Date written: Thu 15 Oct 2009
Author: Starway Man
E-mail: theop at hotkey dot net dot au
Disclaimer: The Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar, Kuzui, Fox, WB and UPN; I don't own 'em, and I never will. I also do not own any other characters from any television shows, movies, comics, videogames or literature that I might use. This work is meant merely for enjoyment, and no profit is being made off of it. Some of the text is from various TV episodes or movies or comics or videogames or literature, and so does not belong to me of course.
Rating: Overall R, with mostly PG-13 parts.
Symbols: " " denotes speech, ( italics ) specifies thoughts, and # # indicates phone voice.
Main characters: Xander, ensemble
Warnings: There is some violence, bad language, character death and mention of sexual situations in these stories.
Author Notes: A couple of years ago Night Hunter MGS (a.k.a. Matt) wrote an awesome series of stories called "31 Days of Xanderween" (http://www. fanfiction .net/s/3813208/1/31_Days_of_Xanderween), where he published one Halloween fic for each day of October. I was inspired enough to want to do my own version of the concept, and he has graciously allowed me to use his idea for this series of fanfic stories.
Author Notes 2: Nothing much to say, except thanks for all the reviews and feedback so far. To think, the series is just about halfway over! Anyway, on with the show...
Acknowledgments: My thanks of course to Matt for allowing me to dabble with his original idea this way. Also, my deepest gratitude to all my beta readers – Francis Eugene, Greywizard, American Soldier and Nodakskip – for all their help in getting these stories finished on time!
Classification: Alternate Universe, Angst, Crossover, Romance, YAHF
Summary: Thirty-one versions of Halloween, Xander-style. Fic-a-day series.
Title:31 Days of Xanderween Part Deux
***
Story 15: Walk Like An Egyptian
Sunnydale High School Library, Sunnydale, California
October 30th, 1997
When confronted with a question one cannot answer simply, or even at all, most people do the logical thing and start researching the matter. Xander Harris was no exception, and in the case of what to wear as a Halloween costume for tomorrow night's little soiree, he felt sure the answer could be found in the books of his friend and mentor, Rupert Giles.
"Hey, Xander. What are you doing?" Willow Rosenberg said, as she entered the library as well.
"Trying to think of ideas for a costume, Will," the dark-haired young man said with a frown. "Y'know, for the trick o' treating thing tomorrow night – I'm attempting to come up with a costume that'll impress the girls, as well as inspire the munchkins to get lots of candy."
Willow shook her head, thinking that only Xander could possibly be worrying so much about something so mundane. She'd been expecting something more along the lines of the latest apocalypse to hit the Hellmouth, after all. The redhead asked, "Come up with anything good yet?"
"Nah," Xander sighed. "There's nothing here except demons, demons, demons! Man, Giles really needs to update his book selection."
Willow looked up for a moment in despair, sometimes she truly wondered just what it was she saw in the big goofball for him to be the object of her affections like this. "I don't suppose you've tried looking in the non-demon-y books yet?"
"Well, I was sorta saving them for a last resort, I...hello!" Xander's eye caught something in the book he was flipping through. "Who's this guy?"
Willow came up and took the book from him, which was entitled 'Blood Rites and Sacrifices'. ( Eww, Xander, the title alone sucks! ) Miss Rosenberg thought upon seeing the name of the book, then she quickly began to read the section that had caught her friend's interest.
"Oh, the Sobekites! I've heard of them. They were an ancient Egyptian cult, heavy into dark magic," Willow mused. "Uh, they rose to power somewhere in between the 11th and 12th Dynasties, I think?"
"That's right, Will. And look at that picture of their high priest-y dude, that guy Kull or Khul or however you pronounce it," Xander said excitedly, pointing to the woodcut drawing. "I can totally pull that look off! Yeah, I figure I can raid the Drama club supplies cupboard for most of what I need, and pick up what I can't at that new place you, me and Buffy were going to go to after school.
"What's it called again?" he asked his best friend.
"Uh, Ethan's Costume Shop," Willow answered vaguely, as she read more and more of what the Egyptian priest had gotten up to roughly four thousand years ago.
***
Somewhere on the streets of Sunnydale, California
October 31st, 1997
Khul, High Priest of the Temple of Sobek, instantly knew that something was amiss the moment his consciousness awoke within Xander's body
It wasn't the screaming, and it wasn't the demons chasing people; he had seen enough of that in his native city of Thebes, during the reign of the Pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty, for it not to really register on his weird-o-meter. It wasn't even the human technology so advanced that his mind couldn't comprehend it yet, such as the street lights and the cars.
What disturbed him was the fact that Osiris, the Egyptian god of the dead, had seen fit to return him to the land of the living.
