Xander was deep in thought. The term 'Watcher' didn't always bring pleasant thoughts with it. It was true that he loved Giles like a father, but just thinking of the Council of Watchers left a bad taste in his mouth. Well, the old Council did. A new Council was being made even now. He couldn't let past experiences cloud his judgment. The only thing he knew about this particular type of 'Watcher' was that Joe was presumably one of them. And he liked Joe.
Xander looked around the room. Everyone seemed to be honing in on his reaction. He needed to say something. He wasn't sure if Joe had anything to do with the Council, well the old Council, though he doubted it. He wondered if Joe even knew about the Council. If they didn't, Xander wasn't about to inform them of its existence.
"Let me guess. It's someone who watches?" This got a snort from Adam, and slight grin from Joe. "I take it you are a Watcher?"
"Actually I'm Duncan's watcher." He paused and spared a glance at Amanda before continuing. "I'm also Amanda's watcher while she stays with Duncan. When she decides to spend some time by herself, her official watcher takes over." A proud smile graced Joe's features. "I'm also the head of the North American branch."
Xander sat there with his brow scrunched in a pensive manner. "So what are you guys then? Are you like a club, or Council?" He tried not to stress the word Council.
Joe smiled fondly at Xander, he seemed to be taking this well. "We are a society actually, The Society of Watchers." While saying this Joe rolled up his sleeve and showed Xander his tattoo identifying him as a watcher. Peering at the tattoo, he began studying it. There were two circles, one placed within the other. Inside the inner circle was what Xander assumed was an inverted W. The edges of the W getting cut off at the border. Within the border created by the space between the inner and outer circles, were eight small circles completely filled in. The eight circles were placed symmetrically around the circumference of the border. The entire tattoo was inked in blue.
Xander looked up at Joe after he was finished staring at the man's tattoo. "Is every Immortal assigned a Watcher?"
Joe looked thoughtful for a moment. He figured he knew what the kid really wanted to know. "Most Immortals do have at least one. You and Adam will most likely only have one once I leave." There was a full smile on Joe's face. "Until then, you get the pleasure of having me as your Watcher."
Xander gave him a small smile while almost in a state of panic on the inside. Did this Society have any knowledge of the supernatural? This was certainly going to mess with his life at some point. How many Watchers would die following him into a dangerous situation, not knowing what they were getting into? He wasn't too keen of the idea of having a watcher to begin with, but another's well being overrode those concerns. He decided that he was going to have to come clean about the supernatural and his past, but not now. He needed to be sure he could truly trust Joe and his Society. Because if he couldn't he was going to have some fast thinking to do.
Joe spent the next while talking about the Watchers. He talked of some of their history. He tried to impart that the Watchers were solely observers and did not take an active role with their assigned Immortal, nor were most Immortals aware of the Society, present company excluded on both accounts.
It was about 15 minutes through Joe's story that a flash went through Xander's mind. He had remember seeing that tattoo before, but from where? Then it hit him. His eyes grew wide and he threw an unbelieving stare at Adam, who was gazing at him intently. When their eyes met, and comprehension passed between the two, Adam began to smirk and gave a quick nod of his head. It wasn't hard for the others to catch Xander with his shocked expression. And they quickly figured out what he had just discovered. Joe let out a groan, while Duncan and Amanda both snickered, Adam's smirk just grew.
"You were a Watcher?" Xander's voice held a bit of awe mixed with confusion. "How did you stop other Immortals from sensing your quickening?"
"There are more than just the field agents. There are also researchers, and I was such a researcher."
"What sort of research?"
"Mostly the research done is historical. The topic of my research was that of a myth among Immortal."
Xander waited impatiently for Adam to elaborate, but apparently that was all he was being given. 'Like hell!'
"And what was this myth you were researching."
With a theatrical sigh Adam continued. "I was researching a man who was supposed to be the oldest of the Immortals that are still in existence."
"The oldest? How old? And who is he?" There was a collective chuckle from the group due to Xander's sudden child-like enthusiasm.
With a smile Adam relented. "The Immortal's name…Methos. His age...well...he's at least 5,000 years of age…that we know." A sudden look passed between the four elder people in the room, but Xander missed it. He was trying to imagine what it would be like to live for over 5,000 years. The history involved. He had thought that the 1,000 years that Amanda had was amazing, which it was, but to live for so long that no one really even knew if you were real or a myth…that's just amazing. Then a sudden thought hit him.
"You let Immortals join the Society?" Joe just let out another groan.
As time progressed so did Xander's skills with a sword. Duncan had left a few days after Xander had witnessed his first quickening. Amanda and Joe had left with him. They would return every few weeks, but for the most part it was just him and Adam, who started calling him both 'Alex' and 'Alexander.' He was tempted to ask him to call him Xander, but somehow being called Alexander, or in some instances 'Alex,' felt right. For him it marked the start of a new future...a break from the past.
With it being just the two of them, they began to form a strong bond. He figured most teachers and students formed bonds like theirs, but he was grateful for it. He felt Adam's concern for his well being was genuine. He knew that in time it would be something he truly cherished. Perhaps in time it would be similar to the bond he felt he had/has with Giles. Besides, one could not have too many father figures. Even at his age, he would gladly accept now what he was denied as a child.
