Slowly cracking open an eye, Alexander 'Xander' Harris fought back a groan of pain as he slowly forced himself up, the tattered fragments of a dream slipping away like they always did, leaving him with a familiar sense of loss. Shaking his head, he fought down the simple longing that bit at him every day with the strength of almost two decades worth of practice. With a slow, deep breath, he drew himself from his sheets and prepared to face another day.

For a moment, his mind drew back to a matter of weeks earlier when he'd sat across a bomb from a zombified bully, and watched as the undead teen had been the first to blink. Shaking his head he none the less allowed his mind to drift back to the sudden, almost violating way he'd lost his virginity to the dark haired Bostonian Slayer, Faith. Used and then kicked out on his naked ass in fact.

A slight twinge pulsed across his features, and for a moment, he could feel a white hot pulse of emotion try to force its way through the coat of humiliation and shame that he always seemed to wear. It was becoming rarer and rarer for those moments, those flare ups of defiance to rear their head. Thicker and thicker as time passed, as if his courage, his strength was being stolen away. Not that he really thought he had much to begin with.

Shaking his head again, the boy sighed slightly before he stretched out just a bit, his body rippling lightly before he grabbed a wrinkled shirt hanging off his dresser and gave it an experimental sniff. Nodding in acceptance as it didn't smell of sweat, blood and dust, he slide it on before going to work pulling on a relatively fresh pair of boxers. Moment's later, pants and socks followed suit.

Grunting softly before he shook his head, the boy found his shoes a moment later, then, after securing his keys and wallet, grabbed hold of his back pack. The familiar weight felt heavier and heavier each and every day. A part of him, unable to help but growl at how it made him feel like nothing but a trained monkey, an odd phrase really but it none the less surged through his mind.

Once more he made to shake his head, his eyes travelling around the room, before with a quiet grunt he rose up and made his way to school

-o-o-o-

Something was tugging at his senses as soon as he walked near the library, a slight purse of his lips as he watched Buffy Summers making her way towards it a slight bit more bounce in her step than normal. A smile lightly slipping across his lips, he nodded in her direction, even as he felt the tug growing even stronger. "Hey, ready for the wonders of Mrs. Taggart's chemistry test?"

"Huh?" Buffy blinked a moment before her eyes widened in realization before groaning just a bit. "Oh man, I completely forgot about it!" Suddenly, her expression shifted, melting into a kind of bubbly giddiness. "Faith and I were busy recovering this amulet for the new Watcher from this group of vampires with swords down in the sewers. Man, it was so intense!"

"Vampires with swords?" Xander couldn't help but make a face at that as he shook his head after twitching slightly at the mention of the dark haired Slayer. "As if regular, toss Xander into the wall, onto gravestones, into tries vampires weren't bad enough, now we have vampires with swords? Eesh. Get the amulet at least?"

"Yup! It was just… so amazing!" Buffy grinned, a broad, almost giggling grin as she held up the glittering object that immediately caught Xander's eye. "It was like I was in this zone, it was absolutely incredible!"

"Ah, I see…" His head nodding absently, Xander reached out, lifting up the amulet in his hand from where it dangled from its chain in Buffy's grip. The instant his fingers came into contact with it's surface, a sudden, swelling rush washed through him, a churning charge of magic that made him swoon slightly for an instant before immediately righting himself to stare up into the concerned eyes of the Slayer.

"Xander! You, ok?" Buffy had immediately moved to catch him, supporting her friend with her strength as he shook his head as if to clear cobwebs away.

"Ugh, yeah, sorry." He could feel it, something shifting, changing inside of him. No, not changing, more like unlocking as he straightened himself up. "Just felt a bit dizzy for a moment there. Guess my lack of sleep lately is catching up to me."

"You sure? Don't push yourself too much, ok?" Putting on her best smile, Buffy lifted up the amulet again. "I've gotta go deal with the new guy, see you in class?"

"Yeah, see you there," Xander agreed quickly as he fought back against swaying until after she'd slipped into the library.

Shaking his head again, he couldn't help but frown as everything seemed to be slowly coming into focus around him. A frown marring his features, he quietly navigated the halls more on instinct than anything, as he tried to put his finger on exactly what had just happened. There had been magic involved, that much he was certain of, but for some reason that didn't bother him in the slightest. In fact, it was almost as if there was some kind of smug satisfaction pulsing through him at the knowledge.

