See Part I for disclaimer and details. Thanks to all the people who have reviewed and emailed so far; and please, keepit coming! I'm a feedback junkie.
Part II: Welcome To The Hellmouth Redux
Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale. January, 1997
Angelus watched that Wednesday night, as Darla toyed with her evening meal in the school corridor before quickly finishing him off. He slowly clapped his hands, "Well, I gotta say, that was quite a performance! Not quite as thrilling as the one you gave back in Vienna, but still pretty good!"
Darla wiped her lips clean of the blood as she sauntered over and gave her favorite offspring a deep kiss. "Was it really good for you too?" she then asked in a throaty voice.
The last 19 years had been glorious ones for the female vamp lord. Ever since her childe had come back into the fold and killed the New York Slayer and her son for her to prove that Soul Boy was no more, Darla had pretty much been in a constant state of bliss. And now they were here on the Hellmouth to meet with her sire...amongst other things.
Angelus growled as he suddenly vamped out and bit into her neck, only for Darla to do the exact same thing. They then stood together, going at it like animals...
"Grandmother, Daddy! It's the kitten! He's here, he's here, he's here at last!" an excited, female and British voice distracted them both. "They hid him from me, they did, all this time – but he's here and now, now and here and now!"
Angelus and Darla broke off their blood play and looked at the prancing Drusilla in annoyance. "What's she talking about?" the former whore asked her lover.
The Irish-born vamp shrugged. "How should I know? I mean, not that I was around for all that time, but she's been talking about that subject for the last hundred years or so hasn't she? Well, maybe if Dru just finds the damn thing, we can finally get some peace and quiet around here!"
With Penn, James and Elisabeth having long since departed to pursue their own paths, Darla couldn't help but agree.
1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale. The next morning
The object of Drusilla's affections was fast asleep in his bedroom.
His life was in some respects very different from what the life of Xander Harris would have been at this point in time, and in other ways almost exactly identical. It was, in fact, the ultimate experiment in nature versus nurture. For Whistler had safely transported his soul into a new home all those years ago, and added in just enough genetic material for the ride so that the boy could still be himself – when the time came for his destiny to be fulfilled.
Be that as it may, after Joyce had woken up her daughter, Buffy, she went into her son's bedroom and looked carefully upon him.
Alexander Henry Summers was looking far too pale in his worried mother's opinion, as he tossed and turned. Hopefully, relocating to this peaceful little town would do him some good – let Alexander get out into the sunshine more, maybe also let him meet a nice girl who would-
Suddenly, the young man jerked upright in bed, a freaked expression on his face. "NOOO!" he screamed.
"Alexander, calm down! It's me, your mother," Joyce said soothingly, as she instinctively went over and stroked his hair. "It's all right, sweetie, it was just a bad dream..."
"Uh...right...but, but Mom, how many times do I gotta say it? Call me Xander," the boy said grouchily as he got up out of the bed.
Joyce rolled her eyes, by this point knowing better than to ask for details about her offspring's nightmares. "I'll never understand why you insist on being called a name that your sister gave you, when you were both just toddlers!"
"Please, Mom. Haven't you read the books? I'm 16 years old: it's the age of rebellion. I'm supposed to be acting out – and who am I to argue with conventional wisdom?" Xander smirked as he headed for the bathroom.
"Don't try to be smart with me, young man!" Joyce called out, a look of annoyance but also deep love on her face. "Breakfast is in five minutes, so hurry up. You and Buffy don't want to be late for your first day!"
"No, wouldn't want that!" her firstborn's reply echoed from outside the room.
Outside Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale. Later that morning
Joyce's Jeep pulled up at the high school built on top of the Hellmouth and she said to her children, "Have a good time. I know you're both gonna make friends right away. Just think positive!"
Xander and Buffy got out of the vehicle, just in time for their mother to add, "And Alexander, dear? Try not to get kicked out of another high school."
"No promises, Mom..."
