Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

Author Note: Wow, a lot of you guessed Caleb as the current villain correctly, but so far none of you got the future arc. Though it probably is my fault as I made it REALLY esoteric.

Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth.

"Ah, that was fun," Rias Gremory stepped out of the transportation circle. She had just returned from the museum where she had spent the last hour examining a few artifacts. None of them had been supernatural, but they all had been quite interesting. For her efforts she was given a bronze age Khopesh that it would only take a few minor spells to return to as good as new. "Xander would probably love this. Bronze is very useful against some beings."

"Ara ara, Buchou giving Xander-kun priceless gifts." Akeno covered her mouth as she giggled, "One would think you are courting him."

"And so what if I was, Akeno," Rias' fired back with just a touch of edge to her voice, "He'd make a far better fiance than the pig my parents chose." She calmed down a moment later as she realized Akeno was just playfully teasing, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." Rubbing her forehead with one hand as she sat in her chair and placed the package with her payment on the desk, "Riser has been complaining that I took another male as part of my family. Kaa-san has been supportive, but Tou-san is suggesting I trade Xander-kun away. I have the bad feeling Riser is going to try to press the issue now that I am the minimum marrying age."

Akeno nearly dropped the tray she was carrying when she heard that. "But wasn't there an agreement that the wedding would wait until after you finished University?"

"Yes, but it's completely verbal and not part of the written contract." Rias groaned as she began massaging her temples, "Sona and I have been pouring over it for a year now and so far there are only two outs. The first is all parties agree to the dissolution."

"With how obsessed Riser is with you, that's literally impossible," Akeno chimed in even as she was pouring the tea.

"There is some hope," Rias replied, "Though it would require me getting pregnant by someone other than my betrothed. Until recently that idea was just as repugnant as marrying Riser. Don't get me wrong, I love Kiba and Gasper, but I am just not attracted to either of them carnally. Issei there was a spark, but with Xander… Maou, if he made a move I wouldn't resist at all."

"Oh, isn't that just typical of women," A man with southwestern american accent interrupted. He had simply walked in the open door as casual as could be. Dressed in the typical garb of a Christian pastor, but forgoing a cross, he had brown hair and eyes, standing over six feet tall. "Not one of you is faithful to promises made. Here y'all are dishonoring your parents so you can whore yourself out to a man who ain't your betrothed. It's rather sickening, but I guess it's to be expected of your kind. It's a good thing I am here to properly punish you"

"That is a rather bold claim," Rias had shifted to her completely serious and dangerous tone as she stood up. "Might I know your name, so I can make an accurate report of your demise."

Akeno had bristled at the insinuation that Rias was a whore. One might have thought that the priestess of Thunder saw Rias as a sister, but that was only part of her feelings. Rias was her savior. If it wasn't for the redhead devil she would have died alone. Rias had taken her in, gave her a new life, treated her like a sister, and given her new purpose. If she were completely honest with herself she loved Rias as sister and a mother. There might have been a bit of romantic feelings as well. So it was no surprise she was already channeling lightning in preparation to destroy the priest.

"The name is Caleb, I'm an acquaintance of Alexander's." Caleb grinned as he took another step forward, "One could even say we have some business I left unfinished. So are you going to come along quiet-like, or are you aiming to misbehave?"

"You're the one who maimed my Xander." Rias was quite clearly angry now. Her personal sigil formed under her feet as she unleashed her full aura. Her hair whipped around her wildly as her magic began to visibly manifest. The red-black flames of the *Power of Destruction* raged in her hands, "Maiming my servants is a crime for which there is only one punishment: Death."

Akeno's normal facade completely vanished. As with Rias her personal sigil formed beneath her feet as her body crackled with lightning. While she was still a little unsure of how she felt about Xander, the idea of letting Caleb live for a moment longer was anathema to her. That didn't mean she didn't want to make him scream in pain. She just wanted it to be the last sound he made.

"Ah, but I was just relieving Alexander of his burden," Caleb smirked, "For seven years he had to bear witness to the likes of the Slayer and the Witch spreading their legs for all manner of depravity. Though he probably considers those days to be a joy compared to what he must see around you two."

