"You hit Phoebe and knocked her out?!" Cordelia asked, the next day when Xander called to tell her what happened. "But she's alright, right?"
"Yeah, Leo orbed in not long after and healed the knot on the back of her head. And it wasn't like I could do anything else. Evil past Phoebe was in control. As long as she was, she was quite willing and able to kill us all. She had to be put out fast. Doesn't mean I'm not bothered by it. The sisters aren't mad at me and neither is Leo. But I'm not liking myself much at the moment."
"Xander Harris, you are not Tony Harris! You do not enjoy something that like. Nor were you angry or bitter when you did it. You were acting to protect lives. It's like with the Mayor. He was still human, but he was a threat to other humans. You said it yourself, if eliminating one life can save others, sometimes that's the choice you have make. And you didn't kill Phoebe, you just knocked her out until Prue and Piper could help her. Do any of them blame you?"
"No, Prue told me I did what I had to. Piper told me I did the right thing. Phoebe thanked me for keeping her from hurting people."
"Are you grateful to Buffy for stopping you when you were possessed by the Hyena? You where no more in control then Phoebe was, right?"
"No, I wasn't in control and yes, I am grateful to Buffy for stopping me."
"Then don't worry about it, you're not turning into Tony Harris. As if I would ever let anyone like that touch me! Trust me Xander, I would not tolerate it if you did become like him. I'd make you get help or kill you. Or at the very least, kick your ass to the curb."
"Good to know. That actually makes me feel better. Like a safety net. You help keep me from becoming a monster of any sort, because I want to be the kind of man you can love, not hate."
"I do love you, Xander."
"I love you, too. So what's going on in Sunnydale since we talked yesterday?"
"Buffy's coming back. The Professor's going to be her Watcher, not Giles. Both think it's the better option. It's sort of a trial run, to see if she can handle it."
"I hope she can. Let me know how it goes, I'll talk to you later. Take care."
"You, too."
Xander headed downstairs to get a snack and discovered there was a new problem to deal with.
"Who's the lady saying not nice things about Piper to Leo?" Xander asked, eyeing the lady in question.
"You understand what they're saying?" Prue asked.
"Yes, you can't?"
"They're not speaking English, Xander. I think that's the whitelighter language they're speaking."
"And she's saying things about me?!" Piper asked.
"She thinks you're a distraction from his job. Reminds me of the Watchers who think the Slayer having friends is a distraction. Hey lady, haven't you heard the news bulletin? Well rounded people with interests other then work, lead happier and more fulfilling lives."
Both the woman and Leo stopped talking and looked at him.
"Who are you?" The woman asked.
"Xander Harris."
A look of distaste crossed her face. "Oh. The born whitelighter who was born in Sunnydale, near the Hellmouth."
"You're a stuck up one, aren't you? That's no more my fault, then my father being a drunk is. You think you're better, I can tell by your attitude and the way you're talking to both me and Leo. You could take a lesson from the Professor. She's rich and very well educated. Her nickname is the Battle-ax. She's a kick ass bitch that gives a damn. You're just a bitch. You think people should listen to you just because you think you're right. But just because you think you're right, doesn't mean you are. Now what's the reason you're here?"
The woman glared at him. "This isn't any of your business!"
"If people I love are in danger, then it is my business. Are you here for a legitimate reason or just to try to make people feel bad for not falling in line with you?"
"There's a dark lighter heading this way. His name is Eames and he seems to have an agenda other then killing whitelighters. In 1998, he killed a witch in Nairobi and took the powers of transmogrification, the ability to alter one's appearance. In 1991, he killed a witch in Glasgow and gained the power to clone himself. And he just recently killed a charge of mine and took her power of deflection. He also has the power of fire. We only recently realized what he was doing. He's obviously after the Charmed Ones."
"How do you figure that?" Xander asked. "Dark lighters kill whitelighters. Those powers could help him with something very big and ambitious. I recently told an arrogant Watcher, that when Leo requests an audience with the Elders, he's not kept waiting. What if it's Leo he's after? If he can clone and transmogrify, then he has a double chance of copying Leo's appearance enough to get into the presence of the Elders. Given that dark lighters prefer to kill whitelighters, doesn't it make more sense to think he'd be trying for the most powerful whitelighters in existence?"