Title: Behind the Mask

Authors: Allison Grace

Rating: NC-17

Spoilers: Consequences (season three)

The knocks started again. Faith rolled her eyes and shut off her TV before rolling out of her bed to answer the door. She was only mildly surprised to see Xander standing there, looking extremely nervous.

“What?” Faith asked, hoping that he would take a hint and get out.

Xander shifted from foot to foot awkwardly before answering, “I just, uh, came by to see how you are, actually.”

‘Go figure.’ Faith thought resentfully before answering. “I’m sick of people asking me that, for one thing.”

Xander didn’t answer her, and the two just stood there for a few moments of silence before he said timidly, “Can I come in? Just to talk. I promise.”

That in itself made Faith smirk a tiny bit. Oh, Xander, poor, helpless Xander, who’s standing face to face with the girl who took his innocence from him. ‘He wouldn’t know true evil if it bit him in the ass.’ she thought.

“Like you could make something happen if I didn’t want it to?” she said, standing back a bit to let him inside.

For another moment, he just stood there and said, “Hey, yeah. Got me there. Pretty much not gonna try to ... take you under any circumstances. See, here, feel that.” He pointed to his biceps. “Probably like a wet noodle to you, huh?”

She turned from the door, rolling her eyes, and said, “Five minutes.”

“That’s all I need.” he said. “For talking and conversation.” he quickly adding, his mind coming up with more possibilities in that statement.

“The clock is running.” Faith said, standing with her arms folded over her chest.

Xander flinched and then started his pre-planned speech. “It’s just ... I heard about what happened, and I thought you might need a friend.”

“So then, go talk to Buffy. She’s the one who killed a guy.” Faith said, the lie coming easier every time she said it.

“Yeah, I heard that version.” Xander said, obviously not believing her.

Faith didn’t really care whether or not Xander believed her, but pulled off a passable, “Version?” like she had no idea what was really going on.

Xander sighed and then said, “Either way, it sounds like it was an accident, and that’s the important part.”

Faith noticed something different in Xander’s voice. Something that wavered when he said that. ‘Maybe he’s not sure I did it...’ she thought before saying angrily, “No, the important part is that Buffy is the accidental murderer.” She hoped that he bought it. It wouldn’t hurt her one little bit to turn the precious ‘Scooby’ gang against each other.

But, it hadn’t worked. “Faith, you may not think so, but I sort of know you. And I’ve seen you post-battle. And I know firsthand that you’re ... like a wild thing. And half the time, you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“And you’re living proof the that, aren’t you?” Faith said, even though she had considered her brief time with Xander truly ... invigorating. She didn’t get the chance to partially corrupt people often.

“See, you’re trying to hurt me.” Xander said, thinking he knew what Faith was really feeling. “But right now, you need someone on your side. What happened wasn’t your fault. And I’m willing to testify to that in court if you need me.”

Faith just laughed. “You’d dig that, wouldn’t you? To get up in front of all your geek pals and go on record about how I made you my boy toy for a night.”

Xander tried to deny it. “No ... n-n-n-no ... that’s not it.”

“I know what this is all about.” Faith said. She could tell, just by the way Xander was acting, that he was just an insecure, little boy, with a child’s view of the world. He had so much innocence ... he was one of those people in the world that she hated. She couldn’t stand him for his innocence. And, in that moment, she decided that she personally wanted to rid this young man of his.

“You just came by here cause you want another taste, don’t you?” she asked, running her fingers down his face, feeling young, unscarred skin there.

“No!” Xander said, trying to back off, trying to convince himself he really didn’t want this. “I mean, it was nice. It was great. It was kind of a blur. But, okay, some day, sure, but not now. Not like this.”
Faith didn’t listen to him. She just continued her assault on him. She grabbed a hold of his head and said, “More like how then? Lights on or off? Kinks or vanilla?” ‘Kinks, Xander.’ she thought. ‘It’ll always be kinks with you from now on.’

Xander jerked away from Faith again. “Faith, come one. I came her to help you.” He looked in her eyes, looking for a sign that she understood him. Faith started to laugh when he realized that there was none. “I thought we had a connection.”

Instead of just laughing at him, Faith grabbed Xander by the front of his shirt and shoved him violently onto her bed, quickly straddling him.

“You wanna feel a connection? It’s just skin.” She ripped open his shirt. “I see ... I want ... I take.” She kissed him hard and without any caring. “I forget.”

She started to rub his shoulders roughly as he tried to fight her off. “No. No, wait. It was more than that.”

Faith nearly laughed again as Xander’s eyes grew cold and more of him, more of that nice boy with the stupid jokes, fell off and died.

“I could do anything to you right now, and you want me to.” Faith said, feeling the evidence of his arousal pressing up against her. “I can make you scream. I can make you die.”

She kissed him again, violently biting his lip, and snaking her hands up his body and onto his neck. When she pulled away, he realized that he couldn’t breathe at all. He started to struggle against her, but she didn’t budge at all.

While holding onto him with one hand, she trailed the other back down under her thigh, to where his straining erection was still there. She traced it through his jeans with her fingers, and managed to open his pants one-handed and reach inside, stroking it fiercely. “I could kill you now, and you’d still fuck me after it all.”

His eyes started to drop, and Faith finally let him go, scratching his chest and continuing to stroke him as he gasped for air.

She let go of him before she finished him off, and quickly took off her pants before he could tell what she was doing.

He screamed out as she sunk down on him, and then cried out again as she bit him hard on the nipple, drawing blood. “You like it.” she whispered to him as she rode him, feeling him quiver inside of her, her words making him even harder. “You like the pain. You like being with me, because I’m dangerous. I’m deadly, and you love it.”

Xander let out a little moan, and Faith picked up speed, slamming down on him painfully. “That’s why you never fucked the red-head or the cheerleader, because they aren’t like me. You want to be taken ... you like it.”

With a scream, Faith came, and Xander quickly followed when she bit him again, this time, on the shoulder.

Faith pulled off of him and rolled off of him, licking his face casually before getting up to put her pants back on.

Xander, in a daze, buttoned back up and started to leave. He was almost out of the place, ready for the long, quiet walk home, when Faith said softly behind him, “Whatever would they say if they had just watched us?”

Xander didn’t answer her and left the room.

Faith watched him out of her window until he was completely out of site, and then jumped back onto her bed, despite the odor it now had, and smiled.

Things were looking up after all.

A week had gone by since Faith murdered that man. Xander knew that Faith had done it; he knew that Buffy couldn’t have done it and then acted perfectly normal about it. But, Faith could. Because Faith was dangerous. And deadly.

And addictive.

A week had gone by, and Xander had skipped out of two Scooby meetings and five classes just to be with her. The bruises she gave him meant nothing to him. If anything else, it just excited him more.

And it depressed him more. Was he always like this, he asked himself sometimes. Being around Buffy, Willow, and the others had started to become unbearable.

Like now. They were all sitting in the Library, talking about how unfair it was that Willow was almost being forced to do Percy’s homework for him so that he could play basketball, and all Xander could think about was waiting until school was over and going to Faith’s to relieve his ... tension. Or whatever it was he needed relieved. He couldn’t care less about what was happening with Willow, and he had never felt like that before.

He idly fingered the newest mark she had given him, on the inside of his arm. He smiled a little. Faith liked to play with knives. Who would’ve guessed?

Suddenly, everyone was looking at him, and he wondered if someone had asked him a question. “What?” he asked, sounding a little too harsh, and inwardly cursing himself about the slip-up.

Oh yes, another rule. No one could know. Faith had been right. What would they think of him after all the things he had done with Faith? They wouldn’t understand. No one understood, except Faith.

“I asked what you were doing tonight, Xander.” Buffy said, looking at him suspiciously. “Although, now that I think about it, maybe it would probably do you better to go home and sleep. You look awful, and you’ve been snappish for a couple days now.”

Xander smiled and slipped into his ‘dumb-happy-guy’ face that his friends all seemed to love so much. “Oh no, sorry, I’ve just been up studying for that Calc test for a couple of nights, and I guess it’s finally catching up with me.”

But, he was thinking, ‘Last night I was at Faith’s until three in the morning, and she decided to practice cutting for thanksgiving, which is only a couple weeks away.’. But, what’s a few little lies between friends?

Buffy bought the act (they all did), and said, “Okay, but you can still come with us tonight. No more studying for Xander. You look like you need a good night out.”

Xander just smiled and nodded his head, but inside he was screaming ‘NO!’.

For the first time in almost a week, Xander actually felt something when he wasn’t with Faith. Watching Willow kick Percy’s ass like that sparked something inside of him that he had never seen in Willow before.

Something that made her dangerous too. Especially in that full leather outfit.

She turned to him, and suddenly her eyes brightened. He should’ve known that it really wasn’t his Willow, but he could care less.

