Date written: Tue 20 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: Hello everybody, and thanks for all the latest reviews and feedback! With regard to the previous story - Jason, sorry if it wasn't made clear, but that part of the episode didn't happen in this AU; Xander showed up at the Summers house during Halloween 2001 before Dawn and Janice could get up to their hijinks, and so it never took place. And as for Willow and the magic abuse, that Halloween incident was only one of many - I thought that eventually our favorite redhead would have spiralled down and hit rock bottom, after using Lethe's Bramble on Tara and everything else. Anyway, onto this fic - many years ago, Tenhawk wrote his "Fedora" story, and I was entranced with the concept as soon as I read his excellent fanfic. I'm still waiting for the sequel to be finished, by the way, but that's neither here nor there. After the latest movie in the series came out, somehow my twisted mind came up with this, so I hope you enjoy my take on the concept.
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 20: Keeping Up With The Joneses
17619 White Oak Drive, Sunnydale, California
October 31st, 1997
"Alexander! Dinner's ready!"
Alexander Lavelle Harris didn't pay any attention to his mother at first, he was too busy thinking. Finally, though, he got up off his bed and, holding a leather jacket in his hands, Xander went to find the woman who had given birth to him. There were some questions he wanted to ask.
"Hey, mom? Where's dad?" Xander asked.
"In the basement, he'll be along in a few minutes." Jessica went over to the basement door and shouted, "Tony! Dinner!" Then she grumbled to herself, "What is he doing down there..."
"Mom, we need to talk."
"About what, dear?" Xander's mother asked absently, adjusting the table settings after making her famous phone call to the local Chinese takeout place.
"My grandfather."
That brought Jessica up short. "You mean your Grandpa Scott?"
"No, mom, I'm talking about your dad. Grandpa Henry," Xander held up the 1950's leather jacket he had worn earlier tonight for Halloween student escort duty, which he had 'borrowed' out of his parents' basement storage. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Tell you what, Alexander?"
( Don't call me that, ) Xander automatically thought to himself in annoyance, but then he calmed down and said, "Ma, your dad called himself Mutt Williams when he was my age, did you know that? It wasn't until you were born that he started calling himself Henry. His mom and dad – your grandparents, my great-grandparents – they were Henry Jones Junior, and Mary Ravenwood Williams Jones. Why didn't you ever tell me about them? Don't you think I might have wanted to know who they were?"
Jessica Williams Harris looked somewhat stunned. Make that plenty stunned, actually, as this was one conversation she'd never been expecting to have.
"Alexander, how on earth did you learn all that?" she demanded. "My mother – your grandmother – she wanted nothing at all to do with your grandfather's relatives. In fact, she actually called your great-grandfather a ghoul right to his face one time..." She saw Xander's expression and added, "This was after learning that he and his son once broke into and robbed a graveyard in Peru-"
"While they were looking for Ox – yeah, I know," Xander blurted out. He put on his grandfather's leather jacket, which thanks to the fake switchblade the male teen had picked up at Ethan's Costume Shop yesterday, had actually turned him into Mutt Williams for a few hours earlier on tonight. Xander could actually remember his grandfather's life now as if he'd lived it himself, which was damned WEIRD even for Sunnydale.
"Ox? Who's Ox?" Jessica asked in confusion.
"Uh, Harold Oxley. You must have heard of him, right? He helped raise Grandpa Henry during the 1940's and 50's," Xander told her. "He was an old friend of my great-grandad too."
"I...yes, I think I remember the name, from when I was a little girl..." Jessica mused, before focusing back on her son. "But again, how did YOU know about him?"
"Trust me, mom, you'd never believe me even if I told you," Xander shook his head, before descending upon his noodles and fried rice and starting to eat like there was no tomorrow.
***
Sunnydale High School Library, Sunnydale, California
November 1st, 1997
Xander threw aside the latest book he'd been reading in disgust; there was nothing he could find on the mystical South American city of Akator, which his family had visited in 1957.
