[FIC] BtVS/AtS - Control (1/2)
Title: Control (1/2)
Verse: Poetic Justice
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: This verse takes place post-Chosen (everything in Buffy really happened), and is selectively canon to AtS season 5 (meaning some things will happen canonically, some things won't. And they might happen out of order.) This particular episode takes place during 'Damage.' (Hence the 'out of order' warning.)
Notes: This story is set in the same verse as Poetic Justice, Tirer La Couture, Take You Away, Circuit, and Communication. They can also be found in my memories. You might wanna read those first. I'm not posting this as a WIP because the fics are more like snapshots of the verse.
Thanks: altyronsmaker and laazikaat for being so kind as to beta this mess. I've been through the ringer the past month or so, and that was definitely getting reflected in my writing. Thanks for straightening it out. ^_~
AND!!!
(now for the ego trip)
Poetic Justice was nominated in the Sunnydale Memorial Fanfiction Awards
Nominated in Round 5 for: Best New Author, Best Characterization (Harmony), Best Pairing - Unconventional (Spike/Xander, obviously), and Best Series.
THANK YOU!!!
Willow stared at the back of Giles and Buffy's heads, biting her lip. "Can't we just split up? You can go find the Slayer, and I'll go find Xander."
Giles sighed as he attempted to wave down a taxi. "Willow, we need you to help us find the Slayer, since you're the only one here that can sense them. And I'm not about to let you go find Xander on your own. He knows you care about him, and vampires often seek to destroy those that loved them when they were human. " A taxi sped past them, ignoring Giles's hail. "Damn these confounded cities! We should have just rented a car at the airport."
"Giles, let me." Buffy stepped up to the curb and waved her hand, and a taxi rounded the corner and stopped immediately. She smirked at Giles. "All of us should be there, anyway, Will," she said. "It's Xander."
"Can't we find the Slayer after we find Xander?" Willow asked, knowing what the answer would be. When she had cast the spell in Sunnydale to activate all the Slayers, her magic had become interwoven with the Slayer line. She could sense them all around the world, but at times there were some that would wink in and out of her mind. The one she was sensing now was one of those. They had to find her before she went beyond Willow's reach.
"This shouldn't take long. Even if we just get a name and an address - we don't have to give her the whole pitch tonight," Buffy said as she climbed into the taxi, Giles and Willow piling in behind her. "It's just one Slayer. How hard can it be?"
* * *
"I don't get it, Xander. He was pretty insistent that you two could handle this." Angel didn't sound angry, but he was bordering on annoyed. "Why did he run off without you?"
Xander kicked at a loose stone on the pavement and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I got pissed at him. He kept making jokes about... you know."
"You killing the Slayers."
Xander avoided Angel's gaze, staring down at the ground as they walked. "Yeah. He knows I don't like it when he kids about it, but... he's Spike."
"So you got pissed, and he left to go find the psycho Slayer by himself."
"Pretty much, except in between me getting angry and him leaving, he yelled some stuff at me about being too sensitive. Or something. He was speaking British, so I'm really don't know what he said."
"Moron." Xander glanced up at Angel's comment, who quickly amended it. "Not you. Spike. Are you sure he has a soul?"
Xander rolled his eye. "You've known him for longer than me. Can't you tell?"
Angel shrugged. "Not really. I can see the soul in his eyes, but he's the same Spike I remember."
Xander glanced at Angel, frowning. "He doesn't kill anymore. He still swears he'll go about ripping out your intestines, but it's all talk."
"And you can deal with that?"
"What, intestinal threats?" Xander shrugged. "I dated Anya, who tortured men for a thousand years and loved to tell the tales. Kinda numb to that kind of talk." Xander sighed and kicked another stone. "He really has changed, Deadboy. I know you don't want to see it, but he's... different. He cares."
"He's always cared. He stayed with Drusilla for over a hundred years. Even without a soul, he could still love."
"Yeah. That's why he got the soul in the first place. For love," Xander said in a quiet voice.
"For Buffy."
Xander didn't answer and continued to stare at the ground as they walked, following Spike's scent. His relationship with Spike confused him more than any other relationship he'd had. Cordelia was simple - meet in a broom closet, make out, and keep up appearances by constantly bickering in public. Anya was a bit more complex, but he always knew what her feelings were towards him because she was so vocal about them. Spike had shown how much he cared, but hadn't actually said anything to reflect how he felt.
"You're worried that Spike's using you. That you're just convenient to him."
Xander flinched at Angel's words. "I guess."