“Xander!” she said, throwing herself on him.

People were starting to gather, and since Xander didn’t want to make a big scene, he pulled her outside so that he could talk to her. Because, even though scary, leather Willow was looking to be a lot of fun, he wasn’t sure why she was being scary, leather Willow.

When they got outside of the Bronze, Willow continued to hug him, saying into his chest, “You’re alive!”

He was startled when he felt her hands begin to go down his back, but he wasn’t really caring much at all until he felt just how cold her hands were on the bare skin under his shirt.

She hissed at him (‘Willow hiss ... that’s new’), and backed away from him. “You're alive.” she said, this time sounding a bit revolted.

Xander nodded, and then said, “Wills ... new look for you. Are you okay?”

She cried out, “NO! Everything's different.”

Xander was confused. He had seen Willow earlier ... and she wasn’t like this. She wasn’t this ... exciting. “What do you mean, ‘everything’s different’?”

Willow turned around and said, “The Bronze, you, everything is different.” Suddenly, it seemed like a light bulb went on inside of her head, and Willow turned back towards Xander, smiling cruelly.

“But, it doesn’t have to be.” she said coyly, walking over to Xander and tracing her fingers down his chest, just like Faith always did. Except it lacked Faith’s fire. “I was always his ... he was never mine. He wasn’t meant to be.”

Xander couldn’t help but gasp as Willow’s girlish face melted away into that of a vampire. He thought, ‘I knew something was off.’, but his concentration was mostly on the vampiress, who now had him in a strong head-lock, his neck exposed.

“But now he’s dead. But, here you are. You can finally be mine.” Willow said, before sinking her razor-sharp teeth into his neck.

Blood began to pour out of his body, and Xander started to feel light-headed and woozy. He realized that Willow would probably turn him. He always knew that if one of them became a vampire, the other would soon follow. He just always figured he’d get off-ed first.

Splotches of black filled his vision, but all-too-soon, the teeth left the wound, and he was dropped to the floor. He managed to look up and see Buffy standing there, face-to-face with the Vampire Willow.

“Xander, run!” Buffy shouted, obviously greatly shaken to see Willow as a vampire. Xander didn’t have to be told twice. Despite the blood-loss, he managed to make it to his feet and sprint out of the alley. Not towards the Library. And not towards his house.

But towards the Downtown Apartments where Faith lived.

“Willow’s dead.” he whispered afterwards, reaching up and feeling the fang-marks on his neck where she had bitten him.

“Yeah, I knew that.” Faith said, stretching and pulling some of her clothes back on. “The boss hired some vamps to kill her.”

Xander wasn’t even surprised that Faith was against them now. He wasn’t even angry that she did it. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but, he sorta liked the ice-feeling that was coursing through his veins.

Faith herself, however, was surprised to see that Xander wasn’t even reacting to that. ‘Shit,’ she thought, ‘if I would’ve known that he’d been this easy to break it, I would’ve done it first thing when I got here.’

Deciding on something, Faith stood up and said, “Come on Xander, we’re going somewhere.”

Xander was a little bit confused. They’d never gone anywhere before. But, he wasn’t going to make Faith angry with him by asking why. He just finished getting dressed and followed her out.

After about an hour of walking, they reached City Hall. Xander had only been there once in his entire life (for a fifth grade field trip), so when Faith started leading him down winding corridors and long stairways, he began to feel small tinges of fear settling into his ice-veins.

Finally, they made it to a large room marked, ‘Mayor Robert Wilkins III’, and Faith opened the door, and Xander finally came face-to-face with the man who was causing Buffy so much trouble recently.

“Boss.” Faith said in a style reminiscent of some B-rated Gangster movie. “This is Xander.”

The Mayor stood and shook Xander’s hand. “Boy, it sure is great to meet you, Xander. My Faith’s just been talking about you all week long. You’ve become quite the little project for her.”

Xander was confused. He didn’t understand any of this. “Project?” he asked, his voice sounding small in the office where he felt like he started to belong there already.

“Oh, she hasn’t told you yet, has she?” the Mayor said, his smile dropping a bit. “Well then, let’s just say, you’ve caught both of our attention now. You’re quite the looker, you know. I’m sure there’s plenty of girls chasing after you left and right.”

Xander just shook his head. The Mayor smiled again and said, “Oh, that’s a bit of a shock. Oh well, you’re with Faith anyways. I may not be Mr. Perfect, but if there’s anything I hate, it’s non-monogamous relationships.”

Xander nodded. The Mayor suddenly looked serious, and said darkly, “But, if you ever do anything to hurt my Faith, I will have to be ... unpleasant about it. Especially if you tell that annoying blonde Slayer about her.”

Xander shook his head again and said, “I haven’t told them anything yet ... and I ... really don’t think that they’d understand anyways.”

The Mayor just smiled again and said, “I see that you’re a smart young man. I like that.” Motioning to one of his non-vampire guards, he said, “Escort this young man out, please. I would like to have a word with Faith.”

The man led Xander out of the building, while Faith and the Mayor talked.

“He’s nice, Faith.” the Mayor said again, sitting back down on his chair. “I think I would’ve liked Angelus better, but it’s really your choice.”

“Angelus couldn’t keep his mouth shut anyways.” Faith said. “And besides, I think he’ll turn out just fine after a few more weeks of lovin’.”

The Mayor grinned and then frowned in serious thought. “You know, he’s kinda sickly-looking though. Kinda on the smaller side too. Maybe I should do something to bulk him up some, especially if he decides to help us out come Graduation.”

“Like what, Boss?” Faith asked. “Give him some steroids or something?”

“Kind of.” With that, the Mayor stood and opened his closet of Magical things he had collected over the years. He grabbed a few flasks of a dark liquid and then shut it, walking back over to his desk and setting the five large flasks in front of Faith.

“What is this stuff?” Faith asked, picking one up and looking at it. “It kinda looks like blood.”

“That’s because it is, Faith.” the Mayor said, grabbing one and holding it up. “High quality vampire blood. This stuff packs quite a wallop. When a dying person drinks some, it grants them eternal life, but when a healthy person has it, it increases their speed, strength, and other things.” He winked at Faith before handing her the bottle back. “Make sure he drinks all of these within the next week, and the results should be permanent. Just, don’t tell him what it is ... maybe mix it into his food or something ... but make sure he has some.”

Faith nodded and put some of them into her bag.

“Oh ... god ... right there! Harder, god damn it, harder!”

Xander grunted as he slammed harder and harder into Faith, who was cringing beneath him. He was about to shoot off inside of her, when she pushed him off of her and straddled him again, sitting on top of him.

“Close your eyes ... fucking close your eyes, Xander.” she screamed, raking her sharper-than-usual nails down his chest, leaving long gashes in their wake.

Xander’s eyes snapped closed as he continued to move up into her.

Faith, meanwhile, reached under the pillow and retrieved the second flask, and said, “Xander, drink this.” before holding it up to his lips and tipping it back.

Xander felt the coppery substance fill his mouth for a second time in two days. He had no idea what it was, but Faith said to drink it, and so he did. The day before, he had slightly worried that it was poison, but he had quickly gotten over it.

The thick liquid coated his throat and the insides of his mouth. Soon, it was gone, and the flask was tossed aside. Xander opened his eyes and took in the new ceiling of Faith’s new apartment that the Mayor had given to her, before pulling them down and back to her. He reached down, in between their bodies, and gave her clit a rough scrape, sending her flying over the edge.

Her inner muscles clamped down on him from the pressure of her orgasm, and he was soon coming inside of her, tasting the stuff in his mouth and feeling her on him and nearly loosing consciousness.

By the time his senses returned, he saw Faith holding up another flask. “Drink another before you leave.” she said, tossing it to him.

“Why?” he asked, taking the large chance and asking her a question. She merely shrugged and said, “The Boss wants you to drink it, and so, you’ll drink it.”

Xander had nothing to say to that, so he tipped the flask back and let the coppery taste flood his senses once more.

Later on, he met Willow and Buffy at the cemetery for some patrolling. He hadn’t wanted to go, but Faith urged him to. She said that he wasn’t spending enough time with his friends, and that they would become suspicious of what he was doing with his time.

Xander himself had almost felt disappointed when he found out that Willow wasn’t dead; it had been a vampire double from another world ... a world where the Master had rose and Buffy never came ... and he was some bad-ass vampire who struck fear in people’s hearts.

It scared him that he was impressed by that. It scared him that he was almost mad that Willow wasn’t really a vampire. It scared him that he wanted Vampire Willow to finish the job.

He knew that he hadn’t always thought like that ... he had once been a happier person, he knew. Not even that long ago. He had once thought about Buffy, Cordelia, and Willow, like goddesses.

Now, they were just girls. Faith was a goddess, raised up above them on a pedestal.

