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Chain of Ascension

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  • Аннотация:
    Зачастую наши страдания отражаются в том, к чему мы тяготеем, и из всех его удивительных и могущественных друзей именно Ксандер застрял в порочной временной петле. Либо он самый несчастный человек на планете, либо ему действительно уготовано нечто большее. Это путешествие, полное открытий, которое так и не случилось с Ксандером Харрисом.
  Enter the Geek
  Xander-centric fic, that also incorporates canon. This fanfiction is intended for mature audiences and those that can handle mature themes responsibly(I'm serious). Foul language, sexual situations, and violence are prevalent throughout the story. This is your first of many warnings. Additional warnings will be at the top of new chapters.
  
  I tried to write this for anyone, whether they know the fandom or not, but fans of BtVS would get more out of this fic. They would know the Halloween episode among others that will be featured here, or at the very least recall the characters and generally what happens to them.
  
  Ships: Ships are Xander/Cordelia, Xander/Jenny, Xander/Buffy, Xander/Faith, & Xander/Others. Not at the same time. Due to the plot of the story, he can do a lot.
  
  I would like to thank my Betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. They've been a great help finding spots of opportunity for expansion or tweaking, and catching my many mistakes(sorry guys:).
  
  Enter The Geek
  
  This was a geeks room. The old bookshelf was filled with VHS tapes of Star Trek, Star Wars, X-Files, Labyrinth, Back to the Future, other cult classics, and a variety of Asian movies. In tall stacks around the carpeted floor were comic books of the X-Men, Avengers, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Thor, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Justice League, a random mix of obscure characters, and swimsuit editions of Sports Illustrated. Equally stacked on his withered desk and nightstand were trading cards of all his favorite comic characters, board games like Wheel of Fortune, Clue, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Monopoly, and Dungeons & Dragons.
  
  Old posters of curvaceous women-real or drawn-hung on the stained walls like the atmosphere in the room was too muggy for the paper. His trash can was filled to the brim with waste and had a trail of ants commuting in and out of the heap. Old, worn, small, and large action figures of his favorite characters littered any surface they could stand on. The clothes that he didn't bother folding and putting away were in piles that may be clean, dirty, or both. It was the stale room of an affectionate geek who didn't care.
  
  Xander Harris was lying on his unkempt bed when his old alarm blared loud enough to wake the dead. Not unlike most teenagers his age, he hit the snooze button and attempted to return to a dream world where all the girls loved him whether they were famous actresses like Gillian Anderson or Tiffani Amber Thiessen, models like Cindy Crawford, his close friend & reigning unrequited love Buffy Summers, his teacher Ms. Calendar, or if he's really desperate, his nemesis Cordelia Chase. The last beauty woke him up. He hated Cordelia, however, looking at his morning wood pitching a stern tent in his boxers, he couldn't deny she was one attractive woman.
  
  With a frustrated groan, Xander forced himself out of bed, turned on his old tube television, and kept the cartoons rolling while he showered. He took delicate care of his daily stiffy to a picture of Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell-twice-then quickly dressed for the day before his little soldier came back up.
  
  Picking up an open bag of potato chips from the dirty carpet, Xander happily proclaimed, "mnn, breakfast of champs," before stuffing a few comics in his backpack and leaving his messy nerd den.
  
  He checked on his parents in their room and found only his mother lying face-first on her bed. She only managed to take one shoe off and had an empty bottle of liquor on the floor under her dangling hand. When Xander rolled her over and tucked her in, the powerful smell of the local dive bar she went to permeated his nostrils. Xander found his father asleep in the living room with the television still on and simply let him be. He was careful not to step on any of the cans of beer on the stained floor on his way out of his two-story home.
  
  Xander missed the school bus, but he knew how to use public transportation. Though he hated the weirdos and homeless on the metro, he made it to Sunnydale High without trouble. The school day fell on Halloween and the school embraced taping orange paper pumpkins, cartoon-ish monsters, fall-colored balloons & streamers everywhere; in every hall, over every water fountain, on every door, and even in the bathrooms. Xander used to enjoy how festive Sunnydale became during Halloween, that was until he learned all those monsters were real and eager to kill humans.
  
  Like any male student, the only reason Xander was looking forward to Halloween-aside from all the free candy he could pull-was ogling all the hot girls dressed in sluttier outfits. Gorgeous girls in tight Halloween costumes with low necklines and higher skirts that intentionally exposed more skin. He wouldn't be able to afford anything good to wear for himself, but that didn't matter so long as the girls dressed up.
  
  The school was crowded as ever and he had to weave around others in the wide halls to get through, but Xander was all smiles when he met his best friends. They were observing Principal Snyder forcing students to volunteer for the Safe and Sane Halloween program to take kids trick-or-treating. Naturally, the trio did not welcome the idea. Buffy, Willow, and Xander wanted to spend their much-needed holiday having fun together.
  
  As Giles told them a few days ago, ' Halloween is t-typically a slow night for the forces of evil, so, I can't foresee a problem .' A night without hunting vampires, near-death experiences, curses, or tedious research was music to their ears. However, Principal Snyder didn't care about their possible plans. The miniature balding man with the resting sneer-face stopped them before they could escape his field of authority and forced the trio to volunteer.
  
  "Tossing eggs, keying cars, bobbing for apples," Snyder coldly accused them with judgmental eyes. "One pathetic cry for help after another. Well, not this year," he huffed before forcing them to join and explaining costumes were mandatory.
  
  At the student lounge, the three lamented wasting away half of their night chaperoning children, when Xander stepped away from his friends to buy a drink from the vending machine. He was inserting quarters when Larry came up to him. Xander's known the larger jock since middle school and couldn't stand him or his natural physical gifts of life. Strong, fast, handsome, popular, everything Xander wanted, and if that weren't enough, the blond brawny wanted Buffy as well. Like a dog desperate for a bone, Larry wanted to ask Xander for salacious details about one of his best friends.
  
  "I heard she was fast," he said with a lecherous smirk while leering in Buffy's direction.
  
  Like a flipped switch, Xander lost all sense of humor despite replying, "I hope you mean, as in like the wind."
  
  His large blond head turned to Xander and perversely insinuated with a grin, "you know what I mean."
  
  Before Xander even realized what he was doing, he grabbed the man's expensive lapels. "That's it! You don't talk about my friends like that."
  
  Amused, the larger man looked down at Xander's shaking fists gripping his shirt, and asked with a grin, "Yeah? What are you going to do about it?"
  
  Xander truly tried to push the 6'2 boy into the soda machine, but the heavier Larry barely moved. The blond jock snorted at the pathetic attempt before cocking his fist back, ready to deck the wincing Xander when Buffy casually stepped between them. With barely any strength at all, the blonde Slayer grabbed Larry's fist before it hit Xander's face, effortlessly twisted his arm, making the man turn to avoid the worst of the pain. She pinned his arm behind his back and shoved him into the vending machine, making him groan in pain.
  
  As if he was so beneath her, she simply told him, "Get gone."
  
  She let him go and the humiliated jock rushed away gripping his hurting hand, only adding to the shame welling within Xander. To be saved by Buffy from vampires was one thing, but to be saved by a girl in the middle of the student lounge for all to see simply made him feel pitiful. Xander just stood there, aghast as Buffy cooed over a free diet coke that dropped from the vending machine.
  
  He finally turned to her with resigned disbelief and asked, "Do you know what you just did?"
  
  Tilting her head, a bit unsure, she asked, "Saving a dollar?"
  
  "Larry was about to pummel me," Xander answered with an annoyed edge to his tone.
  
  Assuming he was grateful, Buffy just waved it off as if it were nothing, casually telling him, "Oh, that. Forget about it."
  
  Feeling angrier, Xander hotly contested, "Maybe I will. In fifteen or twenty years when my rep for being a sissy-man finally fades."
  
  Realizing where the irritation was coming from, Buffy tried to atone, calling, "Xander-"
  
  But he swiftly interrupted, "A black eye heals, Buffy. But cowardice has a nearly unlimited shelf-life." Xander hated cowardice. Oftentimes he'd look at his parents, observe how they've given up making anything of their lives, and vow to never end up like them. It's an additional incentive to fight the forces of evil because he would much rather get pummeled by a vampire than be too scared to even approach them.
  
  Buffy seemed surprised he was taking something so trivial, so serious, encouraging him to sarcastically finish, "But thanks. Thanks for your help." He stomped off, leaving Willow and Buffy to share a look of concern.
  
  With a hint of remorse, Buffy confessed, "I think I just violated a major guy code."
  
  Willow shook her head with sympathy, replying, "Poor Xander. Boys are so fragile." They then moved to the couches as a bubbly Willow quickly wanted to know, "Speaking of, how was your date last night?"
  
  Xander sludged through the school day, trying hard to show Buffy how upset he was, though she didn't seem to notice as much as he would've wished. Buffy and Willow were talking about stuff he couldn't hear until he heard Angel's name, then it made him doubly angry. He pulled out a comic book and ignored them for hours, until he couldn't stand being ignored any longer, and joined them when they went costume shopping after school.
  
  The trio of friends entered Ethan's Costume Shoppe since it was a new Halloween-only store and posted clearance signs on the windows. Though the smallish store was cozy, it wasn't organized. Many costumes hung off the wall or were piled in boxes. Xander couldn't afford much, if anything. He felt lucky to have found a quarter on the way to the shop; less of his own money he has to fork over. Avoiding the monster costumes, as he's developed an aversion to their existence, Xander was perusing the aisles for the cheapest items he might buy.
  
  The shop's inventory seemed focused more on classical costumes; zookeeper, cheerleader, little red riding hood, pirates, cowboy, nuns, nurse, doctor, ghosts, police officers, soldier, referee, scarecrow, hippies, all sorts of animals, a variety of other tame outfits, and to his disappointment, absolutely no slutty or depraved costumes. There wasn't a single skimpy or tight dress in the entire store for girls to wear.
  
  He grabbed a toy gun from the bargain bin and quickly paid the suave-looking thin Englishman with gelled back hair. Unlike the part-timers, he wore a tan dress shirt unbuttoned at the top and Xander assumed he was the owner. Usually, he expected to deal with part-timers, not the owner. Still, now that he had the man there, Xander couldn't stop the impulse in him to ask, "It's your store and all, but have you considered changing the name from Ethan's Costume Shoppe to Prudes-R-Us? I mean, how are you planning to compete when even the barmaid outfit goes down to the ankles?"
  
  "Young man, there are many of us in this world that still find value in decorum and respect for one's modest appearance," Xander immediately noted the English accent, making the owner the second he's met from England. As Ethan brought out a box cutter from his back pocket to open a box of merchandise, Xander noted the man was much more suave than Giles but in a creepier sort of way. In his English accent, he finished, "I suggest you mature sooner rather than later, before the truly lovely ladies leave you behind."
  
  Xander rolled his eyes, already disregarding the advice before turning to the door. He considered leaving his friends behind as an act of protest. He wanted them to acknowledge his pain, however, he was nearly out the door, and, once again, they seemed oblivious to his suffering. Worse yet, it was difficult for him to stay angry at Buffy for long. It felt wrong in his bones. He's felt that way with Willow once or twice. The thought of them ignoring or forgetting him unsettled him to his core, so he walked over to them and quickly felt better. Willow asked what he had bought, and he pulled out the toy gun before explaining having army fatigues at home.
  
  "Hey, Xander, about this morning," Buffy started. "I'm really sorry."
  
  Looking into her gorgeous eyes, Xander tried not to be so easily swayed, but he felt such a rush of validation and gratitude for her apology. Rather than bending too easily, he replied, "Do you mind, Buffy? I'm trying to repress."
  
  Smirking at his snark, Buffy leaned into his arm, looked up into his eyes, and hypnotized him with her overwhelming beauty. "I promise I'll let you get pummeled from now on," she sang, and Xander felt his heart completely melt.
  
  Breaking into a wide smile, Xander deflated in giddy defeat, expressing, "Thank you. Okay. Actually, I think I could have taken him-" Xander's assertion of his physical ability was cut short when Buffy focused her attention on something else and slowly walked away. Craning his neck as if spurned, Xander asked, "Hello? That was our touching reconciliation you just left."
  
  She vaguely mumbled an apology before looking at an amazing 18th-century gown costume in an adjacent showroom. Buffy and Willow were entranced by the gorgeous outfit, but Xander preferred spandex. In the end, the stuffy owner, Ethan, easily convinced Buffy to buy the bulky dress before they all went home to change. From the well-worn brown couch in the messy living room of his house, his parents paid more attention to the television than their son when he informed them of where he'd be. When they said nothing, he simply left.
  
  Dressed out in his army costume with his toy gun in hand, Xander was ready for a fun night. In Buffy's two-story home, the young teen was shocked and immediately aroused at the amazing sight of a brunette Buffy in her garnet red 18th-century noble gown that showed ample cleavage. Xander instantly knew this look will be prevalent in his fantasies for the foreseeable future. Walking down the stairs, Willow's white ghost costume was less shocking. The cute redhead wore a simple white bed sheet covering her entire body with the word 'Boo' written on it, but he couldn't deny that's why he loved her. Her consistency was always peace-inducing.
  
  As it happens in Sunnydale, their Halloween night did not turn out to be a peaceful one. After Xander picked up the kiddies at school, scoped out a few of the hotter moms, and spent an hour appropriating all the candy in the festive suburban neighborhood, he suddenly lost all control of his own body. He felt as if his feet slipped and he was falling backward, only he landed in a chair, then strapped into a harness. He could still see everything that was happening around him, but he couldn't control his body, his speech, or even his thoughts. Worse yet, he could barely feel his body, as if all his senses were numb.
  
  Xander truly began to panic when he felt another mind within his mind, or possibly his mind within another mind. He was almost glad for the invisible harness holding his consciousness down because he can't tell where he ends, and this other consciousness begins. The alien memories and experiences of being a soldier crammed into Xander's mind without his consent and faster than he could make sense of. The sudden invasion made him want to throw up, but he couldn't feel his stomach to do so. It was like two minds stuffed in a single brain, affording Xander the knowledge of what the rigid Soldier he dressed as was thinking and why.
  
  The Soldier was dropped into was chaos in a suburban neighborhood, but even in his panic, he assessed the situation. No less than thirty civilians were scurrying every which way on the street. Two many people were running and he couldn't immediately tell if he was in immediate danger or not. Some of the people were normal in appearance and were running in fear. Others were the ones doing the chasing, and they looked like horrible monsters, werewolves, vampires, and demons of every color, size, and variety. None were after him at the moment, however, the alert Soldier drew his weapon in attentive anticipation.
  
  His heart was pumping and his breathing was fast and loud in his ears. Any monster who got too close, the Soldier would shoot at and they'd run away. Feeling the Soldier repressing his fear and doubt, Xander felt grateful when the invading persona didn't shoot Willow when she rushed up to him. Xander had never imagined Willow wearing such risqué fashion; a leather miniskirt, stockings, a tight long-sleeved top with a low V-neckline, and a black choker around her lithe neck. Xander didn't hate it in the slightest.
  
  His suddenly sexy best friend pleaded with the Soldier, "Xander! Listen to me. I'm on your side, I swear. Something crazy is happening. I was dressed as a ghost for Halloween and now I am a ghost. You were supposed to be a soldier, and now, I guess you're a real soldier."
  
  The Soldier skeptically replied, "You expect me to believe that?"
  
  Before she could respond, a little vampire emerged from the bushes several yards away, growling at them. It was like one of the targets at a shooting gallery in a carnival and Soldier-Xander aimed at it, but Willow quickly jumped in front of him.
  
  "No!" She yelled. "No guns. That's still a little kid in there!"
  
  The Soldier watched the little vampire chase after someone else as insisted, "But-"
  
  Willow cut him off sternly, pointing a finger at him and ordering with authority, "No guns! That's an order."
  
  From within his mind, Xander was begging the Soldier to listen to her, and thankfully he did. Harnessed in his mental prison from which he couldn't escape, Xander was forced to watch everything that happened around the Soldier. He saw them find Buffy, watched his super-strong hero faint at the sight of a demon, then the three of them hide in her home, to then realizing that Buffy-like himself-was changed into the persona of their costume.
  
  His blonde friend was no longer the Slayer, but an 18th-century lady-in-waiting. Xander observed the Soldier saving Cordelia in her deliciously tight catsuit, followed by Angel showing up, then fighting a group of demons from entering her home. At the sight of Angel's vampiric face, a frightful Buffy ran away in horror, forcing them to chase after her before she ended up hurt or killed. Xander witnessed in euphoric glory when the Soldier punched the pirate-costumed Larry unconscious. It was the most satisfying part of the night's nightmare, and Xander thought the soldier felt a little of that sensation.
  
  After finally tracking Buffy to a factory stacked with wood crates, the Soldier and Angel were beat and held down by Spike's goons while the blond leader was taunting the frightened Lady Buffy. Xander was fighting the harness, terrified the vicious blond vampire was going to kill the woman he loved more than anyone in front of him. He struggled mightily against the invisible harness restraining his consciousness, yelling, and begging the invading persona to save her. To Xander's great surprise, it was the Soldier, not Angel, that fought off the demons holding him.
  
  Willow quickly pointed at Spike and directed, "Now, that guy you can shoot!"
  
  The Soldier grabbed and raised his M-16 assault rifle, ready to open fire on Spike, which Xander would've been thrilled to see, but suddenly the invisible harness restraining him let go. He flowed up for a second and he was back in full control of his body, holding a toy gun again and unable to fire anything.
  
  "What the..." Xander asked in confusion. Demons were now children once again and confused about where they were, and Buffy quickly beat Spike back with a vicious combination. Two quick strikes to the chest and one to the face sent him flying back. He landed on the ground before looking for a weapon to equalize the brawl.
  
  Gripping a metal pole, Spike came roaring back with a swing that Buffy caught bare-handed; the sound of which was loud and solid. Gripping his wrist with her other hand, she spun her body and flipped him over her shoulder onto the edge of a wooden crate, back first. Spike rushed to his feet and fled to fight another day.
  
  "Hey, Buff," Xander stated, rushing up and thrilled to see her again. "Welcome back."
  
  "Yeah," she replied with a small smile. "You, too."
  
  Curious, Cordelia asked, "You guys remember what happened?"
  
  "It was way creepy," Xander answered, recalling the disconnected feeling. "It was like I was there, but I couldn't get out."
  
  "I know the feeling," Cordelia remarked, swaying her hips as she added, "This outfit's totally skintight."
  
  With a single line of concern from Angel asking the Slayer, "are you okay," Buffy smiled affectionately at her handsome boyfriend before assuring him she was fine. They then left together. As Xander looked at the scared and confused children left behind, Cordelia-struck by Angel's obliviousness toward her-voiced, "Hello? It felt like I was talking. My lips were moving and-"
  
  "Give it up Cordy," a disgruntled Xander suggested. "You're never going to get between those two. Believe me, I know."
  
  After returning the frightened children to their parents at school, Xander walked home, regretting not having asked Cordelia for a ride in her brand-new BMW. As he is waiting for the bus, the young teen entertained himself by sifting through the memories of the Soldier's life, from boot camp to advanced training, and then specialized training in military ordnance. He could recall army tactical manuals, their outline for recruit training, and standard operating procedures for rifle security. He knew where the military base near Sunnydale was, who commanded it, and even how to get on base if he wanted.
  
  It was a surreal experience, to say the least, and Xander thought about that when he went to sleep that night. It was weird having more knowledge circling his mind than he's ever had before; knowledge that wasn't even geek culture related. Mulling over some of the places this soldier has traveled to almost made Xander consider joining the army, but the thought of leaving his friends felt akin to dying of stage four lung cancer, which wasn't a choice at all. If Buffy needed him, and Xander wasn't there, he'd never be able to forgive himself.
  
  As he went to sleep, Xander threw the Soldier's memories and experiences to the wayside of his mind in favor of cheesy erotic fantasies featuring Buffy in her 18th-century red dress and begging him with wanton eyes to take it off of her; then of Willow in her sexy rocker look asking him to rip her clothes off of her; then a fantasy of Cordelia demanding he peel the tight catsuit off of her; then Amy Yip in the water park slide asking him for help taking whatever she was wearing off, and an endless amount of depraved sexy dreams until morning.
  
  Xander woke up the next morning to his blaring alarm. He got ready and momentarily wondered why the same Mighty Max episode was on. In the privacy of his bathroom, he rubbed a few out to Kelly Kapowski and CJ from Baywatch, found his parents in the exact spot they were the day before, then went to school. Backpack slung over one shoulder, Xander was weaving through the crowded Halloween-decorated hallway, curious as to why they were still up as he looked for his friends. His confusion only grew when he spotted Willow and Buffy watching Snyder force students into chaperoning kids for trick-or-treating.
  
  Stopping behind his friends, a baffled Xander remarked, "Okay, I'm either having the most Twilight Zone-y case of Déjà vu imaginable, or... I honestly can't think of anything else that would explain this."
  
  "That can't be," Willow told him. "It's the first time Snyder was in charge of volunteering."
  
  "Yeah, that's not what I meant," Xander slowly voiced. "Didn't we do this already? Like yesterday?"
  
  "You mean Halloween? Or Volunteering?"
  
  Xander was beginning to panic when Snyder came over, voicing in his nasally tone, "Ms. Summers. Just the juvenile delinquent I've been looking for."
  
  Xander heard Buffy respond, "Principal Snyder," just as he had the day before.
  
  Even when the abominable mini-man told his friend, "Halloween must be a big night for you, huh? Tossing eggs. Keying cars. Bobbing for apples. One pathetic cry for help after another. Well. Not this year, missy." Xander was certain that's exactly what he said the day before. His head sank, pondering with as many brain cells as he could muster why everything felt like it's happened already. Then, in the student lounge, rather than walking over to the soda machine, Larry called his name and tilted his head, asking him to talk.
  
  Xander was less mad and more confused at the large, meaty man when he once again asked how easy Buffy was to sleep with. The raven-haired teen looked around, confused, as if he was the center of a prank everyone was playing on him. Even still, when it dawned on Xander what Larry repeated, the anger in him sprang back up. Unable to allow the meathead to talk about his friend like that two days in a row, Xander fiercely grabbed the man's lapels, and just like the day before, Buffy saved him from getting punched in the face.
  
  After Larry rushed away, Xander was looking at Buffy like she was crazy, prompting her to ask, "What?"
  
  Pointing to that whole general area, a mildly loony Xander asked, "You didn't notice that? What you just did?"
  
  She cutely quirked her brow before waving it off, adding, "Oh, don't worry about it."
  
  "Don't worry about- Buffy, doesn't that seem, oh, I don't know, a tad on the familiar side?" Buffy returned a look of puzzlement before smiling, cracking open her soda and patting him on the shoulder.
  
  It was the beginning of a very strange day for Xander. By the time his mind was hijacked by the soldier once again, Xander was certain this was the longest Déjà vu imaginable. Even if a few things happened differently, like Buffy never apologizing for stepping in between a man's fight, everything else mostly stayed the same. After spacing out the entire time Cordelia and himself were dropping the kids off with their parents, Xander went to sleep, certain that whatever whackadoo Hellmouthy weirdness he experienced that day would be gone come morning.
  
  Xander awoke like he typically did, shutting off the obnoxiously loud alarm and rearranging his morning wood so it didn't hurt. He then blinked in recollection of yesterday's longest Déjà vu. With an equal mix of curiosity and fear, he rushed to the tube TV and felt his stomach sink while his heart pounded even harder in his chest when he saw the same episode of Mighty Max on. He rushed to his parents and found them exactly in the same spot as the previous days. In his crowded school, the hallways were still decorated for Halloween, Snyder still forced the Scoobies to volunteer, and Buffy still saved him from Larry's assault.
  
  The only time Xander came out of his crippling bewilderment was when they were at Ethan's Costume Shop looking for costumes to wear. Observing Ethan come near Buffy and suggest the 18th-century dress for her to wear, Xander knew the man was the very reason for all the chaos that befalls their town later that night. Willow told him as much two impossibly similar days in a row, and he always trusted Willow for the answers.
  
  Buffy was about to buy the 18th Century dress when an agitated Xander accused Ethan in front of his friends, "You're going to use a spell tonight that's going to turn everyone into the costume they bought here, aren't you?" Ethan, Buffy, and Willow were stunned by both the directness of Xander's accusation and randomness of the accusation itself, especially when he swiftly told Buffy, "If you wear that tonight, you'll actually become an 18th Century Lady because this guy cursed all the costumes in his store!"
  
  For a moment, no one said anything, then Ethan chuckled, turning to the Slayer before swiftly taking a box cutter out of his back pocket and stabbing Xander in the chest in one fluid motion with a wet THUD . The girls were in complete shock as Ethan ran, and Xander slowly looked at the box cutter sticking out of his chest. It was hard to fathom that there was a sharp metal object shoved into his chest, then the pumping of his heart hurt sharply. He heard screaming, then suddenly the room's geometry rotated until he was looking at the ceiling. A weeping Willow rushed into his view, tears streaming down her pretty face, and calling his name, but he couldn't hear too well anymore.
  
  Xander wondered why he couldn't see Buffy as the sound of his rapid heartbeat filled his ears. He wanted to see Buffy and tried to get up, but his arms weren't moving like he wanted them to. He tilted his head to see a struggle by the door of the store. Through the racks, he can faintly recognize Buffy's shoes. He always did love how stylish she dressed. Xander wanted to say goodbye to her before he couldn't anymore. He tried to hold on, but the room was getting darker. The pain was getting hotter and the blood was pooling out of him like oil. Even as the wailing and sobbing Willow was shaking him, moving the vision of the ceiling above, he couldn't do anything to stop the darkness from consuming everything.
  
  Buffy finally hastened into his darkening view. His beautiful super friend, his unrequited love, had some blood dots running up her cheek, as if she hit something so hard, blood splatter trailed up her face, but she was finally looking at him with so much love and fear in her eyes. Her tears were welling up, but she was even more beautiful, and that's all he wanted. That was enough for him. Xander let the darkness blind him until the dull hurting finally stopped.
  
  When Xander woke up the following morning to the same blaring alarm, the same jutting hard-on, the same Mighty Max cartoon, and no box cutter blade in his heaving chest, the bewildered teenager couldn't stop from yelling, "What the actual fuckery!"
  
  When I first started writing fanfiction, I knew I wanted to write for 3 fandoms: Harry Potter, Naruto, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I specifically wanted to write a good Xander-centric story because there just weren't very many of them. This story invaded my mind a few months ago with a fury and wouldn't let go till I wrote it all out. It keeps Xander from canon but also gives him the time and room to grow, which is one of the very few things I didn't like about the show. Overall, I loved the show and I loved Buffy. I thought she was great. But I didn't like how Xander seemed to be the only one who didn't amount to anything despite being around amazing people. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.
  
  Happy Thanksgiving!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Goldfish Hell
  Welcome back, friends.
  
  Big thanks to my Betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. Working with them is so smooth.
  
  3.2K words. Slight gore warning. Enjoy!
  
  Goldfish Hell
  
  "Star Trek: Next Generation, Cause and Effect," Xander voiced whilst riding the bumpy metro bus taking him toward his school. There were only a few commuters on the morning bus, but he's ridden the morning bus enough to know them all by now.
  
  It took Xander getting stabbed in the chest by Ethan Rayne for his geek-mind to finally come up with an answer to this surreal lunacy and voiced aloud, "the enterprise was stuck in a time loop because it was getting destroyed over and over. After... however many loops, the captain and crew got the sense of déjà vu, figured out what was happening, why it was happening, and solved it before they got destroyed."
  
  The disturbed teenager noted a homeless man looking at him as if he were crazy, and Xander snorted with a crazed smile. "I guess it's happening. I'm starting to lose my mind."
  
  It was Halloween at Sunnydale high school, yet again, and the raven-haired teen ignored all the decorative festivities. He made the conscious decision to pretend everything was alright. His rationality told him if he acted like nothing was different, then at some point, he was certain everything would continue like normal. To that end, Xander did everything as he did the first time, only with more determination, maybe even desperation. His friends seemed to sense his overzealousness, but simply looked at him oddly and said nothing of it.
  
  Xander told Buffy off for not letting Larry punch him. He bought the toy guy and stayed well away from Ethan. He felt the Soldier persona take over his body, and as it did before, Xander watched from his numb mental prison. Finding Buffy, hiding in her house, saving Cordelia, Angel arriving, Willow leaving, their refuge being attacked, Buffy fleeing in fear from Angel's vampiric face, punching Pirate-Larry, getting captured in the factory, and finally, Buffy fighting Spike off.
  
  After Cordelia and Xander returned the children to their parents, Xander stayed up all night watching the Star Trek time loop episode repeatedly. He stayed up for as long as he could and even drank coffee, which he hated, and yet, Xander woke up to his blaring alarm, his stiff boner, his dirty room, and the same cartoon on his television.
  
  "Oooh kay, okay, I think it's time to freak out," Xander panicked.
  
  He's looped either five or six times already, and the fact that he couldn't remember the exact number of loops was more than enough to frighten him. Breathing deeply seemed to help keep his anxiety down long enough to drag Buffy and Willow away from the hallway before Snyder forced them to take part in chaperoning kids. When Buffy stopped the hyperventilating boy in the courtyard, the girls became worried about his state.
  
  Willow placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and asked with obvious concern, "Xander, what's wrong?"
  
  Buffy begged with a hint of fear for her unnerved friend, "Breathe, Xander. Breathe." And he dedicated all his focus on not having a panic attack.
  
  "Okay, okay... Keep saying it, cuz it's helping." With their help and calming presence, Xander nodded as he regained his breathing rhythm. He finally explained, "Okay, you will not believe what's been happening to me." The anxious teen then rambled through his explanation of having repeated the same day five times and remembering everything that happened. They obviously didn't believe him, but Xander told them he'd prove it. He grabbed Buffy's hand and started dragging her away from school. He managed two steps before she stopped him with her overwhelming strength.
  
  Looking at him with worried eyes, the beautiful blonde asked, "Xander, where are we going? School's not that way."
  
  "To Ethan's," Xander answered as he continued to pull with all his meager might, but he couldn't move the super-powered girl an inch.
  
  "But we can't skip school," Willow sadly protested.
  
  Shaking his head as he kept trying to pull the slayer, Xander emphasized, "I'm telling you, this is some major catastrophe we'd be avoiding!"
  
  After a few seconds of consideration between the two girls, Buffy relented and told Willow, "Get Giles and meet us there."
  
  As Xander and Buffy waited near the costume shop, the anxious Xander explained everything in detail about the dress, Ethan Rayne, the curse, and Spike. By the time he was done, a neurotic Xander led Giles, Buffy, and Willow inside the cozy costume shop. The store owner wasn't in the showroom and the shop had more items on the shelves than usual, but he ignored all of it to rush into the section with the red dress and pointed to it.
  
  "See, see! That's the dress! That's it!"
  
  Just then, Ethan walked out of the backroom. He was pleasant to greet his customers when he quickly recognized who was among them. Giles and Ethan locked eyes, and immediately, the well-mannered librarian blitzed his old friend. The Watcher tackled him to the floor before thrashing him mercilessly, easily scaring the teenagers. They had never seen Giles act so violently before, not even toward vampires. Buffy was forced to pull her suddenly vicious watcher off the bleeding man, however, Giles still forced the roughed up Ethan to reveal his plans. Soon after interrogating the agent of Chaos with heavy kicks to the stomach, the Scoobies then found the statue of Janus in the storage room at the back of the store.
  
  ' This is exactly like the Star Trek episode ,' he thought with a tremendous rush of vindication. ' Stopping Ethan before he even started .'
  
  Giles took Ethan away and the girls happily congratulated their relieved friend. As the stress washed off him, he felt unexpectedly lethargic. Without chaos to solve or children to chaperone, the trio spend their night vegging on Buffy's comfortable couch, laughing and snacking as they watch the Star Trek episode Xander told them about.
  
  Eventually, they fell fast asleep, and the following morning, Xander woke up to his blaring alarm and his erection. Hoping Buffy and Willow don't see him, he got up to go to the bathroom when the drowsy teen finally noted he was in his own room, in his own home, with no recollection of how he got there. The pigsty of a room looked exactly like it always had, and rushing to the TV, the same Mighty Max episode sent fear deep into his bones.
  
  "No, no, no..." he groaned with growing trepidation.
  
  Xander rushed to school and learned that Buffy, Willow, or Giles remembered nothing of what happened the day before, but upon hearing Ethan Rayne's name, Giles wanted to know everything. Xander excitedly told him every detail before the group once again rushed to Ethan's. They found the dress, the toy gun, the owner, and the statue, and once again, the Scoobies stopped the curse from reeking chaos & mayhem in Sunnydale before enjoying a night of movies, pizza, and candy.
  
  However, throughout all the festivities, Xander was nervous. He didn't want to let his fear ruin the fun, but he was scared he was going to wake up and repeat the day. And the moment the clock struck three AM, he did. Yet again, his friends remembered nothing of the day before, and Xander had to tell them everything again. Though they were happy everything was resolved without a life and death battle, Xander was anticipating he would loop again and they would forget their joyful moments with him again, which they did.
  
  Xander would repeat Halloween day another ten times like this-always telling them what would happen-and with each loop, losing a shred of some semblance of control over his life. He felt like a mouse in a maze that always led to the beginning. Sanity, hope, faith, balance; he couldn't say what he was losing, but he knew he was tipping in a scary direction and he needed to get out before something irreparable happened to his mind.
  
  Xander began breaking away from the routine. First, he didn't go to school. He learned that the town still went crazy, and he still looped promptly at three AM. He tried to get the girls to get different costumes, and as of yet, he couldn't convince Buffy to buy another costume more than once. If she saw the red dress, she bought the red dress. The only time she managed to get another costume was when he begged them to go to a different store. Despite the change into the princess gown she wore, Xander would still loop.
  
  He broke Ethan's Janus statue without the help of his friends and was stabbed for his troubles before promptly looping back into his bed. Xander broke the statue once again, expected the knife strike, then dodged just in time to suffer nothing more than a minor cut before he ran as fast as he could. Xander found Giles in the library and told him everything. The foxy Ms. Calendar, a friend of the Scoobies and Computer teacher, was also there and heard it all, but he didn't care. He hoped his solo act would solve this ever-increasing crisis, but it didn't. Xander looped once again. No matter how many times he told Giles, Willow, and even Ms. Calendar, none of them could help him before the time expired and he suddenly woke up in his dirty bed again.
  
  Concluding that the time warp must be a location problem, Xander tried running far away. He left the school and town for as far as his feet could take him. When his feet didn't work to break the looping, he stole his father's old Buick and drove as far as he thought reasonable, however, when LA wasn't far enough to break out of the time loop, he drove past California state lines. When the state wasn't far enough, he drove to Las Vegas, and then all the way to Texas. But he still looped back exactly at three AM.
  
  Despair gripped Xander for at least three more loops, and his brain felt too dumb and overwhelmed to solve a problem of this magnitude. Worse yet, whenever he didn't go to school, none of his friends called to check on him. It made him feel unwanted, but even when he went to school in the next loop, they would say the same things they always said, over and over again. Xander tried to change the conversation up, alter their train of thought, but mostly, the girls only cared to speculate about the type of women Angel might be attracted to. It was like his girl-friends and the rest of the school were stuck on chapter one of a book and he was on twenty with no way to bridge the gap.
  
  When Xander learned Angel was what they were whispering about, he was instantly annoyed at first, but then, with every passing hour, he grew desperate enough to see the vampire. Angel was the only one he hadn't told about the looping, and considering how long the vampire's been alive, Xander imagined there was no way he couldn't help him. If not a direct solution, then at least a direction to a solution.
  
  Angel had nothing.
  
  Xander had explained everything to the centuries-old vampire and not a single curse, hex, potion, or prophecy came to mind regarding time loops. Angel had never heard of such a thing, didn't know anyone who might, and even the few loops the vampire asked around turned up nothing. Walking out of the vampire's apartment, the teenager walked the evening back with clenched fists and kicking shrubbery.
  
  He loudly cursed, "Useless good for nothing handsome vampire bastard. Two hundred and forty years, and all he seems to know how to do is rob the cradle!" Xander allowed himself to hate Angel even more because-as he would come to realize-it was better to hate him than feel the wretched depression at the pit of his stomach.
  
  Xander's next Hail Mary pass was to tell Cordelia everything. He had to drag her into an empty classroom to do so, but he had to try. Despite knowing she wouldn't be of any help, he was still surprised and upset she couldn't help him. Even more reckless than telling Angel or Cordelia, was when Xander walked into Ethan's Costume Shoppe and told Ethan Rayne everything. It twisted his insides to confess everything to the suave Englishman, but Xander was growing more and more desperate by the continuing loops and the crazed boy wanted out. He needed to get out, and he'd do anything to do so.
  
  "I can see you're suffering," Ethan amiably said with a sinister smirk.
  
  "I can't even die," a haggard Xander yelled with wild hair and unkempt. Having thrown on whatever clothing was on the floor, he looked like a deadbeat bum. His eye twitched a bit as he pleaded to know, "How do I get out of this? You have to know something. You're evil! This is right up your alley!"
  
  "I'm afraid what you're describing might be beyond my modest capabilities, or any warlock, I imagine," Ethan humbly professed. Xander moved away from the countertop, anxiously fidgeting his clasped hands as the Englishman continued, "I can't even begin to comprehend the amount of raw power it would take to alter the very flow time for all living energy in such an intricate fashion, and all for you . I can't help but wonder why that is."
  
  " Torture ," Xander yelled as he restlessly walked back and forth in a line. "Cruel and unusual torture!"
  
  "Unlikely. There must be something special about you," Ethan voiced more to himself than the pacing teen.
  
  "There isn't," Xander assured him, still pacing in front of the counter. "I mean, there could be. I could be like John Connor, the future savior of humanity from Skynet."
  
  "I do not, nor do I even care to know what that means," Ethan said with revulsion on his face. "In all honesty, you should be rejoicing." Xander whipped his head around to look at Ethan with crazed disbelief. Though he looked about ready to pop, the Brit ignored his manic appearance to relay, "My word, the things I would do. Most of us live the beginning and end of chaos. In this fascinating tale, chaos is constantly beginning and ending in you. You and I are nearly in the same line of work, my boy. You should be embracing it!"
  
  " I DON 'T WANT TO EMBRACE IT! " Ethan simply raised his eyebrows at the distraught teen's outburst as he continued, "I want to get rid of it! I don't even remember how many times I've looped! I've practically memorized what everyone's going to say! This is like living in goldfish hell, only the goldfish knows it's in hell!"
  
  Ethan waited a moment for the young teenager to catch his breath before softly expressing, "My darling boy, I believe what you need is a break, mnn? Something to recharge the old batteries."
  
  With his haggard eyes, Xander deadpanned a silent intent to kill as he gravelly voiced, "You didn't hear a goddamn word I said."
  
  "Listen," Ethan began, ignoring the homicidal boy. "Take any costume that arouses your curiosity. Be someone else for the night! You've earned it."
  
  "I've already tried that," Xander hotly retorted. "But your freaky shop of horrors has nothing but the most mundane monsters, dresses, pirate crap, and a bunch of other boring nonsense!"
  
  With a comforting smile, the suave, yet evil Englishman easily inquired, "Then what would you like to be?" Xander looked at him in confusion as the older man added, "It's still early and I'm a reasonable man. I have plenty of material in the back and I can make quite a lot."
  
  "...Really?"
  
  "Name it," the sociopath coxed with a smile and a nod. "The more interesting, the more eager I'll be."
  
  Xander pondered the offer for a moment, and could almost feel his dreadful panic decline at the prospect of being in the shoes of someone interesting. With a much calmer disposition, the young teen slowly asked, "Do you have any Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr. Who-"
  
  "I refuse ," Ethan irately interrupted, crushing Xander's gentle ray of hope. "If it's on a television screen or read in a comic panel, please trust that I do not, nor will I ever, carry that colorful hogwash in my establishment."
  
  Eying the absurd Brit like he was demented, Xander had to clarify, "even Dr. Who? That's like your guys' bread and butter."
  
  " Never ," he yelled with finality, slamming his fist on the counter.
  
  "Then we're right back at square one," Xander yelled, pushing away from the man's countertop in irate frustration. "Why am I even talking to you?"
  
  "Might I suggest a ghost costume?" Ethan attempted to sell with the confidence of a sleazy salesman. "It will allow you to go anywhere you like regardless of the barrier. I'm certain a young man such as yourself can think of a few places you'd like to visit."
  
  "You have to know I'm going to tell my friends about you and the Janus curse," Xander voiced in a defeated tone.
  
  "Naturally," Ethan easily accepted. He grinned wickedly, pridefully, as he professed, "and it would seem you will do so over and over and over until you finally come to realize that all the great answers in life are only ever preceded by chaos."
  
  Depressed and despondent, Xander did in fact dress as a ghost that night, and to his horror, could do nothing but watch Buffy's throat being ripped out by a horned, grey-skinned, bull-demon. When he was supposed to be the Soldier that pushed Lady Buffy from the dangers of the outside into Buffy's home, he was now a massless ghost watching the girl he loves scream and gargle as the monster's sharp teeth viciously ripped her throat out, spewing blood everywhere.
  
  The way the mildly elastic skin shredded, blood spewed, and muscle tissue stretched from the open wound to its bloody teeth was a gory and disgusting mess to bear. Xander cried and gagged over her body, and as he was unable to touch her, he could only watch the beautiful girl convulse and shake erratically for twenty impossibly long seconds. As the light behind her greenish-blue eyes died out, it was the first time he felt unadulterated horror at what this time-warped life could be like if it went on forever. Then he saw black before hearing his blaring alarm.
  
  Xander woke up in his pig-sty of a room. All his comics, action figures, and piles of clothes were exactly as he remembered them on October 31st. His morning salute was also exactly as it tended to be in the mornings, which meant the girl he loved had to still be alive. He cried for the entire Mighty Max episode in great relief. It wasn't until he was rushing to school, desperate to see her with his own eyes, that Xander wondered why he looped back when he hadn't been killed nor reached the three AM deadline.
  
  With knitted brows and slanted lips, a curious Xander huffed, "huh."
  
  Hoped you enjoyed the read. Expect another chapter tomorrow. I planned for 3 back-to-back releases before I spread them out into a fixed release schedule. Let me know what you think!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The No-Hit List
  Hey friends.
  
  3.5K words. Warning: Language, Blood and Violence
  
  Thank you my amazing Betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB.
  
  I rarely put this because I think it goes without saying, but, I don't own these characters. The most I do is the creative labor necessary to string this plot together.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  The No-Hit List
  
  A distraught Xander was hasty to verify with his brown eyes that Buffy was still alive. He rushed to school earlier than normal on an empty stomach, and though sweaty, he waited with patience he didn't have for Mrs. Summers to drop Buffy off. Plagued by insidious doubt, the irritated teenager couldn't stand still. His need to know for certain she was alive compelled him to pace the entrance of the school anxiously, drawing curious stares from the mob of students filing through the entrance.
  
  After ten nerve-wracking minutes, Xander wondered if she got by him somehow and rushed down the sidewalk left of the entrance. Crippled with indecision, he ran back and finally caught sight of her golden blonde hair walking toward the entrance. He weaved through the crowd, and with no regard for his physical well-being, he hugged the super-strong slayer from behind as he called out, "Buffy!"
  
  "Wha-" she hollered, craning her neck to the frantic Xander behind her.
  
  Flattening his cheek to the top of her silky blonde head, Xander gratefully hollered, "You're okay! You're alive," unfazed by the plethora of students walking around them and watching in amusement.
  
  "Uh, last I checked, yeah," Buffy hesitantly voiced, returning a quick hug before effortlessly removing his zealous hands. Slightly calmer, Xander backed away as she cautiously asked her anxious friend, "are you alright?"
  
  "Uuuuuh," Xander hummed before quickly asserting, "bad dream! Bad! I mean, like, total nightmare. I thought something really bad happened to you. But you're here and you're fine. So everything is fine. We're all fine."
  
  "Ooh kay," Buffy slowly accepted with growing concern for her friend. She patted him on the shoulder, coaxing him forward as she said, "Come on. Giles said Halloween is as problem-free as they come and I mean to enjoy it."
  
  Xander didn't stop his blonde crush to mention Ethan's Janus curse or the time loop. He should've, but he simply nodded and gratefully walked beside her throughout the school day. He didn't even mind hearing the same responses to the same questions he's heard multiple times by now. In his mind, all that mattered was that she was alive and laughing with her friends.
  
  After school, Xander continued the loop like normal, only he wore a cowboy costume complete with a vest, hat, and a toy gun in a plastic holster. Though he succeeded in saving 18th century Buffy's life when that horned demon came near them, he couldn't save Cordelia. The Cowboy wasn't nearly as deadly once he ran out of bullets. Cowboy-Xander ran out of Buffy's home to save Cordelia but couldn't stop the child-turned-demon from grabbing her shoulder from behind and punching entirely through her body, reddening its arm from fist to elbow in gelatinous dripping blood. Without bullets, he became a man with a one pound paperweight.
  
  From within the Cowboy, Xander wanted to throw up at the sight of the girl he's known since kindergarten being brutally murdered that way. Her eyes were a haunting mixture of terror, shock, and agony. The Cowboy up-chucked the bile in his stomach as the five-foot monster swiftly removed its blood-red arm from Cordelia's torso and dropped her like a sack of potatoes. His heart was racing in his ears as Xander watched the light in her beautiful eyes disappear, taking a sliver of his sanity with her before everything went black. He found himself in his bed once again, and it was the morning of the same day.
  
  Xander was devastated. As much as he hated Cordelia, he couldn't ignore that she was a large part of his life. They've had so many classes together since kindergarten and no one ever traded insults with him better than she did. She may be wildly irritating and insufferable, but he could appreciate a good comeback.
  
  Getting out of bed, Xander chuckled when he recalled he was stuck in a time loop, and like Buffy, Cordelia was likely still alive. He ignored his morning wood, as he didn't think he could masturbate after witnessing such a gruesome murder. During his morning routine to get ready for the monotony of school, Xander pondered why he looped again.
  
  ' That was just like Buffy ,' he thought curiously. He couldn't say why that detail was important, but something in him thought it was. Smacking his head in frustration, he mentally chastised, ' God, why couldn 't I have a brain like Willow! '
  
  Regardless, Xander pilfered some money from his slumbering parents and went to Ethan's bright and early to buy a costume he thought might help him. Perusing the aisle for more complete outfits, Xander found a boxer's costume with a nice robe and gloves, a steampunk costume, an English Prince costume, a firefighter's outfit, a carnival ringmaster's outfit, a sailor, an exterminator, and a Hunter with a plastic bow and arrow.
  
  To challenge the Janus curse and the time prison he was in, Xander chose the Hunter. The possibility this costume could be the deciding factor in escaping the time loop got him excited. Sadly, the hopeful teen learned that once the Hunter was out of arrows, he became as useless as the Cowboy. When they were hiding in Buffy's house and Angel needed help to fend off the group of demons breaking in, Xander ran out of arrows and wasn't quick enough to stop one demon from snapping the vampire's neck. Eighteenth-century Buffy screamed at the grisly murder before passing out. When Angel died, Xander looped back like he had with Buffy and Cordelia.
  
  After taking several moments to compose himself, he headed straight to Ethan's and bought the exterminator costume, complete with a yellow plastic cylinder that had a black skull on it and the word Poison under it. Buffy was murdered yet again, jumped by a demon neither Willow nor Xander could stop. And worse yet, the Exterminator ran away. Though he didn't mind missing Buffy's death, yet again, he hated how much of a coward he felt as he ran.
  
  After making certain Buffy was alive and oblivious to her death last night, Xander went to Ethan's in the following loop. He placed both palms sternly on the countertop and demanded, "I want the strongest costume you have!"
  
  Ethan looked at the youngster a moment before answering with his patron's smile, "Apologies, young man, but as it is the day of Halloween, I'm afraid everything we have left is currently on the shelves."
  
  Xander could feel something dark and cold move a little closer to him, like a nearby stalker he simply couldn't see. Shaking his head with growing worry, Xander simply decided to try all the costumes. The only exceptions were the monsters, animals, demons, and vampires, which was two-thirds of the store. Doctor-Xander tried to save someone who was hit by a car that lost control and Buffy died before swiftly being looped back. Pirate-Xander only cared to loot and vandalize a home while Buffy died somewhere and then he'd loop back. Boxer-Xander miraculously saved Buffy and Cordelia with his impressive punching power, but he couldn't save Angel from the much stranger demons raiding Buffy's home, and the teenager looped back.
  
  Xander grew more and more nervous with every costume change. The Prince, the Steam Punk Guy, the Firefighter, the Sailor, or many other costumes, Xander was forced to see Buffy die, Cordelia die, Angel die, or die himself, and with every death, he grew less and less shocked. He stayed in his room for longer periods of solitude every time he had to witness one of his friends die because he was losing hope. Staring up at the stained ceiling from his bed, he was having more thoughts of life never returning to normal again, and it was genuinely depressing.
  
  When Xander didn't wear a costume from Ethan's, he tried to get Giles involved early. He thought all he needed to do was let the curse activate, then end it early. He rushed to Giles in the library twenty minutes after the curse began and told him he thought it was the British man named Ethan Rayne. Giles barely even questioned it and the pair immediately left the library, passing Ms. Calendar as they ran down the hall. She called out, asking if everything was fine, but they didn't stop. Upon reflection, Xander thought they should've since the roads to Ethan's during the worst of the curse were treacherous.
  
  Giles stopped his car when a woman was running from a short demon, likely a child that was changed into the costume. The heroic librarian batted the impish demon away from the frightened woman with a baseball bat he kept in the back seat. However, a much larger demon, likely a real one, snuck up behind Giles and put him in a chokehold before suffocating him to death. When Xander woke up in his bed, he felt vomit rise from his weakened stomach at Giles' death and rushed to the bathroom to heave up yellow bile.
  
  He didn't feel nauseous and throw up simply because he cared for the man-though he cared about Giles-but because the young teen who's known the good-natured man for over a year just watched. He didn't call out, ' behind you !' He didn't jump the demon before it got Giles. Xander simply watched, then immediately restarted the moment Giles died. Like with Buffy and the others, Xander knew Giles wasn't really gone, but he wondered how numb he was getting to all of this.
  
  Begrudgingly, Xander thought of a way to test Willow. She'd always been able to escape death, gruesome or otherwise, since she always wore the ghost costume and nothing could touch her. Convincing her to wear another costume wouldn't be a problem, however, the thought of actively leading her to slaughter made Xander feverish and chronically on the verge of puking. It took a dozen loops of others dying before a desperate Xander found the nerve to convince Willow to wear a surgeon's outfit. Xander was walking beside her when the curse began, and just like him when he wore a Doctor's outfit, Willow wanted to help an injured victim.
  
  As there are plenty of monsters and mayhem on the streets, it didn't take long for a sharp-toothed red demon with horns to attack them. As it charged them head first, evidently attempting to impale either of them with the sharp horns on its head, a flustered and frantic Xander knew in his soul he couldn't simply stand by and watch her, of all people, be murdered. Xander pushed her out of the way, but a horn pierced his flabby flesh above his right hip bone and tore off a huge chunk of flesh.
  
  His blood-curdling screams flooded the night sky as much as his blood pooled around him. The veins in his neck and forehead popped as he screamed out into the chaos of the night. It always felt a million times worse when he was wounded outside of a costume. He vaguely wondered why it hurt so much without wearing a cursed costume, but the worst pain imaginable dumbed him down so much, Xander thought he needed to put back the lump of torn-off flesh to be fine again. His shaky hands tried to reach over for it, but his body spasmed in writhing agony.
  
  Doctor-Willow rushed to his side to help treat him, but despite the fiery throbbing flaring from his wounded side, Xander wasn't overly concerned. Looking at her frantic face, he was proud he hadn't allowed his best friend to be killed to prove anything. He'd be returning to that morning, anyway. Sadly, he wouldn't go without being forced to witness the demon charge back and impale Willow through the heart with its long horn. The horror and surprise etched on her pale face as specks of blood taint the soft ivory of her skin will be an image Xander won't soon forget. His best friend died instantly, and he looped back with that horrific image in his eyes.
  
  Xander woke up in his bed and rushed to the bathroom to throw up. He didn't go to school or Ethan's that day and learned that he could survive the entire day with no one dying. Then he recalled his long trip to Texas, which made him feel idiotic for not putting that information together. His guilt-ridden brain then tortured him with the memories of staging his best friend's death, making him want to crawl into a hole and die. No one called him that day, or if they did, no one in the Harris household picked up the phone and Xander promptly looped back at 3 AM.
  
  Staring up at the yellowish, water-stained ceiling he now loathes, the distraught teenager lethargically recognized the following rules from his smelly bed. If Buffy, Willow, Giles, Angel, or Cordelia died, he automatically loops back. If he dies, he automatically loops back. If no one died and he made it to 3 AM, he looped back. There was no distance...
  
  Xander's eyes widened at the hopeful difference a commercial airplane could make. He didn't have the passport for a plane ticket to China, but he could buy the earliest flight to the farthest destination and go farther than any car could much faster. Xander stole his parent's credit card and bought a one-way flight to New York. He borrowed their car without permission to get to the airport, and seven hours later, he was in New York City. Looking out the window of the metro bus, it felt surreal being on the opposite end of the country on a whim, and he felt confident he escaped the time loop.
  
  He walked around the concrete jungle, taking in the sights. Once he made it to 3:01 in the morning, Xander celebrated to the high heavens. He couldn't afford to buy a celebratory hot dog, pizza, or anything, but he danced around the popular Times Square for thirty exhilarating minutes before calming down and wondering how he was going to get back to Sunnydale.
  
  "I can't believe all it took was flying to the other side of the country," he bellowed with a burst of hoarse laughter. For the next two and a half hours, Xander was growing hungrier, colder, and sleepier. He dreaded having to call his parents and confess to everything he's done. Stealing their car, charging seven hundred dollars on their credit card, and to top it off, needing more money to get back... Xander thought maybe he should just live out the rest of his life in New York. At six in the morning, his hunger and his worry magically disappeared when he woke up in the dirty bed of his dirty room.
  
  "AAHHH, come on," he yelled in frustration. Realizing what had happened, he cursed, "damn you Eastern Standard Time!"
  
  Feeling like he was losing his mind, Xander pulled at his ear-length hair until his scalp hurt and screamed as hard as he could until his face was red and thick veins extended from his neck. Eventually, he needed to breathe and slumped back in bed, panting with a hoarse throat. When he settled down half an hour later, he returned to his mental list of rules.
  
  "If any of my friends die or if I die, I go back," he began again, speaking to himself like a homeless man. "If no one dies, I loop at three. And no matter how far I go, I still loop back!" He had to laugh at his predicament as he realized, "You, my friend, are screwed a million ways from Sunday." It wasn't quite the crazy laugh, but he felt himself getting closer.
  
  Xander accepted hate into his heart. He wasn't a hateful person, but without the checks and balances of natural law, order, and consequences, Xander let the malice in. Leaning on the detestable energy even gave him ideas to entertain himself with. Recalling Ethan's words of needing a break, Xander prepared for the one person's death he wouldn't mind witnessing in the slightest. Early in the morning of the following loop, he hid weapons in the factory where Spike would often find the vulnerable 18th-century Buffy, and when she was free of the spell, Xander immediately helped Buffy by attacking Spike when he least expected it. The teenager had to do this several times because he couldn't deny the blond vampire knew how to fight his way to survival.
  
  With enough loops and persistence, Xander finally equipped Buffy and Angel with the right weapons at the right time. Angel stabbed Spike's leg a second before the blonde slayer staked the blond vampire through the chest. Spike looked confused by the sharpened wood protruding out of his chest, unable to accept his true death, and Xander was thirsting for that crumbling of grey ash before the vampire died. Buffy pulled the stake out and the entire ordeal gave the time-imprisoned teen the odd sense of relief he'd been craving. Or at least, it did until he saw black, heard his alarm, felt his boner, and realized he looped back.
  
  Looking around his pigsty room in abject horror and disbelief, Xander yelled, "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me! Him! REALLY? Like, how? In what fucking planet! "
  
  After a few premature loops where Buffy or Angel staked the blond bastard, a furious Xander was forced to amend his rules to include Spike on his no-kill list. The questions of why the evil blond got to live only added nausea to the unfair plight of his time imprisonment.
  
  A sullen Xander can't even guess how many times he's looped, but he's memorized everything everyone around him was going to say. He even snooped on others like Ms. Calendar in the computer class grading papers, Principal Snyder personally making students write lines on a chalkboard in detention, and hung out with Amy, just to experience anything different. That's how he was keeping himself from drowning in insanity; by feeling something new with every loop.
  
  After enough loops, Xander learned not to appear too smart. He would answer questions that his teachers would direct to him. He'd answer questions that were addressed to other teens in the class. He would answer questions he'd heard hundreds of times between kids in the hallways; answers he had no right knowing.
  
  "He wouldn't," Clair told her best friend. "You're wrong."
  
  "She's not," Xander casually said, stopping mid-walk. "Scott did it with Harmony. Heard her bragging about it myself." Clair ran away crying and her best friend gave him a nasty look before following. Xander genuinely wondered how much he should care.
  
  At some point, Xander began asking Giles and Willow questions about time, or magic & curses that involved time. He'd ask, "Is time travel possible with magic? Can a curse make you relive time over and over again? What's powerful enough to affect time across the entire planet?"
  
  Their initial answers only humored his curiosity, but with every loop, Xander seemed to know more than they believed he should. He would then counter by saying, "and I already know that time travel is possible with magic, but not on a global or dimensional scale. And I know curses can make you relive past traumas over and over, but I mean specifically the flow of time itself, like repeating the same day over and over. And you said that nothing was strong enough to affect time on all realities, in every plane of existence, across all dimensions, but there has to be something, right? None of this stuff just appeared out of nowhere. Some demon lord or God or whatever created time, right? You have to know."
  
  Suddenly, knowing far more than he's ever let on made everyone suspicious of him. Once, Buffy even tied him down, fearing he was a clone or possessed again, and got Giles, Willow, and Ms. Calendar to exorcise whatever might've been possessing him. Of course, Giles cleared him of supernatural ailments, and after that embarrassing ordeal, Xander learned to ask hypothetical questions in following loops.
  
  After defeating Ethan again, Xander called Willow that night and asked her, "What would you do if, hypothetically speaking , you kept repeating the same day, like in Groundhog's Day? But you could also be anybody you wanted in order to try and stop it?"
  
  He heard her hum over the phone and could easily picture her tilting her head and bracing her red lips together. He could feel her excitement over the brain tease when she gasped at a thought and cheerfully answered, "I know exactly who I'd be. The world's greatest detective."
  
  Having already tried that with Ethan, Xander mundanely commented, "Nah, he hates Batman."
  
  "Not Batman, silly," she said with a giggle. "I'd be Sherlock Holmes."
  
  I love reading your comments, friends. Many of you have a good grasp of how time loops can be helpful. I had one review mention Xander should wear superhero costumes. This is you warning, Ethan HATES that pop-culture stuff. He thinks it's rubbish and will never make a costume like that for Xander. So don't expect Batman, Superman, Flash, Wolverine, Spider-man, or any of them. But more than that, I adhere to the rules of the Halloween episode. This means the powers Xander gains from any costume is gone when the curse is gone. That being said, look forward to the loopholes to come😁.
  
  The schedule: The next 4 chapters will be released once a week, and at the start of the new year, each chapter will be released every 2 weeks. However, if my awesome Betas and I are like 6 or 8 chapters ahead of you guys, I'll release more as needed. I already wrote out a detailed outline to this entire story, including dialogue and action(250K). So the story is done and split into chapters. Each one just needs several rewrites/revisions to make them flow like a normal novel. This will also allow me to write my main fanfic, The Last Prayer.
  
  If you have any questions or spot any mistakes, whether grammatical or in the character in general, please let me know. I get that this is a fanfic and I can write Xander however I want, but I like fix-it fics and in my opinion, those are the best when they stick close to canonical characteristics. Anyway, take care guys. Till next time.
  
  -Grae
  
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  Geniuses
  Welcome back, friends!
  
  Expect a chapter every Sunday for the month of December. I've had a lot of fun reading the comments and theories. It's my hope that this chapter can answer as many questions as it raises 😁
  
  Warning: Language.
  
  It's 4.1k. I'd like to thank my Betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. I appreciate your hard work beating these chapters into shape.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Geniuses
  
  "I need to be Batman," Xander sternly told Ethan.
  
  Dressed in sweats and a gaudy red & yellow dress shirt, Xander was in Ethan's shop in the following loop, but the conversation in that repetition didn't go well. The teenager couldn't convince the Englishman to make him a special costume of Sherlock Holmes, forcing him to get creative. The very last thing he wanted to do was give up this sliver of hope, so he tried several approaches. Asking directly for Sherlock didn't help. Threatening to shop at another store didn't either, so Xander figured he had to trick the man. It's been his goal for the past five loops.
  
  Ethan took a deep pacifying breath, clearly withholding his annoyance. True to his hatred of all things pop culture related, he angrily told Xander, "young man, there isn't a single character from a television show, movie, comic, or board game I will ever stock in this shop!"
  
  Xander knew that to be true because he even tried to return a Superman costume he claimed was purchased as Ethan's. No matter how much Ethan protested ever selling such a costume, Xander yelled, "I know my dad got it here and I don't want it!" Xander left the shop without the Superman costume, hoping Ethan will do whatever magic he uses on the costume. However, Xander only found the costume in the dumpster at the back of the shop.
  
  Knocking him out of his reprieve, Ethan continued, "If you don't buy the wares I have available, you are more than welcome to vacate the premises this instant!"
  
  ' There 's the right pitch of pissed ,' Xander thought before fighting back with a desperate, "but! But, I want to be the world's greatest detective!"
  
  The Englishman rubbed the bridge of his nose for patience before noting, "your publicly funded education is lacking far in a way that's tragic. Clearly, the world's greatest detective is Sherlock Holmes, of England . Not some trust-fund billionaire dressed in a cowl and black pyjamas."
  
  "Sherlock Holmes?" Xander retorted in confusion. "Never heard of him!"
  
  "You've never-" a flabbergasted Ethan had to cut himself off. "Do your teachers no longer assign book reports, or are they simply biased against masterful authors from other countries?"
  
  With an unimpressed expression on his face, Xander jadedly insisted, "I've never heard of Sherlock Holmes. And what kind of name is that, anyway? Sounds like the kind of guy smart enough to drown a fish in water." That riled Ethan up just enough to do anything to get rid of Xander.
  
  The young teen quickly moved on to confess with grief and misery in his voice, "Listen, I've been... there are these boys in school that keep making fun of me because I can't solve problems as fast as they do. I just thought if I wore the costume of the world's greatest detective, I might feel like I am. So, obviously, everyone knows that's Batman."
  
  Fed up, an irate Ethan demanded, "do you want the costume or not?"
  
  Xander stood quiet for a moment, pretending to be thinking lamely before finally asking, "he doesn't look like an idiot, does he?"
  
  Managing the smallest of fake smiles, he replied, "Your so-called friends will grow green with envy."
  
  "...Okay," Xander pretends to reluctantly agree. "I'll try this Sherlock dude out."
  
  It took Xander eight loops to figure out how to manipulate Ethan into making a custom costume, in addition to a combination of mentioning bullies and driving the British man crazy with agitation to finally get the result he wanted. When Xander returned to the costume shop with his friends that afternoon, his costume was ready. Paying for the outfit with money he'd taken from his hungover parents didn't bother him. He'd pay anything to get out of this hellish nightmare.
  
  Moments before the Janus curse was set to begin, Xander walked around the neighborhood, none too far from Buffy. He avoided becoming a chaperone so he could concentrate on the vital mission at hand. The young teen clasped his hands desperately and squeezed the blood out of them in sheer anxiety, simply hoping the brilliant man would figure out how to get out of the time loop. Seconds till the big moment, Xander rushed closer to Buffy, then he felt his consciousness slip, like the floor was pulled from under him, and was imprisoned in his own mind.
  
  Ignoring the familiar numbing sensation of losing body function, Xander immediately began perusing the memories and intimate thoughts of one of the greatest fictional minds in history. The working mind of Sherlock Holmes felt like an anvil of knowledge falling on his head; an unparalleled wealth of detail and reasoning that felt heavy to think through. Feeling overwhelmed by his genius, Xander didn't think a person could retain so much information. The way Sherlock viewed the details of the world around him, cataloged and cross-referenced it, was the most efficient system of information retention he's ever felt.
  
  Xander simply watched in awe as the man deduced within seconds that not only he was in a different time period, but that he was in California, of the United States. He based his deduction of being in the late 20th-century on the advanced technology of cars, streetlights, pavement, and the architecture of the surrounding houses. He also knew he was in California because the blue scrub jay on the nearby tree was a bird native to that state.
  
  The rational man initially reasoned the widespread panic and chaos must've been a neuroinhibiting gas or drugs of some sort. Then he noticed the supernatural demons and monsters hunting the running and screaming civilians. Instantly, a file cabinet opened in his mind and he began filling it with every detail he was observing until he was interrupted by Ghost-Willow.
  
  Fortunately, he listened to everything Willow told him, hell-bent on learning more about every speck of information he could see, hear, touch, and taste. This persona was leagues different from the Soldier, and in Xander's opinion, a giant improvement. Sherlock's mind made leaps and connections about monsters, demons, and their anatomy Xander never would've guessed was possible, but at the moment, experiencing his rapid mind in real-time, it all made sense. He stuck close to Willow to learn all that he could and the redhead was super-thrilled to talk to the world-renowned detective.
  
  Sherlock knew boxing & combat strategy, and didn't let Buffy, Cordelia, or even Angel die throughout the night. When they were taking shelter in Buffy's house from the mayhem outside and he looked at the photo of the three friends, Sherlock was convinced his mind was transported into the body of the teenager through some unknown fringe science and began trying to deduce why.
  
  ' Yes! Come on, man! Figure it out ,' he mentally yelled. Sadly, there wasn't enough time for the detective to think of a solution to Xander's time dilemma.
  
  The teenager had to do dozens of cycles as Sherlock to retain the mental pattern. Xander needed to keep the persona fresh in his mind so he could deduce how to break out of the time loop even if he wasn't dressed as Sherlock. It wouldn't be exactly Sherlock's genius, but better than Xander could ever hope to reason. He looped enough times for a small voice in his head that sounded like Sherlock to tell him he needed to rule out all possibilities one at a time. Essentially, Xander needed to test, test, test everything.
  
  From previous loops, he already knew he couldn't die, along with Buffy, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Angel, and, to his great dismay, Spike. However, to be more detailed about it, Xander tested dying, which was never a pleasant experience. Even though he'd wake up in his bed the second he died, there were many loops where dying took a long time, and he was forced to suffer on the floor, bleeding out, until his heart finally stopped beating. There was even a sadistic vampire with long black hair, a paper-white face, yellow eyes, and a lot of wrinkles in his skin who enjoyed peering into Xander's panicked eyes as he slowly died.
  
  Annoyed by the vicious vampire, with its demonic cocky smirk on his wrinkled face, Xander fought him often. Though he's never been able to take on a vampire one-on-one, or many regular people, for that matter. Blocking the hard hits of a vampire hurt a lot, making his bones creak, and he'd lose his life often, but Xander still had his pride. With every loop, he'd pick up its next punch, its next kick, its next dodge, and Xander's timing would improve until he could fight that homicidal vampire like he was playing a video game. The geek knew exactly what stones to throw, when to run, and where the tree branch was to surprise the vampire with a stake to the heart.
  
  ' Dodge, dodge, back-step, punch ,' Xander would repeat in his mind to make certain he was doing the series of movements right. ' Now he 's pissed. Run. Throw that dirt, then that rock, punch, punch, run. Grab that the branch. Get knocked down. Kick out its feet. Make sure his face hits the branch on the way down. Stab in the heart .'
  
  After staking the sadistic asshole, Xander moved on to dying in other ways. He died via multiple vampires, demons of all sorts, a pirate killed him, a witch did with a poison apple, a bear mauled him, a car crash, stabbings, high-speed bullets, and even being thrown from the roof of a building. Xander wasn't sure if it was fortunate, however, no matter how he died, he would always reset. By the end, he was slightly numb to the anticipation of assured pain from a fist, a kick, or horrible murder, but he had no doubt death will always make him reset.
  
  Additionally, his body always reverted to his start-of-the-day body. If he was maimed and lived to 3 AM, he'd awaken again with all of his appendages. And due to gaining marginally better mental timing for combat, he began feeling gross by how sluggish his body was; as if the mind of an athlete were transferred into the body of an overweight couch potato. Knowing his mind could interpret dangers in ways his body couldn't react fast enough to stop made Xander feel detached from his body, like a stranger in his own skin. With every loop, that feeling only added to his growing anxiety. Xander bottled it up and kept going.
  
  The small voice in his head that sounded like Sherlock inquired if there were any other enhancements-aside from gaining memories-at the start of a new loop. Other than recalling batches of fading memories from his different costumes-a soldier, pirate, ghost, chef, officer, doctor, cowboy, among others-Xander couldn't think of any other boosts the time loop gave him. None of their physical strengths or special abilities ever transferred over. Once the curse was gone, he'd only have their memories and even that was subject to fade if he didn't dress in the same costume repeatedly.
  
  Still, the voice needed clearer tests and Xander took to Ethan's shop to manipulate the British egomaniac. Thanks to Willow's extensive knowledge of myths and legends across many cultures, Xander had a costume in mind. He incorporated the same tactics as ever to maneuver Ethan into making him a costume of one of the world's greatest mythical fighters.
  
  "You have to help me," Xander yelled at the Englishman. "Look, I just need a costume that might help me feel more confident. I bumped into these crazy guys-and talk about overreacting! It's like it was impossible for them to believe it was an accident. I looked around your shop cuz I thought if I dressed as the greatest warrior ever committed to paper, then maybe it could help me feel brave and not get my ass kicked." Switching to the hook, Xander noted to Ethan, "but I don't see a Wolverine, Iron Fist, or a Deadpool costume, you know, from Marvel, or even a Batman costume from DC."
  
  Ethan immediately inhaled and clenched his jaw, blatantly not appreciating any praise toward the comic characters. Xander continued to ask, "Did you run out? I know they're popular. I mean, you can't beat a good comic book character, am I right? But seriously, don't you have any in the back somewhere? I'd even take the Karate Kid! You've seen that movie, right? A little wax on, wax off!"
  
  Rather quickly, an irate Ethan groaned impatiently, "get out."
  
  Pumping peaceful palms in front of him, Xander begged, "alright, alright. Look, my friend told me about some other guy, in case I can't find a cool character on short notice. She said his name was Achilles. I thought she was talking about my foot at first. I'm like, ' how 's dressing up like a giant heel injury supposed to help me feel safe ,' you know? But my friend's pretty smart. So, if you have, or could make something like that, I'll pay whatever. Just please help me survive the night. I'm begging ya!"
  
  Though Xander had to endure a few taunts about his failing education, the enigmatic Brit begrudgingly made the costume for him. The teenage boy didn't appreciate wearing a brown leather dress and black sandals. The updraft made him take shorter steps, but at least he had a plastic sword and round shield Xander knew would become deadly once the curse began.
  
  He walked the festive suburban neighborhood near Buffy and the children she was chaperoning for Trick-or-Treat when he felt the familiar feeling of falling backward and his consciousness being harnessed down. The round shield in Xander's left hand became much larger, heavier, and sturdier, and the sword in his right became a double-edged, one-handed iron shortsword.
  
  Oddly enough, Xander noted Achilles' eccentric mental pattern was very similar to Sherlock's, but rather than a genius in investigating cases, Achilles was a genius in the art of combat. Xander could recognize the same creativity pattern the warrior has when approaching an enemy that Sherlock has when approaching a crime scene. It was almost like the pattern of genius could apply to any discipline, and similar to the great consulting detective, Achilles was obsessed with combat. The more challenging the opponent, the more thrilling it was for him.
  
  Upon meeting 18th-century Buffy and the gang, Xander sadly learned that the legendary fighter was also an egotistical horndog. When he couldn't touch sexy ghost-Willow, he'd always end up fighting Angel to win Lady Buffy's heart. Xander couldn't deny Achilles had great taste, but with his combat ability, the armed warrior would always kill Angel, forcing the frustrated teenager to reset. Even if Xander didn't exactly hate how easily he could kill Buffy's beau, after six resets, he changed tactics.
  
  Rather than staying close to Buffy, Xander moved his costumed counterpart to Maple Court in downtown Sunnydale, so he could spend more than a few minutes in the cursed outfit. When he did, Xander was thoroughly amazed by the warrior's mental pattern in action. The man instinctively analyzed everything he sensed-sight, sound, touch, and smell-and no matter the disadvantage, he kept his mind incredibly calm throughout. Achilles didn't care how strong the opponent was, whether vampire, demon, monster, larger human, or animal. He knew for a fact there was always a way to win and all he needed to do was pay attention to find it.
  
  The first time Xander witnessed the legendary warrior fight, he couldn't be happier. Achilles came across a seven-foot-tall, grey, hulking demon with large gorilla teeth and red eyes. Achilles didn't fear it for even a microsecond. His acute eyes instinctively ascertained what hand the demon favored, what foot it led with, and how fast it moved all by the way it prowled forward. Even predicting how the monster would attack just by the contraction of its large musculature was elementary for the veteran warrior.
  
  With Achilles' mastery of distancing, it was effortless for the genius warrior to slip the predictable punch with superior footwork, whilst simultaneously impaling the monster's chest with his sharp, double-edge shortsword in one fluid motion. It was like the world stood still when he moved and he saw everything so clearly, Xander was in awe. Achilles removed his sword from the hulking monster's chest with a wet slick and kept walking before its face hit the street.
  
  ' HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ,' Xander laughed from within his mind. ' He didn 't even wait! '
  
  The exceptional warrior had the speed, skill, and strength to impale any horrific creature he came across anywhere on their body. He could fracture any bone with the edge of his shield and swiftly side-step around them with supreme balance and poise. Despite him using Xander's body, Achilles slipped punches, dodged or parried kicks, sliced off limbs, and buried his sword in chests or skulls. If Xander were honest with himself, being able to kill so many monsters on a single night with ruthless efficiency made him feel like a superhero. It made him feel like Buffy.
  
  By the end of the curse, Xander bellowed with girlish cheer, "Child's play! Hahahahahahah!"
  
  A giddy Xander replayed several dozen loops as the confident Achilles, absorbing as much of his style as humanly possible. Xander would even throw the sword and shield away in a dumpster before the curse began, simply to see how he fought unarmed. To his glee, Achilles was no less lethal with his bare hands. The fights may have needed a few more steps to get the kill, but he was a master of hand-to-hand combat as well.
  
  After another dozen loops, Xander was addicted to the idea of being as lethal as Buffy and went to Ethan's for a different mythical hero. Dejectedly, the same egotistical & hotheaded outcomes would happen when the teenager dressed as Heracles. The muscular costume was stronger than Achilles-able to throw heavy monsters over two-story houses-but he had significantly less tactical awareness or discipline. Xander thought he would be Kevin Sorbo from Hercules, but he became more like Wolverine's berserker rage; all instinct.
  
  Aside from combat, when Xander tried to get the mythical heroes to save Buffy or Cordelia, then defeat Ethan's chaos curse, it always took Willow ages to convince them of what was going on and that would cost one of his friends to die-either Buffy or Cordelia, but primarily Angel-which would make him reset.
  
  Despite the setbacks, Xander used Achilles' costume enough times to understand the differences between the warrior's impressive body movements and his own pathetic one. Compared to a Greek Demi-God with supernatural strength, Xander's body felt fat, oily, sluggish, and dangerously uncoordinated. If the teen closed his eyes and stood on one foot long enough, he'd lose his balance as well. Xander felt disgusting in his own skin, and it made him want to get out of the time loop even more.
  
  ' If I ever get out of this stupid time trap, it 's the Iron Life for me, ' he angrily thought. After dozens of loops satisfying a primal hunger for monster blood, Xander thought magic might help him cheat the steps to a muscular bod.
  
  Rather than ask Giles or Ms. Calendar, Xander went to Amy and asked if she'd be open to testing any of her magic on him. He doubted the pretty girl would be the key to ending his never-ending nightmare of impermanence, however; there was a slight possibility magic could transfer over from loop to loop. And that was enough for him and the Sherlock within to try. Sadly, Amy was only strong enough to change him into a rat or switch minds with her, but, as ever, he'd loop back to his disgusting room with no change to his morning.
  
  Xander had to use a few loops to convince Amy to let him read some of her tomes, and for several loops, he found himself in her house after school. He didn't know how to read Latin, however Sherlock did, which meant he could too, though much slower. It certainly wasn't nearly as fun as reading Klingon, but he was able to read the Latin in some of her books. The pair of teens were sitting at her kitchen table reading in peace when he read something that completely floored.
  
  "Qu'vatlh," Xander aggressively cursed in Klingon as his brown eyes bulged.
  
  His hands shook and his chair scratched the tile loudly as his whole body scooted closer to the old stained pages of the tome he was reading. Startled, Amy asked if he was alright, but Xander's hyper-focused eyes could only pay attention to the details of a love spell on the page. Not once since this entire bloodcurdling, soul-crushing crisis began, did it ever cross the hormonal teenager's mind to use the time loop for sex; ever!
  
  " Qu 'vatlh ," he cursed even louder at his stupidity, prompting a concerned Amy to ask, "What? Xander, what is it?"
  
  Xander ignored her as his mind ran through quick possibilities. Though he refused to use a love spell on a girl, as it's no different from date-rape in his opinion, he felt hopeful the time loop could help him learn how to speak to gorgeous girls. After all, gaining the confidence to talk to hot girls like Buffy-or others he can't even think of-would definitely be worth suffering the hell of repeating time. In his warped and desperate mind, Xander even convinced himself that the key to breaking out of this nightmare had to be sex.
  
  ' I need to lose my virginity ,' he thought in all seriousness. In his mind, the solution wasn't about his personal glee or sexual satisfaction. This necessity was about saving his life. The Sherlock in him would not hesitate to test the theory, and with that, he felt some hope for the future. Running to get himself killed via fighting a vampire, Xander leaped in joy as he yelled, "finally! Something!"
  
  In the following loop, Xander quickly learned he was astonishingly bad at talking to beautiful girls, let alone convincing them to have sex with him. He couldn't shake his nerves or the sweat that poured out of him. Just approaching their magnificent form made him dizzy, and when he did, he'd either talked too loudly, stood so unnaturally he looked constipated, or was caught staring at their breasts.
  
  Openers like, "y-you smell nice, l-like, rainwater," or, "s-sooo, do you live in, uh, a house... near here," or, "Hi, thanks for not running away," only seemed to creep them out. After dozens of catastrophic failures with random women who'd shoot him down without a second thought, he attempted to flirt with the girls in his immediate orbit.
  
  Buffy would always let him down easily with a friendly pat to the shoulder, Cordelia couldn't stop laughing-which was extremely demoralizing-and Willow was a punch in the emotional gut that never got softer no matter how many loops he tried. Pushing the sweetest and most adorable girl in his life into sex on the same day he confessed disingenuous emotions made him feel atrocious. When she happily agreed to date, she was so excited, it would shred his insides to know he was only using her for sex. To preserve the loving friendship they have, he quickly abandoned that idea and set a hard boundary on that path.
  
  Xander moved on to the other hot girls in school, then hot teachers-which was only Ms. Calendar-hot women in his neighborhood, in gyms, in stores, and even girls he wasn't attracted to. Ninety-nine percent of the women he approached rejected him outright, and the often public embarrassment of being rejected didn't go away for at least ten cycles. The two girls that agreed to date him were categorically not his type, and they certainly didn't want to do anything sexual right away.
  
  Xander considered paying for sex, but the most he could steal from his parents was seventy-eight dollars and thirty-four cents. The dejected teenager was on the verge of asking his love-rival, Angel, for help picking up women when it dawned on him. There was already one source of magic at his disposal that could offer him the insight he needed. He laughed at himself for being so stupid and rushed to the bus stop in the very next loop.
  
  Mopey and sadder than a kicked puppy, Xander entered Ethan's Costume Shoppe and once again duped the British chaos warlock into making him a costume. This time of Cupid.
  
  I spelled Pajamas, Pyjamas cuz that's how they do so in Britain.
  
  As you might be able to guess, we will be heading into adult territory fairly soon. It's all part of the journey.
  
  To all those who want Xander to dress up as a superhero or some pop culture badass from TV or Movies, sorry but it's not going to happen. I get the appeal. I think it would be fun too, but we gotta get to the good parts.
  
  I want to just quickly say that I love the character of Xander for the potential he had, not necessarily as he stayed. He was funny and all that, but he also had a lot of growing/maturing to do. And I felt that the show never really gave him that. So that's what I'm going to do here. I'm really going to put him through the ringer, so I hope you guys enjoy the transformation.
  
  I'd love to hear any comments you have. Till next week, take care.
  
  -Grae
  
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  Greek God Days
  Welcome back fellow readers!
  
  A new Sunday, a new chapter.
  
  Warning: Foul Language, sexual situations, and moral ambiguity.
  
  Big thank you to my Betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. 3K words. Enjoy!
  
  Greek God Days
  
  Convincing Ethan to make him a Halloween costume that wasn't pop-culture related had become an effortless endeavor. Toga-clad Xander carefully arranged his paper wings and quiver of arrows at his back, then clutched his plastic yellow bow excitedly. As he walked down the street near Buffy's house, moments before the curse started, he already felt like Cupid. The young teen fantasized about all the knowledge a God of love like Cupid would possess. Xander's initial hope was for the godly knowledge to somehow break the time loop, but he couldn't help wanting to use what he learned in his love life as well. Buffy was so in love with Angel, it seemed impossible to get her to love him instead. However, with the knowledge Cupid should possess, he might have a chance with the girl of his dreams.
  
  The clock struck six and Xander learned the hard way that Cupid didn't care about the gender of his target. The excited and hormonal teenager hadn't even thought about the men walking around the neighborhood, and almost immediately after the curse activated, Xander couldn't close his eyes to the testicle-slapping-testicle fornication that was to come... for the next hour. He didn't hate or even dislike gay people. To each their love, he thought. However, he's never pictured himself with another man. His heart was firmly set on lady parts, so to be forced to watch himself enthusiastically stuff male anus... of multiple men...
  
  Even if physical sensations were dulled within the cursed costume, Xander was still huddled around his bathroom's toilet by the end of the night, throwing up, shivering, and crying. " HUUAAK! " he'd loudly heave over the toilet bowl, but there was nothing in his stomach to regurgitate. He laid in bed for several loops after that, sobbing in cold trepidation and slapping his face to get rid of the memories of the event until his cheeks were burning red. He couldn't even go to school for many loops because the one time he tried, he'd scream at random times and seriously frighten Buffy and Willow.
  
  "It wasn't me. It wasn't me," he would repeat to himself for as many loops as necessary to believe it. "That was some other guy. It's fine. It was someone else; Your long-lost, more fabulous, gay twin brother. That's who it was. It's fine."
  
  When Xander eventually felt ready to return to the outside world, he left his room. Repeated clapping noises still made him twitch nervously, but mercifully, he was forgetting. He managed to put the event behind him before trying Cupid's costume once again. Making absolutely certain he was the only man around beautiful women was slightly difficult to comprehend at first. He didn't know of a building that was strictly for women off the top of his head, but in a short time, he found himself in the Beta Delta Gamma sorority house on the U.C. Sunnydale campus.
  
  Fortunately, all the college parties don't start until ten pm or later, which meant that many of the sexy college girls were still getting ready. Walking into the sorority house was easy when he carried ten boxes of pizzas in hand and called out, "delivery." Clearly, none of them ordered the marinara cheese pies, however, it would be past six before any of them figured that out and he would be Cupid by then.
  
  Within the three-story sorority house of Beta Delta Gamma, there were at least ten gorgeous girls that he could see from the entryway. Xander was fairly confident he was the only guy in the house and that none of the coeds bought their slutty outfits at Ethan's Prudes-R-Us. As he watched the bubbly blondes, Girl-Next-Door brunettes, exotic Hispanics, sexy redheads, and sultry caramel girls sauntering about in their short shorts, leggings, or mini-skirts, with cute little tops, Xander was getting hard under his white toga. He counted the seconds to six.
  
  Once the hormonal teen's consciousness took a back seat to the Roman God's divine influence, Xander finally had a show worth watching. He quickly noticed a few things. First, the sexy sorority sisters gravitated to the God of Love like they were entranced. Xander assumed it was because he suddenly glowed in golden heavenly light and his wings became real. Second, Cupid's thought patterns were more mischievous and impulse-driven than intelligent. The mythical God didn't seem to care about anything but his own satisfaction, making Xander glad he kept him well away from Buffy and Willow. Third, the method by which Cupid attracted anything with two legs involved nothing more than notching his magical arrow on his magical bow, taking aim, and letting loose.
  
  "As if that 's gonna help me get laid after the curse ends," he bellowed in the quiet library of his school as he recalled the event. He then flipped the page of his mythology tome so hard he nearly ripped it.
  
  The fourth and most important point he couldn't help but notice, despite having an orgy with fifteen sexy, naked sorority girls, Xander didn't feel much. At first, the teenage boy didn't care. He was surrounded by naked beauties he'd normally never have a chance with. Three girls-a brunette, a blonde, and a redhead-were licking or sucking his magically enhanced godly penis at the same time and relishing it. One beauty would ride each of his arms, his hands were fingering two more beauties, he was eating out the busty brunette that sat on his face with his magically long tongue, and three girls were rubbing their sodden slits on his muscular torso, yet all of them had earth-shattering orgasms. It made little sense.
  
  Evidently, the sole act of touching his divine skin for longer than a minute was enough to make them squirt their quaking orgasms. Xander felt like he was under showerheads after every minute. It didn't matter what part of him they touched; it was enough to make their eyes roll to the back of their head in ecstasy. His Godly ecstasy drove the girls to take multiple turns touching him. When the sorority sisters argued about who would be the first to enjoy his magically larger love muscle, Cupid bestowed his divine blessing on all of them like a ray of golden light washing over their aroused, flushed bodies and they all orgasmed in unison.
  
  Xander loved hearing their moans and screams of pleasure, as it was the most exciting part, but soon enough, the curse was over. So by the end, he didn't truly have sex and all fifteen girls were passed out, continuously convulsing with bliss on the floor of the communal dining room. While he certainly enjoyed the view of sexy, sweaty coeds around him, Xander didn't feel right about continuing anything more with passed-out girls and he left the sorority. In the end, the experience was like watching the greatest porn imaginable, but in his estimation, Cupid was useless.
  
  With his wings, plastic bow, and quiver in hand, Xander walked directly to his high school library. Despite the late hour, he sat at the center table and researched mythological Gods in hopes of finding one with knowledge about women that could actually be of help. After an hour, he found one with promise, and in the next go around, he moved Ethan off of Cupid and try a Greek God by the name of Hedylogos.
  
  An expert in mythology, the Englishman naturally knew of the name and remarked with a smirk, "Hah! The winged love God of sweet-talk and flattery."
  
  After picking up his costume later that day, Xander returned to Beta Delta Gamma dressed as Hedylogos. His costume was nearly identical to Cupid, only he didn't have a bow and quiver of arrows. The toga-wearing teen entered the three-story house once again with boxes of pizza, and to his disappointment, the experience was a lot like Cupid's. Xander simultaneously loved and hated it. Although he could watch himself have proper intercourse with the sexy sorority sisters-make them moan to the heavens above with arched backs in full-body orgasms-Xander couldn't feel much of it. He was eternally grateful the sensation was muted down when Cupid was with those college boys-
  
  "UUGHH! Huuaaggkk! Huak! Ughh. Wasn't me! Your twin! Your twin," Xander hollered from within his mental prison, feverishly shivering at the sudden recollection of his male-in-male moment.
  
  Once settled and happy to wave at his imaginary gay twin goodbye, Xander continued to recall the same decreased sensation in touch with the Soldier, Sherlock, Achilles, and all the other costumes. Essentially, his consciousness became numb to his body's physical sensations when it was taken over by the costume. Xander recalled when he wasn't wearing a costume, he felt the normal amount of pain or agony, depending on how hard the injury was. He never considered the same effect would happen with pleasure since none of the costumes sought sexual release.
  
  In the sorority house, Xander didn't feel much satisfaction from the Hedylogos using his body. When the God was pounding his man-meat into their sweet tight innards, making them moan like an animal, Xander felt mild pressure, which was a real letdown. The young teen once sat on his hands during a painfully boring class. After ten minutes, they were tingling like a thousand dull pin-needles were poking his skin. His hands also flopped about limply, like he couldn't control them. Watching these wanton Gods using his body to have sex with these sexy college girls felt akin to that. And worse yet, like Cupid, Hedylogos' tactics were impossible to replicate.
  
  The love God flattered these girls with affirmations, compliments, and suggestions to a supernatural degree. It wasn't simply that the God knew precisely what they wanted to hear. It was that his presence alone induced a state of intoxication on all the girls within clear eyesight. They were in love with him the moment they were within his field of influence and would do anything he suggested, whether good or bad. Hedylogos even used his magic to create a mist that would allow all the girls breathing it in to feel the exact sensations the beauty he was pounding was feeling. So, within the mist, they all felt as though they were having sex with him at the same time.
  
  ' Oh, come on! Only a God could do that ,' he anxiously yelled as he observed it all without blinking.
  
  He couldn't deny he loved it at first. Even if it was a numb experience, he lost his first of many virginities to the sexy coeds of Beta Delta Gamma. He'd arrive at the sorority house several minutes before the curse started and after five or six loops, he'd use some of the things they said in the throes of mind-numbing pleasure to single out some of his favorite girls.
  
  "You're a million times better than Chad," one would whimper, or, "better than Mason," or, "Ty," or, "Evan," or, "God, you're so much better than Riley!" A brunette then gasped, "No way! Boyscout Riley from Lowell House!"
  
  Xander didn't know, nor did he care about the boys they brought up, but he knew he could use the bits of information. There was a striking blonde girl that looked like a young Natasha Henstridge from the movie Species. Xander recalled fond memories of him and Jesse trying for months to get a copy of the VHS. The girl's name was Kristy, and she was blonde, tall, and drop-dead gorgeous.
  
  "Delivery for a Kristy," Xander told the three girls who opened the door, lifting the dozen boxes of pizza before they let him into the foyer of their three-story house. "Is Kristy around?" When the blue-eyed blonde came down from the second floor with an alluring bounce in her step, Xander told her, "now, I may or may not be allowed to tell you if this is from Chad or Ty-" When the five girls nearby squealed with excitement-making Kristy blush under the attention-Xander asked, "uh, is there someplace more private we can talk. I sorta have more I'm supposed to say."
  
  Sometimes Kristy would take him to her room, sometimes she would shoo away her nosy sorority sisters so they could talk in the entryway, but every single time, Xander would have sex with her and the other fourteen girls in the house. The hormonal boy felt excited watching the entire show, even if it was only in his mind and not in his body. The way Kristy would suck him off, pink lips sealed tight all the way to the base, gulp down his godly sperm like a delicious beverage, spread her ass for him, beg for his seed in her womb, take it up the ass, and orgasm repeatedly throughout all of it... it was the best live show Xander could ever hope to see.
  
  Sadly, the more he did it, the more he couldn't deny the ever-noticeable disconnect he felt. The stunningly naked girls quite literally orgasmed every minute, or sometimes continuously, until they passed out. It was feeling more like a vivid fantasy, amazing to witness, but ultimately unrealistic.
  
  After nearly a dozen loops in the sorority house, Xander amended his current theory on breaking out of the time loop. Rather than needing to lose his virginity to any girl, he needed to find a specific girl to have sex with. There was no evidence to suggest that would work, but there was also none to suggest it wouldn't work. Xander disappointed Sherlock's meticulous testing process, but if not this course of action, then the teen had nothing.
  
  Xander began by walking around town scouting for amazing beauties to test Hedylogos on. Fortunately, he didn't have to search for long. Sunnydale had no shortage of beautiful women. One of the mothers who dropped their child off at school was a brunette who looked similar to Linda Harrison when she played Nova from the 1968 classic Planet of the Apes. The teenage boy felt disgusted with himself for following her like a perverted stalker, but when he eventually learned she went to a beauty salon rather than take her daughter trick-or-treating, he didn't care as much. Xander hated neglectful parents.
  
  Watching his own godly cock repeatedly stuff the gorgeous mother was like watching himself going balls deep with a beauty Queen from the 60s. He wished he would have felt more than a slight tingling pressure, however, it was still amazing to watch. After five loops, he reasoned she wasn't the girl to break the time loop. Hedylogos then fucked the hot Asian girl from the comic book store who reminded him of Amy Yip. Then Xander moved his costumed counterpart to fuck girls that-for the most part-reminded him of some of his favorite actresses; Loana from One Million Years BC, Daisy Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard, and Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride. As much as he wanted it, he had no luck finding women who looked anything like Cindy Crawford, C.J. or Caroline from Baywatch, Jennifer Connelly from the Rocketeer & cult classic Labyrinth, or Sailor Moon.
  
  Since the beginning of his sexcapades, a voice that sounded like Sherlock told him he was wasting his time, even if his time felt endless. When the voice became too loud to ignore, Xander finally concluded that this wasn't working. The best he could say about being Cupid and Hedylogos was that he now knew what many girls he fantasized about looked like naked and gushing. He'll cherish the memories, but he was eager to feel the real thing as himself; costume and curse free.
  
  Aiding in this decision was the look of shame and regret that would come over the girl's face when Xander's godly influence disappeared with the Janus curse. The beauties that hadn't passed out from mind-numbing pleasure would look at him and themselves in revolting shame at the end, as if they couldn't believe they had done what they did. That always tore him up. One woman was sure she would go to prison for having sex with a minor and he had to reassure her that won't ever happen. Xander decided he needed less Godly intoxication and more human ability if he, as himself, ever wanted any hope of sex after the curse was broken.
  
  ' No more Greek sex Gods ,' he firmly ordered himself.
  
  Xander had considered using the awesomeness of Hedylogos on Buffy, Cordelia, Ms. Calendar, or even Willow. He hadn't seen them much since he started dressing as the sex Gods but a wildly hormonal side of himself was curious to see them in that way, like he's already done in several of his wet dreams. The temptation to recreate his fantasies was appealing, however, he recalled his experience who regretted having sex with him and hated the thought of seeing that look on Buffy's face. It made him queasy to think about, which was more than enough reason not to do it.
  
  Erasing experiences with strangers after every loop was fine, since he'll rarely ever see them again. The same couldn't be said about his friends or Cordelia. Though that made him wonder if he should be having sex like this in the first place. The moral and ethical implications were a struggle to think about, because he hated feeling like a creep, but he also didn't want to stay stuck in the time loop forever.
  
  He asked himself, ' What if the way out was a girl I need to be with? ' Xander highly doubted that was the destination of the time loop. If this were one of his sci-fi shows, love wouldn't even make the list of causes for a time loop, but it gave him more hope than anything else. Even if he wasn't sure what he could do in a single day, he got out of bed and tried. The teenager was certain there was some form of a trigger that'll get him out, and if it involved something horrible, he couldn't say he wouldn't do it just to be free.
  
  Talking to Willow over the phone at the end of his Greek God days, Xander asked his best friend, "Who do you think the most famous ladies' man in history is? Bonus: Must be a hundred percent human."
  
  "That's kinda implied with the ladies ' man part," she amicably told him.
  
  Nodding in the affirmative, Xander assured her, "just wanna be super clear."
  
  She hummed as she always did, eager to flex her well-oiled brain power, and as always, she didn't disappoint. With her pick in mind, it took Xander three loops to swindle Ethan into fashioning him a different costume. The gifted and evil chaos agent returned with a costume of Giacomo Casanova.
  
  I'm not going to lie. I didn't like writing this Xander. He was a bit(or a lot) of a creeper. Sadly, there are a fair amount of hints of that in canon, and I want to stick to canon Xander as much as possible. That'll make his metamorphosis all the more authentic. Also, I can't say what a typical teenage boy would do in that situation. It really is a bad thought exercise to think about because there's room to make poor decisions, which we never want to entertain that, even if there is truth in it. But also because both sides would be correct and that's not clean.
  
  Additionally, I do feel Xander's biggest weakness is women. In the show, he'd be with anyone who would have him. Even Cordelia, who he originally hated! Not that I blame him. Charisma Carpenter is incredibly gorgeous. I liken Xander's love of women to his parents love of alcohol. They can't always refrain themselves or make the best decisions and it's not a pretty picture. That's why I'm working on changing the picture 😁😁
  
  For those that though Cupid made less sense than Casanova, I agree with you, but Xander didn't know that. Also, if I went with Casanova first, people would likely wonder, what about a God of Love, like Cupid. Some of you have already guessed the next major costume too. It'll be interesting to your reactions to how the next costume comes about.
  
  Slight spoiler territory here but I realize these initial chapters have a quick pace. Chapter 7 is when things start to slow down.
  
  For my Naruto readers, I'm still working on The Last Prayer. The next chapter is halfway done.
  
  Thanks again. Please let me know you thoughts or if I made any mistakes. Till next week, be safe and have a great one,br /
  
  -Grae
  
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  Submit To Courage
  Hello again. So soon.
  
  So, I felt that the last chapter was a little short. Plus today is my birthday so I wanted to do it Lord of the Rings style and give out a little present on my B-day. Hence the surprise chapter. It's 3.3K. Thank you to my wonderful Betas: 🎇🎇Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB🎇🎇
  
  Warning: Sexual Situations, Foul Language.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Submit to Courage
  
  Despite the different centuries, the advancement in technology, and the redefinition of social standards, Giacomo Casanova's genius ability to seduce women allowed him to adapt to modern conversation relatively flawlessly. The Italian adventurer still spoke in his poetic manner, with his right arm at his lower back. But he efficiently adjusted his responses to match the woman he was talking to, because in his mind, it was simple. No matter the times or the region, all women had a primal desire, whether or not they were aware of it. All he had to do was suss it out; an easier feat for the player than Xander could've ever realized.
  
  His greatest weapon was his ability to read women masterfully. Amidst the desperate chaos of the Janus curse, he found them as easy to read as a children's book. Casanova could read a woman's body language like Sherlock could read a crime scene or Achilles an enemy combatant; The way she stood, if she crossed her arms, touched a point on her face, avoided eye contact, among so many other tells. It all told him some piece of a whole story and there wasn't a single mannerism that escaped Casanova's attention. He could ascertain if she was uncomfortable, amused, aroused, uncertain, confident, curious, or any number of sentiments.
  
  It was the most amazing treasure trove of knowledge since Xander found all four volumes of Encyclopedia Magica for Dungeons & Dragons next to a garbage bin on the sidewalk. Fifteen hundred pages of every magical item that exists in D&D, and what Casanova knew about women was infinitely better.
  
  During the Janus curse, Xander tested Casanova's skills on strangers; the same girls that reminded him of his favorite actresses: the brunette who looked similar to Linda Harrison, the hot Asian girl from the comic book store who looked like a real-life version of Jubilee from the X-Men, the auburn-haired beauty that could be a double of Loana from One Million Years BC, the busty blonde girl who mildly reminded him of Daisy Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard, and the dirty-blonde who resembled Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride.
  
  The results with these women were much more sensible than Greek sex God intoxication. Despite Casanova using Xander's face to charm these women, the philanderer loved the chase and enjoyed turning rejection into approval, then consent, and finally eagerness, which most girls did.
  
  Within the hour of meeting, the first woman he slept with was the beautiful brunette who looked similar to the actress from Planet of the Apes. Casanova rightly deduced she was bored with her domestic life and missed the spontaneity of her youth. Surrounded by the mayhem of the Janus curse, he challenged her to take a leap of faith and follow him to the monsters outside the beauty salon. She hesitated a moment, but followed him nevertheless. It was the rush of being in danger that allowed Casanova to talk the beauty into having sex with him.
  
  Xander still didn't feel the physical sensations like he wanted, but there was hope they would still be joined at the genitals when the curse ended, so he could finally know how amazing it felt. Sadly, they were in the middle of a chaotic town and the pair only did the deed once before they had to run and move to a safer location. They were still fully clothed when the curse lifted, and despite using Casanova's mannerisms to continue another round elsewhere, the brunette mother suddenly cared about her daughter.
  
  After a few failures with various girls, Xander managed to have sex with the blonde bombshell who mildly looked like Daisy Duke from Dukes of Hazzard, because Casanova correctly recognized protecting her from the surrounding chaos would endear her to him. Sadly, they were too close to the horrific violence, and neither one got to climax. The pair were also dressed when the curse ended and Xander simply wasn't saying Casanova's words as convincingly as the great seducer. It annoyed Xander when she preferred to check on her family than stay with him.
  
  Within the time limit, Casanova also convinced another two beauties out of the thirty women he tried to perform some form of sexual act with him, but none seemed to respond when Xander tried to continue their sexual congress. It was as if the magic to convince these alluring women left along with Casanova, or they were somehow put off by Xander's desire to continue.
  
  Casanova was very charismatic, protective, witty, deceptive, confident, and had an intuition when it came to women. He could lie incredibly convincingly in order to get some form of a sexual act from them, whether going all the way, fingering them, or receiving a blow job. Xander was finding it difficult to replicate the same result. The hormonal teen used Casanova often just to witness the man's unrivaled game, like watching James Bond seducing gorgeous women from a first-person perspective.
  
  The most sensational parts were when Casanova would turn a, ' No! Why would you even think I would? ' into a, ' I don 't know. I just met you ,' then eventually into an, ' Okay, just don 't leave me .'
  
  Xander also noticed how Casanova took rejection extremely well. He took his losses with no offense; even smiling to make them feel better for not having sex with a complete stranger. The girls seemed to like him even more afterward. A few even asked to meet again during the weekend when they were free, which would always bum Xander out as there would be no tomorrow for him.
  
  The raven-haired teen was getting more and more anxious to either have actual sex or leave the time loop, and the Sherlock mental pattern within answered the call. The great detective expressed a curiosity to see if he could accomplish the same result without wearing the Casanova persona in the first place. He thought of it like taking the training wheels off.
  
  Since the teen was stuck in a time loop with the script of what these gorgeous women would say, Xander wondered, ' Why haven 't I been doing this since the beginning? ' All the movies and porn portray sex as the most amazing experience in a man's life, and he was desperate to do it without the dampening effect of the costume's curse.
  
  Xander began with the gorgeous brunette that reminded him of Nova from Planet of the Apes. He ran enough loops with her to memorize their conversation and how they said it. When Xander could lip-sync the conversation perfectly, he tried it. A loop without wearing the costume. Walking into the beauty salon with palms that wouldn't stay dry and a racing heart, the teenage boy was incredibly nervous.
  
  With every step toward the beautiful brunette mother, Xander grew more conscious of how out of his league she was. It wasn't just that she reminded him of a Hollywood actress from one of his favorite movies. It was her stunning hourglass figure in a tight red dress, the luster & bounce of her long brunette hair, and her dainty heart-shaped face. The woman's striking almond-shaped eyes seemed to see right through him, as if she already knew what he wanted from her. Xander felt defeated even before he said a thing. He stuttered on his first word, immediately panicked, then ran away to suffer the mayhem of the night by himself.
  