Angel looked straight down the alley, noticing a taxi driving towards them. "He does care about you. Like you said, I've known him for a long time. I can tell." The taxi slowed to a crawl, and Angel raised an eyebrow, but waved it off as someone being lost.
Xander gave Angel a sideways glance. "Not that I don't appreciate the fact that you're actually being nice to me for once, but can we maybe not talk about this right now? Maybe some other time, when I'm not fearing for Spike's life?"
"You don't think he can handle a Slayer by himself?"
"Hard to say. He's never fought an insane Slayer before."
Halfway down the alley, they both stopped as the scent they were following suddenly changed. Spike's usual smell of leather with a hint of smoke was overwhelmed with blood. Xander let out a dangerous hiss.
"Spike's blood." Xander took off running towards the building the scent was coming from.
Angel cursed underneath his breath. "Xander, wait!" He moved to follow him, but stopped at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Angel!"
He turned and spotted Buffy as she got out of the taxi and headed towards him. Giles and Willow followed close behind her. Bad timing.
* * *
His fingers found grooves in the side of the building invisible to the human eye, and he effortlessly sailed up to the roof. For the first time since the cave, Xander felt like a vampire. He was strong, powerful, and nothing on earth could stop him.
Pausing when he reached the roof, his eyes scanned the shadows for an entrance. He finally spotted a broken skylight, and jumped through without hesitation.
He landed silently on his feet, and the scent of Spike's blood was suddenly overwhelming. Xander turned in circles for a moment before pinpointing the direction where it was strongest. Sneaking through the shadows, he finally spotted a flash of the familiar platinum blonde hair.
"Spike!" Xander stalking fell into a sprint, and he ran to the post Spike was chained against. "Oh, god."
The damage to Spike was immense. He'd been beaten excessively, and Xander would have thrown up the blood in his system if he still could when he saw where all the blood was coming from.
The bitch had cut Spike's arms off.
"Xan...?"
"You're still awake?" Xander got to his knees and cupped Spike's cheek in his hand. "Why did she do this to you?"
"Wasn't me..." Spike's half-open eyes slid closed again, and Xander looked around for something to tie around Spike's arms. He froze when he saw Spike's hands lying on a table a few feet away, and rage began boiling up inside him. His thoughts became patchy as anger started taking over.
So much blood. Life. MINE. Slayer...
Xander turned on his heel, his demon falling to the front. Growling, he bared his fangs at the figure standing across the room. Slayer hurt what's mine.
The Slayer began approaching him, brandishing a sharp blade in her right hand. "Demon. Keep cutting 'till you see dust."
Xander's demon was whispering in his mind to let it out completely. At the sight of the Slayer's blade, still wet with Spike's blood, Xander let go of the last bit of control he had. He leapt at her, his fingers curved into claws. Kill her.
* * *
"What are you doing here, Angel?" Buffy asked softly.
"I live here," Angel replied shortly. "What are you doing here? Last I heard, you were overseas." His tone of voice had a hint of sarcasm, one that Buffy didn't seem to pick up on.
"It's..." Buffy glanced over her shoulder at Giles and Willow. Giles narrowed his eyes and gave a small shake of his head. "A Slayer. We're tracking a Slayer."
"So am I, actually."
"Is that why you let a vampire escape? I saw one go up the side of the building." Buffy crossed her arms.
Angel hesitated for a moment. "Well, you stopped me before I could stop him."
"So Wolfram and Hart has an interest in Slayers, now?" Giles said, his voice laced with mistrust.
Angel glared at Giles. "We do when they're insane. She's already killed at least three people since she escaped."
"Escaped from where?" Buffy asked.
The sound of glass breaking inside the building reached Angel's ears and he spun towards the building. "You need to stay out of this one, Buffy. I know it's a Slayer, but it's probably better if you stay here. I'll explain later." Angel didn't bother to wait for a reponse, and he hoped that Buffy would actually listen to him for once.
She didn't need to see Xander right now. Angel had no idea what state of mind he'd be in, especially with how attached to Spike he'd become. If the Slayer had hurt Spike as bad as it seemed, Xander could be completely out of control.
* * *
Xander was laughing as he bounced back and forth on his bare toes. "Where's your 'holier-than-thou' attitude, Kennedy?" he said as he backhanded her across the face. "This is what you were made for! Fight the vampires, kill the vampires. It's why you exist!"