“So, I was talking to Wesley, and he started blaming me for Faith’s recent behavior!” Buffy said, throwing her hands up. “I’m sitting here, trying to get ahead of Faith’s every move, and he’s standing there, watching my every move like I might turn into a serial killer. At least I have feelings.”
“Faith has feelings.” Xander said softly, his facade that he carried constantly around his friends anymore wearing thin. “She’s just not like you. She’s had a tough life.”

“So what?” Buffy said. “She gets a ‘it doesn’t matter how many people you killed card’?”

“Didn’t Angel get one?” Xander shot back, not caring whether or not the Slayer took offense to that remark.

Immediately, Buffy’s face went cold, and she was about to say something else when two demons jumped over some picnic tables (only Sunnydale has picnic tables in a cemetery), heading for the Slayer.

“Willow ... Xander, get back!” Buffy yelled as she instantly got into a fighting stance.

Xander just stood there, however, feeling the sudden urge to fight instead of run, even though those demons were much bigger than him. He could feel Willow tugging on his arms, screaming, “Xander! We have to get out of here! Xander!”

But a demon managed to get around Buffy, heading towards Willow and Xander. Buffy was hurt, her hand scratched by the demon, and she was gaining a slight advantage, but there was no way she could get to them in time.

Something in Xander suddenly snapped, and he walked up to the demon and let a punch loose to it’s stomach. Surprisingly, he knocked the demon over. But, he didn’t let up on his assault. Soon, Xander was fighting the demon like ... a demon would.

Buffy managed to kill the demon she was fighting, and turned around to see Xander pummeling the other. Anyone else would put it out of it’s mercy, but Xander was just beating on it. And ... he was growling too.

Willow looked petrified, and Buffy found herself unable to move as Xander finally finished it, ripping the demon’s heart out with his bare hands.

Xander looked up, and took off into the forest next to the graveyard without a word. Buffy took off after him, but even she couldn’t keep up.

“So, you’re saying that Xander was ... fighting this demon like ... a demon?” Giles asked, wiping off his glasses. “Well, perhaps he’s been taking ... classes or something to learn new techniques.”

“I don’t think so.” Buffy said, peeling back the band-aid on her hand and looking at the small flesh wound. “He was seriously scary. I’ve never seen any human look like that before. It was like, everything that he was about was killing this demon. And he was stronger than ... maybe even me. And when he ran off, he outran me too.”

Giles sighed. “Well, we do live on a Hellmouth, and the paranormal does tend to seek Xander out. Perhaps it is worth researching.”

Willow came into the library just then, setting her books down gently and sitting down, obviously tired.

I wonder what’s wrong with Xander.

“Yeah, me too, Willow.” Buffy said.

Willow looked up at her, confusion marring her face. “I didn’t say anything, Buffy.”

“So, Buffy can read our minds?” Cordelia said. “Whew-y.”

Willow smiled and said, “Well, I think its great, right? I mean, you enjoy your other slayer powers...

“Yeah, it’ll be fun.” Buffy said, smiling back. “And did you see Nancy Doyle’s face in English class today?”

“Yeah, she’s super competitive.” Willow said.

She’s hardly even human anymore, she thought. How can I be her friend now? She doesn’t need me!

“No, I do need you!” Buffy said, trying to reassure Willow.

For the next couple of minutes, Buffy idly listened to every, both talking and in their minds. She thought it was interesting how much Wesley thought of Cordelia, and how much Cordelia thought of ... no one but herself.

The doors to the Library opened, and Xander walked in. Buffy felt her breath stop as she listened ... not wanting to pry ... but still feeling scared and wondering what was wrong with her friend.

Looks like everyone’s already here ... I can’t say that it looks like they missed me much. There was almost a small, sickening laugh in his head for a moment. Buffy shivered. God, my back hurts. I wish Faith would quit using that knife. I know the Mayor gave it to her and all, but that doesn’t mean she has to use it on me all the time! At least, not when I don’t ask ...

Buffy felt her stomach knot up in fear as Xander mumbled a small, “Hi.” and took a seat at the main table. There was a hush in the room to all but Buffy as the thoughts began to swirl around him.

God ... I hope he got over whatever was bugging him last night. I’ve never seen anyone ... not even Buffy ... take down a demon like that.

The last was clearly from Giles. Buffy, I’m assuming that you can hear this. In any case, I agree with you; there is something wrong with him. He has never looked quite this, off, before. I suggest you speak with me and the others later ... perhaps without him present?

“Geez, if you guys keep staring at me like that, you’re faces will freeze like that.” Xander said lightheartedly, even though Buffy could hear what he was saying beyond the smile and the goofy jokes.

It must be so easy to be them, he was thinking. To be so ... different. Did I used to be like that? I don’t think that I can remember anymore. Everything used to be simpler, I know that. Black and white. Humans are good, and demons are bad. But ... god, I must be losing my mind ... I’m talking to myself like someone’s in here ...

Suddenly, his gaze turned to Buffy, and he caught her staring at her. Suddenly, she felt her head began to pound, and another voice broke through them all, not sounding like anyone she had ever met before.

GET OUT OF HIS MIND!!!

Buffy winced as she laid her head down on the Library table again. The past two days had been awful ... she had been in so much pain from hearing everyone’s thoughts and feelings. People all around her were constantly hurting, and even though she was the slayer, she knew that there wasn’t a single damn thing she could do about it.

But, nothing scared her quite as much as Xander’s thoughts. Even after the strange voice had practically knocked her unconscious, she still could hear thoughts coming from him ... not as loud as the others, but like demented whispers.

He was in trouble, she knew that much. Something was wrong with him. Something had been for a while now, and no one had really noticed. She knew that he was somehow connected to Faith, and possibly the Mayor. But, Buffy didn’t want to think about that. Xander knew that she was in a fight against the Mayor; he couldn’t possibly be in with them ...

But, even as she talked to the others later on that night, without Xander there, she kept feeling like she was wrong.

And that things were about to get worse.

“Faith?” Xander asked, walking into the main room of her larger apartment. “Faith, are you here?”

“Sure am.” she said, walking out of her closet with her knife in hand. Xander winced. He didn’t like that knife much. “We’re going out.” she said, handing him the small dagger and grabbing a bow and a few arrows. “Boss has a job for us.”

Xander knew better than to ask questions, he just wondered what it was. The last (and only time) the Mayor had asked him to do something, involved something with spells and the Ascension. He hadn’t liked the way it made him feel. It made him feel dark, and powerful. In a way that he didn’t like, even more so than the vampire blood Faith had made him eat to become stronger (the Mayor had filled him in on that little piece of information; strangely, he didn’t really care).

The two walked silently to the peer, where Faith sat down, as if waiting for something. Since she wasn’t in the mood to talk, Xander just waited as well.

Soon, a man pulled up in a car and got out. He was holding a large box of some kind. Another car arrived shortly, and Xander saw two of the Mayor’s vampire’s get out and approach the man.

Faith picked up the bow and one arrow and aimed it at the man. He started talking with the vampires below, like he was negotiating with them or something, and then they said something to him.

He looked up a moment before Faith let go of the arrow, and his eyes locked with Xander’s. Xander, himself, had never seen a human truly die, and for him to watch someone who knew that they were going to die was ... a gut-wrenching feeling that he was unprepared for.

Faith wasn’t affected, however, and shot the man down with only one arrow. “Surprise.” she said softly, jumping down with Xander following her.

She went to grab for the box, but he was connected to it by a set of handcuffs.

“You killed him.” one of the vampires said, sounding surprised.

Faith just shrugged. “What are you, the narrator? Keys to the cuffs?”

The vampire searched the dead man, but came up empty-handed.

“Oh well.” Faith said, looking over to Xander. “Babe, you still got my knife?”

Xander nodded, feeling dread creep into him by the tone of her voice.

“Could you just cut this big thing off of him?” she asked sweetly. “I’d do it myself, but, the Boss doesn’t like my new clothes to get dirty.”

Xander didn’t move. “You mean ... I don’t think that the knife will cut through steel, Faith.”

She smiled back at him in a way that meant she knew all too well that it wouldn’t. “That doesn’t matter. I know that it’ll cut through bone.” When Xander just continued to stare at her some more, she practically growled at him, “Listen up, Xander. I already did the bad stuff. He’s already dead, and we need that box. So, you gonna do it here, or do I have to take you home first and show you how it’s done?”

Xander started to shake as the words sunk it. Faith was serious ... but, he had never defiled someone before. It was really too much.

So, he just reacted. He grabbed the knife from his coat pocket, and watched in morbid fashion as it glinted in the moonlight.

And, under Faith’s constant praise and approval, he managed to cut off the dead man’s hand, and remove the box.

“Xander, you did a great job tonight.” Faith said seductively, pulling Xander into one of the Mayor’s many conference room. “I would usually wait until we got home ... but I just want you now ...” She trailed her fingers coyly down her body, taking the time to fondle herself and grab and the jean-clad area between her thighs.

