AN:
Wow, so many people who got cookies, nearly gave away my entire stash
grin
Yeah, kudos to arkeus, RoseGoddess, drdeth, QOShea and Josh
for spotting Xander's extended family, and posting the response
within 25 minutes of me uploading the chapter. There are more that
managed to spot all my hints but I can't mention them all here,
cookies for all of you :)
For those who didn't spot it the family are as follows...
Uncle Jack (Dad) Stargate, Jack
O'Neill
Uncle Nick CSI, Nick Stokes CSI3, Vegas.
Weasy/Weasley
Harry Potter (Sorry I'm not a big HP fan so that's as much as I
can do for a reference.)
Well hope everyone's still enjoying the fic, on with Surprise :)
M
"Are we feeling better then?" spike asked as he walked over the Drusilla who is lying on the table looking up.
"Spike, you always were the stupid one. Drusilla doesn't feel pain from her visions, she likes it." Angel says as he walks out from the shadows.
"Stupid? You're the bloody idiot, coming in here when we're so bloody strong. You got a suicide wish or something? Mate, will you take care of this?" Spike smiles as the judge walks over to angel and places his hand on his chest. "Hurts, doesn't it?"
"Kinda itches, in a good way though." Angel grined at the judge then turned to Spike. "What? Maybe he's broken or something."
"This one cannot be burned; there is no humanity in him. He is clean." The judge snarls before walking off.
"You mean…" Spike starts, before Drusilla wraps her arms around him and finishes the sentence.
"Daddy's home."
"Angelus?" Spike asks, the grin threatening to split his face in two.
"I'm back!" angel shouts before leaping onto the table. "And it's about time too."
"Psss… we're going to destroy the world, want to come?" Drusilla grins at angel, snaking his arm around spikes waist.
"Yeah, destroy the world. Sounds good, I'm more interested in the slayer and that bloody ION git. Saw him coming into my place just as I got out, minute more and he would have had me." Angel grimaces at the thought and throws his cigarette on the floor, grinding in out beneath his boot.
"Well they're in the world, so shouldn't be a problem then." Spike walks over to angel and grins. "Come on mate, it's four against one now. They'll be easy pickings."
"Four against one, yeah. Only it's not one is it? They've got another slayer as well as that ION bloke, as well as some teacher that can move faster than I can watch and could break the judge's grip on the slayer without breaking a sweat. So that's four of them, not to mention the watcher and the others. No, we've got to play this carefully. Take them out one at a time, start with the watcher and the humans then go after that green thing, then onto the slayers."
"Sounds good, let me round up some men we'll hit them tonight." Spike grins at the prospect, two slayers. He already had two under his belt, angelus could have his muffy and he'd have the other one.
"No! We lie low for a while, play mind games for a bit. By the time we got for the throat they won't be anything resembling a threat." Angel grinned evilly. This was going to be fun, the teacher and ION we're the only wild cards there. There would have to be some careful intel before going after them.
"Damn, you've really got it in for this girl. She'll be a lot of fun; we'll be a lot of fun now we're back together." Spike said as he pulled Drusilla over to them, embracing them in a group hug. "The scourge, back again. We'll burn this town and everyone in it."
"Burn, burn, London's burning and we all fall down." Drusilla rhymed before falling theatrically on the floor.
"Right love, but we're not in London." Spike smirked at her.
"Some things never change." Angelus watched them play before slipping back out the door into the night; some games had to be played while the wound was still wet. It hurt than much more that way.
"Faith, are you ok with this? I mean helping me move and all?" Xander asked as they approached his house.
"Five by five Xan, I mean are you sure Giles is ok with letting us stay there? It just seems pretty weird, him offering us both rooms in the same day."
"Nah, it's cool. Giles is… well he's Giles. He's always been there for me, more of a father than mine was any day. If he says it's cool then it's cool, but just in case I'm going to give him as much room as possible. Give him time to adjust to it." Looking ahead he could see his house coming up; it was only four or five doors away. "Faith… do you mind if we stop here a minute? Just don't think I'm ready to… you know."
"Hey, it's cool. Whenever you're ready." Faith smiled at him, taking out a cigarette and patting herself down for a lighter.
"You know, you shouldn't smoke. It'll kill ya." Xander said, trying to smile at her at the same time. For some reason it didn't reach his eyes today.
"Yeah, well, slayer. Not going to have a long life anyway, would you mind, you know…" Faith said, motioning to the end of the cigarette.
Flashing his eyes he lit the cigarette with a thought.
"Thanks Xan, want one?"
"Nah thanks. Your life but not mine, besides don't think Giles is going to let you smoke in his house." Xander said, looking her over. Letting his powers wash over her body so he could check if there was anything wrong with her. No cancer, not even a stomach ulcer. She was in perfect health. "Faith how long have you been smoking?"
