4?

AN: A little suggestive and naughty in one or two parts, but it plays to both characters involved.

AN2: Cloying in some parts – if you're diabetic, have your insulin ready.

(A month later)

Amanda held on to Buffy even as Giles did his best to restrain Willow from interfering in the fight that they beheld – it had been just over a week since Xander had spoken down to Duncan in a way that would have gotten the boy killed, if not for the quick thinking of Willow, and after a quick seeing spell, the group had been floored in finding that Alexander was not only under the temporary control of a powerful outside force, he was also being controlled by his sub-conscious, a place that held the power and teachings of his Quickenings, more importantly that of the Immortal Terakan. He'd been freed of the outside force that was controlling him in part, having had a ward put up around him by Giles to ward off such attempts to control him again, but sadly there was not a thing they could do about the influence of the Terakan – as Amanda had explained to Buffy not long ago, it wasn't uncommon for a Quickening to change the way that an Immortal acted, having used her own affiliation for redheads a while back (which would probably explain why she had taken to Richie so quickly …) and, if things went well, Xander would possibly have a chance to clean out his mind with another Quickening taken from a headhunter that had tracked him down a few hours ago. Naturally, Xander had accepted the challenge, but currently was on the losing end of the battle as the hunter was using every dirty trick in the book, but not doing too badly as he was just always a hair too slow to catch the other guy in the act.

"We have to help him!" Amanda adjusted her hold on Buffy even as the Slayer struggled from her position of inferior leverage.

"I've told you a thousand time, Slayer, that there are RULES," Amanda grunted, "and one of them is no interference from anyone, any time." She watched as Xander surged to his feet, slamming his fist into the other man's groin so hard that the other Immortal rose from the ground a good six inches even as Giles winced from his position of holding Willow, "You see? Xander's doing just fine."

Buffy and Willow both winced at this sight even as Xander spun around, grabbed his fallen blade and drove it deep into the gut of the other Immortal, driving him into a nearby wall and pinning him there with a scream – neither one knew just what to make of their Immortal friend in this state, a true life-or-death situation on the highest terms, as he had been beaten nearly to the point of final death before surging back in an nearly animalistic fashion. He'd not only changed so much as a person in the past few months, be it due to his obtained Quickenings, his ever-changing status as a student of both the California Education System and as Amanda's protégé, and as their friend, but also … as Xander, the guy they thought they knew – he was colder, more calculating, even less goofy, but according to Amanda, that was just an acclamation period, and he might, one day, gain some of that back … and both hoped he really would. This Xander, who was picking up his opponent's blade and stalking forwards, was not a Xander either one of them liked as he said something and then … and then decapitated the man.

Nobody said a thing as the dead Immortal's head hit the ground, nobody needed to as the electrical storm of the Quickening overtook their friend and blew off one of the last remaining portions of the old factory, which seemed to be the favored place for Immortals to duel in Sunnydale; they watched in mute fascination as bolt after bolt of electricity hit Xander, as he let out scream after scream until finally, mercifully, the Quickening ended and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Moments later, Buffy and Willow were both at Xander's side, both of them pointedly ignoring both Giles and Amanda removing the headless corpse from the wall, and neither girl wanted to think about anything else as they both checked Xander over – they had seen his regenerative capabilities, healing from wounds that would permanently enfeeble a normal human, even coming back from the dead several times after a quick 'spar' with Amanda, but neither of them had ever seen him in this kind of condition after a true fight before. His clothes were bloody and charred, ripped and slashed, and quite frankly would see the burning pile before they would see the inside of his closet again, and he could stand to use a shower, but he was whole, yet unconscious.

"Buffy, Willow, get back from him now!" They looked at Amanda, who was looking at Xander warily, "Trust me, just let him go and move away."

"But … why?" Willow held Xander close even as he began to stir, "He's going to be okay, right?"

As if to answer her question, Xander's arms went around Willow's waist and he pushed his face between her blouse-covered, breasts, inhaling deeply before letting out a sigh and snuggling in – Buffy blinked at this, feeling vaguely gypped even as Willow blushed heavily, Giles coughed and Amanda sighed. After a few minutes, though, Buffy got tired of it, so she grabbed Xander's arms from around Willow, "Xander, let go of Willow, now!"

He opened his eyes, showing her a glacial look she had never seen before, and snarled at her from the depths of his soul before snuggling back into Willow's chest.

Amanda sighed and pulled her away, "Buffy, after an Immortal takes a Quickening, we often go through what we call the Three F's."

"Huh?"

