Ok, sorry for the long delay on this but we are OUT of the first season! Yay! It only took me nine years and change to do. My life has been pure chaos since my last update but hey, I got it done finally and we can move on to summer and ever greater and stranger things. Hank's mystery is still out there, Spike is still out there, and of course we can't forget about Lucifer. I want to thank everyone who's reviewed this story even if you didn't agree with my choices, honest feedback is always appreciated. Hopefully I can do another chapter before another year plus passes. Now for your approval, I present The Master.
PS: I am SORRY about the formating, I tried everything to put scene breaks in but it's just NOT working. If anyone has any suggestions I would be grateful.
Xander stirred out of his sleep as Buffy started tossing in bed. His arms pulled her close even though he wasn't fully awake. She let out a small sound that soon turned to the word no. She kept saying no, each time getting louder until Xander's eyes drifted open, he rolled over and wrapped his arms around Buffy. He noted with a small amount of amusement that it was much easier to comfort her without having to get out of bed first.
She leaned into his embrace and soon quieted. He looked at the clock and saw there was only an hour left until time for them to get up and knew he wouldn't be going back to sleep, however, that didn't mean he had to get out of bed. He kissed her ear and squeezed her and listened to her breathing. It was moments like this that made all of the problems he had so worth it. Angels, Lucifer, even the nightmares that they already faced. All of it was worth being with her like this. It was worth being with his family again, Willow, Jesse, even Owen was getting to that point. He was a lucky man to have so many people who he cared about and cared about him in return.
The alarm startled Xander awake and he realized he had managed to fall back to sleep after all, Buffy's head laid on his shoulder and she groaned as the alarm broke through her sleep.
"Comfy…" she mumbled and snuggled deeper into his shoulder.
"Yes, but we DO still have school," Xander said, not unsympathetic.
"We have a million bucks in gold now…who needs school?" Buffy complained.
"First your sister, we can't set a bad example for her, now can we?" Xander said.
"No fair…" Buffy said as she rose and stretched. They hadn't bothered to get back into their pajamas the night before and Xander enjoyed watching his wife get up. He himself got out of bed and pulled on his bottoms so as not to scandalize his mother in law and sister in law and headed to the bathroom. Buffy followed and he put toothpaste on his toothbrush and said, "Do you remember much from your nightmare last night?"
"How'd you, oh…I woke you? I'm sorry," Buffy said, sounding embarrassed.
"Nothing to apologize for, Buffy. I'm just glad I was able to provide comfort," Xander said and started brushing his teeth which prevented him from talking as Buffy started the shower running. She held out her hand and grimaced at the cold water. "I don't suppose they have instant hot showers in the future do they?" she asked.
Xander with his mouth still full with his toothbrush just shook his head no, spit, rinsed and then said, "Sadly no."
"Bummer, it seems like all the super great advances are in mind-numbing entertainment," Buffy said.
"Sorry, Buffy," Xander said and hugged her and his body reminded him that his beautiful wife was very very naked…as was he.
"Xander…I would think he'd want to sleep in after last night," Buffy said blushing.
"He seems to be inspired," Xander said and led her into the shower. Surprisingly they both got clean in the same time it would have taken had they taken separate showers.
"Are you sure it was?" Xander was asking as they entered the library.
"Yes, I'm sure, they are pretty different from normal dreams after all," Buffy said as Giles was at the counter.
"Did you have a Slayer dream Buffy?" Giles asked looking up.
"I think so, though it doesn't have me nearly as wigged as past slayer dreams I've had," Buffy said.
"Really? That is interesting, I found myself in need of some light reading the other night and read through Jehen's journal and he mentioned that once he and Amara started sleeping in the same bed beyond necessity that her Slayer dreams became less traumatic. He wasn't sure if it was their... physical relationship or the emotional bond, causing it, but he was pleased at the effect," Giles said.
"You call Jehen's journal LIGHT reading?" Buffy asked with a befuddled look on her face.
"Of course he does, Buffy, compared to Hanson's Comparative Demonology, Jehen's journal is practically Dr. Suess," Xander said and grinned as his wife stuck her tongue at him playfully. "Anyway, why wouldn't he know which it was…or did they?"
"He made several references to getting tired of eating chickpeas all the time," Giles said and cleaned his glasses, rather methodically.
"Chickpeas?" Buffy asked not picking up the reference.
"They were believed to be a powerful aphrodisiac in the middle ages," Giles said.
"So Amara was a typical Slayer then?" Xander asked and Buffy swatted him on the chest blushing. "Hey, do you know how many boys we had to chase out of the school that the girls had snuck in? It's good I'm very secure in my masculinity because it wasn't very long that the boys in question would sigh in relief when I caught them instead of you and Faith."
""I will have to make a note of that for future generations cause Slayer libido seems to be a topic not many watchers want to pass along, but the point is apparently they were physical every night from when they started until she was killed so unless you have anything to add to that…" Giles trailed off.
"Sadly no, every night we've spent in the same bed…" Xander said and Buffy swatted his chest again, he rubbed his chest and said, "Sorry Buff, but it could be affecting how your powers work and that is kinda important to know for the future when there are a whole lot more Slayers. However I'm not ready for the honeymoon to end just yet."
"Good," Buffy said and kissed Xander.
"Now that the uncomfortable part of this discussion is over, what was your dream, Buffy?" Giles asked.
"The Master, he'd risen details are fuzzy and cryptic which is normal for my slayer dreams. They are usually pretty useless in helping actually stop anything and we…urk, and we…urk…excuse me!" Buffy dashed out of the library.
"Looks like morning sickness hit, I just hope she doesn't start craving things that put me off MY feed," Xander said with a sigh.
"Where was Buffy off to in such a hurry?" Jesse asked as he, Owen and Willow came into the library only to have Willow elbow him. "What?"
"She's pregnant, Jesse!" Willow said.
"So?" Jesse said.
"Do you remember the symptoms of pregnancy from health class? It was only a month ago!" Willow said.
