Disclaimer: I own nothing remotely resembling Buffy and this is done only for enjoyment, no monetary reward.

My muse hasn't left me! I'm very happy for that, but the weather has been nasty, but I suppose that's what I get for living in Oregon (I love it here anyway). So, here's the next part. It's a little short but I wanted to give a little something before working on my own personal work (which I own all of).

Xander had 'escaped' from his sires and was now back to being part of Buffy's crew at night. Of course he made himself scarce during the day, there was no way he was going to step out into the light. He didn't want to become a pile of ash. If Angel hadn't destroyed the Ring of Amara he would probably be using that to infiltrate their crew. They didn't suspect a thing and that's the way he hoped it would stay until he picked them off one by one. He still felt for them but he knew he needed to move on, he wasn't like them anymore.

"Xander!" Willow poked him, trying to get his attention.

He jerked his head up, "Huh?" He had been deep in his own thoughts.

She laughed, "Did you find anything yet?"

"Nope, not a thing." He looked down at the book he was supposed to be reading, trying to find out about the latest demon threat. He rubbed his neck, right over where his claiming scar was, "Oh, here's something." He pointed to a picture, "That kind of looks like it, right?"

She took the book from him, "Yeah, says it's a soul demon." She scowled, "Says they remove and destroy souls, especially in creatures that aren't supposed to have them." He watched as she bit her lip, "Could this be the same kind of demon that took Angel's soul?"

"Maybe. Does it say how to kill it?" He was getting hungry and still needed to hunt before the night was done.

"Something about pure demonic energy…" She trailed off, "Oh, or decapitation, that's easy enough. I'll go tell Buffy."

He flopped his head back down on the table, "You do that."

She stopped in mid-step, "Xander, what's wrong? You haven't been yourself since you escaped." She sat down beside him, "You can talk to me."

"You wouldn't understand." He said softly, "What I've gone through, what I'm going through. Look what they did to me." He sat up, showing her his lean body, the muscle he had gained, "They showed me a lot, taught me a lot, and made me eat healthy. They actually took care of me." He omitted the fact that he had been fucked daily and how much he missed what they did to him, "It kind of scares me and part of me wants to go back."

She took his hand, "It's alright to feel that way, it's normal for people to associate with their captors after they're free."

"Stockholm, right?" He laughed softly and she nodded.

"Exactly." She smiled, "Just need to work through it and everything will be alright, we're here for you."

He smiled slightly, "I know, everything will turn out just fine in the end." She hugged him before going off to tell Buffy what they found out about the demon, "If you only knew how it will turn out." He whispered, smirking. Slowly he got to his feet, "I'm going to head out." He said, knowing no one was around to hear him.

With easy steps he made his way outside, going to hunt. Knowing where the slayer was made it much easier for him to find a meal and with the idiocy of the people of Sunnydale it didn't take him long to find a quick bite to eat. He had been residing with his sires, Spike still wanted to watch him torture his parents but due to the spying he had yet to do so. He was frustrated that he couldn't do what he wanted, that he was stuck playing the lap dog to the slayer. Now he knew how Angelus felt the first time his soul was removed. It was infuriating to be 'friends' with a mortal enemy. Knowing that if it was in your power you would have ripped her throat out at the first possible moment. He shook his head; he needed to check in before going to the hotel room they had procured for him when he began spying.

"Pet." Spike was happy to see him and Xander felt the same way.

"Sire." He pressed close against him; a low purr escaped his lips.

He smirked, "You safe? Treating you right?" He questioned, petting his hair. When he received an affirmative nod he continued, "Good, would hate to have to take your fun away but you can guarantee I will do it if so much as a hair is harmed on your pretty head."

"I know sire. There's a soul stealing demon in town. That's what we're researching right now."

He nodded, "Any sign that they've caught on to our little ruse?"

"None. Willow thinks I have Stockholm Syndrome and Buffy has no clue. Part of me worries about Giles figuring it out but right now he doesn't know."

"Good, sorry William, he can't hang around longer, he needs to be heading out before they notice anything." Angelus spoke up from behind Spike, "You're doing well childe, tomorrow I want you to get yourself alone with the watcher and kill him. Make sure they have no idea you did it."

"No problem." He nipped Spike's ear, "Can I come home for a bit after that?"

Angelus chuckled, "We'll see. I can see how much you miss us so we'll see what happens. Perhaps we can arrange a kidnapping when you kill him."

Xander nodded, "I'll be going now." He gave one last look back at them before returning to his hotel room.

Absently he looked around, his eyes settling on the bag that held his clothes. He had to find a way to get Giles on his own, maybe saying he wanted to talk to him about what happened. That he didn't want to talk about it with the girls. He rubbed his eyes, laying out on the bed. A knock on the door startled him out of his thoughts. With a soft curse he went to the door, looking out the peep hole.

"Willow." He opened the door, "Hey Will." He smiled slightly.

"Can I come in?" She asked, looking a little worried.

He nodded and stepped aside, "Yeah, what's up?"

"I'm worried about you, thought you might like to talk about what happened. You were gone for a year and then Faith died. It must have been hard."

"I'm fine, really. They just really surprised me."

She sat down in one of the two chairs, "How so?"

He took the other seat, "Well, after Spike took me from Giles' he and Angelus began to take care of me. They made me exercise and fed me right, wouldn't let me have any sweets. I don't know what they were planning to do with me but no one has ever really done that for me before." She nodded, not saying a word, just listening, "I miss it. They killed people but they didn't really hurt me ever. I felt…safe."

"I'm sorry it happened. I wish we could go back and fix it."

He shook his head, "No, I'm fine, really Will." He paused, "I don't want to go back. Things happen for a reason, you know?"

"I guess you're right."

"Need me to walk you home?" He was just trying to be nice; he really didn't want to walk her home.

"No." She smiled, getting to her feet, "I'll be alright, get some sleep, you look like the walking dead." She teased, heading out the door.

He laughed once she was gone, going into the bathroom and turning on the shower, "Walking dead." He laughed again, stripping off his clothes and getting in.

He remained under the spray long after it had gone cold, enjoying it with a shiver of delight. Although he loved the heat on his skin he enjoyed the feel of water as it slid over his skin more than the temperature. Finally he got out, drying off with a fluffy white towel and wondering how it was that is 'friends' didn't wonder how he was paying for his hotel room. He shrugged, wrapping the towel around his waist and heading to his bag. Humming softly to himself he pulled out a pair of flannel pajama pants before slipping them on and crawling into bed, cuddling around a pillow so he could fall asleep.

I'm not spoiling the next chapter although I believe you already might have an idea of what's going to happen. So, please take the time to tell me what you think. And I'm not updating Angelus until someone reviews the most recent part. I don't give quotas on how many reviews I have to have before I update but I like to know what you think, it keeps me motivated.