Tree Hill, North Carolina; August 17th, 1999, 10.42 PM EST

The fax had come through thirty minutes ago, and Itio and Theo were shifting through the large file in front of them. Itio didn't share who sent it, and Theo didn't bother asking. Over the years he had learned that Itio had access to information sources that were beyond most people's reach.

After a few more minutes of reading, Itio looked at Theo and said, "It seems from this file that there was nothing special about Alexander Lavelle Harris, or Xander as he calls himself, until a few years ago, when the current slayer moved to Sunnydale. The documents are a little vague on the details, but it appears that Alexander became involved with and supported the slayer in her duties, although his capabilities are reported as limited at the time. It's been documented that revived the slayer when she was drained and nearly killed in an incident involving a fairly powerful Sabbat Nosferatu three years ago."

Itio shifted through the stack of paper before continuing, "It is unclear at this point in time what exactly happened, but for a while now he has displayed some superior knowledge and abilities. Among other things, he designed and built a bomb that blew up his whole school this summer, killing a fifth circle demon after he completed his ascension." Itio let the words sink in before handing Theo the faxed photographs that displayed the smoking ruins of Sunnydale High School. "And on an interesting side note, he has reported ties to Angelus, child of Darla. Although I wouldn't exactly call them friends, these reports talk about them working together at times."

The last piece of information raised an eyebrow with Theo, who had a growing feeling of both uneasiness and fascination since they'd started reviewing the surprisingly extensive and detailed documents. "Paschek is not going to like this one bit," Theo said somberly. During their earlier conversation, Theo had briefed his justicar on the previous night but had chosen to leave out his run-in with Xander for the time being.

Itio looked at him and shrugged, "Since when has that been stopping you, Theophilus?"

"Right," Theo said and forced a pained grin, "I don't think it ever has." Theo picked up his cell phone again, dreading the conversation he was about to have.

New York City, New York; August 17th, 1999, 10.51 PM EST

Avery Fisher Concert Hall at Lincoln Center was dark tonight. No performance had been scheduled, and the building was only running the emergency lighting to preserve energy. The plaza outside was packed with people enjoying the warm summer night while dancing during the Midsummer Night Swing festival. The music didn't carry far into the building, however, and never reached the concert hall where Calebros was sitting in one of the private boxes overlooking the empty stage, hidden from view under the veil of obfuscate for everyone except the one he wanted to meet..

He felt a familiar presence beside him, one that even after decades he immediately recognized beyond doubt. He looked over to the seat on his left where a large vampire seemed to materialize out of thin air. The newcomer made no attempt to hide his disfigured appearance that was the curse of all Nosferatu. His head was larger than normal, and his skin was an unhealthy looking shade of grey. His eyes bore an expression of deep sadness that was conveyed to anyone looking into them, as if this creature had chosen to bear the weight of the world on its shoulders just so that nobody else had to.

A large and hideously deformed cat the size of a juvenile tiger entered the box they were sitting in and looked briefly at Calebros before walking over to the newcomer and putting its head on its knee. A hand came down to pet it, and it closed its eyes while starting to purr.

After a few more moments of silence, Calebros cleared his throat and said, "She has gotten a lot bigger since we last met."

His guest nodded absentmindedly, and after a few more moments he began to speak in a deep baritone voice, "It is a pleasure seeing you again, Calebros. You should be proud, you have been doing very well for yourself and our kind." When Calebros didn't respond, he continued, "Why did you want to see me after all this time?"

Calebros leaned over and handed him a few pages of printouts. The Nosferatu glanced at them briefly before putting them in his lap. His reaction and the look of recognition on his face told Calebros that it these documents were real. "What I want to know is why? Why did you ensure that they were found now, and by a watcher, nonetheless?" Calebros asked.

"Because they are true," his guest said matter-of-factly.

After thinking about it for a minute, Calebros asked, "If this is destined to happen, why do you even bother with trying to change fate?"