"I was too distracted by Cordilia's legs that day!" Jesse said.
"Bro, you are always distracted by Cordy's legs," Xander said. "She's got morning sickness. I WAS paying attention and also living with between 25 and 35 teenage girls who are also Slayers…I did my homework uptime."
"Wow…you really do mean it when you say you are glad to have some guys around, aren't you?" Owen said.
"Yeah, don't get me wrong women are wonderful, but guy time was kinda slim up time. I was always glad when any of the few guys came to Cleveland," Xander said.
"And what does that mean?" Willow asked, folding her arms.
"Willow, do you talk to me about the things you and Buffy talk about? Especially when it's just you and her?" Xander asked, sitting down.
"No, of course not," Willow said and then her mouth dropped open, "Oh…ok…I get it now."
"I knew you would, you aren't the smartest person in the world for nothing," Xander said with a grin.
"Now there's no need for flattery, buster," Willow said blushing.
"No flattery, Wills, I'm serious, you had like 10 doctorates and were working on 11 AND 12 when I was shot," Xander said and chuckled when she started hyperventilating. "Breath Wills, it's ok no one is expecting you to do that in the next week, there's nearly a decade of time there."
"Ok…yeah, you're right…no pressure." Willow said as Buffy came back in with Tara and Sam and surprisingly with Doyle and Angel.
Xander went over to her, "You ok?"
"Yeah…just morning sickness, I feel better now that I got rid of breakfast," Buffy said.
"You hungry now?" Xander asked.
"Not just yet, but I probably will be soon. Slayer metabolism you know," Buffy said.
"Just let me know and I'll get you something," Xander said drawing awes from the girls. And turned to Angel and Doyle.
"Not that I'm not glad to see you two, but what are you doing here?" Xander asked.
"Doyle had a vision about the Master," Angel said simply.
Xander picked up his notebook, sighed and put it down, "Ok, that seems like a good jumping off point for this morning… the Master. If Doyle is having visions of him and Buffy is having Slayer dreams about him the situation with him is coming to a head apparently," Xander said and sighed and let the ensuing silence hang for a moment then spoke again, "I know everyone is worried about Buffy on this one cause, unfortunately she is probably the only one of us that can dust him and I wish that wasn't the case at all but it is and if he rises he will open up the Hellmouth and our finals mean squat." Willow let out an involuntary squeak at that and Xander gave her a small smile and continued. "The good news is the last time around it took Buffy's blood to bust him out or so he told her, of course being a vampire, he could have been lying to her, no offense Angel."
"None taken, the Master has been known to lie in his day," Angel said with a half smile.
Xander continued, "Also I have a feeling the Mayor might have a contingency in place because the Master opening the Hellmouth would seriously mess up his ascension plans, but we can't count on that. I see three possibilities, first, we don't do anything and let bat-face rot there. Second we try to use the Scythe to call Kendra early, she's supposed to be called about now anyway but Tara and her mom will have to say whether that would make it easier or not. Lastly and my least favorite plan is to let things happen as they did. On this question we do have a problem, the Pergamum Codex," Xander said then turned to Giles. "How is the translation coming?" Xander asked.
"I'm done actually and the damned thing DOES say that the Slayer will face the Master and will die," Giles said as Jenny burst into the Library.
"Rupert, we've got a problem…" she started as she saw the assembled Scoobies. "Which you obviously know all about."
"You're welcome to join us, Miss Calendar," Xander said and frowned, "In fact I probably owe you an apology for not inviting you to our meetings. Consider yourself invited to all the Scooby meetings you care to attend."
"Thank you, Xander, now care to catch me up?" Jenny asked, and the group caught her up.
"So, just how accurate IS the Codex?" Willow asked.
"It isn't wrong. I've looked at it six ways from bloody Sunday. The problem is most prophecy CAN be stopped, otherwise they'd be useless, but not this one. Except we also know from Xander's memories that it was apparently incomplete," Giles said.
"This might be a good time to hear what Doyle saw in his vision," Samantha said.
"Doyle?" Xander said, wondering just how he ended up chairing this meeting.
"It was a blessedly short one," Doyle began, "All I saw really was Buffy dead and the Master coming to the school and something out of 20,000 leagues under the sea coming out of the floor, then the Master laughing. Of course MY visions are able to be prevented or they wouldn't be very useful to Chuckles here." Doyle pointed his thumb to Angel.
"Which is a point in our favor," Giles said. "Xander, it might be useful to go over what you know about Buffy's battle with the Master."
"Yeah, it might, not that this is a fun story, and I have only got it in dribs and drabs because Buffy never really liked to talk about it, something for which I don't blame you, by the way, sweetheart," Xander began. "However I have managed to piece together a reasonable after action report, for lack of a better term. Buffy of course learned about the prophecy in the Codex. At some point, I'm assuming Giles decided to try to face the Master in her place and Buffy gave you a shiner that lasted a week. Buffy then found or was found by the Anointed One, who we had assumed was already dead at the time. Giles, at this point could you read out the whole prophecy?"
"Of course, here's the pertinent passage, 'The Slayer will walk unknowingly to her doom, not knowing the Anointed One who will deliver her to the Master, who will end her and then rise.' As you can see it leaves very little doubt and I've verified this with other books of prophecy," Giles said quietly and then looked surprised as Xander broke into a grin.
"Gotcha!" Xander said. "The prophecy was very clear that she wouldn't know the Anointed One, correct?"
"Yes, it is," Giles said, his voice filling with hope.
"Buffy told me after one of her nightmares, that night she knew who the Anointed One was when he took her to the Master, which means, Giles that the Codex isn't as perfect as you've been led to believe," Xander said and the mood in the room lifted as the warning bell sounded.
"Ok, I think this is a good place to start our time in the mundane world, we'll meet again after school," Xander said and the group gathered their stuff.
Xander joined Buffy at the door and said, "I'll be back in a moment, Giles."
