Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Author's note: So it's been a while since I updated this. Most of my other stories haven't had updates in a while. But I'm updating it now. Before I get into this next chapter, I want to address a few things. First, to the guest reviewer who is too cowardly to have a username to address your "concerns" about bashing, I'll say it again: this isn't a story meant bash Buffy. But I am not someone who thinks she's the savior that Whedon and his fans think she is. I do not expect her to be a perfect character but her character flaws are what lead to worse consequences for everyone including friends, and as a character, she did not change much as time went on. Secondly, this story and others is not meant to make Xander a perfect character, because he's not. Any story with him is meant to explore whatever potential he has that doesn't involve the hyena or soldier spirits (those stories had gotten old and played out), which the series only portrayed a small fraction of it. Finally, for all the talk about strong female characters, most of them in this day and age are only portrayed as such because they tear down men. If you really want men and women equal in stories, they can have different qualities, but they can be equal to each other, treat each other equally, and respect each other while giving credit where it's due. Also, the reason I address this stuff is because I've studied creative writing in college. I recognize bad writing when I see it, and because I believe that writing has to be consistent when making fictional works. On that note, enjoy this next chapter.


Dormer Residence

Mid January, 1999

Xander sat in the guest bedroom of the female watcher's house. A few days ago, Diana and Giles had made inquiries about Xander's home life. The young man had let out everything he had kept bottled up and hidden from everyone, excluding Faith. The reactions from the group were met with empathy from Faith and Diana, sympathy from Willow and Buffy, and regret from Giles and Cordelia. Jonathan, while understanding, at the very least gave him words that his parents treatments would face consequences. Needless to say, police and lawyers had spoken with Xander and the watchers, which led to him staying with Diana and Faith.

In a moment of curiosity, he summoned the sword that he had used against the hellmouth guardian and stared at it. He still couldn't believe the adventure he and Faith had that would rival Indiana Jones.


Two weeks ago...

Xander and Faith were in his uncle Rory's car heading towards Los Angeles. He had hoped to take his summer road trip once school was out, but Ambriel's insistence was important. Faith sat next to him in the middle. She enjoyed being in his company, even if they weren't together just yet. Faith saw the sign that said the city was another forty miles away. She took it as a chance to lay her head on her friend's shoulder. Xander looked down and noticed the slight smile, as one of his own formed.

After minutes of further driving, the two arrived within the boundaries of the city. The two pulled into the city and cruised the road when they heard the sound of large fluttering wings. Xander looked in the mirror and saw the smiling face of a handsome man of middle eastern descent with caramel skin, long brown hair to his shoulders, and a mustache connected to his goatee. He was dressed in a burgundy shirt and blue jeans

Xander brought the car to a stop and turned back to the man. "Hi."

"Hello," the newcomer said in an English accent.

"Mind telling us who you are?" Faith asked as she subtly reached into her jacket for her hidden knife.

The stranger smirked before he spoke up, "That knife won't do much good for you Faith, especially against something like me."

"And what exactly are you?" Faith asked.

The stranger simply smiled before he leaned forward and touched the teens foreheads with his fingers. "Divine sight. Allows you to see things for what they really are. Give it a try."

Xander and Faith looked oddly at him as he did get a good look at him. The first thing they noticed was that there was a white light glowing around him, and his eyes glowing a bright blue. The light became too much and Xander looked at Faith. What he saw unnerved him. Faith had what appeared to be a black, smoky aura. He looked deeper and saw that beneath whatever darkness had surrounded her was a white light that kept the aura from creeping in, as well as a multicolored aura that separated the light from the darkness. The honking of the horn in the car behind them brought him back to focus on the street.

"My name is Zadkiel by the way. Ambriel sent me to help you two find what you're looking for," the newcomer said.

Faith turned to look at the now identified angel and asked, "Just what exactly are we looking for? She wasn't too clear on that."

"Head down six blocks and turn right. I'll explain there," Zadkiel said.

Xander followed the angel's instructions and found an alleyway large enough to be a two-lane road. The three continued down until the angel told them to stop in front of one particular door.

"Follow me," the celestial being instructed. The group entered and walked down a flight of stairs.

Inside, the two human teenagers were shocked to find a number of humans and half-breed demons walking around and conversing as if it were an ordinary occasion. Faith went for her hidden knife when a green skinned demon dressed in a yellow suit stopped her.

"Whoa, hold on there sweetie. You don't want to incite violence in this place," he said.

"Why not? Plenty enough demons to start something," she shot back.