Using the key he'd been given by Rupert Giles, the school librarian and Watcher to Buffy the vampire Slayer, Xander had come here today to do a little research; and it was disheartening to learn that the Council books had absolutely nothing on the interdimensional aliens his grandfather and great-grandfather had encountered forty years ago.
( Well, I guess it doesn't really matter, since the little grey men weren't out to kill or enslave us all. Still, it would have been nice to know that someone somewhere had made a record of all that, and that I wasn't the only one who remembers what happened back then! ) Harris thought to himself in annoyance.
Taking off his jacket, Xander made his way over to the book cage where the Slayer's armaments were stored. He saw all sorts of archaic weapons there; a wooden staff, a crossbow, a mace, and even one or two swords.
( Gee, do ya think Giles could come out of the Middle Ages and get some modern weapons sometime this century? There's only about two years or so left... ) Shrugging that thought away, Xander picked up one of the swords.
The weight of the bladed weapon in his hands was enough to bring forth memories of another life, during a much simpler era. Memories of a surrogate father, a loving mother, motorcycles, various prep schools and a talent for fencing passed through Xander's brain. Almost without realizing it, the male teenager's body assumed the proper stance and Harris began to move through the different fencing forms, almost as if he was doing a martial arts kata.
"Xander? What on earth are you doing?" a British-accented voice said in surprise. "And, and where did you learn to move like that?"
Xander turned around to face the G-man. "Hey, Giles. I hope you don't mind, but I was kinda hoping we could talk."
"Talk about what?" Rupert demanded, as he grabbed the sword out of Xander's hands. "This isn't a toy, you know, you shouldn't be playing with things like this."
Instantly, Xander's hackles went up. "Hey, I wasn't playing with anything-"
"Oh, look at this mess!" Giles interrupted as he pointed to the table with a pile of books on it, it was obvious that he was in a bit of a bad mood after going to Ethan's Costume Shop and only finding a note from his old partner-in-crime. "Don't tell me you, you were looking for pictures of half-naked women in my books again?!"
"No!" Xander said in annoyance. "That was just the one time last year!"
"Well, good," Giles sniffed. "Now what did you want? And please don't waste my time on frivolities, I-I-I've got a lot of cross-referencing to do today-"
"Is that what you really think of me – that I just waste your time on stupid kid stuff? That's it, I'm outta here!" Xander snarled, startling the British man. He then threw the key at the Watcher, who just managed to duck in time. "And don't expect me back for a while, either!"
( What the devil was that? ) Giles asked himself in alarm, as the library doors banged shut. The temper which Xander had inherited from Mutt had finally manifested itself completely, which was hardly surprising given last night's Halloween fun. ( The boy's never reacted that angrily before, what's going on here? )
Sadly, it was the beginning of the end, even though Rupert Giles didn't know it yet.
***
Outside the remains of 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California
January 21st, 1998
"You let him go."
Buffy Summers was still kinda freaked about the explosion that had destroyed the demon known as the Judge, after he had been lured into the Slayer's house and the place had been blown up with dynamite. Not to mention her confrontation just now with the soulless version of her boyfriend Angel, otherwise known as Angelus.
Thus, the blonde Slayer was not in the mood for yet another confrontation, as she turned around to see her best male friend glaring at her. "Xander-"
"You think I didn't see what you did just now? You kicked him in the balls, turned your back and deliberately let Overbite escape. You didn't even try to finish him off," Xander stated, his tone very cold and bitter.
Miss Summers hesitated, knowing that it was pointless to deny it. "I know, I...I wanted to, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it..."
"Because you still love him," Xander completed the sentence for her, a look of complete disgust on his face. "Well, I hope that helps you sleep better at nights, since the blood of all the people that Dead Boy is gonna kill from now on? It's gonna be on your hands."
"Shut up, Xander, that's not fair!" Buffy yelled angrily.
