The Archer

Xander drove the road a few nights after what happened with the demons. He was feeling off and figured he'd get some air. He drove along the streets and listened to the song playing on the radio. It was from the Eagles.

You can't hide your lyin' eyes, he sang along, And your smile is a thin disguise. I thought by now you would realize. There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes.

Ironic, he would think later on, that it was at this time, when his life would become so much worse, that this song would come on. Maybe, he would wonder later, it was a sign from above. That now was the time to worry about loyalties and who had them.

He drove on to the cemeteries, thinking that maybe he could catch a vampire before he called it a night. As luck would have it, a figure came running across the street. Xander slammed on the breaks, but not in time to stop from hitting the man. Xander got out and hurried over to him.

"Are you conscious," he asked.

The man groaned, then looked up. Xander jumped back, then cursed himself for not realizing that it had been a vampire. The demon stood up then lunged out with both his swords. Xander leapt away from them, then jumped into the backseat of his car. He got out an arrow and his bow, loaded it, then sent it into the back of the retreating vampire. Fortunately, it dropped its swords on the way. Maybe G-man could decipher something from them.

Xander loaded up his longbow again as he heard steps coming his way, then turned to whoever it was.

"Whoa," said Cordelia as she and Buffy slowed down, "Easy, deputy. Watch where you point that thing."

Xander relaxed and got out the car, but didn't put away his weapons.

"You two patrolling tonight," asked Xander.

"Yeah," said Cordelia.

"Faith said she was patrolling tonight," said Xander in confusion.

"Well, if she was supposed to, she didn't show up," said Cordelia, "Buffy and I left from the library right at nightfall."

"Cordelia," said Buffy with a glare in her eye.

"huh," was all Xander could say, "Well, I got the vamp you were chasing. He dropped his swords, though. Take them back to Giles and see if he can come up with something."

"Sure," said Buffy.

Cordelia just stayed where she was as Buffy went over to where Xander had pointed to collect the swords.

"She's certainly not herself anymore," she said to Xander, "I mean, she's actually listening to us. That…just doesn't add up."

"She's getting better," said Xander, "Just like Faith."

"Hey, are you two together?"

"Well, yes. Why do you ask?"

"It just seems so…right. I mean, and I swear to God, not being bitch here, but…you two just seem to have so much in common. There's the background, and then there's the fact that you two got such a contrasting personality, but now you two seem like best friends. It just…makes sense, you know?"

"…I know."

"Xander," called Buffy, "Where are the swords?"

Xander walked over to where she was, then looked to where they should have been. They weren't there.

"Faith," called Xander as he walked inside the house later that evening, "Are you here?"

"Yeah," she called back from the kitchen, "Right in here."

"What's up," she asked as she walked out to the living room.

"You said you were patrolling with Buffy tonight, right?"

"Yeah. I just got back."

"Buffy and Cordelia were patrolling. I met them on my way back."

"Well, Cordelia took over for me."

"She said that she and Buffy had left from the library right at nightfall. Faith, what's going on?"

"I am so going to kill Cordelia!"

"Faith."

"…Sorry. Alright, you got me. I asked Buffy to fill in for me tonight so that I could go and get you a birthday present."

Xander let his mouth hang open freely. He had never told anyone, save Willow and Jesse, when his birthday was. Buffy had asked him twice before, but he had changed the subject. He didn't like celebrating his birthday. It brought back too many memories.

"How do you know-"

"Vampire told me," she answered.

Xander didn't know what to do. Faith knew about why he disliked his birthday so much. That was the day that his father had begun to beat him. He always got a little bit more on his birthday, except for that seventeenth one. He'd never forget that day. Only the three of them had been there for it. Well, if the last one had gone off good enough, what was to say that this one wouldn't?

"What'd you get me," he said with a smile.

"Not telling," smiled Faith.

"A hint," asked Xander as he followed her into the kitchen.

"No," she said, "And you'll never find it."

"Then I'll never have sex with you."

"Your loss."

"…OK. I give up. No party, right?"

"Course not. I know you a little better than that," she said.

'But that doesn't mean I won't do it anyway,' she thought.

Buffy and Willow walked into the library later the next day. They took a quick look around.

"Hello," called out Willow.

When no one answered, they both grinned and set their stuff on the table.

"You called," said Giles suddenly as he left his office.

"Ah," squealed Buffy, "Don't do that!"

"Well, sorry," said Giles, "Wesley's not here, just to let you know."

"Excellent," said Faith as she, Cordelia, and Oz walked inside, "That guy is alright, in a stuck-up sort of way, but he's a good listener."

"Who's Wesley," asked Cordelia.

"New Watcher," said Willow, "He arrived yesterday, but you didn't see him."

Oz walked over to Willow and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Is this about the party," asked Giles.

"No, it's about arranging an honor guard for the Duke of Wales," said Buffy.

"Duh," said Faith, "It's about X's party. We need to discuss gifts. We've already got the Bronze reserved, Cordy's got the food, and we'll have a karaoke machine up."

