Chapter 5

AN: Okay, here's what's happened in the gap here – Giles was sacked after Buffy's 'test', Gwen came in, Gwen went away in a body bag, Wuss showed up and not long after Faith did, too. Pretty much everything has gone per-canon, save Kakistos' arrival, which shall be taken care of, presently.

AN2: Also, could be a little Wesley bashing in here – it will go away … eventually … so please, bear with it.

(December 2nd)

Faith felt her guts clench in several different directions as Kakistos stepped out of the shadows, his hooves clicking against the concrete as he did while his vamp minions all began to laugh as she trembled – she'd watched him slowly torture her Watcher, Linda, to death over the course of hours, stripping her flesh away from her body, defiling her body in ways that still made her shiver, and all the while Linda was screaming until she screamed herself hoarse.

Her shivers translated itself to the two people at her side – one was her sister Slayer, Buffy Summers, a girl who half of the time was just short of openly reviling her, loathing her very existence, but the other time they were on the same page, the same damned word, and they were hot to the point they could predict the other's movements, copying them as they were done. The other … he was just above a vamp in her opinion, and only just because the others vouched for him – 'Xander' was an Immortal, just like the guy who had helped Kakistos torture Linda, but Red was the first to jump to his defense in that he was cool, and if pressed Faith could admit that; he and that chick, Amanda, had taken her into their shared home (THAT had really screwed with her mind, learning that Amanda was over a thousand years old and Xander was an Immortal for less than a year, almost six months, actually). Buffy held a stake on one hand and her lips were quirked into an odd smile while Xander's hand held his sword, his eyes were flat and lips drawn into a flat line – they themselves were different in that Faith knew that Xand did not hesitate to call BS on Buffy, that Buffy and he weren't exactly friends even though she could tell that Buffy (who had been with a vamp of all things) and Red (who was with Wolfie) both held a major yen for the guy, and that the pair, a Slayer and an Immortal, had different ideas on how to do the deed on the whole Slaying gig, traditional versus modern. Both tightened their grips in their weapons and took up stances next to her as another man walked out of the shadows, the Immortal who killed Linda … eventually.

Xander's gut tightened even as he slipped his hand back into his trench coat to grab his 'secret' weapon, a snub nosed .357 he kept just in case – the guy was old, at least Amanda's age by the feel he was giving off, of Asian descent, short and wrinkled like a damned bloodhound, but he had no weapons … which meant he was either really dumb, or really good, and Xander's money was on the latter as the vamp, one fugly vamp at that, spoke, "Hello, Faith."

Buffy could feel Faith shiver next to her as the vamp spoke, but given her own past with vamps, especially powerful and old ones who were evil, she couldn't blame her sister Slayer any as she said nothing.

Kakistos smiled at the two Slayers, yes, their blood would be well-kept and fine to sip on occasion, but then his eyes fell to the boy, eyes he narrowed as he used his own inner sight to see the boy's soul – he was an Immortal, very young, but already had several heads to his claim, two of them several centuries old, and this worried him. This meant that the boy either knew what he was doing, 'cheated' in the Game, or had a very good teacher, possibly all three, so he turned to his associate and smiled, "Mister Lee, the boy is yours to deal with."

"What's the matter, goat boy," the young Immortal sneered at him, his tone mocking. "Not vamp enough to try and take me?"

Buffy winced as the vampire, Kakistos, growled at Xander's jab at him – there were times that she thought he was suicidal in that he provoked things and people who were much stronger than he was, but there were also times, and in reality she knew, that he often did it to throw them off balance, to make them angry … to make them stupid, and it was working in the way that the vampire was getting angry, "I could have you with ease, boy!"

Xander arched his brow at the vampire, remembering his verbal spars with Amanda, "Really? You're how old and you can still get it up? I'm impressed, but truthfully, I don't swing that way." He heard Faith let out a strangled giggle and felt Buffy glare at him slightly as the words had the desired effect of causing the vampire to roar at him, but sadly said vamp checked his anger and stopped short of charging him.

Kakistos snarled at the boy, "You're good, child, I'll grant you that, but better than you have tried to annoy me enough into attacking them."

The boy looked him oddly, "Oh, you deal with politicians, then?"

Before he could jump at the boy, he felt a hand on his arm, "Please, Master, allow me to deal with him." He looked over at Mr. Lee, who was doing his best to stare the boy down, and nodded quickly.

Xander watched as the wrinkled Asian male walked forwards … no, he didn't walk, he glided forwards, like a house cat, which made his hair stand up on end as he spoke in a soft, almost hissing voice, "You annoy my Master, boy – that is very … unwise."

He couldn't help but snark back, "Hey, your relationship with him is your deal man, but please, don't expect me to give a corpse the time of day." This got him a very annoyed look from the vampire and other Immortal, a shocked gasp from Buffy and a strangled snort from Faith as he went on, "So, old, ugly and vaguely Chinese, what's up with you? How'd you get saddled with old, Greek and fugly there?"

He glared at the boy for a second before smiling, an act that revealed his own filed, pointed teeth, "Master acquired me from my old Master, boy, just as he will acquire your two Slayers – by killing you."

Xander felt his blood pressure rise at those words – there was no love lost between him, Buffy or Faith, but he wouldn't let that happen to them, "Only way that happens is by killing me, right? Well, bucko, from the way I see things, I'm armed, you aren't, and this will be a quick fight."

Lee smiled at him again and raised his arms, "Your death shall be quick, boy – once my Master has your Slayers, he will be unstoppable." Lee then took up an odd stance, his hands waving before him somewhat chaotically, forcing Xander to pause in his attack.

Buffy gasped in horror as Xander's body flew backwards through the air and slammed into the side of the warehouse they had been in, landing on the ground with a sickening thud and snapping bones – she hadn't even seen the guy MOVE! Now, though, the old fart was floating right where Xander had been standing, his eyes glowing black, completely black, and smiling before saying, "Yes, his power will be mine, and then his SOUL will be mine, too."

Kakistos smiled as his minion removed the boy from the area before he himself started towards the Slayers, "Now, Faith, tell me, do you like to scream?"

(Later, Library)

Faith shivered as she rocked back and forth in her seat while audible snaps, crackles and pops came from Xander's body, which lay on top of the table next to her, a body that she watched – they had been saved by the timely intervention of Amanda, who had looked ready to rip somebody's head off, when she had dropped what she called 'a little bomb' (a road flare tied to a plastic gas can) into the minions that had been keeping them there. Now, though, she was wishing that had not happened as Wussly (her Watcher, Wesley Wendhym Price) had started into her about being a 'proper Slayer'.

Xander hissed as his body came to and half-way arched up in agony as his Quickening jump-started his system, noticing that Faith was staring at him, and he slumped back down with a grunt on top of the table he was apparently on, "What the fuck hit me?"

"I say, Mister Harris, such language is not needed nor is it appreciated," came the overly-British voice of Faith's newest Watcher, Wuss, as he liked to call him. The little shit seemed to think that, just because he had been hand-picked by Quinton Travers to be Faith's Watcher that it gave him an all-empowering edict to lord of them all, something that Xander, Amanda, Buffy and Faith often ignored, "And to answer your question, a Chi Master is what hit you, according to what Slayer Summers and Slayer LeHane have said."

Faith saw Xander get off of the table with a fluid roll and work one shoulder as he muttered, "Note to self – shoot first, snark later." She quirked her lips at the words – if it wasn't for him being an Immortal, she could almost like the guy; he then went over to where Amanda was stalking around and she could see that he did not want to be doing that as he spoke up, "Mandy? You okay?"

Wesley looked at the goddess of a woman, whom the boy had called 'Mandy', and was more than a little shocked to see that there were tears in her eyes when she turned, at which point she proceeded to nigh-tackle the boy and suffocate him with a hug – he was more than aware of the fact that Alexander lived with Amanda, as did his Slayer (though he was sure that the quaint place he had found her on the outskirts of town were good enough for her), but it always shocked him to see the bond that was there between the pair, that of friends, possibly even lovers. How a boy like Alexander had managed to attract the attention of Amanda, he would never know … but Wesley knew that, one day, Amanda would be his.

Xander held on to the crying Amanda, even while Wesley glared at him – everyone knew that he had the hots for Amanda, it was a big joke, really, as she never gave him the time of day, literally, but right now that was the furthest thing from his mind as he purred to her in French, "(Amanda? Are you okay?)"