The green demon simply gave a knowing smile before he replied, "The non-violence spell I have will throw you and anyone who commits it will get knocked for a loop. And when it comes to magic, it will hit you hard and in ways you can't imagine."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd listen to the demon, Faith," Xander said with a pained look. Faith remembered what he had told her about the love spell and how it backfired on him immensely. No one in the gang had no earthly idea why it went wrong.

"So who exactly are you?" Faith asked.

"You can call me Lorne. I'm an empath. I help people," the half-breed said.

Xander gave a funny look at that thought before Lorne beat him to his response. "I know. Demons helping isn't exactly the highest on the list of priorities, unless it's helping to end the world. But many of us aren't evil. Whatever Old Ones started our kind, the evil doesn't always translate to everyone."

"So we keep hearing. You said you're an empath. What does that mean for you exactly?" Xander asked.

Lorne took a sip of the sea-breeze he had carriedbefore he answered, "See that stage there?"

Lorne pointed behind himself before he continued on, "Customers come in and sing, and I read their auras to put them on the path that they need to go."

"Who exactly comes in here?" Faith jumped in.

"You sure you want that question answered?" Zadkiel said. Lorne finally noticed the third visitor before his skin turned a pale green.

"You alright there Lorne?" Faith said.

Lorne downed the rest of his drink before he looked at the brunette girl. "All kinds of people come in here regularly. I mean all kinds. It's not just humans I've read but demons as well. Despite what you think, many of the half-breeds actually do have souls, if they've got human in them. But most of the time, the demon side wins out. So sometimes, I wind up putting them on the path that means them helping to end the world, but I don't always tell them the truth. The truth is that sometimes when they try to end the world, they don't know that they'll die. And unfortunately, there are some humans who I have to do the same thing to."

"What?! Why humans?" Xander snapped.

"Because humans are themselves capable of becoming monsters," came the voice of someone in the bar.

The four turned to see handsome Caucasian man with dark hair wearing a dark overcoat. The new man looked at Zadkiel and held a deep frown.

"My name is Vlad. Whom might you be?" the man asked.

"Xander. This is my good friend Faith. We're from Sunnydale," the young man answered. He noticed that Vlad flinched at the mention of Sunnydale, which made him wonder about how much people could really know.

"And you're here to search for something, yes?" Vlad returned.

"Yes they are. Perhaps you might know something about it. We're looking for a sword. It's one that was apparently hidden beneath this city," Zadkiel replied with a smirk.

Vlad swallowed before he looked at the two teens took an unneeded breath.

"The sword you're looking for is said to have been made beneath this city. The stories go that this blade was made by a family that's been around long before this city was even planned out on paper. The men in the family were blacksmiths who were capable forging powerful weapons while the women were priestesses of powerful holy magic."

"So why would they hide it beneath the city?" Faith asked.

"My understanding is that the weapon was meant to be used for a major reckoning. But anything texts I've found have been rather obscure. But I found information that shows the layers underneath the city. I wish to assist you."

"Why don't you let him. You may find that he can have his uses," Zadkiel said before he disappeared with a fluttering.

Xander looked at Vlad before he sighed, "Alright. Let's go."


Underground Tunnels

The three moved beneath the tunnels with Vlad leading. Xander looked around at the tunnels and became suspicious.

"How is it that no one on the city's payroll have noticed the tunnels that are down here? People could live down here if they wanted to," Xander said.

"Come on X. Who in their right mind would live beneath the city? Well, besides, the vampires I mean.," Faith replied.

"You'd be surprised. I've found access points and moved around to be able to get somewhere quickly and without notice," the older man said.

"So then you've found the entrance to where we need to go?" Xander asked.

"Yes. But unfortunately I've not been able to advance much further as I would need company. Wait, here it is," He said as he turned to a section of the wall on their right.

The group had to step down and made their way from the modern construction of the city to what was becoming the jagged linings of caves. Further down the path of the cave, Vlad held up a hand to stop them.

"Up ahead is the first trap. There are lines of rope hanging down with bells attached. If those bells ring, then you'll be horribly impaled."

Xander pulled out his flashlight to help better see the ropes. The three moved as carefully as they could and managed to get to the end of the passage. However, they found their path blocked by a wall of the cave.

"Great. Now what? We escape the booby trap only to get caught in a bottleneck," Faith complained.

"This is actually where your help comes in. On this wall, there are switches with the names of the antediluvian patriarchs. I've found that there is an order to them but every time I activate one, the way opens only to close seconds later."

"Before we go on, who are the...anti-driven patriarchs?" Faith asked in confusion. Vlad stopped and looked at the girl in bewilderment.

"Has no one ever taught you about the Word?" Vlad asked.