"Bout four years now, why?"
"There's no damage to your lungs, no damage to anything in your body. It's just… weird, you know." He went back to looking into her eyes; there was a softness there that her bad girl mask didn't cover. If felt better, seeing the girl she was, instead of the girl she wanted people to see her as.
"Slayer healing I suppose, we can heal anything so…"
"Yeah, suppose. Makes sense, wonder if we could duplicate it somehow; get a cure for cancer out of it."
"Dunno, you're the godlike being, maybe. Come on, let's get in there and grab your stuff. Do it quick and easy."
"Ok, just let me go in first. Make sure no one's there, that way we can do this without any hassle."
"Sure thing Xan, I'll wait outside if you want. Just give me a shout if you need me." Faith grinned as they approached the front door. It was locked and there wasn't any car in the driveway, so she assumed no one was home.
"Ok, looks clear. You wait here I'll grab everything I can." Xander said before ducking inside the house.
"Sure." Faith stood there on the doorstep and looked around, nice neighborhood. Little quiet for her tastes but decent enough. About ten minutes later she heard the call from inside.
"Faith, come round the back. We can get the stuff out easier that way."
"Ok Xan." She shouted back before making her way round the house, sure enough there were steps round the back leading to the basement. "You live in the basement Xan?" she said, opening the door.
"Yeah, easier this way. Can go in and out without being bothered, that and my parents wanted my room upstairs for a games room. Got a pool table and everything set up in there. Here, can you help me carry these? Just a few bag's of clothes and some books, nothing too big." He said as he handed her a black bag filled with clothes.
"Xander, we can take whatever you want. Between you're powers and my slayer strength I'm sure we can get everything in here to Giles' without too much hassle."
"Well, yeah. Hadn't thought about it like that. Tell you what, grab everything you can. Take it out to the back yard, I'll think if a way to get it to Giles' from there." He grinned, this way he could take it all. Hopefully before Tony or Jessica came back as well, not relishing the thought of another confrontation with them, he went about bagging things up as quickly as he could. Letting Faith quickly run them to the back garden, soon they had everything. The room was pretty much stripped bare.
"Cool, got it all. You ready Xan? What you thinking? Giant green bubble? Teleport it all there in a flash? Come on, something cool. You've got to top that trip into orbit and the kiss last night." She smiled at him, subtly letting him know that she hadn't forgotten the kiss.
"Actually I was thinking removal van, maybe a truck." He grinned at her before spinning on his heel and walking to the road at the front of the house.
"Removal truck? We'll never get one today Xan, you need to book those things weeks in advance."
"Who said anything about booking one?" Xander grinned, waving his hand and creating a construct of a removal van. 'ION moving Ltd' Emblazoned across the side of the van. Aside from it being bright green you couldn't tell it was a construct, it had an exhaust, doors, bolts, everything.
"Now that's cool." Faith grinned. "Does it run? I mean I thought you needed to know how things worked to create them."
"It works, spent a few weeks up at my Uncle Rory's over the summer. He's a mechanic, taught me all about engines, cars and how they run. This one should run like a lotus." He smiled at her sliding his arm around her waist, letting her lean into him softly before he broke the embrace to start packing the van. "Come on; let's get this stuff loaded then on to Giles. I want to get everything unpacked there before tonight, that way we can get with the others and help them."
"Sounds good." She grinned, sprinting back into the yard she quickly picked up a few bags before running back and throwing them in the back of the van.
Xander watched her, letting the smile come to his face. Slayer strength and endurance sure were wonderful things. Catching up he grabbed a few bags and started loading them up. Soon they were done and heading to Giles' flat. True to his word the van ran perfectly, they got a few strange looks as they 'drove' through Sunnydale but that was about it. Soon they were at Giles' unpacking and moving into the rooms.
"Damn, G sure has a sweet pad. Look at this place it's huge." Faith smiled as she saw her bedroom, built it wardrobes and a shower room with a door leading right to her bedroom. No one could get in or use her stuff without coming through her room first, it was a luxury she'd never had before.
"I know, he was on about selling this place earlier on in the year. Said he didn't need all the space and was going to get somewhere smaller, when he met Ms C he decided to keep it I guess." Xander said, bringing the last load in from the truck and dissipating the construct.
"Glad he did." Faith smiled as Xander came back down the stairs, walking over to him she snaked her arms round his waist and pulled him in for a soft kiss.
"Ahem." Came a cough from behind them.
"G-man, sorry didn't see you there." Xander said, breaking the kiss and embrace.
