-'Sad But True.'-
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.
A/N: This is the follow up to Enter Sandman. After Xander remembers more of the Sandman's dream he changes more and more, and the people around him begin to change. He has to accept what is happening, no matter the cost in life or love.
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.
Timeframe: S2 AU "Phases."
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.
///////////////////////////////////////////////
Xander sighed as he walked over to the fridge. The afternoon study session had turned into an all-nighter. He had wandered home about 2:30 am. Luckily his parents had gone away to his Uncle Rory's for the weekend, something about a woman, a chainsaw, and a book.
Xander smiled and shook his head. 'You just never know with Uncle Rory.'
The fridge, being as emptier than usual, left Xander feeling hungry as he walked to his room. His stomach grumbled as he shut the door behind him and carefully locked it.
"Its okay my sweet, I shall feed you tomorrow. We shall go to the casa de Summers, where the women are beautiful and the food is edible."
His stomach remained quiet, accepting his apology and promise of a meal.
He went around the room, making his nightly ritual of locking windows and checking guns. He hadn't actually _needed_ to go back several times, since he had enough ammo and weaponry to start a small conflict. But he went back several times to see if they got any new goodies. He didn't understand why the Sunnydale National Guard had such...diverse firearms, but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. His ritual finished, he stared at his bed. He hadn't been getting very good sleep. It wasn't nightmares or prophetic dreams. It wasn't _any_ dreams. He would lie down and wake up several hours later. It had unnerved him at first, but lately there had been more...pressing issues.
The Soldier was back. And so was the Hyena. If Xander could dream, he wasn't sure he'd want to see what they had in store for him. They weren't in control and they weren't as powerful as they were. But the Hyena had saved him from Drusilla a week or so ago and the Soldier had saved him from the werewolf as well as gave him the inspiration to take care of the Judge. He remembered that feeling of the hunt and power from the Hyena. He remembered the skill and knowledge from the Soldier. But he wasn't sure if they were different entities or an ingrained part of himself. There weren't voices in his head; they didn't possess him. It was more like he felt their memories. But they were still there. Nudging him, pointing him in directions. He wasn't sure if it was because of the visit from the man in his dreams or of their own accord.
He looked to the bed, deciding whether or not to really try. 'In the end, you can always hope,' he reasoned and plopped down on the bed.
/////////////////////////////////
Giles stood in the middle of the library demonstrating the phases of the moon using a large earth globe with a smaller moon globe attached by a bar.
"...And, uh, while there's absolutely no scientific explanation for lunar effect on the human psyche, uh, the phases of the moon, uh, do seem to exert a great deal of psychological and magical influence. Note all of the rituals that require either a full or new moon to perform."
Xander made a lame joke. "And yet, ironically, led to the start of mooning."
Giles chuckled. "Oh...yes, mooning." He started to snicker and laugh harder. Buffy and Willow gave Xander a look. Giles shook his head and continued. "Y-you see, uh, the-the werewolf, uh, is such a, a potent extreme representation of our inborn animalistic traits that it emerges for three full consecutive nights: the full moon and, uh, the two nights surrounding it. The new moon however, it seems does not."
Xander tried his luck again. "I guess he's quite the party animal."
Giles ignored him. Xander shrugged. "Damn, and I was on a roll."
"And it, uh, acts on-on pure instinct. No conscience, uh, uh, predatory and, and aggressive."
Buffy spoke up. "In other words, your typical male."
Xander gave her a look and spoke with a poor French accent. "I fart in your general direction."
Buffy and Willow gave him a disgusted look, while Giles had a large smirk as Monty Python is required for British Citizenship. Oz merely raised an eyebrow.
Giles shook his head as he began to put his demonstration set up. "Yes, well, let's not jump to any conclusions."
Buffy smiled. "I didn't jump. I took a tiny step, and there the conclusions were."
Xander smiled thinking he could 'aquire' some new ammo. "So then I'm guessing your standard silver bullets are in order here?"
Giles shook his head and looked at the boy. "No. No bullets. No matter who this werewolf is, it's still a human being, who may be completely unaware of his or her condition."