"THAT'S IT!" Rias and Akeno shouted in unison as they unleashed hell on the serial killer. *Lightning* arced from Akeno's outstretched hands even as the *Power of Destruction* was flung by Rias. The two attacks strike Caleb head on. The clubrooms wards barely withstanding the thunderous shockwave. The two couches and coffee table that magically strengthened to withstand a blast of a hundred pounds of TNT were shredded into confetti.

As the dust and debris settled, Caleb simply dusted off his shoulder with a smirk on his lips, "Hoooowheee! Now those were some pretty powerful bits of magic you two tossed out. I actually felt them a bit." The man tilted his head a bit to crack his neck, "I reckon it's my turn."

"How did you… hurk!" Rias had been slack jawed for a moment. The amount of *Power of Destruction* she unleashed would have erased a main battle tank from existence. She knew that Akeno had released what would be considered an average bolt of real lightning. There should have been just a char mark on the carpet where Caleb stood. So as her mind tried to deal with the impossibility of what she saw, Rias had let her guard down. The result was a fist impacting her abdomen that felt like a round house from Koneko. She was instantly doubled up as she was vomiting up the french toast she had for breakfast even as her lungs were screaming for air.

"Now that is all sorts of disappointin' I woulda reckoned that Alexander woulda had you improvin' all your skills." Caleb's tone was entirely too calm and collected as he regarded Rias retching up her breakfast.

"You son of a...heyeck!" Akeno had charged in with a lightning covered fist only to have Caleb knock it away and grab her by the throat.

"Now, now, I only need the Whore for the next act." Caleb said as he gave his hand a twist. There was a slight crack and Akeno fell limp in his arms as her eyes fluttered shut. Without a single care he dropped the black haired girl to the ground.

"You… monster." Rias barely wheezed out as she saw her best friend fall to the ground in a lifeless heap.

"That's rich coming from the likes of you," Caleb chuckled darkly, as he put Rias in a sleeper hold, cutting off the blood flow to her brain. "I wouldn't worry about missing your friend, you'll be reunited soon."

…

…

…

"Please pick up. Please pick up. Please pick up. I'll do anything you ask, just please pick up!" Xander chanted after dialing Rias' number. The phone kept ringing before switching to her voice mail. "Buchou-chan, gather everybody and hole up with the Student Council. Don't let anyone in unless you know exactly who they are. Call me back as soon as you get this."

Xander was racing as quickly as he could jumping from roof to roof towards Kuoh Academy. It was Sunday and classes were not in session, but the ORC still handled summon requests. 'Please let it be a slow day and everyone is there. They might be able to handle him then.'

Even as he continued running, Xander dialed Akeno's number. Just like with Rias' there was no answer and he left a similar message. He then moved on Kiba's number, but he too was busy. It was only when he tried Koneko that he got through. "Koneko, Caleb's here. I think the same way I got here. Meet me at the clubroom, he's going after Buchou-chan."

"He's already got her," Koneko replied evenly. She waited for Xander's stream of profanity to end, making note of a few of the phrases that she might want to use in the future. When it finally ended with a request of how she knew, she answered, "I saw him leaving the old school house with her over his shoulder. I am following his van now. I called Akeno first, but she must be with a client."

"Kiba isn't answering his phone either," Xander responded. "Keep me updated on where he's going. Do not attempt to take him on yourself. If he took Buchou-chan, he's too strong for any one of us."

"Got it."

…

…

…

"Just what do you think you are going to do with that?" Rias Gremory snarled as she watched her captor pick up a six inch iron spike and examine it. She had only been awoken a minute prior when cold water had been splashed in her face. She'd spent that time assessing her situation and did not like any of it. 'The perverted bastard stripped me down to just my thong! If that wasn't enough I am tied to a support cross beam in a sake distillery.' Then her eyes lit on the psychopath who'd kidnapped her. She wasn't too proud to admit that he scared her a little. She'd seen some horrific murders, but the way Caleb had just simply snapped Akeno's neck without a reaction good or bad was something new.

"I was contemplatin' doing a traditional crucifixion with you, Rias." Caleb twirled the spike in his fingers as he picked up a heavy hammer, "But you being a devil and all, I can't use a cross or you'll die a mite bit quicker than I want. So I am making do with this support beam. Now be a good girl and scream real loud for me."