  "How the hell did he do that?" he yelled at his Lion-O action figure by the end of the night. "I thought my heart was going to explode!"
  
  Though dejected, he was undeterred. He watched Casanova again, then tried on his own again. He did better, but it wasn't enough to get the same result. Even when Xander could eventually repeat everything Casanova said to the stunning beauty, the teenager still wasn't getting the same reactions from her as the legendary player. It was as if they could say the same words to the same girl but get different results.
  
  The Sherlock within reasoned it must be confidence since Xander didn't relish the nerve-wracking game in the same way Casanova did. In the following loop, Xander taped a note to Casanova's hand. He asked the prolific womanizer a single question so as to not annoy the man.
  
  "Why are you confident you can get any girl you're after?"
  
  Casanova read the note. He instantly thought it as strange as the sudden setting he found himself in and didn't write an answer down. Xander heard the man voice, "Deary me, who would ask such a silly query. Get? I ' get ' nothing. The sensual woman is never an object to conquer. I merely submit."
  
  Even the Sherlock within didn't understand the response, and in the following loop, Xander left another note. He asked, "What do you mean by, ' I don 't conquer women. I merely submit? '" After reading the note, he ripped it off and threw it away before continuing to walk down the street. Xander then heard the man think, ' Why is it that so many men do not grasp it is only necessary to have courage? For strength without self-confidence is useless. Submit to courage and my Lady Fortune will bestow a bounty of riches for all of time .'
  
  Xander thought a lot about his words, and with nothing to lose, he tried without the costume again. In the following loop, he reached the beautiful brunette in the salon, all the while mumbling to himself, "Be courageous. Be courageous. Be Casanova!"
  
  In the bright and acetone-smelling salon, the anxious teen jumped off the deep end and prayed he didn't drown. Despite his fear and sweaty arm-pits, Xander finally found the confidence to throw himself into the role of Casanova. To the teenager's surprise, the beautiful mother responded just as she did with the legendary smooth-talker.
  
  "I would never let a single one of these foul creatures harm a hair on your head," the teen declared to her. Though Xander was freaking out in his mind, he repeated the lines he memorized without fear of failure. "I am Giacomo Casanova, my lady. Your defender was sent here by the Gods themselves. All thee needeth do is but place your trust in me, and I'll see you live to the morrow with not a hair out of place... not unless you desire so."
  
  Fearful, yet excited by the monsters and pandemonium around them, she leaned into Xander and they raced out of the salon and down the chaotic street. They took refuge in an alley between two cars. While they hid, he caressed the excited woman's sensual backside, just as Casanova always did.
  
  ' Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God ,' his mind kept repeating as he caressed her perfectly sculpted lower back and high hips.
  
  Casanova knew her sensitive spots, which meant Xander knew her spots as well, however, the pressure was difficult to gauge. Xander couldn't feel much when his body was taken over, so he didn't know how much pressure to apply. He listened to her when she said harder and it took more force than he was expecting.
  
  After several minutes of massaging her just like Casanova did, she leaned her head against his, and Xander knew to kiss her without warning. The inexperienced teenager was expecting a stinging slap across the face and a call to the cops. Instead, the blushing woman kissed him right back.
  
  ' Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God ,' his mind would not stop repeating. If he wasn't so excited, he felt like he could pass out from the delirious overflow of pleasure. Xander used his tongue just like Casanova did, but again, the pressure needed was much more intense. He didn't think he'd be tired so fast. Even still, it was pure ecstasy, and Xander's manhood was as hard as a rock.
  
  It took a little longer to get her in the mood, and she seemed less enthused than she was with Casanova, but when she lifted her tight dress to her waist, Xander knew it was finally time. As he unzipped his pants and let loose his raging 5.5-inch killer, he couldn't believe he was moments away. Casanova had no trouble sliding it in, but when Xander tried, he couldn't stop himself from asking, "where... is it-"
  
  With a hint of frustration, she helped him find the entrance, and unencumbered by any possessed costume, Xander-as himself-finally pushed into his first vagina. The explosion of sensation was thousands of times better than watching the personas do it in his body. The warmth, the wet friction, his head snapped back, and no sound escaped his slack jaw. His entire soft body tingled everywhere but concentrated the most from his hot rod. It was much too good. Sadly, the moment he put it in, the overwhelming pleasure of his glands was like an electric buzz in his brain and Xander shot his load into her sticky love tunnel. His legs spasmed, his knees buckled, and he groaned like a wounded animal.
  
  " UUAAHHHGGG .... UUUAAA AMMM ... MMMMMNNN ... NNNNAAA," he grossly sounded with every contraction of spewing spunk. In his daze, he didn't even notice her offended expression as she removed him from herself and frustratingly fixed her tight dress back down. The young teen fell to the floor as the overwhelming pleasure remained in his body even after he finished climaxing. Xander was down after his first orgasm and the brunette beauty left into the dangerous streets unsatisfied and angry.
  
  For many hours after the monumental event, Xander should've been thrilled to finally lose his V-card to such a gorgeous woman. It was more than he could've ever expected. Sadly, he wasn't thrilled. The young teenager was ashamed by how unsatisfied she was and mortified by how fast he finished. On his smelly bed in his dirty room, he often went from sad to happy and back at the drop of a dime.
  
  "She must've thought I was so pathetic," he voiced with cringed, making his first-ever sexual experience bittersweet. What was beguiling were the memories of Casanova using the same body to pleasure the same women, but getting completely different results. Xander yelled at his Lion-O action figure, "How in the seven hells did Casanova not nut the second he put it in? It felt like a volcano going off in my pants! Just thinking about her hot, wet insides is making me wanna explode right now!"
  
  It was a question that needed an answer. Fortunately, he had plenty of time and nothing better to do. Xander repeated the monumental event, each time trying to last a second longer. It was a triumph when he didn't cum with his first thrust. After the tenth loop, he was proud to have made it thirty seconds before blowing his load inside. Though she was still thoroughly disappointed.
  
  After the twentieth loop, Xander could last two minutes of continuous pounding before his knees buckled, his hands gripped her ass, and his whole body shook as he came inside. It took the dedicated teen another twenty loops to last fifteen minutes without losing his mind to the awesome pleasure of her hot, dripping insides. After another dozen loops, Xander was satisfied he could mimic the techniques, angles, and intensity Casanova employed to make her finish with a husky scream. After another two dozen loops of fun practice, Xander moved on to the other four girls Casanova slept with within the curse's time frame.
  
  The hot Asian girl from the comic book store had a smile that could suffocate him to death, and those lips were wrapped tightly around his erect love muscle. She gave him the same blow-job Casanova received, and it took Xander a dozen loops not to explode so quickly by the unfamiliar sensation. Despite her amazing technique, Xander couldn't help but feel competitive.
  
  If Casanova lasted for x amount of time, he wanted to last for the same amount as well. With the auburn-haired beauty that looked like Loana from One Million Years BC, Casanova fingered her for ten minutes straight to multiple orgasms, so Xander used two dozen loops to achieve the same result. Casanova made the girl who mildly reminded him of Daisy Duke from the Dukes of Hazzard orgasm from just teasing her large breasts, and Xander needed thirty loops to master the same.
  
  To make the fun last longer, Xander arranged to have Angel meet Buffy immediately after sundown so he could keep her safe enough. He even shortened the entire Janus ordeal by cluing Willow into suspecting Ethan from the beginning. A few times, Xander would call Giles at the library and ' accidentally ' drop Ethan Rayne's name when mentioning a Halloween shop he should buy from. No matter how he did it, Xander could then sleep with the sexy women all night. He indulged his gratuitous sexual appetite repeatedly, because, in the throes of sweet euphoria, he could forget about being trapped in a time loop he didn't know how to escape.
  
  The young woman who resembled beautiful Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride drove Xander the wildest because she looked like an older sister to Buffy, and yet loved anal sex. The aerobics instructor already had a butt plug inside her when she talked to Casanova and his eyes noticed. He then brought out her secret fantasy of being reamed on the roof of her studio. Casanova gave her the courage to submit to her desires, so, while the chaos reigned supreme below them, Xander was having his first-ever anal experience with the Princess Buttercup look-alike.
  
  With her facing away from him as he pounded her stretched bunghole, sending ripples of bliss up her body with every thrust, all he saw was her long blonde hair sticking to her flushed backside. And as he pounded her rear, Xander couldn't stop thinking of Buffy. He wasn't picturing the dirty blonde moaning hoarsely under him as Buffy. His thoughts simply weren't in the moment. It's as if his body was on auto-pilot. When he couldn't stop thinking about Buffy, he'd wonder about his friends, too; Willow, Giles, Ms. Calendar, and, to some extent, Angel and Cordelia.
  
  Laying in his dirty bed in the morning, Xander eyed the stained ceiling above and ached to see his friends on a new day. After hundreds, if not thousands, of loops having awesome sex, Xander couldn't believe he'd ever feel tired of going balls deep inside of five gorgeous women, but the monotony of it finally caught up to him. He sleeps with five of the hottest women in Sunnydale, and every morning, he'd always wake up alone in the smelly bed of his dirty room.
  
  Xander decided he needed a change. Before the depression could set in, he needed to move on to something fresh or be forced to think about his hopeless situation. Realizing the five beauties were strangers to him, he concluded the next level of excitement was having sex with someone he knew personally. At first, he was undecided, but he knew the candidates were Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, Ms. Calendar, and, if he was extremely desperate, Harmony. The fact that these girls knew him intimately not only made it more of a challenge, but also exciting.
  
  Harmony was instantly eliminated. He didn't need a reason. He simply enjoyed eliminating her. Xander also eliminated Buffy & Willow, since Buffy was almost always protected by Angel, and Willow was both his best friend and an untouchable ghost. Walking into Ethan's Costume Shoppe, Xander couldn't decide between Cordelia or Miss Calendar, but he knew it would be one of them.
  
  As cool and suave as I want to make Xander, sorry, but his first time had to suck. His character is that of a regular guy, and for the most part, the first time usually isn't the best. Fortunately, he's stuck in a time loop.
  
  There will still be a new chapter this coming Sunday. It'll be slower and more impactful since it'll deal with a main character. Look forward to that.
  
  Let me know your thoughts. It's my hope this fic can be one of the best Xander-centric Buffy fanfictions around. So, with your help and my want to get better as a story teller, I'm sure we can do that. Take care!
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Deep Dark Want
  Yay! Welcome back friends😁😁
  
  WARNING: Explicit sexual content. If you're an underage reader, please don't read. Also foul language.
  
  7.8K words. To my Betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB, thank you!
  
  Enjoy!
  
  The Deep Dark Want
  
  Since Cordelia would be too close to Buffy, Willow, and all the mayhem outside, Xander decided to try Casanova on Ms. Calendar. The time-imprisoned teenager has looped enough to know the seductive teacher would be alone in the computer lab of his high school. Xander finds it odd to be seeing her again after so long. It feels as though it's been a thousand cycles since he's even heard her voice. Even moments with his friends can be spread between tens or even hundreds of loops. Discovering Casanova's costume and what he can do with women was like getting too close to a planet with a strong gravitational pull; difficult to escape.
  
  Entering the deserted hallway of his school in his Casanova costume, Xander looked around the eerily silent hall and said to himself, "It's been too long."
  
  Instantly, Xander thought about the time loop and hoped this worked. He needed to get out, but until he figured out how, he needed to maintain sanity. He looked up at the cheap placard on the wall that said Computer Class, then at the Library across the hall. Xander knew Giles was in there, but he also knew the man couldn't help him.
  
  Xander had already tried enough loops researching everything he could in the library. Even with Willow, other than a simple time loop spell for clocks, they found nothing on the scale of Xander's problem. Giles, Willow, and even Ethan couldn't help him. He turned his back on the library that's like a second home-only better than his actual home-and gripped the handle of the computer class door at six on the dot.
  
  Casanova was as suave as ever as he entered the classroom, immediately eying the foxy brunette at the end of the computer room. Her sharp jawline, full red lips, penetrating almond-shaped eyes, and dark-brown hair-messily done up-made her the most captivating teacher in the school. She was slim, with modest-sized breasts, and sensual, graspable hips. The professional charmer could tell that aside from her face, her gorgeous legs leading up to her perky ass were her best features. She was a beguiling beauty, and Casanova was eager for them to submit to each other.
  
  Sadly, within the shorter time frame of the curse, he couldn't get anywhere with the beautiful teacher. Miss Calendar knew Xander on a personal level and quickly realized that he wasn't himself. She easily resisted the player's advances because she was only interested in helping him. Ms. Calendar kept trying to talk him out of the persona, then simply raced to the library to get Giles to help him. When the curse ended, nothing meaningful happened with the sexy teacher.
  
  Xander needed to set the stage. Since it appeared Casanova needed more time, he set up the Janus curse to last longer by calling Angel to come early to protect Buffy and Cordelia. He also subtly dropped Giles' name around Ethan to urge him to move the statue to a second location and dropped Ethan's name around Giles to make the man leave the library much earlier. Xander hoped with enough time and no one around to intervene, Casanova might figure out the script to turn Jennifer Calendar's rejection into consent.
  
  Upon entering the warm computer classroom, Casanova could once again tell the sensual teacher was sharp-witted and Xander knew he loved savvy and educated women. Intelligent women always wanted something and the adventuring philanderer had just enough intelligence, money, and power to seduce any type of woman he wanted, whether a maid, nun, lady, wife, or socialite. Miss Calendar's want was to help Xander. With her knowledge of magic, she assumed he was possessed and needed to take him to Giles. However, the manipulative man refused to go.
  
  Casanova stood there as she tried to pull his elbow and told the thin woman, "I'd certainly be willing to acquiesce to your request, my dear, however, how could you make demands of me without proper compensation first?"
  
  Jenny looked at her possessed student-acting like an 18th-century aristocrat-and she was in disbelief as she asked, "Do you seriously want money right now?"
  
  He closed his eyes in amusement before replying, "I find monetary wealth to be quite dull and overall useless to my truest and most enduring desires."
  
  Eying him suspiciously, she asked, "Which would be?"
  
  Casanova leaned closer with perfect posture as he answered, "If you'd like me to be the moth, my lady, you'll need to become the flame." She scoffed, then took his wrist and pulled. Casanova didn't budge for several seconds before calling out, "Cold! Much too cold. I see not a light, not a spark, not a flicker of warmth." Xander took her hand, pulled her to him with ease, and quickly snaked it around his lower back. Their faces were inches apart as he spoke, "Warmer."
  
  "Will you stop dicking around," she asserted, removing her hand from his.
  
  When she tried once again to pull the boy toward the door, he wouldn't move as he once again called, "Colder!"
  
  With growing irritation, Jenny dropped his hand aggressively and yelled, "Xander!"
  
  "I don't know who that is," Casanova casually said, mildly enjoying her frustration. "But if you wish to move Giacomo Casanova, a radiant beauty such as yourself can most certainly tempt me." Xander walked around her backside, and when she pivoted around to keep him in front, he leaned forward again. He was so close to kissing her when she backed away, aghast.
  
  "No," she exclaimed, eying him warily, like she needed to be careful with him. "Stop! I'm not doing that. I can't."
  
  "Then neither can I," Giacomo easily responded before walking around the room without a bother in the world.
  
  "Xand-" she tried when he cut in, "I'm afraid I-" "Fine! Giacomo," she quickly corrected. "We need to figure out what's going on, so you need to come with me right now. It's for your benefit."
  
  Xander pressed his lips in a fake smile before remarking, "Colder. So very cold, I expect frostbite any second."
  
  Jenny sighed audibly before pressing the heel of her fists into her eye sockets. After a few seconds of silence, she sighed once more with determination. Jenny walked up to Casanova, caressed his left arm, getting a smirk out of him before planting her palm gently on his chest. She gazed into his amused eyes before softly asking, "Please?"
  
  "Oh," he hummed, leaning so close their noses almost touched. He asked, "Just a little more."
  
  With much more effort, Ms. Calendar committed to asking the possessed boy in her most sultry way. She pressed closer so her leg was between his and the tips of her breast grazed his chest. With big pleading eyes, she seductively asked, "Please, Giacomo. Won't you come with me?"
  
  Casanova smiled knowingly, remarking, "You do know your charms quite well, I see. To tell you the truth, I sense a deep-seated soul in you. The beautiful vessel before me appears to be but half the woman there is, isn't there? Who are you truly, mademoiselle Calendar?" Jenny blinked in surprise and backed away. "Come now, do not be so startled." Taking her hands and kissing them, he told her, "Your true self is the woman I crave, for what can be satisfying about half a meal?"
  
  Thinking she had a chance, Jenny simply gripped his hands tightly and tried to pull him out of the room. From within his harnessed mind, Xander could tell Casanova anticipated she would physically force him. The professional philanderer could tell the difference between true submission and someone simply pandering to him. Xander didn't budge an inch, and after a minute of constant pulling, Jenny gave up.
  
  She glared at him but Casanova only smiled before assuring her, "If you'd like me to accompany you to a destination of your choosing, then I must insist on a kiss as payment, indecent though you might find it."
  
  Balling her hands into fists, she sternly asked, "How about I just knock your teeth out?"
  
  Unworried, Casanova shrugged easily as he teased, "Do as you must, my lioness, but know my price will not change."
  
  Her steps forward easily telegraphed her intentions for an altercation. Once close enough, she tried to kick his shin, but he dodged her leg and prepared to do no more than defend himself. He would not attack, even when she charged forward and wrapped her arms around his torso to hoist him with great effort toward the door. He didn't move more than a couple of steps, but she kept pulling.
  
  Casanova enjoyed hearing her grunt and the smile on his face, so close to hers, annoyed her to no end. She suddenly pushed him away to force him to lose his balance, before pulling again. She only managed another second step and no more. Jenny leapt away from him when she felt his palms massage her hips and lower back. Instinctively, she grabbed a textbook on the nearby desk and hurled it at him.
  
  He easily dodged it before laughing loudly, annoying her further as he boasted, "Such fierceness and yet you hold yourself back."
  
  "Xander-"
  
  "Giacomo-"
  
  "You're not Giacomo Casanova," she yelled back. "You're Xander Harris! One of my students! Who I will not kiss!"
  
  Other than her panting breaths, silence descended between them for a moment. Casanova stood straighter with his impeccable posture before easily reading her like a book. "Though your words seem to care for this student of yours, your actions would say otherwise. For you would rather physically incapacitate him with hazardous projectiles than pay me the paltry sum of a single kiss?"
  
  "Xander, please, we don't know what's going on," she pleaded with wide, animated palms. "This could be really bad!"
  
  Moving forward until he was mere inches away from her, he leaned down to articulate, "Then I suggest you overcome your tired notions of social decorum and come to the conclusion that you are a woman refusing to use the only enchanting power over me that the God Almighty has so wonderfully bestowed upon you."
  
  He's close enough to note the specks of red and green in her glaring brown eyes. Jenny squeezed her eyes shut, growled a bit in helpless frustration, then grabbed the sides of his face before giving him a quick kiss. Xander could tell Casanova expected that as well. Before she could pull away, he smoothly snaked his arm around her waist, rotated her body, and leaned her backward in one fluid motion. She yelped at the startling feeling of falling, but he held her firmly and kissed the surprised woman. Feeling as though she was going to fall back, her hands reflexively wrapped around his neck as he kissed her.
  
  ' Wow ,' the restrained consciousness of Xander gasped. He couldn't believe he was watching the hot teacher kissing him. The shock of it made him forget all about the time loop.
  
  It took Jenny a long second of kissing to realize what Casanova's done, another second to realize his tongue somehow ended up in her mouth, then another two seconds to ignore his impressive technique before finally tapping the back of his neck. She expected him to bring her up, however; he scared her with a quick drop, making her hold tighter and squeezing another four seconds of impressive kissing.
  
  She just barely restrained her moan when he eventually brought her upright again. Jenny was surprised she didn't hate the kiss and felt flushed. She hated him and the entire situation, but the kiss left a very warm impression. As Jenny straightened her shuffled clothes, the irate woman was ready to punch him if he gloated, but he seemed over it already.
  
  Casanova walked to the door before proudly stating, "Now, let us see this Giles of yours."
  
  The pair then go across the hall and enter the deserted library. Finding no one on the center floor, Jenny rushed through the aisles on the elevated floor before rushing to his office, but she didn't find hide nor hair of Giles. She realized whatever the problem was, either affected the Englishman as well or he was out trying to solve it with the others. The educator reasoned the next step had to be tracking down Giles or Buffy so they could help Xander.
  
  Rushing back out to the main floor, Xander was standing with perfect posture in the center of the room with an arm affixed at the small of his back and eying her with a mixture of awe and desire. The fact that the persona had Xander's face but was an impressive kisser unsettled her, among other base feelings she ignored.
  
  "Let's go," she told him. As she walked toward the exit, she explained, "we have to find Giles or Buffy. Hopefully, they can tell us what's going on."
  
  Xander didn't move. He stayed at the center of the room. When she turned to him with a look of confusion on her face, as if to ask, ' what now? Let 's go ,' he shook his head and told her, "The bargain was for a single kiss to relocate me to a single location. If you wish to move me elsewhere, it'll naturally require another payment."
  
  Furiously inhaling deeply kept her from cursing as she cut herself from finishing, "You motherfu- mmn! Mmmnnn."
  
  "I understand," Casanova said with Xander's winning smile. "But I'm afraid I've developed a vigorous addiction to the taste of your sensual lips. They are utterly delectable," he slowly finished.
  
  " Fine , stay here," she angrily told him, unwilling to put up with his shenanigans. "I'll find him on my own." When Xander moved to leave, passing her toward the exit, Jenny called out, "Xander! No, you have to stay here-"
  
  Xander's arms swiftly took her frame by her thin waist, and the friction dragged her blouse up enough for his hand to grip the skin of her lovely hip. Massaging her tender flesh with his thumb as he eloquently expressed, "You ask so much of me, and yet I only need so little in return."
  
  Their hips were touching, but she leaned back, conceding more of her leverage to him. She sternly looked into his brown eyes and firmly told him, "No."
  
  "I see and am saddened so," Casanova said, releasing her from his embrace. "Well, I shall not, nor will I ever , force a woman to act on her innate salacious desires."
  
  Jenny smoothed down her blouse and nodded as she declared, "Good! You're not a total scumbag then. Stay here. I'll be back."
  
  Trapped within his mind, Xander's consciousness raised his eyebrows as he watched his possessed body casually walk up the seven steps to the left that lead to the aisles of bookshelves on the elevated floor. He then gripped the railing and hurled himself onto the wooden table below with a bang loud that echoed throughout the room. Xander thought of wrestlers throwing themselves over the ropes to a table below, only he was the one getting hurt.
  
  Jenny was halfway out the double doors of the library when she heard the meaty bang, then a wounded groan, and ran back in. Rushing to him, she saw him on the tile floor beside the sturdy table, gripping his shoulder as if injured. The chairs and table were pushed away, but none of the furniture was broken.
  
  She helped the injured boy stand as she yelled, " What are you doing! "
  
  Casanova accepted the pain and allowed her to check his aching shoulder as he voiced, "I couldn't resist my curiosity to learn just how important this boy is to you."
  
  Stepping back, she glared at him as she attested, "So you are possessing him!"
  
  "I am doing nothing of the sort," he replied with a smirk, rotating his injured shoulder. Fortunately, Xander couldn't feel it as the persona voiced, "From speech to form, I am the one and only Giacomo Casanova."
  
  Squinting and knitting the skin between her brow, she asked, "Then why say-"
  
  He closed the distance between them but stood upright with dignity as he explained, "You seem to believe I am someone who I am not, thus, my brief experiment." She looked at the elevated section where he jumped from, the wood table, then back at him as he continued. "If you would like me to refrain from injuring this body you claim to believe doesn't belong to me, odd as I find that, then the burden of convincing me falls squarely on your slender shoulders."
  
  Her hands balled into fists as she realized the detestable lengths this man will go for his sexual urges. Infuriated, she yelled, "You're even worse than a scumbag! You said you don't force-"
  
  "I leave the choice entirely to you, my lady," he interrupted over her voice. He tilted his ear toward her to better hear her consent. When she held her tongue, Casanova asked, "No? Very well."
  
  The possessed Xander walked up the stairs again while she remained rooted in place, unwilling to succumb to his emotional manipulation. He looked at her resolve, and with his raised brows, gave her a second chance to stop him. Other than her tight jaw and angry eyes, she communicated nothing else. Xander proceeded to then slam his face into the wood railing.
  
  " Xander ," she yelled as she rushed up the stairs to him. The trapped Xander within felt a slight dull pressure he assumed was the zing of pain and couldn't believe how far Casanova was willing to go. As the beautiful teacher checked his bleeding left eyebrow, she begged, "Stop doing this!"
  
  She pulled him away from the railing by the hand and toward the book check-out desk for tissues as he replied, "You care for who you believe me to be-"
  
  "Obviously I care about my students-"
  
  "Then if you'd like me to stop," he cut in as they reached the check-out counter. "Demonstrating how much you care as a woman would certainly travel a long way." The pensive woman was eerily quiet as her hands grabbed the tissues and pressed them against his left eyebrow. She wasn't gentle when she pressed the tissue against his cut, but the sight of his blood was upsetting her.
  
  Casanova rested a palm tenderly on her slender shoulder, making her sharp, almond eyes focus on his as he softly voiced, "I understand your hesitation, my captivating lioness, but, I am merely removing the obstacles from your path to unmitigated pleasure. After our liberating union, you are free to deny and claim whatever sentiment you see fit." She returned her focus to stopping the bleeding as he continued, "I ask again, shall I continue to test my theory or will you convince me to stop?"
  
  Again, Jenny held her tongue. At her tensing jaw and brows, he nodded, stepped away from her, then banged the other side of his face into the hard surface of the Check-Out desk. The Xander harnessed within his mind felt his nose tingle a bit, like someone was gripping it too tightly, but nothing more. It didn't feel broken, but blood began to drip from his nostril.
  
  Casanova turned to her and asked her once again with his eyes for an answer. Though she clearly wanted to help, she forced herself not to move. She appeared in turmoil, raging with internal conflict as her fists were balled up tightly and she remained silent. Casanova tilted his ear closer toward her for an answer. When he didn't get one, he fished around the desk beside them for any item that would work.
  
  "Where did I see- ah ." Casanova grabbed the pen on the counter and before she could stop him, he promptly stabbed himself in the thigh.
  
  "ALRIGHT! Stop! Just stop!" She repeated as she checked his bleeding thigh.
  
  ' Holy hell, this guy 's crazy ,' Xander thought in amazed disbelief. Xander had Casanova's memories to know he would go to any lengths to be with the girl he wanted, but to see it in person felt unreal. Jenny slowly removed the pen, and from the red streak at the tip, it didn't appear like more than half an inch pierced through his skin.
  
  Casanova leaned down to softly ask the woman inspecting his thigh wound, "Why should I stop, my lady? This form is my property and I can do with it as I please."
  
  Shaking her head, Jenny grabbed his hand and forced him to follow her out of the library. He hopped along beside her as they went back across the hall to her computer class. Casanova only allowed her to move him because he could see the submission in her eyes. She didn't want to cross that line with her student, but she certainly didn't want to do anything in Giles' space. Jenny closed the door behind them and they were alone in her classroom.
  
  Moving behind her, he pressed his chest against her back as he genuinely began, "I sympathize with your frustration. Truly, I do." She didn't move as he continued, "But it is a noble thing, accepting your primal urges to save this boy you seem so fond of. Think of nothing but that and allow yourself to be simply a woman with desires any man would be honored to satisfy."
  
  With a resigned sigh, Jenny pressed her forehead to the door as she insisted, "No clothes come off."
  
  The costumed Xander turned her around and looked her subdued face in the eyes before assuring her, "You have my word."
  
  As a leading expert on the subject of pleasuring women, Casanova knew what mattered most for them was being in the moment. When they think of concerning things like their husbands, getting pregnant, or their performance, it always leads to an unsatisfactory experience. And he can tell when they're not fully in the moment. To make Jenny feel more present, he took the handkerchief from his coat and blindfolded her. As he did so, he asked her to match his breathing. Long, deep breaths oxygenated her cells to a higher degree of sensitivity.
  
  It's why the palm he suddenly placed on her sternum felt hotter and more sensual; as if they were doing something forbidden. Jenny had a weakness for the forbidden. Casanova pressed his body against her, keeping her sexy form between him and the door. The blindfolded woman felt his restrained erection against her belly as his nose gently brushed against her chin, lips, and nose, subtly tilting her face away.
  
  "In and out," he softly voiced, breathing in and out to remind her. Pressed flat against him, her breathing matched his own, pressing her B-cup breasts more into his inhaling torso. As he had the beauty match his breathing, his hands began massaging her slender body, beginning with her lower back and hips. He leaned in and pressed his lips against Jenny's, but only for a moment. He could feel her mind was thinking too much.
  
  He pulled back to encourage, "Set aside your reason, my lady..."
  
  He kissed her again, pressing his lips expertly against hers. She's still not returning the kiss, but with his hands coaxing more tentative pleasure from her, Casanova knew it was only a matter of time. He felt a quality hunger in her, as if it's been a long time since she felt a man's touch. He knew how much she wanted release, even if it wasn't from him. Casanova pulled away and whispered, "Embrace that deep, dark, want."
  
  As his hands caressed her sensitive hips, he kissed her once again, lowering his pelvis to press more against her womanhood. And when he pinched her butt, she squealed into his mouth, allowing him to dive his tongue inside.
  
  "Mnn," she moaned as his tongue danced inside her mouth. Blindfolded and hot against him, Jenny felt like her senses were acutely sensitive to his machinations. His hands, in particular, were very adept at finding her sensitive spots and caressing far more pleasure than she wanted to feel in this situation. His innate intuition of the pleasure centers of the female form, and for several long minutes, his hands massaged her sexy body with expert influence.
  
  Casanova ended the kiss and nibbled at her neck. Something about her wiles told him she liked it rough, and he massaged her ass with a strong grip, coaxing a small whimper out of her luscious red lips. Her nipples hardened against his chest, her pelvis felt hotter, more humid, and he could feel her body softening to accept him. Casanova kissed and nibbled back to her red lips and was greeted with a more willing kiss. From his hot body pressing her against the door, strong methodical hands caressing her, to the erection she felt pulsing against her stomach, a blushing Jenny was losing her ability to think.
  
  To keep her in the moment, Casanova pulled away and nibbled her earlobe a bit before whispering, "My hands will not take your garments off. However, they will go underneath them." It ensnared some of her reason back and her jaw moved to speak when he added, "I agreed to your terms. I'm a man of my word."
  
  Her blindfolded head turned left and then down in thought. When she raised it again, he kissed her, and she allowed it until his warm hands moved deftly under her blouse. At the hot feel of his hands on her bare skin, she pulled away to ask, "How much longer?"
  
  "Five minutes," he whispered between nibbling at the sensitive spot on her neck. He was so good her head lulled and rested on his shoulder.
  
  "P-Promise," she gasped as his hands pulled and contracted her tense back and hip muscles to vibrate with ticklish satisfaction.
  
  His clever lips pulled back to speak, "A man of my word. You may count the time yourself, my dearest." He continued necking her sensual nape as his hands masterfully coaxed all manner of pleasure from her soft, sensitive breasts. Her hard nipples were teased, pinched, and caressed with care, and Jenny was once again being overwhelmed by how good he was.
  
  She couldn't stop how aroused she was feeling and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder and breathing deeply. Casanova removed his right hand, making her flesh tingle, unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, which sounded like a chainsaw in Jenny's ears. His right hand guided her left hand to his steely erection under his open jeans, but over his boxers, and he kissed the aroused woman as his hand kept hers against his pulsing member.
  
  When his left hand pinched her nipple, her moan opened her mouth more to heavy tongue caressing, and for the first time, Jenny kissed back. It was instinct. She was being overwhelmed with a buzzing pleasure and she needed to return some of it to keep her sense of control for the next few minutes. Knowing that it would be over soon, Jenny simply went along with it. She didn't think about how good he felt. Only that it would be over soon, so nothing she did would really matter. As if he read her thoughts, he tested her resolve by deftly moving his right down her twitching abdomen to the hem of her skirt and then under her panties.
  
  "Mnn," she moaned before stopping their kiss. "Wait-" she voiced before catching her breath. His fingers were already touching her sensitive slit. His fingers were quickly becoming coated with her love juices, making her equal parts hot, aroused, and embarrassed.
  
  "Absolutely dripping," he remarked.
  
  "Wait," she tried.
  
  "Why, when you're grasping mine," he replied, and Jenny hadn't even noticed her hand was indeed gripping his rock-hard erection through his boxers. "We have but a minute and seconds." His fingers were massaging her wet sex, and sensing how confident he was added to the pleasure, making her entire pelvis shudder at his ministrations. "You're so close, my dear," he whispered.
  
  The flushed Jenny remained quiet even when he inserted a finger as his thumb expertly massaged her extended clitoris. Casanova fingered her sensitive love tunnel as masterfully as everything else he's done, moving her closer and closer to the ever-glorious edge with surprising efficiency. Seconds felt like minutes, and Jenny couldn't keep her sweet whimpers and moans from escaping her clenched jaw. She was blushing furiously, and even under the blindfold, her eyes were closed. Everything he was doing made her knees weak and her body sparkled.
  
  " Holy shit ," she gasped, pressing her face into Xander's neck as Casanova curled his fingers inside of her dripping sex, stroking a bundle of pleasure nerves. The ecstasy shot up her spine to her buzzed brain and she knew her wanton body was on the precipice of a massive orgasm.
  
  "I'm... I'm almost," she started as her legs started to tremble at the imminent release when-from across town-Giles seemingly smashed the statue of Janus.
  
  Xander felt himself being released from the harness whoosh into his own body. His senses were no longer dulled by the costume. The pain from his wounds, pleasure from her hand, and shock of being dropped into that moment stopped his soaked fingers, making her open her eyes to the sudden halt of pleasure.
  
  Angrily, she reflexively demanded, "Why!"
  
  Slowly, a surprised Xander raised her blindfold before cautiously replying, "Uh, I'm... back."
  
  Still wrapped in dwindling tendrils of pleasure, a panicked Jenny Calendar paused, as if she wasn't sure that mattered when factoring what she was on the verge of experiencing. In that specific loop, Xander waited on her lead. It took her a few conflicting seconds, but when she regained higher brain function, she hesitantly pulled away, leading to a very awkward rest of the night. Giles showed up to the library, where they waited twenty-five minutes later, irate by his encounter with Ethan, then Xander walked home to repeat the day again.
  
  In the following loop-because Xander couldn't refrain himself from doing it again-the very moment she paused when she realized he was back, he didn't wait for her to lead. His fingers continued pleasuring her. Her will to stop was replaced with her need to climax-to get off-and she didn't stop him.
  
  Pumping curling fingers as his thumb massaged her love button, she gripped his body and pressed her forehead into his neck as the fat pleasure coil at the core of her womanhood finally burst. Her pussy clamped on his fingers as her mouth opened into an oval O. Like a minute-long continuous explosion of fireworks on the 4th of July, her body rippled continuously with every wave of pleasure wrecking her system.
  
  Xander's brain was also closed to higher reasoning as he enjoyed the feel of the shuddering Jenny against him. To experience his sexy teacher lean her feverishly hot weight on him, pressing her breasts and hard nipples against his chest, was so exhilarating, being trapped in a time loop didn't even bother him. His forearm burned with lactic acid buildup from the constant jerking motion and his throbbing cock ached to be snug inside the beautiful woman.
  
  Xander loved it, wanted more, and asked, "Me too?"
  
  At his voice, she regained her senses and realized her hand was still stroking his dick. Even if she felt very much aroused, she felt more clear-headed, and Jenny slowly removed her hand. Xander did so as well, and to his own surprise, tasted his fingers in front of her, eying her with daring as he did so. With her half-lidded, seductive eyes, she returned a wanton expression of arousal, but held herself back.
  
  At Jenny's insistence, they waited for Giles in the library as far apart as they could. Neither one said anything out of a mixture of shame, desire, confusion, and expectations. But more importantly, they stayed quiet because when Xander tried to make light of the situation, she pleaded with him not to speak. Her shame mixed desires couldn't take it when he asked, "So, they should probably put a warning label on this costume, huh?"
  
  Her glare made him remain quiet.
  
  When Giles finally returned to the library, he had a brown bag in his hand Xander assumed contained the broken pieces of the Janus statue. More importantly, the man was very distracted and irate. He barely explained the gist of the night's mayhem to them and couldn't see Jenny trying to reach out to him. He didn't even notice Xander's injuries. The mildly abrasive Giles quickly explained having to deal with a curse that affected the town's people, then dismissed them to be alone.
  
  "That's it?" The flustered Jenny asked with frustration, "You had to deal with a curse?"
  
  "P-Please," Giles voiced halfway to his office. "We can speak more tomorrow. Good night."
  
  Xander cautiously asked Miss Calendar, "Take me home?"
  
  Giles leapt at the chance to be alone and absentmindedly told Jenny that would be a good idea before hastily walking to his office and closing the door swiftly behind him. The beautiful woman watched Giles speed away before turning to Xander. At the sight of him, she couldn't help the blush rushing to her cheeks, likely recalling what they had just done. Raising his eyebrows to ask for a lift again, a despondent Jenny sighed before nodding.
  
  On the quiet drive to his house, Xander embraced his daring and put his hand on her thigh, and in that loop, she slowly removed it before dropping him off, then rushing home. In the following loop, after being dropped off, Xander took his father's car to her place and learned she went straight home to relieve herself with her purple dildo. He had to knock on her door repeatedly and run away. That level of annoyance told the Sherlock and Casanova within that she was pleasuring herself and didn't want to be interrupted.
  
  On the following loop, he asked her just as her hand was about to remove his from her thigh, "Why go home to a toy?" Then he squeezed her hot thigh, noting the signs of desire, restraint, and conflict on her sharp face. Having been Casanova enough times, he could tell she wanted to feel more, but was also cognizant of all the reasons not to.
  
  "You helped keep that psycho from killing me," Xander tried. "Let me help you." After thirty tortuous silent seconds, Jenny hesitated to turn the steering wheel several times before deliberately turning her car around. Feeling a new adventure ahead, Xander cautiously asked, "Where are we going?"
  
  "I... you're hurt. I have a med-kit at home," she hesitated to reply, then drove the rest of the way to her apartment in silence.
  
  Xander learned in that loop to keep quiet and not talk his way out of her apartment with dumb and immature jokes. In the following loop, she bandaged his wounds in silence. They were in the living and dining room area of her one-bedroom apartment. Xander was seated on her kitchen chair as she disinfected and bandaged the cut on his forehead. When it came to his leg, Xander took his jeans off and leaned on the edge of her dining table. Jenny paid attention to the hard-on he wasn't hiding by not looking at it while she treated his bloody wound. The moment she was done, he leaned over and kissed her.
  
  She pulled away to affirm, "One night, you hear me? One night and nothing more."
  
  "Promise," he said, but he knew he was going to come back for more. Having sex with someone he knew was far more exciting than the sexy strangers he was doing. And though he knew it'd be sad that she wouldn't remember, he put that out of his mind for the moment. Being able to have sex with the gorgeous Jenny Calendar was too amazing to waste brain cells on any other thoughts.
  
  Still, with no practice on her as Casanova, Xander knew he'd have to learn her erogenous zones on his own. Fortunately, he accumulated a wealth of experience and used the first few loops to read her body the way Casanova does and react accordingly. Keeping her in the moment, he wrapped his arms around her slim waist and lifted her off her feet.
  
  "EEEKKK!" Jenny yelped in surprise, holding herself up by his shoulders.
  
  Eying her like he was ready to devour her, he asked, "Bedroom?"
  
  Jenny signaled to her left, and he walked them into her dark bedroom. Xander knew she'd be less nervous in the dark and feel more sensations in her feverish body without her sight. With nothing but moonlight coming through the window, he laid her on the bed before snatching her lips once again. Their tongues played with each other in her mouth as his deft hands removed each article of her outfit until she was in her underwear.
  
  He pulled away before dragging her butt to the edge of the bed, where he teasingly pulled her panties down her sexy legs. Xander then spread her legs, massaging her inner thighs and basking in her woman scent. The eager teenager could see she was leaking before he began lapping up her savory nectar, and Jenny closed her eyes at the sensation of a skillful tongue devouring her melting sex.
  
  " Mmnnn ," she moaned as her feverish body was so aroused by his eager lapping, she squirmed in place. She unclasped her bra, releasing her tits from their cotton confinement so she could fondle her own breasts. Her hands caressed and stroked the warm, smooth flesh as she pulled and pinched her hard nipples.
  
  Feeling her inner thighs tremble, Xander hummed softly as he ate Jenny out. His hands massaged her ass and thighs as his tongue insistently probed her dripping vagina. Her moans increased in volume and frequency the longer they went. Despite how much he relished her sweet pussy, he paid attention to her reactions, like Casanova would, and found what she liked from the catalog of examples in his mind.
  
  It shocked Jenny how good the teen between her legs was, and that surprise only made her more sensitive. When she began bucking her pelvis and contracting around his lapping tongue, he could tell Jenny was getting closer. Xander inserted a finger into her dripping hot hole as he began sucking and licking her sensitive clitoris, ripping out a deep moan from her open mouth.
  
  "Xander!" she called out. "I'm almost..." He inserted a second finger and rotated his tongue as he sucked at her love bud. "Right there! Right there!" she yelled when his fingers caressed her G-spot. His curling fingers pumped into her leaking silk palace, building to a high crescendo.
  
  "I'm Cu-Cuuumming! Oh my ffffffuck! I'm cumming, I'm cumming, I'm cum mmmmmm ," she moaned out to the dark room as her back arched and she climaxed into his mouth. Her pelvis bucked sporadically as her love mound quivered for minutes.
  
  Jenny felt her legs be raised and hooked on his shoulders before his cock was sliding into her sensitive pussy, spreading her dripping slit by a respectable margin. He's not the biggest she's ever had, and she half expected him to blow his load the moment he put it in, however, she was pleasantly surprised. It was clear Xander knew how to use his manhood, and grew hot knowing that she was going to cum from his dick.
  
  Xander groaned as he fully sheathed himself inside her. She felt amazing, and the fact that he knew her only added to the euphoria. He imagined all the guys in school who openly talk about fucking Ms. Calendar and filling her with their seed. Xander wanted to do the very same, but he couldn't think about his desires just yet. He slowly pulled out as he lowered his pelvis. He mentally located her sensitive sex folds before slamming back in. As he slowly built a rhythm, clapping his pelvis under her thighs, Jenny gripped the bedsheets when her whole body started bouncing under him. Xander relished the sight of her B-cup breast bouncing with his every thrust.
  
  "MMn... mmmmn... Yessss! Yess! I love it! Ah! Harder, Xander! Fuck me harder!" her wailing filled his ears as their musk filled the room.
  
  When Xander felt her legs tense, he gripped underneath her knees and brought them to her shoulders before fucking her like she hadn't felt in a long time. He pumped relentlessly in and out of her gushing womanhood And Jenny loved it. She recalled Casanova's words and truly set aside her reason in favor of her deep, dark want. Xander felt like the lower half of his body was itching to explode, but he held firm because hers was trembling more and more. He knew she would be much more sensitive and wanted to cum with her.
  
  Xander rammed his nearly six-incher into her yielding pussy, rocking the woman and the bed under him. Jenny couldn't believe how much pleasure he was pulling out of her; as if he knew how and where to light her on fire. Her quivering sex was gripping him tightly, and she couldn't stop thinking of how amazing the pleasure buzzing her brain felt. His confidence was too unexpected to not be overwhelmed by the boy pumping inside of her. Her whole body was his, and they both knew it. Jenny cursed and moaned as she felt her orgasm approaching with haste. Her legs trembled and her pulsing love tunnel gripped him harder as his thrusts became more forceful.
  
  "I'm almost there," she yelled as her back began arching. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yeeuss! YESS! FUCCKK! I'M CUMMING! I'M CUMMING! YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE CUM! YOU'RE MAKING ME CU-CUMMM MMMMM! "
  
  Her legs spasmed shut around his waist and Xander brought his weight down on her as her quivering vagina clamped down on his raging cock. Her toes curled and her eyes rolled to the back of her head as her entire body was wracked with wave after wave of intense ecstasy. All electrical signals in her body snapped and crackled blissfully as her orgasm melted her from the inside out for several minutes. She was sweaty and boneless under him, but Xander wasn't done.
  
  He'd just managed to hold on and when she settled down some, he slowly withdrew before turning her listless body over and thrusting back inside her hot moisture center.
  
  " AHHH !" she moaned, feeling another massive climax track her down again with a vengeance. She held onto the sheets as she called behind her, "Wait! I'm still sensitive!"
  
  He cut her off when he shoved himself back into her moist slit. Xander groaned in tandem with her loud moaning. He loved the sight and sound of her sweaty form succumbing to the pleasure he was giving her. It's what he always wanted; fucking Jenny Calendar, his hot teacher. The gorgeous woman was squeezing him harder, and he knew he was seconds away.
  
  "I'm gonna cum," he heaved around the vigorous flesh-on-flesh clapping. "Can I cum inside?"
  
  "Do it! Cum- Cum inside me! Fill me up," she yelled just before he buried his entire length into her tight, spasming lane and orgasmed inside her. When she felt a pool of hot liquid fill her insides, Jenny clamped down on his love tool once again and squeezed every last drop of his man-milk into her hungry womb. After a minute of heavy breathing, he leaned down to kiss her as their quivering bodies settled down from their high.
  
  "Oh... my... God," she hummed in delight, and that was more than enough for Xander's flesh tower to stand right up. "Wait," she tried when she felt him roll on top of her. "I need a little more time."
  
  "That's fine. I'll just be up here," Xander replied, before taking her smallish, beautiful, tear-drop breasts in his mouth. He hooked his cock between her legs, and before long, they were rutting like horny animals again. Xander fucked Jenny in every position he could think of and came inside of her no less than nine times. He was simply too excited to stop having sex with her for long. Again and again, the pair did it in a variety of positions, losing themselves in pleasure, and all the while, Xander was paying attention to what made her moan the loudest to repeat them. After dozens of loops with the sexy Miss Calendar, Xander was capable of giving her multiple orgasms and making her scream his name to the high heavens.
  
  Through the various loops, he had come to learn through their pillow talk that she's been going through a dry spell. He had to ask, "How long?"
  
  "...Seven months," she weakly said, burying her head in her pillow from embarrassment.
  
  "Seven months!" he yelled in shock.
  
  "It's not like I'm saving myself or anything, but..."
  
  A look came over her and Jenny never finished that sentence, no matter how many loops he asked. Xander was fine with that. He didn't want to get too deep since he could feel the monotony getting to him. He could save the things he didn't know the same way his parents hid a bottle around the house, just in case he needed the jolt.
  
  His first twenty times with Jenny were pure joy. The next twenty times were still fun, but felt increasingly repetitive. By the end of the next twenty, it was a grind for him not to think about waking up alone. Every morning, Xander would wake up alone on his smelly bed, in his disgusting room, and he could feel the steady loss of his hope and buildup of anxiety. The worst part was always the moments just before he reset.
  
  Jenny would always hold him tightly, fully satisfied and slumbering. Her room was clean and pleasant with the moonlight streaming in, and he didn't want to leave. She'd rest her head on his chest and her naked body felt so warm and comforting against him; it made looping back all the worse. Her thigh was over his and she was leaking his sperm from her essence, making him dread resetting. But, of course, Xander had no choice and always looped back.
  
  Laying in his smelly bed after being ripped from Jenny's embrace once again, Xander could feel how close he was to losing hope and decided on a change to retain his sanity. Rather than focusing on escaping the time loop, he remained stubborn about his deep, dark wants.
  
  "Welp, Cordy," he sadly said with a long sigh. "Guess I'll see you later."
  
  This story is more than the sexual situations but I don't shy away from them. In my eyes, this story is for adults. There are plenty of great fics out there that don't have sexual situations, if that's more your flavor. I just wanted to write a Buffy fic for adults. That being said, the entire story isn't just gratuitous sex. This fic is story first, and in my eyes, story comes from characters. Sex only comes in when it makes sense within the context of the story and character decisions.
  
  I've seen a lot of really great comments. I appreciate them, guys. I answer many too. Not much else to say. Thank you guys for taking the time to read my fic, beta'd by Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. Please let me know your thoughts. The next few chapters will have big developments. So, till next week! Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Panic
  Welcome back😵 💫
  
  WARNING: Sexual content. If you're an underage reader, please don't read. Also foul language.
  
  4.5K words. To my Betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB, thank you!
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Panic
  
  Having sex with strangers hid a simple fact from Xander. Strangers, no matter how beautiful, don't mean as much as personal connections. Leaving these gorgeous women when he looped didn't carry the same weight as it did leaving Miss Calendar. The dark-haired teenager had no expectation of waking beside these beautiful strangers the following morning and he couldn't claim to know them like he did his gorgeous teacher. Xander knew enough about them to bed them, so when they disappeared in the morning, he didn't feel as though he lost something meaningful. The depth of their connection to him was little better than smiling at a stranger.
  
  After frequent visits to Jenny's bed, it became so clear how much he wanted to see her the following morning; how much he wanted to see everyone the following morning. However, clearly, Jenny wasn't going to do that for him. Absent another solid goal, Xander decided to try Casanova on Cordelia.
  
  It took some prep work to give the legendary playboy enough time with the social Queen of Sunnydale without interfering with Buffy and Willow. Xander alerted Angel to come by earlier. He dropped Giles' name to Ethan so that he'd relocate the bust of Janus to a secondary location. And the teenager ' accidentally ' ran into the catsuit-wearing Cordelia on the street to move her away from the worst of the night's chaos. Xander gave Casanova as much time as possible to make some magic happen, however, no matter how many loops he dedicated to this mission, it was clear Casanova's game would not work with the cheerleader.
  
  Cordelia simply knew Xander much more personally than Ms. Calendar did and loathed him as much as he did her. Her opinion of Xander made it impossible for the gorgeous brunette to be persuaded by Casanova and submit to his dubious tactics. Even when Casanova would hurt Xander's body, it had no effect on her.
  
  She only winced before asking, "Is this how you get all the girls? Cuz I gotta say, I read about you, and this is pretty pathetic."
  
  If her blunt honesty and rebellion of decency weren't enough, Cordelia also had a boyfriend and explicitly proclaimed she wasn't the type of girl to be unfaithful. She hated cheaters and that impressed Casanova so much he always bowed out.
  
  Xander couldn't bring himself to unleash Casanova on Willow. She was just too close to him, and in so many unmanly ways, he didn't think he could handle knowing that side of his best friend without her remembering it as well. Xander didn't think he could have the memory of her moaning under him, then see her the next day and act as if nothing monumental happened.
  
  Xander felt similar reservations toward Buffy, but not exactly. He's had the biggest crush on his personal hero since he first laid eyes on her on that sunny first day of school; the one and only time he used a skateboard to travel to school. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want to have a sexual relationship with Buffy. She's his number one. However, to then to wake up alone and Buffy be unable to share the same memories with him... for it to be so one-sided, made him feel sick. That's not how he wanted to be with Buffy.
  
  But even so, he tried it one time to be sure.
  
  With some relief, both Willow and Angel quickly interfered. Casanova's silver tongue could only do so much against an angry vampire boyfriend with super-strength. Think about the other times Xander's tried to steer his friends away from Ethan's shop, Buffy was never alone. Willow, Buffy, and Angel all worked together to stop the curse and help the possessed Xander. In the end, he simply decided ruining the image of his blonde hero wasn't worth it.
  
  Xander meandered around town, looking for beautiful women to pass his ever-repeating time with. Casanova managed to seduce another three beauties within the two-hour time frame out of the eighteen that he tried. Xander then mimicked the playboy with them to the same result. The day would then repeat, and no one but him would remember. It was truly beginning to sink in that nothing he did would ever matter, no matter how insane. And it was scaring him more with every loop. To avoid this building anxiety, Xander searched for more questionable excitement.
  
  His mind's thought process was a simple as, ' I want stuff I can 't afford. Might as well just take it. '
  
  Xander tried to rob a bank without using a gun, but quickly found he detested the look of terror on people's faces, as if he was actually going to hurt them. The frightened old lady trying to withdraw money from her account begged him not to kill her. Her trembling cheeks and the wrinkles of her face felt dramatic as she looked at him like she believed he would kill her just for the money. That hit Xander hard. Though it was a rush escaping the authorities, by the next loop, Xander decided on victimless thievery.
  
  He enjoyed using the Soldier costume's knowledge to sneak into the armory of the nearby military base. Firing rocket launchers into the sky was a cheap thrill, but anything to keep himself from falling into total despair. He needed excitement like his parents needed a drink, and that scared him more.
  
  Xander found he enjoyed stealing cars from three of the six car dealerships in Sunnydale, specifically the Dodge dealership. Since he didn't have a driver's license, taking the car out for a test drive and never returning wasn't an option. However, he used half a dozen loops to memorize the names of key employees and pretend to work there. He then returned the car to its parking spot after someone else had test-driven it. The salesman simply thought he was a new hire and took care of his customer.
  
  Xander would drive out of car lots with some of the fastest sports cars they had; Ford Mustang, Mazda RX-7, M series BMW, Porsche 911, Nissan 300ZX, Chevy Corvette, and his absolute favorite, the Dodge Viper GT. The cherry-red 450hp sports car was an absolute thrill ride and easily made him forget his worries as he raced it everywhere around town. Xander especially loved it when the police chased him. After a few crashes, he quickly swayed Ethan to make a race car driver costume. Though Xander's muscles weren't accustomed to the G-force of drifting, the resistance of the steering wheel at sharp turns, or manual shifting, he at least knew the concepts of professional racing.
  
  It was due to one high-speed chase that Xander ended up in Los Angeles. There wasn't a lot the thrill junkie could do in the single 24 hours he had to move around, but in his Dodge Viper, traveling at 170 mph, he could speed southeast to LA in less than an hour. At those speeds, the sports car was so aerodynamic he worried more about an updraft launching him into the air than he did State Troopers chasing him. Fortunately, he knew where they all were by the third loop.
  
  When he reached LA, he knew of one thing he absolutely needed to do. In Tinseltown, home to the mind-numbing world of movies, TV shows, and beautiful actresses that he loved so much, Xander needed to use Casanova on one or two of the most beautiful actresses in America. The teenager had a picture of Kelly Kapowski in his room and beat his noodle to her often. There was no way he wasn't going to look for and find the studio where Saved By the Bell was filmed. The thrill alone would hold his interest and his sanity.
  
  Scouting the large Universal Studios with its high walls and security at every entrance, Xander first scaled the high walls. When he was caught, he did as he's done so many times already, and pretended he already worked there and simply lost his name badge. He was being escorted out of the lot, but there was plenty of time for Xander to hunt for the info he needed.
  
  The clean-shaven, potbelly security guard chuckled before revealing, "If you actually had an ID badge to lose, you'd know to go to security and have them issue you a temp."
  
  Far too experienced duping people, Xander acted insistently as he replied, "But I'm new, though. I just needed to get inside and talk to my supervisor."
  
  As they're walking to the exit with the sun beating over them, the large man demanded to know, "What production?"
  
  "Saved By the Bell," he answered.
  
  "Who on Saved By the Bell?"
  
  "Jeremiah," Xander guessed. "Goes by Jeremy."
  
  "Oh, yeah?" the large guard quirked with a snicker. "Stephanie had a sex change and goes by Jeremy now, does she?"
  
  Xander didn't balk at being caught. He continued the lie to get more out of the man. "Stephanie? Who the hell is that? Jeremy runs the crew on Saved By the Bell."
  
  "There ain't no Jeremy," the guard hotly insisted. "Stephanie in Admin runs all the crews on the lot. If you don't know her, or Ken Moore, who handles new hires, then you're just lying to sneak your ass on the lot. I'm being real nice here by not calling the cops. So either tell me the truth or you're leaving in cuffs."
  
  "Call Jeremy," Xander insisted. "He'll tell you I'm new. It's Halloween, and I came out because he said someone called out and I could replace him. Come on, man. It's like, a 'Who-You-Know,' kinda thing."
  
  "How 'bout this then," the heavy-set guard began. He pointed at the security booth and said, "I'll call Donavon, who handles every... What are you supposed to be on the crew? PA? Lighting? Set? Props?"
  
  Xander recalled that a PA was essentially a gofer for the actor and answered, "Production Assistant."
  
  "Fine," the man said. "I'll call Donavon, who clears everyone on the set of SBB, and if he hasn't heard of a..."
  
  "Xander," he replied. "Xander Harris."
  
  "If he hasn't heard of you, you're sleeping in a cell tonight."
  
  "Fine," Xander replied, shrugging. "Call him. I want this cleared up as much as you do."
  
  Xander only needed names and titles, and his talk with Donavon over the phone added more than enough information. Fortunately, the production was short-staffed on the holiday, and in the following loop, Xander walked up to security and requested a temp badge. When they had no record of him, Xander easily name-dropped Stephanie, Ken Moore, and Donavon, as well as the name of the person who called out. He was issued a temp ID and entered the studio lot without the worry of being kicked out. Whatever it took to get near Kelly Kapowski, Xander did it, because her supreme beauty was worth it.
  
  ' Hers is the real face that could launch a thousand ships ,' he thought excitedly. Having seen Helen of Troy through Achilles' memories, he could easily say that for a fact. Women back then looked very different than they do now. ' Thank God for showers, razor blades, and salons ,' he gratefully reflected.
  
  When Xander finally got close to the actress Tiffani Amber Thiessen, he learned, to his surprise, Ethan's Janus curse had a range limit. He didn't turn into Casanova at six pm. Xander recalled traveling to Las Vegas, Texas, and even New York, but since he wasn't wearing a costume for those trips, he simply assumed the curse worked everywhere. Fortunately, the crew can work in Halloween costumes so it wasn't weird that he was wearing one. The challenge didn't deter him, however. The drive to keep away from despair was what mattered most to the hormonal boy.
  
  Xander started the way Casanova always did, by reading her expressions and getting a reaction out of her. He was direct in one loop and observed what she did; showed his desire for her in the next loop, then observed; overheard other conversations about her; or lied to her; all to see how she responded. He'd strike up a conversation about her likes and dislikes, tried to narrow down her humor, and little-by-little learn more and more about her until he could thoroughly impress her upon their twentieth first meeting.
  
  "Hey, it's a pleasure to meet you," he began when they're introduced. "I just have to say, I really enjoy your positive vibe. The days on set can run pretty long, but when you see a bright smile, it can feel easier." It was a friendly enough greeting, and all he wanted her to do was keep him in mind.
  
  Her clumsiness allowed him to catch her the two times she nearly tripped on the many electrical wires on the floor. The three jokes that got her wondering about him were all laced with flirtation.
  
  "I did have a girlfriend, but we broke up," he glumly explained to her. They were in wardrobe between set-ups. "She borrowed my shirts and sweaters all the time, but the second I wear one of her dresses, suddenly we need to ' talk .'" Tiffani snorted at the unexpected direction of his retelling, and when she looked at him curiously, he simply smiled and winked before leaving Wardrobe to replace his radio battery.
  
  In the Hair & Makeup trailer, the ladies were on the topic of love and relationships. When asked about his type, Xander expressed to Tiffani and the dressing room, "Uh, I guess my ideal girl would have a special combination of inner and outer beauty, but more importantly, she has to be too naïve to know she's way out of my league." All the ladies laughed while Xander eyed the stunning actress with a hint of knowing in his eyes. It made her smirk.
  
  In Tiffani's dressing room, after he helped her go over some lines, she asked Xander what he was dressed as and the teen casually answered, "Casanova."
  
  "Oooooh, really?" she cutely replied with amusement. Despite how hypnotic her alluring face and batting eyelashes were, Xander kept his great appetite for her in check. He's done this far too much to mess up again. She leaned forward and slanted her head, making his heart skip a beat, before she asked, "Think you're that smooth, do ya? Well, come on then. Gimme a line."
  
  Pretending to be suave in front of one of the most beautiful women in the world wasn't easy, however, he just managed to play his aloofness along and ask, "Really? You sure you can handle this? I'm Giacomo Casanova; number one player in all of history."
  
  "Sweep me off my feet then, smooth talker," she teasingly shot back with a playful smile.
  
  With Casanova's insight, Xander knew they were already flirting and could hardly believe it, however, that didn't mean the deal was done. He could still mess up and turn her off. No matter how many wins he racks up, all it takes is one loss to lose it all. Xander's already gotten this far three times, so he knew to ask, "Alright, but I'm going to need a picture of you first."
  
  Knitting her brows in confusion, she asked, "Why?"
  
  "So I can show Santa what I want for Christmas," he easily delivered with a knowing smirk on his face.
  
  It wasn't his best joke, but it made Tiffani instantly laugh at the half cheesy, half unexpected pickup line. She held her sides before smacking him on the shoulder. To her great surprise, a confident Xander swiftly picked her up princess style. Startled, she squeaked as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and looked at him. Xander knew to relay with his eyes first that safety was paramount, and she was never in any danger of pain... only of pleasure. He then smoothly answered her curious look.
  
  "You said to sweep you off your feet," he easily reminded her, making her attempt to restrain her smile and failing.
  
  Xander leaned in near to her full red lips and waited. It took her a few seconds to make the leap, but in this loop, she finally did and leaned the rest of the way. When they finally kissed, her soft, full lips against his was a feeling of pleasure so powerful, it completely made him forget all about his cursed time loop. Xander could forget his problems and only focus on turning the sultry Tiffani into a quivering mess by the end of the night.
  
  He spent the next three dozen loops perfecting his mastery of Tiffani Amber Thiessen's sexy body. With kissing, Xander discovered she loved a hot, demanding kiss, filling her oral cavity with his tongue and sucking on hers. When he did it just right, it would make her forget herself and want more. He could rub her taut belly as they made out, and in a few loops, he discovered how sensitive her lower back and hips were. She loved when he massaged the dimples just above her ass.
  
  As he picked up more and more of her sensitive spots over her clothes, she would be so aroused, he could slip his hand under her panties' waistband. As he made out with her in her trailer, his right hand cupped her dripping sex before his fingers expertly played with her pussy lips. Melting from the touch of his warm digits, Tiffani groaned in his mouth and let Xander overpower her. Through their kiss, he could tell her mind devolved to little more than her desires, and he was happy to fulfill them as his hand moved inside her to caress her hot, wet entrance. She broke their kiss to rest her head on his shoulder and he massaged the base of her skull because she had a sensitive scalp while he fingered her to completion.
  
  "Oh, Xan- Xander," she moaned, banging her feverish head against his shoulder at the overwhelming bliss threatening to wreck her body. "I'm gonna- AH! MMNNnn ... I'm gonna cum! HUAAH! You're going to make me cum!"
  
  They could both feel her insides squirming and shuddering for ten long seconds before she bit his trapezius as ecstasy exploded from her womanhood, shooting undiluted bliss up her spine and into her brain. Her body spasmed from her waist outward as her orgasm didn't subside for a full minute. He kissed her gently, which she happily returned, and eventually, they found themselves in her three-bedroom house.
  
  It took Xander five to seven loops to learn the intimate secrets of her pink treasure with his tongue and hands. Grinning like a loon, Xander grasped Tiffani's flush and shivering hips, ready to finally stuff his giddy manhood in. She was still recovering from her previous orgasm, but the teen positioned his raging erection against the celebrity's dripping sex. Gazing adoringly at the naked beauty under him, he then pulled her in as he impaled her tight pussy with his man-meat. Tiffani moaned loudly, arching her back as her cunt widened to accept his eager cock into her.
  
  " HOLY SHII ... You feel like heaven on earth," Xander groaned, eyes closed as he relished in the bliss of her hot, dripping, tight pussy.
  
  Her tightness made him wrap his arms around her thin waist before slamming into her, thrusting deep into her young belly. Tiffani gripped the expensive sheets of her king-sized bed as her legs wrapped around his ass. His mouth locked around her large left bosom, sucking on the pert nipple as their bodies glistened with growing perspiration. Again and again, Xander's near six-inch jack-hammered into Tiffani's tight, slick vagina, hitting her g-spot better than she ever expected. The surprise of how well he knew her body magnified the strength of her many orgasms, and the stunning actress felt another massive pleasure coil ready to snap.
  
  "Xander!" she yelled. " AHH! AA 'M GOING TU- KUUHH- CUMMMINNNG!"
  
  Xander slammed balls deep and her hot pussy shivered around his cock, gripping him tightly as she orgasmed mightily. Like she was one giant erogenous zone, her love tunnel exploded with ecstasy. When she realized the hot jelly filling her baby chamber was his potent seed, her eyes rolled in the back of her head as multiple orgasms ravaged her boneless body.
  
  After learning how to give her multiple orgasms and pass out for the night, Xander only repeated the roller coaster event another dozen times before he started feeling that dark cloud again. Waking up alone in his disgusting room, having memories he couldn't share with anyone, losing every achievement with every loop, it made Xander's chest tighten and his breathing shortened. Rather than submit to the vile feeling following him, he shook it and moved on from the insanely gorgeous Kelly Kapowski to other actresses he's fantasized about.
  
  It hurt Xander to his soul when he learned that X-Files and Power Rangers were filmed in Vancouver. Scully and the Pink Ranger were frequent visitors of his fantasies, and it would've been another fantasy come true. Fortunately, Baywatch was filmed on the beaches of LA, and Married with Children was filmed in Hollywood. Xander could not resist fulfilling his fantasy of having copious amounts of sex with CJ, Caroline, and Kelly Bundy. He couldn't find their look-alikes in Sunnydale, but nothing could ever compete with the real thing.
  
  Getting near to CJ, Caroline, and Kelly Bundy and turning them into a quivering mess by the end of the night as it did with Tiffani. Fucking sexy actresses he's longed for since his parents sat him in front of a television to keep him quiet was amazing for dozens of consecutive loops. It wouldn't surprise the hormonal teen if he spent at least a year with them. Sadly, like all the other girls he's bedded, the stunning actresses never wanted to do anything too crazy, because from their perspective, it was their first time with a boy they just met. Other than a few minor variations, they'd always do the same things before forgetting the experience and him entirely.
  
  And of course, there was never a tomorrow.
  
  When Xander thrusted his rock-hard 5.9-inch tower inside four of the most beautiful women in America-women every boy in his school would kill, literally kill, to be with-and felt empty inside, he finally had the panic attack he had been desperately trying to avoid. He didn't care if he freaked Pam out. He couldn't take it anymore and simply broke down.
  
  He couldn't stop himself from yelling, "I need to get out! I need to die or stop or move forward, or anything but repeat the same day over and over again!" He turned to the panic-stricken Pamela as he yelled, " Even demons and vampires get to die! "
  
  The busty blonde backed away slowly, clearly fearing for her safety. He must've sounded like a lunatic to her, but he didn't care. Xander simply dropped to the floor and cried as he whined, "Why do I have to suffer more than soulless, blood-sucking murders?"
  
  Xander had another panic attack when the police showed up and ended up at the hospital. Staring at a different ceiling, though still cleaner than his own, a heavily medicated Xander felt hollow as he traced back through everything that's happened to him. As much as he loved sex, it was clear getting out was far more important. If he didn't, he feared he truly will lose his mind. Escaping the time loop was his only thought repeating in his mind until exhaustion finally allowed him to sleep.
  
  In the very next loop, a haggard and desperate Xander continued what he was trying to do before discovering the supremely appealing distraction of women; attempting to escape the time loop. He dressed as Sherlock again with additional precautions to get answers out of the genius. Xander handcuffed the great detective in a motel room of the Motor Inn with the looping problem plastered on the walls to see if he could shed even a sliver of new light on solving his never-ending agony.
  
  The raven-haired teenager wrote everything he knew: The secret phrase only Sherlock would know so the man didn't waste time doubting him; the time loop that started when he woke up and ended at 3 AM; the seven deaths that automatically triggered being sent back; the Halloween costumes and how that explains why the only face in the mirror isn't his face; how no distance traveled seemed to matter; And how mundane of a teenager he was. He even wrote down a warlock mentioning how unlikely someone would go through the trouble of using such unimaginable powerful spell simply to put someone so uninspiring in a time loop.
  
  After a dozen loops of always adding as much information as he could, the flustered Sherlock ultimately reasoned that he needed more time and data to draw up any meaningful conclusion. Xander duct-taped more, likely useless, data on the walls-bios about his friends, explanations of how magic works, some theories on time from a magical perspective, and summaries of different tomes. Xander delayed the Janus curse for as long as possible to give the genius detective enough time to provide solutions.
  
  When even that failed to provide any answers, he once again tried to convince Ethan to make a Batman cowl to be a different great detective, but no amount of begging, confession, or coercion could move the Englishman to stitch up that ' popcorn rubbish .' Xander had no choice but to rely on Sherlock. He was a brilliant man and picked at every detail from twenty different angles, but even after twenty more loops with him handcuffed to a chair in a room with the entirety of the problem taped all over the walls and ceiling, Sherlock Holmes couldn't figure out how to break the time loop without more information.
  
  "I need more," he would yell. "More time and more data!" Which was impossible for Xander to provide without escaping the time loop in the first place. That, or dressing up like an older version himself...
  
  "OOOOOOOOOO UUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHH ," Xander screamed with his hands clapping his cheeks. As the stunning idea barreled to the forefront of his mind like a bull through a china shop, he yelled with widened eyes, "HOLY SHIT TWIZZLERS, BATMAN!"
  
  In the very next loop, Xander conned Ethan into believing he was being bullied by his friends because of his frequent mistakes and stupidity. The incredibly desperate teenager played Ethan like his life depended on it, and explained how he wanted to dress up as an older version of himself in hopes it'll help him feel wiser for a night. With a sympathetic smile, Ethan presented the young teenager with a white wig, a cheap cane, thick-framed black glasses, a red bow tie, matching suspenders, and a 'Hello, My Name Is,' name badge with the name Xander Harris already written on it.
  
  The raven-haired teenager wore the costume with bubbling excitement. He set the stage so the curse could last for as long as possible, and waited in his room for the moment of truth. As soon as the clock struck six, Xander freaked out to learn he was blind in his left eye.
  
  Not feeling good right now. My brain feels like mush, so this'll be a short note.
  
  Next few chapters are going in interesting places. For those who think Xander wouldn't try to sleep with celebrities, you're nuts. Also, I know Married with Children and Saved by the Bell were already done filming by 1997. I made the choice to include them on purpose because this is just a fanfic and tracking down the whereabouts of celebrities in 1997 just felt weird/stalkerish.
  
  Thanks. Leave a comment if you like. I read all of them. I want this story to be the number one rated Xander-centric fic. I can't do that without your help/feedback. Thank you again to my betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB.
  
  Be safe out there, and don't take your health for granted folks. Every day you wake up with a healthy body is already better than a lot of other people. Till next week,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Old
  Hey, Friends and Happy New Years!
  
  Welcome back to a new week, a new chapter, and a new year! Happy to have you. 2022 is going to be a good one. I'm going to write my fingers off!
  
  Warning: Foul language. Spoilers for the comics. If you've never read the comic continuation and don't want it spoiled, don't read.
  
  3.5K! Thank you to my Betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. Enjoy!
  
  Old
  
  The second it was 6 PM, the Janus curse gripped the large town of Sunnydale, and Xander's vision immediately halved. But Xander didn't panic. He was in his dirty room, laid out on his dirty bed when the chaos started. He didn't believe an eighty-year-old had any business in the violence taking place outside. As the magic of the curse turned his Old Man costume into a reality, he was safe. Xander was harnessed within his mind when the white wig became real white hair. The thick-framed black glasses, red bow tie, matching suspenders, and 'Hello, My Name Is,' name badge with the name Xander Harris written matched his old, spotty, and wrinkled skin. Gazing up at his water-stained ceiling, Xander didn't even have to worry about his older self leaving, since his body hurt everywhere.
  
  ' Old people have the worst bodies ,' he bemoaned from within his mind, tallying his aches and pains. His knees, ankles, elbows, wrists, shoulders, and lower back all ached at the slightest movement. Xander felt he could break something if he moved too fast. He was always short of breath or felt the immediate urge to pee. Xander doubted the Old Man would live any longer than eighty. Fortunately, he still had his hair, silver though it was.
  
  Though he was blind in his left eye, Xander could see decades of his elderly memories; Memories of his very own life that he hadn't even lived yet. The adult life he might one day live if he ever escaped the time loop.
  
  ' This is balls to walls crazy ,' Xander voiced as he scanned the millions of memories like he was stargazing under a brilliant night sky. Traveling backward from old age to young memories was a majestic experience for several minutes until he came across the first few problems with his old self. Some memories were hard to see clearly. The clearest and most detailed memories were from his mid-twenties to the eighty years he managed to survive through. Memories from his early twenties were hazy, and his teenage years were not nearly as clear or detailed as he'd like.
  
  ' Well, that sucks ,' Xander complained as he tried to see the teen years. ' You couldn 't be easy, could you? '
  
  The Old Man knew of the big battles they won or lost, like he knew a sentence to be true. But the circumstances leading up to the big moments weren't as clear, especially if it didn't involve him directly. To illustrate that point, he knew they beat a giant reptilian demon on graduation day, but he couldn't recall the details of how it came to be. Even though it was all new to him, it felt like an eighty-year-old trying to remember what he had for breakfast when he was nineteen; an impossible feat without an eidetic memory.
  
  Even so, Old-Man Xander could remember all the big events, especially when they impacted Xander directly. Sadly, the shameful moments came through very clearly as well, of which there were plenty. He could also recall bits of the minor events, but he couldn't remember any of the trivial, week-to-week stuff.
  
  No matter how many loops it took or how hazy the memory was, Xander sifted through every recollection. For the young teen, it was like living so many tomorrows vicariously through... himself?... Even if it was a life he couldn't control. It was like reading an autobiography of himself if the book was from the future. It was a slog to watch his younger-though-older self attempt to flirt with women; a brutal barometer of how much he's progressed with the help of Casanova's genius. Though he was thoroughly surprised to learn that Old-Man Xander lost his virginity to a slayer named Faith-a night he never forgot-he was upset that they only went one round.
  
  ' Come on, Old-Me ,' the harnessed Xander called out from within his mind. ' We 're young! We can go at least four rounds! And she's freaking hot too! '
  
  Faith wasn't the only Slayer, either. The additional thousand plus Slayers that activated in a world that became aware of the paranormal was mind-boggling for Xander to accept. ' Wow ,' he couldn't help gasp at such a monumental change in the world. He also wondered why all the slayers were beautiful; every single one.
  
  ' You mystical forces are a bunch of pervs, but I approve ,' he marveled before noting another giant change he couldn't have predicted. Willow becoming a powerful witch; even more powerful than the group of men who created the Slayer line. Willow became so strong, she could activate all the Slayers on the planet. He was astounded by the feats of his best friend.
  
  Despite the benefit of having a powerful witch by the Slayer's side for all those years, the cost of such a life-altering feat was demoralizing. Seeing how far Willow fell into her magic abuse was gut-wrenching to see; like seeing a friend succumb to substance abuse. Xander really empathized with his best friend and all those around her. Xander saw how much the others around her suffered as well.
  
  ' Tara? ' Xander questioned from the memory threat he's following. ' What the hell ... Willow's kissing her... Willow's kissing a girl... Oh! OH ! Willow 's a lesbian ,' he mentally yelled with wide eyes; that shocked him. Xander immediately felt horrible for discovering that very personal information about his best friend, as if he violated her privacy by reading her diary.
  
  Upon closer examination of that cache of memories and the branches they were connected to, Xander found it odd, that by some miracle he was in a romantic & public relationship with Cordelia Chase, of all people, but then cheated on the beautiful girl with his best friend, who would eventually come to realize her preference for women. He and Cordelia never even went past kissing and petting in closets, but he threw that away for his best friend? A sweet girl who would eventually be attracted to girls instead? Xander gasped at how bafflingly nonsensical it all played out.
  
  ' Wow, I dated Cordelia, and then I cheat on her with Willow ,' he repeated, unsure of how he felt. He couldn't be sure of his emotions, but he knew he didn't like it. He could've sworn he hated Cordelia, but looking at these memories, he finds fondness for her he couldn't have anticipated.
  
  ' There 's Buffy ,' his mind located.
  
  Xander was both terrified and amazed to recall Buffy, the leader of the Slayer Organization and its army. In fact, much of what he saw connected to Buffy's life was amazing, sad, or disturbing. Ripping Buffy out of heaven after she sacrificed herself to save the world was devastating for Xander to learn. Truly, his young and unblemished mind needed to take a break from recalling before he threw up. He couldn't even blame her for pulling away from the gang and suffering all by herself after coming back to life. It would be better than being constantly reminded of the heaven they ripped her from.
  
  ' Even still ,' he began as he paused on the newest revelation about Buffy. ' Locking her up in a padded room and making her wear a straight jacket would 've been a much better alternative than being in some weird, demoralizing relationship with fucking Spike! '
  
  "Spike!? What the flying fuck man?!" he screeched loudly, fantasizing about murdering the vampire if he wouldn't loop back, or could actually fight him. Xander couldn't see how Spike and Buffy ever came to pass, and despite the answers to his questions simply waiting to be learned in his head, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
  
  Because less than a few seconds later, Xander was bouncing off the walls as he yelled, "He even tried to RAPE you! That bastard tried to rape you! What the-" Xander's gut twisted horribly, disgusting him to no end. With the vomit nearly to his throat, he knew he'd never like that unholy union nor ever get over it. The proof, of which, was in his eighty-year-old self, who still felt pained to recall it.
  
  "Wait," Xander voiced when a thought popped into his head. "What about Angel? Where's Angel? Angel, Angel, Angel, Angel- Oh. ....Oh."
  
  Moving away from that assortment of horrifying memories, Xander stumbled upon the short hazy knowledge of Jenny Calendar dying; another punch to Xander's queasy gut. She was such a smart, spunky, and sexy lady who he couldn't ever BS... it was just too sad. The secret Casanova seemed to sense in Jenny was hiding a secret identity. Jenny was actually a gypsy named Janna. Old Man Xander didn't see it, so young Xander couldn't either, but he knew Angelus killed her and it devastated the group afterward. Hers was a death they never forgot about.
  
  "Angelus?" Xander questioned.
  
  He had no context to the name aside from knowing that at some point, Angel turned into the evil Angelus and terrorized them for half a year, especially Buffy. He couldn't tell how or when, but the Old Man knew that having sex with Buffy was what triggered the transformation. The fact that Angel took Buffy's virginity seemed to be the only reason why the Old Man remembered, but it's difficult to remember all the details surrounding that memory point. And then, at some point, Angel simply comes back.
  
  Xander sympathized with the decent ups but turbulent downs of Buffy's life, especially the criminally disgusting Spike parts. Losing Angel to his curse, losing her mother at some point, Glory, Caleb, so many battles...
  
  ' Dawn ,' Xander gasped at the sight of the slender brunette, voicing with disbelief, "my girlfriend? My wife? I marry Dawn Summers? I marry Buffy's little sister?!" He looked at the action figures of Lion-O and He-man holding their awesome swords for answers, but they remained silent.
  
  From a single teen to suddenly married to the little sister of the love of his life was jarring. Xander couldn't believe he forgot about Buffy's little sister. Then saw that Dawn was actually a concentrated living energy transformed into a human by the monks of the Order of Dagon. And the memories of her being Buffy's younger sister were implanted in all of their minds later.
  
  ' She was made out of living energy ,' Xander's mind marveled.
  
  Xander was thrilled to see how much his older counterpart loved her. It took Old Man Xander a while to see Dawn as a love and life partner instead of Buffy's little sister, but eventually, he did. Their ups and downs were also very detailed within the old man's mind, because, with seemingly every girl he dated, he always felt deep down that they never truly loved him. Cordelia was an anomaly they shared. Faith essentially picked him for the night. Anya asked him out, and many of the girls he dated took the lead and approached him. Even though he stayed with Dawn and loved her to pieces, he always seemed to feel like they could fall out of love any second.
  
  Young Xander recognized what that feeling was; inadequacy. He's felt that dark consuming burden since first meeting the super-smart Willow, or the hilarious Jessie and hated that it would, apparently, continue for the rest of his life. Xander could have a wonderful and beautiful girlfriend in the future, but deep down, he would still have an uncontrollable expectation of being undeserving, like they were with him because of a fluke rather than anything genuine. As if a girl chose him like she chose a dress to try on, and if he didn't make her feel special, she would simply put him back where she found him. Being with Dawn seemed fun, and they shared a lot in common, but he would love that relationship even more if the Old Man felt more secure in himself.
  
  "Not that it'll matter if I don't get out of this stupid time loop," Xander yelled.
  
  Faith, Riley, Anya, Tara, Andrew... Xander remembered them and saw many moderate to big events within the grand library of future memories, but he saw no clues as to how he might escape the time loop. From what he could tell, this Groundhog Day's repetition never happened to Old Man Xander. He saw plenty of stuff about alternate dimensions, higher planes of existence, and different timelines, but only a single spell about looping time. It was for a single person, for a few minutes, in a small space. Nothing like the massive full day, all across the world curse that he was suffering through.
  
  The more Xander looped as the Old Man, the more subtle details he absorbed about the same memories, saddening him continuously. Xander laid on his bed as he recalled so many of his blunders and shortcomings as a friend and a lover. It truly sucked the joy and positive outlook right out of him. Xander felt depressed as he repeatedly watched these memories. Buffy, Willow, Giles, Dawn, Cordelia, Faith, Angel, and even Spike, all go on to be remarkable figures throughout the world and accomplish many astonishing accolades.
  
  Buffy, the world's savior; Willow, the greatest witch in the world; Faith, the second greatest Slayer in the world; Giles, the father of Slayers and co-creator of the Slayer Organization; Angel and Spike, the leading heroic vampires on the planet. Even Dawn developed strong magical abilities later on in life; Old Man Xander even learned that Cordelia became a Higher Being, serving the Powers That Be.
  
  "Woooow! Cordelia Chase is an angel?" his flabbergasted face repeated with incredulity. "Just, how?" Though he asked, he already had the memory of Angel recounting his time with Cordelia. Xander was thirty at the time and randomly asked Angel about Cordelia. He simply wanted to know how she passed and they spent the night drinking and talking about how one of a kind she was. Angel told him everything they did together at Angel Investigations, then Wolf, Ram, & Hart; even when they got closer.
  
  "Wow, Cordelia and Angel?" Xander gasped, needing to stop the memory until he settled down. "I guess she does end up getting with him in the end. Sucks she dies though."
  
  Faced with these memories, Xander didn't know quite how to feel about Cordelia. He always felt an unorthodox bond with her. Obviously, she was gorgeous, but more to the point, no one traded jabs better than her, and he had to respect that. Learning that they eventually do date and it was good, despite the mistake of his infidelity, he was seeing her in a new light. The possibility of a romantic relationship with Cordelia was a concept he never expected-not as treasurer of the We Hate Cordelia Club-and it made him uneasy.
  
  To his ever-growing despair, however, among the world-famous Scooby Gang, Xander Harris was the one member who started with nothing, remained nothing special, and ended with little more than the ability to repair broken windows. The more the young Xander saw in the future memories, the more Xander realized, "please don't tell me that I'm a joke."
  
  It was heartbreaking to see how he worked for a vampire. "A manservant for Dracula!? How? Why? Just why ?" he asked himself with shocked disbelief.
  
  Xander had to ask himself how he could become so meaningless, so inconsequential, when he was surrounded by so many extraordinary friends. It made no feasible sense to survive so many pivotal battles for the future of mankind and still amount to nothing in the end.
  
  "Even if Old Me didn't get stuck in a time loop, he still had the memories of the Soldier he became for Halloween and could've done something with that," Xander called out to his He-Man and Lion-O action figures in their action poses. He quickly mimicked Lion-O holding his magical Sword of Omen in a cool pose as he glumly stated, "getting super-strength or magic may have been impossible, but I became a carpenter! I could've made things, or dabbled in forging weapons for Buffy and Faith!"
  
  Xander fell backward in his bed, making it squeak horribly as it caught his weight, and stared up at his yellow-stained ceiling as he repeatedly thought all about the Old Man's mistakes and moments of deep shame; Leaving Anya at the altar, cheating on Cordelia, not being a great friend, willingly choosing to be Dracula's manservant, being possessed so many times, or rejecting Buffy's confession to him.
  
  "THE GIRL I'VE LOVED SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING," he yelled. She was his hero and, for some mystifying reason, he turned her down when she confessed her feelings for him.
  
  Xander lived in that memory as if he were standing right next to them. It was a sunny day, and Buffy and Xander were walking through a beautiful garden at a temple in Tibet after a fierce battle against the forces of Twilight. They were talking about relationships; hers with her past and his with Dawn. Her big, sad eyes peered into his single brown eye and she tentatively asked, ' What about me? '
  
  It broke young-Xander's heart to hear his future self reply, ' I would 've loved to hear that... if it was a bunch of years ago and you actually meant it .'
  
  "I can't believe he rejected her!" Xander yelled to his action figures. " IDIOT! "
  
  While Xander couldn't fault his older self for feeling as if it was simply his turn with Buffy, after her tryst with a girl, it was still demoralizing for the romantic moment he always dreamed of being too little, too late; as if they were an afterthought.
  
  "If it's meant to be, how can it be too late?" he yelled some more, straining his vocal cords. Frustrated, Xander grabbed his Lion-O statue and threw it against the wall, breaking it into several pieces. He kicked off the bed and paced in his gross room as he laughed with no humor, "In what fucking life is a retched decision like that allowed to manifest into reality?"
  
  Though he couldn't remember the context, Old Man Xander recalled Angelus mocking him when he accused him of being ' Buffy 's White Knight .' Xander also recalled Caleb referring to him as ' the one who sees everything ,' before gouging his left eye out.
  
  Xander continued laughing maniacally in his dirty room at their high estimation of him. What did those impressions really amount to in the long scheme of things? The only amazing claim to fame Xander felt he had was somehow surviving several apocalypses and global magical disasters to see the ripe old age of eighty. Buffy was gone, Willow traveled between dimensions, Dawn passed away. Faith passed away. Giles passed away. Spike was dusted, and Angel became human and died. He outlived all of them, but accomplished far less.
  
  Laying in his bed looking at the ceiling he hated, the deranged teen coldly voiced, "I've been suffering these loops for what feels like centuries, and the future I've been dying to get back to... is a glorified bricklayer?" He felt like the king's clown, or the queen's clown in this case. Useless but for making the people around him laugh and forget their worries.
  
  ' They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie ,' he recalled his older counterpart telling Dawn to comfort her. She wanted to be special, just like he always did, so he understood her. ' To be the one who isn 't chosen. To live so near to the spotlight and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes because nobody's watching me .'
  
  Those words stayed with the old man throughout his years, and little by little, always ate away at him. Xander could understand that not everyone can be in the spotlight, but he could've done far more than what he did. Xander thought, ' Who would ever be fine with no one watching them? I 'm nothing now, but that wasn't what we wanted! Why did you stay that way? '
  
  "This can't be it," Xander called out to the yellowing ceiling of his room. "This can't be. Who allowed this? Cuz, it wasn't me. That old bastard can 't be me! And even if it was, it's gotta be a lie. It has to," he said. "I need more than that. Ending my life like that? The one-eyed nobody... the weakest friend of the world's saviors... The only autobiography collecting dust in warehouses... I can't let it end like this. I need to get out of this loop! I NEED TO GET OUT ! I can do way better than that! I can! Just let me out! Just... Just let me out... and I will... I will..."
  
  Xander cried himself to exhaustion and eventually fell asleep. The following morning, he woke up to November the 1st.
  
  Yes, Buffy did in fact confess to Xander! That happened in canon, AND XANDER SAID NO! Which made me roll my eyes. I'm fairly certain it was just a last minute thing the writers tacked on, like, "oh, Xander has always loved Buffy, but he's getting with her sister. Let's make Buffy say she's developing feelings for him. And when he rejects her, we can close the book on Xander ever being together with Buffy." Bullshit! I spit on the direction that they took for Xander. I'm glad that he matured and was the voice of reason later in the comics, but they DID NOTHING with his character! He's one of the only characters that stayed the same from beginning to end, Giles being the other one. But at least Giles was already impressive from the beginning. And he became the father figure of the group. Xander could've been something more than what he was and it pisses me off that they spent all of their imagination on all the other characters.
  
  For those who think I have a problem with Spike, I don't. I love the character. However, I do draw the line at him getting together with Buffy. That's a hard stop for me. I know a lot of people out there love that ship, and that's fine. I'm not trying to convince you otherwise. I personally just can't get past the attempted rape of my favorite character. To this day, that turns my stomach. If you're a person that can ignore that, you're a unique individual. By the way, Spuffy doesn't last in the comic continuation. Surprise surprise, all that fire between them only hurts them.
  
  So, look, I get that Xander isn't the most popular character, but I always see him like a highway that's perpetually under construction. They never really finished him. It's as if they found a box for him, and kept him there, and that's not fair. They told the actor to stop working out. They asked the actor if he wanted to leave the show because they weren't going to do anything else with the character. They gave him all the harsh/dickish lines when he wasn't like that in the beginning. What was done to Xander was unfair, but rather than earn a little sympathy, so many fans are fine trashing him. That's why I'm writing this. The way he's been treated is just wrong. I'm going to take canon Xander and I'm going to mold him, organically, into a completed character. He's still going to be the Zeppo, but he's going to be the best damn Zeppo in the world.
  
  One of the last things I want to say. In the comic book continuation, Xander and Dawn have a daughter named Joyce. I purposely didn't put the daughter in here since this isn't about fatherhood. Plus that baby didn't show up till the last few pages of the comic so its not like she was heavily involved in story or anything like that.
  
  I wasn't going to update next week, but leaving you like this is a pretty nasty cliffhanger. So, I'll post next week too. It'll be an interesting chapter(longer too). Lots to explain. Thank you guys for reading my fic. Very much appreciated. I hope you have a lovely New Years. Take care,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Geek's Desire
  Welcome back friends!
  
  Not much to say. I don't own Buffy characters.
  
  7.6K words. Thank you to my Betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. They work hard on these.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  The Geek's Desire
  
  This was a geek's room; A very messy geek's room. His old bookshelf was filled with VHS tapes of sci-fi, fantasy, action, and horror movies and TV shows. Tall stacks of comic books were clustered around his bed or against the dirty wall. The swimsuit editions of Sports Illustrated were within reach of his bathroom. Bricks of trading cards were on his withered desk and nightstand. Stacked board games were unceremoniously shoved into his open closet and his trash can was filled to the brim. The piles of clothes around his bed and hamper were a mix of clean and dirty. The many action figures of his favorite characters littered any surface they could stand on... except for one.
  
  Xander's Lion-O action figure was on the floor in pieces, however, from his smelly bed, the raven-haired teenager couldn't see his broken action figure. The alarm blared for him to wake him, and yet again, the exhausted teen hit the snooze button. Thinking about how much he didn't want to wake up anymore, he sat up lazily. After learning of the life that awaited him, he had even less desire to live on when nothing would ever change. He was the weakest of his friends as a teenager and remained the weakest as an adult.
  
  Xander remained rooted in bed. He couldn't die and even with Sherlock, Giles, Ethan, and Willow's help, he couldn't break the time loop. His dreams were no longer about sleeping with beautiful women like Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Pamela Anderson, local gorgeous girls, or even his seductive teacher, Miss Calendar. They were of breaking free of the time loop so he could prevent that uninspired, non-spotlight, Buffy-rejecting future from ever becoming a reality; The geek's one burning desire.
  
  With a frustrated groan, Xander forced himself out of his creaky bed and failed to notice the broken pieces of Lion-O on the floor. He took delicate care of his daily stiffy to memories of intense sex with Miss Calendar, all the while wondering if he should see her again. He doesn't know how long it's been-sometimes, it could feel like months-however, he missed the excitement of being inside of her.
  
  Having skipped school for dozens of loops already, Xander stayed in to think about why his life turned out to be such a disappointment. With dogged determination, he promised himself the second he was out of the time loop, he would take every viable opportunity he could to fix the mistake that was his future.
  
  " If I ever get out," he sadly realized, before walking out of his room and downstairs. He didn't bother to check on his mother-it's been months since he had-but he was thunderstruck upon entering the living room. The teen stopped dead in his tracks when he didn't see his father snoring on the couch. Looking at the empty space where an unconscious body should've been was like finding his school was suddenly gone one day with no explanation. It was haunting not to see Anthony Harris there.
  
  Xander looked around the messy living room as if he had suddenly forgotten where he was. When he heard sounds coming from the kitchen, Xander felt scared. He slowly entered the room and was shocked to see his grumpy parents eating breakfast at the round kitchen table. His eyes widened at the sight and an astonished Xander didn't bother with the pleasantries of, ' good morning ,' or the civility of, ' I thought you'd be asleep .'
  
  A confused Xander told them, "You're not supposed to be here."
  
  Turning to his son as if someone puked on the floor, Anthony Harris started, "Boy, is that any way to talk to your parents? The people that raised and clothed you?" He shook his head as he told his wife, "Ya see that? This is why no one likes him."
  
  Jessica Harris wasn't bothered by her husband's speech and simply asked her son, "Where've you been?"
  
  Xander looked around the room, and even if it looked like it always does, it made him wonder if he was even alive. His skin started sweating uncomfortably, and he became short of breath. In the hundreds, possibly thousands, of time loops he's been trapped in, nothing like this has ever happened before and it was making his heart beat like a racehorse. Feeling dizziness weaken his knees, he stuttered lamely, "I-I've been... h-here?"
  
  "Don't forget to clean up the yard," his mother grumpily told him. "There are wrappers everywhere. Little monsters. No respect for other people's property."
  
  Confused by her words and feeling short of breath, he turned to her to ask with a squinted face, "Wrappers?"
  
  Pointing at him with a stern finger, she callously promised her son, "I swear to God if I see one candy wrapper or toilet paper tomorrow, we're disowning you."
  
  Xander's disoriented mind couldn't keep up and feebly repeated to himself, "Wrappers? Toilet paper?" He stared at his parents in hopes they would answer his lost expression.
  
  His irritably sober father rotated his head but didn't look directly at his son, as if warning him what'll happen if he has to make eye contact, before asking, "You playing stupid again, boy? Listen to your mother before you make me get out of this chair."
  
  Having long grown accustomed to his father's threats and his mother's disinterest, the confounded teenager only cared to reply, "Wait, wait, wait... what- ahem !" Xander needed to clear his dry throat before trying again. "W-what day... is it today?"
  
  Anthony turned around in his chair and eyed his taller son as he croaked, "What's the matter with you?"
  
  As if unsurprised, Jessica Harris simply sighed and shook her head in habitual disappointment before complaining, "Why'd we have to end up with a son like you? Pedophiles wouldn't even want you-"
  
  They had a shorter fuse than normal that morning, but Xander didn't care. He had an even shorter one at the moment, and the possibility he could finally be out of his time prison was too much to retain any sense of decorum. He yelled, "Just tell me what fucking day it is!"
  
  Anthony's chair screeched against the tile as the average-sized man rushed to his feet. He stepped toward his son with hostility, reaching out to grip his shirt as he retorted, "Don't you yell at your mother like tha, boy!"
  
  The Achilles within Xander forced his muscles to spring into action without even thinking about it. Xander's left hand parried his father's out-reaching arm while his right hand hooked the back of his neck. With his father's forward momentum, Xander pulled him in and shoved him face-first into the wall behind him. His counter wasn't smooth, fast, or hard, but it surprised his old man and his knees gave out. A cursing Anthony dropped to the floor as he gripped his face and Xander's mother screamed at her son to leave.
  
  " Get out! Get out, you useless boy! And never come back," she yelled as a heated Xander fled the scene. Rushing out of the kitchen door to his backyard, then round the side of his house toward the street, he could still hear her yelling. "You're no good! No good! "
  
  It's not the first time he's heard her yell those words. On painfully sober days, those words were practically her mantra, so Xander didn't worry about being homeless. He'd be surprised if she remembered yelling at him when he got back. That level of fickleness was how their household functioned. Any of them could say the worst things to each other in the heat of the moment, and by the next day, forget about it.
  
  Walking down the street, a clueless Xander was desperate for the truth, and Willow's house was his first thought. Along the way, he stopped at a bright green news dispenser. He read the date through the windshield, and in black & white, the paper read November 1st, 1997. Xander was taking deep breaths and could feel himself losing it. After a moment, the raven-haired teen started laughing uncontrollably, drawing concerned attention. He looked crazy to the surrounding people, but he couldn't help it. He was going to have a panic attack if someone he knew didn't confirm he was out. If the whole town doesn't tell him it's the first of November, he'd seriously lose it.
  
  After a twenty-five-minute run, Willow wasn't home. Sweating and out of breath, he suddenly remembered she would be with Buffy at the Library. The gang always met in the library after crazy Hell-Mouthy clashes to point out their successes and mistakes as a team. Giles would even bring them cookies, which the three friends always appreciated. But cookies weren't even on his radar. He was frantic to see his real family.
  
  Despite his burning legs and strained lungs, his need to see them drove Xander to run to the library. During the repetitive monotony of the time loops, everyone around him felt dead to him, like puppets on a string. But on this brand-new day, anything was possible. Life could finally exist. He ran through the deserted halls of his school, and nearly cried when he noted all the Halloween decor was down. It made him push his burning legs faster.
  
  He slid to a stop a few feet away from the double doors of the library, then slowly walked to the circular window. His skin felt an uncomfortable mixture of hot and cold; heat from his aching muscles and a chill from the sweat. He was incredibly nervous and panting, but he looked through the circular window of the library doors, anyway. The sight in the middle of the room broke him.
  
  Xander's brown eyes absorbed the visual forms of his redheaded best friend and the love of his life. At the sight of Willow and Buffy, his eyes grew fiery with the welling of tears. The beautiful girls were happily talking next to each other at the center table while Giles was speaking as he paced in front of them. The girls partook in the chocolate chip cookies while the watcher read aloud from the book in his hand. Xander spotted the unmistakable broken shards of the Janus bust on the table and couldn't deny it any longer; this was a new day.
  
  ' They're here ,' his mind immediately cried at the sight of his beloved friends; free of their programmed repetition. His saddened eyebrows drooped down to his weeping eyelids. His vision of them-their red and blonde hair-weaved and bobbed with the fat tears spilling down his eyes. They could do or say anything they wanted, and that reality made Xander think of Pinocchio after he turned into a real boy. The broken teen clapped his hands over his open mouth to keep his groaning whimpers from coming out and calling attention to him.
  
  Xander knew in his bones he couldn't see them yet. It was too much, too soon. Upon taking a single step back, he felt terrible fear grip him. He couldn't know if this might be the last time, and that acute horrid possibility kept him rooted in place. Looking through the circular window, unable to leave or enter, Xander cried there for a while. He didn't even notice the person behind him.
  
  Jenny Calendar quietly appeared behind the unsuspecting boy. Curious, the beautiful computer teacher leaned forward, and at the sight of his distraught state, immediately became extremely concerned. She quickly asked, "Xander? Xander, what's wrong?"
  
  With his hands pressed tightly over his mouth, making his knuckles white, Xander couldn't answer her. He couldn't do anything but cry and hold in his desperate need to wail. She attempted to take the crying boy into the library, but he refused, shaking his head and spilling tears everywhere. Realizing the extreme state of his distress, Jenny took his hand.
  
  "Come on," she softly insisted. "It's just across the hall," she assured him as she pulled the tall boy into her classroom. Even if the quiet class reminded him of the fun they always had in there, she sat the sobbing boy on a table. Instead of having fun with her, he cried on her shoulder until his eyes were puffy, red bags, and he had no tears left to shed.
  
  When he finally stopped crying on her shoulder, she tilted her head back to gently ask, "You want to tell me what that was about?"
  
  Being so close to her again, hearing her gentle voice, smelling her unique scent, glimpsing her cleavage her low collar blouse accentuated, his emotionally exhausted and thoughtless mind couldn't stop his hand from instinctively caressing her right breast and pinching her nipple as he voiced, "I miss being inside you-"
  
  Immediately, the shocked Jenny smacked him across the face as she backed away from him. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him in stunned surprise. The stinging slap to the face instantly overwhelmed his mind with panic. The time, the place, and the non-looping situation suddenly came into painfully clear focus. Xander was back in the normal timeline, and none of his sexual exploits with Jenny happened here. Leaping back himself, he quickly apologized.
  
  "I am so so so very sorry, Ms. Calendar!" His body couldn't stay still and he paced as his animated hands gripped his head in disbelief. "I wasn't- I totally didn't mean to do that! It's just- No, it's not just ! There's no excuse. Cuz there isn't! There couldn't be! Bad Xander!" He slapped himself twice before assuring her, "I'd never do that if I wasn't so- My head- It's my head. It's not in the right frame of mind right now; nowhere near it-"
  
  She puts her hand up, and he stops talking. "I understand. You won't do that again, will you?"
  
  "Never! Promise!"
  
  "...Good," she eventually spoke before relaxing. Jenny remained where she stood as she continued, "Now, you want to tell me why you were bawling your eyes out?"
  
  Xander felt grateful to her for forgiving his stupidity. Realizing she's important to him in so many ways, he couldn't think of a reason not to tell her the truth. Additionally, he thought she could be the first step to building up his courage to approach Buffy and Willow.
  
  "Okay," Xander said with a stiff nod. His anxious body began pacing in front of her, and from her perspective, he appeared as if he was on drugs. He explained, "You know what happened yesterday... wow, yesterday ... yesterday never sounded so good... yesterday." He sniffed and felt the need to cry again as he repeated, "it really was yesterday."
  
  "...Xander?"
  
  "Hmm? Right," he replied, shaking his head before asking, "Halloween?"
  
  "I heard," Jenny answered, further saying, "It's why Rupert called me in. To show me."
  
  "So then, you know Buffy turned into her costume, I turned into mine, Willow into hers."
  
  "Yeah, he mentioned something like that," she stated with a nod. "Sounds like fun if it wasn't so horrible."
  
  His face winced in response to her joke before he continued, "Well, I can tell ya the people we became left when the spell was broken, but their memories stayed. So Buffy remembers stuff from being an 18th-century lady, which I'm sure she's actively trying to forget, and I remember stuff about what I became."
  
  "Alright," she said with a nod, listening intently. "And what did you dress as?"
  
  "Me."
  
  "Yes, you."
  
  "No, me," he clarified, tapping his chest. "I dressed up as me... but like, older me."
  
  She looked confused, and Xander wasn't surprised Jenny didn't know. In every loop he dressed as an old man, he stayed in his room to maximize the time he spent navigating through the memories. So, no one saw him. Later in the night, Willow always called him to make certain he was alright since his friends knew he dressed as an old man. Both Buffy and Willow were worried he was caught in the chaos. He confessed to being blind in one eye, needing to use the bathroom all the time, and having arthritis up to his eyebrows, which kept him confined to his room.
  
  "I became an eighty-year-old version of me," Xander reiterated to Jenny. "Which means I got all the memories of a life I haven't even lived yet... and it ain't good. It ain't good."
  
  "Wow," Jenny gasped, her eyebrows rising as she quickly realized what that meant. "I- wow."
  