"Who gives a flying fuck about 'fair'?! Buffy, you need to come out of this little fantasy world you've created for yourself over the past few months, where everything is somehow gonna work out happily ever after. Because people are going to die now, thanks to what you just did," Xander said slowly and clearly, trying to drive his point home. "So, let me make something clear to you. Either you go all out to kill Angel, or I'm gonna get in touch with Kendra..."
Xander was referring to the second Slayer who had been in Sunnydale a few months ago. "...and get her to do the job that you can't. Is that understood?" he finished up.
"You can't do that!" the Chosen One yelled again, barely resisting the urge to throttle Harris for daring to dictate to her.
"Can't I? Well, how exactly are you planning to stop me?" Xander asked her the obvious. Then he gestured to the burning remains of the Summers house. "It took this much to get rid of the Judge. According to Ms. Calendar, we can't curse Angel with a soul again – so you tell me, Buffy. What's the right thing to do here?"
***
Sunnydale General Hospital, Sunnydale, California
May 13th, 1998
"You lied to me."
Willow Rosenberg, Xander's best friend ever since kindergarten, winced at the accusatory note in his voice as the young man closed the door behind him. "Xander-"
"I don't care about the reasons or the excuses, Will. All I care about is the fact that you promised me you wouldn't try to give Angel his soul back before I left the hospital. I know you didn't want to agree to that, but you still gave me your word in exchange for me not smashing that damn glass cue ball.
"You broke your promise to me, Willow," Harris almost growled the last sentence at her.
The red-haired apprentice witch took a moment to think about just how different Xander's character was nowadays ever since Halloween; she didn't think that he would have ever confronted her like this before the possession by his maternal grandfather. Willow straightened up in bed and said, "Uh, how did you know I tried the curse again? I mean, you just got here-"
"I was there when it happened," Xander cut her off stonily. "I went to finish the job Kendra started, in case Buffy couldn't do what had to be done."
He glared at Willow, "Imagine my surprise when I saw Dead Boy's eyes glow orange, and then the fight between him and Buffy stopped just like that. But it was too late, 'cause that damn demon statue had been activated and was about to destroy the world. So instead of Angelus getting his just reward, Angel got sent to Hell instead! About the only good thing to come out of this whole mess was me persuading Buffy not to run away from home! If I hadn't been there – God only knows where she'd be right now."
"Oh my God..." Willow breathed, shocked and horrified after hearing Xander's revelations.
"Willow, I came here because I wanted to tell you something. And that is, I hope that what you decided to do today was worth it to you – because I'll never be able to trust you again, at least not completely. You lied to me that you wouldn't try to perform the soul curse-" Xander got back to his previous argument.
"Well, technically I didn't lie! Because I didn't try to do it, I succeeded in doing it!" Willow interrupted desperately.
"Don't try to play word games, or twist this around into anything other than what it is," Xander half-snarled, somehow keeping a grip on his feelings. "You thought that you were right and I was wrong about what to do, so you told me what I wanted to hear and then did whatever the hell you wanted to do. And if I'm mistaken, swear to me on Ms. Calendar's grave that you didn't do any such thing, and I'll get down on my knees and apologize to you for everything I've said just now. Well?"
Willow squirmed in her bed, not willing to defile her favourite teacher's memory. "Trying to get Angel back on our side – I thought it was the right thing to do! It's like you didn't have any confidence in me at all, and besides – I knew you weren't thinking straight because of your stupid jealousy where Angel's concerned-"
"Jealousy?" Xander cut her off at once. "JEALOUSY? You've GOT to be kidding me, Willow. You honestly think I still have feelings for Buffy? Because not only is she not my type anymore, after everything that's happened over the last four months – all the people Angelus killed, just because Buffy couldn't stake him when she had the chance – I wouldn't touch her now with a ten-foot barge pole."
He sucked in a deep breath before continuing, "And if we're gonna be 100 percent honest here...I wouldn't touch you with one either, not after you lied to me that way."