"Xander! Xander!"
Khul turned around as the female voice grew louder with every passing moment. He did not understand what she was saying, but the male Egyptian had a brain and he could sense great agitation coming off of her. Khul simply held up one hand and spoke to her in his own language, but it was instantly obvious that the red-haired girl could not understand him anymore than he could her.
Quickly learning she was naught by a spirit and feeling annoyed by the events of the evening so far, the High Priest turned away and was about to depart when he heard the sound of another female screaming. Khul slowly followed the redhead, who had started babbling again, as they headed towards a dark-haired woman dressed very differently to her. There was obviously little love lost between the two females, from the expression on the new one's face and her gestures towards the redhead's clothes.
( Enough of this, ) Khul thought to himself. ( I must learn to communicate with these people somehow. The great Lord Osiris must have sent me here for a reason. )
Just then he heard demonic growling, and the priest turned to see two monsters approaching. Khul failed to see Lady Buffy faint, since he was too busy clutching the amulet around his neck and incanting a transmogrification spell.
Suddenly, where there had been a human man dressed in ancient Egyptian clothes, there was now a huge roaring lion. The demons stopped in surprise, and then quickly decided to seek out easier prey. Which was very smart of them, all things considered.
As the lion morphed back into a man, Khul looked around to see the redhead staring at him like he was the earthly manifestation of one of the gods themselves. The High Priest was in no mood to listen to her meaningless chatter, however, and so as he walked over to pick up the unconscious noblewoman he sent Willow a glare that finally shut her up.
But the moment he touched Lady Buffy, Khul at last got a clue as to what was going on around here.
The High Priest didn't know the name Janus, of course, since the god of chaos hadn't been called that by the Romans until two thousand years after his time. But despite that, Khul could feel the magical power of the Egyptian deity called Seth coursing through this woman's body – and he could suddenly feel something else – that she was the Chosen One, the Slayer of the undead, those who walked amongst the living drinking their blood.
( The council of those who Watch from the shadows must not know of this, ) Khul thought to himself as he began to follow Willow, who was making some unmistakeable 'come with me' gestures. ( And the blood-drinkers would be celebrating the fact that their enemy is incapacitated this way, were they to learn what has happened. I will have to do something about it, most likely. )
***
1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California
A short while later
The group had arrived at Buffy's house and locked the kitchen door behind them. Placing the unconscious woman on the couch, the High Priest briefly looked around at the 20th century home in sheer wonder, before deciding to go out the front door after hearing yet another female screaming.
He might not have bothered to do anything afterwards under different circumstances, but the Egyptians had always held cats to be sacred animals – and the sight of Cordelia Chase in her Halloween cat costume, being chased by a Sasquatch, decided the matter for him. Concentrating yet again, Khul assumed the form of a ten-foot cobra; and ignoring the screaming female, the snake attempted to sink its fangs into the lumbering Bigfoot's hide.
The Sasquatch stopped, confused, then moved out of the snake's way. Not sure about what to do about a confrontation with something even bigger than it was, the creature took another step backwards; and then finally making its mind up, the Sasquatch took off in the opposite direction.
Khul winced at hearing the young woman, most likely a temple maiden of some sort, scream louder than ever as he resumed his human shape. He went to take her by the arm – and immediately withdrew his hand after touching her; it was as if he'd just touched a live wire.
( Cursed you are, by one of the gods – or something close enough to them, ) the High Priest thought as he stared in wonder at Cordelia. ( I know not who or what, but some higher power has placed a geas upon you never to know true happiness. For the more you give of your heart to any man – the worse you shall suffer pain and betrayal... )
Beckoning the maiden to follow him, Khul returned inside his temporary headquarters. Ignoring the cat-girl and the redheaded spirit as they started speaking in their native language, Khul got down on his knees and began to invoke a summoning spell, cutting open his palm and letting the blood drip down onto the floor in order to bring forth the god of the dead.
Immediately, dark clouds appeared and started to swirl around the ceiling. Lightning flashed, but only inside the room. Willow and Cordelia screamed in fear and moved back, staring at the man who had possessed Xander Harris tonight; but Khul paid them no heed. He simply intoned in ancient Egyptian, "Osiris, keeper of the darkness, I ask that you hear the prayer of this unworthy servant of Sobek. Appear before me, and tell me thy bidding."
Some of the clouds formed a scowling, demonic-looking face as the High Priest looked up from his kneeling position. Osiris took in the man's clothes, the headdress and a white linen kilt called a shenti, plus the blue and green eyeshadow and black kohl eyeliner; and instantly recognized him.