Eyes narrowing, he couldn't stop the smile that fought back against his frown at the thought. Freedom. He wasn't sure why he felt that way, but he did. For some reason, for the first time in he wasn't sure how long, he felt free.

The grin growing into a smirk, for the first time that he could remember that thick coat of shame and helplessness seemed to melt away. The feelings of inadequacy, of worthlessness just seemed to have vanished entirely as he would slowly glance around the hallway as if seeing it for the first time. For a moment, a brief moment he considered that he could be under the effect of some kind of spell or possession, but it just as quickly fell by the wayside as he felt himself chuckle softly. It simply felt too natural, too 'right' as it were.

Grinning wider he couldn't help but chuckle as he slid down at the table across from Willow and offered the girl an amused looking smirk.

Blinking in surprising, the girl studied her friend for a moment, before biting her lower lip nervously. "… Xander?"

"The one and only," the boy agreed, still holding that smug smirk on his lips as he lightly threaded his fingers together across his chest. "In all my twinkie-less goodness."

"You seem…" The girl paused a moment, her nose scrunching up as her brow furrowed in consideration. "You feel, different."

"Why yes, I do." Pausing a moment, a sudden twinkle in his eyes spoke volumes as he continued. "But, how did you know that? Did you do some sorta mojo groping of me I don't remember?"

"Xander!" Immediately the girl blushed brightly and glared down at the table in front of him, refusing to meet his eyes. "I thought we weren't talking about stuff like that?"

"Eh, I'm still trying to figure out how I lost such complete and utter control of myself." Xander shrugged slightly as he managed a slight frown, before he couldn't help but mutter something under his breath Willow couldn't quite understand.

She frowned slightly as she looked back up her friend's face and paused a moment before she asked. "What was that last bit? It… didn't sound like English."

"Probably wasn't." Xander waved his hand slightly and dismissively. "Roughly translated to 'hairy piece of snake born filth.'"

"Roughly?" There was a slight little grin that almost threatened to curl onto her lips, even as a frown fought hard to remain in place.

"It loses something in the translation."

"…How do you even know it?" There was a slight frowning demand in the girl's voice as she stared at her oldest, living, friend.

"Remember Halloween?" The amused smirk remained on the boy's lips as he leaned back in his chair and lightly let his eyes fall closed.

"Oh… Oh! But… I thought those memories were faded?" Willow responded back, a tensed wariness suddenly coiling in her body.

"Today, my memory seems to be better than it's been in a while, Wills." That amused, boyish grin curled upon his lips once more, seemingly more innocent that it had been in a while as before he cracked an eye open and gave her an almost patronizing look. "What, afraid I'm suddenly going to start going mascot hunting again?"

"Well, you're not acting very, well, Xander-like!" Willow countered even as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Actually, I'm acting very Xander-like." He countered with a smirk as he watched her still with only one eye on her. "Just, not the bumbling goof Xander-like."

"Hey." Buffy sent the pair a grin as she settled down onto the seat in the table in front of them. "What's the what?"

"Xander's possessed again!" Willow immediately blurted out as she pointed at the boy next to her who immediately rolled his visible eye on response to her words.

"Again?" Buffy let out a slightly annoyed sigh. "What's with Xander and possession?"

"It was a curse." Xander responded simply as he opened his second eye and gave Buffy a smirk. "And I'm NOT possessed, thank you."

"You do realize that's exactly what a possessed person would say, right?" the blonde Slayer countered with a slight look of amusement on her face.

"Exactly what a person who wasn't possessed would say too." Xander immediately pointed out as he continued to smirk smugly back at her. "But, seriously, I am not under the influence of any outside forces. Completely possession free here."

"You are giving a very big bad in hiding kinda smirk here, he who calls himself Xander." Buffy pointed out as she crossed her arms lightly about her chest.

"Who said I was hiding?" The boy countered again with that smug little smirk as his eyes almost seemed to twinkle with amusement as he looked down at her almost like he was addressing a child. "Of course, who said I was a big bad either?"

"Uh huh. Giles. Now," Buffy said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "And bring back a note that says you're possession free."

"Heh, and when he gives me the clean bill of spiritual health?" Xander smirked again, even as he stood up without protests. "I take my apologies in twinkies and lap dances."

"See!? Totally un-Xander-like!" Willow spoke up again, before crossing her arms about her chest. "I'm going with you, to make sure that you go!"

"And more and more I agree with Willow." Buffy agreed, even as she fought down a slight blush at the subtle barb reminded her of the previous school year.

