Decision A Buffy Z 'What If' Scenario

by TD Master

What if in ‘Consequences’, Xander decided enough is enough?

1. Part 1

Title: Decision - A Buffy Z 'What If?' Scenario
Author: 3D Master
Feedback: 3d.masterchello.nl
Website: http:members.chello.nl/jg.temolder1/
Rating: R
Keywords: X-Over Dragonball/Z/GT, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angst, Drama, Action, Humor. Summary: What if in 'Consequences', Xander decided enough is enough.
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its characters do not belong to me, but to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Productions. Dragonball Z, its characters and the concept of the Saiyan race belong to Akira Toriyama.

Decision

A Buffy Z 'What If?' Scenario

by 3D Master (3d.masterchello.nl)
website: http:members.chello.nl/jg.temolder1/

Author's Notes: The situation: Faith accidentally killed the deputy mayor after Buffy throws him to her. Faith is being eaten up inside, multiple reasons makes her act as if she doesn't care, and tries to frame Buffy. Xander goes to Faith, and offers to help, to be an ear to listen to. Faith doesn't take him up on his offer, in fact she goes hysterical and tries to strangle him to death. In canon, Xander can't defend himself. In Buffy Z canon, he could, but opted to keep his secret, well, secret. But he's said on several occasions, it's been one of his greatest regrets. So what would have happened, if at that point Xander decided the price for his secret was too great? What if he decided to finally let his mask fall?

Xander's Theme: Linkin Park - Pushing Me Away

[Play Xander's Theme]
Faith started strangling Xander. She didn't quite know how it got to it, but she had lowered her face to right above his, and could see everything that was happening. She gave him a few mocking sentences, but then just shut up and squeezed. She was amazed at how easy this was, even from a normal human there should be more struggling, shouldn't there? And his hands, holding her wrists, they strained, holding on, but they were not pulling her hands outward.

Xander on the other hand knew perfectly how he got where he was right now. The Scooby Gang, as they had called themselves had had a conference. Apparently Faith had killed a guy accidentally. But that's about all he had gotten out of it. The exact details around the event had been left out. All they had been concerned with was to approach Faith to see if they could correct her attitude. At which point he had volunteered to go talk to her, but was shot down because Faith didn't take guys she had a 'connection' with - meaning had sex with - seriously. Xander wanted to go, because he didn't see the problem with Faith's attitude. If it was an accident, it was unfortunate, but that's it, move on. With the exception of course of Faith's trying to frame Buffy, but even that he could understand if Buffy's attitude of 'must show you're deeply, deeply wounded over the deal or you're disturbed' was also the attitude she'd sent toward Faith.

So, he had decided to go anyway, on his own. For after all, they did have a connection beyond flesh. Xander knew that, it was similar, albeit different than the connection he had with Buffy. He was a warrior, a predator, and so were Slayers. Faith didn't know this of course except on an instinctual level, but he had felt more in his twenty minutes with her on the bed than just flesh, as well as the predator connection.

So he had arrived at her door, and offered his help, stressing that her act was accidental. Except she got immediately defensive. In retrospect, the failed joke about the character witness may not have been the brightest of ideas. He had continued to try to get through to her, mentioning their connection, but she had only assumed he wanted more of the same. Next moment she started to give him exactly that, pushing him down on the bed, raising his shirt, sitting down upon him, her crotch directly on top of his. Xander had desperately tried to get her off, but being limited to only human and goofball strength, without revealing his secret, made that impossible.

So now she was strangling him, and he saw her face directly above his. He kept himself calm, he didn't really fight back. Faith wouldn't kill him, he knew, and even if she really would go there, he wouldn't let her. He saw her eyebrows come down just a bit, a tiny frown, and he could see in her deep, expressive hazel eyes. There! That's what he was looking for. It screamed out from deeply inside of her, but he could see the flicker go through her eyes; 'What am I doing?'

His mouth quirked, almost ready to smile, then he grimaced, his face crunching up. It was not the pressure on his throat that made him do it, it was the presence he felt with his sixth sense - Angel. Angel, that bastard. -Don't do it! Don't Angel, please! Just wait a little more!- Xander thought desperately, seeing the emotions play across Faith's face. She was ready to break down, he could already feel the pressure on his throat lessening just a bit. And those eyes, oh those deep dark hazel eyes in which he could drown if he let himself. The emotions filtering in them seemed to come with greater and greater intensity. -She's ready, Angel! DON'T interfere! NOT NOW!- Xander thought desperately, but Angel wouldn't, he could already feel the swing with the baseball bat coming.

This was it, everything slowed down for Xander. One single moment in time, one decision. He remembered all the people he could have saved over the past few years, if he only let his secret out. Jesse, the wound was still incredibly sore. Angel and Buffy; he could probably have swept Buffy of her feet with ease if he didn't play the insecure doofus - Angelus would never have emerged. Kendra, Jenny, all of them. And his friends through the years. How often had conformed to their view of him, to stay with them? How often had he closed himself off, not talk to them, or lie if he did? The only way to be with them, was to push them away, to keep them at a distance. How often had he pretended nothing was amiss in his home life? And now Faith the same way. This beautiful girl, so much like him, he would have to let her slide into a darkness she knew would be sliding if that corpse interfered. There would be no way Faith would accept him as any teacher if he took her away from this moment where everything she had kept inside of her was ready to spill out.

One moment in time, one decision. Guard his secret, and keep further away from his friends, and once again to fail to save someone. Or save her, let the mask finally fall, let his secret out, and risk being experimented on somewhere in the future - risk Frieza's minions finding potentially him. Right here, right now, that decision had to be made.

He let go of Faith's hands, and with fantastic speed grabbed her shoulders and pulled her forward. Faith's eyes widened in uncomprehending shock, her hands around his neck squeezing reflexively with greater strength. Angel's eyes widened as well, when he saw the bat go through empty air where Faith's head had been only moments before. With simple ease Xander pulled Faith's hands from his neck, and at the same time pulled his legs up. He put them against her stomach, and pushed him off of her, sending her sailing through the air.

Before Angel had even finished the swing, Xander was up, grabbing a hold of the vampire's bat. "WHY . . ." Xander yelled out in anger even as he smashed his fist across Angel's face. The vampire was launched into the air, losing his bat to Xander. He twisted around his own axis, feeling the pain of broken bones in his face, until he crashed into wall in the corner of the room, and felt a whole new pain blossom in his back.

At the moment that Angel crashed against the wall with extreme pain, Faith - who had been pushed relatively gently - was still flying through the air. She had watched shocked at the speed with which Xander was moving. The strength with which he had punch Angel. On the edges there he was even getting blurry. As she crashed - mildly painful - into the wall, she saw Xander rapidly run across the room and smash the baseball bat across the right side of Angel's face, while he said, ". . . CAN'T YOU EVER . . ."

Faith landed on her but and looked to her right, watching in shock how Angel groaned in pain, and Xander casually picked Angel up by his neck. ". . . KEEP YOUR CORPSE . . ." Xander yelled out in anger, running past her with the vampire in his right hand. She turned her head, by the time she had, Xander had reached the door to the outside, while he had yelled, ". . . OUT OF . . ." Xander opened the door, and almost casually tossed the vampire up through the air, saying, ". . . LIVING PEOPLE'S . . ." Angel flew clear across a truck, and didn't land on hard asphalt of the parking lot, until he had moved fifteen meters through the air. ". . . BUSINESS!?" Xander finished with intense anger, throwing the bat. It twisted on its axis, horizontally, circling through the air, until the business end connected with Angel's right eye, and sent him back down to his back, groaning. The bat dropped to the floor, and Angel weakly sat up. "Stay out of this!!" Xander warned from his position in the doorframe, "Or I'll dust ya, and be done with it!"

"Angel!" a female voice called concerned from outside.

Xander turned his head to his right, seeing Buffy there, waiting. Ah, damn! Preoccupied with Faith and Angel's interference, he must have missed her. So this was Buffy's solution? Let a two-hundred-forty-year-old vampire with a soul beat up Faith, and do what? Take her to his mansion and try to talk to her? Like that old a dead thing could possibly understand what was going through the teenage dark Slayer's mind right now, not to mention end with that swing of the bat whatever possible chance he might have had with her.

With a growl of irritation, Xander turned around and walked back into the room, as Buffy called out his name with a little anger, more concern, and confusion. There came a warning groan from Angel, and instead of Buffy coming after Xander, she decided to heed her lover's warning and go check up on him instead.

Xander reached Faith, and the Slayer slowly stood up. "Wh-what are you going to do to me?" Faith asked with fear. The power the former fool had wielded so casually was frightening, especially if she was right and there was more where that came from.

"Don't worry, Faith," Xander told her, and then made an educated guess, "if I wanted to rape you, I could have done so a long time ago." Xander was thinking things over, he had planned on getting Faith's side of the story, and then casually make her understand she wasn't wrong, or disgusting, or dirty, or even sickening with her attitude - once again, apart from trying to frame Buffy. Once he had her to the point where she believed she wasn't sickening, she could separate her urges, and actions, and find some equilibrium, even with her attempt to kill him that had still been a viable option if she had stopped herself. Obviously that was no longer an option, especially with Buffy and Angel's interference, and the blonde Slayer knowing Xander was here and what he had done to Angel. She'd be hounding him on what he did, how he did it, and why he hadn't said sooner - if she ever got around to the last two; he was well aware of Buffy's blind eye and obsession with Angel. No, doing things here, was out of the question. He needed privacy, and he knew just the place.