Buffy and Xander left the library and started towards Buffy's first class.
"So, husband dear, what gets me walked to class this morning?" Buffy asked.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing, both with Celia and the stuff with the Master," Xander said and he took her hand in hers.
"I'll be ready for lunch for sure, I think I need to experiment with when to eat breakfast and see if the morning sickness is going to happen just if I eat early or if something I need to deal with after my first meal no matter what. Mom says she couldn't eat anything before ten with both me and Dawn…except she never really had morning sickness with Dawn, did she?" Buffy said, making a face.
"Don't think about it too much," Xander said with a small grin.
"Right, as to the other thing…honestly I'm terrified, Xander. I'm worried about Celia, I don't want to die, even for just a little bit," she said, a tear falling down her cheek. Xander wiped it away and kissed her softly and hugged her.
"I'm going to be here for you no matter what, sweetheart, you know that," he said.
"I know, and it helps to know the prophecy in the Codex was flawed beyond just you the first time around," she said with a small smile.
"Je t'aime," he said as he held her.
"Je t'aime," she said as they rested their foreheads together then the bell rang and Buffy needed to go into class.
Xander got back to the library. He sat down and rubbed his face. Giles went over to him. "Are you ok?"
"I'll be ok, Giles. It just isn't easy cause I don't have any guarantees that Buffy and Celia will be ok," Xander said.
"No, you don't, but she's strong, Xander and much of her strength comes from her love of you," Giles said quietly.
"I keep thinking about when we closed the Hellmouth and how lucky we got, and how much we lost," Xander said.
"What happened?"
"Hundreds of Turok-Han, I don't like to think about it too much because we should have been nothing but a speed bump to them and we not only WON, but got off with far fewer losses than we had any right to," Xander said. "We of course had a plan, the only plan. Attacking during the day kept the Turok-Han weak, cause unlike regular vampires they get much weaker when the sun is up, even then there were hundreds Giles," Xander said.
"Xander, it always seems like in this war that our backs are against the wall, yet the world is still here. I think it helps to remember that," Giles said softly.
"You told me something similar just before I went to Africa," Xander said. "Do you have any books about the Master?"
"I might be able to find a few things," Giles said with a smile and patted Xander on the shoulder.
Xander sat next to his wife with…something. He wasn't sure what it was and as starting to seriously consider that the lunch lady was actually a demon hunter that fed the unsuspecting student body the results of her kills…he considered sharing the observation with everyone else, then thought better of it considering Buffy's bout with morning sickness earlier. He sighed and looked at his tray and STILL couldn't identify anything on it and decided it was best to just tuck in and not think about it anymore.
"...asking someone else to the Spring Fling other than Cordelia?" Jesse was asking Willow as he sat down.
"Might not be a terrible idea, do you have any candidates?" Xander asked after giving Buffy a kiss, glad that this time he didn't have to worry about Buffy turning him down.
"Not really, most of the girls around here are already spoken for or in Cordelia's circle, which I don't think would help me in my long term plans to be with her," Jesse said.
"I don't have a date right now, Jesse," Tara said softly.
"You don't?" Jesse asked, looking over at the blonde.
Xander fought to keep the surprise off of his face as Tara asked Jesse to the dance. Something else that didn't compute, first was Hank not dropping off the face of the planet, now Tara…Willow's Tara flirting with Jesse. He wished he could get Az's perspective on this, but he also knew the angel was too busy to talk about his friends' love lives. And he soon wished he had glasses to polish at the look on Tara's face when he said yes.
Buffy and Xander were walking to the library after school and Buffy was looking at him. Hard. "What?" he finally asked.
"You are wigged," she said, folding her arms in front of her.
"Tonight, where there's no chance of ears," he said, sighing.
"Ok..fair enough," she said as they reentered the library, they were the first ones there other than the ones that didn't have school.
"Has Willow had any luck finding Faith?" Xander asked hopefully.
"Not yet Xander, do keep in mind that Boston has ten times the population of Wyoming and it was a small miracle that Willow was able to find Tara," Giles said.
"I know, I just want to help her…I want to help all of them," Xander said, glumly.
"I know you do sweetheart," Buffy said, giving him a hug, and whispered in his ear, "Zara will be safe, I promise you."
"You can read me like a book, you know?" he whispered back and kissed her ear causing her to moan softly.
"I think you two get plenty of that at home," Giles admonished and Xander sighed and nodded, moving away from Buffy in spite of her squeak of protest and shifted mental gears to the problems of today as the others started coming in.
He greeted his friends as they got settled in. He went over what he'd read about the Master, which wasn't very helpful in actually beating him.
"Which brings us back to the Prophecy, and the one flaw it had in it from Xander's first time around," Angel said.
"True prophecy is very very rare from what I've read since this morning," Sam said and looked thoughtful.
"It is and anyone that would have even a chance of telling us what would happen is the man who wrote this thrice damned book, even with a minor variance the main points are that Buffy DID die and the Master DID rise," Giles said with feeling.
"Maybe we are too focused on the prophecy," Jesse said.
"What do you mean?" Xander asked.
"We need to be more like Richard, Xander," Jesse said.
"Who's Richard?" Angel asked.
"He's a character in a fantasy series Jesse and I love, woods guide, the Seeker of Truth, the Bringer of Death, the Pebble in the Pond, War Wizard, husband to the Mother Confessor and the Lord Rahl of D'Hara. However, Jesse makes an interesting point because in those books, Richard hates prophecy, he believes in free will and he thinks prophecy takes that away from people," Xander said thoughtfully.
"They FINALLY got married?" Jesse exploded. "When is it the next book?"
"No, Jesse it isn't and you'll just have to be patient, though…I'll enjoy rereading them while waiting," Xander said then looked at Giles. "You both bring up very good points on the prophecy points on the issue. However we know it's not going to go the same way because we've got the Scythe. Importantly, the Codex hasn't changed in any way."
"Which might be important," Giles suggested.
