Title: Cat Shadows (3/?)
Author: Prospero Hibiki
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN, Fox and WB Network. In no way are these aforementioned characters being used for my own personal profit, and this is not meant as an infringement of the copyright owned by any of the above entitys.
Rating: R (to be on the safe side)
Timeline: Immediately following the Season 2 episode "Halloween"
Spoilers: So far anything through "Halloween" is fair game...maybe more later.
Classification: Alternate Universe, anything else will become obvious as time passes.
Summary: Xander's possession during his sophomore year of high school did more to screw up his life than even he had thought at the time. Could what he'd considered his greatest failing be turned into an ability he could use, or would it ruin his second chance at happiness?
Author's Comments: After kicking this story around in my head for several months I've decided that I'd like to post the prologue to see if anyone thinks it has promise. That's actually pretty much it. I'll probably continue to write it even if people hate it, but comments from people who don't are always appreciated. Besides I kind of feel like actually posting things for a while instead of purely lurking.
Oops: After reading through what I'd posted previously I noticed two things that some how made it into my post. 1) The song and artist of the quote at the beginning of Chapter 1 (the second post of course) was "Romanticide" by Tal Bachman. 2) Upon Buffy's stormy entrance into the library I mistakenly call her "Buddy." For both of these I blame the flashing blue light on my electric razor which OBVIOUSLY distracted me from my writing.
xXx
Chapter 02: Make It Last
With a cough or two I finally manage to get the dust out of my lungs from when the vampire went poof. It's one of those things that I have yet to fix about hunting vamps as a panther. Well, that and the clothing thing. Still I really think the dust thing is a lot more pressing. Hell, does anyone really know what vampire dust is made of? Does it cause cancer? Are there any other things that could go wrong from inhaling it night after night? Is that the reason that no Slayer has lived to thirty?
Snorting I give my body a firm shake to dislodge any loose dust that clinging to me. I'm really glad that I had a nice steak right before heading out because I doubt that I'd be able to taste it now. I try to ignore the fact that the steak was raw and three times the size of any I'd ever eaten prior to becoming transmutably furry. At least it was beef. I really don't think I could have handled raw pork. Norbert flashbacks and all that. Still, making nice with the butcher was probably the best thing I've ever done. Not only does Sunnydale still have a butcher, but he's now a firm believer in animal rights. The right of at least one large cat to get a nice meal every few days. I'll have to remember to watch out for him. I mean, any guy that leaves a large dish of cream on his back porch every night can't be all bad!
I hear something the faint whisper of cloth on cloth, and all of a sudden my attention is focused on everything around me. It could be any number of things from a late night jogger or something that has a far less innocent purpose in the night. There is even the possibility that it could be Buffy out on a patrol of her own. The last isn't as likely as it might be though because for some reason I can almost always tell when Buffy's around. We've been sort of playing an elaborate game of cat-and-mouse ever since we ran into each other over a week ago. Occasionally she looks for me and tries to follow me, and at other times it's the reverse. So far I've been coming out on top. Of course I don't let her off easily. Several times she's entered the library hopping mad at a muddy or greasy paw print that I've left somewhere on her outfit the night before. Willow's even made up a score sheet with "Panther" on one side and "Buffy" on the other. So far I'm winning. But that's really not the point because I think Buffy's having fun. I mean sure she still doesn't like being the Slayer, but I think she likes playing our game of tag every so often.
The sound happens again, and I whirl around but fail to spot anything that could have made it. Something though is wrong. I can practically feel that I'm being watched. There's a faint crunch like grass being trampled behind me and I spin only to realize I'm too late. My last sight before the darkness claims me is that of a boot coming towards my head at speeds that can only be achieved by the supernaturally boosted.
xXx
Waking up is kind of painful, and it isn't made any easier by the dizziness that envelops my head. I want to grab my head with my hands, but the fact that I'm still a cat stops me. I doubt I could even focus clearly enough to change back anyway. Slowly I roll onto my paws and try to shake the fogginess away. It doesn't do any good, and I think my brain is actually rattling around in my skull.
Opening my eyes I recoil slightly when I find a face immediately before my own. It takes me a few seconds to realize that I'm separated from whoever it is by a set of bars spaced just far enough apart to slip a hand through.
"Oh, he's awake! Come look, he's awake!" The face backs away and I realize that it belongs to a dark haired woman in a long flowing white dress. I'm kind of confused until I see a figure come up behind her and place a hand on her shoulder. Spike. That would mean that this other person is Drusilla. I am so screwed.