  Pointing to the library behind him with his thumb, he woefully confessed, "I saw Buffy and Willow and Giles, talking in there, and I just... it's like I hadn't seen them in so so long. I couldn't keep it in."
  
  "Yeah, no, wow, Xander... I don't know what to say," Jenny slowly admitted, trying to take it all in. She took a step closer to her distraught student as she voiced, "I'm so sorry. To suddenly experience all that time in a single night must've been really difficult."
  
  "It wasn't all bad, you know," he quickly reassured her with a half-smile. "There were good times- er, will be , good times. There were a lot of sit-on-the-couch-and-veg days too, especially when Netflix comes around. But, there are a lot, and I mean a lot , of bad times."
  
  With her effortless imagination, Jenny sadly conceded, "I can imagine." Then, her concerned mind had her stand before him and ask, "Just out of curiosity, can you prove any of this? Like, is there something you could tell me that you shouldn't know?"
  
  Without thought of consequence, a frazzled Xander absentmindedly asked, "You mean like your real name being Janna, and that you're a gypsy. You're here, in Sunnydale, to keep tabs on Angelus, and how you look when we... uh, and other things... about you? That's a big fat yup!"
  
  Jenny was on him in an instant, grabbing him tight by the shoulders. She stared deeply into his brown eyes and told him, "Xander, please, you can't tell anyone-"
  
  She suddenly noted his eyes were looking at her low neckline. Xander couldn't know that Jenny dressed much more enticingly for her meeting with Giles in hopes they would go to lunch afterward. When the beautiful teacher backed away from Xander's gaze, he suddenly realized where his teenage mind went and backed away even farther from her.
  
  Her wild and quick imagination provided an explanation for his behavior and she didn't like it. Hesitant to hear his reply, Jenny cautiously asked, "we don't... you said earlier... that you... missed..."
  
  Again, a flustered Xander was thoughtless as he bluntly asked, "Sex? Us?" The pause lasted long enough for Jenny's eyes to freak out before Xander lied. "...No. No... of course not!"
  
  Jenny deflated in relief as she voiced, "Oh, thank God!"
  
  "Yeah, that didn't shatter my self-esteem at all," he voiced under his breath. He was tempted to tell her they had, and he rocked her world but decided against it. Feeling slightly better and keen to see his friends, he proclaimed, "Okay, I think I'm ready to see the others."
  
  "They already left," she quickly informed him.
  
  "What?"
  
  She pointed to the clock before remarking, "We've been in here for nearly two hours now."
  
  "Really?" Facing the truth behind the hands of the clock, Xander remarked, "huh, I hadn't even noticed."
  
  "I did. My shoulder's soaked," she said with a teasing smirk as she patted her shoulder, and he couldn't help his eyes zone in on her cleavage and breasts again.
  
  She caught him again, and he quickly apologized. "Sorry, for- uh, soaking your shoulder."
  
  She paused for several silent moments, eying him like she was deciphering a puzzle before asking, "You won't tell them about me, will you? Because I'd really like it if they didn't know." The sweet way she asked him made him remember some of her cuter moments when she was riding him. When Jenny noticed his dilated eyes, she pointed as she yelled, "There!"
  
  Snapping him out of his thoughts, he hastily replied, "Huh? There what-"
  
  "There, that look! That look!" she repeated, pointing at his face.
  
  The flustered teen shrugged his shoulders as he loudly asked, "What look? How am I supposed to see my own look-"
  
  "I've seen that look on men I've... been-" Resting her hands on her hips, the clever teacher impatiently asked, "What did we do? Just tell me the truth, Xander."
  
  The Casanova in him advised the truth with a hint of a lie. Clearing his throat, he slowly answered, "we... did... do... it -"
  
  Her reaction was as stupefied as it was immediate. "WHA- HOW- WHY- No! No! You have to be lying-"
  
  "Wait, wait, breathe. Let me explain," he quickly pleaded, extending peaceful palms out. After five seconds, Jenny was too impatient to wait to calm down and simply whirled her finger to force him to keep talking. He nodded before saying, "It's not what you think. We haven't been harboring some deep-seated attraction for each other or anything like that- At least, I imagine that's the case for you, since, duh, teenage boy here with twenty-twenty vision and a lot of time on his-"
  
  "Xander!"
  
  "Right," he quickly said, ending his rambling. "There was a spell involved."
  
  "A spell," she repeated. "A love spell?"
  
  "No, nothing like that," he assured her. "It put us in a, uh... sticky situation- ah , no pun intended."
  
  "Oh my God, kill me," she bemoaned as her head sank in defeat.
  
  The way her silky shoulder-length hair swayed as her head lulled reminded him of when her whole body was boneless after an intense orgasm. When he realized how crazy his mind turned again, he whiffled his head and cleared his throat before continuing, "Anyway, the others never found out about us, so we kept it that way. I mean, we did it a lot but-"
  
  Putting her palm up, she demanded, "Just stop!"
  
  It was obvious she was upset by the news. Hoping to console her, he offered, "If it's any consolation, it had more to do with you saving my life than anything else."
  
  Looking nauseated, she weakly noted, "I've never heard of a spell like that."
  
  "And if I do things differently now, you never will."
  
  "You damn well better!" she snapped, looking at him sternly.
  
  Feeling more like his old self, Xander nodded. "Right! Right! No one needs to know. And hey, it's not like you have the memories, so, no biggie."
  
  Xander was ready to leave when Jenny stood in front of him and asserted, "I want them out of your head, too."
  
  The confused teen couldn't know she secretly wanted the memories of her real identity out as well when he asked, "Wait, what? Why?"
  
  "Because I'm your teacher, for one!"
  
  He tried to explain, "It hasn't happened yet-"
  
  "Or ever!"
  
  "Yeah, right, or ever," he quickly consented. "I just mean, what's the difference if they're in no one's head but mine? They're basically like a fantasy at that point. You have to know all the guys in school have thought about you like that, right?"
  
  "But they're not a fantasy, are they? In some weird alternate timeline, you and I... have... relations we shouldn't have! No, I don't want you knowing me like that. That's incredibly personal, and for you to have seen me in that way, I don't feel comfortable at all. And you shouldn't be so cavalier about this either, Xander. That's like having naked pictures of your best friend. It's creepy."
  
  Xander didn't know what to say. He felt more like a disciplined child in the last minute than he has in an incredibly long time. ' The downside of being too happy to escape the loop and finally have a conversation with someone ,' he reasoned to himself.
  
  In his speechlessness, Jenny asked, "Now, if I find a spell-a safe one-will you consent to erasing that memory from your head?"
  
  "...I don't know. That sounds a tad excessive," he couldn't stop himself from voicing. "So what if I know your O-face-"
  
  "No! No, Xander, I'm not comfortable with this at all. Promise me."
  
  "Promise you what? We haven't done anything."
  
  "But you'll be looking at me, like you have been," she retorted.
  
  "I'm just a little excited is all," Xander tried to express. "I think you can agree I had a pretty gnarly experience. I'll settle down-"
  
  "But you'll still know a deeply personal side of me that I don't want you to," she quarreled. "That should be enough for you. Now, promise me that if I find a safe spell, we'll remove that memory. Please, Xander. You're a good guy, not some creep who'd violate a person's privacy like this."
  
  With a half-squinted face, Xander didn't want to be a creep. He might not know Miss Calendar like he does Willow or Buffy, but she's always been nice to him and he didn't want her to think badly of him. Feeling like he should accommodate her because that's what a good guy would do, he hesitantly nodded.
  
  "Good," she said with a thankful nod. "Now go home before it gets dark. You know how dangerous it can get at night."
  
  He felt the question leave his mouth before he even thought to ask it. "Gimme a lift?"
  
  The foxy teacher was already walking to the door, likely to find a memory-altering spell, as she voiced, "Uh, next time. Get home safe."
  
  Xander ignored the dark regret rising from his stomach, in favor of seeing Buffy and Willow again. He didn't like agreeing to Jenny's request, but he couldn't help wondering if keeping his memories of her made him some creepy pervert. He certainly didn't want her to think he was desperate to remember her nudity, however, they were still his memories that she wanted to alter. Her request seemed excessive to him, but Xander wasn't sure what else he could've said. When it came down to it, any experience he shared with others during the time loop no longer mattered because he was the only one who remembered.
  
  Xander walked slowly to Buffy's house to temper his excitement. He didn't want to be as senseless with Buffy as he was with Ms. Calendar. It was already evening by the time he turned onto her street. The night was crisp with a slight breeze, but all he could think about was how much of his crazy adventure was he going to confess to his friend. He preferred not to overwhelm her with everything he knows.
  
  Greeting Mrs. Summers at the door, Xander tried to think-and not think-about the caring mother's death. Attempting to recall when she died while standing right in front of her felt morbid, however, he wanted to know the details of her passing to prevent it. All his Old-Man memories knew was that a head injury happened abruptly when they were teenagers, but he didn't know when. This was one of those moments Xander didn't like his Old-Man memories, as the teen years weren't detailed enough to be helpful.
  
  Buffy came down a minute later. She wore tight green slacks, a lilac-colored sleeveless shirt under a black jacket, and black boots. Judging by her walk, Xander easily pictured the stake at her lower back. They told Mrs. Summers the usual white lie before the pair of friends walked to the first cemetery on her patrol together.
  
  It took some time for Xander to calm his racing heart. His palms and armpits were sweating, and he felt like he was about to confess his feelings for her again. They took a shortcut between houses when he happily stated, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."
  
  " Aww ," Buffy sounded before realizing she was miffed at him. "Wait. Not aww . Aww has been rescinded. If you really missed me, you wouldn't have made me go through review-day all by myself. You know how I need you to keep me sane when Giles drags on about every little detail."
  
  Xander laughed at the nostalgic feeling. Usually, Willow was very captivated by review-day, as it improved her knowledge of the paranormal. Xander and Buffy were happy to joke around. Since it's been so long since he attended a review day, Xander thought fondly of the day as he replied, "Sorry. I was having one of those midlife crisises... sisees?"
  
  He looked at her for help and she shook her head, asserting, "not even going to attempt that one, but I'm fairly sure you're not in your thirties. Unless... can teenagers have midlife crisises... sesses?"
  
  When she looked at him for help, he shrugged and shook his head as he voiced like a caveman, "English hard." As they reached the first cemetery on her patrol, Xander felt more relaxed as he continued, "But seriously, you'd have a hard time too if you suddenly found yourself in a time loop before getting the bright idea of turning into your eighty-year-old version for Halloween."
  
  "Better than an 18th-century Save-Me Save-Me Barbie," she proclaimed, waving her hands in mocking a screaming damsel.
  
  "You mean Lady Save-Me Save-Me Barbie, and, I don't think you heard me." She turned to him with a quirked brow and he answered, "I was stuck in a time- never mind that part. My costume was eighty-year-old me."
  
  The cute blonde good-naturedly laughed, "how could I forget? Easily, the best part of Review-Day."
  
  Taking no offense, the teen boy protested, "I see no humor in this." When Buffy laughed, he asked, "Why the giggles, my giggle queen?"
  
  She leaned over, looking at him as they walked, and remarked, "It was just funny how useless we both were yesterday."
  
  Whirling on her, he exclaimed, "Useless? Me? Never!"
  
  "Oh, my gosh! Willow said you had arthritis up to your eyeballs," she said with a wide smile. "I doubt you could've outrun anything last night if you couldn't even get out of bed. And I was so weak. If Angel hadn't shown up early, who knows what might've happened. Don't you remember? Or were you at that age?"
  
  "Ha ha," he amiably mocked. "You won't think it's so funny when you realize why my choice of costume was actually the most amazing one."
  
  "Adult diapers?"
  
  Xander returned a scrunched expression, like having smelled something horrible before countering with, "Better that than a corset?"
  
  "Ugh, please don't remind me," Buffy begged at the horrible memories flooding in. She leaned over a bit, patting her flat stomach as she asserted, "I can't breathe just thinking about it."
  
  Nodding, he added to their banter, "Consider it your next birthday present."
  
  Turning to him, she pressed into his shoulder with as little strength as possible as she asserted, "You better not!"
  
  "We're getting off track," he chuckled, rubbing his smarting shoulder.
  
  "I accept no part of the blame," she pouted, crossing her arms.
  
  As they patrolled the eerily quiet cemetery, Xander reminded her, "You remember being an 18th-century girl, right?"
  
  "Ughh," she groaned.
  
  "Well, I also remember."
  
  She looked at him in confusion as she asked, "Being you? How do you forget being yourself?"
  
  "Not just me, Buffy," he slowly replied. " All of me. I remember everything about my eighty years of life."
  
  She blinked widely as she voiced, "Really?"
  
  "Yeah."
  
  As it slowly sunk in, the bubbly blonde excitedly asked, "Like what?"
  
  Anticipating how he'll blow her mind with what he knows, Xander hummed cheerfully before answering with an ever-present smirk, "Like how I find it weird you never told us your full name was Buffy Anne Summers."
  
  Abundantly shocked, the wide-eyed beauty smacked his shoulder as she exclaimed, "Oh my God! I never told you that!"
  
  He winced and rubbed the stinging pain of tenderized shoulder as he reminded her, "Ow! Super strength!"
  
  "Sorry, but that's amazing," she apologized, then complimented before demanding, "What else do you know?"
  
  Xander hummed with a grin before summarizing, "Mostly everything. The teen stuff is pretty hazy, but I remember some of the bigger things that happened. That's why I didn't make it this morning."
  
  "Yeah, fine, talk! I have to know."
  
  Her excitement was palpable, and Xander soaked it in. It felt exactly like he wanted. To be depended on. Though he aimed to please, he knew it wasn't all good. Xander had an easier time recalling more bad than good, and despite having this knowledge of the future, he didn't want to disappoint her. They stopped in the middle of the cemetery, and he scratched his neck nervously before preparing her.
  
  "I should warn you," he began. "It's not all good."
  
  Buffy shrugged as she noted, "no surprise there. Life of a Slayer. Comes with the gig."
  
  "There's plenty of good stuff, though," he said encouragingly. "You're like, the number one Slayer in the world! And everyone knows you!"
  
  Xander's self-preservation made his body automatically hop back to avoid another hit as she yelled, "Shut up! Really? They know me, like, as the Slayer?"
  
  "You're a rock-star, baby," he cheerfully said as she covered her open mouth in amazement. "The world eventually finds out about demons, vampires, curses, monsters, the whole enchilada. Hell, the government has a secret branch just for them. Since you've been doing the best job the longest, you pretty much became the leader. And other than the usual amount of haters, everyone looks to you to keep them safe."
  
  Buffy is in awe as she sounded, "Woooow. That is way more than a toe in the adult pool."
  
  "Responsibilities galore."
  
  Excitedly, she leaned in to ask with a bright smile, "And Willow? How's she in the future?"
  
  Xander smiled broadly for a full second, slaying her patience before revealing, "The most powerful witch to ever exist!" When it appeared she was going to smack him again, he jumped back and nearly tumbled over a headstone.
  
  "No way!" she happily yelled in awe. "You're making this up!"
  
  Xander shook his head as he walked back toward her. He was about to answer her when a voice from the darkness cut in, asking, "Making what up?"
  
  They turned to see Angel walking out of the shadows. As ever, he stood out as a tall, muscular, and handsome man any girl would dream of. Even his styled brunette hair shined under the moonlight. Dressed in black, he could appear menacing and gentle simultaneously. Xander backed away. Having seen Jenny earlier, the teenage boy instantly thought of Angelus killing her.
  
  Oblivious to this, Buffy rushed to her boyfriend and gave him a fierce hug, making him light up, before quickly dragging him closer to Xander. She didn't seem to notice his heightened anxiousness as she explained, "I forgot I was meeting Angel. But keep going! You won't believe what happened to Xander."
  
  "Acid reflux?" Angel lightly jested, and it hurt Xander to hear.
  
  Smiling, Buffy weakly told him, "stop."
  
  Realizing the good-looking vampire wouldn't know about his costume unless Buffy told him, he looked at her with some betrayal in his eyes as he asked, "You told him?" His imagination easily pictured Buffy & Angel making fun of him for a cheap laugh, and he didn't like it.
  
  "It's fine, it's fine," she quickly assured her friend. Buffy turned to her tall boyfriend to explain, "you're never going to believe it, but he remembers everything from his costume as Old Xander."
  
  The tranquil vampire smirked, as if amused by her, and asked, "Like, what was it? Arthritis? Hearing loss?"
  
  "Blind in one eye," Buffy corrected.
  
  The Achilles within wanted Xander to shout, ' I was blind in one eye because a serial killer by the name of Caleb was trying to end the Slayer line and gouged it out with his bare hand! ' Instead, the anxious teen proclaimed, "It was actually a war wound."
  
  "Oh, really? Sorry," Buffy responded, wondering how the wound was inflicted. She then continued explaining to her boyfriend, "anyway, just like my costume left all the memories of her life, he remembers everything that happened to him! Stuff that hasn't even happened yet! It's like he knows the future! Isn't that amazing?"
  
  Skeptical, the vampire replied, "Oh, like what?"
  
  "Like Angelus," Xander nervously blurted out. Angel lost all sense of ease in his posture. Like a switch flipped, he instantly stiffened up, hunched his shoulders aggressively, and straightened his neck. All he needed was his vampire face to complete the intimidating look. The strong vampire turned deadly and silent, and Xander felt his chest tighten.
  
  Buffy noticed his change right away and cautiously voiced, "Angel?"
  
  Xander saw the concern in Buffy's greenish-blue eyes, and the boy suddenly became daring. It quickly dawned on him he couldn't allow Angelus to hurt him, Jenny, his friends, or especially Buffy. Xander had to protect everyone from that homicidal vampire, even if that meant breaking Buffy and Angel up.
  
  Despite how angry his revelation might make Angel, Xander felt safe around the Slayer and asserted, "Yeah, Buffy, you won't believe what happens to Angel-"
  
  "Stop," Angel ordered with a threatening tone, taking a step toward the teenage boy.
  
  Xander paused for a moment, but with Buffy by his side, he glared right back at Angel as he continued, "stop what? How am I not supposed to tell her you'll lose your soul if you stay with her? You two eventually get it on, and then bam ! Curse broken, soul gone, and say hello to the homicidal return of Angelus-"
  
  In a bout of rage, Angel shoved Xander with a palm to the chest. His sternum felt like a sheet of paper being punched by a super pissed vampire. The stunned teen landed on the floor with the wind knocked out of him and aching ribs. Trying to catch his breath, his eyes were wide, and he felt like he got hit by a car. The Achilles within was disappointed Xander didn't clock the move.
  
  Buffy quickly got between the irate and pacing vampire and her gasping friend rolling on the ground. With his face alone, Angel communicated regret for being physical, and the worried Buffy relaxed a little. With concern, the blonde asked her riled-up boyfriend, "What's he talking about?" When an irate Angel remained silent, she asked her friend, who was slowly getting up, "Xander, what are you talking about?"
  
  Angel glared at the teenager, but Xander stood closer to Buffy as he explained with a strained voice, "it's, uh, p-part of the deal with his soul. If he ever experiences-"
  
  "Enough!" Angel yelled, hating the prospect of a life without her.
  
  Xander continued, "A moment of true happiness, he loses his soul, and Angel is replaced with Angelus, the murdering psycho vampire."
  
  Buffy looked from the wincing Xander to the pained Angel. The tall vampire either didn't know or didn't want it to be true, but Xander didn't care. Saving lives was more important. It's what the Scooby Gang did. However, he couldn't deny a completely emotional side of him relished in breaking them up. He hated hurting Buffy, but he couldn't deny how much he wanted her to be his girlfriend. And with his newfound confidence in pleasing women, Xander was certain he wouldn't disappoint her.
  
  Expecting her to cry at the truth of the matter, she instead turned to her friend and told him, "That's not funny, Xander."
  
  Turning to her in surprise, he replied, "Does it look like I'm joking? It's true. He'll turn into a murderer and kill people if you stay together-"
  
  " I ... I don't believe you," she decidedly concluded. Her greenish-blue eyes conflicted between anger, confusion, disbelief, and defiance as she declared, "He wouldn't."
  
  Extending his hand toward the tormented vampire, Xander returned, "Just ask him."
  
  Shaking her head, she instead asked him, "This is because it's him, isn't it?" Xander looked at her like she was going crazy as she continued, "I know you've never been his biggest fan, but I've always thought you'd try, for me, at least."
  
  Fed up, he pointed to the sullen vampire as he proclaimed, "Just ask him!"
  
  "I don't need to," she hotly retorted. "I know he wouldn't do that!" Angel turned to leave and Buffy called out to her boyfriend, "Wait!"
  
  When she moved to follow him, Xander quickly realized he'd be alone in the middle of a cemetery and called, "Uh, Buffster? I'm like, walking steak here."
  
  Frustrated, Buffy hastily grabbed his hand painfully and slammed her stake in his palm before ordering, "go home!" She then ran after her vampire boyfriend, leaving Xander alone.
  
  It was a cloudy and cool night. Xander was in a cemetery, his chest throbbed like it was hit with a sledgehammer, and all he had was a stake. The chilly wind tickled the hairs on the back of his neck and the eerie silence made him paranoid monsters were watching him. Even the creepy tombstones appeared taller. Eager for a sense of safety, Xander's legs quickly traveled toward lights, buildings, and people. Fortunately, it was still early in the night, so he didn't expect any trouble.
  
  The hyper-vigilant teenager made it to the street that led into the cemetery parking lot when a group of boisterous men was walking toward him. There were four of them, tall, strong-looking, laughing together, and they instantly made Xander nervous. He gripped the wooden stake under his shirt hard the entire time before they passed one another. When the laughing friends were behind him, Xander relaxed and wondered if he should run when the group of four men were suddenly right behind him.
  
  "You lost?" one of them slowly asked, making Xander's skin crawl in surprise. Turning to the four men, Xander couldn't believe his luck. They all had hideous vampire faces and stared at him with hungry, evil, yellow eyes.
  
  "Tanner's going to be hungry when he crawls out," the one to his left voiced.
  
  "Might as well bring him a snack," the second voiced.
  
  "We're seriously, like fantastic friends," the third genuinely voiced to the others. Returning his attention to the anxious teen, he sinisterly added, "Plus, I wouldn't mind a snack myself. I'm feeling a bit peckish."
  
  Despite his stint as Achilles, Xander didn't feel the same confidence fighting a vampire he's never practiced on before. In the loops, he knew what all of his opponents were going to do before they did it. That level of insight was a great equalizer to their speed and strength. That wasn't the case here. In the loops, it was like light sparing. Out of the loop, it was the title match against the champion. Xander couldn't tell much about their attack preference, and he was outnumbered four to one. Still, Achilles taught him to remain calm.
  
  " BBUUUFFFFFFFFYYYYYY! "
  
  Xander screamed as he ran. Rather than fight them in a completely unfamiliar setting, where he didn't know how they'd attack him, he ran like any smart, non-powered human would. He knew they would catch up, but they hadn't seen his stake just yet. When the first one easily caught up, grabbing his shirt from behind, jerking the teen to a stop. Xander moved with the stronger momentum, took out his stake, and in one fluid motion, stabbed the vampire in the chest. The nightwalker didn't know what hit him.
  
  Xander didn't stick around to watch his kill turn to dust. He pulled out the stake and kept sprinting as he yelled for Buffy, but the three remaining vampires quickly caught up to him. His legs still ached from his run earlier in the day, and he was sluggish as they surrounded him. As they prowled around him, Xander tried to calm himself, like Achilles would, but he couldn't ignore the fear trickling out of his fast-beating heart. He spotted the rock on the grass by the sidewalk and planned on reaching it, however; they didn't let him take a step.
  
  One quickly grabbed the arm holding the stake while a second kicked his leg, dropping Xander to one knee. The third was instantly behind him, ready to bite into his prone neck when Xander let go of the stake to grip it with his free hand, then jammed the point into the third vampire's thigh. It screeched in pain before forcibly taking the wooden weapon from the lethargic teenager.
  
  Xander couldn't move or even think before he was punched hard across the face. Quickly, his vision blurred. His ears rang terribly, and warm liquid began streaming down his nose and mouth. His legs inexplicably felt like jelly, and despite the pain flourishing throughout his throbbing face, Xander still called out for Buffy.
  
  "B-Buuf...ffyyyyyy-"
  
  His hope for her died when the uninjured vampires already plunged their fangs into Xander's skin; one in the vein of his forearm and the second at his neck. The pain was sharp, but it soon melted away along with his strength. Xander wanted to fight back, but he felt as weak as a newborn baby. His vision was darkening when he heard a sharp grunt, then fell to the street.
  
  His drooping eyes caught sight of a blonde girl beating back the last two vampires for several seconds before they ran away. Rather than chase them, Buffy rushed to her wounded friend. She mentioned something along the lines of ' hold on ,' and ' the hospital ,' however, it was already too late for him. Xander lost far too much blood and couldn't keep his eyes open any longer.
  
  As we all know, in order for a person to turn into a vampire, blood exchange is needed. Since that did not happen, Xander can't turn into a vampire. Just thought I'd mention that.
  
  I personally feel Buffy wouldn't believe what Xander said about Angel. Even if she didn't know it at that stage in her life, I'm sure deep down she knows Angel is the love of her life. Why would she just accept what Xander said? Anyway, that's the direction I took. I hope it makes sense. If it doesn't, I'd love to hear why.
  
  I don't think Jenny would care about Xander having the memory of their sexual encounter, but she would mind him know her identity as Janna.
  
  Next chapter won't be for two weeks. Again, if my betas and I make a lot of progress and we're ahead by 3 or more chapters, I'll drop the next update.
  
  For my Last Prayer readers, you guys will get your chapter soon. I've been sick for several weeks(yes, Covid😷 ) but I'm much better now.
  
  Thank you guys for reading and taking the time to leave a comment. You're very much appreciated. Let me know your thoughts. Happy New Year and take care,
  
  -Grae
  
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  No Regret
  Hey, guys!
  
  Surprise chapter! Due to the mixed response of last weeks chapter, I felt it would be unfair of me to leave you guys without answers for two whole weeks, so, here's chap 11 for you.
  
  Warning: Explicit Sexual Content, Language.
  
  4.4K words. Thank you to my beta readers, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. Enjoy!
  
  No Regret
  
  Xander woke up with an intense fright. The alarm was blaring beside him, but he didn't care. With quick agitated hands, Xander clapped at his neck several times, feeling for puncture holes in his skin or blood pooling out. Despite his fingers coming up unblemished, he rushed out of bed and to the nearest mirror to examine his neck with his own eyes. Only when his pale skin appeared untouched by vampire fangs, or even a speck of dirt, did Xander finally calm down.
  
  "Thank God..." he voiced before realizing where he was.
  
  Looking around the dirty washroom as his panic subsided, the dark-haired teenager realized he wasn't in a hospital lavatory. He was in his own bathroom. The tub, tiles, floor, and walls were supposed to be white, but it all had a greasy, yellowish film over them. The edges of the bathtub were brown from dirty water and the toilet had yellow stains tracking down the bowl to the floor. Craning his neck to the left, he viewed his dirty room through the door frame, and to his dread, it looked exactly like that Halloween day.
  
  "No," he painfully voiced.
  
  Xander rushed to the television and found the same Mighty Max cartoon playing. When he found his mother passed out on her bed and his father passed out on the couch, he couldn't deny it. He was back. The teen went from nearly dying by vampires to sliding back into the time loop he thought he escaped, and he couldn't tell which was the worst fate. That sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach convulsed before he doubled over and threw up on the stained carpet of his living room. He had little in his stomach, but anything in there came out to a gagging sight, sound, and smell.
  
  After several dry heaves, a panting Xander wiped his drool-covered lips before weakly getting to his feet and leaving his house. Walking the streets with no destination in mind, Xander wondered why he wasn't angrier. He'd gotten out. He made it and everything was flowing forward as it should. And now he was back. Rather than anger, he was numb and in a state of shock.
  
  The meandering teen wasn't in a place to break it all down intellectually and figure out a solution. He simply kept on walking until he found himself in school. As ever, the Halloween decorations were up, Snyder was forcing students to chaperone, and no one remembered having already gone through the holiday. Other than their surprise at his choice of outfit that morning, Willow and Buffy acted the same as ever. Xander was dressed in his pajamas, but he didn't care. He was zoned out and content to stay that way.
  
  It wasn't until lunch that Xander finally started wondering why he was back. The Sherlock mental pattern within wouldn't leave him alone until he began making sense of it all. His mind began questioning everything about that day. He questioned whether he died from blood loss, but then recalled being drained to death before, and it felt exactly the same. It meant that he looped back despite successfully making it out of the time loop. But Xander didn't care about that. The significance of looping back even outside of the time loop wasn't the most important query on his mind. Even Ms. Calendar's demand to tamper with his memories wasn't his most important train of thought.
  
  It was Buffy and Angel.
  
  Xander, Willow, and Buffy were in the sitting area for lunch. The girls were talking amongst themselves, and Xander didn't need to eavesdrop to know it was about Angel. He could tell by their facial expressions alone they were talking about him, and it was Buffy's affection for Angel that annoyed him the most. Xander never imagined his dear friend, the vampire slayer, would ignore something so serious about Angel just because they're dating. Looking at the beautiful blonde, Xander stewed in silence as he questioned her priorities.
  
  ' Was Angel more important to Buffy than her own friends? ' Xander thought, and hated being uncertain of the answer. Days ago, he never imagined Buffy would doubt such a serious curse. Now he couldn't even say if she would be peaceful about it. ' She was pissed... at me! '
  
  Her casual smile while talking to Willow finally made him snap. Xander wanted to get out of the time loop, but he needed to know why Angel mattered more than reason- more than common sense... than family. Even if they weren't related by blood, friends can still be family.
  
  "Hey, Buff?" When she turned to him, dazzling him with her beauty, he knew he couldn't ask her specifically why she wouldn't believe the truth about Angelus. This Buffy has never heard that conversation. Instead, he asked, "what's the deal with you and Angel?"
  
  Her eyebrows raised along with Willow's. Xander realized he never asked about their relationship. It always hurt him in his chest to even think about asking, especially after she rejected him before summer. But after tens or even hundreds of thousands of loops, he didn't care about that. If he was ever in a position where he needed to tell her the truth again, he didn't want her getting angry at him; not if he can help it.
  
  Getting more specific, Xander asked, "I mean, why isn't it possible for you to believe Angel could do bad stuff? He did so before. Doesn't that matter to you?"
  
  "Xander," a wary Willow tried to caution, looking between him and Buffy.
  
  "I just want to know," he quickly cut in, telling his redheaded friend. "If you love someone, and they turn out to be a killer, would you still love them?"
  
  Buffy stood up, clearly upset at being questioned by him, but Xander needed to know more than he needed to be nice. She grabbed her bag before telling him, "It isn't just that I love him completely. No one knows me better than he does. And I know him. Which is why it doesn't matter what he did before. I know who he is now ."
  
  Xander might've left well enough alone, but he assumed she wouldn't remember this conversation and continued. "So, it wouldn't matter if, for example, I found out that he could lose his soul? We all know that he's cursed with a soul right now , but will that always be the case?"
  
  "Xander," Willow cut in, looking at him with concern etched on her face.
  
  "What?" He voiced, standing up as well, eying them both with confusion. "What's so wrong with asking questions? I'd like to know if it came down to it, and her friends found out Angel could go bad, would she believe us?"
  
  "We wouldn't do anything like that," Willow told Xander before looking at a stone-faced Buffy.
  
  Buffy hotly answered, "I get why you have a problem with him; really, I do. I don't even blame you. But if you can't get past your issue with him, I promise you, you're going to have an issue with me, too."
  
  Xander raised his eyebrows at her stern expression. He felt nervous heat prickle at his armpits because her words weren't a threat, but a promise, and it hurt. Looking at her with the knowledge of what may be and her inability to accept the truth, he was disappointed. She was his hero and she would turn her back on a best friend for her vampire boyfriend. That really hurt the teenage boy. Xander turned his back on her answer and walked away in deep disappointment.
  
  When Larry walked up to him to learn how easy Buffy might be, Xander simply punched him in the face. Everyone in the room was surprised by the hard, meaty THUD of his connecting fist, including Willow and Buffy. As the larger footballer fell to the floor, he knocked over people and their food trays, causing a ruckus on his way down. Xander kept on walking and didn't stop for the zinging pain of his hand or to observe the commotion he made. Larry was knocked out cold, and the shocked room or the concern on Willow and Buffy's faces didn't matter to him
  
  The apathetic teenager simply told himself, ' if I loop again, I need to ask Casanova why the sweetest, most amazing girl would fall in love with a murderer .' Xander never had another person to ask before. Willow and Giles would find a nice way to tell him to mind his own business, but with a loop, he could ask Casanova and likely get an honest answer.
  
  The teen left school, all the while making plans for the Janus curse. After stopping at Ethan's, Xander locked Sherlock in a room at the Motor Inn, and before six o'clock, the teen taped the passphrase along with pages of additional details on the walls before barricading the door. Plastered all over the walls was the time loop that started when he woke up and ended at 3 AM; the seven deaths that automatically triggered being sent back; how no distance traveled seemed to matter; the Halloween costumes he dressed as-including his eighty-year-old version-and finally, how he got out before dying and being sent back.
  
  As ever, the brilliant detective read the phrase before his mind began dissecting every detail of Xander's problem. He noted how long Sherlock spent on the Old Man details. The famous detective found it intriguing that the older version of himself never had to suffer time loops. It suggested that whatever began the time-warping anomaly was beyond the dimension of normal time flow, which could only be extremely powerful entities. Assuming myths and legends were true, Sherlock was fascinated by that. However, it did nothing for Xander since no one could tell him why this was happening to him.
  
  ' And how the hell am I supposed to stop extremely powerful entities by myself? '
  
  A voice that sounded like Sherlock's answered, ' Clearly, there are rules. You have them posted all over the walls. If there are rules to keep you in, it stands to reason there have to be rules to get you out .'
  
  Sherlock continued to study the problem for the remainder of time. Before the end of the curse, the brilliant man reasoned that if nothing external prompted a deviation from the pattern, then it must be internal. Circling the word ' internal ,' the example Sherlock used was, "If you can be certain no one is poisoning you, but you are, in fact, being poisoned, then logic dictates you must be the one poisoning yourself."
  
  Though Xander had yet to be a hundred percent certain no one else was the cause of his "poisoning," Sherlock still proposed Xander recreate the night before time progressed normally. As it was fresh in Xander's mind, the teen recalled exactly what he did. He dressed up as his older self-as he had for several loops-cried over the misery that was his future, and cursed the disappointing direction his life took with righteous fury. Xander recalled desperately wanting to change and promised to be better if the looping ended.
  
  "Then I got out and died on the first night," he joked to himself. "Just do the same without the dying."
  
  In the following loop, Xander dressed as his old self again. The memories-the good, the bad, and the ugly-flooded his mind once again when the curse began and he promptly felt a myriad of emotions; disappointment, shame, hurt, anxiousness, pride, joy, confusion, and regret. At the end of the night, he repeated everything he said to get out of the loop, then he went to sleep. The following morning, Xander woke up to his blaring alarm, the same Mighty Max episode, and Halloween all over again. Not willing to give up, Xander tried again and prayed like he never had before to escape. But he didn't.
  
  "You've got to be kidding me!" He yelled, wondering if Sherlock was wrong, and someone was, in actuality, doing this to him. Xander couldn't imagine who would be powerful enough and hate him enough to do this. "What am I doing wrong?!" He didn't want to give up and tried no less than twenty times to get out of the loop using his Old Man costume, but not once did it work.
  
  When Xander felt the despair creeping upon him, he walked out of Ethan's with Casanova's costume and visited the computer classroom for a pleasant distraction. After repeating the winning formula, Xander found himself in Jenny's bedroom, making her moan. On all fours, he pounded into her sodden snatch from the back. The beautiful teacher dug the heels of her palms into the mattress as her whole body rocked with Xander's every thrust. Under his unyielding energy of youth, Jenny was panting loudly. Her small breasts jiggled, and she was covered in sweat. She already came several times and couldn't stop moaning her approval.
  
  Jenny couldn't comprehend why Xander was so good, but was unable to think long enough to care. While he fondled her breasts and ass exactly how she liked it, she rubbed her clit and squeezed his pumping cock. When she felt close, she moaned, "Xander! AAHH! I'm almost there! Jus...a MNN , little Mmmm oore!"
  
  As Xander increased his pounding, her moaning grew in tandem with her rising peak of pleasure. Her breathing hitched when she clenched her stomach and her pelvis started vibrating. Feeling her increased contractions, Xander pressed her face into the mattress and pounded her g-spot harder.
  
  "I'M CUMMING!" Jenny muffled into the sheets. Her taut and sweaty body lost all control and shuddered tremendously. Her legs quivered as the ecstasy spread from her exploding love tunnel to her spine and foggy brain. Xander grunted and let himself erupt inside of her sodden vagina, pumping thread after thread of his spunk inside. Feeling his hot seed filling her crevices, Jenny gripped the sheets tightly as her body convulsed with one of the best orgasms she's ever had.
  
  When Xander settled atop her heaving form, he couldn't help but think Jenny was the second girl who made no sense. If the Jenny who wanted to tamper with this memory could see the one under him at the moment, he wondered if she would still want to erase his experiences. The teenager couldn't ignore the bit of spite he had for her. He couldn't help recall how she wanted to manipulate his memory. As his irritation increased, so too did his erection. Jenny moaned loudly, arching her flush back as her dripping womanhood widened with his throbbing rod. She had already orgasmed four times and he could feel her shivering form eagerly submit for more.
  
  Though she loudly moaned for more, Xander only thought how he didn't want to sacrifice his memories simply to make her feel better. Xander wrapped his strained arms around her waist and thrusted as deep as he could, jiggling her lithe body. The glistening beauty hugged his neck as he pounded into her slickness, hitting all her spots as he sucked on her sensitive nipples. When he felt her pussy shiver, his right hand rubbed on her extended clit. She moaned and hummed sweetly for a few minutes before her love coil snapped. For the fifth time that night, a long, heart-stopping eruption of ecstasy blasted from her quivering cunt throughout the rest of her flush body, vibrating her legs, spine, and brain with ceaseless waves of bliss.
  
  She clenched him like a vice and the delicious trembling sent him over the edge and Xander climaxed inside of her again. She squeezed load after load out of him until they lay spent beside one another. They heaved side-by-side, but he was still upset with her. ' She didn't even have the memory ,' he yelled in his mind. Fueled by his indignation, Xander had sex with her all night, making her moan, beg, and scream his name as she orgasmed repeatedly.
  
  Observing the way she was snuggled up to him by the end, holding him tightly, made him tilt her head to look at him. Eyes droopy, the blushing woman was clearly ready to sleep, but he couldn't end this loop without telling her, "before you even think it, no, I don't care if you don't like this tomorrow. I won't even care if you regret it."
  
  There was a version of Jenny that would use magic to force him to erase his memory simply because she didn't like it. With the utmost determination, he asserted, "This is my memory and I'm keeping it. If you can't deal with that, tough."
  
  Though it was irrational to say as much to someone who has no idea what he means, it needed to be said. Her expression was one of surprise and she didn't respond. Xander simply drew her close and went to sleep with her lusciously nude warmth against him. As ever, sleep was fast; as if sleep couldn't get rid of his level of fatigue. Waking up with morning wood was normal in the time loop. Waking up with a beautiful nude woman lying flush on top of him had never happened to him before.
  
  Xander froze.
  
  At first, he simply couldn't believe how comfortably warm he felt. The gorgeous woman laying against him felt amazing in the coolness of the room. The room was clean and orderly and smelled nice. The bed was much more comfortable than his and the ceiling was spotless; no stains. The clean ceiling fan confused him because he didn't have one in his room. He didn't have one in his room because he wasn't in his room. He had escaped the loop again.
  
  ' What the hell in a handbasket ,' his mind screamed as he raised the blanket to look down Jenny's naked backside. The naked teen didn't move; partly out of shock, but also because her soft, warm body did wonders to keep him from freaking out.
  
  ' This hasn't ever happened before ,' his mind continued to repeat while his wide eyes appreciated the bubble of her butt.
  
  While the Achilles and Casanova within only cared to wake Jenny in the most erotic way possible, Sherlock was noting every detail he saw. They were definitely in her bedroom. The position of the sun was just over the horizon, meaning it was seven in the morning. The smell of her sheets was a mixture of sex and lavender. His body ached from the wounds he'd received from Casanova's craziness, as well as an intense night of lovemaking. His nose, thigh, and lower back hurt the worst.
  
  ' No doubt about it ,' Xander reasoned. "It's Saturday... November the first... again."
  
  Though the Sherlock side of his mind wanted to ponder on what trigger resumed the normal flow of time, the hormonal teenager had a different urge. He had a raging hard-on, his hot naked teacher on top of him, and there was no school on Saturday. His fingers were more than acquainted with all her pleasure zones and roused her body to a slick, warm, and ready awakening.
  
  "Mnnn," she hummed as her body naturally snuggled into him. Xander moved her lethargic body on top to straddle him. She was so fuzzy, half-asleep, and in such a good mood that her body reacted on its own. Before she recalled her responsibilities as an educator, her hormonal student was already sliding his rod inside her again.
  
  " Mmnn, " she moaned, savoring the delicious feeling. Slowly opening her eyes, she asked, "Xander?"
  
  The hormonal teen wanted to sneak in one more round before he dedicated the rest of his time to figuring out how he made it out of the loop. His overabundance of excitement, enthusiasm, and anxiety wasn't a calm energy to control, but he put it all into sex with Jenny. He didn't want to speak because starting would feel like a broken dam. He didn't think he'd be able to stop; not until everything that happened to him was voiced out of his system. Xander simply put all his energy deep into a moaning Jenny.
  
  The only time they stopped was when the phone rang. The blushing woman looked at him curiously before recovering enough reason to answer the phone. At the sound of Giles' voice, Jenny immediately covered up as the Englishman invited her to their review session for the curse last night. Xander was massaging her ass, but hearing Giles' voice made her smack his hands away before giving him a stern glare of warning.
  
  With her, "I'll, uh, be there," Jenny forced Xander to take a shower and breakfast was waiting for him when he finished.
  
  She was so quiet, so deep in her thoughts, he asked, "Are you okay?"
  
  Jenny blew up. "Of course I'm not okay!" She looked at him with crazed eyes and a deep sense of shame etched on her beautiful face. "How could I possibly be okay? I can't believe I did- that! " She yelled as she pointed to the bedroom. Gripping her head, she groaned as the vivid memories of the past ten hours gelled with how undeniably giddy her body felt. "I mean, really, I can't. I must've been out of my mind!"
  
  ' Guess she's not feeling it anymore ,' Xander quickly thought before clearing his throat. In an attempt to make her feel better, he reminded her, "Pretty sure you were saving me-"
  
  " And after? " She quickly interjected. "When that scumbag left? What about then?"
  
  Xander was having a hard time empathizing with the beautiful woman. Though she was freaking out, all he cared about was making it to the first of November. Xander felt good inside, but tried to appear sympathetic as he answered, "...Hormones?" Jumping on that logic, he quickly repeated, "Ah! Hormones and, and, I was literally the most notorious seducer in all of history. You know, he took a shine on you and he's like the slayer of-"
  
  " Don't finish that sentence," she hotly warned him.
  
  "Right," he said with a nervous swallow. "Listen, we don't ever have to do this again," he assured her.
  
  Her icy brown eyes were piercing, and he didn't want to agitate her any more than she already was, but he was also in a good mood. Xander had sides to him that wanted to be a good person who always did right by others. But he also had other, more selfish sides. Driven by his high spirits, his mouth spoke on its own and he wasn't sure he hated what he was saying.
  
  " Or ," he continued. "If you want to keep gushing like a geyser, we can. We'd be super careful about the when and the where."
  
  "Xander, you..." Jenny softly voiced, looking at him curiously. Then the memories flooded the forefront of her thoughts. She blushed before shaking her head and admitting, "I can't. No, no. I... like someone."
  
  Xander nodded, already knowing who it was. "I'm not sure if Casanova is a good role model or not-"
  
  "No," Jenny quickly cut in, shaking her head. "There's only one way that sentence ends; he's not."
  
  He smiled before continuing. "Be that as it may, he'd say women can marry who they love or rut like animals, but you can't have both."
  
  Quirking her brow, she asked, "And that's supposed to mean?"
  
  "I think it's like him asking if you're together with this person you like?" Though Xander knew it was Giles and he didn't want to get in their way, he also recalled Jenny dying. If anything, being around her means he'll be close enough to possibly prevent her murder.
  
  "N-no," she said, breaking eye contact.
  
  "Then... technically ... we can keep rutting away," Xander reasoned. "I mean, I imagine I'm better than your toys."
  
  Turning to him in surprise, she quickly asked, "How'd-"
  
  She cut herself off, but Xander understood what she wanted to ask and casually answered, "Same way I could tell it's been a while for you. Like, I assume you've lived here in Sunnydale for a year?" She nodded, and he continued. "An adventurous and sexy woman like you-sexiest in the school by a long shot-going that long with no boyfriend that the student body has reported on? It's a good bet you have a toy or two."
  
  Though she was awkward about the cliché situation, she was curious enough to ask, "Why... This is really embarrassing to ask, but I'm going to, anyway." He nodded his consent, and she leaned in, squinting her eyes as she asked the one question she's been wondering since the third orgasm. "Why were you so good? Was it because of Casanova?"
  
  He couldn't restrain the proud smirk from his face, and Jenny rolled her eyes at the teen before he easily answered, "Uh, some of it, yeah. Casanova has memories of making thousands of girls squeeze him dry, and most of them react similarly to the kind of techniques he does, but there's variation too. He doesn't just do the same things over and over."
  
  Nodding in acceptance, she asked, "And the other part?"
  
  Xander eyed the woman like a man who had seen her most intimate expressions, making them both recall their night together. She cleared her throat as he answered, "Body compatibility. It felt like I've touched you thousands of times before. I just knew what to do."
  
  Seemingly having enough of the topic, Jenny abruptly ordered him to, "Eat your breakfast."
  
  The teenage boy nodded before walking to her and lifting her on the counter, making her squeal. He was leaning down, ready to devour her womanhood as she called back, "Xander! That's not what I meant!" She bats him back with her hands before stepping away and telling him with a stern, extended finger, "This can't happen again!"
  
  Her almond eyes nearly glared, but he smiled and nodded.
  
  Despite some disappointment at returning to a strictly platonic relationship with the gorgeous woman, Xander was still happy. After what felt like years in the time loop, it was a new day. He's already had sex, and he had an entire day to see Buffy, Willow, and Giles ahead of him. Most importantly, he had a day to figure out why he got out of the loop this time. Something helped him move forward, and he needed to learn what. If it was something he needed to repeat in order to continue moving forward, then discovering what that was will be vital to ending this nightmare and finally living normally with his friends.
  
  Yup, Xander died in the previous chapter. He's not out of the woods yet. This is just a different kind of time loop. I'm posting chapter 12 next week. I've messaged enough people saying that chapter 12 & 13 sets up the rest of the story. So I've decided to just post those before I go to my bi-weekly updates. Once you read 13, I think everyone will understand how the rest of this story will go.
  
  As far as the very valid criticism of Xander in the last chapter, please try to understand was just emotional and in shock. The fact that I have to say that only means I didn't do a good job as a writer. I'll try to be better. When you're emotional and in shock, you do not perform the best. Not to say that Xander could've beaten four vampires by himself. I think we can all agree he would've lost that. I could've written his death with a little more dignity, sure, but it wouldn't exactly match someone who was in shock all day, IMO. So, that's where I'm coming from. It's cool if you disagree. Xander will start his journey to being a badass soon. I promise you. It'll just be a slow burn.
  
  One thing I want to mention. Power scale. Gods/deities demon lords typical demons/monsters/slayers/other super powered beings athletic humans teenagers. Magic-users can be any stage of that scale. I say this because in my mind, a human winning against one vampire shouldn't happen without an equalizer. Even if a vampire doesn't have technique, they're still more durable, stronger, and faster. A punch from one should be like getting hit by Mike Tyson in his prime, or a sledgehammer. I get it was because it was television format, but still. I think I should be a little more grounded with that in my story.
  
  To my Last Prayer readers. I just want you guys to know that it's not like I'm not writing this more than that. The chapters to Chain of Ascension are already 3-4 thousand words. I just have to polish and make it flow better, pushing the word count to 5-6 thousand words. It's easy and only takes 4 or 5 hours throughout the week. TLP chapters average 17 thousand words and each chapter starts with 0 words. So it just takes longer to write then edit(no betas on that fic). Anyway, that's why it's taking so long.
  
  That's everything. Thanks again to my betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. If you have any comments, you know I love to read them. I answer many so just let me know. Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Lonely One
  Yay, welcome back!
  
  Another Sunday, another chapter. I'm glad chapter 11 helped cleared up chapter 10. I got more curveballs coming, so get ready.
  
  Warning: Language.
  
  5.4K. Thank you to my betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. Enjoy!
  
  The Lonely One
  
  Xander was excited. After getting a ride from Jenny, he sat opposite Buffy and Willow at the table in the library. Though he had to enter the library ten minutes after her to avoid raising suspicion, he didn't mind because he was with his best friends again; his family. Looking across the dark oak table, Xander felt like hugging Willow and Buffy again. He gave them long hugs when he saw them, especially his redheaded best friend.
  
  When he saw Willow, he only let her go when she grew concerned and asked, "Uh, Xander? Everything okay?"
  
  Xander wasn't, but he couldn't tell her that. He didn't think he could tell anyone just yet. Too much emotion was tied into that topic to express easily. Xander felt a rock in his throat at the thought of confessing, and he was sure if he spoke, he'd cry in front of them. So, the emotional teen stayed quiet. Additionally, something was going on and he needed to learn what it was before he could tell his friends everything that happened to him.
  
  It was Review Day, and as ever, Giles wanted to discuss the Janus curse with them and how they dealt with the sudden dilemma. They've had Review Day for several of their Hellmouth clashes with evil. The Englishman's lectures were long and tedious, but Xander wouldn't miss it. He may be spending his Saturday at school, but his friends were there, and Giles always brought chocolate chip cookies.
  
  Deep in thought, Xander's hands were automatic. He reached over and grabbed his fourth cookie as he thought about his predicament. Sitting lazily in the library chair, a very uncomfortable Xander realized he never had to deal with a sore dick before. The annoying pain wouldn't go away no matter what sitting position he took. As far as pain goes, throbbing aches after a hard night of fucking were preferred over being stabbed, mauled, or shot. Rather than thinking about his sore dick, he needed to concentrate on what triggered his escape from the time loop.
  
  As Giles jabbered on about Janus, Xander pondered the riddle behind what made him loop back and what allowed him to progress forward. Clearly, he didn't have to dress as Old Man Xander for Halloween to move to the next day, now that he'd done it as Casanova. Sherlock claimed if the dilemma wasn't external, then deduction dictated that it had to be internal; possibly thoughts or feelings. This train of introspection led Xander to wonder about his level of influence on the world.
  
  Tilting his head to the side, he mentally asked, ' Am I a God who just doesn 't know how to use my powers? '
  
  To Xander, it was as good a question as any. For his attitude to have such an effect on the world around him, it was no small feat. Either something gave him this ability-this curse-or he always had it and simply didn't know it.
  
  "Xander?" Willow called, but Xander was so deep in thought, he didn't hear her. "Hello? Xander?" When he made no reaction to her, Buffy took a small, ivory piece of the broken bust of Janus and lobbed it onto his chest. Xander was leaning back in his chair when he finally looked up. Willow asked, "Hey, are you okay?"
  
  "Hmm? Oh, yeah, on cloud nine," he assured her before casually explaining, "Just wondering if I'm a God, or not." At that, Jenny cleared her throat like something was caught in it and turned her blushing face away. Xander didn't care how strange he must've looked voicing such a ludicrous proposition. He simply turned to Giles and asked the expert, "Would you be able to tell that, Giles? If I'm a God, I mean?"
  
  The British librarian exhaled, silently asking for patience as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Rather curtly, he replied, "I... I'm fairly certain you're not a God, Xander."
  
  Xander was oblivious of the Englishman's agitation and continued, "Yeah, but what if I was ... and I just don't know it?" Xander tilted his head, as he felt close to a solution and rambled, "I'd be doing everything like a normal guy would, because I only think I'm a normal guy, so that's what my Godly powers manifest. But in actuality, I just need to believe I'm not normal so I can be, like... Godly?"
  
  "I'd say you're definitely not normal," Buffy jested with a teasing smirk. Xander shot her a ' that 's not funny ' look. "Oh, come on," she told him. "You totally set yourself up for that one. And you know you would've lost all respect for me if I didn't." As an enthusiast for all things humor, Xander had to endorse her logic with a reluctant nod.
  
  Giles sighed, shaking his head before he voiced, "If I may continue, please. We were discussing the Roman God, Janus, and his Greek counterpart."
  
  The three nodded in unison, then Willow leaned closer and asked her best male friend, "Are you sure you're okay, though?"
  
  "Yeah," Xander told her with a grateful smile. He loved it when his friends were concerned about him, but even more than that, he simply loved being out of the loop with them. Nearly giddy, he explained, "I'm just... happy... to be here. Happiness has rendered me mute!"
  
  "I didn't know you had a mute button," Buffy teased, eying him sweetly with her disarming smile.
  
  Xander always appreciated a good burn and her face always ensured he could never be mad at her, even if he didn't understand her choices at times. To the raven-haired teen, they could always clown around together. Happily, he replied with a grin of his own, "Hate to break it to ya, Buff, but a blonde not knowing something isn't really shocking news."
  
  "Hey!" she cutely exclaimed, tossing a cookie at him. He was surprised he easily caught it, before munching on the doughy goodness with a toothy grin.
  
  "Children," Giles stressfully called out, settling them.
  
  Jenny moved around him to look at the tome in his hand, assuring him sweetly, "I, for one, think your explanation of Roman mythology is very interesting, Rupert." Ms. Calendar was very close to him, making Xander once again assume she was done with him.
  
  Smiling timidly, the mousy Giles retorted, "Y-yes... I do believe it is... too , I should say."
  
  The three students became incredibly uncomfortable around the adults and Buffy quickly asked Xander, "What did you dress as, again?"
  
  "The legendary ladies' man, Casanova," he merrily answered.
  
  Realizing what that could mean given the parameters of the Janus curse, Willow eagerly asked, "How was that? Did you learn anything interesting? Was he as good as they say he was?"
  
  Catching Ms. Calendar awkwardly looking away, Xander shrugged as he answered Willow, "Oh, total scumbag. Dirty, dirty man! Glad I wasn't around any of you. He would've just annoyed your pants off."
  
  "And I'm glad Angel came around when he did or I'd be dead," Buffy happily told them, though she seemed to share her playfulness with Willow. The bubbly girls had the look on their faces. Xander had seen their expression of sentimental excitement about Angel hundreds of times already.
  
  The dark-haired teen rolled his eyes and returned to his thoughts as Willow pointed out to Buffy, "Great timing is part of the destiny package."
  
  "As a card-carrying Destiny holder, I can attest to that," Buffy said with a wide grin.
  
  "Matching destinies," Willow cheerfully tacked on.
  
  As the girls giggled at their sly put-Angel-and-Buffy-together games, Xander tuned out the glee and focused on the destiny part. His Old-Man Xander memories was his destiny. Before Xander made it past October 31st, he promised himself over and over to do better. He truly meant it, as if he was driven by a visceral hatred of the future designed for him. It's possible that internal mental change got him out the first time. However, the second time Xander made it to November 1st, he wasn't reflecting on a better future.
  
  The Sherlock in him was already questioning the hypothesis. ' I mean, every single person on this planet wishes to have a better future; whether they know what 's in store for them or not. Does that make me special somehow? ' Xander couldn't possibly believe he was special enough to merit this time loop only happening to him.
  
  The Sherlock within asked, ' What if it 's not solely happening to you? '
  
  Xander was growing more and more confused. He couldn't be sure of anything. The young teen needed irrefutable evidence that pointed to a single conclusion. Whether he was a God or not, whether he was special or not, Xander needed to learn the rules to escape in case he was ever sent back again.
  
  Xander hung out with Buffy and Willow for as long as he could after Review-Day was concluded. He thought of telling them what he knew about their futures, however, he held his tongue with every passing minute. Xander kept the conversation light and safe, just in case he triggered something inadvertently and was sent back. When Willow went home to study, and Buffy went home to prepare for patrol, Xander refused to be killed again and walked straight home.
  
  He couldn't think of anything else but the following day. He sat on his bed, eying the blood-red numbers of the clock for hours. Eventually, it was 2:59 in the morning and Xander held his breath for the entire minute. His face was red and his lungs jolted every time the organ wanted to perform its function. That was until Xander finally gasped out a waft of air before deeply inhaling. As he recovered his breathing, his shaky hands reached for the clock and gazed lovingly at the blood-red numbers.
  
  3:00 AM and Xander was still conscious.
  
  " YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS! FINALLY! " He screamed like he'd just scored the game-winning touchdown at the Super Bowl. As the clock read 3:01, Xander was so excited he hadn't looped back, he yelled, "This has to be it! What else could there possibly be?"
  
  Xander stayed up and simply watched the clock until his body finally needed rest. Having stayed up till six in the morning, Xander didn't wake up until noon, but he wasn't drowsy. He was wide awake and eager to verify the day. His alarm wasn't blaring. His television wasn't playing the same Mighty Max episode and his parents were sleeping in their room. Xander grabbed the morning paper from the front curb, and it confirmed that he made it to the second day of November. The heavy anxiety just melted out of him and he felt lighter.
  
  After a grand sigh of relief, an exuberant Xander called his friends to hang out. Sadly, Buffy was spending the day with her mom and Willow was studying until dinner with her parents. Though they may have been busy, the gangly teenager didn't mind too terribly. Looking around his disgusting room, he finally had the free time to clean the filthy space. After spending what felt like a lifetime living in a pigsty, Xander couldn't stand the clutter, the smell, or the mess any longer.
  
  Xander hadn't expected to throw so much away. Looking through his vast collection of comic books, he realized he knew all the future storylines for all of his favorite characters; especially when the Cinematic Universe happens. ' Great, Old-Me can remember decades of comics, but not all of your teen years. Geek nation to the end. Fantastic ,' he thought.
  
  Going through his Swimsuit Editions of Sports Illustrated made him realize he's already done the impossible and slept with some of the hottest women in the world. His action figures didn't hold a candle to what it was like being Achilles. His VHS collection would soon turn into DVDs, so he didn't need them. As he cleaned the carpet, walls, and bathroom, Xander made a To Sell pile and figured he could earn at least a couple hundred dollars.
  
  The entire time he deep cleaned his room, he also worked the time loop problem in his head. The working theory on getting out of the loop was a genuine internal change. He got out after being Old-Man Xander, died on the first day, then went back to Halloween. He got out again using Casanova on Jenny, but he wondered about the change. That he knew of, he hadn't decided on anything to trigger moving on.
  
  In any case, if he died again, it was possible he could loop back. Xander didn't know if he was out or not, but decided to be as normal as possible so as to not risk it. He wouldn't tell his friends about their futures, despite really wanting to. He wouldn't try to meet Jenny outside of school, despite wanting to do that as well. The teenager would simply go to school and be nothing more than Xander. Sadly, the peace he wanted was impossible on the Hellmouth.
  
  After English class the following day, Xander caught up with Buffy and Willow in the hallway, and overheard the blonde say to the redhead, "I don't know. I don't think so- I mean, they seemed pretty friendly."
  
  He noticed them having a conversation in class and felt left out. Curious about brand new information he'd never heard after years in a time loop, Xander asked, "Who's friendly?"
  
  "No one," his blonde friend quickly told him, mildly hurting Xander's feelings.
  
  "Angel and a girl," Willow casually answered, cheering Xander up.
  
  Eying her friend with minimal betrayal, Buffy asked, "Will, do we have to be in total share mode?"
  
  "Hey, it's me," Xander readily reassured her. "If Angel's doing something wrong, I need to know. Cuz it gives me a happy."
  
  Glumly, Buffy replied, "Glad someone has a happy."
  
  As the three walked through the hallway, Xander suggested cheering her up with crazed dancing at the Bronze. He hadn't been to the nightclub in what felt like forever, and eagerly hoped to return to good times with his friends. The trio took a seat at a seating area as Buffy amiably rejected the offer to go to the Bronze. The Slayer was clearly more upset about the pretty girl Angel was with than hanging out with her friends. It reminded Xander all over again that he wasn't as important to her as her vampire boyfriend.
  
  From behind Buffy, a charming and innocuous senior voiced, "I'd suggest a box of Oreos dunked in apple juice." They all turned to the tall, handsome stranger as he added with a serene smile, "But maybe she's over that phase."
  
  Curious wonder slowly dawned on Buffy's face before she voiced, "Ford?" At his charming smile, she cheerfully called, "Ford!" before throwing her arms around him.
  
  Ford returned the big, friendly hug. He was so tall he had to bend down to hug her. Even though the black-haired teen was only wearing a muted orange sweater vest over a grey shirt, Xander thought he may as well have been the model for the designer. Xander counted the seconds until they stopped hugging, however, they still held hands after as the attractive boy asked, "Hey, Summers. How've you been?"
  
  When Buffy asked the charming stranger, "What are you doing here?" Ford explained how his father was transferred to Sunnydale, so he'll now be finishing his senior year at Sunnydale High School.
  
  A bubbly Buffy was happy to hear it. While Xander wondered if she was ever going to introduce them, Ford sheepishly admitted to Buffy, "I wasn't sure you'd remember me."
  
  "Remember you?" she gleefully repeated. "Duh, we were in school together for seven years. You were my giant fifth-grade crush. Remember?"
  
  Hearing that was a punch to Xander's gut as he dryly asked, " So , you two know each other?"
  
  "Oh! Sorry," Buffy quickly swiveled around to her waiting friends. "This is Ford. Uh, Billy Fordham. This is Xander and Willow." Buffy led her old friend to sit on the couch across from Xander and Willow as she added, "Ford and I went to Hemery together, in L.A."
  
  Jovially, Willow inquired, "So, you guys were sweeties in fifth grade?"
  
  "Not even," Buffy leveled back. "Ford wouldn't give me the time of day."
  
  "Well, I was a manly sixth grader," he jested with his smooth tone of voice. "Couldn't be bothered with someone that young."
  
  "It was terrible," Buffy confessed. "I moped over you for months. Sitting in my room listening to that Divinyls song, I touch myself ." She quickly whirled on her friends and asserted, "Of course, I had no idea what it was about."
  
  To Xander's surprise, Buffy enthusiastically invited Ford to the Bronze that night. "It's the local club! You gotta come."
  
  "I'd love to," he initially voiced, however, he looked at her friends and added, "But if you guys had plans- Would I be imposing?"
  
  "Only in the literal sense," Xander sarcastically answered while smacking the air.
  
  Buffy gave Xander a look that said ' Be Nice ,' before turning to Ford and asserting, "You're coming. I have spoken."
  
  When she left them to show Ford around school, Xander couldn't help bemoaning, "' This is Ford, my bestest friend of all my friends .' Jeez. Didn't she know any fat guys?" Willow turned to him before simply shaking her head.
  
  Throughout the rest of the school day, Xander was trying to remember a Ford, a Billy, or a Fordham from his Old Man memories, but he couldn't recall even a fading memory of the good-looking boy, which was odd. Because he was unfairly attractive. Xander expected his older counterpart would remember if a handsome guy like that stuck around Buffy for long.
  
  The lack of memories had Xander wondering if something happened to Buffy's friend, or if his Old Man memories simply couldn't be relied on when it came to his teen years. After all, the only things he could really recall were big things like Angelus, Jenny dying, Faith taking his virginity, Dawn, Anya, Buffy's death and subsequent resurrection, Willow's magic addiction, Riley, Spike & Buffy, Joyce dying, his horrible track record with women, the big battles, and little things here and there. There was simply far too much missing that made it all unreliable.
  
  They all met at the Bronze later that evening in the bad part of town. Walking into the low-lit dance hall, it felt like the first time for Xander. He was amazed by it all and soaked it in like he was in heaven. With its stage for live performances, dance floor, pool table, balcony, and was sixteen and over, it certainly deserved all the popularity it's gained.
  
  Buffy, Willow, and Xander were at the pool table, talking and drinking their soft drinks. Xander couldn't help sneaking peeks at Cordelia, rocking out on the dance floor to the live band. She was dressed in a long-sleeved, tight black dress that showed an ample amount of her toned legs. With the lights flashing to the music, she was incredibly sexy. It really threw Xander for a loop to think he dated such a hot girl, despite having hated her.
  
  Despite Xander's best efforts, Buffy was quiet and despondent despite the festive atmosphere. It wasn't until Ford arrived that she was instantly happy. Buffy led him to the pool table with everyone before leaving to get him a drink. She assured them she'd be right back, however, Xander and Willow noticed Buffy running into Angel at the bar. It was the first time Xander didn't mind the vampire showing up. The teen could tell they were having an animated conversation about something, but he couldn't hear what. He guessed it had to do with the girl Angel was with Sunday night.
  
  "That's Angel," Willow informed the concerned Ford. The music wasn't too loud by the billiards table, but they still needed to speak over it and the crowd.
  
  Recognizing the distress on his handsome face, Xander avidly added, "He's Buffy's beau. Her special friend."
  
  "He's not in school, right?" Ford curiously asked, still observing Buffy and Angel. "He looks older than her."
  
  "You're not wrong," Xander remarked over the music, earning a deadpanned look from Willow.
  
  Buffy rejoined them without the soda but with Angel in tow. Hesitantly, Buffy introduced Angel to Ford. As Xander and Willow watched the awkward meeting, the men shook hands and Ford gasped, "Whoa. Cold hands."
  
  "You're not wrong," Xander remarked, earning a deadpanned look from Buffy, though he paid more attention to the pool cue tip he was rubbing with chalk.
  
  The men on either side of Buffy were silently measuring themselves up. Angel was taller, more of a physical presence, while Ford seemed more attractive and approachable. Xander felt like the odd one out, as if he didn't even register as a possible love interest. With all his experience pleasuring women, it nearly felt insulting to not even register. Feeling suffocated between the men, Buffy eventually asked Ford to walk her home, leaving Angel to watch them leave together.
  
  "Once more with tension," Xander sarcastically remarked before Angel disappeared. Though Xander would've preferred to hang out with both Willow and Buffy, he was happy enough simply being with Willow. They stayed and talked about mundane things for an hour before leaving.
  
  The following day, Xander was surprised to learn that Angel went to see Willow to talk about Ford. Though Xander initially felt left out, Willow asked him to help her investigation of Ford, to which he agreed. Though she found nothing incriminating, she still found it weird that he lied about going to Sunnydale when he wasn't registered at all. After hacking his emails, Willow tracked down a correspondence with a man named Diego and the address to a business called the Sunset club.
  
  Again, Xander didn't recall any of this from his Old Man memories. Nevertheless, he goes with Willow and Angel to investigate. The Sherlock within had already put it together that Ford was bad news, even if he wasn't certain on the specifics. However, Xander held out hope that Buffy's old friend wasn't a bad person. He may not be a fan of the charming Ford, but he didn't want him to be evil. That would just hurt Buffy too much.
  
  Willow, Xander, and Angel meet on the street the Sunset Club was on in the industrial district. They walked down a dark and murky alley to the entrance of the club. Angel banged on a black steel door, and a second later, the little window slid open with a sharp snap .
  
  "We're friends of Ford," Angel confidently said. "He said we should come by."
  
  The window slid shut, and the heavy door opened. The three filed into the drab and dreary decor of the club with a neon blue light outlining the perimeter of the ceiling. Xander and Willow stick out like a sore thumb with her colorful striped sweater and his muted orange dress shirt. On Angel's suggestion, they split up. Angel continued exploring the same floor while Xander and Willow descended downstairs to the floor below. Eventually, the pair of friends noticed a theme with all the patrons. They were all dressed in a variety of dark, Gothic attire, to which Willow cautiously remarked, "This place seems very, ' yay, vampires .'"
  
  "You guys are newbies, I can tell," a woman voiced from behind them.
  
  Xander and Willow turned around to meet a beautiful, long-haired blonde wearing a black dress with a low neckline and a black choker around her neck. Despite the cold, dreary, and low-lit interior of the Gothic club, her smile was very inviting as she introduced herself as Chanterelle.
  
  In her fluffy colorful sweater, Willow panicked a bit and assured her, "Oh, no. We come here all the time."
  
  "My corset's just at the cleaners," Xander added confidently, like a man who believed the lie.
  
  "Don't be ashamed," Chanterelle assured them with her pleasant smile. "It's cool that you're open to it. We welcome anyone who's interested in the Lonely Ones."
  
  Drawing her copper brows together, a curious Willow asked, "The Lonely Ones?"
  
  "Vampires," Angel voiced from behind them. He did not look particularly amused to be there.
  
  "Oh, we usually call them the nasty, pointy, bitey ones," Xander noted.
  
  "So many people have that misconception," Chanterelle earnestly lamented. "But they, who walk with the night, are not interested in harming anyone." Xander raised his eyebrows at that while Angel dropped his head in disbelief. The affable blond brightly continued, "They're separate from humanity, and must carry the burden of immortality. They are creatures above us. Exalted."
  
  "You're a fool," Angel harshly told her, garnering surprised looks from both Willow and Xander.
  
  Visibly upset by his blunt judgment of her beliefs, the leather-clad woman asserted, "You don't have to be so confrontational about it. Other viewpoints than yours may be valid, you know." Hurt, she left them.
  
  "Nice meeting you," Willow tried, however, Chanterelle was long gone. Turning to Angel, the redhead voiced, "Great. Now nobody's gonna talk to us."
  
  "I've seen enough," Angel told them. "I've come across their type before; Children, making up bedtime stories about friendly vampires to comfort themselves in the dark. These people don't know anything about vampires. What they are, how they live, how they dress..."
  
  In that same moment, a club member walked between them wearing the exact same outfit Angel was wearing; a dark purple dress shirt under his black jacket.
  
  Angel looked sheepish for a moment as a sardonic Xander voiced, "You know, I love a good diatribe, but I'm more curious as to why Ford, the bestest friend of the Slayer, is hanging with a bunch of vampire wannabes."
  
  They all agreed something was up with Ford and they needed to discover what. In his bed, Xander's Sherlock brain pattern loosely wondered about the correlation of all the moving parts. If everyone at the Sunset Club worshiped vampires and Ford frequented the club, it stood to reason, Ford also admired vampires. Ford's friendship with Buffy suddenly became disturbing. The implication that he could have a plan for her worried Xander. On the other hand, Buffy admired at least one vampire. It wasn't impossible that Ford could as well.
  
  Xander spent the rest of the night watching his clock with growing anxiety. It's become something he couldn't seem to help but do, which worried him. Sadly, he didn't think he could shake the fear of waking up at the start of the time loop until it finally struck 3:01 AM. Only then could he finally relax enough to sleep.
  
  The next day, Xander and Willow were lounging by the stairs when Buffy came by and revealed that Angel confessed their suspicions about Ford and their investigation at the Sunset Club. It truly startled Xander how much happened when he wasn't around, but more importantly, he didn't like how sad she seemed about all of it. They could be right about her old friend, but all she seemed to focus on was Angel and her friends going behind her back to investigate Ford.
  
  Willow explained, "When Angel came to my room, he was just really concerned for you, and... we didn't say anything in case we were wrong."
  
  When Xander asked if she knew what Ford was up to, Buffy sternly answered, "I will," before leaving them.
  
  It took Xander another second to realize, "Wait a minute. Angel was in your bedroom?"
  
  Nodding glumly, she casually joked, "Ours is a forbidden love," before they planned to meet Buffy at the library after school.
  
  The pair of friends waited for hours and once the sun set, they knew Buffy went to handle Ford by herself. They rushed out of the library and met Angel along the way to the Sunset room. The trio were just in time to help wounded, yet thankfully living vampire worshipers. They barely started helping them before Buffy hastened out of the club, having already taken care of the crisis.
  
  Having missed all the action, Xander was later to learn that Ford planned to give Buffy to Spike in exchange for immortality as a vampire. Over the phone, Willow explained that, unlike the other delusional vampire fanboys and girls, Ford seemed to understand the nature of vampires and desired to become one due to the inoperable, terminal brain cancer he was suffering from.
  
  "Ford was going to die, and becoming a vampire was the only way he could continue living," Willow sadly voiced. "Buffy told me he said, ' it was better to live as a demon than to die riddled with tumors .' Isn't that sad?"
  
  After the entire four-day ordeal, Xander was done thinking about Ford. He simply didn't care. There were only two points he wondered about: Why did Willow allow Angel in her bedroom? And why didn't Buffy tell him any of this? Xander knew girls gossip, and he certainly didn't care to press a phone to his face for hours listening to topics starring Angel, however, he felt strongly that she could talk to him about serious matters. It made Xander ponder about Buffy's opinion of him.
  
  The Casanova within easily answered him, ' the quaint mistress sees thee as little more than a boy, thus, never an object of amorous affection .'
  
  Xander groaned in annoyance. After all the loops he's been through, after everything he's learned from the greatest teachers, Xander did feel different from the way he was before. Due to Casanova's costume, he was an experienced lover, even if he wouldn't be able to prove that to Buffy without a lot of explanation. Due to Sherlock's costume, he questioned things more seriously than he used to. Thanks to Achilles, he knew more about combat than he ever had before. He couldn't claim to be on a Slayer's combat level-especially with his unconditioned body-but unless he was outnumbered, it feels unthinkable that he would run and hide from a vampire.
  
  ' Only, my friends don 't know any of that ,' he thought, as he waited for the clock to strike three AM. The clock felt as if it was running slower and he could feel his anxiety sky-rocket. ' I want Buffy to tell me things too ... and rely on me .' Realizing that he was waiting for a new day so he could be better, Xander told himself, ' I guess I 'm going to have to prove it to them .'
  
  At 3:01 AM, he finally went to sleep in his clean bed. Since he's left the time loop, he hasn't worked out like he said he was going to, and so, the following day, Xander went jogging after school. The sweating and gasping boy could barely reach a mile before he had to stop. Though his heaving lungs felt like they were about to collapse and his legs burned, Xander continued slogging through his burning need to stop until he painstakingly completed a three-mile run. Though, he promptly threw up.
  
  Despite the vomit, Xander felt proud, like he had Sunday night when he finished deep-cleaning his entire room. It's been nice coming to a clean room and going to sleep on a fresh-smelling bed, so he knew it would be just as nice to have a stronger body. Xander was looking forward to Friday. He would continue to exercise and try to remember when things like Angelus or Jenny's death happened so he could show everyone how much better he was... so he can show the Old Man how much better he's supposed to be.
  
  The following morning, Xander couldn't show anyone anything. When he woke up to his blaring alarm, his bed smelled horrid and his room was a familiar pigsty. Everything he threw away or sold was back. Turning on the television so hard he nearly broke the dial, the same Mighty Max episode was playing. The fear was creeping up when he saw his parents in their same spots. Growing so anxious, he was trembling, Xander couldn't deny it anymore. He looped back to Halloween again.
  
  Without hesitation, deep from his diaphragm, Xander yelled so hard his throat hurt, "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!"
  
  I assume Giles would have something like a Review Day that they all go to. I played basketball in high school and we always reviewed everything we did in the game.
  
  Some of the lines in this chapter were taken directly from the episode. Not all, obviously. I just wanted to be more authentic with these characters. Also, some readers have never seen Buffy, so, if they do go and watch the show, it'll feel more familiar.
  
  I really like the actor who played Ford. He was Max in Roswell and I really liked that show.
  
  Chapter 12 will explain a lot more. Many of you will likely get the mechanics of the loop by then. That'll be next Sunday. I may post chapter 13 the following Sunday if me and my betas can get ahead. Covid really affected my entire life, let alone my release schedule. I'm fine so thank you all for the well-wishes. Much appreciated.
  
  I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to PM or post it. Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Exponential Growth
  Yay, new Sunday, new chapter.
  
  Welcome back. Happy to have you. Hope you enjoy the read. Thank you to my betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB.
  
  Warning: Foul Language, torture, and violence.
  
  7K words. Enjoy!
  
  Exponential Growth
  
  "What the fuck is going on!" Xander yelled with all the seriousness of a heart attack.
  
  His room was clean and smelled delightful. No other room in his two-story house smelled better than his. And yet, overnight, his room became a pigsty again; with clutter, comics, and clothes everywhere. The funk assaulting his nostrils may as well have been toxic.
  
  "This can't be Halloween," Xander trembled to question.
  
  He was incapable of finding any humor in this. Xander spent an entire week making progress every day. It was blissful. He had a clean room by the second day. He paid attention in class, avoided dying, and didn't disrupt any of his friends by telling them their future. Xander even scheduled a time to fix the leak above his ceiling with the carpentry skills he gained from Old-Man Xander. Adding weight training at the school gym to the cardio he was doing would've been the next step.
  
  To then lose all of that progress after getting out, Xander felt homicidal. He wanted to kill something, however, he held it in. He had to hold it in. Even the mental patterns of Sherlock, Achilles, and Casanova counseled restraint. It would be too easy to snap, and taking out all his anger on buildings or people would not help him get out. He swallowed his growing rage and got ready for school.
  
  When Xander entered the busy halls of Sunnydale, the monster decorations, Snyder's bullying students to chaperone, and Buffy and Willow's conversation about Angel reinforced he was back. It was all like a kick to the ribs and a fat spit in the eye. Simmering on irate all day, Xander didn't chaperone any kids or buy an outfit at Ethan's Costume Shoppe. He did, however, help save 18th-century Buffy, endearing the noble lady to him instead of Angel. When the possessed Buffy held onto him for safety, the thrill-heightened only by how much it annoyed Angel-made him forget his anger for a moment. He fought off the familiar vampires and demons with a bat, like a seasoned expert; which was easy, as he knew how they attack.
  
  By the following morning, Xander was not surprised he repeated the day again. When he dressed as the Soldier, he looped back to Halloween. When he dressed as Achilles, Sherlock, and even Casanova, Xander repeated the day, surprising him. He ended the night at Jenny's, as he's done before, only, this time, he had said nothing when they were done. The teen simply went to sleep.
  
  He pondered and dwelled on the differences. Pacing around his room, he said to himself, "...I didn't stand up for myself with Jenny, so I looped back." Scratching his neck as he mustered up all his average brainpower, he also remarked, "I didn't promise to do better after Old-Man Xander, so I loop back." He thought about it a few times before he understood, "That's the trigger. It is internal."
  
  Xander went straight to work. Locking Sherlock in a room at the Motor Inn again, the obsessive detective came up with a genius theory. Observing all the evidence taped to the walls of the motel room, including the addition of making it nearly seven days before looping back, Xander didn't want to believe Sherlock's findings. His heart was hammering in his chest at the section of the wall Sherlock wrote his theory on. Though he was happy the pieces of this confusing time-prison felt like they were coming together, he dreaded the findings.
  
  Fish-eying the writing on the wall with growing fear, Xander read what Sherlock wrote repeatedly. He proposed that if Xander got out of the Halloween loop, and no one died, there would be a second or possibly final barrier to get through; a one-week loop. Using the exponential growth and decay formula and plugging in the values to calculate the percentage of growth, the genius determined the dates where additional barriers would be if they should happen to exist.
  
  Fixated on the three long formulas written on the wall, Xander read the potential loop after the week. "753 hours is... 31.37500 days. A month loop!" Staring at the breakdown of the exponential growth for the second formula with concern, he weakly voiced, "9,496.29717 hours... that's... that's a little over a y-year l-loop." Looking at the third potential date of a barrier, Xander couldn't even voice the three-year loop that was calculated.
  
  Xander wanted to throw up. He did throw up, loudly, in the bathroom for twenty minutes.
  
  In the dingy motel room of the Motor Inn, the shivering Xander rested both palms against the completely tatted wall, leaning all his weight on them. The wall held him up as his depressed head sank low in the face of all the detailed math written from the top of the beige wall to the bottom. The value of time, the initial value of hours, the growth rate percentage, and the time in discrete intervals all told Xander he needed to make it a month to know if he made it out of this vicious time loop, or if this vicious prison really went on for years.
  
  "Fuck me," he cursed with no life in him.
  
  Already, he was loathing the idea. An entire month of living life just to waste all that progress and start over was nauseating. Xander felt weak, but after ten minutes of silence, he lifelessly got to work. Looping again, Xander decided on the Jenny route, as it felt like the safest bet. Being Old-Man Xander might require him to tell his friends about their futures, which could lead to unpredictable outcomes, such as being mauled to death by vampires. Or worse; leading one of his friends to make a mistake and dying, sending him right back. Xander didn't want unpredictability. He had to test the week-loop, hope to pass it on the first try, then embarking on a month-long test. He needed to control as much as he could.
  
  After wonderfully distracting sex with Jenny, and telling her exactly what he said the night he escaped the day-loop, Xander woke up in her room the following morning. Instantly, the teenager was over the moon and giddy with growing excitement. Standing up to the beautiful teacher, promising to do better after being Old-Man Xander-while genuinely meaning it-seem to be the triggers.
  
  "I can get out," he voiced to himself in bed.
  
  Flush against him, Jenny groaned a little at his neck, and he could stop grinning. After another round of going balls-deep in Jenny, the teacher distanced herself from him again, which he understood. As much as he enjoyed sex with the gorgeous woman, he couldn't claim to be in love with her; not with Buffy taking up residence in his heart. The raven-haired teen went the rest of the day with a sore dick and a wide grin plastered on his face.
  
  Xander made jokes to his friends he thought he should make, traded barbs with Cordelia, deep-cleaned his room on Sunday, effortlessly & hilariously played into his physical weaknesses, and tried his best to out Ford without appearing as if he knew too much. The four days dealing with Ford's scheme to deliver Buffy to Spike annoyed him the most, as Buffy wouldn't believe him unless Angel doubted him as well.
  
  Rather than meet at the Bronze like the Scoobies had the previous week-loop, Xander went to Buffy's house first, and the friends left from there. On their way to the nightclub, he considered how Sherlock and Casanova would approach this situation; Sherlock for the logic and Casanova for the female component. He unlocked their mental patterns like clicking on a file on a computer. Sadly, the adopted mental patterns weren't as helpful as he would've liked. The mental process of Sherlock felt too blunt for Buffy to take kindly, and Casanova couldn't care less when it didn't involve his sexual gratification.
  
  After a bit of casual talk about school, Xander subtly mentioned, "So, I get you and Ford go way back, but I was wondering if you felt anything off with him."
  
  "Off?" Buffy questioned, giving him a curious look. "No. Seems pretty on to me."
  
  "On Shady Street, maybe," Xander mildly jested. "Are you sure you don't... sense anything?"
  
  "Xander, could you please just give him a chance?" Buffy sweetly asked, tapping his shoulder with her own. "Get to know him first, then judge for yourself. Trust me, he's a great guy."
  
  Feeling uncertain of how to convince her when she's so sure, he asked, "What if he's not? I mean, we don't know anything more than what he said. It's not like he'd tell us if he had an evil plan-"
  
  Buffy stopped and stared at him as if he claimed Ford hated puppies, and repeated, "Evil plan? You don't even know him and you already think he's evil? Who do you think he is? The Wicked Kid of the West?"
  
  "I just mean-"
  
  Xander didn't get to finish. His blonde friend walked ahead and didn't talk to Xander for the rest of the night. Even Willow told him to give Ford a chance... that was until Angel visited her bedroom once again and asked her to investigate Ford. Willow did, and though annoyed by how easily she listened to the vampire, Xander went with them to the Sunset Club. Angel later confessed everything they learned to Buffy, who at the very least apologized to Xander for not believing him. When Xander went to the club earlier than he had in the loop before to back Buffy up, she asked him to leave.
  
  "What? Why?" Xander quickly asked her. "I can back you up."
  
  "I need to talk to him alone," she confessed. The grave determination in her bluish-green eyes and her set jaw expressed how personal this was to her. "Please, Xander. This one's just gotta be on my own."
  
  Xander felt he couldn't deny her when she was so serious, and nodded. He watched her enter the club, then waited outside for her. Not long after the sun was completely set, the young teen saw Spike and his crew walk down the alley to the club. There were ten vampires, and Spike was in the lead. Xander quickly hid behind a dumpster and watched the group enter the club before following them inside. From a safe distance, he slowly followed the noise Spike and company were making as they descended to the lowest part of the club.
  
  When Xander heard various muffled screams, he quickly grabbed the corkscrew and fruit knife from behind the bar and rushed to the bomb shelter below. Bursting through the door, he saw Spike and Chanterelle on the stairs. Her neck was bleeding from two puncture holes and streams of tears made her mascara run down her cheeks. Below them, all the vampires were holding onto crying people who were bleeding from their necks.
  
  "Xander!" Buffy called from his extreme right. She was holding Drusilla hostage, with a stake to her chest. He didn't need to be told twice when Buffy yelled, "get everyone out!"
  
  Xander called out, "Come on!" And by Spike's leave, his men let the living innocents run out of the bunker. Meeting Willow and Angel outside was exactly how it went before, only they were surprised he came to the Sunset room first. Smirking, he explained to them, "I had a feeling she wasn't going to meet us at the library."
  
  Giles and Buffy took care of vampire Ford the following night and Xander finally made it to Thursday night. As ever, Xander was so anxious, he stayed up until 2:59 in the morning. It was the longest minute of his life. Then he woke up to a blaring alarm and morning wood on Friday, the 31st of October.
  
  " Jiminy-Motherfucking-Cricket ," he yelled, throwing the nearest action figure against the wall, smashing it to pieces.
  
  ' Follow everyone ,' the Sherlock within promptly ordered.
  
  Xander tried again, taking the Jenny route once more and making it to the following day. This time, he followed his friends. He began with Willow as he didn't think she'd spot him, and Xander learned that his best friend hadn't changed since kindergarten. When Willow had alone-time, she spent it studying in her room. After finding the best spot to surveil her bedroom window, he confirmed what he already knew about her; reading at her desk. Xander was by her house the night Angel entered her bedroom. Though he thought he might see Angel enter her bedroom, the vampire caught him first.
  
  "Why are you stalking your friend's house, Xander," Angel said from behind the teenage boy.
  
  Sensing nothing, Xander spun around in minor freight. Internally, he was mildly frightened to be caught by the smoldering vampire, however, Xander was fairly proficient at bullshitting and kept a straight face. He quickly settled down before lying with conviction, "I'm not here for Willow. I'm here for you. You're not as mysterious as you think you are."
  
  "That so," Angel casually replied, as if he wasn't buying it.
  
  "That is," Xander retorted. "I knew you'd show up here. Probably to ask Willow for help to spy on Ford. Is that the putrid shade of jealousy I see rearing its ugly head?"
  
  "I'd sooner believe you came here to ask Willow to spy on Ford yourself before I believe you had any idea of what I was thinking," Angel replied before heading across the street and leaving Xander alone.
  
  Xander grunted. It hurt deep in his soul to witness how undeniably cool Angel inherently seemed. Other than the stressful event of watching his best friend let Angel enter her bedroom, nothing else happened with her throughout the week. He knew it was unlikely that Willow was the deciding factor to getting out of the week loop and wasn't surprised when he looped back. Xander used the Jenny route once again, and this time, followed Buffy.
  
  As predicted, the hyper-aware Slayer was much harder to tail. When Buffy paid attention to her surroundings, especially on patrol, she always sensed him, even when he was thirty yards or more away. Buffy caught Xander three times, to which he played off as mere coincidences. Though, by the third time, she stared at him as if she wasn't sure she believed him anymore. Buffy likely thought he was following her because he was jealous of Ford. Nevertheless, she sent him away each time.
  
  After three week-loops of tailing his unrequited love, Xander wasn't making much progress with Buffy and diverted his attention to Ford instead. Following the unfairly handsome teenager Tuesday night led Xander to what he assumed was Spike's hideout. When he observed Ford was granted entry into the seemingly abandoned factory, Xander scanned the building's exterior for a window to peek through.
  
  When he didn't see any external security, he quietly rushed around the side of the building. He couldn't reach the large, grated windows, however, there was a wooden crate he could stand on. He hopped on the box to look through the middle window. Xander must've missed a lookout somewhere, because he soon heard a cocky voice echo through the narrow alleyway.
  
  "What do we have here, boys?" the voice said.
  
  He turned to the source of the voice and saw three large men to his left. Though it was night, the yellowish light coming from the street lamp offered enough light to see they were vampires. Xander hopped off the box and his feet began stepping away from them before his eyes saw the south exit was covered by another three vampires. Both exits of the dirty and narrow alley were covered by very strong demons and there was no ladder or manhole cover to help him out of the dangerous spot.
  
  "Fuuuuck," Xander cursed to himself, scoping from one end of the alley to the other.
  
  Though the Achilles within languished for a fight, Xander was too human to beat or outrun them. With the stake in his belt under his shirt and his somewhat practiced moves, he could surprise and kill two of them at the most. Six was too many and the alley was too narrow to slip past them with any chance of success. Xander had one option, to lie, but he wasn't hopeful.
  
  "Note to self, always carry two stakes now, you idiot," he said under his breath before calling out, "Hey fellas! I'm glad I found you," his friendly voice boomed. "I'm supposed to pick up Ford, but all he told me was to come to the Bric & Broc building. Is this it? I've never been here before, so I'm kinda lost."
  
  "That's funny," the smallest of the vampires voiced. Of the six menacing men, three of them were massive; at least 6'5" two-fifty, maybe three hundred pounds. Two of them were only six feet, but quite muscular, with broad shoulders. The shortest one seemed to be the leader and finished saying, "when I was looking out from atop the building, it seemed more like you were tailing the meat sack."
  
  ' Of course ,' Xander mentally sighed. With a half chuckle, he called back, "Hah! You caught me. Truth be told, we go to the same club. Sunset Club. Ford's been telling us he has plans, you see, but uh, I didn't fully trust him, you know? So, I followed him here. To make sure he was doing what he promised." He weakly wooed, "Yaaay, v-vampires..."
  
  One of the larger ones remarked, "He knows that Ford guy is seeing the boss."
  
  "Should we take him in?" another asked.
  
  The short vampire told the others, "Boss don't want any interruptions unless it's something serious."
  
  "How about I just wait with you guys in the front?" Xander suggested, thumbing toward the open space of the front of the building and away from the narrow alley. "I'm only here cause of Ford. Once he's done, he can tell you he knows me." Xander wasn't sure how Ford would react, however, staying outside with them was better than going inside a building full of vampires.
  
  "Fine," the smallest of the vampires decided with arrogant authority. When the others looked at the teen skeptically, the short one defended his position. "What's he going to do? It's not like he's going anywhere."
  
  "Come on then," one of the other vampires said, shoving Xander forward. "But if you do anything to annoy us, it'll be the last thing you do."
  
  They started walking around the building to the front when the largest of the vampires, likely 6'9" grabbed Xander's shoulder and turned him around. The rest of the group stopped walking as well and looked at their comrade with confusion and interest. The large vampire grabbed Xander's entire jaw with his giant hand and forced him to look up as his face was inspected. It was a blond vampire and his face had strong defined muscles, while his eyes looked tiny under the hood of prominent eyebrows.
  
  "...Wait a minute," the biggest vampire slowly spoke. He seemed slow as he inspected Xander's face with a skeptical expression. Xander already knew how he was going to stab the large vampire gripping his neck, but he was figuring out how to escape the remaining five when the large, blond vampire finally said, "He looks like... a bit like... one of the Slayer's friends."
  
  Xander felt his spine stiffen as they all looked at him more closely. The shortest vampire asked, "Really?"
  
  "Slayer?" Xander questioned. Despite the large hand gripping his jaw and neck tighter, the teen maintained a confused look on his face as he asked through squeezed cheeks, "Wha-What's a Slayer?"
  
  Xander couldn't see the vampire that asked, "You sure, Tiny?"
  
  "Yeah," the very large vampire ironically named Tiny answered. "I think he's the boy that always helps her; not the old one. I was on the Master's crew before you guys got here, so I went up against them a few times. Yeeeeaaah, I remember this one. He's definitely one of the Slayer's friends. And kinda cute."
  
  Xander didn't like where the conversation was leading to, but the last comment made him quirk his brow. He knew he couldn't lie to them any longer when Tiny tightened his grip on the teen's neck nearly to choking.
  
  "Let's take him to the boss," the shortest ordered. Walking around to face Xander, he snidely voiced, "Who knows, Tiny. Maybe Spike'll give him to ya when they're done torturing him." The captured teen tried to maintain a neutral expression when the short one added, "Tiny's got a thing for boys. Fortunately, our crew's very forward-thinking."
  
  "How... p-progressive," Xander choked out, nervously grinning.
  
  Tiny smiled wickedly at Xander-likely imagining all the fun they could have together-but after the sound of a meaty thud, Tiny's face morphed into confusion. When the blond vampire looked down, Xander removed the stake, before swiftly moving to kill the shortest one-stabbing the surprised vampire in the heart, as well-before the rest understood what had just happened. Tiny was dust when Xander removed the stake from the shortest and immediately started running away from the demons and up the alley.
  
  Xander managed seven steps before the first vampire grabbed his shoulder. Mentally mapping the human anatomy beyond his vision, the teen whirled the stake in his right hand and stabbed the vampire's shoulder without looking back. It screamed and let him go, but Xander didn't get more than three steps before he was tackled from behind. The two fell to the wet stone floor before rolling to a stop. Xander tried to stab the vampire on top of him when one other grabbed his hand. Less than a second later, he's punched in the face with a fist that felt like a sledgehammer. Xander was instantly dizzy and lost efficiency in his rubber limbs. For the next minute, they all beat the teenager bloody before dragging him from the alley to Spike.
  
  "Xander," Ford voiced, recognizing the bloody teen dumped on the floor of the factory. "Friend of Buffy's," he freely revealed to Spike.
  
  Xander felt feverish, like he was boiling. His throbbing face felt inflamed with hot blood and his eyes were nearly swollen shut. The rest of Xander's body fared little better. He was having difficulty breathing, which meant a few broken ribs and his stomach felt gutted; as if it were ripped out. The beaten boy was at their mercy.
  
  "Ah, the Slayer's friend," Spike realized with amusement. "Couldn't recognize ya on account of, well, yer face swellin like a pufferfish. Well done, lads."
  
  "Tiny was the one that recognized him, God rest his soul," a vampire Xander couldn't see said, but he heard some chuckle along with the ringing in his ears.
  
  "What are you going to do with him?" Ford asked Spike.
  
  "Oh, you know," Spike psychotically sang. "Bit of this, bit of that. Lots of torture. The usual."
  
  "Will you turn him?" Ford sternly asked.
  
  "Don't you worry about him," Spike told the teen. "You just bring me the Slayer and you'll get what I promised. Go on, then."
  
  Xander heard Ford leave and doubted he would grow a conscience in a few hours to alert Buffy.
  
  "Mnnn, Spike," Xander heard a female voice. Drusilla gripped Xander's dirty and bloody black hair and yanked his head so he'd look at her. Despite how near to a world of pain he was, he couldn't deny she was a stunning merchant of death. She sniffed at him and tilted her head as she inspected his face. "He is soooo riveting! Like a gentle leaf twirling in the wind! Dancing in circles, and circles, and so many circles."
  
  That alone perked Xander mildly. He had to wonder if her crazed intuition or sight saw something about the time loop.
  
  "Oh, darling," Spike voiced. "If you like him so much, how could I resist giving him to you?"
  
  Drusilla tortured Xander all night with a dream-like smile, as if his tortured screams were the best Christmas gift she's ever received. During the day, the pretty lunatic left Xander to hang by the arms from the ceiling while she and Spike slept. His shoulders popped out of their sockets just before sundown. When Drusilla grew annoyed by his endless pleas to kill him, she broke his jaw. She beat him until his blood-stained body was black and blue. She fed off of him but never let him die. He was always just shy of death.
  
  Despite feeling no energy in his body, Xander was in constant agony. He didn't even feel like a person. It was as if he was made of feverish heat, constant throbbing, and unbridled pain. His torso became a series of excruciating agony that increased with every inhale of air, making it impossible to take a full breath. The stabbings to his Achilles tendons, elbows, stomach, and groin-especially his manhood-were a debilitating anguish of unparalleled intensity, and he screamed until he lost his voice. Throughout it all, Spike and Drusilla fed off of his suffering, laughing and having sex in front of him.
  
  It was the worst week of his entire repeating life. Buffy never came to rescue him, and Xander assumed none of his friends died since he made it to the end of the week-loop. He'd lost track of time in their windowless torture room by the third day. One moment, he was being electrocuted repeatedly, and the next, he was waking up in his room to his blaring alarm.
  
  "AAAAHHHHH," he screamed as he woke up, and he was shaking like a leaf.
  
  He looked around his dirty room and it was the first time he's ever felt thrilled to see it. Xander knew right away he couldn't go to school and see his friends... see Buffy. Instead, he stole his precious Dodge Viper and raced down to LA to see the insanely gorgeous Tiffani Amber Thiessen. When one night with the beauty wasn't enough to satisfy his anxiety, he went to see Pamela Anderson. When even the busty blonde goddess couldn't cure the restlessness in his heart, Xander thought of what he truly wanted from the bottom of his soul.
  
  Though murdering Spike for good was a close first, Xander voiced the thing he wanted with conviction, "Control."
  
  Thinking of the torture the psycho vampires put him through for days and nights-of the parts of him they cut off-Xander went to the Army base near Sunnydale. It took him a few loops to figure out how to steal a small arsenal during the daytime. When he did, he commandeered two M1911 pistols, an M16 assault rifle, the M500 shotgun, the M72 LAW shoulder rocket launcher, all the ammunition for them, and a box of grenades. With a van full of weapons and ammo, Xander drove straight to Bric & Broc and parked a dozen yards away.
  
  He only had thirty minutes before the Janus curse started, but that was all the time he needed. With the pistols, assault rifle, and shotgun strapped to him, Xander started with the rocket launcher. Twenty yards away from the front door with the lethal weapon resting on his shoulder, he set the steel door in his sights, then pressed down on the red button. His young body felt the jolt, then heard the ear-piercing explosion a second later. The heat and concussion waves wafted over him as he turned away from the blast.
  
  Despite the cloud of dust expanding everywhere, Xander started walking toward the large hole in the wall as he casually threw a live grenade into the large hole like it was a baseball. After the explosions, he threw another two incendiaries deeper into the building, and they exploded five seconds later. Once he reached the hole, he gripped the assault rifle like a US government-trained combat specialist. On bent knees, he walked in with controlled and even steps, gun at the ready with his finger on the trigger.
  
  There was so much smoke, it was hard to see. And all the yelling from the vampires trying to access what was happening made it confusing to narrow down where everyone was. When Xander heard a few yells of, "The sewer! Out the sewer!" Xander lobbed another couple of grenades far to the back where he recalled the sewer access was, hoping to cut off their escape. Along with some screaming, he heard two concussive explosions that blew away rubble, crates, and vampires. The force of the blast filled the wide room with more plums of thick dust, maintaining difficult visibility.
  
  Rifle at the ready, he walked the main floor of the factory with measured steps. With a lower center of gravity, Xander was checking around every corner with his gun in the lead, and the moment he saw a vampire, he'd shoot them in the head; three rapid shots. When he'd walk by them, he'd fill their non-dusted bodies with another five rounds. Though the bullets didn't kill them, Xander knew they would be down for hours. The teenage mercenary was clearing the first-floor room by room, hoping Spike and Drusilla were hearing the thunderous noise and panicking.
  
  He tossed the assault rifle when he was out of ammunition and whipped around the shotgun. Any vampire that sprinted toward him got a hole ripped through their chest. Two vampires rushed him and he shot the knee off of the first one, stepped back to clear the punch thrown, then blew the second vampire away. Xander kept blasting vampires until he was out of shotgun rounds and unholstered his Colt 1911s. On his way to the second floor, Xander used his bullets sparingly, but he made quick work of any vampire running toward him.
  
  Then he finally found Spike and Drusilla. Fortunately, Drusilla didn't force Xander to loop back when he shot her in the head, though, technically, she wasn't properly dead. However, it gave Xander the added bonus of watching Spike cry out in agony. Xander shot her body five times before Spike lunged at him. From ten feet away, the incredibly fast vampire slashed Xander's gun away as he pulled the trigger. The teenager tagged Spike in the shoulder, but that wouldn't stop the much stronger vampire.
  
  An enraged Spike gripped Xander by the throat before Xander could stop him, and growled with such intense hatred, " Yoooouuuu, won't die quickly." The squeeze of his neck made Xander drop his other gun. Despite how terrifying Spike's vampire face was, Xander looked deep into his yellow demon eyes as he finished, "I'm going to torture you for months on end, until you're begging me to end your miserable existence!"
  
  Xander lifted the round metal in his hand. Spike eyed the green balls in confusion at first. Then Xander let the striker lever pop off the grenades. As Spike panicked, the cocky teen gutturally voiced with a smile, "Been there, done that."
  
  They both saw pure white, and then nothing.
  
  Xander didn't even feel the explosion decimate his body. He woke up to the beginning of the day-loop once again. On his smelly bed, the calmer teen felt more relaxed in his heart. Killing them and the entire base was exactly what he needed, so he did it another three times. Though he was getting better at destroying the entire lair and every vampire inside, the Achilles mental pattern was disappointed by the way he was killing them. Sherlock thought it was efficient, while Achilles thought his revenge should be with a sword and shield, not a gun and bombs.
  
  "Whatever," the teen thought before he returned to the task at hand; getting out of the week-loop.
  
  Xander used the Jenny route, and followed Ford once again, staying farther away from Spike's perimeter. When everything progressed normally with the desperate & dying boy, Xander thought to follow Giles before trying Buffy again. Watching Giles and Jenny at the monster truck rally was difficult for him. The way the monster trucks decimating other cars was so entertaining, he could barely focus on Giles and Jenny.
  
  Thursday night, Xander was stuck outside of the Library waiting while Buffy trained. Despite the aerobicizing music he could hear bumping through the doors, he was dying of boredom. The young teen was too much of a social creature to go without contact or stimulation for long periods of time, and fought with himself to stay put until the end of the loop. He was mentally preparing his next steps when he heard a faint scream echo down the hallway to his right. Curious, Xander jogged toward the far-off cry.
  
  He then heard desperate banging and hollering coming from the side exit and ran to open the door; a red door that was locked at night. Xander ran around to the exit and rushed outside where he was just in time to watch the grey-decaying corpse of a woman snap the neck of a tall man she was lifting. She dropped the hefty man in a dark suit and red tie to the floor and he laid dead still. Her eyes glowed before she dropped to the floor and turned into a puddle of blue goo.
  
  The putrid smell instantly hit Xander's nostrils and he covered his nose before immediately rushing back to the library. Xander burst through the double doors and interrupted Buffy and Giles' training session to show them the body. He was explaining what he saw all the way to the scene outside. Buffy and Xander stood back as Giles inspected the body of the man in the dark-navy suit. Xander hadn't even noticed the silver suitcase the first time.
  
  Giles grew incredibly anxious, and without looking at them, ordered the teens behind him, "Go home, both of you."
  
