Fury of the Beast
Disclaimer: I own nothing, nobody, and have very little money anyway, so the legal trial will take more cash than I have. So please, don't bother.
I'm pleased for the feedback I've got, and I'm glad to have some new converts! Ha! Your souls are mine! Oh wait, you have to sign the contract, and I'm out of ink! sigh.
Anyway, I'll get to this.
Xander ran down the corridor at full speed, moving faster for longer than any human could. If it were possible to clock him with a radar gun, the reading would have said 15 MPH.
In his hand was the grenade launcher, which he was busy reloading. Truth be told, he preferred the shotgun as a weapon, it was easier to reload, and a faster shot, but the sheer power in the grenade launcher made up for most of its flaws.
Still running, he closed it, a fresh grenade in the barrel. The next thing he knew, he was in a laboratory.
Where Riley was fighting Forrest. Or, what was left of Forrest. The Nosferatu were right, he was ugly, almost as ugly as the Nosferatu. In one way, he was even more hideous, as the
Nosferatu lose all vestiges of humanity in the Embrace, but Forrest...he was twisted, a mismatched collection of human and demon pieces.
The fight between Forrest and Riley looked about even, but even so, Xander decided to leap into the fight to help Riley out.
Xander began to run towards the pair, but before he'd gotten three feet, he tripped, the grenade launcher flying out of his hands, and fell face down onto the floor.
Looking back, he saw the decayed body of Maggie Walsh, animated to a certain degree, crawling towards him.
With disgust, he kicked the corpse in the face, old flesh giving away under the force of his blow, neck breaking, and the perversion of nature lay still.
Getting to his feet again, Xander was about to leap to Riley's rescue, when he heard gunfire coming from a side tunnel.
For a moment, he was torn between helping Riley and going after the gunfire, but Riley was a combat soldier, and with any luck, he'd survive long enough for more help to arrive.
However, Buffy was not used to fighting against something with a gun.
He ran down the side tunnel, the grenade launcher forgotten.Buffy was having a tough time. She was hitting and kicking the man/demon/Terminator with nothing to show for it, save that she broke the spike on Adam's left arm.
In retaliation, he made a minigun out of his right arm, and had her pinned behind a console.
With a almost sadistic grin, Adam locked on to the heat signature behind the ruined console, targeting a missile.
Without warning, something smacked into Adam's arm, changing the missile's trajectory, sending it into the wall at Adam's right.
Adam looked, at the boy who stood in front of him. He would have looked human to any being that relied upon eyes that saw in the normal spectrum, but Adam knew better.
This was a vampire.
Turning the Gatling gun on the vampire, Adam unleashed a barrage, while the unholy creature made every effort to stay out of the way of the powerful gun.
Unfortunately, the vampire was not fast enough, and seven bullets caught him in the chest, tearing right through the ribcage and slamming into the wall on the far end, next to the access tunnel.
The vampire lay against the wall, gasping in pain, as Adam casually strode up to him. Adam aimed right for the vampire's forehead.
"As I told the Slayer, I've been upgrading." He almost laughed out.
The almost-forgotten Slayer in question reappeared, wrenching the Gatling gun out of position from behind Adam.
With a grunt, the petite Slayer snapped one of the rotational gears.
Snarling, Adam retracted his gun-arm, swinging around and hitting Buffy in the face.
She fell back against the ruined console, letting out a cry of pain.
Adam bent down, picking up the broken bone-spike that once belonged to his left arm.
He rose the deadly implement to spear the Slayer through her heart, in an ironic killing move.
She suddenly kicked out, feeling the spell of quickening kick in.
The spike went flying, imbedding itself in the ceiling. Buffy flipped up to her feet, kicking Adam in the face as she did so, and he staggered back a half foot.
She kept up her attack, hitting him in the chest and face, keeping him off balance, but she knew even as she did this, even with the spell of quickening, one mistake and she was dead.
The mistake occurred. It was very minor, something that probably would have incapacitated almost any other foe. She hit the side of Adam's skull, where it was metal-plated. To Buffy's credit, her hand came away leaving a large dent in it, but also one of the bones in her hand gave.
She cried out and backed away, holding her right hand in pain. Adam picked her up by the throat in the next instant.
Her feet dangled uselessly a foot and a half off the ground. She gasped for air, and not believing it was time for her to die.
Adam began to increase pressure, in preparation to twist her head, breaking her neck.
A loud growl interrupted him.