"You will not get away with this," Rias spat out with as much venom as she could. Despite the fear roiling in her belly, Rias called upon her *Power of Destruction*. The only result was her eyes widening in shock as it refused to manifest. She quickly attempted a spell, only to have it fail as well, "...How?"

"A simple Devil's Trap. None of your fancy powers will work while it's on your forehead." Caleb chuckled, "I did my research as I watched you and Alexander. Learned a whole bunch of interestin' things." Still twirling the spike in his fingers he approached Rias' right hand. "For instance. I thought they put the nails in the palms, but no. There is a place in the wrist that if I were to drive this in, a tendon that goes all the way to your shoulder would break. You'll have to use your back muscles to support yourself so you can breathe. Course that'd only be true once I remove the ropes." As he was explaining, Caleb placed the sharp end of the spike to the spot in her wrist and drove it in with one incredibly powerful blow.

"AAIIIIEEEEE!" Rias wanted to keep from crying out. She wanted to refuse to give the bastard the satisfaction of knowing how much pain she was causing. It was not to be. As the iron spike pierced her wrist there was nothing but searing pain. It was as if her entire arm was set ablaze. That pain gave birth to a rage that overwhelmed her fear. "YOU BASTARD!"

"Aw, that just ain't true." Caleb replied with a shake of his head. "My parents were married for eleven months 'fore I was born." Even as Rias was panting and crying from the ordeal of the first nail being pounded in, Caleb moved to her left hand and produced a second spike. "Oh, in case you were wondering why it hurts so much, I coated them with salt."

…

…

…

"AAIIIIEEEEEE!"

"Fucking bastard!" Xander cursed as he shrugged on the tactical vest. He'd just arrived on scene after Konkeo had told him the van had stopped at the old Mooring Rope Sake Brewery. "He just couldn't wait a few more minutes." Xander groused as he made his way to the double doors even as he was pulling out his Mare's leg again. "Koneko, if you would…"

"Sure," Konkeo nodded as she gripped the knuckle dusters that Xander had given her. Like him she was wearing a tactical vest loaded with a variety of grenades and chemical sprays. Raising her leg he gave the doors a mighty kick reducing them to splinters. "Door's open."

"AIIIEEEEEE!" Despite the burning in her lungs, Rias screamed again as Caleb drove in the last of the three nails. This one was through both of her feet into the support beam. If she wasn't being held aloft by the ropes she would be slowly suffocated. As it was she was just in unbearable amounts of pain. 'Oh Maou, my mind has snapped. I see Xander and Koneko.'

"Well, well, well," Caleb stood up and tossed his hammer to the side once he saw his guests, "Yer actually a mite bit earlier than I'd reckoned." Straightening his cuffs as he took a few steps towards the now destroyed doors, the faux priest smiled wide, "But that is fine with me. You get to have your big damned heroes moment before I pluck out your other eye."

"No sermons for…" Xander had begun his snarky response when he caught sight of Rias. While normally the sight of a nearly naked Rias in her nearly transparent thong was enough to rouse his inner pervert and the fact that she was tied up would make it worse, this wasn't one of those times. At his base core, Xander was overly protective of those he considered his girls. It didn't matter how powerful they were, he saw it as his duty to protect them as much as he could. In just a few short weeks Rias and the rest of the girls of the ORC had become his girls almost as much as Buffy, Willow, Cordellia, Faith, and Dawn were. So it should not be unexpected that seeing Rias' wrists and feet literally nailed to a support beam triggered what Angel had once dubbed as Serious Xander. "...you're going to die screaming."

The one-eyed carpenter didn't reach for a weapon, he simply flicked his wrists manifesting the twin gauntlets of his Sacred gear. He had been practicing manifesting the gauntlets until it was nearly instantaneous. However this time something was far different. The Twice Critical had manifested as dull red half gauntlets with two bronze spikes and a forest green gem. What manifested was full gauntlets that covered Xander's entire hand with protective greaves that reached to his elbows and claw like flingers. The celtic knots on the surface were burnished gold as were the two spikes long spikes. The gem was now jade green that glowed brightly even in the well let distillery.

[Boosted Gear: First Evolution!]