"The bible? Don't tell me you're one of those Jesus freaks," Faith said only to regret her words when she saw the harsh glare that Vlad gave her. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to offend you, but I've had bad experiences with those people."

Vlad's gaze softened as he prepared to activate the switches. "No offense taken. While I do believe in being firm in my faith, I see no reason to use it to force someone to my faith. Although Jesus freaks and bible thumpers are not terms to be used around most people."

"The people who used their religion to make me feel less than human sure seemed to fit the bill," Faith threw back.

"Those are what we call hypocrites. It's hypocrites who twist the tenets of the faith to make themselves appear superior. Hypocrites of the faith cannot be trusted. But when you let the words of the hypocrites undo the words of those who uphold the faith by their heart, who use the hope of Christ to encourage and uplift others, it becomes a great disservice," Vlad explained, although with a bit of pain as far as Xander could tell.

"If you can show me what it really means, then I'll re-consider," Faith said. Vlad gave a knowing smile and moved over tot he wall with his hands moving around and searching for something.

"Now for what is hopefully the final portion. The antediluvian patriarchs are what you would could the men who started humanity. First, there was Adam, the first man. Next is Seth."

"Wait," Xander interrupted. "What about Cain and Abel? I don't remember much in church growing up, but I remember they had wives so couldn't they have children?"

"You'd normally be right. However, Cain's slaying of Abel has forever left him in infamy, and his descendants were wiped out in the flood. The only family Abel left behind was his wife. That ;eaves their brother Seth. He was followed by others leading up to Enoch, who walked with God. Later, after a few generations, came Noah, who's family with help from God, created the Ark to carry them during the flood. And then finally, there was Abraham."

Vlad pushed the devices in the correct chronological order, which caused the wall of the cave to lift up. Faith immediately ran into the next portion of the cave. However, the wall came down just as Vlad and Xander came under it. The two raised their arms and kept the wall from smashing them. Xander thought it odd that their companion had such strength to be able to hold it up with him.

"You go!" Vlad said.

"Together!" Xander replied.

"On three. Three!" Vlad shouted before he and Xander swiftly rolled under the cave wall as it came down.

The three found themselves in a circular room that had a light shining in the in the center. They noticed that directly underneath the light, there was a stone pedestal.

"Well, it's the end of the maze. So now what? The sword isn't even here," Faith said.

"It just might be," Vlad said.

"How? There's nothing else in here except this light and...the light. Where is it coming from?" Xander surmised.

"I wonder..." Vlad approached the light and stretched out his hand into the light. However, he quickly yanked it back and growled from pain. The two teens looked back at their companion only to notice that he had glowing red eyes and fangs. They took special notice of the lack of more pronounced ridges of the brow and only the canines were elongated.

"I don't believe it! You're a fucking vampire! All that bible talk but you were ready to screw us over!" Faith shouted as she got into a fighting stance.

"You don't understand! Just let me explain!" he tried to reason.

Faith leapt at him with a punch that he easily blocked. She followed with two kicks which were deflected. Vlad followed with a roundhouse which she caught and used to throw him across the room. Xander stood back and watched everything happen until he remembered that the sword had to be somewhere. He looked and the light and decided to take a chance. He put his hand into the light and watched his hand disappear into it. He felt around until his hand grabbed something and he pulled. As he hand came out, he saw what appeared to the hilt of a sword followed by a shimmering silver blade.

Xander looked over and saw that Vlad had overpowered his friend, even with a stake in what appeared to be where his heart was. Xander charged forward and tackled the vampire. Before Vlad could get back up, Xander had the blade of the sword at his throat. Vlad looked at the blade in fright. The light had singed him, so he could only imagine what this sword could do if he came into contact with it.

"You said you wanted to explain, so start talking," Xander demanded.

"My real name is Vlad Tepes. You would know me by my moniker of Dracula, the Dragon," Vlad said.

"Bullshit! You expect us to believe that you're the real deal?" Faith snapped.

"I don't think he's lying Faith. He's still got the stake in has chest. You've got the fangs of a vamp but not the mind of one. What's your deal?" Xander asked.

Vlad looked at them both before he let out an unnecessary breath. "It was over 500 years ago that things had changed for me. I had ruled peacefully over my land, and led my people in peace. But then, the man whom I was raised with wormed his way back into my life, this time to ruin it. It wasn't enough that I was a political hostage for the Turks. I was trained to be the most monstrous warrior that ever lived."

"That doesn't explain the mutant vamp gig you've got going on," Xander jumped in.

"It's very important. The men that Mehmet had in his army were all well trained. Alone and against I was sure I could win. But against an army, my people would fall. I had earlier encountered a...man who had become something my people had never seen. I made a deal with him to use the power he was cursed with to free my people."

