The Archer
As his mind stumbled out of its archaic state, Xander felt…old. His mind felt as though it had gone through a hundred years of conflict, and…his body looked it, too. He looked in the mirror and examined his features. He was always a little buff, but now he looked like he could probably take on Buffy…and survive. He flexed his muscles and knew that the next time he saw Cordelia again, she'd think about taking him back…and when Willow saw him, she might think of kicking Oz to the curb.
Xander got up and looked around: the room was dark, for the candle had gone out. However, Xander could see perfectly in the dark. He guessed it was from the vampire and the hyena. He looked in the mirror and saw…his reflection. It was faded, almost transparent. Xander panicked, but calmed down once he realized that he did have a soul. Then, Xander got an idea.
He stretched out with his senses and focused on the image in the mirror. He felt his soul, his spirit, as it began to grow. Then, he looked in the mirror and saw…himself, with no fade. Then, Xander completely let go of his focus and found himself to have…no reflection at all. But, when Xander let his mind work as it usually did, he found that he did have a full reflection.
He thought about the vampire face, or game face as the Scooby Gang called it, and wondered if he had one now that his spirit was part vampire. Then, just as he thought that, he felt his face change. He looked in the mirror and nearly screamed when he saw himself. He had the game face alright, but it was a little different. He also had pointed ears and his eyes were completely black…there was nothing there except for black holes.
Xander forced his face to go back to normal, the sighed as he tried to gain a focus on the world. When he did, he gasped as he felt it. The whole world, literally, is what he felt. He felt pain, disaster…but he also felt happiness, and love. It was balanced, but the balance was beginning to tilt.
He sighed and turned on his watch, then gasped at the time. It was twelve thirty-eight in the morning…on Monday. He had been locked in his trance for nearly a week. He opened the trapdoor and raced downstairs.
Unlike the last time he had done that, he didn't collapse or feel lightheaded. He stopped in the living room, then sat down on the couch. He wondered what he was going to do. He knew that Buffy would probably be able to notice him, and if not, Faith would notice him. He knew that once they realized something was different with him, Buffy would somehow convince everyone that it needed to be destroyed. And they would try, no matter how hard he tried to argue. If the managed to destroy any one of his spirits, that would destroy his spirit completely. The four were joined together, literally one soul, and if one was separated, it would cause a chain reaction that would kill him.
Xander took a huge breath to calm his nerves. Then, he sniffed the air. He could smell fresh air, but no one had been inside or outside for a week. The air should be stale. He sniffed again, and found that the smell was coming from the living room, where he was in. He smelt it, coming from behind him. He turned and examined that area. There was a wall covered with axes, swords, and crossbows. He sniffed and smelt the air, coming from right there.
He walked over to it and sniffed again. As he smelt, he noticed that there were cracks where there should have been solid wall. Xander looked along the lines and found that the wall was really a door. Xander stretched out with his senses to find the trigger and found it to be one of the daggers. He could very nearly see through the wall, and he 'visioned' the gears. He gripped the dagger nearest to the right side and pulled it up. It didn't move. Xander got a better grip on it, then turned it sharply to the left. As he did so, he heard a click on the inside of the wall, then felt it come loose. Xander pushed it and it revealed a passageway that led down underneath the ground.
Before Xander could even think about going down, he felt the sunlight. Acting on pure instinct, he put his arm over his face to shield himself. He could feel his game face come on, but then he noticed that he wasn't burning. He lowered his arm and relaxed. The light didn't hurt him, which surprised him mainly because of his vampire quarter. He shifted out of his face and walked down the passage.
He walked slowly, fearing that he would be blinded once he got to the source of the light. His eyes hadn't adjusted yet to their new ability, but they were trying. He moved down the passage until it got level, the had to crouch down so he wouldn't hit his head. When he got to the end of the passage, he found himself in a spherical room, like Epcot. There was a small desk in the middle of the room and it had a note on it. But, the interesting thing was the fact that the rest of the room was filled with hundreds of dollars.
Xander gasped as he realized what this must mean. He picked up the note and began to read:
'Dear Xander,
I know you'll probably find this room sooner or later. You're a very adventurous young man. Remember when I told you my mother gave me those two crystals? Well, she was a mage, obviously. But her husband, my foster father, he was a self-made millionaire. They both died in a car accident. When they died, they left me the two crystals and ten million dollars in cash, and that's after taxes. I spent some of it on the laptop, but that was at a yard sale. The batteries I got from the same garage sale, so there's probably near ten million left. I want you to have it.
Don't try to argue with me, Xander. And I'll give you two reasons why not to: one, I can't own anything while I'm over there, including money; and two, I'm in Asia right now and I didn't leave a phone number. Spend it! If you don't want to spend it, then donate some of it. I don't care either way, it's only money, but try to use it for a good cause.
Xander, I want you to live the best life you can. I promise you, whether in living or in death, I'll come back and teach you some of what I've learned. I wish you the best. Remember the Code.
Love,
Dominique'
Xander sat down on the couch and thought about what he was gonna do with all that money. Xander knew himself very well, and he knew that he couldn't possibly find a use for all that money. But…Xander shivered as he remembered his first vision, how a huge battle took place between soldiers and demons. Somehow, Xander knew that he would be one of the commanders, perhaps the general of the operation, and he knew that it would be up to him to supply his troops.
