was the only person that watched your back. I'm just trying to reinforce your caringness, so your future self won't become that person."
"Oh," she said in realization, "you mean to tell me that I become a bitch?"
The guide nodded, "Well, bitch may be too strong of a word. But you did start losing your humanity. As your slayer half became stronger, your human half became weaker."
She crossed her arms around her chest, "So, what am I supposed to do?"
Alex approached her, "Before I answer that, I want to show you something. I want to show what effect you've had on Willow, Xander, Oz, Cordelia, and Giles. I want to show you what they're doing in response to your departure."
Buffy nodded, "I guess that means we're not done seeing things, huh?"
The Spirit Guide smiled, "Not yet. But what I'm going to do is let you have one more experience tonight, and then I'm going to leave you alone. Get a good night's rest, have a good day, and I'll see you tomorrow night. But, right now we're going."
"I guess I'm ready to go then."
He nodded, and soon the room filled in white, and they both disappeared.
***
Hercules smiled, "I'll help you, Xander. Don't worry."
Xander felt better at that moment. Now, he had the help of the great Hercules. "This ghost is as good as toast."
The demigod smiled, "Where do we start to find this ghost?"
The teenager shrugged, "You're guess is as good as mine."
Hercules leaned against the far wall, "Do you know anything that might help find Buffy?"
Xander picked up his bottled water and walked over to his new friend, "All I know is that Buffy is somewhere in LA. I found out from the bus station in Sunnydale before I left."
An idea popped into his mind, "Maybe the local bus station might know something."
He shrugged, "I asked them earlier. They didn't know that much. All they told me was that they saw her walk down the street. So, I followed her, but never found anything. There were times when I thought I was close, but something always happened. Either there was a flower pot falling from above, or a lamppost falling down in front of me."
The big guy chuckled, "Weird."
The brunette chuckled as well, "Weird's the word that would describe it."
The actor crossed his arms, "So, what do we do now? I could try and get the media involved."
Xander shook his head, "I don't know. I don't want vampires to know that she's alone. It might give them the upper hand that they need. Buffy just sent her boyfriend to Hell. She's a total wreck."
"I agree with you there, Xander. So, now that that idea is scratched, what do we do?"
He shrugged, "We could try and look for her the old fashioned way."
Hercules looked at his watch, "Well, it's getting pretty late. I've got work tomorrow, and so do you. Meet me at the studio, and I'll show you around. Then, we'll try and search for your friend some more."
Xander smiled, "Thanks, Hercules." Then his eyes widened, "Woah."
"What's wrong?"
He chuckled, "I just called you, Hercules. That just felt so weird-extremely weird."
"I can understand that. But, when we're in public, call me Kevin."
***
Buffy and her guide appeared in the middle of the street.
She looked around, and recognized her surroundings. She was back in Sunnydale. "What am I supposed to do?"
Alex pointed down the street, "The answer you seek is down there."
She showed a confused look, "When did you start channeling Yoda?"
With a shrug, he said, "Since ten seconds ago."
Buffy smiled, "You definitely sound like Xander."
He smiled, "I should hope so, Buff. I chose this form because it's the best way for us to relate.'
She showed a confusing look, "But why Xander? Why not Willow, Giles, Mom, or even Angel?"
Her guide shrugged, "Do you really want to get into that?"
A new look of determination appeared on her face, "Actually, I do."
He sighed, "The thing is Buffy. It's getting pretty late. In the awake world, it's 1 o'clock in the morning, and you got work at 9. I realize being the Slayer you don't need much sleep. But, you really should get a good night's sleep. It will only make your day more tolerable."
She sighed this time, "I know you're right. It's only my third day of work."
Alex smiled, "Good. I'll tell you tomorrow. Right now, in the words of Snagglepuss, 'Exit Stage Left.'"
Buffy giggled, "You're sounding more and more like Xander."
"Is that a problem?"
She looked at the ground, "It's just..."
"Just what?"
In a whispered voice, "It's just that I miss him."
Alex approached her, "I know you do, Buffy. But this proves me being here even more. You care about your friends."
