Title: Episode X-IV: A New Force
Author: DhampyrX2
Genre: Halloween remix, the sequel to Halloween, Episode X(ander)
Series: Xander: Twilight Lord of the Sith
Rating: PG-13, just to be safe
Summary: Here's the beginning of my 'Xander: Twilight Lord of the Sith' sequels.
Timeframe: Passion
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Don't sue me, I'm poor.
Angelus shivered at the newest torture that was facing him. Other than with the hunter Holtz, he had never had to truly face any consequences for his actions. That had all changed when he had angered Alexander Harris and attacked Janna Kalderash. Now he was trapped in a tiny cage, covered in lightsaber burns from that green training saber, in total darkness, listening to a CD of Mandy.
The guess about how much the vampire hated his current music choices, a song his ensouled self had a secret weakness for, was a testament to the Romani quest for vengeance. The smile on the dark complexioned woman's face as she set the CD to loop, before shutting the door again would haunt him for as long as he was left soulless. Although, the cruelty behind it was kind of a turn on. Angel suspected the woman managed to bring out parts in Ripper that had been buried since he was a force to be reckoned with in Britain two decades ago.
"Are we certain this is a prudent course of action?" Giles asked the assembled group in the library.
"Giles! We can get Angel back and end this nightmare! How can you question that?" Buffy responded with tears in her eyes.
"I think Rupert is still dealing with issues over Angelus trying to kill me as I translated the spell. If Xander hadn't noticed him sneaking into the school the other night, you would be planning my funeral, Buffy." Ms. Calendar responded calmly.
Buffy flushed from equal shares embarrassment and anger at what the computer teacher said. She couldn't deny a word of it, but she still didn't like hearing it.
"It more an issue of whether or not it's safe to use the spell. We need to make sure we're safe while we bring Deadboy back to his senses." Xander cut in, drawling the attention of the whole room. The Twilight Lord looked completely calm as he added, "I holding cell he's in will keep. We have plenty of time to make sure everything goes right until then."
"And where is this holding cell?" Buffy asked, a bit annoyed at Xander's attitude toward capturing Angel.
"Somewhere safe. The fewer who know about it, the less chance Spike and Dru can try to get that information out of us." Xander replied evenly.
Buffy fumed at his tone. She was about to let him know just who was the Slayer, and who made the decisions, when Giles interrupted. "A very sensible precaution, Xander. I can assume the location is properly secured?"
"Yep. Even Deadboy doesn't know where he is. He was out cold from the stun shots the whole way. Plus I've slept there before while working on stuff, so it counts as a 'dwelling'." Xander responded with a grin.
"Thus requiring an invitation for other vampires to infiltrate it. Very good." Giles finished the thought with a smile.
"So, what do we need for the spell?" Willow asked, trying to distract the room from getting into a bigger argument.
"Well, I need a new Orb of Thessula, since our not so friendly version of Angel broke my first one..." Ms. Calendar began.
"I have one." Giles supplied. At her astonished look, the Watcher blushed and added, "I, um, have been using it as a, well, paper weight."
Jenny giggled brightly as she replied, "Oh goddess, that is just too priceless. The shop keeper told me the last few he had sold were as expensive New Age paper weights, and you, of all people, were one of the ones to buy it."
The whole room smiled a bit as Giles cleaned his glasses and gave that little half-chuckle of his as he responded, "Yes, quite. I imagine I was one of the few purchasers to know anything about the orb's uses, even if I can't really make use of any of the spell personally."
"Okay, so we're good for the orb. What else do we need?" Buffy pressed, wanting to get to the crux of things.
"Some herbs that I'm sure Rupert and I both have, some casting bones, and a few other odds and ends. The major sticking point is a caster. I have the knowledge, but I'm a little worried about the power. I'm certainly no witch." Jenny replied.
"Ooh! Maybe I can help with that. I've been studying about magic ever since the thing with Amy and..." Willow volunteered, extremely excited.
"Absolutely not." Ms Calendar interjected firmly. At Willow's hurt look, and Buffy's angry one, she explained, "This is very dangerous, Willow. You've never even cast a spell before. No sane person would ask you to risk something as complex as the Ritual of Restoration for you first casting."
"But...I...I'm sure I can do this." Willow protested.
