See Part One for disclaimer and details. Not much else to say, except thanks to everyone who's reviewed and sent feedback. You know who you are, and you make it worthwhile to keep going with this fanfic.

Part Six: Of Superstars and Sex-A-Thons

Truman Drive, Sunnydale, California

March 7th, 2000

6:32 pm

Buffy and Xander were walking along the street side by side, silently thinking about recent events.

The blonde girl had recently fought a couple of vampires, with her Slayerettes backing her up, and she had not done very well. Miss Summers wasn't sure if it was because she was distracted by everything that had happened lately, but in Xander's mind there was no doubt that the encounter with Faith had greatly shaken Buffy up.

The Chosen One simply didn't get it. She asked herself yet again, just HOW had Xander managed to get through to that evil body-stealing 'ho? Okay, Buffy knew that he had successfully appealed to Faith's self-interest, but why hadn't the crazy murderess simply told him to go to hell? Buffy knew that Faith was utterly contemptuous of the guys she'd had sex with, which was evidenced by how she had tried to strangle Xander last year. Every instinct inside Buffy's mind said that it should have been impossible for her male-shaped friend to succeed where she herself had failed.

Because Xander, despite everything he'd gone through over the last four years, was just an ordinary guy and Faith was a fellow Slayer. Someone that only she, Buffy, could truly understand with their shared history and mystical lineage. If there was anyone the blonde would have thought couldn't bring the fallen Chosen One back to the good side of the Force, even that tiniest little bit before Faith had disappeared out of town, that person would have been...

...the normal guy of the group.

( Is my judgement truly that lousy? ) Buffy asked herself unhappily. ( God, if it is...what else could have I screwed up without even realizing it? ) The Slayer quickly squelched this line of thought, though. That big aching hole in her heart from when Angel had left her after Graduation had yet to be filled, despite her relationship with Riley.

Xander himself was thinking about other things. The situation with Cordelia had been rather rough lately. They had been fighting a lot and she had been tossing and turning at nights. The brunette girl had been having terrible nightmares: Cordy had dreamed about Spike killing her in 1900 China, and again in 1977 New York. She had also dreamt that the Master had killed her in his underground church three years ago.

She had dreamed that Drusilla had killed her by slicing her throat open in the library two years ago.

She had dreamed that her boyfriend had killed her in Giles's apartment, Xander's concerned face merely inches from her own.

Harris could remember his girlfriend coming over to him while he'd been doing CPR on Faith and saying that she suddenly felt weird. "It feels like something just went right through me," were Miss Chase's precise words. It hadn't taken long to figure out that the Slayer spirit had indeed gone through her as it left Faith, and she'd snagged the vamp sensing thing as well as the dreams.

And since Xander was the one who'd come up with the idea of calling a new Slayer, he believed what had happened to Cordelia was basically all his fault.

( If we don't find a way to fix this, and soon, we're eventually gonna have one fight too many and Cordy's gonna leave me. I'm sure of it, ) Harris thought unhappily as he and Buffy arrived at their destination. ( Still, I guess that's all up to Giles and those Council assholes he's been in contact with. Myself, I've got other fish to fry right at the moment. )

Xander and the Slayer entered the house and arrived at a large study. "Uh, hi. We have a problem," Buffy said hesitantly.

The chair behind the desk spun around to reveal the short, stocky Jonathan Levinson, dressed very sharply in a black turtleneck. The young man was smiling and exuding pure confidence. "Sounds like you could use my help."

The Initiative base, UC Sunnydale, Sunnydale

March 8th, 2000

5:35 pm

Even though no one knew it yet, Jonathan had done something he really shouldn't have. The amateur warlock had cast an augmentation spell, something to make him the central focus of the world. The best and the bravest, a paragon of all that was good and virtuous.

Luckily, when the spell was being cast he hadn't let the power go to his head. For the most part it was a nice fantasy, except for one thing Jonathan hadn't counted on.