She nodded as Xander asked how she was in passably-good French, something she'd been teaching him over the past months, but she responded in English, "I'll be okay, Xander, I'm just worried." He pulled away and looked at her oddly and she went on, "I'm the one who made you go with them, Xander, I would have been responsible for you dying."

Xander shook his head at her, "Remember what you told me, Amanda? Every time we leave holy ground, we run the risk of never coming back – tonight was a good example of it."

Buffy walked over at that point, interrupting their little moment, "Xand … you're taking this rather well. He could have KILLED you."

Xander nodded at her, "You're right, Buffy, he could have, but he didn't – his mistake." He could feel the anger welling up in his mind as he thought about several things he could do, but then turned to Wesley, who looked rather affronted by his mere presence, "What'd you call him? A Chi Master?"

Wesley nodded at the boy, almost as if Alexander were conceding his obvious superiority, "Yes, Alexander, a Chi Master – the man obviously has learned to control his chi­, or his inner energy, or his life force, even, and that makes him very dangerous."

"Is he bullet proof?" He blinked at the boy, who reached behind his back and pulled out a small revolver, frowning at it slightly, "If not, then I'm going to need more bullets."

Wesley looked at him oddly for a few seconds before he shook his head, "While most Chi Masters have been known to be killed by less violent means, Mr. Harris, to be perfectly blunt about it he would move too quickly for you to hit." The Briton looked almost thoughtful for a moment before he looked at Faith, a look that instantly made Xander want to shoot the guy, "Why did you not protect him, Miss LeHane? Were you not paying attention?"

"How could I fucking protect him if neither B or I could SEE HIM MOVE?" Faith was out of her seat in a second and, for a few nanoseconds Xander found that he felt sorry for Wesley … and then that time passed, "And stop busting my chops just because you're a shitty Watcher!" Wesley opened his mouth to defend himself but Faith never gave him the chance, "You think you're all high and mighty just because some dick in England gave you this job, but when you get here you don't do jack shit to help, you don't train me, and you sure as hell don't care about me!

"On top of that you're busting everyone around here like they're your slaves when they're about ten times better than you are, oh, and you just wanna whip it out for Amanda all the damned time even though she's with Xand!" Faith was furious, her face was flushed a bright red and Xander was sure that her dark eyes were glowing as she stalked forwards, driving Wesley back from her – Xander had to admit that she had never looked more beautiful even as he saw Buffy and a newly-arrived Willow both blush and Amanda smirking off to one side, but apparently Faith wasn't done, "Now, I want you to get in your books, find the damned shit we need, and do it quick! I have a test tomorrow morning, so I'm taking Xand and Amanda home, we're getting some sleep and I expect it by the time we get back!" Faith then charged over, grabbed him by the hand before going to Amanda, doing the same, and dragging the pair of them out of the Library, the door slamming behind them.

They almost made it to the front doors when Amanda couldn't help herself, "Why darling Faith, I never knew you were 'into' women like this – had I known I would have brought you to my bed MUCH earlier than tonight." Amanda couldn't help but smile as Faith let her hand go quickly, but not Xander's, and that Faith's ears turned red, though she did not stop moving, but continued speaking, "I am a bit surprised that you have brought Xander along with us - you're not exactly fond of him, after all."

Faith DID stop at this and turned to her, snarling, "Look, Amanda, you and Xander kept me out of that hole Wuss was going to put me into, and I respect that, but I won't let Wuss speak to me, or anyone, like that."

Amanda nodded at this, remembering her reactions to the 'lodgings' that Wesley had gotten for Faith, a true hole-in-the-wall in a seedy motel outside of town, and how Xander had offered her a room at their house, 'no strings attached', a place that Faith had taken over her Watcher's very vocal protests. Faith reminded her of herself at that age, willful and independent as all hell, but while she herself had been a good thief, if a bit presumptuous of her own mortality, Faith knew that her time in the world wasn't going to be long, given the mortality rate of Slayers – Faith fought each battle with a fire that consumed her wholly, in a way that Amanda and Xander both found to be very self-destructive, but when pressed Faith had told them both that if she was going to die, she was going to do it on her own terms, in her own way, and neither were going to be able to do anything about it.

"Faith?" She looked back at Xander, whom was obediently following her, with a look that asked 'what?', "Can I have my hand back now?" She looked down and blushed as she realized that she had been holding Xander's hand the entire time, where she had let Amanda's go some time back.

Xander grinned at her as, for the second time in as many minutes Faith blushed and jerked her hand away, mumbling 'sorry' at him, to which he quipped, "Hey, no problem, it's not like I'm accused of holding the hand of a beautiful Slayer all the time these days."

Faith turned on him with a grim look, "Hey, I stuck up for you, Xander, that doesn't mean I like you."

"And aside from being Immortal, what have I done to prevent that?" The question brought her up short as he went on, his mirth gone and his eyes flat, "You think you can dictate to me that we're not friends, fine, that's your prerogative, but don't think for a second I'm going to let you say shit like that to me and not call you on it. Why can't we be friends?"

"Because you're Immortal …"

Xander snorted disgustedly, "Please tell me you've got something better than that – if not, then I'm going to be terribly disappointed in you, Faith."

She straightened her back, "Alright, you want the truth? I don't trust you, that's why – I don't know shit about you and nobody's telling me anything."

Amanda spoke up at this point, "Darling, have you asked anyone about him?"

"Yeah, B and Red, but neither wanna tell me anything."

Amanda arched an eyebrow, "And you have never asked Xander about his past … why?" This brought the Slayer to a halt and a frown to her own lips, "Faith?"

"She's scared, Amanda." She looked over at Xander, whose eyes were narrowed, "Add on top of that Kakistos being here, her own past with Immortals, and you have a perfect recipe for her not wanting to get to know me." Faith turned to him and she could see both fear and anger in her eyes as Xander repressed a smirk, "Tell me I'm wrong, Faith."

Faith wanted to grab him by the neck and rip his head off … but she couldn't because he was right, "I'll make you a deal, Xander – we deal with Kakistos and his pet Immortal and I'll get to know you. Deal?"

Xander smiled at her, "Deal."

(Next afternoon)

The news wasn't good as far as Kakistos and his pet Immortal were concerned – with the Master gone, Kakistos was presumed to be the oldest among the vampires and by far one of the most feared after both the Master and Angelus. He was a criminal mastermind, not afraid to use humans to do his daytime dirty work and not above using any kind of clout he had (or thought he had) in order to get things done his way – rumors say that, in the early twentieth century that it was he who had given rise to people like Al Capone, but that rumor was never substantiated.

The news about his Immortal, though, was also wasn't exactly any better – Chinese Chi master, over two thousand years old, with almost two hundred heads to his name, and also having been known to wipe out entire villages of men and … experimenting on the women and children. The Watchers had compiled a very long list of possible things he was behind, but none of them had ever been prove because of the fact that the man, though he could be called a monster, had killed every eye witness there was … including the Watchers.

Wesley coughed, "I say, this person sounds to be a quite unpleasant fellow."

Amanda shot him a glare, "He's a monster, child – Wah-Shu is NOT someone to be toying with … especially not you, Xander."

Xander, on the other hand, had seen far too many anime in his day to let the name get by him, "'Wah-Shu'? We're dealing with the greatest scientific genius in the universe?" The only person who didn't give him a blank look was Willow, and she was very busily fighting off a furious bout of giggles, so he relented, "Sorry – pop culture thing." Everyone settled down and he then asked, "So, as I'm being told to not deal with this guy Wah-Shu, how do we deal with him, Amanda?"

She sat down and looked at Xander, who was being uncharacteristically thoughtful as of late, and frowned, "There is a way around it, but only if one is old enough and strong enough to risk it." He gave her a pointed look at her evasive answer and she explained to him, in French, "(It may or may not work Xander, and if it does not … I will be very vulnerable.)"

Wesley blinked at Amanda, whom was speaking to the boy in French, and was surprised when Alexander spoke back to her in the same language, though thankfully Wesley himself was well-versed in the same language, "(Then I will be there to protect you, Amanda – you are my teacher, and my friend, so I can do no less.)" Wesley could see the appreciation in Amanda's eyes even as Alexander turned to him and gave him a cold glare, "And for future reference, Wuss, don't listen in on conversations that don't involve you."

He jumped at Alexander's words, "How did you …?"

Alexander gave him a slightly chilled grin, "I always make it a point to keep an eye, or in this case, an ear, on people I don't trust."

