The Archer

"OK," said Buffy, "Are we ready?"

She and Willow were in the stacks in the library. Giles had all the needed materials for their exorcism and soon they would have their Xander back.

"Yep," said Willow as she lit the candle, "In a few minutes, Xander's demon will be gone."

Buffy smiled. She hated not telling Willow about the fact that Xander's demon had said that if they tried to expel anything in his body, he'd die. But, it didn't matter. It was a lie manufactured simply to keep himself safe. The real good part was how Xander said he'd be willing to let Willow check him out after the talk was done, too. Obviously, it had a way around that. So, the only way that Xander would die would be if she didn't save him. He didn't have the strength to do it on his own, and everyone else was either unaware or convinced by his lies. She was the only one, along with Willow, though she was mainly helping because Buffy had told her version of things. She had no doubt that Willow would be convinced by the lies. She was too gullible. She needed someone strong to help her…like Buffy.

Sighing to herself, she began to chant along with her Wicca.

Xander launched another arrow at the target. It landed dead center, just like the others. It was Saturday, a day of rest and practice. He strung up another arrow and let it sing and whistle through the air. It was a few days after the Curciamentum, which had gone very well. Everyone was safe, the Council bought how Buffy had 'destroyed' him, and she was starting to be a little bit nicer to him, though he felt this weird vibe in her aura every time she saw him. It seemed like she wasn't trusting him, which, in all fairness, was understandable. After all, he hadn't trusted her with his secret. But, now, it seemed like she just didn't believe anything he said. She never even said thanks for him helping her during the test, though he never expected any.

Sighing to himself, he strung up another arrow. Then, he launched it. It struck dead center, slicing through the other two arrows. He took a deep breath to steady himself for another volley, then gasped in pain. He dropped his longbow and felt his knees give way from under him. He felt fire on his skin, as though someone were holding a torch up to him.

Xander looked around himself. He was in the field that he trained in. It was in flames. He jumped back as fire began to spread around him. Then, he felt himself get flung backward as pain struck his chest. He lay there on the ground and thought, 'What the Hell is going on?'

"Xander," he heard.

He sat up to see himself in camouflage, running up the small hill with an M-1 Garand.

"Soldier," shouted Xander.

Soldier ran up the hill, then got flung forward as an explosion sounded out behind him. Xander stood up and ran down to his counterpart. He grabbed the soldier and pulled him up.

"What the Hell is going on," asked soldier.

"I think someone's trying to exorcise us," shouted Xander over the flames.

"What? Why!"

"I have an idea, but I don't want to jump to conclusions. Where are vampire and hyena?"

"Not a clue."

The two were then flung backward as a wave of pain shocked their systems. Then, they heard the padding of feet coming their way. They looked up to see vampire, fully vamped out, clutching his arm as it burned.

"WATER," shouted vampire.

Xander and soldier jumped up and ran to vampire, slamming him down to the ground. They used their jackets to smother the flames, then stood up.

"What the Hell is going on," yelled vampire.

"Someone's trying to exorcise us," shouted both soldier and Xander.

"Who," asked vampire.

"Not sure," shouted soldier.

"Where the Hell is hyena," shouted Xander.

Then, they heard a feral roar of pain. The three spirits sprinted away towards it. When they found hyena, he was lying on the ground with a spike embedded in his shoulder. Xander bent down and gripped the spike as soldier and hyena pressed his shoulders. He ripped the spike out of him and cringed at the beast's roar of pain. Xander then felt himself, along with the other three, get flung backward as another wave of pain overcame them.

As it passed, the four sat up in the middle of the flames.

"What the Hell is going on," shouted hyena.

"We're getting exorcised," shouted Xander, soldier, and vampire.

"By-"

"NOT SURE," shouted the three again.

"Ok, ok, sorry," said hyena.

"We need to get out of here," said soldier.

"We need to get to whoever it is that's doing this," shouted vampire.

"How," asked hyena as he stood up, "We don't even know where to begin, plus we can't leave this realm."

"Hey," shouted vampire, "There's something flashing over there."

The other spirits looked over to where vampire was pointing. There was an orange glow coming from a patch of tall grass. Immediately, the four took off towards it. When they arrived, they saw a portal. Inside the portal, there were stacks of books and bookshelves…and there sat Willow and Buffy, chanting. As they finished a series of chants, they felt another burst of pain go through them.

"They're killing us," said vampire as he stood up.