Xander slammed into Adam from behind, Buffy falling to the ground in a cry. The hideous monstrosity and man made into a monster grappled with each other, Xander's eyes glowing red in rage and pain. The sounds coming out of Xander's mouth weren't that of a warrior in battle, or grunts and growls of someone trying to survive. They were the snarls and hisses of an animal, a wounded animal, a rabid animal out for blood.
Xander gained a grip on Adam, and flung him into the ruined and abused console. Adam was propped up, helpless as the enraged vampire pounded on him, actually doing damage to the demon skin and slamming the metal plate on Adam's head further into the monstrosity's skull.
Adam twisted suddenly, slamming his right arm into Xander's chest, flinging him back into the clear window. Luckily, it was reinforced, and Xander bounced off of it. Lying face down on the ground, Xander gave a pathetic whimper, then charged at Adam's legs suddenly.
From just in front of Adam's legs, he delivered an uppercut that sent Adam flying into the ceiling.
Adam fell to the floor, behind the console, stunned as Xander drew back his fist to slam it through Adam's skull.
At the last moment, Adam caught the blow in his fist, the hands on both combatants breaking bones from the power of the blow.
Xander howled, Adam grimaced.
Adam flung Xander away from him, flinging him into the over-abused console, returning the punishment Xander gave him.
Adam rose a massive fist to finish the fight when pain struck him in the back.
He looked down in disbelief as he spotted the bone spike, going clear through him.
Adam looked over his shoulder at the tired, but grinning, Slayer.
"Nobody hurts my friends, even the dead ones, you Arnold wanna-be!"
She twisted the spike, pulling it out of Adam's back.
She then punched through with her left hand, and pulled out Adam's power core.
Adam managed to turn around and look at this in shock, an instant before he fell over, dead.
Buffy panted, dropping the power core.
A growl brought her attention to Xander, who was snarling with an insane look in his eyes. No reason, no knowledge, just a rabid animal.
The Beast leapt at Buffy, the blood in her veins singing to it, a promise of power to enhance it's own, to kill and grow and become stronger than any other.
It managed to grab her, and was about to sink it's fangs into her throat when pain interrupted it's feeding.
The Beast looked down in disbelief at the shaft of a crossbow bolt in it's chest, piercing it's heart.
With a groan, Xander fell to the floor, the world going black from lack of blood, cumulative wounds, and now the wood in his heart.
Giles let out a breath at his shot, simply glad he hadn't missed and killed Buffy.A few minutes earlier.
Riley was in the fight of his life. Forrest was strong, due to the hideous changes made on his body.
Forrest was certainly having fun, tossing Riley around like a rag doll, although Riley had gotten a few good hits in, he wasn't going to win this.
Scrambling to his feet for the seventh time, Riley grabbed a scalpel off an operating tray, and threw it at Forrest's face.
Forrest rose his yellow demon arm, and the scalpel appeared in it's flesh, which Forrest tore out with a grimace and snarl.
He advanced on Riley holding the scalpel, obviously planning to shove it in between Riley's ribs.
Forrest thrust it at Riley's chest, which Riley backed up to avoid.
Riley tripped over something, and using all the soldier training he had, he used the momentum to flip behind the obstacle, his hand closing on something as he did so. This move also had the bonus effect of slamming Riley's feet into Forrest's chest, sending him staggering back.
Riley regained his balance, and took a look at what he'd grabbed.
"Thank you God!" Was all he could say.
For in his hand was a M-79 grenade launcher, just what the doctor ordered.
He aimed it at Forrest, who stopped dead in his tracks.
"You're too close to me, shoot that and we're both dead." Forrest said, looking down the barrel of the grenade launcher.
Riley just stared impassively at the defiled mess that was once his friend. The twisted form of a fellow soldier, a comrade, a brother.
Holding the grenade launcher in his right hand, he gripped an operating tray with his left.
Mimicking Riley's earlier move, Forrest threw the scalpel at Riley's face. Riley twisted, the scalpel cutting through the flesh of his left cheek.
The reflex action caused by the sudden move caused Riley to throw the tray and all the items on it in Forrest's direction, who staggered back under the sudden assault.
When the tray had hit the ground, Riley was that a scalpel was sticking out of Forrest's blind eye, and Forrest was gripping it in instinctive pain.
"Goodbye Forrest." Was all Riley could say.
Forrest looked up to see Riley tightening his grip on the trigger of the grenade launcher.
Only one thing came to Forrest's corrupted, soulless mind.
"Oh shit."
The grenade launched from the barrel in seeming slow motion, Forrest could almost see the serial number on it as it hurtled toward him.