"But it went south. A deal with the devil always does," Faith added in sadly.

"Yes. I did my best to decimate Mehmet's army. But he had deceived me and had my wife killed and took my son. He then raided the sanctuary and slaughtered my people. I decided to give them retribution. After all, men fear monsters, never each other. But even that proved to be a fatal error. When Mehmet was destroyed, my people sought to turn their fangs on my son. If not for the priest, my son would have died."

"What happened to the rest? I don't think they would've just gone away," Xander shot out.

"They didn't. They got their retribution. But I couldn't unleash them on the world. One of the powers I gained was covering the skies in darkness. It was how my people and I moved around and destroyed the Turks in one fell swoop. When I lifted the clouds, the sun had shone through and destroyed us all. Or so I believed."

"Someone let you live?" Faith asked.

"Someone had spotted me in the forest and became intrigued with me. He fed me his blood and I was rejuvenated. Since then, I've traveled the world and fighting evil where I could. And I saw many things in my travels."

"Why are you here now?" Xander asked.

"I've been working with a partner fighting any evil I could. Occasionally, I would be called away to fight things that no mere man who be in his right mind to face. I learned that as a holy man, even with this dark curse as a vampire, that I could walk in the daylight and still help those in need. I figured God needed me for a reason."

"A vampire fighting for God. Nothing ironic about that," Xander said with a little mirth in his voice.

Vlad smiled as he replied, "Indeed. At any rate, you have what you came for. We should get back to the surface."

"Just one question," Faith asked before they departed. "Why put yourself through the trouble of helping us? I can't imagine people like the council or whoever else is out there would really like the idea of a vampire helping. We already had that particular issue going on."

"I had long asked myself that same question. But I've learned a few things: first, the council is not God. And considering how they were started and how they operate with the slayer, I doubt God truly approves of them. Second, when I became what I became, I thought I had lost all favor with him then. But it seems that the holy powers he let me hold onto suggest otherwise. It is possible my destiny was meant to go on a bit longer. In the mean time, I will continue to help people."

Xander looked at the man before him. If this were two years ago, he would've easily thought that Vlad was simply another monster. But meeting Angel had changed things to a certain degree. While his former rival for Buffy's affections was forcefully chained to his demonically possessed corpse (and by extension pushed into helping the good guys initially), Vlad was a man who not only still had his soul but kept his sense of morality.

"Glad you all could come to some sort of camaraderie," Zadkiel said as he suddenly appeared.

"You were watching us," Xander said as he held up the newly acquired sword. "You knew what Vlad was but you didn't tell us. Why?"

"Because you needed to understand some things about this war you fight. Those demons, like William the Bloody, are not ones to ever be trusted. Given their soulless nature, they can't be trusted to distinguish moral implications in most situations. But with Liam, or who you call Angelus, it's not the same. Liam should not be forced to suffer for what the demon in his corpse did. But it was allowed, and the situation stands as is."

"You wanted me to understand that there's shades of grey. But you cut through them, and things become clearer," Xander said.

"Indeed. On that note..."Zadkiel had waved a hand and the four disappeared from the cave.


Present...

Xander thought back to the when he and Faith arrived back to Sunnydale. They had informed the rest of the gang about Vlad's and Zadkiel's words, which only caused everyone to question more of the supernatural, especially as the two watchers had believed that Vlad's words were connected to what Ambriel told them about what she thought about the slayer power.

"Xander. That was Jonathan. Looks like he and Buffy found that amulet and took out that Balthazar demon," Faith said as she entered the room.

Xander simply nodded and walked out of the room with his girlfriend.


Author's note: that's the end of this chapter. If anybody recognizes the scene with Xander, Faith, and Vlad trying to find the sword, I decided to borrow a little bit from that particular adventure from season 4 of Angel. As far as anyone could tell, the scenario that Angel came up with during that arc with the beast and Jasmine was something that no one could really say for sure was true. The scenario was that the Beast had worshipers who had wiped out a group of good guys who forged this, in essence, holy sword capable of killing the demon. However, because it was a fantasy of Angel's, I decided to split the difference with Angelus' recounting of the Svear clan and have them do something similar. It was one of those small plot devices where the backstory was so small and void of any other information that you can work it in to fit the scenario that you as the author could go for. Also, once again in regards to that line about the slayer power being considered horrid by an angel of God, look again at season 7 when Buffy finds out the origin of the slayer line. If anyone wants to know a little more about my thoughts or what my intentions are for this story, simply message me and I will reply to you as quickly as possible. Until the next chapter.