Rise of the Dragoon (5/?)
Chapter Title: The Fall of a Friendship
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Crossover Material: Legend of Dragoon
Timeframe: Summer before Season Three.
Pairings: Buffy/Angel, Xander/?
Spoilers: Eventually all seasons of BtVS to some extent and all aspects of LoD.
Summary: Halloween comes only once a year. But this particularly year is going to be a Halloween Xander and the rest of the Scoobies remember for a long while. Plus...this Halloween is going to put a massive power into play in the world. A power a lot of people are going to want to get their hands on.
A supernaturally strong fist thumped into an armored chest and the vampire howled in pain as two of his fingers snapped with loud cracks. He stumbled backwards and a clawed boot hit him in the stomach hard, making him stumble and fall to the ground. When he looked up, trying to get his hands underneath him to push himself up, a silver blur descended towards his throat with a whistle of air and everything went dark.
Xander grunted as the vampire’s body and his severed head turned to ash then flicked the blade of his sword to the side to get rid of any residue. He straightened as he sheathed the blade at his side then asked, Sense any more?
It would seem the rest were smart enough to flee, answered Div with a smirk.
The young man smiled then concentrated on the light, silver armor he wore. Since the fight with Angelus he still had not been able to summon the complete armor but he had been working with it, reshaping what he had into something more…modern…since Div had suggested it would help him practice. He now wore what appeared to be a silver vest, modeled after Kevlar ones he had seen on television and in movies. The heavy gauntlets he had been wearing had become armored bracers with the part that covered his hand turned flexible to become a glove with reinforced knuckles. And the heavy, clawed boots were the last part of the armor that remained in his new modernized outfit though they were shorter and only came up to the tops of his calves as well as being built slimmer. Since he still could not manage more than one set of wings, Div had helped him to get rid of them - an etched pattern of them on the back of his vest was how they made their appearance now.
On occasion, though, he could manage to summon the cannon the engulfed his left arm from hand to elbow which made Div happy. He wasn’t particularly fond of it even with how powerful it was - he liked having both of his hands.
As the armor faded, Xander moved towards the edge of the cemetery, heading for home and his bed. That was seven tonight across three cemeteries, he noted. How many does that make since the beginning of summer?
Almost thirty, replied Div in a satisfied tone. A dozen more than the Slayer if we believe the old man.
Giles doesn’t agree with what she wants to do, said Xander with a shake of his head, referring to Buffy’s continued plot to separate him and Div.
The dragon snorted at that. Then why does he not take the girl to hand? She is his Slayer, correct? He should have control of her!
Um, Div, newsflash - there’s not much of any one that can control Buffy beside Buffy.
Someone should, growled Div. Xander then ‘felt’ what he had come to recognize as the dragon rolling his eyes (or the closest approximation a dragon might do). Speaking of the annoyance herself…to your right coming in fast.
Good, hissed Xander, continuing to walk as though nothing was wrong. Then, just as she broke through the line of trees to his right, he sidestepped and Buffy barreled past him like a bull out of control. It didn’t take long for her to spin to a stop and fling herself back towards him, her eyes intent on his throat. The young man slid under one swipe and blocked a low punch with a forearm, the strike making it go entirely numb. He staggered a step and then one of her hands was gripping the collar of his shirt, the other tugging at the cord around his neck.
“No!” he protested and tried to pull his knee up into her stomach. Buffy pushed him backwards as he did so and stepped back before his hit could connect, the cord around his neck snapping as she pulled it with her. As Xander’s other foot slipped out from under him and he hit the ground hard on his back and lay there groaning for a moment, he heard her sigh.
“This is too dangerous for you to have, Xander,” she said, holding up the pouch in her hand, the broken cords dangling loosely.
He grunted as he slowly pushed himself up and hissed, “Give…him back.”
Buffy shook her head sadly and turned away from him, walking away without even bothering to help him up. Anger smoldered in Xander’s chest as he got to his feet and he yelled after her, “You can’t make decisions for me, Buff!”
The Slayer turned back to regard him with sad, pitying eyes before saying, “Looks like I have to. You were just hurting yourself, Xander, and you were only going to get hurt more. I couldn’t let you do that.”
She started to turn to leave but was stopped by his sudden laughter. Buffy blinked as she found Xander was leaning against one of the headstones with one hand pressed to his side as he laughed hysterically. When he finally looked up and brushed tears from his eyes, he smiled.
“Oh, Buff,” he purred, all panic that had been in his voice gone but all of the anger left. He had really hoped she hadn’t tried doing this. “Did you really think I was going to make it that easy?”