The only sign that Koneko was shocked was the widening of her eyes. She was sad to say it wasn't seeing Rias that had shocked her. While she loved Rias dearly, she was just a little too damaged in some way to be shocked by torture. No, her shock was finding out that one of the Longinus class Sacred Gears was in the hands of a person who as a powerless mortal had gone toe to toe with two literal Gods and one being who might as well have been. Her entire thought process was summed up when she looked at Caleb and muttered just two words: "You're fucked."

"Ain't that something," Caleb grinned wide "Won't change much. Just take a bit longer is all."

Tears were streaming down her face as she saw just who had come to her rescue. Instinctively she attempted to use her arms to prop herself into a better position to watch, only to have to bite her tongue to keep from screaming. The pain in her arms and shoulders was almost mind shattering. With a grunt of effort she managed to power her way through lifting her torso enough she could see. "Xander… take Koneko and run… save yourselves!"

"If you run, I will untie the ropes and let her die of suffocation," Caleb responded with a feral grin, "I reckon that in your travels you know just how painful a execution by crucifixion is. Of course, you might be thinkin' you'll come back with a posse and save the day." Caleb continued on, "I already killed the whore. Snapped her neck like a twig."

[BOOST!]

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Xander surged forward incredible speed with the single intention of putting his fist through Caleb's chest. Unfortunately even as empowered as he was being a Devil and two levels of augmentation from the Boosted Gear, his fist literally came to a stop as it impacted the defrocked priest, "What the Hell?"

"I ain't dumb enough to let the cat out of the bag," Caleb said before delivering a palm thrust to Xander. The psychopath was only mildly perturbed to see that his blow hadn't caved in the man's chest. Instead the one eyed carpenter had been picked up bodily and flung out of the distillery tumbling ass over tea kettle several times before landing in a heap. "Now…"

Koneko didn't let Caleb continue on and possibly start a lecture. She surged forward with a shoulder to the breadbasket. While she was much smaller than Xander she was decidedly stronger. Koneko had always been extremely physically powerful even before she was a Rook. Afterwards she was a true Juggernaut in everything but size. When she hit Caleb he was knocked to the floor. Immediately she reached for his leg in the attempt to break it as Xander had taught her. Unfortunately she was immediately rewarded with a boot to the face sending her stumbling back a few steps.

"Quiet one, ain't ya," Caleb observed as he kipped up to his feet and met a charging Koneko with a right cross that sent her sprawling into a stand of empty barrels, "Perhaps I should give you motivation." With that Caleb crossed the distance and gave a powerful kick to the petite girl's ribs as she had been just getting up to her hands and knees. "Still silent? Let's try again."

Koneko acted quickly as Caleb drew his leg back. She reached out and grabbed his ankle and pulled hard. Already off balance, the psychotic preacher toppled backwards. Taking opportunity she surged to her feet, still holding the man's ankle. Swinging his around twice she flung into one of the support beams. "Suck it."

"Now is that any way for a lady to talk?" Caleb hand managed to land on his feet and made his move with blinding speed, he'd grabbed Koneko's arm and twisted it behind her back where she had no leverage. When she tried to elbow him, he simply caught the arm and twisted it around as well. Now both of the small woman's arms were trapped behind her back. "Now, what do we have here? You're completely helpless. Whatever should I do?"

"No...don't kill her too," Rias gasped out, tears streaming down her cheeks, "You have me...you don't need her."

"Well isn't that somethin'. A whore like you weeping for your little slave," Caleb sneered, "No need to fret, you'll be reunited with her soon." Holding Koneko's wrists together with just one hand, the serial killer reached around for chin, "Ain't no use struggling, the end is inevitable."

Koneko was not one to just give up. Despite the fact that she had no leverage to apply her insane strength she kept trying to wrest her arms free. "Only end that's coming is yours."

"You think you can escape and kill me?" Caleb snorted in derision.

"I'm just the distraction." Koneko finally stilled her struggles, "He's back."

"RAAAAAGH!" Xander surged forward with a deafening roar. His clawed fingers tearing wicked gouges in Caleb's back. Between the surprise and pain, the psychopath released Koneko with a powerful shove, "You. You took my eye. You killed my cubs. You threaten my mates. YOU WILL DIE!"