The other Nosferatu looked at him with surprise. "Only the meek accept the hand that was dealt to them, Calebros. You of all people should understand that." His focus shifted from Calebros to an image from the past he saw in his mind. "Do you remember Santo Domingo, Calebros? Do you remember our dream? Dante, Constanza, Donna Murakka, you. We all believed it in. We all lived it. It was just like Menele had told us about from the days in Carthage." His voice grew more agitated as the anger he'd held inside seeped to the surface. "In a few nights they destroyed what took us over a century to build. They took our dream away from us. And now we'll destroy theirs!" He had risen from his seat during the last words, taking a step towards Calebros and putting his right hand on the younger Nosferatu's shoulder. Johannes von Reden studied Calebros' face, desperately searching for an understanding for and acceptance of the gravity of the situation and the choices that had been made.

And Calebros understood. He brought his clawed fingers to rest on the Johannes' hand and squeezed gently. "We had to wait four centuries for this moment. We shall have our revenge at last. How can the Nosferatu of New York assist you, my sire?"

Tree Hill, North Carolina; August 17th, 1999, 11.34 PM EST

"You want to do WHAT?" Justicar Paschek screamed into the phone. "Have you completely lost what little has been left of your mind, Bell? You will do no such thing. Kill him and be done with it!"

"Wait a minute, sir, he…" Theo started to reply.

"Wait a minute? WAIT A MINUTE?" Paschek screamed even louder. There was a pause, and Theo wondered if he finally overstepped his boundaries. When Paschek spoke again, he did so in an even and composed voice, which sent chills down Theo's spine. Having known the justicar and his temper, which was notoriously short even for a member of Clan Brujah, he realized that Paschek was very much on the edge, or maybe even over it. "Enlighten me, Archon, why I should wait a minute. Please, go ahead, I am eager to hear a plausible explanation for your utter disrespect towards me and the position I hold."

Theo sighed, but was not willing to back down from his earlier statement either. "Sir, I believe that there is a chance to utilize him to our advantage. The information we have and that I can send over to you show that he is connected to the slayer and the slayer's support network. The Sabbat is moving too fast in numbers that are too large for us to even stand a chance. If we could open up a new front by bringing in some more players, we might be able to slow them down enough to coordinate our defenses. The idea of setting the slayer loose in Atlanta or Miami…"

"Enough," Justicar Paschek said forcefully. "I will have none of this nonsense. Do you have any idea what's at stake here? Do I need to remind you what would happen if the slayer were to uncover the truth? We have been over this before, Archon, and the answer is no."

Theo shook his head. Paschek just didn't understand the situation. The Camarilla was getting slaughtered out there while they were speaking. There was some merit in his suggestion and the potential should at least be explored. "Sir, I am formally requesting to further investigate the usefulness of Alexander Harris in our fight against the Sabbat and to delay his removal until such investigation has been concluded. What is your decision, sir?"

Before Paschek had a chance to reply, Theo crushed the cell phone in his hand and threw it into the garbage. Seeing Itio's amused look, he shrugged and said, "I guess I have to assume that he concurred until I hear otherwise."

Itio nodded. "And in these troubled times it might take a little while for him to track you down."

"He might. Let's get to work and take a closer look at Mr. Harris then, shall we?"

Los Angeles, California; August 17th, 1999, 9.58 PM PST

Angel was taken by surprise when Lorne wordlessly handed him a cellular phone. He was still new to Los Angeles, and the only people who knew his exact whereabouts right now were sitting at the table with him. Nodding his thanks at the green demon, he warily took the phone.

"Hello?" He listened to the caller, as his expression went from surprise to concern to annoyance and finally to resignation. After two minutes, he nodded and said, "Ok, I'll be there, Theo. But we are even after that." He hung up the phone and sighed. How the hell did Xander get into that mess?

Cordelia looked at him. "Who was that?"