Buffy grinned, "Yeah, I do care."
"Good. Now, according to my watch. We'll run into your friends in about five minutes."
Her eyes widened, "Five minutes? What are they doing out at night?"
"They're on patrol."
Anger filled her voice, "What?"
Alex said in a calm voice, "You're friends, Buffy.
Ever since you left, someone had to take over your
patrolling. Angel's gone and Kendra's dead. What
would you think would happen?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe another slayer
would come."
Her guide stated, "Well, there is another Slayer
coming, but that's not for a while. Or until later
this summer at the earliest. If I'm correct, she's
actually in Los Angeles. But, it's not her time yet.
She's still a potential."
Her eyes widened, "You mean there's another slayer in
Los Angeles? How do you know this? Hell, how do you
know all these future happenings and about my
friends?"
He sighed, "As I told you before, Buffy. I was sent
by the Powers. I was sent because you're in a fragile
state-a very fragile state. And before I was sent
here, I was told everything about you."
"Oh," she said, "but why isn't this potential sent to
Sunnydale yet?"
Alex answered, "Because you need to be taught some
things."
She nodded, "You mean like why my friends are on
patrol?"
Her guide smiled, "Right. With you no longer in
Sunnydale, your friends have taken up your cause."
With that said, lightning flashed, and soon a battle
emerged out of nowhere.
Buffy looked around, and she saw Willow, Giles,
Cordelia, and Oz. They were fighting some vampires,
and she and Alex were standing in the middle of the
chaotic horde.
She automatically went to her pocket looking for her
stake, "Leave them alone, you assholes!"
No one responded.
"C'mon. I'm the one you want! I'm the Slayer!"
Alex sighed, "Nobody can hear you, Buff. Remember, no
one can see or hear us."
She whispered, "I know you're right, Alex. But I hate
this. I hate them having to fight. I want them to
live. They don't have to do this. They could die,
Alex. I don't want that to happen. I love them. I
don't want to lose them."
"Well," Alex began, "I know you don't want them to
die. And I know you love them. They know you love
them too. It's just that they can't stay away from
this. They can't just ignore all the demonic
activity. They want to put a stop to it. Throw in
the love they have for you, and they'll never leave
Sunnydale."
Buffy nodded, "I know you're right, Alex. It's just
they don't deserve this. It's my destiny to fight.
They could lead normal safe lives."
"They could do that, Buff. But like I said, they want
to help. Just look at what you did for them. You
opened their eyes to the supernatural. You let them
into your world, and they're not going to leave."
She looked around the area. Her friends were fighting
with everything they had. True, they didn't have the
strength that she had, but they had the heart that was
needed as well as the spirit.
A smile crossed her lips, "Well, at least Xander was
smart enough not to fight. I bet he's at home
watching television."
"You wanna make a wager on that?"
She showed a confused look, "What are you talking
about?"
"Xander's not in Sunnydale, Buffy. He left."
The teenager stormed right up to her guide, "What are
you talking about? Xander would never leave
Sunnydale. It's not like him to just up and move
without telling anyone."
"Normally, you're right. Remind me. When you left
Sunnydale a few days ago on the bus, and you looked
out the window. What did you see?"
After giving it some thought, she answered, "I saw
Xander running after the bus."
"Right. Now, knowing Xander, would he just go back to
class or would he..."
Her eyes widened realizing the truth. She may not
know that much about her friend, but she knew that he
cared about her. "You mean that he's looking for me?"
Alex smiled, "Give the girl a prize. Xander left
Sunnydale right after and is searching for you in LA."
She shook her head, "He can't find me. I'm not ready
to go back to Sunnydale. I don't want him to find
me."
He said in a calm voice, "He won't find you yet,
Buffy. He has some stuff to do before that, and he
won't until your ready to go home. This won't happen
for a while. He needs to go through some self
discovery too."
She showed a confusing look, "What does he have to go
through? Does he have a guide too?"
The Spirit Guide shook his head, "Nope. No guide.