Xander sighed and looked at Buffy, "Yeah, in all the bad ways."
Buffy was quiet for a moment and took his hand, and said,"Xander, with you I can face anything, I might not like it, but..you DID save me last time, and I trust you'll do it again."
Xander smiled at her and said, "Je t'amie," he kissed his wife then turned to Angel, "That does remind me of something we need to do, Angel, remind me to get the CPR dummy out before you leave, we'll get you certified before you go."
"Certified?" Angel asked, looking confused.
"That goes for everyone that hasn't done it yet," Xander said, waving his hand encompassing the room.
"What are you on about, Xander?" Doyle asked.
"CPR. The first time around you made me do it and said it was because you had no breath, which is silly. It just means your lungs are nothing but bellows, which are actually better. However, you've never learned CPR have you?" Xander asked.
"No, it wasn't invented until the late sixties and the early seventies is the first I ever heard of it and…well classes tend to be during the day," Angel said, sounding somewhat sheepish.
"Don't worry about it, Gumshoe. It's not really your fault that first aid courses aren't friendly to the nocturnal set," Xander said.
"You went over the story which brought to mind a bit of a concern, how was she able to fight the Master after that? I know the Slayer power grants remarkable recuperative powers, but…" he trailed off.
"I know what you mean, G-man. I was worried about it at the time actually. However our girl here is tough. She started to get up and I suggested that she wait a minute and she said, no, I feel strong. Now I don't know if dying actually powered her up or not, but I don't think so, I think it was similar to how we all feel after recovering from a bad illness. We feel so much better than we did that it's like being on top of the world," Xander said and was quiet for a bit as the group thought about what he'd said, then he continued. "Of course that isn't what will happen now in any case because of the Scythe and Buffy being forewarned, and the fact that I'll be going with her." Buffy sat bolt upright immediately shaking her head at him.
"No, no you aren't," she started but he put a finger to her mouth.
"Yes I am, without you and Celia my life is meaningless, so we are doing this as a family, since we can't let your mom babysit Celia yet. If she'd already been born I MIGHT feel differently, but she's going into this with you and so am I. What we AREN'T doing is going off without a plan, which is essentially what you did the first time," he said.
"Ok…as a family," she said looking at her belly.
"Ok, now since we KNOW the prophecy WILL be broken we need to think about what that means, since the Codex is as accurate as Giles says," Xander said.
"So, what if this one IS like the prophecies Richard had to deal with?" Jesse asked.
"And what happened with the prophecies this Richard had to deal with?" Doyle asked.
"That's the bad news they always did come true, after a fashion," Xander said with grimace. "Now Jesse, do you have a point?"
"Yeah, Richard hates prophecies in the books, and basically ignores them, right?" Jesse said.
"Yeah, it's why they call him the Pebble in the Pond," Xander said as everyone but Owen and Willow looked at them.
"Right, it seems to me you are in the same situation that Richard was in, only for different reasons," Jesse said.
"I see where you are going Jesse, but as Xander just said all of the prophecies were met, just not like any of the ways anyone thought, like in the first book where with the prophecy that Kahlan would use her power on Richard, she DID two times. And worse was the Temple of the Winds, where Richard and Kahlan had to marry other people," Willow said.
"You had to mention that, didn't you, Wills!" Jesse lamented.
"Willow actually brings up a valid point," Xander said, ignoring Jesse's outburst. Jesse had always hated that part of that book. Xander sighed then turned to Giles and asked, "Has there been any record of the Codex being thwarted?"
"None that I've been able to find," Giles said.
"Do we know of any other cases of true prophecy? I know I've only barely started my research on the topic," Sam asked.
"Other than the Codex not that I know of," Giles answered.
"That might be something to research, then, I mean we do have a few days, right?"
"From what I can determine, Buffy will face the Master in two days," Giles said.
"Ok, so we work on researching prophecy in general and see if we can find out if the Codex is a true prophecy and if it is, what happens when a true prophecy is broken," Xander said. "For now, Buffy and I need to meet her mom at the bank."
Buffy and Xander arrived at the bank before Joyce did, in spite of having to stop to get their marriage license, letters of permission to marry from their parents and the court document making that permission official.
"Is it just me or do we have a lot of important papers all of the sudden?" Buffy asked.
"Just wait until you are running a school, it ALMOST makes you understand why Snyder is grumpy all the time," Xander said grinning.
"More paperwork?" Buffy said, frowning.
"WE don't have to worry about it, Giles and Willow deal with it and actually seem to think it's fun…as scary as that is," Xander replied, getting his wife to chuckle as he opened the door for her and they walked in and sat down. It was only a few minutes later that Joyce walked in and smiled at them.
"Hi, Mom!" Buffy said, giving her mother a hug.
"Hi, Joyce," Xander said and was surprised to get a hug from his mother in law. Though the fact he was surprised at the display of affection was actually surprising as well.
"Ok, kids, let's sit down before we get a bank rep over here. I sold the first fifteen pounds of gold and you grossed $72,389.70," Joyce said, showing them the check.
"Thanks, Joyce, I have to say though that I'm surprised that we got the money this fast," Xander said and grinned as his wife just stared at the check.
"Moving it fast was never going to be the issue and I'm glad you kids took my advice on not selling it all at once, still even keeping 30% back for taxes, it'll leave you a cool $50 grand to live on and since you're living with me that should last a while," Joyce said with a smile.
"And considering what we need to prepare for, that's just a good thing," Xander said.
"Do you think Hades will have more work for you?" Buffy asked.
"I don't really know, but I AM on his radar and the first job he gave us really went off without too much trouble," Xander said.
"If you call Spike crashing the party, not too much trouble," Buffy said with a sigh.
"Actually I consider that par for the course. Anyway, let's sign this thing and get it put to bed," Xander said and endorsed the check and then handed the pen to Buffy to do likewise and went up to get someone to help them open up their checking account. They were soon with an account person who was actually quite efficient and went over their options and basically treated them as adults which Xander was surprised to realize he'd missed.