"Yes, well… I assume you got everything? Is everything in order with your room Faith?" Giles smiled at the two; maybe Faith would be good for Xander. His crush on Buffy seemed to have dwindled the last few months so maybe it was time that he moved on. He would certainly be good for Faith, he could see right through the mask that she put on for the others. He saw it when she started crying about the motel manager. She was a beautiful young girl, who had had one too many hardships in her life. Another year or so and she might not be the same girl he saw today. Maybe Xander could help her see the world with fresh eyes.
"It's wicked cool G, I mean are you sure about this? Letting us stay and all?" Faith asked, pulling away from Xander. She'd had tricks like this pulled on her in the past, normally when the man wanted something in return. She was normally that something. Giles didn't seem that type though, and Xander vouched for him. Saying he was like a father to him, maybe he was a nice guy after all.
"It's fine Faith. You are my charge now and I won't see you staying in the flea pit motel with that disgusting piece of slime for a manager." Talking his glasses off and polishing them, he missed the look of apprehension that crossed Xander's face.
"G-man, you sure your ok? I mean you've got something on your shirt, looks like blood." Xander stepped in front of Faith. Maybe this wasn't Giles at all, some sort of demon sent by Angel or Spike.
"I assure you I'm quite alright Xander, and please don't call me that infernal moniker ever again. I just went to have a quiet chat with Mr. Delahaye, the manager of the motel and informed him that attempted rape is not acceptable in the town."
"Yeah, that's Giles. No one else could use so many words to say something simple." Xander grinned as Giles blew out a breath of exasperation.
"Yes, well now that we have cleared that up. Would you two care to join us on patrol tonight? Buffy and Willow are back at the library at the moment, while Jenny… Ms. Calendar that is, is patrolling from the sky." Giles said, covering his slip quickly.
"Flying? She can fly too? Damn, how come they get all the cool powers?" Faith grinned as she threw on her jacket.
"Faith, if you want to go flying I'll take you where ever you want to go." Xander smiled down at her, letting his arm wrap around her once more.
"Take me to heaven?" She smirked at him.
"Anytime you want." He flirted back.
"I'll hold you to that stud, maybe tonight." She grinned and winked at him before running off ahead leaving a bewildered Giles and Xander looking on.
"Giles, did she just get one over on me?" Xander said, looking over to see the older man polishing his glasses furiously.
"I do believe so, now while you two might be staying in my house I will have to set down some ground rules." Giles said, smiling at the horrified expression on the youths face. "Don't worry. Nothing bad, I don't expect you to do chores or anything like that. Just clean up after yourselves and try to keep the noise level to an absolute minimum, also am I right in assuming you have feelings for Faith?"
"Uh, yeah." Xander looked up at him, unsure as to where this question was going.
"While I understand you are both consenting, keep in mind that Faith is only fifteen at the moment. In fact her fifteenth birthday was only last month." He smiles at the look of shock that flew across Xander's face.
"But… she looks… but…" Xander stammered out, looking ahead to see if he could verify it for himself.
"I know how she looks, but keep in mind Faith has had a particularly hard childhood. I don't know much about it because her last watcher was killed shortly after she was sent here, but please Xander, do be careful. I don't want to see you or her get hurt."
"Thanks Giles. No, I'll talk to her; see if I can get her to open up a bit. Maybe even get her to talk to you sometime." Xander smiled. Damn, fifteen? She wasn't even legal yet.
"I appreciate that, and I will see about enrolling Faith in school in the next couple of days. That should make things easier on both of you." Giles smirked at the look that passed his face.
"She won't appreciate that; I can tell you that for nothing." Xander grinned. "I'll let you tell her that part, I like to keep all my parts in working order." With that he ran off after Faith, catching up to her and kissing her before running off towards the school again, closely followed by Faith.
"Coward." Giles muttered to himself with a grin.
Later that night.
"You sure there's nothing in there Cord?" Xander asked as he closed his book with a thump.
"Just the usual, blah blah, can't be killed, no weapon forged by man, blah blah. Nothing I haven't read a thousand times before in other moldy old books." Cordy said, sliding her book back onto the shelf.
"Yeah keep getting the same here. Giles, any luck your end?" Jumping down the stairs her hopped up on the table where Buffy and Faith were looking through more books.
"I'm afraid not Xander, just that the judge is impervious to all weapons of man. Nothing truly helpful, that we didn't already know."
"Yeah, same as we keep getting. There has to be something we can use, I mean how did they dismember him in the first place? I'm sure he didn't just lie still and let them chop off his limbs and head." Xander looked over at faith, watching her scrunch up her nose at a picture of a demon in a book. "Hey, we fought that one last yeah. Memnoch, or Moloch or something. Dust, don't need to worry about him."