It struck him in the chest, blowing his torso into a hundred pieces.
When the ringing in Riley's ears faded, all he could do was sigh and shake his head, wishing Forrest hadn't become this twisted creature he'd been forced to destroy.
Giles and Buffy came out of the side tunnel, Giles carrying a form with a crossbow bolt struck through it.
Riley looked at the form dressed in a torn up leather trenchcoat, realizing with a start that it was Xander.
"Wait, why isn't he dust? He's got a crossbow bolt through his heart..." Riley managed to ask.
The Watcher shrugged.
"We'll look into that later, we have to get out of here now." Giles replied.
Suddenly remembering the situation they were in, forgetting earlier because of the direness of fighting Forrest, and the lengthy incarceration by Adam.
Six hours later The night was a success, most of the soldiers had been saved, the demons hadn't been spliced with humans, and most of the surviving demons were trapped in the Initiative lab.
Now, they had one other problem.
Giles, Buffy, Willow, Tara, and Riley looked down at the still form in the bathtub, a crossbow bolt still in the man's heart.
They'd chained him up, and restrained him with ropes for good measure. All of them hoped that some small part of their friend was still in this creature, this animal, this monster.
Giles looked at the others.
He sighed. "Ready?" He asked.
One by one, everyone nodded.
Tentatively, Giles reached out for the crossbow bolt, his hand shaking.
He got a good grip on the bolt, and pulled it out with a sharp tug.
Xander lay still.
Everyone watched with abated breath, the tension in the room thick, their heartbeats almost audible.
Then with a start, the Beast awoke.
Xander roared, scaring Giles and making everyone jump. Xander strained against the chains, the ropes and chains digging into his flesh as he tried to get close enough to any of the living people in the room to feed. The bloodlust was all there was, the tiny voice of sanity almost completely drowned out by the hunger.
Xander convulsed in the bathtub like a rabid animal snarling and spitting and growling.
Giles looked at Willow.
"Willow, there's some blood in my fridge, go and get it, quickly!" He almost yelled, to break her out of her shock.
Willow ran out of the bathroom.
Xander looked at the remaining humans with a furious look in his eyes. They glowed blood-red, and each human shuddered looking at the creature that was once their friend.
Willow ran back into the room holding a bloodbag.
Giles saw this, and nodded to Buffy.
She put her hand on Xander's shoulder, and pinned him down against the side of the bathtub.
Willow opened the bag, and as soon as the scent of blood hit Xander's nose, his struggles increased.
However, without blood to strengthen him, he wasn't much more than a human in strength at this point, and the Slayer held him down easily.
Willow began to carefully and slowly pour the blood down Xander's throat.
After a few sips, the light of sanity began to appear in Xander's eyes again. He managed to choke out one word.
"More."
Willow gave him more of it, Xander taking deep breaths to regain control over the Beast within.
Slowly, Xander felt the Beast recede, and he settled down in the bathtub, now looking peaceful, instead of a vicious, snarling animal.
"Xander?" Buffy managed to say.
He wearily rose his head to look at her.
"It's me Buffy, really me...." He trailed off.
Giles cleared his throat.
"We'll see about that, Xander, once we find the components for a soul detection spell. Until then, you're staying right here, understood?" He dictated.
Xander reluctantly nodded.
"Just one thing." Xander said.
"What would that be?" Giles asked.
"Could I get something to read?"
The motorcycle hummed loud as the pale white man sped towards Sunnydale at 120 MPH.
Anyone who could have seen him out on this darkened highway would have called him crazy, his face was obscured by the black face shield on his motorcycle helmet.
He laughed insanely as the landscape blurred past, the only sound in his ears that of the machine on which he rode. For fun, he popped a wheelie, and stayed upright for a full two minutes before he got both wheels back on the road.
He passed the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign so quickly he almost missed it, but since he did see it, he smirked, knowing he was coming close.
Finally slowing down, the crazy man pulled into a motel parking lot, parking the Harley, and shut off the engine.
He looked at his watch.
5:35 AM, about three minutes before sunrise.
He went into the motel and checked out a room, handing over several hundred dollar bills for a three day rental, to keep the guy quiet.
He sat down on his bed, pulling off the motorcycle helmet, revealing a face with a scar from his left eyebrow, seeming to jump over his eye, and continue running down his cheek, down to the jaw.
The man looked out the closed window, at the cracks on the sides of the shades as the sunlight tried in vain to enter the room.