"Khul? What are you doing here?" the deity spoke irritably in English, before noticing the Egyptian's lack of understanding. Instantly, a shimmering column of energy shot out of the god's mouth and encompassed Khul for a moment, briefly making him glow. "There, that's better. Now tell me, Khul, why are you within the realm of the living? Sobek has been annoying everyone trying to learn where his favorite High Priest disappeared off to!"
"Khul? Why's he calling Xander that?" Cordelia whispered to Willow, who immediately shushed her.
"I know not exactly what has happened, Lord Osiris, but I suspect that Lord Seth is responsible; at least, in part," Khul said, with his head bowed. Behind him, Willow and Cordelia briefly gaped at how the Egyptian was now speaking flawless if accented English.
"Seth? Oh, you mean Janus, that damned traitor to his own pantheon. Hmm, yes, you're right – I can tell now how one of his worshippers has invoked his power to unleash great chaos on the Hellmouth tonight. That explains why you're here – your host is under Janus's spell." Osiris scowled, no doubt planning to have a sharp word with his fellow deity soon.
Suddenly though, he focused more carefully on Willow. "You!" Osiris shouted at the redhead. "You are not truly dead! Foolish ghost, get back inside your body at once!"
"Uh, Lord Osiris? I can't. I-I-I don't know how, I mean – if I could I would have already, but I, I..." Willow stammered, almost scared speechless by the Egyptian god's anger.
"Another victim of Janus? Yes, of course. And you..." Osiris focused his attention on the sleeping Buffy. "I remember you, from before your friend brought you back from the land of the dead. You've been affected by that spell as well."
Osiris paused and then snapped at the high priest, "Khul! There's something wrong with her. Investigate at once!"
The High Priest obeyed the god of death immediately, getting up and going over to kneel at Lady Buffy's side. Spreading his palms over Buffy's prone form, Khul used his mystic powers to diagnose the noblewoman's condition. It took a while, but eventually he found out what he wanted to know.
"She suffers a sickness of the spirit, Lord Osiris," Khul reported to the Egyptian god. "The Slayer essence within her is unlike what it once was."
"Yes..." Osiris mused, ignoring Cordelia and Willow's concerned looks. "Because the Slayer line has been twinned by your host, Khul. There is now another Chosen One far from here, towards the south – and she, too, is less than what she should be. Stand back!!"
Khul instantly obeyed, and a white-gold light shot out of Osiris's mouth this time. It made Lady Buffy shine like an angel, before the light faded away. And far away in Jamaica, the Slayer known as Kendra gasped as she suddenly felt different – stronger, and more complete than she had ever felt before.
"That should do it," Osiris grunted in satisfaction. "Khul, see to it that that worshipper of Janus ends his spell at once. And once you're back where you belong? Tell Sobek I said to quit his damned bellyaching from now on, because that reptile will test my patience beyond its limits one day!"
"Yes, Lord Osiris," Khul bowed his head. A moment later the demonic-looking face disappeared in a flash of lightning, and the dark clouds dispersed and disappeared as well.
"What the hell was that?" a terrified Cordelia asked of no one in particular, before a furious Khul whirled around to face her.
"Foolish girl! You dare invoke the name of the evil spirit realm so easily!? You are cursed enough already," he said angrily. "Now be silent, you and the female spirit both! Lest I turn you into a female dog, and send your friend's soul to be devoured within the belly of the beast Ammonet!"
It was the glare that convinced Cordelia to remain silent, however galling it felt to be subservient to the man currently wearing Xander's face. Apart from the fact she had seen the Egyptian transform himself into a snake earlier on, Cordy had recognized and practiced that glare in the mirror countless times for whenever she had to force one of her Cordettes to do something that was unpleasant. The glare that said 'you better do what I say because if you don't, I have the power to destroy you'. Miss Chase knew people, and that was how she knew Khul wasn't bluffing.
Willow was just staring at the High Priest in pure terror, but luckily for her, she stayed as quiet as a mouse whilst Khul got down on his knees again. Closing his eyes and attempting to block out the Hellmouth's evil supernatural energy, Khul centred himself and attempted to trace the chaos spell back to its source, following the mystical trail out of his host's body to Ethan's Costume Shop within a matter of moments.
"There you are," Khul muttered, opening his eyes and getting up. He glanced around at the ghost and the society princess and told them, "I am leaving now. Do not attempt to follow me. If all goes well, the spell shall be terminated soon; and then I shall return to the land of the dead and the service of my Lord Sobek." He then sent the girls a malignant glare, "Pray that we do not meet again, for it has NOT been a pleasure knowing you!"
With that the ancient Egyptian swept out of the house, not looking back even once to see if the girls would follow his orders. It is axiomatic that if the power is there the ego must eventually follow, and this High Priest had powers that most mortal men could only dream of, after all.