  Xander quirked his brow in confusion before noting, "Uh, but there's a body and blue goo that used to be a body-"
  
  "Please, Xander, leave this to me," Giles said, standing to face them. "I'll handle this. Go on. I must phone the authorities, and neither of you should be here for that." Giles waved them away before turning his back on them and observing the scene as if the conversation was over.
  
  Since this event was the only unknown variable that might explain Xander looping back, the teen boy wanted to stay. He wanted to protest to Giles, however, Buffy trusted her watcher and grabbed his wrist before dragging him away. Xander haphazardly tried to stay, but her grip was so strong, he didn't even think she noticed him resisting. They were inside on their way to the library when he finally got her attention.
  
  "Al- right! " Xander yelled as he yanked himself free from her iron grip. He rotated his wrist as he told her, "Jeez, is it so wrong I don't think we should leave?"
  
  "Did you smell that? Is that something you really want to deal with right now?" She asked before assuring him, "If Giles says he's got it, then let him handle it. I'm sure he'll tell us tomorrow if it's anything important."
  
  Having already said her piece, Buffy was already walking away. Eying her as she entered the library, Xander wanted to remind her that she doubted him when he warned her about Ford and she didn't believe him then. Turning around to the scene of a homicide, he felt like this was the way out, but he wasn't sure what he could do. Xander kept his mouth shut and went home. The following morning, it was Halloween again.
  
  Now that the week was easier to get to, Xander's first plan of action was to save the tall man in his dark-navy suit. After failing to convince Buffy, yet again, that Ford was bad, Xander proceeded to Thursday night nearly identical to the last loop. Only now, Xander was waiting outside with a bat in hand and ready.
  
  Upon seeing the disgusting monster chasing the tall man in a suit, Xander suddenly wished he had a sword instead. Even so, he batted the petrifying head of the undead woman, and it felt like he was hitting against a brick wall. She eventually went down after three hard hits and Xander caved the dead woman's skull in. When she turned into blue goo, the tall man was relieved, and in an English accent, asked for Giles. Xander nodded and showed him the way to the library.
  
  "So, what's your name?" Xander casually asked, walking with the bat on his shoulder.
  
  "Philip," he answered. "Philip Henry. Thank you for saving me..."
  
  "Xander. And don't worry about it. It's all in a day's work," the teen casually voiced before they arrived at the library. Though Xander enjoyed Buffy's light-green tank top and dark-blue spandex-easily leaving no doubt she had the most alluring figure-he was more intent on explaining what happened outside. Then he asked, "so, who, or what, was the walking corpse that turned into blue toilet water?"
  
  Ignoring Xander, an agitated Giles told Philip, "We must investigate."
  
  "No, Rupert," the taller Englishman replied. "We already know."
  
  "Know what?" Xander asked. "Inquiring minds are practically begging to know."
  
  Clearly hoping not to do anything more at the tail end of the day, Buffy turned to Xander and glumly asked, "But are we, though?"
  
  "No," Giles voiced with finality. He ordered them, "Go home, both of you. We'll take care of the rest."
  
  As Buffy quickly went to grab her things, Xander blinked in surprise and asked, "Wait, that's it?"
  
  "Thank you, Xander, for helping my, uh, old friend," Giles stated evenly.
  
  "Wait," Xander tried. "But, like, what's going on? Hey-"
  
  "Come on," Buffy voiced as she gripped his elbow and pulled him toward the exit.
  
  Sighing, he tried to fight the force of her pull, but it was like playing Tug-of-War with a freight train. They were outside of the school when she finally let go. She repeated allowing Giles to handle it, then left. Xander wasn't surprised to loop back to Halloween. Xander tried to save the man and discover what exactly the walking dead was, but, yet again, he looped back to his smelly room.
  
  Kicking off his smelly sheets, he yelled in ever-growing frustration, " Crappity dung nuggets! What the fuck is it!"
  
  For absolute certainty, Xander decided to follow Cordelia and Angel as well. Once they were clear, he'd try once again to learn more about Philip and the corpse. Of the two, Cordelia was the hardest to follow since she had a fast car and got away easily. Undeterred, Xander stole the Viper and eventually mapped out her entire week. Other than being hit on by several men, flirting with attractive boys, and her unbelievable amount of shopping, she did nothing of note. Xander needed binoculars to spy on Angel, but he was by far the easiest to tail, since he stayed indoors most of the time. He only came out of his apartment to slay, be with Buffy, or both, and once, Drusilla visited him.
  
  Throughout all the tailing, Xander relieved his boredom by buying scratch-off lotto tickets and trying to get as many winning tickets as possible. He didn't know why he hadn't thought about playing the lottery before. It's possible he may have been too focused on escaping the time loop or indulging in the pleasures of the flesh. Though, it was a punch to the gut to learn it was illegal for minors to play the lottery. Fortunately, Xander found one gas station with a specific clerk that did not care enough to card him. So, even if he couldn't cash them, he could still buy them.
  
  After more than a dozen week-loops, Xander memorized twelve $1000 quick-win tickets. He'd sell them around town as he followed Cordelia or Angel for seven hundred apiece and earned a nice little pot of cash. Xander even asked Giles on Thursday if he wanted to earn a quick profit and gave him a $200 friends and family discount. Giles promised to bring him the money on Friday, but there never was a Friday, since his body reset with every loop.
  
  The week-loops were frustrating for another reason. They were beginning to make his exercise regiment feel pointless. He'd start working out on Saturday, run every day, use the school gym Monday through Thursday, feel a nice full-body ache throughout the entire loop, then lose all the progress by 3 AM Friday. He came across the same pointlessness after cleaning his room so many times. It annoyed him so much more than the one-day loop; so much so, he went to Amy once again. Xander wondered if she could lend him a book of magic spells, since he doubted Giles or Willow would approve of helping him find body-altering spells.
  
  He used Halloween day loops to convince the magical girl to lend him a book of magic for beginners before using week-loops to practice. There were a lot of spells to practice, most of which were extremely complicated. After a few week loops, Xander was never once successful in even the simplest of all spells; turning an apple from red to blue. Sometimes, the apple would turn a slightly darker red, and other times, the fruit would explode. Xander was clearly terrible at magic, and other than Giles and Willow, the only other magical person he knew was Ethan.
  
  ' No ,' the Sherlock pattern voiced. ' He 's not .'
  
  Realization hit Xander like a ton of bricks, making his eyes widen. The desperate teenager decided to become a wizard for Halloween, if only to comprehend on an intellectual level how to think about magic before trying it on his own; like when he dressed as a race car driver simply to learn the concept of driving. Naturally, Ethan's complete disgust for characters like Doctor Strange, the Spectre, or even Yoda prevented Xander from getting his nerd hands on their spectacular abilities. However, the evil shop owner was, at the very least, persuaded into making the teenager a costume of the great and powerful Merlin.
  
  For those that suggested Merlin, you saw what was coming😁😁 He was always part of the plan. The next chapter should be an interesting read. I'm not if I'll upload next week. It depends on how many chapters my betas and myself can complete this week. We're usually 2 up. If we can push that up to 3, I'll update.
  
  Right, I think many people might understand how this time loop works now. Or at least have an idea of the challenge ahead of Xander. So, a day loop, a week loop, a month loop, maybe more(no spoilers), I can understand how that sounds repetitive, but as Xander changes with each loop, so does the outcomes. I don't repeat the same things over and over. And if something does repeat, I shorten it down to a paragraph or sentence, or don't even mention it. For example, when I write, 'the Jenny route,' you guys already know they had sex. No extra details necessary. I don't want to bore you guys with stuff you already know. I hope that clears up some of the concerns with a fic like this.
  
  I researched whether regular bullets could kill vampires if you spray them with enough lead. I couldn't find a definitive answer, so I just went with vampires can survive most gunshot wounds as long as it's within reason. FYI, Xander's torture and then him raiding Spike's hideout was originally a paragraph. I wasn't sure if it added anything, but I'm glad I fleshed it out. I hope you liked the additional sequence.
  
  That's all I got. Thank you guys for reading my fic. Thank you to my betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB, for the assist. Please let me know if you guys have any questions. I appreciate them. Have a great one and be safe,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Legends
  Hey, hey, welcome back.
  
  Another Sunday, another chapter! We got lucky on this one, fam. I didn't think I'd be updating since my week was going to be a busy one. Then we got hit with a snow storm that opened up enough for me to write some. I have a lengthy A/N at the bottom since I don't want to delay your reading any longer.
  
  No warnings. Clean as a whistle, this chapter. 7.5K words.
  
  Thank you to my Betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Legends
  
  Within the harness of his own mind, Xander marveled at how effortlessly Merlin could wield magic. The world-renowned magician was capable of controlling the elements, shape-shifting, altering one's perception of reality, and reading people's hearts and minds. He could control the climate, summon darkness, mists, storms, fire, smoke, and put people to sleep. But one of Xander's favorite spells of his was that of invisibility with ease. Merlin could see everyone around him, but no one could see him. All of these abilities were in Merlin's vast memories, and now, in Xander's.
  
  But what the teenager wanted to sift through was his knowledge of spells, runes, curses, summoning, and alchemy. From all the tidbits of magic Xander had come across researching alongside Giles, Willow, and Amy, he picked up enough to know there were at least nine disciplines of magic: abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, psionic, and transmutation. They covered nearly everything typical witches and wizards could tap into. Xander wanted a solution to his physical limitations, since every time he looped back, he lost any muscle or endurance his body might've gained.
  
  As he searched in enchantment and transmutation, Xander was eager to see Merlin save the lives of many terrified innocents first. Ethan's spell had already started, and the chaos was rising by the second. Slowly walking around the neighborhood in a long, yet fake, white beard, wearing a blue cone-hat and matching wizard robes, Xander was eager to see how impressive the great and powerful Merlin was. After all, knowing something on paper, and seeing it in reality, are completely different.
  
  As ever, youths transformed into monsters and were everywhere, chasing men, women, and children to feed. Xander was expecting impressive fireballs, elemental attacks, laser energy beams, levitating houses, or some other tsunami of magic display that would subdue all the monsters without killing them. Sadly, Merlin did very little. When the clock struck 6:00 PM and the curse began, Merlin analyzed the scene, his environment, and himself before putting monsters to sleep.
  
  With a gentle wave of his hand, any monster within a fifty-foot radius simply dropped to the floor, deep in slumber. The elderly man simply walked around the neighborhood and made every monster or villain he saw fall fast asleep where they stood. It was so efficient, it was boring. Looking through the warlock's encyclopedia of spells, Xander was sure a sleep spell was one of the easiest to cast, and yet, that's all the old man was using. The teenager was mildly disappointed. He expected Merlin to have more flare than that.
  
  When Merlin inspected Xander's hands again, rubbing his fingertips together, the harnessed Xander within heard the elder mentally voice with slow skepticism, ' This body... '
  
  Xander instantly became curious and called out, ' What? What about this body? Is it awesome? What? '
  
  Merlin turned around as if he heard someone call him, and yet, he saw no one but a red-haired girl dressed in an alluringly revealing outfit; a black leather skirt, knee-high boots, and a tight, long-sleeved pale-red top. When the Xander within saw it was Willow, he knew it wouldn't be long before she solved the Janus curse. Though he wondered if the elder magician heard him, he ignored it and returned to looking through the legend's memories.
  
  As a gleeful Willow explained who he actually was, Merlin accepted it rather easily. And with his magic sight, he could see the picturesque flow of magic in the air. Merlin knew it was a curse and the general direction of the source. Instead of getting Giles to stop Ethan, Lady Buffy, Angel, ghost Willow, and Cordelia followed Xander-Merlin toward the costume shop, putting anyone causing chaos and destruction to sleep along the way.
  
  While they walked through Sunnydale dropping monsters left and right, Xander was looking through incantations to enhance his overall physical ability; a subsection of physical manipulation. He saw several spells that were exactly what he needed; enhancements to achieve feats typically requiring an absurd amount of physical strength effortlessly and reaching an overall level of physical power that is far beyond natural limits. If Xander had the same strength as Achilles, he'd finally be able to mimic his style to the same effect.
  
  Sadly, all the modifications seem to have mild or serious limitations. The mild problems were regarding duration; they weren't permanent. Some spells or potions simply fade over time; minutes, hours, or a few days. And the amplified speed, strength, or durability could potentially harm him as well. The serious problems can cause serious injuries. Xander could break his bones easily, shred his muscles, or lose all sense of touch. He could lose an arm to frostbite and not even feel it. It made Xander want to look up Merlin's invisibility spell first.
  
  ' They can't hit what they can't see ,' he mildly mumbled to himself.
  
  ' Invisibility may not be the solution you are hoping for ,' Merlin voiced, also from within his mind.
  
  Xander would've jumped out of his seat at attention if he were in control of his body. Looking left and right, he saw no one and nothing but tall walls of the spells he was looking for. Peering out of his body, Xander noted they were still walking toward Ethan's while dropping monsters and conversing with a giddy Willow about magic.
  
  Xander was stunned when an elderly voice continued to say, ' To solve your peculiar conundrum, rectifying your soul's alignment with your body would be my advice. '
  
  Looking around again, and finding no one, a stunned Xander cautiously called, ' Uh... M-Merlin? C-Can you see me? '
  
  ' Not by conventional methods ,' the elder answered casually. ' I can and I cannot ,' he double-answered.
  
  ' ...Okay ,' Xander slowly accepted. The teen had to wonder if Merlin knew something. He was the most famous wizard of all time; a legend. Xander had to believe he might help in some manner if he's amazing enough to even notice him when no one else had. Curious to know more, Xander asked with a high-pitched curiosity, ' HHHHHHow are you talking to me? None of the others could .'
  
  ' Others, you say ,' Merlin voiced. ' So, there were more. Might I inquire for more details before I answer your query? '
  
  Xander did not hesitate to tell Merlin everything that's happened to him. From the time loop to the Janus curse; to the costumes, including Casanova and those mature adventures; to escaping the day loop and Sherlock's calculations about a week loop and possible month loop; to his slow descent into despair, despite appreciating the knowledge the time loop and costumes have given him.
  
  ' I mean, I appreciate everything I know now, but what's it all for if I never get out of here? ...If nobody-if my friends- never remember? I'd be talking to myself at that point? Just... alone. '
  
  Xander was hoping for an answer from the wise elder, but Merlin, Ghost-Willow, Lady Buffy, Angel, and Cordelia made it to Ethan's costume shop. Willow rushed into the store through the walls and, less than twenty seconds later, came out to inform them that Ethan was in the back storage room with a bust as the center of a magical arrangement.
  
  "Destroying the bust should negate the effects," Merlin told Angel as the vampire rushed into the Halloween store. In their shared mental space, Merlin answered Xander. ' I'm afraid we've run out of time, my dear boy. However, if what you say is true, and we can meet again, please do so. I believe I may be able to assist you .'
  
  Xander did just that. As soon as Angel resolved everything and Xander looped back, he repeated everything as he had. Once the curse began, Xander quickly got Merlin's attention and helped him get to Buffy's house as he quickly went over everything that had happened. It gave them significantly more time to talk.
  
  ' I'd first like to begin with your desire to learn magic ,' Merlin said with his sagely old voice. Again, Merlin's mechanical control rubbed Xander's fingers together and flexed his hand. Xander was buzzing with eagerness as the sage continued, ' While I understand your predicament, I am, however, able to sense how improbably harnessing magic is for a vessel of this constitution .' With squinted eyes, Xander barely understood what that meant, but felt the impending problem. ' Even now, the most this body seems capable of casting without adverse side effects is the sleep spell .'
  
  Easily recalling how Merlin was simply putting everyone to sleep, a flummoxed Xander gasped, ' Wait, what? Really? '
  
  ' I see far more than meets the physical senses, young man ,' Merlin said. ' My soul listens fiercely to every kind of ethereal energy on this plane of existence. It is how I'm capable of hearing you now, despite not being able to see you. '
  
  Taken aback, Xander repeated, ' Your soul can hear my soul? '
  
  Merlin replied, ' Naturally. All souls are connected, if you didn't know. We all come from one and the same place. It is as simple as listening to the sight of you .'
  
  Shrugging, Xander pushed on. ' Can't exactly picture that, but whatever. You're sure I can't use magic? '
  
  ' You most certainly can, ' he assured the teen. ' Anyone is capable. '
  
  ' I feel a but coming .'
  
  ' Sound instincts ,' the wizard jested. ' As I reside in your body-your vessel, if you will-I can see magic would be most difficult for one such as yourself. Should you attempt demanding spells or incantations, it would not surprise me in the slightest if the outcome of your casting was a disastrous one. A spell to warm your food would burn it instead, for example. Some, I'm saddened to say, are simply born with such shortcomings .'
  
  ' Oh, yeah, no, great ,' Xander sarcastically called out. ' Of course, that would be my luck. I can use magic, but it'll always blow up in my face. Really nails down the story of my life. '
  
  ' If I may, young Mr. Harris ,' Merlin interjected. ' Whatever one lacks in magical ability is generally compensated for in other attributes. The soul that inherits this form, for example, must also be exceptional, for I have seen many extraneous vessels inhabited by souls and this one does not appear to carry the same markers .'
  
  There was no one to look at in the dark mental space, so Xander couldn't turn to anyone to ask what that meant. He simply shrugged as he shook his head, then asked, ' Uh, can you elaborate? '
  
  ' Certainly ,' Merlin agreed before thinking of diagrams of the human body and soul. Thinking about it allowed Xander to see the images as well. The three forms in front of him were six feet tall and looked like sketchy drawings on brownish parchment paper. The soul for the three forms were different sizes-one small, one medium, and one large-and looked like flames. One aura was sketched larger than the body, the second was similar in size to the body, and the third had a smaller soul compared to the body. The body with the largest soul had significant cross patterns over every part of the sketched anatomy. The medium soul had mild markings on most of the body, like gentle, wavy lines. The third body was nearly devoid of any patterned marking.
  
  Looking at the third one with depressed expectation, Xander flatly asked, ' I have the small one, don't I? '
  
  ' The size of the soul has little to do with the character of the individual ,' Merlin diplomatically answered. ' You are just as capable of being an extraordinary individual with a modest anima as you can be with a larger one. '
  
  The dejected teen asked, ' So, then, why is one bigger than the other? That's a total confidence killer! '
  
  ' Your decisions affect your soul, young one, ' Merlin slowly answered. ' A murderer may accomplish great and terrible feats, however, the consequences of those decisions are felt within. And unbeknownst to all, the soul dwindles. '
  
  Looking at the three bodies with a different perspective, Xander asked, ' So, which am I? '
  
  ' I cannot say for certain ,' the elder answered. ' While we share one body, I am unable to see your soul, however, I am able to see the pattern on your body and I can say you are somewhere between the moderate and large example. '
  
  Looking at the markings patterned on the sketch-like bodies, Xander asked, ' What do the markings mean? And why are they different? '
  
  ' Sadly, we do not have much time ,' Merlin replied and when Xander paid attention to their real-world surroundings, they were indeed a hundred yards from Ethan's costume shop. Still, there was enough time for Merlin to explain, ' Suffice it to say that at the point of contact between body and soul, patterns can form based on the activity of that vessel's soul. For example, with every frequency of sound touching water, a new pattern is created. The three sketches you see before you are among many types of patterns. The strong-willed always have distinct patterns while the weak or underdeveloped tend to be smoother .'
  
  ' And mine? '
  
  ' Mnnnn, based on the patterns of your physical form ,' he began. ' I'd say something more... mysterious is occurring as we speak. These abrasions are... fluid, somehow-ever-changing-which, in all honesty, is quite baffling. I've never encountered anything like this. '
  
  Bursting with a need to know more, Xander tried to jump out of his harness as he asked, ' Never? Not even once? Like, why? Is that good or bad? '
  
  ' I cannot say for certain what is transpiring ,' Merlin slowly admitted. ' Many know the soul to be an ethereal entity, but most do not know that it's not made of any material within the known universe. That is because the soul is celestial. Within every man, woman, and child is a shard of the divine. But to live on this plane of existence, you must inhabit a vessel, and whatever form that may take is subject to the laws of magic and the universe. Thus, there will always be strife between order-the soul-and chaos; the body. By observing the point between soul and vessel, you become aware of the caliber of spirit housed within, as well as the direction that life may take .'
  
  ' Ooookaaay ,' Xander slowly affirmed, trying to absorb the information. Why did the old man have to speak so long-winded when all he had to say was, ' your soul and body are out of whack .' Eventually, the elder gets to the good part.
  
  ' Your vessel is quite difficult to read, however, I suspect the shifting of your pattern has to do with a misalignment between the vessel and soul, ' he began. They were closing in on the shop as he explained, ' I've witnessed unique vessels with dominant spirits; those worthy of altering the course of history. I've also seen unreasonably more vessels with negligible spirits. They are less inclined to change the world; the workers, if you will. In you, I see neither. You could be of this earth or you could very well be a chimera .'
  
  The old man jested before wheezing in slow laughter. If that was supposed to be a joke, Xander didn't get it. ' You are more than welcome to continue studying magic,' he continued. ' However, I can see the potential behind your pattern is not facing the magical. I'm sorry, I couldn't be of more help .'
  
  Once again, Merlin told Angel what to do, and they resolved the situation with Ethan's Janus curse. Xander repeated the day and costume, as he would not leave Merlin alone until all of his questions were thoroughly answered. To extend his time with Merlin, Xander locked him in his usual room at the Motor Inn and set up Giles, Willow, and Angel to maximize the time he could spend with the legendary wizard.
  
  Merlin, on the other hand, felt compelled to help. He couldn't sit on a bed while lives were in danger outside. The elder wizard magically escaped the room and walked through the town toward the source of the magical chaos, setting all those wreaking havoc to sleep. In Xander's head, the teen explained everything they've discussed as efficiently as possible. Merlin only corrected him when he was confused by what the previous Merlin had explained.
  
  Since he didn't want to annoy the person helping him, Xander wavered as he explained, ' Well... I mean, it's not like we're both speaking English here. I feel like I need a master's in literature to understand what you're saying sometimes. '
  
  The teen trapped in time understood Merlin when he simply said, ' Unless you discover how to properly realign your soul to your body, you will not escape this time prison with your sanity intact .'
  
  Xander understood something about himself was cracked or broken, but to be stuck in a time loop forever made him nauseated as he audibly gulped.
  
  Merlin continued, ' I suggest you put your all into solving this conundrum, for there is no such thing as eternity, only very near to it. And should these cycles continue, I'm sad to say, the person who comes out the other end will differ vastly from the sane one that first entered it .'
  
  Recalling his panic attack with Pamela Anderson, it wasn't hard for Xander to imagine his mind slowly losing morality, virtue, decency, humor, and even love; to the point the only source of entertainment he might feel one day would be murdering everyone and burning society to the ground. Worse yet, he could imagine that kind of evil would slowly creep on him over the billions of loops he'd be forced to live. Those dark and evil acts don't happen overnight. They happen one evil thought at a time, until enough time has passed, and he's full of them. Xander wanted to throw up.
  
  Desperately, Xander nearly begged to know, ' Is there anything else you can tell me that could help? '
  
  He hummed a moment before answering, ' I can only offer you my most professional counsel based entirely on my close connection to the ethereal .'
  
  ' Yeah, sure, anything's fine ,' Xander quickly told him.
  
  ' I'm reasonably certain a way to find conclusive answers does not exist ,' he woefully expressed, hitting Xander like a punch to the gut. ' Should you be able to speak with another more in tune with powers beyond mortal man, they may shed more light on this time braid problem of yours .'
  
  The only thing Xander could think of was the Powers That Be, but he was fairly certain they didn't have a phone number he could call to answer his questions. Xander wondered if Ethan, Giles, or Angel could help him get in contact with Gods when Merlin finished, ' I've also come to notice this vessel is most suitable for craftwork and carpentry .'
  
  ' Yeah, I actually become a carpenter at some sad point in my future ,' Xander unenthusiastically explained. ' If you got a window or house in serious need of repair, I'm your guy. '
  
  ' The expertise of constructing a home is no small feat to look down upon. After all, many of us are happiest in our home; a port of refuge in the storm. All those who build the world up must take pride in their work, for society can't function without them ,' the wise man said, making Xander have a better outlook about Old-Man Xander's carpentry. With an introspective voice, Merlin assured Xander, ' Though underdeveloped, I'd certainly present you to the Avalonian elves for apprenticeship. They produced Excalibur, if you were unaware .'
  
  Xander raised his dark eyebrows at the mention of himself having anything to do with making something as incredible as a sword like Excalibur. The disoriented teen needed to ask for clarity, ' Uh, are you saying I can make Excalibur? '
  
  ' Recreate it? No, I should think not ,' the elder quickly assessed with some hubbub, disappointing Xander once again. Until Merlin slowly voiced, ' Mmmnn, reproduce a facsimile, on the other hand, could be possible. However, this vessel of yours would need substantial training in smithing and runic alchemy to produce such an exemplary construct .'
  
  Wanting to be extra clear, an impatient Xander stumbled to ask, ' Yeah, yeah, but, but you're saying I can? Isn't that sword, like, magical? '
  
  Merlin nodded proudly, stroking his long white beard as he affirmed, ' That it is, my dear boy; Nigh indestructible, capable of cutting through anything with ease, always retains its razor-sharp edge, and even protects its master from serious injury .'
  
  ' Sweeeeeet ,' Xander sang at the thought of wielding a sword like Excalibur. Quickly recalling his faults, Xander had to ask, ' But, I mean, can I actually make something like that? Me? With my monkey-paw magic? '
  
  ' One does not need magic to create magical weapons ,' Merlin slowly asserted. ' One must only learn to create a vessel which can then harness the ethereal. These powerful forces that live everywhere among us are quite fickle where their living conditions are concerned, you see. Only when you have forged a vessel worthy of their power, will the ethereal take shelter in your constructs and become fiercely loyal to it and its wielder .'
  
  At the blessed fantasy of holding Lion-O's mighty Sword of Omens or He-Man's cosmic Sword of Power in his hand, the geek's body broke out in goosebumps so strong, it sent shivers from head to toe despite Xander not having physical control of his body. The wide-eyed teen couldn't help a hum of pleasure escape his lips before voicing, ' Mmmmnnnn, yeeeees. Daddy like .'
  
  Merlin chuckled good-naturedly before suggesting that Xander loop again and have the next Merlin create a training manual to guide him through forging a sword like Excalibur. The teen geek was happy to. He was so eager, he couldn't wait to loop back, and every second Ethan hadn't activated the curse felt like torture. Upon meeting the next loop's Merlin, he couldn't create a book with all the instructions using the magic that flowed through Xander's body, as it would likely backfire somehow. Xander needed a notebook, and Merlin charmed the ink from the pen to write everything Xander needed to know.
  
  After Merlin finished, he still had enough time to stop Ethan and the Janus curse, and Xander ran home afterward. Closing his bedroom door behind him, Xander eyed his He-Man action figure, and felt it in his bones; that would be him. The thought of creating something that could kill demons and vampires with a swipe of his powerful sword thrilled him with impatience... until he saw the dozens of pages of instruction.
  
  Flipping through the pages of the long and complicated tutorial, Xander couldn't help but complain, "Really? ... Really? Even this couldn't be easy?"
  
  If the information in his hands was accurate, it appeared as if it would take him ten agonizing years to become a master weaponsmith; let alone the twenty to thirty years it could take to become a grandmaster. In the first few pages, Merlin noted only a veteran grandmaster would be capable of forging a weapon similar to Excalibur, and the one Xander forged may not even be as powerful. As the depression set in, Xander lifelessly fell back onto his smelly bed with a plop . Underneath his explanation of the skill level required, Merlin wrote a note that made Xander sit right back up and read with interest:
  
  "Though any muscle gained in the typically linear progression of time will be lost when you, unfortunately, reset to the beginning of the cycle, the soul carries its own memories. As you already know, you are able to recollect the knowledge and experiences of other personas. This very recollection includes the retention of movement within manual skills. It would be advantageous for you to practice manual repetition, for the technique of your hammer strike will continue to improve even if the muscles in your arm repeatedly falter. In essence, this time braid may not enhance your body's muscular strength, however, it most certainly will enhance its physical technique."
  
  "Huh," Xander hummed.
  
  Now that Merlin mentioned it, Xander did feel like his motor skills moved much more smoothly than before the time loop. Even if the strength didn't feel stronger, it was as if he had access to more muscle control. The teenager always assumed it was because he knew what anyone, at a given time, was going to do because of the constant looping. Only now, he couldn't deny it might be more than that.
  
  Now that Xander had some direction, he felt great again. He wasn't sure where smithing would lead him, but it was better than wandering around like he'd been doing for so long. More than anything, he simply wanted to stay away from the pitfalls of the depression the time braid made him feel. Trying to escape the week-loop, Xander came across many dead ends, and in doing so, felt closer and closer to larger psychological sinkholes.
  
  In the following loop, Xander tried to get Ethan to make him a God costume in hopes of learning more about the time braid he was stuck in. The Englishman promptly labeled Xander an idiot and kicked him out of his store. Rather than waste a loop, he searched around town for smithing shops to forge in, and of the two shops in town, Blacky's didn't allow minors to smith, and Wild Dinks would only let experienced minors smith with supervision.
  
  As of yet, Xander had no experience. He'd also need decades of experience if he ever wanted to make a magical weapon. Knowing the body would carry the muscle memory of repeated motion, he knew exactly how to get that. Rather than trying for a different God in the following loop, Xander didn't need Sherlock to tell him what costume he should try next.
  
  Walking into Ethan's, the teenager gave the attentive shopkeeper a sob story about his friends bullying him because he wanted to be a blacksmith. The duplicitous teen challenged the Englishman to think of the best blacksmith he could dress as for Halloween. After Xander assured him money was no object, Ethan first suggested the Roman God Vulcan, but Xander had long learned that his first suggestion was always wrong and asked for a second.
  
  After a moment of thought, Ethan pondered a moment before slyly asking, "Have you ever heard of the weapon called Mjölnir?"
  
  Eyes widened, Xander's jaw nearly dropped.
  
  The gawking geek didn't want to bring up Thor or Marvel comics, as he was terrified Ethan would take it back. Xander simply shook his head with his fish-eyes and said nothing. The mythology expert then explained how the dwarfs of Norse mythology-Eitri in particular-crafted the legendary hammer of Mjölnir for Odin's son, Thor. Xander didn't even know there was a mythology behind Marvel's Thor and his hammer. He still recalled when he was a child trying to read the difficult word in the comic book. After his parents told him to go away, Xander had to ask Willow how to pronounce the word.
  
  Xander happily accepted the dwarf costume; a fake white beard, a brown apron, and a plastic hammer with a short handle. Ethan reminded the teen, "Remember, young man, the dwarfs didn't wear shirts, but I leave that choice up to you."
  
  Rather than break into Wild Dinks' smithing shop, Xander waited for the curse to begin in his room. When the clock struck six, Eitri's immense knowledge did not disappoint. Though Xander didn't like the massive, unkempt beard, he let the dwarf run around his house and neighborhood while he picked at his knowledge like a hungry vulture on a carcass.
  
  Like Sherlock, Eitri's memory banks held tons of knowledge to sift through; metallurgy, alchemy, runes, temperature variation, and hammering technique, to name a few. What truly made this costume worthwhile, was the fact that Eitri and his brother Brokkr were not magic users, and yet, they could make famous magical artifacts like Thor's Mjölnir, Odin's Ring of Power & spear, and the golden ring of Draupnir. The brothers were also responsible for many other lesser-known magical weapons and accessories used by many lesser Norse Gods.
  
  ' It really is like Merlin said ,' Xander thought from within his harnessed mind. ' You don't have to be magical to make magical weapons! Hell, even to make weapons for Gods! '
  
  In Eitri's mind, Xander saw the method of creating these godly constructs. He witnessed Eitri hard at the anvil, hammering runes into the white-hot metal. Though he could recall long days at the forge, hammering away, Xander knew from Merlin that even if his technique improved, his muscles would not. It meant he'll need to practice hard to overcome his unconditioned arms.
  
  Scouring the sea of knowledge, Xander also observed that different runes reacted with or called upon different magical forces. And partnering different rune characters in the same vessel created a new magical ecosphere for different forms of ethereal energies to reside in; hopefully, harmoniously. The pairs or series of runes could compound and form a unique and more powerful magical force.
  
  There were twenty-seven runes Eitri used, and the runic symbol ᚾ, pronounced thorfua, meant need . The runic symbol ᚨ, pronounced megin, stood for power . If Xander combined both runes, ᚾᚨ, in a weapon, the wielder could gain enhanced strength, and so long as the magical forces treasured their vessel, they could call the weapon to them.
  
  ' That's two of the five runes forged into Mjölnir ,' the giddy geek gasped. Sourcing the characters ᚱ, ᛉ, and ᛟ, Xander knew they stood for Godly, protection, and heritage or clan. '... M-Meaning ,' he excitedly thought. ' Whomsoever be worthy, shall possess the POWER OF THOR! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! '
  
  Xander was over the moon over the prospect of holding a real-life Mjölnir, but the amount of time it would take to forge the weapon was staggering. And worse yet, Xander wouldn't know if all his labor was successful until after he finished and tested its capabilities. If he added a different rune to enhance the weapon's power, it could upset the delicate magical ecosystem and ruin the entire build. If he forged the runes incorrectly into the metal, it wouldn't work-if he was lucky-or it could blow up in his hand.
  
  Each stroke of the rune had to be on its own layer. It meant Xander had to hammer a single dash into the white-hot metal, fold the billet, hammer the next dash of the same rune, fold the metal again, then continue this process until the first rune was completed and symmetrical. In Xander's mind, it was like writing a single stroke of each letter of his entire name on individual, transparent plastic squares, then piling all the clear squares on top of each other so that his name would be perfectly readable. It was incredibly difficult to do successfully. Only legends could do it, and Xander had yet to pick up a hammer.
  
  Fortunately, Eitri was a master among masters.
  
  Xander became Eitri for Halloween for as many day-loops as it took to retain as much of the talented dwarf's knowledge on forging as possible. Xander gave himself time to rummage through his mind by tipping Angel, Giles, and Ethan so no one could end the curse quickly. He then committed a series of day loops for the express purpose of being able to compile the bulk of Eitri's forging knowledge in a notebook after the curse lifted without error. The teen wasn't sure if the ninety pages he'd written out would be enough, but the only way he'll know for sure was to practice.
  
  When he was ready, Xander thoroughly enjoyed using the Jenny route to get past the day-loop. As she held him tightly in her sleep, Xander casually wondered if his technique increased from all the sex he's had with so many women. Because even if the beautiful teacher always orgasmed, either the strength or number of climaxes has steadily increased. Sherlock's definition of muscle memory was a form of procedural memory that involved consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition. It seemed that type of memory tied into technique, though Xander had assumed his agile movements with Jenny were because he knew what she wanted and how she would react to everything he did. Xander's technique likely increased every time he did the deed, which had to be in the high hundreds by that point.
  
  Despite his carnal talents, Jenny backed away from her student for the week, allowing Xander to work on his weapon-smithing. He didn't go to Review Day to see Buffy, Willow, and Giles. Instead, he was on a bus reviewing the tutorial he wrote as he made his way to the smithing shop. Along with Merlin's tutorial on Excalibur, Xander had plenty to keep him busy.
  
  Fortunately, the owner of Wild Dinks, Pete-a short, but muscular man with long, shaggy black hair tied in a ponytail, and a deep voice-was a laid-back blacksmith who accepted a bribe from a high schooler to work there, provided he was skilled enough. After a demonstration of his knowledge base, Peter grunted his approval and accepted the thousand-dollar lotto scratcher Xander gave him in payment.
  
  While a week wasn't nearly enough time to forge a weapon of Eitri's caliber, Xander could still practice the basics until his hammer strikes, temperature recognition, and timing matched the legendary dwarf's; similar to when he tried to out-sex Casanova. Xander lied to his friends, claiming his family was taking him out of state for a week, and took a sleeping bag to the forge to focus every waking minute on mastering the craft. With that level of dedication, a week was just enough time to practice forging each weapon on his list.
  
  Powered by Eitri's knowledge and the goal of Mjölnir, Xander repeated week-loops like a madman. After sex with Jenny and bribing Peter, he'd forge from sun up to sun up. With the first couple of loops, he stopped injuring himself with his carelessness or faulty equipment. In the following week-loop, the young novice stopped being clumsy and awkward with the hammer, and eventually, Xander could readily identify the right sound his hammering should make against the hot metal, the right color of the orange-white glow of the heat, and the proper technique to shape the weapon's anatomy. By the fourth week-loop, Xander could forge a halfway decent knife.
  
  With more and more seven-day loops, Eitri's knowledge in his head, and nothing to distract him, Xander made progress by leaps and bounds, becoming more confident and efficient at making daggers, swords, axes, and hammers. The teen smith even practiced forging bangles and rings. It was delicate and precise work, but if he could ever replicate Excalibur or Mjölnir, Xander had to make himself Odin's Ring of Power.
  
  "That's a loooong way away," the exhausted and sweaty teen mumbled to himself. He was lying on the wooden bench catching his breath as he fantasized about getting out and impressing his friends with this awesome skill. If Sherlock was right and the way out of each barrier of the time loop was internal, then-other than sex-his smithing could be the next step in getting out. At that thought, he got up and got back to work.
  
  Xander couldn't be sure how long he'd been practicing for. His sole driving force was learning to craft a weapon that magic of any kind would rush to live in. It meant practicing until he couldn't remember certain things, such as the monotony of sitting in a boring class; the smell of beer in his house; annoying Giles with his bad puns; the sweet sound of Buffy & Willow's laughter; or any of the million things he'd normally experience any given day.
  
  After a while, he couldn't keep track of the loops and his twenty-point progress plan became his measurement of time. Every ten or eleven week-loops raised his skill level to the next point, and by the time he reached twenty, it felt as if he'd been smithing four times longer than when he discovered Casanova and sex. Though it gave him terrible anxiety to think about how much of himself he was forgetting, the tradeoff was worth it. Merlin and Eitri's knowledge told him all he needed to do, and he did so thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of times.
  
  Inevitably, Xander was really good.
  
  His hammer strikes and positioning were masterful. Recognizing temperature variation, sanding angles, polishing, and assembly all reached the highest level of skill any modern-day blacksmith could achieve. He wasn't quite a grandmaster yet, but Xander still felt a great sense of accomplishment. He truly did possess a skill; a skill that could be helpful to Buffy and the Scoobies. The young teen was so confident and efficient, he didn't need more than a day or two to make a high-quality sword. It wasn't Excalibur, nor did he forge the runes in the steel, as that would take at least a month to accomplish, but he was hopeful.
  
  Aching to get back to his friends and escape the week-loop, Xander went to school on Halloween day. It must've been years since he walked the decorated halls of Sunnydale high school. Walking the crowded halls felt eerie and unnerving as well. The swarm of bustling teens was so much louder than he remembered, and responding to people he couldn't easily recall was jarring. It was as if Xander forgot his own life. He couldn't take it and left.
  
  Rather than wait a whole day, blowing up Spike with a box of grenades sent the neurotic teen back to the start of Halloween. Using the day loops, he simply tried to slip back into his life. He talked to Buffy, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, and even Harmony. It took him several loops, but soon, being around others wasn't gnawing exhaustion anymore and he was remembering everything again. When Xander fell back into the rhythm of his social life, the teen took the Jenny route out.
  
  Without explaining to his friends why he speculated Ford was bad, he did his best to prove it to them without being accused of jealousy or insecurity. Casanova would council to lie when the truth failed, but Xander hated lying to his friends. Lying to strangers who'd forget by the next loop was tolerable, but he didn't want to get used to lying to Buffy, Willow, and Giles.
  
  Xander needed his friends to see the truth about Ford, and Casanova, Sherlock, and Achilles have all shown him one common trait in their specialties; conviction. The raven-haired teen couldn't falter in his position just because Buffy disagreed, so Xander met with the one person he didn't mind telling off.
  
  Angel was visibly taken aback to see Xander at his apartment, but the teenager flat out admitted, "I don't like you. Never have, probably never will. I don't think you're right for Buffy, and I'm not going to let you hurt her."
  
  Angel's eyes seemed humored by Xander's proclamation, and he squeezed his lips together as if holding back a smile. It made Xander feel inferior, as if nothing he said or did would ever be enough to change the vampire's love for Buffy or hers for him. Xander hated that he was probably right.
  
  Xander took a deep breath and shoved that belittling feeling to the side to state, "I may not like you, but I like Ford a hell of a lot less. And he's human! So, I'm here because I need you to help me convince Buffy that he's off." In the silence that followed, Angel remained stoic and deep in thought, forcing an impatient Xander to add, "Just give me one night. I'll stop calling you Dead Boy."
  
  "You call me Dead Boy?" Angel asked curiously, making Xander recall this loop's Angel hadn't heard that yet.
  
  The teen shrugged, citing, "Yeah, but only in the privacy of my own thoughts. And friends. And anyone who'll listen, really."
  
  After shaking his head, Angel reluctantly nodded. The pair tailed Ford and eventually witnessed him meeting Spike. With Angel backing his word, Buffy now believed Xander, which hurt the teenage boy; to know that she couldn't trust him until Angel corroborated. The Scoobies confronted Ford right away, but the handsome teen effortlessly spun a tale about being blackmailed by Spike to lure her to a bunker to kill her. Buffy gave her childhood crush the benefit of the doubt, and Angel couldn't be sure that wasn't the case, since Spike was very capable of that. Xander was the only one maintaining that Ford was lying.
  
  "Even if he is," Buffy eventually maintained. "We still have to be sure." Buffy and Angel left to learn that it was indeed a trap, and the slayer learned exactly why Ford made a deal with Spike. Since Buffy was so distraught about being betrayed by a friend like that, Xander said nothing.
  
  Come Thursday night, Xander was sure this had to be the moment of truth. No other event that day stood out more than the death of Giles' old friend. Just as before, Xander rushed outside just as the female corpse snapped the man's neck, then turned into a puddle of blue goo. He rushed to get Buffy & Giles, and just as before, Giles ordered them to leave the scene of the paranormal homicide.
  
  Xander stood his ground, as Achilles would, and retorted, "She turned into a puddle of blue Hawaiian Punch, Giles!"
  
  Looking down at the corpse of his old friend, Giles insisted, "You're very much mistaken."
  
  "I saw it-"
  
  "Xander!" Giles yelled before taking a calming breath. "...Leave. Now."
  
  Buffy gripped his arm and effortlessly dragged the heated teen away. Watching Giles disappear from his view, Xander really did not know what to do to get past this. When they were back inside, walking the hallway toward the library, Buffy demanded to know, "What is going on with you? Giles said he's got it. So let's just trust him."
  
  Xander stopped walking at that. Buffy stopped several steps ahead, and when she turned to him, her concerned expression made him ask, "Is it trust, though? Or is he just freezing us out?"
  
  Slouching her shoulders, as if worried over nothing, Buffy returned, "Oh, come on, Xander." She walked up to him and gripped his shoulders-maintaining eye contact-before sweetly begging, "Don't be like that. Be Mr. Funny with the funnies." Xander's blunt stone-face made Buffy quickly accept he wasn't on board. She took a step back before kindly continuing, "Look, I'm sure if there's anything we need to know, he'll tell us. That's how we do things; as a team."
  
  Short of screaming at her about his future knowledge, Xander didn't see any way of convincing her. Instead, the annoyed boy told her with a touch of sadness, "You know, I'm not sure how true that is anymore. I told you Ford was off and you didn't want to believe me. I had to go to Angel- me , of all people-going to Angel for his help, and it wasn't until he agreed with me that you thought so, too. I'm telling you this feels off too, and yet again, you don't want to believe me. I know I bring the best funnies in the group, and I don't hate that, but never once did I think I was a joke to you."
  
  Taken aback by his sharp words, Buffy tried to placate him by reaching out and calling, "Xander-"
  
  The slayer couldn't finish her sentence as an irate Xander walked around her and left. Entering his smelly house, he was glad to have told Buffy how he truly felt. Not only was it from the heart, but he was tired of being so overlooked. It wouldn't even matter if he looped back, because that moment was well worth it. After entering his clean room and laying on his fresh-smelling bed, Xander stared at the clock with unblinking eyes for the rest of the night. The blood-red numbers burned his retinas, but he didn't look away. Eventually, the clock read 2:59 AM, and his stomach was in giant knots, wondering what tomorrow would bring; the tortuous past or a hopeful future?
  
  Xander hated not knowing.
  
  Yes, yes, I know that's a nasty cliffhanger. I'll make sure to update next week just so you won't have to wait 2 weeks.
  
  The magic. It's been shown in the series that anytime Xander attempts magic, it goes wrong. He said a few Latin words once, and a book caught on fire. And of course there's the spells/summons that backfire as well. This is pretty much why I won't have Xander wielding magic in the typical way*wink, wink*. I get it would be cool if he knew magic and all but then that wouldn't be Xander to me. From the beginning, my goal has been to elevate canon Xander, not my OP headcanon. In my head, he's a one-man slaying machine... but the story would be shorter.
  
  So, I think this is a good time to reiterate what I'm writing because I don't believe in wasting people's time. Time is finite and I want readers to enjoy what they're reading. 75%-80% of this fanfic is a prison escape story. The time loop is a prison, a curse, that Xander is stuck in. The only way he's getting out is if he changes, which is why I started this fic in the first place; to give him the journey of self-discovery he never got in the show. I get that it might feel repetitive to some of you, but that's the story(mixed with romance, drama, smut, and comedy). I apologize if that's not what some of you wanted/hoped for and I appreciate you giving my fic a chance.
  
  Point 2: I have readers who've never seen the show, so when this story reaches a new episode from canon, I'll write it out from Xander's POV that one time. It'll be shorter in proceeding chapters. I'm not rewriting whole episodes I've already explained on account of Xander looping back. As I've stated before, a whole episode can be reduced to a paragraph, to a sentence, or not even written at all.
  
  Point 3: I'd like to address Xander's "simping" for Buffy. Simply put, in my eyes, that's canon(at least in season 2). So he's going to think with his heart sometimes until I come in with my sledge hammer and break it. He won't always think or feel this way, but don't expect the change right away, or him to suddenly realize it because he has the memories of many people. Some people only learn the hard way and Xander strikes me as a similar type of learner.
  
  I appreciate many of your points of views and welcome all critiques that's not just flaming vitriol spewing from your orifice. I'm not a perfect writer. I'm a grounded, slow burn type of writer who makes plenty of mistakes. Please keep the helpful comments coming because they do help me write/edit scenes. Thank you. Sorry for the lengthy note. Take care.
  
  -Grae
  
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  Mark of Eyghon
  Welcome back, friends!
  
  Another Sunday, another chapter. No warnings. 6.5K words. Thank you to my amazing betas Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. Much appreciated. I don't own Buffy... in case you weren't aware😊.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Mark of Eyghon
  
  Xander woke up to his blaring alarm. His hand smacked the obnoxiously beeping clock into silence before inhaling the sweet aroma of pine and rosemary. The pleasant scent put him at ease in his comfortable bed, and after ten long seconds, his eyes snapped open in realization. Looking around his bedroom, the sight before him was of a clean and organized room. Everything was in place and alphabetical order, from his clothes to his movies.
  
  He hopped up on his bed, ready to yell but refrained, locking his cry of glee in his throat. Until he was certain he made it past the week-loop, he wouldn't celebrate. Slamming his door behind him, Xander rushed outside, greeting the bright morning sun, and swiped the morning paper from the concrete floor. Tearing off the plastic wrap, Xander quickly glanced at the date, and slowly grinned broadly. A pleasurable shudder buzzed up and down his spine as he read Friday, the 7th of November.
  
  Xander was simultaneously ecstatic and eager to cry. He could feel the rim of his eyes heat up before howling in his driveway like an old western cowboy in a saloon. Every inch of Xander's body was crackling with energy. He was so thrilled, he ran back inside and couldn't help but shadow-box in the smelly living room of his home. His jabs were clean and precise snaps of his fists, giggling in joy all the while. Not even his stone-sober parents could bring him down that morning, and he gave his mother, who smelled of booze, cigarettes, and perfume, a hug before rushing to school.
  
  It was a sunny and crisp morning and Xander enjoyed how beautiful the day was shaping out to be. On the way to the bus stop with a skip in his step, the dandy Xander was verbalizing plans for his future. "Body. That's gotta be step one; gotta work out like crazy," he sporadically spoke. "But I can't forget the sword, or Mjölnir. I gotta make a magical weapon, too. Those two are at the top of the list."
  
  On the bus, Xander thought to himself, ' But I haven 't made the deal with Pete this time. I either need to do that today, or figure out if I can buy my own equipment .' As the bus drove the students to school, Xander wondered if he could afford all the equipment he would need to forge weapons at home; forge, anvil, grinders, and hammers, among many other items. He sold all but one of the scratch-offs during the week and wondered if he earned enough for everything he needed to get started.
  
  ' Exercise regiment, home smithing shop setup, make a sword or hammer, and what else? ' He asked himself. ' Tell Buffy and Willow about their futures? ' Xander was hesitant to pull the trigger on that revelation. Though he wanted them to be aware of the pitfalls ahead, he also worried about the effect. He needed to know if there was a month loop or not. Rocking the boat before he had an obvious answer made him second-guess the obvious answer of telling them. At the sight of his friends sitting on the benches outside, Xander concluded there was no rush to tell them. He could decide later.
  
  Under the bright sun on a beautiful, cloudless day, Buffy was as radiant as ever in his eyes. She wore a colorful dress that reached mid-thigh, and round sunglasses that covered up to her eyebrows. Willow looked cute in her jeans and striped red shirt. Judging by their expressions, he knew they weren't talking about Angel, which only added to the brilliance of the day.
  
  When he heard Willow giddily reply, "Cuz, with the ziti," Xander asked, "What are you two talking about?"
  
  Since he was standing, Buffy looked up to answer, "Just having a quick game of Anywhere But Here."
  
  Xander nodded in clear understanding. Though he's been to a lot of places and lived out a few of his fantasies, the teen answered with his standard, "Amy Yip at the water park slide." It was still a fantasy of his, as he never went to China when he was in the time loop.
  
  Deadpanned, Willow pointed out, "Xander, you never come up with anything new."
  
  "That's cuz I'm not fickle like you two," he cheerfully returned. "I'm constant in my affections. Amy Yip... at the water park slide."
  
  As the girls wondered if Giles ever had a wild youth, Xander lamented all the beautiful women he never got to sleep with, Jennifer Connelly being at the top of his list. ' Labyrinth, Career Opportunity ... If only, ' he thought longingly. ' If only ...'
  
  Upon entering the school with his friends, they came upon their favorite librarian. The raven-haired teen asked the librarian, "Giles, my man, did ya bring that 500?" Though Xander normally sold the thousand dollar prize scratch-offs he bought at the gas station for seven hundred dollars, he couldn't ask Giles to pay the same as strangers. To him, the watcher firmly qualified for the friends & family discount.
  
  Turning to the teenager, Giles stuttered, "Uh, ah, no. My apologies, Xander." He seemed a bit distracted, but added, "It, uh, m-must've slipped my mind; After the events of last night, I should say."
  
  Lightly shoulder-checking Buffy, Xander asked the librarian, "Anything we should know about?"
  
  "No, no, it's all sorted," Giles replied, though looking away, and a smug Buffy looked at Xander in a teasing way. As he rolled his eyes at the beautiful blonde, Xander wondered if he should believe Giles. He couldn't be sure if this was something or not and his Old-Man memories didn't cover this. At Buffy's locker, the watcher turned to his slayer and said, "Now, Buffy, we should meet tonight at the hospital. They're receiving a shipment of blood."
  
  "Ah, vampire meals-on-wheels," she casually jested.
  
  "We'll meet at 8:30. Don't be late," he sternly added.
  
  Exhuming confidence in her head slant, she asked, "Have I ever?"
  
  "I'll refrain from dignifying that with a response," Giles said, mostly to himself.
  
  Jenny walked in and greeted everyone casually, in a manner that left no suspicion she spent a sex-fueled night under Xander losing herself to multiple body-bending orgasms a week prior. She was masterful at compartmentalizing that sordid night between them and treating the teenage boy like any other student. The sly woman gave nothing away and often stood much closer to Giles, as well. Though it bummed Xander out sometimes, he knew she couldn't pick a better man than Giles.
  
  Jenny stopped next to Giles and greeted, "Morning, England." Giles stammered with something of a smile before the computer teacher turned to Willow and asked, "Are we still on for tomorrow?
  
  Willow simply nodded before Xander asked, "What's tomorrow?"
  
  "Computer basics for a couple of students who have fallen behind," the beautiful teacher answered.
  
  Xander has had more than enough school to last a lifetime. Not to mention, he has the memories of becoming fairly proficient with a computer in his adult life. He couldn't wait until computers and virtual reality completely revolutionized the world once again. The teen couldn't stop shaking his head sadly every time he saw the eight-foot-long handset cord for his house's LAN line.
  
  "Poor schlubs," Xander replied, shaking his head. "Having to give up vital free time like that-"
  
  "I'll see you there, Xander," Jenny interrupted, with humored brown eyes.
  
  Turning to him, Buffy teased, "You got a little schlub..." while pointing at her lip, insinuating his own. Xander conveyed an eye-squinting expression that said, Ha, Ha, Not Funny , and it only made her smile wider.
  
  After mentioning Cordelia's attendance in the Saturday morning session, Jenny asked Giles to walk her to her class, to which he happily obliged.
  
  "Can't you just picture them together?" Willow asked her friends as they watched the adults walk away. Before, Xander would've said they were a twosome of cuteness, and in a way, he still believed that, but there's more to consider now than ever before.
  
  The teenage time looper sat in classes for the rest of the day and tried not to think about how weird it all felt. Sitting for an hour, drowning under a droning voice that said nothing he cared to hear. School always felt like a waste of time to Xander, but now that he had a clear direction-a purpose-in life, he felt the waste of time twice as hard. The novice weaponsmith knew what he wanted to do, and sitting in class, learning about subjects he knew for a fact he wouldn't get any significant use out of. Nearly all of his classes were only delaying his ambitions. That was the crux of his anxiety in class. He had so much to do-especially if he wanted to wield Mjölnir-and not enough time to do it in.
  
  Aside from exercising, it would take Xander at least three weeks to perfectly forge the runes between each layer of folds one stroke at a time. ' ᚾᚨᛉᚱᛟ: need, power, God, protection/defense, heritage/possession. Five characters, like, twenty-two strokes total, which have to align perfectly at the end. And I won't even know if it worked until after it's done... fuck me. ' Sitting in History learning about the origin of handwriting, an impatient Xander mentally yelled, ' Come on! I need to get out of here! '
  
  After working out in the school's weight room, Xander's first stop was Wild Dinks. After showing Pete how well he could work all the equipment in the shop-the forge, welder, and sander, specifically-Xander managed to once again bribe the short owner into letting a minor work there for a few weeks. Though he had to pay for material and borrow safety equipment, Xander began forging and didn't stop heating and hammering metal until nightfall.
  
  On his way back home, Xander felt grimy from a long day of working in the hot metal room, but he was content. It was proof he was moving forward. Things like watching cartoons, old TV shows, playing video games, and reading comic books for nine hours a day felt impossible now. Xander was desperate to make certain he wouldn't be sent back if he reached another barrier, and he couldn't do that playing around anymore. He pondered all night on what-ifs as he stared at the clock until 3:01 in the morning, when he finally went to sleep.
  
  For a Saturday morning class on computers, Xander found it odd for Cordelia, and himself, to be only two juniors in need of extra lessons. He pondered how possible that was as they walked into the computer lab. Xander noted Cordelia sitting next to him. If he didn't have his future memories, he wouldn't be conscious of that. At the moment, however, he wondered if she felt an ease around him despite how often they traded verbal blows. Casanova would say their chaotic dynamic would make a great foundation for a passionate love affair.
  
  Upon entering the classroom, Xander didn't have the chance to use the computer to research forging equipment and prices. Buffy interrupted their class before it even began to ask Jenny about Giles. The slayer explained that he missed their meet-up at the hospital, and when she went to his house; he appeared to be alone and drinking alcohol. To picture a messed-up-looking Giles drinking, surprised and worried both Willow and Xander. Buffy asked Jenny if she knew anything.
  
  When neither Jenny nor Willow could offer any insight, Xander informed the slayer, "This might be a shot in the dark, but we did see a body two nights ago." The golden-blonde slayer turned to him with clear worry in her expressive bluish-green eyes, likely wondering if Xander was right. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's got something to do with that," he finished.
  
  Only then did Cordelia curiously consider, "I wonder if that's why detectives were talking to him yesterday."
  
  "Detectives?" Buffy repeated, mildly irritated. When Cordelia casually nodded, Buffy shook her head, and asserted, "That's it. I'm calling him." When she left, Xander was eager to follow, however, Jenny gave him a stern teacher's look while pointing to his chair.
  
  He begrudgingly sat back down while mentally rebuking, ' I could be older than you, you know! '
  
  It wasn't until they heard the muffled sound of windows breaking and a crash coming from the library ten minutes later that drove them to race over and see what the commotion was. Bursting through the double doors of the library, Xander quickly observed Ethan, Buffy, and Philip. Philip looked like a half-completed zombie and was fighting Buffy while Ethan looked on in fear from the check-out desk. Though zombie Philip seemed to pack a punch, it moved slowly, allowing Buffy to dodge all of its swings as she back-stepped toward the cage.
  
  At the sight of the new arrivals, Ethan moved to make his escape when Buffy yelled, "Don't let him get away!"
  
  Feeling his body brighten with fond memories of Achilles' combat ability, Xander grabbed Ethan's arm. The Englishman tried to push the teenager off him, but the experienced teenager easily grabbed the other arm, rotated his own body, pulling Ethan with him, and effortlessly flipped the adult over his shoulder. The Englishman grunted as he landed hard on his back, and Xander was shocked by how bad he felt about that.
  
  Looking down at the wincing man, arching his back to relieve the pain, Xander felt his own sense of unease sweeping over him. Despite being an evil agent of chaos, Xander couldn't deny he owed a lot to Ethan. The time-imprisoned teen couldn't be where he was or learn what he had without the British man unknowingly helping him. Out of everyone Xander knew, Ethan has helped him the most.
  
  When a loud growl from zombie Philip snapped him out of his thoughts, Xander rushed toward Buffy as he yelled, "Cordy, if he gets up, kick him!"
  
  The decomposing corpse led a wide swing with a forward step. Buffy's forearms took the brunt of the powerful punch, but it sent her back against the cage with a loud metallic banging. Philip may be slow, but he clearly packed a punch. Xander gripped the backrest of the nearest chair and wrecked it over the corpse's durable back. It barely phased Philip. The zombie turned to the teen boy and stalked toward him, but Xander didn't move. He stared it down because he knew Buffy's plan. The moment the strong zombie was in front of the open cage door, Buffy kicked the dull creature into the metal cage before Xander quickly locked it.
  
  The growling body banged against the unyielding steel mesh, making Buffy and Xander take a step back. Xander wondered if the steel cage could hold it when the decaying face of Philip made him smile. Nodding to the monster in the cage, a snarky Xander couldn't stop himself from asking Buffy, "Oh, hey, Buff. Isn't that the dead guy we saw Thursday night?"
  
  Buffy rolled her eyes at his sarcasm before admitting, "Yeah, okay, weirdness abound. Happy?"
  
  When Ethan tried to run, Cordelia kicked him to the ground again, causing the monster to turn its glare on Ethan. Xander elaborated in Buffy's stead. "More like I was right."
  
  Slumping her shoulders, the gorgeous girl asked, "Do we really have to do this right now? There's a dead guy looking at Ethan like he's the last Oreo."
  
  Smirking, he continued teasing, "Come on, say it. That's how teamwork makes the dream work."
  
  Buffy rolled her eyes before sighing and capitulating, " Fine , you were right. Now, can we please deal with the walking corpse?" Xander snickered and nodded.
  
  Groaning from the ground, Ethan managed a casual smirk as he asked Xander, "How was the Casanova costume, young man? Meet any single ladies that night?"
  
  "He was a scumbag and a liar, actually," the teen boy retorted before adding, "I want my money back." But Xander didn't mean it. He wished he didn't feel so indebted to the Englishman.
  
  With an amused grin, Ethan replied, "Shame that. I imagine it would've been fun waking up with someone's wife. Or should I say in ?" Fascinated by the possessed corpse, Jenny moved opposite Xander to inspect the growling creature.
  
  After taking a seat a few feet away from a prowling Philip, Ethan explained to the group that the possessed corpse in the cage was an old friend. A bang of the double doors interrupted them when Giles rushed into the library. He wore grey slacks and his beige dress shirt was unbuttoned and rolled to the elbows. As Giles surveyed the scene, he was panting and looked weary. It was especially off-putting for Xander to see such a stable figure in his life resemble his parents.
  
  Spotting Philip in the cage, Giles was saddened and afraid as he slowly remarked, "Oh, Philip." At the sight of a smirking Ethan, Giles rushed to the man and roughly gripped the back of his head by his hair and forcefully yanked back as he coldly asserted, "I thought I told you to leave!"
  
  Huddled around the cage, Giles' behavior scared everyone more than Philip did. They had never seen Giles so angry, and the scene spurred memories of Xander's own father after too many drinks. The old friends glared at each other while the concerned teens and Jenny watched in silence. Ethan goaded Giles into admitting his past, taunting the haunted man with, "Come now, Ripper. Tell them. Tell them what's coming or I will."
  
  When the watcher was reluctant to speak, a concerned Buffy demanded, "Giles!"
  
  Any answers they might've heard was interrupted by the undead Philip breaking out of the steel cage. The powerful swing of the metal mesh door hit Jenny in the head, sending her to the floor unconscious. Noting Buffy's immediate reaction, Xander instantly grabbed Cordelia to move her away from danger. Buffy lunged forward, using the momentum to add more super-powered force to her kick. Her foot landed center-mass and everyone heard the crack of its ribs breaking. The slayer landed a series of powerful kicks to Philip's head, and Buffy only stopped when it dropped to its knees.
  
  Before everyone, Philip landed on his back, spasmed and grunted on the floor, then turned into a smelly blue slurry beside the unconscious Jenny. The unconscious teacher's hand twitched a bit around the blue goop.
  
  "Jenny," Giles called, rushing to her side, lifting her in his arms.
  
  "Where's Ethan?" Buffy called, and Xander was surprised by how quietly the warlock could sneak away. Buffy ran outside to catch him as Giles attempted to wake Jenny.
  
  To Xander's surprise, his Old-Man future memories fired up at the sight of the blue goo. While he held Cordelia, he recalled nothing more than a flash of a monster-like Jenny being choked. It was horrifying. Xander desperately tried to recall any detail, no matter how small, but he couldn't. Eying the unconscious teacher, he didn't know if the problem was resolved or ongoing. Cordelia stepped away from him as if offended by his touch, but it didn't bother Xander as he watched Giles hold a woozy Jenny. Xander wondered if there was more to come.
  
  When Buffy returned, she demanded Giles explain what was going on; practically begged to know, "What's the Mark of Eyghon?"
  
  Paying more attention to the injured Jenny, Giles sternly told his slayer, "This is not your problem, and as your Watcher, I'm telling you in no uncertain terms: stay out of it . Now, I must take Jenny home."
  
  As Xander watched the adults slowly exit the library, he felt a longing for Jenny's home, or more specifically, her bed. Or anyone's bed at this point. He's had so much sex since he first discovered Casanova that going over a week without such a satisfying release felt crippling. It made him fear he was developing a dependency problem. After the double doors closed behind Giles and Jenny, Buffy decided to help Giles, anyway.
  
  She ordered, "Willow, I want you to find out anything and everything you can about the Mark of Eyghon. Xander, how do you feel about rifling through Giles' personal files?
  
  "I feel pretty good about it," he replied.
  
  Nodding, she said, "See if you can shed some light on what's going on."
  
  Stepping forward eagerly, Cordelia asked, "What about me?" Buffy was surprised the vain Queen Bee was still there. Appearing shockingly genuine, she added, "I care about Giles too."
  
  "Fine, work with Xander," Buffy quickly assessed.
  
  Wincing as if she smelled something bad, Cordelia replied, "Well, when I say 'care', I mean-"
  
  "Cordelia," an impatient Buffy interrupted.
  
  "Okay, okay," the popular cheerleader voiced as she joined Xander in Giles' office.
  
  Xander went through Giles' effects with Cordelia. Being alone in a room with her, Xander was paying more attention to her than snooping. He was surprised by how stimulating holding her had felt. It could've been the adrenaline from Philip breaking out of his steel cage or his teenage hormones, but holding her felt too tantalizing. Like many things with his magically gained memories, knowing a thing and experiencing it in person truly made all the difference.
  
  ' Maybe I should try ,' he thought. Tuning into his Casanova mental pattern, Xander looked through meticulous files as he casually mentioned, "You must really care about Giles if you're willing to work with me."
  
  It was so quiet in the room, his voice startled her. She turned to him a moment before returning to her snooping and indifferently returning, "What can I say? I'm the most caring-est person out of all of you social outcasts."
  
  Her arrogance was so offensively astounding, it nearly made him forget he was trying to connect with her. Though he couldn't keep the sarcastic, "Classy," retort from his lips, Xander took a deep breath to settle himself. Cordelia could get under his skin better than anyone. Patiently, he teased, "Nice legs, by the way."
  
  Automatically, she smiled, cheerfully replying, "Awe, thanks- Wait, what?"
  
  Taken aback by his comment, she turned to him and he assuaged her suspicious expression with a relaxed smile. "When you kicked that Ethan guy back down, and put your foot on his back... way nice, Cor."
  
  "Oh... thanks," she eventually replied. Xander paid more attention to his prying than her, but he could tell his compliment made her do a mental double-take. Clearing her throat, she saucily retorted, "You didn't do so bad yourself... for a dweeb."
  
  Irked, Xander hotly dropped the files on the desk. He didn't care about the future anymore and broke the suave approach to clap back, "You couldn't just leave it at the part that makes you sound, oh, I don't know, like a decent human?" The pair continued to bicker as they searched, but Xander couldn't say he hated it. A small part of him actually had fun trading verbal blows with her. They were like a title match of heavy-weight insult artists.
  
  By sunset, Willow explained to Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia what this demon was. "The Mark of Eyghon was a ritual mark associated with Eyghon the Sleepwalker and worn by his initiates," Willow read aloud. "Those tattooed with it shared a psychic link with Eyghon, allowing the demon to track them, and others bearing the mark. The proximity of Eyghon caused the mark bearers to experience flash-like visions when sleeping."
  
  It wasn't until the genius redhead mentioned how the demon transferred from victim to victim, whether they were dead or unconscious, did Xander remember, "Jenny was unconscious."
  
  Knitting her brows, Cordelia slanted her head as she asked, "Since when do you call her Jenny?"
  
  The teen boy didn't let his mistake show on his face as he retorted, "She made me spend my Saturday morning in school... with you. I can call her whatever I want."
  
  Buffy went to the library's phone and called Jenny's home first. When there was no answer, she tried Giles. She looked confused when no one picked up, then immediately, the concerned girl hung up before rushing toward the exit of the library.
  
  Xander called, "Buffy, wait! What is it?"
  
  "His phone's out of order," she yelled just as she ran out of the library. Xander called for her to stop, but she didn't. Instead, he turned to Willow, and as he began following after Buffy, voiced, "Try to find out how to beat it. I'll call if anything."
  
  Willow and Cordelia quickly got to work and Xander chased after Buffy, but the slayer was much too fast for him to catch up to. Xander ran for twenty minutes towards Giles' apartment. When the sweaty teen finally made it to Giles', he was heaving out his lungs and Buffy was already running down the street away from Giles' front door.
  
  Strained legs rushed to Giles as the teen noticed the broken door of the watcher's apartment and the finger bruising around his throat. Clearly, something strong tried to strangle him. Heaving deeply, Xander had to lean against the wall as he asked, "Where'd... she go?"
  
  Gazing in the direction his slayer ran toward, Giles wearily asked, "Why are you here, Xander-"
  
  "Oh, just tell me!" the sweating teenager snapped, making a weary Giles turn to him. Xander reminded the man, "I ran all the way here! And I told you we should've investigated this that night. The least you can do is tell me where Buffy's going."
  
  A moment of silence passed before Giles nodded and answered, "She's going to help Jenny." It confirmed to Xander that Jenny did, in fact, get possessed by Eyghon and was likely the one who tried to strangle Giles.
  
  Empathetically, Xander reassured the man, "We all will, Giles. Where'd Buffy go?"
  
  "After Ethan, I imagine," the frazzled Englishman replied. "But I cannot be certain where."
  
  Sherlock's mental pattern reminded him of what Ethan said and the teen guessed, "Probably his costume shop?" When Giles blinked in surprise and turned to Xander once again, the teen boy asked, "What? He said the lease wasn't up yet." Giles nodded and Xander started toward the shop's direction as he voiced, "Call Will. Tell her where we'll be."
  
  Xander ran toward Ethan's Costume Shoppe, mentally wishing he had his Dodge Viper. When he finally reached the shop, the familiar main room was bare of costumes but still had boxes, racks, and mannequins. More importantly, Xander saw Ethan over a restrained Buffy. She was tied face down to a table whilst he tattooed something on her neck. Without delay, Xander ran in and kicked the back of Ethan's knee, interrupting the evil man and dropping him to one knee. Xander smoothly gripped his throat and shoved him away from the table Buffy was strapped to. Ethan hit the floor and rolled backward onto his feet.
  
  "Hello!" Buffy yelled. Her face was strapped to the table, facing downward and unable to see him. She called out, "Who's there? Giles?!"
  
  The Englishman stood up, and at the sight of Xander standing between his blonde prey, he smiled in his dashing, yet evil, way. Ethan raised his fists, threatening to fight if he didn't move. In all the loops Xander's suffered through, the lanky teen rarely fought humans. His combat diet comprised mostly of vampires, monsters, and demons. But Xander could tell right away that Ethan had some fighting experience.
  
  ' A boxer 's stance ,' Xander thought, evaluating the man's weak points. ' Good form too .'
  
  Ethan launched forward, launching a combination, one-two punch. Xander was surprised by how easily he slipped and bobbed the combination. Xander was quicker than the fully grown adult and effortlessly dodged the cross Ethan followed his combination with. From the wider stance of the dodge, the teen effortlessly maneuvered back like a pendulum and counter-punched the older man cleanly in his jaw, turning his knees to jelly.
  
  Ethan used the nearby glass counter to hold himself up while he recovered. Chuckling as blood began streaming down, he huffed, "I see Giles has been teaching his students." Ethan tried to stand under his own power again, but Xander didn't feel threatened at all. "How admirable. But I cannot stay, boy. Leave now or I won't hesitate to kill-"
  
  Xander sucker-punched him in the face before his own one-two combination to the solar plexus and liver. Ethan dropped to the floor, struggling to breathe. Looking down at the groaning man, pitifully holding his sides, Xander once again felt terrible for hurting the man who unwittingly helped him out so much.
  
  ' It 's not his fault he didn 't know he was helping me ,' he mournfully thought, before Buffy interrupted his thoughts.
  
  "Xander?" she called out. The teen rushed to the table and untied the steel bicycle wires strapping her to the table. Once she was free, the alert girl saw Ethan groaning on the floor, and with a confused expression on her face, she asked him, "Uh, what did you do?"
  
  Quirking his dark brow, Xander replied, "What? I wasn't supposed to hit him?"
  
  "Oh, no," Buffy recovered. She grabbed the steel wire typically used to prevent bike thefts and readily approved. "By all means, hit away."
  
  She was tying Ethan up as Xander told her, "I tried to tell you we should wait and come up with a plan. Snakes like Ethan obviously do anything they have to, to save their own skin."
  
  Touching the half-finished tattoo at the back of her neck, Buffy nodded as she replied, "Okay, yeah, but if I hadn't rushed out like I did, Giles would already be dead."
  
  Nodding, Xander elaborated, "I'm just saying, you could stand to listen to me a little more."
  
  The silence between them extended for several moments. Buffy seemed deep in thought before she kindly expressed, "I don't think you're a joke, Xander." It was clearly regarding the night he stood up for himself. It made Xander wonder if that was the key to getting out of the week-loop. If it wasn't, then he had no clue what else the key might be.
  
  Skeptical about how genuine her words were, Xander replied, "Maybe not a joke, exactly... But sometimes, it's like you guys don't even-"
  
  The door of the entrance burst open then, startling the teenagers to alertness. Demon Jenny walked into the store and she looked monstrous. The sight of her face's thready, ripped skin, barely containing the growing dark-blue demon within, was painful to stomach and accept. Jenny was important to the Scoobies, and it was obvious what would happen if they didn't help. She'd die and turn to blue goo like the others. It made Xander think about her death at Angel's hands and hope she makes it through this.
  
  Monster-Jenny made a beeline for Ethan and Buffy leapt in front of her. Unlike Philip and the women Eyghon had possessed before, within Jenny's body, the demon had the telekinetic ability to send Buffy flying with a sweeping wave of her arm. Xander was forced to watch the slayer being thrown to the farthest end of the room and smash into the wall before dropping to the ground.
  
  Despite his heart aching to know if she was alright, Xander forced himself to prioritize Ethan over Buffy. Not eager to repeat Buffy's strategy for fear of looping back, Xander let monster-Jenny grab Ethan by the neck whilst he grabbed the mannequin by the door. The incredibly strong woman was lifting Ethan by the neck when Xander leveled the six-foot plastic figure and used it as a battering ram to smash into Jenny's side. Ethan dropped to the floor, gripping his neck while Xander lifted the mannequin overhead for another strike.
  
  Jenny quickly raised her palm, and before Xander could react, he was blown back. All the air in his lungs was kicked out of him by what felt like a car hitting him in the torso. Xander didn't fly far; only half the distance Buffy had, and the nearby dry-wall broke apart on impact, catching him. The dizzy teen hit the floor and knew his disoriented body would need a few seconds to recover.
  
  Ethan tried to run, but Jenny caught his arm and tossed him onto the glass counter like a rag-doll. Ethan's back broke through the glass display counter and Jenny neared for the kill. Xander wanted to stand, but his muscles refused to do anything but throb and feel a stabbing pain. Peering over to the far side of the store, he could see Buffy making her way upright, but he didn't think she could reach Ethan before Eyghon killed him.
  
  Ethan yelled, "Please! Spare me! SPARE ME!" She grabbed his throat, nevertheless. "HEELP- KEH! "
  
  Her grip's squeeze would've likely killed him if Giles hadn't stormed through the front door of the shop and tackled Jenny from behind. They fall to the floor, but rather than fight her, Giles was calling for Jenny to fight the demon within. At the sight of Giles being strangled, both Xander and Buffy hastened desperately to run toward their dear friend and mentor. Angel, Cordelia, and Willow burst through the entrance as well, and of all those that wanted to save Giles, the strong, fast, and uninjured Angel reached Jenny first.
  
  Angel forced Jenny as far away as he could before the possessed woman began fighting him, after which he wrapped his hands around her neck and tried to strangle the life out of her.
  
  "Jenny! You're killing her!" Giles yelled, trying to rush to her, but Willow held him back.
  
  "Wait," the redhead voiced. "Trust me. This is going to work."
  
  Angel wouldn't let the combative Jenny go, and seemingly sensing its demise, the corpse-possessing demon leaped into Angel's body. Angel cocked his head back as Eyghon fought his own demon within. Giles rushed to Jenny while Buffy worried for her boyfriend, and Cordelia helped Xander stay on his feet. The gathered all watched Angel shake and jerk sporadically whilst demons fought ferociously within his body. After what felt like an eternity, a white mist escaped the vampire's body and dissipated in the air above him. Angel dropped to one knee when Buffy rushed to him.
  
  "Angel?" she quietly pleaded, eying him for any sign of harm.
  
  When he smiled reassuringly and nodded his victory, Buffy was so relieved she hugged him desperately. At the sight of them, smiling at each other fondly in a bubble of their own happiness, Xander was achingly jealous. She'd already rejected his confession at the end of their sophomore year, so he knew Buffy didn't feel what he did. However, Xander knew he was going to have to break them up soon. He couldn't let Angelus out. Not if he could help it.
  
  Buffy helped Angel to his feet while Giles helped a disoriented Jenny up. Xander was happy with how everything worked out, but was also mildly annoyed. No one was thanking him for anything, and Buffy praised Willow for bringing Angel.
  
  "We already knew the research," a beaming Willow remarked. "We just needed to figure out how to use it."
  
  Interrupting their congratulatory mood, an aloof Xander called out, "Ethan's gone... If anyone cares." Giles helped Jenny home, Buffy left with Angel, Cordelia reluctantly drove Willow home as they live in the same direction, and the aching Xander walked home alone. He couldn't ignore feeling miffed about the way his friends overlooked his contributions, however, he was also grateful he hadn't broken any bones or looped back.
  
  "I really need to get stronger," he said to himself as he limped home, and all three of the mental patterns agreed.
  
  The next school day, the three friends were talking about what had happened in the hallway when they noticed Giles and Jenny ahead. By her classroom, they silently observed Ms. Calendar be courteous to Giles, but also recoil from him when he tried to reach out. The beautiful woman was clearly not alright after what happened to her, even if she was hiding it well, and Xander thought about that all day.
  
  Later that night, Xander took a bus to her neighborhood and walked to her apartment. After knocking on her door, he waited long enough to become concerned. He knocked again, slightly more urgently, and after several long moments, she finally answered the door. The foxy woman was dressed in her comfort clothes; dark-purple shorts, a white V-neck top under a navy cardigan, and thick navy-blue socks. Though she looked incredibly attractive, Xander was more concerned by the green & silver mug in her hand. The ceramic mug read ' Probably Wine ' but it smelled more like strong alcohol.
  
  She looked at him through droopy eyes as she slowly said, "Xander."
  
  "Can I come in?" he asked.
  
  The inebriated woman didn't open the door wider and only replied with, "Whaa... ahem , what do you want?"
  
  The boy simply answered, "To cheer you up."
  
  Realizing what that could entail, Jenny looked below the horizon as she attempted to reason, "I... don't... think we should-"
  
  Xander interrupted by extending his last lotto scratcher worth a thousand dollars to her; the same ticket he was saving for Giles. She focused on the ticket and then at him with confusion, clearly not grasping the offer. Xander explained, "I know a gas station I can buy them at, but since I'm underage, I can't cash it. You can have it."
  
  She leaned over to have a closer look, giving Xander a good view down her low-cut blouse. He turned his head as she looked up in stunned surprise. "That's... That's a thousand dollars!"
  
  Xander nodded before assuring her, "I know money won't remotely touch the mind-rape you must've gone through, or what you're still going through..." Taking her free hand, he placed the ticket in her palm as he expressed, "But that right there is the most valuable thing I got. You could get yourself a new dress; have an expensive dinner. I hear the mani-pedi salon on Sycamore is all the rage."
  
  Staring dumbfounded at the thousand-dollar ticket in her hand, she offhandedly tried to joke, "...Can't forget shoes."
  
  "Oh, how could I forget that?" he happily humored. Jenny was despondent once again, likely remembering her trauma, and Xander genuinely expressed, "I'm really sorry you had to go through that."
  
  She looked at him with emotional eyes-eyes that looked like they might cry any minute-then nodded sternly. Jenny took a long swig from her mug before telling him, "Come in."
  
  Years of experience and throbbing blue balls harshly threatened Xander not to say a single word that might ruin this opportunity, and he simply walked inside.
  
  Yay! Xander made it through. Since my betas and I have been doing fairly well with the chapters, I'll be releasing another one next Sunday, so look forward to that.
  
  It really makes me laugh to think about how bad Xander feels about hurting Ethan, lol. I mean, he might be evil and unwittingly helping, but he still helped Xander the most. Without the Janus curse, everything Xander knows now would've taken him decades, if not, centuries to learn on his own.
  
  For my Last Prayer fans. I'm starting to get more time to write, so I'll be jumping on that fic soon. Sorry for the huge delay.
  
  Not much more to say. Thank you all for reading my fic and taking the time to comment. They really do help me expand this beast of a story. Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Priorities
  Welcome back!
  
  With another Sunday, comes another chapter. 5.9K words.
  
  WARNING: Lemons. This fic is NOT for children.
  
  Thank you to my amazing betas Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. We're doing so well, I'm sure we'll be posting every Sunday for a month.
  
  Priorities
  
  Stepping into Jenny's cozy, one-bedroom apartment made Xander sentimental. It's been nearly ten days since he's been in her warm home. Looking toward her bedroom just past the living room, he still remembered waking up to her uniquely sweet scent as the thoroughly satisfied woman snuggled up against him. Though not fully erect, Xander was swelling in anticipation as he walked behind her. Jenny led him to her couch in the living room, and if not for the one lamp turned on, the entire room would be dark. Xander noticed the bottle of whiskey on the dining table as he sat right in the middle of the couch. Only a third of the brown liquid was left.
  
  "Want anything to drink?" Jenny asked as she took off her Navy cardigan. Walking toward him, she didn't seem overly drunk, however, Xander got the impression she could handle her liquor.
  
  "Wouldn't mind... a coke..." Xander trailed off as the intoxicating woman straddled the surprised boy's lap.
  
  What mild swelling of his love muscle he had, now fully pitched a tent under her. Seated on his hardened bulge, Jenny's dark-purple shorts and white V-neck top tightened around her lithe body. Her humid snatch snuggled perfectly around Xander's raging hard-on, and his hands were firmly massaging her warm thighs and ass. They were both savvy enough to know what was going to happen and her alcohol consumption was not a factor because drinking and sex weren't the underlying problems.
  
  Xander could see what she wanted in her sad and aroused eyes, but strangely, he could also see what she needed. He had been possessed many times since the time braid started, but he's never been a horrid monster that was on the verge of killing him. Even when he was possessed by the hyena spirit, he was scared about what he did to his friends more than he was about dying. Jenny nearly died last night. The demon Eyghon could've burst out of the bloody ribbons that was her sexy body. Xander didn't need Casanova to imagine she was barely holding on.
  
  Despite how erotic she looked straddling his lap, sensually leaning over for intimate cuddling, Xander's warm hand left her ass and cupped her blushing cheeks. He looked deeply into her almond brown eyes and wondered if she could see how sad he felt for her reflected in his own eyes. The warm touch of his hand made her blink in unexpected confusion. She looked into his vulnerable chocolate eyes, and after a moment, her breath hitched before her face broke. She lost her erotic posture and simply collapsed on him as she began crying.
  
  Her black head of hair landed on the nape of his neck and his arms wrapped around her back, holding her tightly to him as she wailed against him. Though he still had a raging erection, he ignored that urge in favor of comforting the overwrought woman. Sniveling on his neck and chest, she cried her eyes out until he lost track of time, and long after that.
  
  As he rubbed her back, the sympathetic boy softly reassured her, "It's okay. You're okay now. I got you."
  
  After she tired out, Xander lifted her slack form in his arms and took her to bed. Gently, he set her down and tucked her in. He tried to leave, but barely a step away, she reached out for his hand, and with desperate eyes, asked him to stay with her. Xander nodded before taking all but his boxers off and sliding between her sheets. She embraced his warm body immediately and tucked her head under his jaw at the pocket of his neck. The teenager held her tightly until she eventually fell asleep. It was the first time Xander felt comfortable enough to go to sleep without staring at the clock till 3 AM.
  
  Come morning, Jenny was awakened by a rocking motion, as if something was gently shaking her. She looked down to the warm pressure on her chest and found a hand gripping her breast. Sleeping on her side, she twisted her neck to see a slumbering Xander spooning her and gently thrusting his morning wood against the crack of her ass. The fact that he was still asleep made her chuckle. Rather than move him, she pinched his cheek until he woke up to find himself unconsciously dry-humping his computer teacher.
  
  Slowly, he let go of her right breast before timidly voicing, "Sorry."
  
  Smiling a bit, she didn't move away from his throbbing erection as she conveyed, "It's fine. I understand."
  
  Xander kept his cock between her ass cheeks and his hand rested on the bone of her hip as he asked, "How are you feeling?"
  
  "Better, actually," she admitted with something of a smile. "Ready to drown my sorrows with a lot of shopping."
  
  Happy to hear a joke from her, Xander nodded as he painstakingly tried not to thrust his pelvis into her perky ass. He remarked, "That's good... Wait, that is good, right? I've been possessed a few times, and let me tell ya, I never forget." Recalling what the hyena spirit made his body attempt to do to Buffy brought so much shame and embarrassment, Xander glumly revealed, "Not sure I can."
  
  Dejectedly, she lamented, "Maybe it isn't good."
  
  "So talk to me," he offered, leaning closer, nestling his cock deeper between her warm cheeks. His hand gripped her hip harder as he assured her, "I can help."
  
  "You've done more than enough, Xander," Jenny huskily said, and she arched her back to press into his erection. "And... I don't want you to think we're something more than what we are."
  
  Despite her words, her body said the complete opposite; something Casanova simply dubbed, The Game. He inhaled her succulent scent and his hand massaged her hip as his pelvis thrusted against her rear-end, rocking her lithe body. Playfully, Xander whispered in her ear, "Then what are we, exactly?"
  
  Jenny moaned as she leaned her head into his, buzzing deliciously with his every touch. The aroused woman struggled to assert, "We're... mmn , we have a close student/teacher relationship."
  
  "Mnn, well, I wouldn't mind studying anatomy right now," he said before rolling them over and lifting her onto him. Her legs spread and straddling his straining meat-tower as he added, "But I've always been more of a hands-on learner."
  
  "Xander..." She tried to protest, but he thrusted slowly against her sodden center, deliberately, making her rise and fall as if she were riding a horsey machine. Jenny leaned forward and rested her hands on his chest, but didn't get off him. Cognizant of how impressively he can make her orgasm, she couldn't help but feel aroused by the boy under her. He gripped her hair and commandingly pulled her close to him, only adding to the arousing thrill building in her body.
  
  "Don't lie to me, Ms. Calendar," he softly voiced, looking into her dilated eyes. "I can see it in your eyes... how hungry you are. How many times have you used your toy since we fucked?"
  
  He didn't give her a chance to answer, kissing her deeply, to which she happily returned. Their hot tongues mingled in her mouth as their lips fused together. Xander pumped his pelvis against her dripping womanhood as his hands massaged her breasts with a rolling pull, tweaking her nipples so perfectly, her leg twitched involuntarily.
  
  Jenny pulled away, and as she began removing her panties, hotly told the boy, "This is the last time. I'm serious."
  
  Xander removed his boxers as he asserted, "Just as long as you know it's always on the menu."
  
  Their lips fused together again, his tongue playfully dominating hers, and Jenny was grinding against his thick manhood. The pair of lovers became so frantic, he rolled the gorgeous woman over so he'd be on top and dry-humped her leaking womanhood. When her alarm went off, interrupting them, Jenny reached out and slammed her palm on the off button.
  
  Her red lips pulled away from his to tell him, "We don't have long."
  
  They were both so desperate for it, she lined him against her dripping slit before stuffing one hard groin into the soaking warmth of the other to a mutual groan of bliss. At every inch of Xander's cock sliding into her yearning pussy, Jenny spread her legs wider apart so he could shove himself deep into her vibrating body. Xander groaned happily, savoring the warm moistness of her tight sex before he began pumping in and out of her. Using her arms and legs, the aroused Jenny held onto Xander's energetic body, pressing her thighs against his sides as he rammed himself into her yielding pussy.
  
  Glued to each other, his lips found the nape of her graceful neck, the erogenous spot that made her hum when he sucked it. Jenny giggled as the waves of sweet vibes bubbled and popped up and down her feverish body like champagne. She pursed her mouth open, inviting her student to kiss her passionately. His mouth covered her lips, slanting his head to the side so his tongue slid deeper, caressing the woman's delicate tongue and entwining it with his.
  
  Filling her from both ends, Xander's thrusts became more forceful. He rocked the bed, making her moan in his mouth as he plunged faster into Jenny's tight vagina. The teacher's legs trembled as she felt her orgasm approach, and her hands dug into the skin of Xander's back until both lovers climaxed together, breaking their lips to moan out together. Mouth open in a wide O, Jenny couldn't stop quivering under him at the delicious feel of his thick seed spurting into her love nook. After a minute of vibrating bliss, their breathing eventually evened, but Xander hadn't settled down.
  
  "One more?" he asked as he already began turning her over.
  
  "Wait, we- mmn -" she moaned as he rubbed her ass and lower back. "School, Xander. School," she tried, however, the incredibly aroused woman was on her hands and knees ready for more.
  
  Xander lined his vigorous erection against her pulsing womanhood and slammed into her sexy body. Soon, he was pounding into her tight sex, rubbing against the spots that squeezed him the hardest until they both came together. It was mind-numbing bliss cumming inside a gorgeous woman squeezing every ounce of man-milk out of him. Though the lovers felt spent, Xander wanted to keep going.
  
  He laid on his back, bringing her with him, and helped her sit on his pelvis reverse-cowgirl. With her hands rested on his knees, Jenny fucked him hard for dozens of moans, whimpers, and deep groans until they climaxed for a third glorious time. It was the most intense thirty minutes for either of them, and they barely had time to jump in the shower and change before leaving for school.
  
  After Xander, Willow, and Buffy finished taking the mandatory aptitude test, the three walked to the library. The test was a tool the guidance counselors used to assist their juniors in selecting the best path for their future, and in Xander's case, it was a complete waste of his time. Weaving through the busy halls, he knew exactly what he needed to be doing, and his body was crackling with restless energy. Xander was a weaponsmith. In Dungeons & Dragons, he'd be an artificer, but he didn't have an iron shop of his own. Eager to practice rune forging, Xander needed to research building his own forge shop in the basement of his home. If he could avoid wasting time traveling to Wild Dinks, all the better.
  
  Xander paid more attention when Buffy snapped on Willow. The redhead was curious about how Buffy envisioned what her future might be like if she weren't the slayer. An irked Buffy pointed out, "Do the words ' sealed ' and ' fate ' ring any bells for you, Will? Why go there?"
  
  As they enter the library, Xander told Buffy, "You know, with that kind of attitude, you could have a bright future as an employee of the DMV. You know their motto; ' where hope goes to die .'"
  
  "I'm sorry," a remorseful Buffy genuinely voiced for snapping. Slouching her shoulders in defeat, she explained, "It's just... Unless hell freezes over and every vamp in Sunnydale puts in for early retirement, I'd say my future as the one and only slayer is pretty much a non-issue."
  
  At the mention of a single slayer, Xander instantly thought of Faith. He knew the beautiful punk brunette would be coming to Sunnydale eventually. It made all the sense in the world to reach out to her instead of waiting. If Faith came to Sunnydale faster than before, she could back them up when they needed it. Two slayers in Sunnydale sounded like a blessing.
  
  With Giles nowhere to be seen, Xander couldn't ask him about a second slayer. As he set his bag near the library's sole computer, his friends were settling in at the center table. Then he casually suggested, "Maybe we should bring in the other Slayer."
  
  The girls stopped what they were doing and turned to Xander, giving him the most curious look. Buffy eventually relayed, "Uh, I think you missed the part about there being only one . Just me, yours truly."
  
  Xander stopped what he was doing to nod at them before claiming, "Uh, yeah. Before . Not anymore."
  
  "No, still," Buffy returned, growing more concerned for him. "It clearly states on the dotted line, there can only be one ."
  
  "Yeeeaaah, but you died," Xander reminded them, though, at their taken faces, he wondered if he was a little too callous to the concept of death when he said it. Pushing forward, he added, "I just mean I was there, so, can't exactly forget. That means there should be another slayer."
  
  Buffy took the moment to consider it, however, Willow confidently expressed, "I'm not sure the conditions for the Slayer line work that way."
  
  "Gotta agree with Will here," Buffy ultimately asserted. She returned taking her homework out of her bag as she finished, "I'm thinking it's more of the dead -dead category. Not the milder case of momentarily lacking a heartbeat."
  
  Willow nodded before adding, "Or really, statistically speaking, there would be more than one by now. I know it's only ever one at a time, but it's been thousands of years. For not a single one of the past slayers to have drowned and be revived is extremely improbable."
  
  They all knew the Slayer line comprised of thousands of young super-girls who were likely just as motivated as Buffy, so Willow's argument made sense. The only counterargument Xander could think of was, "Maybe Buffy's special."
  
  "Aww," Buffy cooed with a cheery grin. Willow only nodded at the possibility and the girls returned to their mixture of studying and Angel-talk.
  
  Without Giles to back him on a second slayer, Xander hopped on the library's computer, and for the millionth time, groaned at how outdated the technology was. Old-Man Xander had marvelous memories of all sorts of technological advancement; paper-thin Ultra definition screens, holograms, portable everything, quantum computing, and on, and on, and on. The lack of social media was fine. What was killing Xander every day was the dial-up modems, limited websites, standard definition, and no YouTube. Using Yahoo and AOL to search for the info he needed was so much different from Google, but at the thought of wielding Thor's hammer, he adjusted quickly.
  
  Through Old Man Xander, the teenager knew there were plenty of conflicts ahead of the Scooby Gang, and any strategist worth their salt would prepare for it. He already had the confidence to make a weapon better than any professional, however, it was supremely essential he perfected forging them using Norse runes. That was the only way to turn a regular sword into Excalibur or a regular hammer into Mjölnir. His weapons would be how they survived and how Xander escaped the time loop.
  
  Additionally, Jenny's possible future death weighed heavily on his mind. Having just been with her that morning, he wanted to make sure she lived to see a ripe old age. At the sight of Buffy happily talking with Willow, he knew the best way to save Jenny was to break up Buffy and Angel. It wouldn't be easy. Buffy's love for Angel was bigger than logic, and he expected heavy denial and defense. Thinking about her deep love for Dead Boy was annoying Xander, so he focused on constructing his own smithing shop at home.
  
  Fortunately, there were a few forums on forging equipment, but Xander didn't like his findings. A good power hammer would cost him around $10,000 on its own. A belt grinder and the propane fire forge were the next big price tags at $3,000 and $1,000, respectively. Then there was the cost of hammers, tongs, sanding belts, other tools, and perishable materials that summed up to a few thousand as well. Xander had only earned $7,700 from selling his scratch-offs, which meant he had no choice but to continue forging at Wild Dinks in the meantime.
  
  ' But our deal was five for a single sword ,' Xander thought with growing worry.
  
  Grabbing his things, Xander waved to his friends and rushed out of the library. He needed to talk to the short, scruffy owner about a more permanent situation. Sadly, Pete's forge shop was primarily for profit, which meant they mostly sold specialty parts, kitchen knives, and furniture frames. The deal Xander struck with Pete was five hundred dollars for a few weeks' worth of work and enough equipment-time and material for a single sword. If Xander worked at Wild Dinks on a more permanent basis, it's possible he wouldn't be able to forge what he liked.
  
  At the shop, Xander and Pete walked into his office to talk. The rough-looking man was barely five-foot-tall, but he looked mean with his unkempt, long hair, thick beard & brows, and an angry resting expression around his green eyes. His arms were tatted and clearly defined, and he dressed casually in thick, bland-colored smithing gear. Xander asked the short man if they could extend their initial deadline longer. In his swivel chair, Pete hummed and scratched his jaw in thought.
  
  "I like you, Harris," he gruffly began. "You remind me of me; brimming with potential, but not someone most can hardly tolerate." Xander nearly snorted at the sarcastic truth. "And I've seen you with a hammer. You've got more smithing skill in your untouched foreskin than ninety percent of my guys."
  
  "Uh, eww," Xander snuck in as Pete finished, "You're made for smithing, like me. So, out with it. Tell me what you want cuz this'll be the last time you'll hear me say anything nice about you again."
  
  "I want my own locker, keys for grave work, and space in the cage," Xander said. A locker meant he could use their showers after work, so he didn't have to go home completely covered in layers of dried sweat, ash, metal flakes, sawdust, and grime. Keys for the shop would be ideal if he wanted to work when there were fewer people around. Wild Dinks' security cage was much stronger than the library's cage and Xander felt safe leaving his magical weapons there.
  
  "Naturally," a bored-looking Pete asserted. "If that's it, you'll get the same rate as the others, and I'll have you start under Jay next week. He can show you how to work orders."
  
  Before Pete could get out of his seat, Xander quickly remarked, "The guys don't pay for perishables."
  
  Pete quirked his thick brow and looked at him oddly before slowly voicing, "Obviously. What sort of business would charge their employees for materials the business sells?"
  
  "I want to pay," Xander quickly asserted, eager to spring the deal on the dark-haired owner. "A hundred a month to rent out the equipment, and two hundred for the stuff I use; the ore, propane, wood, sanding belts, the whole nine."
  
  Eying Xander as if he were a fool attempting to fence snake oil, Pete nearly snickered before replying, "You're not exactly instilling me with confidence in your negotiation skills, Harris. What's your angle?"
  
  Smirking, Xander explained, "You've got guys filling orders, making what sells; so kitchenware, furniture frames, jewelry, car keys, repairs-"
  
  "And I take it you don't want to do any of that," Pete easily filled in. "You just want to make swords, don't cha, ya little Viking?" He chuckled to himself a bit before laughing. Xander wasn't sure if he should laugh with the shorter man, but awkwardly chuckled along. The owner eventually noted, "Swords don't make shit, but it's the draw for most smiths. People love a fresh sword, even if they use it on nothing but fruits and bottles. Basically, you want to pay me to do whatever you want, whenever you want."
  
  "You still get your cut if I sell anything," Xander informed him. "Just, no oversight."
  
  Pete stared into Xander's stern eyes for several moments as he scratched his beard. His mind ran fast because soon, he made a counteroffer. "I'll accept under one condition. You work at Dinks when you hit eighteen. I'll even waive the monthly dues for equipment use. Final offer."
  
  "Deal," Xander quickly accepted.
  
  "Not like you could've filled out an application, anyway." Peter got up to get him a contact sheet to fill out. As he was rifling through the cabinet behind him, he asserted, "If anyone asks, you're a client. You don't work here. Got it?"
  
  "Thanks, Pete," the teen smiled as he took the emergency contact sheet and began filling it out.
  
  "Yeah, yeah," the owner grumbled as he waited. "And feel free to call me Beast."
  
  Xander looked up in confusion and remarked, "But... no one calls you that."
  
  "I know," he was upset to admit. Looking at the group of men working outside his office window, he added, "I've been trying for years. Bastards."
  
  Xander spent the next seven hours at the forge, prepping a Damascus billet and drawing it out with the power hammer. By the end of the day, he got the billet ready to begin the folding and rune etching the following day. Before Xander left, Pete gave him his keys for the shop, his locker, and the security cage. The gruff man also gave him a printout of state sword competitions for the year, which Xander taped to the inside of his locker. Eying his yellow locker with a sense of starting something special-something unique to him-Xander smiled in delight.
  
  The last thing the scraggly-haired owner told him was, "And get yourself some proper gear, would ya? This is a respectable establishment, not prom. You're supposed to look like shit here." Looking at his soot-covered school clothes, Xander couldn't agree more. He needed tougher clothes that could handle the blasting heat, plums of smoke, and sparks of embers.
  
  The next day, Xander checked the results of the aptitude test on the posted list in the square. The teenager found he had potential in several fields; prison guard, soldier, police officer, carpentry, and engineering. Even though he couldn't find Willow's results, he noticed Buffy also shared a knack for police work. He smiled at the thought of them working federal cases together like Mulder and Scully. He wondered if they should go to the career fair together and check out the police booth.
  
  Since Buffy and Giles left somewhere during lunch, Xander returned to the library after school to drop off Wild Dinks' contact information. Mentally working runes into his billet like Eitri would during classes, Xander knew it was going to take him a while to get right.
  
  ' Years of practice ... ' he mentally groaned with some dismay.
  
  Xander entered the library after school let out and immediately panicked at the sight of Giles piling stacks of thick tomes on the long center table. It was painfully clear something sinister was afoot and would require a lot of research. Xander felt torn. He wanted to drop off Dinks' contact info and go forge, not sit in a chair and read all day. However, he calculated that Giles' anxiety level was at DEFCON 2; one step shy of the Master level threat. Which meant he needed to help, despite wanting to go.
  
  Willow was helping the frenetic Giles categorize the stacks of books while Buffy watched on with mounting dread. Xander greeted everyone with, "So, this doesn't seem horrible at all."
  
  "Ah, good, you're here," Giles began before explaining Josephus du Lac and the plundered tomb they investigated during lunch. "He was a Catholic priest, mystic, theologian, and mathematician belonging to a sect that was excommunicated by the Vatican at the turn of the century. Josephus and his sect wrote a number of books containing several dark rituals and spells, many of which are said to reap unspeakable evil."
  
  "They couldn't just write a Vatican cookbook like everyone else?" Xander joked, making Buffy snort before admitting, "I totally went with the cookbook joke too-"
  
  " Enough ," Giles irately voiced. He took a deep breath and apologized to the teens. "Apologies, but first a book is taken from the library, and now, vampires steal something from du Lac's tomb... whatever's coming, I guarantee, it won't be good."
  
  Though he was eager to forge, Xander stayed to help. In two hours, the gang discovered the invention stolen from the mausoleum was the Du Lac cross. Additionally, every text surrounding the artifact was written in archaic Latin only the sect members could read, meaning Buffy, Xander, and Willow were in for an all-nighter. Worse yet, the Du Lac cross didn't ring any Old-Man-Xander-bells, which meant he couldn't speed up the research process even if he wanted to. It was all new to him.
  
  Though he felt the constant pull of the hammer and forge calling him, he couldn't ignore Buffy and his friends when they needed help stopping the big bad coming. Xander was about to ignore a crucial day of smithing to help research why the cross was stolen when Buffy stood and stated she had other plans.
  
  "I promise I'll be back bright and early tomorrow, perky and ready to slay," she said as she gathered her things.
  
  Giles looked at her, perplexed, before conveying with urgency, "This is a rather serious matter, Buffy."
  
  "I know," she assured her watcher as she back-stepped toward the door. "But you have to admit, I lack in the book area. You guys are the brains. I'd just be around for moral support."
  
  Looking at her with Giles-level of perplexity, Xander told the girl, "That's not true. You totally contribute. We'd be dead if it wasn't for the snacks you bring."
  
  It wasn't until Buffy looked at Willow for backup that the teenage boy understood. Xander's been around them long enough to recognize the discreet look that came over their faces when Angel was involved. His shoulders slumped in disappointment.
  
  ' If her vampire boyfriend was more important than figuring out the latest baddie on the way, then I 'm not skipping my important stuff either ,' he mentally yelled. The time looper knew there were nefarious problems nearly every week on the Hellmouth, so he needed all the free time he could spare if he was ever going to forge a legendary weapon.
  
  Clearing his throat, Xander stated, "Actually, I can't stay either." At the blatantly confused looks on their faces, he answered, "I got a job," which surprised all three of them. He extended a piece of paper to Giles as he explained, "Here's the number of the smithing shop I'll be working at."
  
  Willow was the first to repeat, "Smithing?"
  
  Xander ignored their skeptical looks, as if they couldn't picture him hammering over an anvil, and answered flatly, "Yeah. I thought I'd be helpful in other ways besides bringing the much-needed funnies and stopping punches with my face. Buffy uses weapons to slay. I'm good with my hands. So, maketh weapons I shall!"
  
  "Aww, that's sweet," Buffy told him with her radiant smile. "But Giles gets all the weapons I need, so..."
  
