Date written: Sun 25 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 all, welcome to the latest instalment and thanks as always to everyone to everyone who's been reading, reviewing and telling me what they think of these stories. The Doctor, thank you for your ideas; believe it or not I was actually planning to do a Spiderman one for this series, either Eddie or J. Jonah Jameson, but I simply couldn't think of a decent enough plot to go with it. As for Wanted, I definitely liked that scene where Wesley hit Barry in the face in with the computer keyboard! Now, moving on - Las Vegas has always been a city of interest to me, just like the story that the place was officially founded in 1905 by some people who – apparently – had nothing else to do at the time. That's why I wanted to do a fanfic where the characters ended up in Nevada, but I didn't want to rehash the events of "The House Always Wins". So here's what I came up with...
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 25: Aspect Of The Demon
Sunnydale High School Library, Sunnydale, California
October 30th, 1997
Rupert Giles, Watcher to the vampire Slayer named Buffy Summers, appeared somewhat bemused as his charge stampeded out the door, since Buffy had just finished telling him that Jenny Calendar, the Computer Science teacher, thought that he was a 'babe'.
"Well, I knew she liked me," Giles smirked to himself.
At that same moment the young man named Xander Harris came in. "Hey, Giles? What's up with Buffy, how come she ran out of here so fast just now?"
The librarian paid very little attention to him. "Hmm? Oh, well, uh, I'm sure Buffy had...something or other to take care of."
( Yeah, right, ) Xander thought grouchily to himself. He was personally still a little peeved at the blonde girl for that recent humiliation within the student lounge, where the quarterback known as Larry Blaisdell had been about to beat him up until Miss Summers had sent him packing. ( What else could go wrong today? )
"Actually, Xander, I'm glad you're here," Giles suddenly focused and tore himself away from daydreams of Jenny admiring his body. "As Halloween should be relatively quiet, I'm hoping you can assist me to clear things up in here so that Buffy can practise some new battle techniques tomorrow night."
"Huh? You mean, Buffy didn't tell you about the safety program thing which Snyder drafted her into this morning?" Xander asked in astonishment. "What did you guys talk about just now?"
"Errr, other things," Giles said awkwardly, instantly wanting to change the subject. "And, um, safety program, you say?"
Xander shrugged. "Yeah, it's the annual escort duty thing for little kids: take 'em trick o' treating, make sure they don't get too hyped up on sugar, get 'em back safe and sound, and wear a stupid costume, too. That reminds me, you got any ideas for anything I can dress up as on the cheap?"
"Uh, no, not really," Rupert shook his head, before he handed Xander a stack of files. "Put these in my office, will you?"
"Sure. What are they?" Xander grunted, the load did weigh quite a bit.
"Oh, uh, information updates from the Council. I believe that lot h-h-has to do with the demon situation in Los Angeles," Giles called out as he began to clear up the main table.
Somewhat intrigued, Xander carried away the files and placed them on the desk within Rupert's private office. Out of curiosity, he opened the topmost file and stared at the demon mugshot. Xander then had an idea, and stuffed the photo into his pocket before absconding from the library.
***
Ethan's Costume Shop, Sunnydale, California
A few hours later
Ethan Rayne looked up as a customer walked into the store. From the looks of him, Ethan doubted that the young man could afford much and it would be hardly be worth his time to assist him in buying something, but a sale was a sale and he was feeling rather bored after dealing with all his conventional customers today. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I hope so," Xander nodded, as he came over to the British man. "I had an idea for a Halloween costume, so I was sorta wondering if you could help?"
His curiosity piqued, Ethan said, "Well, I'll certainly try. What exactly did you have in mind?"
Xander hesitated, and then brought out the photo he had 'borrowed' from the Watcher files today. "Thought I might go as something different this year. So you think I could end up looking like this, y'know, with the right face paint and fake horns?"
Ethan took a close look at the photo containing the image of a green-skinned, red-eyed demon wearing a beige suit with a cravat and holding a microphone up to its lips. Frowning, Rayne took in the dark stage curtain behind it, before staring back at Xander. The male teen frowned, unable to understand why the proprietor of the store was looking at him like that.
( Oh, now where on earth did you find this, lad? ) Rayne asked himself. ( Do you know about the real world, or are you just some fool who doesn't even know what he's holding in his hands? )
"Well?" Xander asked impatiently, after the silence had dragged on a bit too long.
"Ah, do please forgive me. It's just, I was rather taken in by the photograph, how genuine that actor in makeup and costume looks," Ethan said smoothly, deciding to play it safe. "Now then, I believe I can help you out, but I was wondering – would you like some red contact lenses to complete the look, or will that be just the green paint and red horns?"