"Okay, now what do we do?" Cordelia demanded of Willow, bristling over how she'd just been insulted that way.
"Stay here, keep an eye on Buffy and not get in Xander's – err, Khul's way," Willow decided, still feeling freaked after that close encounter with Osiris just now. "'Cause I don't know about you, but I don't fancy getting my soul eaten anytime soon!"
Cordelia shrugged; she didn't like the sound of becoming a dog either. So she just sat down and made herself at home, after barricading the front door against intruders.
And so it came to pass that not long after Angel, Buffy's undead boyfriend, finally arrived at the house, Ethan's spell ended – and Rayne himself ended up running out of town the moment Khul turned back into Xander Harris.
***
Sunnydale High Library, Sunnydale, California
November 1st, 1997
Buffy and Willow were talking in the library this morning, despite it being a Saturday. The events of last night held too many ramifications for them to do anything else.
"I feel so...weird," Miss Summers confessed, staring at her hands. "I, I'm not the Slayer anymore, Will. I'm just – a regular person now?"
"Well, yeah, I guess," Willow said delicately. "So, how's it feel being an ordinary Josephina again like all the rest of us?"
"I'm honestly not sure," Buffy confessed. "I mean, I never asked to be the Slayer – but there were some parts of it I was starting to enjoy, y'know what I mean? Being able to kick ass was kinda fun – well, when I wasn't in danger of getting killed by a demon or a vampire, of course."
"Oh, but now you'll be able to have a normal life!" Willow said urgently, trying to focus on the positives. "No more cutting class, no more sneaking out at nights, no more having to lie to your mom..."
"Well, yeah, I guess there is that," Buffy nodded, scratching her head. Then she brightened up, "Yeah, Willow, you're right! You're absolutely right. I can finally be me again! I can actually show up to dates with Angel without having to look like I just crawled out of a dumpster, the way I did last week!"
Willow's reply was cut off as Rupert Giles came out of his private office. He had been on the phone with the Council in England just now, trying to get some answers from the Watchers after hearing from Buffy and Willow the whole fantastic story of what had happened the previous evening. He started polishing his glasses, and both female teens immediately took that as a warning sign.
"Giles? What's up?" Buffy asked worriedly.
"Yeah, you-you look kinda concerned," Willow added.
"Well, uh, that's because I am concerned, a-a-about a lot of things," the Watcher confessed. "Apparently, Willow, what you and Cordelia heard Osiris say last night was the truth; there, there's been another active Slayer for the last six months known as Kendra, she's currently based in Jamaica. Um, according to the Watcher diaries, she was activated the very same night that you died, Buffy-"
"But I was only gone for like a minute!" the blonde girl protested on instinct.
"It doesn't matter, dead is dead – and, and your successor was called to be the next Slayer," Giles sighed, as he put on his glasses. "Her Watcher, uh, S-sam Zabuto, he was very surprised to hear that you were still alive, a-according to my sources."
"Wait! I don't get something, Giles. I mean, if you and that other Slayer's Watcher were both sending reports to England about the Chosen One's activities, how come nobody ever knew there were two Slayers?" Willow wanted to know.
"Well, uh, they did. But a-a-apparently, someone somewhere within the Council didn't feel that I needed to know," Giles looked miffed as he passed on that particular bit of information. "Still, it doesn't matter any longer. Uh, now that Buffy's not the Slayer anymore, th-thanks to Osiris," the British man winced a little.
"Hey, Watcher mine? I know that look. What is it you aren't telling us?" Miss Summers demanded.
( Blast. I had hoped not to have to reveal this yet... ) Rupert exhaled, quickly figuring that it would probably be better to simply get this over with. There was no point in dragging it out until the bitter end, after all.
"Giles?" Buffy spoke up again impatiently.
"Well, uh, Buffy, since you're no longer a Slayer...the Council feels that you, you no longer require a Watcher. That's why pending confirmation of your status a week from now, well – I'm being recalled to England," Giles said rather apologetically.
"You're LEAVING!?" Buffy semi-shrieked, unable to believe that the pseudo-father figure in her life was deserting her like this.
"Giles, you-you can't leave! I mean, who's gonna be the librarian around here if you go?" Willow demanded.
"Well, uh, I'm sure Principal Snyder will find someone else, it's not like there's a shortage of them in this country," Giles said uncomfortably. "And as you both know, my job at this school was always pretty much just a cover; my real calling was, was looking after Buffy. But, since she's not the Chosen One anymore...well, y-you understand, the battle against the forces of evil won't stop just because of what Osiris did last night. I have to go where I'm needed most."
"But Giles, this is the Hellmouth!" Willow protested, as something suddenly occurred to her. "I mean hello, demons, and, and vampires! If you're leaving and Buffy's not the Slayer anymore, then who-?"