Kennedy fell to the ground and felt blood well up inside her mouth. She spat it out and got back to her feet in a hurry, hoisting her stake back up to her shoulders. Her entire body felt heavy, and she was ready to drop to the ground. She didn't understand it - Xander was hardly a fighter when he was human, but as a vampire he was so fast. She could barely get a hit in, while he could dart forward and smack her to the ground like it was nothing. She'd already taken quite a beating, and Nanyamka was still unconscious. Xander had hit her first thing after he jerked awake, snarling. He must have hit her just right, because she crumpled in an instant.
Xander was winning. And he was enjoying it.
"You know what really gets me, though?" Xander swooped down low and slammed his leg into the back of her knees, and he caught her as she fell. Kennedy cried out in pain as Xander's fingers dug into her shoulders. "You'll never be good enough."
Kennedy bucked, throwing Xander off of her. He stumbled back, his fangs shining brightly with the constant grin on his face. Kennedy cursed when she saw Xander holding her stake in his hands, tossing it back and forth. He was still laughing.
"You're a Slayer, but you're nothing compared to Buffy. Or Faith, even." Xander kicked high, catching Kennedy under the chin, and she fell once more. "You wanted to fight Drusilla... well, you wouldn't stand a chance against her. The most you could do was scare her away. And that really pisses me off - my sire should have been there for me when I woke up for the first time." He snarled and placed a hand on the back of the head, pushing her face into the ground. Kennedy gasped when he released her, and she spat out out a mouthful of dirt.
"And as a girlfriend," Xander continued as Kennedy tried to get up again and failed. "You know that you're nothing to Willow. Not like Tara was. You're just convenient." He circled around her, licking his upper lip as he kicked her in the side, grinning at the satisfying cracking sound her ribs made. He crouched down beside her, and Kennedy shivered as she felt his fangs scrape the side of her neck. "She doesn't love you."
* * *
It was near pitch black in the area of the warehouse they were fighting in, and the Slayer was struggling to keep track of where Xander was. Xander used that to his advantage, and he could see her perfectly, watching her jerky movements become more and more erratic as she struck at things that weren't there. He let a feral grin escape, enjoying toying with the girl. Slayer. Slayer caged me. He moved in swiftly and silently, and he tripped her, knocking her weapon out of her hand. He held her down, and she let out a whimper that was more animal than human.
"NO!" She cried out and bucked her off of him. "Not weak anymore!" she said and stood. She reached out to hit him, but he wasn't there anymore.
Xander flew out of the darkness and slammed her into the ground, knocking her unconscious. He stood over her for a moment before stooping down to pick up her dropped weapon. He studied it for a moment before kneeling behind her and placing the blade at her neck.
Something slammed into him, knocking him off the prone Slayer. He flew into the wall, crashing through it and landing in the next room.
"So the vampire Angel let escape came to kill a Slayer. Wolfram and Hart really has changed him." Xander felt a kind of familiarity run through him. There was an attachment to that voice. He rolled backwards into the shadows as a blonde girl stepped through the hole in the wall. A charge ran up and down his spine. Another Slayer.
"C'mon, guy. I've got a lot of important things to take care of tonight, and you're not one of them," Buffy said and she cautiously circled the room and drew her stake out of her jacket. She knew the vampire was still in here, but it was so dark...
A figure dropped down from the ceiling and onto her shoulders. Buffy managed to only fall to one knee, spinning around and kicking out at the vampire. He caught her foot in both hands, pushing her back. He leapt on top of her, bearing down.
"Buffy?"
Buffy twisted in the vampire's grip. "Willow! I could use some light!" She elbowed the vampire in the face, pushing him off of her. "Don't use the sunlight spell - I don't know where Angel is!" She struck out at the vampire, only to have her fist caught. It's like he knows every move I have... Buffy thought idly, throwing her other fist at him and knocking his grasp loose.
"Do you even know who I am?" Buffy snarked, hoping to distract the vampire until Willow could complete the spell. "What I am, what that other girl you tried to kill is?"
The vampire paused, and she saw a flash of fang in the shadows. "Slayer."
Buffy froze at the voice. It was darker, more guttural, but it was still...
Light flooded into the room.
"Xander," Buffy whispered.
Even with the vampire face, she could still see Xander underneath. He was still recognizable as Xander, but at the same time, he wasn't. His stance was predatory, completely unlike the Xander she knew, and he was studying Buffy with a dangerous eye.
"Oh, God." Buffy wasn't prepared for this. Not yet. She had been expecting to just stake another random vampire, and go the rest of the night without ever wondering who he'd been. Giles and Willow were still in the other room, and she couldn't do this by herself.