For the balance to be maintained an evil monster, as bad as Jonathan was good, had been born. It would soon start terrorizing people, including the newest Scooby, Tara Maclay. But right now, Jonathan was attending a very important meeting, waiting for his cue to step in.

The new commanding officer of the Initiative said, "For those of you who don't already know, my name is Colonel George Havilland. I'm in command here until such time as the facility review is completed. This review, however, does not mean our primary mission is changed in any way. Recovery of the hostile known as Adam is our first and most important job. To this end, I've asked our tactical consultant to address us today. Mr. Levinson?"

"Thank you, Colonel." Jonathan stepped up to the table. "Xander, the schematics please." Harris spread out the blueprints as Levinson went on, "Gentlemen, before we locate Adam we need to understand him better. And there's something that's bothered me almost right from the start about how the prototype doesn't eat. We've known him to kill, but never to eat the kill. So I pulled Professor Walsh's original design schematics, and I've learned something very disturbing. Adam's power source isn't in fact biological in nature. It's right here," he pointed to the center of the chest in the skeletal schematic. "The design attempts to hide it, but my analysis indicates there's a small reservoir of Uranium-235 present that's powering the enemy."

The Initiative personnel looked shocked. "So that's why he didn't roll over and play dead when I shot him in the eye," Xander commented.

"Exactly. It also means that simply cutting off his head is useless. Killing Adam means annihilating him completely. To borrow a phrase, the only solution is the final solution," Jonathan said grimly.

"About the power source, sir. How long will it last?" Riley spoke up.

"Effectively just this side of forever. Dr. Walsh saw to that, unfortunately," Levinson replied. "So all things considered, gentlemen, we have a big problem on our hands. But the question of just how we annihilate Adam can wait for the moment. Our priority has to be to find him first."

Sunnydale Public Library, Sunnydale, California

A short while later

The focus of the Initiative's attention was sitting before a row of computer screens, absorbing countless amounts of data from the different feeds. There were a number of corpses nearby, victims of the unexpected raid today. Adam just ignored them and said to a vampire minion of his, "This Jonathan person. Tell me, who is he?"

Harmony looked shocked. "Uh, you're joking right? Jonathan is Jonathan. Look."

All five screens now had scenes of Jonathan doing something: either advertising tennis shoes, starring in the movie "Being Jonathan Levinson", signing his book "Oh Jonathan", or whatever. It was just as the magic spell had been designed to do, to make him everyone's ideal representation of a true hero.

"These are all lies," Adam said as he turned off the monitors. "None of this is real. The entire world has been changed, which of course is intriguing. But nonetheless wrong."

Harmony looked all around herself and back to her new boss. "Uh, everything feels okay to me."

Adam replied, "That's because you're under his spell, just like everyone else. I seem to be the only one who isn't."

"Really? So what makes you so special?"

Adam turned around, and the vampiress saw a set of mismatched demon eyes; the replacement for the lost human eye now a bright fluorescent green orb like that of a Mok'tagar demon. "I'm self-aware to an extent that no other being is. If I wish, I can perceive every single molecule both around and within me. No one – human or demon – has ever been as awake and alive as I am. Your shadowy awareness pales before mine."

The bloodsucker wasn't sure what to say to that. "Oh. Okay. Well, what do you want to do now?" She thought about it and then said enthusiastically, "Hey, you could kill Jonathan!" Then Harmony shrugged. "Well, you could try anyway. He's like a real-life action hero, y'know? It's no wonder why I had SUCH a crush on him back in high school!"

The cyber-demonoid shook his head, dismissing the hired help's opinion. "I don't need to do anything. These magicks are inherently unstable and corrosive. They will inevitably lead to chaos. And I am interested in chaos."

April Fools Dress Shoppe, Sunnydale, California

March 9th, 2000

10:40 am

Adam had been quite correct in his hypothesis about trouble and chaos arriving soon, as Buffy got suspicious and the Scooby gang soon figured out how the superstar had done his spell to make everyone think he was totally cool. Eventually, the spell had ended when the evil monster had been slain in a fight.

