The Archer

Over the Christmas holidays, Xander did nothing except meditate. He sat in his goat room and let everything happen to him. He fought in Vietnam, in Korea, and had managed to work his way up to the Mighty Mushroom Roar, as it had once been called. Then, Xander decided to try something new.

He had gone out, on the last week of his break, with no clothing, save a pair of camouflage pants. He brought his longbow with him and his sword, which was basically a short katana. He set up four dummies and tied them each to a branch in four different places around the yard, which was very big. He tied a blindfold over his eyes and sat down on the grass. He let the world overtake him, and felt his spirit become aware of everything and anything there was.

He had done it so often now that it was basically automatic. He felt all four parts of his soul become separated, but remain connected. They each had their session with Xander, teaching him their skill. When the hyena was teaching him, Xander recalled tossing a quarter somewhere, then sniffing around until he found it.

When the soldier was with him, Xander could remember practicing combat tactics. He remembered punching, kicking, and basically destroying one of the dummies with his hands. Then, the soldier took him to the Battle of the Bulge. He remembered what this soldier remembered, and his soldier was actually a half-demon with a lifespan of several centuries, so he was definitely experienced.

When the vampire took over, he taught Xander how to think the way a vampire does. Xander remembered everything that a vampire does. He remembered where they hide, how they move, what they tend to do on instinct, and, most importantly, how to sense one.

When the actual Xander took over again, he strengthened his soul. He taught himself love, sincerity, and honor. Honor was the most important thing. Neither the hyena nor the vampire understood it, but the soldier most certainly did. The two worked together and developed their own code. Xander called it 'The Code of the Lamp.'

It went:'Know your friends, your enemies, and those neutral in the war. Protect your allies with valor, and destroy your enemies with honor. Strike true and swift, lest your foe slay you before you can yet be slain.'

Xander couldn't remember much after that, but when he woke up, he saw that all the dummies were dust. Well, all except one. That one was filled with three arrows, one in the neck, one in the heart, and one in the stomach. Aside from that, it was missing its arms, legs, and the top of its head.

Xander walked over to the dummy and pulled out the arrows, sharpened them, then placed them back in his quiver.

On the last day of break, he meditated in his goat room from dawn till dusk. He focused on tactics and fighting styles. Tonight was the night. When dusk was about to fall, Xander brought himself out of his meditation and went downstairs. He took a quick shower, then got ready. He was surprised when he found that Dom actually had plumbing, but figured that she preferred to bathe in the water.

He put on his camouflage pants and nothing else. He put four stakes on his belt loops, strapped his short sword to his leg, then strapped his quiver behind his back. He got his longbow and he used some tape to strap the fire crystal on it. He figured that it would light the arrow, seeing as how he had plenty and could always get more. He made the ice crystal into a bracelet, or gauntlet he guessed, and he could use it to freeze anything he wanted. He had tested it during the holidays.

As the night dawned and darkness overtook the Hellmouth, Xander grabbed his arrowhead necklace and put it on, then walked out into the night.

Xander started with the cemetery nearest to him. It was the one near Faith's place, or so Buffy had told him one time. Xander stretched out with his senses and felt the presence of the undead in the air. He counted three sources in from of him, and one to the side of him. None had detected him. Xander concentrated and hid his aura from them, as he had when he had picked up Buffy and Angel during the holidays, then focused on his body. It became transparent, along with all his articles. He shifted into his game face, just in case one of them did notice him, crouched down to his knees, and got ready.

The three vampires were just talking, doing nothing, but the one to his side…Xander could feel her apprehension as she stalked something that was just barely out of his sensing area. He decided that he should deal with her first. Xander stalked over to the tombstone that she was hiding behind, settled down, then held his breath as she turned her head.

She obviously felt something, but she couldn't see anything. When she turned her head back to her prey, Xander silently got out a stake and prepared to stake her. Before he did, however, Xander stretched out with his senses and attempted to discern who her prey was. It was a couple of teenagers, two boys in the year below him. Both were drunk and were noisily making their way through the cemetery. Xander silently prayed that neither would notice him.