“What?”
“Look in the pouch,” answered Xander as he straightened, one hand moving to rest on the hilt of the sword belted at his hip.
Buffy’s eyebrows rose then she carefully slipped open the pouch she had taken from him, trying not to touch what was inside. It might poison her mind as well if she…
What the…?
Stunned, she opened the pouch wide and turned it over, dumping its contents into her hand. A regular rock roughly in a circular shape tumbled into her open palm and she stared at it in shock for a long moment. Then she slowly turned to look at Xander, who was smiling grimly at her.
He shook his head as he quietly said, “Did you really think I was going to keep it in the pouch when you knew where it was?”
“Where is it now?” she demanded, tossing the rock and pouch aside.
Xander laughed then his brows furrowed slightly as he cocked his head to the side. There was no brilliant glow like there had been the last time she had seen him summon the armor. It simply appeared in its new shape in a cloud of violet and amber motes that continued to dance in the air around him for seconds before fading.
“Safe,” answered the young man as he eyed the Slayer.
“Where?” snarled Buffy angrily as she took a step towards him.
With a grin, he asked, “And why should I tell you? Going to try to take it away from me?”
She nodded and he laughed.
“Oh, Buff,” said Xander with a shake of his head. “You can’t. Not unless you want to gut me.”
“Wh-what?”
Smiling, he let the armor fade away then lifted his shirt and light jacket that he wore to show a fading glow underneath the skin along the left side of his stomach where there was a circular, partially healed scar. Buffy stared, shock and realization settling onto her face, and she gaped.
“Y-you…it…its in you!”
Perceptive one, isn’t she? Noted Div sarcastically.
“Yes,” replied Xander as he lowered his shirt and jacket. “Seemed like the best place to put it with you trying to hard to get it. And where it safest.”
“How…?”
“Well it involved some ice to numb the spot, a knife dipped in boiling water to disinfect it, and me being fucking determined to not let you get your hands on Div.” The young man shrugged casually as he continued, “Hurt like a bitch but, ah, the things I do for friends.”
I wasn’t aware it was considered a friendship when one can only be heard in the others head, commented the dragon. Xander could feel that the ancient being was rather touched by being called a ‘friend’. Though Div would never admit to such a thing.
Bah, semantics.
Div laughed and Xander smiled at Buffy as she continued to stare blankly at him. “Well,” he finally said as he starting walking to move past her, “if that’s all I’m going to go home and crash.”
Before he got completely by her, he felt her hand settle against his stomach right over the scar. Her fingers trembled and a growl rumbled through his head as the dragon protested to his bearer being touched by the human he couldn’t stand. For a moment he thought she was going to just try to rip it out with her bare hand.
Then her fingers relaxed and Buffy gasped, “Why? Why are you protecting it?”
“Him,” corrected Xander sternly. “Not ‘it’.” Slowly he moved his arm and grasped her hand, moving it away from his stomach as he took a step to the side away from her. Shaking his head at the Slayer, he said, “And Div is here for a reason, Buffy. He’s the one thing that got left behind after last Halloween. If that’s not a reason for me to try and keep him safe, I don’t know what is.”
“Now I’m going to go home,” he called over his shoulder as he started walking again, this time not being stopped by her. “I’d suggest you do too.”
Buffy sniffed from behind him and her voice cried out in a plea, “Xander, please…just…”
“No,” he returned coldly without even twisting his head to look at her.
The young man strode purposefully out of the cemetery then and began walking back towards his parent’s house, eyes watching the shadows in the trees and between buildings as he went.
Well, said Div, that went better than I expected.
Me too, mumbled Xander. Absently he reached underneath his shirt and ran his fingers over the circular scar thoughtfully. We can only hope she’ll stop trying now.
I seriously doubt she will have the brains to. You should speak to the Watcher again, I’m telling you.
The young man shook his head then grunted as he let himself into the back door of the house, quietly heading upstairs to his room past his drunken parents passed out on the couch.
And we really must get out of this cesspit, commented Div with what Xander perceived as a wrinkling of the dragon’s nose. He pulled off his jacket and shirt as he simply grunted in response before unhooking the sword from his belt. Laying it across his dresser, he unbuckled his belt and pull it off to toss into a corner before he collapse face down onto his bed, toeing off his sneakers as he laid there.
The dragon sighed in his head, circling above the youth in his incorporeal form. As Xander rolled over and fumbled for the covers crumpled at the foot of the bed, Div stated, Good night.
