Title: Transformations
Spoilers: I reserve the right to claim that just about anything from the first three seasons is fair game.
Summary: Just the usual. Something decides to use Sunnydale as a playground and turn the scooby gang into scooby snacks but what's up with Xander?
Disclaimer: This is a fictional story. Joss & ME own the characters, I own nothing and make nothing from this story. In other words; Don't want them. Don't need them. Couldn't afforded them if I did.
Feedback: Be my guest.
Note - thoughts
Chapter Seven
Xander Harris stood outside of the Ex-Watcher's home, watching as the sun slowly set in the west. His mind, however, was not on the beautiful red and purple clouds on display in the darkening sky. No, he was currently dwelling on the topic of his new Hellmouthyness.
FLASHBACK
"I think that maybe, just maybe you can absorb magic."
"What?" Buffy exclaimed.
"I think that something has happened to Xander and whatever it was, causes him to soak up any magic directed at him like a sponge." Willow directed her explanation at the Slayer.
"How is that possible?" Buffy asked.
Giles became thoughtful. "I do not know but that could explain the accelerated healing."
"I do heal faster now," Xander confirmed for him.
"Do you know if you can do anything with the magic you absorb? Aside from healing?" Willow asked.
Xander shook his head, "Not that I know of."
Before Willow and Giles could continue to grill Xander, Buffy spoke up. "Wait." She closed her eyes for a short time as images of what she saw after Xander arrived, flashed in her mind. Opening her eyes again, Buffy sought out Xander. "You were at Angel's. Why?"
Everyone else, in all their excitement, had completely forgot about that and now sent questioning looks of their own at Xander.
"Well it was after nightfall when I got back into town so I figured that I'd find you guys out patrolling. I passed through a couple of cemeteries before I heard voices a short ways away so I went to investigate."
Both Buffy and Willow immediately began to lecture Xander but he waved a hand sharply at them, cutting them off. "Before you start up, I already know how dangerous it is for me to be out by myself at night, believe me."
Giles stepped forth. "What happened Xander?"
Looking up at Giles, Xander continued, "I was ambushed by a group of vampires that used the 'wounded mother duck' routine to lure me in."
"Wounded duck?" Oz queried.
"It's a tactic that a duck will use to draw a predator away from their young," Xander explained. "The mother duck will usually fake a wounded wing and flounder around, making themselves look like an easy target. Once their young are safe, the duck will then take off, leaving the predator alone and hungry."
"And they did this to you?" Buffy was surprised.
"In a way. I saw a girl running through the graveyard I was in but there were no vampires chasing after her so I decided to grab her and get her to safety. I finally caught up with her only to have her turn around and attack me. I tried to get away but then several more vamps dropped from the trees in front of me. They worked me over pretty good too until the Lil' Lady here," Xander pointed at Sheba. "came to my rescue. She took care of the vampires and then dragged me to the closest sanctuary that she could find. I assume that she picked the mansion because it was empty and easy for her to defend."
"Sheba saved you?" Giles asked.
"Yep. After she dragged me inside, I pulled a small flashlight out of one of my bags and looked around. That's when I figured out where I was and thought that I would be safe enough to catch some sleep until I healed." Xander rolled his eyes, "Boy was I wrong 'cause the next thing that I know, I wake up to find myself being held by two vampires while others went through my things.." Xander then threw Giles an apologetic look. "I had a book that I wanted to show you but they took it. Sorry."
So that's what happened to it. Giles motioned for Xander to continue. "What happened after that?"
"Well, most of them left except for several vampires who decided to use me for a punching bag. One started hitting me while two others held my arms. I think there was more vampires than that but I'm not sure." Xander paused, completely missing the look on Buffy's face. "At that time I was thinking that I was done for, when there was a popping sound and then the vampires just disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Willow asked.
"Yeah. All that was left of them were piles of ash. I thought that maybe Sheba save me again but she didn't. As far as I know, she doesn't know what happened."
"There were six piles of ash." Buffy said, softly.
Xander turned to the blonde. "What?"
Buffy looked up at her friend. "At the mansion, there were six piles of ash."
Everyone looked towards Xander who had removed Sheba from his shoulder and was holding the cat in front of him. They watched as he gazed into the cat's eyes. Seconds ticked by until Sheba dropped her head, mewling softly. Xander's eyes widened and then he gently cradled Sheba in the crook of his arm while rubbing her belly with his free hand.
"You don't have to feel guilty," Xander whispered to the feline. "I understand."
"Xander?" Buffy asked.
"Sorry," Xander continued to hold Sheba close to him. "I guess that there were a lot more vampires there than I knew," Xander turned back to his friends. "but there also was someone there that Sheba says felt like Rysak."
"Felt like?" Buffy asked.
Xander's forehead creased in concentration as he tried to put into words what the cat could do. "It's like she can sense people that can use magic and that guy had power to spare."
"Do you know what happened this person?" Giles queried.
"No. Whatever killed the vampires may have gotten him but I don't know."
"Does Sheba?" Oz spoke up.
Xander turned to the reticent musician. "Decided to join the group today Mr. Osborne?"
Oz simply shrugged.
Xander flashed the werewolf a small grin. "One of these days Oz, I'm going to overcome my fear of Willow and I will find some way to pump you full of sugar. I just gotta see what happens."
Oz just smiled as he hugged his girlfriend from behind.
"Sure. Hide behind the scary woman."
"Xander." Willow grated.
