Disclaimer : I own nothing and to quote a friend of mine , I refuse to believe that this is even necessary !!! but for traditions sake , all characters belong to their respective owners and the only right I have is the credit to this here as I tell you this story. Oh , and yeah the story's mine as well : )
Rating : Its mostly PG but I'm putting an R on it just in case.
Summary : Xander has an epic adventure. I'm trying to be all cool and vague here. Is it working ??? Whaddya mean no ?
Author's notes : Sorry for being late but Rela Life caught up with me. My cousin is getting married and someone I knew died this past week. Anyway its good to return to the world of fanfic where everything is so much more simpler and happier. Again - This aint nothing serious but it aint gonna be lame either. I had a little idea that just popped into my head. The lil' idea kept bouncing up and down telling me this is gonna be fun and hell yeah I agree with that wholeheartedly : )
Feedback : yes please …?
Dedication : I never thought I'd be doing this but I'm gonna dedicate this to Buffyverse's biggest spud – Riley Finn . Without him I would've still been puking at the disgusting shagfest that is Spuffy. No offense B/S-ers , I love Spike but sometimes too much is just too much. *shudder* Cheers to ya Agent potato nose !!! Ya aint so bad after all. Finally I'm able to write Buffy fanfic again. Thank you Riley. Added thanks goes to all who reviewed. Thank you all again for your comments.
In no particular order my appreciation goes to Lori Bush ( Hey Lori !!!) , Lesley Ann Colgan ( Love ya Lesley ), Mad Minute , Aenima , Bolo , Furious George , Malaskor , Ghostrider , Amelia , Obsidian , Andy , Varthan , Jane McCartney , Elf , WBH21C (Bill) , T D Master ,( again , nah… there's nothing wrong with my account man .y'see ?) Kellan L (Hiya !!! *waves back at ya) and Echoes of the mind. Thank you all so much.
Last but not least to all Xander fans out there. This story is mainly for you. Please Enjoy…
~**~
Once upon a time … by Zauriel Angelus
~**~
Part one:-
---------------------
It felt as if I woke up in a new dream …
" Faith…"
…the taste of a certain raven-haired slayer's lips still lingering upon mine.
She lays quietly beside me , her eyes closed to the world. She sleeps soundly , a faint smile adoring her face as I slowly smooth out the curves of her hair. The bed is a tousle of sheets and I wander to the side , swinging my legs to the floor. It's the first time I ever really looked at the room that surrounded my view. It wasn't anything much to look at though.
The small room was plain , if a bit dirty. The white paint on the walls had yellowed years ago I bet. There was a rusty metal fan atop the dresser beside the bed. The switch was on but the fan wasn't turning , probably busted. My nose could vaguely detect the slight smell of vomit somewhere nearby but the worst of my predicament stared me right in the face.
" No tv in sight… "
Wasn't even a radio lying around . That meant no country music to share my pain with.
" No cartoons for today. How will I ever survive ?" I chuckle , mostly to myself.
From the open window , a cool breeze blew through the light brown curtains. It was still day out there and from what I could see , I guessed it was around midday afternoon.
I smiled…
It was weird really.
For a moment there I felt like I was right at home.
A pair of black pants hung within my reach and I quickly put 'em on as well as smelly socks and my trusty leather boots, taking care to make as little noise as I could so as not to wake up the slayer sleeping in bed. My eyes spot a cockroach skitter across the floor inches away from my foot as I finished It was a pretty huge one. I was a little surprised that I didn't scream like a girl at its sudden appearance but anyway I caught sight of something else poking from underneath the bed.
Naturally curiosity got the better of me and I poked back. My hand explored the nether regions down under and pulled it out.
" An old guitar…?"
I held it in front of me , looking it over a bit. It was dusty but otherwise in pretty good shape.
" Hmnnn…."
I sat myself down on the side of the bed , settling the old pal in my lap. My fingers strummed through the strings gently , wiping off some of the dust. Then I began feeling the texture of its sound from my skin , my palm listening closely upon its surface.
I spared a glance on Faith.
Amazingly enough she looked kinda …normal.