"It was someone calling in a favor that I owe him. Listen, I need to go, I have to be at the airport in an hour."

"Where are you going? Can I come?"

"North Carolina. No, you can't come, Cordy."

"Why not?" Cordelia asked in an annoyed tone. "You are hiding something. I see that guilty look in your eyes. What is it?"

Angel sighed again. He had learned from his time in Sunnydale that the only likely way he could get Cordelia off his back was to tell her the truth. "It's Xander. He's in trouble."

Tree Hill, North Carolina; August 18th, 1999, 1.21 PM EST

Lucas sat at a table reading a book and listening to some music when Peyton and Brooke walked over. He removed his earphones and smiled at them, unsure what the reason for their visit was.

"Hey, broody," Brooke said in her usual seductive way.

Lucas nodded at her. "Hey, cheery." His eyes wandered to Peyton. "Peyton." He still hadn't talked to her about the accident, and with Brooke here it didn't seem like the right moment, either.

"So, I'll see you at practice?" Brooke asked, her eyes still on Lucas.

Peyton looked over to her and nodded, "As always."

Brooke tore her eyes away from Lucas for a second to look at her best friend. "Yeah, you too." She gave Lucas another deep look before turning around and walking away, swinging her hips perfectly with every step.

Peyton watched Brooke leave before sitting down, suddenly feeling nervous. After Lucas had seen her so vulnerable a few days ago and after she had opened up to him for a moment, she couldn't deny any longer that she felt attracted to him. The problem was, however, that they were dancing around the issue without ever really addressing it, and Peyton had decided to do something about it. "So, what's the deal? Are we gonna hang out at this annual Scott money burn or what?"

Lucas was surprised. Is she flirting with me? "Yeah, right. Like I'm gonna spend the night with Nathan and Dan on my Friday off? I don't think so. I'd rather stay home with 'The Great Gatsby'."

Peyton was disappointed by the answer, but she was determined to not give up that easily. She gave him a flirtatious smile and said, "You know, I read a book last night."

Lucas smiled back at her. "Really?"

Nodding eagerly, Peyton slightly leaned forward over the table towards Lucas. "Yeah, it's about this girl and this guy, and they've got this really weird vibe going on, but there's all this drama, 'cause the girl's got this ex-boyfriend who turns out to be none other than the guy's brother. So the whole thing comes this great, big climax at this big party at their evil dad's house."

Listening with intrigue to what she was saying, Lucas lowered his voice and leaned forward himself. "Really? Hmm, what happens in the end?"

Peyton grinned at him, knowing that she had caught his interest. "You're just gonna have to show up to find out." She got up and walked away, leaving Lucas to look after her. Maybe going to this party is gonna be fun, after all, he thought happily to himself, smiling.

Tree Hill, North Carolina; August 18th, 1999, 5.18 PM EST

Skills and Junk were shooting some hoops when Lucas and Xander arrived at the river court. Lucas waved to Jimmy and Mouth, who were setting up their live web cast on the nearby benches, and walked over to his other two friends on the court, motioning for Xander to follow him.

"About time, baby," Skills said while shaking hands with Lucas. "We almost thought you'd leave us hanging, Luke." Looking at Xander, he asked, "And who are you?"

"I'm Xander, a friend of Lucas."

Skills shook his head. "Not on this court you aren't. See, on this court, we are all special. I'm Skills, because I have too many of them to name them all. He is Luke Skywalker, because he plays like the force is with him, but we only call him Luke." Pointing at the other person on the court, Skills continued, "And this is Junk. We are not sure if it is because of how well he plays or how much trash he talks. It's probably both." Skills, Lucas and Xander started to chuckle at that, while Junk put on a great display of being insulted before starting to laugh at himself. "So," Skills said, "all we need now is a name for you." He thought for a second and started to smile. "Since we don't know just yet what your superpower is, let's just call you the X-Man."

Xander grinned and said, "I can live with that one. Alright, let's get a game going."