***
Somewhere on the streets of Sunnydale, California
October 31st, 1997
Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok clan, otherwise known as the Host or "Lorne" to his friends, suddenly started as he found himself in the middle of suburbia instead of his karaoke bar named 'Caritas'. He had no idea that he was currently possessing the body of Xander Harris, or that his own body had fallen into a coma in Los Angeles; all Lorne knew was that something was very wrong, as chaos and turmoil started raging all around him.
"Xander? Xander!" he heard a female voice call out from behind him, as the Host turned around. "Are you okay?!"
"Sorry, lamb chop, but are you talking to me?" Lorne asked, as he looked around at all the humans running for their lives from the monsters chasing them. "Uh, where am I? And who are you?"
"What? It's me, Willow!" the ghost of Xander's best friend said in annoyance. "Xander, quit messing around. This is no time for jokes!"
"Cutie, do I look like I'm joking to you?" Lorne asked her. "I have no idea who you are – although by the sweet sounds of Aretha, look at you! Pure Hot-O-Rama, whoa mama! I'm tempted to offer you a job as a waitress at my club right now!"
"What?" Willow didn't look like she knew whether to be pleased and/or insulted by that. "Xander, come on-"
"The name's not Xander, sweetie," Lorne interrupted her. "Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok clan, at your service. You can call me Lorne for short, though." The lounge demon quickly glanced around, as the street violence was getting worse. "What say we get outta here, huh? I never was much for lynch mobs..."
As Willow came closer, she suddenly saw the differences between the fake costume and the real thing. Miss Rosenberg could see that the horns were no longer just glued on, and the streaks of green and black where Xander had failed to properly apply the paint had now disappeared. Add to that the look in the non-violent demon's eyes, and Willow was suddenly convinced of the truth. "Oh no! Xander, you've been turned into your costume just like me!"
"Costume?" Lorne didn't get what she was saying. As he went to put a hand on her shoulder, the demon's green hand went straight through Willow's ghostly form and so Lorne jumped back, his heart starting to palpitate in his left butt cheek. "Whoa! Honey, why didn't you tell me that you were a ghost?"
"I'm not, at least not really! Xa- I mean Mr. Lorne, please, listen to me. Something crazy is happening! I was dressed as a ghost for Halloween, a-and now I am one. And you were supposed to be a demon of some kind, and now I, I-I guess you really are a real demon...?" Willow trailed off in sudden fright. "Uh, wait – you're not evil, are you? I mean you don't kill people or anything, right?"
"No, precious, I don't," Lorne replied, figuring that some sort of body-switching magic must have taken place if this girl was playing it straight with him. "So, just outta interest, where are we?"
"Sunnydale."
"The home of the Hellmouth? Oh boy," Lorne groaned to himself, he'd heard about this place. "Well, I suggest we find help, and fast!"
"Buffy, we need to find her – there she is!" the Willow ghost shouted, and set off across the street. "Buffy! Buffy!"
"Buffy?" Lorne asked himself as he followed the ghost girl to where an 18th century noblewoman was standing. Unfortunately, though, the possessed Slayer took one look at the anagogic demon and ran off screaming her lungs out, "DEMON! DEMON!"
"Buffy, come back!" Willow called out, as she started to run after her.
Lorne thought about chasing after them himself, but eventually, he decided against it. He decided that his priority should be to simply get out of here and go home to LA, since he wasn't the hero type – even if he wasn't a coward either.
As he ran along the streets, Lorne found himself unmolested for the most part – all the mini-demons and assorted monsters seemed totally focused on finding human victims to kill or feed on. The Host did his best to just stay out of everyone's way, until he ran smack-dab into a human girl dressed in a leopard-like cat suit being chased by a Sasquatch.
"Xander! Help me!" Cordelia Chase screamed in fear, clutching at her ruined Halloween costume.
( There's that name again, ) Lorne thought to himself philosophically, as he spied the lumbering monster. "Cover your ears!" he said to the human female, even as he pushed her behind him.
"What? WHY?" Cordelia demanded, even as she instinctively obeyed orders.
The Host suddenly let loose with a single sharp tone very painful to human hearing, his voice at just the right frequency to cause the nearby street lights to shatter and explode. The Bigfoot pursuing the cheerleader stopped and covered its ears, squealing in pain as it hurriedly turned around and ran away.
"Xander, where the hell did you learn how to do THAT?" Cordelia demanded, as she removed her hands and stared around at the destroyed lights in amazement.