Wuss gave him a look, as did both Buffy and Faith, as he sat back into his chair, "You … do not trust me?"

"About as far as I can throw you," Xander shot back at him, though in a tone that made Buffy shiver slightly – she'd been on the receiving end of that tone and didn't wish it on anyone.

She looked at Wesley as he squirmed slightly and could almost feel Faith's glee radiating off of her as her Watcher spoke, "And how would I gain your trust?"

"By pulling your head out of Travers' ass and start acting like a REAL Watcher should, one that actually gives a damn about his Slayer," Xander said amicably, making her look over at Giles, who was restraining a large grin from breaking onto his face. "Now, any ideas on how to take on Kakistos that doesn't involve charging in head-first, stakes flying, and praying this Wah-Shu isn't there, because I quite like my head where it is."

Before anyone could answer, though, he grimaced in pain as he felt the presence of another Immortal even as Amanda and he pulled their swords – both Methos and MacLeod were in Paris, helping out 'Joe', Mac's Watcher, with something, and none of Amanda's 'friends', which Xander read to mean either bedfellows or partners in crime, knew she was in Sunnydale, which only meant trouble. The rest of the group backed away from the table, though Wuss had to be pulled away by Buffy, as the doors to the library opened up to reveal Wah-Shu, dressed in a rather expensive-looking suit and carrying a scroll of some kind in both hands, his face a mask.

"Greetings, Amanda, Alexander," he said to the pair of armed Immortal, both of whom never took their eyes off of him.

"Greetings," Amanda said to him icily even as the pup grinned, "Hiya, Little Washu."

He narrowed his eyes at Alexander, "How very amusing, young man." The child smiled at him in an insufferable manner and Wah-Shu found himself having to control his temper for the first time since the 70's – whoever had come up with Disco would suffer in hell, "I come here bearing a challenge for you, Amanda." He placed the scroll on the table and levitated himself backwards, "Meet me, if you dare." With that, he turned and walked out of the Library – he had much to plan.

(Later – Harris-Deveroux-LeHane residence)

Faith watched as both Amanda and Xander worked over several blades with whetstones, their eyes blank and lips drawn into thin lines – G had told her what it meant to be challenged for Immortals and, while she wasn't sure what all of it meant, she DID know that when Mandy and that Washu guy went at it, only one of them would be coming back.

She then watched Amanda load the blades into her jacket carefully and step in front of Xander, murmuring something in French that sounded somewhat sappy to her, and then kissed Xander full on the lips for several seconds, Frenching him as he hugged the dark-haired woman close to his body before they parted. Faith, for a second, felt like she was intruding into something private, but that vanished when Amanda turned to her and smiled, "Well, Faith …"

"Mandy, you're hot, but I ain't kissing you."

Amanda gave her a shocked look even as Xander snickered behind the Immortal woman, but went on as if nothing happened, "I hope that things turn out well and I see you again in a few hours … but honestly I can't say that is a certainty, so I tell you be well and good luck in your life." The Immortal women hugged her for a few seconds, making Faith feel very uncomfortable, but then went about her business leaving the house.

Forty five minutes later, the silence deafening, Faith spoke up to Xander, "You're taking this well – she may not be coming back."

He looked up at her for a second and nodded, "You're right – how about we do something to ensure that?" He got up and went over to a section of the house, one that, if she remembered, once belonged to Xand's parents before they were butchered, and pulled out a case. When he opened it, she saw the rifle, though in pieces, sitting there, pieces that he began to slip together as if it were a normal thing.

She worked her mouth several times, finally getting out, "What are you doing?"

"Ensuring that Amanda comes back, Faith," he told the bewildered Slayer even as he assembled the rifle, the very same rifle that he had used against his parent's murder's goons the year before. He looked over at Faith, "Amanda's my friend, my teacher, and I'll be damned if that wrinkle-faced son of a bitch gets her without a fight."

"And if he still takes her?"

If Faith was looking for a pause or surprise, she was sorely disappointed as Xander snorted, "Then I pull out the heavier stuff and go after this asshole whole hog." He looked up at her and, for a second, Faith felt a shiver of fear go down her spine at the look of steel in his eyes, "I look after my friends, Faith, even if they don't know I'm there."

"Is this your way of getting me to trust you, because if that's what it is … well, shit, I have to say its working." He looked up at her in surprise and she looked at him, "If you're going to the mat for this woman, another Immortal who may one day try and take your head … aw, fuck, I don't know." She watched him go back to putting the rifle back together and then wrap it in some canvas and go to the garage, where a minivan sat, "Do you even know where they are going to do this thing at?"

He nodded at her as he packed away the rifle and ammunition, "Yup – outside of town, near the flats, open area for nearly a half-mile in any direction." He then started to pack away some other things, including a body bag, and she then watched him change his shoes.

Faith frowned as he changed out his sneaks for some boots, "What's with those?"

"Treadless," he told her, which confused her for a second before he went on, "no marks on the bottom – harder to tell who I am." She blinked at this even as he went about getting into the van, "Be well, Faith."

She was moving before she knew what she was doing and was yanking the door open even as he turned the van over, "You are NOT leaving without me – what if there are vamps there?"

Xander sighed, knowing just how hard headed all Slayers were, and then looked over at her, "You sense a vamp, you stay the hell put – do NOT startle me and sure as hell don't touch the rifle, are we clear?" She nodded and he started to pull out of the garage, making best speed out of town.

(Outside Sunnydale – salt flats – 15 minutes earlier)

Amanda looked at the man across from her, seeing that he did not have a blade on him, or at least he didn't look like it, as he sat and meditated on the flats – either he was very brave, very good, or very stupid, and, right now, her money was on good, given how old he felt, "I'm here."

"Yes, I know." He stood in a fluid motion, letting her see the black silk outfit he was wearing, traditional Chinese pants and shirt, but there was also blood red trim around the border, with glyphs sewn into the silk as well, "You came alone?"

She nodded, "Yes, I did – Alexander knows better than to try and fight for me."

Was-Shu gave her a creepy grin, "Oh, I have no doubt that he will show up, Amanda – he loves you, he will fight for you, and he will DIE for you."

She felt a shiver go up her spine, "Probably, but let's get on with this – I want to be home in an hour to enjoy the evening with Alexander." She drew her sword and took her opening stance, "En Guard."

Was-Shu did the same, taking up a modified Crane stance, "Oh, you will be home within the hour … the home of the dead." He lashed out with a sweep of his hand and she felt a blow hit her in the ribs, as if someone had taken a branch from a tree and hit her, "Are you prepared for such a journey?"

She gave him a glare and dashed in, lashing out with her sword, but he simply vanished as she reached him, her sword connecting with nothing but air. She spun and ducked, somehow knowing he was going to be there, and a kick meant for her head sailed over her head, but the follow-up knee did not miss as she was hurled away from the fight, sliding to a stop.

He looked at the fallen woman and smiled, "Submit and I shall show you mercy, Amanda – there is no Highlander for you to be saved by this time, and by your own word your own student will not interfere. How much pain you feel before I end this is entirely up to you."

Amanda spit out a bit of blood from a cut on the inside of her cheek, "Sorry, but I'm not into pain." She stood again and began to circle him warily – this was not going to be easy.

Twenty minutes later, Amanda spit out a mouthful of blood for the third time even as Wah-Shu continued to taunt her from afar – he was fast, VERY fast, and she knew that taking his time with her, something she often looked for in a man but, right now, it was getting annoying.

CRACK! Wah-Shu stumbled back even as a plume of blood exited the back of his chest, CRACK, but apparently whoever was helping her out, and in the back of her head, she knew who, wasn't going to hit him twice with the same shot as he caught the bullet that was fired and threw it at her, hitting her low in the left lung.

"Your friend … is impressive," the Immortal managed to get out even as she stumbled forwards, her sword out in front of her.

She didn't pay him much mind as she ran her blade right through his throat and pulled another blade, this one a short sword, "I'll be sure to tell him that … and there can be only one."

(325 yards away)

She blinked as the lightning began to play about where Amanda had taken the guy out, though she had to admit that she was torn to look down at Xander, who had put two shots down at the guy, only one hitting him as the old bastard caught the other and hit Amanda with it before she'd taken his head off. There was something almost … magical … with the event, watching the two dueling from a distance, but even more so with the light show she was now seeing.