"Feed, Fight or Fu … Fornicate," Amanda explained with only a little hesitation on her part, but not an ounce of embarrassment – Giles coughed, Buffy felt herself blush a molten color and poor Willow looked like she was about to spontaneously combust. Amanda went on, and Buffy fancied that she sounded more than a bit jealous at Willow's position, "The how's and the why's of it are fairly nebulous, but needless to say he's going to be like this for a while, a few hours, tops, so Willow, get comfortable but don't be afraid to smack him on the snout if he gets too friendly."

At this, Xander growled again, but said nothing.

Amanda jerked back at this and gave forth an affronted noise before she walked over and grabbed Xander by his ear, eliciting a yelp of pain from him, "Young man, you do NOT growl at me! Now sit, heel and be good or no treats for you tonight."

Xander did as he was told, whimpering slightly as he did.

"Amanda … why is he acting …" Giles didn't finish his sentence, feeling oddly insecure around the woman who was ordering perhaps the single most hard-headed non-Slayer he had ever known, himself included.

Amanda turned and smiled at him, "Oh, don't worry, Rupert – I've found that Alexander's subconscious is oddly canine in nature, so when he's off in one of these little spells, it works to play to it rather than to fight it, as he gets back into his right frame of mind quicker." She smiled and cocked an eyebrow at the back of the young man's head, "Of course, last time he was like this … he was VERY affectionate, especially when he and I-"

"Please," Willow begged, who was still blushing a bright shade of vermilion as Xander continued to look at her, smiling curiously as he did, "enough! As much as I liked Xander's hugs and even the nuzzling, I'm with Oz!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby about it, Willow," Amanda chided the young woman as she went over and stood Xander up before hugging him close, "he's just being overly affectionate. Later one, he won't even remember it happened and your relationship with Oz is safe." As if to prove this, Xander nuzzled her neck and pulled her closer, "You see? It's as if what happened with you never happened in his mind – we go to a rather primal state when we're like this, though it's different for everyone. I, for example," she went on even as Xander picked her up, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist, "generally eat anything in sight – if I just went to the market, I'm going back the next day because the cupboards are bare."

Buffy narrowed her eyes at Amanda, who looked to be enjoying herself far too much, "So, you're going to take advantage of him while he's like this?"

Amanda shot her a withering glare, "No, child – I won't in the respects that he's following some sort of instinct, as the sooner he's done, the sooner he's back to normal." Buffy didn't like the look in Amanda's eyes as she made Xander let her down and then collected his things, "We'll be seeing you tomorrow, children – hopefully, by then, he'll be better." With that, Amanda led Xander out of the old factory, leaving the Witch, the Watcher and a Slayer alone there to ponder what to do.

(Next Morning)

He groaned as the light flickered against his eyes, the sun bidding him to wake up even as his body ached in places he wasn't sure were supposed to ache, so he pulled the silk sheets up over his head and buried his head under the big, fluffy pillow to block it out.

Hold on – silk sheets? He didn't have silk sheets on his bed, he preferred high thread-count cotton sheet … only Amanda had silk sheets on her bed. He slowly pulled his head out from under his pillow and, as he was still under the sheet, was greeted by the unclad torso and chest of Amanda, as she was on her right side and apparently looking at him … and from all appearances it was somewhat chilly in the room. As he pulled the sheet off of his head, he belatedly noticed that he, too, was naked, so he asked a single, very intelligent question, "Huh?"

Amanda smiled at him, her hair a mess and her body ripe to be picked (again, if his nose told him anything) as she pressed her nakedness against his, "Mmm, morning, Xander. Did we have fun last night?"

He blinked, doing his best to remember what HAD happened last night – if he'd had sex with her, he damned-well wanted to remember it for two reasons, one of them being the good memories, and the second as a last memory before Duncan took his head off his body! "Uh, from all appearances, I'd say yes, but if I could remember it I'd be even better off."

She smiled and hugged him closer, whispering into his ear, "Don't worry about it, Xander – you didn't disappoint me one bit."

He smiled slightly, but then frowned, "Oh, so now I can die happy in the knowledge that my first sex was good."

She pulled back, arching a dark eyebrow at him, "Die?"

"Duncan's going to kill me, Amanda," he said to her, as if explaining things to a small child. "You and him, remember? Couple, in the relationship way? Stop me when this sounds familiar here…"

She rolled her eyes and rolled him onto his back, climbing on top of him and not bothering to cover her naked and attention-drawing chest, "Xander, listen to me very carefully – Duncan and I are friends, yes, even occasional bedmates, but he can't dictate with whom I sleep with. I mean, it's not like I go to bed with every Jacques, David and Mikhail I meet, now, and more to the fact, he hasn't exactly been one hundred percent loyal to me, what with that Tessa and Doctor Anne of his, though I do have to admit that from what I had learned from Richie, Tessa was special, one in a million for a mortal."

