We're almost there, almost to the end of the line. We've got one more Willow and one more POV to go, the next POV will be a Faith centric, called Faith Manages. FM, is only two episodes, purely because I don't know how to write her character without reducing to graphic sex (coughs), she will be expanded on in later chapters, but the series will remain primarily Xander centric. I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed and those who have read the story.

When this season 'ends' the next will begin. It will be titled Twice Lucky: Time for a change. Its tag will be, something that people have been asking over and over again, with the amount of power that Xander has how can he retain his morals? It will be aptly tagged as: Absolute power, corrupts absolutely.

That's all yer getting. There's a hundred of you on alert, please all of you review and make me happy.

Twice Lucky

The scarlet witch

Chapter 4: Pale horseman

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

"What are you looking at?"

Willow had seen Xander, sitting on his own in a secluded part of the cafeteria; he could've sat with any number of kids: the cool gang, the nerds, even the emo's. He was liked by just about everyone. He was looking over career choices as she grabbed a seat and sat down.

"Career choices…"

"So early?" She saw some of them and was certain she'd seen the military emblem. Xander nodded and closed one of the brochures, placing it on a pile.

"Yeah."

"So what choice were you thinking?"

She saw the emblem appear again and pulled it out of the pile. It was definitely military. "Air Force?"

Xander shrugged his shoulders. "I've always wanted to fly, but couldn't in the other timeline."

"Why?"

He pointed at his eye. "Depth perception."

Willow flinched at the memory of the night Xander had, very quietly, told her what happened with Caleb. The faux priest had left a physiological scar, as well as a physical one. "But, now you're going to change that?"

"Yeah." His grin was just a little bit evil. His head twitched and he looked at one of the seats at the small table, his eyes narrowing for the briefest of seconds before turning back to the pile. She didn't push the subject and let it drop, allowing him carry on with his own devices. Eventually, the two met up again in the library, where Buffy was sat with her legs up on the centre table, looking very bored. Xander's air changed and he went from completely interested to bored-out-of-his-skull in seconds. Willow's eyes widened in amazement.

He flopped down on a seat opposite the Slayer and pulled out a magazine and a box of donuts. The blonde rolled her eyes in disgust and went back to paying attention to Giles.

"Yes, well," Giles adjusted his glasses. The two, to Willow's eyes, were good actors. "We've found a prophecy in one of the books that, we think, relates to Miss Summers."

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

The evening before

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

He was hunting again; dressed in black clothes, out in the night, revelling in it; the feeling of power of the hunt filling his veins and senses.

He grinned as a vampire caught him off-guard. Xander fell back and went with the roll. He came up and produced a stake with a long, thin point. The vampire snarled and ran at him, only to be impaled.

He stopped.

His senses picked it up before his body did, feeling the rumbling coming his way. Now he knew what they meant when they said animals could hear the earthquake first, the ground started rumbling.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Buffy staked the vampire; it clutched its heart and vanished into ash. Just as she pocketed it into her jacket, about to go on another run, the ground started rumbling.

"Woah."

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Yes! YES! Shake, Earth! This is a sign! We are in the final days! My time has come! Glory! GLORY!" the Master stood up and shouted at the ceiling, his hands raised in mock salute at the sun above. For the first time in over a decade, he felt truly happy at the carnage that would soon come.

He looked down at a terrified fledgling; the little snivelling creature stood up on shaky feet and the Master's face split into a grin, a death's head.

"Whadaya think? 5.1?"

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Xander looked up at the night sky and smiled.

"'bout time…"

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Now

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

"Buffy killed an awful lot of vampires last night."

"I killed three vampires last night, and one of them was practically on school grounds."

Giles nodded. "Their numbers are increasing."

Buffy nodded thoughtfully as Xander flipped another page. "And they're getting cockier. Look, I'm not loving it. Last night was a pretty close call."

"Well, I have some things that might be able to help you," Willow pulled up her rucksack and started pulling stuff out. "We've tested the darts and they seem to be working okay, it's not pretty." She handed the case of five darts and blowpipe to Buffy, who took them gratefully.

"This is a garlic spray," she sprayed it up into the air. "Works exactly like a pepper spray, best in the mouth or eyes. Again, it's not pretty."

She handed them out and Buffy made an 'ick' face.

"Yes, this has something to do with the prophecy." Giles sighed and looked at Buffy. The blonde shrugged her shoulders and let him get on with it. "Buffy will have to face the Master, deep in the bowls of Sunnydale and, sadly, she will die."

"Do we know how?"

"No, but prophecies are a funny thing." Xander had an amused smirk on his face as Giles was talking. "You may die, but it doesn't say anything about what happens afterwards. For example: if you were to, say, be drowned, Angel here could provide mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

"Uh, actually…"

"Yes, yes, I know I was using you as an example," Giles said, cutting the vampire off. Angel smirked and looked down at the medical bag. Buffy was staring at Xander.

"You find something funny about this?" He raised an eyebrow. "Great, well let's all laugh it up. You're not the one who's got a prophecy hanging over his head like an axe."

Anger flickered across his face. He closed the comic and put it in his bag, then stood up and picked up the donuts. He grinned nastily and threw them at the Slayer. "Something to comfort you. Sorry it isn't ice cream."

Xander walked out, his bag over his shoulder. Angel didn't say anything, nor did Giles. The two exchanged a look and continued talking.

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

The end of the world that was how it felt. While the others went out of their way to make her feel good about it - 'well, almost everyone,' as she thought of Xander - Buffy still couldn't help but think that, tonight, she was going to die.

She was going to die. Would another Slayer be called? Would another one rise up and take her place? Would they tell her mother about what happened? Joyce already knew about her being Slayer and had, to some part, accepted it, but Buffy knew that it was hard on her mother.

She was going to die…

Her mother rapped gently on the door and let herself in.

"Hey, hunny…"

Buffy looked up. "It's not the end of the world, you know."

A sad smile reached Buffy's ears. "Not for you, Mom."

Joyce sighed. "It's only Prom night, dear. You go there, you dance... maybe meet a nice boy." Buffy didn't feel up to it much, and her stomach grumbled in protest. "Come on downstairs and I'll make you something to eat."

The two went downstairs to the kitchen and Joyce opened up the fridge, starting on something easy, maybe a Caesar salad. Buffy stopped when she saw the long, white dress hanging up, still in the plastic.

"Wow, Mom, nice dress…"

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

Ethan sat back and looked at the little, tight-knit group with new eyes. He'd just sat through an hour's worth of grilling and had received a lot of information, most specifically in regards to young Xander Harris, the slightly-long, brown-haired youth that looked somewhat bored all of the time.

This explained a lot, an awful lot.

Which led to another question, one that he voiced: "Why haven't you told the Slayer yet?"

The kid's face dropped and he sat back with a sigh. Ethan raised both his eyebrows in surprise, he'd guess, from the fact that they all looked so tight-lipped around her that she didn't have a clue what was going on… A grin appeared on Ethan's lips that was…sneaky.

"You saw how she reacted earlier," he said in a slightly bitter tone. Obviously, the two had history. Ethan scowled, of course they had history. He knew what he meant. "She still sees me as a kid with donuts, someone who will run home, crying to his mommy."

"Will you?"

A bitter stare was directed at Ethan. "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.

Ethan wasn't the only one who flinched.

Giles decided to change subject. "We've been thinking of two things lately: one is to coincide with a spell that will bring about two more Slayers - Faith and Kendra - who will be joining us shortly; and another to give Xander even more of an advantage."