"So he is love, so he is." Spike leans towards the cage to get a better look at me now that I'm awake. "He is a big one isn't he?" He reaches a hand out and I react before I even think about it and lash out with a paw, but Spike is too fast for me and pulls his hand back before I hit it. "Feisty isn't he?"
"Can I keep him, Spike?"
"I don't know Dru. Something's strange about this cat. I was watching him tonight and he killed one of the vampires I'd sent out to distract the Slayer. I'm wondering if he isn't the one behind some of our disappearances lately."
I turn away from the bleached vampire and take stock of my surroundings. Right now I'm in a fairly large cage. Well, maybe not a large cage but certainly larger than I'd have thought necessary by vampires. It's about eight feet square and about that high. Looking beyond that I see that we're inside a warehouse of some sort. Which is fairly typical for the monsters of Sunnyhell. What's truly depressing is the fact that there seems to be a fairly large crowd of vampires standing around for some reason.
Something Drusilla says grabs my attention. "...but Miss Edith says he isn't a normal cat."
"All the more reason to kill him now, love. Keeping him around could be dangerous." Spike is looking sort of frustrated by having to explain things to his girlfriend. I chuckle but lacking my normal vocal cords it comes out as a series of short huffs.
"Miss Edith says you can't kill him." Drusilla is kind of freaking me out actually. From what I can remember from both Giles' lectures and from Angel's is that she is something of seer. Gets feelings or something like that. It's one of the reasons Spike keeps her around the other of course being the fact that he's supposedly in love with her. Personally I have my doubts as to the ability of someone without a soul to love. I doubt Angel's love for Buffy not Angel's ability to love but then that's something completely different. Still, I'm kind of rooting for Drusilla at the moment because anything that keeps my fur attached is closer to good than something that doesn't.
"Dru, baby, did Miss Edith say why we can't kill him?" He looks kind of concerned about it. I wonder just how accurate her feelings are. Angel said that her feelings saved their lives more than once, but I thought that it was more like a gut reaction. Spike seems to be looking for specifics. That's pretty damned frightening really. An enemy that can know that much detail about the future.
She bounces over to Spike and grins at him. "Yes, she did. But. I. Can't. Tell. You."
"Why not? Why can't you tell Spike?" Oh god, I think I'm going to throw up. Vampire pillow talk.
She points at me and stage whispers in his ear. "Because kitty is listening to us." Spike's reaction is to whip his head around and stare at me. His eyes narrow slightly and he takes her arm and leads her out of the room.
Well shit, this isn't good at all. It was bad enough when I thought she could see the future, but if she knows who, or even what, I really am then I am so screwed. I'd give almost anything to be a fly on the wall so I could hear the conversation going on in the next room. Still, it does look like I'll live through the night since Drusilla said that they can't kill me, and boy do I want to know the why of that!
My musings are cut off by Spike's return to the room. Alone. He looks kind of pissed too. And wary. He knows something now, and it's causing him to treat me differently. He's looking at me much more closely than he did before as if hoping for some indication that...what? That I'm Xander Harris? Does he know? He walks around the cage a few times before finding a chair to sit in. Time passes and my muscles start to quiver from the strain of being held in place for so long. I tense when he sighs and raises a hand. "Somebody go out and steal some kitty litter or something. If we're going to keep him then he's not going to be stinking the ruddy place up." When no one moves he morphs into his demonic self. "Go!" It's almost comical how several of his vampire minions practically trip over themselves in their haste. Almost. With another sigh he looks back at me and shakes his head. "It's so hard to find good help these days."
xXx
Okay, I thought staying alive was important, but I'm really starting to change my mind on that. Because I made that decision on the Tuesday night that I got captured and being as it's currently Saturday... No, it's safe to say that Xander Harris is one unhappy panther. Looking over at the three dead large rats that one of the vampires brought me an hour earlier, I shudder remembering other rats that had preceded them. Rats that I'd eaten after getting hungry enough. I probably have rat breath now. I so want a toothbrush. And bleach. Yeah, bleach would be good.
