STORY TWO : MEXICO, THE DAY OF THE DEAD
"I'm so sick of Mexico," Faith muttered to herself as she climbed up the rocky slope, trying hard to ignore the bugs that shared the hillside with her.
From the opposite side of the hill, Faith could hear low chanting in Spanish. She had no idea what was being chanted - her knowledge of Spanish began and ended with "Hasta la vista" - but she was sure it wasn't good.
Perhaps on account of the black-robed figures who were doing the chanting.
Faith climbed the last stretch of hillside and then peered down into the barren little valley. There were five cultists all gathered around a stone pillar. Five cultists, and about twenty ordinary people with glassy eyes and dull expressions.
She wracked her brain, trying to think of the right term for the dupes - possessed was close enough for her.
More important was the fact that Xander was one of them.
Most important of all, though, was the fact the rest of Mexico and, hell, who knows, maybe the world, would follow suit in about ten minutes. The ones who didn't get possessed would just get haunted by a million fresh-from-the-beyond ghosts.
Unless, of course, ass was kicked.
Faith grinned. "Yo! Amigos!" she yelled, standing up and waving at the cultists below. "Come out and play!"
The five people in robes looked up from their center of attention which was the pillar. They saw the small, lone figure up the hill and looked at each other.
"Send some of them after her," one cultist said to another in Spanish. "She cannot disrupt this; this is the only day that we can accomplish this."
The second cultist nodded and raised her arms up. Chanting in a language that far predated Spanish in these lands, she gestured at Faith. Moving as one, the possessed Mexicans (and Xander) began to lurch towards the Slayer.
Faith stared at the horde. "Shit." She took off running down the hill, towards the pillar and the cultists, and used the two locals at the front of the pack as a springboard. She landed behind the mob and close to the ghost talker.
"Hi." Faith smiled sunningly and then slammed her fist into the woman's face. She was pretty sure the woman's nose was broken. Even if not, it took her out of the fight.
"Get her!" one of the other cultists yelled, pointing at Faith and screaming at the top of his lungs. "GET HER!"
"Enchant the followers with more of the evil spirits," the first cultist said, trying to find a way to keep going now with one of them down for the count.
More chanting from two remaining ones as they backed away from the Slayer.
A few of the followers' eyes glowed red and they became more aggressive. They tore their way through the crowd, Xander in the lead. He broke away from the even smaller crowd and tackled Faith to the ground, trying to hold her down as the rest of the more aggressive ones closed in.
"Sorry about this, Xander," Faith said just before kicking him in the gut and pushing him off. She didn't have time to waste fighting the flunkies. Jumping up, Faith grabbed another possession victim and hurled him at the cultists. One of them went down, and Faith pummeled a second one a few times until he was out cold.
Two left. Faith smiled and wagged her finger between the two of them for a few seconds. Amazingly, one broke and ran, leaving the leader alone.
"All right!" Faith lunged at him, grabbing him by the throat. "Here's where you undo the spell," she said, smiling even as she squeezed his neck a little.
The leader felt his throat constrict under her grip. He attempted to pry her hand off of his throat. "I... don't think so, senorita. We must finish this tonight, and ... I will not let you stop me."
"Don't see how you - ah!"
Xander had gotten up, a nice-sized rock in his hand that he brought down on Faith's head.
Faith went down in a heap, blood streaming down the back of her head. "Ow... fucker," she moaned as two of the Mexicans hauled her back up to her feet.
"See? I told you I would not let you stop me," the cult leader said with a sneer. "Hold her," he commanded the others, then turned back to the pillar and began chanting in the same language his unconscious friend had been earlier. As he did, the air around the stone pillar began to ripple, as above asphalt on a hot day.
Then, without any fanfare, a rift suddenly appeared - a long, jagged tear that spilled dim light and grey fog.
Faith struggled against the Mexicans holding her and, somehow, managed to break free. She jumped at the cultist and knocked him to the ground.
