A/N Thanks for all the great reviews. And I finally fixed it where anoymous reviewers can review the story now. So please get reviewing.

Chapter 4

Vengence Be Mine pt.2

Finally finishing Xander's journal, Buffy closed the book and dried away all of her tears. When she had finished talking to Willow, she had taken the book in her room and had read it from beginning to end without stopping.

Xander's journal...his life as she read it made her laugh, smile, and cry. She didn't just learn of all of the sacrifices that Xander had made, but she also learned that he was physically abused by his parents. And that fact again angered her, not only because he didn't tell her, but rather she didn't see all the signs.

But now thinking back to years past, she remembered asking him about a bruise that was on his arm once. His only reply to her was to laugh it off and say that he got it on patrol, but thinking back on that event they hadn't gone on patrol all week. One of the biggest surprises was that he had to put a cross in Angel's face, just to make him lead him to the Master's cave to save her.

All these years, she had believed that Angel was so brave, but now to think that the man that didn't have any powers made him do it, was almost unbelievible. To think, both men had kept this secret from her for so long. She also cried a little after reading his feelings about when she had died fighting Glory.

But after reading everything in the book, only a few things that he had wrote had actually hurt her to the depths of her soul. One was the time she had come back from a summer she'd spent with her father and lap danced him in the Bronze. It was an embarressing moment for her, but upon reading what he wrote, she found that she had severely hurt his feelings and that he had lost a little respect for her. And the worst thing about the whole thing was that she had never apologized to him about the way she had treated him.

The second thing was about her and Angel's relationship. She always only assumed that Xander was just jealous of him, but it wasn't really like that. Well at first it was. Truth be told he was afraid for her because she thought she could only find happiness with a dead body. He wanted her to have a normal life, with someone she could have children with and grow old together, but with Angel she couldn't do any of those things. She could only watch Angel stay young, while she was forced to grow old and die.

And the last thing that really hurt her was when Miss Calendar and Kendra were killed. She always knew that Xander was hurt by that experience, but she didn't know that it took him years to totally forgive her, for not doing her duty and killing Angel when she had the chance. He felt that if it wasn't for her that Giles' lover and her sister Slayer might still be alive till this day.

Getting out of bed and putting the journal in her dresser, she walked out into the hall and bumped into Giles.

"Oh, Buffy I'm glad I ran into you." Giles started as he put a sad look on his face. "That demon, I was telling you about struck again."

"What...who?"

"An old friend of mine. I believe you met him once, his name was Robson."

"Yeah...yeah I do remember him." she said as she put her head down, before looking back up at him. "And I'm sorry that, that happened to him. I'm so gonna rip off this things head when I get ahold of it." she said causing him to smile as she looked away.

"There is however something else we need to discuss." Giles said getting business like again. "I sent Rona and Dawn to retrieve some information for me..."

"No...no Giles don't tell me this. No not..."

"And both of them turned up missing Buffy." he finished the sentence anyway. "I have some Watcher's investigating it and I was informed just now that the demon, I mentioned earlier has kidnapped them."

"So...so they're not dead?"

"To my knowledge no." Giles replied as he put a hand on her to comfort her. "But even if they aren't dead, this thing still has the power to manipulate their minds and make them do it's bidding. Fortunately for us however, a Watcher was able to get a photograph of this culprit." he said as he reached behind himself, into a manilla folder, and pulled out an 8 by 10 portrait of X.

"I had Andrew blow up a bigger copy of it."

"Thank you, Giles." Buffy said as she took the photograph and stared icily at the smiling face of X. Looking back up at her Watcher, she suddenly looked him in the eye in a way that told Giles that he was now dealing with General Buffy. And if the poor girl was in her right mind, she would've seen that X looked nothing like the demon he had described to them that had killed Xander. "Now make some more copies of this. I'm going to get Willow and the other Slayers together. We just went to war."

Watching Buffy walk off angrily in the other direction, Giles couldn't help but smile to himself once more.

"Just another pawn in my game."

The Soul Gallery

Sametime

"Rona...Rona wake up." she heard someone say as they gently shook her. Opening her eyes, she saw that it was X.

"Yeah, what's up?" she asked as she sat up rubbing her eyes.

"I wanted to know how good of an actress you are?"