He was doing his best to keep his mind on more important matters, like the fact that he WASN'T going to get permanently made a foot shorter, but with the way she was wiggling on top of him … well, Xander was fighting a losing battle, "Amanda … don't tease me."

She smiled and leaned forwards, putting her hands on either side of his head, her eyes smoky and her lips brushing his, "Oh, Xander, I don't tease when I'm already naked – I merely … encourage for my partner to take the initiative."

He grinned and pulled her into a searing kiss before rolling them both over into the middle of the bed – whatever plans they had, they could wait.

(Sunnydale High School Library – later)

Joyce smirked lightly as both Willow and Buffy growled in unison while Amanda and Xander both walked into the room – Amanda was dressed as she always was, pants, a blouse and her jacket, but Xander seemed to have a little extra gait in his step as his trenchcoat covered a pair of black slacks, dress shoes and a dark blue silk shirt, "Hello, Xander, Amanda – how are you both?"

"Perfect, now," Amanda purred slightly in a tone that made Joyce smirk even more – she knew that tone rather well, actually, but apparently both Willow and Buffy knew it as they growled and both stood up, glaring at both Immortals while Rupert came out of his office.

Willow was first out of the gate, "Where have you been, Xander," and Buffy was just a touch behind her, "Some of us have better things to do with our day than you wait around for you two."

Xander removed his trenchcoat and put it on the back of a chair, sitting with his feet up on the table and smiling slightly, "I've been at the house, Willow, and I realize I'm keeping you from the mall, Buffy, but I wanted to make sure I was presentable, well, Amanda and I both did."

"You are very presentable, Xander," Joyce chipped in, drawing the glares of both girls, a cough from Rupert, a chuckle from Xander and a smirk from Amanda before she went on. "From what both Buffy and Willow tell me, though, you were a bit … out of sorts last night, Xander – are you alright?" Willow had blushed heavily at first when Buffy had told her what had gone on the previous night, and rightfully so, and they all agreed that Oz was to be kept out of the loop until Xander told him himself.

Xander looked over at her a smiled a little more, "Oh, I'm in complete control of my faculties now, Joyce – I have been told, though, that I owe Willow an apology for some nuzzling and Buffy for snapping at her. Girls, I'm sorry – not sure what I was doing, but I am sorry."

"Hey, you snapped at Amanda too, Xander," Buffy pointed out with a tone in her voice that Joyce had to admit that she didn't like. "Aren't you going to apologize to her, too?"

Amanda chuckled at this even as Rupert began to clean his glasses, "Oh, Buffy, he apologized to me several times last night – don't worry about it." Joyce looked at her and Amanda sent her a slight wink that both girls missed, but Rupert did not as he went into a sudden coughing fit, "I say, Ripper, are you quite alright?"

"Yes, quite, Amanda," the 'elder' Briton said after a few seconds before replacing his glasses on his face. Once he sat down, Rupert looked over at Xander, "Xander … first and foremost, I must ask if you are absolutely sure you are back to normal?"

Xander just smirked at him, "G-man, when have I ever been normal?"

Joyce giggled at this even as Amanda joined Buffy and Willow in a surprised bark of laughter, but Giles did not join them, "Xander … how many times do I have to tell you to not call me that infernal nickname?"

"At least once more, G-man, and to answer your question … I feel better, in fact I haven't felt this good in a long time." Xander stretched out and grinned a little more as he saw Willow's, Buffy's and Joyce's eyes follow him, not to mention heard Amanda's appreciative purr, "I think whatever hold the Terakan had on me is gone, but now I have something else to deal with.

He watched them all pale a little, except for Amanda, that is, and he went on, "The Immortal's name was Rafael Guzman De La Vega, and he was something of an aficionado in the ways of the occult. He's done more than a few rituals out of his home in New Mexico and made some pretty hefty deals with some … darker … individuals." He reached into his pocket and removed several pieces of paper, sliding them over to Giles, "Amanda said I was writing these names all night, regardless of what else was going on – any chance you know some of them, G-man?"

Giles looked the names over, paling with several of them, but before he could say anything, Willow shot out of her seat and outright glared at Amanda, "You took advantage of him!"

Buffy wasn't too far behind, again, "You had sex with Xander!"

Amanda just leaned back in her seat, putting her feet up and trailing one toe up and down his shin, a grin on her face that Xander didn't like the meaning of, "What's the matter, girls? Angry that I got to him first?"

Buffy was almost spewing smoke out of her nostrils, "He's over a thousand years younger than you, for one!"