He smirked, rising to his feet, and opened the window, flooding the room with the light of the newly risen sun.
Nicholas went to bed, sleeping soundly in the warm comforting embrace of the sun.
Buffy stared down at the still form in the bathtub, at a Xander Harris who had changed so much.
He was sleeping soundly, not even breathing, as the rays of the sun rose over the horizon.
He'd passed out almost as soon as the sun rose, and was sleeping in a almost comatose state.
Giles and Willow were out getting the supplies, Riley was in a debriefing which would probably take ages, and Tara was catching up on her own, much needed sleep.
Buffy wasn't sure why she did it. She reached down and gently caressed his right cheek. In response, his lips twisted up into a smile. He looked so calm and peaceful, relaxed, she would never guess that insane, monstrous creature lay beneath the surface. But she remembered all too well, as Xander was inches from sinking his fangs into her throat. If Giles hadn't been there...
If Xander was still in there, he had better have a damn good explanation for trying to bite her. If not, then he would be dust before sunset.
Even so...she didn't want to see that happen. If only she could tell why that little nagging feeling in the back of her head was bugging her.
Xander awoke an hour before sunset, still strapped down in the bathtub. He was feeling better, the Beast had receded, and his wounds had fully healed.
A little blood can go a long way.
Giles and Buffy walked in, Buffy holding a stake, Giles holding a key.
Xander eyed them both nervously.
"Xander, we have the results for the spell." Giles said a touch of regret in his voice.
"And what did the spell say?" Xander asked, hoping the Beast didn't overlap his soul, making him look like a mere demon.
"It really is you..." Buffy trailed off.
Giles nodded, speaking up again.
"It seems there are two things inside you, Xander. One is the demon that has made you into a vampire, the other is your soul. What I can't understand is why your soul stayed after the turning..."
Xander let out a half-hearted chuckle.
"Part of the family line, G-man, part of the family line....."
Two days passed, the gang getting used to Xander's return.
While Buffy had nearly freaked at the idea of another kind of vampire, thinking perhaps she had killed an innocent person, Xander had reassured her. His kind avoided Sunnydale most of the time, and the usual member got by without feeding on humans directly. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries had made killing to feed obsolete with blood banks. And any vampire feeding on people until death were murderers anyway.
Now, Xander was waiting in the alleyway, wearing a brand new black trenchcoat, not leather this time, but it was less conspicuous.
"Hey." He heard from behind him.
Xander turned, seeing a hideous, misshapen form. A misshapen form wearing blue jeans, a white "I'm with stupid" T-shirt, and a jean jacket.
Xander spoke. "Hey, Leon."
The Nosferatu grinned back at him.
"Xander, glad to hear it went down well. Your gal okay?" Leon asked.
"Yeah, I never would have made it without your help, though. I owe you." Xander replied.
Leon nodded. "Just don't forget you owe us. We Nosferatu never forget our debts."
With that, Leon's form vanished from sight, and Xander could barely hear him run off. Although a trashcan falling over and a curse gave the nossie's position away.
Xander smirked, turning back toward the street, only to encounter another friend. The dark haired woman that told him of Adam stood there, just watching him.
"How long were you standing there?" Xander asked.
She shrugged, replying. "Long enough."
Xander sighed. "I thought I got away from all the Angel wanna-be's." He muttered to himself.
Her lips quirked upward in a smile at this.
"Congratulations, Xander. You faced down a powerful enemy, and you've survived, and also stronger for it." She said.
"It doesn't feel like a victory, only reason we won is because the Beast took over. I nearly...." Xander trailed off.
"Alexander, the Beast is a force of nature. One can resist it, one can ride it, or one can fortify himself so the storm does not do damage. Choose your way to fight the Beast. All will work, but not all will allow you to survive sane. You will have to find your own path, fle......neonate." She replied.
Xander blinked.
"Neonate?" He asked.
She nodded. "One who managed to do what you did does not deserve to be called 'Fledgling'. You have a long way to go, Alexander. But you will succeed, I know it. Till we meet again, Alexander."
She turned to walk out of the alley.
"Wait! What should I call you?!" Xander yelled after her.
She stopped, turning to look back at him.
"My name?......" She said.
Xander nodded.
She gave him a smile.
"My name.....is Serena."
With that, she walked out into the street, disappearing into the night.
Xander took a deep breath, enjoying the night air, although he no longer needed to breathe it.
He began to walk off towards his haven, feeling that his unlife was looking up.
Whomever knows or can guess, Serena's clan gets a free cookie.
Anyway, onto part 11