The Archer

A/N: Two for one sale. Again, the retreat. Again, HAGS. Again, don't do nothin' I wouldn't do. (In other words, go wild, but not too wild)

Faith and Buffy walked through the cemetery a few days after the vampire Willow had been sent back. Neither were talking, but were just looking around for monsters to kill. Suddenly, Faith looked up into the trees. She got out a knife and flung it up into the tree.

The creature jumped down off the tree branch and landed in between them. Both Faith and Buffy came forward, armed with stakes, then they noticed who it was.

"Xander," said Faith in shock.

"What are you doing," Buffy asked,equal inshock.

"Testing my favorite Slayer's instincts," said Xander in his game-face.

"And which one would that be," asked Faith with a smile.

"Why, Faith, you know who," he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

Buffy watched the interlay, not really knowing what to say. It was odd looking on from this end of a relationship that seemed so close to hers and Angel's. She remembered once when she had kissed Angel while he was vamped out. Before, it had seemed romantic. Looking from this end, it seemed…perverse. She had no right to judge, and she knew that. But, it was interesting to look on things from this end. At least Xander was partially human, whereas Angel was complete vampire.

"So," said Xander, "Had any beasties as of late?"

"Not yet," said Buffy with a smile, "But, the night is still young."

"Well, I don't think we'll have much longer to wait," said Faith.

"Why," asked Buffy, although she knew the answer already.

"There's one behind you," said Xander.

He and Faith separated faster than lightning. Buffy turned around to see a large demon with sharp fangs dressed in a suit standing behind her. Then, she felt the air as Xander jumped over her, his longbow already loaded and ready for firing. Faith and Buffy grabbed hold of the demon and slammed him up against the wall of the mausoleum.

"Friendly," shouted the demon.

"Friendly," asked Xander, who understood the term much better than the other two, "How are you friendly to us?"

"Think about it," said the demon with a toothy smile, "Demon seeks out Slayers. Highly unusual, don't you think?"

Xander smiled at the demon's sense of humor. Even though this was one weird demon, he had a point.

"You make a point," said Xander, "But, and here's something that I can't stress enough, we aren't exactly the best of the best defenders of good, justice, and all that jazz. We're soldiers."

Xander pushed the point of his arrow up against the demon's head. It quivered in fear.

"Talk," he growled, slipping out his vampire visage, "Or this goes in through your skull."

"Alright," said the demon, "How would y'all like to get your hands on the Books of Ascension?"

"What the Hell are those," asked Faith.

"Oh, come on," yelled the demon, "The Books of Ascension! Books filled with stuff needed for him on A-Day!"

"Who, exactly," asked Xander, though he already knew.

"The Mayor," said the demon.

"Give them to us," said Buffy, venom in her voice.

"Not here, princess," said the demon, "And not unless you let me go."

The three shared a look, then backed away from the demon, keeping close enough to prevent it from leaving.

"Here's the deal," said the demon, "I get the books tomorrow, you give me five grand for them. How's that sound to you?"

"I've got a better idea," said Faith, "You give us the books and we'll let you live. How's that sound?"

"Oh, come on," said the demon, "I don't want the money to go out and kill people! I want it for a plane ticket out of the Hellmouth! Plus, I don't have the books on me. I get them tomorrow, and only I know where to look. Now, you give me five grand tonight, you get the books tomorrow. Deal?"

Xander sighed to himself.

"Will you take a check," asked Xander.

"Are you kidding me," asked the demon, "It has to be cash."

"Fine," said Xander, "Come on. My car's just right over here. We'll have to make a quick stop to the bank. Thank God they got ATMs."

"Xander," said Buffy, "Can we talk to you for a minute?"

Xander nodded and left the demon alone for a second.

"Why are you paying him," asked Faith.

"This isn't a demon out to kill things," said Xander, "He's out here to get money to leave here. That's one less demon we have to deal with, and from the looks of it, he isn't a deadly demon. His aura isn't tainted by human deaths, at least not any this year. Plus, demons have just as much right to trade in monetary goods, and these books sound like they're worth it."

Xander sighed, then walked over to the demon.

"He gets weirder every day," said Faith.

"Speaking of weird," said Buffy, "How's the search for Xander's not-friend going?"

"We've checked five apartments," said Faith, "Each one was empty. With messages for him. I can't even believe this is the same woman that trained Xander. She's so different than how Xander remembers her. It's just…unimaginable."

"…Onto a happier subject, hopefully," said Buffy, feeling very depressed over hearing that and comparing it to her own experience with Angelus as she did so, "How are you and Xander?"

"Well, we've adjusted to our new living conditions. Xander's still angry over what happened to the house, and to Wesley, but…he's coping."

"How is Wesley," asked Buffy.

"Still in the hospital. The doctors are hopeful that he'll wake up, but…not half as hopeful as they were before."

Xander walked into the demon's apartment the next day.

"Good to see you," said the demon, "There are the books, all five on hand. Well worth your money."

Xander walked over to them and briefly inspected them. The books were old, very old. Some of them were in weird writing that Giles could probably translate. All in all, they looked like they were worth their money.

"We got a deal."