Xander, who was going on his lowest brain-functions only, reached out to crush their lips together. He saw sparks as she literally tried to suck all of the breath out of him. Their tongues dueled for a little bit before he started to rub her taunt nipples through the fabric of her thin shirt.

Faith moaned with need, and turned Xander around, unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it violently off of him, never breaking contact with his lips.

For a few more moments, the two just roamed each other with their hands and lips, before Xander’s hands started a downward journey to Faith’s pant-line, opening the button there and just massaging her lower stomach area.

Faith pulled away from Xander long enough to clear a spot off of the table and laid down on it, her legs down and spread off of the edges.

Xander obediently kneeled in front of her, licking her soaking cunt through the fabric of her pants. He felt her strong hands grasp his hair painfully as he started to remove her pants, thankful that, as always, Faith was without underwear.

Without any more suggesting, Xander’s warm tongue delved into Faith’s warmth, pumping in and out in an imitation of sex.

Faith was moaning and squirming above, but Xander kept his slow tempo, running his fingers up and down Faith’s thighs in time with his tongue thrusts.

After a few more seconds, he licked his way up to Faith’s clit, sucking on it harshly as he placed two fingers inside of her. She thrashed above him, her nails leaving welts up and down his upper back where she could reach.

Finally, he finished her off, biting down hard on her as his fingers curved up inside of her and relentlessly pounding on her G-spot.

Faith bit her tongue to hold back her scream and her orgasm overwhelmed her.

After it was over, Xander, who was now pant-less, crawled up to her and kissed her. She could taste herself in his mouth and it made her all-the-more hornier.

“I want you ... in me ... right now!” she screamed, flipping them over and taking place in her favorite spot; dominant and on top.

Now it was Xander’s turn to scream as she pounded down on him, scraping her nails up and down his body and biting his nipples as she did so. He tried to touch her as well, but she simply held both of his arms back with one hand.

Even though Xander could probably move his hands because he was stronger, he decided not to.

After all, what Faith wants, Faith gets.

Xander was near his release when Faith stopped suddenly, moving him out of her and reaching to something behind him. Xander nearly cried out in frustration, but Faith simply held a single finger to his lips.

“Shush, babe. It’s just your turn now.” Faith said, handing him the knife. “Just, be nice about it, okay? I don’t want scars and all that.”

She impaled herself on him again, except this time, she was farther up, and her breasts where right above his mouth, and she was laying on him.

It was a new and a bit difficult position for the both of them, but Xander only had a little trouble breathing as he suckled on her, tracing the knife along her back, only leaving a few shallow cuts and some scratches.

All too soon it was over, and with dual screams, they both came, pouring into each other their frustration.

After they were dressed again, the two proceeded just to make out for a while, until the alert buzzers went off.

“Yeah they do have the box,” Faith said, entering the room. “-but looky what we got.”

Her knife, which was still slightly covered in her own blood, was pointed to Willow’s neck as she dragged the witch into the Mayor’s office, Xander following, trying to not look at Willow’s eyes, begging him to rescue her when he knew that he couldn’t.

The Mayor just smiled and said, “Faith, take the girl to one of the conference rooms, possibly one without windows? Xander, you can stay here ... I think I might have a thing for you to do.”

Xander just nodded as Faith took Willow out of the room, already knowing where she was going to take her.

As soon as the two girls (and the two vampire guards) entered the conference room, Willow wrinkled up her nose.

“What’s that smell?” she asked, looking around.

Faith laughed and said, “That’s me and Xander, Red. You know, right before you and the others decided to drop in and crash the fun here, Xander and I were doing it ... right in here.”

Faith could feel the red-head living up to their famous temper as she ground out the words, “What have you done to him?”

Faith smiled and pushed Willow farther into the room, letting her go. “Nothing that you couldn’t have prevented. If you would have noticed anything, you could have stopped me from making him mine. But now? He’s mine ... he’s on my side. And, when I kill you ... he won’t do anything but watch.”

With that, Faith left the room, with the vampires following her and locking her in. Only then would she cry.

And plan.

“This must really be hard for you.” the Mayor said after motioning for Xander to sit. “I mean, betraying your old friends for your new ones ... it must be difficult.”

Xander just nodded.

“Do you know what the Ascension is going to be like, Xander?” Xander shook his head. “I didn’t think so. Faith really doesn’t know that much about it, but I think I’ll tell you a few things, just to help you understand what’s going on with you.

“You see, for me, when I ascend, I will be turning into a demon. My body will turn into a demon, and I will ... change. I will become my destiny.

“Now, for you, it’s almost the same thing. Right now, you’re changing. You were once a person, and after this all, you’ll be a completely different person. Not necessarily because you wanted to, but just because you did. And, depending on which way you look at things, you’ll either be a lot better off than before, or a lot worse. Now, tell me, Xander, with more than just one word, do you feel different now? Like, of a different nature?”

Xander thought for a moment before answering. “I feel different, yeah. Stronger, faster, like I could take on the person I was and kill him without a thought. And sometimes, it scares me, because I don’t know if I would’ve liked the person I’m becoming. I’m betraying my friends, and working for someone who is ... on a different level of thinking than what I’m used to. Maybe just ... older, in a way.”

The Mayor smiled. “I thought as much. Gosh, you kids today! It’s about time most of you grew up! When I was eighteen, I was already working. I knew the hardships in life, and not everything I wanted got handed to me on a silver platter. I had to work hard to get where I am today. But kids these days just sit around and expect to get whatever they want given to them like they deserve it or something. That’s the kind of person you where. But now, even though some may say you’ve seen too much ... you really haven’t. You’re just more experienced for more world issues. Everyone’s going to die sooner or later, except for me and a few other immortals.” The Mayor laughed at that for a moment before continuing. “And you can’t let a few death’s get in your way. You’ve come far, Xander. You’ve seen things, and now you’re stronger because of it; you feel older, because finally, you’ve grown up.”

Xander nodded. He got that ... it made sense to him. Not everything was happy and good - he’d known that all of his life - but when he had been hanging out with Buffy and the others more, he had felt different about the way of the world. Buffy was the Slayer, Buffy was good and she was always right, no matter what.

Now, things weren’t so clear on that side anymore. Buffy wasn’t always right. She thought too much with her emotions. She couldn’t manage to kill Angelus before he had killed Ms. Calendar, she had run away when she finally did, and even now, she was living in a dream, doomed to forever remember the romance that could never be.

Faith entered the room, smirking slyly. "I have the witch in the third-floor conference room." she said, noticing the small blush that started to creep up Xander's face.

Either the Mayor didn't notice the tension between the two, or didn't care. He just smiled. "Well, good then. Now, all we have to worry about is getting my box back. The things that are inside of it are crucial for the Ascension."

Xander looked towards the ground. "Don't worry about it." he said quietly. "They know how important that box is, but they won't give up Willow for it. They'll probably get a hold of you soon, asking for a trade of some kind."

When Xander looked up again, he noticed the Mayor's approving stare aimed right at him. "Way to go!" he said, happily. "This is what I was talking about. Growing up. If they were like you, and they knew what was best for them, they would destroy the box now, even if it was at the cost of a friend's life. But they aren't like that, and, unfortunately for them, they'll all die."

A moment later, one of the Mayor's vampires rushed in. He bowed to the Mayor first before saying, "The Slayer has just called. She wants you to meet her in the cafeteria at the high school at midnight to trade the girl for the box."

The Mayor nodded and let the vampire go. "See? Irrational. It makes no sense to me."

Faith turned to the Mayor. "Xander should go get the girl now. They probably have some, talking, to do."

Xander looked at Faith, hoping that she hadn't really said that. Hoping that his mind was just playing tricks on him.

"Why, that's a great idea, Faith!" the Mayor said happily, standing up. "I'll get ready to go, and you can go get the girl, Xander. Just don't take to long."

He was rushed out of the room by Faith, who whispered in his ear, "Show her what you've got, lover."

Willow kept pounding at the door, hoping that maybe she could break it down or something. And then kill the several vampire guards who had to be standing outside the door. And then manage to escape. And then get across town and back to the high school without getting killed.

Things weren't looking too good for her.

Finally, exhausted and in pain from throwing herself at the door too many times, Willow collapsed on the ground just a few feet away from the door.

A moment later, the door opened to reveal Xander, standing all alone without any guards behind him. Willow felt a rush of relief come over her as she pulled herself up to embrace her friend. "Oh my god, Xander!" she cried out as she hugged him, not noticing how he wasn't returning the embrace. "I thought for a moment there that you were really working with the Mayor and Faith! So, what's the plan? Did you kill those vampires? How are we going to get out of here?"