"Ah, a man to my liking," Skills said. "Mouth, you guys ready?" he shouted over to the benches, where Mouth and Jimmy gave them the thumbs up signal. "Let's play some ball."

A military installation somewhere under Sunnydale, California; August 18th, 1999, 2.37 PM PST

"Sir, we have a problem."

The commanding officer looked up from his screen. "What is it, Corporal?"

"You requested to be informed if any of the level 4 files were ever accessed. It seems like it happened last night for file PP-7." The officer got up and walked over to Corporal Meyer's station. On the screen, he saw a message reading "File PP-7 – Security level 4 – remote access at 08-17-99 0903 PST".

"Remote access into our database? This is an independent database, there is no remote access capability. All file access has to happen from within this facility. Who accessed this file, Corporal?"

Corporal Meyer's fingers flew across the keyboard as he entered a complicated command string. The resulting message on the screen made him raise his eyebrows. "That's impossible," he muttered under his breath, already typing his next command. A list appeared on the display, confirming the soldier's initial reaction. He looked at his commander, cleared his throat and said, "Sir, that information is classified. According to the system, the file was accessed at security level Omega-6. However, that is impossible. The highest security level there is in the system is Omega-5."

"Are you trying to tell me that someone is able to remotely access our secure database at a security level above the highest one possible?"

"That's what it currently appears to be, Sir," Corporal Meyer's replied, his voice slightly wavering under the scrutinizing stare of his commander.

After a brief moment, the commander spoke again. "What is the content of file PP-7?"

Checking the data tag in the system, Corporal Meyer responded, "Civilian data collection and surveillance file of Alexander Lavelle Harris, Sir. The file is attached to Project Progeny."

The commanding officer took a last look at the screen in front of him before walking back to his desk and placing a call over his secure line. "Oversight, this is Control. We had a security breach for Project Progeny."

Tree Hill, North Carolina; August 18th, 1999, 5.44 PM EST

"Rejected!" Mouth shouted into the microphone. "This was already his seventh block of the game, eradicating the former record of five blocks held by Luke. Ladies and gentlemen, the X-Man sets a new record in his first appearance on the river court. Here's the pass, and Skills scores another easy basket after the block and assist by the X-Man. Now what do you think of this game, Jimmy?" Mouth asked excitedly and handed the microphone to his co-moderator.

"Mouth, the last point made it 14-8 for the clear underdog team of Skills and the X-Man. One more point and this would go down in the history books as the biggest upset win on this very court. Our statistic department had to look deep in our archives and just provided us with some new numbers. Another point would end Luke's winning streak of 46 games over the last 121 days, including the most memorable win in recent history over his brother, Nathan Scott."

Mouth took over the microphone again, "What can I say, Jimmy? The crowd here is as stunned as we are. Luke's highest point differential in a loss on this court is 3, dating back to September 27th, 1998. What we are most impressed with is certainly the defensive performance by the X-Man."

Jimmy nodded eagerly. "And somewhere in America Dennis Rodman, Alonzo Mourning and Hakeem Olajuwan are weeping themselves to sleep. Their era of defensive dominance will be all but forgotten after today. This is it, game point. Lucas passes to Junk and moves down the baseline, trying to get past Skills and into position. Junk dribbles past the X-Man, shielding the ball with his body and looking over to find Luke. Luke signals for the ball. Junk is looking up and… STEAL BY THE X-MAN!"

"UNBELIEVABLE," Mouth shouted. "X-Man has the ball and goes for the easy lay-up. Skills and X-Man win! We just witnessed the biggest upset win in Tree Hill history! Jimmy, have you ever seen anybody move their hands that fast?"

"Not in all of my career as a sports commentator, Mouth, and from the look of disbelieve on Junk's face, neither has he."

A/N: This chapter is a little bit shorter than my other ones, but I wanted to get it out so you guys don't have to wait any longer… ;) Feedback is always appreciated.