Xander used her hesitation to run her down, pushing her backwards until her back slammed into the wall. Buffy felt her feet leave the ground as he pushed her up it, his fingers bearing down on her windpipe. Xander grinned as she stared down at him with pleading eyes.
Something pulled Xander away from Buffy, and she fell to the ground. Arms looped underneath his and wrapped around the back of his neck, effectively pinning him while standing up. Xander howled his frustration at being pulled away from a kill for the second time, but he suddenly fell quiet. His demon recognized who was holding him, responding to the blood running within both of them... Angelus - something whispered inside him. "Slayer hurt what's mine!" Xander protested, his attempts to escape proving futile. He couldn't understand why his sire was holding him back from protecting their bloodline. "Slayer caged me. Let me kill her!"
"Xander!" Angel shouted. "Stop!" The firm command made Xander cease his struggling. Angel roughly jerked Xander back towards his chest, turning them both towards Buffy, who cowered on the ground staring up at both of them. "Look who it is, Xander. You recognize her, don't you?"
Xander licked his lips. "Slayer."
"Who else is she? You know her. Think, Xander." Angel lowered his voice and whispered in Xander's ear. "Get back in control. Don't let the demon control you."
Xander stared at Buffy, and his body slowly became more relaxed. His human face fell back into place. "Buf-fy," he said, his speech broken, but recognition shining in his eyes.
"Yes. She's Buffy. Your friend."
"Friend."
Angel relaxed slightly, and Xander suddenly burst through his hold and began charging at Buffy, his demon face shining through again.
A shout came from the edge of the room. "Xander! No!"
Xander froze and turned towards Willow, whose tear-streaked face was shining in the artificial light. She stepped towards him, hesitating. "I know you're in there, Xander. I can see you. You know us, don't you?"
"Willow?" Xander's face once again morphed back to his human visage, his expression filled with confusion. He looked from Willow to Buffy, who still sat frozen on the ground. Confusion melted into horror, and he reeled back, running into Angel and falling to the ground. "What... did I do?" he whispered. "Why did I lose control like that?"
"Your soul was forced into your body so soon after you woke up, I don't think the demon had a chance to adjust," Angel said. "It's harder to control something that can't even control itself."
"Xander... has a soul?" Buffy said quietly. "Will, that's why the soul restoration spell didn't work. He's already in there."
"Xander!" Willow cried, and she started closing the gap between her oldest friend and herself.
"Willow, wait." Giles grabbed Willow's arm, stopping her. "How do we know this is true?"
"Because I can see him! I can see his soul!" Willow said, her eyes still stuck on Xander's shaking form.
"How can you be sure?"
"Giles, trust me." She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Something tied his soul to his body, and I can see it. It's really Xander, Giles!" She pulled herself free from Giles's grasp and moved to put an arm around Xander.
Xander jerked back when she approached, flinching. "Don't... touch me."
"Xander, it's us." Giles came up behind Willow, staring down at Xander in concern. "We don't care what you are. We care that you're all right."
"And I'm not 'all right' right now," Xander said, burying his face in his hands. "Don't come near me."
"Xander?" Angel crouched down beside Xander. "What made you lose control? Where is he?"
Xander jerked his head up, his eye wild and desperate. "Oh, God... he needs help right now, Angel. She cut his fucking arms off. Fred can fix him, right?"
Angel would have grown even more pale if it had been possible. "She... cut his arms off?" Angel stood up and reached into his jacket, pulling out a cell phone.
"Angel, hold on! Why didn't you tell me the vampire in here was Xander?" Buffy demanded.
"I knew you wouldn't have stayed outside if you knew who it was," Angel said as he dialed the phone.
"You couldn't have expected me to stay out of this! Why did you try to hide it?"
"He was protecting you, Buffy," Xander said. "He was protecting you from me."
"That's part of it," Angel said as he raised the phone to his ear.
"What's the other part?" Xander asked, looking up at Angel in curiousity.
"Someone asked me to keep an eye on you two. And I am." Angel paused. "Wesley?" He said into the phone. "We need a med team down here." He crossed into the other room and spotted the battered Slayer. "Enough staff for two," he added.
"Xander..." Willow reached out to Xander again.
"Don't. Not now, Willow." Xander stood back up and moved to follow Angel, avoiding Willow's eyes. "He's still hurt. I don't want to lose control again when I'm around you."
"Who's hurt, Xander?"
Xander paused, but didn't turn around.
