Brothers in Arms

Disclaimer: own nothing you recognize.

$£#

"The Titty Twister," James asked.

"Yep," Kate answered as she continued her drive down the street.

"Never hearda it before," Gambit said.

He, Bond, and Xander were sitting in the back as Kate drove them to their car. They weren't too sure about what to do now that they knew her story. She was here in Sunnydale searching for her friend, Seth Gecko. From what her few resources had said, he was starting to hunt demons and vampires for a living. She figured, what better place to start than the Hellmouth?

"That's a good thing," she muttered, "Still the hottest vamp bar in Mexico."

"Ever thought of taking it down," Xander asked.

"Once or twice," she answered, "But, it'd be too hard. A lot of Masters hang around there now, keep the locals in check and bring the club back to its prestige. We'd need more firepower than I have."

"What about a rocket launcher," Xander suggested.

"…Fill the club up with dynamite," Kate muttered, "That'd work. Why? You got a rocket launcher?"

"Yeah," he answered honestly, "Got it out once to take down a demon called The Judge. Never returned it, though. Still got a few rockets to go with it."

"I'll think about it," she said, "So, what're three losers like you doing out hunting vamps at this time of night?"

"Someone's gotta do it," Remy said, "Me and Jimbo might be new to it, but Xand's a vet when it comes to this shit."

"You give me too much credit," he stated embarrassed, "Besides, Kate, you've been hunting these things longer than I have."

"You're right, but I never took on a demon like The Judge before," she countered, "And, just from the sound of him, he sounds like a ripe bastard."

"You took on hundreds of vamps," Gambit reminded, "By the way, who did you say this guy was? Seth Gecko?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"He was part of the escapees from the Rising Sun," Remy stated as he remembered something, "It was coming in to New Orleans before I left. A lot of people died during the uprising, and a lot of them escaped."

"Then, he's probably still off that way," Kate groaned, "Damn. Oh, well. I'll stick around anyway, at least for a month. I've been searching around for three years, and I never once heard he had been caught."

"Why are you sticking around," James asked.

"Not that we're not enjoying your company," Xander sent her a lopsided grin.

"And I'm enjoying yours, too," she said, her tone of voice displaying her meaning as friendly, "I'm saying that I'll stay in town, see if Seth makes his way here. Plus, I can start getting new supplies and check out your operation."

"It's not ours," the 'Zeppo' muttered, "There's a Slayer and her Watcher, along with several others who operate from the high school. I used to be a part of their group but, they basically threw me out of the fight."

"What do you reckon we should do," Remy asked, "I mean, outta all of us, Kate included, you do have the most experience. She may have been hunting longer but, she hasn't helped save the world, right?" At her nod of agreement, he pressed forward, "She's planning on staying for a while, I got nowhere else to go, Jimmy here has to stick around till he figures out what's up with the Mayor. We're in the same boat now. What do you think we should do?"

Xander opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again. He had no idea what to do now that he was being asked. But, that wasn't true. He had become suspicious of the Mayor after he had allowed city hall to be used by those entranced bigots. At first, he had reasoned that it was because of the demons, but then, he had recalled hearing Willow's reactions to the whole event. She had said that Wilkins had held a…disagreeing face when talks arose of more involvement with the townspeople against demonic things. And now, what with James's new info about him, that just confirmed his suspicions. He knew what they had to do and he knew it wouldn't be easy, even with a mutant, a spy, a fellow demon hunter, and himself. The gang wouldn't listen to him, the only one who would even give him a chance would be Willow, and anything she could do would only make the Mayor suspicious. This required stealth. And also, Buffy wouldn't approve of him bringing new players into the field. The last thing he wanted was for one of their main warriors to be miffed against her fellow allies, it wouldn't make for good battlefield tactics and would endanger lives. So, he would simply have to keep her out of the loop till it was absolutely necessary.

"Give me a day," he said, "Remy, you and James find a place to crash for the night. Get some rest. Kate, are you willing to work with us?"

She nodded. Any time she got the chance to take down a demon, she leapt at it.

"Good. Would you mind taking James and Gambit in for the night?"

"Sure," she agreed, "They try anything, I'll shoot them with my bow in a soft spot."

All three involuntarily cringed at that, feeling the imaginary pain of a bolt through the crotch.

"Moving on," Xander muttered, "Meet me tomorrow at…"

He struggled for a moment, trying to think of the best place where they could meet. His house was off limits, for obvious reasons. He considered one of the crypts he knew in town but, the odds of them being full of vamps were too much. He didn't want to waste any ammo he didn't have to. He considered Angel's old flat for a moment but, it was too close to the Bronze. He didn't want any of them to meet the gang yet…or ever, perhaps. He didn't know, it all depended on what happened next.