"Uh, excuse me? I'm afraid I'm not this Xander fellow whom you and that Willow girl have apparently mistaken me for," Lorne said politely. He noticed Cordelia back away at once, so he held out his hand for a handshake. "Hi, I'm Lorne, and you are...?"
"Cordelia Chase," the young woman replied, still backing away and looking ready to bolt at any moment.
"Pleasure to meet you. Uh, are you sure you're gonna be alright, miss? Your, uh, Halloween costume appears kinda damaged there," Lorne pointed out, before he took off his jacket and offered it to her. "I promise you, I don't bite; I'm not that kind of demon."
"Okayyy," Cordelia said slowly, before snatching the jacket and putting it on gratefully. "Well, thanks. But I've got to get going-"
"Good for you. I'm heading for Los Angeles myself; this town isn't exactly my idea of restful holiday spot, you know," Lorne shuddered. "Look, are you sure you can find somewhere safe to spend the night? A beautiful young thing like yourself – there's a lot of creatures running around tonight that would love to make mincemeat out of you. I know, I've seen 'em!"
Cordelia finally became convinced that this wasn't Xander Harris playing a trick on her, as she knew that the day her old kindergarten nemesis would pay her a compliment like that would be the day Hell itself froze over. "Wait, mister...Lorne, was it? I'm probably insane for doing this, but you did save my life just now and all, so – maybe I can trust you to help me out a bit more here? See, I have to get to the local high school library, talk to Giles – he'll know what's going on, I'll bet!"
"Who's this Giles person?" Lorne asked curiously.
"Uh, the librarian – and, and he's this Watcher guy from England," Cordelia confessed, deciding to that if she'd come this far she may as well trust Lorne with that secret as well.
"Watcher? As in the Watchers Council, the people who control the vampire Slayer? Oh, buttercup, I'm sorry, but I don't think so," Lorne shook his head, as he had recently thrown one of the Council scouts out of his club for planning an attack to burn Caritas down to the ground. "I've learned things about those guys recently, and their philosophy is to slay people like me first and ask questions, like, never!"
"No, Giles is okay," Cordelia insisted, feeling the strangest urge to defend the Englishman. "Well, he's a complete stuffed shirt and a bit of a British fuddy-duddy, but apart from that, he's all right. As far as I know, he's never sent Buffy out to kill anyone or anything that didn't deserve it, anyway."
"Buffy?" Lorne asked, recalling the name from earlier in the evening.
"The blonde wonder who slays vampires, Chosen One and all that," Cordelia shrugged.
"Uh, then I think there may be a problem. Last I saw, that Willow girl was chasing after her, and the vampire Slayer was screaming in fear at the sight of me," Lorne reported, his features looking suddenly troubled.
"Well, great," Cordelia threw her arms up in indignation. "So now what do we do?"
"I guess talk to your Watcher friend, for starters," Lorne decided. "Please, lead the way."
***
Outside Caritas, Los Angeles, California
November 1st, 1997
Halloween was over, and as Xander and Cordelia pulled up outside the abandoned building in Miss Chase's car, Harris couldn't help thinking about everything that had happened last night.
Lorne and Cordy had arrived at Sunnydale High at roughly the same time Giles had become convinced something was seriously wrong, since the phones being out of commission and the sight of people running around willy-nilly outside the school were pretty much proof of it. Unfortunately, Willow hadn't been in any position to abandon the terrified Lady Buffy, and so, with her absence, Lorne had eventually asked Giles to sing for him. There was nothing else he could think of to put the Watcher on the right path to stop the carnage happening in Sunnydale.
Luckily, it had worked and Giles had soon found his old 'friend', Ethan. Beating him halfway to a pulp, Rupert had eventually obtained the knowledge he'd sought and smashed the two-headed bust of Janus in the back room of the shop. This had caused Lorne to wake up in his body and Xander to resume control of his body, amongst other things.
"Well, here we are," Cordelia said, as she switched off the ignition. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
"Positive, Cordy-kins," Xander replied absently, eyes fastened on the building he knew so well and yet had never actually seen before now. A quick slap to the back of his head quickly made Harris focus, though.
"Don't call me that," the Chase girl said to him angrily. "Damn it, Xander, stop acting like you're still – him!"
"I'm sorry, Cor, but I can't help it," Xander shook his head. "This feels so weird, I know everything that Lorne does – his entire life is like an open book to me. I gotta talk to him; see what exactly he remembers about last night, if anything." With that, Xander got out of the car and entered the building, eventually making his way down some stairs to the demon club.