Willow's eyes widened with disbelief, never having expected to hear something like that in a million years. She suddenly had the horrible feeling that the friendship between herself and Xander was now effectively over, thanks to her choice of actions.
***
Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale, California
May 21st, 1999
"He's turning into a giant snake? I hate snakes!" Xander muttered to himself. The young man had obviously inherited something from his great-grandfather, as the young descendant of the Jones line shucked off his graduation robes.
Because this year's annual apocalypse starring Mayor Richard Wilkins had finally gotten underway, and the senior class got ready to battle the pure demon known as Olvikan.
It had been a long twelve months for the Scooby Gang, in more ways than one. Buffy had eventually recovered from sending Angel to Hell that day, especially after the ensouled vampire had somehow been returned to Earth for some reason no one had been able to fathom, at least not yet.
Willow had eventually recovered from her feelings of terminal guilt for the pain she had caused her best female friend, thanks to Oz's tender loving care.
Xander had eventually met Kendra's successor, Faith, and embarked on a whirlwind romance with her before their relationship had run its course and both had moved on.
It should be noted, though, that Xander had somehow been able to reach through to Faith after she had semi-accidentally killed the Deputy Mayor Allan Finch one night. A vicious sword fight had taken place between the former lovers, at the end of which Faith had collapsed crying into his arms – and then, her voluntary confession to Giles (and later Wesley Wyndham-Pryce) had subsequently taken place. It had earned the dark-haired Chosen One nothing more than a slap on the wrist and many counselling sessions with a shrink, after the Tweed Brigade had conducted their investigation.
A much better fate than what would have occurred in a world where Xander would have dressed up as a soldier, eighteen months previously.
In any case, here and now Principal Snyder – the man responsible for that particular quirk of fate – stared up at the huge demon Wilkins had become in shock. "This...this is simply unacceptable!" Snyder ignored everything else going on around him as he added, "This is not orderly. This is not discipline!"
Olvikan screamed so loudly that the principal was sure he had just gone deaf. "You're on my campus, buddy! And when I say I want quiet, I want-"
Unfortunately, Snyder didn't get to finish his rant, as Olvikan leaned down and swallowed the obnoxious little man with just one gulp. ( Well, gosh! That sure hit the spot! ) the pure demon thought to itself with a burp.
The battle raged on, as some of the students took up arms against the monster. There was battle a-plenty with the vampire and demon minions of Wilkins, until Buffy finally stood before Olvikan and said, "Hey, you! Yeah, Snake Boy, I'm talkin' to you. Just thought you'd like to know, I was the one who got my hands on the Books of Ascension a few weeks ago! I was also the one who planned this little surprise party for you. So you feel like doing anything about that – Dick?"
Olvikan roared, giving chase after the disagreeable little insect as the senior Slayer headed for the library. Eventually, Olvikan's enormous head arrived into the trap after Buffy jumped out one of the windows. And upon viewing what was present, the snake-like demon said in an inhuman voice, "Well, that was sneaky of them-"
Outside, Giles plunged down on the detonator with Buffy at his side, and a muffled 'whomph' noise was heard coming from the depths of the school.
That was just an instant before the fireball erupted, turning Sunnydale High into a flaming, charred ruin, sending a mushroom cloud high into the sky and splattering the immediate area with chunks of blackened and burnt Mayor meat.
Xander stared for a moment at the burning school; he had to admit that he certainly enjoyed blowing things up these days. Looking around, he saw that that it was basically all over except for the clean-up detail, as all the vampires very wisely ran for it.
When it was safe to do so, Faith sought out Xander. "You okay, stud?"
"Peachy with a side of keen," Harris shrugged, ignoring the nickname. "You?"
"I'll live. Still, a fight like that, I'm just about ready to pop like warm champagne. What do you say, one more for the road?" Faith smiled sexily at her ex-boyfriend, she knew that he'd been planning to leave town if they managed to survive the Mayor's ascension.