A glum Jonathan had later explained to Buffy how a kid who had attended the same psychiatric counselling session had told him how to do what he'd done. The whole monster part of the magicks had been glossed over, though. Luckily for Jonathan Buffy remembered what he'd done after the mojo had been terminated, almost getting killed trying to help her put an end to it all. After she'd talked to her friends, everyone was willing to forgive the young man for his...overactive imagination.

Well, almost everyone.

"WHERE IS HE? I'M GONNA KILL HIM!!" Anya screamed, as she chased Jonathan into Cordelia's work place.

"Help me..." the nerd panted as he hid behind Xander.

"Hey! Not in my store!" Cordelia said firmly, looking around to make sure the storeowner wasn't present. "All of you, outside!" She grabbed Anya and hauled her out the front door, as Xander did the same with Jonathan. "Alright, now what's your damage?" Miss Chase demanded of the other female.

"You have to ask? I GAVE myself to that odious little toad!" Anya ranted furiously, who was still peeking out nervously from behind Xander's back.

Harris sighed. Ever since the spell had been undone, he'd felt different. Less than what he'd been, no longer the ass-kicker who'd served alongside the superstar. But Xander knew he owed Jonathan for his advice that had helped smooth things over with Cordelia: to finally tell his girlfriend he loved her with all his heart, and that he would do everything he could to help her. So the young man said, "Anya, I'd like to ask you a question. Besides the spell itself, did Jonathan actually do anything to you that you didn't want him to?"

"That's not the point!" Anya said hotly. "The point is, it wasn't real. We gave each other orgasms under false pretences. He committed sexual perjury!"

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "And that's what's really annoying you? Not the fact you were dumb enough to fall for Jonathan's little fantasy role-play like all the rest of us?"

Anya glared at the brunette for a moment before she turned to look at Levinson. "Before I kill you, I want to know just how much of all that was faked and how much wasn't. I mean, you do have a published swimsuit calendar, right?" she demanded.

"Uh, no, I don't," Jonathan admitted in his nasal reedy voice, finally coming out from behind Xander to face up to the consequences of his actions.

"Did you star in 'The Matrix'?" Anya then asked with a frown.

"Nope."

"Did you invent the Internet?"

"No, can't say that I did."

"Oh, come on! You must at least have written that book of yours which I liked so much, didn't you?" Anya demanded in exasperation.

"Uh-uh, I'm afraid not," Jonathan said apologetically. "Look, Anya, I'm sorry if you think I've betrayed you in some way. I just want to say that I, I never meant to hurt you or anything, and, uh, before you kill me – you're the most incredible girl I've ever met. I mean, i-if there's anyone in the world that I could have chosen to lose my virginity to, it's you."

Xander and Cordelia both rolled their eyes but Anya's righteous fury suddenly began to ebb away. She just couldn't help it. "Really?"

"Yeah. So, um, go ahead. Unless you want to beat me to death in that alley over there in private?" Jonathan pointed down the street.

"Well, that would hardly take any time at all, so where's the fun in that?" Anya asked heatedly, suddenly switching gears. "Jonathan, I've changed my mind. Instead of getting tortured to death you're going to become my personal slave. And you're also going to give me as many orgasms as your inferior male reproductive organs are capable of achieving. Wherever and whenever I ask for them. Once I feel that sufficient time and service has elapsed, I will then release you from your bondage. Unless of course, you beg me not to."

"What?" Jonathan said, eyes wide.

"Sorry, Jon boy. But you do the crime, that means you gotta do the time," Xander said philosophically, trying to hide the smirk that was threatening to take over his face.

"And the punishment certainly fits the crime," Cordy said nastily. She shuddered when she thought about just how many fantasies she'd had regarding this geek lately, and most likely the female teenager would have killed Jonathan herself if she'd been weak-willed enough to give into Levinson's charismatic attractiveness during the spell.

