Xander and Cordelia were moving their stuff into their new apartment and helping Faith get moved into hers. Her Slayer strength was returning, but it would be a couple more days until she was 100%. They were telling her about their road trip adventure, minus the knowledge and Stargate/aliens and their plans for the future.
"Well, first on the agenda is jobs." Xander said, as they hauled boxes up the stairs. "I'm applying at the contracting store I've worked at for the last couple of summers. I wasn't planning to this year since I thought we'd be gone all summer. Shouldn't be hard to get my usual position back. Stock boys come and go. And that'll help cover my share of expenses. I'm not interested in Cordy for her money, after all."
"Yeah, I know what parts of her, you're interested in." Father joked.
"There's more to her then the hotness. More to you too, Faith. You sell yourself short. I recognize that. I sometimes sell myself short. Cordy props me up when I get down on myself. You and Cordy actually have alot in common. Straight talkers, take no bull, sarcastic. The hotness is only part of you."
"You're a straight talker, take no bull and sarcastic kind of guy yourself." Faith said.
"He is." Cordelia said. "It's one of the reasons we get along so well. We can be snarky at each other and know we're not hurting each other. And if we do go too far, we're not afraid to let each other know. It's why I think we can manage to be friends too, Faith. And Xander's toned done his Slayer hero worship, now that he's gotten older."
"Slayer hero worship?" Faith questioned.
"I'm a comic book geek and I hate vampires. You're hot superheroes made to fight vampires. It was a no-brainer, for a hormone addled sixteen year old brain. What I've got with Cordy is solid and real, not a fantasy. Fantasy come true, in some ways, but not a fantasy." Cordy stuck her tongue out at him as she moved past him and started unpacking.
"What about you, Queenie? What are your plans?"
"Since I've decided to study business, Daddy wants me to consider taking over the family business, Chase Holdings. But first he wants me to get a job, too. He says it will help understand employee concerns more easily and how best to treat them."
"Speaking as a perpetual employee, I can tell you having a boss who gives a damn makes your job easier. Especially when the boss is fairly easy going and willing to listen to said concerns or ideas." Xander said.
"What are you planning to study, Xander?"
"I haven't made up my mind yet. Since I like books and reading, I was leaning towards something in literature, but I've been reconsidering. I may look into something more like engineering. I built some stuff this summer and I kinda enjoyed it. Figuring it out, I mean. I always avoided stuff like computers because Willow made it clear, that was her territory, but that doesn't mean that I have to keep going along with that."
Cordelia was about to say something when Xander suddenly bent over, a look of pain on his face, clutching his middle. What looked like sores began to form on his arms.
"Xander?! What's wrong?!" Cordelia yelled.
"Feels like something is being pulled out of me. Maybe it's a Magic attack. Giles, we have to get to Giles." A flash surfaced in his mind, the knowledge of how to resist this attack. He began to build a mental shield, focusing all of his energy on it. Cordelia and Faith grabbed him and half-carried, half-dragged him down the stairs and to Cordelia's car in the parking lot. They managed to get him into the passenger seat and since the top was down, Faith was able to jump into the back seat. Cordelia drove quickly over to Giles'. Faith jumped out of the car as soon as they arrived and banged on the door, mindful of her strength.
"G, open the door! Something's wrong with Xander!" She yelled. Giles opened the door.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Xander's in pain, there's some kind of sores popping up on his skin and he thinks it's a Magic attack. Come on." She dragged him towards the car parked in the parking lot. Giles took one look at Xander and said.
"Get him inside. I need to do an evaluation. Hurry!" He raced ahead to grab his supplies, while Faith and Cordelia got Xander inside Giles' condo. They set him on the couch as Giles came back with his supplies and quickly cast a diagnostic spell.
"This is Magic. Something is being pulled from him. It's tearing him apart."
"That's what he said it felt like, like something was being pulled from him." Cordelia said.
"It looks like he is trying to fight it. He has somehow built a psychic shield. I will try to neutralize the Magic." Giles quickly cast another spell and then another and finally he said. "There, I've neutralized it. Let me do another diagnostic, see what the extent of the damage is." He had to cast several more before he finally got the information they needed, draining himself in the process. "Someone was trying to pull something from him, something intrinsic to himself. Comparing what I'm seeing now to the diagnosis I did yesterday, I'd say it's the changes the swim coach's formula caused. His new healing ability is already working to repair the damage and his instinctive use of a psychic shield protected him."
"The changes? Someone tried to pull the changes out him? Who would do that?"
"Willow." Cordelia said grimly. "She flipped out over those changes, kept saying they weren't normal and that she just wanted to help Xander. He told her, he didn't need or want help and told her he didn't want her doing Magic on him against his will."
"Well she did it anyway." Giles said, equally as grimly. "And if Xander hadn't managed to protect himself, she would have severely damaged, if not killed him. This is no different then trying to pull his blood or bones out. These changes are as much apart of him as those are. Removing them would damage him as well. She's gone too far. I will need to bind her powers. Who knows what damage she might do to 'fix' something she doesn't like about someone else."