"Ok, Mr. and Mrs. Harris, it looks like we've got every i dotted and t crossed, I'll need to take these to make copies of these since you are emancipated and get the money into both your checking account and the nine month CD we discussed, by then your debit cards should be ready," the representative said and then went to the back with the papers. While they were waiting Tony came into the bank and Xander groaned when he saw him.
"Xander, what are you doing here? They aren't going to give a loan to a loser like you," Tony said.
Xander winced and squeezed the bridge of his nose, and said, "What I'm doing here is really none of your business…Dad," Xander said the last word dripped with venom.
"You watch your tone with me, boy. You are MY son and you will mind me!"
"Mr. Harris, I think you need to leave now," Buffy said.
"Typical, this doesn't concern you little girl," Tony said.
"You are talking to MY husband, so yes, it IS my business," Buffy said, her tone one that she normally reserved for the rare vampire that got away.
"Buffy, he's not worth it, save it for you know who," Xander said, hoping he would keep his wife from going to jail.
Buffy snorted and said,"Yeah, sweetheart, he isn't worth it. Now get gone." Buffy put her thumb out like she was an umpire.
"You let the missus fight your battles boy? You really are such a sissy," Tony said.
"Is there a problem here?" the bank security officer said as he finally got over there.
"Not with me and my family, this guy seems to think there is," Xander said Africa leaking through, pointing his thumb at Tony.
"Sir you need to leave now," the security guard said, just as the bank rep arrived, unaware of the confrontation.
,
"Ok, so we have the $50,672.79 deposited in your and Mrs. Harris's joint account, and we have the remaining $21,716.91 deposited in the CD we had discussed,and here are your cards," he said, not having looked up from the documents as he sat down, and placed the forms in front of Buffy and Xander. "If you could sign here and here both of you?"
Tony looked shocked as he heard those numbers then just left while Xander put his face in his palms, and sighed. He REALLY didn't need Tony knowing anything about his current financial status and then he felt Buffy's arms around him.
"Let's get this done and go home," Xander said, patting her hand, sounding tired to himself. He tried to tell himself that Tony knowing about this wasn't the worst thing he had to deal with, and in the grand scheme of things that was true with Lucifer and everything else, but his Dad…it was personal, and ugly and he…he just wished his parents were different, was that too much to ask for? Damnit. Buffy and he signed the documents and Joyce took them home.
In the car Buffy laced her fingers between his and squeezed laying her head on his shoulder. He half expected her to say something but was pleasantly surprised by her quiet support. Silent tears for the childhood he SHOULD have had fell and he didn't bother to wipe them away or do anything to stop them. He was lost in thought when he realized they were at his favorite chicken place and Joyce was ordering, he reached in his pocket and took out his new debit card, something he was glad to have again even if fewer places took plastic in the here and now.
"Here, Joyce, I'm buying," Xander said.
"Put that thing away, this is my treat after what that bastard put you through," Joyce said and then added as he started to protest, "If you want to buy dinner or cook tomorrow knock yourself out, but I'm buying dinner tonight."
"Yes, ma'am," Xander said, putting the card away.
Xander patted his belly, the chicken had really hit the spot and it seemed to have also been enjoyed by his wife, mother in law and sister in law. He stood and started clearing off the paper plates and throwing them away as Joyce brought the peach cobbler out for dessert, something Xander was thinking of saving his serving for breakfast. He did feel better now after the unpleasantness with his father at the bank, but that was in the past. The plates had filled the garbage can and he took the full bag out and replaced it with a fresh one and took the full one out to the dumpster and put it in and IT's full status reminded him that tomorrow was trash day so he closed the lid on the dumpster and moved it from the back yard out to the curb for the morning. He turned to go back into the house when a fist laid him onto the ground.
"You are going to do right by your mother and me, you little shit," Tony said standing over him and for a moment Xander was six again being beaten after spilling a drink on the carpet. Tony took vicious advantage of Xander's hesitation and kicked him in the gut knocking the wind out of him. Xander got up on all fours and tried to get his breath back so he could fight back. Tony went to kick him in the face and Xander was able to just barely dodge his father's foot. He rolled from the sidewalk to the grass and was blessedly able to take a breath, he dodged a stomp to buy time to get some oxygen into his system then did a kickstand and blocked Tony's leg as the older man tried to kick him again. Xander relished the look of surprise on Tony's face as Xander was suddenly back on his feet and in a fighting stance.
"Only warning, Dad. Walk away right now," Xander said, watching for any sign of attack.
"So you think your balls have dropped, boy?" Tony said, throwing a haymaker at Xander. The punch was terribly executed and telegraphed from a mile away to Xander's professional eye. Xander sidestepped the blow and hit Tony's arm at the elbow causing his arm to bend allowing Xander to grab his forearm and twist Tony's whole arm behind his back. Unfortunately for Xander even though Tony wasn't a trained fighter, he was a brawler and he brought his free arm forward and drove his free elbow into Xander's gut hard, nearly knocking the wind out of Xander for the second time only to have Xander kick Tony's knees out from under him. Tony went down hard but was back on his feet faster than Xander expected, throwing punches at Xander who was able to avoid them expertly. Xander was starting to get angry now and he didn't need that because he really didn't want to do any permanent damage to his father, but his options for ending the fight like that were diminishing. Tony growled in frustration and charged Xander who stepped aside and did a hip throw putting Tony on the ground, Xander then balled up both of his fists and brought them down on Tony's gut like a hammer.
Air rushed out of Tony's lungs as Xander knocked the wind out him. Xander then lifted the upper portion of Tony's body up and put his arms around Tony's neck in a submission hold and three seconds later Tony went limp. Xander still had Tony in the submission hold and realized just how heavy his father actually was. Xander started to get out from under his father and froze as he heard a slow clap. "That was a good fight, I'd have paid cash money for that if I knew I was going to get a show before dinner," an annoying British accent said.