Xander pulled away from her and said, "I'm going to take you upstairs, and then the Mayor is going to take you to the high school, where he'll trade you off for the box. And then, he's going to come back here ... and do whatever it is he needs that box for."

At first, the words didn't register for Willow. Xander didn't have a plan. Xander didn't even try to think of one. "What?" she finally managed to ask.

Xander's cold face just stared at her for another second before breaking out into an even colder smile. "What? Did you think I was here to save you? That I was going to come and take you away from all the bad? Sorry, but I can't do that. Faith would literally skin me if I even thought about it."

Willow was shocked. "What are you trying to say, Xander? That ... that the stuff that she said you were doing is ... true?"

"Of course it's true!" Xander said, backing another step away from her. "It's been going on for weeks now. While all of you were busy nattering and complaining about your miserable and worthless lives, she was with me, getting rid of that pathetic loser you used to love and making me ... making me the man I am today."

"What happened to you, Xander? What did they do to you?" Willow asked, trying to get closer to the person she had thought was her best friend.

"They didn't do anything to me." Xander said. "Faith and I ... she didn't do anything. Sure, she might've given me some incentive to change ... but truthfully, don't you think it's been a long time coming? How long have I been the Zeppo, Willow?"

"The what?" Willow asked.

"The Zeppo. The loser. The one person out of the entire gang without any redeeming qualities. How long was I like that? How many years did I have to put up with being the odd man out?" Xander said, finally letting the years of pent-up frustration and anger come out in full force.

"You were never like that!" Willow screamed. "Just because you weren't magically inclined or super-strong doesn't mean you were useless!"

Xander laughed, and Willow felt chills run up and down her spine. "You've always sucked at lying, Wills. Remember that night? The night when you, Buffy, Giles, Angel ... when everyone fought to save the world without me? The night when you told me that I was useless and would just get hurt? I should've figured it out then. I didn't need you, I never have. While you were busy saving the world, I was busy in the basement, all alone, saving you from being blown up."

Willow just shook her head, trying to quiet the voices that were going through her. "What? What do you mean, you were in the basement?"

"Let's just say that some of the Sunnydale dead were trying to blow up the school, and I stopped them." Xander replied. "But it doesn't matter. I didn't need you then, and I don't need you now. Because I'm not the Zeppo anymore. I'm strong now. I'm fast and deadly. And I feel good ... better than ever before."

Willow felt tears stinging her eyes. "You're not ... you can't feel good Xander." she cried. "Whatever is making you stronger ... it's not good. It's evil. It's changing you, making you different."

"Well, yeah it's changing me. What else would drinking a few quarts of vampire blood do to me? Make my skin not-so-oily?"

"They made you drink vampire blood?" Willow asked. "Why?"

"To make me stronger. And I am. I really, really am. Willow, what I said before is true. I have to be taking you up to the Mayor now, because Buffy is stupid. Stupid and childish. She knows that if she destroys the Mayor's box of whatever, that the Ascension will be completely averted. And many more people who will die when it happens will be saved. All for the cost of one life; yours. But, she's willing to kill so many more people, including you, by giving you just a few more days to live."

"That's not childish." Willow said, finally growing angry. "That's called friendship. You used to know what that meant, Xander. But now ... you don't know anything. You think you've changed so much, that you've got so much better. You're not. Faith ... the Mayor ... they're not your friends. They'll just use you until it kills you. You think that you're stronger? You weren't the Zeppo before, Xander. You were a real person, trying to make a difference. You didn't have any super powers or magic to fall back onto. You were the strongest out of all of us.

"But, not anymore. Xander, you're the Zeppo now. You're just like a dog. Your Mayor tells you what to do, and you follow him. He'll get you killed, and you don't even care."

The words hurt Xander. He didn't think that they could, but they did. They hurt him. "Shut up." he said coldly, his eyes betraying some of his inner emotions finally.

Willow saw that, and tried to take it as an opportunity to break Xander. "But, you don't have to be. Xander, you can change back. You don't have to be the Zeppo. You could help us win, help us to kill the Mayor and beat Faith. You can live. You don't have to-"

"SHUT UP!" Xander yelled, punching Willow as hard as he could and sending her flying through the room, landing on top of the large conference table.

"You don't know me! You don't know anything!" He yelled at the confused witch. "I don't want Faith to die! I want you to die!"

The last thing Willow saw before falling unconscious was Faith's face from behind the door, laughing at her.

"Do you think that they'll show, Buffy?" Angel asked from the darkness behind the Slayer. "It's ten past midnight. They should be here."

"Oh, he'll be here." Buffy whispered, feeling the box in her arms. "We have something he needs."

That exact moment, all the lights and power cut out in the cafeteria, and Buffy knew. "Get ready," she warned, "here they come."

The doors to the cafeteria flung open as two of the Mayor's vampire minions opened them. The next moment, the Mayor came in, followed by Faith and then...

"Xander..." Buffy whispered.

Xander, who was holding a barely conscious Willow up by the shoulders and holding a sharp-looking dagger to her throat.

"Xander ..." Buffy said a little louder. "What did you do to him?"

Faith rolled her eyes. "Not this story again. If everything pans out well, Red will tell you once she wakes up. For now, let's just say Xander's got a whole new change of perspective."

Without anything else being said, the trade went as planned. Xander threw Willow into Buffy's arms once the box was in the Mayor's hands.

"Well, it's been good doing business with you, Buffy Summers." the Mayor said politely as he turned to leave the building, followed by Faith and Xander.

"Xander ... wait!" Buffy screamed at her friend, watching as he turned back to face her. "Stay with us ... don't go back to him. Whatever's going on, you don't want to be on his side."

"Whatever Buffy. I think I'm on the right side for once, considering how you're all going to be dead in a few days anyways." Xander said, turning to leave once more.

Angel, however, wasn't going to let the boy threaten Buffy. He ran up to Xander and tried to tackle him. Unfortunately, the boy managed to throw him off, only getting a small cut on the top of his arm.

But that's all Angel needed.

"You're not even human anymore." Angel said, smelling the air and detecting demon-tinted blood. "Whatever you are, you're not Xander anymore. And if you ever threaten Buffy again, I will kill you."

Xander just laughed and looked at Angel right in the eye, and Angel swore he saw something else lurking beneath those brown depths. "You really think so?"

With that, Xander left, leaving everyone to stare at him in shock.

Minutes later, the remaining members of the infamous Scooby gang where in the Library, crowding around the research table as Willow told her story.

"-and then he said that he had been fed vampire blood, and that it made him stronger. And then he started talking about how childish we were being for making a trade to save my life. And then, I guess I called him on it all ... telling him how stupid he was being for making these choices. And then I offered to help him out, but then he punched me ... it gets really fuzzy after that."

"They made him drink vampire blood?" Buffy asked. "Angel ... was that what you were picking up on in the cafeteria?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was smelling. His blood was tainted, really tainted. Like, a complete mix of human and demon blood, no predominance between the two."

"So, does drinking vampire blood without being bitten make you a vampire too? Or a half-breed?" Buffy asked.

Giles sat down and started to polish his glasses. "Well, it shouldn't."

"You knew about this?" Buffy asked, startled. "You knew about people doing this and you never told me?"

Giles shook his head. "It's not like it's common anymore. The practice of drinking vampire blood is nearly dead. It originated back in the Ancient Roman era, where athletes could purchase vampire blood off the old black market and drink it to become stronger." Giles said, leafing through a book. "But, the effects never lasted very long, and never made a person more ... demon. I think that something else is in the works here. Even if Xander had consumed great amounts of vampire blood, he shouldn't be part demon from it."

"Well, the Mayor has been doing some freaky spells lately to get ready for the Ascension." Willow said. "Maybe the spells are affecting Xander ... and maybe Faith too?"

"Or else the Mayor is casting spells on Xander and making him part demon from it?" Buffy asked. She moaned and massaged her head. "I still can't believe Xander would do something like this. Get with Faith ... let her manipulate him like this ... it's not like him."

"That's why I believe something else is wrong." Giles said. "Something must've happened before all of this ... something that may have made him feel excluded from the group."

Willow thought for a moment before remembering what Xander had said to her. "He said ... he said that before all of this happened that he felt like the Zeppo ... the odd man out in a group of ... powerful people. He said that he stopped some dead people from blowing up the school on that night that the Hellmouth opened again. Maybe ... maybe the Hell mouth's opening had some effects on him ... I mean, it did on us didn't it?"

"It did?" Buffy asked. "When?"

Giles sighed. "Usually, whenever a Hellmouth opens, the people surrounding it when it does are usually effected by the negative energies it releases into the air. The effects might be small and unnoticeable, or the person affected might turn into a serial killer."

Buffy thought for a moment. "Oh my god ... it all makes sense now."

"What makes sense, Buffy?" Angel asked.