Willow wasn't that far off, with the steam almost coming out of her ears, "And he's only 17 for another!"

He sighed, "So what?"

Buffy and Willow both looked at him, "So what? SO WHAT!"

He nodded, "Buffy, Willow, let's get a few things into the open here – first, I'm going to look 17 for the rest of ETERNITY, so I can't exactly go by looks for what is and is not an acceptable relationship. And B, what or who I do is not any of your concern." Both girls jerked back as if he had slapped them, but even as he put his feet on the ground and leaned forwards with his elbows on the table and fingertips touching, he went on, "And next, I'm a big boy now, and if I can't say a thing about who you two sleep with, then you two can't say a thing about me and Amanda."

Both girls looked ready to break either into sobbing messes or into open revolt, but Joyce spoke up then, her brow arched, and not to him, "Amanda … is this true? You are in a … sexual relationship with Xander?"

Amanda nodded, not a touch of remorse or guilt in her eyes or on her face as she put her feet back down, "That's true, Joyce, though it's not just sex between Xander and I – if anything, it's more like friendship with benefits. I am not so self-conscious that I'd ask him to not have any kind of relationship with another person, male, female, mortal or Immortal, Joyce, just as I hope he knows that I have other relationships. Being Immortal," she went on to say, "precludes pretty much all normal standards of any kind of relationship you would know, even ones between Vampires and their supposed Slayers," she shot Buffy a glare, causing the girl to sit down.

Joyce felt her 'protective mother hen' feathers starting to get ruffled a little and bits of the Summers Women Temper (patent pending) began to flare in her eyes, but Willow stood up then, her double-patented Resolve Face firmly in place, "So, he's just your little plaything? Is that it?"

"Willow, be quiet and sit down." Joyce stood up and Willow sat down, her face a mystery as she leaned over the table and spoke directly to Amanda, "Listen to me carefully, Amanda – if Xander gets hurt because of one of your little flings, rest assured that your Immortality won't save you from me."

Xander looked at the two women and then looked at Giles, clucking off to the side, which made the 'elder' Briton burst out into nigh-hysterical laughter, "My boy, you're crackers!" Both women looked at Giles, who tried to quickly compose himself, but failed as he went back into laughter for several more minutes.

Joyce, Amanda, Willow and Buffy all looked at one another and then sighed, "Men."

"Hey!" His affronted cry went unnoticed for a bit as the girls began to laugh, the tension in the room dying out over several minutes until Giles was able to question him again.

"Xander, what are you going to do now?"

"Well, G-man, I'm going to see if I can persuade Amanda to go with me to New Mexico to see what this guy had, as we spent about an hour transferring it into my name earlier today, hence part of the reason we were late. Some of the memories I got from him … well, let's just say that the quicker I clean that place out and I sell that place, the quicker I'll feel better."

Joyce perked up at this, "Any art?"

Xander shrugged, "A few period pieces from Mexico and Spain, Joyce – don't worry, I'll bring them back to you."

Willow looked up, her eyes wide, "Gifts? And none for us?"

"We'll think about it," Amanda said somewhat chillily as she stood. "Come, Xander, we have much to do and a little time to do it."

(Next Day, En Route to Villa – Darneyville, New Mexico)

It had been a little over twelve hours since they had left Sunnydale, and already there were ill portents to their journey – when Amanda insisted that they take her Ferrari, it refused to crank, so they had been 'forced' to take Xander's new (though title transfer of a dead Immortal) SUV to New Mexico; when they stopped in a small town known as Darneyville, though, for some lunch, both tires had inexplicably blown out and they were now waiting for some hick-ville grease monkey to finish figuring out how to change the tires out without damaging the chrome on the rims. Needless to say, Amanda was a touch miffed, so miffed in fact that she had completely missed the tingling sensation of another Immortal in their vicinity, but he didn't.

She was taller than Amanda, though not by much, with honey blonde hair that his eyes could tell was natural, though she seemed to put streaks of brown into it for some reason or another; her skin was creamy, with a light dusting of freckles on her arm, and she dressed as the nearly-quintessential flower child, but he knew that she could feel him with the way she looked around as an older man pulled her away from the shop that they had left. Quite frankly, she was stunning, in an Earth Mother kind of way, and Xander felt something inside of him stir … and for once, it was not his libido – there was something different about her, and he wasn't sure what.

"Finally," Amanda growled half an hour later as the mechanic began to lower the car from the hydraulic lift, often giving her a look of lust mixed with more than a little fear as she calmly worked a penknife over with a piece of whetstone. "Pay the man and let's get out of here, Xander – this place reeks of … something unpleasant."