"Spike."
Verse: Poetic Justice
Pairing: Spike/Xander
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: This verse takes place post-Chosen (everything in Buffy really happened), and is selectively canon to AtS season 5 (meaning some things will happen canonically, some things won't. And they might happen out of order.) This particular episode takes place during 'Damage.' (Hence the 'out of order' warning.)
Notes: This story is set in the same verse as Poetic Justice, Tirer La Couture, Take You Away, Circuit, and Communication. They can also be found in my memories. You might wanna read those first. I'm not posting this as a WIP because the fics are more like snapshots of the verse.
Thanks: altyronsmaker and laazikaat for being so kind as to beta this mess. I've been through the ringer the past month or so, and that was definitely getting reflected in my writing. Thanks for straightening it out. ^_~
AND!!!
(now for the ego trip)
Poetic Justice was nominated in the Sunnydale Memorial Fanfiction Awards
Nominated in Round 5 for: Best New Author, Best Characterization (Harmony), Best Pairing - Unconventional (Spike/Xander, obviously), and Best Series.
THANK YOU!!!
Willow stared at the back of Giles and Buffy's heads, biting her lip. "Can't we just split up? You can go find the Slayer, and I'll go find Xander."
Giles sighed as he attempted to wave down a taxi. "Willow, we need you to help us find the Slayer, since you're the only one here that can sense them. And I'm not about to let you go find Xander on your own. He knows you care about him, and vampires often seek to destroy those that loved them when they were human. " A taxi sped past them, ignoring Giles's hail. "Damn these confounded cities! We should have just rented a car at the airport."
"Giles, let me." Buffy stepped up to the curb and waved her hand, and a taxi rounded the corner and stopped immediately. She smirked at Giles. "All of us should be there, anyway, Will," she said. "It's Xander."
"Can't we find the Slayer after we find Xander?" Willow asked, knowing what the answer would be. When she had cast the spell in Sunnydale to activate all the Slayers, her magic had become interwoven with the Slayer line. She could sense them all around the world, but at times there were some that would wink in and out of her mind. The one she was sensing now was one of those. They had to find her before she went beyond Willow's reach.
"This shouldn't take long. Even if we just get a name and an address - we don't have to give her the whole pitch tonight," Buffy said as she climbed into the taxi, Giles and Willow piling in behind her. "It's just one Slayer. How hard can it be?"
* * *
"I don't get it, Xander. He was pretty insistent that you two could handle this." Angel didn't sound angry, but he was bordering on annoyed. "Why did he run off without you?"
Xander kicked at a loose stone on the pavement and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I got pissed at him. He kept making jokes about... you know."
"You killing the Slayers."
Xander avoided Angel's gaze, staring down at the ground as they walked. "Yeah. He knows I don't like it when he kids about it, but... he's Spike."
"So you got pissed, and he left to go find the psycho Slayer by himself."
"Pretty much, except in between me getting angry and him leaving, he yelled some stuff at me about being too sensitive. Or something. He was speaking British, so I'm really don't know what he said."
"Moron." Xander glanced up at Angel's comment, who quickly amended it. "Not you. Spike. Are you sure he has a soul?"
Xander rolled his eye. "You've known him for longer than me. Can't you tell?"
Angel shrugged. "Not really. I can see the soul in his eyes, but he's the same Spike I remember."
Xander glanced at Angel, frowning. "He doesn't kill anymore. He still swears he'll go about ripping out your intestines, but it's all talk."
"And you can deal with that?"
"What, intestinal threats?" Xander shrugged. "I dated Anya, who tortured men for a thousand years and loved to tell the tales. Kinda numb to that kind of talk." Xander sighed and kicked another stone. "He really has changed, Deadboy. I know you don't want to see it, but he's... different. He cares."
"He's always cared. He stayed with Drusilla for over a hundred years. Even without a soul, he could still love."
"Yeah. That's why he got the soul in the first place. For love," Xander said in a quiet voice.
"For Buffy."
Xander didn't answer and continued to stare at the ground as they walked, following Spike's scent. His relationship with Spike confused him more than any other relationship he'd had. Cordelia was simple - meet in a broom closet, make out, and keep up appearances by constantly bickering in public. Anya was a bit more complex, but he always knew what her feelings were towards him because she was so vocal about them. Spike had shown how much he cared, but hadn't actually said anything to reflect how he felt.
"You're worried that Spike's using you. That you're just convenient to him."
Xander flinched at Angel's words. "I guess."