"Kendra and her Watcher will be arriving here to take over soon, o-or so I'm told," Giles said awkwardly. Desperate to change the subject, he looked around the library. "Err, can either of you tell me where Xander is right now? I've not seen him yet, and I have quite a few questions I'd like to ask that boy about his experiences last night."
"I phoned him at his house this morning," Willow said worriedly. "He said he was fine, but...I don't know, there was something in his voice that didn't exactly make me believe him."
"Well, no doubt he was rather perturbed by his possession last night, the same as both of you were," Giles hypothesised. "Still, the lad's fairly tough – I'm sure he'll get over it soon enough."
***
No. 4 Parkview Crescent, Sunnydale, California
Later that day
The Mexican woman called Lupe, who worked at the Chase manor as a maid, opened up the front door in response to the doorbell. "Yes?"
"I'm here to see Cordelia. The name's Xander Harris," the young man identified himself after stating his business.
"I'm sorry, but Miss Cordelia is not seeing anyone today," the maid replied, as per her instructions from the high school beauty queen. "She's feeling indisposed."
"Please, just tell her that I'm here and that I have some information for her; something that she really needs to hear. We go to school together, Cordy knows me," Xander insisted. "I'll wait right here until you've told her, and if she still doesn't wasn't to talk to me afterwards, then I'll hit the road. Please? This is very important."
The maid hesitated, but in the end, she shut the door and went to find her mistress. Five minutes later, a scowling Cordelia came to the front door. "What do you want, Loser Boy? Gonna threaten to turn me into a dog again?"
( Damn, she would have to remember that! ) Xander shook his head though. "We need to talk, in private. Can we take this inside? It's very major, I swear."
Still scowling, Cordelia let him in and then led her classmate to the main library of the manor. "All right, fine. So what is it that's so vital you came all the way over to my house?"
Xander took a deep breath, not sure how to start. "Cordy...we're not friends, and we haven't been ever since we were five or six years old. Truthfully, these days we both hate each other's guts, or at least close enough. But we've known each other ever since kindergarten – that's why I have to tell you the truth, no matter how upsetting it'll sound."
"What? What are you talking about?" Miss Chase demanded.
"You're cursed," Xander just blurted it out.
"Well, obviously, since I'm constantly getting involved with you and your idiot friends," Cordelia shot back with a grimace.
"No. You're not listening to me," Xander insisted. "I'm talking about a real curse, Cordy, a magical one. Last night, when Khul touched you on the arm? He felt it, he instantly knew the truth. Bottom line, someone's targeted you for something or other. And since I can still remember everything about last night, I had to warn you about this," he said passionately, willing with all his might that the cheerleader would believe him.
"Yeah, right," Cordelia smirked. "Nice try, Xander-"
"I'M SERIOUS!!" Xander shouted, startling his female companion. "Khul recognized the curse as one which means that you'll never find love and happiness, do you understand? Any guy that you get involved with, it won't end well; it can't, not while the curse is in place. The more you fall in love with him, the worse it'll eventually blow up in your face! Khul didn't know who or how or why, but someone is manipulating you."
He saw her look and said pleadingly, "You gotta believe me! Cordelia, it's your LIFE we're talking about!"
Cordy simply couldn't help it, she suddenly began to believe him. As he'd said, there was a time when they'd been friends – and if this was some sort of a joke or a trick, it had long since passed the point of being funny. "You're not kidding, are you?"
"Why else would I even bother to come here, damn it!?" Xander exploded, before he forced himself to calm down. "Come on, let's go. We gotta go talk to Giles about this, try to get that curse lifted off you."
As the two teens left the Chase manor, somewhere in a higher dimension, the creature that would have been named 'Jasmine' started cursing non-stop as many of her plans collapsed into rubble.
***
Angel's basement apartment, Sunnydale, California
November 13th, 1997
Angel, the one and only vampire with a soul, was brooding about a number of things within the dark lair he called home.
First and foremost, there was the fact that he had broken up with Buffy about a week ago.
Even though it had totally shattered her heart, Angel had told the Summers girl that it was too dangerous for them to be together anymore. He'd warned Buffy that she had to stop going out alone after dark, had to stop acting as if she was still the Slayer; that losing her powers meant having a normal life, and not associating with vampires and demons.
It had been enough for Buffy to demand her powers back, cornering Xander in the library and ordering him to DO something not long after Giles had left town. The petite blonde hadn't been in the mood to take 'no' for an answer, that was certain.
But as far as Angel knew, there was nothing that boy could do to help her; Harris wasn't a god, and he couldn't summon Osiris any longer either. Besides, you didn't piss off a deity that way if you had even an ounce of brains in your head – the consequences could and would be catastrophic if Buffy started making demands of Osiris.