Xander took a deep lungful and smiled, "Ah, Amanda, you just have no taste for fine barbeque." She shot him an irritated look as she walked forwards and paid the mechanic before walking back, "Besides, Amanda, we have some other business here."

"Oh, and what is that, pray tell?"

He smiled at her, "Well, I was going to go over to that florist over there and get you some flowers, but if you don't want them…"

She perked up almost immediately, "Ah, Xander, you're learning – flowers, jewelry and chocolate are the quickest way to a woman's heart!"

He shook his head and went off to the florist, the same shop that the other Immortal woman had gone into, and began to pick through several bunches of decidedly-lacking bouquets for several minutes – if he turned up with any of these to Amanda, she'd gut him, repeatedly.

"Recrear," a soft voice said even as he watched the flowers plump up and look as fresh as if they had just been picked. He looked over and saw the Earth Mother standing there, a near halo around her head from the overhead light reflecting from her hair, "This is Holy Ground, stranger."

He nodded, "I am not here for your head, pulcher."

She knew Latin, apparently, as she blushed and looked down, stammering out slightly, "T-t-thank you."

He quirked a grin at her, as he was unable to resist the opening, "For the compliment, or not being a head hunter?"

She blushed a little more, looking up with a semi-smile on her face, "Both, but more f-f-for the compliment."

He shrugged, pouring on the charm a little more, "What kind of compliment was it? As far as I am concerned, it was truth." He picked up the bouquet of flowers, "Alexander Harris, of Sunnydale, California."

She winced slightly, "I am T-tanya, currently."

"And she's my wife," came a harsh voice from in the direction of the front door. A rough-looking man walked over and grabbed 'Tanya' by the arm, "Stay away from my wife, boy."

Xander narrowed his eyes slightly, more than a little of De La Vega's mentality comeing to the front, "Your wife was merely offering me some advice on flowers, sir – I meant no disrespect towards her or yourself, I merely was offering her my name."

The man snarled at him, "Boy, if you don't get out of town now-" The man's eyes suddenly widened as he felt a sudden pressure on his crotch as Xander pulled a downward-hanging knife he kept at the small of his back and placed it there.

"I fully intend to, good sir – with individuals like yourself here, making threats like that, I doubt Darneyville will be anything more than a ghost town in the near future." Xander pulled his blade back and looked over at 'Tanya', who was repressing a smile as her husband jerked back, "Should we meet again, fair Tanya, I bid thee farewell."

Tanya nodded at him as he backed off, "Blessed Be, Alexander." She was pulled out of the shop as he went to pay for the flowers and he heard the doors of a truck shut and said vehicle tear off down the street.

"Ah see ya met Jeb," the shop owner, an older man with a missing left eye, said with a sad shake of his head. "Shame what's happened to him over the years, and all 'cause of that wife of his, Tanya." The man took the money offered and leaned forwards, "Sonny, if I'se was ya, I'd git out of here rhat quick, now, y'hear? Jeb's … well, Jeb's not a nice feller."

Xander took his change and his flowers, "Thank you for the warning, sir, but for future reference … neither am I."

"Hearsay," the man went on, as if Xander had not spoken, "she be a demon! You ever hear a thing like that?"

Xander grinned slightly, "Yeah, a few times – been accused of it a few times, myself, though by a woman about my skills in bed."

The man barked out suddenly in laughter, calming quickly, "No, son, Ah mean she a real demon! Sure, she look nice, but ya get her made and she chucks fire at ya."

Xander nodded, "Then I'll not make her mad, then. Farewell, sir." Xander left the shop and met up with Amanda, who was waiting in the idling car, handing her the flowers, "For you, fair maiden."

She sniffed the flowers and smiled at him, "So, who was she?"

He sighed unhappily, "An unfortunate Immortal caught up in a marriage to a bully – part of me wants to find her and gut the guy, but the other part of me is telling me to leave it alone."

Amanda looked at him seriously, "Xander, just leave it alone – as much of a good idea as you may think it is, gutting the man isn't going to solve anything. In fact, with your luck, I'd bet he would come back as an Immortal."

Xander sighed and put on his seatbelt, then putting the car into gear, "You're probably right, Amanda." With that, they were off to the villa.

(Next day – Villa courtyard)

Amanda looked over at her equally-naked companion and smiled as he continued to slather oil on his body, making for a very nice picture, "Darling, have I ever told you that you were beautiful?"

He looked over at her, taking in her form and his body starting to show appreciation, "You called me a 'beautiful sex god' a few mornings ago, as I recall, but not beautiful alone – thank you, Amanda. As you can tell," he indicated his lower half, "my inner self thinks you are quite fetching yourself."