"Yes, well… there are rumors as to how he was defeated. One book by a watcher, a Mr. Ellis in the sixteen hundreds told of a meeting with a demon. He claims he was there when the judge first rose, he proceeded to slaughter his was through most of Russia and then down on to France, where he declared victory as there was no more humanity in the world. Being in France I'm sure he was right in his assumption." Giles paused with a small smile at his joke. "Well, apparently declaring victory he went on to drink every single bottle of Dom Perignon in existence and passed out. This was when the Templar nights found him and dismembered him. Do bear in mind that the watcher in case, Mr. Ellis was extremely eccentric. His other journals go on to talk about spirits of the century and magic users so powerful they could swallow the sun, so I believe we will take that journal with a pinch of salt."
"Uhh, yeah. Right, sounds like a nut job to me. So all we need is enough French wine to get this demon to pass out and then hack him to bits?" Xander clarified, looking a bit bemused as this latest revelation.
"Somehow I don't think it's going to work Xan, we need to take care of him for good. Not just get the guy drunk." Faith grinned, closing her book and reaching for another.
"Jenny, any luck on the curse to re-ensoul angel yet?" Xander glanced over to the teacher who had just walked in and was now setting up her laptop on the table.
"I'm afraid not Xander, the magick's used have been lost to us for generations. Even if we did have the translation there is no way I am powerful enough to do it. The spell needs an incredibly powerful witch to cast it, one with more knowledge of the arcane arts that I have." Jenny looked across the table at Xander, she looked more at peace with herself today, and she was talking about the curse being 'lost to us' openly. He'd have to have a talk with her later, see what she told Giles about herself. Hopefully she had chosen the right side, but he was erring on the side of caution. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.
"Unfortunately I must agree with jenny, the spell uses terribly powerful arcane forces. Anyone who attempted that spell without the proper preparation first would be leaving themselves open to possession by any number of demons from the other realms. It's simply too dangerous to attempt." Giles grimaced, glancing over to Buffy who had a tear trailing down her cheek. "I'm sorry Buffy, there simply is no way either of us could do the spell."
"Xander, there must be something you can do, anything. Change him back to human, put his soul back in. anything…" Buffy strode over to Xander, raising her voice as she got closer.
"Buffy… I can't… there's nothi…" he tried to explain before getting cut off.
"Don't give me 'there's nothing you can do', I've seen you fly into orbit, create people out of nothing, teleport people from a building outside with a blink of an eye. Don't tell me there's nothing you can do!" Buffy was all but screaming now.
"Buffy… I'm sorry… even if I had the power to do what you're asking… I don't know how. I don't even know if I can."
"Try then, please Xander. Try for me?" Buffy was crying now, tears streaming down her face as she looked up and Xander.
"I'll…" He started, looking down at her.
"You'll do no such thing, you may have adequate control over your powers at the moment but you are talking about using your powers for something more dangerous than you have ever done before. Not simply flying or creating a construct, you are talking about reaching into the afterlife and taking someone's soul, then placing it back in its body." Giles looked round the group seriously. "Now I want you all the listen to this. As powerful as you all may seem, there are beings out there that make you pale in comparison. The forces of nature are not things to trifle with Xander, do you understand me?"
"Yes Giles." He'd never thought about it like that before, everyone kept telling him how powerful he was. If he and his new powers were only on the bottom rung of power… the rest didn't bare thinking about.
"That goes for all of you, not just Xander. These magick's are far too dangerous to use on a whim, they call upon powers that we cannot begin to comprehend. Do you all understand me?"
A chorus of 'yes' and 'yeah' echoed through the library before Buffy ran out of the room, the sound of her crying echoed the corridors for a few minutes with her footsteps before it was gone.
"Leave her Xander, she needs time alone." Giles said, placing his hand on the teen's shoulder.
"Giles, she's hurting, and you just told her there is no way we could ever get her boyfriend back. She needs her friends."Willow said, before running out of the library.
"Xander, will you and faith do a quick patrol tonight. Hopefully by tomorrow I will have some door key's cut for you, as well as one for your room Faith. Please, do be careful. With Angelus, Spike, Drusilla and the judge about tonight, we must all be on our toes."
"Sure thing G, Come on Xan." Faith grinned, research never was her style.
"Ok Giles, let me know if you find out anything ok?" Xander said, before they both left the library.
"Now Jenny, you said you had more to tell me about your past?" Giles said, before taking a seat next to her.
AN:
ok, just a quick upload here. Wanted to get a bit more humanity into
the scoobies, I was a bit worried about making them too
powerful.
Hopefully this chapter helps explain a bit about what I
plan to do, Xander maybe all powerful but underneath that he is still
Xander and still human.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, more to
come soon :)
M