( That's one of the reasons why I love her, ) Angel thought with a mental sigh. ( Her wonderful, emotion-filled stubbornness... )
All of a sudden, someone kicked down his front door, the wood smashing apart and falling down with a loud thump. A brown-skinned girl carrying a stake burst into the apartment, grabbed Angel by the throat and shoved him up against the wall, her wooden weapon already pressing up against his heart. "Don't move, vampire, or Mr. Pointy will travel anodder six inches forward and you'll be a pile o' dust," Kendra the vampire Slayer promised him in her distinctive accent. "Angelus, isn't it?"
"No. Angelus was the soulless monster who would have killed you the moment you set foot in my house. I'm Angel," the ensouled vampire said calmly, not twitching a single muscle.
"So I've heard from me predecessor and her friends, before I told 'em to stay out of me business from now on," Kendra said contemplatively. "Dat Buffy girl? Meself, I tink she's an idiot for ever getting involved wit a vampire!"
"You're entitled to your own opinion, even if we're not together anymore," Angel said in that quiet tone, refusing to let Kendra's words get to him. "So. You're here to kill me? A vampire is a vampire, soul or not; is that it?"
"Hard to say. Dat Xander person? He told me dat he didn't like you; but you were part o' de team, and dat I should give you a chance to leave de Hellmouth before I killed ya," Kendra replied contemplatively, ignoring Angel's look of surprise. "So what'll it be? I've already killed yer children, Spike 'n Drusilla, and good riddance to 'em. Do I make it three vampires today, or not?"
"I'll leave. It'd be all for the best, anyway; Buffy needs to find a human boy her own age, and she can't do that if I'm still in Sunnydale. She'd never stop pining over me," Angel confessed after a burst of insight.
Without warning, Kendra let him go and withdrew the stake from his chest. "Ya've got one hour after sunset, and dat's it. If I come back to dis place and you're still here, you'll wish dat I'd made it quick just now." With that Kendra turned her back on him and left the apartment, all the contempt she had for the ensouled vampire clearly evident in every step she took.
Silently, Angel began to pack his stuff. He had already decided not to say goodbye to Buffy in person; there was no point in adding to his beloved's pain, it would be best if he just left her a note and then disappeared out of town.
***
Rack's mobile lair, Sunnydale, California
November 28th, 1997
Cordelia didn't like the look of this place. She didn't like the look of the smirking Rack either. But according to Xander, this magic dealer might be the best chance of getting that damned curse removed, and so she was determined to persevere and pay whatever price she had to in order to be free of it.
"Well, now, don't you two make a cute-looking couple," Rack observed with a knowing leer, staring at the two teens. "So what'll it be? The best magical way to pleasure your boyfriend in bed, or a charm to enable your girlfriend to do kinky yet incredible things in the sack?"
"Hey, hey, hey! That's not why we're here, repulsive brain," Cordelia barked out angrily. "And just so you know, Xander and I aren't together either. He came with me today for some emotional support, is all."
"Sure. Whatever you say, kid," Rack smirked again.
Xander spoke a few words in ancient Egyptian, and immediately the smile was wiped off Rack's face.
"How the hell did a young punk like you learn about THAT?" the now wide-eyed magic pusher asked.
"I was the High Priest of the Temple of Sobek during Halloween, a guy named Khul. And I can still remember everything he knew," Xander replied evenly, not bothering to elaborate any further about what the Egyptian had done to the souls of those people he'd considered his enemies. "Now my friend here is under a curse, and she wants it removed. Money's not an issue on this, at least not as long as you're honest about what the job will involve. Interested?"
"Very," Rack nodded at once. These two were like a breath of fresh air in his ho-hum existence of addicting foolish teenagers to his powerful brand of magic, and then making them pay him through the nose for it. He walked up to Cordelia and said, "But first I need to take a little tour of the facilities, and I gotta warn you – it'll hurt. A lot."
"Do what you have to," Cordelia said nervously, steeling herself as Rack plunged his glowing fist into her abdomen.
A few moments later, Rack withdrew it as Cordelia struggled not to scream in pain. "Well, I've got bad news – and I've got other bad news."
"What's the bad news?" Xander asked, grabbing the cheerleader and steadying her before she fell down.
"The curse can't be removed, at least not by anyone like me. From what I can tell, it was placed on your girl whilst she was still in her mother's womb, long before she was ever born," Rack said simply, a brief look of distaste on his face. "Whoever did it is a major player, too, someone way out of my league."
"And the other bad news?" Cordelia asked, struggling not to be sick over the thought that her life was effectively ruined, that she would never have a husband and children and the whole 'happily ever after' thing.