“Night, Div,” mumbled the young man under a yawn before he buried his face in his pillow.
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Crossover Material: Legend of Dragoon
Timeframe: Summer before Season Three.
Pairings: Buffy/Angel, Xander/?
Spoilers: Eventually all seasons of BtVS to some extent and all aspects of LoD.
Summary: Halloween comes only once a year. But this particularly year is going to be a Halloween Xander and the rest of the Scoobies remember for a long while. Plus...this Halloween is going to put a massive power into play in the world. A power a lot of people are going to want to get their hands on.
A supernaturally strong fist thumped into an armored chest and the vampire howled in pain as two of his fingers snapped with loud cracks. He stumbled backwards and a clawed boot hit him in the stomach hard, making him stumble and fall to the ground. When he looked up, trying to get his hands underneath him to push himself up, a silver blur descended towards his throat with a whistle of air and everything went dark.
Xander grunted as the vampire’s body and his severed head turned to ash then flicked the blade of his sword to the side to get rid of any residue. He straightened as he sheathed the blade at his side then asked, Sense any more?
It would seem the rest were smart enough to flee, answered Div with a smirk.
The young man smiled then concentrated on the light, silver armor he wore. Since the fight with Angelus he still had not been able to summon the complete armor but he had been working with it, reshaping what he had into something more…modern…since Div had suggested it would help him practice. He now wore what appeared to be a silver vest, modeled after Kevlar ones he had seen on television and in movies. The heavy gauntlets he had been wearing had become armored bracers with the part that covered his hand turned flexible to become a glove with reinforced knuckles. And the heavy, clawed boots were the last part of the armor that remained in his new modernized outfit though they were shorter and only came up to the tops of his calves as well as being built slimmer. Since he still could not manage more than one set of wings, Div had helped him to get rid of them - an etched pattern of them on the back of his vest was how they made their appearance now.
On occasion, though, he could manage to summon the cannon the engulfed his left arm from hand to elbow which made Div happy. He wasn’t particularly fond of it even with how powerful it was - he liked having both of his hands.
As the armor faded, Xander moved towards the edge of the cemetery, heading for home and his bed. That was seven tonight across three cemeteries, he noted. How many does that make since the beginning of summer?
Almost thirty, replied Div in a satisfied tone. A dozen more than the Slayer if we believe the old man.
Giles doesn’t agree with what she wants to do, said Xander with a shake of his head, referring to Buffy’s continued plot to separate him and Div.
The dragon snorted at that. Then why does he not take the girl to hand? She is his Slayer, correct? He should have control of her!
Um, Div, newsflash - there’s not much of any one that can control Buffy beside Buffy.
Someone should, growled Div. Xander then ‘felt’ what he had come to recognize as the dragon rolling his eyes (or the closest approximation a dragon might do). Speaking of the annoyance herself…to your right coming in fast.
Good, hissed Xander, continuing to walk as though nothing was wrong. Then, just as she broke through the line of trees to his right, he sidestepped and Buffy barreled past him like a bull out of control. It didn’t take long for her to spin to a stop and fling herself back towards him, her eyes intent on his throat. The young man slid under one swipe and blocked a low punch with a forearm, the strike making it go entirely numb. He staggered a step and then one of her hands was gripping the collar of his shirt, the other tugging at the cord around his neck.
“No!” he protested and tried to pull his knee up into her stomach. Buffy pushed him backwards as he did so and stepped back before his hit could connect, the cord around his neck snapping as she pulled it with her. As Xander’s other foot slipped out from under him and he hit the ground hard on his back and lay there groaning for a moment, he heard her sigh.
“This is too dangerous for you to have, Xander,” she said, holding up the pouch in her hand, the broken cords dangling loosely.
He grunted as he slowly pushed himself up and hissed, “Give…him back.”
Buffy shook her head sadly and turned away from him, walking away without even bothering to help him up. Anger smoldered in Xander’s chest as he got to his feet and he yelled after her, “You can’t make decisions for me, Buff!”
The Slayer turned back to regard him with sad, pitying eyes before saying, “Looks like I have to. You were just hurting yourself, Xander, and you were only going to get hurt more. I couldn’t let you do that.”
She started to turn to leave but was stopped by his sudden laughter. Buffy blinked as she found Xander was leaning against one of the headstones with one hand pressed to his side as he laughed hysterically. When he finally looked up and brushed tears from his eyes, he smiled.
“Oh, Buff,” he purred, all panic that had been in his voice gone but all of the anger left. He had really hoped she hadn’t tried doing this. “Did you really think I was going to make it that easy?”