"Move, Faith." Xander's voice brooked no argument as he picked up his gun, the tarp he had laid down, and shuffled them into the back of the minivan, "I'll get us up there, but when we do, get Amanda in here and we are GONE."

"Why? There's nobody around …" she trailed off as she noticed several sets of headlights off in the distance, easily a few miles off, but getting closer, "fuck me hard."

Xander snorted, "Any time, babe, but we gotta go!" He turned the van over and she hopped in, her mind processing what he had said as he tore out of the area towards where Amanda had gone down, the storm fading quickly.

Ten minutes later, they were on the road towards Sunnydale again, but this time they were not bound for the house, which surprised Faith a little until she noticed that Amanda was still out of it, "Xander? Why's she out? Don't you guys get back up from anything?"

"Yeah, most things, but that guy was OLD, Faith – when she wakes up … get up here, now." She was moving even as she felt Amanda twitching under her and they pulled into a parking lot of low-rent apartments, where Xander crawled back to where Amanda was and held her in a bear hug as she gasped awake. "Trust me, she's going to be out of it for a while … and she's going to be acting odd."

Amanda was silent for a few seconds before she responded, "Odd? Mmmm, Alex, I'm not odd … I'm ragingly HORNY right now." She turned in his grasp and smiled, licking the end of his nose, "Care to help me take care of that?"

From her seat, Faith smirked, "Yeah, Xander, she's acting VERY odd right now – should I alert the papers?" He shot her an irritated look and she gave him the look of pure innocence, well, as close as she could come, "What?"

He just sighed at her, "Faith, take the van back to the house, okay? Amanda and I … we have something to do."

She shook her head, "No way, buck-o, I'm staying here with you two. S'ides," she added, a grin on her face, "why settle for one when you can have two?"

Amanda gave her a look, "Child-"

Faith growled, "I'm 17, and NOT a child."

This didn't deter Amanda one bit, "I am going to be engaging in HOURS of sex with Alexander, ranging from simple lovemaking to 'swinging-from-the-chandeliers' rutting – believe me, you do not want to be involved in that. You may not survive."

This didn't deter Faith one bit as she shrugged, "Okay, so it's been a while since I had a threesome – may take a bit, but I'll get into things again."

Amanda just shrugged and opened the van door, "Fine, but if you cannot walk tomorrow, do NOT come blaming me or Xander." With that, she was off to the apartment, a smile spreading across her lips – this was going to be a FUN night.

(AN: Okay, due to Fanfiction . net's 'no NC-17' rule, despite how I've seen it broken in some places, as that is one of the places I'll be posting this, this next part has been deleted from this chapter. Thanks, and now back to our regularly-scheduled fic)

(Library – next morning)

He was surprised to see Amanda walking through the door the next morning looking as fresh as a daisy, dressed in a pristine white suit over a red silk blouse, and Giles had to admit the fact that she was smiling larger than a Cheshire cat indicated that whatever had happened the night before, she'd had a great deal of fun.

Xander was through the door next and Faith was with him, limping slightly and with an arm over his shoulder, a dazed, yet content, smile on her lips as he helped her into a chair. It didn't take a genius to figure out that all three had, apparently, had a VERY good night, and while he was somewhat perturbed at the age difference between the three, he also knew that after some of the things (and women) he had done as Ripper, he was not one to throw stones.

"Is she going to be okay?" Buffy looked at Faith as Xander helped her into a chair, "I mean, did she get hurt?"

Faith looked at Buffy and smiled somewhat lewdly, "Been a LONG time since I felt this good, B." Giles could tell that whatever had transpired that night would not be well-received by the others of the group, but that matter was somewhat moot.

"I take it all went … well, last night?" Amanda gave him a nod, Xander as well, and Faith a grin even as Wesley walked into the room, "Then Wah-Shu has been taken care of?"

"He'll never bother anyone but me again, Mr. Giles," Amanda said to him as she shivered. "He was one truly sick individual and I think I did the world a favor in taking him out of it." Giles wasn't sure if she knew, but the looks that both Faith and Xander gave to the back of her head told him that she was being just a touch full of herself, but they would let it go, "Have you come up with anything else on this Kakistos, Mr. Giles?"

"He has not, but I have, Amanda," Wesley cut in, his voice holding a note of pride that made Ripper want to jump up and, after strangling the man with his own tie, roast his body over slow coals.

"Really? And what did Giles find out that you're taking credit for, Wuss?" He shot Xander a grateful look even as the younger Watcher frowned at the Immortal young man.

Wesley frowned at the young Immortal for a moment before he sighed, "Mr. Harris-"

"Call me that again and the Council gets your body back in a number of shoe-box-sized parcels."

The threat hung in the air like a balloon, but not just the words and imagery that they brought up, but rather the promise of fulfilling the threat that hung with them. Wesley, feeling a touch faint as he straightened his tie, went on, "What have I done to earn your ire? I am here to help Slayer Summers and Slayer LeHane."

"Their names are Elizabeth, or as she likes to be called, Buffy, and Faith, and my real problem with you is that while you like to think you're the king of the heap, as far as Watchers go, you're not even the palest shadow of what Giles was before he got canned." Alexander stood up, all traces of good humor and friendship gone as his eyes took a hardened cast, "Now, first of all, my name is Xander, not 'Mr. Harris', as that lump of shit is buried in Westfield Cemetery, and secondly stop posturing and tell us what you found so we can take this asshole out."

The speech was masterful, artfully delivered and filled to the brim with scolding and the promise of pain if ignored, but it was all for naught as Xander's stomach took that point to give voice to it's annoyance due to lack of food. Amanda repressed a chuckle of her own, but her own stomach gave its own cry of having been empty for too long, a cry that was echoed by Faith's, Buffy's and Willow's as well. Xander looked at them all and, as one, they stood and made like a great flock of birds going South for the winter – food was needed, and food was to be found.

Wesley looked blankly at the doors as they swung shut and then over at Mr. Giles, who looked to be doing his best to not laugh, "What just happened?"

"Aside from having your arse chewed on, and rightfully so, by Xander, you mean? You just witnessed the 'call of the wild' with the group – I'm not sure when they all began to become attuned to Xander's stomach, but they are all hungry when he is hungry, and nothing short of supplying food stuffs will keep them here when that happens."

Wesley gave him a look, "But … what have I done wrong? I have followed all of the proper procedures that the Council has set forth where concerning civilians."

Giles sighed, "And has that worked? Remember Wesley, that these are Americans, and add to that they are both teenagers and live in California – the same rules don't apply them as they would in the civilized world." In the back of his mind Giles was sure that, were they there, that would have gotten him a shout of 'hey!' from all of the others – oh well, lost opportunities. "Add to that what these young women and man have seen and done, and the way you have come across to them is making you look like a total, pompus ass. After all," he chipped in as he leafed through a book, "all of them have ten times more field and practical experience than you do, easily."

Wesley gaped at him like a fish and, for a moment, both he and Ripper were at peace with one another.

(Later)

"So, nothing?"

She shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

Again, she shook her head.

Buffy sighed, "How could you eat the last piece like that, Faith?"

"She didn't," Xander said at her side, holding up the last slice of Gino's special three meat, four cheese pizza. He grinned at Buffy and then wolfed it down before her eyes, earning a groan from both Willow and Amanda.

"Where does he put it all, Amanda? Does he have a wooden leg?"

Amanda shook her head at Willow, "No, he doesn't, Willow – I think his metabolism makes up for anything he eats."

Faith, ever the opportunist, smirked, "Anything? What about when he was eating-"

"That's enough, Faith," Xander interrupted as a mother with two kids walked by their table. "Virgin ears and all."

Faith leaned into his side and ran her hands over his stomach, "Mmmm, 'kay."

They sat there for several minutes, their stomachs working on the four pizzas that they had all shared and ingested, and all of them sighed contentedly as they sipped at their drinks – they'd been out of the Library for a little over an hour at that point and it felt good to unwind for a bit. Finally, though, they got off their butts, Xander paid for the check after being 'puppy-dog eyed' into it (though Faith DID make a few promises to 'work off' the money), and made their way back to the Library at what could only be called a saunter. It wasn't that they weren't in a hurry, it was just that anything faster and they would have thrown up.

When they finally reached the library again, both Giles and Wesley were hard at work at the books, but by the time they reached the table, Giles sighed, "Oh, good Lord."

"Damn it." Buffy growled as she sat down, "Nothing good EVER happens when you say that, Giles!"