Looking around I make my usual count of the number of vampires that are within my sight. Seven, no wait, nine. Way too many for me to take out even if I managed to somehow get out of this stupid cage. Shaking my head at the negative thought I go back to pacing. I have way too much nervous energy to sit still. Stretching my mouth out in a very catty yawn I make a few practice pounces at the bright red ball that Drusilla gave me the other day. I studiously ignore any hint of gratitude to the crazy vampire. I don't even want to think good thoughts about her because it might impair my ability to dust her if I get the chance. Because I will dust her. She's dangerous. Really, really, really dangerous. And not just to me. To Buffy and the others as well. Mostly because I just don't know what she's going to do. I mean, she's all sweetness one second and the next she's killed one of her own allies, all the while the same absentminded expression is on her face. It really scares me.
There's a quiet skittering sound just on the edge of my hearing and I turn my head to find it. I almost fall over from the shock. It's Buffy! What the hell is she doing here?! Doesn't she know this is the current VampCave? And if she does, why in Mickey's name is she coming in here alone?
Not wanting to give her away I go back to pacing, but I make sure that I keep at least a part of my peripheral vision on her. So when she is about to stumble over one of the vampires that isn't immediately visible I have to act. Without pausing to think about it I kick the ball as hard as I can and bounce it off several of the walls of the cage. When it hits the bars it sets up a loud ringing sound that draws the attention of all the vampires in the room, including the one just around the corner of the box Buffy is approaching stake in hand. She must see him because she freezes and seems to be looking through the box. Incredulously she turns and looks at my cage. I spin in place to attack the ball once again, but not before I look directly at her and nod once. Hoping that the message went out I continue to make as much of a spectacle of myself as I can. Still, the only thought that is rushing through my head is a loud prayer to anyone who will listen to let Buffy make it out of here alive.
I'm contemplating taking up Buddhism when it seems that my prayers are answered because Buffy slowly backs away and out of sight. My sigh of relief is cut rather short though when she comes back only this time holding her stake in her left hand while her right is hefting a sledgehammer. By this time though, a few of the vampires are losing interest in my impromptu soccer game and are returning to their previous positions. Buffy, of course, chooses that time to act.
Quick as thought she darts around the corner and stakes the vampire standing there before rushing towards my cage. Along the way she swings the hammer at a second vampire and practically smashes it's head into pulp. A second swing is aimed at another vamp but this one blocks with a forearm which snaps loudly and echoes off of the walls. Unfortunately the hammer shaft breaks as well but Buffy manages to maintain her hold on it using it to stake him. Not pausing for an instant she rolls, dropping the crude stake and grabbing the now much shorter sledge hammer. Her roll continues and is completed with a throw directly at me.
The sudden change freaks me out slightly and I jump backwards. The hammer connects with my cage and sparks fly. I sit there frozen before I notice what has just happened. Grinning ferally I slam into the door of my cage and it pops open now that the lock has been shattered completely by the thrown hammer. No one else seems to notice so I take this opportunity to hamstring two of the vampires who have their backs to me before I tackle one that was sneaking up on Buffy.
It takes a few seconds to rip through his spinal column, but once it's done I move on and pounce on another one. This one is a lot tougher since I didn't catch him by surprise. He manages to hold me off of his through for a few moments before my claws have sufficiently damaged his arms. Thirty seconds later I'm through with him and looking for another victim. But there aren't any. Well none that are a threat. Buffy doesn't even pause in staking the two that I left crippled. It's fairly odd that she's been silent this entire time.
Making sure that I'm fully in her sight I approach and rub myself on her legs. For a moment I forget that I'm trying to nonverbally thank her as the action sends pleasure sensations throughout my body. I guess that I made the right decision when she drops to her knees and wraps her arms around my neck. It feels great until I realize that she's crying. Shaking myself loose from her embrace I nudge her until she's standing upright, and grabbing her pant leg in my mouth I drag her away from this hell hole.
It's slow going because she doesn't seem to want to move at all but I eventually get us far enough away that I'm not worried about running into Spike or Drusilla. Either of them could tear Buffy apart in her current state. Once I've stopped providing forward motion she sinks to the ground and leans against a nearby wall. Not understanding what's wrong I nuzzle her until she once again grabs me in a tight embrace. Damn, I really hate not having human vocal cords.
Time passes and Buffy is just sitting there holding onto me like I'm the last thing in the world, and I can fee the heat from her tears through my fur. After what seems like a few hours, but was probably only a quarter of that, she rouses enough to stand on her own. I butt my head into her legs and she giggles slightly, but I don't feel much better since her eyes are red from all of the crying.