"What...? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because my dear it's time for you to start playing your part in this war." X said as he sat in the bed, next to her. "And I'm not going to be able to do this without you."

"Fine...what are we going to do?"

"We're going to pay a little visit to the Dungeons and Dragons master." he said causing her to look at him strangely.

Andrew Well's Residence

Later That Night

A shadow began moving across the manicured grounds borne on the thick mist like a dark phantom. As the little light that the moon dared to bring out, one could see that it was X, of whom glided toward the rectory, cloak undulating against the dark, wet wind.

Andrew's home, or more accurately his mansion was extravagantly furnished, somewhere between posh and pimp. Nice painting's hung on the wall, while it had flamboyant styled couches and other decorations.

"You poor...poor thing." Andrew said to Rona, as he closed his baby blue bathrobe, and handed her a glass of water. "Do you have any idea who he is?"

"No...no..." she replied as she took a very small sip of water, before sitting it on the coffee table. "But I can tell you that he's nuts. He tried to get me to turn on the Council."

"How so, fair child?" he asked as he picked up a smoking pipe, took a few puff's, and coughed quite girlishly before putting it back down.

"He told me that, Giles was a traitor to the Council and that he was going to kill us all."

"What a funny tale." Andrew said as he reached into his bathrobe as he sat next to Rona on his plush couch. "Because you see, Giles is the Council and I doubt that he'd betray himself. And as for killing you, you don't have to worry about that... because..." he stopped for a second as he pulled out his gun. "I'm going to do that."

At The Main Gate

The guards looked out into the night, fear suddenly gripping their faces, as X emerged demonically through the parting veils of fog, the white smiling mask bobbing eerily up and down as he rushed them.

A cigarette dropped from the first guard's mouth, red embers exploding when it hit the wet cement. Before the two guards had a chance to claw for their arms, the white hot flash of X's knives, sliced though them like talons. Seconds later the two men crumpled to the ground, clutching their gaping, gurgling wounds. Hearing a whisper, as silent as the night X sprinted into the courtyard.

Rona stammered, backing up along the wall, as Andrew came towards her with his gun. She never knew the little jerk had it in him to kill, but because of the crazed look in his eyes, she knew that she was wrong.

"I'm sorry, Rona. I truly am." Andrew said as his gun hand shook, with nervousness. "But by order of the Council, you are to be terminated."

As she ran, he charged after her but freezes dead in his tracks as X swings around the corner in front of him.

"Oh God!" he screamed as he dropped his gun.

"People keep telling me that, but God isn't my name. Please allow me to introduce myself." X replied with a bow. "I am a man who takes matters to the extreme in an extended amount of time. The epiphany of extraordinary examples of experimental means of carnage. I am the one exceptional extremist or the x-factor if you will that knows of the Council's plot. But on this day let me say that without exaggeration that I am only the villian, but you may humbly address me as X."

"Whoa, nice V for Vendetta speech." Andrew replied, as he sobered up a bit from his shock.

"Why thank you." X said as instantly, the point of one of his knives was against his throat. "Now Shh. It isn't polite to disturb the dead on their journey." he went on as he pressed a finger to his frozen smile, even as Rona watched from around the corner. "A courtesy I'll most respectfully extend to you."

"X?" Rona asked as Andrew swallowed audibly. "X, what are you doing?"

"Taking care of business my beautiful, Rona." he said as she looked down at the knives on his belt, dripping blood. "Now please go out to the car with Dru. Tell her to drive to the check point and I'll meet you there."

"Alright." she replied as she began backing to the door.

"Please...please don't kill me." Andrew cried as Rona ran out.

"Death has followed you since your whole career with the First. Is it any coincidence it has finally followed you here?"

Rona sprinted past the dead guards at the main gate, with a shudder, before going into the fog. As she neared where the car was, she saw Drusilla draining the blood out of the last guard, before dropping him to the ground. Looking over at Rona with her yellow demonic eyes, she suddenly shook her head and transformed back into her human guise.

"Sorry...I needed a snack." she said as her brow furrowed with confusion. "Where's daddy?"

"He said that he'd meet us at the checkpoint." the dark Slayer said as she got into the car, ignoring the urge to slay Drusilla, for killing a human. "Now drive."