[Boost!]

"M-mates?" Rias gasped out.

"Looks like Primal is in charge," Koneko observed, "This d-bag is beyond fucked."

"I never entertained the notion you'd stoop to settin' that thing free," as he turned to face Xander full on, "Reckon you'll rape the whore if you manage to beat me? I mean even they wouldn't practice beastiality."

"Won't be your concern," Xander spat out, his teeth were now visible and it was clear whatever had possessed him had given him the fangs of a predator. He didn't wait for a response charged forward, driving his booted foot into Caleb's crotch. Only it didn't seem to have much effect.

"Sorry to disappoint. I lost the boys a little bit after puberty, why do you think I resort to killing for my kicks?" Caleb responded as he grabbed Xander's leg and readied himself to toss the man.

Only he never got the chance as Xander twisted in his grip and delivered a kick to the face that sent the faux preacher sprawling. Xander was far quicker to recover and was on the downed man in an instant. He had Caleb's arms pinned beneath him as he literally sat on the man's torso and began raining heavy blows to the serial killer's face over and over again. Each blow wasn't seeming to do much if any damage.

"Hahaha, you won't be able to kill me as long as I have the Earrings of Karna, boy," Caleb managed to get out between blows to the head.

[Boost!]

"Then I'll just rip them off of you!" Xander growled as he grabbed the man's ears with clawed fingers and pulled. It took a moment, but both ears tore off.

"AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!"

Tossing the ears and the now visible gaudy earrings aside, Xander stood up, flipping Caleb over on to his belly. Two stomps later, he'd broken every rib on both sides of the psychopath's spine. With a snarl he dug his claws into the man's back and ripped. When it was all said and done, Xander was standing over the ruined corpse of the faux preacher holding the man's spine and head in his right hand. "Primal Wins! Fatality!"

…

…

…

"Would you stop that?! It tickles," Rias Gremory was squirming as her Pawn was literally licking the wounds in her feet. She had been too shocked when he did it for her wrists to say a word. If pressed she might admit she found it oddly thrilling, but she was too ticklish in her feet to withstand the attention, "Why are you doing that anyways?"

"The Primal sees you as a mate and he's cleaning your wounds," Koneko replied stoically. She'd watched Xander slaughter Caleb and while it resembled what her sister had done so many years ago, the actions afterwards were anything but. He'd nuzzled Koneko as he checked her over for wounds. Then he'd freed Rias before he started to clean her up. "He probably sees me as a cub."

Xander looked at Koneko quizzically at her words, but then simply went back to work trying to ease Rias' pain. As her feet were now cleaned of blood he moved to perform a full body cuddle and even dragged Koneko into it. For once the small woman did not fight being manhandled into a hug.

"What the hell happened to him? He was able to speak and quip with that bastard," Rias was confused. This behavior was not what she knew of Xander. It also didn't fit what she had seen in the episode Primal. "It's like all his higher functions stopped."

…

…

…

In the Sunnydale Gymnasium, three Xander Harrises were squaring off. The first was the one eyed carpenter turned demon hunter wearing his Kuoh academy uniform and a leather jacket. The second was dressed in BDU's and carrying heavily customized M4 Carbine. The third had a distinctive feral look as he was garbed in just bloody rags.

"Alright, it's time to go back in the cage," One Eyed Xander said, "I let you out and you had your fun."

"No! I protected our mates! Not you. Not the Soldier. Me." Primal Xander snarled, "I deserve to have them."

"First of all they aren't my mates. Second, I let you help me beat Caleb, I didn't let you take over," One Eyed Xander replied, "And the Private helped as well."

"Sir, thank you for acknowledging my contribution, sir," Soldier Xander all but shouted out.

"I'm not going back in that filthy cage. It's so boring." Primal Xander whined, "You'll have to kill me."

"We've been over this," One Eyed Xander sighed, "One of us dies and we all die."

"Sir, perhaps we should follow Tara's suggestion, sir." Soldier Xander barked out.

"Merge with you two?" One Eyed Xander mused as he scratched his chin, "I didn't do it then because we weren't sure who would be dominant and neither one of you were listening to me at all."

"Grrrr. You would be." Primal Xander sulked, "You're almost strong enough you could survive killing us."