Joyce looked upset as Buffy elbowed her big brother sharply. "Don't worry, Mom, we got it covered. Oh, almost forgot! I heard you talking to Dad on the phone this morning. Did he say when he's gonna join us?"
Joyce sighed, "Not till the weekend, I'm afraid. Some problems came up with his business and it's gonna take your father a while to get it all sorted out. But don't worry, he'll be here soon." She waved goodbye as the Jeep quickly roared off.
"What?" Buffy asked her sibling, as she noticed Xander get a strange expression on his face.
"Nothing," the boy replied, shaking his head. "Just remembering what it was like when Merrick and I finally convinced him and Mom that vamps were real, in order to get you out of that nuthouse..."
The blonde Slayer inadvertently shivered at those bad memories. That had been a horrible time in all their lives, for sure. Ms. Summers knew that her family had been on the verge of tearing itself apart back then, thanks to her...night-time activities. But the truth had finally come out, right about the time she had been considering making a break for it out of the asylum.
And Hank and Joyce hadn't dealt well with their world-view being turned completely upside down that way, that was certain. Neither did they like the fact that their teenage children had gotten involved in a war that would never end, and would eventually probably cost them their lives.
But since it had been patiently explained to the married couple that there was nothing they could do to change all that, Mr. and Mrs. Summers had eventually learned to deal as best they could, and shield their kids as much as possible from harm.
As Xander and Buffy walked up the steps and headed for the school building's interior, the girl known as Cordelia Chase was talking non-stop to her faithful followers. And this was by no means an infrequent occurrence.
"Senior boys are the only way to go. Guys from our grade: forget about it, they're children. Y'know? Sophomores – uch, give me strength! But senior boys, hmm, they have mystery. They have...what's the word I'm searching for? Oh yeah, cars! It's like when I go shopping. I have to have the most-"
Suddenly Queen C stopped, as she caught sight of the Summers twins. "Hello, salty goodness," she then commented, upon seeing the young man in question. The physical attraction between her and Xander inevitable, at least on some level.
Her so-called best friend, Harmony Kendall, was also hungrily staring at Xander's well-built frame. "Oooh! I saw him first!"
"Really?" Cordelia turned the full force of her glare upon the blonde.
"Cordelia, I..." Finally the airhead realized the situation though, and instantly bowed before the alpha female of the pack. "Oh, I just meant – no, I-I was looking at Larry just now!"
Satisfied, the filthy rich young brunette turned to another Cordette and commanded, "Find out everything about the new guy. Name, history, if that's his girlfriend with him, the works. Understood?"
"Totally!" Gwen nodded, as the American high school version of the Soviet KGB moved off towards the inside of the school.
Not far away, the boy named Jesse McNally was gazing lustfully at Cordelia's departing ass. "I gotta tell ya, Will, I'm stumped! What do I hafta do to get Cordy to notice me, as a man?"
Willow Rosenberg, teenage genius and computer hacker extraordinaire, simply looked at her best friend and unrequited crush in despair. ( What do I have to do in order to get YOU to notice ME as a real woman, with womanly parts? ) she thought to herself before saying to her beloved, "I dunno, Jesse. I guess, just – just be yourself?"
"I've been trying to do that for over a year, Will. Newsflash: it's not working! Uh, maybe we could meet up later somewhere and I could practice my pickup lines for Cordelia on you again?" Jesse asked hopefully.
The redhead sighed. "Maybe. But hey, what's in it for me?"
"A big shiny quarter?" Jesse flashed his toothy smile at Willow, who instantly caved – much to the loss of her inner pride.
Principal Flutie's Office, Sunnydale High. A short while later
Xander was seated in the room, Buffy having suffered through her own interview earlier and now waiting for him outside. Bob Flutie, the school principal, sat down and started to open the boy's file, "So, Alexander Summers. Sophomore, late of Hemery High-"
"Please call me Xander, sir," the young man interrupted. "That's the name I like to go by."