What he needed was a place where they could stash things, where no one would bother to come and look for them. A place where they could hide in wait till the right moment. Suddenly, it came to him.

"Hand me a pen and paper," he motioned with his handed as he said this and Bond reached into his jacket and handed over what he required, "A little over a year ago, there was this weird dude called Ted. Robot, killed his wives. He owned this little workshop near the edge of town. When the cops took the bodies out, the city took control and tried to sell it off but, no one wanted it. So, it's pretty much trapped in zoning laws and shit. Meet me here at sundown, bring all your gear and equipment that you gather throughout the day. Sound good?"

"Works with me," James answered, "Though, why can't we just stay the night?"

"…Good idea," Xander agreed, "Kate, do you see a BMW SUV out there?"

"Yeah," she answered, "Just ahead."

"James, you and Remy drive behind me and Kate, we'll lead you there."

"Why can't I stay with the lass," Gambit asked, knowing what the true answer was.

"Because, if I'm leading you in a camper, then there's no chance you can lose us," he answered dryly.

"…That works," Remy muttered.

"See you in a minute," James said as she came to a stop, "You lead, we'll follow."

Xander nodded and kept silent as his two friends left the camper. As soon as Kate heard the SUV honk, she began to drive off.

"Take a right up here," he guided her.

"So, what's your story," she asked as she followed his instruction, "Why're your friends leaving you out of the fight?"

"Not sure," he answered, "I guess they just, one day, figured they'd had enough of saving my ass. Though, to be fair, I've saved their asses a few times, too."

"You don't sound too surprised by it."

"I'm not. I knew it was just a matter of time after last year."

"How'd you get involved in this, anyway?"

"…You know what a Slayer is?"

"Yeah, you mentioned one earlier. Some kinda supernatural demon killer. Kinda like She-Ra."

"Exactly, except, not half as hot. Well, Buffy at least. Faith's a bombshell."

"She your girl?"

"No. Well, she was my first, but…no, we're not together. Anyway, I was in our library at the high school when she came in. Our librarian just so happens to be her Watcher and, they talked shop, I heard. Later that night, I went to the Bronze and met her. My best friend, Willow, had been taken off by some vamp and we went to get her. When we got there, there were two vamps and they had Will and my other friend, Jesse. We escaped, ran around, and ended up getting caught again. Buffy came in, saved us, but…we lost Jesse. It was the next day before Buffy went to get him, and I followed."

"He was turned," it wasn't a question.

"…Yeah. That night, we had to stop a massacre. I killed Jesse during that battle."

"…I killed my brother to keep him from being turned, and Seth killed his brother to keep him from killing us. It's hard to do but, it needed doing. You did the right thing."

"I know. Ugh, turn left here."

"What's your home like, Xander? If you don't mind my asking."

"I mind the home, not being asked about it. Odds are you've seen worse than I can dish out personally, so, I don't mind sharing if you're willing to listen. Well, I think I can sum it up in a few short words: drunk, bigots, violent."

"Ah, that kind. Let me guess: drunk dad, mom in deep denial, carelessness, or too much in love to see it."

"Sure ain't any of those. She drinks and's usually passed out too much to notice."

"You ever thought of moving out? I mean, this place you're talking about sounds pretty good: no one wants it, no one comes around, and the city'd like to just forget about it. No one'd notice you missing from your home, or care, I'm guessing. Why not?"

"…I'll think about it. Ugh, it's on the left here, just a few miles up."

$£#

Xander smiled to himself as he left out the back entrance to the library. It was ridiculously easy to simply sneak around this place, even when there were two Watchers and two Slayers around. The three ones he knew were both a surprise and a non-surprise in the fact that he could sneak past them but, this new guy, Wesley, was a surprise. He figured that anyone straight out of the Watcher's…Academy, he guessed, would be capable of noticing him. He had potential and would need some training but, would eventually be able to match with them.

The Eliminati were the boys they had met last night, with one long sword and one short. That was interesting…he'd have to go by Willy's tonight, check up on his favorite barkeep. He smiled at the thought and turned down the street he knew would eventually lead him to the Harris residence. After a little bit of convincing from Remy, Jimbo, and Kate, he had decided to move out of his parent's house. He had also decided to go talk to Faith. She lived in, from what his blurred memory could recall, a place his folks wouldn't live in. He didn't wish that on anyone and was more than willing to give her a hand, if she was willing. He would have to be careful, though. If he invited her to stay with him and his friends, she'd assume it was about the sex. He had no doubts in his mind that that was the way her own mind worked. Sucked but, given her situation, understandable. He would need help from someone she didn't associate with sex. And, now that Wyndam-Pryce was in the picture, he'd either have to recruit the slightly older man or work his way around him. Right now, however, he needed an ally inside the Scooby Core and, considering that he had decided to go ahead and let them think they had forced him out, it would have to be someone else. Willow would cave into Buffy too easily. Giles was Buffy's father figure. He wanted to help Faith and couldn't make it seem like he was using her, it would only serve to drive her away. Oz would side with Willow. That left him the new guy.