"Well, since Willow's volunteering to skip out on a test, it must be serious," Xander agreed with a mock solemn nod of his head while standing up and waggling his eyebrows at the suddenly wide eyed Willow. "Shall we then?"

"The test! But… I… err…" Willow's eyes flicked from Xander to the still seated Mrs. Taggart. "I mean, that is…"

"The test will still be here when we get back, you know," the boy noted casually as he lightly buffed his nails and started to walk off, casting a look over his shoulder. "Coming?"

"I… err…" Suddenly, her face hardened into a look of resolve as she gave a sharp nod of her head and quickly following after the boy as Buffy struggled to keep the amusement off her face.

-o-o-o-

"G-man!" Xander called out as he strode into the library, his eyes twinkling with a look of anticipation on his face.

"… Aren't you supposed to be in class, Xander?" Rupert Giles looked up from his books, with a frowning Wesley Wyndam-Pryce standing next to him.

"What, no infernal nickname complaints?" There was a look of disappointment flashing visibly across his face as he flopped down onto a chair, revealing a frowning and nervous Willow behind him. "Willow here has managed to convince Buffy that I'm possessed again. I told her I'm not, but she doesn't quite believe me."

"He's acting very un-Xander-like," Willow clarified as she crossed her arms about her chest and nodded fiercely.

"Well, of course one can't simply take the, ah, word of someone that they aren't, well, possessed." Wesley spoke up quickly as he studied the boy carefully. "And… Possessed AGAIN?"

"Would be numero tres." Xander clarified with a yawn and a shrug as he settled down into a chair with a lazy stretch. "So, got something to make with the mojo to prove to the girls that I am still of the Xanderness? Oh, and I take it that he's the scab?"

As Xander gestured towards a suddenly sputtering Wesley, Giles lightly quirked a lip in subdued amusement. "Quite. Fortunately, due to the sheer number of possessions that seem to be going about…"

"Buffy's at least tied my record." Xander added quickly with another smug smirk directed towards a blushing and even more slightly annoyed looking Willow.

"See? He's acting more like Cordelia than Xander!" Willow pointed out with an audible grumble.

"Really?" Xander blinked slightly before looking back at Giles. "Did someone dress me like a hooker when I wasn't looking? Because, seriously, I don't have the legs to pull off one of her skirts."

"Giles!" Willow whined slightly pointedly as she suddenly shifted to her resolve face. "Possession?"

"Right." Giles shrugged a moment, before tossing a familiar white orb at Xander. "Catch."

With a brow arched up, Xander plucked the orb out of the air then held it up for all to see. "… And this proves what, other than I can see why you never offer to teach us how to play cricket?"

"Well, as much as I will admit he is apparently acting out of character, he is not possessed." Giles pulled out a handkerchief and started to quickly rub at his glasses. "Which leads to the question of him being under the influence of a spell…"

"Or, him suddenly NOT being under the influence of a curse." Xander supplied with a snicker before suddenly standing up, knowledge flowing so easily through his mind as he strode over to Wesley and without much preamble, his hand shot forward, darting into the man's vest to pluck out the amulet Buffy had given him. "Tell me, oh replacement Watcher, do you know what this is?"

"Now see here! Give that back to me, at once!" Wesley blustered as the boy held the amulet up for everyone to see as he rolled his eyes, and kept the amulet out of the man's reach, a look of condescending expectation on his fact before the flustered man responded. "That's amulet of what was once a rather powerful, now dead demon, that contains a portion of his power!"

"Ooh, wrong on so many levels!" Xander shook his head as he lightly started to twirl the amulet about on its chain. "First off, Balthazar? Not so dead. Second, amulet's not his. Third, it contains power, just nothing of his."

"And how, exactly do you know this, Xander?" Giles ventured, even as he began to inch towards a crossbow.

"Ah ah ah! You're missing the most important question!" Xander chided the man, a smirk on his lips as memories continued to flow through him. "But, since you won't play along and ask, I guess I'll just have to answer it anyway. This, my dear, nervous humans, is a key."

That actually brought Giles up short as he stared carefully at the boy. "A… Key?"

"Yup!" Xander agreed as he lightly continued to twirl the relic about on its chain. "You see, it's used to both create and lock a curse, and unlock it. You know, like the curse cast on, oh, say… The Master? Or, Balthazar? Or, really, if one wants to be honest, on me?"

"You're claiming you were under a curse…?" Wesley spoke up, sniffing audibly as he stared at the boy. "And do tell, how long were you under this supposed curse?"