Not that it would have lasted anyway if she had, because superstar or not, Jonathan wasn't the type to keep Cordelia's interest for long. Miss Chase needed someone who could challenge her, insults and all, and the only person around here who could accomplish that was Xander. Ever since elementary school, Harris had been the only one who'd never been subservient or worshipped at her altar, which was part of why he'd become so attractive to Cordy in the first place.

Anya grabbed Jonathan by the ear and dragged him off down the street, ignoring his yelps of pain. Xander and Cordelia kissed the way young couples do when they're in love, before they went their separate ways. She went back to work, and Harris headed for Giles's place to see if anything new had been learned with regard to his beloved getting rid of her unwanted Slayer heritage.

Lowell House, UC Sunnydale, Sunnydale

March 16th, 2000

7:49 pm

Things started moving more quickly now that spring had arrived, and the time of the annual Hellmouth apocalypse had begun to approach.

Adam had started doing a Martin Luther King impersonation, bridging the gap between the various demon races as part of his master plan. What that master plan was exactly was still a secret, even from his most trusted lieutenants, but for the first time in the Council's recorded history vampires and demons were playing nice, and that worried Giles no end. It worried the Scooby gang and the Initiative people too, as a united front from the demon world was the last thing they needed.

Buffy and Riley started dealing with it in their own way, with round-the-clock acts of nakedness both in her dorm and in Riley's quarters. It became a running joke with the rest of their friends about whether those two would ever come up for air, given the constant moaning and thumping sounds coming from their bedrooms. Well, like they say, everyone copes with stress however they can.

Tonight, a party was taking place at the frat house for the other soldiers in this war to also let off some steam. Everyone was there, and appeared to be enjoying themselves. Riley was talking with his fellow Initiative agents, while Buffy was talking to her own friends.

"Yo, Rye. What do you think, should we spike the punch with something a bit more exotic than whatever's in it right now?" Forrest asked his friend.

"Probably not a good idea," Graham spoke up. "You never know if we might need to get real sober real fast."

"Yeah, what he said," Riley added vaguely, his eyes fastened on Buffy.

Across the room the Slayer was staring right back at him, even as Xander, Willow, Cordelia and Tara were having their own conversation. "Uh, is that Anya?" Tara pointed to the ex-demon who was not far away talking to someone else.

"Yeah, and that looks like Jonathan standing right beside her," Willow pointed out.

"He is so whipped nowadays," Cordelia observed, smirking. "I for one don't think we need to worry about the reappearance of Super-Jonathan anytime soon, considering how often he's probably getting laid."

Xander nodded. "What do you think, Buff? Jonathan's gonna behave from now on?"

"Huh?" the Chosen One muttered. "Oh, uh, yeah, I guess so. Excuse me." Leaving her buddies behind she walked over to Riley, and as if of one mind, she and the Alpha team leader headed off upstairs after making the flimsiest excuse imaginable to Graham and Forrest.

"Three guesses what those two are gonna get up to, and the first two don't count," Forrest said in annoyance. "God, what does he even see in her?"

Graham stared at his teammate sharply; he'd known that Forrest had a big problem with the Slayer, but up until now, Gates had kept his opinions to himself. It looked like maybe it was intervention time to prevent his friend from digging himself in too deep a hole that was already deep enough.

Not far away, Cordelia made her own comment regarding Buffy and Riley's bedroom habits. "Those two are like the Energizer bunny lately, I swear to God!"

"Well, it's not like you and Xander don't do exactly the same thing," Willow told her bluntly.

"It's called discretion, Willow, look it..." Miss Chase trailed off. "Xander? What are you doing?"

Xander had leaned his hand on the wall, and was looking startled as he withdrew it. "Oh my God!" He put his hand back and began to shudder. "Oh, wow! Wow!"