"Why not?" Xander smiled, he had already said his goodbyes to Giles, Willow and Buffy. In his opinion those three were secretly glad to see him go, as the friction between them had reached epic proportions ever since Halloween '97.
"My place or yours?" Faith asked, putting her arm around Xander's waist as they walked off. Neither saw Buffy stare sadly as Angel vanished into the fog, heading off for his own destiny in Los Angeles.
"Yours, of course," Xander said with a smirk. "Ya think my mom wants to hear that sort of thing in her house again? Hey, the fights she gets into with my dad about me being Non-College Guy are bad enough..."
"Watch it, boy toy. Or else I won't do that thing with my tongue that you like so much," Faith said warningly.
"Now that's blackmail! Ugh, women are evil," Harris muttered to himself, as not far away Willow and Oz started talking animatedly about what the future would bring for them.
***
Downtown Los Angeles, California
May 22nd, 2003
Faith the vampire Slayer had relocated south to the big city with her Watcher, ever since Buffy had been raised from the dead by Willow back in 2001. However, right now Faith was wishing that she had stayed on the Hellmouth, as she was being chased by a mob which the Chosen One had privately dubbed the "Jasmaniacs".
( Sorry, Wes, ) Faith thought to herself painfully as she ran, thinking of the man whose body had been ripped apart by the fallen Power's minions not long ago. ( I'm sorry I couldn't save you. But if it's any consolation, I'm gonna take out that mocha-coloured bitch who gave the order to kill you, if it's the last thing I ever do! )
Suddenly, a motorcycle pulled to a stop beside her.
"Get on!" a vaguely familiar voice called out, and Faith's eyes went wide as she recognized the older features of Xander Harris. So without hesitation she climbed aboard, and the Harley-Davidson roared away.
"Xander?" Faith asked, still not sure if she was hallucinating. "Is that you?"
"In the flesh, Faith," Harris sent her a quick grin. "Long time no see, huh?"
"I'll say," Miss Lehane grimaced. "Thanks for the save, pal, I owe ya one-"
"I'll just take it off all the times you saved me back in the old days," he replied. "Okay, I think we lost 'em..." Xander eventually pulled over, parked and turned to look at his former girlfriend as she got off the bike. "Now what the hell's going on this city? I was in Las Vegas the other day, and all of a sudden, I see everyone fall to their knees when some demon with a maggot-infested face shows up on national TV!"
"You didn't fall under Jasmine's spell? How'd you pull that off?" Faith wanted to know.
"Uh, I'm not sure, but it's probably 'cause I drank from the Holy Grail a while back," Xander said with a shrug.
"You WHAT?"
Looking around and making sure that the street was deserted, Xander launched into a detailed explanation. "It all started after Graduation..."
He spoke of how after leaving Sunnydale back in 1999, he had gone on a road trip around America on his motorbike. He had eventually run into his grandfather's half-sister, the younger daughter of Henry Jones junior; and the old woman had let Xander peruse her father's journals. To his shock, Harris had read of his great-grandfather's account of a journey to find the cup of Christ in the former republic of Hatay – along with Xander's great-great-grandfather, Henry Jones senior. It had been enough to spur the former Slayerette into getting a passport and heading for Turkey, as soon as possible.
"It took me a while to find the place, and convince the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword to let me pass through their little gauntlet. This guy, Kemal, who was like the grandson of the man my great-grandfather knew, Kazim? He wasn't exactly fond of Westerners," Xander shrugged. "But after I lived amongst him and his people for over a year, he relented on the condition that I swear I wouldn't try to remove the Grail from its resting place. No problem, I said, so he takes me to the temple; and after I got through all the traps, I find this knight who's been the guardian of the Grail for nearly 800 years-"
"Say WHAT?" Faith interrupted, still finding it hard to believe that her former lover wasn't selling her a boatload of fertilizer.
