I - I can remember, standing by the wall, and the gun shots above our heads. And we kissed, as though nothing could fall, and the shame was on the other side. Oh, we can beat them, forever and ever, then we could be heroes - just for one day.

David Bowie "Heroes"

Title: We Could Be Heroes(12/?)
Rating: R-ish
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Timeline: Season 2 Halloween onward
Pairings: Most canonwise, Xander/Faith
Crossover Material: Assassin's Creed
Spoilers: General BtVS and AC ending information
Summary: After Halloween, Xander finds himself with the knowledge of the assassin Altair Ibn La-Ahad and the decision to either use these new skills to help his friends or not. But not everyone is very happy with that arrangement...

"Can't have one nice, peaceful time in a town, can we?" grumbled Faith under her breath as she gripped the hilts of her two short swords. She was seemingly walking alone down Bourbon Street, which was strangely dark even at four in the morning. There was a good reason for that too – something had scared anyone still out away and had broken any lights.

It had left a few of the ones that hadn't gotten away quick enough dead on the ground, as well.

There was a low chuckle from near her and Xander coalesced out of the shadows, falling into step beside her.

"Afraid a lack of peace might be our lot in life," he said softly, his voice already fallen into Altaïr's accent. Any humor faded then as he caught sight of one of the mangled bodies. "I'm thinking werewolf."

"Right with yah, X," agreed Faith. "Dunno if we're capable of handling that, though."

Xander shook his head and replied, "We're not." He then wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging them both back into the shadows. "They, however," he stated as he stretched out an arm, "are."

She followed where he was pointing to and saw a rough looking trio coming down the street – all of them armed for bear.

"Werewolf teeth around their necks," breathed Xander in her ear. "And tranquilizer guns."

"Capture and kill," she murmured, spotting the heavy kukri one had at his belt. Turning her head, she asked, "How'd yah know?"

He jerked his head back in the direction he had come from. "Saw them whilst I was coming back from you from investigating that crash earlier. They're prepared for a wolf."

"So…"

"So, we let them down it. And then we make sure they don't kill it."

Faith frowned then asked quietly, "What if whoever this person was did this on purpose?"

Hazel eyes hardened to ice and Xander growled in response, "Then we kill them. After politely asking them to reconsider that stance."

The Slayer nodded at that, accepting – werewolves were bad enough when they were like Oz. One that deliberately let himself (or herself) loose to kill people was something else entirely. Something dangerous as hell to let loose.

She was just glad her man had recovered from the death of the Terakan in Arizona. They'd talked about that a lot since that night and a rough acceptance of having to sometimes kill humans had come together between them. Neither of them liked it but, as Xander had pointed out with a dark frown, sometimes there was no other choice of action.

"What about that group?" asked Faith, nodding towards the trio as they moved past their hiding spot and on down the street.

Xander stiffened next to her and grumbled, "I'm unsure. If they only kill werewolves that get out of control, I'd say they're alright. But from the looks of those necklaces…they're just poachers."

"So not innocent."

"Not in the least."

Faith frowned then he eased them out into the street again, saying, "I'll take the trio. You get the werewolf."

She frowned, eyebrows furrowed, and asked, "You sure, X?"

"I can handle three humans," he stated with a smile. Then he sobered and added, "Besides, I'm probably the better choice for it."

A true enough statement if there was any.

But…

"I'll take one," she stated firmly.

"Faith…"

"Gotta start somehow, X," she said. "Besides, three at one time even with them all human'll be tough on yah."

He looked at her for a moment, jaw clenched, then nodded sharply. "Okay," he said. "Let's go."

Faith squeezed his arm tightly then they broke away from each other, him sprinting across the street into the shadows there. Slowly they moved towards the rough trio, who were standing in the middle of an intersection and looking around.

"Where's the damn thing?" one growled.

"S'here somewhere," snarled another in response as he lifted his gun. "Have some fuckin' patience."

"I want my damn money," snarled the first man.

"And you'll get it just have some…"

There was a growl from above them then the wolf was amongst them with a snarl, tearing open the chest of one of the men with its claws. As he went down screaming the other two darted out of the way and the man with the gun already raised fired. The tranquilizer dart hit the werewolf's flank, feathering it red, and the beast turned towards him with a snarl of fury.