"Well, right after the Hellmouth opened, me and Faith got into the 'bad Slayer girls' thing in a bad way. For a while there, we were both crazed. And then, Faith killed that guy. And then, Xander started seeing Faith ... and Willow got all angry because we called her 'Old Reliable', and even you were a bit temperamental for a few days, Giles."

Giles frowned. "Of course, it all fits! The Hellmouth must've released something from Faith that made her as she is now, and Xander too. It must've effected them both more than the rest of us."

"And it couldn't of helped how they were screwing left and right, sharing the power between them." Willow commented quietly.

Buffy sighed. "Well, now we know how it all happened ... how do we stop them now?"

No one answered her.

“Now, if you two crazy kids don’t mind,” The Mayor said, happily. “I need to consume the contents of this box, and trust me when I say, you don’t want to be here for that.”

“No problem.” Faith said. “I’m sure we can entertain ourselves.”

Xander didn’t say anything, and both Faith and the Mayor noticed that he was staring intently at the large closet in the corner of the room.

“Well, it looks like someone’s curiosity has been piqued.” The Mayor said, smiling.

“What’s in there?” Xander asked, inching towards the closet eerily.

The Mayor continued to grin. “Well, why don’t you look for yourself.”

Without saying another word, Xander opened the closet doors, basking in the energies he could feel pouring from the dark space. Letting his new senses guide him, he reached under a large skull of some kind of demon, grasping for a small vial under it that was just begging for his attention.

“This.” Xander said, motioning towards the vial. “This is lethal to vampires, isn’t it?”

The Mayor simply nodded. “Yes. The name is latin, Asesino de los Muertos , and that roughly translates to ’Killer of the Dead’. I got it from a friend in the Amazon region of South America. I haven’t had the chance to really test it out yet, but I hear that it packs quite a wallop.”

Xander nodded, and turned the flask upside down. “Mind if I borrow it?”

“Got anyone in mind to use it on?” The Mayor asked.

“Angel.” Xander said, a cold tone in his voice that would have made even grown men quiver.

Richard Wilkins nodded, and said, “Then, by all means, take it. But, in return for it, would you do a little favor for me?”

Xander turned back towards the seemingly-defenseless man, and nodded. “Name it.”

“So, what were you doing there?” Buffy asked Angel on the walk home from the butcher shop. “I mean, besides the obvious, I mean, how else do you get your blood?”

It had been only two days since the incident with Xander and the Mayor, and since then, Angel and Buffy hadn’t spoken. Mostly it was due to the hanging threat in the air Angel had made on Xander’s life, but a small part of it was due to the fact that they knew, if they ever survived the Ascension, something drastic would change in their lives.

“I came to talk to you, actually.” Angel said, preparing to deliver the speech he had been practicing for nearly two days. “I know that the past few days, weeks, even this entire year, have been really hard. And, now, with this whole Ascension thing coming up ... I just want you to know something.”

“What?” Buffy asked, feeling a small breeze pick up from behind her.

“I just wanted to let you know, that, if we survive, I’m going to leave. I don’t know where I’m going yet, but I can’t stay here in Sunnydale. It’s just ... too hard.”

Buffy wanted to fight it, but she knew that it was the only way it could be. She knew that no matter how much they tried to make it work, love just wasn’t enough in their situation. “I know.”

Angel wasn’t done yet, however. “And, about Xander. What I said to him ... I wouldn’t do it. No matter how much he’s changed, Xander’s still human, mostly, and he still has a soul, no matter how tainted it may be. And, maybe it wouldn’t work, but there is still a chance of reaching him, after this whole thing is over, and helping him out. I didn’t mean that I wanted to kill him.”

Buffy nodded, but her eyes betrayed her emotions. “I don’t think you’re right, Angel. About Xander, or Faith. We tried to help Faith, and look what it did for us. I don’t think I could ever kill them, but, if need be ... I won’t hesitate to turn them both over to the Council and have them locked up.”

Angel looked at Buffy, and then said, “Buffy, you don’t know that. There’s always a chance that-”

Angel was immediately cut off by an arrow that lodged itself into his chest, barely missing his heart by a couple of inches.

Buffy stared at him as he collapsed to the ground, falling down with him as she looked around desperately to find his assailant.

Meanwhile, on the top of a nearby building, Xander laid the bow down, his vampire assistant noting that he missed the heart.

“Meant too.” Xander said.

“So, did you do it?” Faith asked excitedly as Xander walked in the front door of her apartment.

“Hell yeah, I did it. It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. I’m standing there, and she’s looking every direction, trying to find me. Dumb bitch, the arrow obviously came from above her, but she’s too dense to even figure that out. She was even crying by the time I left.”

Faith smiled and opened herself more on the bed, moaning softly as Xander pounced on the bed right on top of her, barely taking a second to unbutton his jeans so he could roughly enter her.

Faith raked her nails down his back as he thrusted, panting out, “I bet ... bet he’ll never threaten you again.”

Xander didn’t even slow down, not answering her, and moving his mouth to her throat, biting on it roughly and drawing a small amount of blood from the wound.

Faith groaned and felt her orgasm approaching too quickly for her own tastes, but when Xander was violent and horny, there was really no stopping him. She really didn’t want to either.

The rich, tangy taste of Faith’s potent blood sent a tingle of feelings down Xander’s spine and straight into his erection, making him push even harder into Faith’s drenched channel.

With a strangled cry, both of them came simultaneously. After a few more drawn-out thrusts, Xander pulled out and away from Faith, rolling over to the other side of the bed just as the first few rays of dawn peaked over the window.

“Aren’t you ready for round two?” Faith asked, even though she was a little worn out from round one.

“Maybe later. I need to sleep. Tonight’s going to be a busy night.”

Faith shrugged and rolled over so Xander could spoon up against her. She hugged onto his powerful arms, and for once in her life, finally felt safe and warm in the arms of someone who genuinely cared for her.

“What exactly do you have to do for the Mayor, anyways?” she asked, the random thought popping into her head from somewhere in left field.

Xander just kissed the crown of her head, and let her sink back down into his embrace. “Just some last-minute business to clean up is all.”

Content and warm, the two lovers fell asleep together.

Buffy took a hold of Angel’s hand, knowing that she had never been more scared in her life. Angel was dying, she knew as much. Willow had come in a few minutes ago, with Oz in behind her, to tell her that this potion, this ’Killer of the Dead’, was made especially to kill vampires, and that there had only been a couple of vague cases of it ever being cured.

As of now, none of the books described the cure, but they were close to finding it, Willow assured her.

Suddenly, Willow’s shrill voice sounded from the main room of the mansion. Sighing, Buffy stood, giving Angel’s hand a small kiss before walking out to see if Willow had found anything or not.

“We found it Buffy!” Willow said as Buffy entered the room.

“What is it?” Buffy asked.

Willow’s shoulders slumped, as she looked down at the book. “Well, I haven’t read that part yet. I saw ’cure’ and kinda screamed.”

“But, to be honest, it wasn’t a bad kind of scream.” Oz said, rubbing Willow’s head gently.

“Will, whatever it is, we need to know now. I ... I don’t think that Angel has a whole lot of time left.” Buffy said sadly.

“I know that. And I’m reading it now.” Willow said, scanning the book. “Oh ... damn.” she said softly.

“What?” Buffy asked. “It’s not in there?”

Willow shook her head. “I mean, it is in there. It’s just-”

Without a second thought, Buffy snatched the book from Willow’s hands and began to read it out loud. “’To completely reverse the effects ... the infected vampire must drain the blood of the Slayer’.” Immediately, the wheels began to turn in Buffy’s mind, and she reached for her coat.

“Willow, I need you to find, right now, where Faith is staying. Look under anything that may be under the Mayor’s name.” she said, and
Willow reached for her laptop.

Oz looked at Buffy and said, “You know ... if you give Faith to Angel, he’ll kill her, right?”

“Yeah.” Buffy said, watching as Willow scanned a web page for the results of her fast search.

“And you know she’ll probably fight.” he continued.

“Not if she’s already dead when she gets here.” Buffy said, as Willow pointed to an address on the screen. “Rented out to Richard Wilkins the Third.” Willow said.

“Good.”

The fight was brief, but brutal. Two Slayers, an anomaly which, in itself, was never thought of before, fighting to the death.

One might even say that they were like poetry, calculating the other’s moves with a deadly precision.

Anyone else though, would notice the bloodshed and the hatred that sang through the tense air around the two.

In the end, however, experience won over sheer power, and the second Slayer fell.

But, even with a dagger shoved into her stomach, Faith wasn’t going to let Buffy win.

She peered over the edge of her building, seeing the large truck that was on its way towards the building, and looked back into the eyes of someone closer to her than a sister.

An eerie calm descended over Faith, and she spoke (what she believed to be) her final words to Buffy. “All this work, and you’re never going to save him, B. Even if you lock him up, he’s still going to be mine. Say goodbye to him for me.”