His journey is something for himself to go through. I
have no right to tell you. But, even when Xander
finds you, you two still have a big adventure to
accomplish. That's all I can say to you, Buff.
Remember, I'm going to leave you in a few minutes.
Tomorrow. We'll talk some more and answer some more
of your questions. And you'll learn something else
about Xander that you might not like. But, he did it
for the right reasons."
She showed a confused look, "What did he do?"
"I won't tell you tonight. You went through a lot,
and you should get some sleep."
And before she could say anything, Alex disappeared.
Soon, her friends and the scenery faded as well. All
that was left was a white room, and an echoing voice
saying, "Until tomorrow night, Buffy."
***
Two hazel eyes snapped opened, and two ears heard a
loud ringing noise sounded.
Tiredly, Buffy hit her alarm clock, and turned off the
sound. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat
up in bed.
(What a night,) she thought to herself. Buffy got out
of the covers and went to the bathroom to do her
morning activities.
After showering and wrapping a towel around her waist
and head she looked into the mirror.
Traces of water covered her face. "What happened last
night?" She asked herself.
Buffy remembered everything about her dream. She
remembered her Spirit Guide, Alex, and witnessing some
extremely weird events. Her turning, staking the
Master, kissing Spike, draining Cordelia, showing up
in Sunnydale and seeing her friends fight the undead
with everything they had.
Then she found out that Xander too was in Los Angeles.
Where, she didn't know? Did he find his own
apartment and job? Or was he living on the streets
like a homeless man.
She immediately shook her heads, Xander may be a
slacker when it comes to schoolwork, but she knew he
could land on his feet very easily. Xander was that
type of guy. He was a survivor, and she knew it.
Xander put himself in danger numerous times these past
few years and he was the one person that always looked
out for her. He always put her in front of him. He
saved her from Teresa and the fish people.
Was that the reason why Alex took the form he did?
Was it because Xander cared about her and watched her
back? Maybe. She didn't know, but she could ask Alex
tomorrow night.
She didn't know what to do with her life at this
moment. All that matter to her was to keep herself
alive and hope that her friends were alright. But one
thing was for sure. She wouldn't run away from
Xander.
If he found her and when he did. Buffy would talk to
him and make sure he's alright. She missed him, and
it was nice to know that someone out there actually
took it upon himself to search for her.
Buffy had no idea how much he cared for her, but with
what Alex said, it made sense. Xander was a person
that could take care of himself.
She just hoped that she could take care of herself
too.
With that thought, Buffy walked out of her bathroom
and stopped when she saw someone standing in her room.
"Angel?"
Buffy approached her visitor with tears in her eyes. "Is it really you?"
Then she saw something sticking out of the center of his chest. Her eyes widened in terror as she recognized the handle of the object.
Before she could say anything, Angel said in pained voice, "Look what you did, Buffy. You ran a sword through me."
Her tears started to drip down her cheeks, "I didn't have a choice."
He glared at her, "Yes, you did. You should've staked me when you had the chance."
She shook her head, "No, I couldn't. I just couldn't."
"Because you love me, am I right?"
All she could do was nod.
"We never should've gotten involved. All I ever did was cause you pain."
Buffy only wanted to do one thing. She went to grab the sword handle, but her hand went right through. "You're not real."
Angel said, "No, I'm not. I'm in hell because you couldn't end my suffering. If you staked me, Jenny Calendar would still be alive. Her and Giles would've been engaged with a baby on the way."
Tears continued to pour down her cheeks, "No. I love you, Angel. I couldn't stake you. I just couldn't."
"Doesn't matter, Buffy. Because of your selfishness, Jenny Calendar and Kendra died. If they were still alive, you would still be in Sunnydale with your friends and mother. You would've had a better life. But, now look what happened. You let me torture people and you paid the price."
"No! No! Noooooooooooooooooo!" She cried. "I loved you with all my heart, Angel. I couldn't live without you."
He glared at her, "It looks like your going to have to live by yourself. If you staked me when I first lost my soul, you're heart would've healed by now and maybe found someone new. But you didn't. You had to stay with my soulless counterpart."