"Sir, I concur with the Primal, sir." Soldier Xander replied, "You have gained the real world experience needed to successfully handle my training and the Primal's instincts, sir."

One Eyed Xander began massaging his temples in a vain attempt to ward off a headache. "Will you cooperate with a merging, Primal?"

"I have some conditions," Primal Xander stated simply, "More rare steaks and burgers. More hunting, I don't care what we hunt. I just want to hunt. No more denying yourself a mate. We all loved Anya, but we need to move on."

"I can do the first and second, but I doubt the girls you consider my mates see me that way," One Eyed Xander responded, "But… I won't push them away if they do. Good enough?"

"Yeah, that's good enough," Primal Xander smirked as he agreed. "Don't you want something Soldier Boy?"

"No, I got everything I need," Soldier Xander grinned.

"Alright, let's do this," One Eyed Xander extended his arm with a closed fist. A second later Soldier Xander did the same as did Primal Xander. Just as they were bumping fists, a fourth brunette appeared and added his own fist before anyone could do anything.

…

…

...

'Okay, I am not laying face first on the floor. Something silky soft and smooth on my cheeks, the scent of vanilla and cinnamon, and a gentle lub-dub… I'm being held in Rias' cleavage… this is AMAZING!' Xander had regained his senses just a few moments ago as the merger occurred. While he was still himself, something was just off. Giving himself a mental shake, Xander decided to let Rias know he was no longer running on instinct. 'I'll just pull away from the… nope, she's holding me tight… with her legs?' "Mmmphaammph!"

"I think Senpai is in control again, Boucho." Koneko said as she managed to extricate herself from the three way hug. "You should probably let him go if you want to talk with him."

Rias' blush was nearly tomato red as she unlocked her legs from around Xander. She still couldn't move her arms without extreme pain, so she had hugged Xander back with her legs. It was all in the name of simple comfort, both of herself and her Rook and beloved Pawn. "Sorry about that Xander-kun, I guess the stress of the day got to me."

"No need to apologize, Boucho-chan," Xander replied as he retrieved one of the bottles of Mohra blood. In moments he was sprinkling a few droplets in each of Rias' wounds as well as getting her to take a drop orally. He did the same for Koneko and then himself, to make sure that they wouldn't keel over from internal bleeding, "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I should have been…"

"Shhh," Rias shushed Xander with a finger to his lips, "None of this is your fault. I'm just glad you got revenge for Akeno." With that last word, Rias' voice cracked and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

"She's right," Koneko replied "You killed the D-bag before he could add more victims."

"Yeah, I… just am tired of attending my friend's funerals," Xander sighed as he stood up, "We should clean up the scene and head back. No doubt Asia will be back from her summons soon."

…

…

…

'I can't believe he just killed Akeno like that,' Rias was deep in her thoughts, 'She never got to have a date, develop a crush, or even kiss a man. She definitely didn't get to have the family she always wanted. She's done nothing but serve me since we were nine. I've tried to be a friend and a sister, but I know I wasn't as good as I should have been. I wonder if… oof!' Her thoughts were interrupted as she literally ran into Xander's back just as he had stepped inside the ORC meeting room. "Hey, try to give some warning when you stop."

"Akeno-nee?" Koneko was for once in her life openly showed an emotion and that emotion was shock.

Rias peered around Xander and her eyes widened in surprise. Asia was napping on one of the restored couches while Akeno was laid out on the other one and glaring daggers at Kiba. It didn't take long to see why she was glaring, Kiba swept in from the kitchen bearing the usual tea set and began serving her. Akeno had always insisted that she would be the one to serve tea and snacks at all meetings of the ORC, even if that meeting was just two members. The girl took it as a point of pride.

"Kiba-kun, I feel perfectly fine now. Asia-chan's healing ability is truly top notch. Let me resume my duties." Akeno all but growled.

"Akeno-nee, you had a broken neck and Asia-chan barely saved you from dying," Kiba was calm and collected despite the mild aura of malice Akeno was projecting, "You should rest until she can perform a second healing… please."

"AKENO!" Rias cried out as she rushed forward and dropped to her knees by the couch and grabbed her Queen's hand, "Thank Maou you are alright!"