"Xander," said soldier, "I hate your friends. If I ever get control of your body, I'll kill them both."

"Same here," said vampire.

"I swear I'll do the same," growled hyena.

Xander kept his silence.

"We need to go someplace where we can fight back," shouted vampire as another burst of fire came up at him.

"Soldier," said Xander, "Find a way for us to get to Germany, or Korea, or Hell even Vietnam."

"No problem," said soldier, "We can fight whatever they're sending at us from there. I'll get us to…Stalingrad."

"Let's hope Faith comes in for a quick moment," said vampire.

Faith was, at that moment, settling down on the floor, preparing to meditate. When she arrived in the field, the first thing she noticed was the fire.

"What the Hell," she said.

"Faith," shouted a voice she recognized, "Over here!"

Faith sprinted over to them, dodging the fires as they sprouted up. When she reached them, vampire was trying to get some fire off his arm, hyena was nursing a wound on his shoulder, and soldier and Xander were working on…something.

"What the-" she started.

"WE'RE GETTING EXORCISED BY WILLOW AND BUFFY," shouted the four spirits.

"Oh, my God," said Faith.

"We're going to hide in Stalingrad," said Xander, "We're probably going to have to fight against both Germans and Russians, so while we're trying to survive, we need you to stop Buffy and Willow before they kill us."

"No problem," said Faith.

Faith felt herself return to her body. She blinked a few times, then stood up and jumped down to the floor. She opened up door and stepped out the front door, hoping to any being listening that she arrived in time.

Xander, soldier, hyena, and vampire jumped off the ledge as a rocket came careening their way.

"We need gear," shouted hyena.

"Look at yourself," shouted soldier.

The four looked down and found that they were clothed in combat gear from WWII. Soldier was armed with his M-1, Xander had a Thompson, hyena had a BAR, and vampire had a Russian DMP.

"This is great," shouted Xander, "We're stuck in the middle of a damned war where everyone's against us!"

Soldier nodded, then got up and looked beyond the ledge.

"PANZERSHRECKS," he shouted, "HIT THE DECK!"

Faith ran into the library as fast as she could. She hoped she wasn't too late. She jumped onto the table and over the railings, then went into the stacks.

"B, Red, Stop," she shouted.

Xander felt himself get thrown backwards as the wall exploded. It was followed by gunfire, which was also followed by a shout.

"Hyena," shouted Xander.

Buffy jumped up as soon as she heard Faith.

"Keep chanting," shouted Buffy as Faith came near.

She threw a punch at the Dark Slayer, who dodged it.

Xander squeezed his Thompson trigger, then felt it get ripped out of his arms. He dived down and grabbed Hyena's BAR as he, soldier, and vampire laid down fire upon their enemies. Then, he heard the sound of motors.

"PANZER FOURS," shouted Xander as he saw the massive tanks come forward.

Faith slammed her fist into Buffy's face, then grabbed her and tossed her over the railing. Then, she kicked the magical supplies away from Willow, effectively ruining the spell.

Xander covered his eyes and awaited the blast that would end his life, but it never came. Xander looked up and saw that he was no longer in Stalingrad, but he was in his back yard. Laughing to himself, he gingerly sat up and stretched his wearing bones. He felt like he had just gone through Hell and back…which he had. Xander ran over to his longbow, strapped on his quiver, then took off down the street.

"Faith," shouted an enraged Buffy, "What are you doing? We were going to help him!"

"No, you weren't," shouted Faith, "You were going to kill him!"

"He's got you confused," said Buffy, "He's not Xander. He's a demon!"

"Then why didn't he try to kill me while I was living with him?"

"I don't know! Maybe he needs you for his plan, just like me!"

"He has no plan! He just wants to help people!"

"No, he wants to hurt people! People like me!"

"You're damn right I do," shouted Xander as he charged in with his bow loaded.

He pointed it at Buffy. She froze as she realized that he had her trapped. If she dodged, it would cause the library to go up in flames. If she caught it, she'd burn. It she let it hit her, she'd die. She didn't move. Then, she saw a figure get up in front of her. 'Willow,' she thought. Then, she realized that it wasn't Willow. It was Faith.

"X," she said, "Don't do this."

"You can read her aura, Faith," shouted Xander, "She's completely focused on herself. She doesn't give a damn about either one of us, or her mother, or Willow, or Giles!"

"That doesn't mean you get to kill her! Remember your Code!"