Another dart from the other hunter's gun caught it in the throat and it stumbled, surprise in its bloodthirsty eyes. Growling in confusion, it tried to stagger away but didn't make it far before it slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Gotcha beastie," growled the man who'd shot first, drawing the kukri from his belt. He tested the edge with a smile then moved forward, purring, "Now let's have that head…"

Faith blurred into motion then, sprinting forward and jumping up towards one of the poles that held up a porch over the sidewalk. Her boot caught in the gilding at the bottom of it and she launched herself into the air from that as well as pushing herself away from the pole with one hand. As the man turned in surprise, she caught him with both feet in the chest and sent him sprawling as she tucked her body and landed in a crouch.

Quickly pulling herself up, she reached for her swords and glanced over at the other man in time to see Xander appear behind him as he tried to ready his gun again. The slightly pudgy man didn't even know what hit him when a strong arm jerked around his throat and a blade was shoved in from the side, severing his arteries. As the body hit the ground, Xander faded back into the shadows but Faith knew he was moving around where he could get a shot at the other man.

She shook her head, hoping he'd listen and let her handle this, then focused on the rising man.

She could do this.

This fucker was a hunter who killed indiscriminately, no matter whether a werewolf was a good person or a bad one. All he cared about was the money.

"Bitch," snarled the man in a wheezing voice as he struggled upright despite several cracked ribs. He gripped his kukri tight and spat, "I'll teach you a lesson you won't fucking forget!"

Faith's resolve hardened then and she gripped her blades tight. This guy wasn't any better than some of the bastards her mother had taken to bed. She could remember those exact words being said to her years ago too…

He stumbled towards her, lunging clumsily, but she wasn't there anymore. She moved around him in a blur and kicked his leg out from under him with a strike to the back of the knee, cartilage and bone snapping under the force. As he crumpled he turned and tried to swipe at her again, his face a mask of rage.

This time she smacked the blade out of his hand with a hard blow from one of her swords. He snarled a curse and she snapped out one leg, the heel of her combat boot catching him hard in the jaw. His head snapped back and to the side hard then he collapsed, eyes going glassy within an instant.

As she stood, breathing harder than she should have, Xander moved forward and crouched down next to the man. After checking for a pulse in his throat, he rose and quietly asked her, "Old memories?"

"One of Ma's johns said that same thing to me once. Actually tried to 'teach me' a lesson too," Faith hissed, her eyes not wavering from the body. From the man she'd just killed. "After I got Called, I said nobody was gonna do that to me again."

He moved in front of her, blocking her view of the body, and stated firmly, "And no one ever will." Gently, he moved her hands, putting her swords away, then stated, "We've got a werewolf to move before the police come. You sure you're up to it?"

"Yah," said Faith, nodding sharply, "I'm…I'm okay, Stud."

Xander smiled slightly at that, even though he knew they'd end up talking about it later, then they moved towards the unconscious werewolf. With little effort, Faith lifted it up onto her shoulder and they moved off into the night, leaving the three bodies behind them.

"Huh, it's a guy," was the first thing Edgar heard when he came too. "And damn lookit that…"

Something was thrown over him, covering him, and he heard a male voice scold the female, "F- Di, you'll make me jealous."

There was a rich, husky laugh at that then the woman stated, "Oh, that's the point, X. I get yah all worked up and…well, y'know."

"You are an evil, evil woman."

Footsteps crossed the floor then and Edgar felt a boot in his ribs, gently nudging a sore spot.

"Wake up," growled the man. "We've got a few questions for you."

At that, he opened one eye and saw the 'man' wasn't anything more than a teenager! And the husky-voiced woman was gorgeous but she had to be younger than the teen.

But they didn't move like teenagers…

They moved like predators.

Smelled like predators.

His mind, still half between human and wolf, freaked and he hurriedly sat up, shoving himself away from the pair. Even as all werewolf and with his control lost, he'd probably have been afraid of these two.

"Wh-what do you want?" he asked whilst wondering why he felt like he had mothballs in his mouth. As well as why his throat and thigh hurt like hell.

"Answers," replied the boy. He sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, which caused Edgar to take note of his surrounding and realize he was in a motel room. "I'm Alex, this is Di."