"Faith," Xander said, his lopsided smile adorning his face, calming the Slayer down only a little. "My uncle Rory has this cabin up north in the mountains - and he gave me keys to it - how about you and I take a little vacation?"

Faith shook her head, panic in her eyes. This was all too much for her; first accidentally killing a guy, then Buffy's hounding her about things, Xander's confrontation, her trying to kill him, then the whole Angel interference, and Xander's handling him. Xander saw it clearly, as she inched away from him. Xander smiled, "Sorry, this won't hurt a bit." He raised his right hand and charged a small energy ball. Faith's eyes widened even more, and that's all she had time for. The ball crashed into her, its low intensity energy spreading through her body, disrupting her body's energy flows, and then she slumped into unconsciousness. Before she fell to the floor, Xander caught her and put her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

He exited the motel room a moment later, carrying his burden. He looked around, and he saw Buffy supporting Angel. The two walked away toward his mansion. Buffy looked back, and gave him a strange look. He gave her a smile, and then ran in the opposite direction. After passing two side streets, well out of Buffy's vision, he checked around. When he was certain nobody could see him, he flexed his energy. A white chi flame erupted around him, and he and Faith burst into the air.
[Stop Xander's theme]

-----

An hour later Xander was well on his way to the cabin. He estimated he managed a quarter of the way. Faith stirred gently. Xander grinned. Another five minutes later, after several failed attempts on her part, Faith woke up, and blinked. Still groggy, all she was really aware of was being held on someone's shoulder. "Let me go!" she screamed out instinctively.

"Ok," Xander said, and moved his hand a little, grabber her by her collar and picking her off his shoulder. He then pulled her forward and down, so she looked straight down . . . and down, and down. Faith's eyes widened as she noticed the drop to the speeding by ground was high enough to kill her. "Ready?"

"NO! DON'T LET ME GO! DON'T DROP ME!" Faith screamed out in terror.

Xander grinned. Good, she was thinking of her life at least, not dwelling on the past events. "No prob," he said, motioning to put her back.

Faith was only vaguely aware the voice belonged to one Xander Harris, and she demanded, "Put me down somewhere, gently!"

"No can do," Xander told her, and put her back on her shoulder, his and on her ass.

"You always want the same! Get your hand off there!" Faith demanded, latching on her anger for fear of the terror.

"Boy, you are a demanding girl, aren't you, Faith?" Xander asked as he pulled her forward and down a bit. With an 'oof' Faith landed with her stomach on his shoulder, and Xander's hand was now on her back. At the speed with which Xander was moving, there was no smooth way to move Faith quickly such a short distance.

"I always thought I was easy," Faith remarked, still angry, and terrified, but somewhere deep down realizing that despite her precarious situations she wasn't in any danger of losing her life. She pondered her situation, and asked, "Boy Toy?"

Xander give a chuckle, and said, "Yes, I see we have to start over though. Hello, I'm Xander Harris, but I was born Littica, son of Ardipel. Who are you?" Faith stayed silent for a few seconds, thinking things over. "Well?" Xander prompted.

"Faith . . . Williams," she answered slowly, hoping she didn't make a mistake mentioning her last name, and still thinking about Xander's whole 'born' deal.

"Well, Miss Williams, how are you?" Xander asked her with an unseen smile.

"Five by . . ." Faith started her standard answer to it all, except the angle with which her stomach was pressing on Xander's shoulder was getting to her, " . . . actually, this is kind of uncomfortable."

Xander sighed, and told her, "You really don't know what you want, do you? I can't drop you, can't hold you in proper fireman's carry, which wouldn't cause you this problem, so what do you want?"

Faith stayed silent, and said in irritation, "Fine, you can grab my ass."

"And hear you call me a bastard, and a sexist, and cheap whore, and whatever later after all? I don't think so," Xander told her sternly. "I'm going to drop you after all, I'm arm is getting irritated in this position anyway, I only held you so you wouldn't get the shock of your life waking up."

Faith listened with shock at Xander's words, completely missing the meaning of the latter sentences, and felt herself being taken off his shoulder. "No! NO! PLEASE, XANDER! DON'T!!" She looked down at the ground moving past, and then felt the hand holding her by her clothes letting go. She squeezed her eyes shut, and put her hands instinctively in front of her face and hand, and screamed out, "AAAAAAHH!" Wait . . . she wasn't falling. Tentatively she removed her arms and opened her eyes, and saw the ground moving onward, and she still floating. She became aware of a prickling sensation on her naked skin, felt kind of like the few times she pulled her hand through standing up, statically charged hair. She stayed looking down for a few minutes, looking back and forth, both marveling and fearfully taking in the scenery. Then she looked up, and saw Xander. He didn't seem to move, just the clouds above him, but that was because she didn't move in relative position toward him. "Shit! You really are flying!" she said in shock.

"Yep, ready to talk again?" he asked her gently.

"Are you trying to get me in the sack?" Faith asked him genuinely. "Because if you are . . . fuck it, it's working."

Xander laughed out loud, big guffaws of laughter, and Faith got annoyed by him, folding her arms across her chest. Xander calmed down, and told her, "No, if I wanted you in the sack, I could have just taken you back at the motel. I'm not interested in using you, Faith." Faith stayed silent, glaring at him. "Alright," Xander told her, shaking his head. "Let's make a deal, I tell you my story, and you tell me yours." Faith looked at him uncommittedly. "I'll tell you a snippet of my life, you tell me a snippet of yours. Starting with what happened that night, every last detail. All I got was, you accidentally killed Finch, but that's it, no real details, other then he stepped into the fight and got himself killed. The truth this time. Deal?"

Faith frowned, angry, looking resentful, but she so wanted to know how the hell the bastard could fly, so she said, "Deal."

And thus Xander told her he wasn't human, that he was an alien, casually explaining it to her. He left out the entire 'why I can fly thing', and the story of his race, he needed something in reserve after all.

-----

"Where is Faith?" Wesley Wyndam-Price asked to the assembly in the Sunnydale High library. The team that was to bring in Faith to London for a 'trial' stood behind him, their hands on their guns.

Giles cleaned his glasses and casually placed it on his face, saying, "We don't know."

"Where is she!?" the commander of the team demanded. Oz, Buffy, Giles, Willow, Cordelia and Giles looked at him blankly.

"She's with Xander," Buffy finally told him perkily, smiling almost evilly.

"And /where/ is this 'Xander'?" the man asked her then.

Buffy smiled sweetly, saying equally so, "I don't know." The Watcher swat leader growled in anger. Wesley held him back with a gentle hand.

"Mr. Giles, you know Faith has to appear in front of a court. It's been like that since before recorded history," Wesley told the older ex-watcher sternly. "You cannot turn your back on these ancient laws, they exist to protect both us and the Slayers from harm." Giles shrugged.

Wesley turned his attention to Willow, and smoothly he said, "Miss Rosenberg, I know you are not particularly fond of Faith. She killed a man, she might kill again. Do you want to have the next man on your conscience if she kills again? The watchers have far greater experience with Slayers and how they think and act. We are best equipped to handle Faith."

"I don't know where they are," Willow answered, once again the answer was truthful.

Wesley sighed, and turned to the person with the least ties to the others. "Cordelia," he started, as if addressing a child.

"/Which/ part of '/Wedon'tknow/' don't you get?" she bit at him in irritation. If she had been attracted to him before it was over now. "And you don't have to worry about me lying about the bitch."

"So if you did know, you'd give her up?" Wesley asked her.

"In a heartbeat," was her cold answer, the others looked at her in accusation, but she ignored them.

"Let's go," the swat leader said, and the team left the library, realizing they wouldn't get anything out of them. A moment later Wesley too left.

"Where /do/ you think Xander took her?" Willow asked nervously once Wesley and co had gone.

"I don't know," Buffy replied with irritation. "I'd like to know what the hell he's thinking. Giles, we need to find him, he can't handle Faith."

"I concur," Giles replied.

"I wouldn't be so sure," a voice sounded from the shadows. A bruised Angel emerged from them, and pointed at his black and blue chin. "That's where he hit me, and I'm an immortal Vampire. My back still aches." Buffy sped over to him, and checked out his bruises and nearly healed black eye with concern.

"Adrenaline . . ." Giles started.

Gently putting Buffy's hands away from his aching face, Angel interrupted him, "Oh, no, no adrenaline. From what I gathered, he was barely exerting himself."

"Meaning?" Oz asked with a fascinated, raised eyebrow.

Angel hesitated a moment, and finished, "I think he could have hit me a lot harder; I always thought there was an odd quality to his smell. He's more than he seems." That stunned the room into silence. "Besides, I think a living, breathing, human being has more chance of getting to Faith than a vampire has, who every instinct inside of her tells her to kill. I'm putting my faith in the boy - no pun intended of course - and I think so should you."

