Alexandre woke on a comfortable couch, the silence a comfort to the young man. He'd dreamt the recent life of the Section operative he'd gone as the previous night. In many ways it was insidious, and drew into itself and bonded to him much more effectively than the real criminals. Whereas with real people memories passed to him, for the most part there weren't any personality traits that truly influenced him beyond the general pack mentality and the need to excel. The hyena aspects had finally and truly blurred and blended out of separate existence, but Alexandre realized now that the purely primal animalism had played an important part in countering the animalistic corruption at the core of the evil criminal masterminds he'd absorbed.
Crawling quietly out of bed, the young man made his way into the kitchen in only pants and undershirt, holstered weapons under his arms as he set out the equipment and ingredients for breakfast.
It was a simple matter, preparing the ingredients and a decently-strong coffee, chocolate and, as he looked at his watch, tea while listening to the sounds of movement beginning upstairs, and the coughing of a dying Citroen in the front street. He simply walked to the front door, opened it and waved to those getting out of it before heading back toward the kitchen. Joyce, in very simple around the house attire, had reached the bottom of the stairs, and was looking at the young 'assassin' when he gave the Xander smile and offered the crook of his arm to her.
"Xander, I really am uneasy about guns in the house," she quietly commented as they headed toward the kitchen.
"I know," he responded, "That's why I'm wearing them so no one in the house will be surprised by them lying around, especially Buffy."
"Not Dawn?"
"Dawnie knows that guns are serious, and how to handle them," Xander replied, holding out a chair for her, "Buffy doesn't."
"But isn't she this Slayer person?"
"True, but they seem geared more for speed and strength, and guns don't require either," he said as he set out the beverages as Giles and Willow showed up, Summers girls heard bothering each other coming down the stairs. Xander gestured to seats and poured tea for Giles, then at a nod, Joyce. "Unless, Buffy just has a gun phobia, her ability to quickly become proficient in firearms will allow her to get rid of vampires at a distance so she won't risk herself up close."
"I just don't like guns, Xander," Buffy yawned as she came up to the table while he started with the cooking, gesturing for Dawn to help.
"And the Slayer Spirit wants to hit things," Dawn added as she got to work, sighing as the completed prepping was the part she liked most, "But she should probably learn, so anything more than a couple can be dusted until she can get it out of her system on the last one." Willow, Giles and Joyce looked uncomfortable as Xander nodded and Buffy looked like she was considering it.
"Especially if she's on the way to a dance or parent-teacher conference," Xander added as he assed crepes over for Dawn to present nicely, "Nothing says fashion failure, Buff, like a white dress with vamp dust on it." Dawn and Buffy both nodded sagely in agreement.
The next four weeks were a different sort of strange, as Xander and Dawn both pretty much decided they were neither in the mood for new costumes, nor wanted to add knowledge without feeling comfortable about skills. The routine of Joyce's call while Xander armed up, picking up Dawn, robbing and neutralizing Ethan Rayne, then heading to clear without warning a different sequence of vampire or human nests for weapons and intel proved quite an interesting way for their knowledge to really take hold and resurge at the best levels of their previous costumes. Ten gangs, demon brothels, nests in eight hours, dusting eighty hostiles and downing twenty human wrongdoers, provided the two with a dark and almost-complete picture of the shady side of Sunnydale and the immediate vicinity, and a few leads in other Southern California locations. But still no fingers pointing at who might be the guiding hand that countered The Master for years.
Two more weeks were spent raiding vampires and a few human criminal nests in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard and a surprisingly nasty bunch of Fyarls camped out in the hills next to the Reagan Presidential Library over in Simi Valley.
Dawn came up with a solution after three or four common reference points kept overlapping as places likely to give them some insight: road trip.
"Leave the costumes to me, Xander," Dawn smiled, making him raise an eyebrow, "It'll be appropriate for what we're doing, and a good test run for seeing just how far out of town we can go before the spell wears off."
The two teens rolled into their target of Los Angeles looking for the bar a little before the usual 'change' time. They stepped into the place, full of bikers and other tough human characters. A man in his late forties or early fifties looked up from the bar and waved them over.