With that, she fell backwards, her last thoughts being of the dark-haired boy who would avenge her.

Darkness consumed her, and Faith escaped from the world into her own subconscious.

Meanwhile, Xander creeped along the outside of Professor Wirth’s bachelor pad. This was his favor to the Mayor. This man knew too much about the demon the Mayor was going to become, so he needed to be taken care of.

Brandishing his own dagger (a gift from the Mayor, almost identical to the one he had given to Faith) Xander walked to the front door, ringing the doorbell.

Suddenly, as he heard the old man walk towards the door, everything rushed up to him. What was he doing? He was planning to take a life of an innocent man. He was helping some evil man kill all of his peers and friends. If he went through with this, there was no turning back. No more second chances.

The door opened, and Mr. Wirth looked on at the boy with a strange look of contempt.

Xander’s voice shook as he spoke. “I’m looking for ... for a Mr. Wirth?”

The man just looked at him oddly. “Oh, well, that's me, but I should ask you to come back during office hours. Students generally have to make an appointment.”

Choice made. No regret, no remorse. “Oh, I’m not a student, sir.” Xander said, his voice becoming lighter as he felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders.

He pushed the smaller, weaker man, back into his home, brandishing the knife. “In fact, I work for Mayor Wilkins. He’s very interested in your research.”
The old man stared at the dagger. “Put that away!” he shouted. “I’ll scream.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Xander replied. “But, if you don’t, I will make it quick.”

The man didn’t even have a chance to scream as Xander charged at him, burying the knife deep into the man’s chest. There was a small gurgling sound, and then only quiet as Xander removed the dagger and let the body drop to the floor.

No regret. No remorse.

Closing the door behind him, Xander went off, heading back to Faith’s.

Xander had never liked hospitals. As a child, whenever he had gone to the hospital, it was always to recover from the wounds his father had given to him in a drunken rage. Even as he became older, the word hospital still sent chills up and down his spine.

He could hear voices, in the background. The doctor was talking to the Mayor about something ... but he didn’t care as he ran his hand down his lovers broken face again.

She was still so beautiful, even covered in bruises.

“… well its simply too severe. You know, it’s a wonder she's alive at all, with the blood loss. - I… I'm sorry Sir, there is almost no chance at all that she is ever going to regain consciousness.” The doctor’s words were sinking in, even though he was trying not to listen. Even though he was willing her eyes to open, and for her to tell him that she was okay, and to stop giving him those damned puppy eyes.

Xander looked up to see the Mayor holding Faith’s hand on the other side of his body, the grief written all over his face.

The Mayor whispered softly, “It's your day." before looking up to see Xander’s gaze meeting his. The two of them non-verbally conversed. They were all the other had left.

A nurse rushed into the room, grabbing the doctor by the coat. “We have another girl with severe blood loss. Doctor Pal wants you to prep this on an anti cubal cut down.”

The doctor nodded, and excused himself from the room. He didn’t leave Faith’s side, and within the next few seconds, heard a window busting from the room next to Faith’s.

He noticed that the Mayor was missing, and could be heard softly through the curtains.

Xander peered through, to see Angel and the Mayor squaring off, with Buffy’s frail body behind Angel.

“-if I were you. I'd get set for a *world* of pain! Misery loves company, young man, and I'm looking to share that with you and your *whore*!"

Angel pushed the man backwards, breaking another window in the small room. Angel’s gaze turned up to meet Xander’s, the soft glow of amber undercutting the dark chocolate hues.

Xander broke the stare first, moving down to help the Mayor up. After he was standing again, they noticed the large number of nurses and doctors who had come to see what was going on.

The kind, funny man, facade was back, and the Mayor smiled at the vampire. “"Looks like somebody has been eating his spinach.“ Two nurses started to approach him, but he waved them off. “No, its okay, folks. It's all right. The show's not over, but there will be a short intermission.“

He turned back to look at Angel. “Don't want to miss the second act. All kinds of excitement waiting for you there!”

Angel mumbled something as the two exited the small hospital room, heading off into the early morning air, to plan.

Buffy entered the spacious apartment, looking around at all of the boxes piled around. Faith stood there as well, looking out of the window to the city below.

A small picture frame fell from a counter, holding a picture of Xander on the inside. It shattered into a thousand tiny pieces on the floor.

"Who's going to look after him?" she asked.

“Who knows? Aren’t these things supposed to take care of themselves?" Faith asked, walking up from behind Buffy to stand right next to her.
"A higher power guiding us?"
Faith looked at her before turning away from her. “I’m pretty sure that’s not what I meant.“

Buffy looked around. “There’s something I’m supposed to be doing.”

Faith smiled. “Oh yeah. - Miles to go - Little Ms. Muffet counting down from 7-3-0.”

“Great.” Buffy said, grimacing. “Riddles.”

Faith looked out of the broken window once more. “Sorry, it’s my head. A lot of new stuff.”

Buffy looked at the bed, and for a split-second, saw a girl (Faith?) laying there, dressed in a white hospital gown with bruises and cuts running down her face and arms. But, as soon as the apparition appeared, it disappeared, leaving only one Faith standing in the room.
Meanwhile, Faith never turned around, and asked, "They are never going to fix this, are they?"
"What about you?"
Faith turned around and motioned to her face. "Scar tissue. It fades. It all fades."
Buffy looked down for a moment to her hand and saw the knife, bloodied from Faith, in her hand.

“How am I supposed to stop it? I don’t even know where to begin.” she asked, looking up again at Faith.

“It’s all about change. The journey from youth to adulthood.” Faith said, looking around once more. “He’ll be there.”

Faith looked at Buffy once more. “You want to know the deal? Human weakness - never goes away. Even his.”

Bending over, Buffy picked up the broken picture of Xander. “Which one? Which ‘his’?”

Faith smiled. “Does it really matter?” Walking even closer to Buffy, she moved her hand closer to Buffy’s face. “You ready?”

Faith touched her, and, after a small flash, Buffy opened her eyes to a hospital room.

“So, that’s pretty much the plan.” Buffy said, looking around the library. “So, am I crazy?”

Giles took off his glasses to polish them, sighing as he did so. “Buffy, what you’re trying to propose is ... completely ... run it by me again so I’m sure I’m not just hearing things.”

Buffy took a deep breath and started over. “It’s simple. During graduation, the Mayor is going to Ascend. I say, that we load up the entire class, and fight him. We can get flame throwers, stakes, the whole nine yards. Meanwhile, the class will try to get away, while I lure the Mayor into the school. I’ll get him here, into the library, and, with the help of a few tons of explosives, we’ll blow him up.”

“Okay, I’m not just hearing things.” Giles said, morbidly.

“Well, maybe it’s not the best plan ever.” Cordelia said from the corner. “But it’s the only one we have for the moment, so I say we go for it.”

“How exactly do you know that this will all take place during Graduation?” Wesley asked.

Buffy shrugged. “Faith told me.”

“Was that before or after you put her into a coma?” Willow asked sarcastically.

“After.” Buffy replied.

Giles held his hands up to silence the room. “Even if this does work, exactly how do you plan to lure the Mayor into the school? And you haven’t even begun to account Xander into this plan at all. He will most undoubtedly be there.”

“I’m guessing he’ll be in with the second flank, the group of vamps that will attack the class. If he follows me into the school, I’ll try to get him out before it blows, but I can’t guarantee anything.” Buffy said.

Giles nodded. “Well, it seems we have quite a bit of work to do.”

“Xander, you can come in now.” The Mayor said, shutting his video recorder off and sealing the tape away in the envelope.

The door opened, and Xander let himself in.

“Sit down, please.”

Xander sat, and looked up to the Mayor.

“I know ... I know that this past few months have been trying, and, I know that the events ... that the events of the past two days have been the worst of them all.” The Mayor began, “But, even though we have the obvious advantage over our foes, there’s no real guarantee that we’re going to win this.”

Xander nodded.

“Faith won’t be in a coma forever.” the Mayor continued. “She’s a Slayer, and whatever those doctors say, she won’t stay like that forever. Now, it may be a few months, years even, until she wakes up, but believe me when I say, she will.

“When she wakes up, she’ll be alone in the world again. I want everything for that girl, but the realist in me tends to doubt that if I am gone, she will be able to continue a normal life.

“That’s why I need you to stay alive. If something does go arise, and I die, I don’t want you to go off and do something stupid, like purposely pick a fight with the Slayer to get yourself killed. Right now, I know that’s all you want to do, but you’ll need to wait.

“When Faith wakes up, she’ll need you. If I’m not there for her, she’ll need you.”

“I promise.” Xander said. “I promise that I’ll take care of her.”