"Come on," Cordelia said with irritation. "We're talking about doofus here."

Angel got a little worked up, he owed Xander big after all, and said, "The same doofus who stared Angelus down in the hospital when Buffy was sick and got him to turn tail, the same doofus who dragged me down in the catacombs so my nose could lead him to Buffy facing the Master. If it weren't for that, I may still be hiding in shadows and doing nothing but delivering cryptic messages . . ."

"Which probably would mean Angelus never would have reared his ugly head," Giles stated bitterly, leaving in between the fact that that statement would mean Buffy wouldn't have considered him attractive enough to fall in love with, whether that was true or not. Angel hung his head in shame, while Buffy started to protest.

Angel stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head, then he finished, "There are a lot of things I could call Xander Harris, and although doofus could apply, useless, weak, or stupid do not." The vampire smiled gently at saying 'doofus could apply', a smile filled with respect.

"I've known Xander all my life," Willow piped up unexpectedly, looking at Buffy, feeling a little guilty at ignoring him so after the fluke and as a result be more with her female friend. "And I trust him with it . . ." She looked over to Oz for a moment, and he smiled and nodded, grasping her hand lovingly. She looked back at Buffy and finished, " . . . so I'll trust him with Faith's as well, even if I don't like her."

"It's settled then, we'll let Xander handle Faith, whatever he has in mind," Giles stated with finality, much to the annoyance of Cordelia who murmured several unintelligible words - apart from the fact that they were bad. Buffy looked a little perturbed but abided by everyone's wishes, hoping they were right.

-----

The mountain was covered in a forest of mostly pine trees. Amongst them, exactly as Xander said there would be, was a wooden mountain cabin. A few stairs let up to a veranda and the entrance. Xander landed, putting Faith down on the ground gently. The Slayer looked at him in doubt, her crunched eyebrows made her look odd. Xander smiled and stepped up the stairs, before opening the cabin with his key. He opened the door and gestured for Faith to go first. She did, and looked around the dump. "Ok," Xander said, observing the cabin seemed about ready to fall apart. No wonder whoever had lost it to his uncle Rory at the betting table hadn't much trouble with losing this. "It'll need a little touching up."

Faith turned her head, and smiled wryly, saying, "You think?"

Xander smiled at her, and said, "I'll go down to the village we passed, buy some food, and supplies to repair this thing. I'll only be a short while, you can stay here by yourself till then, can't you?" Faith snorted, not liking the fact that Xander needed to ask whether she could take care of herself. "Be back soon," Xander told her, and blasted off.

Faith sat down on a creaky chair and looked around. -What the hell am I doing?- she suddenly thought, her distrusting nature resurfacing. -I should be getting the hell out of this prison,- she thought to herself. Agreeing with the sentiment, she quickly got up, and ran outside. She looked around, chose a direction at random and ran with all her speed.

Somewhere else a flying Xander shook his head in disappointment.

-----

Faith ran, and ran. She was going to put enough distance between her and Xander he could never find her, flying or no flying. So she used all the speed being a Slayer provided. It didn't take long before she reached the edge of the forest, and there was only one way to go: up. So she did. She ran, and jumped up the grass-covered mountain. With her jumping ability it didn't take long for her to reach the altitude that not even grass could live. The bare rock quickly gave away to snow after that. She really should have stopped then, but her confidence in her Slayer stamina was too great. Rapidly she trudged onward into the snow, higher and higher. Soon after a cold wind was cutting into her being, but she ignored it. She was the Slayer, a little wind couldn't stop her. She really should have realized that leather pants, and a cut-off t-shirt to show her belly button wouldn't protect her from the cold, but she was desperate, and the Slayer.

-----

Xander had already bought wood and carpeting tools and put them all in a large car he had also purchased. Some clothes and underwear for himself and what he thought would fit Faith lay on top of that. Food he had bought as well and placed on top of the rest. Done with all that, he went to a pay phone, and dialed. #Rupert Giles,# came the answer.

"Hello, Giles, I call- . . ." Xander tried but Giles interrupted him.

#My god, boy, where are you two? No wait, don't answer that, I wouldn't put it past that prick Price to tap my phone. There's a Watcher task force here that wants to take Faith to England for 'trial',# Giles told him rapidly.

"That's not good," Xander replied with a frown. "A 'trial' is something Faith /so/ does not need right now."

#We know, and I'm looking forward to hear your story soon,# Giles told him.

"Giles, I called to tell you we're both fine, and give our location just in case, but that last one is out of the question now," Xander told Giles on the other end of the phone.

#That's ok, Alexander. We all pretty much unanimously decided you should handle Faith, and let you do what you think is best,# Giles told him, which surprised Xander. #Take care of her, son.#

"I will, Giles, my quarter is running out, see you guys soon," Xander greeted. Giles returned the greet, and Xander hung up. Then he took the car and pushed up the mountain, until he was far enough away from the village, and burst into the air.

-----

Upward Faith went, ignoring the freezing wind, ignoring the snow that came falling down with ever greater volumes, ignoring the wind that kept coming with ever greater speeds. After another ten minutes she started feeling really cold. Her stomach hurt, so did her feet and fingers. She pulled them up and looked at them. Shocked she saw the tips of her fingers were blueish and purplish. She looked around, and was suddenly gripped by a shock colder than the temperature. There was nothing but snow. She could not see the top of the mountain she was on, left and right there was only snow, wind and falling snow. When she looked down, there was once again only white. Fear gripped her, but she forced it away. The top had to be close, it just had to be. She trudged onward, further up. She was too cold to continue jumping, so she was forced to simply climb. With every meter she made, with every second that past, and the tip stayed out of sight, fear started to grow in her.

Finally after another few minutes, she decided to turn back. But going down didn't go much faster than going up. She bit her lip in desperation. Several minutes later, there was still only snow. -I'm going to die,- the thought came to her like that. She shook her head, she was determined to go onward. Progress was slow though, and everything hurt. Her leather pants felt like ice picks sticking in her legs, her uncovered belly button was now covered in a fine sheet of snow and ice. Her hair was covered in snow and froze to her skull. The cold in her face was just as bad, if not worse. Her feet felt like clumps of ice, and moving her fingers was nearly impossible. -I'm gonna die,- she thought again. "HELP ME!!" she screamed out in fear, at the horrific realization. "HELP ME!! SOMEBODY!! ANYBODY! I NEED HELP!!"

But there was no answer. "XANDER!!!" she screamed out in fear, the stress of near death enough she started crying. Shocked she felt her tears freeze before they were halfway down her cheeks. "Oh, god!" she told herself, as she felt the frozen tears with her near frozen hand. Her desperation grew and she prayed, but no god answered, apart from the lightning starting close by. "HELP ME! HELP! PLEASE!! HELP!!"

Faith sobbed and sank to her knees. This couldn't be happening. The wind howled along her. She forced herself up, to keep moving but it took every little bit of effort she had. A normal human in her position and in her clothes would have been dead by now. "Please," she whimpered, as she dragged herself forward.

"You asked for me?" Xander's voice sounded. Faith looked up, shivering as she slowly froze to death. Xander floated there, his arms across his chest. Faith was flooded with relief. "Not very smart of you, you know. You can't get away from me. I've got a sixth sense, allows me to pinpoint you down the centimeter from ten miles away," Xander told her with a smirk.

"FUCK YOU!!" she screamed out with a raw throat. "Fuck you!"

Xander grinned, and cocked his head, holding out a hand, saying, "Going into the mountains alone so high you find snow. Do you have a death wish?"

Anger at everyone and everything, especially the way her life had gone, and Xander's condescending tone made Faith lash out, "GO AWAY! I DON'T NEED YOU! I DON'T NEED ANYONE!!"

"Suit yourself," Xander answered coolly, and blasted up and away.

Anger pushed Faith onward, but that only lasted barely a minute. With every endlessly difficult step she took, she realized more and more just how big a mistake that was. "XANDER!!" Faith wailed out. No answer. "XANDER, PLEASE! HELP ME!!" There was still no answer, and no one arrived from the air. "PLEASE!! I DO NEED YOU. HEEEELP MEEE!!! HEEELP!!"

But there was no answer. "No, please!" Faith whimpered, sinking to her knees. She cried and sobbed in the snow there, unable to dredge up the strength to get up, her tears freezing on her cheeks again. -I'm gonna die here,- she thought, crying harder, cold and pain lancing through every part of her body. "Help," she sobbed out one last time, before she grew still except for crying.

There was a light, and a sound but Faith didn't react to it immediately. She had to dredge up every last bit of will power to look up, half expecting the light to be tunnel of light people often described. Instead she looked at an outstretched hand, and the smiling face of Xander Harris, all surrounded by his white light. She had never seen a more beautiful light in her entire life. She grabbed for Xander's hand and managed to grasp it. She felt herself being pulled up out of the cold, cold snow, and a moment later enveloped by the blessed, comforting warmth of Xander's life force. He pulled the Slayer to him, and she grabbed onto him, sobbing as relief beyond anything she had ever felt before, flooded her being. She grabbed a hold of him with every last ounce of strength she possessed, and forced her head against his shoulder. There she broke down completely, sobbing, and crying for all she was worth as she felt herself warm back up.