Xander spoke up then, as he commented, "You don't send a first day cadet into a dogfight, Wills."
Buffy and Willow looked at him strangely for his apparent non-sequiter. As he noticed their looks, he explained, "This is really high level and complex from what Ms. Calendar says. It would be like asking a first grader to do advanced calculus. They might get it right, but the chances of it happening are too slim to mention. It's not that you might not be able to, it's that you haven't trained to the point it would be safe to risk when we have time and other options."
"Xander's right, Willow. You need to walk before you can run. Besides, I didn't say I couldn't do it, just that I'm unsure of the power required. I can make a few calls, and get enough people together to make sure we get the spell right the first time. And I'd be honored if you were one of the ones to help." Jenny added.
"Okay, then." Willow responded, her eyes a bit downcast. "I can understand wanting to be careful and stuff."
A pause settled onto the group then, until Willow asked "Do you think we should ask Amy to help, too?"
"Yeah, she's been studying spells since at least Valentines Day when Xander ratted her out to Giles. She might be willing to help us." Buffy agreed enthusiastically.
Giles and Jenny shared a look, before the latter shrugged, and the former replied, "I don't see how it could hurt. Please feel free to call her, Willow."
Xander stood up then, and stretched, before he said, "So when do we expect to get this done? If I keep Deadboy under lock and key much longer, I'll have to figure out a way to feed him, and I'm not loving that prospect."
"Well, considering that we have all the materials, we can set things up to work it out tomorrow night. That should give us sufficient time to prepare, as well as ask Amy if she wants to aid us." Giles responded.
"Works for me." Xander said with a shrug. He though things over for a moment before he added, "We should probably do it at somebody's house, too. That way we don't have to worry about a vamp raid if Dru goes Dionne Warwick and her psychic friends on us and tries to stop the spell."
"Agreed. My flat should be a suitable place to cast the spell." Giles replied.
"Well, then, if that's all settled, I have scrounging at the junkyard to do." Xander commented, as he turned and headed for the door.
General goodbyes were exchanged, and Xander was halfway down the hall when an arm reached out from behind and stopped him.
"I'm not telling you where he is, Buff." Xander said with a tired sigh.
"I know." Buffy replied solemnly. "And I understand why. It's just...I want to thank you Xander."
"Huh?" the Sith in training replied in obvious confusion.
"I...I know you don't like Angel. At all. And you had him at your mercy when you saved Ms. Calendar. You could have dusted him, and never said a thing. Or said it was him or you. Instead, you saved him, and your programs and stuff are helping to bring him back. So, thank you." Buffy replied timidly, looking at her feet the whole time.
Xander seemed genuinely touched by her thanks as he smiled and responded, "No big, Buff. It's like I told Kendra, Angel's our friend...except I don't like him. It will be good to have the proper Deadboy back. Much as it turns my stomach to admit, he was a big help to us before this soul mess."
"Yeah well, thanks, Xander." Buffy replied, a little bit of spark back in her eyes as she reached up and kissed his cheek in a sisterly way.
"Besides, it was getting boring with just Giles and Cordy to bug." Xander added with a goofy grin.
The Slayer held back as much of her giggle as she could as she replied, "I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear you say that."
It was several hours later that found Xander in his training room, a blacked out welder's mask on his face, training with his remote and a yellow saber.
He blocked the random blaster bolts with apparent ease, as he put the tiny sphere through its paces. He was also aware of the presence that had arrived to watch him as he trained.
"You're really good at that, Xander." Ms. Calendar complimented from a safe distance.
"Not really. Remember from 'A New Hope' that Luke was doing about the same with all of five minutes of coaching from Obi-Wan. I'll need at least four or five more to try to turn this into a useful exercise." Xander replied without ever stopping in his actions.
"Well, it still looks impressive to us laymen." Jenny retorted with a grin. "I just stopped by to tell you that I got in contact with that programming company friend of mine, and they're willing to accept the contract you suggested for the translation program."
"Good. It will be nice to actually by some materials instead of scrounging them" the Sith replied while he continued his workout.
"So, how do you want to play things with the spell?" Jenny asked.