"Well, hello, pilgrim! I've been expecting you," Lorne said as he spied Harris, he was at the bar treating himself to a Hawaiian Sea-Breeze. "So you're Xander Harris, huh? Pleasure to finally meet you face-to-face, so to speak."
"Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok clan," Xander marvelled, as he came further into the bar. "Do ya mind if I call you Lorne?"
"Go ahead, Xander-cake – just as long as there are no Lorne Greene jokes, okay?" the Host said warningly.
"Darn, and here I had all those zingers concerning Commander Adama of Battlestar Galactica primed and ready to go," Xander wisecracked.
Lorne snorted in amusement. "Kiddo, that sense of humour of yours is gonna get you in trouble one day, you mark my words about that."
"MY sense of humour? And here I thought you had me beat hands down. Hey, I remember that prank you and that guy Blix played on Constable Narwek, way back when..." Xander trailed off as he saw the Host's face. "I was you for quite a few hours last night, Lorne. I remember everything – Landok, Numfar, your parents. Man, and here I thought MY family defined dysfunctional, but what your mom did to you..."
"Don't concern yourself about that," Lorne shook his head, briefly wishing that his life story wasn't so accessible to the human. "Now, onto more germane business. You know what's coming next, don't you?"
"You want me to sing for you?" Xander could easily guess what the anagogic demon had in mind. However, he didn't look especially keen on the concept. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Lorne? I live in Sunnydale. Odds are, the only thing you're going to get is an idea of how quickly I'm gonna die, before I graduate high school."
"Now, you stop being so negative," the Host chided him. "You should know better than that, Xander, I'm just gonna put you on your right path in life. Come on, hit me!"
Harris did so with one of his favourite Willie Nelson ballads, but he stopped almost immediately after he noticed the green demon's facial expression. "What, what's wrong?"
"Well, this is a first. I can't get a read off of you at all," Lorne said in amazement. "I'm sorry, my little strudel, I don't know why – but there you have it..."
"Hey, do you think it's because I was you during last night?" Xander asked after a burst of insight. "I know how you can't do a reading on yourself, so maybe there's been some sort of...residual Lorne-like spill-over?"
"Could be," Lorne nodded, before he looked over to the front door. "Cordelia, enchanté! Please, come in!"
Miss Chase looked hesitant as she did so, staring at Lorne the whole time. The young woman had gotten tired of waiting in the car for Xander, and decided not to stay there anymore. "Uh...hi, Lorne. Nice to see you again, I guess," Cordelia shrugged, looking around the club. "Nice place too, if you're into the whole demon nightclub scene."
"Thank you, Cordy-kins," Lorne said graciously, causing a smirk to appear on Xander's face even as Cordelia scowled at him. "Oh, now what was that? A bit of tension between you and Alexito, here?"
"No, just Xander being his usual dumbass self," Cordy replied. "So. Are you done here yet, doofus?"
"Not quite yet," Lorne interjected, sensing the antagonism between the two, as well as hints of subconscious physical attraction. "Cupcake, please – won't you and Xander sing a duet for me?"
"Lorne, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Harris demanded, before Cordelia got the chance to say anything. "I'd rather dunk my head into a vat of acid or boiling oil, rather than hear her sing! You should have heard Cordelia's mangling of Whitney Houston at our school talent-less show last year!"
"Shut up, Xander! Everyone was moved to tears by my recital of 'The Greatest Love Of All' back then!" Cordelia shouted angrily.
"Those were tears of pain, Cordy, not tears of joy! There's a BIG difference!" Harris glared at her.
"Loser!"
"Moron!"
"Coward!"
"Nympho!"
"Okay, okay, kids, time out here," Lorne quickly interjected, as the two humans looked ready to come to physical blows. The demon could also smell those rampant teenage hormones boiling over, confirming his suspicions that both of them were physically attracted to one another. "Before this ends in a scene straight out of 'Cheers' or 'Moonlighting', I need you two to calm down, capisce? Now, Cordelia, there's a reason why I want to hear you sing. So please, do it as a personal favour to me, huh? And Xander, studmuffin, same for you."
Glaring at one another, Xander and Cordelia reluctantly agreed, even though Harris didn't know why he was bothering – he had no interest in what Cordy's future held for her, and he figured Lorne wouldn't be able to read him again now anymore than he could before.
But as they started to sing something out of the U2 oeuvre, Lorne quickly backed off, looking horrified.
"What?" both teens asked the Host at the same time.
"Oh, boy," Lorne quickly went back to the bar and gulped down the rest of his Sea-Breeze, wishing that his species could get drunk.
"I know that look. What did you see, and how bad is it?" Xander demanded at once, even as Cordelia stared at him in surprise.