"Sh," Xander said, and give her a gentle kiss on the top of her head, the snow already melting, leaking down her face from her hair. "Everyone needs somebody, Faith, everyone needs help sometime. Nobody can do everything alone." He placed his right hand on the back of her head, and held her gently as he flew down, back toward the cabin.

Back at the cabin, Xander got her out of her freezing, and wet clothes. She was too in shell shock and relief to complain when he took off her freezing panties and bra. He quickly brought out the new clothes he had brought, and was glad when he found they fit. Now dressed in new panties, and warm but very unstylish pyjamas, Xander gently carried the shivering Faith into her new bedroom. He placed her in bed, which she vaguely recognized as being comfortably warm. Several hot-water bottles had pre-heated it for her, and they would keep her warm. Xander gently tucked the distraught Slayer in, and brushed a few hairs from the shivering girl's face. "Go to sleep, Faith," he told her gently, "sleep all afternoon and night, tomorrow is a new day." She nodded weakly, and he gave her a kiss on her forehead, and finished, "I'll be in the living room, you're safe here, ok?" Shivering Faith nodded again, a few tears of gratefulness misting up her eyes. Understanding her pride, he got up and left before they spilled over.

-----

As told, Faith slept all afternoon and night. She woke up at seven the next morning by a delicious smell. She moaned as she opened her eyes, and looked around in confusion. Where was she? She grabbed a hold of cold metal, and she recognized the now cold hot-water bottles that had warmed her so when she went to sleep. Everything of the past few days rushed back to her then. The kill, Buffy's incessant - we must do this, we must do that - her lie to Giles, and then Xander coming to her motel room, and what followed after.

She stayed lying still for a few moments, remembering how close to death she had come. The horrible feeling when she thought she would die, when she thought Xander had abandoned her. He had prepared the bottles on beforehand, she realized now he would never have let her die. The smell called to her again, and now that the jumble of emotions and memories had aligned themselves somewhat, she recognized it too: pancakes. Her eyes widened, and felt her stomach growl with hunger. She hadn't eaten anything the day before, and her guilt had barely made her eat before that. She got out of bed as quickly as possible, and one of the metal bottles dropped noisily to the floor. Then a second one fell on her toes. "OW!" she yelled out, and grabbed her foot, jumping up a few times to lessen the pain. She blinked as she looked at her foot, then at her hands, and she flexed them. Nothing, no damage. She sighed in relief as she realized her Slayer healing had solved her problems with frozen limbs.

She smiled, and stumbled about, seeing herself in a mirror. The pyjamas looked awful to her, they were fluffy things that small children wore, not hard as nails Slayers. Her stomach growled again, it was not to be denied, so she shrugged and opened the door back to the rest of the room. She looked around in shock. The cabin that was ready to fall apart was cleaned up now. The holes repaired with new boards, the roof retiled, someone had swiped the floors clean, as well as the furniture. She shrugged off the shock, and wonder how Xander had managed to do all that without waking her up. A moment later she had reached her intended destination: the kitchen. Several kinds of coverings stood on the table, in the middle of which stood a /huge/ pile of pancakes. She looked over at Xander, wearing an apron happily baking the deliciously smelling food. Xander grinned at her, having anticipated her hunger, and of course also his own Saiyan appetite. "Dig in," he told her.

She could not help but grin and rapidly sat down at the table with enthusiasm. What a feast! She grabbed the top pancake, almost burning her fingers, and not caring. Heat was a blessing after yesterday. Rapidly she pored treacle from a bottle, rolled up the pancake and ravished it. Once finished with it, in less than a few seconds, she grabbed another. This one she covered with strawberry jam before she gulped it down hungrily.

"Slow down a bit, before you choke on it," Xander told her with a huge grin.

Faith looked up at him, as she swallowed. "Thanks," she said weakly, and quickly went to eat more.

Xander smiled, used up the last of the dough and joined her. Faith watched astonished as Xander ate away a nice thick pancake even faster than she did. He picked the next pancake, and realizing that he might finish the whole pile if she just kept watching him, and her stomach demanding much, much more she quickly grabbed a new pancake. Xander watched the girl across from him hungrily, and tastefully stow away pancake after pancake as he ate himself. He quickly reached his fill, himself /having/ eaten yesterday, and watched as Faith continued to stuff pancake after pancake down her gullet. He marveled at the Slayer. Sitting there without make-up on, and in simple pyjamas, her hair falling down her face and happily eating away, she looked nothing like the tough Slayer he knew, but like a simple, young girl.

"What's your birthday?" Xander asked intrigued.

Faith looked up, chewing away the pancake and gulping. "August seventeen," she answered as she grabbed a new pancake from the rapidly swindling pile.

"Year?" Xander prompted gently, smiling at this new and deceptively - or not? - fragile Faith.

She looked down, preparing the pancake with some covering for consumption. Finally she looked up, and decided to answer truthfully, "Nineteen . . . eighty-three."

Carefully she gauged Xander's reaction, as she started to eat the new pancake. "Fifteen . . . and a half," Xander translated nodding his head at the implications. Xander smiled encouragingly, but Faith stayed silent, so he prompted, "We had a deal remember? I tell you a few snippets of my life, you tell me snippets of yours, starting what happened the other night? Exactly?"

Swallowing the last of her pancake, she slowly looked up, and then started telling her tale. "We heading toward the demon's lair, when the vampires attacked. We were in an ally, we killed several of them. I don't know what happened exactly. According to Buffy he was just suddenly there, and she mistook him for a vampire in the heat of the battle. All I know is, Buffy threw him to me, expecting me to dust the vampire. I caught him and slammed him against the dumpster. Buffy noticed he wasn't a vampire, and yelled out a warning, but it was already too late. I was already swinging the stake, and it was far too close to his heart. I didn't even get the time to slow my swing down. The next moment I'm looking at the life flowing from his eyes, and the blood from his body."

Faith looked Xander in the eyes, and he saw pain there. It told him more then any words ever could, for one thing, this was not a lie. Faith breathed heavier and heavier, her eyes tearing up, her near death experience yesterday had broken down her mental walls very effectively. "Now I tried to kill you, I'm a monster, a worthless . . ."

"It was an accident!!" Xander powerfully interrupted her. "There was nothing you could have done different. From where I'm standing Buffy would be more to blame than you are, if there was any blame."

Faith shook her head as tears flowed from her eyes, and she backed up, dumping the stair. "I tried to kill you, my mom and dad were right, I'm nothing, I'm worthless . . ."

Xander was in front of her in an instant, and he grabbed her supportively, but firmly by her shoulders and told her with an intensity, "You are not worthless, you are a beautiful, young girl, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Faith wrenched herself free, "WHY!? YOU WERE WORSE! At least my mom beat me up, and my father considered me good enough to rape, but you didn't even think I was worthy enough to acknowledge my existence!!" In rage, grief, and anger, Faith smashed her fist through one of the wooden walls, and trashed about. "None of you did! You just left me to rot in that motel room! And I tried, I tried to get any of you to notice me! I even stole fancy clothes for that stupid dance in school! And yet none of you even visited me, not you, not Red, not even the damn watchers, except the evil one!! You only called me or talked to me when there was something to kill." Xander was at a loss. Faith was breaking down and trashing about in front of him. He felt guilt for himself as well as the others. Faith made another dent in the wall, as she finished, "And Buffy, Buffy pretty much quit the moment she thought she could get out of Sunnydale to college, and I could stay behind and rot!!"

Desperate to keep Faith from completely destroying the cabin, as well as herself, Xander did the only thing he could think off. He lunged forward, and grabbed her, forcing Faith into a hug. "Shh, I'm sorry. It's going to be alright, I promise," he said as Faith struggled against his superior grip, crying. "We screwed up, I screwed up. It's no excuse, but we were all wrapped up in Buffy's return after leaving us, and her covering up Angel's return. And I as always was busy keeping my secret."

Faith slowly stopped struggling, and wrapped her arms around his waist, just holding on for dear life. She didn't trust Xander just yet, but it was the only thing she could do to keep herself from completely going off the deep end. "You just left me there," she cried out.

"I didn't get to see the room the first time, you threw me out before I could. After that I figured you preferred to be alone, I'm so sorry, I wish I could go back in time and do things differently," Xander whispered to her, holding on for dear life, hoping the girl wouldn't slip through his fingers. "I guess it's my turn to tell you a little of my life again. Saiyans are born with tails, as I told you. I had to cut mine off before landing here. The Harrises who adopted me were infertile. The man's sperm didn't have the punch needed. I was a thorn in his eye, a constant reminder of his inadequacy. He started drinking and then beat me up. My adoptive mother ignored it out of guilt. I know what it's like to be abused, to be called worthless, or useless, but I suppose compared to yours, my life was a picnic." Faith whimpered, not understanding what he was getting at. "So, let's make another deal, ok? We won't call each other worthless ever, and we'll defend each other with words first and then violence if necessary, against anyone who will ever call the other that. What do you say?"

Faith slowly looked up, and looked into Xander's chocolate brown eyes, then whispered, "Ok, deal." Xander just held her close, the two staying like that.