"Spike," Xander growled out and looked around and managed not to gulp. "And friends."
"He doesn't look like a threat, Spike," a blonde vampire in a catholic school girl uniform said standing next to Spike.
"He's more dangerous than he looks, Darla, and remember what Dru said about him," Spike said as the front door to the house opened.
"Xander, how long does it…SPIKE!" Buffy said seeing the vampire.
"Yeah, me…and I am going to have so much fun…OW!" Spike said as Darla hit the back of his head.
"She's for the Master. Remember that," Darla said, looking annoyed.
"Oh please…ole Heinrich can…OW! Will you stop that!" Spike said, rubbing his head.
"The MASTER can unmake you, William, remember that," Darla said severely.
"Yeah…yeah…why do you think I stay away?" Spike said and started forward to Xander who pushed the dead weight of his father off of him and started backing toward the safety of the house. Spike stopped as Tony started to regain consciousness and picked him up by the shirt and bent Tony's head and bit down on Tony's neck.
Xander heard himself screaming as Spike drained his father in front of him. Spike dropped Tony and smacked his lips and said…"Hmmm…A hint of Schapps I think. Now boys, keep the missus busy while I collect Heinrich's package," and ten vampires moved toward Buffy while Spike slowly walked toward Xander. Xander did a kickstand and charged the vampire, surprising him his anger at his father's murder overtaking his good sense. Xander bowled Spike over and rolled over the vampire and started for a tree only to have Darla kick him in the gut…which was already sore from the other two times he'd been hit there tonight.
Xander's breath left him in a whoosh and he went down trying to breathe as Darla scooped him up, bent his neck and bit down. Xander heard Buffy's anguished cry then Darla started screaming as his blood burned her mouth. His neck still hurt and he knew he was bleeding, but she hadn't pierced any veins or arteries which he gave silent thanks. Darla hissed and Spike came up and picked him up "Looks like we won't be snacking on you, will we?" Spike said.
Xander spit in his face and Spike grinned, "You still fighting? You don't get it, we've won. We don't need you dead, in fact we weren't sent to kill you at all. You're bait."
Xander struggled to shout at Buffy but Spike was putting just enough pressure on his neck that he could get more than a whisper out so instead of shouting a warning to Buffy he said, "I'm going to enjoy sucking up your ashes in a dust buster, Spike."
"Such boldness. I like you, shame we can't turn you," Spike said seriously, hit Xander in the head and blackness overtook him.
Pain was the first thing Xander was aware of as awareness hit him. His arms were stiff, elevated and his wrists chaffed. There was light from hundreds of candles around the room. He looked up and saw that he was indeed chained to the wall. He ached all over from the two beatings he took tonight. The big question was how was he going to get out of this.
"Your father has to be the worst passenger I've had in a LONG time," Az said next to him, causing Xander to jump.
"You could warn a guy you know?" Xander said then added, "My Dad rates Heaven?"
"No, he's going to spend some time in purgatory before he gets to try again," Az said.
"Not really sure how I feel about that, but less of a concern right now than my current predicament," Xander said.
"And I wish I could help with this, but Lucifer isn't involved in this at all, not that he isn't laughing his ass off right now at your current situation," Az said with a sigh.
"So glad I can provide comedy relief for him," Xander said with sarcasm dripping off his words. Xander sighed and then asked, "Why wasn't Darla able to feed off of me? Not that I'm complaining."
"Left over power from the grace you had getting Celia back out of hell," Az said.
"Then why didn't the same happen to Angel when we gave him Buffy's blood last week?" Xander asked.
"The power of the Slayer has its origins from the demonic which sped up the loss of the residual grace. By fall your blood won't affect vampires that way either," Az explained.
"Makes sense I suppose. Giles will find it fascinating if I live long enough to tell him about it."
"You'll forgive me if I hope I don't see you again for a while," Az said seriously.
"Not at all, Az," Xander said.
"Good luck, Xander, I need to go now," Az said and vanished as a pool of blood in the center of the room began to bubble and froth. Xander watched in horrified fascination as the Master rose out of the pool.
"Ah…good you are here. Welcome, I hope the accommodations aren't too uncomfortable," the Master said.
"Like what you've done with the place, very…disaster chic," Xander replied.
"Oh, good, you aren't absolutely terrified and can hold a conversation, this will be much more civilized," the Master said sounding pleased.
"You know my wife is going to kick your ass, right?" Xander said, testing his chains.
"Yes…such an interesting concept, a Slayer who got married. It's unheard of and I could scarcely believe my ears when William told me, and then there's your puzzle. From what Drusila tells me, when she's coherent…well coherent for her, you are from the future," the Master said.
"And what if I am? Nothing I could possibly know would be of any use to you," Xander said looking at the Master.
"Perhaps, then again information of any kind can be useful in the most surprising of situations," the Master said, steepling his fingers and approaching Xander. "Take for instance that you even exist. That implies rather strongly that I lose…somehow as inconceivable that is yet, had I risen in the future you are from. Well you wouldn't be here would you?"
"What if I'm here to make sure that DOESN'T happen, Batface," Xander said.
"I don't think so. Your soul isn't dark enough to have experienced that my boy," the Master said, patting Xander on the cheek.
"Maybe you weren't that evil an overlord," Xander replied.
"Oh…such wit. I really wish I could add you to my family, you'd liven things up alot," the Master said with a short chuckle.
"Shame my blood doesn't seem to set well. Not that it matters, soon my wife WILL be here and then you'll fit into a dust pan," Xander said with a small grin.
"And you think you'll survive that? Just because we can't feed on you doesn't mean we can't kill you, and tell me, how much of a fight will your Slayer have after seeing the love of her life die before her eyes?" the Master said and tapped Xander on the side of his head and continued. "Think about that."
"You'll be surprised how much of a fight she can put up when angry, Batfink," Xander growled out.
The Master tsked at Xander and said, "She's just a Slayer, my boy. They die all the time either by what they fight or by the stupidity of the Council."