The elder Briton gave his charge a LOOK before he went on, "It says here that Kakistos is known to not only use mortal minions to do his bidding, but also has been known to sacrifice said minions in order to gain something that is not obvious." He looked over at Amanda, "I think that he might have sacrificed Wah-Shu in order to get something, Amanda – do you have any idea what that would be?"

The Immortal woman shook her head, "No, nothing that comes to mind, Rupert, but I'll do my best to …" Amanda's voice trailed as for a second and then a slightly odd smirk came to her lips, "Do nothing."

The others looked at one another in confusion, but Xander didn't as he got out of his chair and unsheathed his sword, "Hello, Wah-Shu."

'Amanda' looked up at Xander and grinned, "Ah, figured it out already, did you?"

Buffy looked at Xander, "What's going on?"

"A Dark Quickening, Buffy, only I think Wah-Shu's now in control of Amanda's body." Xander held the sword at the body that was Amanda's, but who was being controlled by a dead Immortal, "Lemme guess, you worked your chi mojo and, when she took your head, you slid in the back door and into the driver's seat."

Amanda … no, not Amanda – Wah-Shu stood up and grinned, "As always, Alexander, a step behind and a second late. Yes, it took me a while to gain control of her mind and body, but now Amanda is MINE to do with as I wish." The dead Immortal then ran Amanda's hands over her body, a grin stretching across her face, "I think I'll go have some fun now."

Xander steeled himself even as the other Scoobies all began to back away, "I don't think so, Little Washu." She growled at him and pulled her own rapier, but held it clumsily, "Only way you're getting out of here is through me."

Faith watched as Xand faced off against Amanda, who he said was now the freak from the night before, and felt a chill go up and down her spine – were they going to fight? Would he take her head?

Wah-Shu smiled as he (Faith refused to think of him as a 'she' right now, despite having all the right parts) lashed out with the rapier, but found his attack blocked, "She's taught you well, young one."

Xander lashed out with his own attack, one that was barely blocked, "Very well, Wah-Shu."

"I'll enjoy having your Quickening!" Xander blocked the VERY sloppy overhand strike that came his way and parried with a slash that tore the abdomen of Amanda's blouse wide open, spilling blood from the gash, "Argh!"

He ruthlessly suppressed his own stab of guilt as he saw Amanda's body right itself, instead going for another tactic, "Pretty sloppy technique there, fugly – if you were in full control of Amanda's body, you should be doing better."

"Feh, it doesn't matter if I am in control, boy," Wah-Shu said as they clashed again, but this time it was Xander who came away bloody. "I control enough of her reflexes to survive."

Xander steeled himself as he jinked right and then slid left as Amanda's body fell for the trick, shoving the tip of his sword through the right side of her chest and out the left side, straight through the heart, "Not enough, fucking ugly."

Faith watched as Xander moved and removed his belt, "You're gonna bone her NOW, Boytoy? With … HIM in her?"

He looked up and gave her a glare even as he secured the belt to one side of the basket hilt and wrapped it around Amanda's chest to the other side, locking it in place, "No, I'm not, Faith, I'm going to try and keep this blade in her body as long as I can while Giles goes and calls Methos and Duncan, NOW!"

(Later)

Four times already the belt had been almost cut through as Amanda's quickening had tried to push the sword blade out of her body, and three times he had stopped it before he went and secured it with a length of heavy-gauge steel chain, locking it with a strong lock – Xander hated doing this, he really did, but if there wasn't another way out of this, he'd either keep Amanda like this for all eternity or … well, that was the only option, really, given that Wah-Shu appeared to be able to transfer his mind to other Immortals via the Quickening. How many other Immortals had he possessed this way? Was the body that Amanda had killed the previous night really his?

Xander shook his head to clear it even as he felt two presences Buzz against his own – Duncan and Methos were here, and unfortunately for him, it wasn't going to be a good encounter. While Methos didn't hold a grudge against him for the things said and done against him at Joyce's art gallery, he knew that, deep down, Duncan still held one. Not that he cared, really, but what had happened had happened and nothing was going to change that, Terakan-influence or not.

The doors to the Library opened and, on cue, Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod stormed in, katana drawn and his face black as a thundercloud, "What did you do to Amanda, boy?"

Xander looked over and, also on cue, raised the Beretta 9mm he'd kept on his person for a while now and shot Duncan twice in the chest, at a range of about fifteen feet, dropping the Scot like a bad habit even as Methos walked through the door and the other Scoobies all jerked back at how quickly things had happened.

"I see you started the party without me," Methos said dryly as the other Scoobies all processed the scene. The 5000 year old Immortal looked at Duncan's chest and then at him, "Nice grouping."

"Thanks."

"Para?"

Xander shook his head and lowered his gun slightly, "Dutch, Para and hollow point."

Methos nodded, "Good call – do you plan on doing that again?"

Xander nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out four other magazines, "Until he calms down enough that he starts thinking straight – I figure that'll be two mags from now, myself."

Buffy approached him, her eyes narrowed, "Xander, why do you have a gun?"

He didn't even bother to look at her, his eyes never leaving Duncan's healing corpse, "Because I figured this would be his response and didn't want him to get within sword's reach of me, Buff – I don't know about you, but I LIKE my head being where it is."

Wesley walked up, his eyes a mystery, "And you didn't think to tell us about this plan of yours for what reason?"

"Because Buffy has a morbid fear of guns and would have bitched about my having one until Duncan got in, at which point I would have had to shoot around her to hit him." He saw the last of Duncan's Quickening heal him as he gasped awake and he readied his gun, "It's easier this way."

Duncan looked up at him and glared, "You son of a – " and that's as far as he got as Xander put another two rounds into his chest, dropping him again.

This set up a pattern that was played out every few minutes, in that Duncan would revive, swear at Xander in one language or another, and get shot twice in the chest each time as a result – Xander recognized French, German, Gaelic and some form of Native American as far as the languages went, and some Japanese, too, but a few of the languages were lost on him. Methos, Giles and Wesley, though, all either laughed, chuckled or paled (well, Wuss generally paled, the others laughed) at some of Duncan's phrases, so he figured that the Scot was cursing his parentage out, somehow.

Finally, half-way through his second magazine, Duncan held up his hands, "Alright, enough."

Methos, who had out a hip flask filled with some alcoholic libation, frowned, "Already, Duncan? I figured with Amanda being involved you'd take at LEAST another magazine to calm down."

Duncan glared at the older man before he glared at the pup before him, who had not moved his gun away from his chest, "I'll be angry later, Methos. Did you HAVE to shoot me?"

Xander, for his part, only shrugged, "No, not really, but it was the easier of the two ways I could have done this." He put the pistol away, making sure to show Duncan the crossbow that he also had at his side, and stood up, stretching even as several casings fell away from his lap, "So, what do we do about Amanda?"

Duncan glared at Xander for a moment before he got up and looked at the other children in the room – the high schoolers were all staring at his bloody shirt and the older ones were all hiding amused looks on their faces, "You say she's been taken over by this Wah-Shu?"

"Yeah, she has."

Methos capped his hip flask, "Well, we'll never win against the greatest scientific genius in the universe, so we might as well give … up … now?" He looked at them all and asked, "What?"

Faith was the first to speak, "You … you KNOW who Little Washu is?"

Methos nodded, "Doesn't everybody?"

Faith looked at Xander, who looked very disturbed, "Does the fact he watched anime scare you as much as it does me?"

"More so, Faith – he reminds me of Xellos right now." Xander shook his head, several times, and then looked at Duncan, "So, what now?"

Duncan frowned, "We need to get her to a purifying spring and perform a cleansing ritual – if nothing else, it may put Amanda back into control for a few moments." He looked down at his shirt and then growled at Xander, "I'm going to make you replace this shirt."

Xander rolled his eyes and tucked the gun into the back of his pants, "If Amanda comes out of this alive and as herself, I'll buy you a dozen shirts just like it." With that, he went over and grabbed Amanda's body, "So, where to, Methos?"

(Later)

Xander blinked.

Buffy, Willow, Faith and Giles, all of whom had 'insisted' upon going with them, blinked.

Wesley passed out.

Oz, for his part, merely arched an eyebrow, "We here?"

Methos nodded and walked to the back of the van he'd brought them all in, "Yes."

Faith looked over at Xander, "Why do I not feel any better with this cleansing pool being located in a cave UNDER Disneyland?"