-----

Two hours later the two were sparring right outside the cabin. Faith punched, and Xander casually flipped her through the air. Angry she got up and tried again, only to hurt her hand on his chi field, and then being sent flying several meters till she crashed against a tree. She stayed put, groaning. This had gone on for twenty minutes, always with the same result.

"What's the matter, Faith? I thought Slayers were supposed to be tough," Xander told with a big grin.

Faith groaned, sitting upright, ready to attack, and then her shoulders slumped. "This isn't fair," she told him.

"What did you say?" Xander asked her smiling.

"It isn't fair, I can't even /hit/ you," Faith complained angrily.

Xander smiled and went over to her. He knelt down just to her right, and placed his right hand comfortingly on her stomach. Smiling, he said, "It's about time, I was afraid you lost your tongue." Faith looked at him in confusion, not particularly hating his hand on her body. "You spent inside that motel room for months, Faith, you hated it there. We were negligent, but you never once spoke up about hating it either. You just stayed there, fuming, and thinking you somehow deserved it, trying to get our attention. One shout, 'IT ISN'T FAIR!!' would have done that just as well, you know." Xander actually yelled out 'it isn't fair'. "Next time when someone treats you wrong, or makes you do things, or stay somewhere where you shouldn't be, address it. Get angry, shout, whatever, just don't stay fuming silently. This time we very much neglected you, next time we might just fail to see it - we're not mind readers, ok?"

Faith nodded. "Good," Xander said, smiling. He got up, and offered his hand. Faith hesitated, but decided to get over her 'I don't need anybody' mind set and took his hand. Xander pulled her to her feet, and he said, "Now I'll teach you what I can do."

Faith looked at him incredulously, questioning, "Teach me?"

"Of course," Xander said, backing away from her so he could demonstrate Tai Chi moves. "What? Did you think I was Superman or something? That I just got every one of my abilities thrown into my lap?" Faith shrugged, and Xander grinned. "No, Faith, training, lots and lots of training. In fact, a lot of what I can do, I learned from humans. I guess I should explain to you what it is that I do then, another snippet in the sordid mess that's my life, and that of my race." Xander thought over how to explain this, and said, "All right, talking while training, repeat these moves, Faith."

And so Faith started repeating Xander's movements as he started explained Saiyans' power and concept of chi. Once Faith mastered the movements, Xander set about explaining the philosophy behind them, what they do, and what they are good for. Soon lunch time had come and gone, and dinner was approaching, so they stopped their training, and went inside the cabin.

-----

Faith woke up the next morning in her bed. Groggily she looked around until the smell of baked eggs assaulted her senses. Not long after that the girl was sitting at the diner table fully dressed, and happily eating the eggs. She watched Xander put away his eggs twice as fast as she ate hers with a grin. During their breakfast, Xander asked, "So, what has your watcher taught you?" Faith looked down, pained. "Educationally speaking, not how to stake vamps," Xander added.

"Uh, not much, hardly anything really," Faith muttered in disdain.

"All right, then," Xander said, engulfing another egg on sandwich, "we'll go down to the village after training, let you choose some clothes, and then we'll get some educational books: science, biology, math, that sort of thing. This afternoon I'll start teaching you, you'll do the exams at the end of the year, and next year you'll be able to start in the same grade as others of you age."

"WHAT?!" Faith exclaimed shocked. "Back to school? Hell, no!"

"High school, Faith, you'll go to high school," Xander told her.

"Why should I!?"

Xander gave her smile, saying, "Because I said so. Besides, you want to be able to get a job and pay your bills and food later, right?"

Faith bit her lip, then let her lower lip drab down in pout of defeat, saying, "I'm going to be dead by then anyway, so why bother? The last few years fighting of my life fighting vampires I want to enjoy myself, not waste away in a classroom."

Xander charged an energy ball and held it up for her to see. "Faith," he said, "when I'm done training you, do you think a vampire . . . an army of vampires would stand a hope against you? Hell, the army of the United States? You'll catch bullets with you bare hands, Faith. You'll move too fast, and be too maneuverable for rockets to catch you. Trust me, you'll have a very long life."

Faith looked at him, revelation on her face. "I could live to see old age?" she asked doubtfully.

"Yep, thus school," Xander told her, a smile adorning his face. Faith still didn't look entirely convinced. "Trust me, Faith, have I steered you wrong even once?" Faith looked down again, and nodded, still not liking having to study. "There, see, Faith, just remember I'm always right, and you'll do just fine," Xander joked with a wide grin, making Faith look up at him.

Faith couldn't quite keep the smile off of her face, when she replied, "You really are an arrogant bastard, aren't you?"

"But one who's always right," Xander joked onward.

Faith chuckled, and said, "I hate you, I /really/ hate you."

-----

The next afternoon, Xander sat in the couch in the small living room of the small cabin reading 'The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World'. Faith sat on the floor at the low table. Her ass was squarely on the rug, with her legs out in front of her under the table. She had a pen and was busy writing out a math problem.

Faith sighed, put the pen down in disgust, and said, "Xander, I can't do this, I'm not smart enough."

"Bullshit, Faith, you can do it," Xander told her, not looking up from his book.

"Help me, please? Give me a hint?" Faith pleaded.

"Faith, trust me, you're smart enough to figure it out. We've been going through example after example, I've helped you out, this time it's all for you. If you give up every time things get a little difficult, Faith, you'll never get anywhere. Now, go on," Xander told her friendly.

When no more answer came, Faith sighed theatrically, and picked her pen back up. A few minutes later Xander looked over the edge of the book, and checked her out. He smiled as she saw her tongue hang out of her mouth in deep concentration, writing away. He went back to reading his book, waiting.

Ten minutes later, Faith piped up, "Xander." He looked at her, and she nervously pushed her work toward him. Xander picked up her notepad, and started examining her work. After one minute of thoroughly checking out her calculations, he looked up, and regarded the nervously fidgeting Faith.

"Correct," Xander told her with a lopsided grin, filled with anticipation.

"Correct? As in, I didn't make a mistake?" Faith asked Xander with wide eyes of surprise and hope.

"Not even a single small one," Xander answered her, and Faith looked incredulously at him. "You're pretty smart, Faith."

"I'm smart?" she asked, almost shocked. Xander nodded. "I'm smart!?" she asked again, her face lighting up. Xander nodded again. "I'm not stupid?" she asked, this time a bright smile on her face.

"You're not stupid at all, Faith," he replied with a grin.

Faith looked at him silently for a few moments, jaw dropped. "I'm not stupid," Faith tried softly. "I'm not stupid," she said again, this time with some more conviction. "I'M NOT STUPID!" she yelled out in joy, jumping up from the floor, banging against the table. She cursed and wiggled out from underneath it. Then she jumped up again, properly this time, yelling again, "I'M NOT STUPID!!" Xander smiled widely at the exuberant Slayer, almost not believing the change in the young girl.

Instantly Faith's cheer was gone, and in its place was a sensualness. She crossed the difference to Xander and knelt down on the couch over him, whispering huskily, "I'd like to thank you, Xander." She leaned forward, ready to kiss him.

Xander grabbed her by the waste, and gently pushed her back. "Faith," he said gently, looking up in her hurt eyes, "you don't have to have sex with me in order to thank me. Not that it isn't a very nice 'thank you' gesture, but it's not the only way to thank someone. I don't want to have sex with you, when you think it's an obligation."

Faith looked at him, her look smouldering, then she grimaced, got up, and stormed off to her bedroom. Xander decided to let her cool down. An hour later she came back out again, and sat herself down upon the chair. She pulled her legs up, and wrapped her arms around her knees, regarding Xander. He waited. "How come I get pissed off for you not having sex with me," Faith said with pain in her voice, "and yet I'd be equally pissed off with you, if you did?"

Xander shrugged, answering, "I don't know." Xander beckoned her over, and she hesitantly did. Once she sat next to her, he slung an arm around her shoulders hugged her supportively. He felt her relax and he smiled. "I've done this for Buffy and Willow often, nice supportive friend hugs, yet they still don't know who I am. Feel better?"

As Xander tightened the hug, Faith said, "A little."

"Not pissed off at me anymore for not taking advantage of you?" Xander asked. Faith shook her head. "Good," he said and smiled down at her. "I don't know why you felt what you felt exactly, Faith, but before I took you here, do you think you would be sitting here next to me?"

"No way, I'd be long gone," Faith answered on autopilot.

Xander nodded, and said, "Then I don't think feeling like that every time a guy enjoys great sex with you, or decides not to accept your advances will last. I want you to trust me, Faith, and through me, give the male species the benefit of the doubt. I'm pretty sure more are like me, or at least on the good side of the spectrum than whatever assholes you've had the displeasure of experiencing."

"You didn't even call," Faith accused.

"You threw me buck naked out of your room," Xander countered.

Faith couldn't keep the giggle from escaping her mouth, and was embarrassed she actually giggled. "I'm sorry," she said.

"So am I."

The two stayed put there, in a comfortable silence. After two minutes, Faith admitted, "Obligation, smobligation. I'm aroused."

Xander gave a laugh, and suggested, "Use your fingers."

"I haven't needed to use my fingers in ages," Faith muttered.