"Excuse me," Giles interrupted. "Can we get back to the issue at hand?"
"Sorry Giles," Xander apologized, then gazed down at the supernatural cat in his arms. "Sheba wasn't actually there. She only knew that whoever it was that was there would...."
"Would what?"
Xander's face creased in confusion as images from Sheba, assaulted his mind. The feline showed him what she saw first after being summoned to this world. A man, Rysak, came into view. Cradled in his hand, was a small crystal ball that was softly glowing.
Then Xander's eyes widened. "Be able to capture her."
"Capture... A Devilcat?" Giles asked.
"Yeah," Xander focused on the older man. "You see, Rysak had a glass ball with him earlier and Sheba said that when she first came here, he had used it on her."
"What did it do?" Willow questioned.
"It forced her to bond with him."
"And that's why she stayed hidden," Buffy concluded.
"Yep," Xander nodded.
"Xander?"
"Yeah, Giles?" Xander answered as Sheba shifted in his embrace and stretched her body. All four of her legs stuck straight out from Xander. She flexed each paw several times, revealing four sets of tiny sharp claws.
"Awww. That's so cute." Willow gushed.
"Yes. I suppose," Giles remarked dryly, slowly getting used to the creature. The tone of his voice caused Willow to share an amused look with Buffy which he chose to ignore. "Now if we're done fawning over the Devilcat, can we get back to the matter of this unknown person?"
Sheba hissed, peevishly at Giles and then jumped down from Xander's arms. She gave one more growling hiss before turning away from the ex-Watcher. With head and tail raised regally, Sheba padded out of the room towards the bathroom.
"I think you hurt her feelings Giles." Buffy said, uncertainly.
Giles snorted and turned back to Xander. "Now I was wondering if you would answer some more questions."
"Sure Giles," Xander absently responded, keeping an eye on the open bathroom door. "What do you need?"
"Your attention for one."
"Oh, Sorry," Xander focused on Giles. "It's just that I think that the you should check your bathroom."
"Do you smell that?" Oz softly spoke.
Buffy, following Xander's advice, made her way to the bathroom door and looked in. What she saw made her eyes slowly widen. "Uh, Giles?"
With a look of dread, Giles came up behind the Slayer. He took one look into the small room and loudly exclaimed, "BLOODY HELL!!!"
PRESENT
Xander chuckled at that memory. Sheba, in a fit of indignation, had decided to use Giles' bathtub as her own personal litter box. Once they had gathered at the bath room door, they had found Sheba, in her smaller cat form, sitting sedately in front of the tub. She simply looked up at them with an extremely satisfied expression on her face.
Remembering the sheer volume of crap in the tub, Xander didn't know what Sheba could have eaten to produce what he saw and to be honest, he really didn't want to know. But despite how stunned he was, it was the very next thing to happen, that really shocked Xander. He heard Giles mutter 'Why you little' before actually charging at Sheba. At the very last moment the mini Devilcat vanished into thin air and Giles, unable to stop himself, had fallen face first into the tub.
"Xander?"
The soft voice of his childhood friend roused Xander from his thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he found Willow standing just inside the front door. "Hey Willow. Has Giles calmed down yet?"
The redhead walked up beside him. "Yeah, mainly because all of that, well crap, disappeared a couple of minutes ago like it wasn't even there."
That made Xander burst out in laughter. At Willow's confused look, he tried to calm down in order to explain. "Sheba.. hahahaha.. can make.. hehhehheh.. you see things that aren't there."
"Really?" Willow's eyebrows shot up.
"Yep. hehhehheh. She's got one wicked sense of humor but don't worry, deep down Sheba's just a big ole pussycat."
Willow's face darkened slightly. "Well your 'pussycat' tried to kill Oz earlier."
Xander stopped laughing. "When?"
"When he and Buffy went to find your things. She shot an arrow at him!"
"Are you sure?"
"What do you mean, 'Are you sure'!" Willow's voice climbed several decibels causing Xander to wince. "Buffy saw it. An arrow shot from one corner of the room, almost hitting him."
Xander just smiled. "Think Willow. If Sheba could make all of us think that we saw a bathtub full of.." Xander shuddered at the image. "If she could do that, couldn't she make Buffy and Oz think that an arrow was shot at Oz? Besides, I really don't think she could work a crossbow with her paws"
Willow stared blankly at him as his words sunk in.
"Guys?"
The two childhood friends turned to find Buffy approaching them.
"Giles wanted to talk to you some more, Xander," the blonde spoke.
"Ah, once more into the lion's den," Xander then cast his 'lost puppy' look at his two best friends. "You'll protect me from the big bad Ripper, won't you?"
Both girls exchanged looks as they valiantly suppressed the urge to break down in laughter and then looked back at Xander. "Nah," they both said in unison and each grabbed one of Xander's arms, dragging him back inside.
After the door closed, a small glowing orb that resembled a human eye, floated out from the far shadow. It slowly moved up to the door, as if it intended to pass through it. Suddenly Sheba appeared in front of it, blocking it's way and then casually batted the eye away with a swing of a powerful paw.
The eye wobbled in the air for a couple of seconds before Sheba pounced on it and began tearing it apart with her sharp claws. The magical essence of the eye deteriorated fast under the onslaught and soon nothing was left but a few fading dots of red light.
Sheba stalked around the building for any more threats to her friend. Upon finding none, the large feline snorted once in satisfaction and then vanished.
