Xander looked at the apartment that was masquerading as a bedroom. 'Every time I think this place can't amaze me any more…it does.' Shaking his head, he walked into the room, which by itself was at least one and a half times larger than his apartment in SunnyD. 'What's left of it that is.' He reminisced wincing. He glanced to the right of the huge bedroom, which was occupied by a large leather L-Shaped couch. A nice flat screen television sat at an angle in the corner so it could be easily viewed by all those who sat, or rested, on the couch.
Directly behind the couch, about 10 feet away, was a nice ornately hand carved dinning table. There were four exquisitely carved chairs placed at the table. One on each side. Beyond all of the furniture, one side of the wall was occupied by an elaborate entertainment system that looked expensive and tastefully put together. What caught Xander's attention however, was the rather large window that ran along one side of the room and was shrouded with large shades which were partially open. Near the end of the window was a door which too was partially open. Placing his bag onto the carpeted floor he made his way over to the window.
Pushing some of the vertical shades to the side Xander glimpsed into the front yard of the mansion. Looking into the distance of the impressive mansion, he followed the massive wall, which ran all along the way, to the wrought iron gate's that opened up into the entrance's slanting driveway. Shifting to his right, he tried to see what was to the left, but only saw more of the mansion. Letting go of the shades he proceeded through the partially open door.
Inside was a small office tastefully furnished. Its window looked out across the mansion. One could just make out the expansive garage at the end of the driveway. "Judging from the rest of this place, there must be some amazing cars in there." Xander concluded .That thought brought a smile to his face. Turning his attention to the room, he saw a desk that went along the wall connecting the office to the bedroom. When the desk got to be within about five feet of the door, it turned at a right angle and became perpendicular to the wall. On the corner of the desk was a fairly large flat panel monitor, the type he had only seen in movies and malls. 'This guy really goes all out…doesn't he?' Thinking that, Xander walked around the desk and pushed the chair out of the way. After all he did not want to take the chance of getting any blood stains on it. Standing in front of the desk, he could see a drawer under the corner. Pulling it out, he found a wireless mouse and keyboard. Looking closer at the monitor he could make out the small camera at the top center, and the microphone on the bottom right corner.
Stepping back from the computer, he eyed it sadly. 'I wonder if Willow really kept up with her hacking skills once she became a witch.' he pondered to himself. 'It's amazing how dying can put your perspectives in order.' he darkly thought. He could still feel the overwhelming need to be around his friends. And he hated the idea that he hadn't kept in close contact like he had planned. Walking over to the far side of the office he stared out of another window that overlooked the wooded area. Reflecting on his recent past, he felt that, at the time, it seemed more as though he was just too busy living his life, growing, and didn't have the time. And it wasn't like he could really tell them what he was doing. In order to tell them that, he would have had to tell them about the 'Charmed Ones'. He had promised Leo that he would wait until one of the sisters, or Leo himself, would be there.
Looking down at his shoes, he realized how rotten he felt for having not spoken to his friends. Looking back at the computer he resolved to himself. 'Tonight I am going to get in contact with them. Whether its through, phone, e-mail, or some form of telepathy I'll talk to them.' Shaking his head with that resolve he began to smile. 'It's not like I have to tell them everything. I've had secrets in the past. Probably always will. I used to be the guy people would talk to…I should still be that guy.' he resolved determinedly.
With all these thoughts in mind, he walked out of the office, towards his duffel bag which lay bag on the floor. Suddenly with his new resolution and plans, he felt as if a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He then picked up his bag and tossed it onto the King Size bed that was against the wall opposite the front door. Standing at the foot of the bed, hovering over his bag, he straightened up and slowly turned around.
What he had initially thought was a dresser with a mirror above it was in fact something else. The dresser was what he thought it was, it was the 'Mirror' that wasn't. It was another television, set into the wall. Taking a quick glance to the other side of the room, he could still see the television there. 'What possible reason could they have to have 2 freaking televisions in one room!' Shaking his head at this weirdness he turned back towards his duffel bag.
Pulling out the clothes he wanted to wear he walked towards the two doors, opting to enter the one closest to the television. Entering the small room he could tell it was a walk-in closet. 'Wow, this is the first bare room I've seen.' he thought sarcastically. Turning around he noticed a boxed off portion of the wall. 'Must be where the TV is inset.'
Walking out of t room, he then entered the bathroom. The bathroom inside was mostly simple, with a nice Jacuzzi and a shower stall off to its right. Across from that were two connected sinks. A mirror covered the wall just above the sinks. Stripping out of his dirty clothes, he could see the dried splotches of blood that covered his upper torso. Turning around, he went to the stall and turned on the water waiting for it to steam. Getting into the shower he relaxed letting the hot water wash away the caked on blood which had crusted over and given his skin a red tint for a short while. Reaching for the soap his body went on autopilot while his mind wandered elsewhere.
Coming out of whatever trance he had been in, he looked down at himself. Realizing he was now clean, and the shower was extremely hot, he turned the temperature down slowly until it was ice cold. The arctic like water still could not completely get him out of his daze, so he decided to end the shower anyways.
Getting out of the shower, he noticed the entire length of the mirror was fogged up. 'I must have been in there for a while.' Shrugging it off, he decided to waste no more time. Grabbing a towel from a nearby towel rack, he dried himself off before slipping on his new clothes. Eying his pants in distaste he decided to discard them. Glancing at Adam's shirt and sweater, he figured it would be a good idea to bring them along. 'He said they were ruined…but I might as well give him the option.' and with that thought he made his way out of his bedroom, down the hallway and to the stairs. All the way, trying to figure out what he would ask first…and who would talk first. 'Adam said he wanted to tell me what was going on. But there is definitely something off about him. And what about this place? Who needs a place like this?' reflecting on the opulence of the place and the unobtrusive, but now clearly visible, security measures present in the mansion With a thousand thoughts, pulling him in a thousand directions, he walked through the main hallway near the entrance. Turning towards the den he was still lost in thought until IT hit him.
Like a sherman tank driving over him, he felt it. In his head, it felt as though thousands of angry bees had taken up residence. The feeling at first felt like a vibration running through his entire body. It increased shortly, causing him to drop the clothes he was carrying, and grab his head .in blinding pain. The feeling that was going through his body seemed to center in his head and in his gut, and he was certain that if this lasted much longer, there would be Twinkies along with rest of his insides covering the floor soon, so acute was the pain.
An indescribable urge made him look up. There, standing in the doorway, was Adam. As soon as Xander managed to make eye contact the feeling went away, as though it had never existed. His sudden confusion at this latest inexplicable event became tinged with a growing amount of fear, and a sudden amount of great anger. Inside now, he was suddenly seething and cursing himself. 'Why the fuck did I trust him?' Ignoring his senses that were still telling him he was not in any danger, he straightened his posture, slipping subconsciously into a defensive position.
Mustering the righteous amount of anger in his voice he asked, "What did you do to me?"
He was half expecting some half-baked answer, or perhaps some form of denial. What he was not expecting was the calm and accepting look in Adam's eyes, which seemed now ageless and ancient, like the shore of a cliff worn down to its elements by the force of the water hitting it for millennia. Seeing Adam's calm demeanor, slowly Xander's anger began to bleed away. With a gentle, non-threatening movement, Adam motioned to the room behind him.
"Well…I suppose we have a lot to talk about."