Xander grinned, telling her, "Don't worry, it's like driving a bike, you never unlearn, and practice makes perfect."

Faith sat up, and as she stood up, she said, "I hate you." Halfway to her room, she called out, "Don't expect me to go easy on your ears."

"Finally!" Xander called after her. "I'm a /hear/-/eur/." A few moments later Faith returned at the door to her bedroom, looked incredulously at him. "What can I say," Xander told her with smile and mock guilt, "you were right: men are evil." Xander failed to duck the pillow that came flying at him at that point, and it smashed right into his face. He laughed, and so did Faith. Before long she started producing very different sounds.

-----

Two weeks later Faith stood on the ground in front of the cabin. Her face was crunched up in concentration, her arms straight down along her body. Small waves of chi flowed from her down and outward. "Relax," Xander told her gently watching her. The trees around them gently waved in the wind, and the animals were quiet, as if they were watching Faith try this monumental event. Finally, slowly, bit by little bit, the Slayer lifted off the ground. Faith looked down astonished as she hovered ten centimeters in the air.

"I did it!" Faith exclaimed with happiness. "I spent three days looking like an idiot, but I finally did it!" Gently Faith went a little higher, then moved forward then to her right. "You see, Xander!? I'm flying! I can't believe this."

"Believe it, Faith," Xander said with a wide grin looked at the elated Slayer. "You're flying al right."

Faith was sweating, and breathing heavily now, and she said, "Damn, this is tough." She wiped sweat off her brow, and asked, "How do I get the power needed to start doing stunts and stuff?"

Xander grinned at her, and told her, "Balance, Faith, balance." Xander smiled at the still floating Slayer, and he added, "That's what's so good about teaching you chi martial arts. I will teach you how to find an inner balance, balancing out all the bad stuff you've gone through; and from balance . . . the balance of chaos, comes this." Xander gave a scream and a moment later his chi flame burst around him.

"Whoa, woaw," Faith exclaimed flapping her arms. A moment later she was dumped unceremoniously on her butt. "Ow," she complained, sitting back up and rubbing her ass cheeks with a free hand. Xander grinned at her, and Faith grimaced. "Alright then," Faith said, getting up and then placing herself in a flawless battle stance. "Teach me, teach."

"Sensei," Xander corrected her as he stepped in a battle stance himself, his chi flame growing less intense.

"That's what I said, teach," Faith said, half joking, half darkly. "Let's go." Xander grinned and then attacked. As punches and kicks were exchanged, Xander explained to Faith the finer points of building up one's chi.

Two hours later, in the living room after the two had taken a rudimentary shower, Xander started, "Faith, I'm planning on going on a trip back to good ole' Sunnydale tomorrow, it's time I give them a few explanations." Faith nodded with her face down at the wooden floor of the cabin. "You can handle being alone for a day, can't you?"

"Yeah," Faith said weakly.

Xander nodded, "Good. I'm not going to tell them where you are, Faith. I'm not going to tell them anything you've told me in confidence in the past two weeks: that stays between us. I do however plan on giving the watchers a piece of my mind. This isn't a prison, Faith, don't run away."

"Don't worry, I won't," Faith said, smiling.

-----

Xander walked onto Sunnydale High premise with a confident grin. A few students looked at him with astonishment, a few girls with lust. Xander had put on a tight sweater and tight jeans, the improvement showed. "Harris!" an annoying voice called, and Xander turned around.

"Hey, Cordy," Xander greeted the ex queen of Sunnydale High and smiled at her.

"Where have you been, Dweeb Boy?" Cordelia asked, unconsciously checking out the familiar package, only now not hidden. "I missed my favorite punching bag."

"What? No fun when they don't punch back?" Xander asked her with an evil grin. Cordelia sputtered, looking shocked. Xander always talked back, but never this direct, he usually darted around the subject somewhat. "I love you to, Cor," Xander told her with a grin, and walked onward. He walked into the building smoothly, leaving a flabbergasted Cordelia Chase.

"Harris!" a far more annoying voice called, one that could make Xander's day turn sour and Xander slowly turned around.

"Principal Snyder," he slowly said, a fake smile on his face.

"My office, NOW!" Snyder ordered and walked into his office. Xander followed the troll into the office. Snyder stood behind his desk, and grinned gleefully at Xander. "You've been from school for weeks, Harris! Do you know what that means? I get throw you out of his school, /that's/ what it means." Snyder chuckled evilly. "In fact I already did, you should have heard your father's screaming when I told him over the phone. Promises of lots of punishment." Snyder almost laughed.

"Is that so," Xander said coldly, still smiling. Just before Snyder managed to answer, Xander jumped over the desk, grabbed him by the neck and put him against the wall behind him as he landed. Xander held the little troll a foot above the ground, and Snyder looked terrified at Xander's cold look. "Do you know what happened to your predecessor?"

"Attacked by wild animals," Snyder wheezed out with difficulty and fear.

Xander's smiled deepened, and he said, "Eaten by Hyena possessed students to be precise . . . You will turn back the decision of throwing me out of school, you won't mind me not being here for the rest of the year, I'll be here for finals. Then you will prepare for a new student, one Faith Williams. She'll be making several tests proving she can get into sophomore year, where she'll go next year. If you refuse, I'll make what happened to Principal Flutie look like a picnic in comparison to what I'm going to do to you, understand?"

"Yes," Snyder wheezed out, and Xander let the little troll go. He took a few step towards the exit as Snyder felt if his neck was still attached.

"Oh," Xander said, turning back to look at him. "Don't be stupid, don't call the cops. What are you going to tell them? He held me against the wall? Pulled a gun? It's going to be difficult making that stick since I don't own any guns. And oh yeah, just because my morals say I shouldn't unless absolutely necessary, doesn't mean I won't enjoy every minute of torturing you to death." Snyder swallowed audibly. "Good little troll," Xander said and walked out the door.

-----

"Xander's back?"

It was Giles that asked the question. He had asked it with the same curiosity, the others had in their eyes. They were all in their usual positions around the table in the library, Giles was standing on the stairs leading to the second level.

"That's what I said. Deaf much?" Cordelia stated with annoyance. "I ran in on him when he came in."

"Is Faith with him?" Buffy asked the cheerleader.

"Not unless she's invisible," Cordelia returned smoothly.

Willow asked with wide eyes, "You think Faith is invisible?" Cordelia glared at her, and the others just looked with wide eyes. "It's happened before," Willow defended herself and sank back into her chair.

"When Xander enters here, he shall lead us to Faith, or face the consequences," Wesley stated as he calmly walked from behind the counter, holding open a book.

Buffy's eyes narrowed at the watcher, and she said coldly, "If you hurt Xander, Faith won't be the only Slayer needing a trial." Wesley gulped.

"Yeah, a-and not just Slayers," Willow added for good measure.

"Not just Slayers what?" Xander's voice sounded as he entered the library. As everyone gawked at him he walked over to the table.

"X-Xander, you're . . . different," Buffy muttered taking in the very differently dressed Xander. Training - thus not thinking about clothes - and Faith sneaky suggestions on what clothes he should be buying in their short shopping trip had changed his dress code: much less hiding. The muscles in his lower bare arms for example were practically rippling. The tight t-shirt under his open jacket - whose sleeves he had rolled up a little to make sure they didn't touch the troll - showed off his physique.

"Uhuh," Willow said, nodding with wide eyes, then quickly turned to Oz and placed a hand on his leg. Xander smiled at them all, making Buffy gulp.

"Hello, Xander, how's Faith?" Giles asked the teen with a solemn but friendly face, while Wesley slipped back into the small librarian office.

Xander turned his head to Giles, and said, "Much better, but not quite there yet." Giles nodded. Xander took a deep breath, and said, "I've got a lot of things to tell you, and I wonder if this place is secure enough for some of it." Xander looked over at Giles, who shook his head. Xander looked back at Wesley finishing a phone call and sneaking half back to listen in. He nodded grimly, "Then, I'll start with the non sensitive parts." He looked around into confused faces. Buffy had started to ask about Xander, but she had shut up after Xander mentioned secrets, so they sat waiting for Xander to start. "The way we treated Faith was abysmal, I'm disgusted with all of us, me included."

"Hey- . . ." Willow started to protest.

"Quiet," Xander ordered, and Willow closed her mouth, fidgeting under Xander's stern gaze. The others looked startled at Xander. "You were really bad, Willow. You barely spoke to her, a 'yes' or 'no' was the most you could muster, and that was in meetings here. You never went to her, never tried to get to know her, you shunned her and gave her the cold shoulder. /You/, Oz, well . . . you don't say much period, but you certainly didn't do anything to make her feel welcomed." Before anyone could get in between, Xander went on, like a onrushing freight train. "Cordy," Xander told the cheerleader, and that and a narrowing of his eyes was all it really took. Cordelia shifted from left to right on her chair, looking down in guilt. Xander turned to Buffy, and said, "And Buffy Summers, did you enjoy seeing Faith's motel room and letting her rot there?" Buffy shrank back, wide eyes, a mixture of guilt, and shocked realization on her face. "Did you like it to have a nice replacement to stay here in this hell hole all by herself while you go off to college? Did you feel better knowing Faith didn't have any friends, and wasted away in a motel room filled with cockroaches? And then, you sicced a /vampire/ on her."