"Why do we need a karaoke machine," asked Giles.

"Because," said Faith in a voice that held no room for argument.

"…We have a karaoke machine," said Giles.

"How old is Xander turning, anyway," asked Oz.

"Eighteen," said Willow, "He told me that he just bluffed to Snyder about being eighteen, and his dad knew that he wasn't eighteen when he left, but he let him go anyway. His mom didn't care, so he figured take some pain off them both."

"Good," said Faith with a smile, "Now, gifts. B?"

"A Blackfoot longbow," said Buffy proudly, "Mom bought one for the gallery, but then she said that we could use it as Xander's present after you told me when it was."

"Red?"

Willow walked over to her bag and opened it up, withdrew a piece of paper, then handed it over to Faith. It was an image of a black haired girl in medieval armor, kneeling down. She had a bow and arrow in her hands, and a quiver strapped to her back.

"It's a tattoo," said Willow, "It defines one of the most important things in Xander's life."

"A tattoo," asked Faith, "Isn't that a little-"

"It's not permanent," said Willow, "It's magic. I made it myself from a combination of herbs and powders. It's designed to protect him from harm, kind of like armor."

"OK," said Faith, beginning to like the idea. Plus, the girl did kind of look like her, and she wasn't opposed to X getting a tat of her. She had one from one of her formers, so why shouldn't he have one with her?

"Wolf," asked Faith.

Oz wordlessly walked over to the book cage and pulled out a guitar case. He put it on the table and opened it up. Inside was a black guitar with a longbow and arrow, a sergeant's rate, and a Japanese symbol engraved in gold.

"Devon and I worked on it together," said Oz, "The symbol stands for 'Honor.'"

"I think he'll love it," said Willow.

"I think so, too," said Faith.

Oz nodded and put the guitar away.

"G-man," asked Faith, adopting her boyfriend's nickname of the British man.

Giles smiled at her, then went into his office. He came out with a picture. He handed it to the group, and they gathered around it.

"It belonged to my uncle," said Giles, "He told me to pass it along to my son. And, well, considering the fact that I don't have one and I may well be dead before I ever get the chance, I thought it should go to him."

"What's its make and model," asked Faith.

"It's a Lee-Enfield. My uncle used it in Africa during the second World War."

Xander sat on top of a mausoleum that night. Two days from now, he and Faith were going out to eat for his birthday with his father. His mother refused to go, saying she wanted to find a job at a new bar that just opened up. He was meeting Faith first at the Bronze that night to spend a little time dancing, then going to some fancy restaurant that his father insisted on paying for. Life was getting better, but he still hated letting someone else pay for his food.

Xander sighed and looked out into the night sky. It was beautiful right before midnight, when everything seemed at its climax. Xander smiled, then jumped off the mausoleum before his skull got cracked open by the arrow that had been sent his way. He took cover behind the building, then waited. He quickly stuck his head out, then pulled it back in as another arrow went his way. He got a look at where it came from.

He shifted into game face, drew out an arrow, then loaded it in. As he dove out from his cover, he let it sing.He loaded another arrow andlet it sing once more, however, as the second the arrow left, the fire and ice crystal both exploded in his face. He fell backwards a few feet as fire and ice-fire covered him. He rolled along the grass and put it out quickly, then ran back to the mausoleum for cover. He felt the tingling of his skin. Fortunately, the two flames had counteracted each other, so not much damage was done to him. His bow, on the other hand, was not quite so lucky.

It lay shattered in the dewy grass, along with the broken arrow he had meant to fire upon his attacker. Neither could be repaired, and he had no other weapons on him that he could use on an enemy from so far away. He stretched out with his senses, then felt something use his line. It reached out and struck him, hard, across the face. Xander fell backward and took a quick breath.

He hadn't been expecting that. Aside from himself, no one in Sunnydale had ever demonstrated that talent. He stretched out once more and tried to cloak himself, but the being just reached out and struck him again. It was obvious that whoever it was could not use the eighth sense directly, but could use it once it is being used against it.

Xander sighed and considered his options: Cordelia and Faith were out getting an amulet, and what with him not having any countermeasures, he didn't want to broadcast to the archer where they were. Buffy was at home, so he didn't want to lead the archer where it could get to her. Giles's house, however, was armed to the teeth with crossbows. That wasn't a longbow, but it was better than nothing. His house was the farthest away, and if this being was out after him specifically, he didn't want to broadcast exactly where he lived. Willow and Oz's houses were both out of the question. The library wasn't too far away, but with that huge overhead, it was just too easy to get clipped from above.

Sighing, Xander made his choice. Giles would be getting an unexpected dinner guest tonight. He took a calming breath, crouched down low, then bolted away as fast as he could. Immediately, the sound of arrows flying was heard. He bobbed and weaved as fast as he could, taking every chance he could. He ran to his car and jumped inside, ducked down, then started it. It wouldn't start.

"Damn," growled Xander.