“What?”
“Look in the pouch,” answered Xander as he straightened, one hand moving to rest on the hilt of the sword belted at his hip.
Buffy’s eyebrows rose then she carefully slipped open the pouch she had taken from him, trying not to touch what was inside. It might poison her mind as well if she…
What the…?
Stunned, she opened the pouch wide and turned it over, dumping its contents into her hand. A regular rock roughly in a circular shape tumbled into her open palm and she stared at it in shock for a long moment. Then she slowly turned to look at Xander, who was smiling grimly at her.
He shook his head as he quietly said, “Did you really think I was going to keep it in the pouch when you knew where it was?”
“Where is it now?” she demanded, tossing the rock and pouch aside.
Xander laughed then his brows furrowed slightly as he cocked his head to the side. There was no brilliant glow like there had been the last time she had seen him summon the armor. It simply appeared in its new shape in a cloud of violet and amber motes that continued to dance in the air around him for seconds before fading.
“Safe,” answered the young man as he eyed the Slayer.
“Where?” snarled Buffy angrily as she took a step towards him.
With a grin, he asked, “And why should I tell you? Going to try to take it away from me?”
She nodded and he laughed.
“Oh, Buff,” said Xander with a shake of his head. “You can’t. Not unless you want to gut me.”
“Wh-what?”
Smiling, he let the armor fade away then lifted his shirt and light jacket that he wore to show a fading glow underneath the skin along the left side of his stomach where there was a circular, partially healed scar. Buffy stared, shock and realization settling onto her face, and she gaped.
“Y-you…it…its in you!”
Perceptive one, isn’t she? Noted Div sarcastically.
“Yes,” replied Xander as he lowered his shirt and jacket. “Seemed like the best place to put it with you trying to hard to get it. And where it safest.”
“How…?”
“Well it involved some ice to numb the spot, a knife dipped in boiling water to disinfect it, and me being fucking determined to not let you get your hands on Div.” The young man shrugged casually as he continued, “Hurt like a bitch but, ah, the things I do for friends.”
I wasn’t aware it was considered a friendship when one can only be heard in the others head, commented the dragon. Xander could feel that the ancient being was rather touched by being called a ‘friend’. Though Div would never admit to such a thing.
Bah, semantics.
Div laughed and Xander smiled at Buffy as she continued to stare blankly at him. “Well,” he finally said as he starting walking to move past her, “if that’s all I’m going to go home and crash.”
Before he got completely by her, he felt her hand settle against his stomach right over the scar. Her fingers trembled and a growl rumbled through his head as the dragon protested to his bearer being touched by the human he couldn’t stand. For a moment he thought she was going to just try to rip it out with her bare hand.
Then her fingers relaxed and Buffy gasped, “Why? Why are you protecting it?”
“Him,” corrected Xander sternly. “Not ‘it’.” Slowly he moved his arm and grasped her hand, moving it away from his stomach as he took a step to the side away from her. Shaking his head at the Slayer, he said, “And Div is here for a reason, Buffy. He’s the one thing that got left behind after last Halloween. If that’s not a reason for me to try and keep him safe, I don’t know what is.”
“Now I’m going to go home,” he called over his shoulder as he started walking again, this time not being stopped by her. “I’d suggest you do too.”
Buffy sniffed from behind him and her voice cried out in a plea, “Xander, please…just…”
“No,” he returned coldly without even twisting his head to look at her.
The young man strode purposefully out of the cemetery then and began walking back towards his parent’s house, eyes watching the shadows in the trees and between buildings as he went.
Well, said Div, that went better than I expected.
Me too, mumbled Xander. Absently he reached underneath his shirt and ran his fingers over the circular scar thoughtfully. We can only hope she’ll stop trying now.
I seriously doubt she will have the brains to. You should speak to the Watcher again, I’m telling you.
The young man shook his head then grunted as he let himself into the back door of the house, quietly heading upstairs to his room past his drunken parents passed out on the couch.
And we really must get out of this cesspit, commented Div with what Xander perceived as a wrinkling of the dragon’s nose. He pulled off his jacket and shirt as he simply grunted in response before unhooking the sword from his belt. Laying it across his dresser, he unbuckled his belt and pull it off to toss into a corner before he collapse face down onto his bed, toeing off his sneakers as he laid there.
The dragon sighed in his head, circling above the youth in his incorporeal form. As Xander rolled over and fumbled for the covers crumpled at the foot of the bed, Div stated, Good night.
“Night, Div,” mumbled the young man under a yawn before he buried his face in his pillow.