Xander's Apple Part 7
Spike and Xander watched together as Willow lit a circle of candles on the floor of their apartment. Once Willow had told them what her plan was, they’d taken a week to do all things on Xander’s “things I want to do before I die” list. Since unlike most people, Xander intended to still be around once he was dead, the things on his list were exclusively things he wouldn’t be able to do as a vampire. They’d spent most of the week in the Caribbean, with Spike watching tv as Xander went snorkeling, played volleyball on the beach and just generally soaking up the last rays of the sun he’d ever be able to enjoy. This morning Xander had gone outside to watch the sunrise, coming back in with a bittersweet smile on his face. Spike knew that Xander didn’t have any reservations about doing this. He wanted to stay with Spike forever, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to miss the sun.
Now it was time. Everyone was here, Buffy, Giles, Dawn, Willow and of course Spike. Spike and Willow were participating in the turning, the others were here to say goodbye, and hello again.
The Spell itself was pretty straight forward; the tricky part was whether or not Xander could do his part. Spike was sure that he could, but he still worried that something might go wrong. He thought about how Willow had explained everything.
“Okay, well the spell is going to trap Xander’s soul when it leaves his body. Then it will trap the demon as it tries to enter his body. Now, you know you can’t just have a soul in a dead body, because it’s the demon’s magic that animates it. So the spell holds both the soul and the demon in like a spiritual holding area. Then, and this is the part you might not like, the soul and the demon have to, sort of, come to an agreement about who’s in charge. That’s the hard part. The demon is automatically going to see Xander’s soul as inferior. Stop growling Spike; I didn’t say it was inferior, just that the demon will see it that way. So Xander’s going to have to convince it otherwise. On the spiritual plain the demon won’t have any special upgrade like extra strength or anything, they’ll be equal. It’s all about who wants it more. Assuming Xander wins, the demon should make room for him in the body, ceding control. However, if Xander doesn’t force the demon to let him in he’ll just stay in the holding area until the vamp rises at which point the spell will be released and he’ll go on to whatever heaven dimension he’s destined for.”
Willow motioned them over, to the middle of the circle. All the candles were now lit, their flickering light the only illumination in the room. She handed Xander a knife and stepped out of the circle. The knife was for Xander to make the cut into his neck. Spike couldn’t bite him because of the chip, and he deeply regretted that his boy wouldn’t die by his fangs.
Spike and Xander shared a deep kiss, full of the myriad of feelings they couldn’t say out loud. The Xander stepped back and brought the knife to his own throat, grimacing as he slashed it across. Not too deep, but deep enough. At the sight of Xander’s blood Spike’s gameface emerged and he brought his arms around Xander to hold him as he latched his mouth onto the cut. Carefully he lowered them both down until they were both lying on the floor, Xander on the bottom with Spike covering him. Spike drank deeply, savoring this last taste of Xander’s living blood. After his turning the blood would still taste like Xander, but it would no longer have that zing of life. He felt Xander’s heart start to slow and stutter, and quickly brought his wrist up to his own mouth, which left Xander’s neck, to open a vein with his fangs. Pressing the new wound to Xander’s lips and willing him to drink.
He did. He drank until his heart finally stopped. Then Spike removed his wrist and planted a chaste kiss on Xander’s forehead. “It’s up to you now luv, see you on the other side.”
Slowly he got up and stepped out of the circle. Willow was waiting with a bandage for his wrist, and then they settled in to watch Xander’s body, and to be there to see who exactly would rise. Would it be pure demon, with none of his beautiful boy left, warping those familiar features into a parody of the goodness and light that Spike was used to seeing in Xander’s face? Or would it he Xander, with a demon upgrade sure, but still the same in essence. They were all hoping for the latter, but Spike knew Buffy had Mr. Pointy with her, just in case.
Five sets of eyes watched Xander’s corpse, waiting.
Part 8
Now it was time. Everyone was here, Buffy, Giles, Dawn, Willow and of course Spike. Spike and Willow were participating in the turning, the others were here to say goodbye, and hello again.
The Spell itself was pretty straight forward; the tricky part was whether or not Xander could do his part. Spike was sure that he could, but he still worried that something might go wrong. He thought about how Willow had explained everything.
“Okay, well the spell is going to trap Xander’s soul when it leaves his body. Then it will trap the demon as it tries to enter his body. Now, you know you can’t just have a soul in a dead body, because it’s the demon’s magic that animates it. So the spell holds both the soul and the demon in like a spiritual holding area. Then, and this is the part you might not like, the soul and the demon have to, sort of, come to an agreement about who’s in charge. That’s the hard part. The demon is automatically going to see Xander’s soul as inferior. Stop growling Spike; I didn’t say it was inferior, just that the demon will see it that way. So Xander’s going to have to convince it otherwise. On the spiritual plain the demon won’t have any special upgrade like extra strength or anything, they’ll be equal. It’s all about who wants it more. Assuming Xander wins, the demon should make room for him in the body, ceding control. However, if Xander doesn’t force the demon to let him in he’ll just stay in the holding area until the vamp rises at which point the spell will be released and he’ll go on to whatever heaven dimension he’s destined for.”
Willow motioned them over, to the middle of the circle. All the candles were now lit, their flickering light the only illumination in the room. She handed Xander a knife and stepped out of the circle. The knife was for Xander to make the cut into his neck. Spike couldn’t bite him because of the chip, and he deeply regretted that his boy wouldn’t die by his fangs.
Spike and Xander shared a deep kiss, full of the myriad of feelings they couldn’t say out loud. The Xander stepped back and brought the knife to his own throat, grimacing as he slashed it across. Not too deep, but deep enough. At the sight of Xander’s blood Spike’s gameface emerged and he brought his arms around Xander to hold him as he latched his mouth onto the cut. Carefully he lowered them both down until they were both lying on the floor, Xander on the bottom with Spike covering him. Spike drank deeply, savoring this last taste of Xander’s living blood. After his turning the blood would still taste like Xander, but it would no longer have that zing of life. He felt Xander’s heart start to slow and stutter, and quickly brought his wrist up to his own mouth, which left Xander’s neck, to open a vein with his fangs. Pressing the new wound to Xander’s lips and willing him to drink.
He did. He drank until his heart finally stopped. Then Spike removed his wrist and planted a chaste kiss on Xander’s forehead. “It’s up to you now luv, see you on the other side.”
Slowly he got up and stepped out of the circle. Willow was waiting with a bandage for his wrist, and then they settled in to watch Xander’s body, and to be there to see who exactly would rise. Would it be pure demon, with none of his beautiful boy left, warping those familiar features into a parody of the goodness and light that Spike was used to seeing in Xander’s face? Or would it he Xander, with a demon upgrade sure, but still the same in essence. They were all hoping for the latter, but Spike knew Buffy had Mr. Pointy with her, just in case.
Five sets of eyes watched Xander’s corpse, waiting.
Part 8