She smirked and poured more oil on herself, "Nice to know that I still have it."

Later, with hints of tans and with clothing on, the pair retired to the library of the Spanish-type Villa – made completely out of stone and wood, it was not exactly what one could call 'up to date' as the most advanced piece of equipment in the house, outside of the locks, was the indoor plumbing and water well. It did, however, have a library that housed a moderate collection of occult tomes and writings, objects of various sizes and shapes, several pieces of rare art and, according to Xander, a disturbing amount of porn on VHS. He had suggested selling the place after all was transferred and upgraded, but Amanda put a halt on that plan, telling him he needed a retreat at some point or another.

From his memories, Amanda knew that the beings that De La Vega had dealt with in the past weren't completely bent on world destruction or domination, but rather some were just waiting on the magical adept to fulfill promises of a place of retreat for their worshipers, their slaves and, for one, a place for her harem girls to recuperate. While her student wasn't exactly at ease with most of the deals that had been struck and, according to what he remembered, were binding on a level that, if he were to break them for any reason other than a very good one, there would be stiff retributions to be faced by him.

Case in point – one of the beings, a seven-foot tall, slim-built, grey-skinned demoness known as Qualitaco of an Infernal realm, as she announced herself, had shown up not twenty minutes before and had demanded to know why her link with De La Vega had been severed; Xander had explained to said demoness why and how he had come to own the place. Qualitaco had agreed that, due to certain circumstances, Xander would not be bound to all of the agreement, but he would, however, have to sacrifice several unblemished goats to appease her as a one-time deal; Amanda had tried to step in, but the demoness had kept her away with a barrier of some kind while Xander agreed to it – he looked sick while speaking, but Amanda could tell he was doing what he thought was right. Qualitaco had smiled at him, revealing several rows of sharp teeth in her overly-large mouth, pinched him on the cheeks and called him cute before disappearing in a gout of fire.

Of course, Amanda had not let this go even as Xander watched her pace back and forth in front of his new desk, making the necessary changes and such to the ownership papers, "Mon Dieu, Xander! Do you KNOW what she's going to use those goats for?"

He looked up at her, "According to De La Vega's memories, she uses them for sustenance, as a means to see into this world, and parts of their body for sexual pleasure, specifically their hind femurs." He looked away at her look of revulsion, filling in two last lines before stuffing the transfer papers into a marked envelope, "Amanda, calm down – that's an original Apache quilt you're wearing a hole in."

She turned and glared at him as he sealed the envelope, "Xander, don't try and be funny now! You just made a deal with a demon woman!"

"And I'm not trying to be funny – look," he pointed to her feet and the slightly frayed track pattern. "That aside, yes, I KNOW I just made a deal with her, but it was a pre-existing one and it's better than the alternative."

Amanda glared at him, "And that would be?"

"Being her love slave for the next two hundred years – she's something of a dom, if De La Vega recalls correctly." She looked at him oddly and he went on, "Amanda, how long have you truly dealt with the demonic side of the world?"

"She shrugged, "A few dozen years, sixty, tops."

He nodded, "I have the memories of a few people who, on top of my own, have over 300 years of demonic experience – trust me that deal I made was the best I was going to do." He stood up and walked over to where she was standing, going behind her and wrapping his arms around her lithe body and massaging her front slightly, making her relax, "Amanda, I swear to you that I will do nothing that will, knowingly, one day harm you – I would never hurt someone I love."

She turned around and wrapped her arms around him, "Xander, you love me?"

He nodded and kissed her on the nose, "You helped me out when I was in a dark place, you taught me to survive, you even forgave me when I made massive mistakes – for those reasons alone, I owe you a lot, but I love you for you, Amanda."

She looked up at him and smiled, kissing him on the lips for several seconds before pulling back, "Okay, Xander, I'll trust you, for now." She then looked around, "So, what pieces are going to Joyce?"

(2 days later – Sunnydale)

Xander and Amanda walked towards the Library, having dropped off the rest of the art to Joyce at her gallery, art that had made Joyce make appreciable noises like a small rodent before she dashed off to get this reference book or that, and they left her to her business; Xander had an uneasy feeling in his stomach as they approached, giving Amanda a look that she returned with interest as they walked into the room and stopped dead in their tracks.

There, standing in the middle of the room, was Angelus, vamped out, and Buffy was standing between the vampire and Giles, who had a crossbow in his hands, pleading for a chance to hear them out; Xander didn't even bother to think, he reached inside of his duster and pulled out his basketed broadsword with a murderous yank, the hiss of steel on leather filling the room as he stalked forwards, "Hello, Angelus – I hoped you enjoyed hell because I'm sending you right back there."