"I'd sort of wondered where you'd gotten to this past week. Oh well, you're coming home with me tonight. You need a bath at the very least, and I guess that's the least I can do after you helped me out back there." Maybe she sees something in my face because she grabs onto the scruff of my neck just as I'm about to leap away. "Oh no you don't! I've finally managed to catch you and you can be sure that I'm not going to let you out of my sight."
I think this qualifies as a Homer Simpson moment. Doh!
True to her word, Buffy hasn't let me out of her sight since she dragged me off to her house. Fortunately she didn't force me to go through the indignity of a bath, instead she threw me into the tub and turned on the shower. Of course, afterwards she stripped off her own clothes and took one as well. Only the fact that Buffy would kill me if she ever found out kept me from watching her. That was probably the moment to make my escape, but I just couldn't move. My dream girl was less than four feet away from me and taking a shower. And here I am lying on the tile floor with my head under a towel. Mustn't think about Buffy. Mustn't think about her naked. Think about Buffy killing me. Think about Buffy maiming me. I've been bad, Buffy, punish me. Ahhhhhh, not helping!
Thankfully her shower is blissfully short and she quickly clothes herself in pajamas before she drags me to her room. Her eyes are red again and I think she was crying in the shower once more. So I'm not exactly as excited as I was earlier when she places me on the bed. I'm feeling particularly sad though when, once she's beneath the covers, she pulls me close to her and starts to cry once more into my neck. She keeps crying until just before she falls asleep she murmurs two quiet words that I can barely pick up even as close to her as I am.
"He's gone."
It's a long night for me as I review those words over and over in my mind trying to figure them out. But no matter what I come up with I just can't. And even though her grip loosens in the middle of the night I just can't stand the thought of leaving her when she's obviously so heartbroken.
All in all, it's a really long night for a certain cat-shaped man.
xXx
Sunday morning dawns and passes and still Buffy hasn't moved. I've even managed to squirm out of her arms and into the restroom when it became necessary, though how I managed to avoid Joyce is beyond me. It's only as the clock on her dresser reaches three does the door to her room open. Scrambling quickly I duck under her bed just in time to avoid being spotted by her mother.
The bed dips slightly when Joyce sits down on it and shakes a little bit shortly after. "Buffy, it's time to wake up."
"Mom?"
"Buffy, I've given you most of the week to come talk to me about what's bothering you, but you haven't. Now I'm asking. Can you tell me what's wrong?"
Again the bed moves, and once more I can hear the sound of Buffy crying. "Mom. He's gone!"
"Who, dear?"
This time I don't manage to catch what she says at first. "...and I feel so alone now. He's always been there for me and now he's not."
"It'll be alright, Buffy. I'm sure he's alright."
"No! He's gone. And I'll never get to tell him how much he meant to me. How much his being there helped me. And I never got to apologize to him for being a total bitch when I came back from summer vacation!"
Oh, shit! I never even thought about that. I've been missing since Tuesday. Of course everyone's worried about me. And there isn't anything I can do about it right now either. Unless of course I transform into my human self...my naked human self...my naked human self that is currently hiding under Buffy's bed and has made her worry about whether I'm dead in a ditch somewhere. Oh yeah, that'll work. She'll go from wondering if I'm dead to knowing I'm dead because she'll kill me.
I'm so busy freaking out that I completely miss the rest of the conversation taking place above me. I realize this when the bed lifts up slightly over me. Looking out from under the frame I watch as Joyce leaves the room and shuts the door behind herself. I yelp slightly when Buffy's face appears upside down in front of me. My heart feels like it's about to beat its way out of my ribcage.
"There you are. Good thinking. I doubt my mom was ready for a panther in the bedroom. Then again I doubt I'm ready for a panther in my bedroom." Kinky. And I so did not just think that! "Still, as great as it's been having you here I think it's time for you to scoot. A girl's got to do her homework, and I somehow doubt that you'll be able to help me with that." The sad thing is that she's probably right. Rolling over onto her feet she walks over to her window and pops it open. "Out you go. Don't hide all the time; I kind of like having you around."
Crawling out from under the bed I hop up onto the windowsill. Turning to face her I place my front paws on her shoulders and give each of her cheeks a quick lick. Before she stops giggling I'm out the window and am leaping down from the roof. I'm finally free, but as I look up at Buffy as she closes her window I'm sort of sad. I've managed to make Buffy cry. What she really needs right now is me coming back all safe and sound...and in a way that gives me a legitimate reason for not being here for the past week. What I need is a plan.