Inside of a dimly lit cave, deep below the streets of Sunnydale, three men were gathered around a small pool of water. Within it's shimmering surface, they watched as a dark-haired youth was forcibly walked into the home by the two girls. One of the men directed their scrying eye to follow the trio when a Devilcat suddenly materialized and destroyed the magical construct.
"Curious," one of the men remarked, clearly interested in what he had learned about the young man.
"Curious?!" the smallest of the three raged. "That's all you have to say, Marcellus? That cretin stole my precious Sheba, and left me like this."
"Rysak. Quit this unseemly display of childish behavior," Marcellus sighed and melted into the shadows, leaving the remaining two in the darkening cave.
"Remember who's mistake it was that led to the boy acquiring the creature from you," the remaining man spoke. "If you had not sent her into battle against him, the power that you gained from bonding with that creature would not have been stripped from you."
"Be quiet Vicarim," Rysak grated. "I will not tolerate your insolence."
Vicarim chuckled. "You would do well to remember you current station. With your unfortunate loss, your power is now less than mine and even though you may have been our leader before, now you answer to me. Your task of bringing our Master to this mortal plane now falls to Marcellus, as our new leader."
Rysak threw a murderous glare at Vicarim before leaving the cave in a huff. With him gone, Marcellus re-entered the cave. "Rysak is becoming more unstable."
"So I have noticed. Will this situation with our brother impede our plans?"
"No," Marcellus answered. "Rysak's role is minor at this point. The vampires under our control are preparing to search for the appropriate sacrifices even as we speak. Once that is done, we will use the grimoire that you retrieved from the Defiler and bring our Master here."
Vicarim nodded in agreement then turned thoughtful. "Speaking of the Defiler, did you notice that his bonding with the Devilcat has fundamentally changed the hellspawn."
"I know. To be able to affect such a creature proves just how dangerous he is. You should have dealt with him when you retrieved the book."
"I was more concerned about reclaiming the book for our Master." Vicarim defended himself. "And with the Devilcat not present, I believed that the vampires I had left would be more than enough to deal with him. Apparently I was wrong."
"Be that as it may," Marcellus softly spoke. "From now on, we must proceed very carefully. We must learn more about the Defiler, this Xander Harris, so we can prepare for the possibility of him interfering with the summoning. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Vicarim replied.
Xander barely struggled as the girls pulled him into the room. He saw that Giles was in his kitchen making what he assumed to be some kind of nerve soothing tea. Oz was currently digging through the former Librarian's record collection. Sheba was nowhere to be found but he wasn't worried because she would not go far from him.
"Giles?" Buffy called out as she and Willow deposited their friend onto the couch. "Your prisoner is here."
The older man turned around, quickly checking the room. "Is the Devilcat still here?"
Xander's face assumed a blank expression for a second. "No. She's playing with a squirrel outside."
Giles studied at the young man before him, making a mental list of every piece of knowledge he has learned today. Questions on top of questions cluttered his mind as he strived to understand this day's events.
"Xander," the older man started off. "About Sheba, I know what a Devilcat is capable of but as you said, she is different. Do you know what exactly she can do?"
"I've never really asked her but I can list what I've seen starting with what happened earlier in your bathroom." Xander paused, watching Giles shudder. "I'm sure by now that you've guessed that it wasn't real."
"Yes. That much was evident when it all disappeared."
Xander smirked. "Well Sheba can make you see things that aren't really there. Then there is the shape changing, a form of mind speak that I share with her, teleporting, and she's very intelligent."
Giles filed that information away with what he knew about the creatures and went on to the next subject. "And what about this book that was stolen from you. You wanted me to see it. What type of book was it?
"I'm not exactly sure what was in that book Giles. I really didn't look at it and all Shay told me was that there was a ritual listed in there that could be used to open a stable portal to another realm."
Giles' brow creased in thought. "Maybe your friend, Shay, could come here and tell us more of what she knows. Do you have a number to contact her?"
"No, I don't but Sheba can get a message to her,"
"She can?"
"Sure. Hey Sheba," Xander called out.
Suddenly, her smaller cat form appeared in Xander's lap. She twisted around and looked up at Xander attentively.
"I want you find Shay and tell her that I need her here on the Hellmouth. Oh and don't forget to give her the special treatment."
Sheba responded with a quick 'meow' and jumped down from Xander's lap.
"Special treatment?" Buffy asked.
Xander shared a looked with Sheba and nodded at Buffy. "Show her."
Without warning, the small cat pounced, changing to her full form in mid-air and knocked Buffy to the ground, Sheba then placed her front paws on the blonde's shoulders, effectively pinning her to the ground. Once the feline had the Slayer helpless, she bent down and proceeded to generously lick her. Starting at the base of Buffy's throat, Sheba dragged her tongue up and over her chin, mouth and nose. Sheba did this several times until Buffy managed to free her shoulders and push the large cat off of her.
Sheba calmly sat back on her haunches and made a show of licking her chops, as if she was trying to savor the taste. Then she threw an amused look at Xander along with several images and feelings that sent the young man into a fit of laughter,
Buffy scrambled to her feet and grabbed a comforter off the couch, using it to scrub her face dry while shooting ominous glares at both Xander and Sheba. She then started stalking towards the laughing Xander, totally ignoring everyone else in the room. "You're so dead, Harris!"