  "Very true, Xander," Giles agreed. "Though thoughtful, your gesture, I could really use another pair of eyes to research. I cannot stress how important this is."
  
  Reluctant to lose the smithing time, Xander thought for a second before asking, "So... if I got another pair of eyes, I can go?"
  
  Half nodding and half exasperated, Giles listlessly answered, "I suppose."
  
  "I'll be right back," Xander called, running past Buffy and out the double doors. He rushed across the hall, straight into the computer lab, and fortunately, found the alluring Jenny marking papers while staring at the computer screen. As he approached her, he called out, "You're going to go blind if you keep staring at that light-box."
  
  Looking up, she smirked before asking, "Please tell me I've at least taught you the name of this magical box."
  
  "I know what a CRT monitor is," He casually assured her, thanking Old-Man Xander's memories. "Wait until they turn flat."
  
  Looking at him curiously, she squinted her eyes in confusion as she asked, "Why would they be flat?"
  
  "Because people would rather buy a flat-screen than a huge, heavy cube?"
  
  "That... actually makes sense," she agreed with a shrug. She turned to him on her swiveling chair and crossed her legs as she asked, "Now, what can I do for one of my precious students?"
  
  Xander tried not to notice her sexy legs, but he smirked knowingly before stating, "Since we're on school grounds, I'll keep it school-related." Jenny rolled her almond brown eyes as he continued, "Giles needs some help researching the latest doom & gloom itching to destroy our lives, but I've got other stuff to do. Sooo , I was hoping you could assist."
  
  Instantly, she was hesitant. When her eyes unfocused, he could tell she was recalling what had happened to her the previous week. "...I don't know Xander," she eventually voiced. "I'm still not a hundred percent over what happened."
  
  Xander moved closer to her as he offered, "I can help you with that... again." Her legs were between his as he charmingly added, "If you want, I mean."
  
  The wavering woman pressed her palm on his stomach and hesitated. She groaned before kindly pushing him back, "Fine- to the helping Giles part! Not your- your... Where is he?" Xander smiled before they went across the hall.
  
  Xander expected Buffy to be gone by the time he returned with Jenny, but she waited. Giles readily approved the substitution, and as Xander grabbed his bag, he asked the watcher if it was possible for there to be another Slayer. The teenage boy was hoping big-brain-Giles would back him on the second slayer.
  
  Pulling his eyes away from Jenny, Giles stuttered to answer, "Uh, n-no. It's very unlikely, Xander. So long as Buffy is alive, another Slayer will not activate."
  
  Rolling his eyes, Xander repeated, "But she died."
  
  Buffy pleaded, "Can you please stop with the ' she died ' montage? It's wigging me out; major wiggins." She obviously did not enjoy the many reminders of her death.
  
  "Sorry," Xander genuinely apologized.
  
  "In the thousands of years that a slayer has existed," Giles began. "For not a single one to be resuscitated after death is highly improbable."
  
  "That's what I said," Willow remarked happily.
  
  "I mean, maybe-"
  
  Eager to continue researching, Giles interrupted him. "If there was ever a second Slayer in the sordid past of our troubled history, I assure you, the Watchers would know." He raised his hand with the paper that had Wild Dinks' phone number and said, "Thank you for the number. We'll contact you if we need you."
  
  Though he didn't enjoy his claim of a second slayer being dismissed with a reasonable argument, Xander was happy to leave with Buffy. When they were outside, walking down the sidewalk under the evening sky, he asked about her plans. When Buffy dodged the question, Xander didn't hesitate to deduce, with an unsurprised expression, "Ah, Angel."
  
  "Don't, ' ah, Angel, ' me like I'm some sort of repeat offender," she chided in her defense. "I just want one little date with my boyfriend. It's not like I'd be much help in there, anyway. I mean, I'm stuck with this slayer gig. Is it really so wrong of me to have some time for myself whenever I can?"
  
  Xander couldn't think of a response he liked and refrained from groaning. Aside from his forging, this moment highlighted the importance of his second priority: breaking Buffy and Angel up. Lives depended on it, but Xander knew he wouldn't get a pat on the back for this. The Casanova within knew that if he warned Buffy against Angel, it's highly likely she would resist, deny, and or freeze him out. Xander understood that a good friend would support their love, but he knew if he did, he'd always be just a good friend in her eyes.
  
  "You're not going to say anything, are you?" Buffy cautiously asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
  
  Xander replied, "What's there to say- Oh, you mean to Giles?"
  
  "What'd you think I meant?" she asked.
  
  Shaking his head of heavy thoughts, Xander assured her, "Nothing. I should tell Giles... but what would it help?"
  
  Buffy smiled and hugged him quickly before letting go. "Thank you. I knew I could count on you."
  
  Flashes of what he imagined evil Angelus would be like terrorizing them and killing Jenny didn't make Xander feel happy about her gratitude. In a way, it was almost like he was helping Angelus kill Jenny, and that made him feel queasy. He couldn't help retorting, "Please don't thank me for this, Buffy. This isn't something I want to be thanked for."
  
  Confused by his alarming admission, Buffy stopped walking to ask, "What's up with you lately? You've been really... crabby."
  
  Turning to her, he told her exactly what he was thinking. "If Mr. Crab is getting more and more tired of saying things that don't mean anything to his friends, then I'm guilty as charged."
  
  "What?" she sounded in confusion. Her pause made him wonder if she recalled what he said to her before the Eyghon incident. Buffy walked up to Xander and wrapped her arms around his middle before resting her head against his chest. She gave him such a tender hug, he couldn't believe the happy butterflies dancing in his stomach. He knew nothing was resolved, and she had said nothing in the vicinity of comforting, and yet, the beautiful girl sucked all the resolve right out of him. Xander couldn't stay angry at her when she cared about him this much.
  
  Without letting go, the beautiful blonde leaned back and asked with her sympathetic smile, "Feel better?" He didn't want to smile. He tried so hard not to, but he felt powerless to stop his heart from feeling smothered in affection. At his barely restrained smile, she proudly stated, "Good." Happy with his response, she let her friend go and called, "I'll see you later," before leaving him.
  
  The way she could handle him, Xander felt like she was a witch as strong as Merlin, and had him under her spell. He sighed at that.
  
  I know it's easy to say you shouldn't love a person for XY reasons, but it's never that easy to actually stop, is it? For the most part, you need something devastating/eye-opening to happen to force you to wake up. At least, that's been my observation. Despite how slow I write, Xander waking up is a priority for me.
  
  I have a specific person in mind for Pete's character. Can anyone guess who? Not that it's a hard puzzle to crack or anything, lol.
  
  While I was writing this, I wondered why Giles didn't hear from the Council about a second slayer. The watchers keep in contact with the council, and they should know that Buffy is alive. But they should also know about the second slayer. Why not inform Giles? The Watchers Council is a strangely run operation. It's like they don't care to communicate anything.
  
  For those into forging, like I am, I watch a few Youtube channels: Man at Arms and That Works. I find it to be very interesting. There's an ep that focuses on the Viking super-sword, the Ulfberht, which is awesome. They show you step by step how it's forged and assembled as well as how difficult it is to make even for professionals.
  
  That's all I have. I really hope you enjoyed it. Any questions, comments, and concerns, please let me know. Many of your comments are insightful and helps me flesh out the story wherever possible. Till next week, have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Magnets
  Hey, hey 😁
  
  Welcome back to another Sunday, and another chapter! My betas and I have been doing pretty good so expect a chapter every Sunday for at least a month. For that, thank you my amazing Betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. No Warning.
  
  7.7K words. Enjoy!
  
  Magnets
  
  With the job of hammering white-hot metal for hours, Xander thought to stop by the Salvation Army on his way to Wild Dinks to buy some tough, smithing clothes. With memories of Eitri smithing and his observations of the smiths at the metal shop, Xander noted the outfit used by blacksmiths hadn't changed much over the centuries; thick shirts-if they even wore shirts-thick pants, boots, and a leather apron.
  
  "Linen can catch sparks easily," he mumbled as he flipped through shirts in the aisle. "Cotton is a little more flammable than wool. Ah! Super drab-looking wool. Perfect."
  
  Xander celebrated at the sight of three long-sleeved wool shirts, one a muted beige, one black, and the other, light gray. He tossed them in with the black cargo pants and steel-toed boots he'd already found. For his leather apron, safety glasses, and gloves, Xander bought them at the hardware store along the way to Dinks. Until he could buy his own respirator, Xander decided to simply use the ones at the shop.
  
  Xander worked throughout the day, trying his hardest to hammer runes into white-hot, sparking steel while attempting to visualize how the expanding metal will warp the strokes of the rune with every fold. It was much harder in practice than Eitri's memories led him to believe. Xander couldn't even tell if the strokes were lining up properly. If the layers of runic strokes weren't aligned perfectly, he wouldn't know if the sword would house magic until the very end when he spoke the incantation.
  
  ' Weeks on a sword that I won 't know is busted until the end ,' he sadly thought. Truly grasping why only masters among masters can accomplish this, he glumly accepted, ' Guess I 'm doing this a million times before I get it right .'
  
  A few hours later, a sweaty and tired Xander received a call from Willow, updating him on what happened to Buffy. Hearing about the Order of Taraka certainly jogged his Old Man Xander's memories. His older self dealt with the secret society of feared assassins several times throughout the decades. They would come after individual slayers every five or six years until they killed the wrong girl. Willow and Buffy ended their secret organization after that. Xander then recalled hazy memories of a pretty black girl with hair tied back, patrol cars with flashing lights at his school, and clearer than everything else, kissing Cordelia.
  
  "Wooooooooooow," the wide-eyed boy voiced to himself in complete shock.
  
  "Wow? What's wow? I'm more, ' oh no. Poor Buffy ,'" Willow said through the phone.
  
  She shook his head before making up for his blunder. "Oh, yeah, right. Same here. Girl can't catch a break."
  
  "Right," Willow agreed before explaining what Giles knew about the Order of Taraka.
  
  Kissing Cordelia and the police cars outside his school worried Xander the most, but no matter how much he tried, he just couldn't remember the circumstances of how they happened. He already knew he would somehow have a relationship with Cordelia. The teenage boy simply was dying to know how it started. Xander simply couldn't imagine approaching the girl he's hated since preschool.
  
  He still remembered the haughty preschooler bluntly telling him in the sandbox, "Mommy says I have to be nice to you because your parents are drunks. But I don't wanna." Recalling how some of the kids in the playground laughed at him still made his blood boil.
  
  Willow told him to be careful, and the childhood friends said goodnight. Unable to concentrate on anything else, the sweaty boy cleaned up his station, put his billet in his storage locker, then went home. Staring stressfully at the clock until it finally hit 3:01 AM made him miss sleeping in Jenny's bed; in anyone's bed. He simply couldn't get to sleep alone.
  
  Buffy was on edge the next day. Willow and Xander ran into her in the halls, and he could tell she was nervous. Usually, the blonde beauty dressed with the fashion sense of a fashion icon. Now she wore a loose-fitting shirt, drab slacks, and her golden hair was messy. While Xander tried to reassure his blonde friend that she had nothing to worry about, Willow attempted to distract her. The genius redhead boasted how proud she was of Buffy and Xander for having tested into law enforcement.
  
  Though Xander enjoyed seeing Willow so impressed with his assessment, he didn't care. He wanted to ask Buffy if she'd seen any fit black girls who tied their hair in a ponytail. He asked if they could talk in private, however, Buffy didn't want to. Eying her suspiciously, Xander slowly asked, "You... can't seriously be suspicious of me? Me?"
  
  Feeling uncomfortable by the assertion, Buffy crossed her arms and cautiously expressed, "Well... You've been acting weird and Giles said it could be anyone; demon, monster, human ."
  
  "Wow," Xander gasped in disbelief. "I don't even know what to say."
  
  "I'm pretty sure Xander's not an assassin," Willow slowly conveyed to Buffy. "You tend to notice assassin-y things after twelve years of friendship." Turning to Xander she diplomatically voiced, "She's just being cautious."
  
  "Yeah, right, sorry," Buffy spoke up, shaking her head and getting their attention again. "Look, I know you guys are trying to help. Really, I do, but, you... I just... I need some space, okay?"
  
  She left after their nod.
  
  After school, Xander went to the library to inform Giles of anything that might help Buffy against the Order of Taraka. From his future memories, he knew the Order employed so many types of assassins, and because of their versatility of attack, it was nearly impossible to predict their method of attack. However, he knew of ways to narrow it down.
  
  Pushing past the double doors of the library, Xander noted Willow sitting well away from Giles and Jenny. The adults were standing close to each other and clearly enjoying themselves as they researched. Clearing his throat, they separated a bit and Xander asked if there was anything new to report. There wasn't, and Willow assured him they'd call if they had anything.
  
  He nodded before remarking, "You may want to narrow down the assassins to the ones that can be in daylight. And if their organization was any good, they probably know that Buffy's the slayer. Whoever hired them would've probably told them. So, anyone who thinks they can take on a slayer; witches, wizards, half-breeds, anyone using long-ranged weapons would also help narrow down the list."
  
  "That... seems logical," Giles said from beside Jenny.
  
  "Where's Buffy?" Xander asked.
  
  Willow answered, "We don't know. No one's seen her since lunch."
  
  "Perhaps," Giles sadly began. "My words of caution were a little too alarming."
  
  Thoughts of a frightened Buffy made Xander return to the forge with renewed vigor. After reviewing the piece of paper that displayed what part of the rune he left off on, the young blacksmith continued refining, folding, and etching strokes of runes into blazingly hot malleable metal to create the best possible vessel magic could inhabit. If the magic deemed his construct worthy, which was an enormous IF , Xander could only hope the same magic the dwarfs infused in Mjölnir would be imbued in his weapons.
  
  He was only human, after all.
  
  Absent any school on Saturday, Xander was at the forge bright and early, either eyeballing the temperature of the billet in the fire or hammering on the anvil. It was nearly noon when Pete called out to him about a teacher on the phone. Sweaty and grimy, Xander walked into the sharply cold main office and grabbed the phone that was lying on the desk. It once again made Xander long for the advanced communications technology he never had. The teen wedged the phone between shoulder and ear before answering, "Yer speaking to the Xan-man."
  
  "Xander, it's Giles," he heard through the receiver.
  
  With concern, Xander asked, "Hey, anything new? Buffy okay?"
  
  "No, I still haven't heard from her," the watcher answered. "I'd like you to go to her house and check on her."
  
  Looking back toward his still bright red billet waiting for him, Xander asked, "Now?"
  
  "Right away, please."
  
  "I'm at the shop," he reminded the Englishman. The shop was an easy thirty minutes away in a car. By bus, it would take him at least an hour and a half to get to Buffy's house. "It'll take me a while to get there."
  
  "I don't know- get Cordelia to drive you."
  
  Giles immediately hung up, making the teenage smithy sigh. He dialed Cordelia's number and asked her to come pick him up. After forcing her to get out of bed, he went to the showers to wash off the sweat, soot, and grime before changing from his smithing gear to his civilian clothes. Twenty minutes later, Cordelia drove down the gravel road of Wild Dinks in her red BMW. Though a few of the guys wanted Xander to introduce her, the embarrassed teen just rushed to her passenger-side door before they left.
  
  Cordelia was quietly fuming the entire drive over, and Xander didn't add fuel to the fire. He was still in awe of what he knew could potentially happen between them. Glancing at her as she drove, he couldn't deny she was attractive. She was dressed in a light blue sleeveless dress, the hem of which rode up high and showed off plenty of her toned thighs. She wore sunglasses, but they couldn't hide her model-perfect beauty. Even still, he knew her alluring looks was the very reason she got away with treating people like disposable items. Xander simply couldn't see how two people who openly hate each other could ever stumble into a physical relationship.
  
  ' It takes two to tango ,' he thought desperately. ' That means Cordelia wants me too .... HOW! Just how! '
  
  When they reached Buffy's house, Cordelia finally voiced her displeasure as they walked to the front door. "I can't believe you dragged me out of bed for a ride. What am I? Mass transportation?"
  
  As was typical of them, her displeasure was Xander's joy, and he smirked before casually joking, "That's what a lot of the guys say. But it's just locker room talk. I never pay it any mind."
  
  The front door was locked, as were the windows. Rather than jimmy a window open, the Sherlock within aided Xander in picking the lock of the back door with one of Cordelia's hairpins. It took nearly twenty seconds to open the simple lock, surprising the alluring cheerleader.
  
  As he extended an invitation for her to enter, Cordelia remarked, "Summer camp for stalkers finally paying off? When did you learn how to break into people's homes?"
  
  "I do what I have to when my friends are in danger," he hotly answered, nodding for her to enter. "Come on."
  
  "And I'm here, why? To be your Taxi Cab and punching bag?"
  
  "More like my Cabbie and witless foil that's easy on the eyes, but have it your way." Cordelia turned around to leave when Xander placidly held her arm. "Come on, Cordy. You can't be a member of the Scooby Gang if you aren't willing to be inconvenienced every now and then. And I know you care more than you want to let on. "
  
  Rolling her eyes, she scoffed before retorting, "Oh, right, cause I lie awake at night hoping you dweebos will be my best friends. And that my first husband will be a balding, demented homeless man."
  
  "Buffy could be in trouble," he reiterated.
  
  With an especially disparaging sway of her head, she replied, "And what, exactly, do you think you can do about it? If you hadn't noticed, you're the lamest of the group. Buffy's the super-chick or whatever, and even Willow's a genius studying magic."
  
  Xander stepped close to her and told her, "I'm the guy that cares, which means I help." Cordelia sighed and entered the home, making Xander smile slightly. As they made their way to the front, the spacious and well-lit interior was clean, orderly, and smelled nice. Making his way upstairs, Xander told her, "Stay down here while I check upstairs."
  
  It wasn't long before there was a knock at the front door. Cordelia opened the red door to a mild-mannered man in a gray suit with black-rimmed glasses. He had a non-threatening demeanor and smile as he lifted his large black bag and offered the teenage cheerleader free cosmetic supplies. While Xander was checking each of the rooms upstairs, a giddy Cordelia happily invited the salesman in to inspect his wares.
  
  Xander hoped to see Buffy when he heard Cordelia speaking to someone, but upon walking downstairs, he noticed the middle-aged man in a gray suit eying them like a serial killer finding his next victims. Cautiously, Xander moved ahead of an anxious Cordelia. She happily stepped behind him while he asked, "Hey, what's up?"
  
  The nervous girl quickly answered, "Uh, he's a salesman, and he was just leaving, right?" Over Xander's shoulder, she waved at the eerily silent stranger as she added, "Okay, bye-bye. Thank you."
  
  "Okay, Mary Kay," Xander started as he reached out to move the man toward the door, but then noticed the brown worm crawl out of the creepy man's nose and into his ear. The serial-killer salesman easily registered as an assassin to Xander as he backed away. "Time to run," Xander voiced, taking the shocked cheerleader by the hand.
  
  The assassin burst outward into thousands of worms. Two hundred and fifty pounds of worms quickly spread with a speed no worm could match. Xander and Cordelia took the long way to the back of the house and, to their surprise, found the worm guy waiting there as well. They quickly rushed to the nearest door and slammed it closed behind them. They were on the stairs to the cellar when they noticed the worms slithering their way under the crack of the door.
  
  Xander was smashing them under his foot as he yelled, "Get something to cover the cracks!"
  
  He grabbed a broom and quickly shoved as many of them as he could back under the crack. Cordelia shoved the duct tape she found toward his chest, yelling in the process, "Here! I don't- I don't do worms!"
  
  He traded the broom for the tape, and with a grimace, sealed the open seam around the entire door as the repulsed Cordelia kept yelling, "Eww! Ew!" They stomped on the remaining worms until there were none left and the momentary threat to their lives passed. The pair quickly inspected the windowless cellar and found no other exits, meaning they were trapped in a room with an assassin on the other side of the only door.
  
  In all of his memories from the future and his time braid, Xander can sadly attest, "Just when you don't want to see any more, along comes a worm guy."
  
  Even after half an hour, Xander was sure the Worm Guy was just waiting patiently for them to come out. The Achilles and Sherlock within agreed that retreating was the best course of action. Xander had no weapons. Other than disassembling into worms, he knew next to nothing about the enemy's method of attack, and Cordelia could get hurt if he stayed and fought. Though he was hoping for a blowtorch in the vampire slayer's house, the only items close to a weapon were a mop, broom, and rubber hammer.
  
  A frazzled Cordelia was pacing back and forth the entire time Xander was thinking, completely panicked. She was rubbing her hand incessantly and the Casanova mental pattern within thought she could use some comfort and stability. Casanova would've walked behind her, embraced her, and whispered soothing words until she calmed down. However, Xander knew Cordelia Chase wasn't a typical girl with typical needs. He's known her since they were four years old and knew Cordelia needed a different sort of comfort and stability.
  
  With annoyance, he hotly contested, "Do ya mind sitting down or changing your pattern or something? You're making me queasy."
  
  She returned just as hotly, "Because you're just sitting there!" Continuing to pace back and forth, she glared at him as she added, "You should be thinking up a plan."
  
  Knowing a jovial voice would annoy her more, he easily responded, "I have a plan. We wait. Buffy saves us."
  
  "How will she even know where to find us?" the cheerleader questioned.
  
  Eying her with great patience, Xander enunciated, "Cordelia. This is her house. Odds are she'll find us."
  
  "What if she doesn't?" she quickly countered. "What am I supposed to do? Just waste away down here with you? No thank you!"
  
  As if unable to wait any longer, Cordelia moved toward the stairs and Xander leaped in front of her, arms out as he asked, "Uh, what are you doing, Eager Beaver?"
  
  "Checking to see if he's gone," she exclaimed, pointing at the door at the top of the stairs.
  
  Shaking his dumbfounded head in disbelief, he bellowed, "Oh, that's brilliant, Cor. What if he isn't?"
  
  "Oh, Right," she sarcastically hollered back. "You think we should just slack here and hope that somebody else decides to be a hero! Sorry, forgot I was stranded with a loser!"
  
  Taking a step closer, he shot back, "And yet, I never forgot that I was stuck with the needle-brain who let Mr. Mutant into the house in the first place!"
  
  "He looked normal!" she defended.
  
  Flabbergasted by frustrated disbelief, Xander yelled, "What! Was he supposed to have an arrow and the word ASSASSIN over his head? All it took was the prospect of a free makeover and you licked his hand like a big, dumb dog!"
  
  Moving closer to his face, she snarled, "You know what? I'm going. I'd rather be worm food than look at your pathetic face!"
  
  The pair are nearly nose to nose and seething as he retorted, "Then go! I won't stop you!"
  
  "I bet you wouldn't," she hollered back. "I bet you'd just let a girl go off to her doom all by herself!"
  
  "Not just any girl," he slowly emphasized. "You're special."
  
  "I can't believe I'm stuck here spending what are probably my last moments on earth with you!"
  
  "I hope these are my last moments! Three more seconds of you and I'm gonna-"
  
  "You're gonna what? Coward!"
  
  "Moron!"
  
  "I hate you!"
  
  "I hate you!"
  
  So close to each other, sweet scents filling their nose, overflowing with impatient emotions, years of familiarity, and a frustrating inability to act, their lips snap together like magnets. All passion, no thought. The warm lip-lock was a steel-melting, earth-shattering intense kiss. Xander's experienced hand unconsciously moved to the small of her back, pressing her into him. His left hand landed on her neck so his fingers could massage her jaw and nape. His was not the fumbling hands of an inexperienced teenager, but of a professional taught by history's greatest seducer and the practical experience of loving many women with different physical reactions.
  
  Even when Cordelia needed air, Xander's lips and tongue instinctively knew to pleasure her neck as his hand massaged her sensitive scalp. It wasn't until Cordelia moaned in pleasure that she stopped. Though it was a sound of sexual satisfaction escaping her throat, it may as well have been a foghorn corralling their blazing emotions and recalling their senses. She leaned away, and the stunned pair looked at each other with wide fearful eyes, surprised that it had happened.
  
  ' ...Of course this would be how it happens ,' Xander thought, recalling the flash-memory of their kiss.
  
  In all of his loops, Xander had never once kissed Cordelia. And as crazy as the thought of doing that with her-of all people-was, he felt even crazier when he found he actually enjoyed it; a lot. It made him feel crazy, and looking into her worried chocolate eyes, he could tell she felt the same.
  
  Though Xander thought, ' As my boy, Spock would say, ' highly emotional reactions are highly illogical ." He voiced what they were both thinking. "We so need to get out of here."
  
  "Uh-huh," she returned.
  
  Cautiously, they walked up the stairs and warily unsealed the door. Xander cracked it open, and the frightened Cordelia bolted out past him, forcing him to follow. Not three steps away, worms rained on them from the ceiling and they sprinted through the shower of greasy worms. The pair sprinted out of the house as they shook and flung their arms to rid them of the squirming worms.
  
  Cordelia screamed, "GET EM OFF! GET EM OFF!"
  
  Xander grabbed the water hose and hit Cordelia with a full blast of water. She thankfully returned the favor and gave the boy a fast hose-down before they rushed to her red Beamer and sped away.
  
  The teens made it to school, and though engrossed by their traumatic experience, they noticed a lot of police cars, officers, and parents around the gymnasium. The pair barely acknowledged it and entered the library cold and damp from the hose down.
  
  Upon reaching his friends and a stranger, Xander overheard Giles finish saying, "Order of Taraka," and added his own, "You want to talk Order of Taraka? We just met the king freak of-"
  
  His attention was then suddenly stolen by the mildly familiar-looking black girl with a high ponytail and silver circle earrings. The exotic girl was extremely beautiful in her form-fitting outfit. Her skin was honey-brown, like caramel, and her brown, long sleeve crop-top showed her toned abs. She wore mahogany-colored slacks and the girl's posture was perfect, accentuating her fit and curvaceous physique. The stoic beauty gave off the same sort of intensity Buffy did when she was fighting.
  
  A fleeting memory of the same girl on the floor of the library flashed in his mind and it took him a second to realize, ' KENDRA! '
  
  He wanted to smack himself hard for forgetting her. Xander assumed the second slayer they'd be seeing was Faith, but he can't believe Old Man Xander completely forgot about Kendra. The Old Man has certainly seen a lot of slayers die in his adult life, but to have forgotten a slayer as gorgeous as Kendra seemed crazy. Other than her death in this very room, at some point, by Drusilla, Xander recalled she lived in Jamaica, and nothing else, as if they had little to no interaction together.
  
  "This ought to be fun," Giles glumly stated, when he realized Xander was right. "Xander it would appear y-you were correct. This is Kendra, a uh, well, a second vampire Slayer. Now, about the Order of Taraka-"
  
  "Oh, wow, way to brush right past the kudos there, G-Man," Xander interrupted. "Not one to toot my own horn... but come on. Did I call it, or did I call it?" He looked at the girls as he asked, "I mean, it just made sense, right?"
  
  No one answered, and most looked at him with a liberal amount of tolerance. Still wet and grossed out, a miserable Cordelia groaned to Kendra, "Hi. Nice to meet you," as she went to sit down.
  
  Xander stepped up to Kendra, and with a welcoming attitude, commented, "A slayer, huh? I like that in a woman."
  
  Kendra instantly became cripplingly shy and meek. So much so, Xander thought he broke her. Her body language drew in as if to become smaller, and she couldn't look him in the eye longer than a second as she attempted to say, "I- I, hope... I thank you. I mean, sir... I will be of service."
  
  The Casanova within him quickly understood Kendra had nowhere near enough experience with men that a beauty like her ought to. The island girl made Xander recall Casanova's conquests of stunning nuns or terribly sheltered ladies, who were incapable of suspecting his carnal intentions. It would be all too easy for someone of Casanova's charm to take advantage of the beautiful Kendra's inexperience. Fortunately, Xander wasn't Casanova, and won't risk losing anything with Cordelia over a girl who'd be returning to her country at some point.
  
  When Giles asked about the assassin Xander encountered, Cordelia shrieked when she took a worm out of her hair and tossed it on the table. "EEWWW! I need to shower," she yelled as she ran out of the room. Xander pointed and said, "That."
  
  Giles then informed the group, "I fear the worst is yet to come. I've discovered the remaining keys to Drusilla's cure. The ritual requires her sire and must take place in the holy grounds of a church on the night of the new moon."
  
  "But the new moon is tonight, sir," Kendra stated in a serious tone.
  
  "Exactly," Giles confirmed. "I'm sure the assassins are here to kill Buffy before she can put a stop to things."
  
  As Xander played catch up, Buffy quickly stood up, drawing everyone's attention. The blonde slayer told the group, "Drusilla's sire... The vampire that made her..." Rather pained, she reluctantly admitted, "It's Angel. He's Drusilla's sire."
  
  Xander clearly missed a lot because nothing Giles was saying made any sense. He was at the forge for a few days, and somehow no one thought to tell him this fiasco around the Du Lac cross was about curing Drusilla and kidnapping her sire to do so. Looking at his friends, he couldn't help wondering why they hadn't told him.
  
  Buffy gravely stared at Giles before cautiously asking, "This... This ritual. Will it kill him?"
  
  Giles was silent a moment before delivering the bad news. "I'm afraid so."
  
  Like a switch flipped, Buffy's only goal from that moment forward was to save Angel.
  
  "Angel?" Kendra asked the group, looking at the watcher for approval. When Giles began cleaning his glasses, she told Buffy in her sexy Jamaican accent, "Our priority must be to stop Drusilla."
  
  Though Xander didn't like him, he was personally committed to not letting Angel die and informed Kendra, "We can't just let him die... even if I really don't like him."
  
  After Kendra agreed to work together, despite their different priorities, Buffy angrily voiced, "Good. Cause I've had it. Spike is going down. You can attack me, you can send assassins after me, but nobody messes with my boyfriend."
  
  Practically everything Buffy said made Xander's stomach turn; Spike going down, no one messing with her vampire boyfriend, and being fine with assassins attacking her. Xander didn't like any of it, and sometimes, had to wonder about the girl deepest in his heart. She could have any guy she wanted, and the two biggest loves of her life were vampires. Admittedly good, vampires, despite Spike's rocky start.
  
  ' But still ,' he thought. ' How can she not see they would never work out? '
  
  Giles spoke with Kendra's watcher over the phone while Willow, Xander, and Cordelia looked through listings of old churches as well as tomes of known Taraka Order members. Cordelia was sitting well away from Xander since their hands accidentally touched earlier and she leaped away as if burned. After hours of researching, they only had a few more hours before sundown, but Xander eventually found their Worm Guy. Though they weren't ready yet, they were making progress. Sadly, an impatient Buffy couldn't wait any longer.
  
  When she grabbed her coat with apparent intentions of leaving, Xander called after her, "Whoa, hey, we're almost ready, Buff. Where are you going?"
  
  She was hastily putting on her coat as she replied, "I'm just going to ask around about any ritual."
  
  "Okay, cool," he nodded, moving forward. "I'll go with you."
  
  Buffy stopped him with a raised palm as she proclaimed, "Xander, stay and help them."
  
  Looking back to Willow, Giles, and Jenny at the table as they observed them, he momentarily felt stuck between two paths; two skill sets. While he'll agree researching a powerful enemy before engaging was crucial, he also wanted to fight by her side as well. He jumped into the fray many times before the loops, and absent any combat skills, suffered painfully for it, however, now was different. He knew far more now.
  
  Xander was certain he could show her how helpful he could be and voiced, "I can help."
  
  Buffy looked at Kendra, who walked up to them, crossing her arms before returning, "I've got help." Kendra gave off an intimidating vibe that told Xander when there was a mission, she was all business. The beautiful slayers left without another word.
  
  Shaking his head as they left, he turned to the others and told them, "I'm going to get glue and plastic bags."
  
  Confused, Willow asked, "What for?"
  
  "Worm guy and our shoes," he said over his shoulder as he left.
  
  Willow found the location. It was an old rustic church past route 60, and it took Giles, Jenny, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia ten minutes of trekking through the thick shrubbery to reach it. When the five reached the house of prayer, it was so old; the land had claimed most of it. It was covered in dry vines, leaves, and weeds from the forest that surrounded them. They could see firelight glow through the broken stain-glass windows, and as they approached the eerie building, they heard fighting from within.
  
  When Giles, Jenny, Willow, and Xander rushed inside, they saw Buffy and Kendra were already battling against Spike, two of his biggest goons, and the policewoman assassin. At the far end of the church, the weakened forms of Angel and Drusilla were tied together at the altar. The sire and sired had their hands bound and raised with a golden-hilted knife stabbed through their flesh. Angel was bleeding out, and if they didn't save him soon, Xander was sure to loop back.
  
  ' Unless you 're out of the loops forever ,' he wondered hopefully, though he didn't want to take the risk.
  
  Giles shot one of the larger vampires that Xander recognized as Tiny in the chest. Tiny turned to dust before Giles, Jenny, and Willow attacked the second goon with large crosses, stakes, and holy water in their hands. Despite their suppressing weapons, Xander didn't like their odds. Vampires were stronger and faster than Olympic athletes. Chances were good they would lose in a minute or two.
  
  Quickly, the teenage boy yelled at the Latvian Taraka assassin, and the bug man disassembled into its little squirming parts and chased after him. He went through the door behind him, then closed it. Cordelia was waiting with a bucket of industrial-strength glue poured on the floor in front of the door. When the bug man, in his hundreds of bug parts, wormed its way under the door, the glue held them in place for Xander and Cordelia to stomp on them. With plastic bags over their shoes, they stomped on the worms with furious glee until there was nothing but worm paste left.
  
  At the sound of gunfire, Xander grabbed Cordelia's hand and rushed back to the nave of the church. Willow, Jenny, and Giles struggled to stake their vampire as Buffy fought Spike, and Kendra finished off the policewoman assassin. Xander ran to his friends and staked the large vampire, turning it to dust all over Giles. After Spike went flying with Buffy's clean hit to his jaw, the vampire knocked down a host of candles on his way down, quickly setting the old church on fire. Buffy rushed to Angel and Drusilla, removed the dagger from their joined, bloody hands, and unfastened Angel from Drusilla. With Kendra's help, they grabbed Angel and ran from the room as the fire quickly spread throughout the weathered building.
  
  Through the flames, Spike moved to Drusilla's side, and Xander hesitated leaving. His instincts didn't want Spike to die for fear of looping back, and just then, the roof of the old church fell on Spike and Drusilla. Xander's heart stopped and his body froze. For an infinitely tortuous second, he expected to see black and go back, but Cordelia pulled him to move. The nervous teen sighed in deep relief as they all escaped the burning church.
  
  Though Xander knew Spike was still alive, he didn't tell his friends. He was certain they'd only stake the vulnerable vampire, and more than anything, he did not want to loop anymore. Xander was eager to reshape his life with his newfound knowledge, his dear friends, and whatever he had with Cordelia. Eying Buffy tending to the weakened Angel with so much love and caring still made him roll his eyes.
  
  ' As if that would ever work out ,' he thought of the unorthodox relationship. However, his mind reminded him of Anya. ' I love and nearly married a thousand-year-old ex-demon .' With a shrug, he wondered, ' Maybe human demon relationships just don 't work? '
  
  After Willow, Jenny, and Giles enchanted a circular perimeter around the church to contain the fire, the group left the secluded area. As they were walking to the cars parked off of route 60, Xander walked beside Kendra and whispered, "Meet me back here at dawn." When she looked at him, her eyes darted down, and could not reply. He added, "Please, Kendra. It's a matter of life and death."
  
  She was shy and nervous. However, intent on being of service, she nodded without looking him in the eyes. Cordelia was over the night and quick to leave the group, but was kind enough to give Willow a lift home. Buffy and Kendra helped Angel into Giles' classic car before the four left, and Jenny gave Xander a lift home.
  
  Bright and early the following morning, Xander was happy to note Giles and Willow's magic worked, and none of the surrounding trees caught fire. Kendra met Xander at the collapsed church just as the sun cleared the horizon. If he didn't have to, Xander wouldn't go out at night, especially to rummage through a pile of burned debris he knew two living vampires were buried under. He'd have a heart attack with every shake of a pebble.
  
  "Thanks for coming," Xander cheerfully greeted the demur girl. "I know this might be weird for you."
  
  As expected, the shy beauty could barely maintain eye contact and meekly drew her limbs inward as she stammered to say, "I- No- If I m-may be of service, I w-would be h-honored, sir."
  
  ' Oh, this just won 't do ,' he thought. Xander needed her to be comfortable with him quickly and asked, "Kendra, take my hands."
  
  He extended his hands, and the girl stepped back, looking at him in surprise as she asserted, "I- No, sir. I am- I'm not permitted-"
  
  "I know, I know, but there's something really important I want to talk to you about," Xander reassured her with soft words. He bent his knees to lower himself to her height and leaned his head to the side, attempting to retain eye contact with her as he stated, "It's only going to be harder if you're uncomfortable with me."
  
  This close to her, with her silver neck-choker, form-fitting crop-top highlighting her large breasts, Xander was in awe of how gorgeous she was. The dawn light even made her caramel skin appear warmer and alluring. Hesitantly, Kendra gathered her courage and her shaky hands gently took his. Despite how delicate and slender they looked in his palms, he could feel how calloused her warm palms were.
  
  After clearing his mind of dirty thoughts, Xander voiced, "Good. Now close your eyes and take a deep breath." Hesitantly, she cautiously did as he asked. After a moment, he asked, "Can you feel my heartbeat?"
  
  "Y-Yes, sir."
  
  "I want you to try and match it," Xander softly voiced, enjoying the warmth of her hands. "Deep breaths, in... and out. Real easy. I'm not a stranger, Kendra. In... and out. I'm a companion. A comrade. In... and out. We fought together last night, didn't we?"
  
  "Y-yes," she replied with eyes closed.
  
  Xander opened his eyes and, after being struck by her beauty once again, he assured her, "Since we fought together, you can talk to me like an ally now. Being nervous with a fellow fighter isn't necessary. Does that help?"
  
  She slowly opened her eyes as she admitted, "I... believe so. I- I will try, sir."
  
  "Okay, great." He sadly let go of her hands and turned to enter the burned-down church. "Come on."
  
  Following him into the charred remains of the old building, Kendra asked, "W-Why are we he-here, sir?"
  
  "You can call me Xander," he lightly offered over his shoulder. He moved carefully in the nave as he answered, "I want to find what's left of the Du Lac cross. The gold was blessed by holy energy and used in magic rituals. I'm hoping it could help me forge some weapons."
  
  With a raised eyebrow, the ebony slayer asked, "You are a forge master?"
  
  "I'm a novice at the moment," he sadly admitted, noting the odd mixture of char and cool forest scents in his nose. "But I'm hoping to make something that'll help Buffy slay the worst of the worst."
  
  "Th-That is admirable of you," she quietly complimented, blushing at the same time. "Even if you do not possess the strength of a Slayer or the wisdom of a Watcher, you would endeavor to be of use."
  
  Stopping, he stood straighter as he replied, "Thanks... that's actually nice to hear."
  
  When the pair were at the sanctuary of the nave, Xander began looking through the rubble he thought the gold cross would be under. The ceiling was now a pile on the floor, so even if there was a lot to sift through, there was plenty of light to search. With workman's gloves on, he tossed broken planks and cement rocks to the side. As he worked, Kendra asked, "What did you wish to speak to me about?"
  
  "I wanted to ask if you had to leave," Xander started, continuing to sift through the debris. "Or can you stay for a little longer?"
  
  Curious, Kendra raised her brow as she asked, "How long?"
  
  "A week; maybe two," he grunted as he tried to lift a big broken beam.
  
  Kendra walked around him and casually lifted the two-hundred-pound wood beam like it was a chair as she voiced, "If my Watcher believes the danger has subsided, then I must return."
  
  She tossed it to the side as an amazed Xander continued, "Here's the thing. I want to tell Buffy something she's not going to like. And ideally, I'd like you around as insurance, to make sure nothing bad happens."
  
  Curiouser, she asked with a serious tone, "What will you tell her that would upset her so?"
  
  Xander paused for several moments, unsure if he should confide in the dutiful girl or just take a more indirect approach. The time-imprisoned teenager was halfway to reaching the end of the month-loop and his primary priority was to not go back. He could feel himself getting closer to throwing the towel if he didn't get out soon. With Kendra around to make sure things remain calm, Xander should be able to continue moving farther away from Halloween and all the horrendous looping.
  
  Gulping, he thought, ' Or, Kendra can just as easily fight Buffy to the death because his slayer wanted to protect her vampire boyfriend .'
  
  Xander felt it was a roll of the dice, but took the chance. With a sigh, Xander stopped working to look at the stunning Jamaican and explain, "I need to tell Buffy that she has to break up with Angel... before it's too late."
  
  Recalling how much Buffy cared for Angel after they rescued the vampire, Kendra tilted her head in confusion as she agreed, "That... would certainly upset her." Focusing on the tail-end of his statement, she asked, "What does this mean, ' too late? '"
  
  "Angel is a vampire cursed with a soul," Xander began. "That's why he's a good guy, because his constant guilt and shame prevent him from doing bad things. Without the curse, he's Angelus, the Scourge of Europe. The kick to the nuts is if Angel ever experiences a moment of true happiness, the curse giving him his humanity will break and he'll lose his soul-"
  
  "Reverting to Angelus," she interrupted in full understanding.
  
  "Exactly," he sighed. "I'm sure Buffy doesn't want that any more than we do, but that means they can't be together... You know, because of the whole happiness part. It's going to be a tough conversation to have cuz she's really strong and stubborn as hell when it comes to him."
  
  "It was impossible to ignore her tenacity to save him," a thoughtful Kendra slowly concurred. "She loves him with all her heart."
  
  "Yeah," he sighed. "So, do you think you can stay until I tell her?"
  
  "Why have you not told her already?" Kendra demanded to know, forgetting all about her meekness. "Angelus is far worse than Spike or Drusilla. This could become quite dangerous."
  
  "I know, but..." Xander took a moment to express, "Knowing how much it'll hurt her... it's just not that easy to deliver news that'll wreck her."
  
  "Even so, you must," Kendra hotly implored.
  
  "I will. I will. I just need a little time," he assured her before hopefully begging, "So, can you stay? Just until she accepts it."
  
  The ebony-slayer sighed before stating, "I will speak with my watcher."
  
  "Cool. And let's keep this between us for now," he said. He then smiled before cheerfully remarking, "Look at us, having a normal conversation."
  
  Upon reflecting on his observation, her shyness returned with haste. "Yes, I- I f-find it quite... satisfying."
  
  "Can I give you a piece of advice?" When she nodded hesitantly, he continued, "If someone knew how shy you get around men, they could use that to attack you. And I don't mean vampires or demons. I'm sure you can fight them off. I mean regular human men. I think you should get used to talking with a guy before a situation comes along where it goes bad. I mean, it'd really suck if something bad happened to you."
  
  "I... understand, sir," she struggled to say. "T-thank you... Xa- Xander."
  
  He nodded and, with her help, Xander continued searching. Her prowess for lifting incredibly heavy objects with ease was very useful, and they found the dirt-cover golden cross after thirty minutes. They made their way back to town in relative silence, mostly because Kendra either couldn't or wouldn't say anything, and Xander used the rest of the day to forge.
  
  In school Monday morning, Xander and Cordelia happen to come across each other walking down the same hallway. When she spotted him, she immediately turned around and tried to escape him, and the memory of their lips locked together, drawing a snorting smile from Xander. He chased after her, then dragged her into an empty classroom and closed the door behind them. With her arms crossed and fierce eyes, the boy knew Casanova wouldn't be able to get past her defenses, but Xander did.
  
  "Okay, here's the deal," the boy started. "There's no reason for us to run every time we see each other in the halls."
  
  "Right. Okay," she quickly agreed with several nods. Then, as if unsure why, she curiously asked, "Why shouldn't we run?"
  
  Pleading for patience, he replied, "What happened... there's a totally logical explanation for it."
  
  "You're a pervert?" she quickly asserted.
  
  Her flat-out certainty that was the only explanation made him retort, "Me? I seem to recall being the jumped, not the jumper."
  
  Offended at the insinuation she would have any attraction for him, she stomped closer to declare, "As if! You've probably been planning this for months!"
  
  Xander snorted, "Right. I hired a Latvian Bug Man to kill Buffy so I could kiss you. I hate to burst your delusional bubble, princess, but you don't inspire me to spring for dinner at Bucky's Fondue Hut."
  
  "Fine," she exclaimed, leaning closer. "Whatever. The point is, don't ever try it again."
  
  He inched closer to her as he yelled, "I didn't try it! Forget the bugs. Just the memory of your lips on mine makes my blood run cold."
  
  "If you dare breathe a word of this-"
  
  "Like I want anyone to know!"
  
  "Then it's erased?"
  
  "Never happened."
  
  " Good! "
  
  " Good! "
  
  So close to each other, like magnets unable to resist their attraction, Xander and Cordelia's lips snap together and they're heatedly kissing once again. It was just as intense as the first time, and the feel of Cordelia's firm, soft, and sexy body against him felt amazing. His hands automatically went to work massaging her firm form, coaxing as much pleasure and sensitivity out of her as he could. Whilst tonguing the most popular girl in school, his experienced hands explored the usual spots for a delectable reaction, and it wasn't long before he found her pleasure spots. Massaging her lower back and hips zapped her spine and brain with a sudden thrill, making her moan into his mouth as her body pressed wantonly into his.
  
  He massaged that toned arch of her lower back, feeling her get more excited, and then he stopped. With a girl like Cordelia, headstrong, confident, ready to protect herself, the Casanova within advised him he needed to make her seek it, so his hands moved away, and he pressed his forehead to hers to arc out of their kiss. He couldn't let her have her fill. She needed to be teased for however long it took before she asked for more. That would be the act he needed; her to ask for more.
  
  With half-lidded eyes, the aroused beauty looked at him with a mixture of surprise and disbelief, whether at him or herself, he couldn't say. Xander stepped back, gave the frozen Cordelia a tender kiss on the cheek, then left the taken girl without another word.
  
  Yay, Cordelia fun up ahead!😍
  
  I purposely had Old-Man-Xander's memories forget about Kendra since they only met a few times and didn't really talk to each other in canon. After decades of living and a bunch of other slayers, I thought Kendra might slip his mind. But I personally love Kendra. I thought she was great though, her whole demeaner change when it comes to men is odd considering she's a slayer. Still, it's part of her charm.
  
  Expect a chapter next week. And that's all I got. I humbly requests any corrections, thoughts, or feelings you might've had. You guys help me focus on areas that could use a little more attention. As always, have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Stabbed
  Hoorah!
  
  It's Sunday. Release the chapter! Thank you my amazing Betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. This one is 6.4K long.
  
  Warning: Lemons(sexual situations) and foul language.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Stabbed
  
  It was a quiet week for the Scooby Gang, and the free time allowed Xander to complete a single rune weapon. The blade length was 31.8 inches tempered crucible steel with decorative etched runes, but the overall length was 38 inches. The guard was 7 inches, and the handle was leather-wrapped. The guard and pommel were inlaid with non-magical silver and gold since he couldn't get his hands on charmed, hexed, or bewitched precious metals. Xander's first runic sword was a shorter version of Excalibur, and it looked stunning.
  
  He hammered a single rune within the body of the sword as a test run, because every rune would take three to five days to hammer in and predict how it would stretch in the folding process. Xander didn't know how long he had in the month-loop, but a one-rune sword would reveal much quicker if he was forging correctly, rather than forging for a month before learning if he did it properly. Though his Excalibur was a test run, it looked better than anything he's made in the week-loop.
  
  Before walking around back to show Pete and the boys his sword, Xander spoke the incantation. The Norse blacksmith Eitri, the Avalonians, as well as Merlin all spoke an incantation of sorts that signaled to the ethereal a home had been crafted for their habitation. The phrase was Elven for the Avalonians, Latin for Merlin, and Norse for Eitri, however, it voiced the same statement: The final step with light and hearth lit, My always coming home.
  
  With each end of the sword held up by his hands, Xander softly voiced to the blade, "Finalrinn step með ljós á ok fire lit. Minn always koming heima," then he waited. In the memories he's inherited, there's generally a glow of light from the blade, whether faint blue, yellow, or white.
  
  After ten seconds of nothing from the sword, Xander tried in Latin, "Ultimi gradus cum luce et igne accenso. Semper domum meam veniens."
  
  When nothing happened, Xander sighed and sagged his posture in defeat. "Guess it wasn't good enough," he whined. Lifting the lustrous blade, he inspected it, wondering how the runes must've warped during the forging, and commented, "At least you're a looker."
  
  Xander went to the back of the shop where the rough and tumble men of Wild Dinks relaxed and gabbed on about their wives, movies, video games, or metalwork. There's also a testing area for anything with a razor edge, whether swords, knives, or axes. They could set up any test, but they mostly used rolled tatami mats since they simulated bone density well enough. The dirty smiths were shocked and in awe of Xander's sword; primarily because he was a teenager forging like a veteran with decades of experience. The men stood around Xander to watch him cut the seven rolled tatami mats positioned side by side and took bets on how many he could cut through.
  
  Xander was the only one who bet on himself to cut through all seven rolls.
  
  With Achilles' sword technique, Xander only needed a second of concentration before he cleanly sliced right through all seven of the hardest testing rolls. All the men hollered like loons as each cut roll fell to the floor. To Xander, the ultimate test would be the Slayer stamp of approval, however, at their approval, he couldn't keep the grin off his face. Though older men teased their youngest smithy for being a baby, they complimented him on his evident talent all the same, and Xander really enjoyed himself. Pete was so impressed the sword retained its edge, he offered to buy it himself. Being around other good men who shared his interest was such a different atmosphere than being with Buffy, Willow, and Giles. The young boy was surprised it could feel so pleasing.
  
  Willow and Buffy did their usual things during the slow week and Xander would join them when it didn't involve clothes, gossip, or Angel; so he wasn't around much. Not that he minded. Making crucible steel was incredibly difficult. And anytime he wasn't at the forge, or with his friends, he was with Cordelia.
  
  For five straight days, Xander would tease the school's most coveted cheerleader. Cordelia was a trendsetter-even if he didn't get the trend-and could easily date the captain of any Sunnydale sports team, or college boys. Xander Harris-one of their school's many geek outcasts-had been petting, caressing, and kneading Cordelia's sexy body as they made out in closets, empty classrooms, or storage rooms all week. It was a situation he couldn't quite wrap his mind around.
  
  Of course, Xander could see how stunning she was, but that was as far as it went for him. The second she spoke, he recalled all the embarrassment the popular girl put him and Willow through for years. The thought of condoning that bullying by giving in to her allure was frustrating. And yet, Xander enjoyed making out with her. On paper, they made no sense. In practice, making the aroused girl feel amazing with his ability and affection somehow also made Xander feel amazing as well.
  
  ' This must be what they call glutton for punishment ,' he thought.
  
  In the morning, during lunch, and after school, Xander and Cordelia would snap together like horny magnets, fusing their lips and pelvises. As they tongued each other, he'd press all her buttons, making her moan as his strong hands massaged her lower back, hip flexors, strong shoulders, and elegant neck. The sexy girl vibrated when he gripped her firm ass and pressed her against the wall as they snogged. She'd hook a leg around his hip and Xander guided her pleasure to high heaven.
  
  The teens wanted each other. They wanted a bed and privacy for no less than an hour, but more importantly, the second he felt her hunger for more, he'd pull away. After a dozen instances of leaving her hot and bothered, she gripped his shirt to stop him from leaving, and the look of surprise on her face was an expression he'd never seen on her face. Xander knew he was getting closer, and that very night, he showed up at her house unannounced.
  
  Cordelia was dressed casually in a wine-red, short-sleeved pajama dress with a deep V-neck. She looked incredibly sexy as she crossed her arms and immediately demanded to know, "What are you doing here?"
  
  With a confident expression, he simply answered, "Wanted to watch a movie."
  
  Looking at him in disbelief, Cordelia snorted at his lame response, however, she didn't reply. After a moment of making certain he knew how lame he was, she let him in. With the maid gone, Cordelia was home alone. Her father worked in the city and her mother traveled often, so the teens were alone in her house. Sitting on the couch of her living room, they were ten minutes into From Dusk till Dawn before they started making out. She spread her legs so he'd fit snugly on top of her, and he pressed his throbbing hardness into her humid center, whipping her arousal into a frenzy.
  
  His weight on her frustrated body, hot and hard for her, Xander was sucking on Cordelia's sensitive neck, making her moan deeply, as his left hand kneaded her large C-cup, while his right massaged her ear and scalp. His slight thrusts made her thrust back and soon the hormonal teenagers were dry humping each other. Losing higher brain function as they dove deeper into the sexy sensations, they became more and more frustrated with the clothes in their way.
  
  She was thrusting harder and faster, which he fluidly matched, only, he was also sucking that spot on her neck that drove her crazy, gripping her hair and tugging slightly with one hand, while the other moved to massage her toned ass with passion. Xander kept going until Cordelia's moaning reached a certain peak, and she was close to climax. Then he stopped.
  
  Feeling a flushing shock from being horribly robbed, the wide-eyed girl practically yelled, "W-what- Why! Why! Why! What are you doing?"
  
  Xander gazed into her lovely brown eyes and annoyed her when he innocently asked, "What do you mean?"
  
  A look of anger came over her face, and she snarled, "Don't play dumb with me, Dweebo! You know damn well what I mean! I know what you're doing! You think I don't, but I do! You can't-"
  
  Xander moved like he was going to kiss her, pressing his hard body hot against her, and stopped just short of her flushed red lips. She leaned in to close the distance, but he moved away as his right thumb circled her hard nipple, poking through her loose nightdress. It made her moan and lean into his ministrations.
  
  Xander then stood up, clearly displaying his raging erection in her direct line of sight. Cordelia couldn't miss his bulge, only adding to her frustrated confusion. He straightened his shirt, giving her plenty of time to look before telling her, "Get some sleep, Cor. I'll see you tomorrow."
  
  He turned to leave, but the unfulfilled girl jumped off the couch and grabbed his elbow, making him look at her. Both of them expected some retort, but the anguish on her silent face told him everything she couldn't put into words. Cordelia was a proud girl and had every right to be. He could see her furious internal debate; she wanted more, but to get so intimate with him of all people-a boy she's never had a high opinion of since they met in kindergarten-it was confusing.
  
  Her Cordelianess shone brightly, however, when she ordered him, "C-Come by earlier tomorrow. I will not risk my valuable beauty sleep for anyone!"
  
  Taken aback, Xander replied, "You really need more?" Wrapping his arms around her waist, he humorously claimed, "You get any prettier, and you're never going to need to sleep again."
  
  "Better than the beauty hibernation some people need," the confident girl leveled, tilting her head and eying him accusingly.
  
  Raising his eyebrows in shock, Xander couldn't believe he slipped again. He paid her a compliment, and she threw it back in his face with her trademark sassy flare. He was impressed, but he was also eager to pay it right back, and candidly retorted, "Wow. It's a shame that beauty sleep can't do anything for your personality. Seriously, if you had a guardian angel, they'd quit and go to therapy."
  
  She inhaled sharply for a long moment, and he can feel her winding up before retorting, "You know, I used to think you just had bad luck thinking, but now I know you're just stupid!"
  
  "Of course I'm stupid," he yelled back. "I'm dating you!"
  
  "As if this insanity could even be called dating!"
  
  "Fine! Then what is it?"
  
  "I don't know!"
  
  "I don't know, either!"
  
  Their glaring softened with every feature of the other's face-from brown eyes to black eyebrows & hair, nose, cheeks, lips-and soon, the hypnotized teens were making out on her soft couch for the next twenty minutes. After their already intense dry humping, Cordelia reached the edge much more quickly, prompting Xander to leave the gorgeous girl on the verge of climax, yet again. She yelled her hatred of him all the way to the door, and yet still insisted he arrive earlier the next day.
  
  On his way home, twirling a stake in each hand, the teenager was confused by the workings of their relationship. Even the Casanova within would avoid a pairing like them, but Xander knew he'd be back. He could barely stop thinking about the girl and Cordelia was just too much fun.
  
  The following day, Xander planned to meet Willow and Buffy for pizza and a movie after meeting Cordelia. Kendra was still waiting for him to reveal to Buffy the truth about Angel's curse, and he didn't want to take too much of her time. Delaying too long would just be unfair to the beautiful Jamaican, so Xander rushed to Cordelia's luxury house from the forge. His hair was still wet and glossy from his shower, and he wore his spare smithing clothes; a long sleeve, wool white shirt, cargo pants, leather boots, and his backpack. Despite using a lot of soap, he probably still smelled like fire and metal.
  
  The gorgeous cheerleader opened the door for him and was surprised that he wasn't wearing dorky clothes. With his lustrous hair and swollen arms from all the hammering metalwork, she leaped at him like a magnet. Mouths passionately locked together as Xander picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. They were kissing intensely while he made his way to the expensive couch in the living room.
  
  "Mmnn- No," she told him after pulling back. She kissed his neck before ordering, "Put me down."
  
  Slowly, he allowed her light weight to drag down against his body, and the friction only aroused them more. Cordelia took his hand and led him upstairs, where he pressed into her from behind, kissing her neck as his hands massaged her hips. She could feel his hardness press between her ass cheeks as they walked to her room and her skin flushed with building desire. She led him to her bed before wrapping her arms around his neck.
  
  Eying him sternly, she promised, "If you leave at any point before I want you to, I will sick my dogs on you. And I haven't fed them in days."
  
  Raising a curious eyebrow, Xander noted, "You don't have dogs."
  
  Her face didn't crack as she stubbornly asserted, "...I'll get some. Real hungry ones too. With a taste for dweebs!"
  
  "Oh, just like their owner," he smugly replied, making her glare at him absent any genuine anger. Xander snickered and smiled before asking, "Then how far do you want me to go?"
  
  With a radiant smile of her own, she replied, "I'll let you know."
  
  Xander took his shirt off before the couple began making out again. Even with their mouths joined, she stepped backward as he led her to the bed. Upon touching the edge, they only stopped kissing for Cordelia to frantically slip off her low V-neck top, leaving her in a black lacy bra and pink short-shorts. Less than sixteen percent body fat on her hourglass figure, toned from years of cheerleading, and offering up delicious C-cup breasts. She was dripping so much sex appeal, Xander forgot about his time-prison. The horny boy's only thought was to make this gorgeous girl moan his name in unadulterated bliss.
  
  Cordelia fell back into her ultra-fluffy bed and Xander followed suit. He kissed her tenderly while his hands stroked the pleasure zones of her large breasts. With his pelvis between her legs, Xander smoothly pumped his restrained erection against her damp womanhood. His pelvic thrusts rocked her whole body as his fingers toyed with her body, and Cordelia couldn't believe his level of skill. The pleasure he was giving her was unexpected, and she couldn't keep from mewing and moaning as her orgasm grew dangerously large. She was hot, sweaty, and moaning freely when she gripped him, ready to feel an explosion of release.
  
  Then Xander stopped and backed away.
  
  Her eyes snapped open at the abrupt end of her promised reward. She was right on the edge and yelled, "Xander! Why! Why! Why!" The frustrated beauty queen smacked his shoulder in obvious frustration, demanding, "Why won't you just- Eeek!"
  
  Xander lifted her toned legs before resting them on his shoulders. His fingers gripped her pink short-shorts, and he paused, giving her a moment to stop him if she wanted. The frustrated and nervous girl averted her gaze and Xander slowly slid her silk shorts down her lusciously toned legs, followed by her lace black underwear.
  
  There was just enough evening light coming through the window for him to admire her lady lane. It was a beautiful pink slit, wet and swollen with arousal, and Xander had the impression she didn't have as much experience as the line of ex-boyfriends would suggest. Without delay, Xander leaned forward and prepared to make her see white.
  
  With her warm thighs hugging his face, Xander's mouth played with her leaking labia and swollen clitoris. His left hand massaged her breast while his right entered her pulsing womanhood. Two fingers were caressing and searching for her most sensitive folds, curling and pumping as he listened for when Cordelia moaned the loudest.
  
  "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! MMMmmmn ," she howled from the electricity of pleasure coursing through her flush body.
  
  She was panting and perspiration coated her tan skin as his fingers were pumping in and out of her. His mouth was sucking her mound and his tongue licked the sensitive pearl whilst his fingers stroked the most sensitive cluster of sex folds-electrifying the bundle of pleasure nerves. Xander's other hand was kneading her large breast and hard nipple with the perfect balance of pressure and pleasure.
  
  Less than a minute later, her legs were twitching, her back was arching and her moaning was sweeter. The girl was in pure bliss, making him pump, suck, and knead harder until he finally sent the gorgeous girl over the edge. Her back arched as she moaned deeply, " OOhhhhhh GGGAAAaawwwwwwwdddddd! MMMNnnnnn, mmmmnnnnnn. "
  
  Her strong legs snapped closed around his head, but he kept lapping up the juices squirting out of her erupting cunt. Electric waves flooded her entire body as the groaning, sweating girl had the strongest orgasm in her life. Her spine stayed arched for several moments as the pleasure decimated her body while euphoria fogged her mind.
  
  After several minutes, Cordelia's body settled down and Xander moved her listless body toward the center of the bed. Only then did she notice he was naked and remarkably erect. Her eyes only left his nearly 5.9-incher when he called, "Cordy?" They looked into each other's eyes before he asked, "How far?"
  
  Swallowing her nervousness, she removed her lacy black bra before cockily replying, "I said I'd let you know."
  
  Xander crawled over her, and soon they were making out again. He was fairly sure she could taste herself on his lips, but she only kissed him harder, diving her tongue into his mouth. They kissed passionately as he positioned himself between her legs. When she felt his glands press against her slick folds, Cordelia froze and ended their kiss. To Xander, she looked like a girl trying to hide how nervous she felt, and he was fairly certain she was fighting herself to remain in control.
  
  "Hey," Xander softly voiced, making her focus on his caring eyes. He smiled before assuring her, "It's me, Xander. You hate my guts, remember?"
  
  Nervously, she smiled before returning, "Not as much as you hate mine." Xander smiled before he began entering her, then she suddenly yelled, "Stop! Stop. Sorry. Sorry." She apologized repeatedly while sitting up, then rubbed her conflicted face before asserting, "It's not like I'm a virgin or some weak crap like that. It's just..."
  
  Xander, Sherlock, and Casanova reasoned she was a guarded girl, however, the more experienced personas deduced she must've been let down before and likely doesn't like the idea of him letting her down as well. Though Xander thought it odd, he wasn't put off by her vulnerability. All he ever knew about her love life was the long list of ex-boyfriends and what he heard from popular guys in the locker room. Eying her distressed expression as she tried to put into words what she was feeling, Xander simply wanted to learn more about her past. He gathered her up in a bear hug and they fell on their sides, naked.
  
  "It's okay," he softly voiced to the sensual girl in his arms. "Despite your tough, She-Devil in Prada act, I know you care a lot. And you don't want to let the wrong person in."
  
  "How would you know? Don't think you know me just because I let you into my bed."
  
  "If I got it wrong, I'll leave-" she grabbed him before he moved an inch.
  
  "No... just... stop being Mr. Introspective and hold me."
  
  He held her close, but it was impossible to prevent his still hard cock from pressing against the apex of her legs. At her heavy blush, Xander snorted a bit, making her shove him away. He laughed some more as she yelled, "Oh, that's it! You're getting too cocky, mister!"
  
  The determined girl moved between his legs, and without hesitation, gripped his throbbing meat-stick. Her hand was rough, but she leaned down and covered his rod with her ravenous mouth, sucking hungrily on his warm manhood. Her full lips varnished every inch of his throbbing length, making Xander groan deeply as he closed his eyes in bliss. His hands gripped his damp hair while the young, naked girl between his legs bobbed her head up and down, sucking wantonly on his prick and shooting waves of pleasure up his body.
  
  Cordelia licked up and down the sides of Xander's shaft, leaving trails of saliva across its soft skin. Her pert nose rubbed against the underside of his member when she massaged his balls, encouraging each aching orb to let loose in her mouth. Feeling close to snapping, Xander grabbed either side of her head, making her try harder. She let his cock slide deep into her throat and moaned, making his tense legs twitch from the vibration.
  
  Her tongue writhing over his cock, basting it with her warm saliva, and no more than five seconds later, Xander coughed, "Cordy! I'm cum- I'm gonna cum! I'm gonna-"
  
  Xander's blue balls contracted and expelled a week's worth of pent-up frustration into her mouth. Cordelia closed her eyes and concentrated as he came inside her oral cavity. As it's been a while, he held her head as thick globules of white man-milk filled her cheeks. When Xander finally relaxed, she pulled away and reached for the tissues at her nightstand to spit it out. Due to the volume, she needed multiple tissues to clean herself up as Xander heaved beside her.
  
  After a minute, a delirious Xander commended her. "Cordy... That was amazing."
  
  Sitting straighter, she proudly replied, "Let that be a lesson to you! You're not the only one who can make the other feel good."
  
  Xander snickered, then laughed before pleading, "Never change."
  
  "Pffft! As if perfection needs to change."
  
  They took a nap together in her enormous bed, and after an hour, Xander woke up to meet Willow and Buffy. Though he felt nervous at the thought of his mission that night, Xander knew Buffy and Angel couldn't be together. Eying the sleeping beauty beside him, Xander sighed and pondered his motives.
  
  He told himself, ' What I have to tell Buffy tonight has nothing to do with any lingering feelings, and everything to do with saving lives. I'm kinda with Cordelia now, and Buffy doesn't matter. '
  
  Xander hated how little confidence he had in his own words. He wanted to be with Cordelia, but his stubborn heart wouldn't let the slayer go. Xander had to wonder how long he'd feel so conflicted about the women in his life and prayed he'd eventually be sure, one way or the other. From the expert on women, Casanova would likely say, ' Never rush in love, for when it's real, it cannot run out .'
  
  "Don't rush," Xander repeated. Inhaling deeply, he simply stuck to what he had to do. ' Make it out of the loop, stop Angel from turning, and don't be anything like that cheating bastard ,' he thought.
  
  Xander first called Buffy to let the slayer know he was on his way, then called Kendra to let the second slayer know he was telling her that night. The Jamaican beauty assured him she'd be nearby and ready if anything happened. After kissing Cordelia goodnight, he was on the transit to Buffy's neighborhood.
  
  On the bus, Xander thought it fortunate that Angel was still on the mend after the ritual with Drusilla and wasn't at full strength. Though he's fought plenty of vampires, he knew some were better warriors than others and didn't want to be around Angel when she broke up with him. Xander was pleasantly surprised to see Buffy and Willow waiting for him at the bus stop.
  
  "We came to walk with you," Buffy answered his surprised look.
  
  Meeting him at the bus stop just to walk back together... the sentimental teenager was touched that his friends would do that. Then Willow voiced, "Yeah, in total agreement there, but, we're also trying to get away from Ted."
  
  The boy felt the swelling joy in his chest deflate. At the sight of Buffy's upset expression at the unfamiliar name, he had to ask his friends, "Who's Ted?"
  
  Xander met Ted Buchanan at Buffy's house. Standing over six feet tall, the middle-aged man was clean-shaven with an all-business haircut and wore a blue dress shirt with a golden tie. Buffy didn't seem to like him, and Xander could see why. The jovial man stood very close to Joyce, almost like he was going to grab her and run to the altar. Buffy was clearly unsettled by him, however, she wasn't the only one.
  
  Something about Ted's practiced smile rubbed Xander the wrong way. He was getting bad vibes, similar to Ford. As the adults prepared dinner, Xander was leafing through his Old Man memories for any information on Joyce's boyfriend. Normally, the cookies and pizza-rolls Ted made would've endeared him to the middle-aged man right away, but with no recollection of him and a timeline to protect, Xander accepted nothing from the clean-cut man.
  
  They were all having dinner together when Ted struck up a conversation about computers with Willow and it only irritated Xander further. The teenage boy knew Ted's existence was going to bug him until he finally remembered and he wracked his brain trying to figure it out but came up with nothing. As he watched the charming man make Joyce laugh and impress Willow, Xander cursed Old Man Xander's horrible memory. Once dinner was done, the teenagers went outside.
  
  Willow, Buffy, and Xander were in the spacious backyard, looking up at the night sky, and it was the best time Xander could hope for. After a hard swallow, he tapped Buffy's shoulder awkwardly, getting her attention before asking, "Hey, Buff? There's something pretty serious I've been meaning to talk to you about." Turning to his childhood friend, he added, "You can stay too, Will."
  
  Both girls looked at each other with apprehension, curious and scared by what he might say. Buffy nodded before asking, "What's up?"
  
  Just then, they hear the faint sound of the doorbell ringing. Not more than a moment later, Buffy was called over by her mother. The three were unprepared for the interruption, but entered the house and walked to the front to see Giles standing at the entryway.
  
  "Buffy, Mr. Giles is here for you," a concerned Joyce said.
  
  The three looked at each other curiously and equally grew concerned at the flustered sight of him. Giles was very courteous around Joyce and the charming Ted, however, the three could tell something urgent must've happened. Giles explained a close friend of theirs was in the hospital and requested to see Buffy. The Scoobies didn't even question the cover story, and though Joyce raised concerns for the time of night, Buffy convinced her to let her see her friend.
  
  Buffy took her mother's hands and proclaimed, "I promise I'll call as soon as I get there. And Willow and Xander'll be there too. So... can I?"
  
  Joyce clearly worried about her daughter, which always touched Xander to see. He was sure Willow felt the same. When Joyce reluctantly consented, Giles drove Buffy, Willow, and Xander out of Buffy's neighborhood. The three teens could tell Giles' mind was running faster than his antique gray car. Both of his hands gripped the wheel tightly, and the man was nervous about what must've happened.
  
  Immediately after her house was in the rear-view mirror, Buffy asked, "Okay, what's going on?"
  
  As he drove away from the main populous of Sunnydale, Giles stuttered to explain how they were dealing with something they had never come across before. Xander was wracking his brain, trying to recall anything that might help. When Buffy asked for specifics, he wouldn't offer any, which scared them.
  
  "Giles," a distressed Buffy implored from the passenger seat, but Giles remained elusive. What surprised Xander was how torn Giles seemed, as if he'd be betraying someone else if he spoke. Xander couldn't think of another person Giles was more loyal to than his charge. As they left the road to drive on unpaved ground, Xander felt like the watcher was driving them to their graves.
  
  Giles pulled over in a wooded area surrounding a well-hidden building; Angel's apartment. The Scooby Gang panicked when they saw ten old men dressed in long, maroon garbs surrounding a weakened Angel on his knees and bound in thick steel shackles. The handsome vampire also had silver chains around his neck and body, burning into his skin, and worst yet, Kendra was standing behind him. The ebony slayer held the kneeled vampire around the neck with one arm, while her other hand held a stake double the normal length against the center of his back.
  
  The threat was unmistakable. Buffy and the others feared for Angel's life, while Xander feared looping back. They had Angel's life in their hands, which meant Buffy and the Scoobies would do nearly anything they asked. Overwhelmed with longing, Buffy took a step toward Angel, intent on reaching her captured love, however, Kendra pressed the stake into his flesh just enough to make Angel's eyes widen as he held in a groan in pain, stopping Buffy in her tracks.
  
  The threat was clear and an anxious Buffy turned her emotional eyes from the prone Angel to her stern sister-slayer before yelling, "What are you doing, Kendra!" Scanning the group of older men, she yelled at all of them, "Who are you people?!"
  
  "Bu-Buffy," Angel weakly called through the pain. When Buffy took a step closer, Kendra pushed the stake deeper into his back, making him nearly scream and halting Buffy once again.
  
  Raising her hands to show compliance, the blonde slayer begged, "Alright! Alright! Stop. Just stop- stop hurting him." She took the tiniest step back and desperately tried to bargain with the strangers. "Look, whatever you want... you can have it... or- or I can get it for you... Anything , I swear. Just, let Angel go." Xander may not be Angel's biggest fan, but he agreed with Buffy. He'd do whatever he had to, to keep the vampire from dying.
  
  Of the ten men present, the eldest, and likely leader, stepped forward and removed his hood before speaking in an elderly English accent, "Watcher Rupert Giles, step forward." Glumly, Giles stepped forward to stand ahead and to the side of Buffy and she stared at him in utter confusion. The elder man continued with a raspy yet powerful voice, "You were charged with caring, guarding, and instructing the Slayer to the best of your abilities."
  
  "Giles, who are they?" Buffy demanded of her watcher.
  
  For a stressful moment, Giles wasn't sure who to answer, but eventually addressed the old man first. "Y-ye-yes, t-that is correct, High Watcher Travers." He then turned to Buffy and explained, "They're the watcher's council."
  
  The Elder watcher confidently stepped forward between the groups, continuing, "Giles, we were quite displeased to hear a very distressing report concerning your charge."
  
  Xander looked between Angel and Kendra, and his stomach sank when he figured out what must've happened. Giles looked between the weakened Angel and the head watcher and likely understood as well. Still, the librarian asked, "What would that be, Mr. Travers?"
  
  "Kendra Young reported to her watcher every detail of Buffy Summer's love affair with a vampire," he slowly began to reveal. "A report which you have failed, spectacularly, to notify us of. And for the vampire in question to be none other than Angelus, the Scourge of Europe," he said while indicating the beaten and weakened Angel. "One of the most notoriously ruthless vampires to ever walk the delicate face of this earth."
  
  With growing terror and tears, Buffy yelled to Travers, "He's not like that anymore!" The blonde girl couldn't stop herself from taking another step forward, but again, Kendra stood ready to stake him, making Angel contort his face in agony as a pain-filled groan escaped his lips. Distraught, Buffy stopped again and wiped the building tears from her panicked greenish-blue eyes.
  
  Sighing in disappointment, Travers warned Buffy, "I've given Kendra strict orders to stake him immediately should you come any closer. Even if your emotional folly would attempt to kill any of us, Ms. Young is instructed to destroy it before subduing you."
  
  Ignoring the old watcher she didn't know, the agonized Buffy pleaded with her sister-slayer, "Kendra, please. You know he's good! You saw him! He's not evil anymore!"
  
  "...Yes," Kendra slowly admitted, making grief-stricken Buffy quirk her brow. "Not evil now, but he will be."
  
  Confusion replaced her teary-eyed face as Buffy asked, "What... What does that mean?"
  
  Confused herself, Kendra turned to Xander and asked, "Have you not told her yet?"
  
  As if the wind was completely kicked out of her, a shocked Buffy whipped around to Xander, tossing drops of tears with the momentum. Giles and Willow turned to him as well, and their eyes wondered if Xander betrayed them to get rid of Angel or simply did something stupid again. Xander couldn't stop the nervous swallow, which likely only made him look guilty to his friends.
  
  The Sherlock within didn't even need to assist for Xander to know that all of this was happening because he told Kendra how Angel could revert to Angelus. Despite asking the Jamaican slayer to keep it between them, she obviously told her watcher, who then informed the council. A slayer in love with a vampire; the watchers clearly thought it merited their personal attention. Xander only wanted Kendra's help in making sure Sunnydale didn't lose its heroine. He never expected she'd go this far.
  
  Awash with guilt, Xander tried, "Buffy-"
  
  But she angrily cut him off. "What! Did! You! Do! "
  
  He put his palms up, asking, "Just let me explain-"
  
  "What could you possibly say that would justify this?" she yelled. Suddenly realizing why he would betray her, she returned her attention to her detained and bleeding boyfriend as she deduced, "There's only one reason you'd want Angel out of the way. Because he's my boyfriend and you're not."
  
  Though Xander couldn't deny he didn't approve of the vampire being her boyfriend, he maintained, "That's not it-"
  
  " Go ," she practically growled at him, her eyes torn between staying focused on the wounded Angel-as if she thought he might disappear the moment she looked away-and yelling at Xander. "I don't ever want to see you again!"
  
  Willow stepped forward and pleaded with her friend, "Buffy, just let him explain-"
  
  " Go! " she yelled at Xander, taking a threatening step toward him. Glaring at him, she added, "Before you make me do something I'll regret."
  
  Stunned, Willow gasped, "Buffy..."
  
  Suffering from powerlessness and anguish, the blonde girl told Willow, "You can leave too if you're taking his side-"
  
  Fed up with just sitting there and taking it, Xander yelled, "It's not about sides!" Giles, Buffy, and Willow focused on him as he hastily explained, "I asked Kendra to stay behind as insurance." Turning to the Jamaican beauty, he added, "Though I didn't think she'd stab me in the back!"
  
  Dutifully, Kendra didn't even wince.
  
  An irate Buffy retorted, "Doesn't feel good, does it?"
  
  Xander huffed before revealing, "The thing I was going to tell you tonight was-"
  
  "How you were stabbing me in the back?" a tearful Buffy interjected before staring helplessly at Angel's dreaded state.
  
  Xander took a breath and ignored her ire to press the issue. "If you stay together... If you're both so happy he forgets his curse, Angel turns into Angelus again." Willow, Giles, and Buffy looked lost by his assertion. He continued, "A moment of pure happiness. That's all it takes to break his curse. Then he's no longer your friendly neighborhood Angel. He's evil Angelus again, and the murder-show continues in Sunnydale."
  
  Buffy shook her head slowly, and he could see the denial in her watering eyes. Softly, the tearing slayer asserted, "You're lying."
  
  Growing frustrated with her unwillingness to think clearly when it involved Angel, he asked, "How?" Opening his arms out, he demanded to know, "How am I lying this time, Buffy?"
  
  "I don't care! I don't care if he's Angel or Angelus!" she yelled before turning to the group, sprinkling tears on the grass, and screaming to Kendra, " Just get away from him! "
  
  "So sad," Travers voiced with a shake of his head.
  
  Giles stepped forward and pleaded with his senior watcher, "High Watcher Travers, please reconsider. If you would just listen, and- and- and allow me to explain Angel's many contributions in the fight against-"
  
  "Kendra," Travers grimly said, and Kendra drew back the elongated stake.
  
  " WAIT! " several voices yelled at once, Xander and Buffy the loudest among them.
  
  Angel looked at Buffy, as if for the last time, and began to express, "I lov-" before Kendra impaled his heart with her stake, turning him into slow-forming dust.
  
  Then there was nothing.
  
  Xander woke up to his all too familiar blaring alarm and gagging on the all too familiar stench. He looked around the pigsty of a room; from the trash and clutter to the yellowish stain on the ceiling and the pile of dirty clothes. His body felt flabbier and weaker, like someone sucked all the strength right out of him. Xander lost Cordelia, he lost his sword, and Buffy believed him to be a backstabber. All because of his shortsightedness and Kendra.
  
  Xander cursed at the top of his lungs, "FFUUUUUUCCCK!"
  
  Poor Xander. Round and round you go.
  
  There's mild debates about whether Cordelia was a virgin or not. She's hinted at it enough in the show that I don't think she is, but I also don't think she's slept with all her boyfriends. She can get any guy she wants, no doubt, but I personally don't see her just having sex unless she knew they were worth it.
  
  Expect another chapter next week. As always, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support, comments, and concerns. I'm always happy to hear from you guys. Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Rage Phase
  Am I lost? Is this Saturday? 😉😙
  
  Hey friends! In an effort to complete this story by the end of the year, I'll have to double up some weekends. Fortunately my Betas and I did very well with our edits, allowing us to post 2 chapters this week. So this is the 1st of 2 you'll get. The 2nd of which I'll post tomorrow, like most Sundays. I'll put a warning on the A/N so readers don't accidently skip this update.
  
  Thank you guys for continuing to read this snail-paced story🐌. I truly do appreciate it. Things will move faster in the 20s chapters.
  
  Right. This takes place immediately after chapter 18. Thank you to my betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB.
  
  WARNING: Violence.
  
  5K words. Enjoy!
  
  Rage Phase
  
  Xander was angry. Furious. No other primal emotion connected so well with him, and with every passing thought, passing second, he only got angrier. The storm in him was a malignant fury. Not only did Xander's insurance plan for Kendra to back him up blow up in his face, but the cold realization of a one-month loop hit Xander hard. Three weeks and two days was the longest he's ever gotten away from Halloween and all the hours of sweat and labor he put into helping his friends and forging his sword were completely erased.
  
  "Gone!" he yelled in his bed. He leaped off the mattress and paced in his dirty room to try and calm down, but only got more worked up.
  
  Xander was angrier than he's ever been. He was angry at his parents and tossed his Lion-O action figure against the wall. The way it smashed against the wall and broke into several scattered pieces gave him a little satisfaction. It wasn't enough. He was angry at Buffy, Willow, and Giles, and Xander threw three more action figures against the wall. The hot-headed teen was especially angry at Kendra, at the Watchers, at Angel, at Spike, at everyone in the town of Sunnydale, and at the hellhole underneath them that these demons wanted to crawl out of. With every entry on his hate list, he destroyed something else in his room.
  
  Xander's chaotic mind heard a quote from his Sherlock memories. A detail he'd rarely remember if not for how angry he felt. ' No beast is more savage than man when possessed with power answerable to rage .' As if such a line would calm him down. No, Xander ignored it in favor of everything he felt.
  
  With loud grunts, the furious Xander shoved every comic book, trading card, book, board game, or magazine off of every surface in his room. He grabbed the back edge of his bookshelf filled with VHS tapes and heaved the entire thing to the floor. He kicked holes through his closet doors and tossed his television out of the window. Xander was more than furious. He was enraged. After getting so far, doing so much, working so hard, he was certain he'd be out of the time braid if he just made it out of a month. But now, having to start all over, hurt him to the bone. Xander was too angry to see or fuck anyone. He couldn't contain how much he wanted to destroy more than his room had to offer.
  
  ' No ,' he thought. ' More than simply destroying something .'
  
  Xander wanted whatever he demolished to be remembered and stay destroyed. He wanted permanent destruction, however, he felt the line between that dark desire. It felt so alluring to want to burn the world that's so unforgiving and gleeful in his torment, but he'd been warned of such things; the slow decay into madness began there. Instead, Xander spent three day-loops locked in his room fighting the building urge to act on his rage, then wallowing in frustration, then despair, then rage again, and then in frustration again; a terrible emotional loop of his own.
  
  Eventually, in the silence of his once-again destroyed room, Xander couldn't take it anymore. He simply decided on violence, and didn't bother with a costume. He started with Larry at school. Xander walked the Halloween-decorated halls and kept to himself. He ignored everyone and avoided Willow, Buffy, Giles, Cordelia, and even Ms. Calendar until the ill-fated time Larry approached him. As before, the jock asked how easy Buffy was, and at the memory of his slayer, love, and hero refusing to believe him, Xander shoved Larry back.
  
  "Oooohhh," a few of Larry's friends sounded. Larry himself only stepped back a few steps, then laughed with his friends.
  
  A circle of spectators was forming around them as the geek glared at the much larger boy. Larry played football with Doug Jeffries and other larger players, and easily cleared Xander's physique by four inches and an extra thirty or forty pounds. Xander loosened his shoulders and wrists, making Larry, Doug, and the rest laugh at the social outcast's audacity.
  
  Larry stepped forward and didn't even raise his hands as he happily proclaimed, "I'm going to enjoy this, Harris."
  
  Side-faced with his hands up, the silently fuming Xander stoically returned, "You better not disappoint."
  
  In an effort to help Larry take this as seriously as Xander wanted, the geek jabbed Larry in the nose quicker than the jock could react, surprising everyone. Larry shook his head, then checked his nose to make sure he'd been hit. Xander knew he was weaker than before he looped back, but he felt his muscles more acutely. It was as if every muscle fiber was functioning efficiently. In the center of the silent crowd, Xander hit Larry with another quick jab, and that sent the jock into a fury; exactly what Xander wanted.
  
  To get out all the rage he'd been building since the start of the time braid, Xander wanted a bloody brawl, but it was evident Larry wouldn't be the answer to his want. Larry's right swing wasn't slow, but it was wide and predictable, and Xander's entire body reacted in the most fluid motion. His head effortlessly slipped the high-velocity punch, and the geek's right fist countered with an unsuspecting uppercut to the chin. The high concentration of densely packed nerves along the jaw sent an overwhelming flood of pain signals to the brain, and Larry dropped like a sack of potatoes.
  
  The crowd was stunned into silence. The larger, tougher, and popular Larry was knocked out on the floor in an awkward position, and the dark-haired social outcast didn't even break a sweat. As Doug and the others helped Larry to his wobbly feet, Xander turned his back and walked away. The crowd of students parted, and the stoic boy saw Buffy and Willow, stunned like the others by what they witnessed.
  
  At the sight of Buffy, any amount of burning energy he might've expelled fighting Larry returned twice as much. Seeing her made him want to turn around and beat Larry to a bloody pulp, but he felt that wouldn't be enough. Walking past the Slayer, Xander knew fighting demons and vampires was the only way to satisfy this insatiable hunger. His unaware friends followed him, of course, and asked every question that popped into their heads.
  
  "What happened?" Buffy wanted to know.
  
  "What did Larry say?" Willow asked.
  
  "Since when did you learn to throw a punch?" Buffy continued.
  
  "Where are you going?"
  
  "Uh, how come you're not saying anything?"
  
  "Xander? Are you cutting school? What about your attendance record?"
  
  Xander ignored them as he walked out of the school. They barely felt real to him, as if nothing they said mattered. They would always forget. Xander waited for six o'clock. Just like his first attempts at seducing women, Xander was outside his wheelhouse in this too and was horrible when attempting it on his own. All his noxious rage wanted to do was beat anything bloody with bare fists, however, against stronger & faster demons and vampires running around after the curse started, his lack of skill wasn't effective. Xander died fast, but gained some semblance of reason.
  
  In the following loop, he ran around Sunnydale looking for the best locations and opponents to fight, then made a list. Xander would begin with a single vampire, then a single demon, work his way up through multiple vampires & demons, and at the top of the kill-list stood Spike. The blond vampire may have had nothing to do with what happened, but fighting Buffy wasn't possible, to begin with, as she wouldn't know why or go all out against him. Spike was a much lower dangling fruit to pick a fight with.
  
  After picking a random vampire, Xander died fairly fast without a weapon. After a dozen day-loops of Xander trying to beat the vampire like he would a video game villain, the young warrior memorized fifteen moves before his stake eventually found its heart. In the process of blocking bone-crushing blows, getting cut from dodging fast fists, being tossed, and nearly breaking his fists punching the hard jaw of the monster, the heaving boy felt a little better when he dusted it. Out of curiosity, Xander tried Achilles on the vampire in the following loop and wasn't surprised to witness the legendary warrior decimate the vampire in two seconds.
  
  ' Oh, come on ,' Xander yelled from within his mind. ' He's a Demi-God! Of course he'd be faster and stronger than a vampire! '
  
  However, Xander couldn't be sure he wouldn't see the same success, even if he wasn't as strong as a slayer. With a sword and shield, Xander tried the same slip and stab movement Achilles had done, and the teenager was embarrassed and dumbfounded to have killed the vampire just as fast. It took him fifteen moves of what Achilles could do in two.
  
  When he thought the Achilles' mental pattern within was smiling, Xander yelled, "It's a sword and shield! I was using a toothpick! They're completely different!"
  
  Like with Casanova and Eitri, Xander observed Achilles' efficiency in combat with a single-minded purpose. He witnessed the legendary warrior kill a single vampire or demon with a sword, with two swords, a stake, a shield, and bare-handed. Then he'd attempt the same fight, with the same conditions, on his own. Achilles could maneuver and attack with ease, and Xander would take nearly nine day-loops to mimic a similar result with each style of fight. When Achilles moved on to multiple vampires and demons, Xander was in awe of the man's creativity in combat.
  
  Achilles never panicked and his quick footwork, agile body movements, and keen awareness were second to none. Even in a group of vampires or demons, he wouldn't be alarmed or negative from a claw cutting his skin or punches connecting with his body. He simply kept moving, dodging, and striking all of their vulnerabilities with any weapon. When Xander tried, it was laughable how different he was from Achilles, but he didn't quit. He had too much rage storming in him to stop.
  
  Xander repeated Halloween day for what felt like months, failing to varying degrees. Initially, he'd die from the second monster of the supernatural group to surround him, distracting him or delivering the killing blow. Worrying about multiple opponents sneaking up on him was absurdly challenging, and Xander had to discern what he couldn't see by sound alone, as Achilles does. The sounds of rustling cloth, the scratching of shoes against pavement or grass, and their grunting. Xander had to be cognizant of every opening he created with every maneuver, as well as the enemy in the position to take advantage.
  
  It was a long process, but slowly, Xander became better with every batch of loops. The moment he understood his footwork and grasped everything within his surroundings, the young warrior could work on mimicking the same combat creativity Achilles displayed. With enough loops, Xander could flow in any direction without losing his footing, as if he were floating. With more loops, he could parry and counter effortlessly. Just like with his smithing, the precise expression of his body's movements was improving by leaps and bounds.
  
  Xander was still physically weak, but he used that to his advantage and ran when needed. Armed with a sword, an axe, or stakes, Xander only needed technique and creativity to beat three vampires or certain demons at the same time. Like flowing water, he could maneuver around their expected fast strikes, take punches, kicks, or throws, and always be ready with several counterattacks. As he knew, more or less, what most of them would do, Xander worked his way up from a single random vampire to a group of them, then to the toughest one in town; Spike.
  
  Xander could feel it when Spike's heavy fist dislocated his jaw and dislodged his teeth; The slim, bleach-blond vampire lived to fight and the teen warrior lost continuously against the vampire. Against Achilles, Spike could do nothing. Though it would be a tougher battle, Achilles would always win because he'd effortlessly adapt to Spike's tactics in ways the vampire couldn't predict. Unfortunately, mimicking the Achilles' sequence of moves didn't lead Xander to the same results. The teen could slip or dodge several fast punches and kicks, but unlike many vampires, Spike adapted. Even armed, the much-too-human Xander simply couldn't compete with the vampire's combination of speed, power, and natural fighting ability.
  
  Not that the stubborn boy cared.
  
  He didn't feel as furious as he had at the beginning of this detour, however, he still had plenty of drive to take out the boss. Xander imagined Spike was the final boss to beat in a vicious arcade game. Despite the bone-fracturing impact of blocking Spike's blows, or the momentary loss of consciousness from a well-landed punch, the drive to murder the vampire always picked the young warrior back up. The look on Spike's face when hurting Xander smiled a bloody smile, always shocked him, then excited him, and it made Xander want to fight harder.
  
  Normally, Xander fought Spike outside, however, sometimes he'd fight him in the warehouse. Buffy was being held hostage while he battled it out with the vampire. It very nearly made him feel like Mario fighting the monstrous Bowser to rescue Princess Peach. With all the fluid footwork and matching agility he's learned, Xander could slip a series of his punches before countering with a stake in one hand and an axe in the other. Though the young warrior enjoyed using a sword, Xander learned Spike could disarm him more often with it than he could when he held an axe. Additionally, the gulf of the axe allowed him to hook & pull Spike's limbs and neck if need be.
  
  Spike could dodge the axe and Xander would spin with the motion to stab Spike's leg with the stake in his left hand. Xander absolutely needed to slow the vampire's movements by cutting and stabbing his less protected legs. As expected, Spike shoved him away, and though it hurt to hit the stone floor, Xander rolled onto his feet. Spike charged the teen, who made the vampire keep his distance with measure swings from his tomahawk axe.
  
  As expected, the blond would block and grapple, forcing Xander to strike low to get the vampire to let go. Spike only growled at the stake stabbed into his side before punching Xander's guard. Despite his arm between his face and Spike's heavy punch, Xander was instantly in a daze and his forearm felt broken. Still, Xander twisted the stake shoved in Spike's side before being shoved back. Rolling onto his feet, Xander saw his stake still embedded above Spike's hip.
  
  The vampire snarled as he ripped it out, then yelled, "Once I get done ripping your annoying little head from your bloody body, I'm going to take my time torturing your little slayer. I'm going to string 'er up and slice her stomach open and let her watch her insides turn into outsides."
  
  Slack-bodied, a gasping, sweaty, and bloodied Xander lied, "I saw Drusilla... kissing Angel." He gripped his axe tighter as he continued, "Wait... You call it snogging. She looked... really into it, too. Guess you don't... really do it for her."
  
  Snarling, Spike sprinted as he yelled, "You right bloody fucking tosser-"
  
  Spike charged, and the men fought to the best of their abilities. Xander felt this was his moment. Even if he had to sacrifice his left arm to hack at Spike's neck, he was going to win. Xander screamed when Spike broke his left arm, but the vampire then screamed when Xander shoved the long tooth of his tomahawk into the curve of his neck. Spike punched him in the face, dazing Xander and making him blind in one eye, then pulled the axe out. In frustration, the vampire tossed the bloody weapon to the side as the teen dropped to one knee.
  
  On the floor, Xander felt strong hands wrap around his neck and squeeze, cutting off circulation. Though he couldn't see, he knew Spike was over him from the blood that was dripping on his face. Xander's one working hand felt its way up the arm, the bloody neck, then the face of Spike. Though Xander lost a finger to Spike's sharp fangs, the screaming teen's thumb managed to gouge out the vampire's yellow eye and connective veins. Spike let go of the teen's neck to cover his injury desperately.
  
  After tossing the eyeball, Xander crawled over to Spike and got on top of the defensive vampire. Shoving his fingers into the gash at his neck, making Spike groan loudly, Xander then head-butted the man under him. With no other weapon, he would use his forehead to smash in his face. Xander was numb to the pain by that point, and any time Spike tried to stop it, Xander's right hand would push deeper into his neck wound, paralyzing the vampire's movement.
  
  For the last vestiges of righteous fury still in him, a lethargic Xander would raise his head and bring it down with all his remaining might. For being trapped in a time braid and forced into the pains of growing up against his will, he head-butted Spike again. For being stupid and trusting people when he already knew they always let him down, he smashed his fractured skull against the motionless vampire's. For his powerlessness as a person and the unexceptional future everyone seems all too eager to accept-including himself-Xander screamed from the core of his very being as he smashed their blood-splattered heads together again.
  
  When Spike no longer moved under him, Xander slowly toppled over.
  
  The bloodied teen couldn't think or see well. This rage phase may have been six or seven hundred day-loops, but Xander finally rendered Spike motionless; though clearly not dead or he would've looped. The feverish teenager felt agony from breathing with several broken ribs, and he certainly had internal bleeding, as it felt like his stomach was leaking into his leg. His knuckles were broken, his left arm was paralyzed, and his legs had no energy in them. One eye was swollen shut, and the other was getting there. Xander's nose was broken and bleeding profusely, while his bottom lip was ripped and a few teeth were missing.
  
  Looking up at the dark and dirty ceiling of the closed warehouse, Xander felt cold, drained, and finally ready to stop. The slowly dying teen assumed the Janus curse ended when Buffy rushed into his limited and blurry vision. Dressed in her 18th-century gown, the gorgeous blonde was in tears. His slow mind recalled her in tears when she refused to believe him about Angel. However, this time, she looked fearful and devastated as she cried for him. It felt as if he hadn't seen her in such a long time; like he'd been clenching a tight fist for hours until he could finally relax his grip.
  
  Cordelia and Angel faded in and out of his vision, but he could only see his crying best friend looking over his injuries, saying something he couldn't hear to the others. His hearing was gone and his vision was darkening. Seeing his friends in the one-day loop didn't even count as really seeing them, however, moments like this always touched him. Despite the endless repetition, these moments felt like a first and that made them precious.
  
  At the sight of the fading golden head, it was the first time in a long while that he thought, ' I miss you .' With the pitiful strength in his right arm, he could barely raise his hand, but she grabbed it and rubbed it against her cheek, dirtying it with blood and grime, as he wondered, ' Why won't you love me instead? '
  
  Then it all went dark.
  
  Xander woke up in his bed, and despite the smell, he felt less angry than he had been for so many loops. The teenager decided to move on again, beginning with work at the forge. He got Ethan to make him an Avalonian elf costume instead of Eitri's and would pick the elf's memories during the chaos of the curse and after. He learned a few runes that Eitri didn't know, but the circular characters looked much harder to hammer into metal and expect to stretch to form than the Norse runes. Nearly every symbol had long looping curves to them and needed to be etched with a chisel and inlaid with magical gold or silver. As the effects of elf runes wouldn't be any more different from Norse runes, Xander stuck with Eitri's knowledge.
  
  Standing outside of Ethan's Costume Shoppe, Xander only stared at the store for the second straight day-loop. Though he decided to move forward into the one-week loop, he couldn't deny feeling nervous. Somehow, Xander didn't feel ready to enter that world just yet. He didn't think he could fake it with Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, Giles, Jenny, or anyone well enough. So, for the time being, he broke into Dinks to work on his hammer strikes until they sounded nearly identical to the elf's.
  
  When he achieved all he could, Xander spoke to Merlin once again, as he was the only one who could communicate with him and understand the fastest. The legendary warlock helped Xander nearly as much as Ethan, guiding him on how to visualize the metal vessels for magic, and helping him stay sane. Walking around the streets of Sunnydale, setting monsters to sleep, Xander explained everything that's happened to him thus far, then what happened with Buffy and Angel. He didn't have a question, exactly. He simply needed someone to talk to.
  
  "Men are simple creatures," Merlin counseled. "We are capable of surviving this life with no more than three situations; A purpose, a family, and the love of a good woman. Simple though it might sound, it holds more than enough meaning for many of us. It is why I have no doubt when you reach your end days, you'll look upon the grand sum of your life-with all that you have accomplished-and feel a great sense of accomplishment."
  
  It was really nice having someone to help guide him the way Giles guided Buffy. Xander never had that. His parents had given that up when he was five, and as much as he liked Pete and the boys at Dinks, they were more like great work-friends. Merlin's words were the little bit of hope Xander needed to move on-to get to that end-and the very first thing he did with this newfound sliver of hope was locate Ted. Xander wanted no more surprises when he reached the week and month loops, and Ted was still bugging him.
  
  ' If he checks out, I'll keep going ,' Xander thought.
  
  Without remembering the man's car or last name, the teenager simply called Joyce. He recalled they met through work and Xander has impersonated enough personas to get the information he needed from her. The chameleon teen pretended to be an intern at the local radio station that needed to verify information.
  
  In a soft voice, Xander asked, "Good afternoon, my name is Luke and I work for KZNQ, 101.5 FM. Am I speaking to a Ms. Joyce Summers?"
  
  She hesitated a moment before answering, "Uh, yes, you are. May I ask what this is about?"
  
  "Of course," Xander softly voiced. "Before that, may I ask, are you currently dating a Mr. Ted?"
  
  "I, uh, well." She chuckled a moment before responding, "We've gone out on a few dates at the moment, but, yes, we are seeing each other."
  
  "Aww, that's sweet," Xander softly cooed. "At the moment, we're speaking with Ted on the air, and he's been saying so many lovely things about you. He seems like a real sweet fella and quite a number of listeners are eager to know if he has a shot or not. Not to make you uncomfortable, but would you consent to joining the conversation?"
  
  Joyce seemed taken aback by it all, but fortunately, seemed willing to help, and answered, "I... suppose."
  
  "Lovely! For security purposes, can you tell us his last name?" Xander asked. He chuckled as he explained, "We want to be sure we're talking about the same Ted after all."
  
  "I... certainly, Buchanan," she told Xander. "Ted Buchanan."
  
  "Right," Xander confirmed with a hum, as he wrote it down on a scrap sheet of paper. "He said you met through work. What's the name of his place of employment?"
  
  "Lorrin Software," she answered.
  
  "And the general area he lives in?" Xander asked. "We don't need specifics. The city or zip code would be fine."
  
  "Sunnydale," she answered, then Xander hung up.
  
  It wasn't everything he wanted, but it was more than enough to go on. From there, it took Xander a few loops to ascertain where Ted lived. It was a powder-blue, two-story house with a white picket fence, and upon breaking in, Xander noticed the home was relatively bare. Simple furniture barely looked used, and there were little to no pictures up. Of the four rooms upstairs, only the master bedroom had clothes in the closet. The small wardrobe and presence made the Sherlock side of his brain deduce it was all a façade to conceal something nefarious.
  
  In the next loop, Xander followed the suspicious man on a bike he'd stolen to a bunker thirty minutes outside of town. Unable to learn anything more, Xander went straight to the bunker in the following loop. Upon entering the underground room, the truth about Ted finally revealed itself. Inside the spacious and old chamber, the teenager saw a line of file cabinets against the walls filled with notes and schematics. There were many fading blueprints of humanoid robotics on the walls, a rectangular, metal charging station one would lie on, and a long repair bench with tools and spare robot parts. Xander found it all; the true Ted Buchanan.
  
  "Holy shit," Xander cursed, looking around the dusty room. " Ted's a robot! "
  
  Old Man Xander's memories vaguely remembered coming across a few robots. Ted was one of them, and the Buffybot Spike commissioned for his sexual gratification was another. Most of the robots were evil, some were dangerous due to faulty programming, and some were helpful. When Xander found a cold room with the deceased remains of seven women, Xander knew which type of robot Ted fell under and the danger he posed to Joyce and Buffy.
  
  After spending a few hours in the mini-factory, Xander learned that the original Ted Buchanan was an unsuccessful inventor from the 1950s. He learned he was dying and his wife left him. Xander noted that the photo of his wife resembled Joyce-dirty-blonde, brown eyes, very pretty-as did the seven victims in the freezer. The sickly inventor then created a robotic duplicate of himself to be a better Ted for the woman who left him. Robo-Ted was programmed to be the perfect husband for his wife so that she would never leave him.
  
  "Talk about creepy on a level I never knew existed," Xander mouthed to himself as he set down the last letter human Ted wrote. Like a light flickering in his head, the teen suddenly remembered, "What the hell am I talking about? Spike totally made the Buffybot for the same reason. Uuggthh."
  
  Xander continued reading about Ted's programming, and with Sherlock's help, deduced that the robot kidnapped Ted's ex-wife rather than be the perfect husband and kept her in the bunker until she died. Robo-Ted then continued executing the same directives; go out into the world, maintain the illusion of a stable man, trick women back to his bunker, then keep them there to play the dutiful wife. No one would find these poor women, and when they eventually die, he'd start the entire process again.
  
  "Seven total," he voiced, looking at the frozen bodies in disgust and sadness. Imagining Joyce laying frozen with them made him shake his head with resolve. "Don't worry Ms. S. I got you."
  
  After Xander left the bunker, he confronted the machine himself. He bought a sledgehammer and walked into the software office building. With the hammer resting on his shoulder, Xander ignored the businessmen ordering him to leave the premises. The teen was on a mission and searched cubicle after cubicle until he finally found the mild-mannered man looking at him in confusion. Like everyone else, the machine had no recollection of ever meeting Xander.
  
  With a good grip on the sledgehammer's handle, Xander raised the hammer, loaded his back leg, twisted with his hips, and swung the heavy weapon as Ted stood up. Xander brought the blunt metal down hard on the man's head, denting the metal skull underneath, and the office erupted in pandemonium. The screams and frightened cries of horror nearly made Xander smile.
  
  Someone tried to stop Xander as he heard another yell, " Call 911! "
  
  Xander easily rotated his body to twist the arms holding him and force them to lose their grip on him. Ted tried to move, but it was clear from the mechanical trembling that something was malfunctioning. Xander took another swing, and the skin from his face came off with the power of the strike, showing the metal skull and wires underneath. The four office workers tried to stop Xander, but he rotated his body-making it hard for them to grab him-and used the long handle of the sledgehammer to twist the arms holding him into letting go while his feet kicked the knees and shins. With one more strike to the head, Ted lost enough function to finally deactivate.
  