"I saw too much and not enough, and it was plenty bad, kimosabe," Lorne replied as he put down the glass.
"Well?" Cordelia asked after a few moments. "Come on, mister, let's hear it!"
"Oh, honeybunch, I'm so sorry," Lorne said apologetically. "But when you and my boy Harris here bared your souls to me just now, I saw a lot of pain and heartache coming your way in the future. Cordelia, if you come back to this city after high school's over for the whole Hollywood actress thing, well..."
"What?" Xander asked in mounting concern.
"I saw you, pardner, with this hideous-looking eyepatch over your left peeper at a graveyard not far from here. You were what, somewhere in your late twenties? Anyway, you were laying some flowers on a grave, and the tombstone read 'Cordelia Chase, RIP, 1981-2004'," Lorne said sadly.
"WHAT?" Cordelia screamed loudly, as Xander looked stunned at the Host's words. She added, "If this is a joke, demon guy, it's not funny!"
"He's not joking, Cor, I can tell," Xander said hollowly. "So did you see anything else? Like how I lose my left eye, or how Cordy dies exactly?"
"Sorry, kids," Lorne rubbed his forehead. From their auras, he knew that destiny had suddenly changed in a major way, even though he had no idea that there was a higher being currently very pissed at him for foiling her plans. "All I know is what I've told you. So take my advice, Cordelia; you find yourself a decent guy after high school is over, marry him, have a whole bunch of kids and most important of all – make sure you stay out of this city for the rest of your life."
Upset, Miss Chase quickly ran out of the karaoke bar, with Xander deciding to follow her to make sure she didn't do anything stupid.
***
The Harris residence, Sunnydale, California
May 25th, 2002
As he got up from bed four and a half years later Xander asked himself, ( How did I get here? ) He splashed some water in his face within the bathroom and thought to himself, ( How the hell did my life ever end up like THIS? )
It was a good question, actually.
One with an answer whose roots could be traced back to that fateful meeting with the Host of Caritas, all those years ago. Because that was the point where everything had changed, and not necessarily for the better.
Cordelia had left town after high school graduation, almost completely penniless after her family had been stripped of all its wealth by the IRS. Recalling Lorne's prophecy of her future, she hadn't gone to LA, much to the displeasure of the higher being that soon enough would call itself Jasmine; the former Queen C had gone elsewhere, and so the fallen Power had arranged to curse another poor woman with vision powers in Cordelia's place.
But all that had meant nothing to Xander, as he'd had his own problems to deal with.
Ever since the end of junior year, Xander had found himself slowly but surely slipping away from his friends. During the final year of high school and the first year of college, Willow and Buffy had stopped treating Xander as 'one of the girls', and he'd found himself at somewhat loose ends. Things had changed a little after he'd gotten involved with a former vengeance demon named Anya Jenkins, but ever since Xander's failed wedding to her, it had become obvious things could never again be what they once were.
Because Harris had witnessed Anya screwing Spike, the same soulless vampire with whom Buffy had been having sex with for months, and Willow had tried to kill him on Kingman's Bluff about three weeks ago.
It was all the fault of the late and unlamented Warren Mears, whose attempted murder of Buffy and unintended killing of Tara Maclay had sent Willow off the deep end. She had tried to destroy the world after flaying Warren alive, and Xander still bore the scars of stopping her. Both physically and mentally, since all that mystical energy the über-witch had shot at him had changed Harris both inside and out – even if he didn't know it yet.
Just then, the phone rang and Xander answered it. "Hello?"
# Xander, it's me, # the somewhat strained voice of Buffy Summers could be heard from the other end of the line. # How are you today? #
"It's a Saturday, Buff. I'm still feeling a bit out of it," Xander replied curtly.
# You went out drinking again last night, didn't you? # Miss Summers' voice was suddenly very accusatory.
"So what if I did? I'm over twenty-one, nowadays, in case you've forgotten. Maybe I felt like getting tanked and going to Vegas for the weekend," Harris replied in annoyance. He knew his friend was only trying to help, but he honestly wasn't in the mood for it right now.
# I thought you were coming with me today to help me pick out a new carpet, y'know, for the upstairs bedroom? # Buffy asked. She and her little sister Dawn had finally given up trying to get all of Tara's bloodstains out of it after what had happened a few weeks back.
"Buffy, you know damn well that the last time you forced me into coming along for that sort of thing, all the salespeople assumed we were a married couple picking out the carpets and curtains together," Xander retorted harshly. "Sorry, but that's one chore you're going to have to handle by yourself from now on."