“I know you will.” the Mayor said, his eyes shining with pride. “I’ve only taken one wife in my entire life, and to our dismay, we discovered that we could not have children. When I gave away my soul to become immortal, I lost all of my chances to ever have my name and legacy passed on.

“But the Powers work in mysterious ways, Xander. You and Faith are like children to me, the children I could never have. You deserve only the best, and ... hopefully, that’ll be all you can get.”

Xander nodded, and even thought he saw a tear forming in the Mayor’s eye.

The Mayor quickly regained his posture, and coughed loudly before motioning for Xander to leave. “I have to put the finishing touches on my speech. Why don’t you go get some rest?”

Xander nodded, and left.

“Okay, are we ready, then?” Buffy asked, looking at all of the graduating (and surviving) class as they pulled their gowns over the weapons that they wore on top of their clothes.

Most of them nodded, so Buffy continued her speech. “The Mayor will be presenting his speech, and there will be an eclipse. We’re guessing he’s going to ascend during that time. Letters A through G, you are the flame unit. Letters H through L, you’re the flaming arrows unit, and letters M through Z, you guys are the weapons unit. You don’t move until Willow gives the signal, okay?”

She looked around the hall filled with her peers, and sighed. “This is it, guys. The final battle. Our graduation. I realize, that just days ago, you all chose me as the ‘Class Protector’. But, you all need to know that even though many of you aren’t super-strong, or have mystical powers, together, we are strong.

“This is our day.” she said, smiling. “Now, let’s not try to fall asleep during the first twenty minutes, okay?”

There was some cheering, followed by some clapping, as some of the teachers came in to round the students up into a single-file line to go out and present themselves as the (last) graduating class of Sunnydale High School.

“And now, I present to you, our renowned guest speak, Mayor Richard Wilkins, the Third. And if I see one more person shooting spit-wads, none of you will receive your diplomas.” Principal Snyder said, backing down and giving the podium to the Mayor.

He looked out at the crowd of young ones and smiled. “Well, look at us all here. I remember when this class was just a bunch of kindergarteners. You’ve all grown up so much since then, and changed in many, many different ways.”

Getting into the speech, the Mayor paused to look down at his index cards before continuing. “Change is really what it’s all about, isn’t it? Today is a day of change for all of us. For those of you, waiting to get your diplomas and get out of here, it’s about the change from childhood to adulthood. For the rest of us, it’s a change from raising you to walking alongside of you, letting you make your own choices and live your own lives.

“All life is really about is change.” he continued. “Families change, friendships change ... lives can change so easily within moments. How many of our lives have been significantly altered because of loss? How many people who aren’t here today, should be?”

For a moment, Buffy’s and the Mayor’s eyes met, and Buffy swore she saw them glitter with the promise of horrible evil. “But, we’re here, aren’t we? Change is what keeps us from living in the past, and is what-”

His words were cut off suddenly by the drastic darkening of the sky.

From his vantage point, Xander could see that the changes were already beginning, and he motioned for the vampires to move into flanking position.

The Mayor gasped as he felt his bones begin to shift and break within his body. However, he was determined to finish his speech.

“And is what keeps us from falling into a hole of - AAAUUGHH!” he screamed, his cards falling to the floor of the podium in a small pile.

Looking up at the sky, he smiled. “It has begun. The final chapter. My ultimate change.” Looking at the students one more time, he smiled as he said, “Unfortunately, for you, this means that you’re all going to die.”

Without another word being said, his whole frame shifted and grew. The Mayor’s screams of pain were suddenly drowned out by the tearing of both skin and bone.

Xander watched, entrapped, as it happened.

A large snake erupted from the Mayor’s body, and instantly, the parents began to flee. Xander let them go; he was not concerned with them.

His targets were the kids. The ones who had spent the better part of his early years making his life living hell.

No remorse.

The mantra in his head was deafening.

No regret.

Surprisingly, all the graduates did was stand up. None of them ran, which was unexpected.

‘Something’s wrong.’ Xander thought.

“Now!” Buffy screamed, and all of the graduates pulled off their gowns to reveal an arsenal of concealed weapons. In the front, a few flame throwers started up, shooting fire dozens of feet into the air at the unsuspecting Mayor.

“Advance!” Xander yelled, urging the vampires onward to attack. However, he was shocked to see flaming arrows being shot at them from all angles.

Things were beginning to fall apart.

Taking a quick look behind him, he saw Angel, Wesley, and others beginning to surround them from the back. And then, there was the mob of kids as they ran, a few dying, but many of them escaping.

Desperate to get out of the mix, Xander pushed his way through, heading to the main ceremonial area where Buffy and the Mayor were now facing off.

“I took it from Faith. Stuck it in her gut.“ Buffy was telling him, looking at the knife in her hand that Xander recognized as Faith’s. “Just slid in her like she was butter."

Turning around, Buffy saw Xander standing right behind her, glaring at her.

She said a mental ‘I’m sorry’ to him, before turning back around and saying, “You want it back?”

The Mayor just growled at her, his large fangs glistening.

“Come and get it.”

Without warning, Buffy took off in a sprint, heading into the high school, with the Mayor, and then Xander, on her tail.

Just inside the building, Buffy took a sharp turn, and when the Mayor took it, he knocked Xander over with the end of his long tail, knocking him unconscious, and sending a large pile of rocks and debris over him.

Xander lay unconscious in the cafeteria.

Meanwhile, Buffy continued to lead the Mayor through the winding corridors of the high school, trying to look back every now and then to see if Xander was in front of the Mayor, or behind him. She hoped that, for his sake, he would come out in front of him.

The library doors cracked and gave as the Mayor tried to break through them, but by that time, it was too late for him.

Buffy burst from the window, landing right next to Giles, whose hand was on the trigger for the explosives.

Giles turned to Buffy, and asked, “Xander?”

Buffy shook her head, and Giles pushed the lever down.

The last thing the Mayor saw was the five tons of dynamite right in front of his face.

“Well ... gosh.”

“Buffy! You did it!” Willow cried, running up to hug her (tired) friend.

“No, we did it.” Buffy corrected her, returning the hug.

Willow tried to look happy for another second, before her face fell down, and she asked Buffy, “Xander ... did he ... was he-”

Buffy couldn’t meet Willow’s eyes as she answered her. “I ... I saw him run into the high school after the Mayor, but ... when I looked back, I couldn’t see him. I didn’t see him make it out.”

Willow nodded, tears starting to well up in her eyes. She bent her head down into Buffy’s shoulder, and wept.

Soon, the tears came to Buffy’s eyes as well, and, even in spite of their tremendous victory over the evil, in spite of their graduation, they wept for the loss of a friend.

Xander regained consciousness four hours later, buried under a pile of rocks that had actually saved his life.

For the most part, he was confused as to what was going on, but after he managed to pull himself from the rubble, things cleared up instantly.

Graduation. The Mayor’s plan had been a failure. An utter, and complete failure.

The high school ... well, from where Xander stood, he could tell that most of the building was still on fire, and he was lucky he had finally come to, and he needed to get out of there soon, or else he would suffocate.

Prying open a window, Xander hauled himself through the tiny opening, coughing as fresh air entered his lungs.

Fire trucks were everywhere, and students and parents alike huddled next to each other. Xander quickly regained his footing and started to walk away before anyone saw him.

The Mayor’s plan had failed. He needed to get out of Sunnydale. It wasn’t safe for him there anymore, he knew as much.

But, he had two places to go first.

The Mayor’s office was quiet. All of the workers had been given the day off, and not even the security guards were around.

Xander made his way up into the innermost section of the office easily, and once there, pawed his way through all of the Mayor’s belongings, grabbing what he could carry of money, spell ingredients, and a single package containing a videocassette tape.

After he packed all of that (and some clothes he had stored in the building) in a large duffel bag, he headed out, taking one of the city’s cars, to the hospital.

As quiet as the Mayor’s office had been, the hospital was the opposite. Cries were coming from every direction, and there was blood covering most of the walls and floors. Even though they had failed, many had still been injured, or killed. There were coroners picking bodies up in the waiting rooms, and the morgue was filled almost to capacity.

The intensive care unit was brimming with people as well, but Xander found that one room was quieter than most.

Faith still laid there, her bruises healing quickly (due to her Slayer healing abilities) and her heartbeat still regular.

Before he left, Xander held her hand, and kissed her gently on the lips.

The road heading out of Sunnydale was never a really busy road. Hell, Sunnydale wasn’t a really big place, so there was never much traffic.

Xander was heading south. He figured he could wait for awhile in some of the most southern cities; San Diego maybe.

And, after awhile, he could come back.

The Mayor was right, after all. Faith was a Slayer, and no matter what the doctors said, one day, she would wake up again.

Xander smiled cruelly, glancing up in his rear-view mirror before taking the first exit to his right that was labeled, “Orange County”.

And when she woke up, Sunnydale would pay.