Xander looked up at the oncoming blonde fury and collapsed into another gail of laughter. Buffy stopped in her tracks at her friend's antics. It wasn't that funny! Buffy turned to her friends but they wore similar looks of confusion. "What is it?" Buffy focused on Xander once again. "What's so funny!"
Gasping for breath, Xander managed to stammer out, "Chicken. She said... that you taste... like chicken."
"I taste like chicken?" the Slayer asked, dumbfounded.
"Yep," Xander managed to calm down. "Sheba also said that it explains your legs."
"What? What's wrong with my legs?"
Across the room, Oz raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth twitched, "Chicken Legs."
Willow looked sharply at her boyfriend, then her eyes widened as she realized what Oz meant. She cast a quick look at her friend and then erupted into giggles.
"What?!" Buffy punctuated by stamping her foot.
Willow tried to answer but was interrupted by Xander.
"Sheba said that you have Chicken Legs."
Buffy stared at Xander in shock. Then what he said slowly sank in and she growled loudly as she sought out the offending feline only to find that Sheba had already left. She then shifted her attention to the next best target.
"XANDER!!!"
After an hour long question and answer session with Giles, it was decided by Giles that more research was required to understand the nature of Xander's situation. Taking into account everything that has happened to him over the last three years, any number of things could be the cause of his new abilities if they weren't induced by his interruption of the sacrificial ceremony.
Even though they weren't certain of the origins of Xander newfound ability, they were able to theorize from the information available that it is possible that Xander might be able to absorb any and all types of magical energy making him a living eldritch battery. Because of this, his body uses this store energy to accelerate his healing ability to such a point that it rivals, if not surpasses, Buffy's Slayer healing. But beyond that single ability, it was realized that he could not use the energy that he absorbed, or at the very least, he didn't know how to but that only lead to yet another question.
What happens to the excess energy in Xander's body.
That stumped everyone which lead to Giles announcing that he had to consult his books. It was on that note, Buffy decided it was time for her to patrol and grabbed Willow, quickly pulling her friend out door. Oz followed after them with Xander close behind. Giles had his nose so far into his books that he didn't realize that he was alone until several minutes later.
"Are we there yet?" Xander whined child-like. He had been trailing behind the others for the last twenty minutes as they made their way through the second graveyard that night.
"Shut up!" the Slayer snarled.
Xander just rolled his eyes. Every since the impromptu tongue bath that Buffy received from Sheba, she had been very angry with him. First she chased him around Giles' front room several times until the older man had gotten so fed up and that he actually stepped up between them to put an end to their horseplay as he put it. He then proceeded to berate the two for acting like children and told them to settle down.
Buffy had glared at the former Watcher and then plopped down in the chair and sulked while Xander, who also shot Giles a glare, decided to raid the elder man's refrigerator. After that, Buffy simply ignored Xander while he did his best to irritate the blonde, much to the chagrin of Willow who ended up being the go between for her friends.
"Are we there yet?"
"Willow!"
"Xander!" Willow hissed, sending a harsh glare at her childhood friend which earned her a cheeky grin in return.
"Aww, you're just jealous that Sheba gave Buffy a kiss and not you."
"A KISS?" Buffy rounded on Xander, giving him her most potent 'glare of death' before turning back to Willow. "If that 'slobber fest' is Hyena Boy's definition of a kiss then he sorely needs more help than I can give him."
Xander sniffed, assuming an air of mock superiority. "Cordy never had a problem with my kissing ability, Chicken Legs."
Buffy whipped around, eyes narrowed. "Why you-"
"Buffy!" Willow shouted just as a figure suddenly shot out from the darkness and tackled the Slayer to the ground. Oz and Willow quickly rushed forward to pull the vampire off of their friend. Xander moved as well but was cut off by a second vampire before he could get there.
"And where do you think you're going, meat?"
Xander's eyes narrowed as he took in the sheer size of the vamp that was blocking his way. The vampire stood nearly a head taller than himself, and about half again as wide. His first instinct was to run but there was no way that he would abandon his friends.
A quick glance at his friends told Xander that he would get no immediate help from them as they were occupied now by yet a third vampire in addition to the first one. Turning his attention back to his opponent, Xander stumbled backwards just in time to avoid a haymaker of a punch that would have taken his head off.
The vamp threw another punch at Xander who dodged it at the last second by ducking under the swing and diving to the side. He almost managed to get past the vampire when he felt a hand grab him by his shirt and throw him several feet through the air, landing hard on his back. The vampire quickly closed the distance between them and pulled Xander up to a kneeling position and jerked his head to the side, exposing the jugular.
"XANDER!"
The boy in question barely heard the Slayer's shout as he struggled to escape from the vampire's grasp. He had just managed to push the vampire away slightly when Xander suddenly felt the life literally drain out of him. The drain happened so fast that it left him so weak that he would not had been able to fight off a fly to save his life.
The vampire took advantage of Xander's bout of weakness and leaned back in, biting down hard on his neck. The vamp only fed off of him for a few seconds before saw a small hand grab the vamp by the shoulder and pull him off. Without the vampire to hold him up, Xander slumped down to the ground.
From where he lay, Xander watched as Buffy held the vamp in both hands and spun in a circle twice before letting go of the undead creature into the air. Even with his friends crowded around him, all he could do was watch the vampire as it continued to fly through the air and land past a trio of crypts that were more than thirty feet away.
More than thirty feet away.
What the hell? That thought was the last thing to pass through Xander's mind before unconsciousness claimed him.