"I want to know a few things, Andrew." X said as he backed the Watcher up against the wall.

"Mr. Giles trained me to be hard as steel, so I won't tell you anything." Andrew said with a girlish squeal as X pricked his neck with the knife. "Oh God, I'll tell you anything you want to know!"

"Good." X replied as he lowered the knife slightly. "Now when is Giles' big plot going to take place?"

"I...I don't know the exact date, but it's gonna be soon."

"Does Buffy or any of the others know about his plot?"

"No...no because Giles needs them dead."

'Good...Buffy doesn't know anything about this.' X thought to himself.

"But don't look for her support in helping you. Giles already told her that you were responsible for Xander's and a few key other's death."

"Let me worry about that." X shot back as he lowered his knives, to his side. "And just like Anya did the stupid thing, so must I." he said as he stabbed Andrew through the gut. "And give the First evil, my regards."

Eyes turning glassy with tears and bits of blood coming out of his mouth, Andrew looked up at X in fear. His last thoughts, as X ripped his weapons out of him, was how ironic that he was stabbed in the same place Jonathan was a year ago.

An Hour Later

A figure stared at a stain of white vomit and blood on the thick pile of a persian rug. It was encircled in police chalk, next to the chalk outline where the body of Andrew Wells was found. The circled bloodstain floated above the head like the last word balloon of a crude comic strip character. And in a matter of minute's Andrew's quarters was slowly being picked over by a forensic team from the Council.

A photographer's flash burst against a blood painted "X" on the wall near the body outline. At the window, Giles chewed on his glasses, staring at a plastic evidence bag that contained a single playing card. A playing card of the Joker.

"No prints yet, sir. Just like Robson." Dominic, one of the Council's hitmen said as he walked over to Giles.

"I want that...that pillock killed by tonight, Dominic." Giles said mildly agitated. He had planned to sacrificeAndrew himself, as a offering to his master...but now.

"Yes, sir. We're on top of it." he replied as he walked away. As Giles was about to leave himself, his Master's voice suddenly spoke in his head.

"Oh bloody hell!" he yelled as he ran out of the door. He had to get back to the Council, before X messed up everything.

The Watcher's Council

Sametime

"You look nervous, dear?" Drusilla asked Rona, as she looked over at her. They were sitting in Angel's plymouth across the street from the Watchers Council.

"Dru we're about to break into a building filled with over thirty, Slayers." Rona said with a roll of her eyes. "Who wouldn't be nervous?"

"Then maybe I should be nervous." the beautiful vampiress said as she clutched the wheel. "However I did kill one once."

"What?" Rona asked as a loud banging noise sounded out. Looking up to the night sky, she saw fire coming out of the top windows of the Council, along with a dark shape swinging through it. "That's our cue. Let's go."

"Rona, come this way." Dru said as she grabbed Rona's arm and led her down to the sewers.

The Council's Conference Room

A Few Minutes Before

"I can't believe that this is happening." Kennedy was saying to the other Slayers as Buffy and Willow walked out of the room. "That thing got Rona and Dawn. I told Giles that I should've gone with her."

"Do you think it would've made much of a difference?" Caridad, a beautiful latino slayer, asked as she sat back down at the table and handed her the box of donuts. "I mean according to Giles' field Watchers, this thing took her in less than two minutes."

"Well, I ain't Rona." Kennedy firmly told her. "I'm twice the Slayer she was and I would've kicked this things ass." 'So why couldn't Giles see that and had've given me that promotion?'

"Beside's, I wish this thing would show itself here." she said picking up a photograph of X. "Then, I'd show you guys that I'm not scared..."

A massive explosion suddenly shook the building to its very core, the rooms windows shattering and hooded pendulum lights swinging. Before they could get their bearings, another explosion wracked the building, sending the Slayer's off of their feet.

The pillar of flame rose into the black sky, dwarfing the girls in the room. As Kennedy and a few others turned they saw as a silhouette jumped through the destroyed window, backlit by a curtain of fire.

"Hello, ladies." X said as he strolled all the way into the room, his cloak blowing behind him dramatically. "Do you mind if we talk?"

"What is it with sewers, with you and X?" Rona asked as she looked over at her companion. "I mean is this a shortcut to the..."

"No...no this is to the little key." Dru replied as she looked around the dark sewer. "This way."