Xander allowed her words to sink in. Sighing, he allowed his weapon to go numb. He dropped his longbow and arrow, then clutched his head. Then, he heard footsteps come his way. Then, he felt a fist slam into him. He fell to the ground and looked up. Buffy was standing over him, a look of superior smugness on her face. He had really thought she was getting better. Instead, she'd gotten worse.

Groaning aloud, he used his senses to slam her into the wall, then to bind her there.

"Faith," he said, "Willow."

Faith nodded, then went up to the stacks to check on the witch. Xander sighed to himself, then sat down on the steps.

"Xander," Buffy said, "I know you're in there somewhere. Don't worry, I'll save you."

"Buffy, get over yourself," said Xander, "I don't need you to save me. Look, I will be honest, you had good reason to suspect me, but you ignored facts. Fact one: Giles okayed me. Fact two: Faith okayed me. Fact three: if you recall, I offered to let Willow do some spell on me to check my essence. If you had taken it, then you would have been certain. Instead, you chose to hang on stubbornly to your belief that I can't be anything other than the Olsen to your Superman. The Zeppo, I am not."

"I know you convinced them, Xander," shouted Buffy, "You lied to them, and they bought it. But, I didn't. You can't fool me!"

"One problem with that, Buffy. If you weren't fooled, then why did you let me switch places with Kraelic?"

"…I knew that you had a plan. I knew that whatever you were doing, you'd need me. And I also knew that I had to save my friend. So, since you were offering-"

"-You figured you'd use me, then get rid of me?"

"…Well, yeah."

"Wow. I never ever thought I'd see you stoop this low. I mean, let's say that you're right. Let's say I were possessed. While you were waiting, I could have killed dozens, Hell hundreds of people! But, you chose to wait until it was convenient for you! Where's the logic there?"

"I wouldn't have let it happen."

"Except, I've been patrolling with Faith, and I've spent a few nights with my family, and I've spent time with both Willow and Oz, and I've been to the Bronze, and I've been in school. I could have easily killed every single one of your friends, and mine! But, you chose to wait until I eliminated your threat."

"…"

"ANSWER THE QUESTION, DAMNIT!"

"…Ok. I did it! Is that what you want!"

"No, Buffy. I want you to admit that you made a mistake."

"I didn't! I did what I thought was right!"

"And your word is law?"

"Yes, it is!"

"Then why when you said the first time that you quit did that not work out?"

"Because the world keeps screwing me over!"

"Buffy, think! You knew at one point that you had betrayed the world, not the other way around. You knew that you had been willing to sacrifice the whole world just for your happiness. You regretted it, you even apologized. You were finally on the right track. Then, you reminded yourself that you were needed. Well, hear this: you are needed.

"And so is Faith, so is Giles, so is Willow, and so is Oz. Hell, even I'm needed! But, you seem to be convinced that you're needed above all. How the Hell does that work?"

"I'm the Slayer-"

"And so is Faith, and so was Kendra! But they were always second stringers, right? Compared to you! Guess what, Buff…if it weren't for us, you wouldn't even be alive! I brought you back from the frickin' dead! Oz figured out where Angel and the Judge were going to go that night! Giles saved you from Spike by smashing the statue of Janus! Willow saved both you and Giles by shooting Oz with that tranquilizer rifle! Faith helped us out when Oz was let loose from his cage! WE ARE HERE TO HELP THE WORLD, BUFFY! NOT TO HELP YOU SAVE THE WORLD! YOU DON'T RULE US THAT WAY! YOU DON'T RULE US AT ALL!"

Xander sat down again, letting his breathing regulate as Buffy whimpered at his outburst. He just didn't understand how she could be so self-centered. She gave herself too much credit. She didn't even truly deserve the title of Vampire Slayer.

"He's right," said Faith as she and Willow came down the stairs.

Willow wordlessly walked over to Xander.

"Faith told me that we were killing you," said Willow, "Is that true?"

Xander wordlessly took off his shirt, revealing the new wounds that he now had carried when his spirit rejoined his body. Willow gasped as she saw his scars and bullet wounds, along with third degree burns along his neck and chest. Willow drew him in a hug and cried silently into his shoulder. Then, she slowly stood away from him and walked over to face Buffy.