  As sparks popped off from the robotic remains, Xander egged the police on to arrest him for destroying a robot no one owned. "It's a robot!" he yelled as they cuffed him. They brought the delinquent teen to the station for assault and disturbing the peace. In their cold interrogation room, the silent Xander was finally ready to try escaping the time braid again and simply waited to loop back.
  
  Xander dressed as Casanova in the next loop and walked into Ms. Calendar's classroom moments before the curse activated.
  
  Simple and short chapter, I know. I felt Xander needed a chapter like this more than the last time he used Achilles. Xander was training his own body to move and react like Achilles, gaining more and more experience and technique he can't get from the costumes. Please keep in mind that the costumes aren't the end all and be all solution. They're just tools. Xander has to put in the work if he wants to build something amazing with them. He's a much better fighter now. Still human, but with much better combat IQ and technique.
  
  Tomorrow's update(Chap 20) will get back to the story. It'll be longer too.
  
  For my readers who didn't watch the show and are curious about the Buffybot, (SPOILERS if you're planning on watching the show) ...Spike becomes obsessed with Buffy later on. Stalking, stealing underwear, making a shrine of her. The whole nine. There's a character later who makes life-like robots and Spike forces him to make a Buffy-look-alike robot for his sexual gratification.
  
  That's all I got. Please leave your thoughts and comments. I love reading and answering them. Thanks again and see you tomorrow!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Retribution Gone Wild
  It's Sunday! And yes, another chapter😁
  
  PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU DON'T SKIP THE UPDATE BEFORE THIS ONE. This chapter(20) is the second update of a back-to-back release. So there was one yesterday(chap19) that you may have missed.
  
  Warning: Smut.
  
  10K. Thank you to my Betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB, for their hard work. They've been going strong for months now. Enjoy!
  
  Retribution Gone Wild
  
  Mimicking Achilles' combat ability with his own body for so long infused what a strong and efficient body should move like into Xander's soul. He found it fortunate that the memories from the costumes and the technique-building from the time braid worked well together because now he had a confidence in battle he never had before. Though Xander would've preferred if his body automatically knew how to fight immediately after wearing the Achilles costume, he was grateful the time braid allowed him to dramatically increase the efficiency of his motor skills.
  
  ' Like cooking a meal, ' he whimsically mused. ' The costume's memories are the ingredients. And the time braid's the unending labor putting that massive meal all together. '
  
  Restarting the week-loop gave him weaker muscles again, however, now Xander felt like every muscle fiber in his body was perfectly in sync. His muscles in rotation worked together to generate far more power while maintaining technique than he ever had before. More power and balance from weaker, thinner muscles. Waking up beside Ms. Calendar, Xander planned to work out and stretch for weeks to get a far better range of motion, power, and agility. Recalling all he lost due to his stupidity in trusting Kendra, however, the silver lining was the smile of satisfaction on Jenny's face as the naked beauty held him.
  
  Initially, Xander was afraid he missed a step with Ms. Calendar after so many battles in his rage phase. As it turned out, he only needed a moment to get into his rhythm again. More than anything, however, he was happy to have missed Jenny; happy he could still miss anyone after repeating everything so many times. He missed her so much, he outperformed all his previous attempts, making the beautiful woman orgasm so hard, she passed out for a few seconds. The flush and heaving Jenny was a goner from that point on. Xander had her moaning and groaning through multiple orgasms at all hours of the night. Come morning, despite his phenomenal skill, Ms. Calendar still distanced herself from him, which Xander was fine with.
  
  Xander didn't need to follow his friends to know what they were going to do for the week-loop, so he spent his time more productively. He skipped Review Day at the library and bought the same twenty lotto scratchers with money he earned from trading a collectible action figure. Out of the twenty, he won thirteen $1000 scratchers, then sold twelve of them around town for $700 a pop, netting him $8400. With the little daylight left, Xander walked into Wild Dinks and made his deal with Pete again.
  
  Rather than start cleaning his room that night, Xander bought a sledgehammer. In the dead of night, Xander made his way to Ted's bunker. It was locked from within, meaning the robot was in there. It left the young teen with few other options but to knock on the metal hatch.
  
  "Hello!" He called, banging on the heavy metal with the head of his sledgehammer. He hoped the sound carried down to the robot as he playfully continued, "Can Teddy come out to play? No one'll get hurt; honest."
  
  After another five minutes of annoying calls and loud banging, Xander heard the metal gears of the unlocking mechanism clank loudly as it turned, then the hatch opened. The teen stepped back, allowing Ted to get out. The mild-mannered man looked around the immediate and open area before focusing on the teenager casually leaning on his sledgehammer like a walking cane.
  
  Clearly confused, Ted cautiously asked, "Who are you supposed to be?"
  
  In his best mechanical voice, Xander replied, "My friends call me Murphy, but you can call me RoboCop." He flexed his neck before resting the sledgehammer on his shoulder and adding, "Dead or alive, you're coming with me."
  
  Xander instantly noticed Ted moved much faster than he did in the software office, and the teen was on the defensive for several moments. Xander used the handle of the hammer to block the fast strikes that were harder to see at night. Though Ted wasn't built for combat, a metal skeleton made its strikes harder, and of the two, Xander was the only one who had to worry about broken bones. However, the quick successive tapping of Ted's fists being blocked by the handle of the sledgehammer so close to his face didn't worry the teenager.
  
  Xander didn't panic. He couldn't panic. After all the rage-filled training he did in the day-loops, Xander had a combat mode. With his footwork, timing, depth perception, and vast amounts of life & death experience, his body was now highly conditioned to react unlike ever before.
  
  Ted threw a wide punch that instinctively Xander slipped as the butt of the hammer struck Ted's inner knee, shaking the robot off balance. From that weakened position, Ted tried to hit Xander with his other fist, but the teen was already spinning, building momentum into the head of his hammer. And when Ted's punch narrowly missed his head, Xander's sledgehammer orbited a full circle before burying the speeding hunk of steel into Ted's head.
  
  Sparks popped out of Ted's twitching head before the machine fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Xander smashed it up for good measure before dumping the mechanical body in the bunker. As he destroyed the files and blueprints in the underground room, Xander felt bad for Mrs. Summers. He imagined it would suck to lose someone without a proper explanation. Still, he'd want her to find someone better than Ted; and human.
  
  Closing the lid, Xander couldn't help quoting in his best RoboCop voice, "Thank you for your cooperation, citizen."
  
  When he wondered if Joyce had sex with it, Xander shook his head of his deplorable thoughts and went to a payphone where he anonymously tipped the police about the bodies in the bunker. After spending all of Sunday deep cleaning his room, Xander met Ford on Monday, then told Buffy how off the handsome teen felt. Xander warned his slayer friend that they needed to investigate him.
  
  As usual, she brushed him off in her usual lovable fashion, forcing Xander down the route of enlisting Angel's help. Once her vampire boyfriend confirmed they followed Ford to Spike's hideout, Buffy had to see for herself. She was just as heartbroken as in previous loops to learn the truth, and Angel was right there to comfort her. Xander couldn't let that continue. He had to break them up, though he thought it best to wait until Giles' Eyghon dilemma.
  
  Intent on beating the weakness out of his young muscles, Xander worked out throughout the week. When he wasn't working at the forge, he went running every morning and used the school gym to train his legs and core muscles, since smithing worked out his arms, chest, and back fairly well. His body ached every day until Thursday night when he found Philip's body. As he had before, he stood his ground with Buffy, surprising her into listening, and once again, he made it past the one-week cycle into the one-month.
  
  Xander relived the Mark of Eyghon and Jenny being possessed like the previous loop. As before, Buffy rushed to save Giles, then Ethan, after which Xander saved her when Ethan managed to tie her to a table. Angel's inner demon fought Eyghon and won, much to Buffy's joy.
  
  Saving Jenny from her possession of that demon was an obvious must, but so was talking to her later that night, because even if he loved sleeping with her, he knew she needed a friend more. They had long, passionate sex that night and the following morning, however, the beautiful teacher once again insisted it would be the last time.
  
  After a day of putting the finishing touches on a Viking dagger, Xander was in the library late at night searching for the details of Angel's curse. He didn't have proof before and assumed putting it in Buffy's hand would help her believe it. He didn't know precisely where to look and tried for two hours before the frustrated teenager decided to simply ask for help.
  
  ' But who to call? ' He thought.
  
  He was fairly certain Willow would keep it a secret from Buffy if he asked, but he couldn't be sure for how long. His red-haired best friend just wasn't the type to withhold such monumental news from her best female friend. Giles would keep it a secret, but he'd want to be the one to tell Buffy, and Xander knew he needed to be the one. In the end, Xander called Jenny and asked if she would meet him at the library.
  
  After Xander assured her Giles was gone for the night, she arrived twenty minutes later, dressed in a long black skirt and low cut white top under a black leather jacket. With her hair down and wine-red lipstick, the hormonal teen quickly fantasized about having his way with her on the library table. It was a fantasy he's never done before, making him ponder why he hadn't. His thoughts must've been obvious to the perceptive teacher because she raised her eyebrows and shook her head, as if to say, that will not be happening .
  
  "So, what's this about?" she asked, before adding, "And it had better not be what I think it is."
  
  Despite her claim, her eyes were playful and seductive, as if she were undressing him as much as he was undressing her. Xander knew the response, knew the look, and realized that was part of the reason she came. He stepped close to her and challenged in a low voice, "What if it was?"
  
  Jenny quickly scanned around the empty library, then eyed him intimately before protesting, "Not here, Xander."
  
  Grabbing her waist and pulling her flush against him, the experienced lover asked, "Then where?"
  
  She weakly pulled away as she asserted, " If ... if this is why you called me down here-"
  
  "And you came anyway," he confidently challenged, pulling her in closer. He could feel it in her arms; half of her wanted this to happen as well.
  
  "...We can't," she fought herself to say. "I said no more."
  
  Far more bluntly than she was expecting, Xander let her go as he conceded, "Okay." He backed away as if he had never cared in the first place, somewhat surprising her. Ignoring any sexual urge she may deny, he picked up the book he had before informing her, " That 's not actually why I called you. I'm trying to find a book or text that talks about Angel's curse."
  
  Her eyebrows raised as her eyes blanked out for a moment. Xander knew why. She didn't want anyone to know of her ancestry and purpose in Sunnydale. He played dumb when she asked, "W-Why?"
  
  "I was thinking- well , more like having repeated nightmares," he corrected before leaning close and sternly asking, "What if Angel lost his soul? Like, what if it's possible he could lose it? Wouldn't he turn as evil as all the other vampires? If it did happen somehow, that would destroy Buffy, maybe even get her killed."
  
  "O-or us," Jenny absentmindedly voiced, as her head filled with thoughts.
  
  Xander's head nodded wildly as if remembering, then agreeing, " Or us! You can see where the nightmares come in." She attempted a pitiful laugh before he finished with, "If it's a real possibility, I want to know how so we can make sure he never loses that puppy."
  
  "...I see," she eventually voiced. Looking at him with more conviction in her eyes, she added, "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. We should learn more... but, um, why not ask Rupert for help?"
  
  "Same reason I'm not asking Willow," he answered.
  
  "They'd tell Buffy," she easily guessed, with an assertive nod.
  
  "I want to be sure of anything before I tell her."
  
  Nodding, Jenny asked, "And why do you have to tell her? Shouldn't that be the Watcher's job?"
  
  Xander didn't want to tell her the truth. It would expose him too much for his liking, and so answered, "If she got angry enough at Giles, she might not listen to him when she should. It could get her killed."
  
  Jenny shook her head as if she didn't believe a word of his explanation. "That's not it." The teen didn't answer, nor could he hide from her sharp eyes. After a moment, her watchful expression softened before patting him on the shoulder. "She loves Angel with all her heart."
  
  Xander simply shrugged as he begrudgingly agreed, saying, "She does."
  
  "And you love her too," Jenny softly voiced.
  
  The teen turned to the book in his hand as he voiced with no embarrassment, "I thought that'd be obvious. We're best friends, after all."
  
  "That's not..." Taking a more considerate approach, she voiced, "Buffy would likely forgive Giles and Willow a lot easier than you because they have no skin in the game of love. You do. This isn't going to end the way you're hoping for." He looked at her sharp brown eyes and wondered just how much she could glean from him as she continued. "From where I'm standing, she sees you as a friend, maybe even a brother... but nothing more. Don't blow that up just because you might feel differently than she does."
  
  Her uncanny ability to read people would merit a compliment from Sherlock Holmes, however, it didn't make the teenage boy feel good. In many ways, Xander did want Buffy to stop seeing him like nothing more than a friend. Standing up to her seemed like a good idea, despite how terrifying it felt to be hated by her. Breaking Buffy and Angel up might make him look bad, but he had to imagine with enough time, she would come around to see him in a better light because of it.
  
  With a sharp decline in energy and motivation, he said with exasperation, "We should've just done the nasty instead."
  
  Jenny snorted a moment before kissing his cheek and remarking, "You know... you're acting a bit different." She looked him up and down before elaborating, "Less jokes, more gall."
  
  Smirking, he looked at her cleavage and responded, "Heh, boobs."
  
  With a sigh and eye roll, she replied in defeat, "Or maybe not."
  
  With a smirk that ended the playing, Xander returned to the topic by saying, "I'm not- I don't know why I'm worried- About Angel, not Buffy. But I am worried. We need to find out what we don't know." He gave her puppy-dog-eyes and batted his lashes before cutely asking, "So... w-will you help me?"
  
  Not amused, but said with a slight smile, "Fine. But not tonight. It's a school night."
  
  "Give me a ride home?"
  
  "I suppose," she casually answered.
  
  Leaning in close enough to feel her body heat rise, Xander softly suggested, "Or I can give you a ride... multiple times."
  
  The ebony-haired woman leveled knowing eyes at the mischievous boy, as if ready to rebuff his advances, then said nothing. She turned with more sway in her hips to leave the library, and Xander followed her with a confident smirk. Jenny drove them to her apartment, where they fell into her soft bed naked, leaving a trail of clothes behind them. With his youthful energy and zeal, Xander gave her multiple rides to multiple orgasms and the room became hot with the thick stench of sex. The feverish lovers fooled around until her sheets became drenched with their combined fluids and their lust was sated.
  
  The following day, Buffy and Willow once again rebuffed Xander's idea of a second slayer before the three entered the library. Giles also dismissed the possibility of a second slayer, frustrating Xander for his decision to keep events of the future secret. The annoyed teen had to remind himself, ' As soon as I know I'm out of the time braid, I'll tell them everything .'
  
  After Buffy informed her watcher of the theft in a mausoleum, the pair leave school during lunch to investigate, and upon their return, Giles requested help researching the Du Lac crypt. As it happened before, Buffy mentioned leaving to conserve her strength for the battle to come, and, backed by Willow, Giles relented. Xander informed them of his job at Wild Dinks, which surprised them once again. Though he was tempted to show them the Viking seax dagger he made for protection, he instead retrieved Jenny to help research, much to Giles' delight.
  
  As Buffy and Xander left the library, he lamented being unable to forge that day since Excalibur was progressing well. But following Buffy to her date with Angel took priority. He tugged on the straps of his backpack while casually asking where she'd be going for her date. Her bashful answer of, "The Ice Palace," made Xander nervous. Not only did her excitement to see Angel make him queasy, but the skating rink was off route 18, far enough away in the seedier section of town to make him nervous.
  
  After they split up, Xander made sure he packed holy water, two stakes, and his Viking dagger ready in his backpack. As he knew Sunnydale like the back of his hand, Xander took an indirect route to the skating rink. He stayed far enough away from the weathered building to cover the entrance and exit, but as of yet, he had seen no one enter. Eying from behind a tree, Xander feared he took too long to get to the old skating rink and wondered if Buffy and Angel had already left.
  
  His fears were soon eased when Buffy exited the building first, followed by Angel, and moments later, Kendra. From a distance, the teenager saw the Jamaican beauty following Angel, and as he tailed them, he pondered the best way to stop her. Like dominoes toppling one after another, Xander figured his best course of action was stopping Kendra. If he hindered Kendra from capturing Angel, Spike won't be able to kidnap him, and Drusilla won't be revitalized.
  
  When the dark-skinned beauty was walking semi-public streets, Xander jogged up to her, calling out well before reaching her, "Excuse me! Miss! Miss!" He had a plan, and it didn't include a heel kick to the chest from a surprised slayer. When she turned to him, her brown eyes widened when she realized a boy was calling out to her. Kendra's straight posture gave way to uncertainty the closer Xander approached.
  
  "Hi, yeah!" he gasped with a bright smile. "Sorry to bother you- Oh, hey, are you okay?"
  
  Upon realizing a human boy was indeed talking to her, the gorgeous Jamaican quickly became shy and demure, shrinking in place. The Casanova within was loving it, relishing in the idea of corrupting such an innocent girl. Xander didn't want to go that far, but he was still miffed she was the reason he looped back. The Kendra from that loop could've warned him she was going to involve the Watcher's Council, so he didn't look like he betrayed Buffy. Thinking about it again was upsetting him, but he held it in.
  
  "Hi, my name is Xander," he cheerfully told the crippling shy girl. "I was wondering if you could help me out! It's a matter of life and death," he finished, hoping her desire to save lives will delay her longer. He didn't know how long Angel needed before Kendra lost the trail, but would try to keep her busy for as long as he could.
  
  The pair stood on the sidewalk, in the shadow between old street lights, and she couldn't meet his inquisitive gaze. Kendra was dressed in her form-fitting long sleeve, brown crop-top that showed her toned abs and mahogany-colored slacks. The caramel-skinned girl was flustered and fiddled with her hands as she stuttered, "I- I- You s-see sir, I m-must be g-going-"
  
  She spun in the direction she thought Angel went, but Xander innocently stepped into her vision, forcing her to look away once again. "Please?" Xander begged. "You'd be my hero if you could just answer a couple questions for me."
  
  She looked conflicted for several moments, eying Angel's direction, then turning to Xander again before eventually voicing, "I- I- If I may be of s-service, sir."
  
  "Great! Thank you so much. And you can call me Xander," he replied, keeping a safe distance so as to not scare her off. With a wave of his hand and a head tilt, he bids her, "Come on. There's a coffee shop right around the corner."
  
  He knew there wasn't a coffee shop around the corner. Instead, he walked her to a dingy restaurant to delay her for as long as possible. The building was made of brick walls with cement filling and cracks webbing up the walls. When it dawned on her they were going into the moderately busy restaurant, Kendra backed away as if she was going to leave. Xander assumed she was having an internal battle between following Angel or helping a civilian. He clapped his hands together and pleaded once again for her help.
  
  "You'd totally be doing me the biggest favor if you stayed! Please, you'd be saving my life!"
  
  The beautiful Jamaican mulled it over for several moments, and with a last look down the street, she nodded before entering the restaurant. It wasn't very crowded in the old restaurant. The wood flooring creaked and the red-bricked walls made it feel rustic. They went to the farthest booth away and Xander extended his hand, offering her the choice of sitting where she liked. She sat on the far side of the booth for a better view of the crowd.
  
  Xander then set his bag on the opposite seat before sitting next to her, surprising the cinnamon-skinned girl and making her scoot closer to the brick wall. At her sudden motion, Xander raised his palms and explained, "Oh, hey, in America, we sit beside friends, like, to show respect." Truthfully, Xander simply didn't want her to leave easily.
  
  "I've n-never heard of this," she stated.
  
  "Really?" Xander gasped, taking a seat. "It's pretty common. It can feel very threatening facing someone. Look at the bar," he said, pointing with his thumb. "See how they're all sitting next to each other?" She reluctantly looked before nodding. "That's how we do it here."
  
  Though she nodded, she remained flat against the wall and her eyes stayed downward. Despite being able to fit another person between them, Xander felt a sense of satisfaction at making her flustered. It'll be harder for her to leave and a fitting punishment for forcing him to loop back. When the waitress appeared, Xander ordered several appetizers and any drink Kendra wanted.
  
  He reassured her, "My treat." After their order, Xander asked, "So, I never got your name."
  
  She cleared her dry throat before answering, "K-Kendra."
  
  "Kendra. That's a pretty name," he complimented. "Very strong. You look like a strong girl. I hope you don't mind my saying that." Rather than talk, she simply looked down and shook her head. "Well, Kendra, since you're being so awesome for helping a complete stranger, eat as much as you like. I'm buying."
  
  "T-thank y..."
  
  "I should tell you about myself; that way you'll feel more comfortable," Xander started. "My name is Xander Harris, but you can call me Xander," he began. "I go to Sunnydale high school, but I'm also a weaponsmith. I actually have a piece I just finished recently if you want to see it."
  
  Xander reached over for his bag and took the Norse seax dagger out of his bag. After unsheathing the dark-bladed weapon from the leather sheath, he presented it to her for her judgment. The length of the seax was ten inches, five of which was razor-sharp. He used 5160 high carbon spring steel, and it was perfectly balanced. The handle was wrapped in natural brown leather and the entire build didn't take more than a couple of days to complete. Xander knew a magical Excalibur was more important, however, he needed a weapon for his personal protection. At the sight of the blade, Kendra forgot about her nervousness.
  
  "Careful," he warned. "It's really sharp."
  
  Examining every inch of the blade with admiration, she remarked, "It's beautiful."
  
  "Thanks," he replied with a genuine smile. It felt good to hear a slayer appreciate his work. Letting her hold the weapon, Xander grabbed the notebook in his bag and voiced, "Anyway, on to those questions."
  
  Uneasy again, Kendra sheathed the dagger and nervously played with it in her hands. It seemed to give her strength to ask, "A-are these questions truly a matter of life and d-death?"
  
  "I wouldn't lie to you," Xander assured her with a small smirk on his lips and a twinge of guilt in his heart.
  
  Reacting as if she offended him, she anxiously replied, "N-no, of course n-not, sir."
  
  "Xander," he firmly insisted. "None of this sir stuff. I've never been knighted by the queen. Come on, say it with me, ZAANNN DEERRRR."
  
  "X-Xan der."
  
  "There you go." The appetizers of wings, southwest rolls, mozzarella sticks, artichoke & spinach dip, tortilla chips, buttered bread, and onion rings arrived and Xander encouraged her to eat as much as she wanted. He ate a bit as well before taking out his pen. He wrote out the first question before asking, "Do you believe in love between a man and a woman?"
  
  Kendra was taken aback by the first question and leaned harder into the brick wall. She wiped her full lips of the small sheen of grease before stumbling to answer, "I- I don't- have... experience in matters such as this, sir- X-Xander."
  
  Nodding as he wrote her response, he then asked a follow-up question. "Well, you have parents, right?"
  
  "I do. But..."
  
  With genuine curiosity, her long pause had him ask, "But?" The reason Old Man Xander didn't remember her was because they never talked, and Xander didn't want to make the same mistake. He was going to take this opportunity to learn more about her. She may have screwed him over before, but he couldn't ignore she was only doing her duty.
  
  Looking into the artichoke, she voiced, "...I h-have not seen them in many years."
  
  "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," he genuinely expressed. "Life must be very different where you're from."
  
  "I-it is."
  
  "Well, that sucks, but if it helps, I can teach you how to blend in seamlessly in America. Maybe you can make lifelong friends here," he merrily asserted. "Oh, we have to sit a little closer together." Reluctantly, Kendra scooted a little closer. "Have another wing. They're good, right?" After she nodded, he wrote as he said, "Question two: Do you believe emotions are a strength or a weakness?"
  
  "W-weakness," she honestly replied. "They distract from the mission."
  
  "Mission?" Her big brown eyes went wide in panic before he spared her the anxiety of being discovered and stated, "Oh, you mean like goals! Yeah, I think they can be a distraction too, but not all the time. Like, for example; A mother loves her children, yes?" She nodded cutely as she nibbled on a wing. He continued, "Okay. If she had to, wouldn't she sacrifice her life to protect them?" Kendra tilted her pretty head in thought before nodding in agreement. "Then didn't love give her strength to make the ultimate sacrifice for the people she loves?"
  
  He could see the wheels turning in her head before she slowly nodded in realization. "What you say... has merit," the Jamaican girl ultimately agreed. In her cute accent, she added, "But, I still believe feelings cause more problems than they solve."
  
  "Fair enough," he replied as he wrote her answer down. "Okay, question three... of which, you do not have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable... you're not uncomfortable with me, are you?" She hesitated a moment before quickly shaking her head, no. "Sweet. I'm glad- Oh, we have to move a little closer." She moved a little closer, and they were half a body apart. "Do you have a boyfriend?" She was so flustered, she just shook her head fervently. "Really? A beautiful girl like you? I find that hard to believe." She didn't stop shaking her head. "But you look so strong and capable; you're obviously beautiful. I'm shocked you don't have a boyfriend."
  
  "I- I- I-"
  
  Realizing he was pushing her too much, Xander backed off. "Oh, it's okay. You don't have to explain if you don't want to. No one's forcing you here. You're free to say whatever you want. Eat some more." The girl was so nervous, she simply did as he said. "Um, have you ever had a boyfriend?" She shook her head, and though Xander wasn't surprised, he acted incredibly shocked. "Wow!"
  
  Daring to look at him, she asked, "Is that... w-wrong?"
  
  "Nothing you say is wrong, Kendra," he firmly reassured her. "So don't feel like any of your answers are a mistake or something. Because they're not. It's just, if it were me, I'd ask you out on a date for sure." She chokes a bit on the dip to hear him be so forward. "So that eliminates the next question; if you've ever kissed a man."
  
  Kendra's suspicions finally registered and asked, "What- what are these questions? They are q-quite personal."
  
  Xander maintained the lie by answering, "It's for my school project, which is fifty percent of my grade. If I don't interview someone for our health class, I could fail , which would totally be the end of my life!"
  
  Kendra looked confused as she remarked, "I've heard of no schools here that execute corporal punishment."
  
  "Yeah," he said with a nod, leaning toward the uniqueness of Sunnydale. "But this is a very special town, and not in the best ways. A lot of weird stuff happens all the time here."
  
  With more resolute curiosity, the more focused girl asked, "Is that so?"
  
  Xander teased her curiosity, answering, "Yeah. It's part of the reason why I started making weapons; to protect myself. I may be a guy, but I'm not that strong."
  
  "I believe that is admirable, X-Xander."
  
  He shoulder-bumped her with a smile, making her flustered and nervous once again. "Look at you; saying my name like we're friends." She smiled a small smile before he continued. "Actually, what brought you here? If you don't mind me asking."
  
  "I must Slay- I am here to fulfill my duty," she corrected herself.
  
  "Oh, like your job?" he asked, and she nodded. "Wow, we look the same age, but you're already working and traveling. Do you model?"
  
  Shaking her head, she answered, "N-no."
  
  "Oh, well, I think you should," he casually suggested. "If you did, I'm sure the road to success would be a ten-lane freeway with no speed limit. I'm not kidding when I say every guy in here was checking you out the moment you walked in."
  
  Kendra instantly became alert, turning her back to the brick wall. She fiercely scanned the half-dozen patrons in the room as she asked, "Are we in danger?"
  
  Her intensity surprised him as he called, "Wha- Oh, no, Kendra! We're fine! I didn't mean it like that." With a peaceful palm up, he explained, "I only meant to say they're all attracted to your appearance."
  
  After calming down, she slowly sat down and they were now close enough to feel each other's body heat. Her brown eyes looked at him skeptically as she asked, "Truly?"
  
  "I can't overstate this enough; but yes . Very much," he exclaimed as if it was unbelievable she could be so oblivious to her beauty. He wondered if she didn't know how pretty she was or didn't care. Kendra remained silent for a moment before he picked up his pen and continued. "On, to the next one, then. Have you ever wondered what love would feel like?"
  
  Kendra took a deep breath before slowly nodding and honestly answering, "I mustn't lie... I have wondered, at times, what it must be like."
  
  Slowly, he asked, "Was it because you were attracted to a boy?"
  
  She hesitated to answer, but Xander nodded and gave her his most comforting face in hopes she continued. "There w-was a boy... in the nearby village... He was very tall, handsome, and quite fast, but he was- ...He passed away."
  
  Her forlorn expression revealed how ingrained the death of her loved one was. It also told him why she'd deny any frivolity in favor of obsessing over her duty. In the fight against evil, Kendra was wholly dedicated to her work. On the other hand, Xander didn't believe being wound so tight was good for her. He remembered his panic attack and could imagine the same happening to her someday if she didn't relax a little.
  
  Xander solemnly asked, "Is that why you're so focused on your work?" She more or less nodded, and Xander sighed before confessing, "I'm glad I met you, Kendra. The more I learn about you, the more amazing you become." Feeling like he's delayed her long enough, Xander made light conversation with her until they were done eating. After leaving cash on the table, they were outside once again.
  
  Enjoying the cool air of the night sky, Xander asked out of courtesy, "Can I escort you home? Like I said, this town isn't exactly the warm and cozy breakfast nook you want it to be."
  
  With her professionalism shining through, Kendra stood straighter as she firmly asked, "Have you seen anything unusual?"
  
  "I've seen a few things," he said with a long nod. "At night, all the weirdos come out. People disappear, murders happen, or people getting bitten. It's a strange town, to say the least. Nobody really talks about it, but that doesn't mean stuff doesn't happen. Which is why I'd feel much better if I walked you home, or to your hotel, if that's where you're staying."
  
  Suddenly becoming nervous again, Kendra hesitantly replied, "I appreciate your kind offer-"
  
  "Please, Kendra," he cut in. "I know we just met, but, I can't let a friend walk home alone. If something happened to you, I'd never be able to forgive myself."
  
  "I assure you nothing will happen to me," she confidently said.
  
  "You can never be too careful," he insisted. "In this town, everyone knows two things; never walk anywhere alone and buy your burial plots early." Xander looked down both ends of the street as he asked, "So, which way?"
  
  Kendra grew even more anxious and looked away as she stuttered to say, "I- I'm so- sorry, Xander, sir. I- I-"
  
  Moving close to her and leaning down to make eye contact, he softly emphasized, "Hey, hey, you know it's okay to tell me anything. I won't judge you." Extending his right hand, he said, "Here, take my hand. It's another custom here." She was incredibly flustered, and on the inside, it amused him. ' She's so cute, ' he thought as she took his hand. He asked, "So, where to?"
  
  Nervously, she forced herself to admit, "I d-don't have... a place-"
  
  Whirling around on her, he gasped, "You're kidding! Tell me you're kidding! Then where have you been staying?"
  
  Timidly, she answered, "I take shelter... in buildings-"
  
  "I did not just hear that," Xander called out loud, regardless of the people around. "Kendra! No, I can't allow that! I'm getting you a hotel room."
  
  "No!" she called, whirling on him. She protested, "You've been far too generous already! I cannot accept more of your generosity."
  
  "And I can't accept you staying in abandoned buildings," he hotly returned. "What kind of man would that make me?"
  
  "You've already honored me with a meal without proper compensation," Kendra quickly counter-argued. "It would be improper for me to accept any more without paying you in return."
  
  "What about staying at my house?" Xander suggested. "I live with my parents, so you don't have to be scared of being alone with me."
  
  Tilting her head and knitting her eyebrows, the Jamaican girl genuinely asked, "Why would I fear such a thing?"
  
  The way she asked, as if a girl being alone with a male stranger was nothing to fear, had him slowly reply, "Uh, well, because I'm a guy and girls can be scared of being alone with guys they don't know."
  
  Shaking her head, the confident caramel girl informed him, "I have no such fears."
  
  "I'll... uh, take that as a compliment," he suggested. "Look, I won't be spending money on a hotel if you stay at my place. You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch-"
  
  "I cannot," Kendra flatly stated. "Your home is far more valuable than a hotel."
  
  "Well, I'm not letting you sleep in-" The teenage boy halted mid-sentence when he realized the Casanova within truly was a scumbag, which only meant he was a scumbag. Neurons in his brain were firing off an idea that made him feel immoral. But with the gorgeous Jamaican slayer in front of him, the hormonal teenager couldn't resist asking, "What about a trade?"
  
  Xander assured himself he would not sleep with her, but a bit more retribution for making him loop wouldn't hurt. The caramel-skinned beauty eyed him curiously before he pointed out, "You said you've never kissed a guy before. If you kiss me, that'd be something pretty valuable you can offer me, and then you can stay at my house until your work is done or you find a better place. That doesn't sound bad, right?" The moment she hesitated, he sadly bemoaned, "Unless you think I'm too ugly to kiss..."
  
  "No! I- No, my apologies, Xander, sir!"
  
  Pumping peaceful-palms, he tried to tame her wild reaction by saying, "No, it's okay if you don't find me attractive-" "Dat- No-" Kendra tried but Xander kept insisting, "It was stupid of me to ask. I'm sorry-" He played up how she must find him ugly and unlovable so much she eventually agreed, voicing, "I accept!"
  
  He slowly asked, "Really?" The exasperated girl simply nodded. "Because you don't have to if you don't want to. I'd still offer you a place to stay without-"
  
  "I understand," she interjected, clearly frazzled by the emotional roller coaster. "I believe... it is only fair. I will never have use for those kinds of... activities ." She cleared her throat and added, "And I can escort you home. You're correct in your assessment. I am strong. I can protect you."
  
  That made him feel a little bad, but a kiss from a slayer is worth the crummy feeling, and he nodded with a smile. Additionally, if she stayed with him, then Angel should be fine. On the bus home, Xander explained to Kendra the public transportation and a few of the locations, like a tour guide. Changing buses, he gave her a few dollars in case she wanted to travel around Sunnydale. It was nearly eleven when they arrived at his home, and Xander knew his parents would be at the bar until last call.
  
  Though Xander felt embarrassed leading Kendra through his untidy home, he was happy his room was spotless; especially the ceiling. That was always the first thing he saw when he looped back, and he hated the putrid yellow stain there. His room didn't smell like unwashed clothes or stale food, nor was it a cluttered mess. The carpet was clean, the scent in the air was pine and lavender, and his bed was made exactly how Soldier Xander was taught in basic training. His room was such a stark difference from the rest of the house that Kendra was surprised as soon as she walked in.
  
  Setting down his backpack, Xander told her without thought, "I have some old clothes that would... still be too big on you, now that I think about it. I'll ask my friends tomorrow if they can lend you some of their clothes."
  
  With a mousy nervousness, Kendra voiced, "You are t-t-too kind, X-Xander."
  
  "Oh, please," he said with a wave of his hand. "Anybody would help."
  
  "Even if I am n-not permitted to speak to boys, I was raised to repay k-kindness whenever I come across it," she kindly informed him.
  
  Xander nodded gratefully before suggesting, "Yeah, but you'd rather not kiss me, right? It's okay. You don't have to-" She stepped forward faster than he could react and quickly grazed his lips with hers before backing away. Blushing furiously, she couldn't even look at him and stared at the clean floor instead. Xander felt the gust of wind more than her lips and asked, "Uh, was that it?"
  
  The uneasy girl nearly made eye contact with him as she asked, "Wa-was th-that not to your lik- liking?"
  
  Pumping those ' I-come-in-peace ' palms again, he assured her, "No, no, it was fine. It was... If that's how they kiss in Jamaica, that's cool. I'll take it. I'm feeling the full force of honored here."
  
  As if to justify her skill level, she confessed, "I'm not- I don't have... experience ... with th-this activity."
  
  The Casanova within was begging for the follow-up question and Xander couldn't deny his desire to kiss such a beautiful girl. Slowly, the hormonal teen asked, "Would it be okay if I showed you?" Her spine stiffened some and nervousness coated her curvaceous body like a second skin. But with determined eyes, she nodded, giving him a sense of her courageousness. Xander made certain she knew, "Alright, just remember, you can stop whenever you want and I'll be one hundred percent cool with it."
  
  She nodded, and he stepped in front of her. Moving slowly throughout, he took her hands and placed them around his back, then cupped her sharp jawline before his thumbs gently stroked her cheeks. He leaned in and pressed his slightly parted lips against hers. She stilled with a rigid back and felt on edge, prompting Xander to tilt his head, gently caressing her button nose with his as he deepened the slow kiss.
  
  After a dozen seconds, she seemed to calm down and tilt upward. Their faces pressed flush against one another so they can feel the soft warmth melting away any doubt this felt good. As his lips sucked on hers and repositioned for a better and deeper connection, Kendra felt more at ease with every second. When Xander tried to coax more play out of her, the gorgeous girl backed away. Her hand unconsciously touched her full lips a moment before she pulled it away. She cleared her throat and looked flustered, like she didn't know what happened or how to feel about it.
  
  To avoid spooking her, Xander softly asked, "How was it?"
  
  She nodded several times before finding her voice to say, "...p-pleasant. Gentle."
  
  The Casanova pattern bothered him incessantly with possible replies, but Xander didn't want to. Kendra may have screwed him over in a previous loop, but the sexy girl he'd love to see naked in front of him hadn't. He was intent on ending this there. However, the horny teen was powerless to say, "Well, I didn't want to start you off with a hard kiss and scare you off."
  
  Growing curious, she hesitated to ask, "H-hard kiss?"
  
  "Yeah," he answered, fighting his inner desire for sex and failing miserably. It didn't help that she had great hips, an apple-bottom ass, perfect tits, and a gorgeous face; a face he just kissed. He was feeling it. His lower brain was taking the lead. "What we did was the gentle kiss; soft, playful, delicate. The hard kiss is when it has more power and you push in more. It's a stronger kiss. Do you think you're more the gentle type or the strong type?"
  
  "I believe I may be more suited to this stronger method."
  
  "...Want to try it?" he asked. Kendra took a moment to consider it before nodding. "Okay, what's important here is strength, desire, need. Have you ever felt aroused, sexually?" She blushed immediately through her deliciously caramel-colored skin, and he asked, "Was that too personal?"
  
  Clearing her throat, she asserted in her Jamaican accent, "Do not be concerned for me. I am strong. I am capable."
  
  Clearly, it was becoming a point of pride for the raven-haired slayer, and Xander felt like tempering that feeling by assuring her, "Well, you oughta know you're definitely a good kisser. Your lips are made to be kissed." She looked up in wide-eyed surprise. "But doing the hard kiss will require more."
  
  Her breathing was rapid but she nodded sternly as the Jamaican girl stated, "I am ready."
  
  "Okay, are you a lefty or a righty?"
  
  "Both."
  
  "You're just bursting with talent, aren't ya?" She smirked a little until Xander moved them along with the directions he spoke. "Your left arm is going to wrap around my back and massage up and down. Your right hand is going to rub my chest and grip the back of my neck as you feel it. See, how we're a lot closer," he asked as they were flushed against each other. "See how much more involved this is?"
  
  Blushing down to her neck, the silent girl nodded vigorously.
  
  "Okay, now, close your eyes," he softly ordered. After she did as he asked, he continued, "Part your lips, slightly. Okay, follow my lead and just try to feel it."
  
  Xander teased her full lips a moment, enjoying the warmth of her fluffy soft lips, before truly making out with her. His tongue dived into her wet oral cavity and played with her strong tongue as he tilted her head with his hand. Kendra rubbed his chest and back while his other hand massaged her lower back. The experienced teen enjoyed the vibrations of her moan when his thumb rubbed the dimple just above her round ass, making him press her body flat against him as they made out.
  
  When he thought the sheltered girl was about to stop, she suddenly became much more insistent, pulling at him like it was the first time she'd ever tasted sugar. He grabbed her ass and pulled her into his erection as much as possible in an effort to scare her into slowing down, but that only seemed to inflame her abrupt desire. For a sliver of a second, he wondered why she suddenly became more aggressive, and almost immediately, he didn't care.
  
  Xander broke their passionate kiss to nibble at her neck as his hands rubbed her amazing body, searching the sensitive zones that could make her shiver and moan. His sizable pool of experience unconsciously guided his hands to quickly identify her pleasure spots. The dimples over her ass made her shiver; Tracing her lower abdominal muscles made her squeeze her legs together; Nibbling her neck and earlobes, and massaging between her trapezius muscles, mustered moans from her full lips. It all made her hold him desperately.
  
  Her nipples hardened against his chest and his rock-hard cock was jamming into her, overwhelming her with unknown waves of tingling thrill. As if she were finally cutting loose, Xander could tell she was getting lost in the delicious feelings. He knew Slayers lived in the moment. Their power and goals were meant to deal with the present; typically vanquishing evil. At the moment, however, the only thing that mattered to the moaning girl was building her excitement to a level she had never felt before; just as Casanova expected from a highly repressed girl.
  
  Xander was massaging her breasts and ass freely, tweaking her nipple between his fingers as he lifted, squeezed, and pulled on the soft, succulent flesh. Her moans and whimpers only grew in his keen ears. Gripping her hair by the root and tugging just enough for her to feel a stimulating shiver, Xander pulled her lips away from his and looked over her heavily aroused face. Her sensual eyes were half-lidded and her pupils were dilated pools of dark arousal.
  
  "Do you want to feel more?" he asked, but she only kissed him, opening their jaws wide and nearly crushing their lips. After another minute, the aroused boy pulled back again. "Can I do something else for you?"
  
  Dazed in pleasure, she only nodded. Xander sat on the bed, then had her sit between his legs so her back was to his chest. He massaged her luscious breasts and tweaked her erect nipple, then moved to unclip her cargo pants. He unzipped and slowly rubbed her mound over her panties before slipping inside the thin fabric and massaging her hot slit. It felt like a wet furnace as Xander caressed her mound and clitoris. The rising stimulation had her lean back and spread her legs farther as the unfamiliar sensation gripped her.
  
  Kendra gasped when Xander wiggled a finger inside her virgin womanhood. The more his experienced finger pumped and cuddled her sensitive insides, the more tiny streams of warm honey seeped from her pink hole. When Xander inserted a second finger into her dripping warm cunt, pumping in and out of the eager girl, she gripped his arm and thrusted her pelvis on her own. His experienced hands tallied every response and played with her bouts of pleasure like an instrument. The sweating boy was feeling the burn in his forearm, but the gorgeous slayer certainly liked it rough, and he had plenty of gas left in the tank.
  
  As he tweaked and massaged her nipple and breast, Xander pumped his drenched fingers in her cunnie for minutes. Her pelvis was shivering more erratically, building pressure until she finally exploded with pleasure. Her legs shot out and her whole body quivered as she was rocked with a powerful orgasm. Her head snapped back, resting on his shoulder as her mind was numbed with the euphoric haze of nirvana.
  
  Despite her painfully strong grip, Xander kept applying minor stimulation to her clit, breast, and nipple, keeping her high on bliss for several minutes before allowing her to come down. Her eyes were closed. She was heaving and panting, and overall, the sweaty slayer was gorgeous as she laid listlessly against him.
  
  When she hummed to the little kisses on her temple, he asked, "Can I do something else for you?"
  
  "Don't stop... doing things," she drunkenly voiced.
  
  Without a second thought, Xander got from behind her and let her lay down on the bed. With her help, the eager teens removed her cargo pants, followed by her drenched panties. Plunging between her legs, the experienced boy sucked and fingered her in tandem, filling his sex-scented room with her moans once again. Kendra certainly required more energy than any of the other girls he'd been with, but that only excited Xander more. Someone new to melt under him.
  
  When the exotic beauty was getting close again, he gripped her ass cheeks and raised her lithe body as he continued to vigorously eat her out. Despite her shy tendency around men, Kendra had the fire of a Slayer-an aggressor, a fighter-and she gripped his hair to keep him there as she arched her back.
  
  "I'm nearly th-there- Something- Something big- coming! Coming!" she yelled until she burst from her quivering center like the bursting of a giant water balloon. Her throbbing pink core jutted her love nectar onto his lapping tongue for moments so long it felt like she was cumming for minutes. Her powerful orgasm only blinded the horny teens of all their reason and responsibility. They took the rest of their clothes off, and as quickly as they could, Xander was burying his near six-inch pole inside of her hot sex.
  
  " MMMNnnn ," Kendra groaned as Xander grunted with eyes closed, "Oh... Goddamn!"
  
  Xander's stiff cock slid into Kendra's cunt, caressing the velvety walls of her beating vagina the deeper he dove until he was fully enveloped in her love tunnel. A stray thought wondered why he hadn't felt the barrier of a virgin, but he quickly ignored it for the amazing heat squeezing his mighty cock and heating his entire body.
  
  If Kendra thought Xander was just going to pump in & out of her with reckless abandon, she had no sense of what was coming. Xander teased her with slow and deliberate strokes, searching for her deep erogenous zones, and when he found one, he would pound into that area as hard as she wanted it. He'd slow down again to search for her unique pleasure centers. When found another angle that made her twitch around him and moan louder, he pounded into her again, alternating between the two while his hands held the strong girl down.
  
  " AAHHNN! MMMN! AAHHH! MMM! There! Mine Godt! Ri-Right theerrrr," Kendra groaned deeply, holding onto Xander while he nibbled at her neck.
  
  Their naked bodies gleamed with building love sweat as the teens humped each other. Kendra wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers, devouring his mouth as he pounded into her. The bed bucked beneath them, knocking into the wall repeatedly from the force of Xander's thrusts. And the petals of her labia lathered the veined sides of his pulsing cock with generous amounts of her juices, dripping onto the sheets.
  
  Kendra broke their kiss to breathe as she held him. He felt her womanhood's building contraction and knew she didn't have long. Her breathing came in harsh pants, her legs began trembling, and she felt her orgasm approach, threatening to detonate with a megaton of pleasure. Not more than a moment after teasing her clitoris, Kendra arched her back and exploded in mind-bending bliss. Her tight pussy clamped on his entire length as her whole body spasmed from the intense waves of shocking pleasure.
  
  " KKEEEEUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM! MMMMMNNNNNNNN! MMMMMMNNN! " she wailed out.
  
  Still inside her, Xander held strong as he rolled their joined pelvises to keep her mind in catatonic bliss longer. The flush woman was boneless after her orgasm subsided, but Xander wanted to cum as well. He flipped the girl over and felt comfortable slapping her ass before he began pounding her, doggy style, into the mattress.
  
  The entire bed shook, and the room was thick with the scent and sounds of animalistic mating. Pushing her shoulders down gave his hips more leverage to rise higher and slam down harder into her gushing snatch. Kendra was losing her composure again, and he was near his own end. He held on just long enough for her to gush on his sheets before he pulled out and shot his rivulets of man-milk over her glistening back and ass. Laying half on top of her, they both slumped down onto the bed to rest.
  
  Lost in the sexual joy of going balls deep in someone new, especially a beauty he hadn't planned on-Xander didn't want to stop. Still erect, the horny teen raised her knees to her shoulders before entering her again. He found her g-spot and maliciously pounded her squeezing sex until she wailed in delight and shook violently upon repeated waves of her fourth orgasm. Keeping her in a pleasure-induced coma for minutes, he massaged her ass and the back of her thighs to her delight while dining on her pert nipples.
  
  The horny teens only cared for more pleasure. Laying on top of her, he rolled with her to his back, making her straddle him. The woman Xander was looking at was not the same Kendra he met earlier that night or in the previous loop. This Slayer was a monster in the sack, with a hunger that needed to be satisfied. She raised her dripping sex over his jutting shaft and impaled herself to their mutual delight. They groaned at the amazing feel of electricity buzzing up and down their spine.
  
  Her rolling hips were awkward at first, but Slayers were masters of their bodies and she quickly figured out the best rhythm to get the most friction and pleasure building. His right hand massaged her dangling sugar-brown breast, tweaking her dark nipple with just enough pain to make her groan in pleasure while his left massaged her toned inner thigh. She was in control of the pace and rode his rod wild and hard, swelling that coil of pleasure at her center.
  
  " Hahhn, Ah, AAN, MMNN , Yes, Yes, Yes! More! More! More!" she moaned as she neared the point of no return. Xander felt ready to blow when she slammed down hard. She clamped around him as her back arched and waves of pleasure flooded her every nerve. The slick heat clamping down on his sensitive knob sent Xander over the edge, and he quickly rolled her to the side before pulling out. He could tell some was inside her, but he spilled most of his load on her belly. Though she was still trembling, she turned to him curiously. It was the first time she seemed more conscious rather than simply instinctual.
  
  "Sorry," Xander huffed, slowly settling down. "I don't have a condom... so I had to pull out." She still looked confused, so he elaborated, "So you don't get pregnant."
  
  Her eyes widened when it donned on her. "I hadn't- I did not think-" Kendra was rapidly realizing how far she had gone and was beginning to panic.
  
  Xander raised his palms and tried to maintain eye contact as he assured her, "Whoa, hey, Kendra? Kendra, you're okay."
  
  "No- no," she quickly insisted, grabbing a pillow to cover her nudity. "I shouldn't have-"
  
  "Did you kill someone?" he quickly interjected.
  
  "What?" she asked, staring at him in confusion.
  
  "Did you kill someone?"
  
  "I- no."
  
  "Then take a breath and calm down," he calmly comforted. "Nothing will get resolved by panicking."
  
  "You do not understand!" she hotly argued. "I was instructed better than this-"
  
  "It looked more like being repressed, to me," he interrupted.
  
  "I mustn't involve myself in matters of emotions and relations!" she voiced over him. "The Slay- I must be alone."
  
  "And you still can be," he exclaimed. He took her by the shoulders-a dangerous move to do to a slayer in her state-and made her look at him as he assured her, " Listen , Kendra. This can go any way you want it to. You always had the choice here. If you want to keep going, I'd obviously be happy to, but, if you want to stop, of course, we stop. Hell, if you want me to forget about it, I'll never tell another soul. You are still the same girl you were before you came here. Only now, you have a little more experience under your belt."
  
  Kendra remained quiet for several moments, pondering his words before finally expressing, "That... seems reasonable."
  
  Nodding, Xander removed his hands from her defined shoulders before hotly contesting, "Whoever told you you're not permitted to talk to boys is putting you in serious danger. Think about it. If someone knew that you were weak at talking to guys, they could use that against you... kind of like me, actually."
  
  She eyed him suspiciously as she asked, "What do you mean?"
  
  Tilting his head, he leveled some truth to the sheltered girl. "Kendra, a girl as hot as you would never go with a guy like me, not if she were used to dealing with men; especially smooth men."
  
  "I should not have spoken to you, to begin with," she reasoned.
  
  "Are you going to avoid all men everywhere? Because we're half the population," he pointed out. "Chances are high you're going to run into a few of us. You'll see some more of us tomorrow too. I guarantee it." Again, she was quiet in thought. Kendra only paid attention again when he asked, "Did you feel it? Toward the end of the second kiss. It was like you became someone else and wanted to experience everything right away. That's not the most normal response. And I'm not saying that to hurt or shame you. But I think the more information you have about yourself, the better you'll be able to protect yourself."
  
  She remained quiet for nearly a minute, but Xander waited for her to speak again. She asked, "Would you truly forget this night ever happened?"
  
  "No, no way," he quickly shook his head, making her worry. "I don't think I'll ever be able to forget you or tonight." He relieved her stress when he added, "But, I promise not to tell anyone about all the touchy-feely-nudey parts. I'll just be a good Samaritan who let you sleep in my room while I slept on the couch."
  
  With some semblance of satisfaction, she nodded before voicing, "I think that would be for the best."
  
  Xander gave her first crack at the shower while he put her clothes and the sex-stained bedsheets in the washer. He left out some of his older clothes for her to wear in the meantime. He then showered in his parents' bathroom and when he went to wish Kendra a good night, he discovered his window was open and she was gone. The frustrated teen inhaled deeply and pondered the chances of Kendra messing with his plans again.
  
  It's a curious thing to imagine how bad Kendra's reaction to normal human boys is and where that inexperience could lead her. I've seen sheltered people before and without experience, they can sadly fall for anything. Then, I've also seen those same sheltered people come out of their shells and be completely different than they were before(for better or worse). I could imagine something similar happening with Kendra. Her story makes me sad because she was given to the watcher's council by her parents when she was really young, then they just trained her to be the perfect soldier, which meant no associating/socializing with others, especially boys. She never got a life.
  
  This is a small thing but I'm so happy I got a RoboCop quote in here. That's a check off the bucket list.
  
  Someone made a great argument for Xander actually being good at magic and it changed my view point on that. However, I already have a magic system coming, so I'm just going to stick with that.
  
  That's all I have. Thank you all very much for reading and taking the time to comment. I hope you enjoyed the double release. The 20s chapters of this fic should move quicker and we'll get to a lot of very interesting and raw places. Let me know what you think, comments, or concerns. Till next week, have a great one.
  
  -Grae
  
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  Dropping Bombs
  Welcome back friends!😊😁
  
  Another Sunday, another chapter. Didn't think I was going to get this out. One of the busiest weeks of my life. Glad I did tho!
  
  WARNING: Slight lemons.
  
  9.7K. Thank you to my betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. I've been leaning on them and they've been knocking it out of the park :)
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Dropping Bombs
  
  Hammering away on his anvil, a sweaty and tired Xander was interrupted by a call from Giles. It was mid-morning, and the watcher asked him to check on Buffy since he hadn't heard from her. Without thinking, he mentioned it would take a while to get to Buffy's house, and it was only when Giles mentioned, "Ask Cordelia to give you a ride," that he remembered what part of the loop they're on. Xander called Cordelia for a ride. Forcing her to get out of bed on a Saturday morning didn't endear him to her, but she came anyway.
  
  Naturally, the guys at the shop teased him mercilessly for having a girlfriend way out of his league. One would say, "No, no, no fellas. He won her over with his sparkling personality." They'd laugh before the next one would add, "His hammer ain't that big!" Walking to Cordelia's car, he snickered when one said, "Hey, hey, come on now. You know how funny Harris is. With knock-knock jokes like his, he could land Pam Anderson if he wanted!" Though they laughed hard, Xander had to hold in his laughter as he entered the passenger side of Cordelia's beamer.
  
  On the way to Buffy's, Xander stayed quiet. Cordelia didn't seem appreciative of being dragged out of bed, and it was clear she needed time to settle down. Fortunately, it gave him time to think. The young teen had a decision to make. Either he let events run as they had before, or he got rid of the Bug Guy before anything happened. More importantly, should he kiss Cordelia, or remain as they are? Sneaking a look at the silent cheerleader beside him, the way she glared at him and asked, "What!" he couldn't help but think how cute she was.
  
  In Buffy's house, Xander went upstairs, then leaned against the wall and waited. As she had before, Cordelia let the Latvian worm assassin into the house, then the pair eventually rushed to the cellar where they shared their second, first kiss; only his hands held her body in that passionate way she liked. Xander's fairly certain they kissed a little longer before bolting away from each other, and escape felt imperative then. After running through a shower of worms, and washing themselves off with the water hose, the teenagers jumped into her BMW, then raced away.
  
  "Kendra!" Xander called when he saw her in the library, instantly making everyone wonder how he knew her name.
  
  It appeared she had left his home wearing his older middle school clothes. The caramel beauty had a multi-colored striped button-up over a white V-neck t-shirt; only the sleeves were rolled up and the front tails of the shirt were tied in a knot to make the larger shirt more form-fitting. He wasn't sure if she went through his jeans, but she found some from his skateboarding days. They fit her fairly well and had a few tears around the knees, giving her a bit of a punk look. Along with her boots, it was an odd outfit her stunning beauty made fashionable.
  
  Standing straighter, Kendra paled at the sight of him and was fearful when Buffy curiously asked Xander, "You know her?"
  
  Walking in casually, despite still being damp, he told everyone, "Yeah. I ran into her last night. She was kinda on the homeless side, so I let her crash at my place." Kendra couldn't calm down when Giles, a watcher, and Buffy, a sister-slayer, looked at her curiously, so Xander added, "It should go without saying, I slept on the couch."
  
  Turning to Xander in disbelief, Giles asked, "Truly?"
  
  "Obviously," Xander returned, mildly offended. "Geez, Giles, I'm not that kind of guy." Even if he definitely slept with her, it hurt that his lie was so easily doubted.
  
  "No- Of course- That's not what I-" Giles quickly retorted, then simply moved on to say, "That you met is quite the coincidence considering your connection with Buffy."
  
  Kendra just nodded sheepishly, blushing adorably through her caramel skin. Xander pointed out to the girl, "These are my friends." Turning to Buffy and Willow, he added, "I was going to ask you guys if you could lend her some clothes, since she doesn't have much on."
  
  "This could not get any weirder," a puzzled Buffy voiced, shaking her golden-blonde head.
  
  Playing along, Xander asked, "Am I missing something?"
  
  "Xander," Giles began, though it was clear he didn't want to admit being wrong about a second slayer. "Kendra is- well, it would appear you were correct in your assumption of a second Slayer."
  
  "Hold the Bat-phone," the geek gasped as he turned to Kendra. "You're a Slayer? Just like Buffy?"
  
  " Not like Buffy," the blonde sternly corrected. Giving the stoic Kendra a once-over, she declared, "I have a better sense of fashion."
  
  "Those are my clothes, actually," Xander flatly stated.
  
  Buffy winced, "Oh... sorry."
  
  Xander ignored it and turned to the others, calling out, "Wow, first we meet the grossest Order of Taraka member at Buffy's, and now this. Weird!"
  
  "Truly?" Giles asked, stepping closer to hear more.
  
  "It must be fate, Kendra," Xander happily told her. "You were destined to join the Scooby Gang..." At the thought of destiny, Xander brilliantly thought to ask the watcher, "Actually, Giles... What do we know about Fate? Like, can it mess with time, make time loops, or anything weird like that?"
  
  "P-perhaps for another time, Xander," Giles quickly brushed off before focusing on the matter at hand. "What did this Taraka member look like?"
  
  At Cordelia's perfectly timed scream, Xander pointed to the worm she chucked on the table. The gorgeous cheerleader was running to the showers as the boy said, "That." They all leaned in closer to see the dead larva worm on the dark oak table, and most were grossed out.
  
  "You and bugs, Xander," Buffy casually remarked, to which he shrugged.
  
  What surprised Xander in this loop was when they said Angel was missing. Everything about last night began to prevent Angel from being caught by Kendra and sold off to Spike. When Xander asked Buffy if she was sure, she maintained, "He never showed up at his apartment. I waited there all night."
  
  Feeling annoyed for missing something, Xander asked, "Where'd he go?"
  
  Buffy answered, "To find out about the Taraka guy that attacked us."
  
  Naturally, Xander returned, "So why not ask the last guy Angel talked to? Isn't there a demon bar or something you can go beat that info out of?"
  
  Happily taken aback, a smiling Buffy couldn't help but remark, "That, Xander, is the best thing anyone's said all day." Turning to Kendra, the blonde asked, "You coming? I could use the backup."
  
  Kendra turned to Giles who nodded, then the slayers left. Xander helped everyone with the research, finding the books much faster, and they quickly figured out who they were facing, where, and why. The gang rushed to the old rustic church out past route 60. Just as before, the cracked walls were covered in dried brown vines and leaves. Entering the aged church, there were dozens of candles around the room and Angel was in the same weakened state as last time; Tied together to Drusilla with the Du Lac golden dagger piercing through their joined hands.
  
  Xander rarely thought about why certain things change in the time loop and others stay the same. Merlin had insight into how everything was connected through unforeseen forces, and how impossible it was to affect one thing without altering something else. The consequences can range anywhere from trivial to disastrous.
  
  All he thought was, ' Maybe delaying Kendra doesn 't work, and they got him some other way? '
  
  Xander knew that if he wanted to learn how Angel was still captured, he'd have to spend several loops spying on all of them, but he didn't like the idea of looping back for anything. Ultimately, it didn't stop what the Scoobies had to do. Xander and Cordelia killed the Worm Guy, Buffy freed her boyfriend, and the abandoned church fell on Spike and Drusilla once again.
  
  As much as he hated the blond vampire, it still made Xander's heart stop painfully hard to see Spike nearly die. With all that weight flattening their bodies, it was a wonder the vampire duo didn't die. When it seemed he wasn't looping back, Xander got a ride back with Jenny while Cordelia drove Willow. Buffy insisted Kendra sleep at her house, so the Jamaican girl rode with her sister-slayer and Giles as they drove the weakened Angel to the vampire's apartment.
  
  The next day, Xander asked Kendra to help him get the Du Lac Cross, however, he did not ask her to stay in Sunnydale. When he eventually tells Buffy about Angel possibly turning into Angelus, he didn't want anyone dying because of it again. Kendra left that day, and at school, Xander happily made out with Cordelia in an empty classroom. After school, she was kind enough to drive him to Wild Dinks, where they made out in her car.
  
  One of the older smiths passing by hollered, "Is dat Harris neckin' with some premium sugah?! Oh Christ, the boys ain't gonna believe this! Everyone lost the bet!"
  
  The embarrassed Xander opened the window and clapped back, "Is your ass jealous of the shit coming out of your mouth, Connors?" The older smith only laughed harder as he walked inside the metal shop.
  
  Eying the older, bearded man laughing, Cordelia commented, "I can't believe you actually do things that aren't totally lame." Looking at the building before turning to her passenger, she dryly added with a smirk, "Other than being a dweebo, I didn't think you knew how to be good at anything else."
  
  "Thank you for once again proving evolution can go in reverse," Xander casually came back. Eying the blushing beauty, he smirked as he added, "You shouldn't be so shocked, Cor. You must know by now, this dweebo happens to be fantastic with his hands."
  
  Rolling her eyes and retorting, "Ugh, don't remind me," didn't have as much impact when her cheeks blushed.
  
  "No? You sure?" He softly asked as he leaned over to smother her with kisses. "Then what do you want me to remind you of?"
  
  The teenage boy peppered the peppy girl with kisses, making the merry beauty laugh as she called out, "Xander!" Before long, they were making out again. When they could hear several of the smithies cheering Xander on, the pair broke apart and Xander got to work; though not without getting teased, "you Beast," by the guys all day.
  
  Throughout the week, Xander used his gained knowledge of Cordelia's most sensitive spots to surpass any and every expectation she had of him, impressing her even more than he had in the previous long loop. Morning, noon, and after school, he often left her eager for more and observed the sting of arousal lasted longer this time. So, when Xander came over to her house, Cordelia didn't even question why he came over. The aroused girl simply jumped him and they made out on her couch.
  
  They took a break when their lips were red. Laying on their sides facing each other, his right hand massaged her hip, side, upper thighs, and lower back, keeping her in a perpetual state of pleasure. Her head rested on his left arm, and he rubbed her scalp through her silky brunette hair, making her moan at the buzzing delight. She felt too good for her, which was a problem for a unique girl like Cordelia.
  
  Utterly satisfied in body but frustrated in mind, she leaned back and yelled, "Ooooh, God, how does a boy I hate make me feel so good ?"
  
  Cackling like Palpatine from Star Wars, the geek replied, "Yeeeess. Your suffering amuses me."
  
  Cordelia sagged under his gentle ministrations like she wanted to cry before calling out, "Really, God? Xander wasn't bad enough, but a geek, too?"
  
  The raven-haired boy snickered as he massaged her sexy body. Hugging the willing girl, he bemused, "Come on Cor, it's not that complicated." When she focused on his eyes, he finished, "You can't hate someone so much without the potential of loving them just as much."
  
  "Ooohh, and I really hate you," she said with serious eyes.
  
  He answered her serious expression with a grin and an overly gentle, "But you don't."
  
  "But I do," she fought back.
  
  Batting his eyelashes, he voiced with a disarming smile, "But you really don't."
  
  "But I really, really -" He kissed her deeply and massaged her full, succulent mammaries as flexed his cock against her pelvis, flushing her body and mind with arousal and eagerness for more.
  
  When he pulled back, she just groaned in frustration, "Oooooh, this is so not fair! "
  
  Kissing her nose, he casually asked, "Cuz it feels so good?"
  
  She looked away as she hesitantly answered, "Because... I won't be able to look at you the same again." Eying him again, she assured him, "And I really like looking down on you. It's like the best part of my day. What if I start, like, respecting you?"
  
  Shocked but not shocked her slashing words would go that far, Xander rolled Cordelia flat on her back, drawing a girlish shriek from her as he yelled, "Oh, that does it! I'm really gonna make you feel it now!" Despite her squeals and bouts of laughter, he peppers her with kisses everywhere she can't block until he lands a kiss on her lips. Soon, the hormonal teenagers are once again heavily making out.
  
  When they took another break, looking into each other's dilated, aroused eyes, she cautiously asked, "If I can hate you as much as I can love you... does that mean... you can love me?"
  
  A small smile graced his lips. Eying the gorgeous girl under him, he evasively confessed, "What if I already do?"
  
  "I'd say you're lying," she quickly asserted.
  
  "And if I said I'm not?"
  
  "You have to be!" she called out.
  
  Eying her earnestly, he returned, "But I'm not."
  
  Looking into his assertive brown eyes, she paused before eventually asking, "Since- ...Since when?"
  
  Easily, Xander answered with a smile, "Since I started wondering how a girl I hate can make me feel so good."
  
  Cordelia turned away because there was nowhere to hide her blushing cheeks when she was under him and face-to-face. Absent any reply, Cordelia turned on her side, making Xander wonder if she wanted him to go. It's not as if he didn't have to meet Willow in Buffy in a few hours. When the pensive beauty remained silent, he moved to leave, but she grabbed his forearm. Bringing a small smile to his face, he spooned her on the couch and held her until she fell asleep.
  
  Considering the truth-bomb he had to drop on Buffy later, Xander couldn't fall asleep with her, but he held Cordelia for an hour before moving to leave. She woke up as he was getting his backpack and sleepily asked, "You're leaving?"
  
  "Gotta meet Buffy and Willow," he softly answered. "Vampire stuff."
  
  "Oh," she slowly voiced. "I'd rather not with the fangs, and the blood, and the murder, but I can drive you."
  
  "That's okay," he graciously said. "I got a ride coming. Go back to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."
  
  She nodded and turned around. Before he left the large living room, she called out, "Xander?"
  
  "Yeah."
  
  She hesitated to voice, "When you're done... c-come back." It made him raise his eyebrows. For a week, all they've done in this loop was made out and heavy petting over the clothes. For Cordelia to ask, was a big step for them. Seemingly realizing what she said, she hastily added, "Or don't. I don't care."
  
  He chuckled before asserting, "You got it."
  
  Twenty minutes later, Jenny pulled up to the corner of Cordelia's block and honked. Xander leaned on the open window, not unlike a prostitute, and asked, "Hey, sexy lady. For fifty, I can put a smile on that face."
  
  "Shut up," she shot back. The amused boy snorted and got in, tossing his bag in the back before they drove off toward Buffy's house. Looking around the large houses of the pristine neighborhood, Jenny had to ask, "What are you doing in such a fancy neighborhood?"
  
  Leaning his elbow on the frame of the open window, he casually answered, "Meeting a friend."
  
  Curiously, she replied, "Didn't know you had other friends."
  
  "Did you translate it?"
  
  Glancing at him suspiciously, the sexy teacher hummed, "Hmm, changing the topic. And that unique scent is familiar... Are you just into older ladies?"
  
  Turning to grab his bag, Xander said, "You can let me off here. I'll walk."
  
  She grabbed his shoulder to prevent him from getting his bag, adding, "Xander it's fine. I'm happy for you. I want us both to move on." He returned her smile before she added, "Though maybe try a girl your own age."
  
  "I wasn't with- Can we please not?" he asked, making the amused woman smirk. "Unless you want to tell me about you and Giles."
  
  Glancing at him, she mirthfully replied, "Mnn, you want to hear about our illicit affairs-"
  
  "No! No," he quickly shot back, regretting it. "I take it back! Let's just walk that right back, please."
  
  "Relax," Jenny lethargically pronounced. "We've only been on two dates. But after dancing around this thing we've had for nearly two years, I'm more than ready to invite him up for a late-night-"
  
  " Do you have the printout ?" the uneasy teen quickly interrupted, not liking the mental image of Giles and Jenny having sex.
  
  "Yeah, yeah," the amused woman answered before nodding to the dash compartment in front of him. "In the glove box. It's exactly what you were worried about."
  
  Earlier in the week, Xander mentioned to Jenny that his research on Angel's curse seemed to originate from the Romany people. All he would need to do was look into their past through their lineages and find the curse before translating it. The fear of being discovered seemed to motivate her to work faster and translate it. He wasn't sure how hard or easy the task was for her, but sitting in her car, it was clear she'd rather no one know about her past.
  
  Entering Buffy's middle-class neighborhood with nice manicured lawns and two-story homes, Jenny asked, "Want me there?"
  
  "Nah," he answered. "I think it should just be us three for now."
  
  "And Giles? You sure you don't want to tell him?" she asked as she turned the car onto Buffy's street. "He is her watcher, after all. This might be something he should be clued into."
  
  "Under normal circumstances, I'd say yes," he mused as he grabbed his bag from the back seat. "But she can go to him if Willow and I can't help. He might be pissed at me for not telling him first, but at least he could support her more if she knew he didn't know either."
  
  "That sounds very thoughtful and mature, Xander," she sweetly confessed. "No matter how this goes down, I'm proud of you for doing this."
  
  "Thanks, but I'm not exactly looking forward to it. This is a plan that could very well get me punched in the face by a super-powered slayer." Driving down the street, it wasn't long before they neared Buffy's home. To Xander's fortune, he spotted Willow and Buffy walking on the sidewalk, a house away from the slayer's home. He assumed Willow had met with Buffy after leaving Angel's.
  
  "Oh, I see em," Jenny stated before stopping beside them.
  
  After stuffing the printout in his backpack, Xander exited the car. He thanked his beautiful teacher, then closed the car door. The girls waved at Jenny before the friends walked the rest of the way to Buffy's door. Curious, Willow asked, "Ms. Calendar gave you a ride?"
  
  Nodding, he replied, "She was helping me with something I've been meaning to talk to you guys about. Since it's been pretty quiet lately, I thought, ' no time like the present .'"
  
  "Xander! Jinx us much?" Buffy proclaimed, looking around with caution. "I like boring. I so need more boring in my life... and shopping."
  
  "Says the girl nursing her vampire boyfriend to health," Willow sang with a teasing smile.
  
  With a poorly restrained grin, the blonde admitted, "That has been pretty fun."
  
  Feeling his gut tighten, Xander told them, "Angel's actually who I wanted to talk about." Though they looked at him, Xander wondered if the classic gray car parked on the street was Giles. To his knowledge, there was only one Citroën DS in Sunnydale, but he couldn't be sure why the librarian would be at Buffy's home. Immediately, he then feared the Watcher's council somehow learned about Angel again, and Giles was waiting inside to take Buffy to them.
  
  Xander's stomach twisted in knots as Buffy opened her front door and customarily called out, "Mom, I'm home!"
  
  The three walk in and Xander didn't expect to see Ted in the house since he'd already taken care of the psycho robot the very night of the day-loop. The teenagers were, however, curious to see Giles and Joyce at the top of the stairs, appearing shocked, embarrassed, and awkward at the same time. Their young minds short-circuited when the truth hit them. The sight of a flustered Giles, half-dressed, rushing down the stairs, buttoning up his wrinkled shirt while Buffy's mother appeared just as flustered with too many buttons of her dress undone, revealed everything.
  
  The heavy steps rushing down the stairs were the only sound made. The teens were completely stunned throughout the speechless moment everyone needed to absorb the gut-punching situation. Giles and Joyce had sex. Xander couldn't be sure if Buffy or Willow recognized the smell, but Giles-and he imagined Joyce, as well-smelled strongly of alcohol and sex. Xander recognized both scents intimately, and the teenagers were further grossed out when the blushing and flustered adults tried to explain themselves.
  
  "I-I-I-I- I understand how this must look," Giles stammered to the queasy-looking Buffy. He could barely look her in the eyes. "But... But... Mnn, yes- no-"
  
  From the middle of the stairs, Joyce called out, "He was just giving me a ride- Lift! A lift! He was giving me a lift! " But the image of the mother riding the watcher was instantly seared into their young brains. The embarrassed Giles simply hastened to the door. Opening it a third of the way, he begged them, "If- if w-we can just, keep this to ourselves, please."
  
  Fully opening the door revealed Jenny on the other side.
  
  "Keep what to ourselves?" the observant woman asked. In less than a second, the deductive accuracy of her sharp eyes found the answer in Giles' half-dressed appearance, the teenagers' nauseated looks, and the disheveled look of the beautiful mother on the stairs holding Giles' belt. If the teens must've guessed what happened between Giles and Joyce, it was even more evident to the sharp former gypsy.
  
  She heard the guilt in Giles' voice when he said, "Jenny," then turned around and rushed to her car. Giles chased after her, jumping in his car and following her. It all happened so fast to Xander. In less than a minute, he completely forgot about Angel's curse and now could no longer think. Buffy thought it best if she talked with her mom alone, so Willow and Xander left.
  
  Most of the way to Willow's house, the childhood friends couldn't stop talking about what they saw. That's when Xander was surprised to learn that Buffy's been concerned about her mom for a few weeks. Willow explained, "Apparently, she was seeing someone recently who just disappeared. When she reported it to the police, she eventually learned he was actually a con artist because the real guy died, like, decades ago. Buffy said her mom's been feeling pretty down about the whole thing."
  
  Xander set aside feeling left out again for the deeper meaning behind this revelation; His abrupt elimination of Ted made Joyce sad. He gravely replied, "...Wow, I, uh, had no idea." Clearly, the young time looper made a mistake by not thinking about how eliminating Ted would affect Joyce. If a man she cared about went missing, then she learned he was lying to her all along... ' Obviously she 'd be upset, you idiot! '
  
  "But Giles? How? When?" Willow mirrored his own questions before adding, "I mean, she said he was giving her a ride-"
  
  Shivering, he gasped, "Please don't say ride!"
  
  "I realized it after I said it!" she called out, shaking her head of the sexual mental image of adults she respects.
  
  "Okay, okay, okay!" Xander said, trying to move past his overzealous imagination of their motherly & fatherly figures repeatedly connecting at the groin. "Giles used his car to move the very dressed Mrs. S from one geographical location to another, and then they what? ...Just do it?"
  
  "Without booze or magic, how does that even happen?" Willow asked.
  
  "I smelled some pretty strong hooch on him," Xander remarked.
  
  Sadly, Willow answered, "Oh, and I noticed an empty bottle of wine and another bottle of vodka on the coffee table in the living room."
  
  "Eeewwhhh," Xander sounded.
  
  "Double eeewww. Poor Ms. Calendar," Willow cried. "Spending so much time researching two of my passions with her-magic, and computers-I've really gotten to know her, you know? She's so smart and knows a lot about spells, rituals, and even some of the dark stuff Giles won't tell me about. I feel so terrible for her."
  
  "Y-Yeah, so do I," the distracted boy agreed, though not to the same extent as Willow. His copper-haired best friend has always been more empathetic to those she cared about.
  
  Turning to him, she asked, "What was she helping you with?"
  
  Taken aback at suddenly recalling his goal for the evening, Xander considered what to tell Willow. He knew she saw Buffy as the sister she never had, which fell in line with his future memories of them. Even though Willow loved Buffy and was a romantic at heart, Xander sharing what he knew about the curse with her would be a good thing. His childhood friend wasn't so love-obsessed, she'd risk unleashing Angelus on the world just so Buffy can keep her boyfriend.
  
  "Okay," he started, stopping to take off his backpack. She turned to him curiously as he took the printout from his bag. "So this is some heavy stuff and I guarantee you Buffy isn't going to like it."
  
  Knitting her brow in concern, she asked, "Heavier than what we just saw?"
  
  "Way heavier," he replied with a stiff nod.
  
  "What is it?"
  
  With the sheet in his hand, he puts his pack back on as he answered, "I asked Ms. Calendar to help me research Angel's curse."
  
  "What? Why?" she quickly asked.
  
  He lifted the folded paper as he replied, "I wanted to be sure-"
  
  "Of what? That he's a good guy?" she interrupted, eying him and the folded paper in his hand with a strange combination of disbelief and curiosity.
  
  Taken aback, he lowered his hand to argue, "Yeah, he is, for now. But he won't always be."
  
  With a bit of a huff, Willow tried to reach the deeper issue by saying, "Listen, I know you don't like him with Buffy-"
  
  "Stop," he quickly cut her off, getting more and more tired of hearing that. "Willow, this is me." Raising the folded white paper again, he hotly challenged, "Don't you want to know what I found out before you flag me with the green card of jealousy?"
  
  Looking at the paper hesitantly, she eventually nodded, saying, "...Okay, yeah. Sorry. I just- I don't like where this is heading; and after what we saw, my head is everywhere right now."
  
  Xander nodded and handed her the sheet, which she unfolded. He gave her plenty of time to read it, then reread it before he summarized, "If Angel experiences a moment of true happiness, he loses his soul and reverts back to Angelus... you know, the murdering psycho."
  
  She stared at him with tragedy in her teary eyes. He hadn't seen that heavily wounded look in a while. He still remembered the first time her pet goldfish died. Willow was inconsolable. She hadn't even done anything wrong. She took perfect care of Peppy. It simply died of old age.
  
  Willow's expression was nearly the same as she asked, "But- ...This could mean anything ... couldn't it?"
  
  He leveled knowing eyes at the confused redhead as he stated, "Willow, he's only going to get happier the longer they're together. What if they actually do it? As a man who always wants to Rock the Casbah, I can tell you it doesn't get much happier than that for a guy."
  
  Shaking her head with worry, she weakly responded, "But- But- Angel's not... He's not like that . Not like other guys... right?"
  
  "Will, all guys are guys," he flippantly pointed out. "And do we really want to take that risk?"
  
  "Xander, this is horrible," she sadly whined, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Poor Buffy! First her mom and now this!"
  
  "Yeah," he agreed, rubbing her back soothingly. "But I think it's better this way."
  
  Pulling away, Willow eyed him in disbelief as she hotly contested, "How can you say that! You know how much Buffy loves Angel; how much they love each other. They're like soulmates! This'll devastate her!"
  
  Having known Willow most of his pre-looped life, Xander could easily see how the cute redhead wore her heart on her sleeve. Despite how much this revelation was making her empathize to the point of feeling pained, Xander casually asked, "Is she still going to love him when he's murdering innocent people?"
  
  "You don't know that he will!"
  
  "If nobody tells her, that's exactly what's going to happen and you know it," he simply returned. Willow didn't respond and sadly considered his unfortunate words. Xander continued, "You can double-check it if you want, Will, but Buffy needs to know. And I want you there when I tell her."
  
  "...Just don't tell her without me, okay?" she sadly finished. They were quiet all the way to her house, then she asked, "Are you going to be okay walking home? Do you want to borrow my bike? Or maybe you should stay the night? Leave in the morning before my parents wake up..."
  
  "It's fine," he assured her. He always had his stakes, holy water, and his seax dagger in his backpack. Thinking about Cordelia, Xander quickly voiced, "I'll borrow the bike, though."
  
  After promising to call her as soon as he got home, Xander biked to Cordelia's house, since she didn't live far from Willow. It was nearly eleven at night when he knocked on the tall, dark double doors of her two-story luxury home. Cordelia's home was like a large and elegant Mediterranean villa with beautiful terraces, a large pool in the backyard, and many gardens around the property. When he knocked again, he wondered if he should climb up to the balcony or go home when she finally opened the door.
  
  Dressed in a red silk robe over tight black shorts and tank top, the gorgeous girl looked far too put-together for the time of night. Not a strand of her silky brunette hair was out of place and her red lips had a sheen to them. After being floored by her effortless glamor, Xander wondered if she checked herself in the mirror before coming to the door.
  
  Crossing her arms, the first thing she bluntly ordained was, "If you come inside, I'm the one who decides when and how people find out about us."
  
  Her demanding countenance only amused him as he quickly answered, "I can do that." Before she could respond, he smiled as he teased, "When you say come inside , you mean the house, right?"
  
  Eying him with a quirked brow, she asked, "Of course. What'd you think-" His smirk answered her before she finished asking. "Oh, that's- you know what? You can leave. You can leave right now. I changed my- EEEKK!" Xander picked her up by the middle and started kissing her neck. Giggling and laughing, she called out, "Xander!"
  
  Very soon, they were kissing all the way to her room. Though the couple didn't have sex, Xander was happy to go down on her, sliding his eager tongue inside her vagina. The scantily-clad cheerleader moaned, arching her shivering spine as Xander tongue-fucked her dripping cunt. Working his tongue in and out of the sexy teen's juicy pussy, Cordelia bucked against his lapping tongue more and more, until her throbbing twat orgasmed all over the lower half of his face. Cordelia returned the favor in the shower, sucking his cock off as the clean water rained down on them.
  
  Her wet hair stuck to her bobbing head as her meat-stuffed mouth made soft slurping noises. Lightly holding the kneeling girl's head, Xander's head leaned back as the pleasure of her sucking buzzed his body delightfully. Her velvet lips worked up and down his stiff sausage as her slurping grew louder. When she fondled his balls, Xander's cock swelled before he groaned and exploded in her mouth. Soon the couple was in bed, holding each other as they fell asleep. Early the following morning, Xander accidentally woke Cordelia up when he unfastened their embrace.
  
  She slowly sat up and lethargically sounded, "Mmmm, Xander? What are- Where- It's 6 AM. Why're you up?"
  
  "I'm biking home."
  
  "Mmm? Really?" she slowly voiced, thick with slumber. "I can drive you later."
  
  "Thanks," he softly voiced. "But I've been working out in the mornings, so biking back'll count."
  
  "Working out?" she asked with a lazy confusion on her face. Then nodded as she asserted, "Mmnnn, I approve. More muscle and less dweeb, please."
  
  Xander snorted before kissing the sleepy girl on the cheek. In school, the three friends were in the lounge and self-study area, with Buffy and Willow sitting on the plush couch and Xander on the coffee table in front of them. Buffy was explaining how her mom had been drinking more than the typical glass of Chardonnay a night.
  
  "Giles happened to see her stumble out of a bar," she sadly explained. "They drank some more at home while she told him everything that happened with this Ted guy and... well, the rest I refuse to think about on the grounds of mental health. It's actively being repressed as we speak." Buffy shivered at the recollection that none of the three will soon forget if Xander successfully escapes the month-loop. "It's bad enough demons, vampires, and curses ruin my life, but now I have to add alcohol to the list?"
  
  "It's kind of normal when you think about it," Xander pointed out, trying not to think of his parents. "Maybe you're teetering out of super-gal zone and into normal girl?"
  
  Scrunching her nose at either option, she woefully protested, "Can't I cherry-pick the normal stuff? Like boys, and dancing, and shoes." Turning to their distracted redheaded friend, Buffy waved her hand in front of Willow's face as she called, "Willow? Earth to Willow, come in Willow."
  
  Jumping a bit in her seat, Willow swiveled on them, asking, "Huh? What?"
  
  Concerned, Buffy asked, "Are you okay?"
  
  Seemingly very empathetic to Buffy's bad fortune, Willow's face frowns sadly before hugging her blonde sister. "I'm so sorry, Buffy," she lightly wailed.
  
  Buffy was surprised by the emotional overreaction, looking to Xander, who simply shrugged. As Willow teared up a little, Buffy happily hugged her friend back while saying, "Oh, hey, it's okay. You can zone out if you want- as much as you want! It'll be zone-out-ah-palooza."
  
  After a couple of minutes of tearful hugging, Willow leaned back and took some tissues from her backpack. "Sorry," she told them as she wiped her eyes. "I'm better now. Um, how's Giles?"
  
  Buffy winced. "He... looks like he'll be having an extended stay in Sad-ville."
  
  "Mmn, yeah. I get that," Willow bemoaned, likely thinking more about Buffy & Angel than Giles & Jenny.
  
  The day took a turn for irritation when Xander entered health class. He moved to sit beside Cordelia, and when she saw him coming, the cheerleader promptly sat beside Doug Jeffries, one of Sunnydale's handsome and large football players. She clearly didn't want anyone knowing about them for the moment, and the very buff jock was happy to talk to the most popular girl in school. As she so often does, she easily got under his skin. Without an empty seat beside Willow, Xander sat by himself since Buffy was absent.
  
  "Sex!" Mr. Whitmore yelled to the assembly of juniors. "The sex drive within the human-animal is intense! In teenagers, these hormonal urges are a hundred times worse than in adults." Mr. Whitmore droned on about how helpless the common teenager was to their emotions and how wasteful sexual thoughts and activities were. After what happened with Giles and Joyce, hearing all this talk of sex made him wish he'd been absent like Buffy. Even Willow was wincing at the lecture.
  
  When the nebbish-looking teacher asked for an example of the consequences of underage sex, Cordelia raised her hand before asking, "That depends. Are you talking about sex in a car or out of a car? Because one time-a friend of mine. Not me-kicked the gearshift in a BMW that was parked at the top of this hill and-"
  
  "I was thinking of something a little more... commonplace, Ms. Chase," Mr. Whitmore interrupted.
  
  Xander wasn't the guy in her car on a hill she was having sex with, and the chuckle and wink from Doug to Cordelia made Xander truly wonder how it was she could get on his nerves faster than any girl he'd ever met; Especially given all of his experience.
  
  The raven-haired teenager couldn't help raising his hand and asking without being called, "Talking of negative consequences, how about the heartbreak of halitosis? I mean, a girl may seem spiffy, but if she ignores her flossing, the bloom is definitely off the rose-"
  
  Xander could just feel the crackling energy between himself and Cordelia as she quickly shot her hand up and snapped right back. The pair traded proxy verbal shots at each other until they were the center of attention and Mr. Whitmore asked for anyone else to speak. Willow answered, "Unwanted pregnancy," which led to the balding teacher to assign the project for the week; taking care of an egg as if it were their own offspring.
  
  Xander got a bad feeling, and it had nothing to do with Cordelia. It was similar to when he met Ted and Ford. His Old Man memories recalled nothing of use, so he wasn't sure if this was something or not. He forgot the feeling when Cordelia partnered with the attractive, letterman jacket-wearing Doug, further frustrating Xander. Rather than grabbing any girl just to get back at the conceited cheerleader, he walked up to Mr. Whitmore, grabbed his egg, and loudly voiced his partner as the only absent girl in the class. He knew Cordelia heard him say Buffy, and when she glared at him, he returned a ' Two Can Play This Game ' smile.
  
  Feeling the coarse surface of the cool egg in his hand, Xander wondered if he should risk his grade to trust his gut. Something about the egg was turning his stomach, and the not knowing was only making it worse. Meeting Buffy in the library, Xander cheerfully informed her, "Congrats Buff. You and I are parents now."
  
  Thoroughly confused, a bewildered Buffy asked, "You want to run that by me again?"
  
  Willow then explained the egg assignment while Xander skeptically stared at his white egg-child the entire time. When Buffy explained how she can't take care of anything-having broken her gigapet by sitting on it-it gave him an idea that made him fear a failing grade for himself and Buffy if he was wrong. Staring at the rough surface of the delicate oval, he decided to take the risk.
  
  "Buffy, I don't want you to take this the wrong way," he began, walking to the end of the table. "But I know for a fact you'd make a great mother to Xander Jr."
  
  Raising her brow at his blunt imagination, a completely baffled Buffy asked him, "And why would I take that veeery hypothetical comment the wrong way?"
  
  Xander put the egg on the table, let it seesaw as he grabbed the nearest thick tomb, and shocked the girls when he smashed the egg with the heavy book. The girls were up on their feet immediately, calling out, "What are you doing?" and "I barely found out I'm a parent and now I'm failing at that too-"
  
  Xander ignored their comments as he removed the book and revealed a disgusting, long-limbed, dark blue & black spider-like creature smashed flat underneath. Its whitish blood and ichor were sticky and several strands trailed from the table to the underside of the tomb as he lifted it. The pungent smell hit all of their nostrils hard, and in unison, Buffy and Willow sounded, " EEEEEWWWWW! "
  
  The slayer screamed, "What the hell is that?!"
  
  Grossed out as well, Xander nearly gagged to answer, "Ugh, it's definitely not Xander Jr. No way do I have a nose like a hellspawn." They hesitated to lean in when Xander pointed out, "Careful with your egg, Will."
  
  Willow quickly backed away from hers like she touched a hot skillet. A dour and glum Giles walked into the room with a book sadly talking about a vampire named Lyle Gorch. He's so focused on his text, he passed them without even acknowledging the disgusting spider-creature flattened on the table or even the smell of it.
  
  "Uuuuh, Giles!" Buffy called.
  
  "Yes?" he asked, slowly turning toward her. His slayer pointed to the dead creature and at the sight of it, he asked, "Good heavens, what is that?" The teens explained where they got the egg and immediately began investigating the creature while Xander and Buffy were tasked with tailing Mr. Whitmore. They first met him so Buffy could apologize for missing class, then asked the adult for good parenting advice.
  
  "I mean, we were so irresponsible when we made this little guy," Xander heavily pandered to the possibly evil teacher, lifting a different egg they nabbed from the cafeteria. Buffy nodded with a rigid smile on her face as Xander finished, "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't know how to properly take care of him."
  
  "Right," Buffy chimed in with a fake giggle. "Is there any time we can ask you some questions? Maybe later?"
  
  He eyed them suspiciously before eventually nodding. "I appreciate students who take the initiative to educate themselves when they don't know a thing, especially about something as important as parenting." Xander hated Mr. Whitmore when he commented, "I can tell you two would make great parents," precisely as Cordelia and the big jock Doug passed by. When the radiant brunette aggressively hooked her arm around Doug's muscular arm, Xander knew she heard the teacher. You could read the ' Of course that would happen ,' expression on Xander's defeated face as they scheduled to meet the teacher after school.
  
  Watching so many of their year-mates walking around with their deceptive alien eggs was so worrisome, the Scoobies skipped the last period of their classes to meet with Giles in the library and research. The four soon learn the alien-spider creature was the offspring of an ancient subterranean parasite known as the mother Bezoar. As it possessed a mental link with its offspring, the Scoobies will need to kill the mother to kill the offspring and save their classmates.
  
  Buffy and Xander later followed Mr. Whitmore to the long basement of the large school and watched him enter a dark, creepy hole in the wall. Dreading the black hole in the pale wall, Buffy groaned before asking, "Ugh, do we really want to go in there?"
  
  Dreading it just as much, Xander answered, "We really don't."
  
  The pair entered anyway. Inside the hole, they slowly make their way through a narrow dirt path to a large rocky cavern. They didn't have many spots to hide and couldn't enter too deeply. However, they were able to see a few possessed students digging a hole in the center of the large cavern. While they couldn't see directly down the hole dug at the center of the cavern, they could make out enough of the giant parasite to know that it was trapped under the dirt floor. And their classmates were digging it out.
  
  Apprehensively, Xander whispered, "We're going to need a bigger boat."
  
  "Huh?"
  
  "Weapons," he answered her curiosity. "More weapons."
  
  "Right."
  
  While Giles and Willow prepared a timed fire spell on a large drum of gasoline, Xander and Buffy kept Whitmore busy in his classroom. They were seated opposite the middle-aged man and asked him questions about parenting. Understanding they needed to keep the possible culprit or victim busy for a time, Xander leaned into the kinds of realizations all teachers wanted to hear from their students.
  
  "You know, Mr. Whitmore, sometimes I don't think I take life seriously enough," Xander bluntly said.
  
  Mr. Whitmore nodded without a second thought before agreeing, "You do fool around far too often, Mr. Harris." The teacher leaned forward, propping himself on his round elbows as he flatly asked, "How is anyone supposed to take you seriously, let alone a prospective girlfriend or wife-" He purposely looked at Buffy, who raised her eyebrows high at the insinuation as the teacher continued, "If you don't take yourself seriously?"
  
  "That... actually cut deep," the boy admitted. Xander wasn't kidding. He wasn't sure he'd ever heard those words directed at him and it felt like a stern finger with a long nail poking his chest.
  
  Buffy tried to defend him by saying, "No, but that's part of his charm. That's what makes Xander, Xander."
  
  Mr. Whitmore shook his head slowly, as if he'd seen it all before. He told Buffy, "A funny boy , but not a man , Miss Summers." Again, Xander's mind was blown as the teacher added, "At the end of the day, when it comes right down to it, women marry men, not boys."
  
  As if he never realized that before, Xander's mind voiced, ' Buffy likes men, not boys. That 's why she's dating a man and not a boy! ' It made so much sense, Xander was dizzy wondering why he never saw that before. Of all the mental patterns he had an easier time accessing, Casanova was the only one with considerable experience with women, but his area of expertise was in charming women out of their panties-which usually involved lying-not in getting these women to marry him.
  
  "Wow, Mr. Whitmore," Xander couldn't help but tout. "You're dropping some real wisdom bombs here; more than I was expecting."
  
  Seemingly having had enough, Buffy stood as she grabbed Xander's forearm, prompting the distracted boy to stand as well while she pleasantly said, "Okay, thank you, Mr. Whitmore. We appreciate the advice."
  
  "Of course, of course. How's your precious egg doing?" With a fake smile plastered on her face, Buffy lifted the basket their normal egg rested in.
  
  The round adult tilted his head toward the egg, looking at it suspiciously. So much so, Buffy and Xander feared he could somehow sense there wasn't a spider demon inside. The teacher eyed the young parents before spreading his lips, seemingly in amusement.
  
  He then playfully asked, "Do I detect another offspring on the horizon?"
  
  "Oh, no- no-" they started to say, but Whitmore already pulled out a second egg from his drawer, likely with a hellspawn inside, and placed it on his desk in front of them. When they didn't automatically reach for it, the teacher stated, "Consider it extra credit."
  
  Clearing his throat with a wide smile on his face, Xander hesitantly took the demon egg as he joked, "I guess we just couldn't keep our hands off each other." Buffy and Xander add their fake laugh to Whitmore's real one before the pair leave his classroom.
  
  On their way to the library, Xander and Buffy ran into Cordelia, who saw the second egg and cattily mocked, "Oh, I see you didn't learn after your first mistake." Buffy rolled her eyes and kept walking. Xander took Cordelia's egg before rushing away from her.
  
  "Hey! Give that back," she yelled as she ran after him. Xander rushed into the nearby empty classroom, found a waste bin, and threw Cordelia's egg in. She reached him just as he started stomping on it.
  
  "HEY!" she yelled from behind him, tucking her hair behind her ear as she looked at her smashed egg. "I get that you're jealous, but you didn't have to-" Xander removed his foot and pointed into the waste bin at the smashed icky spider parasite. Horrified, she sounded, "Eww, eww, eww! Oh my God! What is that!"
  
  From beside her, he casually answered, "What I just did is known as ' saving your life .'" She whined in disgust as he explained, "All the eggs are parasites for a crazy subterranean monster we're about to kill. See you later?" Still grossed out at the sight of the smashed creature she'd been holding all day, the speechless girl nodded weakly. Before Xander left her, however, he clapped her firm, round ass with his full palm, making her hop, and told her, "I'm only jealous because I'm sooo looking forward to making you pay for it later." He kissed her blushing cheek, then left.
  
  The plan went off without a significant hitch. Though Buffy, Xander, and Giles had to fight a few of the possessed students attempting to protect the mother Bezoar, it wasn't more than they could handle. Willow handed Buffy the timed gas tank, and she leaped over the seven-foot hole in the ground before throwing the explosive canister into the monster's open maw. There was a muffled boom under them, sending vibrations up their legs for a moment, then the possessed students dropped to the ground, unconscious. Likewise, when Willow checked her egg, the parasite inside had withered.
  
  "Gas leak, everyone," Giles called out the cover story. "Gas leak. Watch your step," he kept repeating as the Scoobies escorted the confused victims out of the rocky cavern.
  
  With that situation resolved, Xander asked Buffy to meet him at Wild Dinks. He finished sharpening and assembling his first high-quality, runic sword. It resembled the gorgeous Excalibur, but he was nervous about the final step: Propositioning magic to reside into the vessel. It was the ultimate barometer of success, and Xander would only know the genuine quality of his work if magic happily inhabited his construct, making the weapon-and the wielder-stronger.
  
  At the hypothetical thought of Eitri's critique, Xander wasn't sure what the dwarf would say, but he had a feeling Eitri wouldn't present it to a Norse God for use. Eitri didn't say much, but when he did, it was typically an insult. Xander thought the legendary smith would say, ' Your weapon may not be worthy of a God 's grip, but even children need toys to play with .'
  
  The young forge master worked hard smithing his version of Excalibur, and slowly lifted the weapon with both hands. After a deep breath and quick prayer to Eitri or the Avalonians for some luck, Xander spoke the intonation that tempted magic into the metal.
  
  "Finalrinn step með ljós á ok fire lit. Minn always koming heima."
  
  Nothing happened; no light, no vibration, no changes whatsoever. Before thinking negative thoughts, Xander tried again, speaking the incantation louder and with more faith that magic would come. The sword did not tremble, light, or warm, and Xander lowered it. Apparently, he failed and no magical force on the planet wanted to live in the sharp weapon. The sword for a king looked great, was very sharp, and would sell well, but despite Pete & the guys praising the weapon, magic, sadly, didn't like it.
  
  Xander was in the testing grounds behind the large smithing shop, sitting on a stool in front of a weathered workbench as he gave the sword a second final polish when Buffy showed up. He smiled to see her, then faltered at the tall, handsome vampire next to her. He hadn't expected Angel to come with her and couldn't decide if this was better or worse. Dressed in his forging gear-thick khaki pants, thick long sleeve shirt, and brown leather work boots-with a beautiful double-edged sword in his hand must've been a shock to Buffy.
  
  "Oh, my God, Xander," she wowed, rushing up to him. It was like her greenish-blue eyes didn't know where to settle on: his blacksmithing outfit, the gorgeous sword in his hands, or the racks with rolled tatami mats for testing the sharpness of a sword. She bellowed, "I can't believe you're actually doing this."
  
  He smiled right back as he playfully replied, "I know, right? He cooks, he cleans, he forges sharp stabby things. Not just the funny guy anymore."
  
  "Oh, come on," Buffy playfully slapped that comment away. "You know you're more than just that."
  
  "Well, I can eat a Ho-Ho like nobody's business," he boasted.
  
  Angel eyed the weapon with some intrigue and asked in all seriousness, "You made that?"
  
  Xander expertly rotated the shorter Excalibur, so the blade was vertical and bounced the moon's bright light off of the polished steel. The tempered stainless steel was etched with patterns, the guard & pommel was gold and silver-plated, and the handle was wrapped in brown leather.
  
  Xander nodded proudly before remarking, "Big upgrade from just fixing windows."
  
  Quirking her brow in confusion, Buffy asked, "You fix windows?"
  
  Before Xander could ignore the question and continue with why he wanted to meet her, someone yelled from the other side of the testing field, "Finally found you, Slayer!"
  
  Tector Gorch growled at them through its vicious demon face. Wearing a cowboy hat, a jean-jacket, and black boots, the vampire flexed his broad shoulders as he walked toward them. With a crowbar in his hand, the growling demon was clearly ready for a fight.
  
  "Vampire," Buffy casually noted.
  
  Xander extended his weapon, and just as casually returned, "Sword."
  
  "Giles said he had a brother," Buffy noted as she spun the sword in her grasp. She asked Angel, "Stay with Xander just in case," and Xander couldn't help but feel insulted. He knew they had no clue what he could do, however, he didn't enjoy being reminded of how much protection he used to need. Buffy made her way forward with measured steps, spinning the sword in a relaxed grip to get a feel for the weight and how to handle it. Then, the crowbar and sword clashed with a sharp metal clang as she engaged the angry vampire. Though Buffy seemed surprised the sword held up, Xander wasn't and smiled for that at least.
  
  While Angel and Xander watched Buffy combat the vampire like a predator dancing around its prey, Xander couldn't help whispering to the vampire, "I know about your curse." Angel turned to Xander as if he imagined hearing that, but the teen took the printed translation out of his pocket and extended it to him. He bluntly stated, "If you don't want to be Angelus again, break up with her."
  
  Angel cautiously took the paper as Buffy returned from making mincemeat of the once Tector Gorch. She cheerfully exclaimed, "This is one of the best swords I've ever handled." Beaming so magically at Xander, it hurt him to know what's in store for her. "I can't believe you made this!"
  
  Happy to see her appreciation and mirth, the teen confessed, "It took a lot of practice."
  
  The comment bewildered her, making her ask, "When? You started like three weeks ago."
  
  Clearing his throat, Xander played it down and reasoned, "Guess I'm good with my hands."
  
  Slyly, the blonde lifted the imitation Excalibur and asked, "This wouldn't be an early birthday gift, would it?"
  
  "'Fraid not Buffster," he said with something of a wince.
  
  "Oh, come on, I really, really like stabby things, and this one's shiny," she cutely whined.
  
  "I have something better planned," he happily reassured her, to her delight. "Just gotta get better at this."
  
  "Can I use this tonight?" she cutely asked with batting eyelashes.
  
  Smirking, he answered, "Have fun, you whacky Slayer."
  
  Buffy turned to Angel so they could leave. The vampire nodded and waved for her to go on as he said, "In a minute. Just need to ask Xander something." After she left, twirling the sword in her grip, Angel moved much too close to Xander-intimidatingly so. The man had broader shoulders and was at least four inches on the teenager, but Xander didn't step back or cower away. He's died, raged, and been tortured enough not to flinch at threats of any kind.
  
  "If this is a lie," Angel growled. "I swear to you... I won 't be happy."
  
  Unbothered by the threat, Xander simply replied, "No offense, but if you can stay away from true happiness, that'd be great. You'd literally be saving lives." Restraining his rage, disappointment, and despair, a very unpleasant Angel turned on his heel and walked away. Seeing such raw emotions on the face of such a wounded soul, Xander deflated a little and voiced out to the departing vampire, "For what it's worth, the only reason I could stomach this thing between you and Buffy was because I knew you made her happy."
  
  It didn't seem to be worth much as he continued on without another word. The following morning, a sweaty and fatigued Xander was coming back from his morning run when he spotted Buffy waiting for him on his porch. The righteous fury resting on her face told him what he could expect from her visit.
  
  That jab at Cordelia that Xander made, the "heartbreak of halitosis." That's from the show and was one of the first times I thought Xander was smarter than the show portrayed him to be. I had no idea what halitosis was(bad breath), until I looked it up. The guy doesn't know what B-I-T-C-H spells but he knows what the scientific term for bad breath is? Weird.
  
  As for the egg experiment, not a single kid dropped their egg. Those are some pretty dedicated students 😂
  
  The stuff that Mr. Whitmore says to Xander is important in my eyes because I don't think canon Xander had anyone tell him that. And if they did, he was simply too immature to fully grasp what they're trying to do. My Xander has more experience so, he can listen to others better. I liked writing that scene. It was fun for me 😁
  
  Not much else to say here. It's a pretty straight forward chapter. Expect another chapter next week. As always, let me know your thoughts. You guys are very helpful and I always appreciate it. Thanks again to my betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. Until next week, have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Danger Close
  Welcome back friends!
  
  Another Sunday, another chapter. Short one today. 4.4K
  
  WARNING: Light Lemon. Foul Language.
  
  Thank you to my betas: Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. Enjoy!
  
  Danger Close
  
  Acknowledging how angry the silently fuming Buffy looked took Xander a minute. Even in the vast amount of his Old Man memories, it was rare for Buffy to glare at him with such contempt. Standing ten feet from her, he could see the unnatural wrinkles of skin on her young, angered face. For the girl he cares about to direct her rage at him, hurt more than he thought it would. His chest felt tight and his skin was breaking out into a sweat, and he knew it wasn't from his run. Xander could barely breathe under her glare, but he maintained eye contact, difficult as it was.
  