"Yeah, no fooling. That old man said I reminded him of my great-grandfather; which wasn't exactly a point in my favour, as it took him a while to find the Grail again in that ravine back in 1938," Xander shook his head for a moment. "Anyway, the knight also told me that if I wanted to follow in my great-grandfather's footsteps, I had to 'choose wisely'. So after I figured out which Grail was the real one, I had to make a choice; become immortal and take over the knight's job in the temple, or else just take a drink from the Grail and leave. Obviously, you can guess which one I decided on."
"Holy moley," Faith stammered, finally starting to believe. "You actually drank from the honest-to-God Holy Grail? What was that like?"
"Calm. Soothing. Like for just a few moments, God was telling me everything was gonna be okay somehow," Xander confessed. "Anyway, eventually I came back home to the States. So, ya mind telling me what's been going on here in the City of Angels?"
Faith obliged, starting at the beginning – with the birth of the miracle child named Connor, the human son of two vampires. Namely, Angel and Darla. Ignoring Xander's stunned look Faith went on to describe the huge rock-like demon known as The Beast, which had wreaked havoc in the city under the orders of its master – something that had been hiding in the body of Xander's former classmate Cordelia Chase, until it had managed to seduce Connor in order to birth itself into a brand new vessel, which had been named Jasmine.
"For a while there, we all thought she was like the Second Coming," Faith confessed, coming to the end of her tale. "But then this girl Fred, who works for Angel – she saw the truth when some of Jasmine's blood mixed with hers. She later figured out a way to free the rest of her friends from the evil mojo, which at the time included me and Wes. Ever since then, we've been trying to find a way to stop that thing-"
"We? You mean you're working with Angel?" Xander interrupted.
"Any port in a storm, boy toy," Faith said reprovingly. "Wes and I had the same goal as him and his friends, so we figured why not join forces? Unfortunately, though, we got ambushed before Angel disappeared through this portal in order to find what we needed. I was the only one who made it out, and I probably would have ended up hamburger too, if you hadn't come along. So, that's the situation..."
Xander and Faith talked some more, and finally came up with a plan of action.
***
The Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles, California
May 23rd, 2003
Jasmine walked out into the hotel lobby with a huge smile on her face. The fallen Power had the feeling that she was on top of the world, as centuries of planning were now finally coming to fruition, as she gestured to her kneeling worshippers.
"Please. Please, everyone stand. This is a moment to cherish, and I want everyone to share it with me, heads held high. Welcome. And to all those people of this remarkable world who are meeting me for the first time..." Jasmine blew a kiss to the crowd, "Mmwah. I want to thank you for allowing me to speak with you. Now, I come to you not as a leader or divinity, but as your partner in a venture to make this the best of all possible worlds – without borders, without hunger, war, or misery. A world built on love, respect, understanding, and, well, just enjoying one another's company. Doesn't that sound nice?"
"Yeah! Yeah!" the crowd applauded, as Jasmine started to take over the planet thanks to her presence being beamed world-wide via satellite.
"Now I know you have lots of important questions for me – difficult questions – and I want you to know everything, so I'm going to open up the floor," Jasmine added after the applause died down. "Yes?" she pointed to a male reporter.
"Uh, excuse me, Jasmine. But what can we do to show our love for you?" the guy asked breathlessly.
"You don't have to do anything except love one another," the Power That Was smiled broadly. "Although a temple would be nice. Something massive and awe-inspiring, yet warm and nurturing, celebrating the gentle pleasures of a peaceful, precious coexistence where violent behave-"
The crowd gasped as bright blue lightning suddenly erupted in the centre of the lobby. A portal opened up and Angel stepped out of it, holding a blue orb in one hand and a dead demon's head in the other.
Jasmine instantly knew that Angel had somehow attained the unattainable, that the dead demon was the Keeper of the Name; that if it was allowed to speak Jasmine's true name with its last breath, her spell over the human world would instantly be broken. So she shouted, "Kill him! All of you, kill him now!"
The crowd mobbed Angel angrily, but he held out the head threateningly, and despite Jasmine's will overriding theirs they backed away at once.