Spoilers: I reserve the right to claim that just about anything from the first three seasons is fair game.
Summary: Just the usual. Something decides to use Sunnydale as a playground and turn the scooby gang into scooby snacks but what's up with Xander?
Disclaimer: This is a fictional story. Joss & ME own the characters, I own nothing and make nothing from this story. In other words; Don't want them. Don't need them. Couldn't afforded them if I did.
Feedback: Be my guest.
Note - thoughts
Xander Harris stood outside of the Ex-Watcher's home, watching as the sun slowly set in the west. His mind, however, was not on the beautiful red and purple clouds on display in the darkening sky. No, he was currently dwelling on the topic of his new Hellmouthyness.
FLASHBACK
"I think that maybe, just maybe you can absorb magic."
"What?" Buffy exclaimed.
"I think that something has happened to Xander and whatever it was, causes him to soak up any magic directed at him like a sponge." Willow directed her explanation at the Slayer.
"How is that possible?" Buffy asked.
Giles became thoughtful. "I do not know but that could explain the accelerated healing."
"I do heal faster now," Xander confirmed for him.
"Do you know if you can do anything with the magic you absorb? Aside from healing?" Willow asked.
Xander shook his head, "Not that I know of."
Before Willow and Giles could continue to grill Xander, Buffy spoke up. "Wait." She closed her eyes for a short time as images of what she saw after Xander arrived, flashed in her mind. Opening her eyes again, Buffy sought out Xander. "You were at Angel's. Why?"
Everyone else, in all their excitement, had completely forgot about that and now sent questioning looks of their own at Xander.
"Well it was after nightfall when I got back into town so I figured that I'd find you guys out patrolling. I passed through a couple of cemeteries before I heard voices a short ways away so I went to investigate."
Both Buffy and Willow immediately began to lecture Xander but he waved a hand sharply at them, cutting them off. "Before you start up, I already know how dangerous it is for me to be out by myself at night, believe me."
Giles stepped forth. "What happened Xander?"
Looking up at Giles, Xander continued, "I was ambushed by a group of vampires that used the 'wounded mother duck' routine to lure me in."
"Wounded duck?" Oz queried.
"It's a tactic that a duck will use to draw a predator away from their young," Xander explained. "The mother duck will usually fake a wounded wing and flounder around, making themselves look like an easy target. Once their young are safe, the duck will then take off, leaving the predator alone and hungry."
"And they did this to you?" Buffy was surprised.
"In a way. I saw a girl running through the graveyard I was in but there were no vampires chasing after her so I decided to grab her and get her to safety. I finally caught up with her only to have her turn around and attack me. I tried to get away but then several more vamps dropped from the trees in front of me. They worked me over pretty good too until the Lil' Lady here," Xander pointed at Sheba. "came to my rescue. She took care of the vampires and then dragged me to the closest sanctuary that she could find. I assume that she picked the mansion because it was empty and easy for her to defend."
"Sheba saved you?" Giles asked.
"Yep. After she dragged me inside, I pulled a small flashlight out of one of my bags and looked around. That's when I figured out where I was and thought that I would be safe enough to catch some sleep until I healed." Xander rolled his eyes, "Boy was I wrong 'cause the next thing that I know, I wake up to find myself being held by two vampires while others went through my things.." Xander then threw Giles an apologetic look. "I had a book that I wanted to show you but they took it. Sorry."
So that's what happened to it. Giles motioned for Xander to continue. "What happened after that?"
"Well, most of them left except for several vampires who decided to use me for a punching bag. One started hitting me while two others held my arms. I think there was more vampires than that but I'm not sure." Xander paused, completely missing the look on Buffy's face. "At that time I was thinking that I was done for, when there was a popping sound and then the vampires just disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Willow asked.
"Yeah. All that was left of them were piles of ash. I thought that maybe Sheba save me again but she didn't. As far as I know, she doesn't know what happened."
"There were six piles of ash." Buffy said, softly.
Xander turned to the blonde. "What?"
Buffy looked up at her friend. "At the mansion, there were six piles of ash."
Everyone looked towards Xander who had removed Sheba from his shoulder and was holding the cat in front of him. They watched as he gazed into the cat's eyes. Seconds ticked by until Sheba dropped her head, mewling softly. Xander's eyes widened and then he gently cradled Sheba in the crook of his arm while rubbing her belly with his free hand.
"You don't have to feel guilty," Xander whispered to the feline. "I understand."
"Xander?" Buffy asked.
"Sorry," Xander continued to hold Sheba close to him. "I guess that there were a lot more vampires there than I knew," Xander turned back to his friends. "but there also was someone there that Sheba says felt like Rysak."
"Felt like?" Buffy asked.
Xander's forehead creased in concentration as he tried to put into words what the cat could do. "It's like she can sense people that can use magic and that guy had power to spare."
"Do you know what happened this person?" Giles queried.
"No. Whatever killed the vampires may have gotten him but I don't know."
"Does Sheba?" Oz spoke up.
Xander turned to the reticent musician. "Decided to join the group today Mr. Osborne?"
Oz simply shrugged.
Xander flashed the werewolf a small grin. "One of these days Oz, I'm going to overcome my fear of Willow and I will find some way to pump you full of sugar. I just gotta see what happens."
Oz just smiled as he hugged his girlfriend from behind.
"Sure. Hide behind the scary woman."
"Xander." Willow grated.