Xander made his decision then. He walked into the bedroom, put on his combat boots and fatigue pants, a tight black shirt, and his necklace. He wanted to dress in a way that would please all four parts of him. The combat clothing was for soldier guy, the black for vamp-face, and the necklace for him. Now, what to do for the animal. Xander walked into the den and sat down. He looked at the table, then smiled. There was a necklace underneath the table. It had an arrowhead attached to it. Xander picked it up, and inspected it.
On the front, or back, there was a carving of a heart with a light coming from it. On the back, or front, there was an inscription. It read: 'Warriors with heart, animals with pride, demons with valor, and jesters with honor.' Xander smiled and put it on.
Feeling complete, he went back to 'Epcot,' as he had chosen to call it, filled up a bag with two million dollars, then walked back outside. He locked the door, then walked outside. He tossed the bag into his car, locked the door to the house, then drove away.
Xander drove first to the children's hospital in Sunnydale. He got his bag out and walked inside. He went up to the front desk and rung the bell.
"Can I help you," asked the nurse.
"Yeah," said Xander as he lifted the bag onto the desk, "I'd like to make a donation. How exactly do I go about doing that?"
Xander drove away from the hospital, smiling to himself. He had donated a million and nine hundred thousand dollars. He drove until he came in front of his parents house. He got the bag, then walked up to the front door. He knocked and waited. Then, his father answered the door.
"Xander," he said, "It's good to see you. Do you want to come inside?"
"No," said Xander, "I've got a few errands to run, but first I wanted you to have this."
Xander opened his bag, then pulled out fifty thousand dollars. He handed it over to his dad.
"Take it," Xander said as his father tried to refuse it, "Use it. Get a job and save. I know you can be a good husband, so start."
Xander's father looked at him in awe.
"How," he asked, "How do you know I can be a good husband?"
"Because, in the end, you were a good father."
Xander drove up to the Army National Guard base in Sunnydale. The same one that he had robbed last year. As the sentry on duty halted him, Xander parked his car there and began to pull out his bag.
"Can I help you, Sir," asked the sentry.
"Yes, you can," said Xander, "I want to make a donation to the Army National Guard. Where do I do that?"
Xander drove down the road, pleased with himself. He remembered the looks on the doctors' faces, his father's face, and the Colonel's face when he made his donations. That had been worth it.
Xander drove to Sunnydale High School, parked his car, then got out and walked inside. As he walked into the library, he immediately knew that something had been up. There were books strewn out all over the desks, the whiteboard was out, and Giles's office door was open.
He sniffed and immediately knew that no one was here, though they had left only a short while ago. He figured that they were out dealing with whatever they had to, so he decided that now was the time to get home.
As he walked outside, the first thing he noticed was that it was unseasonably cold. Then, he felt something hit his shoulder. He looked up into the air, and he saw…snow. Snow was falling to the ground, a lot of snow, as a matter of fact. The snow quickly covered the ground and, less than ten minutes later, the entire ground was covered with, at least, two feet of snow.
Xander smiled as he felt calm cold that the snow brought. It felt wonderful, especially now. He walked over to his car, got inside, then drove around town. He drove all around, looking at the snow and how it had changed the usually hot dale. People were outside, gasping and shivering. They put on thick clothing for the first time ever. The snow made everyone feel the Christmas spirit.
As he drove down main street, he spotted a couple and smiled as he did. He slowed down and drove up behind them. Then, he honked the horn. The vampire and the Vampire Slayer turned around. He waved to them and they came over.
"You two crazy lovebirds want a lift," he said.
Xander drove to the Sunnydale High School library and parked the car in the parking lot. Neither, so far, had commented on his demeanor or his clothing, so he figured that the two were just too involved in each other.
"Xander," asked Buffy, "Where have you been the past week?"
"I know I've been avoiding the Scooby Gang lately," he said, "But, that's all over now."
"I know things were rough, but you didn't have to make us worry. Willow was so frantic that Oz nearly didn't take her back," said Buffy.
"Oz took Willow back," said Xander, "Well, that just makes my day complete! Man, this has been the best day of my life."
"Is he being sarcastic," whispered Buffy to Angel.
"I don't know," whispered Angel.
"I'm not," said Xander, "I'm really happy! I just got through helping out the children's hospital, made up with my father, and gave a little help to the Guard."
"The Guard," asked Angel.
"Remember the rocket launcher we used on the Judge," asked Xander.
Angel nodded.
"Figured you would. See, me and Cordy stole that from the local Guard base. I just made a donation that makes up for it."
"What kind of donation," asked Buffy.
"The kind any civilian would make for his country," said Xander.
As he and the other two got out, they walked into the school and entered the library. It was dark in there, probably because of the weather. As Xander thought, Giles, Willow, Oz, and, unlike what he thought, Faith were all there waiting for Buffy's return. When the group sighted Xander, all he saw was a red whirlwind.
"Xander," squealed a giddy Willow, "Oh, God! Where have you been?"
"Would you believe 'out,'" asked Xander.
"Start talking," she said.
Xander smiled and started his tail. He included a lot of the truth, but just said that he got the house as inheritance, completely left out the money and his new gifts, and said that he had inherited it from his aunt who disappeared in Thailand.