Edgar blinked then said, "E-Edgar Watson. I…" He then looked down at his hands and cringed at the sight of blood. "Oh God, I got loose again…"

He saw movement and noticed the pair relaxing, the coldness that had been in the boy's eyes fading. The amount of warmth that replaced it was a strange contrast.

"Glad to know you didn't do that deliberately," Alex said quickly. "And, yeah, you did kill a few people."

"Oh God…"

"One was trying to kill yah though," piped the girl, Di. "Not sure if you count that as a good thing though."

"Kill me?" questioned Edgar. "Who?"

Alex sighed and said, "Three werewolf hunters. Actually poachers is a better word for what they did." He reached for something on the bed behind him and tossed it at Edgar's feet. The werewolf pushed himself away from it and his still sensitive nose smelled the old blood.

"Wolf teeth," he breathed. "Jesus…" He then looked at the pair and asked, "Why did you save me?"

Di smiled as Alex spread his hands wide, saying, "We had a friend – most monosybillic guy you'll ever meet – who was a werewolf. So we know that there's good people underneath all that fur."

Edgar nodded slowly, happy to actually be alive once more even though he was tearing himself up for killing people again. Obviously he was still doing something wrong since he kept getting out. Apparently a decade of transforming hadn't taught him how to make a good cage to hold himself yet.

That's what he got for going into writing instead of construction.

"Th-thanks," he stammered. Then he frowned and asked, "What about the other two? You mentioned there were three…"

"We took care of 'em," stated Di in a voice that didn't brook any argument or any questions.

Edgar blinked at that then found himself staring at Alex as the boy leaned forward.

"So…how about we help you figure out how to not kill people every full moon?"

It wasn't a cure being offered – Edgar knew that was impossible from years of looking. But somehow he had the feeling that these two kids that had to be two decades younger than him could help him.

"That'd be wonderful," he managed to say as a smile came onto his face.

"How did you think of this?" asked Edgar as he stared at the contraption Alex had put together over the past month in his basement. It was all made of wood but was strong and stout…something a werewolf would have a tough time breaking through. And there were several layers to it, the strength of the wood heightened by the overlay.

"Oh," replied the teenager airily as he dusted off his hands, "I've picked up a few things here and there."

Edgar eyed him and said slowly, "Alex…I'm well aware that you can't be anymore than nineteen. No one your age could know how to construct something like this."

Hazel eyes regarded him warily then he was shocked as the teenager spilled the story of a Halloween possession and memories of an assassin.

"An assassin knew how to build?"

"They had all sorts of contraptions built around their base," explained Alex. "All the apprentices learned of them and how they were built as well as used. Just in case one ever broke when they were on it or near, they could consider which way to jump if need be or how to quickly repair it if possible." He waved at the cage in front of them, adding, "This was a design he remembered seeing once, not something ever actually built. At least not that he knew of."

"What was it for?" asked Edgar, shocked he believed the story. But he was a werewolf after all, so why shouldn't he believe this?

"Holding prisoners without a chance of them escaping."

The man nodded slowly then turned to look at the teenager and said, "So, you trained yourself from the memories of this assassin, I take it…"

"Yup," replied Alex.

"So what's Di?"

Alex grinned and asked, "Di's something else. You ever heard of the Slayer?"

Edgar blinked then nodded slowly.

"She's a Slayer. I actually saved another Slayer – resuscitated her after she drowned – and accidentally started a second line. Or that's what we always have said." Alex scratched the back of his neck as he continued, "I more think its along the lines of my bringing her back just let her keep the power but the real kaboom behind being a Slayer went on to the next girl then Di when she was Called."

"So…there are two Slayer's but one is sort of a false one whilst the other – Di – is the real deal."

"That's what I think. Beats me if it's true." Alex shrugged then said, "Anyway, lemme show you how this baby works. Its really kinda cool for the time it was designed…"

Edgar smiled and followed the teen forward towards the contraption, listening raptly to his explanation and mentally taking notes.

As well as deciding if these kids needed anything, he'd do whatever he could for them.

After all…they'd given him his life back.

Author's Note:

And this is, of course, not the same Edgar that Shawn Rey is talking about in the previous chapter. Just thought I'd point that out to make sure there was no confusion.