The Paladin Project 5 - Confrontations

"No," Faith shook her head, her face resolute. "I won't do it."

"In that case get out," Xander's cool tone betrayed none of his inner turmoil.

"B..but," the brunette looked devastated. "I chose your fucking team! B will know by now we've come here. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Not my problem," Xander replied flatly, it was an effort to keep his face stony at the woman's obvious hurt. "You sing and Lorne reads you or you leave."

"Xander," he turned to see an anxious looking Angel stood behind him. "Can I speak to you in private?"

For a second he hesitated before nodding. "Let's go up to my room." He glanced to the others in the hallway. "Keep an eye on them."

Once they'd entered his room Angel launched into him. "For god's sake Xander!" the vampire's eyes glittered golden. "You know how much it would have cost Faith to come here, to try and build bridges with you! Can't you give her a chance! You know how hard it is for her to trust people. Faith won't want to sing for Lorne in case of what he reads."

Xander paused in thought. When Faith and the others had arrived he'd been relieved that it wasn't some agent of the First or Buffy. But Faith, well as always with Faith there were complications. "She sings," he forestalled any comment from Angel by hurrying on. "In private with only you and Lorne present. Angel, I've not got only my own life to think of."

"What if I vouch for her?"

"If I didn't think you would she wouldn't have got through the front gate," Xander reached onto one of the shelves and passed the vampire two A4 sized manila envelopes. "Give Faith those when she passes."

"When not if?" Angel smiled wryly before turning curious. "What's in here?" The vampire's eyes widened as he told him. "How did you manage this?"

Xander winked. "With my friends you can do just about anything."

Angel nodded triumphantly at him as the vampire exited the room he'd sent them into. The vampire's arm hung protectively around Faith's shoulders as the brunette clung onto the envelopes he'd given Angel to give to her, a look of disbelief on her face. Xander smiled back at his friend, he hadn't expected the brunette to fail, if he'd been placing just his own life in Faith's hands he'd have trusted Angel's judgement but he had his other friends to consider. "Never had any doubt," he winked at the brunette Slayer before turning to Sydney. "Syd, could you take Faith and Dawn up to the female wing, give them the tour, show them the security protocols. Wes, will you do the same for -."

Suddenly Fred's anxious voice came over the house intercom. "Xander, we've got trouble at the front gate."

Xander's slight smile disappeared. "Control room now."

* * *

Xander stared silently at the security monitor screen. Buffy and Willow were stood outside the mansion's gates together with Spike, a kid he guessed from his intel reports must be Andrew, and a bunch of teenage girls carrying weapons that could only be the potentials. Buffy's army would have been funny if it wasn't so pathetic; this was meant to save the world? "It's good to see those protection spells you did worked girls," he praised the Charmed Ones.

"Anything for you Xand. Anything at all," Paige winked flirtatiously at him. Xander shook his head, now was most certainly not the time.

"What's the gig Xman?"

Xander turned to Faith, surprised that she just accepted his leadership so willingly. After a second he'd organised his thoughts. "Paige, Pheebs, and Piper I want you on Rosenberg, with her current state of mind she shouldn't be a threat but watch her she's powerful. Blade, you, Eric and Teal'c keep Spike out of things, no fatalities unless you have to. Faith, you look after Dawn," seeing the younger Summers' mouth begin to open he shook his head. "No Dawn, you will follow my lead. The rest of you watch the others. Oh Leo, I want you ready to heal."

"Xander," this came from Angel. "What are you planning?"

"It's called retribution. Fred, activate the gates and front door. Let's go team."

Xander's heart thundered as he waited for Summers and her gang. Four years after she'd nearly beaten him to death and Willow had stood idly by, he was going to confront them again. "Thanks again Whistler," he muttered sarcastically at the balance demon who'd sent him back to Sunnydale, "I really appreciate being sent back here. No really."

"Faith you bitch!" Suddenly the Slayer strode into the hallway, flanked by her team. Immediately his own team moved into their assigned positions. "How dare you kidnap my sister!"