"Now, see here- . . ." Giles started, annoyed his Slayer got attacked, and planning on defending her.

"August seventeen, 1983," Xander interrupted the Watcher, everyone looked confused. "Faith's birth date."

Buffy still looked confused, but the super calculating machines that were Oz and Willow made the subtraction instantly. Willow's jaw dropped, and Oz looked pained. "Fifteen and a half," Willow slowly said. "Oh, god, the way I treated her." Willow clamped her right hand over her mouth, as her eyes filled with compassion and revulsion at herself and the others.

"Fif . . .?" Buffy didn't get any further, Cordelia stayed uncharacteristically silent.

"Bloody hell," Giles muttered.

Xander turned around and took Giles, and Wesley that had a mixture of emotions on his face in with one look. "Which brings me to you two!" Xander practically growled out. "/We/ were bad, but we could have just told Faith, 'Listen, you're nice and all, but I have no interest in any friendship.' It would have been cold and callous, but not disgusting, we don't have an obligation to her. BUT YOU DO!!" Xander looked at them, face contorted in anger, and went onward, "You two really disgust me right now. It was your /duty/, your /job/ to take care of her, to protect her, to counsel her, to give a decent place to stay, to give her food and drink. Especially you . . ." Xander pointed at Wesley, eyes blazing, making the watcher step back, " . . . Buffy had a watcher, friends, a mother, Faith had nothing, /and/ you came here specifically for this job, which is /still/ your job, /you/ haven't fought with her once, you haven't been to the hell hole she stayed at, the only thing both of you managed to do was order her around and that was /it/. It's not a fucking wonder she didn't trust any of us anymore." Giles and Wesley looked down in shame.

"That's real nice, but that doesn't matter to me," a tough voice stated. Xander turned to his right, the Watcher commando team had arrived, six in all, and one commander, who was the one who spoke. The Watcher team was heavily armed. "Where's Faith?"

While Xander had spoken the Scoobs had slowly gotten up, readying to take them on if necessary. Xander gave them a halt sign, and smirking he turned fully, and walked straight at the team leader. "I will never tell you," Xander said, as he watched the leader pull out a big handgun, his team mates cocked their own guns. Xander just grinned and walked onward.

The leader cocked his own gun, and said, "That's far enough." Xander's grin turned to a smirk and continued walking. The tension in the room shot upward with every step he took. The Scoobies held their collective breath, worrying the man would shoot. Giles understood the full situation, able to keep a more level head, and was thus more concerned for Wesley and the Watcher team and what Xander might do to them. The other commandos aimed their guns at Xander as well. Finally Xander stopped, forehead resting against the nuzzle of the gun, and grinning he looked straight and unwavering into the leader's eyes. "You're nuts," the leader told him, a quiver in his voice.

"Am I?" Xander asked him still grinning. Then his grin disappeared and he looked with dead seriousness into the man's eyes. "You can't shoot me, because if you do, you will /never/ find Faith. As for Faith, she's with me, and she's not leaving me until I'm certain she's stable enough to do so. If this . . . 'court' is to decide whether or not Faith is to blame, or is evil, or could go evil, there is only one living witness and she'll tell you it was an accident, right, Buffy?"

"Yes, it was an accident," Buffy answered after a moment, her voice lightly quivering.

Xander's gaze bore into the other man's eyes, as he continued, "If you're so desperately aching to bring a Slayer to Britain for trial, Buffy here was the one who first encountered the guy, grabbed him, and threw him over to Faith with the implicit message, 'Vampire, kill.' She's more responsible for the guy's death, than Faith is. It seemed this is something Buffy failed to mention." The man looked into Xander's eyes, shivering slightly. Xander finished, "Now put the little toy aside, it's starting to annoy me." Behind Xander everyone turned their head to Buffy, who looked down at the floor with reddening face.

The leader continued looking into Xander's eyes, not knowing what to make of this. Suddenly Xander's hand snatched out, and took the man's gun away in an instant. The other team mates reacted to the sudden disarming of their leader, and starting moving their guns in position. Xander rapidly moved his hand so it was pointing forward, and with a yell he released some of his chi. The men were knocked off their feet, and some of the guns clattered. "Now," Xander said out loud, getting their attention, "if you ever point one of these toys at me or my friends again, I will put you in a hospital, a second time I will kill you, is that clear?"

"Yeah, the leader muttered," watching how Xander unloaded the gun's bullets and tossed it back. "Now get lost, all the way back to Britain."

The Watcher Team scrambled to their feet and out of the door. When they were gone, Xander turned around and saw his shocked friends' faces. He grinned a bit, and then Giles managed to speak up, "Xander, I do not think dabbling into magic is a prude course of action."

Xander regarded Giles for a moment, and then turned his head and glared at the shocked and slightly fearful Wesley. He quickly walked over to Giles, and whispered in his ear, "Summers house, secure?"

"Yes," Giles whispered back.

"Completely?"

"As completely as possible," Giles whispered again.

"After school, there," Xander finished his whisperings, and then turned around and walked out the door.

"Hey!" Buffy finally exclaimed just before Xander passed by the doors.

Giles walked over to her when she was about to chase after Xander, and he whispered in her ear, "Your home, after school, pass it on." Outwardly he made it look like he was holding the Slayer back, which he had to do for real just before he started his whisperings. Buffy blinked and looked at him, then nodded. Then Willow cried out in indignation.

-----

First Xander went into a bookstore, and after looking around for a while, he chose three: The Iliad, Dune, and a flimsy romance novel. Smiling after picking out a nice selection for Faith, he went to find himself an apartment. Still having money from his patents, and Sunnydale's death rate, it didn't take long to hire a roomy and stylish one with a nice view of the beach. He went over to Buffy's house, where'd he be waiting for the others, but first, more importantly, talk with Buffy's mother. He hoped she wasn't at the museum today, or he'd have to go there. He rung the bell, twenty seconds later Joyce Summers opened the door.

"Xander!" she exclaimed surprised. "Where have you been?" she asked as she ushered him in. Xander smiled, Buffy's mother never ceased to make him feel good about himself, and the world in general, she was just one of those people - how in blazes her daughter managed to fall in love with a demon-animated corpse was beyond him; of course he'd never met Buffy's father.

"Cabin up in the mountains," Xander asked with a bright smile, as Joyce guided him to the kitchen. She gestured to a stool, and Xander sat down at the counter that sat in the middle of the kitchen.

"Coffee?" Joyce asked, Xander accepted. As Joyce went to get the cups, she asked concerned, "And Faith?"

Xander could here Joyce's concern and he smiled, "I guess you heard?"

Joyce nodded, and pouring coffee she explained, "Buffy kind of broke down, and angry, at herself more than anyone else, she just takes it out on you and Faith - since you were not here." Joyce turned back around and placed one cup in front of Xander, and the other in front of herself. She continued, "She has let on out there she's Miss Agreeing, in here she usually curses to you two to no end, about not following her orders, not doing as anyone would, not letting 'Angel' work his magic . . . but like I said, especially when she cries about that night, she's confessed to me she threw Finch to Faith after he showed up out of nowhere, she's mostly angry with herself." She drank from her coffee.

"She's not my commanding officer, I don't have to follow /any/ of her orders," Xander told her, and Joyce nodded in agreement.

"I think it's also about time someone put in some counter weight, some shared responsibility," Joyce confided in the young man. "My daughter is a fantastic girl, I raised her well, but . . . it can't be good for anyone so young to have that much on her shoulder and no one to share it with, and tell her off when she's wrong - especially since she's a cheerleader." Joyce gave Xander a pained smile, she had no idea why she had confided her concerns to him, but it alleviated her a great deal. The last comment was a half joke, but it was obvious she meant it.

"I've lived with it all my life, since I was four years old," Xander returned the favor, and Joyce looked at him surprised. "I'm an alien, Joyce, my home world and my race were destroyed by a tyrant, I'm the only survivor, as my father told my me, 'I'm my race's only hope for justice.' I still have to get back to make the bastard pay."

Joyce looked at him, shocked, and then broke into a smile, saying, "Demons, magic, witches, watchers, Slayers - I really should have realized aliens were just around the corner." They shared a laugh, and drank some coffee.

"Before the others get here and I get to give the explanation speech, let me ask what I came here for," Xander muttered out, and then looked into the expectant eyes of Joyce Summers. God, how she always managed to make him feel loved, and appreciated, he wished she had been his mother. Shaking the thought from him, he said, "It's Faith, she doesn't have a place to stay anywhere, and we can't stay up in the mountains forever."

"Yes," Joyce asked Xander with an inkling of what was coming.

Xander continued, "I'm too young to adopt her, Faith won't trust Giles for a long time, my parents are definitely out - we might as well chuck her into hell - Willow's parents only know apathy, and putting her back with that bastard Wesley or any other Watcher crony is completely out of the question . . . so, I wanted to ask if you would be willing to adopt her." Joyce looked at him, stunned, even if she did already foresee what it was heading to. "Of course Faith has to agree with it, forcing her to do something like this against her will won't do, but even if she said no, do you think you can investigate all the possibilities? Including emancipation and such if she doesn't want to be adopted?"