"Don't!!" Jasmine yelled desperately.
Too late. Discarding the orb, Angel took out a knife and cut the threads that held the Keeper's lips closed. A sound escaped its mouth, which sounded like a long, whistling breath.
As soon as the Keeper had uttered her true name, Jasmine's face started glowing green. Her spell to hide her true appearance began to falter, and her decaying, putrid visage was suddenly seen by everyone, world-wide.
All over the planet, people began to panic and scream as they were cut off from what felt like a euphoric, addictive drug.
"No!" Jasmine shouted. The damned creature glowed white for a moment, improving her appearance slightly so that now Jasmine's face appeared badly scarred – but at least the maggots were gone. "Please. Pay no attention. It's all a lie. See? I, I'm not..." Unfortunately for her, just about everyone left the room in a panic, screaming. "Wait! Please! Don't leave me!"
"Forget it, Jas-been. It's over, and you lost," Faith said belligerently, as she and Xander walked over towards the former Power. The Slayer and Harris were amazed that Angel's plan had actually worked, but Faith wasn't focusing on that right now. "You've killed a lot of people lately, but now it's MY turn!"
"Faith, don't you understand?" Jasmine said desperately. "I could've stopped it, all of it. War, disease, poverty. How many precious, beautiful lives would've been saved in a handful of years? Yes, I murdered thousands to save billions. But this world is doomed to drown in its own blood now!"
"So the answer was to take away freedom of choice, human free will?" Angel said, as he came up alongside his Slayer friend, limping. "No. The price for your kind of world peace was too high, Jasmine. Our fate has to be our own, or we're nothing."
"Go away, Angel. You've ruined everything! Leave me alone!" Jasmine shouted, as she began to turn away.
"Hey, where do you think you're going? I told you that we ain't done here yet, not by a long shot!!" Faith shouted, as she went on the attack.
Unfortunately, all her punches and kicks and attempted staking meant nothing, as Jasmine hadn't lost all her powers.
"I was forged in the inferno of creation, Faith. Did you really think a pointy stick and a few Slayer-strength thumps would be enough to hurt me?" the would-be goddess asked. She then batted the brunette Slayer away, and quickly decked Angel with one punch.
Jasmine said to the vampire, "Remember the prophecy, Angel? The one you learned about after I brought you back from Hell? The one that said that in the time of the apocalypse, you'd play a major part? Remember how you never knew whether you'd be on the side of good or evil? Well, now you know. Thanks to you, this frail little Power That Was has just enough strength left in her to wipe out the entire human species. And before I rip out your heart, I want you to know; it's all thanks to you why that's gonna happen."
"I don't think so."
Irritated, Jasmine turned around to face the human nothing that had been standing alongside the two Champions. She had barely even acknowledged his existence a few moments ago, and his opening his mouth right now just annoyed her. "Whoever you are, I'll deal with you later-"
"Stay back!" Faith grabbed Angel and pulled him out of the way, much to his surprise.
"Probably a smart idea," the former Scooby agreed. ( Not that I care all that much either way, but right now, I've got other fish to fry. )
So saying, Xander raised his super-soaker – filled with water that had been poured out of the Holy Grail itself – and opened fire at the enemy.
The results were even more extraordinary than what had happened with the Keeper just a few moments ago. The holy water burned through Jasmine's face like super-concentrated acid; and the constant stream of blessed liquid simply melted Jasmine's rotted head into nothingness, as the headless corpse collapsed to the floor of the hotel.
"How did you...?" Angel stared at Xander in amazement, now that it was all over and the world was saved yet again.
"Later," Xander said curtly, as he headed towards the front doors of the hotel and both his supernatural companions began to follow him. "As soon as we find Cordelia and wake her up from her coma, I promise I'll answer all your questions."
Angel finally felt the first stirrings of relief, as a new beginning had just dawned in the City of Angels.
***
Next: Story 21 - Nobleman: Halloween costume switch # 1