  When he got lightheaded from not breathing properly, he walked forward as he greeted, "Buffy."
  
  Her tight fists were shaking, and the heartbroken slayer looked as if she was restraining herself from taking out her righteous condemnation on him. For his betrayal, she growled, " How could you? "
  
  Xander stopped walking and deflated at her accusation. Looking like a sad puppy, he asked, "You really want me to answer that?"
  
  "If you think you were doing something noble, or heroic, or some shred of good, then you were wrong!" she hotly declared. Taking a threatening step closer, she proclaimed, "We both know the only reason you did this was to break us up because... because I love him ..."
  
  It was hard to refute when he did want to break them up and did have feelings for her. Though, with Cordelia more romantically involved in his life, he felt his feelings for the blonde won't always be the case. He felt confident he could move on, even if his mind always reminds him of future-Buffy confessing feelings for him.
  
  Xander sighed before saying, "I'm sorry, Buffy-"
  
  "No, you're not!" She yelled, taking another threatening step forward. She truly appears to be holding herself back. Her fists were still balled and for the first time, he actually wondered if she would strike him. Instead, she continued yelling, "You're not! You're only sorry I found out it was you."
  
  Shaking his head, he replied, "That's not it-"
  
  "He even tried to defend you," she interrupted again. "But you don't deserve it!"
  
  "Buffy-"
  
  "We're done!" she yelled with finality. "You're out! No more Scooby Gang. No more plucky sidekick. Don't come by the library. I never want to see you again!"
  
  Buffy turned to leave, and though Xander had a nice joke lined up about seeing her in class, he expected it would only make this worse. So, the defeated teen said the only other thing he cared about. "Take care of Willow." Her angry blue-green eyes turned to him as he continued, "Joint custody would stress her out too much and her magic can help you. Tell her I'll miss her."
  
  As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt his eyes heat with moisture and his face stiffen, like his sinuses swelled. Buffy cutting him off was tough, but to willingly cut himself off from Willow hurt sharply more than he expected. His chest was tight, his heart was pounding faster, and he couldn't breathe normally. The edges of his vision closed in as if he were getting tunnel vision and Xander thought he would pass out. Breathing heavily, Xander wanted to take back his words, but he also knew Buffy would need a friend in Willow. And at the very least, he had Cordelia.
  
  ' I have Cordy. I have Cordy. You 're fine. I have Cordy ,' he repeated to calm himself down.
  
  Buffy left before he could say another word, then Xander struggled to his room. Gripping his chest, he wondered how this could physically hurt more than he was expecting. He expected Buffy would be angry, but when he walked into his room and saw the Excalibur he forged for her-plugged into the mattress of his made bed-he knew it was worse than he feared.
  
  His window was open, and it appeared she climbed through while he was running. Moving closer to the sharp weapon he forged stabbed all the way through his bed like the sword in the stone. This almost felt like a declaration of war. Immediately, Xander felt panic rise through his body, as if the world was suddenly upside down. Buffy would always hate him, he'd never see Willow again, and nothing he did could change that.
  
  Xander just jumped in the shower and let the cool water calm his overheated body and wash away his tears. Still fully clothed, he stayed under the showerhead for an hour before he felt frozen numb and drained enough to endure a grueling day of school. The walls of the hallways and classes seemed suffocating, like being locked in a casket. It took everything Xander had not to think some terrible calamity was about to happen.
  
  Even Cordelia was worried by how silent and miserable Xander looked and didn't even bother insulting him. It was obvious to the observant cheerleader in all the classes the four shared. Xander now sat as far away from his friends as possible. While Willow was sorrowfully looking between Xander and Buffy-like the friend stuck between two friends fighting-Buffy was angry at just being in the same room as him. The entire situation made him regret being the one to break them up. It's only been a few hours, and already he couldn't handle it.
  
  For most of their class, Xander only wondered if looping back wasn't better. Then Cordelia had enough of the elephant in the room and challenged the irate Slayer after classes let out for the day. Xander saw her stomping toward an irate Buffy and the conflicted Willow in the hallway, and he rushed to stop her.
  
  Buffy ignored Cordelia, who managed to call out, "Uh, hello, Cutthroat-Buffy-" Xander tried to cover her mouth but the blunt princess still yelled, "What the hell's her damage this tim-"
  
  Despite all the students walking and watching them, Xander lifted Cordelia by her waist and led her away. He set her down when they were far enough, then led her to an empty storeroom. He barely closed the door before she demanded to know, "Okay! Jeez, what's going on?"
  
  Glumly, Xander took his time to explain everything that had happened; from his worries about Angel to getting Jenny's help, to telling Angel about his curse. He leaned against the wall to hold himself up when he described how angry Buffy was at him that morning. Cordelia was silent while he explained everything. He might've assumed she would be empathetic to their collective circumstances since this situation sucked for everyone involved.
  
  However, Xander was taken aback when Cordelia frustratingly disputed, "So she's pissed at you because you learned what she should've known this entire time? Isn't she the Vampire Slayer or whatever? How could she not know something that important? What if he turned and started killing people, like, for revenge? I 'm one of the people associated with that little vampire butcher. He could come after me!"
  
  In the darker storeroom, Xander could see her clearly, and more importantly, he gravitated to the support she was offering. Unable to laugh, Xander huffed in relief and slight amusement. The high-strung teenager felt like he could finally take a breath and relief flooded his tense body. Xander took a deep breath before calmly voicing, "That doesn't mean she loves him any less."
  
  Eying him like he was crazy, Cordelia clapped back, "That should totally mean she should love him less! That's what sane people do!"
  
  "Last I checked, love doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Xander replied, clearly indicating their unique entanglement. Though he hated to admit it, considering the rapist Buffy has a relationship with in her future, Xander grimly asserted, "She loves who she loves."
  
  Cordelia snorted before pointing out, "And what are you? Chopped liver? I guess her love doesn't extend to friends. Forget about them. You don't need them, anyway."
  
  Taking a step closer to her, he asked, "Because I got you?"
  
  "...Among other things," she teased. Moving closer to him, she seductively asked, "Do you want to come over tonight? Mom won't be back for another few days."
  
  Wrapping his arms around her lower back, he playfully asked, "Are you finally going to watch Star Wars with me?"
  
  "Ugh!" her throat immediately regurgitated.
  
  "Oh, come on," he appealed, swaying her in his embrace. He played the wounded boyfriend as he asked, "Can't you see I'm hurting here? I could use a pick-me-up."
  
  Her hands wrapped around his neck as she temptingly asked, "Wouldn't you rather do something else with me? ...That also takes place in the dark?"
  
  Smiling, he assured her, " That was scheduled for after the movie."
  
  Cordelia rolled her eyes, but she held him as she replied, "Oh, fine! But only because seeing you like this is making me feel gross and empathetic."
  
  "Heaven forbid," he jested, rubbing up and down her curvaceous waist and hips. Massaging her sides tickled her thrill, and she leaned in as he commented, "You know, that sounds dangerously close to girlfriend material. When are you going to tell your friends about me?"
  
  "Can we not with the labels?" she asked, pulling back a little. She reminded him, "You already promised I'd say when and where. What we have is already pretty nutso, insane, and... and a-amazing, right?"
  
  "Yeah, but you said we'd tell people," Xander returned, letting her go and stepping back.
  
  Crossing her arms, Cordelia proclaimed, "What's the rush? We can still do everything couples do. Just not in public."
  
  Upset, Xander scoffed, backing away farther as he tells her, "And here I thought you were a girl who didn't beat around the bush and said it like it is. If you're too embarrassed to be with me, just say so."
  
  "...No- Hey, Xander. That's not-"
  
  Whatever remained of her comment died on her lips as an upset Xander left the storeroom.
  
  Passing the library all day and being unable to enter his home away from home was just as tough as everything else. He walked by the second home no less than seven times, even when he didn't have to. Leaving school to head to Dinks, Xander passed by one last time to get a glimpse of anyone when Giles happened to walk out of the double doors. The adult stopped abruptly and looked back inside before walking up to Xander.
  
  He seemed nervous and sympathetic as he approached and said, "Xander, I... I just wanted to say that you did the right thing. Buffy might not be capable of seeing that at the moment, but give her time. I'm certain she'll come around."
  
  Xander nodded in appreciation. The caring adult's words made him feel better, and gratefully replied, "Thanks, Giles. Just, keep 'em safe."
  
  "I will-" Giles stopped talking to look behind him. When Xander followed his eye line, he spotted Ms. Calendar walking down the hall toward them. She completely ignored Giles as he tried to voice, "Jenny-"
  
  "Xander, in my office," she sternly stated as she kept walking past them. Giles looked defeated and guilty, and Xander raised his eyebrows at the thick awkwardness in the air. Though he noticed the odd reversal of their positions. They were both having problems with women. Xander could hang out with Jenny while Giles got to hang out with Buffy and Willow.
  
  Pointing with his thumbs, Xander muttered, "I'd better..."
  
  "Of course," Giles hastily replied.
  
  Before Xander left the watcher, he snapped his fingers and informed Giles, "Oh, and Spike and Drusilla are still alive- or undead? They're not dust. So, be careful."
  
  Perturbed by the information, Giles took his glasses off and began polishing them as he asked, "They- They- What do you mean they're alive?"
  
  Hooking his thumbs on the straps of his backpack, he answered, "I went back for the Du Lac Cross. You know, to use the gold in my smithing; the sword I made for Bu- Anyway, the rubble they were supposed to be mixed in was actually dug out, like, from within."
  
  Giles' concentrated face asked, "You're certain?"
  
  "Yeah."
  
  "Thank you, Xander," he said before he took a step toward the library. He abruptly turned to add, "And again, just give her time. You're a valuable member of this group, and I'm certain she'll come around to seeing that."
  
  He nodded, however, he also felt skeptical about how needed he actually was. Xander had future memories that showed-other than a handful of moments-he wasn't a very valuable member of the group. Shaking his head of depressing thoughts, Xander rushed into Jenny's empty classroom. Her outfit was mostly black and dark purple. Her black skirt seemed slightly high for a teacher and her sheen purple blouse possibly had one too many buttons undone. He could almost see her black lacy bra and Xander wondered if she was dressed this provocatively all day. She sat at her desk cross-legged and going through papers as she waited for him.
  
  The first thing she said was, "If he told you to say anything to me on his behalf, save it."
  
  "No," Xander quickly assured her, sitting on the desk in front of the teacher's table. "He hadn't. But it was a little awkward," Xander downplayed. "And by little, I mean drowning in it."
  
  "Mn, awkward like when your parents walk in right when the sex scene in a movie starts," the sexy teacher joked.
  
  The ordinary, yet sensual way she eyed him confused Xander. He didn't know if she was trying for something or if he was reading too much into her demeanor. He kept it light and joked back, "More like that sex scene that came in on is of your parents."
  
  Jenny snorted and shook her head before bluntly asking, "So, you told her? I noticed some tension there."
  
  " Some tension? " Xander repeated in emphatic disbelief. " Some tension is reserved for the family meeting called after catching siblings kissing... all five of them." Jenny shook her head, but listened when Xander asserted, "Buffy's full-on nuclear meltdown right now."
  
  "What happened?"
  
  "I told Angel," Xander slowly answered. "He broke it off with her."
  
  "And Buffy's angry with you," Jenny voiced the obvious.
  
  Xander clarified, "She looked like she wanted to cut my body in half with the edge of a penny."
  
  "She's a young girl in love," Jenny explained. "I imagine she'll be angry for some time, but not forever. I'm sure she'll eventually realize you don't deserve to be frozen out."
  
  "We'll see," he glumly acknowledged. Before she could continue, he asked, "How are you?"
  
  Looking up at him, she saw in his eyes what he meant. "I... don't want to talk about it," she sadly said. "We're in school." The sexy teacher swayed her attention to her papers as she offered, "But if you want to come over tonight, we can talk about it then... as friends."
  
  A cautious Xander was serious when he asked, "Just friends?"
  
  "Xander," she said with amusement.
  
  He was lost about their interaction, but he wasn't going to Cordelia's and so answered, "Okay."
  
  At Wild Dinks, Xander began working on a second weapon; something for himself that'll cheer him up; something exactly like Mjölnir. While using the nazel power hammer to square up the white-hot stock of round steel, Xander was a little worried about wielding the mystical weapon. He was using 4140 Chromoly steel to keep it tough yet durable. However, if his calculations were correct-eleven inches long, five inches high, four inches wide-the final construct would weigh close to two hundred pounds. It would be far too much weight for him to swing around in battle if magic didn't enter the vessel and give him the strength to lift it.
  
  After a long yet satisfying day hammering at the anvil, Xander showered at Wild Dinks before making his way to Jenny's. When the beautiful teacher let him in, Xander couldn't help noting how provocatively she dressed; comfy gray short-shorts, a white tank top, and a light sweater. She led him to her soft leather couch in the living room, then from the kitchen, offered him a glass of soda. She poured herself a glass of wine before turning on the TV and sitting next to him, crossing her toned and appealing legs. With drinks in their hands, they ignored what was on the television.
  
  In her blunt way, she asked, "So, do you want to dance around what we really want to talk about for the next hour, or do we just want to say it right now?"
  
  After taking a sip of his soda, he asked, "And what would that be?"
  
  "You love Buffy," Jenny flatly stated, and Xander hated how he couldn't deny it without feeling like a liar.
  
  With a sigh, he opened up and asked, "Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"
  
  "Of course she will," Jenny emphatically answered, skirting closer to him. "At that age, it hurts like the world just ended and nothing exists but darkness and pain. Buffy just needs someone to blame, so she doesn't hurt as much."
  
  Xander was feeling worse by the second, and didn't want to talk about Buffy hating him. Changing topics, he asked her, "Would you forgive Giles?" Jenny instantly scoffed before taking a long swallow of wine. She looked angry, but he challenged, "Are we here to just talk about how my life imploded, or are we in the circle of trust?"
  
  Jenny finished her glass of wine with the next swallow. After setting the empty glass on the coffee table, she turned to him, leaning her sexy frame on the couch as she gazed at him alluringly. She softly hinted, "We... don't have to talk at all."
  
  ' She really was trying for something ,' he thought. Xander didn't need Casanova to tell him what the sensual teacher wanted, and he couldn't deny there was a strong desire to reach for such an amazing comfort; to forget about Buffy, Willow, and all his troubles. However, at the thought of Cordelia and his future self's infidelity, Xander thought once was already too many, and slowly answered, "...We can't."
  
  Placing her palms in the space between them, the flirtatious woman leaned dangerously close to look into his brown eyes as she sweetly asked, "Why? It's nothing we haven't done before."
  
  Xander couldn't ignore how her short-shorts and low neckline tank top exposed a lot of sexy and warm flesh. However, at the thought of Cordelia, Xander shook his head of the arousal building and voiced, "That was different. It wasn't because you were hurting-"
  
  "Betrayed, Xander," she hotly corrected, leaning back. With a heavy amount of irritation, she explained, "Giles didn't just give me a boo-boo that a small band-aide can fix. He betrayed me. He stabbed me in the heart, which I don't have to tell you hurts like hell... like you'll never feel anything else." Jenny stopped a moment to settle her overwhelming emotions, then, to his surprise, she straddled his lap. She caressed his face, neck, and chest as she confessed, "And, yes, I may want to sleep with you because it'll feel infinitely better than this- this poison inside of me. But is that so wrong? We work together! And every time I see him, I remember all over again! I just want to stop thinking about it for one merciful minute out of the day."
  
  The pain and desperation on her face, Xander quite simply felt terrible for her. He wasn't the only one hurting, feeling betrayed, and he could empathize with the noxious gas suffocating his lungs. He'd want just as much comfort as Jenny. Xander thought he'd get that comfort from Cordelia, which only stung more to know how embarrassed she was of him. But he's already cheated on her once, and he can't do that again. He may not have liked Old Man Xander's trajectory in life, but his mistakes were Xander's lessons as well.
  
  Xander peered her in her sad eyes and confessed, "I'm... sort of dating... Cordelia." From her confused expression, it almost appeared as if she couldn't visualize the concept of Cordelia and Xander in a romantic relationship. Slowly, Jenny grew to look shocked, and he answered her stunned expression. "Yeah," he said in understanding. "She doesn't want anyone to know because, well, she's Cordelia-"
  
  "And you're Xander," Jenny pieced together.
  
  "Right."
  
  Her sharp mind made connections and Jenny quickly stated, "She lives in that rich neighborhood I picked you up from, doesn't she? I can't believe I hadn't put it together!"
  
  Snorting, he reminded her, "You're not a mind reader."
  
  "Wow, Cordelia!" she called out. "That's... she's very pretty."
  
  "She is," he said with long nodding. "And not really the sharing type."
  
  Recalling their position, Jenny hesitated, then quickly got off his lap. "Oh, yeah, I understand." She sat farther away than before and covered up more of her exposed skin as she affirmed, "The last thing I want to do is pass this stage four cancer onto another girl. I'm, uh, actually sorry I put you in this position."
  
  "It's okay," Xander assured her as he sat up. There was an uncomfortable silence for nearly ten seconds when the teen said, "I think I should go."
  
  "Yeah. O-Okay," she agreed as they both stood. Xander grabbed his bag, and she escorted him to her door.
  
  "Hey, if I could, you know I would, right?"
  
  "Oh, yeah, sure," she quickly agreed, however, her eyes appeared distant; vacant.
  
  "I really care about you," he reminded her, then hugged her. It took her a moment before she hugged him back. When Xander felt the embrace go a little longer than it should, he pulled away. "Night."
  
  She said nothing, and before he closed the door behind him, he could've sworn she was tearing up. It almost made him reconsider everything he's done up to that moment; telling Buffy, starting anything with Cordelia, taking the Jenny route instead of the Old Man Xander route. Leaving her apartment complex, he then recalled that it was destroying Ted and leaving Joyce with no explanation that triggered this entire sequence of events, to begin with.
  
  Rather than head to Cordelia's, Xander went home and eyed his alarm clock all the way to 3:01 AM; the time when he could finally sleep. The next day, Xander was glumly walking the crowded hallway until a hand grabbed his arm and started pulling him. Cordelia pulled the dejected teenager into an empty classroom and closed the door behind them before she yelled, "It's not like what we're doing can even be called dating!"
  
  Taken by her frantic behavior, Xander replied with, "No, ' hello ,' ' good morning ,' ' you look nice today .'"
  
  "Oh, please, I see you so much it's like one continuous day," she hotly retorted. "And your fashion can never be described as nice." Xander was a step in turning away when Cordelia grabbed his arm and genuinely asked him, "Why didn't you come over last night? I was even willing to suffer your nerd movie and everything."
  
  The determination in her lovely brown eyes made him face her and reason, "Look, despite our better judgment, we have this thing. And it's amazing-" "It better be," she interrupted. He breathed in for tolerance, then contested, "In no small part due to my unbelievable amount of patience."
  
  " Your patience? " she scoffed to repeat. "Do you know how impossible it is for me not to burn those clothes from existence?"
  
  Smirking, he teased, "Someone's eager to get my clothes off."
  
  She leveled her glare at him but her whole expression was sexy when she blushed and bit her lip before she heatedly clapped back, "Oh, please, if anyone's eager here..." She cleared her throat before suddenly asking, "Are you coming over or not? I'll watch your stupid movie."
  
  It wasn't easy for Xander to let go of how embarrassed the popular cheerleader was being with him, and he promptly asked, "Isn't that just more of the non -dating thing we've been doing?"
  
  " Actively going out and meeting for fun," Cordelia began. "Flowers, restaurants, dancing, the movies, a night out; that's dating. Why should I be the one to assume you want that when you've never even asked me out on a date?"
  
  Looking at her with confused eyes, he reminded her, "You're the one who wanted to be the one to tell people!"
  
  "And what exactly am I supposed to tell people when they ask how this sheer lunacy between us happened, genius?" she asked through her raised voice. "That a Latvian assassin made of bugs kept us hostage in a basement and the thought of dying made us kiss?! Just ask me out already!"
  
  "...You're right," Xander gasped as he suddenly considered her position. In all of his experiences with Casanova and the other Gods of love, not a single one of them had the goal of dating a single girl regularly. All their speech and flirtations were for the express purposes of experiencing pleasures with many girls; not getting to know them as people. Casanova rarely did the dating thing, and when he was, he was always unfaithful, making it effortless for Xander to realize where he went wrong.
  
  "Holy shit," the teen boy gasped before dropping to one knee as he took her hand. Immediately, his brown eyes went wide as saucers when he recalled the relevance of getting on one knee. He sprung back up on his feet as he berated himself. " The hell am I doing? Way, way, way too early for that!"
  
  "Uh, yeah!" the stunned cheerleader categorically agreed.
  
  He shook his head before he stumbled to say, "I just meant-" Still holding her hand, Xander took a breath before he gently asked, "Cordelia Chase, would you go out with me?"
  
  Cordelia softened and smiled a moment before restraining it. The amused girl cleared her throat, then finally asked, "Can I dress you?"
  
  With a quirked brow, he asked, "For the date?"
  
  "Pretty much for every day," she blatantly answered. Though it was a joke at his expense, he loved that this frustrating beauty was the one making it and nodded. "Then yes, I'll go out with you," she answered. "But you better wow me!"
  
  She turned to walk away when he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her flat to him, peppering little kisses on her neck to her joyous squeal.
  
  Short chapter, I know. Next week should make up for it. It also started heavy and ended kinda fluffy 😊❤️
  
  Xander cheated on Cordelia in the show, however, he never cheated on anyone again, so I figured my Xander would also live by that lesson.
  
  Guys, I'm gonna be real with you. I got a second job. So, all of my writing will be affected. My betas and I are several chapters ahead, so this fic will be fine for the next 3 or 4 weeks. After that, it all depends on how much time I have/how tired I am. I will of course try my best to update on schedule and I'll carry around a notebook so I can write while I'm working. Just wanted to give you a heads up.
  
  As always, thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. I always enjoy reading your thoughts/observations/theories. Some of you guys are close when predicting what might happen😊. It's hard to reply to those comments because I don't want to spoil what's on the way😁😁 Anyway, till next week, have a great one guys,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Prideful
  Hey friends!
  
  Welcome back to another Sunday, and another chapter!
  
  WARNING: Lemons, violence, foul language.
  
  8.4K words. Thank you to my betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. Enjoy!
  
  Prideful
  
  One day.
  
  Then one week after that one day.
  
  Then a little over one month after that one week.
  
  The start of each loop accumulated the time so that the first week of December became the most nerve-racking stretch of time Xander had ever experienced. He and Buffy were still on the outs, and even worse than her irrational anger toward him, he saw how sad she was when she thought no one was paying attention to her. Xander expected to loop back any day now, but by the second week of the month, he hadn't gone back and couldn't expressly explain why.
  
  Judging by the first two barriers, passing the month-loop had to involve an internal revelation or gained esteem, whether by himself or the other six cornerstones of the time braid. When Xander stood up for himself to Jenny, he could pass through the day-loop. When he stood up to Buffy, it appears her epiphany of him was what got him through the week-loop. Due to the ongoing cold war between himself and Buffy, it was likely Giles, Willow, or Cordelia who supplied the internal change of opinion that pushed Xander through the month-loop. If he had to bet money, he'd happily pick Cordelia.
  
  By the end of the second week, Xander was breathing cool December air much easier. He was still moving forward, and though he hated how Buffy blamed him for her split with Angel, Xander didn't want to trade his future for the repetition of his past. However, he also hated being unable to talk to Willow outside of classes. Exiled from the Scooby Gang-like Scooby-Doo without his pal Shaggy-was also a panic attack waiting to happen. Nevertheless, his struggles didn't stop him from helping in his own way.
  
  Aside from perfecting his forging so that he might one day entice magic into his constructs-whether it be weapons or accessories-he actually found himself in the odd circumstance of working with Angel. Not only did the tall vampire test his weapons, but if there were more enemies than the broody vampire could typically handle, they would fight together.
  
  The pair met accidentally at first.
  
  It was the first week of December and a very exhausted Xander was walking to the bus stop. Working on his Mjölnir was wearing him out. Despite downsizing the dimensions of the heavy hammer, the hot metal was still incredibly heavy to lift and work on at the same time. He had to put his entire body into maneuvering the red-hot metal into position, and his body ached worse than his daily workouts. Even with a light backpack holding his Viking dagger and stakes, Xander's legs struggled to walk up the street to the second bus stop that'll take him to the opulent entrance of Cordelia's wealthy neighborhood.
  
  It was a cool night on one of the rougher sides of Sunnydale. Xander waited on a street corner for the bus with his backpack on his chest and unzipped. With easy access to his seax and stakes, he was always ready for any supernatural threat.
  
  "What time's the bus show up?" a voice asked behind him.
  
  Xander turned as he answered, "In ten min-"
  
  At the sight of six grinning vampires, Xander didn't hesitate to reach into his bag and pull out a squirt gun, pointing it at the adult vampires. They all laughed at the colorful green and yellow plastic toy, until Xander squeezed the trigger non-stop, aiming the water gun filled with holy water at the three nearest first. Despite the arc of the thin jet of holy blessed water, he got them in their demonic, yellow eyes, making them scream.
  
  Xander's left hand had swiftly pulled out his stake and stabbed one of the screaming vampires in the chest, turning it into dust before the teenager ran. He'd stand his ground against two, possibly three, but five vampires would surround him far too easily, and the chances of surviving without sustaining critical injuries would plummet to single digits. As he ran, Xander had a few seconds to look around for a house he could break into, but the main street had businesses. He would have to run to the houses behind the businesses and throw himself through a window.
  
  With pure adrenaline pumping through his sprinting legs, Xander made it across the street before a strong hand grabbed his shoulder. Two vampires attacked, and Xander used the squirt gun as a shield, keeping them at bay with holy water to their faces. He managed to stab one more into dust before running another thirty yards. The other three vampires finally caught up then.
  
  Keeping their distance, the furious vampires surrounded him. Xander noted their growling faces were burned with bright red streaks and peeling horribly, as if they suffered an acid attack. The fourth vampire caught up and as a blond, brunette, bald, and black-haired vampire surrounded him, Xander swapped the stake for his Viking dagger. The teen was less than twenty feet from a house and their window didn't have security grates barring him from jumping through.
  
  Quick as a whip, the blond vampire hand gripped his gun hand. With their supernatural speed, Xander barely had time to twist his wrist to shoot three streams into its demon face. It screamed as Xander was going to stab it with his seax, only to feel another powerful grip hold his forearm. On instinct, Xander's left foot kicked at that ebony-haired vampire's knee at the same moment he was punched in the stomach by the brunette.
  
  Xander nearly forgot how hard the undead creatures hit; like a sledgehammer to the gut. They could gang up on him then, but Achilles wouldn't panic, so Xander didn't either. The young warrior rolled back with the momentum while rotating his knife hand to bite into the arm of the black-haired vampire. It grunted as his sharp blade cut deep into its skin, generating enough pain to let Xander's hand go. Another few squirts freed his right hand to point the gun at the one in the brunette vampire and keep him back.
  
  Hitting the ground, Xander rolled before swiping at them. As he laid down holy suppressive fire, his sharp seax cut into cold dead hands trying to reach him, defensive forearms, and any foot that tried to kick him. The cuts weren't nearly deep enough to incapacitate them, but the wounds kept the furious vampires back as Xander inched ever closer to the house.
  
  When he finally ran out of holy water, he tossed the plastic toy before dashing toward the window. He was quickly tackled from behind, arms wrapped around his middle, bending his spine back as Xander grabbed for his stake with his free hand. Upon hitting the ground, the teen twisted his body to stab the wood deep into its back. It screamed as it let go, but it didn't combust into dust. He didn't care. Ten feet away, he took off, nearly able to jump through when he was struck in the back of the head by something hard and metallic.
  
  Falling to the ground in front of the window, Xander was dazed. The hot pain swelled as he heard the ring of a child's bicycle. When he noticed the thing that hit him was a little red tricycle, a foot slammed on his knife hand, shooting pain up his arm and a scream out of his mouth. He's immediately punched in the face and, though conscious, blurry stars littered his vision. The pain was intensifying as he was dragged away from the house and onto the cold concrete of the street.
  
  One vampire was still trying to remove the stake from his back while the other bleeding, burned, and infuriated vampires surrounded him. They didn't even give Xander's dazed mind time to think of an escape plan before they started beating him. Pissed by the young teenager killing two of their own, they delighted in pummeling him until he was bloodied and unable to get up.
  
  With the danger to them gone, the blond vampire left to grab Xander's seax. The other two hoisted the teen's bloody form and grip his hair painfully to keep his slack, bloody head looking forward. Xander could barely see out of his swelling eyes, but he wondered how damaged his head must be to see Angel sprinting toward them.
  
  The two holding Xander dropped him when Angel quickly killed the blond one holding the Viking dagger. Xander couldn't see the fight, but despite the ringing in his ears, he heard plenty of muffled grunting, meaty punches, and screaming. Three puffs later, Angel rolled Xander onto his back.
  
  " Xander ," he called out as he looked over the battered boy.
  
  Xander couldn't move and let the vampire transport him to the hospital. He was heavily bruised in his face, stomach, arms, and back but his serious injuries included his left eye swelling shut, the right eye was half-swollen, his nose was broken, he had a cracked rib, bruised bones, stiff and swelling joints, and a concussion. They treated his wounds perfectly, exactly like the doctor he became would've, then Xander woke up the next day alone.
  
  It was noon on a school day, and though he should've expected to be alone, it still hurt to see no one around. He imagined his friends were in school and his parents were working, so none could stay with him even if they wanted to. It wasn't until the doctor finished his examination that the nurse mentioned his friends being escorted out of the hospital.
  
  Slowly, his thick, gravelly voice asked, "Whaat?" He cleared his throat a few times, uncomfortable with such a deep, husky tone to his speech.
  
  "Your girlfriend was the first to arrive," the suave Hispanic nurse started. "Gorgeous as all hell but the lip on her, let me tell you."
  
  Wondering what blunt enlightenment Cordelia inflicted on them, Xander smiled as he said, "Oh... I know."
  
  "I bet you do," the nurse said with smirking pursed lips. "In any case, your better half was none too pleased to see your friends arrive. There was a whole hell of a lot of hollering between them, especially between your girlfriend and the blonde one. We couldn't have that at that time of night. So, security escorted them out. Not that they could've seen you, anyway; not without parental consent."
  
  When his scans came back negative for anything life-threatening, Xander was discharged. The kind nurse informed him his parents paid for a taxi, and after giving him some medication, he was free to pass out in his own bed. Xander saw Cordelia that afternoon, but he was so tired, he couldn't do much more than hug her and hear how he's never going outside at night again. Xander was happily surprised when Cordelia took care of him. She gave him his medicine and a kiss every time he took it. He marveled at how beloved he felt under her care, as if he mattered to her, and that realization made his chest heavy with affection for her.
  
  Several days later, Xander was well enough to go to school, and drew a lot of attention. His bruises were purple but began yellowing, and his left eye had blood around the brown iris. Even Buffy looked shocked to see him. The beautiful slayer took a step toward him and seemed concerned, however, she quickly remembered her anger and stopped herself. Willow, on the other hand, couldn't hold back and rushed to hug him, making him wince at the flourish of dull pain. Giles came to see if he was alright before, and despite the students around, even Jenny hugged him when she saw him.
  
  A few more days later, Angel came by Dinks to see him. Despite the severe waves of heat from the furnace baking his irritated skin, Xander felt fortunate he was well enough to hold a hammer. He also felt gratitude when the guys at Dinks gave him a card that read, Hope your Vag is okay. Get well soon . And a pink balloon that said, Happy Birthday Nancy . After the laughs settled, they all asked what happened and if the police were looking for the assailants. The guys bought him pizza and simply told stories of their worst injuries. It wasn't the most productive day at the metal shop, but it was such a peculiar sense of brotherhood; unlike anything Xander felt with his friends. He couldn't quite put into words how much of a refuge Wild Dinks was becoming.
  
  When the sun set, Xander was one of the last ones in the shop. Even though he knew Cordelia was worrying about him, he was too close to finishing his Mjölnir to stop. He was laying out the leather wrap for the handle when he heard from the shadows behind him, "Xander."
  
  The focused teenager only inhaled a little deeper as he marveled at how silent the vampire was. He turned around before Angel extended his Viking dagger, returning it to him. Xander stood and took it before asking, "Come with me."
  
  Angel hesitated a moment before following the teen to a caged storage unit. Xander opened his assigned cage and brought out the Excalibur he made for Buffy. He extended it to him, adding, "For saving my life."
  
  Angel took the sword and unsheathed the blade, inspecting it. The tall vampire likely recognized it as the sword he made for Buffy, and in the event Angel didn't like it, Xander gave him the option of a different sword he's made.
  
  "I've made four," Xander explained, nodding to his growing inventory. "Three regular swords for Pete to sell and the one you're holding. It was supposed to be magical, but that was a colossal failure."
  
  "Magical?"
  
  Xander then explained how he was trying to make magical weapons, but hadn't been successful yet. Angel took Excalibur, and a couple of nights later, they met again in Shady Hill Cemetery. The novice artificer was testing his Mjölnir. He'd assembled the weapon to perfection, said the incantation, then stared at it in confusion. Xander couldn't be sure if it glowed or not. The heavy weapon came out to a hundred and fifty-three pounds on the scale, but in Xander's hand, it felt like seventy pounds. Either he was getting stronger, or there was some magic in the weapon helping him lift it.
  
  In Shady Hill, he was hoping to test it, but upon fighting his first vampire, Xander confirmed it was simply too heavy for him to wield and had to rely on his dagger to finish off the vampire, which he's taken to calling Hellfang. Having fought so many vampires and demons during his rage phase, Xander was comfortable taking on a single vampire with a dagger and stake. He dodged and countered the vampire's fast attacks with an efficient stake to the heart, surprising Angel, who had been watching.
  
  Angel stepped out of the darkness and asked Xander, "When do you learn to fight?"
  
  "I've been fighting vamps since my sophomore year," the teen casually argued. "A group of vampires might be too much for me, but one or two is doable."
  
  Angel picked up Mjölnir so much easier than Xander, he was instantly jealous. "It's lighter than it looks," Angel noted.
  
  "It may have some magic in it," Xander voiced with a shoulder shrug. "Or maybe not. Can't be sure. I'll have to take it to Willow to see if she can find any inside." They would meet often after that so Angel could test his weapons.
  
  The only real bonus to the weeks of Buffy-hate was Cordelia finally deciding to be his official girlfriend. They still hadn't gone all the way, but they've gone on several dates in public. With the money he earned from selling a sword, he took her out to a few fancy dinners and many not-so-fancy dinners. They studied together and went to the Bronze when Buffy and Willow weren't there. Cordelia worked tirelessly on his fashion, which required far more shopping than he could stomach. She only toned it down when he threatened to break up with her if they didn't stop going to so many stores.
  
  When their relationship inevitably came out to the school, Cordelia's reputation suffered greatly for it. The Cordettes banished her from the top clique by which all of Sunnydale's sense of popularity centered around. She was shunned by many others who idolized her, and though Xander knew she was stronger than that, Cordelia pulled away. She didn't quite break up with him, but she didn't want to be seen in public.
  
  "I just need some space, okay?" Cordelia tried to tell him when he confronted her. They were in a utility closet and with crossed arms, she asked, "What's the big deal, anyway? You can't give your girlfriend some space?"
  
  "Is that all it is? Space? Cuz it seems to me you're wigging out over losing those brain-dead bimbats!" He heatedly returned, but Cordelia just left. Even the passionate way they could argue with one another didn't work when she would just leave.
  
  A few days before Christmas vacation, Xander spotted Jenny speed-walking down the hall, looking as if she was holding in a great pain. Wondering if he should follow her, he turned the corner and witnessed Joyce and Giles conversing amicably together. Buffy walked out of the library, easily spotted Xander, then walked to her mother before the Summers women left. When Giles spotted Xander, he turned to make certain Buffy was gone, then waved him over.
  
  In the library once again-his home away from his broken home-Giles quickly explained coming across strange activities that would suggest that Spike and Drusilla were in fact alive. To hear about vampire business from the caring watcher also made him feel nostalgic. Xander nearly smiled when Giles told him, "Please, be careful out there, Xander. No one wants to see you injured again."
  
  Curious about who he might mean, he asked, "No one?"
  
  "Buffy especially," Giles easily answered.
  
  Xander did smile then before hesitating to ask, "...How is she?"
  
  "She's... not returned to the Buffy we're accustomed to, as of yet," he diplomatically answered as he cleaned his glasses. "Joyce- Ms. Summers, rather, shares my fears. As Buffy's seventeenth birthday is a month away, she wanted to plan something special and asked for my help. I do hope you can attend."
  
  "That's not up to you," they hear from behind them. They turn to Buffy standing in the doorway. She eyed Giles with betrayal and Xander with anger, then rushed to the table, where she picked up a notebook. "Forgot my homework."
  
  "Buffy-" Giles tried before she interrupted him.
  
  "I don't want to hear it," the irate girl told her watcher as she left the library.
  
  With a long exhale, Xander told the caring elder, "I'll see ya, G-Man."
  
  That night, Xander found Cordelia at the Bronze. She was wearing a sexy black spaghetti-strap dress and dancing with Harmony and the former-Cordettes until they left her. A tall and muscular black guy wanted to dance with her, but she barely even looked at him. Turning to leave, the gorgeous girl paused when she spotted Xander watching. Time stopped in that moment, as if they understood something fundamental about each other; Cordelia was sad, and all Xander wanted to do was be there for her like she was for him.
  
  The teen tilted his head toward the exit, raising his eyebrows in hopes she'd join him. After a long moment of consideration, she finally nodded, bringing a smile to his lips. Grabbing her thin cashmere sweater, the couple leave the club. On the way to her car, Xander made the sacrifice of suggesting movies, ice cream, and painting her toenails. Halfway to her car, the pair are stopped by Doug Jeffries, the varsity jock she partnered with for the egg project.
  
  Doug was tall and well-built and has been playing for the school's varsity team since he was a freshman. Dark-skinned, good-looking, and wearing his Sunnydale letterman jacket, attracting girls was never a problem for him. Behind Doug were his three older brothers. Xander's only ever heard of them since they all played football for Sunnydale. He recognized one of them as the black guy who wanted to dance with Cordelia.
  
  "Ey, ey, ey, check this out," Doug was telling his brothers as they caught up to the couple. Doug and his brothers got in front of them as he pointed to Cordelia and said, "That right there is the hottest girl in school." Pointing to Xander he continued, "And this weak, band-camp-looking reject is the president of the losers in school. And for some fucked up reason, he's hooking up with her ! If that's not a real-life horror story, I don't know what the hell is."
  
  Doug seemed inebriated and his older brothers were laughing before one called out, "That ain't no horror story. That's a Goddamn tragedy!"
  
  " Please tell me you hit that first!" The brothers were leering at Cordelia in her short black dress as Xander took her hand to walk around the belligerent boys. Eager to keep the amusement going, the larger and drunk brothers followed them to Cordelia's car as Dough answered his brother, "Shii... Tail that fine, I wouldn't even care if I was fifth in line."
  
  "Ass like that, probably in the triple digits," one joked while the other added, "Bitch gotta graduate somehow."
  
  It was all a melting pot of verbal toxic sewage Xander couldn't take anymore. He could let the taunting slide. He could be the bigger man, but he had no desire to do so and turned around. Cordelia tried pulling his arm as she voiced, "Xander, no!"
  
  "Better listen to her, Xander," one laughed. "B'fore we show her what her boyfriend looks like beat n bloody."
  
  "Wouldn't be the first time," Doug remarked, referencing when Xander showed up to school after his beating by the vampires. "That loser gets his ass kicked all the time."
  
  "Keep it up, you human vaginal cramps," Xander heatedly began, glaring at the brothers. "It doesn't surprise me you missed how much we don't care, so let me make it perfectly clear to you. Stop talking , before I make it so it's the last thing you do."
  
  "OOOOHHH, shit!" the brothers call.
  
  "Xander wants it now!" one yelled with a laugh. "Kick his ass, D!"
  
  Xander snorted before he retorted, "Yeah, you don't have the muscle, the brains, or the numbers to pull that off." Despite Cordelia whispering frantically in Xander's ear, he continued saying, "Or you can apologize and still walk home."
  
  " Xander! " Cordelia hissed as she tried to pull him to her car.
  
  Ignoring Xander, Doug attempted to move close to Cordelia, but Xander protectively moved her behind him with his arm. Doug and his brother chuckled before the jock in his letterman jacket spoke to the most popular girl in school. "Come on, Cordelia! Why the hell are you messing with that loser when you can have this?" Doug lifted his shirt to show off his clear six-pack, to the praising howls of his inebriated brothers.
  
  "I got an idea," one brother called out.
  
  "You got an idea?" the other playfully asked.
  
  "Oh, I got an idea," he happily reiterated. "Maybe... Just maybe , we beat the living shit out of the Limp Dick till the loser's pissin' in a bag. Then we show lil' miss thang how big men swing."
  
  They laughed joyously at their own certainty and laughed harder still when Cordelia successfully turned Xander away from the laugh jocks. However, that only helped the angry Geek see there were more gathered around them than he realized. Harmony and the former-Cordettes, a few cliques of kids from school, and Buffy & Willow were all watching the scene.
  
  Willow was clearly concerned, but Buffy's greenish-blue eyes simply observed. Their eyes met, and it was like a spark went off in Xander's head and heart; a dark spark. He couldn't quite describe the feeling. If he had to, he'd say it was an odd mix between irritability, unfairness, and frustration, and Xander knew it would only stay with him all night if he walked away. Xander wanted to show her something. He wanted her to see just how wrong she was. So, despite Cordelia's protests, Xander turned around. Buffy would stand up because she had the strength to. He won't deny superhuman abilities helped her confidence, but Xander wasn't weak anymore either.
  
  ' A group of vampires might be too much ,' he mentally acknowledged. ' But a group of regular humans? ' Xander smiled and faced them.
  
  "Like I'm sure all your teachers tell you, you got it all wrong, Dougie," Xander zealously began. "And I mean all wrong. Not just about me and Cordelia. But in life. If you think that six-pack alpha bro bullshit, in any way , makes you more worthy to be with Cordy, then I'm surprised you're still alive right now. Like, seriously, how are you still breathing when you're this dumb? How has Darwinism not weeded you out yet? How is it you haven't choked on food you forgot to chew?" Xander eyed the larger brothers and added, "Though, looking at your brothers, I guess you can only expect an idiot when you were raised by idiots."
  
  All the humor was gone-sucked out of them like air in space-and the four took a step toward Xander but Doug held them back with outstretched arms, feeling more than confident enough by himself. Doug casually walked up to a battle-hardened Xander and threw a right straight that the geek easily slipped with a precise step & lean forward. Xander then countered the thick-necked jock with a cross to the chin. The forceful rotation of his head displaced his brain, knocking the soft tissue into the hard walls of the skull and compressing the delicate blood vessels. The popular football player with the six-pack abs dropped like a sack of potatoes, knocked out cold.
  
  Xander had faced far stronger and faster a thousand times over. These four were nothing, and he threateningly demanded of the brothers, " Apologize! "
  
  Everyone around them heard and were shocked to have witnessed Doug Jeffries getting knocked out by Xander Harris. Growing angrier by the public humiliation, the biggest of them charged Xander. Though the man had better form-likely boxes regularly-his big arms, hips, and feet easily telegraphed what he was going to do. Xander slipped the obvious right punch thrown, countered with a hard fist combination to his liver and chin powerful enough to rotate the man's head counter-clockwise so it was parallel to the ground. Size didn't matter at that point and the large black man was knocked out.
  
  When he dropped harder than Doug, Xander told the remaining brothers, "Right now, each of you only has to carry one. If I have to drop another one, one of you'll have to carry all three. Now, APOLOGIZE! "
  
  Hands out in open palms, one brother quickly answered, "Okay, okay, we're sorry, alright-"
  
  "Louder!" Xander yelled at them.
  
  "We're sorry, alright! We're sorry," they hastily replied.
  
  "To her!"
  
  The two remaining brothers turned to Cordelia and hurried to say, "We're sorry we said all those things!" "Yeah, yeah, we're really sorry, alright."
  
  Xander didn't care enough to continue tormenting them and told them, "Now get the fuck out of here."
  
  Xander turned as the brothers quickly grabbed their fallen. Xander noticed Buffy walking away and Willow waved longingly to him before following the slayer. Despite being in public, Cordelia hugged his arm affectionately-her ample bosom felt amazing and warm against his arm-and he turned to her in surprise. Her bright smile was positively beaming as she pulled him to her car.
  
  "A six-pack is hot, but that was way hotter," she said with heavy excitement before kissing him on the cheek. She rounded to the driver's side and gave Harmony & her former friends a saucy grin before entering her car. It was a declaration that stated their opinions just became irrelevant. Cordelia was and will always be the Queen, and Harmony & company knew it.
  
  ' Only Cordelia could use a smile like a weapon ,' he humorously thought as he got into her BMW.
  
  Xander was worked up all the way to Cordelia's house. He wasn't sure why he was so irritated, but he couldn't stop wondering if Buffy would've jumped in if he needed it. Four against one would've been no effort at all for the slayer, however, she didn't. Buffy just watched, and it made Xander wonder if they would ever be friends again. The frustrated teen didn't even care if Buffy couldn't love him. He just missed his friends, and that craving drove his desire to loop back and erase this timeline. Were it not for the hell of repeating everything for the umpteenth time, he might've.
  
  Parking in her four-car garage, Cordelia took his hand and led Xander out of the garage, up the stairs, and to her large room. He was so deep in thought he hadn't noticed how hot and bothered the sensual girl in a tiny black dress became, not until she unbuckled his jeans-one of the many she picked out for him-then slid them down. Leaning against the edge of her high bed, she dropped his underwear and Xander quickly became much more alert and present.
  
  Kneeling between Xander's legs, Cordelia covered his rising cock with her tiny mouth, sucking hungrily on the warm meat stick. Her full lips caressed every inch of his throbbing length, making Xander groan deeply, tilting his head back as he closed his eyes in bliss. His hands rested on her head to not lose his equilibrium while he drowned in warm bliss.
  
  Between his legs, the sexy cheerleader bobbed her head back and forth, sucking on all sides of Xander's rock-hard shaft and leaving trails of saliva across its surface. She rubbed her button nose against the underside of Xander's member while her tongue licked and stroked each aching orb of musky flesh. Xander was ready to blow right there. Then she sucked on his overflowing balls, making his legs weaken and shake as he went over the edge.
  
  "Cor-Cordelia," Xander gasped, feeling right on the edge as he gripped her head tighter.
  
  Cordelia gripped his legs and let his cock slide deep into her throat as her tongue lapped and tickled the veiny surface, basting it with her warm saliva. The sudden engulfing of her oversensitive love muscle set Xander off.
  
  "Cordy! Cor! I'm Cum mmmmmmm ," he deeply groaned, but she didn't pull back.
  
  Though he knew she wasn't a fan of giving head, she has said she only did it if the guys were worth a damn. Thick gobs of his white cream blew out in rivulets and Cordelia didn't pull away. To his immense surprise, he came in her mouth and the gorgeous woman swallowed every drop. After a minute, Xander realized he fell back on the bed and Cordelia was dabbing the corners of her lips with a tissue.
  
  "Cordy," he happily gasped. "That was..." Swimming in post-nut bliss, he couldn't even articulate how amazing she made him feel. "Wow! Just all the wows!"
  
  Smirking, she laid next to him and kissed his cheek before asserting, "I gotta treat my man well. Especially when he defends me against assholes."
  
  "Of course, I would," he said, rolling to his side and laying face-to-face with her. "I mean, it's better not to fight-"
  
  "But that's sissy-speak for guys who lose fights," she interrupted.
  
  "Right," he snorted. "Sissy-speak is for moral people."
  
  "I've had sex before," she bluntly admitted.
  
  Awkwardly curious, Xander evenly stated, "Not exactly a big turn-on at the moment, but..."
  
  "I just mean, I hadn't done it with you, because..." She momentarily looked thoughtful before admitting, "Well, I didn't want to regret this- us , if it turned out I wasn't really losing my mind and actually started liking you."
  
  Apprehensively, he cautiously asked, "Please tell me you didn't sleep with Doug Jeffries."
  
  Cordelia snorted before confidently asserting, "Please, I can pull college guys. You're the only one from high school I've seriously invested my time and attention on."
  
  With a straight, nearly strained facial expression, Xander teased, "This is me feeling honored."
  
  She smacked his shoulder, and he laughed. When he put his hand up to playfully defend himself, she gently took his hand in hers and affectionately asked, "How's your hand?"
  
  Xander moved her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles, before answering, "It's good."
  
  "They're red," she said before her warm lips kissed his knuckles.
  
  "Just a little sore," he softly reassured her, moving closer to her.
  
  The teenagers could both feel their arousal growing with anticipation as she stated, "Good. I don't want them hurting any more than they have to." He looked into her brown eyes curiously and she answered, "In the nightstand."
  
  As the nightstand was out of reach, Xander stood up and walked over to open the drawer and find several brands of colorful condoms inside. His eyebrows raised at the amount. He was sure there were at least thirty of the colorful squares; Trojan, Magnum, and Durex. Turning to the girl in disbelief, he noted, "Uh, Cordy, that's a lot of condoms."
  
  Having stood up as well, Cordelia exclaimed, "We're not using them all tonight!"
  
  Upon closer inspection, he asked, "Why'd you buy different sizes?"
  
  "I've never bought condoms before, okay!" she declared. "I didn't know what size would fit the best and that clerk was giving me the creepiest looks, so I rushed."
  
  Xander could only imagine and chuckled. He walked to Cordelia and kissed her deeply. After going so many weeks without sex, his young hormonal body had been restless and frustrated, but for Cordelia, he was happy to wait until she was ready. During their kiss, every article of clothing slowly came off and was dropped on the floor. He pushed Cordelia onto the plush bed, and, to her delight, returned the favor.
  
  Xander knelt between her legs, caressing the insides of Cordelia's toned thighs with his hands while his tongue lapped up her pink pussy, covering her clit with his saliva. The teenage beauty shivered and a tiny stream of honey emerged from her womanhood. For weeks, Cordelia knew how phenomenal Xander could make her feel, and they were about to go all the way. Her anticipation built up her arousal, which then built up her anticipation, and soon, Xander was ravenously lapping up the brunette's flowing juices.
  
  Xander buried his mouth in her dripping sex, sucking on the hot flesh within as his hands massaged her inner thighs, hips, and lower back. The teens were getting hotter and as the pleasure sharply built in her, Cordelia gripped the bed cover tightly. Her breathing quickened and her moans and whimpers were music to Xander's ears.
  
  "Yes! Th-There. Mmmmnn," she sounded as her head rotated left and right.
  
  Her pussy was drenched with her juices as her body shivered with a growing tremble. Trickles of her honey stained Xander's mouth and jaw as he probed her vagina with his experienced tongue until she finally grasped his ebony hair.
  
  "I'm cumming! I'm cumming! I'm KUhhmmmmmmm ," she yelled as her love tunnel collapsed in an explosion of pleasure.
  
  Her strong legs snapped around his head, and Xander lapped up the torrent of her orgasm. He massaged her hot, soft body through her bouts of pleasure overload. When she was a boneless mess of a quivering girl, Xander walked to the nightstand and put out seven condoms for easy reach. As he put one on, he thought, ' Oh, I'm so making sure you pass out tonight .'
  
  Looming over Cordelia's naked body, he pressed his hard chest against her pillowy-soft breasts and covered her panting mouth with his lips. As the horny teens eagerly made out, entwining their tongues in her oral cavity, she wrapped her legs around his lower back as he lined himself with her budding entrance. Cordelia could feel the head of his cock resting against the entrance of her slit, pulsing and eager to enter her, and without delay, she squeezed his ass with her toned legs.
  
  Employing his practiced muscles to press into her, Xander's cock slid into Cordelia's sodden center. Her velvety walls caressed his plundering shaft as he filled her womanhood inch by inch until he was completely sheathed inside her. Cordelia wrapped her arms around his neck and whimpered as he slowly pulled out and caressed her sensitive walls.
  
  " Mmmn ," he panted when he pushed back in, growing hotter and impassioned by the second.
  
  Cordelia could feel his cock beating as he pumped into her, making her twist and shudder when he moved or angled differently. Xander was tallying all her reactions as he slowly built up a rhythm. Pistoning his cock into her hungry sex, Cordelia groaned deeply when Xander began nibbling and kissing her neck as his hands caressed and messaged her inflamed body. The heat in the room sky-rocketed and their humping bodies gleamed with love sweat. As Xander found her sensitive clusters, Cordelia's moans grew louder as repeatedly dove deep into her belly.
  
  "YEs! Fuck! MMNn, Ahn, HHNN, HHMM! God! Oh, God, yeeesssss! " she hollered, losing her mind at how fantastic he was.
  
  Cordelia grabbed Xander's chin with her left hand and held his face still. The pleasure-high girl looked into his dark and aroused eyes before kissing him fiercely, devouring his mouth. Her sodden sex squeezed Xander's cock as he repeatedly filled her to great satisfaction. The petals of her labia lathered the veined sides of his prick with generous amounts of her sweet nectar. Cordelia was close, and Xander thought of anything to hold out longer. Boy humped girl to the point their desperate thrusting was shaking the bed, and she broke the kiss when she felt right on the edge of the biggest fall of her life.
  
  "Xander! AAH! Xa-Xander! I'm almost! MMHH! I'm almost! I'm gonna cummmmmn," the sweating girl moaned in his ear.
  
  She held onto his neck, her breath coming out in harsh pants when her stuffed pleasure coil finally reached the breaking point. Her orgasm erupted and her entire body quivered and shook as it was flooded with waves of over-stimulating pleasure. Squeezing his cock only intensified the bliss drowning her brain, and the girl screamed from her belly as her back arched and her toes curled. Xander drew on his years of experience to hold out, but he was close. Fortunately, she had already taken care of his first-round, or he would've climaxed with her.
  
  Xander teased her sensitive nipples and firm tits, keeping her well in the throes of euphoria before letting her rest a bit. After a minute of massaging her sides, Xander gripped her shapely hips and impaled her pulsing pussy with his rock-hard shaft. Cordelia moaned loudly, arching her back as her love-glove widened to accept the thick cock filling her. Xander wrapped his powerful arms around Cordelia's waist and pounded into her, thrusting deep into her young belly. When his thumb began circling her clit, Cordelia gripped the damp sheets and pulled hard as she felt another bubble of pleasure build.
  
  Again and again, Xander's dick fondled her G-spot, reflexively making Cordelia grip him harder. Their brains flooded with the cerebral narcotics of pleasure until they broke. Cordelia's sex shivered and contracted before a long, heart-stopping explosion of ecstasy detonated from her core, spread down her toned legs, up her spine, and into her euphoric brain. Xander was balls deep when she clamped down around him, and he blew his hot spunk into the condom. After a few crushing moments of squeezing everything out, they collapsed together to rest for a few minutes.
  
  Two rounds after weeks of waiting weren't enough for Xander and the eager teen recovered soon after. He grabbed another condom and slipped it on before flipping her over, eager to enjoy the lovely view of her toned back and ass slapping against his pelvis. Xander slid a pillow under her pelvis to raise it more before asking, "Ready?"
  
  "Um... I'm still sensitive, so, go slow," she hesitantly requested.
  
  Xander smiled at how Cordelia's flush body quivered by his touch. Gripping the naked girl's shapely hips, Xander slowly impaled her pussy with his cock, spreading her dripping line into a wide O. Cordelia shuddered, mouth open and moaning as the magic boy buried himself to the depth of her tight core. Feeling her shuddering cunt grip his hot and pulsing shaft brought a grin to Xander's face. Then he slowly pulled out, dragging against the sensitive cluster of her G-spot. Xander repeated the motion and the patient pace, whipping the girl under him in a frenzy.
  
  With her ass up and face planted in the sheets, Cordelia moaned as the slow pace was making her lose her mind faster than when he pounded into her. Her arms rested limply around her head and the dragging back and forth was tortuous, making her moan deeply. Xander went painfully slow, patiently waiting for her to lose all composure, and she did just that when he reached around to tease her love button.
  
  "Xander!"
  
  He didn't stop his slow pace as he casually replied, "Yeah?"
  
  "Jus... you're doing this on purpose just so I... MMmmmn! " she groaned when his finger speed-stroked her sensitive clitoris. "Xander!"
  
  With a deep edge to his voice, Xander demanded, "Say, ' fuck me, Xander .'"
  
  She rotated her head in surprise, making her sweaty brunette locks fling and stick to her skin. Eying the evil grin on his face raised her own fire, and she yelled back, "Fuck you , Xander- MMNNNN! " she moaned, dropping back down as Xander rubbed her sensitive clitoris to teasing perfection.
  
  "I want to hear it, Cor," he voiced over the shuddering girl. She was getting close, but Xander would slow down just before she reached the edge. "Tell me you want me to fuck you." She tried to hold strong as he slowly dragged his penile gland over her gushing erogenous zones, crippling her sexy form with ecstasy. "Come on, Cor. Be honest with me... or... I... won't... stop." He punctuated each word with a long drag in and out of her hot, seizing love tunnel.
  
  Xander held her just on the edge for long, torturous minutes. He ignored her pleas and threats until she finally yelled, " Fine! "
  
  "Fine, what?" he casually asked.
  
  In a low voice, she mumbled, "F-fuck me, Xander-"
  
  "I can't hear you," he voiced, squeezing her round, firm ass cheek.
  
  "Ugh, God! I SAID FUCK THE SHIT OUT OF ME-" Xander immediately acquiesced and pounded her g-spot with such precision and power, a sex-dazed Cordelia lost her mind to euphoria ten seconds later. She saw white as Xander held onto her hips as her body arched and convulsed under a tsunami of ecstasy crashing her every nerve ending. He massaged the sexy girl's large breasts, abdomen, and thighs to help her settle down from such an intense climax.
  
  When Cordelia settled down some, he rolled her on her back once again, slid the pillow under her ass, and rested her strong cheerleader legs on his torso before entering her once again to mutual moans. Xander was close and gave up a little technique for more raw passion and drive to finish. As the boy pumped in cock into her sensitive pussy, Cordelia was moaning non-stop as voluptuous tits rolled with his every hard thrust.
  
  Xander knew he only had seconds. He fell forward so her flexible legs were pushed into her chest and kissed her passionately as he buried himself to the balls. Her toes curled and her body shook in multiple quaking orgasms when she felt him cum deep inside of her. Squeezing everything out of his spurting shaft, Cordelia mewled and convulsed for several minutes under him. Xander might've softened up, but soaking in how sexy she looked in the repeated waves of rolling bliss, he stayed hard.
  
  "Wait, haah ... wait, haa ... I... need a minute."
  
  "Take all the time you need... on top of me." Xander rolled her on top of him so her sensitive sex was sitting on his hot rod. He put his hands under his head to enjoy the mesmerizing view of a debauched and satisfied Cordelia Chase straddling him. He's never seen her like this and thoroughly enjoyed the view. She began grinding herself on his throbbing cock before lifting herself to take him inside again.
  
  "Wait, let me get a condom," he said as he tried to reach for one.
  
  "Later," she said as she took off his full condom.
  
  "That's not really the right order-"
  
  "I just want to feel you, okay!"
  
  The flush cheerleader lowered her dripping sex onto his eager love muscle, filling her shuddering nooks and crannies insanely better than the thin rubber that had separated them. Cordelia began riding his thick stallion and soon put strength and vigor into her impressive movements. Xander massaged her thighs or leaned up to grope and paw her beautifully bouncing orbs. After having so many orgasms, it didn't take Cordelia long to reach her peak while Xander struggled to not shoot his hot jizz inside her fertile womb.
  
  She laid on top of his heaving chest for a few moments before getting off and taking him in her mouth. The heavily aroused girl sucked his juice-covered cock until he came inside her mouth and swallowed his potent seed once again.
  
  "Oh wow," Xander gasped as she snuggled up next to him.
  
  More than ready for sleep, Cordelia voiced, "Only the best for my man," and they were asleep in seconds.
  
  They stayed together the entire weekend, fornicating like rabbits around his forging time or her shopping time. Xander didn't even go home. Cordelia's small mansion had everything he needed, and she enjoyed dressing him. The insatiable teenagers made love, knocked boots, did the nasty, and parted her pink sea balls deep all over her room, her bathroom, her car, in the living room, and on the kitchen table. By Monday morning, the ravenous couple were walking funny to and from class.
  
  Days before Christmas break, Willow snuck away from Buffy to ask Xander how he was doing. They were by his locker as she beamed, "I saw you last Friday." Xander's popularity exploded after he beat Doug and his brothers so publicly. Even when he wasn't walking with Cordelia, he'd been getting a lot of looks from half the school. Willow continued, "I'm going to set aside my disgus- my feelings for Cordelia, and you, and you & Cordelia... together... horrible togetherness... ugh!"
  
  "Will," Xander called, focusing her attention.
  
  "Right," Willow huffed, shaking her head of distracting thoughts. Looking at him fondly, she confessed, "I just... we haven't talked in so long and I miss you. So putting every ounce of her aside, it was awesome how you beat Doug and those guys up! I mean, they had big muscles and everything!"
  
  "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Xander quipped.
  
  "They must seem like nothing compared to the vampires you fight," Willow remarked as the dear friends walked down the hallway.
  
  Drawing his dark brows together, the curious boy asked, "Wait, you know about that?"
  
  "Sometimes Angel comes by to ask about Buffy," she sadly confessed. "He told me you guys patrolled together."
  
  Swishing his head from side to side, he clarified, "More like I take on one vamp while he handles the other seven."
  
  "Shush, you!" she hollered, smacking his shoulder. "You're still dusting vam-" She looked around before lowering her voice and continuing, "Vampires by yourself. That's incredible, Xander!"
  
  "I also use a weapon, Will," he informed her. "So, not that incredible. I'm only out there when I finish a sword and want to test it."
  
  Xander wondered if this was the perfect time to ask her to test his Mjölnir. He was hesitant because it wouldn't matter if the hammer did house magic since he wouldn't be able to wield it in battle anyway. It was simply too heavy to reasonably expect surviving the night. Xander had been practicing with single runes, which progressed much faster than hammering five runes into a construct. It would allow him to know sooner if his skills were getting closer to forging a magical weapon or not.
  
  "You're not changing my mind about this," the redhead cutely insisted. "You're amazing, end of story. Finito."
  
  "...Thanks," he said with a melancholy smile. As much as he missed Willow, he knew why she had to sneak away to see him and asked, "How is she?"
  
  Willow looked at him a moment to consider her words before glumly admitting, "Uh, the same, for the most part." He nodded as she added, "A love that deep... it's going to hurt for a while."
  
  "That's what they say," he sadly remarked.
  
  Turning to him, she stopped him with a hand on the shoulder and assured him, "But it's not your fault, Xander. You have to believe that."
  
  "Doesn't change the fact that I was the one who broke them up."
  
  "...I really hate this," a saddened Willow lamented. "I just wish we could all go back to the way it was." Xander felt the exact same but knew he wouldn't loop back. Even if he'd do things differently, he was deathly afraid of going back. Things may be bad with the Scooby Gang at the moment, however, he'd rather move forward. "I should go," the redhead sadly said.
  
  Xander gave his childhood friend a big bear hug and reassured her, "Don't worry, Wills. We'll get back to better times."
  
  "You think so?" she asked, hugging him back.
  
  "I know so," he responded before they separated.
  
  Thanks guys for continuing to read my fic. I know it's taking a while but you're still here and I'm grateful. I'm going to endeavor to finish the next chapter of The Last Prayer, thanks to my patron Red. Please let me know how this chapter read to you, or if you have any comments or concerns. Thanks. Today is a short AN. PM me or hit me up on reddit (Graefoxx_) if you like. Take care and have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Nothing-Ever After
  Yay! Another Sunday, another chapter.
  
  Whoever out there work 2 or 3 jobs... mad respect.
  
  WARNING: Lemons. Language.
  
  8.7K words. Thank you to my betas, Crazybubbles1693 and JeresB. Enjoy!
  
  Nothing-Ever After
  
  It was a chilly December afternoon, and Xander and Cordelia were exiting school toward her BMW in the parking lot. It was the day before Christmas break and the pair was thrilled to be done with their mandated, low yield higher learning. Xander specifically found school to be the biggest waste of his time. Even if he didn't remember all the details that an exceptional mind like Sherlock could, the teenager has looped enough times to pass tests without reading any of the questions. He either caught up on some sleep during classes or designed pommels, grips, guards, and other aesthetics for his smithing.
  
  Cordelia was looking forward to the extra time of shopping as much as Xander was looking forward to the extra time at the forge and with her. The pair were, as Xander described, functional. They could argue as easily as they could get along, and the sheer animal magnetism ensured some part of their horny anatomy would be glued together. More than the intimate moments, Xander enjoyed how blunt and open they were with each other. Cordelia said what she meant, and Xander returned the favor. They traded harsh jokes with one another, but somehow always knew where to draw the line. They simply clicked.
  
  The student body didn't feel the same. Xander was the talk of the school whenever Doug, Xander, and Cordelia were in the same class. Doug certainly seemed eager to pay Xander back, and the student body was just as eager to see them brawl again, however, Doug, nor any other junior or senior, didn't challenge Xander. They would try to humiliate him with their words, but with a girlfriend like Cordelia, Xander was more than capable of verbal sparring. On the positive side, many of the less popular class congratulated him; geeks, nerds, or the less social.
  
  Xander smiled as they reached her red M series BMW. The time looping teen was looking forward to spending more time with the uber-popular cheerleader, then she bluntly delivered terrible news. Stunned, Xander repeated, "Your parents are going to be here tonight?"
  
  "That's what I said," Cordelia replied.
  
  "Both of them? At the same?"
  
  Looking at her panicked boyfriend, Cordelia explained, "When Daddy gets time off, he likes to show off his ' perfect little family .' So mom comes back, we all go to company dinners, retreats, resorts, whatever the event is." Cordelia and Xander put their bags in the backseat and then leaned against her lustrous red car in a half hug. She loosely had her arms around his neck as she complained, "He'll reintroduce me to trust-fund sons of his bosses, try to get us talking, bore, snore. It's a thing."
  
  "Uh, wait a minute," Xander retorted, shaking his head in disbelief. "Let's not sidestep the trust-fund sons part."
  
  She answered his worry by rolling her eyes, as if she was over that an hour ago, and told him, "Oh, stop it. You know I wouldn't trade you for all the money in California."
  
  Xander quirked his brow in confusion before clarifying, "You mean all the money in the world , right?"
  
  Cordelia snorted before sarcastically proposing, "As if anyone's going to offer me all the money in the world to dump you." Xander felt irked by the ludicrous hypothetical, but couldn't argue the logic. Then Cordelia hugged his neck a little tighter before affectionately confessing, "And if they did, I'd obviously take the money, buy you, and use the rest of it to do whatever we want."
  
  Restraining a great need to smile, Xander shook his head before acknowledging, "I know I should be offended and objectified, but I'm oddly okay with that." After leaning in for a gentle kiss, Xander asked, "So?"
  
  Drawing her brows together, the confused girl asked, "So... what?"
  
  Considering how significant this topic can be, he hesitated to clarify, "Am I... Do I get to meet... them?"
  
  Cordelia leaned back as if the question was repugnant and gasped, "My parents? God, no! The last thing I need is Daddy asking you what Ivy League you're attending or how diverse your portfolio is. No, the farther away you are from them, the happier I'll be."
  
  "I have to meet them sometime," Xander reasoned, still holding her by the waist. "We might not all be together like this for another year. You want me to wait until next year to meet your parents?"
  
  "Music to my ears," she adamantly stated. "And what about you, Eager Beaver? Why haven't I met your parents yet?"
  
  Wrinkling his nose as if he smelled something horrible, Xander groaned before rebutting with the nightmare scenario. "So my mom can show you the best way to down a Jägerbomb or bounce a quarter in a glass while dear ol' dad ogles your prime assets? Uh, no thanks. I'll happily fabricate a Christmas memory to replace that nightmare."
  
  "I guess we're both screwed," Cordelia commiserated, leaning against him. "And not in the fun way."
  
  Rubbing her sides with a building eagerness to see her naked, Xander remarked, "At least we still have Christmas." He snorted when he admitted, "It'll actually be a first for me... You know. One with a girlfriend."
  
  Cordelia had the empathy to wince before revealing, "Actually... it won't."
  
  "What?" he asked, halting his massaging.
  
  Rubbing his chest, she explained, "Daddy's taking us to the company Christmas party... in Vegas. So, we won't be able to meet easily."
  
  "Easily?" he gasped. "You mean, at all."
  
  "Yeah, for a week." Seeing how upset he was to hear the news, she gave him a comforting hug as she expressed, "I'm sorry."
  
  Xander hugged her back as he glumly voiced, "It's okay. You should spend time with your family, anyway. My parents may be belligerent drunks, but at least I see them on a semi-daily basis."
  
  Leaning back, a curious Cordelia asked, "How do they pay for bills and things if they're either wasted or halfway there?"
  
  "They are what's referred to as functional belligerent drunks," he quasi-sarcastically stated. "As far as alcoholism goes, that trait is like winning the lottery."
  
  Sarcastically, she refuted, "Oh, yeah, cuz you totally won there, right?"
  
  Snorting, Xander half-joked, "You kidding me? Learning to take a punch early on totally counts as a win."
  
  Judging by her knitted brows, Cordelia didn't find his joke humorous and was about to say something when the teens heard, "Everything okay?"
  
  They turn to see Ms. Calendar walking toward them, carrying a box of books. Xander let go of Cordelia and moved toward the teacher as he voiced, "Here, let me."
  
  "Thanks," the beautiful teacher said with a smile. The three then walked to her car a few spaces away as Jenny asked about their plans for Christmas break.
  
  "Yeah, that's the thing," Xander bemoaned. "We won't be able to spend much of it together."
  
  "Oh?" Jenny asked as she unlocked her car.
  
  Cordelia nodded as she explained, "Parents want to come back and suddenly play ' It 's a Wonderful Life .' As if Christmas was the best time to do that," she pointed out with a scrunched nose.
  
  Xander stopped putting Jenny's box of books in her trunk to look at her curiously before pointing out, "It sort of is, Cor."
  
  The unique cheerleader argued, "It's called, ' It 's a Wonderful Life .' Not, ' It 's a Wonderful Day Out of an Entire Year .' Is it so much to ask to have that wonderfulness year-round?"
  
  Xander slumped his head, shaking it as sarcastically joked, "Living in a mansion and driving a beamer isn't wonderful year-round; check. I hope you like the dictionary I'm getting you for Christmas."
  
  Amused by them, the beautiful teacher smiled before asking them, "These plans your parents are interrupting. I take it they require privacy and a cushy surface?"
  
  Xander had the joke lined up and ready on his lips, but standing next to his girlfriend and across from the woman that he previously slept with made him hold it in. It didn't stop Cordelia from joking, "A cushy surface isn't really necessary." Xander turned to his girlfriend with wide eyes.
  
  Jenny only smiled brighter, marking the first time Xander's seen her smile in weeks. Looking at the raven-haired woman, he was happy to see how much better she looked. The beautiful teacher had been so quiet or despondent in class that he considered intervening somehow. Now, she stood straighter, looked more put together than before, and he didn't get the impression she was sad anymore. She looked like a new and improved Jenny.
  
  "I'm actually glad I ran into you," the sexy teacher told Xander, who perked up curiously. "Would you be able to come by my apartment, mmn , tomorrow night? Sevenish? Both of you, I mean. I came across some information I'd like to go over with you."
  
  "About Angel?" Xander quickly asked.
  
  "About possible bad stuff," Jenny seriously clarified.
  
  Xander turned to Cordelia, and at her shrug, he answered, "Yeah, alright. Tomorrow."
  
  Xander spent as much time as he could with Cordelia, making out in her car before she had to go home, then he went to Dinks to forge. The very next night, Xander and Cordelia enter Jenny's clean apartment at seven on the dot. The foxy woman of the house was dressed casually but mannerly; a loose white sweater over a white shirt and fashionable black jogger-style sweatpants. She also had on thick wool socks that Xander found funny.
  
  As they walked into her living room, Jenny asked the teens, "Did you eat?" Pointing at the square box on the dinner table, she added, "I bought some pizza on the way home."
  
  Always one to watch what she eats, Cordelia asked, "Is it thin-crust?"
  
  "Here we go," Xander teased.
  
  "Who needs so much carbs!" Cordelia whirled on her boyfriend. "They're like the anti-Christ for the waistline!"
  
  Eying the pair of them, Jenny merrily remarked, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I did not expect you two to be so cute together. I'm actually jealous."
  
  "Oh, thanks," Cordelia beamed, while Xander smirked. He truly felt it was a miracle they got along so well. As ever, Cordelia bemoaned with blunt sympathy, "And I'm sorry to hear about you and Giles." Jenny stiffened as the cheerleader added, "Real bummer."
  
  Jenny's accusatory eyes landed on Xander, who couldn't keep the guilty look from his face as he mouthed, ' Sorry ,' for telling his girlfriend. Trying to move them along, he asked, " So , what was it you wanted to tell us?"
  
  Jenny gave him a pass, and they all took a seat on her comfy leather couch as she began saying, "I happen to have family in Europe-"
  
  "Oh, I love Europe," Cordelia boasted to Xander, who sat next to her. "Paris, Rome, London, the Swiss Alps."
  
  Pointing out how untraveled he was, Xander grinned as he sarcastically added, " I 've seen pictures of all those places! "
  
  Cordelia pitifully remarked, "Your life is so tragic sometimes."
  
  Xander could make points about her life, but instead turned to Jenny and asked, "What'd your family say?"
  
  "They came across some news about powerful artifacts being moved," Jenny continued.
  
  Drawing his brows together, Xander asked, "What kind of artifacts?"
  
  "The extremely dangerous kind," the teacher answered. "The kind you can't move without important people noticing. The bodies are piling up, and it feels like something big is coming."
  
  "And let me guess," Xander bitterly began with a buoyant tone. "Sunnydale happens to be the lucky town hosting this big Doom & Gloom extravaganza."
  
  "That's what they've been saying," Jenny sadly confirmed. "I was trying to research some of the sites looted-maybe trace their destinations-but, well, Giles and the watcher's council would have more information and a better network."
  
  Cordelia frankly asked, "Are you two still not talking? Like, not even as fellow Hellmouth exterminators?"
  
  Jenny took a moment to either settle down or gather her words before somberly expressing, "Cordelia, I don't know if you've ever been cheated on, but the more you place your hopes and dreams in someone you care deeply about, the more vulnerable you become; Thus, the worse they can hurt you. What I felt for Giles wasn't just physical, it was esoteric..." Jenny took a moment to rub her eyes before continuing. "He meant a great deal to me, and yet, he couldn't keep it in his pants. I thought we were more than that and I've never felt so foolish and discarded in my life."
  
  Xander knew she was hurting and wondered how bad it was. Seeing her up close, the hurt in her pained brown eyes, made Xander regret not visiting her earlier. He knew Jenny didn't have friends she could call when she was down. If he wasn't at the forge so much, navigating his relationship with Cordelia, or dealing with being kicked out of the Scoobies, he would've been the shoulder she needed to get through the worst of it.
  
  "You can't be so hard on yourself," Xander asserted with deep empathy.
  
  "Yeah, you weren't the one who did it with Buffy's mom," Cordelia asserted with conviction. "He's the one who should feel stupid, not you."
  
  Xander sighed in disbelief before whispering to his girlfriend, "Not helping, Cordy."
  
  Turning to her boyfriend, then to the older woman, she defended her point, saying, "I just mean, look, you're still hot for... twenty-five? Twenty-six?"
  
  "...Thirty," a grim Jenny slowly confessed, then finished, "... three."
  
  Cordelia winced at the age, making Jenny feel worse, and Xander emphasized to his blunt girlfriend, "Wow, Cor, you're really on a roll."
  
  "Thirty-three," Jenny repeated to Cordelia with a sad smile. "And the only people who are even remotely close to friends are my students." Rubbing her temple in frustration, the beautiful teacher bemoaned, "God, my life is so pitiful."
  
  "Stop it," he told her. Xander leaned forward to look at the teacher sitting across from them. "Cordy's right. You're still beautiful and really smart. There is no guy or friend that's beyond your reach."
  
  "Except Giles," Cordelia's unfiltered mind spoke.
  
  Xander sagged his shoulders as he turned to his girl and denounced, "Really!?"
  
  "And the guy before Giles," Jenny sadly added, making Xander's spine stiffen horribly straight in nervousness.
  
  Eager for gossip, Cordelia leaned forward to ask, "Really? There was a guy before Giles? Why don't you call him? Maybe you can get back together."
  
  Xander's stomach started turning uncomfortably before Jenny shook her head and confessed to Cordelia, "He was more of a night-time friend."
  
  Cordelia nodded in clear understanding before curiously asking, "Was he any good?"
  
  "Like you wouldn't believe," Jenny quickly boasted.
  
  "OOOhhhh! Even better," Cordelia tooted, bouncing in place on the couch. It was hard for Xander to not feel nervous, flattered, and a little turned on by such an uncomfortable situation. "You should definitely call him."
  
  "Can't," Jenny answered the pretty girl. "He has a girlfriend now."
  
  "It couldn't hurt to try; See if he's happy," Cordelia suggested, and Xander checked out of the conversation. "Maybe his girlfriend's a real bitch and he can't wait to get away from her."
  
  Feeling an odd sensation to defend Cordelia from Cordelia, Xander hesitated to add, "Or- Or maybe she's not."
  
  Jenny smiled at Cordelia as she voiced, "I hear she's actually nice... in her own way."
  
  "Maybe she's the charitable kind," Cordelia proposed with a zing of hope. "I hear that's a thing with the really good ones."
  
  Jenny leveled deadpanned eyes at Cordelia before asking, "So, if you consider yourself as a ' really good one ,' you'd lend your boyfriend out?"
  
  Without surprise or shock or even befuddlement, Cordelia inquired, "To you?" No one answered, but Jenny didn't deny it. The sensual teacher simply raised her eyebrows, and to Xander's astonishment, his girlfriend shrugged before answering, "Sure."
  
  With wide eyes, Xander whipped his head to Cordelia as he exclaimed, "Say the fuck what!"
  
  "Oh, calm down," Cordelia replied with a casual wave of her hand. "It's not like I'm breaking up with you. It's just sex." She turned to Jenny and verified, "It is just sex, right?"
  
  "...Yeah," Jenny cautiously answered. "Just to be clear, you're okay with Xander having sex with me?"
  
  "Not more sex than he has with me," Cordelia emphatically clarified to the two. "But, yeah. And only because we won't be able to spend most of our holidays together."
  
  Xander's lips were getting dry from keeping his mouth open for a long time. He rubbed his eyes hard, as he staggered to respond to this unfathomable turn. "I- I know you're using words to communicate thoughts, but they're making absolutely no sense to me."
  
  Mildly amused by his befuddlement, Cordelia quickly kissed him on the lips before slowly enunciating, "I, Cordelia Chase, give you, Xander I-hate-your-middle-name Harris, permission to fuck Ms. Calendar while I'm away." With a stern finger to the face, she warned, "But no love stuff! Just straight gut-busting animal pounding! You only love me, got it!"
  
  Xander shook his head to a building crescendo before bellowing, "No! I don't got any of this! How can you be okay with this? It's you and me."
  
  Cordelia repositioned herself on the couch to face him better as she reassured her boyfriend, "It's still us, Xander. But I've had sex that didn't mean half as much as it means when I'm with you. I'm confident enough to know you'll always come back to me, even if you have meaningless sex with a thirty-three-year-old woman."
  
  With a bit of grief, Jenny revealed to the teenage girl, "You have a knack for hitting where it hurts."
  
  "Sorry," Cordelia apologized. "And again, it's not going to be, like, all the time. I have my limits."
  
  "I thought I knew your limits," an aghast Xander confessed, unsure about the Cordelia in front of him. "This is no limit! You're limitless!"
  
  Becoming irritable, Cordelia demanded to know, "Why are you so against this? Most men would kill to have a girlfriend as hot, and cool, and open as me."
  
  "Yeah, maybe," Xander begrudgingly admitted. "But it's not like I'd be cool with you having meaningless sex with other guys. So, I shouldn't do that either; have meaningless sex with girls, not guys."
  
  "No problems there," Cordelia assured him. "I don't want any other guys."
  
  Looking at her with evident confusion, Xander was at a loss for words. Feeling he should be more open, his brown eyes flickered from Cordelia to Jenny, and back before he expressed to his strange girlfriend, "I... I just don't... want to risk what we have."
  
  Cordelia smiled softly, took his face in her soft palms, and looked deeply into his brown eyes before kissing him with as much passion as ever. Xander easily felt her warmth as much as her love for him, and he couldn't stop deepening their kiss. Xander wanted her to feel how much he wanted her, and only her.
  
  After a minute-long kiss, Cordelia rested her forehead on his and softly voiced, "You're my man, Xander Harris. A little side hussie isn't going to change that."
  
  "Again, right in the gut," Jenny casually remarked.
  
  "Sorry, jeez," she apologized to her teacher. Turning back to her boyfriend, she added, "So touchy," before instructing him, "Look, lie back, and let me show you what I'm proposing. If you still don't like it after that, then we won't do this."
  
  Cordelia kissed Xander once again, with a slow, deep and loving passion. At the same time, she had him lean back into the soft couch before sliding her hand down to his groin. The beautiful cheerleader began stroking his cock through his jeans and Xander couldn't help getting hard. With a deft hand, she unzipped him and Xander grew more nervous as she pulled his dick out. He wasn't sure about any of this.
  
  Cordelia ended their kiss to offer Jenny, "Only mouth, okay?"
  
  The teacher nodded before getting on her knees and positioning herself between his legs. The gorgeous woman didn't hesitate to wrap her pink lips around his knob. Jenny and Xander both closed their eyes upon the warm, moist contact. While Jenny missed his cock inside her, Xander eyed Cordelia in fear she'd suddenly hate him. Jenny took him deeper and began bobbing her head in earnest while Cordelia just smiled and watched.
  
  Even when Jenny slurped deeply and moaned around his erect cock, making Xander groan at the pleasure, Cordelia said nothing. Jenny sucked harder, like she'd been starved for weeks, making her cheeks hollow inward. As she gobbled Xander's man-meat down to her throat, Cordelia leaned against Xander, watching the experienced woman's oral skill with fascination. Enveloped by these gorgeous women, Xander knew he wouldn't last long.
  
  "Don't forget to swallow," Cordelia voiced as Jenny bobbed her raven-haired head faster. "Look at her go. Wow, she was really starving for some. Doesn't that make you sad?"
  
  With Cordelia rubbing his chest under his shirt, Xander couldn't answer as he felt the countdown initiate. The aroused boy tensed, and twitched with enough time to voice, "I'm cumming! Jen!" The teacher swallowed his member down to her throat, till his glands tickled the bottom of her gulping esophagus. Xander thrusted as he held her head, then flooded her throat and oral cavity with his thick semen.
  
  "Shhhiiiiiiii," he moaned, as her face remained firmly against his crotch, drinking load after load of his creamy spunk. The sensual teacher didn't let a drop of his jizz trickle down her lips as she pulled away, then licked his limp dick clean. It's then that the teens noticed that the horny woman was fingering herself throughout.
  
  "Xander?" Cordelia called.
  
  " Haah ...HHmm?"
  
  "Make her cum," she ordered her boyfriend. His eyes widened as she added, "I want to see you fuck her." Jenny stood up and removed her sweater and thin shirt as she eyed Xander hungrily. "Make her scream," Cordy ordered, and though conflicted, the aroused boy simply gave in.
  
  Cordelia kissed his cheek, then lifted him from the couch. She was pulling him to the front door when Jenny voiced, "The bedroom's this way."
  
  "Right," Cordelia chuckled with a bright smile before leading Xander to Jenny's bed. Soon the student and teacher were naked while Cordelia watched them from the side. With Jenny on the bed, Xander spread the teacher's knees apart, then buried his greedy tongue into her soaking wet pussy. The naked woman gasped at his talented tongue. Her legs shuddered as he plunged his lapping tongue deep into her sensitive hole and coaxed out a steady stream of her love juices.
  
  Jenny's flushed face was panting as Xander expertly excited her impassioned cunnie. She whimpered as he stroked her swollen labia, nibbled & sucked on her cherry clit, and pumped two fingers into her dribbling hole. Xander could feel her pink snatch throb along his tongue with her tensing thigh muscles against his sweating face.
  
  "Xander!" she moaned. "I'm getting close! I'm almost there! MMMNNNN! "
  
  Her vulva grew very wet and when her sex's honey began to stream down her thighs, Xander captured the liquid with his tongue, lapping up her mess as his curling fingers pumped faster.
  
  "Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my GOD! I'M MMMM cumming! I'm cumming! I!"
  
  Jenny's body seized up and spasmed as her entire sexy body was rocked with wave after wave of pleasure. With his mouth buried in her melting vagina, Xander swallowed her discharge as she quivered and shook, and eventually calmed down.
  
  "That was so hot," Cordelia called from the side. Xander looked at the convulsing Jenny, at his blushing girlfriend, and again, he was struck by how uneasy this all felt to him. Then she smiled at him and ordered, "Make her scream for me."
  
  When Jenny was breathing much easier, Xander brought his swollen knob to the teacher's pulsing pink twat. Jenny raised her head and groaned as she saw Xander rub his fat head up and down her slippery slit. She moaned deeply when he pushed his bloated tip into her tight snatch. To feel him work inch after inch of his throbbing meat into her contracting vagina was the exact pleasure Jenny had been eagerly missing. The gorgeous teacher plopped her sweaty raven-haired head back and enjoyed being filled to her quaking depths.
  
  "Ohhhhhhhh! This- mmmm! I missed this!" Jenny moaned with eyes closed and Xander on top of her. The teen boy gasped as her slurping sex squeezed his sheathed cock like she was starving.
  
  Xander gripped her hips and slowly pulled out before thrusting back in. Between her spread-eagled creamy legs, Xander built a steady rhythm, humping the sexy teacher's filthy wet crotch. Jenny writhed underneath the panting boy as he pounded into her slurping slit, his swinging testicles slapping against her as he focused on the bundle of meat-curtains that made her quiver the hardest. The teen gripped and rolled her right breast, squeezing her hard nipple between his fingers as he fucked the woman's sucking sex harder and faster.
  
  "That's the spot," the sweating woman moaned out into the room. "You always know my spots! You know better than anyone!" Jenny sang as she clung to Xander's shoulders, clawing at his bucking back while her spread legs swung off the sides of his bucking body. He pounded deeply into her quaking vagina's sensitive folds and Xander could tell she was close.
  
  "Fuck me, Xander! Fuck me, Xander! Fuck me, Xander!" she repeated as her pleasure coil brimming with concentrated bliss threatened to detonate any second. "Fuck! I'm cumming! I'm cumming! I'm gonna cummmmmm!"
  
  Jenny screamed from deep in her full belly as her spine snapped into an arch and her stuffed pussy exploded with a grand orgasm. Her eyes rolled back as her quivering body clenched her lover and her twitching toes curled backward. The tightness of her cunt was too much for Xander, and fully sheathed inside her quivering cock-pocket, he flooded her love tunnel with load after load of his hot sticky spunk. For the next couple of minutes, they simply enjoyed the intense buzz of pleasure coasting up and down their joined bodies.
  
  Panting raggedly, Xander pulled his spent shaft from her yawning snatch and laid beside the sweaty teacher. Despite dreading what he might see, he then turned to Cordelia. She wasn't touching herself or seemed overly aroused to have watched her boyfriend fuck another woman, however; she smiled her beautiful smile at him and he smiled back. The teens eventually left Jenny's apartment, and Xander promised Jenny to be back to research whatever terrors were on the way to Sunnydale.
  
  Cordelia seemed contemplative on the drive back home and Xander asked, "Are you alright?"
  
  Her listless response of, "I'm just thinking," made him nervous. She left with her parents to Las Vegas the following morning, and Xander spent his days either at the forge or at Jenny's apartment. On Christmas, he spent a few depressing hours with his parents, a fun hour with Willow to talk & exchange gifts, an hour on the phone with Cordelia, and the rest of the night inside Jenny.
  
  Xander still felt odd about the entire situation, mostly due to it happening in the first place. He couldn't shake how odd it continuously felt for a girl as self-absorbed as Cordelia to allow him to have sex with another woman. It was so contrary to her nature and Xander knew how much Cordelia hated her mother's oblivious acceptance of her father's string of mistresses. In Cordelia's eyes, it was a weakness, which is why she always spoke her mind, regardless of how uncomfortable it made others. She never wanted to be like her mother. Xander became more concerned when she hadn't returned his last few calls.
  
  The night before Cordelia came back, Jenny and Xander were in the teacher's apartment, translating pages of crate manifests from five different countries to find connections. They were seated at her dinner table with pages, books, and notepads sprawled in front of them. Xander knew it was something they couldn't ignore, and after all the research they've been doing, the Sherlock within was telling him these stolen items were part of a whole that was being put back together. Xander and Jenny just needed to discover what the weapon or artifact was so they could then figure out how to stop it.
  
  Taking a break from reading, Jenny leaned back in her chair and looked across at Xander before asking, "Have you ever thought of being with other girls?"
  
  The distracted teen looked up from his studying and asked, "Huh? Oh, uh, no. I think that department is fully staffed."
  
  "No? Not even Buffy?" At her suggestion, Xander sighed at the thought of his blonde crush. As much as he loved Cordelia, Buffy always lingered for some inexplicable reason. "I thought you were in love with her," Jenny added, making him recall his failures.
  
  "I do- or, did ," he admitted, more like a question. Clearly unsure, he sufficed to say, "I want her to be happy... And that's not with me. Which is... just, something I'll have to live with."
  
  "She's not happy anymore," Jenny softly noted. The beautiful woman stood up and walked around the table as she suggested, "You could make her happy."
  
  Leaning back against his high-backed chair, he solemnly voiced, "Pretty sure I'm the reason she's so miserable; on account of my forcing her to break up with her soul mate and all that." When Jenny straddled his thighs, he asked, "What are you doing?"
  
  "Just taking a break," she seductively told him before kissing his neck. Xander massaged her thighs as she nibbled, sucked, and kissed the skin of his neck. Then she pulled back to confess, "You know, I never thought they were soul mates." She massaged his neck, face, and scalp as she orated, "I mean, I'm sure they felt genuine love for each other, but soul mates? I don't think so." Her right hand lowered to massage his growing erection through his jeans as she continued. "And even if, by some chance, they were soul mates, they'd obviously be the short-lived tragic kind. The one that doesn't have a chance in hell of growing old together. Do you really think that's what girls dream of? Short-lived soul mates?" Xander groaned as she gripped his raging erection tight in his jeans, and whispered in his ear, "In my estimation, I think you're the best man for her."
  
  Xander immediately pulled back, frustrated over the topic of Buffy and his ever-present uneasiness over Cordelia. Xander held her hands still, and looked her seriously in her brown eyes before asserting, "Except I'm not." He was only getting more annoyed at the thought of Buffy, and added, "Cuz I am otherwise spoken for."
  
  Jenny stood up and sat on the very edge of the table in front of him as she pointed out, "If the past week is any indication, I'd say Cordelia doesn't mind sharing."
  
  " I mind," he told her, because he really did mind. No matter how many times his dick enjoyed being buried in the alluring woman in front of him, this situation just didn't sit well with him. It shined a bright spotlight on his weakness for beautiful women and how he allowed them to treat him; how difficult it was to say no when gorgeous women pay attention to him.
  
  "But you did it with me."
  
  "And I'm still trying to figure out why," he frustratingly asserted. "This isn't like her."
  
  "Maybe you don't know Cordelia as well as you think you do," Jenny suggested, and Xander eyed her defensively. Softening her elegant expression, she elaborated, "You're both still young adults trying to figure out what you like and what you don't like. Experimentation is a vital part of that process. We've done it every time you come over, and not only does Cordelia know, she doesn't seem to mind. Rare as they are, some girls are just sharers... if the guy is worth it, obviously."
  
  "...Maybe," Xander couldn't deny, however, he couldn't deny the nagging feeling at the back of his mind. It didn't feel like it was coming from Old Man Xander's memories. Something inside of him simply felt off, and he couldn't pinpoint what that imbalance was. Xander could only assume a deep fear... that he didn't know Cordelia as well as he imagined; that the fourteen years they've known and hated each other-on top of the time loops and future memories-didn't give him an insight into the amazing girl. And if Xander was wrong about her, maybe he was wrong about everything else he knew.
  
  Sighing, Xander argued, "A few days ago, I would've bet you everything I owned that Cordy would mind sharing, a lot . So, either I don't know her like I think I do, or something isn't right. And if it's the latter, my first guess on the crazy train is possession, followed closely by a curse."
  
  Jenny slanted her head and looked at him like he was overreacting. Then asked with heavy disbelief, "Really, Xander? Who in their right mind would curse two teenagers?"
  
  "Uh, everyone," he animatedly answered like she was the crazy one. "Have you not seen, like, every horror movie ever? Young teens getting killed, kidnapped, or romanced via paranormal activity is like a rite of passage for us. Being possessed or getting killed in weird or dumb ways is what we're known for."
  
  Amused, she huffed a small laugh before responding, "Fine. Then who would gain by doing either of those to you?"
  
  Though the humored woman smiled at Xander, the Sherlock pattern within couldn't stop thinking-which meant he couldn't stop thinking-that he was looking at a suspect. To speculate Jenny tightened his chest and made his skin break out with hot & itchy goosebumps. He reasoned aloud along with his Sherlock-pattern, "Someone... someone who'd want to be with me... have sex... despite my having a girlfriend who'd totally be against it. Someone who may have been feeling alone and rejected for weeks. Maybe someone I've been intimate with before."
  
  'Someone with a Gypsy lineage that have a history of cursing people ,' his mind added, as he stood up and eyed her sternly.
  
  Xander didn't break eye contact, as if peering into her soul and seeing the truth before she even uttered a word. He couldn't be sure and hoped he was wrong, but he had to know. The silence between them lasted a full minute until she finally asserted, "You have to understand, the spell did nothing she didn't have in her to try-"
  
  "Jenny!" he heatedly yelled, moving away from her, forcing the chair to scratch the wood floor loudly.
  
  "It's not that kind of spell!" she insisted, putting her palms up in peace. "I promise you, I would never manipulate Cordelia into doing something-"
  
  Eying her in wild disbelief, he heatedly interjected, " You already have -"
  
  "Wait! Wait," she tried, attempting to explain herself. "I'd never manipulate her into doing something she hadn't thought of doing already-"
  
  "Are you kidding me?" the irate boy interrupted again. "Then what! For how long!" However, at the thought of Cordelia and whatever this spell might be doing to her, he instead demanded to know, "What did you do?"
  
  Anxiously, Jenny tried to explain to the agitated boy, "If there was a way for her to rationalize sharing you with another woman, the magic would just remove the pressures not to. That's it. Somewhere in her mind, Cordelia could imagine herself agreeing to this, or she never would've consented to it. I promise you."
  
  " But she wouldn 't! " Xander yelled, certain Cordelia would never have approved this. "I know she wouldn't! What you're talking about is the magical version of ' Getting Her Drunk First! ' How do you not see that?!"
  
  "Xander, please," Jenny tried, moving closer, but he stayed away. "You have to understand, on some level, she does want it-"
  
  "Stop! Please, just stop," Xander yelled at her with a look of derision on his face. "Even if that were true. I didn't want it. I. Didn't. WANT TO! And you knew that!"
  
  Xander should've known. He shouldn't have submitted to the beguiling pleasure. It should've been enough that he wasn't comfortable with it. But then he'd hear his father's voice accusing him of being a failure of a man. ' Any man would, you fairy !' he heard his father yell. Xander shook his head of familial thoughts and focused solely on helping Cordelia.
  
  The boy walked up to his saddened teacher and pleaded, "I need you to be the cool Jenny Calendar I know. The one who'd protect her students exactly from the kind of shit you just did. Tell me how to break the spell."
  
  Slowly, Jenny backed away from him. She turned, and for a moment, he thought she might run, however, she only walked to the kitchen. In front of the sink, she looked at him sadly before opening the bottom cabinet. The despondent teacher reached back for something and returned with two glass vials she placed on the dining table. Aside from the clear liquid inside, one vial had a brunette strand of hair while the other had a blonde one.
  
  He raised the vial with the blonde strand and asked the obvious question with his eyes. The defeated woman answered, "Buffy."
  
  "You wanted me to sleep with Buffy?" Xander asked, aghast.
  
  Jenny yelled back, "I know how much you love her! I was doing it for you-"
  
  Then he realized the real reason for all of this and interjected, "Does any of this have to do with getting back at Giles?"
  
  Anger suddenly overrode her downcast temperament and Jenny was quietly steaming a moment before asserting, "He picked her! Giles picked her and her mother! I thought you, of all people, would understand what it's like to feel betrayed by them. Buffy threw you out, Xander, and her watcher let it happen! All you wanted to do was keep the worst from happening and save lives. And for that, she threw a hissy fit and banished the messenger." Taking a breath, she sadly added, "I don't need to explain how much Giles hurt me, but to this day, I can't... stop thinking about it... unless I'm with you." With tears welling up, she confessed with deep sincerity, "Xander... how you make me feel is unlike any man I've been with."
  
  Hearing such a genuine confession made Xander regret ever being with her. It's not as if he's any bigger than other men; he's average-sized. Xander simply has the advantage of the time loop making everyone forget their experiences with him. Having sex with Jenny would then exceed all her expectations because she doesn't know that he's had sex with her hundreds, if not thousands, of times, allowing him to know all of her pleasure spots. Xander suddenly felt sad regret for heedlessly being with her.
  
  "I know they're not horrible people, Xander," Jenny continued, breaking him out of his regretful thoughts. "I know that, but the way Giles and Buffy treated us was wrong. And neither of us should accept that abuse. We don't deserve it." When Xander took the vials to the sink, she called out, "We're just standing up to the hurt they caused us."
  
  He looked at her a moment, thinking of all the times Buffy had blown up on him when he questioned her love for Angel, or when she didn't believe him, or when she accused him of betraying her. And though he didn't like any of those reactions, Xander knew that deep down, Buffy didn't actually hate him. She only lashed out when she was hurt.
  
  ' If I can 't understand that, how can I call myself a friend? ' he thought before emptying the contents of the vial into the sink before washing it down the drain. He quickly grabbed his stuff and left without saying a word.
  
  The entire night, Xander dreaded what Cordelia's response would be, but he wouldn't get to hear it for another three agonizingly long days. The recently cursed girl avoided him; dodged his calls or otherwise pretended not to be home. When Xander couldn't take being shunned by her any longer, he broke into her house after he spied her parents leaving without her. Cordelia was shocked to see him enter her bedroom. Eying all the tissue boxes or balls of tissues around her bed, broke Xander to see. Her eyes and nose were red, and before he could get a word in, she immediately ran to the bathroom and locked herself inside.
  
  "Cordy! Please talk to me!" he yelled through the door.
  
  "Go away!" she yelled back and the crack in her voice felt like a knife to the heart.
  
  Xander felt his own chest tighten and his eyes heat up as he yelled, "It's not your fault! You were cursed! I know you didn't want to do that!"
  
  "But you did!" she yelled back and he could hear the betrayal in her broken voice. "I tried- I tried so hard t-to pull you out! But you just wanted to fuck her!"
  
  "No, I didn't! I didn't! I swear I didn't!" the frantic boy tried, feeling his throat swell. "You know I didn't want to do that! You know how much I love you!"
  
  " If you really loved me, then you would 've known! " she yelled at the top of her lungs, taking his breath away. Then he heard her sobbing through the door, and Xander couldn't stop his own streams of tears from spilling down his face. No matter how many times he called to her, the desperate boy couldn't get anything else out of her. Mr. And Mrs. Chase returned soon after and involved the police when the teenager refused to leave.
  
  Xander had nothing after that. No friends and no girlfriend. The truest family he'd ever known was gone. Xander dealt extensively with hopelessness before due to the time braid, however, nothing of this caliber. He truly felt like walking death; heavy but somehow devoid of any warmth. And entertaining the thought of looping back to change it all felt just as nauseating as moving forward. With nothing and no one, he fell back into the one thing that can't let him down.
  
  Xander found shelter in Wild Dinks and stayed there for weeks. Pete and the boys just let the broken-hearted boy hammer away at the anvil and make anything he wanted. Xander would fold and stretch runes into white-hot metal billets over and over until they were beautiful blades. Initially, he attempted to make a vessel magic would want to reside in, but soon, he lost himself in the mindless process of weapon-smithing. He worked throughout the day and night, only sleeping when his vision blurred or he couldn't hold his hammer anymore. Then the depressed boy would inevitably wake up from nightmares.
  
  Xander skipped going back to school, ignored his seventeenth birthday, and his only visitor was Angel, of all people. When the vampire wouldn't stop brooding annoyingly beside him, Xander eventually told him what happened with Cordelia. The tall vampire didn't even offer his condolences. He simply remained quiet in brooding understanding. It was then that the pair were ambushed by Spike, his crew, the newly turned Doug Jeffries, and his brothers; twelve vampires in total.
  
  "Told you we didn't have to tail him, Bossman," Doug the vampire told Spike.
  
  Heavily outnumbered, Angel and Xander grabbed weapons as they were immediately ambushed. Xander dual-wielded his hammer and tongs while Angel unsheathed his sword. With Spike leading the attack on Angel, Xander found himself surrounded by Doug and his brothers, eager for payback. Despite his attempts to keep them at bay, dual-wielding his hammer and tongs to break their bones, they were faster, stronger, and more durable.
  
  Eventually, Xander was punched across the face, kicked in the back, and punched in the gut, downing him before being used to compel Angel to stop fighting. Angel dusted three of Spike's men, but at the sight of Xander's beaten body being threatened with death, he reluctantly dropped the sword. The vampires took them to the abandoned Bric & Broc factory. Xander was very familiar with their lair and wasn't surprised when Drusilla and Spike shackled him in the torture room.
  
  Xander thought he'd die as they tortured him; again. However, not unlike before, they kept him alive no matter how many times he tried to goad them into killing him. The teenage time looper then thought he might die when he witnessed the vampires reassemble and resurrect a tall, blue demon. They called him the Judge, and the monster was a muscular, lumbering humanoid demon with blue skin and solid black eyes. His body was covered by metallic armor and the back of his head bore three bone crests.
  
  Spike convinced the Judge not to kill Xander and Angel as he had a horrible plan for Buffy & friends. Then Spike and Drusilla continued torturing and maiming Xander for their joy. The bloodied teen lost all concept of time even before they took his left eye, pulled his fingernails off, and broke most of his bones. He called on his Navy SEAL training to deal with the sheer tsunami of agony until the sadistic vampires mercifully knocked him out.
  
  Xander woke up in a large white room his sluggish mind eventually recognized as the Sunnydale mall. He was tied to a wide support beam on the first floor of the spacious walkway. Ahead of him, Xander could see with his one good eye Angel tied to another support beam with Drusilla and the Judge around him. A blurry version of Buffy, Willow, Oz, and Giles were also there, armed and on high alert. Many of the civilians not cowering behind divides or mall furnishings were being corralled by vampires into a spot like cattle.
  