"Ah! You're stronger than you look," the man said. "But what are you going to do now? The gate is open."
"So I close it," Faith countered.
The man smiled pleasantly. "You don't know how!"
"So tell me," Faith replied, digging the heel of her boots into his own personal nether region.
"Death! Only death can stop death!" the man moaned.
"Fuck." Faith stared down at the man, back at the rapidly approaching mob of Mexicans-and-Xander, and then sighed. "Fuck," she repeated, grabbing the cult leader and lifting him up to his feet.
"Fuck," she said one last time, just before snapping his neck and hurling him at the rift.
The rift shimmered, a burst of light coming from it, before sucking into itself and the dead cultist with it. Then all was quiet.
Even the mob... until they began murmuring in confusion.
Xander blinked then realized he had a rock in his hand. He stared at it, seeing the blood on it. "Um... what am I doing with a bleeding rock?" he asked to no one in particular.
"Bashing my brains in," Faith muttered, her eyes fixed on the spot where the rift had been.
"Bashing your...?" Xander looked at her in confusion then realized where the blood came from. Not the rock, that was obvious. He dropped it as if it had shocked him. "Oh... huh? How... why?"
"Ghosts got you. You okay? Not feeling dead inside still?" she asked tiredly.
"Um, no... was I complaining about feeling dead inside before?" He looked around with his one eye. "Where are we?" Then he noticed her and the blood stains on her shirt. "I did that?"
"Yeah. Didn't know you had it in you." Faith tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "Let's get going," she said, still staring at the empty air, then down at her hands. "You still owe me a margarita, X-Man."
Xander reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, making her face him. "Whoa, whoa... hold on there. What happened exactly? We were in the city, last I remember. Celebrating... the dead or whatever, and now I'm on the hillside hitting you with a rock and with about fifty other people." He noticed the four robed figures. "Who are these jokers?"
"Just some asshats trying to bring the dead to Earth," Faith replied. "The rest of it can wait. I need a drink or three," she said, shrugging Xander off and heading up the hill. It was a good three miles to Veracruz, after all.
Xander watched her walk away, recognizing the beginnings of closing him off. He hadn't really seen it during their time together on the road; then again, it had been smooth sailing and non-demon duties - apparently until now. Knew we should've left when we found out about what this day in Mexico was. He glanced over at the pillar then the robed figures, sighing. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and finally followed after the Slayer.
Later on that night, they were sitting at a local dance club. Xander had a drink in his hand and was just enjoying the scenery of bikinied girls dancing around the pool as loud music blared from a speaker.
"Enjoying the view?" Faith asked, watching Xander watch the girls over her margarita.
"Oh, yeah... there's just something about Mexico that brings out the best in girls in bikinis," he commented, entranced. "This whole Day of the Dead thing isn't so scary when THIS is how they celebrate."
"Mmm, I hear that," Faith said. Then, to change the subject, "So where next?"
He was still very much looking at the other girls when he realized he was being spoken to. He turned towards her. "Huh? Oh, I don't know... what's nearby? Are we crossing over the border again? Maybe Texas?"
"Texas... sounds good to me," Faith said agreeably. Although she had an itch to head North now... away from all this heat, away from anything that reminded her of Sunnydale. Boston. Hell, even Cleveland. She was about to suggest it when one girl slinked her way towards them and came up to Xander. "Hey there, muchacho."
Xander almost choked on his drink as he saw who had talked to him. "Oh... hola, muchacha," he said randomly picking words that sounded Spanish to him.
"Would you like to dance?"
"Me? Dance? Yeah, sure..." He looked over at Faith and grinned. "You wanna join us?"
"No, no," the girl said. "It's only a fiesta for two." She gave Faith a sneer, hidden from Xander, and pulled at him.
Faith glared in annoyance as Chica (as Faith thought of her) hauled Xander away. So much for the travel planning... She glanced around the club, and smiled at the nearest man. He'll do, Faith decided, smiling and beckoning him over.