"I'll stay here and watch Deadboy, while I wait for you to call and tell me the spell is finished. Which is crap, because I'll sense the change through the force the second it happens, but it will keep up appearances. After that, I'll brief Angel on just how much he'd better keep quiet if he likes being more than a gibbering madman for eternity." Xander responded without a hint of remorse.
"I wish I could say that attitude disturbs me, but under the circumstances..." Ms Calendar commented.
"Couldn't happen to a more deserving broody vampire." Xander replied as he deactivated his remote with a wave of his hand, switched off his saber, and lifted his mask.
"Quod perditum est, invenietur. Not dead... nor not of the living. Spirits of the interregnum, I call. Gods, bind him. Cast his heart from the evil realm. Te implor, Doamne, nu ignora aceasta rugaminte. Nici mort, nici al fiintei... Lasa orbita sa fie vasul care-i va transporta, sufletul la el. Asa sa fie! Asa sa fie! Acum! Acum!"
Translation: "What is lost, return. Not dead nor not of the living. Spirits of the interregnum, I call. Gods, bind him. Cast his heart from the evil realm. I implore you, Lord, do not ignore this request. Neither dead, nor of the living... Let this Orb be the vessel that will carry his soul to him. So it shall be! So it shall be! Now! Now!"
The croud chanted the next night, as the Orb of Thessula glowed brightly, before disappearing in a flash of light.
"Did it work?" Buffy asked from where she waited on the sidelines.
"I think so. I could feel something working through, and shooting out of Ms. Calendar." Willow replied excitedly.
"Cool." Oz said from his place next to his girlfriend.
Ms. Calendar gratefully accepted help from Giles to stand, as the spell had wiped her out, when she said, "We just need to call Xander now to know for sure. We went over the records of what should happen several times. He'll be able to recognize if it worked."
Giles made certain the Romani woman was comfortable seated on his couch, before he dialed the number Xander had provided them. A number Willow was quite frustrated she couldn't trace, as she pouted and accused Xander of cheating by way of too advanced technology. Her pout was greatly reduced when he offered to upgrade hers and Oz's laptops, however.
"Xander, this is Giles. We've completed the spell. Do you see any change in Angel?" the Librarian asked.
"Yeah G-man. His eyes went all shiny-glowy, and he seems disoriented, just like the book said he would. Once he seems to know who and where he is, I'll drag him down to you." Xander replied.
"Very good. But do be careful, Xander." Rupert responded.
"I'm not going to turn my back on him, or my blaster away from him any time soon, Giles. It will be a long time before I trust him." Xander reassured.
"Quite. We'll be awaiting your arrivals, then." Giles said, before signing off and hanging up.
He looked over at Buffy and smiled as he replied, "Xander says everything seems to have gone to plan on his end, and he'll be here as soon as Angel is ready to move."
Buffy's only reply was a smile, accompanied by the tears of happiness in her eyes.
As that moment of anticipation was taking place, Liam was regaining memories of who he was, what he had done, and how he had arrived at his current location.
"Well, vampire. I think it's time we had a discussion, about a great many things." Xander said with an evil smirk.
"Is this where you bring in the floating black ball with the needles?" the vampire queried in mild apprehension.
"Why would I bring in an interrogation droid, Overbite? I want to keep you vewry vewry quiet." Xander replied, his voice going into an Elmer Fudd impression at the end.
"And what makes you think I won't tell Buffy about all of this?" Angel asked, as he tried to hide his fear.
Xander's reply was to unlock the cage and open it though the use of the force, before he levitated Angel out of it, and removed his binders. "Because I could have just killed you a thousand times over through the course of the last few days?" Xander asked sardonically.
Angel stare silently at the boy before him, as he rubbed his wrists absently.
"The fact I could make you relive ever murder you've committed from the victim's point of view, and fry your brain to the point you'll never be able to form a coherent thought, much less words, might come into consideration, too. Or the worse things I'm considering if you ever come after any of my friends again." Xander added coldly.
Angel looked deep into Xander's eyes as he spoke, gauging his sincerity. All he saw was a fierce determination to protect his loved ones, and an unwillingness to back down. It was enough to swat the vampire for now. Xander wanted them safe just as the vampire himself did. "Good enough." Angel replied with an equally even tone.
Besides, the kid was damned scary now.
END PART 7