No … scratch that. She looked more like an angel… Honestly she really, really did. And as I heard her breath softly in slumber , my eyes closed with her image burned into my thoughts. My mind cleared and I felt as if I was floating for a bit. Minutes seemed to have passed by with me staying completely still. I don't know what was going on. I didn't know what it meant but somewhere along the line , a rhythm took over…
And I began playing.
**
" How do you know if you're really feeling the way you think you are ?"
" Its not something that can be explained so easily. I just … know."
**
The notes flow above me , rising as I did , the flux of its influence carrying me forward.
**
" Tell me then , am I not beautiful to you ?"
" How should I answer this question ?"
**
I breathe it in , the smooth tranquility washing me over.
**
" Truthfully one might hope."
" You would laugh if I did."
" Really…?"
**
All at once I feel the tide pulling me in and I brave the cold of its heart.
**
" Yes… Really. But I am a bit curious about something else."
" And what is that ?"
**
Emotion is suddenly so foreign , so distant and what would embalm in its void , immerses itself in the clearness of nothing.
**
" What about you my lady ? How do you …feel ?"
" The very same way you do."
**
" Fuck…"
Maybe I should reconsider Faith as being an angel. My fingers stop working their magic immediately and the music ends. I open my eyes and there she was looking at me , studying me. She almost looked …worried. Concerned even.
" That's a very sad song. It was kinda…beautiful."
It was all spoken carefully but I detected the uncertainty expressed in her voice …perhaps some amount of distress as well. Faith let the sheets wrapped around her loosen a bit and sat right beside me , a peculiar look in her eye.
"…in a depressing sort of way." She finished.
" How long have you been listening ?" I ask , still holding the guitar in my arms.
" Long enough."
I pursed my lips and wondered what I should say next. Thought about it for a moment. Then I asked another question.
" How long have I been playing ?"
" Five , maybe ten minutes. I'm not sure. Don't really have a watch on me. I didn't know you could play guitar. "
" Neither did I. Used to have a guitar not too different from this one. I lived on whatever extra snacks Will would bring me for two months , saving every little dollar I could just to have enough money to buy her."
" Her…?" Faith raised an eyebrow.
" Mary Jane. That's what I named her. She was sweet and loyal , always waiting for me when I came home from hell. Sadly I wasn't quite the right man. She deserved better. All I ever brought her was pain. "
Faith laughed. " Your guitar love-making skills sucked ?"
" Big time. Even Will couldn't help but scream when she heard me play my baby and she was trying to be nice."
I smiled as she laughed again but I quickly tensed up a moment after.
" Did you hear that ?"
Voices…angry voices from outside.
Faith doesn't seem to hear them.
What the hell's going on …???
" I think that's Marie. She's been sick all night."
" No , not Marie…who's Marie ?"
" Are you trippin on something …? Maybe that bar-fight damaged your brain more than I thought it did."
BANG !!! BANG !!! BANG !!! BANG !!!
Gunshots rang through the air in repeated succession.
All in all …Not really good.
Faith chuckled though , a wicked smile lighting up upon her face. It was at that point when a petite , medium dark-skinned girl burst into the room. The girl who I assumed was Marie was pretty. Her eyes were big balls of chocolate brown , curly dark hair just reaching her shoulders , her thin dry lips greeting me with a nervous smile as she entered. She looked tired and out of breath , mumbling something I couldn't understand too well. Sounded like spanish but like I said , I couldn't really understand a word of what she was saying and so all I could do was look at her blankly as she seemingly waited for me to say something in return.
" Calm down Marie. What's going on ?" Faith quickly interjected for me.
" Cars are coming. Men with guns. You have maybe two , three minutes before they reach here. My brother warned me as quickly as he could. I'm giving you same warning. You're not safe here."
The voices rang louder and louder in my head and my gaze fixed to the open palm of my hand. A terrible scar that I really don't remember having.
**
" RUN !!!"
" NO !!! I won't leave you behind !!!!"
" Listen to me for once !!! RUN !!!"
" I love you…"
" Go…"
**
BANG !!!
BANG !!!
BANG !!!
I hear the gunshots going off in my head , over and over . I could smell the blood.