Xander found himself in the middle of the dance floor, trying his best to keep up with the girl's hips. His eyes surely were following them. "Um, so... you come here often?"
Chica (as Faith thought of her) seductively looked up at him. "I do come often..." she whispered, leaning towards him. "What happened?" Her finger lightly touched his eye patch.
"Oh, cat fight," he said with a grin, almost mesmerized by her eyes. He found her leaning in a little towards him, singing the song that they were dancing to. "You have a... nice voice." He was staring over her shoulder, looking over at Faith a moment and seeing her motioning for a guy. For a moment, Xander's face fell.
Faith stared over at Xander for a second, regretting her impulsive come-hither gesture, but it was too late. The guy was standing right next to her now.
"Hola," he said, smiling cheerfully at Faith.
Fuck it. Xander's a big boy, Faith thought, rising from her seat and thrusting herself at the stranger. "Let's dance..."
"Hector. My name is Hector," he informed her, grinning at her boldness.
Xander snapped out of it when the guy couldn't resist her beckoning call - and he couldn't blame him. Lucky guy, he thought as he returned back to the very pretty girl in front of him. Well, might as well enjoy what he actually COULD have. She was still singing a song in his ear.
"C'mon, senor," the girl whispered. "I'm tired dancing. Let's go to my hotel room, have us a drink." She ran her finger over his eye patch again and down his cheek.
"Ohhh... um, actually, I'm not staying long. Going back on the road soon." He looked over at Faith. Or maybe not...
Faith saw the girl pawing Xander's face and shook her head. Fuck it, she thought again. "So, Hector... what do you people do for fun around here?" she asked him, practically straddling the man.
Hector was very much enjoying the proximity of the girl. "I do lots of things, senorita. I know a place on one of the cliffs nearby we could go to." He glanced back at the boy he had noticed her with. "But, um, aren't you with him?"
"Him? Forget it. He's got a new friend... and so do I."
Hector grinned. "Okay, just thought the two of you were together." He held out his hand. "Come, then, senorita. Let's go somewhere by ourselves."
Across the floor, the girl smiled at Xander. "Soon... but not now?" she asked softly.
Xander glanced back at her. "Um, well... I don't know," he said with hesitation. "I mean, it would be fun... and you're... nice and... pretty. Gorgeous even. But we just met."
"So? Come with me. We'll have a good time," she assured him with a wink.
"Why don't I go tell my... um, friend over there first..." Xander offered, though when he looked over towards Faith, the guy was offering his hand to her. "Hey, does the guy have a license for that move?" he cried out of habit.
"Shhh..." The girl spun Xander around. "Are you dancing with me, or with her?" she asked bluntly.
"Um, well... you." Xander couldn't help but look over at his 'traveling buddy' again.
"Let's go," Faith said, taking Hector's hand and following him towards the club's exit.
Hector had no choice but to let himself be led out of the club. He pointed towards his small car. "That's mine, chica." He opened the door for her.
When Xander saw Faith leave, he looked over at the girl smiling. "Well, I'm game for some fun. So what else do you do on this Day of the Dead anyway?"
The girl just laughed and wrapped her arms around Xander's waist. "I could show you..."
Xander nodded. "Let's go then, chica... oh, by the way, what IS your name?" he asked as they exited the club. Was he actually leaving a club with a GIRL at his arm?
"Call me Ana," she replied, leading him down the sidewalk.
"Oh, okay... Ana..."
"He's got a CAR?" he murmured. "A car much nicer than mine." He directed Ana towards his own car. "Not a luxury vehicle, but it'll get us to where we're going."
Further up the street, Faith gave the tiny BMW an appreciative whistle. "Nice wheels," she said as she slipped into the passenger seat.
Hector grinned. "Gracias." He closed the door when she was seated and got behind the wheel and started it up. As they drove away, he looked over at Faith. "I can sing you a song when we get up there, seniorita. How does that sound?"
"A song? Not really what I had in mind..."