"Right," Flutie nodded, as he started to tear the boy's prior school record apart. "Well, Xander, welcome to Sunnydale High! Like I just said to your sister a few minutes ago, a clean slate – that's what you get here. What's past is past. We're not interested in what it says on a piece of paper, even if it says..."
He started to read details of Xander's...colourful past. "Whoa!"
Xander winced. He'd been afraid of that sort of response. "Mr. Flutie, I know my permanent record's a little...spotty-"
"You burned down the Hemery High School gym?" the school administrator asked in shocked disbelief.
"Uh, the fire marshal never actually said...see, what happened is that these gang members, they were out to hurt my sister...a-a-and things sorta got outta hand when I went in to defend her during the school dance," Xander said somewhat lamely.
"Oh, I-I see. Well, Alexander, don't worry..." Flutie hurriedly started to tape the paper back together. "At any other school, they might say 'watch your step', or 'we'll be watching you'. But, that's just not the way we do things here! We're going to get along famously, I'm sure." He finished the repair job, and slapped the paper back into the file. "Now, why don't you head off to class? My secretary will provide you with your schedule. And again, welcome to Sunnydale High!"
Unfortunately though, Xander couldn't help noticing the principal's shaky and uncertain tone of voice, not to mention Flutie's thin and somewhat nervous smile. As he thanked the principal and departed the office, the boy wondered just what else his first day would bring.
Sunnydale High classroom. A short while later
As soon as Xander and Buffy entered their first class of the day, the young man stopped in shock at the sight of Cordelia Chase.
( It's her. The girl from my dream... )
Xander had a vivid recall of the nightmare in question, from when Joyce had woken him up earlier that morning. In his dream, the boy had gotten up and walked to his new closet, and yet when he had opened the door it had led into the smoky dim interior of some sort of nightclub. One he had never seen before.
That was because Xander had never once in his life been to the Bronze in this version of history, of course. But as he'd made his way through the crowded club, the Summers family member had noticed a woman staring at him.
( Goth type, ) Xander had thought at the time. Someone very pale and dressed in 19th century period clothing. ( Vampire? )
The woman had come up to him and said in a British accent, "Hullo, kitten. Oooh, I've finally found you..." Then Drusilla had gestured to the dance floor, where a dark-haired guy in his mid-twenties was dancing with a buxom brunette around Xander's age. "What do you think of Daddy's li'l pet?"
The dreamer had had no time to reply before Angelus vamped out and began to drain Cordelia dry, her blood spraying out of her neck and down his throat as fast as it could go. Xander had then had woken up with a scream...
Angel's face permanently burned into his memories. For the second time this week.
The history teacher noticed the two new arrivals, and welcomed them in. The Summers teens quickly introduced themselves, and then sat down in the midst of the crowd. And after the class was over, when the bell rang, the majority of the students almost stampeded out of there.
"Man! I almost forgot how boring school can get after the holidays," Jesse complained to Willow as they walked along the corridor. "Anyway, Will, I saw you sharing a book with the new dude. What's up with that?"
"Well, he-he didn't have one, and I just thought I'd be polite," the Rosenberg girl stammered.
Jesse tsked, "Willow, Willow, Willow. Have I taught you nothing about the birds and the bees during lo these many years? That's the oldest trick in the book! Y'know, when a guy wants a girl-"
"Oh, please, spare me. Like anyone within the sighted community would ever really be interested in making out with her? Or for that matter, you?" a sharp female voice rang out.
Both Jesse and Willow stopped, turned around and stared at Cordelia in dismay. "Uh, Cordy! Hi!" Ms. Rosenberg managed to get out.
Ms. Chase barely even deigned to give her a glance. "Nice dress, Willow. Good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears!"
"Uh, oh, well, my mom picked it out..." the girl again started to stammer.
"Then that explains why you're such a guy magnet, don't you think?" Cordy then glanced in scorn at Jesse. "Don't you have an elsewhere to be?"