Buffy was silent for a few moments. # All right, have it your way. So, uh, what's the what concerning Anya? Have you seen her ever since Willow and Giles left for England? #
"Yeah, in the Bronze once or twice, talking to a lot of upset women. She's gone back to her vengeance demon roots with a vengeance, I'd say," Xander sighed, angry with himself for still caring about Anya even though he figured it was totally over between them.
# That's too bad, # Buffy said sadly. # Look, Xander, take my advice and try to get out of the house during the weekend, okay? Don't just sit at home and stare at all the empty beer bottles – you're not doing yourself any favours drinking that way. #
"I know, I know," Xander said wearily. "You're right, Buffy. Tell you what, I'll keep Dawn company while you go do the carpet thing, the whole Vegas idea can wait another week or two for summer vacation."
***
Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada
June 7th, 2002
( Now THIS is what I need to help me relax a little, ) Xander thought to himself in delight, as his car travelled down the highway and passed the 'Welcome to Las Vegas, Nevada' sign. He saw the brightly-lit fronts of the Mirage, the Riviera and the Stardust hotels, and figured he should find himself a place to stay for the evening – even though it was a Friday night, and the odds were that just about every place that he could afford would be packed full.
( Ah, never mind, ) Xander mused as he headed south down the boulevard in the general direction of the airport. ( I got a whole weekend to kill, I'm sure I'll find some- whoa! ) Xander pulled over to the side of the road, as he spied a huge billboard advertising the Tropicana hotel.
Not to mention, the smiling face of Cordelia Chase.
( Okay, I wasn't expecting this, ) Xander thought to himself, as he decided to check it out at once. ( Now what's Cordelia doing here in Sin City? Man, I haven't even thought about her in years... )
It was true enough; that particular woman was just part of his past now, and had been ever since high school. But Xander was suddenly reminded of the reading Lorne had done that morning after Halloween '97, and frowned; 2004 wasn't all that far away nowadays, eighteen months and counting.
( I better check it out, just in case. )
***
3801 Las Vegas Boulevard, South Las Vegas, Nevada
A short while later
The Tropicana Resort & Casino was located on the Las Vegas Strip, on the corner of the Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. It had the most hotel rooms of any intersection in the world, and it was an extremely busy place just about 24/7. That was why Xander had had some difficulty in finding somewhere to park, and actually getting into the resort-casino.
But once he did, the young man decided he had to enjoy himself a little before seeking out Cordelia and attending the upcoming show by Blue Man Group, so he hit the blackjack tables.
"I wanna double-down, then hit me," Xander told the croupier. He stared at his cards, and decided to let all his chips ride on this.
"Are you sure, sir?" the casino employee replied with a frown, looking at all the money.
"Yeah, I – no, wait! I'll be back!" Xander said quickly, grabbing all his chips and stuffing them into his pockets. He said to the other patrons alongside him, "Somebody, finish out my hand. Lorne!!" Xander called out, having seen the green demon in disguise with a fedora and sunglasses. "Hey, Lorne, wait up!"
"Xander? On, my little chickadee, what are you doing here?" the former Host of Caritas asked in surprise. He hadn't seen Harris in about a year, ever since that nasty little trip back to the old home town of Pylea.
"What am I doing here? What are YOU doing here? Why aren't you at Caritas?" Xander wanted to know.
"I'm here to meet someone with regard to performing at this here fine establishment. And as for Caritas, I've given up trying to rebuild it – after it was demolished for the third time in the last twelve months," Lorne rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses.
"What?" Xander asked in confusion.
Lorne briefly launched into a horror story of violence and wanton destruction of his property, which had culminated in him deciding to abandon the City of Angels and head out of the state for a new beginning here. In return, Xander filled the singing demon in on the details of his own life over the past year or so, which quickly got Lorne's sympathy.
"Oh, buckaroo, you've had it mucho tough lately. But never mind; I get the feeling that this is the hand of destiny working here," Lorne said, clapping a hand on Xander's shoulder. "You and me together again, especially with your girl Cordelia also somewhere in this hotel..."
"She's not MY girl," Xander corrected him at once. "And frankly, I don't know what to say yet to Cordelia once I-"
"Xander?"
Both Harris and Lorne turned around to see Miss Chase dressed as a Vegas showgirl; she was staring at Xander with a surprised look on her face. "It's really you!" Then Cordy turned to Lorne and said, "Oh, wait a minute, I remember you too! You were the demon guy who warned me never to set foot in Los Angeles again, all those years ago!"
Xander stared at his former classmate, mouth hanging open. "Cordelia, is that YOU?"