"I've been meaning to ask you something, Dru." Rona started as they turned down another tunnel. "Why are you on our side anyway?"

"Because of my sou..."

"Hold that thought." Rona said as her Slayer instinct kicked in. "I think I feel a demon near by." she said as a green squid-faced demon stepped out of the shadows, wearing ragged robes and carrying a long battle ax. A second later, another demon stepped out with it, also armed with a battle ax.

"Yep, there's definitely some demons. But we should make quick work of them right, Dru?" she asked as she turned around only to see Drusilla gone. "Dru?"

Hearing one of the demons growl, Rona looked back at them with a 'Oh, fuck me!' expression on her face.

The demons then charged and she hopped down from her position, hitting them with alternating front kicks. The second demon, who was quicker to recover, swung the ax down at her head. Seeing it coming she side stepped and kicked it in the back of the knee, throwing it off balance, while at the same time sending out a back kick into the first demon.

Taking the opening the second demon got up again smashing the ax handle into her chin, turning her around. With a growl the first one swung its ax at her but she caught the handle of it with her hands. As they struggled with it, the second demon slammed the handle of its ax into the small of her back. As her hand slipped free, the first demon used that to wrest free its weapon from Rona's hold, even as she fell to the ground in a shoulder roll.

"What the hell was that?" Buffy asked, as she helped Willow to her feet.

"It...it sounded like an explosion." Willow commented as she dusted off her clothes. Before she could say anything else a loud alarm blared, as the light went a little dimmer and orange light filled the hallway. "That's the alarm for the Slayer's Scythe."

"I'll check out the Scythe. You see what that explosion was about." Buffy ordered as they ran in different directions.

"I'm not here to harm any of you." X said as he held his hands up innocently. "I only want to talk to Buffy Summers."

"Yeah, you blow up the side of our building, so you can talk to us." Kennedy said as she stood in front of the Slayer group.

"To my credit Kennedy, I couldn't walk through the front door."

"How the hell do you know my name!" she practically yelled out, her eyes widened.

"Because, I'm..."

"Dead." Kennedy yelled out, before he could remove his mask, and charged forward with a sword another Slayer had slipped her. Quickly taking out his knives, he easily blocked her attack.

"Kennedy you don't understand. I'm..."

"Going to pay for killing Xander, Rona, and Dawn." she replied as she kicked off from him.

'Dawn.' X thought to himself. 'What the hell happened to Dawn?' Ducking under another sword swipe, he came up and punched her so hard that she flew back and crumbled up against a wall.

As he turned around, he was greeted with the pointy ends of swords and axes.

"I don't suppose any of you ladies would still like to talk?" he asked as they lunged at him.

Since he knew most of their moves since he had helped to train most of them, the bout was brutal and quick, knives slicing in arcs to knock the weapons out of their hands, bodies kicked and thrown with superhuman power. Even though he was doing all he could, he knew he couldn't hold all of them back forever. And that's when he sensed it. It was a vast increase in magical power. Before he could look up, to confim what it was, he was jerked off of his feet by a powerful invisible force and thrown hard into a wall, nearly crashing through it. Standing to his feet, he smiled under his mask as he saw Willow with her outstreched hand, hair blowing back by a non-existant wind.

"My beautiful beautiful Willow tree." he said as he stood to his feet with a wince. "Can't tell the difference from a man or demon I see. Soon the owl will turn it's head and all he'll see is red." with that cryptic message, he stood to his feet and jumped out of the window, his black cape billowing behind him. He just hoped that his girls had completed their part of the mission.

Looking out after him, Willow was stunned as she heard the name that X had called her. It was the same name Xander had given her when they were young. He had always called her his Willow tree, which made her develop a crush on him in the first place.

"Guys, get as many weapons as you can." Kennedy said as she regained conciousness and stood beside Willow. "We're going to go after that son of a bitch, now!"

"No you're not." Willow said lowly, still looking out into the night.

"What?" Kennedy asked. "But after all that..."

"I don't think that...that thing...that man had anything to do with their murders."

"But you heard what Giles said." ignoring her girlfriends rants, Willow looked down by her foot and saw a manilla folder. Opening it, her eyes widened at what she saw.