Jesse smiled hopefully. "Depends. Will you go out with me tonight, if I say yes?"
Both girls rolled their eyes. "Beat it, you loser geek!" the socialite snapped, her patience gone. "I'm here to talk to Willow!"
With a shrug, the aforementioned geek left and Willow said fearfully, "Uh, so, you need help with your homework again? Even though it's only the first day back?"
Cordelia flipped her hair to one side. "Actually, no. That new boy you were SO friendly with during class just now. What's his name again?"
"Uh, Alexander Summers. But he said he prefers Xander," the female teen said simply, not getting her companion's feigned coyness. "Why?"
( Xander? Well, I guess that's not too horrible a name, I can work with that. ) "Did he happen to mention anything important? Like, if he's gonna join the football team, or if he's involved with anyone?"
"Huh?" Willow said in astonishment. "Oh, gosh, no! Uh, I mean, all Xander told me was he and his family had just moved into town 'n all..."
Cordelia suddenly unleashed a megawatt smile, "Well, good! That makes everything much simpler." Then her expression became disdainful once more as she regarded her companion, "One last thing. If you should happen to bump into him again, you might want to try casually mentioning that I'll be at the Bronze tonight, okay?"
"You, you like Xander Summers already, and you guys haven't even been introduced yet?" the red-haired girl looked astounded.
Cordelia's eyes narrowed dangerously, as the leader of the elite took this as a threat to her position in the school hierarchy. Willow instantly understood though, having known Cordy since kindergarten, "Not that it's any of my business of course, either way. I-I mean, I won't be telling anyone, even if it's true. Which it isn't. Is it?"
"Listen to me, you complete and utter fashion reject! Who I'm interested in, or even not interested in, is DEFINITELY none of your business! Just keep your big mouth shut, okay? Or I will see to it that your reputation gets completely ruined around here! Like, can you say the word 'detention'?" Cordy hissed furiously.
Willow's face went white with fear at the thought of her perfect school record being marred that way, as she vigorously nodded and Ms. Chase angrily flounced away.
Sunnydale High Library, Sunnydale. A short while later
Having decided to take Willow's advice about getting all the books they needed from the new school librarian, Xander and Buffy arrived at the library and quickly walked inside.
The library looked deserted, though. "Hello? Anybody here?" Buffy called out.
"If not, it's like you asking that is really gonna help," Xander muttered.
"Smartass," Buffy said as she slapped him absent-mindedly, the way siblings will when they annoy one another.
"Ouch!" ( Damn Slayer strength... ) Xander then looked over at the counter, and saw a newspaper clipping with a picture that had been circled in red. The caption above the picture read 'Local Boy Still Missing'.
And it was at that moment the Englishman called Rupert Giles chose to come up behind him, tapping Xander on the shoulder and making him spin around. "Yah!" the male teen yelped.
"Yep, guess someone's here," Buffy observed sarcastically, as she whirled around too.
"Can I help either of you?" Giles asked softly in his Oxford accent.
"Uh, yeah, we were after some books. So it seemed kinda obvious to head over here, where the books are! I'm Xander, by the way, and this is my sister Buffy. We're new in school," the dark-haired boy clarified.
"You're Miss Summers?" Giles asked, staring directly at the blonde girl.
"Yeah."
"I'm Mr. Giles, the librarian," Rupert introduced himself. "I was told you were coming."
"Well, great! So, um, I'm gonna need 'Perspectives on 20th Century-'" the femme started to say.
"I know what you're after!" And with that, Giles pulled out a heavy, dust-covered book with the word 'VAMPYR' written in gold leaf on the front cover, and slapped it down on the counter.
"That's not what I-" Buffy started to say, before Xander cut her off. "I don't believe this! YOU'RE her new Watcher?"
Wearing a rather silly grin, Giles said simply, "Well, yes, I am-"
"Prove it."