"I know how long Slayers can live, I also know Buffy. She can get creative," Xander said.
The Master sighed and said,"Today's youth, no appreciation for tradition. There are formalities to be followed after all."
"Formalities? You want to end the world!" Xander bellowed.
"No, I simply wish to return this world to it's proper rulers. You seem to think that you are in the right, but this world is occupied territory and your pathetic species are squatters at best and vermin at worst," the Master said.
"We aren't the vermin, you are and soon you'll be dead," Xander said.
"Brave words, brave words indeed, but we shall see who wins the day in the end, won't we?" the Master said slowly and turned from Xander and called out, "Colin my boy? Are you near?"
"Yes Master," a boy said coming out of the shadows.
"What did you learn from this exchange?" the Master asked, sounding like a teacher.
"That humans are weak and have no manners and care nothing of tradition," the boy said. Xander realized this must be the Anointed One.
"Very good, now what do you think we should do?" the Master asked, smiling at his childe.
"I think it's time to go find the Slayer and bring her here. She should be very willing to come since we have her husband here, then you can drink from her and be free," Colin said thoughtfully.
"Very good, my boy. I am so proud of you. Go, do as you so correctly suggested," the Master said.
"Thank you, Master," Colin said and left the fallen church.
"That boy is going places," the Master said to Xander.
"Yeah, into a dust buster," Xander deadpanned.
"Your jests will fall to ashes on your tongue when I am victorious and this world is back under the dominion of its rightful rulers. Think on that while I prepare to kill your wife," the Master said as he stepped into the pool of blood and sank into it.
Xander sighed and tried his chains again, they rattled and the sound echoed around the chamber. He sighed and tried to think, but after the beatings and hanging here for a couple of hours he was tired and his legs were sore.
"He's really crazy enough to do it, isn't he?" Spike said out of the darkness.
"Yes he is. If he gets out he will open the Hellmouth and you know what that means," Xander said.
"Yes, I stop being an alpha predator and become a slave," Spike said thoughtfully.
"Are you going to do something about it?" Xander asked, knowing he had helped after a fashion during the Acathla incident.
"Probably not, mate. When you take a shot at the King you better not miss and I don't like my aim right now," Spike said.
"So you'd rather live as a slave?" Xander asked.
"I'd rather live, I'll deal with the state of life after my survival is assured," Spike said.
"And you wonder why she never could love you," Xander said absently.
"What?" Spike said.
"Nothing, if you aren't going to help, is there something that ISN'T blood around here to drink, I'm a bit parched," Xander said.
"What do you think, mate?" Spike asked.
"Yeah, the question was a bit optimistic wasn't it?" Xander said.
"Can she beat him?" Spike asked.
"Of course she can. She's Buffy, she'll take beatings from a Hell goddess and come back for more," Xander said.
"Now you're pulling my chain," Spike said,
"I'm the one from the future," Xander said simply.
"How long do you think it will be before she gets here?" Spike asked."
"Not long, there's only two places she'll be right now, home getting weapons, or at the school, getting weapons," Xander said.
"Sounds like a Slayer," Spike agreed.
"Either case I give it an hour before she shows up though I wish that wasn't the case," Xander said.
"You don't want to be rescued?" Spike said, lighting a cigarette.
"Yes, but I want her to do it smartly, with back up and a plan, sadly I don't think she's mature enough yet to risk sacrificing me to do this right," Xander sighed. He loved Buffy but he wasn't blind to her faults. Even uptime she tended to leap first and look second, but she was getting better. Spike stayed silent and the two of them waited.
It took about an hour and the Master rose from the pool of blood. He stepped over to Xander and said, "It's time, she comes."
"Dance time then," Xander said, his voice a growl and for a moment he thought he smelled tuberose and warm grass…and wildebeest. His mouth watered…it was almost time to hunt….Xander shook himself where had THAT thought come from? He didn't have time to ponder the question as he heard the snap of a crossbow being fired and he sighed. He'd TOLD her the crossbow wouldn't work. Xander looked and saw the Master holding the bolt just in front of his chest.
"Nice shot," he said and Xander had to agree, then Buffy came into the light and Xander was relieved to see she had the Scythe with her. She took it from her back and into her hand.
"I think you have something that belongs to me," she said and her scent pulled at something inside Xander…and Xander groaned as he suddenly recognized it. The hyena, he thought he'd kicked that unwelcome passenger to the curb, evidently not and this WAS NOT the time to deal with it. Yet it wasn't taking over, very curious. While Xander was pondering this curiosity Buffy and the Master started fighting in earnest.
"I see you have a pretty toy there," the Master said.
"Yes, my husband got it for me," she said as she tried to get the Scythe past the Master's defenses but he WAS a good fighter and somehow was either parrying or dodging her attacks. Of course it also meant that he wasn't able to get close to Buffy, but the stalemate didn't make Xander happy at all and he struggled against his chains, anxious to either help or allow him and Buffy to retreat but his chains held fast.
Buffy made a low sweep for the Master's legs that he jumped over and landed on the Scythe which threw both of them off balance. The two combatants went to opposite sides of the room, the Master rolling through his landing, Buffy turning hers into a cartwheel. They faced each other and charged each other and went back into the dance with death, Buffy trying for an opening to either stake the Master and the Master trying to disarm her, then it happened, the Master got a solid grip on the Scythe and kicked Buffy into the chest forcing her to let go of the weapon. Buffy landed hard with a groan and the Master looked at the Scythe.
"Very interesting, I've never seen a weapon of it's like before. It's linked to you somehow. I'll be very interested in studying that link after you are dead, if it lasts after that after all," the Master said.
Buffy kicked up onto her feet as the Master was talking and was about to reach out to the Scythe when the Master held out his hand and looked at her.
"Now, now, none of that," the Master said and seemed to pull her to him and dropped the Scythe to the floor.