Adam's training was intense and could be quite painful at times. But it was something he welcomed, even asked for at times. After witnessing his first fight, Xander knew that he needed to learn to act and defend himself even when he was at a disadvantage, such as being unarmed by your opponent. So Adam taught him tactics of evading your opponent while unarmed. He also began to teach quite a few fighting styles. From brawling to complex martial arts, he trained in them every day. Even more important were the dirty little tricks that Adam was teaching him. And boy, did Adam know a lot of them.
Adam had quite a bit of knowledge on just about everything. He also had nuggets of wisdom to impart on all subjects. One thing that Adam believed religiously was something he had tried to impart through Duncan's thick skull.
"Live, and grow stronger."
It was a saying that Adam was quite fond of. It sounded almost like a mantra at times. Xander had no intention of staying in a fight if he had the option of getting away, especially if his opponent had the upper hand. He did not feel 'honor bound' to fight anyone, even if he was challenged. Contrary to popular belief, he was not a suicidal man. He only took the stupid risks when someone else's life was in danger.
Here he was. He was standing next to Adam in an alleyway at night in the empty industrial area of Los Angeles. 'Why does this shit keep happening in alleyways?' He looked over towards Adam who was still giving him an incredulous expression.
"What?" Xander asked defensively.
With an exasperated sigh he spoke quietly to his student. "This is the FIFTH time you have been challenged since you became Immortal!"
Turning his head from the challenging Immortal he replied, "It been like what…Three months?"
With eyes bulging out of his head Adam shouted, "We've only left the Mansion SIX TIMES!"
Xander's only reply was to shrug. Looking back towards the still awaiting challenger he asked, "So…am I ready for this yet?"
With a sigh Adam took a few steps forward while unsheathing his sword. His voice softened as replied, "No." Walking a few more paces, he turned back towards Xander with a smirk on his face. "If I survive this you're grounded for the next century." And with that he went forward to accept the challenge on behalf of someone he cared greatly about.
Tonight was a night that was going to remember for then next ten millennia, should he survive for such a long time.
It wasn't the fight that was so memorable, though he doubted he would ever forget a duel between two immortals, even if he wasn't participating in it. The fight itself only lasted a few minutes. Adam was defensive for a short while, but was quickly able to find holes in his opponents form and made short work of it.
The quickening itself was always a mind blowing scene that would leave an imprint in his memory well after he went the way of the dodo. No two were the same, yet they were all unbelievable. The power being released was always staggering, and the destruction it would cause to the immediate area was always slightly horrifying. However, on this night it was the attention that the release of the Quickening brought that would change his life.
There were Vamps, and a few demons heading down the alley. Adam was still resting on his knees, his body drained of energy, but his consciousness was slowly regaining cohesiveness.
He unsheathed his sword from his coat. It was something he had done quite a few times and was now an action he had grown accustomed to. One of the vamps was laughing at 'The man with the pointy blade' the rest were trying to figure out where in the hell he had pulled it from.
Before anyone, including himself, realized what was happening, Xander had descended on the closest vampires. Three of them were dust settling at his feet before any of them reacted. The 11 other vampires and two Polgara demons were stunned and shocked at his brutal, and lethal display. It wasn't until another two vamps were dusted that they began to react.
As quick as the vamps moved, they were still sloppy. And as much as he had been training with Adam, he had little problem evading their claws. Using his katana to fend them off worked wonders as well.
There were small cuts along his face that were already healing. If his jacket took any punishment he couldn't tell. There was a quick lull in the fight as he studied the six vampires left along with the two Polgara demons. One such demon had several wounds along with a missing bone spike that had been jutting from its arm. They were about to start the fight again when a war cry split through the air like a foghorn and Adam entered the fray.
Between Adam and himself the vampires were taken care of in short order. Adam had also decapitated the injured Polgara. They were both advancing on the last remaining Polgara demon that hadn't moved since Adam had entered the battle. It was trembling, and if it was possible to tell on a Polgara Demon, it was pale as well.
With a trembling hand it pointed at Adam. It spoke with a base voice that was hampered in fear. "I know your War Cry. It is one I have not heard in thousands of years. You are DEATH." Adam's eyes went wide for a moment and then become orbs of ageless darkness.
Xander caught the look and wondered what the hell was going on. He had never seen a Demon this afraid ….this scared of anything before. Yet it seemed to be petrified of Adam, and what was worse, it was referring to him as Death.
Before it could continue its ramble Adam advanced on it. In short order its head rolled to the ground. It body began to break down into its component substance that looked like a blue gel before vanishing completely. Looking around the alley all of the demons' bodies were gone, only the headless Immortal remained. Xander knew the watchers would take care of this. He just prayed they weren't around to witness this little scene.
Xander looked over towards Adam, who actually looked ashamed of himself for a second before he covered it. When he looked over at Xander he gave a soft smile.
"So…vampires and demons, huh?"
Xander gave him a smile that was laced with a smirk while repeating his teacher's question. "So…vampires and demons huh?" He began shaking his head. "And what's this stuff I'm hearing about Death?"
Adam sighed, "It's going to be a long night. I suppose we both have a lot to discuss."
Xander nodded his head in agreement. They most definitely had a lot to talk about now. A whole new world in fact. He just looked back at Adam with a lopsided grin. "You think we have enough beer back at the house?"