Xander watched through the window of the gym. He had never seen Dakota look so angry as

he did now, except when they had killed Julia and his parents, and it confused him. Why did

Bip's death cause such a reaction? He did not know Bip that well, why

did he care? For that matter, why had Paul killed Bip in the first place?

Xander continued to watch David and Dakota. They sat in silence just

staring at the ground. For the first time Xander could see how old David

really was. The lines on his face sagged under a weight he could hardly

carry. Xander turned away walked down the sidewalk going nowhere in

particular. The sounds of the night filled his ears. Cricket chirped, birds

still sang, and the wind blew through the trees. Above in the night sky a

hawk screeched and swooped down. It landed in front of Xander and

grew into a human. Paul. "Well what do you know?" Xander said taking

a seat on the park bench. "The great one stands in my presence. You

have been a busy man tonight. So, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Paul's breath came out in a low growl. He did not look in the mood for

Xander's antics, but he suffered them for the moment. He walked a few

feet closer to Xander. "You seem to be living comfortably Xander," he

said. "So you had better be doing something to benefit our cause."

Xander laughed and leaned back against a gnarled old tree. The corner

of his mouth turned up into a cocky grin. "Our cause?" He mocked then

stretched. "Paul, the only cause we ever shared was to get rid of

Stevens. I could care less about your little plot to take over the world.

But just so we understand each other. I still hate humans, and I will

continue to take them out one by one until they are all gone. In fact, there

is one I am going to get tonight, if that makes you feel any better." Paul

seemed relatively satisfied by this answer and smiled. He had always

known Xander wanted no part in their cause, but he still posed as an

asset to it. Now he just had to find a way to keep him as such. "You just

make sure you stick to your word," Paul said. At this Xander laughed full

and loud. Never before had Paul noticed how annoying his laughed

was. "Don't even think about threatening me old man, I will do as I

please." Paul had been pushed too far. He leapt at Xander in order to

knock him to the ground and kill him. He had not tasted enough blood

that night. He grabbed Xander's shoulders but the next thing he knew he

lay on his back staring up into Xander's cold, hard face with both hands

pinned to the ground. Xander had his hands on Paul's bare wrists and

sucked the energy out. "You had better watch it Paul." he said, more

taunting than angry. "You are not dealing with an eighteen year old kid

anymore. I could suck the life right out of you." He sucked away more.

What would stop him from killing him? "Let him go Xander." Xander

looked up to see Charlie standing a few feet away. For some reason he

obeyed. He stood, letting go of Paul's arms. Paul growled. He did not

like this kid, much less, he did not want to be saved by him. He sent out

his electricity again, this time at Charlie. Charlie fell backwards and let

out a yell. Paul laughed. He was more fun to beat up on than Bip had

been. He could see the pain on his face. Xander felt a pang in his heart

and he had the sudden urge to smash Paul's face in and crush it. But he

held back. Paul walked over to Charlie who lay on the ground. But

before he got there Charlie pushed himself up. Paul thrusted a fist to his

face but Charlie blocked it. "What th-" Charlie sent a roundhouse kick

into Paul's head. Paul reeled and fell to the ground, the world spinning.

Charlie pinned him, with his cane across the chest and said in a

trembling, but commanding voice; "Get out." Paul was just about to send

another blot of energy through Charlie when he saw David approaching.

He shoved Charlie backward, melted into a hawk again and flew away

into the night. David walked over. "What happened?" He asked.

"Nothing, we handled it." Xander replied, he turned to Charlie. "You OK

kid?" "What? Yeah..." Charlie took a step and fell onto the bench. He

looked exhausted. The shock Paul gave him hurt more than he let on.

His hands shook and he dropped his cane. Xander picked it up and

handed it back to him. Then, not knowing why, helped him up. Charlie

leaned on his cane like an old man and gasped for breath. "I'm fine," he

said, brushing Xander off, and tried to walk away. He had not gotten

two steps when he fell again. Xander caught him under his arms and

pulled one around his neck to support him. Charlie's head lolled back.

He had lost all control. David grabbed Charlie's other arm and picked

up his cane from the ground, then they walked back to the mansion.