He jumped out and ran down the street as fast as he could, hoping that neither he nor anyone else would get hit by the arrows coming his way.

Giles sat down to his dinner late that evening. Both Cordelia andFaith had called to let him know that they were home safely, so he had just decided to call it a night. He began to eat his food, then heard someone kick his door. Frowning, he stood up and grabbed a knife. Then, the door came flying open. Xander ran through it.

"Xander," asked Giles, "What's the matter?"

Xander just grabbed him and pulled him behind the kitchen counter then jerked his head down, just as an arrow flew past it and embedded itself into the refrigerator.

"What's going on," asked Giles.

"We're under siege," said Xander, "I got attacked by that archer in the cemetery. Used my own crystals to destroy my longbow. Do you have your crossbows here?"

"In the trunk," said Giles, pointing to the trunk in the living room, "But, there are two in my room. The one in the back."

Xander nodded, then quickly ran into Giles's bedroom. He returned with two loaded crossbows and a quiver of thirty bolts. Xander handed one to Giles. They placed them onto the counter, took aim, the opened fire. The two bolts flew from the weapons and through the window the arrows were coming from. They heard one make contact with something wooden.

They reloaded and prepared for the next onslaught, but it never came. Instead, they heard someone jump down to the ground and run up the stairs. Xander ran out after them, but came back empty handed.

Xander entered his house later that night, well after one.

"Xander," called out Faith as she woke up from her slumber.

"Get away from the window," said Xander.

"What's wrong," asked Faith as she went out to the living room, "What happened to you?"

"I got attacked by an archer," said Xander as he entered his armory and pulled out his second longbow.

"Are you alright?"

"…I don't know. Whoever it was, they were good at their job. Plus, they could use my sensory line against me."

"What do we do?"

"Stay away from the windows for right now. I destroyed it's longbow, I found the pieces of it. I ended up getting chased to Giles's, but… I don't think whoever it is will strike again anytime soon, or at least I hope not. We'll go to the library early tomorrow. See if Giles found anything from the bow."

"Giles," asked Xander as he and Faith walked inside the library the next morning, "Find anything on my would-be assassin?"

"Ugh," began Giles as he walked out to the main library, "I looked up the bow. It isn't used by any famous, or in-infamous demonic archers. However, the design appears to be that of a Mongolian archer."

"Mongolian," asked Xander.

"What," asked Faith, seeing the look on his face.

"Dominique's in Mongolia right now," he answered, "Or, at least, is supposed to be."

"Dominique," asked Giles.

"His trainer," answered Faith, who was already well aware of her, "She went over to Mongolia to train."

"I hope she's alright," whispered Xander.

Faith, Xander, Angel, Buffy, and Cordelia walked down the street that night. They were there to get rid of Balthazaar, the demon who had wanted the amulet that Wesley had brought to their attention. However, they were not getting any closer Vampires were coming out of the woodwork to get them.

"Down," called Xander as he and Angel let loose two more arrows at attacking vampires. They went down in a cloud of dust.

"Nice shooting, Angel," said Xander, "Where'd you learn?"

"You pick up things," said Angel.

Then, a hand reached out for Faith. The Slayer grabbed the hand and flung him into the open street. The man was around thirty and dressed in a business suit. Both Angel and Xander leveled their bows at him.

"Who are you," asked Buffy.

"I'm Allan Finch," said the man, "I work for the Mayor."

"The Mayor," asked Xander, "What the Hell does he have to do with anything?"

Before he could answer, the sound of an arrow flying was heard. He fell down to the ground, blood leaking from where the arrow had struck his heart.

"Cover," shouted Xander.

Immediately, the five sought cover behind a dumpster. Xander took a good long look at the wound. It was at an angle that suggested that it had come from the man's right.

"Buffy," said Xander, "You take the group into the building. Angel, hand your bow off to Faith. I'm going to need you as backup."

Xander ran into the street, followed by Angel. Xander took a quick glance at the man. He was dead, no question about it. He pulled his arrow back and glared into the street. He saw a shadow fly across the part of the street that was illuminated by a streetlight. Immediately, the archer and vampire took off after it. Angel stayed in the rear, knowing that an arrow was much more likely to hit him than Xander.

Xander ran across the street and got down behind a car. He glared up from his spot and looked at the assassin. It was a tall female with a Mohawk and armor on her left arm and legs. Xander aimed his bow at her.

"Stay where you are," he shouted.

Then, the light went out. Xander let the arrow sing, but it struck only air.

"Bye," called the lady as an arrow flew out into the night.

The arrow struck Angel in the stomach. Xander ran over to the vampire and dragged his stricken form into cover.

"Dear God," said Xander.

"Ugh," grunted Angel as he ripped the arrow out, "Who was that?"

Xander just stared off into space.

"Xander!"

"…Dominique."

A/N: Lyin' Eyes is owned by The Eagles and their backers. And they rule!

A/N: Ignore any mistakes made on the timing for Xander's birthday. As to the eighteen, just wait.