Xander stalked up to her, then grabbed her by the throat and covered her mouth with his hand. She began to struggle and almost bit his hand, but Xander silenced her by breaking her neck. She was not dead yet, but she was near it. Dusting her would attract the two boys, along with the three vampires. Xander needed to get those two out of the cemetery before he could deal with the four of them. Xander stretched out with his senses and created a noise near them.

When the two heard it, they panicked and ran outside the cemetery. Xander sighed and let out a roar, a roar that would make a vampire proud. Xander waited until he heard footsteps come his way, then dashed up the tree. He positioned himself as good as he could, drew an arrow from his quiver, then took aim as the three vampires ran over to the one with the broken neck.

"What happened to you," commented one of them.

Xander would have chosen that time to make a comment, but decided to just kill them. Xander let his arrow fly and, just as he suspected, the arrow lit up with fire as it raced past the bow. It struck the female vampire and she burnt up quickly, and the vampire that had been bending over her caught fire as well. He screamed as his arm lit up with fire, then became dust.

Xander let two more arrows fly before the other two could run, and they each found their mark. Xander growled in satisfaction, got out of his game face, then jumped down to the ground. He walked over to the four piles of ash and plucked the three arrows out of the ground. The fire, apparently, didn't have any effect on the arrows. That must be due to his special bit of magic. It was called Dwerban, which in some language meant 'Fire and dust.' Xander had found it while he was going through Dom's things. It must have been her mother's. Xander cleaned off his arrows, then placed them back into his quiver. Xander stretched out with his senses, then took off. There was a battle to be fought.

As Xander ran, he sensed the battle was not going as he would have had it. He shifted into game face as he came closer to the source of the disturbance. There were seven vampires there, and they had surrounded a dark figure that Xander knew.

"Come and get it," said Faith.

As Xander took position behind a tombstone and got ready to fire, he could tell that Faith was merely stalling for time. She was in over her head, and even she knew that. Xander knew that all of them would be distracted by him killing a few, but that distraction could be used to get Faith in a dead or hostage position, and Xander could not allow either to happen.

He pointed a bladed hand at the vampires, stretched out with his senses, and activated the ice-fire crystal. Suddenly, blue flames sprouted from the ground at the vampires feet. Xander focused and the flames became blocks of ice that bound the vampires to the ground.

Xander stopped and saw the vampires attempt to struggle out of them. He also noticed that Faith wasn't moving, but she wasn't bound in ice. She didn't know what had done that and wasn't willing to move until she found out what.

Xander placed his bow on the tombstone, got out an arrow, placed it against the bow, took aim, then let it fly. He saw Faith gasp and jump back when the first vampire burned. Then, Xander let two arrows loose, then three, then one. The seven vampires were seven piles of ash in under ten seconds.

Xander was reluctant to let his presence known to the Slayer, but he also knew that if he hid himself from her that she would be able to sense him. He could feel her senses stretching out as far as they could, which wasn't very far, but he knew that once he got in range of her that she would know he was there.

Xander made himself as invisible as he could, then he stretched out with his senses and made a noise to her left. She turned and ran that way, fully expecting to catch whatever made that noise. Xander moved with all the skill that World War II, Korea, and Vietnam had taught him. He gathered up the seven arrows, then took cover just as soon as Faith started back his way. She had heard him.

Xander just gave up. He placed the arrows into his quiver, attached his bow to the quiver, then took off. He knew that he was moving without making any noise, but he also knew that Faith had sensed him just before he ran. Now, she was following him as fast as she could, which was considerably faster than he was currently running.

Xander bobbed, weaved, and jumped over every tombstone there was. When he came to a mausoleum, he jumped onto the wall and used it to get to the ceiling of it. He crouched down, then got into the prone position as Faith came his way. He couldn't see her directly, but he could see her with his senses. She was slowing down as she came closer to him. She could feel him, but she couldn't see him.

"Where'd that bastard go," she asked no one.

Xander kept quiet, knowing that this was a trap. She knew his position, but she couldn't tell exactly what elevation he was at. She tried to open the mausoleum, but it was locked. She knew that whatever she had been chasing didn't have enough time to unlock it, yet she could feel it was in the mausoleum.