"Because you're cynical, female and believe the Mouse should be destroyed, along with all of his followers?" The look that particular comment got him was one that is best described as 'chilled', so he restated, "Because you dislike the Mouse and prefer the Duck?"

Faith nodded, "Donald rocks, but how come you look so happy?"

He grinned, "Because I always wanted to come here … well, to Disneyland, but right now I'll settle for being under it." He reached into the back of the van and, with Methos' help, grabbed the litter that they had secured Amanda's body to for the long journey to the House of the Mouse, "Let me guess, you were in on the construction of this place?"

Methos shook his head, "Nah, but Walt and I went way back, so when he told me he was going to build out here, I decided to hedge a few bets and have him build over this place, just in case."

Buffy looked around, her eyes a mystery even as Willow and Giles both checked on Wesley, "How cleansing can this place be, given what's over it?"

Methos shrugged, "I was the last person to be down here, that I know of, so it should be safe." He and Xander drug Amanda's litter over to the stone pool, which looked to be about four feet deep, about ten feet across and made out of snowy white marble, the surface as calm and pristine as one could believe, and Methos began to remove Amanda's restraints, "Now, Xander, we need to work quickly to make sure this works."

Xander nodded, "Okay, but what do we do?"

Methos reached out and ripped the sword from Amanda's chest, a wet, sickening SCHLUCK sound filling the cavern, "You get into the water with her, holding her, while Duncan and I perform the ritual – whatever you do, do NOT let her go until we say so."

Xander nodded and picked up Amanda's healing body, and stepping into the water even as Methos walked to the others, "Now, get out of here, all of you – this is not for your eyes."

Faith snarled, "Like hell I am!"

Methos shot Faith a glare that had frozen entire armies in their steps, a glare that DARED anyone to put their voice against him, "Now."

Faith ignored that glare, "Three words, old man – oh, hell, no!"

Duncan growled, "We cannae wait any longer, Methos!"

Methos sighed, "Very well…"

(Later)

From her seat, Buffy looked on as Xander, who was now sitting in the water with a thrashing Amanda, did his best to apparently drown himself and Amanda even as both Methos and Duncan chanted from some funky books and caused blue lights to appear, "Pretty."

"Yes, quite," Giles said from beside her.

"Indeed," Wesley intoned.

Willow, however, looked down worriedly, "Buffy? Faith looks like she's going to kill you."

Buffy looked down as their bench, Faith, struggled against the chains they had been forced to put her into since she refused to let the two other Immortals do their job without interference, "Stop it, Faith."

Faith shot her a glare that could have vaporized a vampire, but Buffy shrugged it off – her mother's glared were MUCH scarier.

"Hush, both of you," Giles said as a sudden flash of light filled the cave. Both young women looked back at the pool in time to see bolts of light and lightning hitting Amanda, and by proximity, Xander, as the woman gave vent to a scream that redefined the term 'blood curdling' – the walls of the cave didn't help things any as the sound reflected over, and over, and over again, so much so that it was still going when the lights stopped and Amanda went limp in Xander's arms, and Xander fell into the water, motionless.

When the screams finally dissipated, they looked into the pool and saw the bodies of Xander and Amanda there, motionless, both horribly burned and encrusted with blood … but Xander was still holding Amanda tightly to himself, his arms and legs bound around her body.

Methos frowned, "Well, it's a start."

Buffy looked at him, "When do you know if this will work?"

Duncan supplied, "When Amanda and Xander both wake up. Take it from me, Buffy, this isn't as easy as it looks." Duncan's mind threw itself back to when he had been consumed by a Dark Quickening, and how it had taken him time to recover, but those memories faded away as he saw Amanda shiver slightly and her Quickening beginning to crackle away at the wounds on her body.

Faith spoke up, her voice slightly sick, "And if he doesn't … isn't …"

Methos' voice was like a tomb shutting, "Then she'll never leave here with her head, Faith."

(Unknown Place)

"Ow."

"Quiet."

"'Quiet'? I HURT!"

"Oh, shut up, you'll live."

"Says you."

"You're Immortal, you idiot!"

"Yeah, I guess I am."

…

…

…

…

"Mon Dieu, it's boring here."

"Says the one who was telling me to be quiet?"

Amanda shot him a nasty look, "It's not like I asked to have that lunatic take over my body." She shivered and ran her hands over her nude form, the imposing blackness surrounding them and chilling her body ever so slightly, "Do you think that we're still in that cave?"

Xander, as naked as Amanda was, shrugged his shoulders, "A cave, is a cave, is a cave."

Amanda lashed out and slapped her hand across Xander's chest, "Don't make jokes, Xander!"

He rubbed his chest, "If I wasn't making jokes I'd be worried, Amanda." He looked around where they were and then down at the ground, frowning, "Is it my imagination or is the floor suddenly looking more … well, less shadowy?"

Amanda looked down and nodded, looking back up, "You're right."

It was then that the pain hit them both.

(Cave)

Xander gasped to life and let out a strangled, "Ow."

Amanda was a second behind him, her voice no less pained by her face not letting her speak too clearly, "Seconded." She felt his arms tighten around her midsection again for a second before he let go, letting her roll off of him and into the water, where she temporarily reveled in the feeling of the cold water on her burning face.

That feeling was interrupted when she felt someone grab her by the shoulders and hug her close, "Amanda, dannae scare me like that again!"

"Get off of me you bloody Scot! I was enjoying myself!" She pushed away from Duncan and stumbled back, losing her balance and sitting down heavily on Xander's chest as he was trying to stand up. They hit the water and a great gush of air left from under the surface as she crushed his chest empty.

"PHBBTBTBTBTBT!"

She winced and rolled off again, letting Xander get to the surface to gasp for air, "Sorry, Xand." She got to her feet, somewhat unsteadily, and stood there even as she felt her body putting itself back together, "Gods, that hurt!"

Xander, who sounded like he was coughing up a lung, managed to get out a, "Told ya," as he got to his feet.

"Glad to see this has all worked out," Methos drawled slightly as he handed over his coat to her, at which point she noticed that her blouse was almost see-through and took the coat, "but we need to get out of here. The Park opens in a few hours."

She looked up with a slight frown, "Park?"

(Later)

Xander sat next to Amanda, his arms around the shivering woman, "Its okay, Amanda, it won't hurt you."

"No mouse, no mouse, no mouse, no mouse, no mouse," was all the response he was going to get for a long, long time.

(Same Time – Sunnydale)

"I must say that I am quite disappointed in you, Kakistos." His eyes never left the old vampire as his human minions all held said vampire at bay with ignited road flares, "I mean, if you had just TOLD me you were going to be operating in my town, we wouldn't have to be meeting like this, but you seemed to have forgotten that I run Sunnydale."

Kakistos hissed at him, "I will feast on your blood for this, Wilkins – your pathetic humans cannot hold me at bay forever."

Richard Wilkins, First, Second and Third, nodded at this, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a knife, "Indeed, they cannot, but then again, they don't need to." He whipped his arm at the old vampire, burying the knife into its side and getting, first, an enraged howl and then a pained scream from the undead being, "Do you like it? I've had it for some time and only using on special occasions – it's made with the essence of an undying one, supposedly Immortal, but when I last saw him, he and his wife were both quite dead. Does it hurt?"

The string of spat curses and insults that the vampire sent his way told him that, indeed, it was a touch uncomfortable, so he smiled and nodded, "Very good, though such language isn't necessary. Why, what if children had been here? That'd be an awful thing to say in front of them…"

Richard then turned to his Deputy Mayor, Allen Finch, "See that he's disposed of, Allen, and that the bones are properly destroyed."

Allen, his face pale, nodded, "Of course, sir." In his opinion, Allen needed a vacation, and he made a mental note of it to schedule in a few days off in the neat future – good help, after all, was terribly hard to find these days.

As he got into his car, Richard looked at his secretary, "Find out what Kakistos was doing here in Sunnydale, Marge."

The woman, nearly fifty and still as beautiful, brunette and buxom as the day she'd sold her soul to work for him, nodded and made the note in her ever-present ledger, "And what about the business with the Immortals working with the Slayers?"

Richard frowned for a moment and tapped his finger to his lips, "Keep an eye on them, but don't do anything overt. If they are just helping the Slayer, then allow them to." He then frowned a little more, "Is there anything else known about the Immortal killed the other night?"