"There's a tracking spell on you of some sort, as well as the curse," Rack said, wiping his hands with a towel. "Really well hidden, but it's there. I figure you didn't know about that?"
"No," Xander replied, noting how Miss Chase was starting to get teary-eyed. "Can you tell us who, and whereabouts it leads?"
"Sorry. But the good news is, the tracking spell CAN be removed; just not by me," Rack said with a sunny smile. "That'll be fifty bucks, please, for my consultancy fee."
Cordelia threw the money at him, and ran away crying. Xander just sent Rack a hard look before following her out of the lair. "Cordy, wait up!"
"Why? So you can gloat how Cordelia Chase finally got hers, that your fondest wish has finally come true?!" the young woman exploded at Xander, as they found themselves alone on the empty Sunnydale street.
"No," Xander said quietly. "I just want to talk to you about what our next move is gonna be, who we'll consult next about this."
"But didn't you hear what that guy said? The curse can't be lifted! I'm doomed to live the rest of my life all alone!!" Miss Chase cried.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Xander said grimly. "Come on, let's go back to the library. You and I have got some more researching to do."
"Oh, what's the point?" Cordy asked hopelessly, as she let him escort her back to her car. "Giles is gone, and that new Watcher wants nothing to do with us. Be honest, Xander; what are the chances of success?"
"I don't know. But where there's life, there's always hope," Xander quoted the old saying to her. "I mean, if Khul had given up every time he'd come up against an obstacle, he'd have died when he was barely eight years old."
They got into her car and Xander added, "And if there's one thing I seemed to have picked up from that guy ever since Halloween, it's being one stubborn son of a bitch like he was."
***
Kingman's Bluff, Sunnydale, California
May 9th, 2002
Nearly five years had passed, and the lives of the Scooby Gang had turned out somewhat differently to what otherwise might have happened.
Not long after Xander and Cordelia's meeting with Rack, an evil robot named Ted Buchanan had started dating Joyce Summers. Thanks to her daddy issues, Buffy had rejected its presence in her life at once. So, Ted had brutally beaten up the blonde girl in her bedroom one night before being forced to go on the run, as without the Slayer essence on her side Miss Summers hadn't stood a chance against the homicidal psychopathic machine. That particular night had marked a turning point in Buffy's life; it was why she had started going to a martial arts instructor and learned how to defend herself without any super-powers to fall back on.
By that point, oddly enough, Cordelia had stopped associating with the school's popular crowd, and cut herself off socially as well. No more dates, no more Bronze, no more nothing as despair threatened to swallow her whole. About the only person she associated with was Xander, who eventually found someone to eradicate that tracking spell that Jasmine had been using to keep an eye on her would-have-been mother.
It had alarmed Cordelia's parents when they'd finally taken notice of what was going on with their daughter. But by that point, it had been too late; Mr. and Mrs. Chase had had their own problems to deal with, including the IRS seizing everything during the latter half of senior year. Cordy had almost committed suicide after her family had gone completely broke – but luckily, Xander had shown up and saved her life after the drug overdose, rushing the former socialite to hospital.
He was the only one who truly cared whether Cordelia lived or died by that point, unfortunately.
Willow and Buffy had subsequently taken to UC Sunnydale like a fish did to water. Xander hadn't gone on to college himself; he'd been too busy getting a job and pulling down enough money for him and Miss Chase to live on, as he had appointed himself her guardian after her parents had been arrested and sent to jail.
Thus, Harris had only peripherally been involved when the cyborg named ADAM had begun his reign of terror, or when the hellgod named Glory had done likewise a year later, or when Kendra had made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause last year diving off that tower.
But Xander HAD taken notice of the three geeks named Warren Mears, Andrew Wells and Jonathan Levinson, who had basically annoyed Kendra's successor Faith for ages this year. He couldn't help it; Jonathan had once been a friend, and under different circumstances, Harris might very well have become one of the criminal nerds himself.
Oddly enough, Faith had become Buffy's girlfriend after the former Slayer had decided to experiment a little – college girls did tend to do that, after all, and Angel was just a fading memory now. Willow herself had long since forsaken Xander and had moved on to the shy blonde named Tara Maclay, after finding her soul mate and figuring out that she was gay.
At any rate, Faith had been in the Summers backyard when Warren had come to shoot her with a handgun. Buffy had managed to get her girlfriend to the hospital, but sadly, Tara had died when a stray bullet had taken her life in the upstairs bedroom. An enraged Willow had summoned Osiris to bring her back, recalling the Halloween incident from years ago – she was a very powerful witch now, and could do such a thing far more easily than Khul could ever have. But Osiris had refused, which had led Willow down a dark path of hate and revenge.