It was like any other day for the Scooby gang. Giles, Willow, Oz, Xander, and Faith were pouring through the books that Xander had gotten while Cordelia and Buffy sparred. Tonight, it was Faith and Cordelia's turns at patrolling, as per their agreement. So far, all three Slayers had gotten off pretty good on their agreement, kept to it good. That showed something for them: they were trustworthy. Before, Faith would have just skipped out on it if she felt like it. Buffy would have blown it off for Angel. Cordelia…well, no one really knew.

Giles read a passage again, then sighed and took his glasses off. He got out a cloth. Cordelia looked up sharply and pointed at him.

"Uh-uh," she said, "It hasn't been a month yet. You still got one more day until you can clean your glasses."

"But they're smudged," said Giles.

"I don't care," she said, "It hasn't been a month and I told you that you couldn't do that for a month. Now, put that cloth away and deal with it."

Giles glared at her, forgetting his British mentality, then put his cloth away.

"Got something," said Oz.

"What do you have," asked Willow.

"This passage right here," said Oz, "Talks about Olvikan."

"Olvikan," asked Giles.

"Yeah," said Oz, "It says that this is the demon that one can turn into after a hundred years of life through evil, a ritual for invulnerability, and something called the Box of Gavrok."

"Olvikan," said Giles again.

He abruptly stood up and walked into his office. He came out a moment later, then went up to the shelves. He pulled out a book, flipped through it, then found the beginnings of a picture. He unfolded the centerfold three times. He gasped and quickly walked to the table, placed the book in the center, and allowed everyone to look at it.

Xander and Faith walked off the stage, arms around each other. They had been there to play for the Dingoes again, and their band was making publicity for itself by having both of them.

"Great going, guys," said Devon as he jumped off the last three steps, followed by Oz as he carried his guitar behind him.

"They love us," said Devon, putting his arms around the both of them, "I gotta admit, when I first heard of the changes, I nearly went insane. But, you guys rock! Seriously, you two are great. Hey, we got another gig in about a week. You in?"

"Never know," said Oz for them, "They're in the same boat I'm in."

"Ah," said Devon, "Maybe I should join your group. At least then, I'd know what's going on. All I know is that you guys fight demons."

"You know about demons," asked Faith.

"Sure," said Devon, "Everybody knows about demons, they just don't speak about them. Well, call me and let me know so we can practice."

With that, Devon took off and headed for the crowd of women that had gathered around them. Their band had gotten much better than before, and what with Faith and Xander, it was getting the best fans ever.

The couple laughed as Devon flexed his muscles for the girls, and they oohed and awed. They walked away from the crowds and sat down at the bar.

"Y'all did good," said a voice to their left.

Xander turned to see who it was, then mentally cursed himself for not feeling his presence the second he had walked inside.

"Hey, Jack," said Xander.

"Jack," asked Faith, "Jack O'Toole? The zombie guy?"

"I prefer the term 'living-dead,' thank you," said Jack.

"Sorry," said Faith.

"So, what are you doing here," asked Xander.

"Listening to the music," said Jack, "Thinking. I do that a lot nowadays."

"About what," asked Xander.

"…What you showed me," said Jack.

"Did you bring your buddies up," asked Faith.

"No," said Jack, "I just went home. Didn't even have the will to get drunk. That's been pretty much my lifestyle now. Go to school, get by, then just go home."

"Seeing the 'big picture' really did that to you, didn't it," asked Xander, though he knew the answer.

"Yeah," said Jack, "I never really thought about how my actions effected others. It was just 'me' all the time."

"You don't see things one sided now," said Xander, "That's good. It'll help you in the end."

"I shouldn't even be here," said Jack, "I should be rotting in the ground, not sitting here with you guys. It sucks to be able to see things clearly."

"People enjoy their delusions," said Faith, "It's human."

"Wish I could be that way," said Jack.

"We all do," said Xander, "But, you can't be. Your life is changed. I'm sorry, but…that's what it took."

"And, I guess I'm grateful," said Jack.

"So," said Xander, "What are you going to do now?"

"Don't know," said Jack, "I know about too much. How every move I make can alter the world. I don't know what to do."

"You could help," said Xander, "You could take a stand and fight."

"Like you," asked Jack.

"Yeah," said Faith with a sad look, "Like us."

"It's your choice," said Xander, "You can do whatever you want with this knowledge, or you can just keep on going the way you are."

"Buddy," said the bartender, getting Xander's attention, "I got a message from some gal named Cordelia. Says to get to the hospital."

Xander nodded, then got up. Faith went on ahead to get the car ready, while Xander stayed behind.

"Jack," he said, "I know that you feel awful like this. But, it gets better when you do something about it. When you take a stand and fight."

Xander sighed. This man needed help, he could tell. The 'big picture,' as Xander called it, was driving him slowly insane. Without some vent for his frustration at it, he would go crazy. There was only one thing he could do.

"You know I fight against demons," he said, "Along with my friends."

"Yeah," said Jack.

"We meet every afternoon in the library," said Xander, "Some of us might not show up because we have things to do. Come by tomorrow and I'll be sure to meet you there."

"…Alright. Tomorrow."

Xander nodded, then walked out the door. He hoped he could help Jack, but wondered if he was too late.