Marge shook her head, "Nothing, other than he was in the employ of Kakistos, was shot at long range by Alexander and killed by Amanda."

"Is there any chance we could get Alexander to work for us? Such skill at such a young age is advantageous."

Marge shook her head, "No, sir – the file we obtained on him from the military group trying to set up underneath the UCS men's frat house says that not only is he extremely loyal to his friends, but also he's rather vengeful when pushed or they are harmed."

"What is the status of the military group Allen stumbled on?"

Marge grinned, exposing her sharpened teeth, "Taken care of, sir. Would you like to come over for dinner? I've recently come into some rather nice pieces of meat."

Richard shook his head, trying to hide his disgust – honestly, cannibals disgusted him, "I'll pass, Marge." The car started to pull away and he made one last comment, "Make sure that the Slayers know that Kakistos is destroyed and leave hints for them to follow on who did it – from what I have heard about them, they'll want answers."

Marge nodded and made the notation even as they made their way towards the City Hall.

(Several Days Later)

Xander lay on his back, looking at the ceiling of his room and pondered just when, precisely, Amanda had become another part of him; she'd come into his room that morning and told him she had to leave for a while, she wasn't sure when she was coming back, and that she wanted him and Faith to take good care of himself before leaving and not giving him the chance to argue. It felt like he had suddenly lost an arm, maybe a leg, or a good portion of his heart and soul, and for some odd reason he just couldn't fathom just what he was going to do next.

"Xand?" He looked over and saw Faith in his doorway, tears streaking down her cheeks as she clutched a letter in one hand, "She bailed on us."

He didn't say anything as he scooted over and motioned for Faith to come to him, which she did with the velocity of a missile, wrapping her arms and legs around him as they rolled once, stopping with him on the bottom and her face buried in his chest. He held her somewhat robotically as she heaved into his chest, his shirt becoming wet with her tears, and his hands roamed up and down her back as he whispered quietly into her ears that everything would be okay, that she'd be back, even though he wasn't sure when that would be.

He wasn't sure how long he and Faith stayed like they were, with him on his back, rubbing his hands up and down her back, but a low rumbling caught his attention suddenly … and it was coming from Faith? He carefully turned his head to the side to see her sleeping face, her cheeks marred with dried tear tracks, and could tell she was asleep, giving him the chance to figure out just what it was that she was doing. Was she purring?

He shifted just a touch under Faith and her face screwed up a little, the 'purring' stopping for a second before it returned (coincidentally as soon as he settled down for a few seconds and resumed his 'petting') – this could be fun, and interesting.

Careful not to move more than he had to, he looked at the letter that Faith had brought to bed with her and immediately recognized Amanda's script, 'Darling Faith, I know this may be sudden, but I need some time alone for myself – there are now things in my mind that … that I don't know how to deal with as of yet, but when I do sort things out, know that I will return to both you and Alexander. I want you to know that in the short time I have known you, I have come to love you as I love Alexander – please, stay alive, grow old and have lots of babies … or at least stay alive and wait until you are eighteen, then find a nice young man that will survive Alexander to have children with. Love Always, Amanda.' He put the note down and, for a moment, felt vaguely insulted – 'survive Alexander' had such a … smack to it, one that he'd make Amanda pay for (oh, yes, she'd pay … hours upon hours of squealing from tickling …).

He shook his head a bit to clear it and looked down at Faith, who was still purring, and lightly kissed her on top of the head, making her purrs quiet for a second before returning with redoubled effort, "She will return, Faith." With that said, he kissed her on the cheek and went back to sleep, hugging her as she purred.

(Later)

She noticed two things the second she woke up – first, she REALLY needed to pee, and second was that she hadn't been dreaming that X had been holding her. Faith cracked her eyes open and saw his sleeping face, a sight that brought a smile to her lips, and she had to resist the urge to just stay there and watch him, snuggling – she REALLY had to take a piss, so she slowly removed herself from his embrace and walked to the bathroom, not bothering to close the door behind her.

When she was done, she stole a quick look in the mirror and winced at how shitty she looked – she hated to cry, especially with how it made her cheeks and eyes look, and right now she looked like an extra from the movie series 'Night of the Living Dead'. A quick scrub later and she looked better, so she went back to X's room and slid back into bed with him, making sure to get as much of his skin (he was wearing only boxers) in contact with her own (she had on her tank top and panties, but nothing else) as she wormed her way back under his arms. It was odd, really, that she felt so safe with a guy, let alone an Immortal like X, but there was just something about him that she couldn't help but lo … like.

"What's wrong, Faith?" She looked up at X and saw that his eyes weren't open, but he had an eyebrow raised, "You okay?"

She nodded and unconsciously ground her crotch into his hip, making her gasp as she said, "Fine, Xand."

Now he opened an eye and pulled his hip away from her, "Faith …"

She looked down and studied a few square inches of his skin for a second, "Alright, I'm not fine." He pulled her close and she felt him kiss the top of her head before trailing light kisses down her temple to her ear, which she reveled in for a second before he made his way to her jaw line, "Xand …"

"Yes?"

"Do you really think she's going to be back?" He looked up at her and, in the depths of his eyes, she could see the answer she was looking for as his hands began to trail up and down her back, "She's coming back."

Xander nodded at her, "I know what she's going through, Faith, and she just needs to clear her head – it's not easy, and it'll take time."

She nodded and gave him a kiss on the lips, "Now back to sleep, lover boy."

He looked at her, a grin on his lips, "Excuse me? 'Boy'?"

She arched an eyebrow, "Yeah, 'boy'! What, ya want me to call you 'lover girl'? As kinky as that'd be, ya have the wrong equipment, Xand."

"Funny, a few nights ago you were saying I had ALL of the RIGHT 'equipment', Faith." She felt her face flush at his tone and felt her nipples start to tighten even as he kissed her one last time and then laid his head back, "Sleepy. Night."

She growled slightly and slid on top of him, "No way, boytoy." She sat up and pulled off her tank top before reaching down and sliding her hand down the front of his boxers, grabbing him and squeezing slightly.

Xander's eye shot open and, with a wheezing gasp, asked, "What?"

She grinned at him, "You cranked the engine, Xand, now ya have to run it 'till the tank's empty." She leaned forwards, kissing him and all intellectual speaking ceased at that point.

(Summers Home)

Joyce sipped at her tea even as she read the note that Amanda had dropped off to her earlier that morning and sighed as she finished the plea for her to keep an eye on both Faith and Xander – Buffy, after some prodding, had told her of what had happened to Amanda and now Joyce knew that things were going to be … odd for a while, especially now that Methos had decided to stay in Sunnydale. He was a nice guy, but not exactly her cup of tea – Xander, on the other hand …

Joyce shook her head, stopping those thoughts right in their tracks – yes, he was Immortal, no, he was NOT old enough to date, and Buffy would most certainly NOT allow her to go out on dates … oh well. There was nothing wrong with looking.

"Mom? Are you okay?"

She looked over at Buffy and smiled a little, "I'm fine, honey, I just need to check in on Faith and Xander … later on." Ah, the wonders of maternal instincts.

Buffy nodded at this, "Cool. Well, I'm off to meet Wills at the mall."

Joyce nodded at her daughter, instinctively fearing for the motorists of Sunnydale until she remembered that both Xander and Willow, rather forcibly, had gotten her daughter to sign a contract, in blood, to never drive unless it was an actual emergency, "Have fun, honey."

She waited until Buffy left and then put her tea down, going to the phone and dialing a familiar number – after about a dozen rings, it was picked up and she was greeted by Faith's snarl of, "What?"

"Nice to see you too, dear – is Xander there?"

"He's busy," was the only response she got, but … was that a moan in the background?

Joyce felt her cheeks redden a little, "We three need to talk, Faith."

"'k, later." The connection ended and Joyce was left looking at the buzzing end of her telephone.

She hung up the phone and gently pulled at the open throat of her blouse – why was it so suddenly warm in here?

(Elsewhere)

"I'm WHAT?" This had to be some kind of joke.

"You're taking over for Amanda at the high school, Adam." Even though the phone, he could hear the grin on Joe's face even as he heard several howls of laughter in the background – damned Watchers, always looking to get their giggles at his expense.

"And if I say no?"

"Then I collect on your bar tab, old man." … Joe was now going below the belt – in an instant, Methos felt shocked to the core, yet he felt so proud.

"Joe, please, you can't do this to me – assign me to the ickle firsties, to hand-transcribe the old Chronicles, ANYTHING!"