All his nervousness disappeared as soon as he heard Buffy's voice, reminding him of her ever-present arrogance and self-righteousness. "First off, Dawn is here of her own free will and quite frankly I'm surprised you noticed she'd gone with you being so busy sucking face with Billy Idol." A snarling Spike started forward only to be stopped by Blade and the others. Xander's voice hardened, taking on a chilly note, "and second, you don't speak to my friends like that, not in my house."

Buffy snorted. "Friend? What's up Xander, she spreading them for you to make you forget what she did to you?"

It was Xander's turn to snort. "What be scared of what she'd done and lash out at a male because she's never been able to trust them? Somehow I think that's more forgivable than luring an oblivious friend who'd fought by your side for three years and beating him half to death." Even as he spoke the images of that day assaulted him, turning his stomach, today was going to be different.

"You sent Angel to hell because you were jealous of us!"

Xander's eyes rolled back. "Dear god Buffy get over yourself. I got over you the moment you lap-danced me to make Angel jealous. By the time Angelus rose I'd moved onto a real woman, Cordy. Just like Angel in fact," he smiled inwardly as Buffy's eyes widened. "No, you want to know why I did what I did? I did it because you constantly showed you weren't up to the job," he sent a silent apology to Angel for what he was about to say. "Angelus killed dozens of people, included our friend Teri, Jenny, and even tortured Giles. You consistently refused to kill -."

"He was Angel!"

"Oh for the love of god!" Xander's temper snapped. "Listen you stupid little bitch. Faith, with a drop-out's education, Giles, with his own issues, and me with my previous hatred of Angel could all tell the difference. Why the hell can't you!" With an effort he forced his temper under control. "Angel - good-, honourable man. Angelus - homicidal, sadistic vampire. When would you have stopped Angelus, when I died? No, you didn't care enough about me. Giles? God no, get rid of the Watcher and you don't have to be a Slayer? Ah Willow, now that's different - without her to blindly bolster your ego -."

"Hey!"

Willow started forward only to stop at Piper's cold voice. "Back off sweetie or we'll bind your powers."

Once the suddenly pale Willow had stepped back Xander continued. "You'd consistently proved yourself incapable of making a rational decision regarding Angelus, a decision that Angel himself agreed with."

"I'm the Slayer! It's my decision to make!"

"And you're such a great Slayer aren't you? Let's just review your record before I left Sunnydale. You twice ran away from your sacred duty, how many people died because of that? More than Faith ever killed I bet - and at least she regrets her mistakes. How many people died when you stood idly by and allowed Angelus to run riot? And when Angel came back from the dead, or was it Angelus? You didn't know but you took a chance on each of our lives! Why, because you're just a selfish child!"

"And you're so perfect!"

"God no," Xander chuckled. "I had the bad taste to fall for you and then compound that mistake with messing up my relationship with Cordy for a drone like Willow. And let's not forget the love spell. Difference is I'm enough of a grown-up to admit and learn from my mistakes. And let's go over your record over the past four years."

"What do you know?"

Xander grinned coldly. "Oh I've developed sources. First, you and Willow push aside a man who's not only saved your life but acted as your father for three years in favour of a power-hungry bitch, mind you I suppose you both felt a kinship with Walsh - birds of a feather? Then you force the same man to take in a soulless vampire that might or might not have a chip that stops him from eating humans. And then there was ADAM -."

"He's just lucky he ran!"

Xander laughed. "Is that what happened? And I thought me and Blade dealt with him when I lured him into a cave and collapsed it on him, my mistake. Oh and Willow, you don't know how lucky you got last year."

"What do you mean?"

"Who do you think put a sniper's bullet through Rack and Amy's heads? Oh," Xander turned to an open-mouthed Buffy, "close that fly-trap Summers and don't give me that crap about not killing humans, you were eager enough to try and kill your sister Slayer for a vampire, adjustable moral code much?" He turned to Willow, his eyes cold. "You got real lucky Rosenberg, if Dawn hadn't managed to talk you down, or if you'd laid one damn finger on her, I'd have splattered your brains all over the ground. And then," Xander turned a disgusted glare on Buffy, "we get to this year and you break all previous records for stupidity. First you allow a would-be rapist vampire to stay in your home-."