"Excuse me," Giles interrupted. "Can we get back to the issue at hand?"
"Sorry Giles," Xander apologized, then gazed down at the supernatural cat in his arms. "Sheba wasn't actually there. She only knew that whoever it was that was there would...."
"Would what?"
Xander's face creased in confusion as images from Sheba, assaulted his mind. The feline showed him what she saw first after being summoned to this world. A man, Rysak, came into view. Cradled in his hand, was a small crystal ball that was softly glowing.
Then Xander's eyes widened. "Be able to capture her."
"Capture... A Devilcat?" Giles asked.
"Yeah," Xander focused on the older man. "You see, Rysak had a glass ball with him earlier and Sheba said that when she first came here, he had used it on her."
"What did it do?" Willow questioned.
"It forced her to bond with him."
"And that's why she stayed hidden," Buffy concluded.
"Yep," Xander nodded.
"Xander?"
"Yeah, Giles?" Xander answered as Sheba shifted in his embrace and stretched her body. All four of her legs stuck straight out from Xander. She flexed each paw several times, revealing four sets of tiny sharp claws.
"Awww. That's so cute." Willow gushed.
"Yes. I suppose," Giles remarked dryly, slowly getting used to the creature. The tone of his voice caused Willow to share an amused look with Buffy which he chose to ignore. "Now if we're done fawning over the Devilcat, can we get back to the matter of this unknown person?"
Sheba hissed, peevishly at Giles and then jumped down from Xander's arms. She gave one more growling hiss before turning away from the ex-Watcher. With head and tail raised regally, Sheba padded out of the room towards the bathroom.
"I think you hurt her feelings Giles." Buffy said, uncertainly.
Giles snorted and turned back to Xander. "Now I was wondering if you would answer some more questions."
"Sure Giles," Xander absently responded, keeping an eye on the open bathroom door. "What do you need?"
"Your attention for one."
"Oh, Sorry," Xander focused on Giles. "It's just that I think that the you should check your bathroom."
"Do you smell that?" Oz softly spoke.
Buffy, following Xander's advice, made her way to the bathroom door and looked in. What she saw made her eyes slowly widen. "Uh, Giles?"
With a look of dread, Giles came up behind the Slayer. He took one look into the small room and loudly exclaimed, "BLOODY HELL!!!"
PRESENT
Xander chuckled at that memory. Sheba, in a fit of indignation, had decided to use Giles' bathtub as her own personal litter box. Once they had gathered at the bath room door, they had found Sheba, in her smaller cat form, sitting sedately in front of the tub. She simply looked up at them with an extremely satisfied expression on her face.
Remembering the sheer volume of crap in the tub, Xander didn't know what Sheba could have eaten to produce what he saw and to be honest, he really didn't want to know. But despite how stunned he was, it was the very next thing to happen, that really shocked Xander. He heard Giles mutter 'Why you little' before actually charging at Sheba. At the very last moment the mini Devilcat vanished into thin air and Giles, unable to stop himself, had fallen face first into the tub.
"Xander?"
The soft voice of his childhood friend roused Xander from his thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he found Willow standing just inside the front door. "Hey Willow. Has Giles calmed down yet?"
The redhead walked up beside him. "Yeah, mainly because all of that, well crap, disappeared a couple of minutes ago like it wasn't even there."
That made Xander burst out in laughter. At Willow's confused look, he tried to calm down in order to explain. "Sheba.. hahahaha.. can make.. hehhehheh.. you see things that aren't there."
"Really?" Willow's eyebrows shot up.
"Yep. hehhehheh. She's got one wicked sense of humor but don't worry, deep down Sheba's just a big ole pussycat."
Willow's face darkened slightly. "Well your 'pussycat' tried to kill Oz earlier."
Xander stopped laughing. "When?"
"When he and Buffy went to find your things. She shot an arrow at him!"
"Are you sure?"
"What do you mean, 'Are you sure'!" Willow's voice climbed several decibels causing Xander to wince. "Buffy saw it. An arrow shot from one corner of the room, almost hitting him."
Xander just smiled. "Think Willow. If Sheba could make all of us think that we saw a bathtub full of.." Xander shuddered at the image. "If she could do that, couldn't she make Buffy and Oz think that an arrow was shot at Oz? Besides, I really don't think she could work a crossbow with her paws"
Willow stared blankly at him as his words sunk in.
"Guys?"
The two childhood friends turned to find Buffy approaching them.
"Giles wanted to talk to you some more, Xander," the blonde spoke.
"Ah, once more into the lion's den," Xander then cast his 'lost puppy' look at his two best friends. "You'll protect me from the big bad Ripper, won't you?"
Both girls exchanged looks as they valiantly suppressed the urge to break down in laughter and then looked back at Xander. "Nah," they both said in unison and each grabbed one of Xander's arms, dragging him back inside.
After the door closed, a small glowing orb that resembled a human eye, floated out from the far shadow. It slowly moved up to the door, as if it intended to pass through it. Suddenly Sheba appeared in front of it, blocking it's way and then casually batted the eye away with a swing of a powerful paw.
The eye wobbled in the air for a couple of seconds before Sheba pounced on it and began tearing it apart with her sharp claws. The magical essence of the eye deteriorated fast under the onslaught and soon nothing was left but a few fading dots of red light.
Sheba stalked around the building for any more threats to her friend. Upon finding none, the large feline snorted once in satisfaction and then vanished.
