Shifting Heart
Chapter 05
"Where have you been all week?" Willow asked, her tone a little annoyed as Xander walked into the library.
"Urh-" Xander began, looking a little shell-shocked. "That's a long story."
"One minute you're in the Bronze and then I don't see you for the rest of the week. I've been worried, buster, so you'd better spill!" Willow said walking up to him, prodding him in the chest and then hugging him tightly.
Xander ran a hand up and down her back and smiled, "Sorry, Wills, time has kinda got away from me this week."
"You've not even been in school!"
"I know, I know. As I said, I have been busy. *Really* busy."
"Doing what?"
Xander paused. How was he going to tell Willow everything that had happened. He realised that he could not tell her everything; at least not yet. She would not understand the Harmony situation in the least, and certainly would not understand that Xander had been spending most of his evenings helping to train her. Though she would get what had happened with his parents, but possibly not the fact he had invented a multi million-dollar device. It was a sticky situation and then some. At the end of the day, he had no wish to lie to his oldest and dearest friend. Therefore, he began to tell her carefully about his week.
At the end of his little speech Willow sat down heavily, "Wow." She said, looking at him carefully. "How do you feel. I mea, I know they weren't parents of the year but still -"
"I know, it's weird, and they didn't actually contest it or anything but still it feels weird. Then of course I had to find a place to live."
"I'm sure -"
Xander cut her off, "I can afford a place, but thanks for the offer."
"How?"
"How what?"
"How can you afford a place to live? An after school job can't make you that much surely? And these new clothes and stuff. I mean where's all the money coming from? You're not in trouble are you?"
Xander smirked. "No, I'm not in trouble, and actually I do alright at Uncle Rory's garage, but no it does not make enough to live on. Actually - " he paused wondering how to tell and then decided that he could tell her after all. He was sure she would understand. However, perhaps it was time to come clean about everything that had happened since Hallowe'en. Fortuitously Buffy and Giles appeared at that moment, meaning he had everyone he needed to tell in one place. "In fact, now would be a good time to tell you all a few things that have been going on with me." He said, gaining Buffy and Giles's attention.
"What's the matter?" Giles asked curiously.
Buffy just looked at him curiously, so Xander waved at the seats. "Take a seat. This is going to take some explaining" he said with a sigh. It was time he had to tell them; they were after all his friends, he just was not sure they were going to be happy for him or not.
"It all started on Hallowe'en "
~#~
The room became silent as Xander stopped talking, and everyone was looking at him as if he had grown a second head. He remained silent for a long moment and then frowned when it became clear that no one was going to say anything. "Guys?" he said pleadingly.
"Well, erm, that's very interesting. Why didn't you come forward before?" Giles asked for the rest of them.
Xander smiled slightly. He had been expecting Willow to ask that question, but either way it had to be answered. "That's actually simple. It started slowly at first, and then I wanted to make sure I had control before I brought it before you guys. Then last week I wanted to tell you but other things came up."
"What can you do?" Buffy asked.
"Quite a lot. A druid is a combo class in World of Warcraft. That means I can deal damage a few different ways and even heal people when the need arises. I can cast spells or use melee damage as well. In the game, I could also tank, but obviously that is not something that can be used in real life. Because people, even vampires, aren't as dumb as a computer controlled character."
"So you can kill Vampires?"
"In a few different ways." Xander replied with a smirk. "I found my spells are pretty good against vampires because they don't like natural things. This is why stakes work so well against them."
"Interesting, do you have all the skills of your - urm - character?" Giles asked.
"Skills, abilities and memories as well. Luckily I don't look like him though."
"Why's that a good thing?" Buffy asked.
Xander glanced at Willow, who was very quiet and looking a bit of worried, but answered Buffy anyway. "He's a Night Elf, big pointy ears, seven foot tall, and my character in particular was kind of purple with green hair."
Buffy snickered at the mental imagery, and Xander smirked at her. "You have grown a bit though," she said when the chuckles had subsided.
"A little, I'm about 6'4" ish at the moment, I'm hoping I don't get any taller though."
"That doesn't answer my earlier question though," Willow said, entering the conversation at last.
"I'm aware," Xander said with a smile at his oldest friend. "The characters in the game can have professions, a way of making things for their characters, or making gold, the currency in the game. My guy was a Leatherworker," he waved at his outfit, "and an engineer. Now somehow, and I think it was the magic of the night, this has been translated into a real world way of doing things. So while I can make just about anything now without a schematic, just by knowing how it all works and fits together. I cannot just hit something with a blacksmithing hammer and expect it to work. I have to use actual engineering equipment and calibrated measuring tools, and all that stuff. Luckily they're simply enough to use when you get the hang of it."
"Wait - You made that outfit?" Buffy asked.