Xander resisted the urge to grin as Faith groaned and started back for her hotel room. Xander didn't feel like waiting, so he rolled and pressed his hand off the roof. He felt himself fly off the roof and land perfectly next to the mausoleum. Xander sighed and let his body relax. He saw his body become visible again, but didn't bother shifting his face. He took a deep breath, then turned away from the direction that Faith had been walking in.

He started to walk away, but when he got past the mausoleum, his danger sense flared up. Then, he felt an arm grab him and press him up against the wall. He watched as a stake came flying his way, but stopped.

"Xander," he heard Faith say.

Faith walked away from the mausoleum in frustration. She just knew that there was a…something there, but she couldn't see where. Then, she heard feet hit the ground. She turned back and ran to the mausoleum as silently as she could. She stayed there and listened. She heard a sigh and heard that same person take a deep breath. Then, she heard whoever it was start to come her way. Right when she saw him, she grabbed him and threw him on the wall. She had her stake in hand, lifted it up, and was about to send it home when she saw who the vamp was. She stopped just before the stake hit home.

"Xander," she said in disbelief.

"Hi, Faith," said the demon once known as Xander.

"…Why'd it have to be you," she asked.

Faith had never had friends before, never cared for them. But, when she came to Sunnydale, they all seemed to accept her for what she was. Well, aside from B. X and Red had taken her under their wing, taught her how to make it on the Hellmouth as they had. She knew this job had its dangers, but, to be fair, she admired them both for taking the job when they weren't bound to. Now, one of the people that she thought would never be claimed by this town was just that: claimed. He stood here, in front of her, with the face of a vampire and now it was her job to stake him before he could do harm.

Before he could answer, she drew her stake back and drove it in.

Xander ducked the second the stake came his way. He kicked Faith's shins and used his senses to bring her down to the ground. The second she hit the ground, he used the ice-fire crystal to bind her to the ground. As she struggled, Xander sat down beside her. He shifted back to his normal face. When she looked at him, she glared, but Xander knew that there was actual sorrow underneath that glare.

"Do you have a mirror," asked Xander.

"Why," Faith said, "You wanna check your tan or something!? You don't have a reflection."

Xander groaned. He thought for a second, then had an idea. He took his gauntlet off and showed it to Faith.

"You see your reflection," said Xander, "And you see mine, too."

Xander let his reflection be seen by Faith. She stopped moving as she looked at it. Then, she looked back at him.

"How," she asked.

"Tell you later," said Xander as he released her.

She groaned and rubbed her arms. Xander helped her up and the two started walking.

"What's happened to you, X," she asked.

"Like I said, 'Tell you later.'"

As Faith and Xander entered her hotel, Faith tossed her stake into the chair and pulled out a knife. Xander took off his quiver, longbow, gauntlet, short sword, and stakes and placed them into the bathroom, then he closed the door. It was a sign of trust. Faith, understanding what he meant, tossed her knife into the chair with her stake.

"Spill," she said as she sat on the bed.

Xander sat down on the floor and looked her in the eye, then told his story. The true story. Once he was done, Faith looked kind of shocked.

"So," she said, her voice quivering slightly, "You have visions?"

"I go on vision quests," said Xander.

"How?"

"My instructor. She taught me how to use a bow and how to meditate. I haven't meditated since…we'll, let's just say not for a long time."

"And you saw me-"

"Standing over an angel with a longbow in your hands. There was blood on your hands."

"And you got these powers through your…vision quests?"

"Yes. I accessed the other three spirits in my body and used them to create my present spirit."

"So, your part Xander, part soldier Xander, part hyena Xander, and part vampire Xander?"

"Yes. That's why I can have no reflection, have a game face, and why I can smell things better. I can also sense the world around me, even better than you or Buffy."

"Is that it?"

"No. I have strength that rivals the two of you, as well. I also have all the memories and instincts of the vampire, which comes in handy when you track them."

"What about your bow?"

"I've been a bowman since I could walk. My teacher was a Master Archer. And my surrogate mother."

"You don't have to answer this one, X, but what about your…soldier memories?"

"…I was a Private in both World Wars, the Korean war, and in the Nam. I've been going back to what my spirit saw and did then."

"Wow. You've seen a lot."

"You have no idea, and you don't want one, either."

Silence reigned for a moment.

"You live here, Faith," asked Xander.

"Yeah, I do. It's a shit hole, but…it's what I deserve."