"I'm sorry, but we don't serve minors in here," he sympathetically informed them, the girl reminding him a lot of Brandi.
"That's fine, because we're not here for booze," the young man told him, "We're actually looking for a decent burger, a couple of cokes and information regarding things that happen between Ventura and Santa Barbara." The man stared back curiously, and on a whim waved them to the corner farthest from the bar. Brandi had told him a few things about her college town and had just gotten back an hour ago herself. Tiny needed to make sure trouble hadn't followed her back.
The two teens headed carefully with their duffle bags toward the indicated table, aware of the scrutiny given them by the older man, but not immediately sure he was readying a gun in case they made trouble. They were sitting down when Xander and a young attractive girl looked at each other in semi-recognition.
"Who's the girl, Xander?" Dawn asked, "Sunnydaler?"
"Not sure, but I'm going to introduce myself, watch my back."
"Always." He could hear the smirk in her voice. He approached the table, an older red-headed woman and weaselly guy arguing about money at her table.
"Excuse me," Xander interrupted, noting that the bartender was approaching with a tray in hand, which was covered by a towel. He mentally swore at Dawn for dressing him in a leather vest and pants, with his weapons back in his bag, "You wouldn't happen to be from Sunnydale would you?" The girl's eyes widen in recognition as the conversation at her table stopped. The bartender was getting closer and with a freehand was reaching to remove the tray from his towel-covered hand. "My name is Alexander Harris and—"
An empty glass hit the barman's shoulder as Xander crescent-kicked a chair into the man's path then threw himself between the people at the table and the possible assassin, the women of the table shifting away from him and grabbing at their belongings as Dawn ran up with a gun pointed at the assailant. The crowd hushed and began reaching their own conclusions as Xander caught a 45 from Dawn only to have two pointed at his own head as Dawn covered the barman who had had a gun in hand.
"Why are you pointing a gun at my head?" Xander asked, "The bar guy was gunning for you." Dawn drew out another piece from somewhere and as a very large biker started over she fired above him, causing a lighting fixture to render him unconscious. Silence returned to the bar as everyone froze.
"I was not gunning for them, I was making sure you weren't!" Tiny bit out as guns shifted, "Tell 'im, Dottie." The woman smiled, then sighed.
"Do you usually greet people with guns Mr. Harris?" she asked, causing him to wince at the name.
"I didn't have a gun on me until the waiter-guy started to play movie assassin guy," Xander responded, "I just introduced myself when he was making his move." The women looked at Tiny, who blushed.
"I might have jumped the gun, but when they suggested where they were from…" the man sighed, almost blushing.
"Can we please put our guns away if nobody was really going to shoot anybody?" Dawn asked, rolling her eyes but keeping her weapon drawn.
"More importantly, I think dinner is on the bar guy," Xander suggested, "in more ways than the obvious. I'll put my weapon away first, just to start things." He slowly placed the gun in his rear waistband and moved his hand s slowly to his sides. The women's actions simultaneously disengaged as the man got up.
"Who's gonna pay for the light, not to mention Barry's medical bill?" Tiny asked.
"Let's see, since I was unarmed and making friendly, you will cover it since it's your fault this happened," Xander sighed, reaching into his pocket, "But I'll gladly place forty dollars toward the dinners and tabs of the ladies who saved you from a thumping. If they want to tip heavy later…fine." He recognized the girl at last, "Callie, here, should be able to vouch for me, after all I helped pull her out of that fraternity mess with the cultists three weeks ago."
"Ohmigod!" Callie/Brandi said, recognizing the young man from the whole 'Machida' incident, "Mom, this is one of the people that broke into the cultist place and got me out!" She beamed as Tiny now looked more embarrassed and a few of the patrons glared at him.
"I didn't know he saved Brandi, okay!" the bar owner exclaimed to the clientele who were aware that one of their own had had a narrow escape from weirdoes in Sunnydale. He turned to see Dottie hugging the embarrassed young man and forcing his money back at him while waving Dawn over. The bar got back to normal as a couple guys brought out the well-used medic kit and another started fixing the only-slightly damaged light.