"Yeah, of course it's me," the young woman frowned. "What, you don't recognize me?"
The snarky tone was instantly enough to convince Xander that Cordelia hadn't changed too much, despite the wardrobe and a big growth spurt in her chest area. In the old days, that had been pretty much where his elevator had always stopped in her building; and now that delectable, scrumptious pair of breasts were exerting their old magnetic pull on his peepers again.
"Cordy, I saw your face on this billboard as I came into town, I knew you were a celebrity of some kind – but I didn't know you were working here as a showgirl!" Xander said, finally managing to focus on her face.
"Well, what can I say? I wanted to get into show business, New York was a bust and it was made abundantly clear to me Hollywood was off-limits if I wanted to live, so there was no other choice but to come here. It's not too bad, actually, I make pretty decent money performing...oh, sorry, I gotta go!" Miss Chase yelped, seeing a fellow cast member waving at her. "My show's about to start. Xander, I'll see you afterwards – you too, Mr. green mojo guy!"
"Hubba, hubba," Lorne snickered, as both he and Xander watched Cordelia depart. "Xander, close your mouth; odds are you'll get flies in there!"
Harris nodded, quickly doing so. "What the hell's the matter with me, Lorne? I'm not interested in that sort of thing right now, I mean it's gonna take AGES for me to get over what happened with Anya. But, but just the sight of Cordelia wearing that dress, if you could even call it that..."
"Honeysuckle, welcome to the wonderful world that's Vegas," Lorne chortled, steering Xander away for a drink at a nearby bar. "Hawaiian Sea-Breeze?"
"No, I've been drinking too much lately as it is," Harris decided, finally starting to put the problems of the past behind him. "Hey, you interested in blackjack?"
***
Low-key and out-of-the-way dive, Las Vegas, Nevada
June 8th, 2002
Xander stared in shock as Lorne started singing – and then the visions started appearing in the young man's head.
As said, it was all Dark Willow's fault that day on Kingman's Bluff – the supernatural energy from the life-force of the Earth being funnelled into Xander's physical form, it had changed him in ways that he still didn't understand. The latest surprise tonight involved discovering how Lorne's empathic powers had been reborn within him; Xander could now see people's auras as well as their futures when they sang, including that of the former Host of Caritas.
( Holy shit, ) Xander thought to himself, as the aura colours danced and the images played within his mind's eye. ( Is this actually happening? )
"Hey, Xander, you want a drink?" the slurred voice of Cordelia Chase sounded in his ear, disrupting his concentration. Xander turned to face her in annoyance, but there was little point in getting angry; Cordy had gotten plastered in order to forget the horrible day she'd had at work, and despite the past, she was using him as a shoulder to cry on.
"Thanks, but no thanks, Cordy," Xander said, turning back to stare at Lorne – and also glancing at a second-rate magician named Lee DeMarco, who was also scheduled to perform tonight. That wannabe crime lord was someone Xander had foreseen as trouble with a capital T.
"Why not? I hate to drink alone," Cordelia said in that sadly drunken tone of voice.
"'Cause I'm trying to cut back on the sauce, that's why. Buffy's got a point about me drinking too much lately," Xander replied, still keeping an eye on DeMarco.
"Oh, yeah, I'd almost forgotten. All hail the almighty Buffy, she who can do no wrong in your book," Cordelia said with sudden contempt, having another drink.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Xander demanded, finally focusing on Cordelia completely.
"Oh, please Xander! You think I've blanked out what things were like in high school? You followed that girl around like a lost puppy, desperate for any scrap of her affection, and I doubt things have changed much since then. It's pathetic!" Miss Chase snorted.
"Well, for once in your life, you're completely and utterly wrong," Xander said with a hollow tone of voice. "Let's just say the whole hero worship thing has taken a bit of a battering ever since I learned about her and Spike, and the attempted rape last month."
Cordy did a classic spit-take. "Say what?"
Xander briefly explained, not wanting to go into details about Buffy and Spike's romantic liaisons. As Lorne finished his set and disappeared backstage, Harris saw DeMarco follow him; and the Sunnydale construction worker knew the time to act had come. Harris just ordered Cordelia to stay put, and set off.
"So, listen. I know a few people over at the Tropicana," Lee said to Lorne within the communal dressing room. "And Lorne, buddy, you've got talent. What do you say I hook you up with this guy over there named Spencer? We're talking star billing, three shows a night, your own private room..."
"I sure as hell don't think so. Lorne, get away from him!" Xander's voice barked out.
"What? Xander, what are you talking about?" Lorne turned to face his human friend.