"I could stop him!" Blade's face was flaming.

"Could Dawn or any of these young girls - supposedly under your protection?" Xander took Buffy's glaring silence as his answer. "Thought not. Then, you know Spike's murdered nearly ten people with his new gleaming soul intact and do you stake him? No, you keep him around like a muzzled dog! And then," Xander shook his head in disbelief, he couldn't believe what Giles had told him, "you chose a vampire over a human who's mother was killed by the same vampire."

"He has a soul now!"

"So?" Xander shrugged. "Having a soul doesn't preclude evil. Serial killers like Ted Bundy have souls. Tyrants like Hitler have souls. You really are the stereotype of a blond bimbo."

"Hey Xand, that's so unfair. I can see her roots!"

Xander chuckled briefly both at Faith's shouted comment and Buffy's red face before sobering. "You are an irrelevance. You've repeatedly shown yourself incapable of showing good judgement and acting responsibly. Take Willow and get out, you've never wanted to be a Slayer so now you're retired. The professionals are here now, go, and stay out of our way. And Spike," he turned with a sneer to the restrained vampire, "understand this, I don't care if you might have got a soul, there's only one vampire I trust. Blade?"

Instantly the vampire hunter's sword flashed upwards taking the vampire's head from his shoulders. Xander turned to a paling Buffy and raised an eyebrow. "Well that'll make Woodie's year, I always wanted to be teacher's pet."

"You bastard!" Buffy came at him fast but Xander kept his cool, ducking most of her blows and blocking the rest on his arms. Even so his forearms were soon aching from wrist to elbow.

Finally he saw an opening, grabbing the blonde's out-stretched arm at the wrist, he yanked her towards him, sweeping her feet from beneath her. The Slayer fell face first but came up instantly, a shocked expression on her face. "What's up wannabe?" he taunted with a grin, ignoring the pain in his arms. "Surprised I'm not just a punch bag anymore?"

The snarling blonde leapt into a spin kick. Xander moved smoothly beneath the attack before grabbing the Slayer out of the air and throwing her to the floor. The Slayer sprang back upright, her eyes glittering dangerously.

Instantly the Slayer attacked again. He ducked the first two quicksilver blows before Buffy caught him with an uppercut under his jaw lifting him off his feet and sending him crashing to the floor. Groaning slightly he rolled to his feet. Seeing the Slayer coming in fast he spat a mouthful of blood into her face and taking advantage of the blonde's momentary blindness, he drove a right into the bridge of her nose breaking it.

The Slayer replied by snapping out a roundhouse kick that he slid under before kicking the Slayer's grounded leg at the knee, sending his adversary crashing to the floor. He attempted to follow up with a chest stomp only for Buffy to grab his foot and fling him to the mat.

They both got to their feet at roughly the same time. Buffy charged him, her feet and hands moving like a tornado as she pummelled him mercilessly, every blow he couldn't evade landing like an exploding grenade. Finally he saw another opening, after slamming an elbow into the Slayer's armpit he followed it up with a backfist to the side of his rival's head. Grabbing the momentarily stunned blonde by her ponytail he pulled the Slayer into a headbutt, breaking her nose for a second time. Not releasing his hold on the blonde's pony-tail, he jerked her head back and chopped down with a knifehand on her exposed throat. A half-second later he swept the woman's legs from underneath her and drove his knee upwards into the small of her descending back. Hearing the resulting expected crack of the woman spine, he released his grip, allowing her to fall to the ground. Xander crouched down over the crumpled body, looked into the blonde's scared eyes, and began speaking, his words clearly audible to everyone in the hushed hall. "Looks like payback's a bitch, just like you. You feel scared now Buffy? Helpless, like Angelus' victims, the people you were supposed to protect. How about Spike's victims this year? Do you think you're a tenth as scared as they were? Or how about me four years ago?" Suddenly sickened by what he'd done, Xander forced himself back to his feet. "Leo, heal her." He turned to Buffy's followers. "Any of you potentials who want to stay are welcome, you too Andrew. You two," he turned back to Buffy and Willow, stay out of our way or we'll crush you like the insects you really are."