//////////////////////////////////
Xander looked over his shoulder. He knew that Buffy and Giles would be patrolling this side of the park for the werewolf soon, so he had to act fast. He took out his machete and newly acquired silenced USP. The bullets shouldn't 'kill' the werewolf, especially seeing as how he unloaded a whole clip into it earlier, but it would probably slow it down a little. He checked and made sure that he had three clips for the pistol and put it in the brown harness he 'acquired' a week ago. When he left his house, he made sure that his clothes, while not camouflage, were dark tones. His navy blue long sleeve shirt and his dark green pants and black shoes, wouldn't be invisible, but they wouldn't be the easiest things to see at night in the woods. Also if he walked around the town, is he kept his black jacket on, concealing the pistol, no one would give him a second glance.
He stuck the large knife in the ground and looked around. He had to concentrate. He had to be in control. If he could replicate the cold rush that happened when he felt the Hyena, if he could control it at will, he might stand a fighting chance. When he had been fighting earlier, it was the primal instinct to fight that kept him alive. If he was to keep on going, he had to be able to think clearly and not solely give into instinct and urges.
Once he made sure there was no one in the immediate area he took out a bottle of water and poured it over his head. The water washed through his hair and dripped down his face. He felt a small bead trickle down the back of his head to his neck. The tiny droplet rolled over the skin concealing his spine. The cold water touched the base of his spine, letting the cold seep into his skin, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand strait. He let go of the outside world and concentrated feeling the cold, feeling the strength. He felt the cold shiver wash over him and looked over the area. He bent over and picked up the machete. His eyes flashed yellow and he ran in search of his prey.
/////////////////////////////////
Cain walked through the park. He knew this is where the wolf had been. After years of fighting demons, his tracking skills had become unparalleled. He heard a rustle behind him and turned to see a teenage boy looking at him with a machete in his hand. He pointed the rifle at him. "Listen kid, I don't have time for your bullshit, go home."
The boy smiled and walked closer. Cain held back a smirk as he came close to the net trap that Cain had intended for the wolf-man. The boy stepped to his side and walked around it. Cain aimed the rifle at the boy's head "Hands are good right about there. Mind telling me what the hell you're doing boy?"
The boy's eyes seemed to clash amber with brown. He stared Cain right in the eye and spoke. "Be vewwy vewwy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits."
Cain fought the urge to shoot. "Boy, you had better not be fuckin with me."
The boy grinned. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. The name is Xander. I figure we can help each other out."
////////////////////////
Xander smirked as he ran through the back alleys of Sunnydale. Cain hadn't been very receptive to his offer, something about splitting his money, but Xander got some information out of him. He muttered as he ran to the Bronze, "The werewolf is attracted to pent up sexual energy huh? No wonder the bastard found Cordy and me." He smiled, thinking of some of his favorite janitor closet moments.
After he did a sweep of the rest of the forest and the bluff, he finally got to the Bronze in time to see Cain and Buffy arguing.
/////////////////////////////////
Cain couldn't believe his luck, first the comedian, now this. "You let it get away."
Buffy walked over to pick up her stake and large chain leash. "I didn't let it do anything. I had the chain around its neck."
Cain rolled his eyes. "Chain? What were you gonna do, take it for a goddamn walk?"
"I was going to lock it up."
Cain walked over to Buffy and shook his head. "Oh, That's beautiful, real freaking beautiful. This is what happens when a woman tries to do a man's job."
Xander walked out from behind the corner and saw Cordelia and Willow over in the corner and went over to see if they were okay. "Hey, you two alright?"
Cordelia looked over at her 'boyfriend.' "You big jerk!" *Thwap!* "You were supposed to meet me here" *Thwap* "ten minutes ago." *Thwap*
Xander tried to duck under the barrage of slaps and punches. "Ow, Not for another ten minutes." *Thwap* "OWW!! That one hurt Cor!"
Cordelia picked up her purse and started to hit him with it. "That's not the point. I was waiting here for you and the werewolf attacked me. "*Thwap* "You're supposed to be there and protect me." *Thwap*
"Ow! Dammit Cordy!" Xander turned to Willow. "How about you? You ok? Where's Oz?"
Willow looked at her feet. "I don't know. He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."
Xander couldn't help but feel vindicated. "Oh well, you know those band types."
*Thwap*
"OW! DAMMIT COR, SERIOUSLY!"
/////////////////////
The sun rose across the hills in Sunnydale, illuminating the forest. Oz woke up, atop of a small hill. He opened his eyes and noticed two things. He was naked and he was in a forest.
"Huh."