"Are you not into songs? It can be quite romantic, you know." He snaked his hand over onto her leg. "Make you do the craziest things, and you seem like the type who likes crazy."
Faith grinned and squeezed his hand. "You bet... but why don't you keep both hands on the wheel, hotshot," she said, moving his hand back up. "Rather not end the day slamming through the windshield."
Hector frowned a little, especially when the girl pushed his hand back and he wasn't really able to push back. He gave in and put both hands on the wheel. "I'm an excellent driver, senorita. And an excellent singer." The road became less inhabited by cars as they approached a cliff above the water crashing below. He stopped the car and looked over at her. "What's your name?"
"Faith," she replied absently, staring out at the water. What the hell am I even doing?
Hector leaned towards her. "Faith. Pretty name..." He began to hum a small tune that they had heard at the club, leaning in more towards Faith in the process. "Tell me what you do, Faith," he whispered, his lips inches from her ear. After taking for a moment, he resumed his humming.
Faith couldn't help but smile, even as a slightly dazed look appeared on her face. "So... now what do we do?" she asked Hector.
He leaned back, still humming the tune until he spoke again. "You slay the demons, don't you? You're one of them."
"I am?" Faith frowned thoughtfully. Was that right? It seemed right. "Oh."
"You are..." He let his finger lightly slide down her arm. "And you will do something for me. I need an artifact from an old friend of mine."
"I will... what artifact?" she asked dully.
"You don't need to know the facts, senorita." He pointed past her, towards a cave down a slope. There was flickering of light coming from within. "They are there. A few demons and a few humans working together are there to obtain this artifact and sell it on the black market. You will go there and retrieve it." He reached over and took her by the chin, making her face him. "Do you understand?" He hummed a few more bars before gently kissing her.
"Yeah, got it." Faith smiled genially and then got out of the car. She made her way down the slope and to the edge of the cave. Peering inside, she saw the group Hector had told her about: three demons and half dozen humans. The humans were digging, the demons were watching and, occasionally, yelling. Faith couldn't see what they were digging at from her current vantage point, so she strolled deeper into the cave.
Meanwhile, Xander had turned the car around so that they were heading in the direction Faith and Stranger Guy were headed. He had told Ana that this direction just felt more fun, even though he just wanted to see if the guy was making the moves on his 'traveling buddy.' He saw the car parked in the distance and slid off the side of the road.
Ana just stared at Xander, waiting for him to say something.
"Hey, let's hang out here a moment, okay?" That's when he spotted a figure moving away from the car towards another destination. "Faith?" Xander whispered.
In the cave, the demons stood around the hole that was being dug out. "Almost done, you puny humans! The artifact is only a few feet further down."
"Si, senor," one human said with a nod, wiping his brow. "This better be worth all the trouble you're making us go through."
"Shut your trap, Alex," the lead demon snapped. "You'll all be rich when this is all over. So keep digging!"
"Uh, stay right there, Ana," Xander said, getting out of the car and heading towards the cave he saw Faith disappear into. He crept up ways behind her.
Faith stood there, watching silently, until one of the diggers exclaimed "Ah! Eureka!" and held something up. It looked like a brass statue with one ugly-ass cat head.
"I'll take that," Faith said, stepping forward into the circle of torch light.
The human digger looked over at the girl. "Hey! Who the hell are you?" He held it away from her as the demons and other humans began to close in on the intruder.
"Faith. Faith the Vampire Slayer. Give me the idol," she commanded in a flat tone.
What the hell is Faith DOING? Xander wondered as he hid behind a small jut in the cave wall.
"Give it to me NOW," Faith ordered.
Xander took a deep breath and rushed over towards her. "Uh, whoa, there..." He smiled at the ones looking back at him. "Hi. My friend and I were just leaving." He took her by the shoulders and tried to pull her in the direction of the door.
"No! I need it!" Faith exclaimed, roughly shoving Xander away and resuming her advance on the statue. "He needs it!"