"Joy," he muttered to himself.

$£#

Kate smiled as she examined the walls, all of which were covered with weaponry: rifles, daggers, crossbows, swords, maces and, her personal favorite, a special sword on the center rack. It was a basic wooden sword with two blades stuck along the sides; the perfect vampire hunting weapon.

"Hey," a burly clerk yelled at her, "Are you going to stand there, girlie, or are you going to buy something?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she reached into her pocket and withdrew several wads of cash, Thank goodness for dumbass vamps, "I'll have all of this," she spread her arms wide to indicate the room, "To go."

He smiled.

$£#

"Damn, this is boring," Remy muttered, causing James to nod in agreement.

He and Gambit were in the Sunnydale Hall of Records, looking up any information they might have on the Mayor. Ordinarily, agents went in undercover and worked their way around on the inside. Instead, MI6 had decided to just let him work his way around for his first mission. Give him some 'experience.' He chuckled at the thought, wondering how they would react to all his newfound knowledge. Thank goodness he had decided to activate his tie recorder during the fight that night.

He looked at a recent photo of the Mayor and compared it to one of the first Mayor, back nearly a hundred years ago. For a moment, he just stared, not really knowing what he was looking at. Then, just as he was putting the old photo away, he stopped and brought them back up. No, he thought to himself, No bloody way.

"Remy," he called to his mutant friend, "Come here, please."

"What's up," Gambit wondered aloud as he stood and walked behind the young Englishman.

"This photo," Bond indicated the older one, "Was taken nearly a hundred years ago. This one," he indicated the colored one, "Was taken last week. Do you notice anything?"

"Yeah," the thief muttered, "They're frigging twins."

$£#

"Holy crap, Kate," Xander muttered as he and his new friend loaded some of the few belongings he wanted to take with him into her camper, "Did you buy the whole store?"

"Yeah, actually."

He stopped moving completely and stared at her, amazed that she had bought an entire arms market.

"How," he asked, carefully.

"Found a few thousand of a couple of vamps in LA," she answered, completely serious.

"Musta been a few hundred thousand," he commented as he stared around the camper, "What are you trying to do, fund an army?"

"Maybe," she muttered, "All depends on how bad the Mayor is."

He took a moment to think about her answer…then, nodded in agreement.

"I wanna go somewhere tonight," she stated and he locked the door.

"Only place I know of is The Bronze, and my friends hang around there."

"Why should that stop us?"

"…Alright. You wanna go?"

"Sounds good to me."

$£#

Buffy sighed in aggravation. She had tried to talk with Willow about Xander, but the redhead was still mad about her not knowing much about him. And about being kept out for Faith. Well, she had plans to go over and study with her friend tonight. She would smooth things over then and talk to her about their friend. Who hadn't hung with them today, period. It was…odd and scary, now that she actually had to live without him…and just for one day. She wondered what it would be like without him. She couldn't imagine it…she refused to imagine it. If those people he had associated himself with would dare try to take him away, then she would stop them.

$£#

"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce," Xander greeted the new Watcher with respect, "Hi. I'm Xander Harris, one of Buffy's friends. I know about what goes bump in the night."

"Oh," this took the Englishman back a bit but, he quickly recovered, "Um, well, how can I help you, Mr. Harris?"

"Well, Buffy and I've had something of a…falling out," Xander decided to head straight for the truth, "And, we're not on the best of speaking terms."

"I don't make it my business to involve myself with my charge's personal life," he said.

"And I'm not asking you to," he said, "All I'm asking of you is that you keep me informed about the demonic threats. I am a part of this war and will remain that way, and I would like to know that I still have one friend amongst the group. What do you say?"

Wesley hesitated. He knew that something must have happened in order for this upstanding young man to be kept out of the fight and, he didn't consider it wise to involve himself with someone who had fallen out of the Slayer's graces. However, he understood the feeling of being kept out. He knew that they were doing that with him and severely disliked it. This caused him to feel a slight kinship with the young man. Plus, Mr. Harris was the only one of the group who had treated him with any respect period. And, he was including Mr. Giles's behavior. Granted, the usual hazing was expected and he was Rupert's replacement, so he understood a small level of hostility but, not the palpable waves he had been receiving from the Slayers.

"…Uh, very well, Mr. Harris," he agreed.