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.
A/N: This is the follow up to Enter Sandman. After Xander remembers more of the Sandman's dream he changes more and more, and the people around him begin to change. He has to accept what is happening, no matter the cost in life or love.
A/N 2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel, or Metallica.
Timeframe: S2 AU "Phases."
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.
///////////////////////////////////////////////
Xander sighed as he walked over to the fridge. The afternoon study session had turned into an all-nighter. He had wandered home about 2:30 am. Luckily his parents had gone away to his Uncle Rory's for the weekend, something about a woman, a chainsaw, and a book.
Xander smiled and shook his head. 'You just never know with Uncle Rory.'
The fridge, being as emptier than usual, left Xander feeling hungry as he walked to his room. His stomach grumbled as he shut the door behind him and carefully locked it.
"Its okay my sweet, I shall feed you tomorrow. We shall go to the casa de Summers, where the women are beautiful and the food is edible."
His stomach remained quiet, accepting his apology and promise of a meal.
He went around the room, making his nightly ritual of locking windows and checking guns. He hadn't actually _needed_ to go back several times, since he had enough ammo and weaponry to start a small conflict. But he went back several times to see if they got any new goodies. He didn't understand why the Sunnydale National Guard had such...diverse firearms, but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. His ritual finished, he stared at his bed. He hadn't been getting very good sleep. It wasn't nightmares or prophetic dreams. It wasn't _any_ dreams. He would lie down and wake up several hours later. It had unnerved him at first, but lately there had been more...pressing issues.
The Soldier was back. And so was the Hyena. If Xander could dream, he wasn't sure he'd want to see what they had in store for him. They weren't in control and they weren't as powerful as they were. But the Hyena had saved him from Drusilla a week or so ago and the Soldier had saved him from the werewolf as well as gave him the inspiration to take care of the Judge. He remembered that feeling of the hunt and power from the Hyena. He remembered the skill and knowledge from the Soldier. But he wasn't sure if they were different entities or an ingrained part of himself. There weren't voices in his head; they didn't possess him. It was more like he felt their memories. But they were still there. Nudging him, pointing him in directions. He wasn't sure if it was because of the visit from the man in his dreams or of their own accord.
He looked to the bed, deciding whether or not to really try. 'In the end, you can always hope,' he reasoned and plopped down on the bed.
/////////////////////////////////
Giles stood in the middle of the library demonstrating the phases of the moon using a large earth globe with a smaller moon globe attached by a bar.
"...And, uh, while there's absolutely no scientific explanation for lunar effect on the human psyche, uh, the phases of the moon, uh, do seem to exert a great deal of psychological and magical influence. Note all of the rituals that require either a full or new moon to perform."
Xander made a lame joke. "And yet, ironically, led to the start of mooning."
Giles chuckled. "Oh...yes, mooning." He started to snicker and laugh harder. Buffy and Willow gave Xander a look. Giles shook his head and continued. "Y-you see, uh, the-the werewolf, uh, is such a, a potent extreme representation of our inborn animalistic traits that it emerges for three full consecutive nights: the full moon and, uh, the two nights surrounding it. The new moon however, it seems does not."
Xander tried his luck again. "I guess he's quite the party animal."
Giles ignored him. Xander shrugged. "Damn, and I was on a roll."
"And it, uh, acts on-on pure instinct. No conscience, uh, uh, predatory and, and aggressive."
Buffy spoke up. "In other words, your typical male."
Xander gave her a look and spoke with a poor French accent. "I fart in your general direction."
Buffy and Willow gave him a disgusted look, while Giles had a large smirk as Monty Python is required for British Citizenship. Oz merely raised an eyebrow.
Giles shook his head as he began to put his demonstration set up. "Yes, well, let's not jump to any conclusions."
Buffy smiled. "I didn't jump. I took a tiny step, and there the conclusions were."
Xander smiled thinking he could 'aquire' some new ammo. "So then I'm guessing your standard silver bullets are in order here?"
Giles shook his head and looked at the boy. "No. No bullets. No matter who this werewolf is, it's still a human being, who may be completely unaware of his or her condition."