Warren had been skinned alive, Andrew and Jonathan had run for it out of Sunnydale and Giles had teleported back from England to stop the murderous über-witch.
Unfortunately, that hadn't worked out too well – Dark Willow had drained all his borrowed magical power, and had come up with the terrible idea of destroying the world in order to end everyone's pain.
As Dark Willow funnelled the life-force of the planet into a demonic statue in order to burn the world into a cinder, the ritual was suddenly interrupted as Xander got in front of the green beam of light. The black-eyed, black-haired badass just glared at her one-time romantic crush. "What do you think you're doing, Xander?"
"Not too sure myself," Xander admitted. "All I know is, Will, you don't wanna do this-"
"Get out of here," Dark Willow said coldly, sick and tired of the platitudes she had been hearing lately.
"Ah, no. You're not the only one with powers, you know. You may be a hopped-up über-witch, but – this carpenter can dry-wall you into the next century," Xander grinned weakly.
"I'm no joke like you, Xander. Get out of my way. Now." The evil witch sent a bolt of magic at the young man. It lifted him off his feet and threw him to the ground at the base of the statue, but it wasn't enough to make Harris give up. As Dark Willow started sending that green life-force into the statue of Proserpexa again, Xander staggered to his feet and blocked the flow of magic once more.
Willow glared at him again for it. "You can't stop this."
"Sure, but I gotta try, Will. Same as I've been trying to free Cordelia from her curse all these years," Xander said, holding his ribs painfully.
"You'll fail. You'll die," Dark Willow promised him simply.
"Yeah, odds are. It's just, where else am I gonna go? You've been my best friend my whole life. World's gonna end, where else would I want to be?" Xander asked sincerely.
"How about in bed with Cordelia? Yeah, mister, I saw you guys going at it when I was checking out the nerd herd's surveillance system recently; your apartment was part of their hidden camera network," Dark Willow spat out venomously. "Tara said it was about damn time when she saw it looking over my shoulder, but I told her-"
"That it couldn't possibly end well. Yeah, I know, curse and all that. I'm telling you, that's the last time Cordy and I are ever gonna get drunk together," Xander grunted. "Especially if you do something as apocalyptically evil and stupid like this, Will."
"Shut up," the witch hissed angrily.
"Why? You're my Willow. Cordelia may have been the first woman to touch my body, but you were the first person to ever touch my soul," Xander told her painfully, as he tried to stay upright. "So if I'm going out, it's here. You wanna kill the world? Well, then start with me. I've earned that much, after everything since our first day in kindergarten together."
"You think I won't do it?" Dark Willow sneered, but her face betrayed how upset she was feeling right now.
Xander said sadly, "It doesn't matter. I'll still love you-"
Willow gestured with her hand. There were no magic bolts of light, but Xander's head jerked to the side as if he'd been slapped hard. Three parallel cuts appeared on his cheek, bloody as if scratched by the talons of a beast.
Harris put his hand up to them, and then looked at his bloody fingers. "I love you, Willow."
Willow made another slashing gesture. Xander doubled over and fell to his knees. Panting, he slowly got up again; his shirt was ripped open over the heart, with more claw marks visible on his chest. No doubt about it, this wasn't working out well.
Harris panted and grimaced from the pain, but nonetheless faced Willow again. "I...love y-"
"SHUT UP!" Dark Willow screamed. "Or I'll personally hunt down Cordelia and kill her right in front of you!"
Xander's eyes went wide. "Wha-?"
"You heard me, Xander!" Dark Willow said triumphantly, feeling all the rage and anger begin to build higher and higher. "And you know what? I should have done it YEARS ago!!"
"NO!!" Xander cried out, a note of fear in his voice. "DON'T-!!"
Too late, Dark Willow began to turn around, but she was instantly pierced by the knife the former Slayer was carrying. Appearing shocked at being stabbed in the back this way, the über-witch felt Buffy grab her head and twist viciously – and then Dark Willow knew nothing more, as the darkness claimed her forever.
"YOU KILLED HER!!" Xander screamed in agonized pain, as he made his way over to the corpse of his best friend. He fell to his knees and saw Willow's body change, the red hair returning and the black veins disappearing as her face relaxed into the embrace of death.
"I'm sorry, Xander, but it had to be done," Buffy said sadly. She dropped to her knees as well, the tears falling down her own cheeks. "And you know I'm right; she wasn't the person we knew, not anymore. That Willow died at the same time Tara did."
Xander didn't bother to reply; he just grabbed the redhead's body and started speaking an ancient Egyptian prayer for the dead, trying to hold back the hot, scalding tears.
Hoping that someone, somewhere, would show mercy to Willow's terribly tortured soul.
***
Next: Story 16 - Hello Mr. Jordan