"Get him to sing for you, and you'll see it for yourself," Xander answered, glaring at Lee. "This asshole recently got his hands on a mystical artefact that can steal people's destinies; he's planning to start some damned 'futures trading' scheme! Lorne, he'll eventually force you to ruin people's lives if we don't stop him-"
DeMarco panicked, pulling out a gun and holding it to Lorne's head. Everyone in the dressing room screamed and panicked at the sight of it, quickly running out the door. DeMarco paid no attention to them as he grabbed the Pylean demon to use him as a hostage and demanded, "How the hell did you know all that, punk? Have I got a leak in my organization somewhere?"
Xander said nothing as Lee edged towards the door, dragging his hostage along. "Well?" DeMarco demanded.
"You ain't getting nothin' out of me," Xander told him bluntly.
Lee decided to change tactics, he quickly clubbed Lorne unconscious and aimed the gun at Harris. "Let me guess, you got some sort of second sight deal going, right? Psychic of some kind? Good, I could use someone like you on the payroll."
"Mister, I don't fricking think so."
"Xander, what's going on here-? HEY!!" Cordelia seemed to sober up fast as Lee grabbed himself a new hostage.
"Let me put this another way...Xander, is it? You don't co-operate, I'll fill her full of bullets right here and right now," Lee promised his enemy.
"Hey, let go of me!!" Cordelia started struggling.
"Cordy, knock it off!" Xander said, because he had just gotten an idea. A half-baked one, maybe, but an idea nonetheless. "Just do what I tell you, okay? You remember – like during Halloween, when you were being chased by that Bigfoot?"
It took a moment for Cordelia to get it, but then she clapped her hands over her ears just before Xander screamed. That high, piercing note, just like the one back on that memorable Halloween four years previously, nearly incapacitated Lee before Xander rushed over and the two men started struggling for control of the gun.
"XANDER!!" Miss Chase screamed after a single gunshot rang out in the dressing room. Her heart in her mouth, Cordelia almost wept with relief when it was DeMarco who collapsed to the floor with a look of shock on his face. He then lay still, eyes wide open.
"Oh my God. We, we better call the cops, and-and an ambulance," Xander said with a similar look of shock on his face, staring numbly at the flecks of blood on his hands.
***
Tropicana Resort & Casino, South Las Vegas, Nevada
June 9th, 2002
As Xander woke up with a hangover, he had only a vague recollection of the last twenty-four hours.
Last night, the Las Vegas PD had arrived to investigate the death of Lee DeMarco, and the coroner's meat wagon had come to take away the body. After talking to all the witnesses and taking their statements, the police lieutenant in charge of the investigation had decided that, all in all, it was a pretty open-and-shut case; a deranged nut pulls out a gun in public, tries to take hostages, and gets shot in a struggle with a Good Samaritan tourist. Almost certainly no charges would be laid, and Xander was free to go home, pending further investigation.
After taking Lorne home and making sure he was alright after the demon recovered consciousness, Xander had almost lost it. Whatever the circumstances, he had killed a man; and so Harris had decided to take Cordelia's advice on how to try to deal with that.
"Xander? OH MY GOD!!" Cordelia's voice screamed in his ear, causing him to wince in pain from the hangover. "Why the hell am I in bed with you?"
"I don't know, I don't remember," Xander admitted, his head pounding as he turned to face the brunette alongside him. He vaguely recognized this place as Cordelia's bedroom at the resort-casino. "Do you?"
"NO!" Cordelia said in great panic. She'd had nightmares about this very situation ever since she'd arrived in Las Vegas. "Oh my God, did we-?"
Xander tried to remember. "I don't think so. Besides," he said, examining himself under the covers, "I think I've still got all my clothes on. You?"
Cordy did the same thing. "Yeah. Me too."
Harris shrugged. "Well, there you go. We had too much to drink, and then we must have just passed out on the bed. No big deal."
"NO BIG DEAL?!" Miss Chase screamed. "What time is it? Oh, thank God today's Sunday and it's my day off. I can't believe the last two days though, it's been like high school all over again! Now get up and get out of my bedroom, will you? I need to take a shower, and forget about the Saturday night from hell!"
Grumbling, Xander did so – only to discover that he was wearing a formal tuxedo and Cordelia was wearing a white wedding dress.
For a moment, no one said anything as the newlyweds stared at themselves, and then at each other with their mouths open. Then in perfect sync, both of them said at the same time: "OH – MY – GOD!"
Most likely Anya Jenkins couldn't have pulled off a more fitting form of vengeance, than what Xander had just carried out on himself.
***
Next: Story 26 - Great Rao!