Inside of a dimly lit cave, deep below the streets of Sunnydale, three men were gathered around a small pool of water. Within it's shimmering surface, they watched as a dark-haired youth was forcibly walked into the home by the two girls. One of the men directed their scrying eye to follow the trio when a Devilcat suddenly materialized and destroyed the magical construct.
"Curious," one of the men remarked, clearly interested in what he had learned about the young man.
"Curious?!" the smallest of the three raged. "That's all you have to say, Marcellus? That cretin stole my precious Sheba, and left me like this."
"Rysak. Quit this unseemly display of childish behavior," Marcellus sighed and melted into the shadows, leaving the remaining two in the darkening cave.
"Remember who's mistake it was that led to the boy acquiring the creature from you," the remaining man spoke. "If you had not sent her into battle against him, the power that you gained from bonding with that creature would not have been stripped from you."
"Be quiet Vicarim," Rysak grated. "I will not tolerate your insolence."
Vicarim chuckled. "You would do well to remember you current station. With your unfortunate loss, your power is now less than mine and even though you may have been our leader before, now you answer to me. Your task of bringing our Master to this mortal plane now falls to Marcellus, as our new leader."
Rysak threw a murderous glare at Vicarim before leaving the cave in a huff. With him gone, Marcellus re-entered the cave. "Rysak is becoming more unstable."
"So I have noticed. Will this situation with our brother impede our plans?"
"No," Marcellus answered. "Rysak's role is minor at this point. The vampires under our control are preparing to search for the appropriate sacrifices even as we speak. Once that is done, we will use the grimoire that you retrieved from the Defiler and bring our Master here."
Vicarim nodded in agreement then turned thoughtful. "Speaking of the Defiler, did you notice that his bonding with the Devilcat has fundamentally changed the hellspawn."
"I know. To be able to affect such a creature proves just how dangerous he is. You should have dealt with him when you retrieved the book."
"I was more concerned about reclaiming the book for our Master." Vicarim defended himself. "And with the Devilcat not present, I believed that the vampires I had left would be more than enough to deal with him. Apparently I was wrong."
"Be that as it may," Marcellus softly spoke. "From now on, we must proceed very carefully. We must learn more about the Defiler, this Xander Harris, so we can prepare for the possibility of him interfering with the summoning. Agreed?"
"Agreed," Vicarim replied.
Xander barely struggled as the girls pulled him into the room. He saw that Giles was in his kitchen making what he assumed to be some kind of nerve soothing tea. Oz was currently digging through the former Librarian's record collection. Sheba was nowhere to be found but he wasn't worried because she would not go far from him.
"Giles?" Buffy called out as she and Willow deposited their friend onto the couch. "Your prisoner is here."
The older man turned around, quickly checking the room. "Is the Devilcat still here?"
Xander's face assumed a blank expression for a second. "No. She's playing with a squirrel outside."
Giles studied at the young man before him, making a mental list of every piece of knowledge he has learned today. Questions on top of questions cluttered his mind as he strived to understand this day's events.
"Xander," the older man started off. "About Sheba, I know what a Devilcat is capable of but as you said, she is different. Do you know what exactly she can do?"
"I've never really asked her but I can list what I've seen starting with what happened earlier in your bathroom." Xander paused, watching Giles shudder. "I'm sure by now that you've guessed that it wasn't real."
"Yes. That much was evident when it all disappeared."
Xander smirked. "Well Sheba can make you see things that aren't really there. Then there is the shape changing, a form of mind speak that I share with her, teleporting, and she's very intelligent."
Giles filed that information away with what he knew about the creatures and went on to the next subject. "And what about this book that was stolen from you. You wanted me to see it. What type of book was it?
"I'm not exactly sure what was in that book Giles. I really didn't look at it and all Shay told me was that there was a ritual listed in there that could be used to open a stable portal to another realm."
Giles' brow creased in thought. "Maybe your friend, Shay, could come here and tell us more of what she knows. Do you have a number to contact her?"
"No, I don't but Sheba can get a message to her,"
"She can?"
"Sure. Hey Sheba," Xander called out.
Suddenly, her smaller cat form appeared in Xander's lap. She twisted around and looked up at Xander attentively.
"I want you find Shay and tell her that I need her here on the Hellmouth. Oh and don't forget to give her the special treatment."
Sheba responded with a quick 'meow' and jumped down from Xander's lap.
"Special treatment?" Buffy asked.
Xander shared a looked with Sheba and nodded at Buffy. "Show her."
Without warning, the small cat pounced, changing to her full form in mid-air and knocked Buffy to the ground, Sheba then placed her front paws on the blonde's shoulders, effectively pinning her to the ground. Once the feline had the Slayer helpless, she bent down and proceeded to generously lick her. Starting at the base of Buffy's throat, Sheba dragged her tongue up and over her chin, mouth and nose. Sheba did this several times until Buffy managed to free her shoulders and push the large cat off of her.
Sheba calmly sat back on her haunches and made a show of licking her chops, as if she was trying to savor the taste. Then she threw an amused look at Xander along with several images and feelings that sent the young man into a fit of laughter,
Buffy scrambled to her feet and grabbed a comforter off the couch, using it to scrub her face dry while shooting ominous glares at both Xander and Sheba. She then started stalking towards the laughing Xander, totally ignoring everyone else in the room. "You're so dead, Harris!"