Angel looked straight down the alley, noticing a taxi driving towards them. "He does care about you. Like you said, I've known him for a long time. I can tell." The taxi slowed to a crawl, and Angel raised an eyebrow, but waved it off as someone being lost.
Xander gave Angel a sideways glance. "Not that I don't appreciate the fact that you're actually being nice to me for once, but can we maybe not talk about this right now? Maybe some other time, when I'm not fearing for Spike's life?"
"You don't think he can handle a Slayer by himself?"
"Hard to say. He's never fought an insane Slayer before."
Halfway down the alley, they both stopped as the scent they were following suddenly changed. Spike's usual smell of leather with a hint of smoke was overwhelmed with blood. Xander let out a dangerous hiss.
"Spike's blood." Xander took off running towards the building the scent was coming from.
Angel cursed underneath his breath. "Xander, wait!" He moved to follow him, but stopped at the sound of a familiar voice.
"Angel!"
He turned and spotted Buffy as she got out of the taxi and headed towards him. Giles and Willow followed close behind her. Bad timing.
* * *
His fingers found grooves in the side of the building invisible to the human eye, and he effortlessly sailed up to the roof. For the first time since the cave, Xander felt like a vampire. He was strong, powerful, and nothing on earth could stop him.
Pausing when he reached the roof, his eyes scanned the shadows for an entrance. He finally spotted a broken skylight, and jumped through without hesitation.
He landed silently on his feet, and the scent of Spike's blood was suddenly overwhelming. Xander turned in circles for a moment before pinpointing the direction where it was strongest. Sneaking through the shadows, he finally spotted a flash of the familiar platinum blonde hair.
"Spike!" Xander stalking fell into a sprint, and he ran to the post Spike was chained against. "Oh, god."
The damage to Spike was immense. He'd been beaten excessively, and Xander would have thrown up the blood in his system if he still could when he saw where all the blood was coming from.
The bitch had cut Spike's arms off.
"Xan...?"
"You're still awake?" Xander got to his knees and cupped Spike's cheek in his hand. "Why did she do this to you?"
"Wasn't me..." Spike's half-open eyes slid closed again, and Xander looked around for something to tie around Spike's arms. He froze when he saw Spike's hands lying on a table a few feet away, and rage began boiling up inside him. His thoughts became patchy as anger started taking over.
So much blood. Life. MINE. Slayer...
Xander turned on his heel, his demon falling to the front. Growling, he bared his fangs at the figure standing across the room. Slayer hurt what's mine.
The Slayer began approaching him, brandishing a sharp blade in her right hand. "Demon. Keep cutting 'till you see dust."
Xander's demon was whispering in his mind to let it out completely. At the sight of the Slayer's blade, still wet with Spike's blood, Xander let go of the last bit of control he had. He leapt at her, his fingers curved into claws. Kill her.
* * *
"What are you doing here, Angel?" Buffy asked softly.
"I live here," Angel replied shortly. "What are you doing here? Last I heard, you were overseas." His tone of voice had a hint of sarcasm, one that Buffy didn't seem to pick up on.
"It's..." Buffy glanced over her shoulder at Giles and Willow. Giles narrowed his eyes and gave a small shake of his head. "A Slayer. We're tracking a Slayer."
"So am I, actually."
"Is that why you let a vampire escape? I saw one go up the side of the building." Buffy crossed her arms.
Angel hesitated for a moment. "Well, you stopped me before I could stop him."
"So Wolfram and Hart has an interest in Slayers, now?" Giles said, his voice laced with mistrust.
Angel glared at Giles. "We do when they're insane. She's already killed at least three people since she escaped."
"Escaped from where?" Buffy asked.
The sound of glass breaking inside the building reached Angel's ears and he spun towards the building. "You need to stay out of this one, Buffy. I know it's a Slayer, but it's probably better if you stay here. I'll explain later." Angel didn't bother to wait for a reponse, and he hoped that Buffy would actually listen to him for once.
She didn't need to see Xander right now. Angel had no idea what state of mind he'd be in, especially with how attached to Spike he'd become. If the Slayer had hurt Spike as bad as it seemed, Xander could be completely out of control.
* * *
Xander was laughing as he bounced back and forth on his bare toes. "Where's your 'holier-than-thou' attitude, Kennedy?" he said as he backhanded her across the face. "This is what you were made for! Fight the vampires, kill the vampires. It's why you exist!"