Buffy jerked forwards, "NO!"

Xander hesitated for a second, his hate for the vampire in front of him cooling only a few degrees, "Get out of my way, Buffy."

"He's Angel!"

"Prove it." This made her pause for a second even as the vampire winced and spread his hands in a manner that called for peace.

"Xander … I am Angel, not Angelus."

He snarled even as he heard Amanda unsheathe her sword, "Shut up, Vampire! Another word leaves that mouth of yours and I kill whoever I have to, to dust you!" Buffy winced at this as the others took a step back, but he didn't care – his hand, his entire body, was shaking with as much restraint as he was forcing himself to use in order to not attack, "Buffy, you have one minute to PROVE to me that he's not Angelus – the soul spell hit Dru, if you recall."

"He's not Angelus, boy," another voice said from the shadows. Out walked a man dressed in pimp's clothing and smoking a cigar, not looking particularly happy about being there or about the situation itself, "Back down, kid – this has nothing to do with you."

"That son of a bitch killed me, you son of a bitch – it has EVERYTHING to do with me. Who are you?"

"Whistler, a balance demon for the Powers That Be … and I'm under orders to make sure Angel-boy here doesn't go poof, regardless of how much I'd like to see that." Whistler looked from the boy, Harris, to Angel, who looked down in shame, "Trust me, Rat Breath, if I had my way, Harris here would get to take yer head off and dance in yer ashes, but I've got my orders – we're gone, so say your goodbyes."

"No." Whistler stops and turns to Angel, who looked defiant, "I'm not leaving Sunnydale or Buffy, and that's final."

Whistler only arched an eyebrow and then jerked his thumb over at Xander, who was restrained only by Amanda's hand, "Ya wanna be in the same city as him? Did the Powers forget to give you a sense of survival along with yer soul?"

Angel shook his head, looking from Whistler to Xander, "No, Whistler, I need to make this up to him – he deserves that much."

Whistler merely shot him an annoyed look, "Ya can't make him mortal again, Rat Breath, or take away those ten hours ya tortured him with yer childe – trust me, the only way you'll make anything up to him is letting him dust ya, and the Powers won't let that happen."

Harris gave him a black look, "I don't care what your Powers say, demon, his ass is mine to destroy!"

"Not in your very long lifetime, Harris," Whistler told him with a disgusted tone. "They have plans for him, and they won't take to your mucking around with their plans even more than you already have." He took a last drag off of his cigar before he put it down, "You see, it involves several old prophecies and, if it's done right, he becomes human again."

Harris gave him a cold smile, "Good – maybe I'll get to see him human one day and we'll see how HE likes being tortured." The boy turned to Angel, who looked very pale by this point, "Doesn't that sound fun, you bastard?"

"You shall not harm him, Child," sudden voice said – it was deep, purring, almost mechanical, sounding just like Darth Vader's as Giles and Willow both gasped and clutched their heads. It was an impressive sight as a dark-cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows, radiating power and pure feeling as it glided forwards and slid to a stop not far in front of Xander.

Xander looked very unimpressed as he spoke, "Lose the Emperor Palpatine look – you can't pull it off and, quite frankly, it's cheesy."

The being drew the hood away from its face to reveal the face of a woman, apparently of African descent, with long black hair, red lips, dark eyes and a slightly angular face as she scowled at him, "I happen to think otherwise, mortal."

Xander grinned at her, "Sorry, toots – Immortal."

She narrowed her eyes at him again, "That is immaterial – I find myself in need of this lower being, and your destroying him … disrupts my plans. Cease, and you shall live." Whistler opened his mouth to say something but she flung her hand out and a wave of power slammed into the demon, "Silence, lowly balance demon – your words have no meaning here any longer. Leave."

Whistler scowled at her, looked at Angel and then at Harris before he stepped back into the shadows – this was one battle he wasn't going to win, let alone fight. With any luck, The Powers would find a way to counter her interference …

She turned back to them, "I have told you I require him to exist now – what must be done to allow him to exist."

Xander snarled slightly, his anger boiling, but not as high as it once was, allowing his mind to catch up with him, "Get him out of Sunnydale, out of California, out of America, if you can manage it. If he's in the local area, I can't guarantee his continued existence."

The dark-skinned woman nodded at this slowly, "I see your point, lowly human, but while he will not he in this California, he will be within your country – would … New Jersey, suffice?"

Xander caught Angel's wince and disgusted look and grinned slightly, "Only if he can live in a sewage treatment plant – it won't be quite like killing him for good, but he'll suffer."