Xander smirked, wondering if either Buffy or Harmony would like to know they were very similar in their reactions. He had to say he doubted it very much though. "I did, yeah, and again real world it took me about three hours to make and a load of materials, unlike slapping a few bits of leather together in thirty seconds, like the game. Plus, I also had to treat the leather, but that was messy and I don't want to talk about it."
"Can you make me something?" Buffy asked.
Once again, Xander had to smother a laugh at how very similar she and Harmony had reacted. Instead, since he did not trust his voice, he just nodded at her. She smiled widely at him and subsided to listen.
"Again, that doesn't really answer my question," Willow pressed.
"I'm getting there, Wills. Unlike the game, I can toy with ideas and create things that I do not have a schematic memorised for. One of these things I showed to my uncle Rory."
"Isn't he the one that worked at CRD?"
"And now at RDC. He's fairly high up there and took my invention to the Board of Directors. They liked it and bought it, with a kinda royalty deal as well. Upshot is, I made a cool three Million up front and a nice income later on when they go into production. My uncle reckons they're going to all become rich off of it, which means I will as well."
"Wow," Buffy said with a smile, "Nice going Xan."
"Yeah, what'd you create?" Willow asked, beaming at him, obviously happy at his turn in luck.
"I'd rather not say," Xander told them, "I will, but the truth is they made me sign a ton of non-disclosure documents. If you really want to know though " he trailed off, his meaning clear.
"That's cool. I'm just happy for you. So that's the main reason you emancipated yourself then?" Willow asked with a knowing look on her face. She was well aware of how his parents were and just what they would do if they got a hold of that much money.
Xander nodded and then added, "It was Uncle Rory's idea actually, but I think it's for the best. We are both hoping it brings them to their senses. I've already made sure their house is paid off, but I can't give them any money because they'd just drink it."
Buffy shared a glance with her mentor and father figure. They were not quite so knowledgeable about Xander's home life and were both now wishing they had been aware of it beforehand. It sounded as if Xander had not had it as easy as they had thought from his easygoing manner.
"So when is the party?" Willow asked, surprising Xander. He had expected that one from Buffy.
"Next week."
"Party?" Buffy asked, obviously not twigging.
"Moving in party. I have a new place over the other side of town, nice apartment with a workshop on the roof and numbered parking." Xander said proudly. "It wasn't easy to get, but surprisingly cheap."
"So, to sum up. You're living alone now, have plenty of money and can help out on patrol."
"That's not quite all of it G-Man," Xander said slowly.
"Go on." Buffy said nervously.
"I'm not the only one that was affected on Hallowe'en. I know of two others. One of whom is willing to help us out. The other, I'm not so sure about at the moment. They need more training, and frankly even when that's finished I'm not sure they'll be interested in helping out."
"Why wouldn't they?" Willow asked.
Xander smiled slightly. "They're not of the same mindset as us, Wills. They see this all as a pain in the butt, not a gift. Though they are being better about it all than I would have thought at first, and I've not killed them yet, which is a miracle all by itself."
"Who is it?"
"I can't tell you that, but the other one I can tell you. We have a mage to join us, and that's a *very* good thing. It's Jonno by the way."
"What's a mage in this context?" Giles asked.
"Powerful spell caster; they can nuke just about anything and have powerful AOE, that's Area of Effect spells. Those spells cover an area and cause destruction, and, let me tell you, that is a lot of destruction. Jonno has a good handle on things as well, and he's end game. Erh - that means he is powerful as all hell. It is hard to relate game stuff to real life though. Because normally, gear - the stuff you wear - would make a difference. He and I play though and we're finding differences all the time from the game to real life."
"He's willing to help?" Giles asked. "That's good news. What have you told him so far?"
"General stuff only. I have not told him about Buffy, or exactly what we do in here. I figured I would leave that up to you guys. He knows about the things that go bite in the night though. He killed a crap load of them on Hallowe'en night. Which is one of the reasons I think it's been fairly quiet around here lately."
"He must be the mage you heard about Buffy." Giles said, stroking his chin in thought.
"Might be,. He's been out a few times practicing. But then, so have I." Xander admitted.
"Cool" Buffy said. "It's always good to have more help. As long as you all do as you're told by head slayer, as in me." She said with a grin.
"We all bow before Duchess Buffy, slayer extraordinaire." Xander said with a mock bow in her direction. "Well, Jonno and I will, don't know about the other yet. It all depends on if I can get her to check her attitude at the door."
"Her?" Willow asked carefully.
Xander looked at her and then laughed, "Just NO, not a chance in hell."
Willow smiled. "I'm wondering who it is now with that reaction."
"You may find out soon, like I said, if I can train her. Jonno and I are working with her, but unlike Jonno and me, she has never played the game. She just caught the last costume in the store situation."
"So, how about tonight you show me what you can do?" Buffy said with a smile.
"That's a tempting offer," Xander smirked, causing Buffy to blush at her unintended double meaning. "However, I'm still moving in, so I'll have to pass."