"Oh, yes, sure, I'm honored you think of me . . ." Joyce stated obviously moved deeply, "I hope she'll have me, I've been focusing a bit much on Buffy lately."

"Buffy's your daughter, no one can blame you," Xander said, and handed over a paper. "This is all she knew about herself, birthday, full name, no social security number or anything though."

"I'll find out anything I can," Joyce assured Xander with a smile, which faltered the moment she read the birth date. "Eighty-three? But . . . she looked . . ."

Xander smiled deeply, and said, "You should see her without all those layers of makeup on, and without her tough as nails attitude, she looks every bit like a fifteen-and-a-half-year-old. She's pretty smart too."

"You've got feelings for her," Joyce accused him with a smile. Xander blushed, and tried to sputter out a response, failing miserably. Joyce added, "She's young, isn't she?"

"Two-and-a-half-years," was Xander's answer, kind of indignant, but not at Joyce. "Four years from now, a nineteen and twenty-two-year-old-year-old won't draw even a blink. People are so overreacting, plus, the girl is more experienced in sex than I am."

"Don't worry, I'm not judging," Joyce answered him, once again reminded of just how fast time went by.

Xander sighed, and said, "Doesn't matter anyway. She's not for me. I'll guard her, protect her, teach her, and heal her. She's my friend, and I'll do all that for her, and watch her fall in love a year or two from now with a great guy I will undoubtedly loath, at least at first. She'll marry him, and have lots and lots of kids. The trust issues she has which are worse with men pretty much mean I can't start anything with her if I want to heal her and I do, so . . . if I get lucky, someday, perhaps, I'll meet someone only half as great at her . . ." Xander looked down with embarrassment, and Joyce tapped him on the knee, smiling a bright proud smile.

"Xander Harris," Joyce told him, "if every woman would spend some time with you, they'd go out there with a rock-solid faith in men, and I'll bet the average male would enjoy the new environment a whole lot more."

"Oh, come on," he said blushing deeply, which annoyed him to no end. What was it with this woman?

"I know I am," she told him with an actually sexy grin. Xander gulped, Saiyan or no Saiyan, Slayer or no Slayer, if Buffy knew Joyce was lightly flirting with him he'd be spending some time in his regeneration pod. "I've been cooped up in here and at the museum far too long, tell me there are some places to go here for people my age that are /not/ infested with bloodthirsty demons?"

"Uh," Xander started his answer, nervous as hell, "don't really know, apart from where Tony Harris goes to drink himself into a stupor and where I had to pick him up regularly when the bartender once again called me - but I doubt that's what you had in mind." Joyce looked at him, compassion flooded, what this boy had gone through - his parents and entire species dead, planet destroyed, and then living in what could only be hell - and he still was a good guy. Joyce patted him appreciatively again on the arm. "That reminds me," Xander said, and pulled out a piece of paper. "I bought the cell phone a week ago, so the few people I trust this number with can call me. Don't give it to Buffy, or Willow. I'm teaching Faith, and that's hard enough without everyone calling all the time."

"Don't worry," Joyce said, taking the piece of paper.

-----

Several hours later the rest of the gang finally arrived from school and filed into the house. Xander had been helping with chores around the house, cleaning, vacuuming, an occasional fixing in the meantime. Joyce had made coffee and tea for Xander's big outing. They were all in the living room, everyone sitting around in various positions. Buffy in a chair, Willow on the couch in Oz's arms, Cordelia - nervous, it was not often she came here - in the couch opposite next to Joyce and Giles in another chair. Xander was standing in front of the tv, waiting for everyone to settle.

"Alright, spill," Cordelia said impatiently. "I still have an appointment at the hairdresser." Willow and Buffy rolled her eyes, and Joyce looked over at the cheerleader with undisguised surprise.

Xander grinned and shook his head, and then said, "I'm not Human, I'm Saiyan." Several surprise exclaims came from around the room, a 'huh' here, and 'what?' there. Xander pointed up, and said, "I'm from a planet about two light years that way, and across a dimensional barrier. My home planet was destroyed by an evil warlord, I'm the only survivor."

Everyone, except Joyce and Oz looked dumbfounded, the latter flippantly remarked, "Cool, the whole Superman thing."

"Nah," Xander answered with a grin, shaking his head. "Superman is a wimp in pyjamas, I'd kick his ass."

"Yeah, right," Buffy snorted out loud, and added, "Superman huh? The guy can fl- . . ." Buffy's eyes bugged out of her head as she saw Xander floated with his feet higher than the coffee table. Now even Joyce was staring with her mouth ajar. "That's a trick!" Buffy accused and got up. She ran over and ran her hand underneath Xander. She frowned and ran her hand behind him. "It's got to be a trick," Buffy added and used her Slayer strength to jump higher than Xander and fling her hand above him, once again she felt no line. Xander grinned at her as she landed on her feet, "How are you doing that?"

"I'm using my life force to push me off the ground," Xander told her with a smile as he lowered himself back down.

"That's not fair!" Buffy pouted, her arms crossed across her chest like a little child. She turned to Giles and whined, "Giiiles, why can't Slayers fly? I mean, protector of humanity here; if Xander can fly, I should be able to fly!"

"You didn't use magic against the watchers," Giles said as his brain slowly kicked back, "but your life force, your chi right?" Xander nodded. "Eastern Martial Arts," Giles added his jaw slowly closing properly again.

"Still can't fly," Buffy pouted.

With a smile, Xander commented, "Took me over a year to learn how to do it, with my teaching and coaching, it took Faith three days."

Once again jaws dropped, and Xander's grin deepened. "FAITH CAN FLY!?" Buffy screamed out in shock and disbelief.

"Yeah," Xander said. "Sorry, I can't stay and have to get back to her, Buff, but when Faith is ready to come back to the real world, I can teach you too . . . just depends on how determined you are to learn." Buffy snorted, moving her arms back across her chest.

Willow slowly disentangled herself from Oz and she walked over to Xander. She looked up at him, and asked with a betrayed voice, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Area 51, and in case the Tyrant's men came looking for me here," Xander answered her gently, locking eyes with her. They all looked as the two long term friends spoke volumes with just their eyes.

Willow placed her hand gently above his heart, and said, "I forgive you."

"I DON'T!!" Cordelia screamed out, and jumped off the couch. "YOU BASTARD!! You let me date a loser! You could have been the most popular guy in school! Because of /you/ I lost my popularity!!"

"Cordy- . . ." Xander started.

"Don't you '/Cordy/' me, mister!!" Cordelia spat out in anger. "I will never forgive you for this!! I don't ever want to see you again!!" Then the cheerleader stormed out of the house in anger. Xander watched her go with pain in her eyes, he had been expecting something like this, but he had hoped for better.

"I don't understand that girl," Joyce said sadly.

-----

Xander reached his parental home. He was still frustrated at Cordelia's reaction; perfect time to blow of some steam. He pushed the bell, and waited calmly, grinning. He had waited for the day to do this for so long.

The door opened and Tony Harris' opened in the doorway. "You worthless piece of shit," he told Xander angrily. The Saiyan's smirk only deepened. "If you think I let you back in here, you ungrateful loser, you've got another thing coming. We pay for your education, and not only are you flunking out, now you don't even show up anymore!"

"Hello to you too, /dad/," Xander told him eerily, Tony instantly tensed up when he realized something was wrong. All he managed to do before Xander's fist hit his chin was widen his eyes. The man's jaw broke as he was launched backward and he groaned in pain as he landed. Xander calmly walked in, as Tony mumbled something bad under his breath and tried to get up.

"Here, let me help," Xander said friendly grabbing one of Tony's hand and hauling him to his feet. He immediately rammed his knee into the man's stomach, doubling him over, then sent him into oblivion with a well placed elbow to his neck.

"What did you do to him!?" Xander's mom shrieked, running into the hall from the kitchen in the back. Xander grinned and pointed his hand. With a shockwave of ki, Jessica Harris was launched backward until she dropped onto the cold, white-tiled floor.

"/Mom/," Xander said hatefully, grinning. He walked over to her, and she looked in fear at her 'son'. Xander stopped in front of her and squatted down, looking directly into her terrified eyes. "Listen, bitch, I just came here to get my things, you don't have to worry about me anymore. Don't come to me for any help, I won't help . . . at all. If you're bleeding to death, I'll watch you bleed to death, got that?" She nodded. "Good, now you better not have thrown away my stuff, because then I'll get pissed off."

Xander got up, and started to go toward the stairs up, but Jessica said, "It's in the basement, I put it there after he wanted to throw it all out." Xander took a calming breath, and then turned toward the stairs leading toward the basement. Once down, he looked around the place, counting everything that was his, and then muttered, "I need a car." So said, he went out to go get Uncle Rory's car that he had lent earlier in the year, and returned. He stuffed everything inside and drove his stuff to his apartment, then made a second run for the regeneration pod.

-----

Author's notes: The rest comes at soon later date. I was rather shocked at the size it quickly turned into, and what I'm writing, I like the interaction between the characters, but I feel the need to post something now. So here's part one of two!