"Are you okay?" Tara asked, looking concerned.

Xander withdrew his hand. "Yeah, I'm fine. But seriously, check this out. Cordy, put your hand where I just put mine."

"What? What for?" the brunette demanded.

"Just trust me. You'll see."

Looking annoyed, Cordy did so. "What am I-" She then choked and withdrew her hand at once, staring at him with wide eyes. "What the hell was that?"

Concerned, Willow and Tara took their own turns and the warm rush of sexual pleasure overwhelmed both witches as well. Tara couldn't deal with it and ran off towards the nearest bathroom; Willow followed her, concerned about her friend. A friend who had in fact become someone who meant much more to her than just that; Willow's true sexual orientation finally was no longer something she was in complete denial about.

Cordelia and Xander just kept on experimenting with what they had found, and before long Harris gestured with his head towards the nearest closet. Soon enough they were fooling around in private, just like during high school. In fact, they were so busy in there they both completely failed to notice everything going to hell outside.

It took Willow and Tara, along with some assistance from Jonathan and Anya, to go find Giles and deal with the mysteries of the haunted fraternity house. A solution which basically involved casting a spell to summon the spirits of a whole bunch of abused children, 'repressed crybabies' to quote Anya, and stopping Buffy and Riley from killing themselves with their unrestrained lovemaking.

"Where the heck have you two been?" Willow demanded of Xander and Cordy after all the excitement was over, watching a dishevelled Anya and Jonathan limping away from the rest of the group to go home and recover from their ordeal. Miss Rosenberg suddenly saw, though, that Cordelia's pantyhose were ruined in the knees, and immediately began to regret asking that.

"We were, ah, stuck in the closet the whole time," Xander said somewhat lamely, as the group left Lowell House and began walking home.

"So, so, w-what exactly did you two end up doing in there?" Tara stammered.

Xander just grinned a stupid, satisfied grin while Cordy sighed. "Nothing," she said. She turned to Xander. "And nothing won't happen again...ever."

Xander looked at his girlfriend in surprise. "Really? Not even if I..." he looked downwards at her.

Cordelia looked astonished at his offer. "You would?"

Xander nodded. "Well, it's only fair, I guess."

Cordy grinned and took his hand. "We'll see you guys later...much later." The two lovebirds promptly raced off.

Willow looked to Tara. "Goddess, but that image will be stuck in my head for days now." She shuddered, wishing that she could use a Brillo pad to scrub out her brain. "Tara, that forgetting spell you mentioned the other day, the one involving Lethe's Bramble. I don't suppose you've got it handy back in your dorm, by any chance?"

Somewhere in Nevada

The same time

Ethan Rayne was moving as fast as he could in the middle of the cold, night-time desert.

The Englishman's stay in the Initiative's rehabilitation facility, while relatively short, hadn't been a very pleasant one. His jailers, although not the brightest stars in the heavens, weren't exactly stupid either. The staff had interrogated him at length, and attempted to 're-educate' him as well. Fortunately the uniformed morons had no idea what he was truly capable of, and Ethan's prayers had finally been answered when one of the army grunts hadn't bothered to check whether he'd kept some supplies after a rather boring hocus-pocus session.

The ease with which Rayne had accomplished his theft was most likely due to the military policeman believing it was all just a bunch of crap, despite all the training and evidence to the contrary. He probably thought Ethan was simply doing a great impersonation of David Copperfield or whatever. But Rayne certainly wasn't going to complain if that was the case. He'd finally managed to escape the detention facility, and that was all which was important.

That, and getting revenge on the people who'd sent him there.

Riley had visited briefly and had pissed off the chaos mage to an incredible extent. So much so Ethan didn't care now how the Initiative was throwing the worlds out of balance, which supposedly went way beyond chaos and into "one hell of a fight". If he managed to redress the problem in the name of personal vengeance, fine.

( But if not, too bad. Those jammy bastards are in for a world of pain now... )

TBC...