Oh God…
" Boy toy , you listening ?" I heard Faith say as she scrambled to get dressed into her definition of being more decent. Which isn't too far off from being indecent actually , the sight of it snapping me out of my delusions.
" Wha…?"
" Senor…you have to leave now. Miguel is not very happy. "
" Jackass…?" Faith blurted out. " I thought he was dead." She turned her head to me with a grin. " You sure bashed his head in hard enough. Maybe he's a vampire. " beat " Can I get to stake him if he is ? I haven't had much opportunity to get into the vamp slaying groove since I got out of jail. "
" Sorry to spoil your fun but its daylight. I don't think he's a vamp."
I grabbed my shirt and picked up the semi-auto Faith had thrown earlier to the floor , quickly running my thoughts into motion.
" Mind if I borrow this ?"
Faith smiled and tossed me another similar looking piece my way.
" You can have them back now. No need to ask for my permission. They're yours in the first place and I've never really liked guns anyway. I prefer bare-handed violence." The dark slayer cracked her knuckles.
More shots rang out and a faint shout of something that sounded like something simpson was heard. Then something crashed.
" They're downstairs now." Faith observed from near the window. "So what's the plan ?"
Plan …? What Plan ???!!!
Oh , right….
Think dammit !!! Think !!!
Think !!!
Think !!!
THINK !!!
I held both guns in a loose grip, pointing them downcast as I sniffed the air around me.
" Faith , take Marie. Keep her out of harm's way. I'm gonna provide some target practice for the new folks who arrived. Give 'em a bullseye to aim for. "
" Sure but I don't want to miss out on all the action."
" You'll have your fun. I promise." I assured her as I checked the extra ammo stashed within my worn dark brown leather coat. At least I thought it was mine . I mean who else could've the jacket belonged to ? Besides it was pretty nice to wear , I mean… " When you're clear , back me up. Hit 'em from behind. I'll head up front. Maim them if you like but NO killing."
" Yeah , yeah , yeah…" Faith brushed off.
" Senor…" Marie pleaded. " You know I can't leave my home. This is all I have left from my father. "
Faith grinned. "You won't have to sister , we'll just have to make those sons of bitches think twice about coming to give you trouble."
Another crash greeted our ears.
" HOMER SIMPSON !!! COME OUT MONGREL !!! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE !!!"
" D'oh !!!" My raven-haired partner sniggered " I think he's calling you out Xand."
I give her a look but then failed to keep my own amusement hidden.
" Well then…lets' play."
I jumped up and kicked open the door that led to our room. As I took my first step outside , memory gaps begin filling in as did my familiarity with the house I was a guest in. It was no house of course. The building was a pretty good-sized two storey motel. Crummy but big. I figured that gave us a decent chance for survival. I don't like being trapped. I heard people screaming . The bad guys were probably pulling out all the people in the joint from their quarters , looking for dear ol' Homer.
He's coming all right , don't get your knickers in a twist bozos.
I approached the staircase in front quickly , seeing out two armed goons climbing up before they saw me. I stretched out my arms to wring out any cramps and prepared my dramatic entrance. Instincts , movements and reactions I never knew I ever had , jumped straight back into the driver's seat and I smiled almost in glee , excitement , anxiety and adrenaline fueling my resolve to kick some ass.
.Just go with the flow.
" Yippee ki-yay…"
--------------------------------
end part one.
End notes: I've actually written the next two parts out but they're not quite ready yet. Rest assured I'll get to finishing them as soon as I can k ? I know I'm late and for that I'm still so ,so, so , so sorry k ? A thousand apologies again. Real Life is shit. Anyway I like to thank everyone who's been with me so far. Thank you for reading , Thank you for your reviews. Thank you for your time. I hope its been time well spent.
BTW anyone have guesses to what crossover this is yet …? Sadly this one isn't my Btvs/lotr X-over. I'm posting that one next week. That one will be entitled , Son of Fate: Return of the Ring. My thanks goes to Kels for his encouragement on that. Thanks man.
FEEDBACK !!!!!! Please ….. ? I beg of you….
Till next time I remain ………..