"NO! You won't do that to her this time you bastard!" Xander yelled but the two of them ignored him. Buffy came to the Master and the Master tilted her head and sank his fangs into her neck. Xander's senses suddenly grew stronger, the dim room got brighter, the scents grew stronger and more distinct and he didn't fight it.
"The POWER! Such power!" the Master said and dropped Buffy into the pooled water.
"NO!" Xander screamed and yanked hard against his chains and they broke the pain from the manacles digging into his wrists was a distant sensation as he dove toward the Master who was pushing against the barrier. The barrier holding the Master flashed and he was just gone. Xander rushed over to Buffy and pulled her out of the water, as he was living one of his worst nightmares over again. He turned her over and felt for a pulse, swore and started CPR on her.
He did his two breaths and then started compressions, two breaths and compressions, two breaths and compressions. He didn't stop for dramatic talking like he did the last time he did this he just focused on what needed doing.
"Oh my God! Buffy!" he heard Willow's voice and became aware of other voices as well, then the miracle happened and Buffy coughed, water came out of her mouth.
"Xander?" Buffy asked.
"I'm here, Buffy. I'm here," Xander said and held her.
"How'd you get free…did the others…" she trailed off as Xander shook his head.
"No, it seems the passenger I picked up at the zoo isn't as gone as I thought, but much more useful this time," Xander said as he realized his senses had returned to normal.
"Ok…hyena spirit gets a cookie," Buffy said as she sat up. "Guys? What are you doing here, I told you to stay put."
"We couldn't Buffy. Giles, Miss Calendar, Angel, Doyle, Tara and her mom are watching the Hellmouth and we came cause we wanted to be sure," Owen said.
Xander then got a good look at them and saw they were armed with super soakers.
"Hotel Whiskey?" he asked.
"Of course, we HAVE been paying attention," Jesse said, his head on a swivel and Xander felt a surge of pride at his fellow Scoobies.
"We have to go, the Master still needs to be stopped," Buffy said and stood up.
"You sure you are ok, Buffy?" Willow asked.
"Yeah…like Xander described…I feel strong," Buffy said and started walking. Xander rose himself and turned to Jesse.
"You have one of those for me?" he asked as Buffy retrieved the Scythe from where the Master dropped it.
Jesse handed Xander a spare super soaker and Xander instinctively checked that his weapon was pressurized and said, "Ok, Buffy will be on point the rest of us will fan out like geese out to the sides, I'll be in the rear. We haven't gone over group tactics like this before cause there were just more pressing things to do, just stay close and heads on a swivel cause they WILL be out in force and we WILL be attacked, their focus is securing the school for the Master. Try to cover each other and remember, all we can do is get wet, so don't WASTE ammo, but don't hesitate to fire either. Move out!"
When they arrived at the school they piled out of Owen's van and Xander was disappointed when Buffy just started off Xander and company had to trot to keep up to her.
"Oh look…a bad guy," Buffy said as the first vampire of the night appeared and neatly took it's head off with the Scythe, then they started coming from all over and the Scoobies shot them with their super soakers and Buffy took the burned vamps down with the Scythe. It wasn't neat, it wasn't professional, they all got wet, but it worked.
"Where is he Xander?" Buffy asked.
"Up on the roof," he said, heading to the roof access ladder. "Guys, when you get to the library bar the door and try to not get any of the books wet, I don't want Giles moping all summer." He then motioned to Buffy, "Ladies first."
"Such a gentleman," Buffy said and started up the ladder Xander right behind her. They got to the roof where the Master was raising his arms.
"Rise, my child…RISE! Come into my world!" he shouted.
"I don't think it's yours just yet," Buffy said bringing the Scythe up.
"You're dead!" the Master said.
"See…you got lazy, Batface," Xander said standing just behind Buffy.
"How'd you get loose? It was written that you would die!" the Master said.
"I think we broke him honey," Xander said.
"Too bad," Buffy said, her eyes not leaving the Master.
"Come here!" the Master said holding out his hand and Xander snapped his Super Soaker up and let loose with the Holy water. His aim was true and the Master's skin sizzled where the water hit him.
"Do you think that child's toy is going to stop me?" the Master said, not seeing Buffy charge him and she brought the Scythe up intending to behead him but he ducked.
"Very well, this will be more fun anyway," the Master said as he got hit with another blast from Xander. "Will you STOP doing that!"
"Nope! It's fun!" Xander shouted back as Buffy attacked again this time the Master was almost too late and the Scythe cut his arm.
The Master lunged at Buffy who flipped the Scythe around to its wooden tip and let the Master run into it, and the Scythe pierced the old vampire's heart. The Master grunted and his flesh darkened and fell away from his skeleton and then his bones hit the roof.
The two of them stared at the Master's remains for several seconds in silence, then Buffy ran to Xander and clung to him, crying. He just held her saying soothing sounds. He wished she had felt able to do this the first time around but was glad she was able to cry around him now. They stood there for a long time then Buffy lifted her head and wiped her eyes.
"You ok?" Xander asked, knowing that she wasn't.
"No…I don't think I am, Xander…I died, didn't I?" she asked.
"I'm sorry I couldn't stop it Buffy," Xander said.
"You saved me, that's all that matters," Buffy said taking Xander's hands into hers.
"I always will," Xander said, his own eyes filling with tears. He'd come so close to losing them both he wrapped his arms around her and let his own tears fall and let his wife comfort him.
"Oh, thank GOD!" Willow said, pulling them both out of the moment.
"Wills!" Xander said, hugging her then passing her to Buffy who hugged her too.
"When you didn't come down after…that thing went away we were worried," Willow said.
"We just needed a moment, was anyone hurt by Fluffy?" Xander asked.
"No, but I think we all need to get away from here," Willow said.
"Right, movie at home I think. Something horrible that we can make fun of. Dibs on being Crow!" Xander said.
"No fair! You are ALWAYS Crow!" Willow whined and Xander knew that they would survive high school with their sanity mostly intact. There was still much to do, but that would hold for a day or two.