Kennedy fell to the ground and felt blood well up inside her mouth. She spat it out and got back to her feet in a hurry, hoisting her stake back up to her shoulders. Her entire body felt heavy, and she was ready to drop to the ground. She didn't understand it - Xander was hardly a fighter when he was human, but as a vampire he was so fast. She could barely get a hit in, while he could dart forward and smack her to the ground like it was nothing. She'd already taken quite a beating, and Nanyamka was still unconscious. Xander had hit her first thing after he jerked awake, snarling. He must have hit her just right, because she crumpled in an instant.
Xander was winning. And he was enjoying it.
"You know what really gets me, though?" Xander swooped down low and slammed his leg into the back of her knees, and he caught her as she fell. Kennedy cried out in pain as Xander's fingers dug into her shoulders. "You'll never be good enough."
Kennedy bucked, throwing Xander off of her. He stumbled back, his fangs shining brightly with the constant grin on his face. Kennedy cursed when she saw Xander holding her stake in his hands, tossing it back and forth. He was still laughing.
"You're a Slayer, but you're nothing compared to Buffy. Or Faith, even." Xander kicked high, catching Kennedy under the chin, and she fell once more. "You wanted to fight Drusilla... well, you wouldn't stand a chance against her. The most you could do was scare her away. And that really pisses me off - my sire should have been there for me when I woke up for the first time." He snarled and placed a hand on the back of the head, pushing her face into the ground. Kennedy gasped when he released her, and she spat out out a mouthful of dirt.
"And as a girlfriend," Xander continued as Kennedy tried to get up again and failed. "You know that you're nothing to Willow. Not like Tara was. You're just convenient." He circled around her, licking his upper lip as he kicked her in the side, grinning at the satisfying cracking sound her ribs made. He crouched down beside her, and Kennedy shivered as she felt his fangs scrape the side of her neck. "She doesn't love you."
* * *
It was near pitch black in the area of the warehouse they were fighting in, and the Slayer was struggling to keep track of where Xander was. Xander used that to his advantage, and he could see her perfectly, watching her jerky movements become more and more erratic as she struck at things that weren't there. He let a feral grin escape, enjoying toying with the girl. Slayer. Slayer caged me. He moved in swiftly and silently, and he tripped her, knocking her weapon out of her hand. He held her down, and she let out a whimper that was more animal than human.
"NO!" She cried out and bucked her off of him. "Not weak anymore!" she said and stood. She reached out to hit him, but he wasn't there anymore.
Xander flew out of the darkness and slammed her into the ground, knocking her unconscious. He stood over her for a moment before stooping down to pick up her dropped weapon. He studied it for a moment before kneeling behind her and placing the blade at her neck.
Something slammed into him, knocking him off the prone Slayer. He flew into the wall, crashing through it and landing in the next room.
"So the vampire Angel let escape came to kill a Slayer. Wolfram and Hart really has changed him." Xander felt a kind of familiarity run through him. There was an attachment to that voice. He rolled backwards into the shadows as a blonde girl stepped through the hole in the wall. A charge ran up and down his spine. Another Slayer.
"C'mon, guy. I've got a lot of important things to take care of tonight, and you're not one of them," Buffy said and she cautiously circled the room and drew her stake out of her jacket. She knew the vampire was still in here, but it was so dark...
A figure dropped down from the ceiling and onto her shoulders. Buffy managed to only fall to one knee, spinning around and kicking out at the vampire. He caught her foot in both hands, pushing her back. He leapt on top of her, bearing down.
"Buffy?"
Buffy twisted in the vampire's grip. "Willow! I could use some light!" She elbowed the vampire in the face, pushing him off of her. "Don't use the sunlight spell - I don't know where Angel is!" She struck out at the vampire, only to have her fist caught. It's like he knows every move I have... Buffy thought idly, throwing her other fist at him and knocking his grasp loose.
"Do you even know who I am?" Buffy snarked, hoping to distract the vampire until Willow could complete the spell. "What I am, what that other girl you tried to kill is?"
The vampire paused, and she saw a flash of fang in the shadows. "Slayer."
Buffy froze at the voice. It was darker, more guttural, but it was still...
Light flooded into the room.
"Xander," Buffy whispered.
Even with the vampire face, she could still see Xander underneath. He was still recognizable as Xander, but at the same time, he wasn't. His stance was predatory, completely unlike the Xander she knew, and he was studying Buffy with a dangerous eye.
"Oh, God." Buffy wasn't prepared for this. Not yet. She had been expecting to just stake another random vampire, and go the rest of the night without ever wondering who he'd been. Giles and Willow were still in the other room, and she couldn't do this by herself.