Continuingly to cry, she said, "But I wanted you back. I kept hoping that there was a way. Some way to get the old Angel back."
He sighed, "I admit Jenny found something. But, look at what happened."
She said, "I'm sorry, Angel. I'm so so sorry. I love you."
"You love me? If you really loved me, you shouldn't have of kept me in pain. Instead, you let me suffer and your friends. What we had wasn't love. You loved the idea of being in love. Of finally having someone in your life that wouldn't leave you. Well, look what happened. I left you, and you're alone. You'll always be alone."
Buffy couldn't take it anymore. Angel...her Angel just unleashed a lot of pain. And rather than saying anything, she crumbled to the floor and cried her heart out. The whole time realizing that she was living a lie. That she never was in love.
She cautiously looked back up and managed to say, "Angel."
But Angel didn't respond. He disappeared. All that was left was his voice repeating, "You'll always be alone."
***
Xander walked up to the front gate and saw a person in a booth next to the gate. He walked up to it and saw a man wearing a black security guard uniform. "Excuse me."
The man looked up, and smiled, "May I help you?"
He nodded, "I should hope so. I've made arrangements with Kevin Sorbo. He said that he would show me around."
"Let me check," he said as he picked up a yellow pad of paper, "and your name is?"
Xander smiled, "Xander Harris."
"Right." The security guard said as he looked at the paper, and said, "I got your name right here, Mr. Harris. I'll call Mr. Sorbo and let him know you're here."
The teenager smiled, "Thanks."
"Not a problem." He said as he picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Mr. Sorbo? I've got a young man at the gate looking for you. His name is Xander Harris. Right. That's what he told me too. I'll get Eric to send him your way. Goodbye."
He then hung up the phone, and picked it back up. After dialing another number, he waited for the other phone to pick up. When it did, the man said, "Hey, Eric? It's me Kirk. Y'know, Kirk Smith. Kevin Sorbo wants you to escort his friend, Xander Harris, to him. Xander's standing here with me. Alright. Thanks. Goodbye."
He then hung up the phone, "Eric is on his way. He'll take you to Mr. Sorbo."
"Good."
They stood in silence for the next few minutes when the gate opened, and a blond young man came out. "Hey, Kirk." He greeted.
Kirk smiled, "Hi, Eric. Xander Harris meet Eric Matthews. Eric Matthews meet Xander Harris."
Xander smiled, "Nice to meet you."
Eric smiled, "Nice to meet you. C'mon. I'll take you to meet the big guy."
"Go on, Xander. Mr. Sorbo is waiting for you."
The brunette nodded, "Thanks, Kirk. Let's go."
With that said, Eric and Xander left booth, walked passed the gate, and headed down the studio lot.
"So, how do you know Kevin Sorbo?"
Xander replied, "Met him at a bar and we hit it off."
Eric smiled, "Mr. Sorbo is the that type of guy. He's a nice guy. I met in Philadelphia at a convention. He gave me a job offer."
His eyes widened, "Right off the bat?"
The Guard shrugged, "I just got out of Highschool and couldn't find a job. We talked some, and he offered me a job. He found out that I liked to act. We talked. I told him about my family, brother, and sister. We hit it off."
The Sunnydale resident grinned, "Cool. So, what's it like to work here?"
Eric answered, "The pay's good. It's better than working for your father at a grocery store."
"I should hope so. I just got a job at S-Mart."
"S-Mart's cool. I've been there once or twice since I moved here."
"Yeah, it's a good place to work. I lucked out. The manager was a nice guy."
Eric was about to say something when they got to a door. "This is my stop, Xander." He knocked on the door, "Mr. Sorbo will take you from here. You want to grab a bite or something sometime."
"Sure why not. It was nice to meet you by the way."
Before Eric could leave, the door opened and out came Hercules, "Hey, Xander. Hey, Eric."
Eric grinned, "Hi, Mr. Sorbo. I brought Xander to you."
Kevin chuckled, "I see that. Thanks."
"Not a problem. See ya around, Xander."
Then he left.
----------------------------------------------------
TBC