'Mr. Harris, would you and your friend like to join us?" Dottie Thorson asked.
"Xander, ma'am, and she's Dawn," he responded, and Dawn gestured acceptance of the invitation, "Let me get our bags and we'll be right over.
"Notice the time, Xan," Dawn asked, smiling as he realized it was after Ethan's spell was cast. He looked over to her hopefully.
"So I guess we're out of range?" he responded.
"Maybe, but I just substituted clothes I wanted to see you in, no costume," she laughed. Xander sighed as they made their way over for what promised to be an interesting evening. Hopefully they'd be able to pick up some intel.
6:27 PM XHD
"An unforeseen event is warping the connections between realities and dimensions near the Hell Mouth, Brother," the Female Oracle. "What, I cannot see."
"What!" the Male Oracle exclaimed, actually emoting, "Who can be sent? Who is expendable?"
"None are easily expendable, and it is causality within causality," she responded. "This seems to be the product of Chaos. It must be resolved from within. I sense the Other Side is becoming aware, as are many who are sensitive to such things."
"And if they intervene, so must we…"
"…But any who are sent in, will be trapped and cannot be contacted…"
"…Until the matter is resolved…We should send…"
"…Those foreseen to make appearances at the Mouth of Hell…"
"…Even other realities are beginning to be affected by the Changes…"
"…And battles elsewhere are developing sooner than foreseen…"
2:31 PM XHD #62
"Watcher Linda Pryce, Trainee Wesley Wyndham-Price," a voice from all around them spoke, freezing the two in place in the halls of the Watcher's Council, "You are being sent to the Hell Mouth, where this world and those touched by the Chaos and Hell energies are threatened unless Resolution occurs. A temporal loop endlessly repeating itself on a dimensional gateway must stop. If you fail, universes die. You have ten minutes to gather yourselves and belongings for transition."
2:32 PM XHD #70
"Samuel Zabuto, Kendra the Vampire Slayer," a voice from all around them spoke, freezing the two mortals in place, "You are needed in Sunnydale, California, immediately. This world and those touched by Chaos and Hell are threatened unless Resolution occurs. A temporal loop endlessly repeating itself on a dimensional gateway must stop. If you succeed, your reality will be saved. Fail and universes die. You have ten minutes to gather what you will need."
2:33 PM XHD #25
"Allan Francis Doyle," a voice from all around him spoke, freezing the half-demon in place for just a moment, "You are needed in Sunnydale, California, immediately. This world and those touched by Chaos and Hell are threatened unless Resolution occurs. A temporal loop endlessly repeating itself on a dimensional gateway must stop. If you succeed, your reality will be saved and you will be made fully human without visions. Fail and universes die. You have ten minutes to gather what you will need."
"Can I at least show up clean, awake and sober?" the Irishman sighed, grabbing two bottles of 'top shelf' whiskey.
"Granted."
2:34 PM XHD #36
"Faith, Child," a soft voice spoke from around the girl weeping in the alley way behind the bus station she'd been seeking hand-outs rather than head back to the hell in which she found her life, "The Forces of Light are choosing you to help save the world…and heal yourself. You are being sent to Sunnydale, California to do whatever is necessary to stop a temporal loop from occurring."
"Like that Groundhog movie?" Faith asked, the shock wearing off but the suspicion remaining.
"Yes, Child, and We are not allowed to intervene because the Dark would be allowed to intervene. Will you accept your destiny?"
"Yeah, what the hell, huh? It's gotta be better than this."
"Thank you, Child. Is there anything you need?"
"Clean clothes and some food money would be mighty wicked."
"Granted."
6:35 PM XHD #67 William Holland's Office
"The Senior Partners are strongly concerned as to something at the Hell Mouth threatening their plans in nearly two dozen realities. Lilah, Lindsay, you will take all six teams we have in Los Angeles to Sunnydale and put an end to whatever is putting forth a siren call to every demon in California this last twenty minutes, and make sure the disruption is resolved. Understood? Good."
2:36 PM XHD Saturday #99 NYC, Outside of Sax Fifth Avenue
"Minions!" Glorificus screamed, "Pack my bags! We're heading back to California. I can feel my Key from here."