"Ready to start training?" Rory asked when Xander and Jesse arrived at his place later that day.
"Jesse's still wrapping his head around everything and so am I, but I need to know what I can do. You said I'm stronger than vampires and vampires are stronger than humans. I don't want to accidentally hurt someone." Xander answered.
"You didn't say anything about vampires being real!" Jesse exclaimed. "Since when are vampires real?"
"No one really knows." Rory told him. "I can tell you our ancestors documented their existence thousands of years ago. Our family's accumulated knowledge has occasionally been lost and had to be rebuilt over the centuries, but they all encountered them at one time or another. Along with actual demons."
"Demons, as in Hell?" Jesse asked.
"Yes, some Grimms thought Wesen were demons too, simply because they're different. But there's a big difference when it comes to actual demons. Most of them think humans make great torture toys."
"They torture just for the fun of it?!" Jesse gulped.
"Yes. Now don't get me wrong, some Wesen and some humans do shit like that too, but it happens when they're broken in some way. Insane, kinda thing. Some Wesen do prey on humans, but it's because humans have something that the Wesen needs for survival, usually. A vampire doesn't need to feed on humans or torture humans. They can get blood from any animal and torture is never a necessity. Vampires do it because it's what they want to do, to varying degrees. No two vampires are alike, just like no two humans or Wesen are alike."
"And if a vampire's feeding on a human, they kill them, right?" Xander guessed.
"Yes, unlike in stories, vampires don't live feed, which is just taking a little bit from any one victim. They need the total volume of blood to keep the body they're occupying going. Vampires are soulless monsters using a human body like a car. And they modify the body to suit themselves."
"How can I tell a vampire from a regular human?"
"The sun is setting, let's take a walk downtown." Rory suggested, rather than answer Xander's question directly.
The three had been walking for awhile when Jesse noticed someone. "Is that Johnathan?" Referring to a classmate of theirs who's intelligence matched their friend, Willow's.
"Johnathan's a Wesen?!" Xander exclaimed, when he caught sight of Johnathan's 'other' face.
"He's a Bauerschwein." Rory told them. "Sort of a pig like Wesen, generally harmless, they tend to be hard working and work well with regular humans. They hate Blutbads, though, so if there are any in town and right now I don't think there are any, keep an eye out. Blutbads are sort of a werewolf like Wesen and their wolf nature means pig is yummy to them. They're the source of the Big Bad Wolf story as well, because some of them prey on humans too. But they can be fiercely strong allies as well and aren't afraid to fight. I've known a couple over the years and as they didn't try to eat any Bauerschwein or humans, we got on good."
"Bauerschwein being one of those Wesen you keep on eye on, like Eisbeibers?"
"Yes, because protecting themselves can be difficult for them, most of them just aren't that aggressive. And in Sunnydale they can be prey for vampires too."
"We've known Johnathan as long as we've known Cordelia, since kindergarten." Jesse said. "We can't let anyone hurt him, Xan."
Xander was nodding. "You're right. Where's he going, anyway?"
"Bauerschwein like to relax in mudbaths, just like the pigs they reassemble." Rory told him. "The Bauerschwein community here in town went in and bought a warehouse downtown and turned it into their version of a Y. We're only a couple of blocks from it and he's heading in that direction. We'll just keep an eye on him until he's safely inside."
They didn't make it all the way there before something stepped out of an alley way in front of Johnathan.
"What do you see, Xander?" Rory asked.
"Something dark in him, it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up and my skin crawl. What is it? I don't get that feeling from either Cordelia or Johnathan."
"And you won't. That feeling is caused by a demon. That's a vampire."
"He looks just like a regular human." Jesse observed, just as the vamp went into game face. Johnathan squealed like a pig and fell backwards. Xander didn't hesitate, he was nearly a block away and acting purely on instinct crossed the distance far faster than he'd ever run before. He reached the vampire and Johnathan just as the vampire, who'd jerked Johnathan up from the ground, bit into his neck.
Xander pulled the vampire away from Johnathan and spun it around in a circle and slammed it head first into the metal wall of the warehouse. The vampire shoved back and turned and took a clumsy swing at Xander, who blocked it without thinking with his left and punched out with his right. The vampire snarled and Xander grabbed the back of its head with his left hand and slammed its face into his right knee as he brought it up fast. Dazed and sprouting blood from different areas on its face, it staggered, trying to keep its balance.
"Here, Xan." Rory called and tossed him a stake, without even looking Xander caught it in mid air. "Hit between the ribs or under the ribcage and up, aim for the heart."
Xander slammed the stake in to the vampire and it turned to dust in front of a stunned Xander. The whole fight had taken only a few seconds.