"Sorry, Adam, but you just drew school duty – meet up with Harris, I'm faxing him the details. Have fun, OLD man." Joe hung up before Methos could respond to this, so it was the poor receiver that was on the receiving end of ten minutes of Summarian at its most colorful.

When he finally finished, Methos grabbed his jacket and made his way for Alexander's shared home – Amanda had come by that morning to explain why she had left, and while he could see why she did it, he had to admit that Amanda could have gone about it a better way. The Slayer, Faith, was exceedingly close to both Alexander and Amanda, and while she could risk losing Alexander, Amanda was her rock, so he feared for her sanity.

"Why is it always me being dragged into this? Where's that great, bloody Scot when you need him?" Methos wasn't surprised that his answer was met with an acorn falling out of a tree as he walked, hitting him on the top of the head – the world, it seemed, was out to get him.

(Xander's and Faith's home)

Joyce repressed a blush at how very little Xander and Faith were both in when she found them, the scent of sex heavy in the air and both parties looking both quite worn out, yet oddly refreshed as they both emerged from a bedroom, Faith clad in a sheet and Xander … in considerably less, "Get cleaned and dressed, both of you." She spun on her heel and walked to the kitchen, flatly ignoring Faith's call to join them and Xander's groan of, "Buffy's going to kill me, a lot."

She went to the kitchen and, after fixing the coffee to drip, took in a survey of the entire house – while not exactly what she'd have guessed from Amanda, it was tasteful and had several pieces of art that coincided with what Xander had brought back with him from the villa to give to her. It felt a little understated, with a tinge of steel in the air (a point underscored by a display of several swords, crossed in a fashion that reminded her of a coat of arms), but it was a home and it had the 'lived in' look, a point emphasized when she found a pair of Faith's leather pants stuffed behind the couch.

"What's up, Joyce?" She looked over and saw Faith standing at the foot of the stairs, her hair wet and dressed in a pair of leather pants (a trend, Joyce saw) and a shirt that could only be Xander's, given the pair of skewered-by-swords dummies and the 'Do you get my point?' caption under it.

"I came here to speak to the both of you, Faith, and it's about Amanda." She could see Faith start to close up instantly, but she stopped that before it got too far, "She left me a letter this morning, explaining why she's doing what she's doing, Faith, and told me to share it with you."

"She bailed, Joyce, and I … WE will deal," Faith said somewhat defensively as they both heard Xander kick something upstairs and swear a bit while hopping on one foot.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Faith shrugged, "Probably, seeing as he kicks the damned thing every other day – you'd think he'd remember to pick up his books, but I guess it's a guy thing." Faith walked over and Joyce watched as she put two sugars and two splashes of cream into her coffee cup, which depicted the Harley Davidson logo, before dumping in another few spoons of sugar along with the coffee, "Where's B?"

"At the mall with Willow." Faith gave her a worried look and Joyce raised her hands, "Willow drove."

Faith shook her head, "You'd think that with teachers like X and Red, B'd be a better driver …"

"She takes after her father and my mother," Joyce said dryly as she heard Xander swear again and stumble down the stairs. Joyce looked at Faith, worried, "What did you do with him?"

Faith put her coffee down and grabbed for the knife block, "Not as much as I wanted to, but I think X's got one of his own around."

Joyce felt her pulse start to quicken as Faith walked to the edge of the kitchen, the chef's knife held swept back against her forearm, but Xander made it to the bottom of the stairs, apparently, and opened the door enough for them to hear, "What's up, Methos?"

Joyce frowned as Methos barged into the house, "We need to talk about the sadism of Watchers, kid." The Nose rounded the corner and stopped short, "Oh, Joyce … Faith, I didn't know you were here."

"So I guessed." She looked at Xander, who had on a pair of half-buttoned jeans and half of a shirt (one arm through the neck hole and the other hand holding his basketed broadsword with the other. Joyce had to force her eyes away from Xander and back to Methos, "Why are you here, … Methos?"

"I'm Amanda's replacement at the school." The tone of disgust the older man used, not to mention the look on his face, was totally sincere and proper, but it wasn't enough to keep both Faith and Xander from snorting and snickering at the older man's plight.

Once the pair settled down, Faith spoke up, "Hold up, I thought your name was Adam? Why's Xand callin' you 'Mentos'?"

Joyce held back a grin as the older man growled, "It's METHOS, little girl, and both are my name." Faith, for her part, grinned at the older man so he turned and ignored the snickering children, "Joyce, why are you here?"

She pinned him with her infamous 'Mother' look, "To talk to Xander and Faith about Amanda's leaving. Is there any other reason you're here?"

Methos, it appeared, was completely unaffected by it, "To talk with Xander and borrow his fax machine."

"It won't hurt you to buy one of yer own, OLD man," Xander snarked as he finished dressing, Faith holding the broadsword and running a finger up the watered blade. He took the blade back from her and put it on the table, "And, last I heard, there's this new-fangled contraption called a 'computer' that you can hook it up to."

"Pillock," she heard him mutter under his breath as he helped himself to the beer (… she and Xander were going to have a talk about that, later) in the door of the refrigerator, at which point he turned back. "I realize that, Xander, but I don't like having a way for people to track me."

Xander arched an eyebrow, "And you want them to track ME?"

"You're younger, I'm older and more set in my ways, now do as your elders tell you." Joyce arched an eyebrow at Methos' comments even as Xander stalked out of the kitchen, muttering something about 'Jurassic era' and 'dino droppings', leaving her to speak with both Faith and Methos, "So, Faith, how are you doing here?"

Faith shrugged, "Better than where I was gonna be, and X and 'manda know how to treat a girl right – no real complaints." Joyce looked into the answer more than she probably should have and saw that Faith was scared, but willing to try and keep things on the level, and this worried her a little, as she didn't know how far Faith would go to keep it that way, "How're you doing here, Methos?"

"Adam, please, and I'm fairing well." He took a pull off of his beer and looked at her, "So, Joyce, how about dinner tonight? You, me, candles …"

She narrowed her eyes slightly, "I'm sorry, ADAM, but I'm having dinner with Faith and Xander tonight." She sipped her coffee, which had started to cool, and ignored Faith's snickerings at Methos' expression, "And add to that I'm not ready to start dating again, and the answer will be NO for a while."

"Even if I asked you out, Mrs. Summers?" She turned to see Xander standing behind her, a sheaf of paper in his hands and a grin on his lips, his eyes twinkling a little as Faith snickered even more, "I think we could make beautiful music together."

Joyce blushed a little, "Xander … what would Buffy say?"

He snorted as he gave Methos the papers, "Probably threaten me with death … or her cooking, whichever was more painful. Still," he went on, reaching back and running his finger along her jaw line, "some things are worth the risk."

"Oh my," she mumbled, feeling more heat rush to her cheeks as she heard Methos give forth an affronted noise and Faith dissolve into a full bout of laughter. After a few seconds, though, she kissed the tip of his finger, shaking her head, "I'm not sure I could survive a man as young and virile as you, Xander, so I'm afraid I'll have to say no."

"Aw, come on, Joyce," Faith gasped out, "we'll steer ya around the curves. Remember, it's only kinky the first few times." THIS got Xander to blush, Methos to chuckle and for her to blush a little more, and the subject was dropped.

"Okay, all fun and games aside, is there anything else we need to cover … Adam?"

Methos shook his head, "No, Xander I have it all here – see you in school on Monday, Faith." With that, he left and Joyce found that her coffee wasn't as interesting as it used to be, the tension starting to rebuild in the room as the door shut.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she spoke, "Are you two ready to hear Amanda's letter?"

Faith shook her head, "No need, Joyce … she gave me a copy before she left." She watched the girl pull out a crumpled letter from her back pocket and recognized Amanda's script, "I get that she's trying to get straight in the head … but it hurts, knowing she ain't here."

Joyce nodded and walked towards Faith, enfolding her into a hug and whispering, "If you ever need anything, Faith, don't hesitate to ask." Faith's only response was a slight gasp and a nod before hugging just a little tighter as Joyce felt her blouse start to get damp.

Deep in her heart, even as she felt Xander join in on the hug, Joyce knew that things were going to be just fine … somehow.

AN: Okay, this chapter didn't seem to want to go where I wanted it to, so I'm stopping it here and going where it's plotted to (yes, there is a plot … somewhere) in the next chapter. Reviews, please.