"What about training then? You said you have melee abilities, so I take it you need to train those to keep them sharp." Giles put forth.
"Actually, not quite the way it works for me." Xander said with a smirk, then looked around. "I can show you if you like. As long as you promise not to scream, or attack me."
"Why would we do that, Xan?" Willow asked worriedly.
Suddenly Xander changed. It happened almost too fast to register, and most of it was covered by a small dust devil-like thing that whipped up out of nowhere. One minute Xander was standing there, and the next
The next a HUGE big cat was standing in his place. It was similar in looks to a lynx, or perhaps a mountain lion, except it was purple and much larger. Large fangs dropped down from its mouth and huge claws clicked on the floor as Xander shifted around.
They all shot out of their chairs and backed away until they realised exactly what Xander was showing them. Willow was the first to move forward, reaching out and running a hand from Xander's head down his flank. The cat's fur was actually very hard, almost armored, but also silken to the touch rather than rough. Xander turned his head and purred slightly at her and as she looked right into the huge cats face, it winked at her. A huge smile split her face and she waved Buffy over. "Come here Buffy, he's amazing."
"He's frickin' huge!" Buffy said moving forward warily.
Xander chuffed a laugh which came out as a sort of half growl half purr that made Buffy back off a step again. Then when she was sure he was not going to attack her, she shifted forward again and reached slowly out. Once her hand was on his head she looked at him in surprise. "You don't feel like a cat really, your fur feels almost armoured, but still silky."
Xander nodded carefully, and then backed away moving towards the wooden training dummy Buffy often used for practise. He cast a look over his shoulder; even in his feline form it was obvious that he was asking permission to show them what he could do. Giles nodded as did Buffy, and they stood back to watch.
Xander closed in on the dummy and then his claws flashed out in a raking move that seemed to leave a red after-image. Huge furrows appeared on the wood where his claws had passed and the dummy rocked quite a bit. Then there was a red flash that lit up the area and the dummy literally exploded into pieces. Once the dust had settled Xander sheepishly shifted back into himself and looked at them. "Urh - whoops"
~#~
Harmony Kendall slipped out of the computer store as surreptitiously as she was able, her eyes glancing around behind her dark glasses to make sure no one had seen her. She was in disguise, or what she thought of as a disguise. Dark glasses, fedora hat and a trench coat. She looked like an extra from a spy movie, but she had not gotten a second look from the people in the store. The bag she held casually at her side contained the latest copies of World of Warcraft and its various expansions ready to be installed on her laptop at home. Which would be the first time she had used it since her father bought it for her.
The truth was she was curious. She had seen the game in action a few times now; had even had a tinker when no one was around to check on her at Levinson's house. She found herself quite liking it, but more importantly, she was curious about her own class. She had read all the information they could find of course and since it was about her, she had remembered it pretty well. That said, there was no substitute for actually playing the class for a while. She even knew the server Jonno and Xander used so she could join them if she wanted.
She was not entirely certain when they had become Jonno and Xander to her. In truth, and in any normal situation, she would have nothing to do with them. That said, they had both gone out of their way to help her out and, she had to admit, that meant something to her. Without them she would have been a danger to herself and those around her as the power was there, waiting to be used and tended to come out when she least expected it. Unlike them, though, she did not have the full package of the Hallowe'en night's possession. They had detailed back histories for their characters which meant they remembered their training and personalities of the characters. In Jonno's case, it had made him a lot more confident and it looked good on him, though at times he had a somewhat fiery temper. Xander was even more impressive. His character had over 10,000 years of experience crammed into his head, and it had made the once geeky young boy into a wiser man. In fact, she was thankful of it, because without those memories she had a feeling that Xander would not have helped her out. Because of them, he had the maturity to look past their history and move forward.
For probably the first time in her life Harmony was grateful to someone, and she was not sure what to make of it. She knew her life had changed utterly; her original dreams were on hold at the very least, and she had to think about the future to include her new abilities. Xander had mentioned that she could help them out with the nightlife if she wanted, but that it was her choice, and furthermore it was one not to be made lightly. She had found herself actually thinking about it. She had these powers now, so what would she do with them.? She had the ability to heal people from even the most grievous of wounds. Something that Xander had told her would be more than a little useful in Sunnydale, especially at night. Should she ignore the fact they needed those talents, or should she put herself out to help them? A week ago that answer would have been 'get lost'. Now, after all they had done and continued to do for her, she was not so sure anymore.
With another glance around, Harmony set off towards her home and spent the next few hours in front of her laptop. She prayed her old friends would not find out about all this, because she knew that her reputation would be ruined. However, oddly enough, that was mattering to her less and less. Her old friends would have shunned her had she talked to them, but they would not have helped her out during such a trying time of change and confusion, and she was starting to realise that while the two geeks she was quickly becoming close to should have hated her, they did not. Her old friends, though, would, if they found out she was different from them, and that made her wonder if she had the right friends in the first place.