"You lied to me, Buffy," said Willow, "You told me that he was possessed, that he had convinced everyone with a lie. But, you didn't even mention how he said he'd die if someone tried to separate his soul. We did that, Buffy. You lied, and now Xander is in pain! He's in pain because of us! He nearly died because of us! I did that. I did the spell. Oh, my God. I did that. I did it because you said. I trusted you and you used that trust against me! I can't believe this. At least the last time we had reason to believe he was possessed. He was mean, cruel, laughed weird, and ate a pig! Plus, he tried to rape you!"

"Yeah," said Xander, "Hyena really hates that. He told me once that if he could do it all over again, he'd probably have done Willow. Which is more reason why he'll never get loose again."

"There's something," said Buffy with a desperate idea to turn the stakes on Xander, "If you know that both your hyena and vampire essence are so dangerous, then why do you keep them around?"

"Simple," said Xander, "One, hyena I have to keep around. He was already bonded to me, so I couldn't get rid of him. Then, there was soldier, who was also bonded to me, so couldn't get rid of him. Vampire, now there's a story. It's mine and Willow's fault that he exists. If we hadn't fluked, then Anyanka wouldn't have come and granted Cordelia's wish, which was for you to never have come to the Dale. See, there I was a badass vampire. I ended up finding him and he tried to take my body. I fought him, along with my hyena and soldier spirits. He surrendered and begged me to allow him existence. See, hyena hates vamps, as does soldier. Vampire is too stubborn and proud to accept such allies. Soldier is loyal to me and would never harm an innocent. He and hyena restrain vampire, which takes up a great amount of their time, allowing me to have control of my body. However, the three came to a mutual understanding. Soldier could be trusted, but neither hyena nor vampire could. However, they decided they liked me…plus, I gave them the action they desired, though it was for the cause of good. They just wanted battle, those two. Sense I gave it to them, they saw no need to betray me. Plus, I know Faith would detect a change in management, so…I think I've covered all my bases."

Buffy tried desperately hard, but she could not find a flaw in his logic. Finally, after so long, she conceded. She thought about what she had done over the years. Yes, she had betrayed humanity. Yes, she had been selfish. Yes, she had done wrong on a lot of things. But, she was still the Slayer. That made her immune, didn't it? She thought about what would happen if Faith went over to the other side. She would do the exact opposite of what she was doing. She'd try to help Faith, but Faith wouldn't accept it. And she'd give up on her. She'd probably end up killing her…like she should have killed Angelus.

Finally, Buffy saw it. She realized just how bad she had screwed up. She saw her actions with clarity now, and she saw that she had acted only for herself…never for others. Oh, sure, she could claim to do her duty, but she never did it fully. She'd never appreciated just how much power she had, but she'd abuse it to get her way. She wanted the perks, but not the duties that came with it. She never wanted to help humanity. But Willow, Xander, Oz…they had. They didn't have a duty to mankind. They only had to do for themselves. But, they didn't run away. They stayed…and fought. They were the true heroes. They deserved the commendation. Not her.

Xander could feel it. He could feel Buffy's aura now, and it was so different. She realized that the world didn't revolve around her. She had once had thoughts of love and caring, and most of them were directed at herself. Now, they were all directed to those around her. He looked at Faith, and she knew as well what had happened. Wordlessly, the two walked over to the crying Slayer as he released his hold over her. They knelt down and enveloped her in a hug. Willow stood back, not knowing what to do, until Xander motioned for her to join them.

"I'm sorry," whispered Buffy, over and over again.

This time, she meant it.

He looked up as he heard the library doors open. He looked on as Giles walked inside, carrying a book and reading another. Then, he noticed them.

"What did I miss," he asked.

Xander sat inside the goat room. He was not meditating, but just thinking. Xander had been planning on staying in Sunnydale for a long time, but that had been mainly because of Buffy. He was long over her, but he had always known that she couldn't handle her duty alone. So, he had planned on sacrificing his happiness so that she could succeed. Now, seeing as how she had finally seen the error of her ways, he felt that she could handle her job just fine. Her biggest obstacle had always been her ego, but she'd solved that. The question would be whether or not she could keep it up. If she managed…then he would be leaving Sunnydale for parts unknown.

Faith walked along the streets of Sunnydale, pondering today's events. It felt as though the world had changed, but only one small thing had. It was mind-boggling how one seemingly insignificant event could change the course of Earth.

She walked out to the street, then heard a horn to her left. She quickly turned her head, only to see headlights, then she felt her body fly. She gasped as she tried to move, but couldn't. Then, she heard voices sound around her. They were so loud. Then, she simply slipped away.