Xander slammed into the floor of the cave, dazed from Faith's action. "Wha...?" He shook his head clear. "HE?"
Without another word - they'd had their chance - Faith charged at the demons and their human friends, aiming for the statue.
The one holding the artifact tossed it to the nearest demon.
Xander got to his feet. "Faith! What the heck are you doing?" he called to her. What was she trying to get for someone? Obviously, the thing being tossed around out of her reach. "Faith! Whatever it is, for WHOever it is, um... can you let me in the secret?"
The demon, who now held the artifact, stood there looking around, unable to decide where to go. "She's a girl! Just attack her!"
The humans came running at her with their shovels in hand.
Faith, a blank look on her face, quickly disposed of the humans - in a brutal (even by her
old standards) fashion. Once they were down, she turned to the demons, shovel in hand. "Give me the artifact," she said dully. "Or die."
Xander winced at how easily and harshly Faith stopped the human guys. He gulped, wondering if HE should take that chance. But this... this wasn't Faith. Maybe a few years ago, it was something he wouldn't be surprised about. "I think maybe you should give it to her!"
The demon growled, holding it close to him. "No. It is ours, and no one shall take it away." He threw it at the nearest demon to the door, but Xander reached up and grabbed it out of the air.
He looked at it a moment in surprise that he had caught it then looked up at everyone looking back at him. "Oh..." He turned and ran.
Faith watched the statue sail through the air and land in Xander's hands. She turned and ran after him, easily catching up with Xander.
"Give it to me!" she demanded, wrapping one hand around his throat.
Xander knew he was in deep, deep dog poo once Faith caught up to him. He was sort of cheering on the demons. He looked at her, seeing the slightly crazed look in her eyes. However, he held the statue as high as he could, using his height to his advantage. "Faith! Stop! C'mon, what's going on here? It's me! It's Xander! Who needs this besides you? I'll-I'll take it to him. Show me where he is!"
Faith frowned and let go. "All right. Up that way," she said in the same dull monotone, pointing up at where Hector had parked. "Hurry or you die."
Xander let out a breath, rubbing his throat. "Okay, I think you're emphasizing too much on the 'you die' theme, Faith," he said, trying to smile. What was she under? Well, he was about to find out. He followed the way that she was pointing and saw the car up ahead with a guy standing outside of it, waiting in the moonlight. As Xander drew nearer, he could hear him humming something. "Hi there," he said with a grin.
Hector eyed Xander. "You. What are you doing here, senor?"
"Oh, you know...finding weird caves, seeing my friend get all spell-bound." He held up the artifact. "And I'm thinking you need this."
"What - " Hector frowned, eyeing the artifact and Xander suspiciously. "Yes," he said, smiling politely. "Please give it to me."
"Give it to him or die," Faith added.
Xander turned towards Faith. "Still not leaving that theme anytime soon, are you?" He glanced back towards the guy, recognizing him as the one Faith left the club with. I knew he was evil! he thought with a hint of jealousy. "Okay, so, I have something YOU want and you have something I want. How about we make a trade/deal-type thing?"
"You seem to be mistaken, my young friend. I could have her kill you and take what's mine before you even knew what was happening," Hector said slowly. "So why not just give it over and walk away with your life?"
Okay, that doesn't sound like the good scenario. He glanced slightly nervously at Faith then over back towards the guy. "Um, how do you know that? She's just a wimpy, little girl with slow reflexes."
Hector rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid, little man. We both know what she really is."
As Xander spoke, he was inching a little closer to the guy and further away from Faith, clutching the statue at the bottom. "Maybe by the time you THINK she'll get me, I'll have this statue thrown off the cliff." He nodded towards the open space where the land dropped off.
"If you do, you'll die, and so will she," Hector replied. "Don't be a fool. Give. Me. The.
Statue."
"Or die."
Xander looked from the guy back to Faith then over towards the cliff. "This whole 'dying' thing is making me pretty queasy..." He held the artifact. "But I think if it's THAT important to you, you actually WOULD care if I did this!" He cocked his arm back and let it loose over the cliff.