"Faith, you don't deserve this."

"How do you know," she asked, getting defensive.

"Simple: one, I can see your spirit and your aura. You put up a convincing act, but…it's still just an act. Two, I can see your memory. You project it without realizing it. Three, I had better living conditions than this before I moved out."

Faith looked at him oddly.

"Are you saying that you can…read my mind?"

"No. Well, only if you and I meditated together could I possibly be capable of doing that, and that requires a method that I've never dared use."

"I don't get it."

"Your aura says that you've been through, to quote you, 'some shit.' You've seen your version of Hell and it terrifies you to think about it. When you were frozen to the ground, you thought I was going to do something to you. Know this Faith: I respect you, not only because you're the Slayer, but also because you are on this plain of existence. Anything on this plain of existence, I respect."

"What about vampires," she asked coyly.

"They're not on this plain of existence. They exist in a realm all to their own."

"Wow. You're weird."

"Right back atcha."

"Alright, I don't pretend to get it, but…whatever. It don't hurt me or no one I know, then we're five by five."

"What does that mean?"

"Take a guess."

Xander thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Not a clue," he said.

"Well," she smirked, "It looks like Mr. Vision-Guy doesn't know everything."

"Never said I did."

"Yeah, right. You just know more than I do."

"About certain things, yes. About certain things, no."

"Name one thing that I know more about than you?"

"Sex."

"What? Come on, you have the memories of an animal, a vampire, and a soldier. Don't tell me that you don't know less than I do!"

"It's the truth. Vamp-Xander was a jackass and he always put the hunt above everything else. Hyena was better, but more like the hunt. And soldier? He was fighting a war! He was dodging bullets and killing enemies instead of doing that."

"You wanna learn," she asked.

"Sorry, Faith. Honor system."

"What do you mean, X?"

"'Know your friends, your enemies, and those neutral in the war. Protect your allies with valor, and destroy your enemies with honor. Strike true and swift, lest your foe slay you before you can yet be slain.' If I were to do that before I even got to know you, then that would break my honor. And the protection of allies doesn't just extend to the battlefield."

Faith looked at him oddly again. He could sense her confusion.

Faith listened to what X had to say, but she didn't know how to take it. She had never been refused before, let alone for such bullshit. But there was something about it that made her understand. To X, honor meant more than nearly anything else. He'd die to uphold his honor, she knew it.

"Ok," she said.

"Cool," said Xander, somewhat baffled. He knew she was confused, but, at the same time, she got it. "Now, onto the next issue."

"What?"

"Don't tell anybody."

"'Kay."

"That's it?"

"Yeah. It's your business, not mine, so if you tell me not to, then I won't. But, if you don't mind me asking, why not?"

"Simple: if I were to tell Buffy about all these powers, what do you think she'd do?"

"Try to con you out of 'em."

"Exactly. I don't want to be forced to give up these powers when I can use them for good. Buffy, she just loves to be in control and she'd see me as a threat. Also, you could separate me from the other three parts of my soul, but that would kill me, and I know that she'd think that I were lying."

"So, if B were to try to get G to take them away, you can kiss your ass goodbye?"

"Exactly."

"Damn. Those slammers ask a lot, don't they."

"Kinda."

"Xander, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"Xander…"

"Fine."

"That vision you had of me standing over an angel, holding a bow, with blood on my hands. What's it mean?"

"I've got a few theories. I can't tell you what it truly is, but I can guess. I think it means that…you will kill and will kill again after that."

Faith's eyes began to fill with tears and her lip began to quiver.

"Oh, God," she said.

She began to break down. Xander rushed over to her and embraced her. He felt her fall into his arms as she just broke.

"I don't w-want t-t-to kill anyone," she sobbed.

"You don't have to."

"Y-you saw it. You saw it!"

"That doesn't mean it's true, that doesn't even mean that what I think it means is what the vision means."

"But you think it! You think I'll be a murderer!"

"Faith, calm down!"

"How can you tell me to calm down!"

She pushed him away from her as hard as she could, and Xander was sent flying across the room. He got up and rushed her. He grabbed her arms and threw her against the wall. There was nothing in it, only remorse.

"Because I've killed before," whispered Xander.