$£#

"The trick to pool is knowing where your shot is going to end up," Remy bent down over the table and aligned his stick with the cue ball and prepared to make his shot, "Hit it at precisely the right angle, and it will go wherever you want it to go."

He pulled back and struck the white mass smartly, sending the seven straight out into the left corner pocket.

"Not bad," James muttered, "Where're Xander and Kate?"

"Ain't that them right there," Gambit asked, indicating the mirror behind him.

James turned around and looked into the mirror, then turned back around to see that their friends were, indeed, coming into the Bronze.

"I like cards better," Remy muttered, "I can handle pool alright but, cards are my specialty."

"Hey, guys," Xander greeted them, "Sorry we're late. Had to make a stop."

"What're we playing," Kate asked.

"Cards," Remy said as he tossed the stick down, "I haven't played a game of poker in an age."

"I spent all my money today on your weapons," Kate scolded the thief, "So, you're spotting me a few bucks."

"And, neither you, nor Xander are cheating," James stated.

"What about you," Xander asked, "We helped teach you how to cheat at poker."

"Yeah, but I'm just too good to cheat," Bond said with a smug smile.

"So, whaddya say," Remy asked as he sat down at a table, "Poker, aces wild?"

"Sounds good," Kate said.

$£#

"Wes," Xander greeted the young Watcher as Giles left, "I wanted to check something with you, so the guys'll be aware."

"What would that be, Mr. Harris," Wesley asked the young man.

"Please, call me Xander," he insisted once again, "And, you remember how I mentioned how I was doing some research on the Mayor?"

"Yes, I seem to recall," he said and motioned for Xander to take a seat.

"Well, I did some research and found this," Xander reached into his bag and withdrew the two photos that Remy and James had found, "Compare these two pictures and tell me what you notice."

The Englishman took the photos and stared at them inquisitively before gasping as realization hit him.

"They're the same person," he muttered, "How?"

"I wish I knew," the young man answered, "But, I'm doing some more research into it. I want you to say that you began a more extensive search into the town and discovered this. Send Buffy and Faith in to do some recon."

"Yes, good idea," Wesley agreed immediately, "Um, there is still the matter of Balthazar and his amulet. I need to put it in a safe place."

"Give it over to me," Xander suggested, "I know a few places where it'll be safe."

"…Alright," he reached into his jacket and pulled the piece out.

"They won't find it," the young man said as he placed the amulet into his pocket and, for some reason, the British Watcher found himself believing him, "As for Balthazar, I've been hearing rumors that he's around. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that he is. We have a friend here named Angel, he's a vampire with a soul. Odds are he knows about it already and will tell Buffy about it but, just in case he doesn't, I want you to do it. While you're doing this, I'll be researching the Mayor some more and I'll be sneaking into his offices. Sound good?"

"Very good," Wesley said, "However, I believe it would be best to withhold the information concerning the Mayor until you come up with something a bit more convincing, if nothing less than to alleviate any objections that either Faith or Buffy may have."

After a moment, the young man nodded in understanding.

"It makes sense," he uttered with a grim smile, "Wish them luck for me, will you?"

"I will, Mr.-…Xander, and the same to you," that being said, the youth turned away and walked out the library.

$£#

"How come your eye twitches every time I say Faith's name," the blonde Slayer asked, although she was already aware.

"None of your business," Xander snapped, "Listen, I really don't care about your 'Ode to Faith' thing going on. I'm highly caffeinated and trying to concentrate. Some of us actually care about school."

He shifted his eyes over to Willow to indicate his meaning. For once, she got it. She settled down and began to take her test when she remembered about Xander's two new friends. She was about to turn around and confront him about them when she heard a rapping at the window. All eyes immediately turned to it and saw Faith open the window up and lean inside.

"Hey, girlfriend, bad time?"

She backed away and breathed hot air onto the window, placed both her index fingers against the smudge, and moved them around until she made a heart. She used one more swipe of her finger to create the image of a stake impaling a heart. In a final move, she smiled at Buffy and bounced her eyebrows up and down. Buffy didn't think longer than a second before she got up and went to the window.

"What," Willow was in panic mode, "S-she can't! Can she?"

Faith stared at her for a second before closing the window. She began to follow Buffy away from the room, but stopped for one second to stare at Xander. He met her gaze unwaveringly, causing her to lick her lips sensually. Finally, after he felt his body temp rise to nearly a thousand degrees, she moved on. He waited about ten seconds before turning back to his test and Christmas treeing the answers. He stood up, turned it in, and went to the door.

"What, you're going too," Willow asked, once more in a panic.

"Hey, I'm done, and I got a free for the rest of the day," he said with a lopsided grin and walked out the door.