Xander looked up at the oncoming blonde fury and collapsed into another gail of laughter. Buffy stopped in her tracks at her friend's antics. It wasn't that funny! Buffy turned to her friends but they wore similar looks of confusion. "What is it?" Buffy focused on Xander once again. "What's so funny!"
Gasping for breath, Xander managed to stammer out, "Chicken. She said... that you taste... like chicken."
"I taste like chicken?" the Slayer asked, dumbfounded.
"Yep," Xander managed to calm down. "Sheba also said that it explains your legs."
"What? What's wrong with my legs?"
Across the room, Oz raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth twitched, "Chicken Legs."
Willow looked sharply at her boyfriend, then her eyes widened as she realized what Oz meant. She cast a quick look at her friend and then erupted into giggles.
"What?!" Buffy punctuated by stamping her foot.
Willow tried to answer but was interrupted by Xander.
"Sheba said that you have Chicken Legs."
Buffy stared at Xander in shock. Then what he said slowly sank in and she growled loudly as she sought out the offending feline only to find that Sheba had already left. She then shifted her attention to the next best target.
"XANDER!!!"
After an hour long question and answer session with Giles, it was decided by Giles that more research was required to understand the nature of Xander's situation. Taking into account everything that has happened to him over the last three years, any number of things could be the cause of his new abilities if they weren't induced by his interruption of the sacrificial ceremony.
Even though they weren't certain of the origins of Xander newfound ability, they were able to theorize from the information available that it is possible that Xander might be able to absorb any and all types of magical energy making him a living eldritch battery. Because of this, his body uses this store energy to accelerate his healing ability to such a point that it rivals, if not surpasses, Buffy's Slayer healing. But beyond that single ability, it was realized that he could not use the energy that he absorbed, or at the very least, he didn't know how to but that only lead to yet another question.
What happens to the excess energy in Xander's body.
That stumped everyone which lead to Giles announcing that he had to consult his books. It was on that note, Buffy decided it was time for her to patrol and grabbed Willow, quickly pulling her friend out door. Oz followed after them with Xander close behind. Giles had his nose so far into his books that he didn't realize that he was alone until several minutes later.
"Are we there yet?" Xander whined child-like. He had been trailing behind the others for the last twenty minutes as they made their way through the second graveyard that night.
"Shut up!" the Slayer snarled.
Xander just rolled his eyes. Every since the impromptu tongue bath that Buffy received from Sheba, she had been very angry with him. First she chased him around Giles' front room several times until the older man had gotten so fed up and that he actually stepped up between them to put an end to their horseplay as he put it. He then proceeded to berate the two for acting like children and told them to settle down.
Buffy had glared at the former Watcher and then plopped down in the chair and sulked while Xander, who also shot Giles a glare, decided to raid the elder man's refrigerator. After that, Buffy simply ignored Xander while he did his best to irritate the blonde, much to the chagrin of Willow who ended up being the go between for her friends.
"Are we there yet?"
"Willow!"
"Xander!" Willow hissed, sending a harsh glare at her childhood friend which earned her a cheeky grin in return.
"Aww, you're just jealous that Sheba gave Buffy a kiss and not you."
"A KISS?" Buffy rounded on Xander, giving him her most potent 'glare of death' before turning back to Willow. "If that 'slobber fest' is Hyena Boy's definition of a kiss then he sorely needs more help than I can give him."
Xander sniffed, assuming an air of mock superiority. "Cordy never had a problem with my kissing ability, Chicken Legs."
Buffy whipped around, eyes narrowed. "Why you-"
"Buffy!" Willow shouted just as a figure suddenly shot out from the darkness and tackled the Slayer to the ground. Oz and Willow quickly rushed forward to pull the vampire off of their friend. Xander moved as well but was cut off by a second vampire before he could get there.
"And where do you think you're going, meat?"
Xander's eyes narrowed as he took in the sheer size of the vamp that was blocking his way. The vampire stood nearly a head taller than himself, and about half again as wide. His first instinct was to run but there was no way that he would abandon his friends.
A quick glance at his friends told Xander that he would get no immediate help from them as they were occupied now by yet a third vampire in addition to the first one. Turning his attention back to his opponent, Xander stumbled backwards just in time to avoid a haymaker of a punch that would have taken his head off.
The vamp threw another punch at Xander who dodged it at the last second by ducking under the swing and diving to the side. He almost managed to get past the vampire when he felt a hand grab him by his shirt and throw him several feet through the air, landing hard on his back. The vampire quickly closed the distance between them and pulled Xander up to a kneeling position and jerked his head to the side, exposing the jugular.
"XANDER!"
The boy in question barely heard the Slayer's shout as he struggled to escape from the vampire's grasp. He had just managed to push the vampire away slightly when Xander suddenly felt the life literally drain out of him. The drain happened so fast that it left him so weak that he would not had been able to fight off a fly to save his life.
The vampire took advantage of Xander's bout of weakness and leaned back in, biting down hard on his neck. The vamp only fed off of him for a few seconds before saw a small hand grab the vamp by the shoulder and pull him off. Without the vampire to hold him up, Xander slumped down to the ground.
From where he lay, Xander watched as Buffy held the vamp in both hands and spun in a circle twice before letting go of the undead creature into the air. Even with his friends crowded around him, all he could do was watch the vampire as it continued to fly through the air and land past a trio of crypts that were more than thirty feet away.
More than thirty feet away.
What the hell? That thought was the last thing to pass through Xander's mind before unconsciousness claimed him.