Xander used her hesitation to run her down, pushing her backwards until her back slammed into the wall. Buffy felt her feet leave the ground as he pushed her up it, his fingers bearing down on her windpipe. Xander grinned as she stared down at him with pleading eyes.
Something pulled Xander away from Buffy, and she fell to the ground. Arms looped underneath his and wrapped around the back of his neck, effectively pinning him while standing up. Xander howled his frustration at being pulled away from a kill for the second time, but he suddenly fell quiet. His demon recognized who was holding him, responding to the blood running within both of them... Angelus - something whispered inside him. "Slayer hurt what's mine!" Xander protested, his attempts to escape proving futile. He couldn't understand why his sire was holding him back from protecting their bloodline. "Slayer caged me. Let me kill her!"
"Xander!" Angel shouted. "Stop!" The firm command made Xander cease his struggling. Angel roughly jerked Xander back towards his chest, turning them both towards Buffy, who cowered on the ground staring up at both of them. "Look who it is, Xander. You recognize her, don't you?"
Xander licked his lips. "Slayer."
"Who else is she? You know her. Think, Xander." Angel lowered his voice and whispered in Xander's ear. "Get back in control. Don't let the demon control you."
Xander stared at Buffy, and his body slowly became more relaxed. His human face fell back into place. "Buf-fy," he said, his speech broken, but recognition shining in his eyes.
"Yes. She's Buffy. Your friend."
"Friend."
Angel relaxed slightly, and Xander suddenly burst through his hold and began charging at Buffy, his demon face shining through again.
A shout came from the edge of the room. "Xander! No!"
Xander froze and turned towards Willow, whose tear-streaked face was shining in the artificial light. She stepped towards him, hesitating. "I know you're in there, Xander. I can see you. You know us, don't you?"
"Willow?" Xander's face once again morphed back to his human visage, his expression filled with confusion. He looked from Willow to Buffy, who still sat frozen on the ground. Confusion melted into horror, and he reeled back, running into Angel and falling to the ground. "What... did I do?" he whispered. "Why did I lose control like that?"
"Your soul was forced into your body so soon after you woke up, I don't think the demon had a chance to adjust," Angel said. "It's harder to control something that can't even control itself."
"Xander... has a soul?" Buffy said quietly. "Will, that's why the soul restoration spell didn't work. He's already in there."
"Xander!" Willow cried, and she started closing the gap between her oldest friend and herself.
"Willow, wait." Giles grabbed Willow's arm, stopping her. "How do we know this is true?"
"Because I can see him! I can see his soul!" Willow said, her eyes still stuck on Xander's shaking form.
"How can you be sure?"
"Giles, trust me." She hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Something tied his soul to his body, and I can see it. It's really Xander, Giles!" She pulled herself free from Giles's grasp and moved to put an arm around Xander.
Xander jerked back when she approached, flinching. "Don't... touch me."
"Xander, it's us." Giles came up behind Willow, staring down at Xander in concern. "We don't care what you are. We care that you're all right."
"And I'm not 'all right' right now," Xander said, burying his face in his hands. "Don't come near me."
"Xander?" Angel crouched down beside Xander. "What made you lose control? Where is he?"
Xander jerked his head up, his eye wild and desperate. "Oh, God... he needs help right now, Angel. She cut his fucking arms off. Fred can fix him, right?"
Angel would have grown even more pale if it had been possible. "She... cut his arms off?" Angel stood up and reached into his jacket, pulling out a cell phone.
"Angel, hold on! Why didn't you tell me the vampire in here was Xander?" Buffy demanded.
"I knew you wouldn't have stayed outside if you knew who it was," Angel said as he dialed the phone.
"You couldn't have expected me to stay out of this! Why did you try to hide it?"
"He was protecting you, Buffy," Xander said. "He was protecting you from me."
"That's part of it," Angel said as he raised the phone to his ear.
"What's the other part?" Xander asked, looking up at Angel in curiousity.
"Someone asked me to keep an eye on you two. And I am." Angel paused. "Wesley?" He said into the phone. "We need a med team down here." He crossed into the other room and spotted the battered Slayer. "Enough staff for two," he added.
"Xander..." Willow reached out to Xander again.
"Don't. Not now, Willow." Xander stood back up and moved to follow Angel, avoiding Willow's eyes. "He's still hurt. I don't want to lose control again when I'm around you."
"Who's hurt, Xander?"
Xander paused, but didn't turn around.
"Spike."