//////////////////////////////////
Xander looked over his shoulder. He knew that Buffy and Giles would be patrolling this side of the park for the werewolf soon, so he had to act fast. He took out his machete and newly acquired silenced USP. The bullets shouldn't 'kill' the werewolf, especially seeing as how he unloaded a whole clip into it earlier, but it would probably slow it down a little. He checked and made sure that he had three clips for the pistol and put it in the brown harness he 'acquired' a week ago. When he left his house, he made sure that his clothes, while not camouflage, were dark tones. His navy blue long sleeve shirt and his dark green pants and black shoes, wouldn't be invisible, but they wouldn't be the easiest things to see at night in the woods. Also if he walked around the town, is he kept his black jacket on, concealing the pistol, no one would give him a second glance.
He stuck the large knife in the ground and looked around. He had to concentrate. He had to be in control. If he could replicate the cold rush that happened when he felt the Hyena, if he could control it at will, he might stand a fighting chance. When he had been fighting earlier, it was the primal instinct to fight that kept him alive. If he was to keep on going, he had to be able to think clearly and not solely give into instinct and urges.
Once he made sure there was no one in the immediate area he took out a bottle of water and poured it over his head. The water washed through his hair and dripped down his face. He felt a small bead trickle down the back of his head to his neck. The tiny droplet rolled over the skin concealing his spine. The cold water touched the base of his spine, letting the cold seep into his skin, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand strait. He let go of the outside world and concentrated feeling the cold, feeling the strength. He felt the cold shiver wash over him and looked over the area. He bent over and picked up the machete. His eyes flashed yellow and he ran in search of his prey.
/////////////////////////////////
Cain walked through the park. He knew this is where the wolf had been. After years of fighting demons, his tracking skills had become unparalleled. He heard a rustle behind him and turned to see a teenage boy looking at him with a machete in his hand. He pointed the rifle at him. "Listen kid, I don't have time for your bullshit, go home."
The boy smiled and walked closer. Cain held back a smirk as he came close to the net trap that Cain had intended for the wolf-man. The boy stepped to his side and walked around it. Cain aimed the rifle at the boy's head "Hands are good right about there. Mind telling me what the hell you're doing boy?"
The boy's eyes seemed to clash amber with brown. He stared Cain right in the eye and spoke. "Be vewwy vewwy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits."
Cain fought the urge to shoot. "Boy, you had better not be fuckin with me."
The boy grinned. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. The name is Xander. I figure we can help each other out."
////////////////////////
Xander smirked as he ran through the back alleys of Sunnydale. Cain hadn't been very receptive to his offer, something about splitting his money, but Xander got some information out of him. He muttered as he ran to the Bronze, "The werewolf is attracted to pent up sexual energy huh? No wonder the bastard found Cordy and me." He smiled, thinking of some of his favorite janitor closet moments.
After he did a sweep of the rest of the forest and the bluff, he finally got to the Bronze in time to see Cain and Buffy arguing.
/////////////////////////////////
Cain couldn't believe his luck, first the comedian, now this. "You let it get away."
Buffy walked over to pick up her stake and large chain leash. "I didn't let it do anything. I had the chain around its neck."
Cain rolled his eyes. "Chain? What were you gonna do, take it for a goddamn walk?"
"I was going to lock it up."
Cain walked over to Buffy and shook his head. "Oh, That's beautiful, real freaking beautiful. This is what happens when a woman tries to do a man's job."
Xander walked out from behind the corner and saw Cordelia and Willow over in the corner and went over to see if they were okay. "Hey, you two alright?"
Cordelia looked over at her 'boyfriend.' "You big jerk!" *Thwap!* "You were supposed to meet me here" *Thwap* "ten minutes ago." *Thwap*
Xander tried to duck under the barrage of slaps and punches. "Ow, Not for another ten minutes." *Thwap* "OWW!! That one hurt Cor!"
Cordelia picked up her purse and started to hit him with it. "That's not the point. I was waiting here for you and the werewolf attacked me. "*Thwap* "You're supposed to be there and protect me." *Thwap*
"Ow! Dammit Cordy!" Xander turned to Willow. "How about you? You ok? Where's Oz?"
Willow looked at her feet. "I don't know. He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."
Xander couldn't help but feel vindicated. "Oh well, you know those band types."
*Thwap*
"OW! DAMMIT COR, SERIOUSLY!"
/////////////////////
The sun rose across the hills in Sunnydale, illuminating the forest. Oz woke up, atop of a small hill. He opened his eyes and noticed two things. He was naked and he was in a forest.
"Huh."