The woman smiled at Xander, a little fire showing in her eyes, "Suffering – I think I may like you, mortal."

"It's a shame that you won't tell them the truth, Jasmine," a new voice said, a rich tenor and male. Xander rolled his eyes and turned to see a man in a finely tailored black silk suit, a blood red shirt and black silk tie, with long brown hair, a tanned, weathered face and a slightly amused look on his face, walk out of the shadows, "After all, do you really think they would help you if they knew the truth behind your actions?"

'Jasmine' snarled at the man, "Stay out of his, Old One! This is my very survival we are dealing with here."

The man smirked and then looked over at the Immortal Alexander, "Young man, that is a dark goddess named Jasmine, who wishes to use the ensouled vampire to her own ends to get a mortal body for her spirit to inhabit – while I am certainly no fan of the vampire's, I would ask that you put aside your animosity and not agree to her proposal."

The Immortal looked at him and then at Jasmine, "And what would she do if she got her body?"

He sighed, "What else? She'd try and destroy the world, or at the very least, to rule it."

Jasmine hissed savagely even as he watched the assembled humans, and vampire, turn on her, the two Immortals advancing swords-first, "This is not over, Louis." With a gout of fire, she disappeared from the room.

Several minutes passed and all was quiet, a quiet that was broken when Alexander turned and lashed out with his sword, severing the hamstrings of the vampire, much to Louis' amusement – the vampire howled in agony as it fell to the floor and Alexander smirked, "Now, Angelus, let's talk, shall we?"

"NO!" He watched as the Slayer barreled into Alexander's side, knocking him away, "I won't let you kill him!"

"This is your one warning, Buffy – move, or die." Louis had to admit that the level tone in the boy's voice, let alone the serious look on his face, would have been more than enough to move him, had he been in he Slayer's position, but he wasn't in the Slayer's position, so he didn't HAVE to be moved; sadly, though, he did have to act.

"Might I offer a suggestion?" Xander looked over at the suit-clad man, his internal weird-shit-o-meter going off like a nuke hitting an ant farm, the man stepping forwards with a smile, "How about a compromise? I can, in the stead of The Morons … er … The Powers, move Angelus to a location that would be mutually beneficial for all, thus keeping him away from you, Alexander, and accessible to the Powers."

Buffy, her heart hammering after Xander's declaration of an ultimatum, wanted to kiss the man who was setting of her Slayer Sense like nobody had before, for offering a way for her Angel to stay in a solid, non-dusty form. She understood that Xander had issues with Angelus, but Angelus, by Xander's own admission, wasn't Angel, "Deal."

"Not yet," Xander fired back instantly. "How in the hell do I know he has his soul and won't lose it as soon as he's out of earshot? I don't trust him, or anyone, without proof – ever."

Louis nodded, "A good policy, young man – the Watcher can perform a simple seeing spell, I am sure, to show you that he does indeed have a soul."

"Y … yes, quite right," Ripper, an old favorite of his, stuttered quickly, bustling off to gather the components. Minutes later, the spell done, and Alexander could see the results for himself as the Watcher spoke again, "Xander, this is Angel."

Xander smiled at Angel, "Hi, Angel." With that said, he swung his sword and cut the vampire deeply across his stomach, "I hope you rot in hell for all eternity." Xander turned on his heel and walked out of the Library at a brisk pace, Amanda not far behind him – he needed to hit something and would prefer it to not be something breathing or that could feel pain.

Even as he watched the Slayer tend to the fallen vampire, the Wicca walked up to him, hesitantly, "Excuse me, but who are you?"

He smiled winningly at her, feeling her inner darkness beginning to grow slightly as he did, "I, my dear, have gone by many names over the years – please, though, call me Louis." He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a card, "Firstly, Angelus, be ready and say your farewells – you leave in five minutes. Secondly, young Wicca, if you ever need anyone damned for all eternity in the lower pits of hell, I'm the man to call – Caio." With that, he stepped back into the shadows and, once he was gone, he laughed uproariously; his plans were back on track now that Jasmine was temporarily dealt with.

Willow looked first at where the man had gone, and then down at Angel even as Giles walked over to her, "I ask that you give me that card, Willow – I will not allow you to hold anything that 'man' has freely given."

Oz looked at him, "Who was he, Giles?"

Giles growled, "An old acquaintance of mine, Oz, who goes by a name of Louis Cypher."

Willow's mind made the connection to just what the name really was meant to be and she blanched – she had just taken a card from and spoken to the Devil Himself. This was not good.

AN: I've looked over the notes I have for the rest of this chapter and I figure this is a good place to stop this one – what do you think? Review, please.