The rest of the demons from the cave finally caught up to them, seeing the statue sail over the cliff.
"Ahhh, no!" one of them cried.
Hector snarled. "Get it!" he yelled.
Faith didn't need any more prompting. She broke into a run and dove off the cliff, disappearing into the waters below.
Xander's eyes widened at Faith's action. "FAITH!" he cried. God, what had he done? He didn't think she would actually go after it!
Hector smiled at Xander. "Well. How do you feel now?" he asked with a laugh.
He looked over at him with anger. "I feel like doing this!" He punched him straight in the face before going towards the edge, trying to find Faith below. "Faith!" But it was too dark, and the water crashed all around the jagged rocks. "Oh, God..."
"Happy now, gringo?" Hector asked, sneering at Xander. "This changes nothing. The statue will survive... unlike your friend."
Xander clenched his fists and his jaw. He looked over at the guy, furious. Standing up, he ran at him and knocked him down, hitting him once, twice in the face.
"Get off me, you idiot!" Hector kicked Xander in the stomach then shoved him away. "You stupid Americans... why don't you just go jump off the cliff like your friend and save me the trouble?"
Xander landed on his back but he got right on him. He looked behind him and saw the other demons from the cave edging in on him. "Oh, no..."
"You stupid human!" the lead on cried. "You threw away what we've been finding for weeks!"
"See? You've made everyone mad at you," Hector said with a smirk.
Xander looked back at Hector and realized how trapped he was. The only way out of this was his car. He saw the opening between the two adversaries and took off. His chest was heavy as he ran, but he refused to give into it. Just get to the car.
Halfway up, Xander almost literally ran into Ana. The Mexican girl, scowling, stepped back.
"What - what is going ON?" she demanded, eyeing him suspiciously. Then she looked past him and saw the demons. "Ah¡Lo sabía¡USTED es el sireno!"
Ana then proceeded to smash Xander in the jaw.
Xander fell over, almost knocked unconscious. "Ow! What was that about?" That really hurt, too. "Run! Uh, big ugly-looking people are coming up here! Get into the car!"
"¡Idiota! Sé cuáles usted es." Ana sneered and then punched Xander again, then stopped before delivering the knock-out blow. "Los demonios... they want to kill you?" she asked him warily.
Xander was seeing stars, not understanding anything she was saying... not even her English for that matter. "I think they want to kill me... I want to kill them," he muttered at the end.
"Que?" Ana frowned down at him, then looked over at the demons and Hector. "Mierda."
Hector and the other demons closed in on them. "Kill the girl, too!"
"Are you telling us what to do?" the lead demon asked.
Hector's eyes glowed red. "She's in the way; we just want to make sure this boy doesn't try and ruin us again." They closed in on them, Xander still dazed from Ana's attack.
Ana shoved Xander aside and waded into the fray with the two demons. They all tumbled to the ground, kicking, clawing, grunting and screaming, but after a few seconds, Ana got to her feet. She wiped blood, red and green alike, off her forehead, and then turned to Hector. "Ahora es su vuelta," she said, pointing at him with a hand covered with thick green blood.
The siren paled just a bit. "Odio Slayers," he muttered, raising his own hands, from which sharp claws now jutted. He charged Ana, jumping over Xander, and the two met in vicious battle.
Once again, Ana prevailed in the end, but only after suffering a few nasty cuts on her face and arms.
When Hector's broken body finally collapsed, Ana turned to Xander. "Y ahora es SU vuelta," she said, heading over to him.
"You're a...?" Xander asked, awed by her display of defeating ALL the demons. "Oh, well, very convenient 'cause demons, they like to try and kill me." He saw her coming towards him, not sure about the look on her face. "Uh, you're going to take me back, right?"
"You're kidding, right?" Ana asked, giving him a contemptuous look. "I don't care who was trying to kill who, you're all demons," she said, clenching her fists.