Giles looked startled. "I, I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me. If you really are Merrick's replacement – and it's been a while, pal! – then let's see some ID," Xander said in a no-nonsense tone.
"Well, I-I-I don't...the Council didn't issue me any formal identification papers," Giles stuttered. "And what business is it of yours anyway, young man?"
Xander was instantly reminded of his first meeting with Merrick, when Buffy's first Watcher had attempted to dismiss his presence in almost this exact same way. ( Oh yeah, better nip this in the bud right now. )
"Because I'm the other half of this Slayage team, that's what," Xander said simply.
"That's preposterous! You, you're not a Slayer!" the new Watcher on campus exclaimed.
Brother and sister instantly looked at one another, their glances communicating a very detailed unspoken conversation. "They didn't tell you ANYTHING about us when you were assigned this job, did they?" Buffy then asked hopelessly.
"Er, what do you mean?"
"Hi! I'm Xander Summers," the male teenager suddenly smirked. "My twin sister Buffy here is the Chosen One, the vampire Slayer. Only, funny thing, when she got called about a year ago? Part of the Slayer essence ended up inside me!"
Giles's legs almost gave out underneath him. "What? You mean..."
"Oh, don't worry, I'm no Chosen superhero like she is. I mean, Merrick trained me as much as he could, and I'm okay with an axe or a crossbow – but just an ordinary human, here. Apart from the fact that I'm the one who gets the prophetic Slayer dreams, and can sense the vamps. Buffy's still the one who can kick ass and stake 'em, without even breaking a nail."
"What he said. And please, whatever else happens – no Donnie and Marie jokes, okay?" Buffy said in a snarky voice.
"Well, this, this, this is completely and utterly unprecedented, as far as I know," Giles said, starting to scratch his head and ignoring the pop-cultural reference. "I'm rather flummoxed-"
"What's with the flum? Obviously, you weren't in the loop, 'cause somebody thought you didn't need to know," Buffy noted. "And by the way? Much as I'd like to continue talking about the old days, and all the fun which wasn't, we've got class to attend. Guess we'll have to get the books later. Let's go, Xander!"
So saying, the empowered female warrior for the Light yanked her big brother out of the library, as Rupert just stared after them in dismay.
The Girls' Locker Room, Sunnydale High. Not long before lunchtime
A couple of cheerleaders were discussing the two latest additions to the student population just as Cordelia came into the locker room. And they weren't exactly airheads, but neither were they the brightest stars in the heavens either.
"The new guy and his sister? Well, I heard she passed the cool test and he looks pretty cute, but what kind of names are Buffy and Xander anyway?" the redhead named Aphrodesia asked. "Oh, hey Cordy!" the girl then called out, acknowledging the brunette's entrance immediately.
"Cordelia, hi!" Aura the black girl saluted her too.
"Aura, Aphrodesia, hey!" Cordelia greeted back. "What are we talking about?"
"That guy, Xander something," Aphrodesia said.
"What have you heard?" Cordy went into full gossip mode, which was the real reason why she'd come here today in the first place.
"Well, the latest chatter in the caf is that he got kicked out of his last school after burning down the gym, and that's why the family had to relocate here to Sunnydale," Aura remarked, working the combination to her locker and starting to remove the padlock.
"No!" Cordelia said in surprise. ( Oh my God, don't tell me he's a complete psycho? My guy radar CAN'T be that far off! )
"Oh, yeah!" Aphrodesia nodded. "And the worst part is, I heard that Alexander Summers used to be such a prize catch before all that! Swim team, baseball team, you name it..."
"Neg?" Ms. Chase asked. ( Hmmm, maybe there's still hope for that guy yet! )
"Pos!" Aura said, just as she opened her locker. "I heard from Blu that-"
Darla's meal from the previous night fell out onto her arm, and the male corpse then collapsed to the floor. So naturally of course, all three teenaged girls started screaming their lungs out in horrified terror.
TBC...