"A little over 18 years." Xander responded with a smirk that grew even wider as he saw the almost audible click in Giles' eyes.

"Oh… oh dear…" Giles took a slow, deep breath as he stared at the boy. "But.. but… Buffy found the amulet in a tomb!"

"Yes, handy places to hide things around here, aren't they?" Xander agreed with another, smug grin. "And go ahead and ask the question you're almost dying to ask, G-man."

"What are you?"

As Xander's grin grew feral, Willow interrupted, her voice almost panicked as she stared at the man with wide, disbelieving eyes. "What…? Giles! It's Xander! You know, human, goofy, twinkie loving Xander! Right? I mean, he… he's just under a spell, right?!"

His eye twitching slightly, the grin vanished from Xander's face as he drew a pensive expression and muttered under his breath, before gesturing at Willow who immediately slumped back, her eyes glazed over. "Panicky Willow is never of the good, right, G-man?"

"You haven't answered my question." Giles responded, making no move to hide his acquisition of his crossbow, now leveled at the boy's chest. "And what've you done to Willow?"

"The girl really should work on her resistance to mind magics," Xander stated with an almost bored tone before he addressed the girl. "Now, Willow, you brought me here, Giles checked me out and didn't find any kind of possession, remember?"

"Yes…" There was a distant quality to the girl's voice her eyes staring off blankly into the distance.

"And then you wanted Giles to check to see if there was any kind of magic, effecting how I act, isn't that right."

"Uh huh…"

"Since I'm in Giles care, you can go back to class, you have a test, remember? You were so nervous about it, you imagined a whole bit about saying that I'm not human."

"I… did?" Willow's brow furrowed slightly as suddenly deep in thought.

"Of course you did." Xander responded soothingly as he watched her. "After all, there's no way that could be true, now is there?"

"… No, of course not." Willow agreed, her voice still distant as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Indeed. Now, since Giles is going to check me out in greater detail, you're going to get back to class so you can take your test. You want to take your test, now don't you?" The boy continued leadingly a smirking smile still on his lips as he watched the way Giles frowned slightly while Wesley stared at him in absolute shock.

"Yes… back to class… to take my test…" Willow agreed before standing up, and slowly, woodenly starting towards the door, each step, her steps growing more and more fluid as she seemed to wake up from the spell he'd cast on her. Casting a worried look over her shoulder as she reached the door, she quickly called back to Giles. "You'll make sure he's all right, right, Giles?"

"Ah, um, yes, quite." The still frowning librarian agreed before Willow sent Xander a tentative smile then slipped through the library doors.

As the pair of Brits stared at the slowly closing door, they failed to notice that Xander was once more muttering under his breath, gestures forming as the air seemed to crackle with energy. Alerted by the sudden rising of hairs on the back of his neck, Giles turned his head just in time to see the wink Xander sent his way before the boy's hands suddenly glowed brightly. Alerted by the older man's sudden motions, Wesley turned his head just in time to catch a blast of light blue energy impacting against his face, before the world went dark and he crumpled to the floor.

"Ah, there we go, now we can have ourselves a chat in private." Xander chuckled at bit at the flabbergast expression on Giles' face as the boy lightly propped his feet up on the table. "What? You think I was going to let that little idiot hear what I am? He's go blathering to Travers and the rest of those Council idiots first thing he could."

"When he wakes up, what do you think will be the first think he does?" Giles responded with a frown as he glared at the boy his arms crossed about his chest.

"Wonder why he fainted an hour ago?" Xander offered with an oh so innocent smile on his lips.

"… An hour ago?" Giles blinked slightly at that as he stared back at the boy. "But... That's incredibly advanced magic… Should I even call you Xander anymore?"

"Eh, I've gotten used to it." The 'boy' shrugged a bit with a slight smirk. "Come on, G-man! I've given you plenty of little hints! Can't you figure it out?"

"Xander, there are literally HUNDREDS of types of different beings that you could be." Giles responded as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Arrogance and powerful magic tend to go hand in hand."

"It's only arrogance if you can't back it up." Xander countered with another smug smirk.

"Who was the one that was under a curse again?" The words snapped past the British man's lips with a bit of a Ripper smirk behind them as he crossed his arms about his chest.

"There were extenuating circumstances with that!" The glare Xander sent back at the man actually caused the former Watcher to take a step backwards in retreat at the pure menace the boy managed to exude. "Extremely extenuating circumstances!"

"I'm... sure." Giles quickly agreed, his hands held up in a placating gesture.