"We're all...? Huh?" Xander was really confused now. Then he saw the murderous look in her eyes. "Oh, wait - you think I'm... oh, no. I'm not!"
"Be quiet, demon. I'm very tired. But I will - "
"Hey. Bitch. Back. Off."
Xander looked behind Ana and saw a figure standing there, dripping wet. "F-Faith?" He couldn't believe it...
Ana ducked and turned in a lightning-fast motion, then stopped. "You - you're alive!" she
exclaimed, staring at Faith in shock.
"Fuck yeah. And if you don't get away from him, that's more than we'll be able to say about you in a minute."
"He's a demon," Ana snapped, falling into a defensive stance. "And by watching you, I would think you're also one. You were helping the others..." She shot out a fist to connect with Faith's face.
Faith easily caught the blow. "You had too many margaritas if you think I'm a demon," she replied, more annoyed than angry now that she was the target instead of Xander. "That freak put a spell on me," Faith said, dodging another punch and kicking Ana, intending to drive her back.
"That doesn't mean you weren't after the idol!" Ana countered, kicking Faith in the face.
"I'm a Slayer, you moron!"
Ana stopped. "You? You are?"
Faith almost laughed. "YES! For fuck's sake. Faith the Vampire Slayer."
"Oh. OH! I have heard of you. La puta..." Ana frowned. "Sorry. I didn't know."
Puta? I think I want to kick her ass again... "Forget it. Xander, you okay?" Faith asked, kneeling down next to him.
He couldn't believe who he was seeing. Granted, she stunk of the ocean, but she was here. "Faith... yeah, I'm okay... now." He smiled. "Can I pinch you?"
Faith smirked. "I'm not THAT happy to see you," she said, helping him to his feet. "Damn. You look as crappy as I feel." She glanced over at Ana. These dime-a-dozen Brand New Slayers weren't anywhere near to B's level, but they could still do some damage. "I think this is the part where we ride off into the sunset or something."
"It's night time... sun's already gone," Xander commented.
"Whatever." Faith shrugged. "It's a metaphor."
He looked over at Ana, still feeling the aches she had delivered to him. "Ouch. A Slayer, huh? I was wondering if we were going to run into one of you guys." He smiled. "Xander. Xander Harris." He put his hand out. "Which I may have forgotten to tell you when we were dancing back at the club."
Ana shook her head, and his hand. "Ana Maria Sanchez de Branco y Linares," she said, bowing formally.
"Whoa... sorry I asked," he said, already charmed by her name. "Well, I guess I didn't..."
"I have heard of you, too," she added with a smile.
He grinned widely, shaking her hand even more. "You have? You've heard of me?" He looked at Faith. "Did you hear that? She's heard of me."
The older Slayer rolled her eyes. "I heard."
He looked back at Ana. "What have you heard about me, exactly?"
Ana just smiled at him, then made a show of yawning. "I think it's very late..."
He raised his brows. "Huh? Oh c'mon. You're a Slayer! A very good one, in fact... well, except in the honing in on demon skills. You're supposed to stay up late."
Ana and Faith exchanged glances over Xander's shoulder, and the Mexican Slayer nodded and then yawned again.
He pursed his lips together. "No heroic stories of my run about with the original Slayer? And I'm only talking about the Buffster..." He scrunched up his nose. "Man, what is that nasty fish smel..." He looked over at Faith. "Oh."
"I need a shower. And no, you can't watch," Faith muttered with a smile. "Let's go."
"I wasn't going to ask if I can watch," Xander said, glancing over at Ana giving her a 'I don't know what she's talking about' look. He leaned more towards Faith. "Was that an option?" He got a little too near and moved his head back. "Yikes. Even if it was, I don't think I'd have the stomach for it."
He paused.
"I mean 'cause of the SMELL. Not 'cause I think you'd look bad in the shower, because you so don't. Uh, not that I've seen it...all." He raised his brows in worry. "Oh, man, let's go..."