The two demons surrounded Rona again and tired of playing games the first demon charged but she deflected the ax and shoved the creature into the second, pinning it against the wall. She then stepped forward with an inward crescent kick to knock the ax aside, before slamming a right fist into its gut. Not missing a beat, she was already following through with a hard left hook, as the first demon bent forward giving her a clear shot at the second demon's face.

She raised a knee into the first demon's face, making him stand straight again, and then spinned into a flawless jumping back kick, slamming them both against the wall again. Stunned by the sheer power of the blow, the first demon fell on its face, while the second demon charged. Seeing it's charge she was able to grab the handle of its ax as it drove her back into the opposite wall. She wrestled with it as the first demon got back to its feet and started to swing its ax directly at her.

In the last instant, she twisted the second demon around in front of her, who took the blade in the stomach. As it fell to the ground dead, the first demon took another swing at her, only for her to duck away. The demon quickly followed through into another swing, but she easily caught the handle again. Diverting the blade away from herself, she took a quick punch at the creature's face. Stunned by the punch, she ripped the ax from its grip and the weapon flew away from them, slightly knocking her off balance.

The demon took advantage by punching her hard in the face, sending her to floor. The demon then went after its weapon, just as Rona raised her head and noticed the other demons ax just a couple of feet from her. As the demon bent down to pick up its weapon, she got to her knees, snatched up the ax and tossed it with a sick smack into the demons head. Spasming wildly and growling in pain Rona watched until it finally fell in the water dead.

"Got that ass." Rona replied as she wiped at the bloody slash that was on her forehead. "Now where the hell did Drusilla go?"

Secret Room

Feeling a pair of cool hands on her brow, Dawn opened up her bruised eyes and lowly screamed as she saw who was in front of her.

"Don't scream, little key." Drusilla said as she softly caressed Dawn's cheek. "I'm 'ere to save you, I am."

"No..." Dawn rasped out. She had already taken so much abuse from the hands of Giles, now this. Easily breaking off Dawn's chains with her vampiric strength, Drusilla picked up Dawn before she fell to the floor.

Sensing power radiating in the room, she looked around and saw a red and silver ax, with a spotlight over it, sticking out of what looked to be a boulder. Making sure the now unconcious Dawn was secure in her arms, she walked over to it and as she touched the handle it burnt her hand.

"Bloody, 'ell!" she screeched in pain as she put her fingers in her mouth, to stop the burning. It was like she was touching holy water.

Before she could figure out a way to try to get the weapon, she heard the door behind her open. Turning, she gasped as she saw Buffy standing there with murder in her eyes.

Taking one look at Dru and then at her bruised and battered looking sister in her arms, Buffy jumped to conclusions. Before she could run forward and engage the vampiress, something smacked up against the back of her head knocking her unconcious. As she fell to the floor, it was revealed that Rona was behind her with a large bat.

"God I wanted to do that for a long time." she commented, dropping the bat.

"What kept you dear?" Dru asked, causing her to let out a sigh. Not saying anything, Rona grabbed the Scythe, taking it out of the stone, and ran out through the secret access door.

The Soul Gallery

An Hour Later

"So, I see you girls completed the mission." X commented as Rona entered the room, with the Scythe in hand.

"Yeah and we brought someone with us." she said as Drusilla entered the room, cradling the still unconcious key in her arms.

"Dawn, what happened to her? I..." before X could get close to touch her, Drusilla growled low in her throat warding him off. Walking past him, she headed into her bedroom to lay her down.

"I'll explain later." Rona told him as she sat the Scythe down on the coffee table, before sitting down on the couch. "Now what's our next move?"

"For me to reveal my secret identity to you." X said as he took her by the hand and stood her back up. "Rona you trusted in me when you really had no reason too. For that all I can do is simply this." he said as he took off his mask, finally revealing himself. "Hello Rona."

"Xander?" she asked, her hands shaking. "Bu...but how? How long have you been alive?"

"That's the same thing, I want to know." a voice said from the shadows. "And I think you better tell me first."

"Willow?" Xander asked as his life long friend walked into the room.

A/N Because of the undertone of this story, I didn't feel that a love story made much sense at this point. Especially since this is going to be a short story that'll probably only last another chapter or two.

I am however planning a special scene with Xander and his girls.