  "Just in time, Xander, my boy!" Spike looked between him and the Scoobies as he happily voiced, "Right, since we know how much this Slayer loves her boy toys, we'll be kind and give her one." Spike cut Xander down as Drusilla cut Angel down and they dragged them front and center, twenty feet away from Buffy and the gang.
  
  Through the rushing blood in his ears, Xander heard Willow cry out, "Buffy! You have to save him!"
  
  Spike yelled over Willow's wailing, "You can choose one, Slayer. Either this sad sap," the blond vampire stated, pulling Xander up by his blood-and-sweat-dried hair, making him groan in pain. "A bit of wear and tear on him at the moment. A few- well, a lot of broken bones, but he still has one good eye." Turning to Angel, he continued, "Or you can pick your Knight of the night! Keep in mind, we could just kill them both, but, nice as we are, we'll give you one. So, choose, Slayer."
  
  Drusilla pulled on Angel's collar, raising his beaten face. His legs were bound and his hands were manacled, however, he seemed less hurt than Xander.
  
  "Choose, Slayer!" Spike gleefully demanded. "Show Angel here how pointless loving the living is."
  
  "Buffy! Please save Xander!" Willow yelled, and through the pain, Xander's half-lidded vision focused on the blonde slayer. Her shoulders were tense, her fists were gripping a sword and stake so tightly, Xander thought the stake would be crushed by the squeezing pressure. Worst of all, tears were falling down her tortured face, to Spike's delight. Her pink lip quivered, and she looked decimated by the choice put before her. It was a choice to make with a figurative gun to her head.
  
  In his fogged mind, Xander wondered why she was so conflicted and thought, ' Why ... not... pick... me? She couldn't... hate me... that much .' Then, upon realizing the other option was Angel's life, his mind voiced, ' Oh ... Fuck... '
  
  "On the count of three, princess," Spike playfully directed. "We don't have all bloody day."
  
  "Wait!" Buffy yelled, needing more time.
  
  However, Spike gleefully counted with haste, "Three, two, one-"
  
  "Angel!" the distressed Buffy yelled, taking an unconscious step forward.
  
  In disbelief, Willow had to be held back by Giles as she yelled, "Buffy!"
  
  "Give me Angel!" the crying Buffy repeated.
  
  Spike and many other vampires laughed at her choice before the English vampire remarked, "Last minute of my life, I couldn't have predicted that." The flamboyant vampire lifted Xander up with one arm to look him in his one good eye before saying, "Poor, poor Xander. Mate, she either loves him more than a living, breathing meat sack she's sworn to protect, or she truly hates your guts."
  
  Spike raised his knife, then looked at Buffy. Willow screamed for Buffy and Spike to spare Xander's life, but Xander was happy to end it all. He felt so dead; he didn't even want to loop back. Xander simply wanted it all to end. It off-handedly made him wonder if this was what Wolverine felt at times; a desire to just end it all. Then, Spike dragged the beaten and bloodied boy directly to Buffy with no fear she'd try anything to him. He made her look at Xander's broken body while Willow cried in Giles' arms, begging Buffy to save him.
  
  " Please, please, please don 't let him die! " Willow wailed.
  
  Spike ignored her and put the blade to Xander's dirty and bloody neck. He ordered the slayer, "Look at this living, breathing, blood-bag you bloody Slayers are tasked to protect, and tell me you'd rather have your undead, vampire boyfriend instead."
  
  Xander was forced to watch through blurry vision, a pained Buffy shedding tears for him. When she mustered up the courage to look into his good eye, Buffy's face broke from extreme heartache. Xander imagined her deep despair wasn't because she was giving up her love to save him, but because she knew she could never give up her love, even to save him. Xander huffed, to his extreme pain, then nodded with whatever pitiful wisp of smile he could muster. The teen just looked at her one last time, the Buffy he could never have but loved above all.
  
  He thought he heard her wrong when she weakly voiced, "G-Give me Xander."
  
  Xander stared at her, tears freely streaming down her face as Spike asked, "Come again? Didn't quite catch that."
  
  Squeezing the stake so hard it crunched and splintered in her supernatural grip, Buffy yelled, "Give me Xander!"
  
  "Ah," Spike playfully acknowledged. "He's all yours," he said, then Xander felt the knife being plunged into his back before being thrown forward. Buffy caught him as chaos erupted all around them. The Judge began consuming the group of souls corralled by the vampires and Spike's crew attacked those the Judge wasn't causing to explode. The few people that hid well began fleeing for their lives, but were chased by vampires. In the middle of it all, Buffy held Xander in her arms as she begged for his forgiveness.
  
  "I'm sorry, Xander!" she cried as she cradled him. "I'm so, so sorry."
  
  "Heeey... d-d-d-don't be," he coughed, as it felt like his lungs were filling with warm blood. Tears milking from her beautiful greenish-blue eyes, all Xander could think to say was, "Y-you didn't do... an'th-thing wrong."
  
  "I did everything wrong!" she yelled as he patted his blood-dried hair.
  
  Feeling so close to the end, Xander had to ask, "H-hey Buff? C-C-Could you... ever... l-love... me?"
  
  As his vision darkened, he still caught the doubtless expression on her teary face as her cracking voice confessed, "Xander.... How could I not when you-"
  
  Darkness.
  
  Xander woke up to the blaring alarm beside his dirty bed, and he knew by the pigsty of his smelly room that it was October 31st, 1997.
  
  It's not going to be easy getting out. But it'll be for the best in the end.
  
  Since I'm working twice as much, I'm looking for another beta to help me edit this fic. Or I'm afraid I won't be able to update weekly once we reach 28 or 29. If you're interested, message me on ffnet, royal road, Ao3, or reddit (graefoxx_).
  
  I hope you all enjoyed the read. Xander is definitely going to do things differently in the next few chapters. Let me know what you think or if you spot any typos. I appreciate all the feedback I can get. Have a great one friends,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Geek Vaccine
  Another Sunday, another chapter! Welcome one and all to chapter 25.
  
  First, HAPPY EASTER... if you celebrate such things. I'm currently running late to the family festivities. Hope you all enjoy the day.
  
  Second, I'd like to introduce 2 new betas, Oxnate and Chelanxar. Crazybubbles and JeresB need some time to deal with life stuff, but I do hope they come back. They're great betas and after working with Oxnate and Chelanxar on this chapter, I can tell they're going to help me elevate this story with every chapter. Thanks guys!
  
  WARNING: Lemons. Language. Simp alert(I added this because I know how much some of you hate the "simping")
  
  9.3K words. And without further ado, enjoy!
  
  The Geek Vaccine
  
  Xander would honestly be a stark raving lunatic by now, if not for one thing; the last six words he heard before looping back. He'd gone through the longest linear-living cycle yet and made it past the month-loop to his eighteenth birthday, despite spending the special day by himself. Nearly three months of intense exercise and forging was a milestone he doubted he had the tolerance to ever reach again. To then lose it all and loop back would've made Xander give up that Halloween morning.
  
  Staring at his disgusting yellowish ceiling, the exhausted teen was a step removed from enacting some of the most heinous crimes humankind was capable of: getting the most beautiful women in the world to sleep with him by whatever means necessary; stealing money, cars, planes, and boats; burning down banks, blowing up oil fields & the power grid for the entire Western Seaboard; and nuking Russia & China simply to watch the world descend into world war. All the horrible, soul-crushing depravity was on the cusp of being carried out, if not for the last thing Buffy said to him...
  
  ' How could I not when you ... '
  
  Gazing into her enchanting crying eyes as she confessed that single line illuminated to Xander that there was a possibility of Buffy falling in love with him. With that one line, she gave him hope they could be more than best friends. That he could have the girl of his dreams; could have his hero. How could Xander possibly waste time on needless destruction when Buffy was waiting for him.
  
  ' Not waiting, exactly ,' he thought. ' But the possibility 's definitely there, or she wouldn't have said it. I just need to... not stop? '
  
  Then the image of a smiling Cordelia popped into his mind and he felt stress squeeze his heart painfully, pumping more blood through his system and making him lightheaded. At the haunting recollection of her crying, broken voice, Xander ruined that beautiful girl's smile. He hadn't seen her since the day her parents called the police on him, but he knew her heart was destroyed because of him. And now Xander was thinking of Buffy, yet again. He simply couldn't escape the likelihood that his monumental affection for Buffy meant he loved Cordelia less.
  
  '... Less ,' he woefully thought, feeling ill to his stomach. ' I don 't like that word. Cordy's just... different .'
  
  To Xander, Cordelia felt like a kindred spirit. They understood each other, and there was an openness between them no other girl could match, which was certainly important in a relationship. The Buffy in his heart, however, felt like something else entirely. Regardless of his will, Buffy was just... the girl . The girl he'd ignore all the pain, turmoil, and lunacy for just to see again. The Anything & Everything girl. The point where all roads converge. If Cordelia was his fun and comforting life, Buffy was his astonishing life, and that beautiful slayer tearfully admitted to him there was a way.
  
  Which meant Xander had to find it.
  
  The raven-haired teenager got out of bed and went for a run to beat his weakened lungs back into shape. While he ran, he thought of the loop after the month-loop. When he had Sherlock locked in a room, the genius detective mentioned a year-loop after the month-loop. Since he looped back, it meant Xander would have to make it passed his nineteenth birthday to hopefully escape the time braid. The thought of such a grand obstacle made him shudder with dreaded fear and Xander sprinted harder to get rid of the growing anxiety in his chest. Just picturing the possibility that his entire life was a loop, and that he would never get out, made the anxious boy run so fast, he eventually had to stop to throw up.
  
  After his run, Xander was once again standing in front of Ethan's Costume Shoppe. With a glare, he simultaneously felt like he hadn't seen the nefarious business in forever and far too much at the same time. However, he set his mind to task and walked in for his first of five costumes. To refresh the slow-fading mental patterns, Xander first began with Old Man Xander.
  
  The teen attempted to get Ethan to create a twenty or thirty-year-old version in hopes Xander would remember more of his youth, but the best he could manage was a sixty-five-year-old version. Anytime he schemed or pushed for a younger-aged costume, Ethan grew suspicious and kicked him out. Xander even pretended to be a fellow agent of chaos in order to get a younger age, however, it never worked. Ethan would either stab him in the back or they would fight until Xander knocked him out. Even telling Ethan about the time loops and why he wanted a younger costume didn't help.
  
  "My exceptional young man," Ethan began, positively beaming after hearing such a tale. "You've already been given the greatest gift ever bestowed upon humanity; impermanence. Gaining knowledge of the future would give you a measure of control. I'd never dare impose that on you. Chaos is in the not knowing. Life is never more beautiful when you're left blissfully unaware of how the future will unfold."
  
  "Is that why you're always fine giving me an eighty-year-old but not a twenty-year-old?"
  
  "Precisely," the man said with a happy yet sinister smile. "It is unlikely you would recall such a young age, providing you ample time to screw it all up, regardless."
  
  Annoyed by the smiling Englishman, Xander beat Ethan up and destroyed the bust of Janus out of pure spite. Then the agitated teenager stuffed his hands in his pockets and went home. In the next loop, Xander accepted the sixty-five-year-old version of himself. The younger Old Man did remember more of his adult life, however, his teenage years-especially around sixteen and seventeen-were still an unreliable mess.
  
  Moving on, Xander became Sherlock next, and locked the genius in a room at the Motor Inn to see if there were any refined conclusions he could surmise. With the additional dates Xander looped back, the brilliant investigator confirmed there was a year mark after the month-loop, and if there was another loop after that, it would be three years after the year-loop. Shaking his head emphatically, Xander prayed to God that wouldn't be the case. Such a long imprisonment would simply be too much for him. He'd gladly embrace lunacy if he was forced to suffer a three-year loop. Xander laid his hopes of escaping the time braid on the date Sherlock circled with a red marker; January 1999.
  
  The raven-haired teenag then became Achilles for several dozen loops to blow off some steam. Achilles' creative fighting prowess was still a sight to behold. Sometimes, Xander would throw away Achilles' sword before the curse began, or give him two swords just to see the difference it made in his offense, but the man was a pure combat genius. It didn't matter the weapon or situation. So long as Achilles could think and move, he could win.
  
  Without the warrior costume, the very-much-human Xander was forced to focus on technique, instinct, and experience to compensate for his body's flaws. Even if his muscle memory was leagues better, it only highlighted how much worse his weaker, flabbier, and slower body felt when he looped back. Fighting as Xander became difficult once again, and it made him wonder if there was anything he could do to boost his strength, even if only a little.
  
  Xander became Merlin once again and spoke to the elder within his mind as they walked the streets of Sunnydale. After explaining everything about his circumstances, his suffering, and what previous Merlins had counseled thus far, Xander asked him about four things; love, dealing with heartbreak, coaxing magic into his vessels, and if there was anything that could help boost his physical strength. The legendary warlock listened as he used the sleeping spell on violent offenders during the Janus curse.
  
  "Mnn," the old man hummed, stroking his long, white beard. "There are those who claim love to be nothing more than a mental disease. One that inhibits higher reasoning and heightens emotional impulses. Whereas I have always considered love to be two souls in perfect harmony, perhaps even three if the conditions are ideal."
  
  "Three?" the shocked Xander called out from within the mental harness.
  
  "It's exceedingly rare," Merlin said with an amused laugh.
  
  "Okay, well, how do you harmonize two souls?"
  
  "I'm afraid that is a form of magic even one such as I have difficulties harnessing," Merlin answered. "We are all quite different, you see. And what may work with one, may not with another."
  
  Thinking of Cordelia, Xander then asked the wise elder about suffering heartache. He answered, "A broken heart is not unlike a broken rib cage. No one can see the wound, but the pain is unbearable with every breath."
  
  At Merlin's statement, Xander thought of Buffy, Cordelia, Jenny, and, to some extent, Ms. Summers. They all had the hardest time dealing with their heartbreak and made terrible decisions because of it. It gave Xander more perspective into how they must feel every day to lose the person they love the most and what they would do to make the pain stop.
  
  The elder sage continued, "But like all broken bones that are given sufficient time to heal, a broken heart may too find peace one day."
  
  "I guess there's no way of knowing how long it takes to heal from a broken heart, huh?"
  
  "I'm afraid not, my young one," Merlin answered with an apologetic smile before moving on to Xander's third query. "Hmmm, magic can be a fickle thing for novel practitioners. Consider your own body, for example. It could be thought of as a temporary vessel made of this universe to house your soul, which will go on forever. You truly are an extension of the powers that created the entire universe, and my magic-sight can see you are progressing quite well. So long as you continue to practice, I have no doubt you'll soon achieve the results you seek."
  
  "Can't I just skip to the part where I'm awesome?" Xander begrudgingly asked.
  
  "No matter the trade, no matter the person, practice is key to becoming, as you would say, awesome ." Xander snorted at how strange such a modern word sounded coming from such an old guy.
  
  Merlin moved on to Xander's final query. "I am against permanent physical augmentations, of any kind, however, that does not mean none exist; there are quite a few, in fact. As you can no doubt see from my memories, there are methods ranging from spells to potions to enchantments that provide some semblance of results. However, I personally have not used them."
  
  "Yeah, that's why I'm asking what you would recommend," Xander replied.
  
  "While your physical form is capable of harnessing magic, I can sense a malediction common with those not gifted in the art." Xander rolled his eyes at his monkey-paw magic again. Merlin continued saying, "However, you already have, what I believe to be the best means by which to enhance your physical form."
  
  Confused, Xander asked, "I do?"
  
  "Are you not blessed with the talent of a forge master?" Merlin's voice danced around him in the dark void of his mind. "Despite the difficulty, clerics of the forge are just as capable of producing the results you seek."
  
  As ever, Merlin pointed the aimless teen in the right direction, and Xander once again trained as Eitri. Not only did he spend months renewing the legendary dwarf's methods, mimicking strikes until the teen's was tuned perfectly with the dwarf's, but he also looked into the meta-materials he could use to help entice magic into his constructs. Xander repeatedly searched deeply into runes he could put in the weapon to enhance his physical form, not unlike Prince Adam in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
  
  After Xander was done with Eitri, he laid in his bed, using his arms as pillows under his head, and thought of the key to getting past the day-loop. He recalled the time he did it on his own; using his older counterpart's memories to swear to do better. Whether it was to Jenny, possibly his friends, or even himself, the first step seemed to be little more than standing up for himself. This time braid appeared to be as Merlin said, designed to alter something within Xander.
  
  "I need to be better," he softly voiced, before deciding to test the theory unlike he had before.
  
  In the next several day-loops, Xander stood up for himself against Buffy, Giles, Angel, and even Larry, and each interaction allowed him to pass the one-day loop. As he absentmindedly killed Spike with a bazooka to loop back faster, he understood that the other cycles in the time braid were similar, if not exact. His Sherlock pattern within told him there was another component to passing the remaining loops, but it all boiled down to Xander being better than he was or will be.
  
  To that end, Xander decided to be a soldier for Halloween again. Not a private in the Army, but a Navy SEAL. Though Ethan preferred the Royal Navy's SBS & SAS over the US Navy SEAL, passionately boasting, "Britain's military dominance in naval warfare is second to none! How could you possibly believe the SEALs are better when we were the very first to create elite counter-terrorism groups?!"
  
  It took a few loops to settle the Englishman's passionate devotion to Queen & Country, but eventually, Xander convinced the inscrutable chaos warlock to make him the costume; the price tag of which was double what he usually paid for a special order. Come 6 PM that night, Xander was bombarded by a wealth of invaluable knowledge. What a Navy SEAL knew over a private in the army was so immense, it was like comparing a college freshman to a Ph.D. professor.
  
  Navy SEALs, the Spearhead of the US military force, had extensive training in firearms proficiency, tactical shooting, linguistics, cultural communication, intelligence gathering, first aid, sniping, close-quarters combat, evasion, and the best survival training in every type of weather and geography variation on the planet. They had access to the best technology and were constantly in hostile situations. Though Ethan wouldn't agree, they were the best of the best.
  
  The only issue Xander had, was getting the highly trained soldier to listen to ghost-Willow, which often led to the death of Buffy or Cordelia. After a couple of failures, the experienced time looper prepared a mission report beforehand that designated Willow as his field commander. After that, it was incredibly easy for her to direct him in any way she needed. The Navy SEAL saved Buffy and Cordelia, and even broke pirate-Larry's nose with a rock-hard fist to the face.
  
  After the night's curse was lifted, Xander and Cordelia escorted the scared kids back to their parents, and the entire time, Xander reflected on his time as Cordelia's boyfriend. In the previous long loop, they were as close as any loving couple could be, but walking beside the gorgeous cheerleader now, she didn't remember a shred of their time together. He wasn't sure if that was a gift or a curse. Xander messed their relationship up the first time by cheating on Cordelia with Willow, then he messed it up again by surrendering to his carnal desires and being fooled. Xander needed to do right by her, especially if his heart seemed incapable of completely letting Buffy go.
  
  Walking toward Cordelia's BMW after passing on the group of children to the teachers, Xander suggested to her, "If all this weird stuff is going to keep happening, you may want to invest in sensible shoes. Unless you like running around in high heels."
  
  She leveled him with sharp brown eyes before retorting, "It's actually criminal for someone so style deficient to comment on other people's fashion choices."
  
  Feeling their vibe once again, Xander playfully asked, "Whaaa? You don't like my ' Come Hither ' shirts and ' Hip Grandpa ' jeans?" The way he swayed his hips and popped his shirt made Cordelia snort and laugh for a second before quickly gathering herself, as he figured she might.
  
  "Oh, no," she replied. "I like them exactly where they belong, in a dumpster fire." When she saw him near the passenger door of her luxury car, she asked, "Uh, where are you going?"
  
  In a higher tone of voice, he asked with raised eyebrows, "Gimme a lift?"
  
  She sighed as her shoulders deflated, but nevertheless replied, "Oh, fine, but stay low. I'd rather people not know I associate with dweebs like you."
  
  They got in her luxury car before Xander jocularly returned, "Oh, you don't need to worry about that, Cor. Even if anyone saw us, I'm sure they'd only sense my pain."
  
  As always, they enjoyed bickering all the way to his house. Having spent as much time with her as he did in the previous long loop, he could see a rough version of the girl who could eventually feel so much love for him. That insight allowed Xander to see how she's hiding her zest for their back-and-forth camaraderie and it made him feel just as content.
  
  After Cordelia dropped him off, Xander looked at his home and decided to continue to the next loop. He promised himself he'd be better and woke up the following morning to November 1st. Then came the hassle of dealing with Ted Buchanan. Rather than destroy the robot in its lair, Xander simply made the machine inoperable and anonymously reported the bunker to the police. Hopefully, the proof that it was a robot and not a scammer won't cause Mrs. Summers to drink and sleep with Giles.
  
  Xander won fourteen out of twenty $1000 quick-win scratch-off tickets he typically bought and promptly started selling them to everyone throughout the week, only giving Giles, Ms. Calendar, and Mrs. Summers a discount. He used the money to make his deal with Pete and forge at Wild Dinks. Lastly, hoping to get rid of his body's sluggish brittleness, he began working out intensely every morning. With the Navy SEAL pattern in his head, he found pushing himself to the very limits of his strength to be less of a struggle.
  
  Xander warned Buffy about Ford and enlisted the help of Angel to convince her. After Ford spun his tale of blackmail, Buffy once again gave her old friend the benefit of the doubt. When the pair were alone in the library, preparing to go to the vampire club, Xander was once again reminded of her words, ' How could I not when you ... ' That half-sentence was never far from his thoughts when she was around. They were nearly ready to go when he felt a growing need to say something.
  
  Xander sympathetically expressed, "You don't want to believe me about Ford, and I get that. I know I wouldn't believe it if you told me Willow was a crack addict."
  
  "I wouldn't believe it if she passed me the needle," Buffy affirmed.
  
  Xander smirked before confessing, "I just want you to know, I'm sorry if it turns out he's not the guy you thought he was."
  
  Looking at him as if touched by his words, Buffy replied, "Thanks, Xander. I appreciate that."
  
  Ford didn't turn out to be the man Buffy hoped, however, unlike previous loops, Xander showed up at the cemetery just as Ford popped out of the ground. Before Buffy could stake her childhood friend, Xander shot Ford in the heart with the wooden bolt of a crossbow, turning him to dust. Giles and Buffy were surprised to see him there, and when she asked him why, Xander responded, "I know what it's like to stake a friend. I asked myself if I could help you avoid that, would I? So, here I am."
  
  Truly grateful, Buffy happily conveyed with a smile on her face, "I'm glad you are." The beautiful slayer gave him an affectionate hug. Thinking of her words, ' How could I not when ... ' he happily returned the embrace before the three left the cemetery together.
  
  Despite impressing Buffy with the Ford situation, Xander wasn't able to convince her something was amiss with Giles. She simply didn't want to believe it. However, Xander was patient and responded, "I know he's Mr. By The Book, on top of being your watcher, but I'm telling you there's something not right here. And I'm not just talking about the dead body back there. I'm telling you, this is like Ford."
  
  "Giles and Ford are nothing alike," Buffy insisted.
  
  With a sigh, Xander replied, "You know, I know I bring the best funnies to our ragtag band of mistfits, but that doesn't mean that I'm the joke."
  
  "Xander-" she tried, but he walked away.
  
  With that defiant assertion, Xander entered the one-month loop. Mark of Eyghon turned out to be a big deal and Xander let it play out as before; only, he didn't visit the traumatized Jenny afterward. The teen visited his computer teacher during school hours. Eying the despondent woman at her desk, he thought of how angry he should feel for what she did; lost Giles to Joyce, lost her morals, then magically doped Buffy and Cordelia, all because of a broken heart. However, at the moment, this Jenny didn't do any of that. The Jenny in front of him was suffering from having been possessed by a demon and Xander could only feel sorry for her.
  
  Walking up to the beautiful teacher, Xander felt in his bones how much he wanted to give Jenny a better life this time. He didn't want her to suffer needlessly. As he had before, he gave her the scratch-off lotto ticket and asked her how she was doing. He made sure she knew he was always available to talk, which she appreciated. Then Xander asked for her assistance in learning about Angel's curse, and unsurprisingly, she consented.
  
  Because of Kendra, Xander stressfully debated stealing Du Lac's Cross earlier than normal. Drusilla was the sole reason Kendra came to Sunnydale. If he stole and melted the gold cross down, Spike wouldn't be able to revitalize Drusilla to full strength, which meant the attractive vampire should eventually wither away.
  
  ' Unless something else revitalizes her ,' he absentmindedly thought.
  
  Xander couldn't be sure, but the other side of his internal debate was a mix between helping the gorgeous Jamaican on her crippling social weakness and his aching blue balls. Xander hadn't had sex in a long time, and his weakness for beautiful women was overriding his higher reasoning. Of course, he didn't have to sleep with Kendra to help break her out of her sheltered shell, however, he didn't think he was be strong enough to resist her when he had been sexless for several loops.
  
  ' No one gets their heart broken, and she 'll be more accustomed to men, ' his mind rationalized. ' That 's a win-win .'
  
  Xander decided to leave the Du Lac Cross in the mausoleum and repeated sleeping with Kendra. since Xander remembered to keep condoms nearby, their night of debauchery did not end soon. The talented boy knew how to stimulate Kendra's sexy body. The hormonal teen had a lot of pent-up energy she was happy to spend until the sweaty bodies climaxed together for the tenth time. Despite Kendra's carnal awakening, they talked once her competitive Slayer aggressiveness settled down. The sheltered slayer was worried & anxious, and, as he had before, he helped her through it.
  
  Xander and Cordelia had their first kiss in Buffy's basement for the seventh time. It felt so good to kiss her again, he felt guilty. Feeling such pleasure from the girl he hurt because she had no way of remembering what he did was pulverizing his morality. Escaping the Latvian worm assassin, Xander felt scummy about the entire situation. However, he couldn't exactly see how this could be avoided; not strictly with Cordelia, but with everyone. So long as no one remembered the previous loops, all his interactions will involve a measure of deceit.
  
  Because of his time crisis, Xander will always know more personal details about everyone he met, and he'd have to pretend to know less than he actually did simply to make life easier for everyone. To tell them the truth would only complicate matters, and risk looping back. Also, deep down, Xander had to wonder if he was using his loved ones to live his days without always thinking about being trapped in his time prison.
  
  ' Dr. Manhattan said, ' the world may grow dull from our perception, however, seen from another vantage point, a new gaze may still take our breath away . ' Maybe I'm hoping for the same thing; Living life normally by looking at it through their unknowing eyes, ' Xander wondered as they reached the school.
  
  Xander and Cordelia soon met Kendra in the library again, where they all realized Xander was right about a second Slayer. They rescued Angel, brought the ceiling down on Spike & Drusilla, and Xander recovered the golden cross with Kendra's help. He made certain the Jamaican slayer gave her Watcher his phone number in case the man had any questions regarding Kendra's blind spot with men.
  
  "I know you're a Vampire Slayer," he freely admitted. "But vampires aren't the only evil out there. If a bad guy, who's more on the handsome side, found out who you are and wanted to sell you to demon bosses or vampires, how are you going to see the danger if you're nervous and looking down all the time? Someone lacking social skills or world experience can fall prey to those kinds of traps, and I don't want that to happen to you."
  
  Kendra seemed to understand the potential threat and returned to Jamaica, hopefully, wiser because of it.
  
  Xander and Cordelia kissed once again later that day in school, then every day that week. He still used edge play to bring her pleasure close to the peak, then stopping moments before the promised waves of euphoria. Teasing Cordelia mercilessly with a delay of supreme satisfaction built stamina and whet her appetite for more, and as ever, he could see the frustration building within her.
  
  In the meantime, when Xander checked on Jenny. She was nearly finished with the translations. Then he took the opportunity to ask how she was doing. The listless teacher smiled weakly before responding, "Xander, you don't have to worry about me."
  
  "Sure I do," he returned without breaking eye contact. "As the gang's leading member in being possessed, I can tell you it's not a cake-walk to come back from. Deflectionary humor goes up a whopping 120%, and it takes a lot of twinkies before you finally start feeling better. Well, twinkies and friends. And we'll be here whenever you're ready."
  
  With a grateful smile, Jenny brightly replied, "Thank you. That's very sweet of you to care."
  
  "It's my superpower," he returned with his trademark smirk. "That and fixing windows."
  
  When his relationship with Cordelia edged closer to a label, rather than try to present the option of a serious relationship, Xander reluctantly admitted, "If that's what you want, okay. We don't have to be a couple."
  
  As before, they were in the supply closet, and with the light on, he could see the confusion come across her face before she asked, "We don't?" He shrugged and nodded, and Cordelia seemed offended by that, asking, "What's that supposed to mean? Are you like, trying to use reverse psychology to get me to be your girlfriend?"
  
  Surprised by her train of thought, he slowly answered, "Uuuuuh, no. I'm just saying, if you feel what we're doing is fine... then... I agree."
  
  The beautiful cheerleader eyed him with such disappointment that it confused Xander. Then she asserted, "That's just pathetic. And I'm not falling for it."
  
  "It's not a trick, Cor," Xander tried to assure her, wondering about the topsy-turvy direction this conversation was going. He could've sworn this conversation would be as simple as 1s and 0s, but for some reason, Cordelia was throwing out shapes and letters. "I'm being serious," he tried. "I just think you're right. This feels really good the way it is. Plus, I think I'm getting addicted to hearing your sweet little moans. Why ruin that?"
  
  Despite the blush creeping on her cheeks, an indignant Cordelia asked, "Oh, so, now you think I don't deserve to be your girlfriend? Like I'm going to be the one to ruin it? That's rich coming from King Dweebo of Loser-ville."
  
  "Whoa, hey," he voiced out, feeling that defensive spirit rising within him. "So now I can't even agree with you? Is your common sense set on reverse today?"
  
  "You just seem sooo sure I wouldn't be the absolute best girlfriend you'd ever have!"
  
  Returning with equal fervor, Xander retorted, "And you actually think you would?!"
  
  "Obviously!"
  
  "Oh, so now you want to be my girlfriend?"
  
  "Yes! ...Wait." At her cutely confused expression, Xander was in disbelief when she asserted, "You tricked me!"
  
  The conversation hadn't gone at all as he planned and he shook his head as he replied, "As if I had the time or patience to think that crazy." Giving her an out, he asked, "Do you want to take it back?" The stunning cheerleader was in silent turmoil, like waging an internal war between her mind and heart, and after several moments, Xander slowly voiced, "Cordelia?"
  
  Her extreme confusion was written on her face, so Xander slowly cupped the sides of her face and kissed her deeply. She melted into their delicate kiss. And when she leaned into his frame, he wrapped a hand around her thin waist to keep her flush against him.
  
  When he eventually pulled away, she was in a daze before regaining her temperament and aggressively voicing, "Ugh! When you do things like that and I get all confused!"
  
  Xander didn't hold back his smile, seeing the dull world grow brighter from her view. "So," he started. "Why don't we just keep doing what we're doing until you're not confused?"
  
  Her brown eyes focused on his words before she slowly replied, "Like... doing this thing until I get over the mental dysfunction I'm clearly suffering from? Oh! You can cure me of any nerds, geeks, or dweebs I could tragically find attractive in the future?"
  
  With a grossed-out face, he asked, "Do I look like some sort of geek-vaccine to you?"
  
  "Now that you mention it," she threw back with a snide smirk.
  
  Xander leveled a smirk right back before answering, "Fine." Squeezing her hip and lower back, he finished, "You want a geek-vaccine? I'll come over tonight and give you your first injection ." Pressing her body firmly against him, he leaned forward, and she was ready to accept his lips once again. Just as his nose caressed hers and her lips felt the warm presence of his pillowy lips, Xander pulled away, foiling her hormonal desires once again.
  
  "See you tonight," he said to the sexually charged girl, then left. Outside of the supply closet, Xander's mind was reeling from pondering how Cordelia just became an even deeper fixture in his life when he was trying to pull away.
  
  After Xander and Buffy saved everyone from the egg parasites, he met Cordelia that night, preparing the entire time to avoid the past heartaches. Since he spent most of the day with Buffy, Xander was conscious of how he was leading Cordelia on, and he hated the idea of hurting her again. He stopped by her house after working at the forge. He still smelled of wood, fire, and steel, and when she opened the door, her beauty shut his brain down. Alluring as ever, the gorgeous cheerleader let him in, and he knew breaking it off here would be for the best in the long run.
  
  In her large and opulent living room, Xander turned to her and teasingly asked, "You gonna thank me for saving your life from a brain-hijacking parasite?"
  
  She teased right back, "I let you in, didn't I?"
  
  Moving closer to the stunning girl, he playfully remarked, "Odd that didn't sound like, ' thank you, Xander, for saving my life. And I 'm oh so sorry for ever thinking an airhead like me could ever make someone as amazing as you jealous .'"
  
  Cordelia couldn't snort hard enough before she retorted, "With delusional narcissism like that, you clearly need to be in a psych ward more than my house. As if I'd ever apologize-"
  
  Xander pulled her to him, and their lips snapped together. His hand stroked her neck, jaw, and lustrous brunette hair, kissing her deeply as he tilted his head and tongued her oral cavity. His other hand massaged her waist, hip, and lower back with just the right amount of pressure and motion. Her arms wrapped possessively around his neck as his mouth moved down to her sensitive neck.
  
  " Mnnn ," she moaned with closed eyes. Her body was a single mass of burning desire since he left her in that storage closet. Xander could feel her fiery lust for the release he's been denying her all week. Then he pulled away. "Wha...?"
  
  Her eyes were black pools of desire as he clarified to the sexy girl, "I thought you wanted your injection ." He kissed her before saying, "I thought you wanted to be cured of me." He kissed her again, then lifted the stunning girl before moving her to the couch as he said, "The only time I'm stopping is when you say the word."
  
  They kissed once again while Xander's hands deftly removed her silk shorts and matching panties. Soon his skillful hand folded over her dripping warm sex. Cordelia moaned into Xander's mouth when he began fingering her wet cunt while massaging and kneading her large breasts till her nipples were rock hard. Cordelia only felt hotter and her body itched madly for more. Sensing the twitching need of her flush body, Xander broke their kiss to move his mouth between her legs.
  
  Cordelia sat back bonelessly in the seat of her comfortable couch, her sex-starved flesh moaning for more. Xander's talented mouth focused on her clit as he continued to finger her, sucking loudly on the pink bud as his pussy-compressed fingers effortlessly curled right on the budding bundle of her G-spot, making Cordelia moan deep from her taut stomach.
  
  "OOHH.... MY.... MMMNNN! FFFUUUUCCC- HOW ARE YOU! Right there! Yess! MMMnn," she moaned. Tongue, fingers, and hands worked in perfect synchronization on her sweating flesh for several minutes. And after days of his constant teasing, frustrating her leaking womanhood to the point she's felt hot and bothered all day, Cordelia felt the pleasure coil swell incredibly fast. Cordelia's hands gripped fist-full of Xander's raven-colored hair when the girl's hips shivered helplessly and her pussy contracted violently.
  
  "Xander! I'm cumming, I 'm cumming , I 'm cumming! You're gonna make me- You're gonna make me cummmmmmmnnnn ," she screamed when her love tunnel erupted in an intense orgasm, overflowing his pumping fingers with her sweet honey. The half-naked girl shuddered as her spine arched and her legs quivered while ecstasy spread from her cunt, up her spine, and into her brain. Cordelia was in a daze for several minutes before finally acknowledging the boy massaging her thighs with half-lidded eyes.
  
  He smiled at her before asking, "Think you're cured yet?"
  
  " Haah , haah , uh, m-maybe?" the panting girl tried. "Or... maybe not? I don't know. We'll have to, uh..."
  
  "Try again tomorrow?" he asked. She nodded, and they did.
  
  The more Xander thought about it, the idea of curing her of him didn't sound bad. It felt like there might be an amicable end to that relationship, and that was his primary goal all along. Xander and Cordelia continued meeting in secret around school and work for a couple of weeks, and Xander appreciated how they weren't on a collision course to breaking her trust and making him feel like shit.
  
  Their meetings were light, fun, and always orgasmic. The beginning was heavy petting and kissing. Once they graduated to hand jobs, it wasn't long before they were pleasuring each other orally, of which Cordelia was ecstatic about. She couldn't know why he was so capable of getting her off better than anyone she'd ever dated, but Cordelia was in a euphoric tizzy about his skill. She played it off as if she wasn't excited to see him, then jumped him the moment he came over. Though he was worried the geek-vaccine wasn't working, he worried more about his future when Jenny finally gave him the translation of Angel's curse.
  
  The day Xander made it out of the one-month loop, he asked Buffy to meet him at Dinks. It was late, and the others had already gone home to their families. Xander was finishing a final polish of a double-edged Excalibur when Buffy showed up. "Early Christmas gifts happen to be my fav, you know." Xander turned to see Buffy walking the aisle between all the heavy-duty machinery.
  
  When he turned with the sword in hand, the beautiful slayer stopped in her tracks. This loop's Buffy hadn't been to the forge yet, so she's never seen him with his forging gear on or a weapon he's made in his hand. He wanted to give Buffy the best, but sadly, he wasn't there yet. After speaking the incantation, the Excalibur sword in his hands only became his latest failure. It's fortunate Pete could sell all of his pieces since they're a cut above anything else in the shop, but the money only helped his financial life. A magical weapon is what he truly wanted.
  
  "Xander!" Buffy exclaimed, rushing up to him. She eyed the weapon from end to end as she excitedly asked, "Did you make that?"
  
  The young smith enjoyed the look of awe on her alluring face. It gave him a boost of energy as he answered, "Sure did. Lots of dwarf sweat, elven tears, and human blood went into this."
  
  "I'm going to pretend I know what that means and nod," she easily admitted with a smile. "Can I?"
  
  Xander escorted the strong girl to the testing sight behind Dinks. Under the night sky, he set up six rolled-up tatami mats side-by-side on the rig. While she waited, she expertly twirled and spun the sword in her hand. Then he let her have at it. The tightly rolled tatami mats were supposed to be comparable to the density of human bone and muscle. With her strength, dexterity, and skill, wielding one of the sharpest and strongest weapons he's made thus far, Buffy cut through rolled mats like they were made of wet noodles. From right to left, all six cut rungs fell one at a time to the grass below.
  
  Buffy leaped and skipped toward him as the bubbly blonde cooed, "Xander! I am thoroughly wowed! I can't believe you made this!"
  
  Hand to his heart, Xander playfully responded, "You wound me. Wounded I say!" She leveled him with an amused smile, then he reminded her, "I meant it when I said I wanted to help you, Buffy."
  
  "Well, this bad boy definitely passes the highly stringent and prestigious Slayer slashy test," she played back as she looked over the luminous blade as it caught the moonlight. "Job well done, really."
  
  "Thanks, but I'm not there yet," he glumly admitted. "I'm hoping to make something really special one day."
  
  Buffy whirled at the statement, adding, "I don't know how you could top this, but if it's possible, I'm sure you can do it."
  
  That was so nice to hear. Xander had to ask, "Really?"
  
  "Of course," Buffy stated, as if that were obvious.
  
  "Thanks," he slowly replied. "You know, lately, I've been thinking that I'm focusing too much on repeating what I learned and not feeling out the billet that's in front of me; almost like I'm bullying it into what I want. And they always say to listen to the material. I just hadn't taken that seriously until now, because I just wanted to copy what I saw."
  
  "I know the feeling," Buffy admitted. "When I fight, most of the time I can do what I want, but when they're just as fast and strong, I have to take my time and feel how they come at me."
  
  "Yeah," Xander easily agreed, recalling how Achilles, Sherlock, and Casanova do the same. "I think the next piece I do is going to be the best yet."
  
  "I stand not-so-patiently waiting," Buffy cheerfully professed. "So, what'd you want to talk to me about?"
  
  "Actually, we're waiting for one more."
  
  "Who?"
  
  "He'll be here soon."
  
  Buffy practiced with the sword as they talked, and Angel eventually showed up. The beautiful slayer grew confused by his attendance and turned to her friend for answers. Xander took the printed curse out of his pocket, all the while saying, "I'm sure you're both wondering why I asked you here. You should know upfront, you're not going to like what I have to say. I wouldn't be surprised if you hate me for it, but there's really no way around it. It has to be said."
  
  Xander could see the cheer deflate from her as she sarcastically voiced, "Okay, that's not ominous at all. What is it?" He handed them a copy of Angel's curse, and as ever, the tall vampire understood it better than Buffy. He wondered if she even knew she was shaking her head as she read the details of the curse. Her greenish-blue eyes snapped on to him before she asked, "Xander... what is this?"
  
  All the humor and levity between them was gone and Xander sympathetically answered, "Angel's ensouling curse, and how to break it."
  
  Buffy re-read it, shaking her head in amusement before arguing, "This can't be true. It says a moment of happiness, but we're already happy."
  
  "That's not the true happiness it's talking about," Xander slowly replied.
  
  Angel began to walk away, likely uncomfortable with showing any emotion in front of Xander. The teen then made it clear to both of them, "If you stay together, Angel eventually turns back to Angelus." Angel stopped, then turned to glare at Xander, but it had no effect. The unfazed boy simply continued, "You know that's one vampire who'd love to torment Buffy."
  
  "This is wrong, Xander," Buffy called out. "It's not true!" Rushing to the distraught Angel, her hands were on his chest as she looked up to plead with him, "Don't believe him! Hey, don't! Xander's always joking around, okay? This is just another joke! A terrible , horrible joke. But a joke."
  
  "Have Giles verify-"
  
  "Shut up!" she heatedly directed at Xander. "Just don't say anything else, or... or I'll believe you did this out of spite!"
  
  The raven-haired teen didn't listen and stated, "Angel doesn't want to be Angelus any more than the rest of us do-"
  
  "STOP TALKING, XANDER!" she yelled at him. "That's just your jealousy talking!"
  
  With clear pain and misery in his voice, Angel began saying, "Buffy-"
  
  However, the desperate girl interjected, "Angel, listen, he's lying, okay? I know him, and I'm telling you he's lying. He wants to break us up, so, so, just... just wait and see, okay? You'll see this is nothing. This means nothing !"
  
  Sadly, Angel could only repeat, "It's true, Buffy," as if it were a death sentence with no stay of execution.
  
  "No," she gasped, shaking her sad blonde head in adamant refusal. "No, Angel. D-Don't say that," the progressively crestfallen girl pleaded. "Don't say that!"
  
  Angel began walking away, and Buffy moved to follow him when she realized she still had Xander's sword in her hand. Without thought, she threw it toward Xander and buried the blade in the wood wall behind him, a foot away from his head; A demonstration of her anger and the control of not killing him. Turning, he noted how deep the sword was buried and let out a long sigh.
  
  After they left, Xander called Willow and warned her that Buffy would be needing her support for a while. Additionally, he told her not to worry about him because he'd be fine. He then called Giles and told him what happened. Though Giles thanked him for the warning, he chastised the teen thoroughly for leaving him-Buffy's Watcher-out of such a delicate situation. As expected, Buffy didn't want to see him the following day and banned him from Slayer business and he spent most of his time working out, at the forge, or with Cordelia.
  
  Toward the end of December, Cordelia went to Vegas with her parents for Christmas, and though Xander got to spend some time with Willow and exchanged gifts, he largely spent the holidays on his own at the forge, paying closer attention to the white-hot metal and how it reacted to his strikes. Gaining the sense he was on the precipice of an amazing next step, he focused all his attention on his work instead of the slow-moving minutes of his loneliness.
  
  The short sword he worked on had the runes of ᛊ ᛋ, sōwilō, or Sun and Power, and ᚾ, naudiz, or Need. He was hoping to make a sword that was strong and would kill vampires as easily as the sun. Through perseverance, hundreds of hours, and plenty of failures, he held up his latest sword, freshly sharpened to perfection, and spoke the invocation.
  
  "Finalrinn step með ljós á ok fire lit. Minn always koming heima."
  
  And to Xander's everliving surprise, the short-sword vibrated, as if a lot of wind rushed into it. Xander felt his knees become like paper when the entire weapon became mildly brighter before dimming. It didn't simply lose its luster, but its visibility, as if it were turning invisible but stopped halfway. It was the first time any magical force, no matter how small, took shelter in one of his constructs, and he felt like a bundle of bursting energy.
  
  Xander was giddy and rejuvenated as he screamed in the empty forge like he scored the game-winner after a long, hard-fought game. So many attempts, so many failures, and this was his first-ever success. He gazed at the half-disappeared short-sword in triumphant awe, then giggled.
  
  After what felt like an hour of admiring the progress he'd made, and spontaneous giggle-fits, Xander wondered if the sword had any other abilities. He used the runes for Need because he wanted to call the sword to his hand like Thor called on Mjölnir, as well as Sun and Power because he wanted it to have the power of the sun. He used all three runes as Eitri would, but for some reason, the short-sword didn't equal the outcome Xander wanted and he didn't know why. In addition, he also wondered if the sword could become completely invisible. Having a sword in one's hand that no one could see would certainly be a boon in battle.
  
  As Sherlock would often tell him, ' test, test, test .'
  
  Xander took the elvish-looking short-sword to Restfield cemetery and patrolled for a vampire to behead. He came across one an hour later, and despite it being faster and stronger than him, the creature of the night wasn't adept at combat. Despite that, Xander was cautious. He never fought this vampire before, and the possibility of looping back made him nervous enough to stay hyper-vigilant.
  
  As the practiced Xander used his footing, the landscape, and the sword to equalize their differences in strength, he also felt excited. He hadn't fought a vampire in a while, and he was eager to see if the magical sword would do more than the typical slicing. He hoped for electricity, but his nerd heart truly held hopes for making the blade glow like a lightsaber. If he could be anything like a Jedi, he'd die a happy man. Sadly, the short sword did nothing. It stayed perfectly visible; it didn't burn or electrocute anything upon contact. It didn't boost his speed or strength. It was just an incredibly strong and sharp sword.
  
  Unwilling to push his luck, Xander stopped dragging the fight out, used his footing to pivot, and cut off its left hand. While the vampire screamed, Xander swiped and decapitated it, turning it into dust. He patrolled for another hour before deciding to try again the following night. On his way home, however, Xander ran into a small group of vampires, two from Spike's crew, Doug Jeffries, and the jock's brothers. The six were soon in front of him, looking at the teen like dinner. Despite the sheathed sword in his hand, Xander's mind instantly understood a strategic retreat was his best option of surviving the group of murderers without life-threatening injuries.
  
  Before he selected a route that would be advantageous to him, Xander challenged Doug to a one-on-one while the others watched. Xander began his strategy by throwing a rock and pretending to miss horribly. Their laughter distracted them from Xander's first strike, a quick slice of Doug's neck, then Xander started sprinting as fast as he could. He hoped he'd get past the first house and cut through backyards, but the vampires were on him inside of thirty seconds. And Doug's brothers were furious.
  
  Xander sliced at them whenever they tried to grab him. His balance while sprinting would wobble with their attacks, but he'd cut one, or slice off the finger of another one, getting them to back off a second longer as he ran. He'd wound to hinder the vampires as he kept going. Even when being shoved like he was hit by a car, he'd force himself to roll with the momentum and get back on his feet as he sliced around him with a deft hand. Xander managed to behead another vampire before the final four surrounded him.
  
  Xander was resigning himself to repeating everything all over again when Angel rushed in to help. The pair of them finished the remaining four before Xander dropped to his knees, winded and hurting all over. He was massaging his incredibly tender and throbbing forearms, certain he had bone bruises.
  
  Angel asked in clear puzzlement, "Since when did you learn how to fight?"
  
  Wincing, Xander stood as he answered, "Oh, you know... Street Fighter II is surprisingly instructive; been working on my Hadouken too."
  
  When Xander groaned as he got up, Angel genuinely asked, "You okay?"
  
  "Yeah," the teen wheezed. He wedged the sword under his armpit as he clapped the dirt from his hands. "Thanks for the assist."
  
  The tall vampire nodded before nodding at the sword and asking, "Is that a new one?"
  
  Xander followed his eye-line to his sword, then presented it to him as he answered, "Yeah."
  
  The vampire took the sword, removed it from its scabbard, and inspected the sharp and shiny blade. "Nice," he voiced.
  
  "Keep it," Xander bluntly said. When Angel looked at him for more of an explanation, the young smithy added, "For saving my bacon." He felt weird about it because he didn't care about Angel, however, it also felt right. With nothing more to say, Xander turned to walk home, then Angel followed. Xander didn't tell him to back off. He simply allowed the vampire to follow him home.
  
  When they neared Xander's house, the vampire asked, "How's Buffy?"
  
  "Not sure," Xander voiced. "She hasn't talked to me since that day."
  
  "So you thought you'd start slaying vampires by yourself?" he casually asked. "Get on her good side?"
  
  "I just wanted to test the sword," he answered. "I don't exactly have any super-powered friends to ask at the moment."
  
  "Fair enough," Angel said. "Don't stay out late anymore. There's been more activity than usual. Something's coming."
  
  Xander felt odd talking to Angel for so long, and about his safety-as if the vampire cared-but he replied, "Good bet Spike and Drusilla are behind it."
  
  "They're dead."
  
  "Did you see bodies?"
  
  "It would be dust," the vampire pointed out.
  
  "Fine, did you see piles of dust?" Xander corrected.
  
  "How can you be sure they're alive?"
  
  "Just a hunch, I guess," he answered with a shrug.
  
  When Xander walked up his driveway to enter his home, Angel offered, "If you need someone to test your weapons, just leave a note on my door."
  
  Xander turned to look at him. Their odd partnership was just like before, unnatural then as it is now. But with a mild understanding between them, Xander nodded as he voiced, "Okay."
  
  When Cordelia returned from her Christmas vacation with her parents, she was upset by the black and blue sight of him. However, he enjoyed her nursing care, even if she was more like the stern, crabby nurse than the gentle, sweet one. He got to spend New Years with the stunning girl in her little black dress, and he rang in the new year on the receiving end of a blow job. His birthday was the day they first had sex in this loop, but she was the one with the pleasant surprise. Xander made her orgasm so hard, no sound escaped her wide-open mouth as her body quaked and quivered with unmitigated ecstasy. The sex they had every night after was mind-bending. He'd tease her during the day and rocked her world when they met at night.
  
  He was at a better point in this long loop than he was in the previous one due to Cordelia and his forging breakthrough. If it weren't for her and his hammer, he wouldn't be able to stand how much he missed Willow, Buffy, Giles, and Scooby business. Xander kept his focus on what he could, and worked on a second sword. For nearly a month, he worked on another short Excalibur, with the runes of ᚾᚨᛚᛟ; Need, Power, Sacred, Heritage/Possession. Then he spoke the incantation.
  
  "Finalrinn step með ljós á ok fire lit. Minn always koming heima," he said in Old Norse.
  
  Not unlike his previous successful construct, the sword vibrated. Then it brightened with more light than his previous construct. Nothing blinding, but brighter. Then it faded away. The sword felt alive in his hand, like a small current flowing through it. Then nothing. The four runes he hammered into the folding of the steel-Need, Power, Sacred, Worthy-gave Xander an idea of what the blade could do, but he wouldn't know until he saw it in action. It was the most excitingly new thing he'd felt in a long time. Sex with Cordelia kept him sane, but forging magical weapons gave him purpose.
  
  Xander left a note on Angel's door the next morning to test the new sword, but he didn't see the vampire for several days. He was close to going to a graveyard himself when he finally showed up, though not by himself. Giles, Willow, and Buffy were right behind him and they needed his help.
  
  Sorry for the cliffhanger, but it's only a week wait. We can do it!
  
  I love Xander and Cordelia's dynamic. They're always a joy to write.
  
  This chapter was kind of like a calm before the storm kind of deal. I have plenty of stuff happening in the next few chapters, so look forward to that.
  
  Thanks again to my relief beta readers, Oxnate and Chelanxar!
  
  If you guys have any comment, thoughts, or concerns(For example, Chelanxar thought this would've been a perfect opportunity for Xander to dress as James Bond rather than the Navy SEAL. Though I think James Bond would've been interesting, I can't break my own rules for something as fun as that. Ethan hates that stuff, so, that's how I have to write it). Anyway, let me know. I do so love hearing from you guys.
  
  Till next week, have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Slaymore
  Welcome back! Another Sunday, another chapter!
  
  I hope everyone is well. If not, please enjoy a moment of escapism with chapter 26 of Chain of Ascension :D
  
  Big thank you to Second, my 2 new betas, Oxnate and Chelanxar! They are doing a great job keeping me on my toes. Thanks guys.
  
  WARNING: Light Language. Light Lemons. Violence.
  
  6.5 K words. Now, enjoy!
  
  Slaymore
  
  A hot and sweaty Xander was hammering into a bright orange steel bar to its predilection. He hadn't even noticed it was evening, he was so focused on his work. Two-thirds of the guys at the shop were gone and the last few were cleaning their stations, finished with their metalwork for the day. Xander didn't have to leave. In fact, none of the boys of Wild Dinks had to leave, however, most of them had families and were eager to see their kids. Seeing them happy to go home always made Xander wonder about his own parents, and why they chose the bottle over their son. He couldn't shake the melancholy feeling, but focused on his work nevertheless.
  
  The young forge master was listening to the red-hot material he was hammering into shape with precision strikes while thinking of the runic magic that could house his next piece. It's the same supreme focus Eitri had when he forged with his brother Brokkr. Only now, the teenager understood that the material Eitri was working on all that time ago, couldn't be the same material he worked on now, thus, Xander couldn't hammer the billet in the same way. How he approached the material in front of him was key to success, as if it was a living thing and had a say in what it wanted to be.
  
  Xander couldn't ignore the material anymore, and after finishing an excellent Excalibur-style sword, he felt much more confident in how magical his constructs had become. Xander just knew his weapons were magical, weak magic, but magic nonetheless. As the teen aligned the length of the red-hot billet with his right eye to check the typography of his strikes, he was interrupted by Angel.
  
  "Xander," the teen heard behind him.
  
  He turned to the tall vampire, who gestured his handsome head to the side, informing Xander he'd be outside. The teenager casually nodded, then set the billet on the rack to cool. Conners raised his eyebrows in questioning, as if to ask if everything was alright. Xander reassured the big softy with a smirking nod before grabbing his notebook and walking out to the front of the building.
  
  The young master smith was writing the level of folds and what rune he was on as he asked the stoic vampire, "What took you so long?" Xander had left a note on Angel's door to come test a new weapon days ago, but Angel never showed up. The teen was going to test it himself if the vampire stood him up again. He looked up from his notebook as he voiced, "I finally have a decent sword-"
  
  Xander lost his voice at the surprising sight of Giles, Willow, Oz, and Buffy standing behind Angel. Willow rushed ahead of everyone to give her oldest friend a powerful hug around his middle. She smooshed her cheek against his chest, overwhelmed with happiness to see him again.
  
  "Will, I'm dirty," he told her as he kept his dirty hands from her bright, fluffy sweater.
  
  He was still in his forging gear; a black bandanna for the sweat, gray long sleeves, black cargo pants, boots, and his leather apron. Willow didn't seem to mind as she continued hugging him. Giles nodded at him from beside Angel, Oz stayed by his van, and the silent slayer stayed back, watching. From her stern and sullen expression, it was clear the gorgeous blonde was against coming here; against seeing him. Though Willow stopped hugging Xander, she stood right beside him as Giles and Angel explained why they were there.
  
  "While I'm pleased to see you doing well," Giles began. "We're sadly pressed for time, so I'll come straight to the point. Angel has informed us you've been working on magical weapons-"
  
  " Which I couldn 't believe ," an impressed Willow exclaimed, eying Xander with bubbling admiration. "Since when have you been studying magic-" Giles cleared his throat, prompting Willow to finish, "Which we can totally talk about later... if we don't die, I mean."
  
  Xander knew they were there because of the Judge. In the previous long loop, he would've died by the humanity-burning demon if not for Spike and Drusilla's request to torture him in order to shatter Buffy's mental state before battle. Thinking of Buffy's extraordinary six words to him, Xander realized their plan would've worked if not for the time braid. It made Xander think he had to get this loop right... he had to get out.
  
  Pretending not to know, the teenage weapon-smith asked, "What's going on?"
  
  Giles took a step closer to emphasize, "We are facing an enemy of great peril, and Angel has led us to believe you have a weapon that can- w-well, if not defeat it, then give us a fighting chance; give Buffy a fighting chance."
  
  Xander looked past them at an irate and silent Buffy. Even stoic, she was alluringly picturesque. He always knew the beautiful blonde would do everything that was needed to save lives. However, he never thought he would be a substantial burden she would have to suffer through to complete her mission. It made him feel like a villain of Buffy's, as if disagreeing with her was more than enough to merit being disregarded.
  
  Xander nodded to Giles, then dug into his pocket under his leather apron for keys. He turned and walked back inside. They followed Xander into Dinks as he walked to the weapon's cage where everyone in the shop secured their finished pieces behind lock and key. After removing the heavy padlock from his locker, he opened it up to reveal three pieces inside; an axe, a short-sword, and a double-edged sword. Astonished, Willow and Giles leaned in and were clearly amazed by the undeniably professional-looking weapons.
  
  Xander couldn't help but smile as an astounded Willow gasped, "Did you really make those?"
  
  The proud Xander nodded before he picked up his Excalibur. Overall length was 40 inches, 32 of which was extremely sharp razor edge. The guard and pommel were made of zinc alloy with silver and gold plating. Xander gripped the professionally wrapped, dark leather handle and unsheathed the sword to show the polished sharp blade to his friends. It wasn't a weapon a God, or even a demi-God, would brave dangerous quests to attain, but a knight might.
  
  Astounded, Willow ogled the sword as Giles stated, "My word."
  
  Angel voiced, "That's new."
  
  "Yeah, finished it a few days ago," he answered the vampire with a prideful grin.
  
  Xander walked past them to extend the weapon to the intended master of the blade, Buffy. Although she's strong enough to use any weapon, he was always conscious of her body size when making the legendary double-edged blade. He leveled the sword parallel to the ground and presented it to her without a word. The beautiful blonde eyed him a moment, then shook her head before taking the handle and rotating it up.
  
  The blade shone with a glint of white, like a frosted over weapon reflecting morning light off its metal. As quickly as the light came, it then disappeared, making Xander's smile widen. Due to his acquired memories, he knew the brighter the light, the stronger the indication of magic inside, and this construct was his best yet.
  
  Xander admitted to Buffy, "I'm not sure what it does- if it does anything unique, I mean. It'll likely be stronger than normal weapons. I'd be surprised if it broke or even chipped, and I doubt it'd lose its edge. Other than that, I don't know exactly how it'll help, but it's the best I got."
  
  Willow covered her mouth with her hand as she stared at the sword adoringly. Then she turned to her best friend before exclaiming, "Xander! The illumination is a commonly documented indicator that a magical reaction actually took place! Upon reacting with the master of the blade, it either hums, dims, disappears, or produces light! That's amazing!"
  
  "Y-yes, quite impressive," Giles agreed, eying the weapon in his slayer's hand.
  
  A stern Buffy turned to Xander, her expressive greenish-blue eyes displaying hints of gratitude, grief, anger, and stubbornness. She then nodded to him before turning to Giles. As they left the room, Xander locked up his locker before chasing after them. They were nearly to Oz's van when Xander caught up and asked, "What's going on? Where are you-"
  
  Buffy turned and abruptly cut him off with a sharp, "No." For her first word to him in weeks, it felt like a blunt slap in the face. She stepped forward and asserted, "Thanks for the sword, really, but you don't need to know." A little softer, she added, "It'll be dangerous enough as it is."
  
  In defiance of Buffy, and because he's gotten to spend time with the teen smithy, Angel told Xander, "It's an ancient and legendary demon called the Judge."
  
  Buffy turned to Angel in surprise, clearly upset he would involve Xander, but the tall vampire said nothing else.
  
  "B-Buffy's correct, I'm afraid," Giles gently informed Xander. "It would be best if you remained out of harm's way."
  
  "Giles, I live in Sunnydale," Xander emphatically reminded the wise watcher. "Pretty sure this entire town is deep into harm's way."
  
  "No weapon forged can kill it," Willow explained to her childhood best friend. Willow looked to Buffy, who just shrugged, giving the redhead leeway to add, "But Angel told us what you're doing, which really, it's just amazing- Anyway, we're hoping this'll work."
  
  Since stopping the Judge was one of Old Man Xander's finer moments of playing a pivotal role, Xander knew what he had to do. And paying Spike & Drusilla back for torturing him again was a happy bonus. Xander scratched his chin as he mumbled, "No weapon forged..." Then he asked the group, "Wouldn't that include Slaymore?"
  
  "Slaymore?" Willow asked.
  
  He smirked at his best friend and assured the girl, "Oh, come on, Wills. You know me better than that. I'd have to revoke my geek card if I didn't give my sharp stabbing stick a name." Buffy examined the sword, fitting its moniker in her mind, then nodded in approval as Xander continued, "I did a decent job with Slaymore, but it's not exactly legendary status. And again, I don't even know what all it can do. Somebody was supposed to test it days ago," he added, looking sternly at Angel.
  
  "Been pretty busy preventing world-ending calamity and destruction," the vampire casually retorted.
  
  Rolling his eyes, Xander returned, "Excuses, excuses." He shoulder-checked Willow lightly, pointing his thumb at Angel as if to say, ' can you believe this guy ?' Willow restrained her smile as she smacked his shoulder to be serious.
  
  "We'll take our chances," Buffy told Xander before turning to leave.
  
  The others followed and Xander asked along the way, "Where's it going down?"
  
  Buffy stopped and turned. Impressively fast, the slayer was in front of the forge master before strongly asserting, "You're not coming, Xander!"
  
  He eyed her just as sternly and declared, "Yeah, I am!" Face-to-face, he told her, "You think I'm gonna let you hack away at this guy with a toothpick and just hope for the best? I started doing this because I wanted to be your weapons guy, Buff. I wanted to help you fight, even if I couldn't always be by your side to do it. And I don't care if you hate me right now. I'm still going to be there for you. So... just tell me where you're going, so I can help."
  
  Stern Buffy-Slayer mode Buffy-looked deeply into the steadiness of his brown eyes, conveying their own unyielding resolve. Giles, Oz, Willow, and Angel watched the pair locked in a battle of wills. While normally they would all accept Buffy's lead when the stakes were at their highest, Xander wasn't willing to concede this time. Unbeknownst to them, he'd been in this situation many times before, and despite his admiration of her, and her leadership, he refused to back down now. After several silent seconds, Buffy deflated a bit, and without a word, turned her back on him, walking toward Oz's van.
  
  In her own moment of defiance, Willows blurted, "Sunnydale mall," and Buffy looked at her in mild betrayal. The redhead's eyes conveyed an apology in return.
  
  Xander immediately told them, "Just hold out for the next forty minutes."
  
  "Why?" Willow asked.
  
  Rushing back to Dinks, he yelled over his shoulder, "Because not all weapons are forged!"
  
  Rushing into the main office, Xander grabbed the phone and called Cordelia. He told her to speed her way over to the shop, adding, "I need your help." Before running to the showers, he finished with, "And wear something slutty... I'm dead serious... No! Not the little black one. That's my favorite."
  
  After she picked him up, they sped to the nearby army base Xander had visited on many occasions. Though it had been a long time since he'd been back, or wore the Soldier costume for Halloween, Xander recalled most of the details of the base and personnel; the location of the four guard towers, the garage, admin, HQ, Mess Hall, Officer's quarters, barracks, and most importantly, the armory. Xander had Cordelia drive past the base to a patch of road generally used for drills. Cordelia parked her BMW near the north gate, then Xander picked the bolt locking the gate before they entered together.
  
  "Security here is always a joke," Xander lamented.
  
  Far more anxious than him, Cordelia voiced, "Who am I supposed to be again?"
  
  "You're supposed to be a girl," Xander teased. "Think you can handle that?"
  
  Cordelia smacked his shoulder, momentarily forgetting how nervous she was. The night rain made it easier for the pair to sneak around soldiers undetected. Cordelia was wearing a lustrous silver jacket with a matching headband, a crimson red blouse with a low neckline, tight dark jeans, and black boots. Xander wore his black cargo pants, a gray thermal Henley, a khaki jacket, and boots. Holding her hand, Xander led them down the length of the building to the front access of the armory.
  
  When they reached the armory entrance, an authoritarian voice behind them called out, "Halt!"
  
  Xander turned to the guard on duty. Though he was Xander's height, the soldier was wider, with bigger muscles. As the guard walked toward them with his M16 leaning against his shoulder, the barrel pointed up, Cordelia gripped Xander's arm nervously.
  
  The guard demanded, "Identify yourself right the hell now."
  
  Unbothered, Xander smiled as he returned, "Private Harris, with the 33rd." Before the guard could even respond, he cut him off, saying, "They're on maneuvers. I know. I'm on leave."
  
  He eyed Xander suspiciously as he asked, "You always spend your leave sneaking into the armory?" Then, as if being more concerned with Cordelia, he asked, "And who is she?"
  
  Plastering a bright smile on her beautiful face, Cordelia tensely answered, "Hi. I'm not a soldier." Turning to Xander, she asked, "Right?"
  
  Xander stepped closer to the guard and confidently explained, "Look, I just want to give her the tour , you know?"
  
  The soldier looked at Xander with some confusion as he asked, "The tour?"
  
  "Yeah, you know the ladies," Xander suavely insinuated. "They love to see the big guns. Gets 'em all hot and bothered. Cut me some slack? Give me a blind eye?"
  
  Looking from the enticingly dressed Cordelia to the poised Xander, the suspicious soldier asked, "Why should I?"
  
  As Cordelia gulped, Xander gave the soldier a once-over before asserting, "Well, if you do, I won't tell Colonel Newsome that your shoes aren't regulation, your post wasn't covered-" Xander grabbed the soldier's M16, rotated it diagonally, then shoved it against the guard's chest before finishing, "And you hold your gun like a sissy girl."
  
  Begrudgingly, the soldier smiled a little before telling Xander, "You got twenty minutes, nimrod."
  
  Xander herded Cordelia inside the armory as he smoothly told the guard with a knowing smirk, "I guess that's enough for one round."
  
  The soldier shook his head in amusement before moving on with his patrol. Despite the low light of the armory, Xander walked to the back, straight to the section he needed. They passed crates & cages of weapons, and all sorts of ammunition as a distracted Cordelia asked from beside him, "Okay, what was that?" Though she was curious about Xander, she was also taken aback by the very dangerous weaponry all around her. Cordelia was very conscious of all the firepower surrounding them as she finished asking, "And also, who are you?"
  
  Reading the labels on the crates, Xander casually answered, "Remember Halloween? I got turned into that Navy SEAL?"
  
  "Yeah."
  
  "Well, I still remember all of it," he explained, as he located the crate. "I know procedures, ordinance, access codes, firearms & tactical training, first aid, close-quarters combat, everything. I know the whole layout of this place, and I can put together an M16 in fifty-seven seconds, while blindfolded."
  
  Her face morphed from amazed to nervous as she stated, "Okay, I'm impressed, but let's just find this thing and leave. I'd rather not go to federal prison." Xander nodded before looking for a tactical weapons-bag to store the gear in. As he grabbed one from the supply room, Cordelia hopped on a crate and observed all the intimidating weaponry as she dangled her feet from side to side. She watched him prep the weapon of mass destruction for travel when she asked, "So, do looking at guns really make girls want to have sex? That's scary."
  
  "I guess," he absentmindedly voiced, adding an assault rifle and ammo for himself before zipping up the large black bag.
  
  Curiously, she asked, "Does looking at guns make you wanna have sex?"
  
  With the heavy tactical bag slung over his shoulder, Xander snorted before asserting, "I'm seventeen. Looking at linoleum makes me wanna have sex."
  
  She smiled, and they left. Cordelia let Xander drive her Beamer and he raced back to town. He made it back in record time and parked right by the service access of the Sunnydale Mall. With the black bag over his shoulder, the pair ran inside as Xander instructed Cordelia, "Leave the vampires to me. Just help everyone else get out."
  
  Opening the service door to the middle of the wide walkway, the teenagers walked into chaos. Unconscious bodies were on the floor and many civilians hid behind the counters, pillars, and trash receptacles while terror and violence broke out around them. Most of the fighting was concentrated around Buffy and Angel, while Giles, Oz, and Willow fought vampires together and away from the worst of the danger. Giles would snipe vampires with the crossbow, Oz would stab any that approached them with a spear, and Willow would cast as many light-blue protective barriers around the unconscious bodies as she could.
  
  Twenty to thirty yards away, Buffy was fighting the armor-clad Judge and Xander was happy to note his sword did hurt the big blue demon. Its large hands would attempt to burn the humanity out of her, however, she would use Slaymore or throwing knives to interrupt his killer ability. Buffy could actually cut inches deep into him, however, it wasn't enough to gravely wound him. Other than growing annoyed, The Judge barely seemed to feel her attacks.
  
  Spike and Angel's battle to the death nearly gave Xander a heart attack. The blond vampire and a few of his men were fighting Angel at the same time, and the insanely nervous Xander was repeatedly praying, 'Please don't kill each other. Please don't kill each other. Please don't kill each other .'
  
  Fortunately, Angel used his magical sword to its peak performance. It took weeks, but after enough practice, the handsome vampire could make the blade as close to invisible as possible upon command. Fighting against a sword was lethal enough without it being a barely visible one. Despite his advantage in battle, Angel was surrounded. Attacking from one direction, left him open from another, and the calculating Spike capitalized. Angel was constantly on the defensive, and every second of their fight made Xander panic he'd loop back.
  
  The one threat Xander hated the most was Drusilla. He noticed her stalking Buffy as she fought the much larger Judge. She was clearly attempting to throw Buffy off her game by feigning attacks or interfering when she saw an opening, which would allow the Judge to try and catch her. Setting aside all of his fears and emotion, Xander observed the field of battle efficiently, tactically, and planned accordingly.
  
  With purpose, Xander rushed to a cell phone stall in the middle of the pathway, Cordelia right on his heels, then leaped over the glass display. As he laid the large black bag on the counter, Xander first prepped the big gun as he ordered Cordelia, "Go ahead and start helping others." At her concerned nod, looking at all the surrounding chaos, Xander voiced, "And Cordy?" She turned to him as he loaded a magazine into the receiver of his M16 with an audible CLICK, pulled the charging handle to load the rifle, and assured her, "Don't worry. I got your back."
  
  His smile eased her, and with a stiff nod, she placed her trust in him and ran. The vicious vampires that Giles and Willow couldn't control peeled off to chase Cordelia and the civilians she was helping to get away, but Xander jumped on the island table in the middle of the circular stall, aimed at the vampires after his girl, and mentally blocked out all distractions. Oddly, the mall fell eerily silent in that moment, then Xander squeezed the trigger. Repetitive explosions rang our as ammunition ripped through the air, striking all the ears in the room as bullets burrowed deep into vampire organs.
  
  Everyone saw Xander then standing on the cellular kiosk table, but the teen didn't let it bother him. A dozen rounds in less than three seconds dropped three vampires and alerted the entire food court whose side he was on. Fanged monsters rushed him, and it wasn't a comforting sight, but helping people put a smile on his face. Before anything else, Xander quickly peered through the sights and lined the most important target.
  
  Buffy had put her entire strength into blocking the Judge's punch with the indestructible Slaymore when she suddenly felt Drusilla behind her. Bracing for a rear attack, she was instead shocked to hear the explosive rapid fire followed by an ear-piercing scream. Drusilla dropped to the floor with two bullet holes through her right shoulder blade and another one in the right side of her chest. A concerned Spike split off from his fight with Angel and rushed to Drusilla's aid as he ordered his men to kill Xander.
  
  From atop the island counter, Xander was firing three rounds into every vampire that came near him like a combat specialist. Marking them and dropping them in less than two seconds added up quickly. Splatter trails of blood stained the white floor and columns, however, the growling vampires didn't stay down. They'd scream in pain and writhe on the floor, but Xander would have to tap them again if they tried to rush him again.
  
  As Xander swiftly reloaded a second magazine, Giles and Willow were helping Cordelia escort as many innocent lives out of the wide mall walkway as possible while Xander drew many of the blood-sucking demons to him. With less than fifteen rounds left, Xander switched to semi-automatic as the Judge kicked Buffy center-mass. Even if Slaymore took the brunt of the punt, it still sent the slim slayer flying toward Xander.
  
  Angel rushed to her side when Xander called out between bursts of gunfire. "Buffy!" She looked at him as he continued to fire single rounds into vampires. Xander nudged his head toward the other military weapon on the glass counter, an M72 LAW shoulder rocket launcher, and called out, "Hope you like your birthday present!"
  
  Without thought, she rushed to the rocket launcher and gazed at it with surprise. Angel was taking care of the vampires, holding the wounded & angry demons at bay with his magical sword, to give Buffy enough time.
  
  "Rocket's already set," he had to yell as he spaced out the last three rounds for the Judge, to keep him from setting their humanity asunder. Buffy hopped on the counter and did as he instructed. "You're locked and loaded. Just put it on your shoulder, aim, press the red button, and say bye-bye Jolly Blue!"
  
  At the sight of the blonde slayer with a metal cylinder on her shoulder, The Judge titled his head in confusion and asked, "What's that do?"
  
  Buffy squeezed the wide red trigger, and no more than a whooshing second later, the missile met the Judge and exploded from the center of his chest outward. The sound was louder than shooting an assault rifle by their ears and the shock wave of heat and pressure could be felt even thirty feet away, like being pelted by a wall of hot air. The smell of burning demon meat filled their nostrils as the bright ball of orange & yellow flames gave way to black smoke and blue chunks of the demon splattering in all directions.
  
  When Buffy lowered the rocket launcher to admire her work, Xander casually joked, "Hope you liked the color."
  
  Turning to her friend, she eyed him for a moment before a small smile graced her face and replied, "They didn't have bubblegum pink?"
  
  "Salmon pink," he continued the joke in all seriousness. "But I know how much you hate that one."
  
  "If it's not bubblegum, it's not pink," she adamantly professed.
  
  Her smile broadened, and he couldn't deny it warmed his entire body like nothing else. He smiled back before jumping down. He extended his hand for her, but at the sight of Angel walking up to them, she simply jumped down on her own. Xander repacked the weapons and stated, "I should get these back."
  
  Buffy nodded as she said, "Right."
  
  When the beautiful slayer extended Slaymore to him, Xander shook his head before asserting, "It's yours."
  
  With nothing more to say, he swung the duffel bag over his shoulder and left to find Cordelia. On the drive back to the base, the gorgeous cheerleader made certain Xander knew he was coming back to her house. Xander didn't need to ask why. He just smiled in eager anticipation.
  
  Back in her bed, Cordelia was incredibly intense that night. His strong arms wrapped around her waist, allowing him to slam into her as hard as she wanted, thrusting deep into her young love tunnel. She hugged his neck, begging in his ear for more, her large breasts rolled as their glistening bodies rutted together in mutual ecstasy. Again and again, Xander's cock filled her soaking tight vagina until Xander felt Cordelia quiver, then orgasm; a long, heart-stopping explosion of ecstasy that detonated in her core and spread from head to toe and back. After his own climax, the pair of lovers rested.
  
  When Xander asked her about the rough sex, Cordelia couldn't deny how excited she was watching him shoot the assault rifle atop the kiosk, bringing down the vampires who tried to kill her, and saving innocent civilians. "It was the hottest thing I've ever seen," the heaving and sweaty girl sweetly admitted.
  
  Panting next to her, he joked, "Not bad for a dweebo, huh?"
  
  "Mmnn, I guess you have your moments," she said before kissing him goodnight.
  
  Though it was late, and Xander was tired, he left her bed. If he wanted Cordelia to eventually tire of him, he couldn't risk getting too close with the loving embrace of cuddling after sex. Come morning, Xander was casually walking the halls of Sunnydale to his first class of the day when Willow happily ran to him and hugged him around the middle. Buffy willingly walked up to him as well, which nearly felt foreign. She was silent as he hugged Willow back, but Buffy didn't appear angry at the sight of him anymore.
  
  She nodded in greeting, dislodging a silky strand of her golden hair, then told him, "Come on. Giles won't shut up about your sword. I think he's ready to adopt you."
  
  "He wants me to skip class to talk about weapons?" Xander asked, aghast. "He really does love me."
  
  Once in the library, Willow and Giles had a lot of questions about Slaymore that he wasn't completely prepared to answer. The blade was in the middle of the center table with opened books surrounding it, and clearly, the bookish pair had been studying it. After they asked how he made it, Xander hoped they accepted a slight variation of the truth.
  
  "I just thought since magic existed, there should be magical weapons," he started telling his friends, spinning his tangled web of half-truths. "Then I thought it wasn't fair that Buffy didn't have one."
  
  "I couldn't agree more," Buffy asserted with a stern nod.
  
  The three listened as Xander continued saying, "She's gotta kick all sorts of demon tail with her bare hands, a stake, or regular weapons."
  
  "And occasionally, a bazooka," Buffy happily interjected, making Willow smile.
  
  "It was actually an M72 LAW shoulder rocket launcher," Xander thought to correct. "We stopped using bazookas in the fifties."
  
  Growing curious, Willow asked, "How do you know that?"
  
  "Oh, come on, you know I was a soldier for Halloween," Xander replied. "I still remember most of it."
  
  Turning to her blonde friend, Willow asked, "Do you still remember being a lady?"
  
  Buffy shivered at the memories springing up before answering, "Do you actively try to remember your nightmares?" Turning to Xander, she jovially remarked, "Seems like somebody lucked out with their costume, though."
  
  "It helps," he returned with a smile. "I work out now and I know some pretty sweet combat moves."
  
  "Truly?" a perked-up Giles asked. "We'll have to discuss that... though at a much later time. I'm more interested in learning the details of how you, a non-magical, created a magical weapon. They are notoriously difficult to make, even for those who are magically gifted."
  
  Scratching his head, he answered, "I, uh, well, I looked up a few of the cooler ones, and saw that some of them were made by regular blacksmiths, non-magicals. So I didn't see why I couldn't either."
  
  "And this weapon was based on that premise?" Giles asked, indicating toward Slaymore.
  
  They all looked at the magical sword surrounded by books, modeled after Excalibur, before returning their attention to Xander when he answered, "Yeah. The way I understood it, the sword is like a house, and if you make it just right, magic will sort of move in on its own. I don't have to do more than announce that it's on the market."
  
  "That makes so much sense," a wide-eyed Willow exclaimed. "The rudimentary process for items of any kind to house magic typically involves many factors that determine how successfully the energy inside can be used and what it can be used for. Successful magical objects like Slaymore can strengthen the user's ability to perform powerful magics without using much time or effort; on willpower alone!"
  
  Amazed by how excited Willow was, Xander reassured her, "I'm still learning, so, I might be able to make Buffy something even better."
  
  "Are you kidding me?" the blonde beauty gasped. "You should've seen Ugly-Smurf's face when Slaymore cut into him. It actually burned him. If he didn't have crazy regeneration, he'd have been minced meat even before you got there."
  
  Giles dismissed them for the moment, however, they all returned to the library for lunch. Xander had given Willow & Giles a write-up of the Norse runes he used for Slaymore, and they were going over it at the table. To the side of the spacious room, on the steps leading to the elevated floor, Xander and Buffy have a moment of privacy; he leaned on the railing while she sat cross-legged on the step. Xander was sure Willow was giving them time to talk, but it was awkward and silent at first.
  
  Finally, Xander asked, "So... are we okay?"
  
  Their eyes locked a moment before Buffy sighed and honestly answered, "I can't say I don't feel anything about the whole thing; especially when I think about Angel... which is, like, all the time... but I do know that I don't have the right to be angry with you." With a high level of sincerity in her eyes, she confessed, "And I don't want to be anymore. I'm sorry I froze you out, Xander. Can you ever forgive me?"
  
  With a small smile, he waved her off as he assured her, "You don't have anything to apologize for, Buff. You and Angel, that does suck; a big one."
  
  "The biggest," she concurred.
  
  "Heaping cosmic-size of suck," he topped her.
  
  Despite hearing the library doors open, he didn't want to stop their tender moment of reconciliation. Then everyone in the library clearly heard, "I see she finally let you out of the doghouse." Giles, Willow, Buffy, and Xander turned to Cordelia as she stopped in front of the slayer and the weapon-smith. Looking between them with an icy expression on her stern face, she crossed her arms like a woman on a mission before continuing. "No more moping around like a sad little puppy. Well, only until you upset the oh-so-great Slayer again."
  
  "Cor-"
  
  She cut Xander off to heatedly ask Buffy, "So, should we expect a repeat of you dumping your ' friend ' like dead weight, or is it Willow's turn next?"
  
  "I'm not dead weight," the redhead softly said from the center table.
  
  Xander tried again. "Cordelia-"
  
  "Oh, yeah, no," the cheerleader cut him off again, eying him with irritation. "By all means, jump to her defense after you spent weeks crying over your anvil because her precious wittle feelings got a little ouchy ."
  
  "You cried?" Willow sadly asked, regarding her best friend fretfully.
  
  "I didn't-" the flustered teen tired, then focused on an irate Cordelia instead, asking, "Can we please talk outside-"
  
  "Why?" Cordelia challenged. "So you can try to convince me your precious Buffy was only treating you like trash because she somehow cared about you? Because that 's not crazy," she sarcastically remarked. She glared at Buffy as she asserted to Xander, "You want to see who a person really is? Look at how they treat people when they're at their lowest."
  
  Having had enough of the vain girl's outburst, Buffy stood up and retorted, "Like how you treat everyone like crap?"
  
  "Keyword: everyone. Equal crap for all," Cordelia shot back. With a strong sway and lean forward, she added, "You and Angel can't be together. Yeah, fine, real tragedy, I'm sure. But how does that give you the right to just dump a good guy? For weeks! You're supposed to be some kind of leader or whatever, but all of you would've died last night if it wasn't for Xander AEEKK! "
  
  Xander picked Cordelia up princess style, loudly citing, " Alright! All this friendly banter is making me thirsty. Cordelia, join me for a beverage?" he satirically asked as he carried the heated girl toward the exit.
  
  In the nearest empty classroom, Jenny's computer lab, Xander asked, "What was that?"
  
  "Exactly what she needed to hear!" she quickly told him. Pointing to the library behind her, she asserted, "None of you had the balls to say it, so it fell onto me."
  
  Xander's hands rubbed his face roughly as he groaned, "God, I hope you don't think we'd thank you for that."
  
  "What I do is a thankless job," she confidently replied, crossing her arms.
  
  Eying her wearily as he reminded her, "You know who else has a job like that? Hint; she stabs blood-sucking corpses with a stick night after night. Buffy saves lives, Cor. Then it turns out she can't be with the one person she loves the most because it'll end up killing people. She's allowed to feel some type of way about that. Her friends understand that, which is why we're not jumping down her throat over every little thing."
  
  The way she eyed him was as if she was peering into his soul, then she asked, "...God, she can do no wrong in your eyes, can she?"
  
  "Of course she can," he sounded, mildly exasperated. "I just see what really matters. There's a bigger picture here."
  
  "...You love her," she hesitated to state.
  
  "Of course, I love her," he answered, as if that were obvious. "She's one of my best-"
  
  "Not like a friend!" Cordelia interjected. She leaned closer, observing his every expression as she defyingly continued, "You know what I mean. Are... you're in love with her." With a hard face, Xander felt his chest tighten and his neck swell. He couldn't answer, because he knew it would hurt her, however, that was all the answer the observant girl needed. The beautiful girl took a step back as she shook her head in deep disappointment, then bemoaned, "God... you're so lame."
  
  "I'm sorry, Cor-" he tried.
  
  " So stupid! " she interrupted. Palm on her chest, she argued, "You could have..." She didn't finish her sentence. Having hurt her before, he knew well enough by now and could recognize the pain in her beautiful brown eyes, as well as how she shielded herself.
  
  Her vulnerability was gone in a second, and she asserted, "She's never going to love you back; as in, ever . Not like how she loves Angel." Xander was silent. He couldn't refute it, however, he didn't want to agree either. Cordelia seemed capable of seeing his small ray of hope and continued, "You can kiss her ass and make her toys for decades, but she's never going to look at you the way she looks at him. How long are you going to keep pining over someone you'll never have?"
  
  Xander remembered Buffy's words when he was dying in her arms and asked if she could ever love him. ' How could I not when you ... '
  
  Though he could believe Cordelia's biting words, in the stubborn love of his heart, it also felt like he didn't have it in him to give up on that slim chance, or he'd have no future. Not to say Cordelia wouldn't be a great partner to be with, because he knew she could be, however, how long before even that relationship becomes complicated? Becomes stale? The loops would truly be torture then.
  
  "I still love you, Cordelia," he softly voiced. "I think I always have, ever since we were stupid little kids."
  
  "You're still a stupid little kid!"
  
  He nodded slowly before finishing, "If you need me, I'll always be there for you." Then, the terribly saddened Xander left the stoically pained girl alone.
  
  Hope you all enjoyed the update. I don't have much to say.
  
  I know some might be sad by Xander and Cordelia. All I'll say is this journey is far from done and I'm not going to stop writing Cordelia. I find her to be a joy to write.
  
  For those who haven't seen the show, Oz is in the group by this point. More on him in future chapters.
  
  Please let me know your thoughts, if I made mistakes anywhere, or if you have any questions. I reply to most comments. Thanks again Oxnate and Chelanxar. Next week's chapter will be VERY interesting guys. Can't wait for you all to read it! Till next week, take care and have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Classics
  Welcome back fellow readers to another chapter on another Sunday :)
  
  Again, big thank you to my 2 new betas, Oxnate and Chelanxar! They are so supportive and helpful. This story is much better with them than without them. Thanks guys.
  
  WARNINGS: Violence and Language.
  
  8.5K words. Enjoy!
  
  The Classics
  
  After Cordelia was attacked by a six-foot-tall hairy monster with a large snout, long teeth, and sharp claws, the gang learned they were dealing with a werewolf. Though Cordelia kept the details of being at Make Out Lane last night to herself, Xander didn't push it. A girl as attractive as her could get any guy she wanted, regardless of the time or place. However, he could see Cordelia was still hurting. If Xander had to guess, she was likely using the other guy to forget about him.
  
  ' This mystery guy who I automatically hate is a rebound and nothing more ,' he told himself with finality. Instead of obsessing over who Cordelia was dating and if the guy even saw her as a person, Xander paid more attention to the damaged BMW.
  
  In the parking lot of Sunnydale High School, the Scooby Gang was inspecting the cheerleader's luxury car. The hood was caved in from the weight of the muscular monster, and the windshield had a hole where its large, clawing paw-hand tried to reach for whoever was in the passenger seat. There were also paint-removing-claw marks on the side panel and roof of the Beamer from when it gave chase and jumped on the fast car. Looking at the badly battered coupe and imagining the worst, Xander was grateful Cordelia wasn't the type to buckle under pressure.
  
  Along with vampires and ghosts, a grinning Giles was excited to research the werewolf, or as he called it, "One of the classics."
  
  Everyone thought it nice to see Giles smile for once, rigid though it was, as he walked to the library. However, unlike his friends, Xander kept his eyes on Oz. If there was one clear memory Xander recalled from his Old Man costume, it was that despite being a werewolf, Oz lived a long and happy life in Tibet with his family. He never once died & resurrected, and he even helped them fight the armies of Twilight.
  
  ' Yup, I 'm looking at a werewolf right now... a freakin' werewolf ,' he thought before the gang walked back inside their school.
  
  In gym class, Xander was pondering different ways of naturally bringing up the possibility of Oz being a werewolf. Asking Larry about his bandaged arm was enough for Oz to voluntarily describe getting bitten by his little cousin, Jordy. In the locker room after P.E., Xander point-blank asked Oz if he could be the werewolf.
  
  Before Oz dismissed it, Xander followed with, "I mean, think about it. You didn't wake up in a strange place today, did you?" Like a light bulb going off in his head, Oz paused to make connections he hadn't considered yet. "There's an easy way to be sure," Xander continued. "If you're cool with it, we can just keep you in the cage before the moon comes out tonight. And if you don't turn, then you're golden."
  
  "Can't say I'm a fan of being caged," Oz casually admitted. "But the alternative is ripping people apart and feeding on them, so..."
  
  Oz agreed, then the pair told Giles afterward. Later that evening, everyone met in the library to test Xander's theory. There were mixed reactions after Xander explained why he thought Oz was the werewolf that attacked Cordelia. Willow was in denial, but Oz gently comforted her. He assured his girlfriend that it was only a test, and he didn't want to risk hurting innocent lives if he was the werewolf. Only then did Willow concede.
  
  Watching the couple, Xander didn't know how he felt about them dating. When he found out about them, it felt as if he was replaced by Oz the moment Buffy kicked him out of the group. The chill and introspective Oz seemed to fit with the gang in a way Xander couldn't, making him conscious of how he was treated compared to other men. Oz didn't have a crush on Buffy, and he dated Willow; exactly the type of setup the girls wanted from a boy in the group. Xander went against that.
  
  After Giles locked Oz in the cage, Willow sulked by the cage door and Xander felt terrible for her. The first guy she dated, and she had a front-row seat to his disturbing transformation into a man-eating werewolf. It's not what Xander would've wanted for his best friend, however, he was grateful she didn't seem to blame him like Buffy had when he revealed Angel's darker side.
  
  Cordelia gravely shared with the group, "Wow, it's so weird how the person who nearly killed me last night was right next to me the entire time. Like, you'd think I'd be pissed."
  
  "Sorry about that," Oz replied through the steel-mesh door. "I promise it wasn't personal."
  
  "We don't know that it was Oz," Willow defiantly yelled at Cordelia.
  
  To take their mind off of just waiting for the truth, Xander called their attention. With Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, Giles, and Oz present, he realized it was the perfect time to present an idea he had. During their battle with the Judge, the time-looping teenager was perpetually in panic mode, fearing Angel & Spike would kill each other and force him to loop back. Even before the battle, looping back due to one of the six dying was never far from his thoughts, but during the battle, it was at the forefront of his mind. It forced Xander to think of a solution, and to the gang's surprise, proposed cursing Spike and Drusilla with the same ensouling curse Angel has.
  
  In unison, Buffy and Willow exclaimed, "Are you serious?"
  
  Xander didn't care about saving Drusilla, but thought it would appear odd if he only suggested one without the other. Additionally, he didn't want to risk some unforeseen consequence by suggesting Spike, but not Drusilla.
  
  Xander answered his friends, "Dead serious. Let's cast the same soul curse on Spike and Drusilla."
  
  "I'm trying to wrap my brain around that sentence," a confused Buffy cutely confessed. "But all I'm getting is a garbled mess." Turning to her smarter friend, she asked, "Willow?"
  
  The near-genius shook her red head and answered, "I'm not doing much better here. He said ensoul Spike and Drusilla, but the why of it is still throwing me off."
  
  "It is an unusual idea," Giles mentioned with a firm expression of concentration.
  
  "Listen, Spike and Drusilla are different kinds of vampires," Xander asserted. "They're planners, and they don't care how long it takes to devise some evil shindig for us to attend. So, even if they leave Sunnydale for some reason, that doesn't mean they won't come back with a nasty plan up their sleeve."
  
  Buffy hummed a moment before playfully offering, "This might be a crazy thought, but what if I just dusted them? I see a possible solution in this."
  
  With the same level of banter, he asked the slayer, "How well has that been going for you so far?" At her deadpan look, he simply smiled.
  
  "So you propose cursing them with a soul in the hopes they become good like Angel?" Giles asked.
  
  "Genius, ain't it?" he boasted to the watcher. "Lord knows why no one's thought of it."
  
  "I suppose it's worth looking into," Giles evenly stated, with a mild-mannered shrug.
  
  When Willow and Buffy seemed to agree, it felt nice not having to fight his friends to be heard. Xander began feeling as if this was the time for him to progress further than he ever had before. Despite how chilly it's been between Cordelia and himself, he thought that with time, even that will get better.
  
  Clearing his throat, Xander jovially told Giles, "I suggest asking Ms. Calendar." Giles quickly brightened at the mention of her name while Xander continued. "She's the one who translated the Romani text of Angel's curse for me. So, she should be able to help."
  
  "I-I-I'll do that," the hopeful Giles cheerfully replied, and the teens all smirked at the rare sight of the giddy librarian. Additionally, Xander felt it wouldn't hurt to put more eyes on Jenny. He didn't think there was a possibility of Angelus killing the foxy teacher like in his Old Man memories, but he didn't want to risk anything.
  
  It wasn't long after the full moon was viewable from the window that the chill Oz doubled over in great pain, grunting as he held his stomach. Willow desperately wanted to enter the cage but was stopped by everyone as Oz transformed into a monstrous werewolf. His eyes changed to black pools before his teeth sharpened and elongated in tandem with his nose. His clothes didn't survive his body growing a foot taller, with nearly as much brunette hair all over his body. With growing brown claws at the end of large bestial hands, the beast was as muscular as it was hostile, growling and snarling at everyone in the library.
  
  The Oz they knew was gone, and if not for the steel cage restraining the beast, they knew it would've tried devouring them all. Not that Willow stopped being his girlfriend. After that tense night, the genius redhead continued to date the chill guitarist, and in the process, it gave Xander more opportunities to spend some alone time with Buffy. He quickly learned the fortunate development wasn't as fun as he'd hoped.
  
  Xander knew two things: Buffy would have a crush on him in the future, and in a previous long-loop, she said she could love him. He wanted that nearly as much as getting out of the time braid, however, the beautiful slayer always seemed distracted. Often, Xander would catch her silently staring off into space, so deep in thought that he'd need to snap his fingers in front of her face to call her back.
  
  She'd play it off as nothing, however, Xander wondered if Buffy saw her own circumstances in Willow and Oz's relationship. Oz could be as much of a monster as Angel, and yet, Willow stood by her chill boyfriend whereas Buffy was forced to break up with hers. It's possible she thought that was unfair.
  
  Valentine's season didn't make the situation better. With all the red hearts and public displays of affection around them, Buffy couldn't stop thinking about Angel, and would go a long time without saying anything. It was worse if she ran into the handsome vampire while patrolling at a graveyard. Her distant behavior left Xander firmly entrenched in the friend zone, offering a shoulder to lean on whenever she needed it, but nothing more.
  
  ' Casanova would be so disappointed ,' he thought often.
  
  When Xander offered to spar with Buffy, she agreed, but only wanted him to show her the move. Then she would practice it with him no more than two times before moving on. Or when they danced at the Bronze. The beautiful blonde always kept a foot or two of space between them and never made real physical contact. They could talk like they used to-especially when they sparred-and the beautiful blonde would smile easily at his jokes. However, at the risk of alienating himself from her life again, he had the hardest time creating the right moment to be more with her.
  
  Xander felt worse when he saw Cordelia at the Bronze with a new guy every week. He didn't like it for selfish reasons, but he knew she was dealing with her heartache in her own way. It annoyed Xander to see her dancing with a handsome guy, however, he felt it was better this way. She'd get over him and move on to the many great things she was destined for.
  
  The holiday of love was not a good time for either Buffy or Xander, and worse, they couldn't commune in misery together, since neither of them could talk about the other's love life. The only fortunate part about the big couple's day was that it came and went in relative peace. The only members of the Scooby Gang that were living life with a zest of passion were Willow and Giles.
  
  Willow had a wonderful Valentine's day, and Giles and Jenny could always be found together, talking and laughing together; they were a twosome of cuteness again. When Xander and Buffy caught some lipstick on Giles' cheek, the teens were equal parts happy for them and grossed out imagining what the adults were doing in his office. Other than Xander and Buffy, everyone was happy, that was until Xander received a call while he was at Dinks.
  
  The tired teen shouldered the phone to his ear and heard Willow on the other end. With the first sound out of her mouth, he immediately understood she was upset and crying. As she talked, Xander learned of the worst thing imaginable; something so heinous he wondered why he hadn't looped. While buying the Orb of Thesulah to curse Spike with a soul, Jenny was on her way to meet Giles when she was viciously killed by the blond vampire.
  
  Xander couldn't believe it. He was so shocked, the phone nearly slipped from between his shoulder and ear. The sobbing Willow explained how Giles found her lifeless body in the alleyway next to the magic shop, and disappeared after calling Buffy. Xander dropped everything and rushed to meet his friends. It was immediately clear to him there would be no further conversation about cursing Spike. After finding Giles before he did anything crazy, they all wanted to kill Spike, and that threw on an extra thick layer of stress to every second of Xander's day.
  
  In addition to his sadness over Jenny's death, Xander felt despair at the thought of looping back any day. Giles was quietly furious; Buffy wanted to support her watcher; Angel wanted to support Buffy, Willow wanted to avenge one of her favorite teachers, and Oz wanted to support her. The entire gang wanted to kill Spike, so Angel, Buffy, and Giles made it their mission to track him down and end him once and for all.
  
  Only it wouldn't be once and for all for time looping Xander.
  
  Despite the pain squeezing his heart over the loss of the wonderful Jenny, Xander couldn't let Spike die. The anxious teen had come too far to loop back and tried finding him as well. Xander patrolled the more abandoned or creepy streets of Sunnydale, however, he wasn't sure how he would handle the situation if he came across the blond vampire. Would he let Spike go? Warn him? Help him? It turned Xander's gut just thinking of the betrayal his friends would feel if they ever found out.
  
  Fortunately, it appeared as if Spike escaped their wrath for the moment. After a week of trying to track the vampire down all around Sunnydale, they couldn't find hide nor hair of him. Despite the bounty Angel put out on Spike's head, they hadn't seen the English blond, and Xander prayed Spike stayed away for years. Life continued normally for the gang, and the worst villain Buffy faced, was the flu that kept a third of the school home.
  
  Xander, Willow, and Oz were patrolling in Buffy's stead and he was hoping to meet a vampire to show Willow and Oz that he could handle it. However, there weren't many occasions to showcase his hard-earned combat ability. Walking around the corner of a mausoleum, Xander barely heard very light footfalls. He raised his fist in a silent command to halt Willow and Oz's movements. Whoever was around the mausoleum felt like a cautious attacker, and Xander was careful to go low and attack from a stronger base.
  
  Then he heard a faint and familiar metal hum against leather, and cautiously, he called, "...Buffy?"
  
  A second later, they heard, "Xander?" Walking around the mausoleum, Xander, Willow, and Oz came face-to-face with an unwell Buffy, sheathing Slaymore once again. "Well, you're definitely not a vampire," the sick girl lethargically mumbled.
  
  "I knew I recognized that sound," Xander stated, referencing the sharp blade he forged being unsheathed.
  
  Looking at her friends, the sluggish Buffy asked, "What are you guys doing here?"
  
  Worried, Willow returned, "What are you doing here?"
  
  "Patrolling," Buffy answered.
  
  "Buffy, you're sick," Willow argued with heavy concern.
  
  "I feel fine," her nasally voice assured them. "I mean, sure, the world's spinning a little bit, but I like it. It's like a ride... that you can't get off."
  
  "Come on, Buffy," Willow continued. "One night of rest isn't going to kill you."
  
  "No," the slayer returned. "But it could be the night I miss Spike. And I'm not letting him get away. You guys should go find a safer place to be; like somewhere I'm not."
  
  Fearful of looping back if she killed Spike or Spike killed her, Xander replied, "Buffy, this isn't the time to challenge Spike for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He's at full strength, and you're only half a slayer."
  
  "But I'm still the Slayer," she punctuated. "And as long as I am, Spike's not going to kill anyone else..."
  
  Buffy trailed off as she slowly focused on a tree behind them, as if sensing something. Then a blond vampire dressed in black suddenly ran from behind a tree and Buffy chased after him. Dreading looping back, Xander followed the slayer with Willow and Oz behind him. Sadly, the vampire and slayer were much too fast and outran the humans. Eventually, Xander caught up just as the blond vampire was atop a dazed Buffy, ready to kill her with her own sword.
  
  Xander threw his stake with enough force to stab a few inches into the demon's back. It wasn't enough to kill him, but Xander was sprinting from too far back to do anything else. The vampire removed the stake with a snarling growl, then got up and turned to the running teen, ready to slash him with the sword. Xander was incredibly relieved to see the blond vampire wasn't Spike.
  
  Buffy kicked its foot, and Xander's feint to rush in forced the vampire to swing too early. The experienced fighter slipped forward with a strong base stance and slammed the heel of his palm into the vampire's nose. The strike dazed the vampire, forcing it to cover his face. Xander smoothly gripped the hilt of Slaymore, and effortlessly twisted the demon's wrist, forcing the weapon counter-clockwise until the vampire let go.
  
  With Slaymore in his hands, the vampire stood no chance. Baring its long fangs with a horrible screech, the vampire lunged at Xander, however, he was not bothered. With a side-step and a precise figure 8-like attack, Xander cut his hands off before decapitating the blond vampire, turning it into dust.
  
  A woozy Buffy was so slow to get up, prompting Xander to help her. Willow and Oz made it to them when she finally stood on two feet. Gripping her feverish head, she weakly told them, "I told you guys to leave... This is my fight. You- You don't h-have to..."
  
  Her bluish-green eyes rolled back in her head, and before she collapsed to the floor, Xander managed to catch her, calling out, "Buffy!" But she was non-responsive.
  
  The knowledge he gained from the doctor he dressed as felt like a lifetime ago, however, the little he recalled allowed him to remember how deadly influenza could be. Normal symptoms included a fever, chills, fatigue, body aches, loss of appetite, headache, dry cough, sore throat, and or a stuffy nose. Fainting was a severe symptom that required the emergency room. Xander scooped the unconscious slayer up before Willow could even check on her and started running to the hospital.
  
  It wasn't until Joyce arrived at the waiting area of the emergency room that Dr. Wilkinson told them Buffy would be fine. Soon, the medical staff were rolling her to a room for an overnight stay, however, along the way, the confused and dizzy slayer was desperate to leave the hospital and became manic. The doctors had to sedate her when three large orderlies could barely hold her down. Her fear-filled episode along the way was a first for Xander. Joyce explained to them how much Buffy hated hospitals after watching her cousin Celia die in one.
  
  Worried about vampires entering the public building and killing her in her sleep, Xander decided to stand guard, alternating shifts with Angel when he came by, to his dismay. Xander assumed Willow called the tall vampire and told him what happened. The following day, Giles, Willow, Oz, and Xander were wheeling Buffy through the garden courtyard of the hospital for some fresh air. Xander was happy she looked miles better than the night before, but she was telling them about a little girl dying under suspicious circumstances.
  
  "It was ruled as death by flu," a concerned Buffy finished telling them.
  
  "Flu?" Xander asked. "Doesn't exactly sound monsterrific."
  
  Buffy agreed with a nod, however, she couldn't let it go and explained, "Well, there's this Dr. Backer. He's been giving the kids experimental treatments, and he's rating high on the creep scale. I'm not sure what he's up to. And then I met this kid, Ryan. He said he saw something."
  
  "Saw what?" a curious Giles asked.
  
  Buffy slowly answered, "Death."
  
  Xander was quick to offer his help, however, other than retrieving Tina's medical records to learn the cause of death, he didn't do much. Angel covered the night shift, forcing Xander to be absent when Dr. Backer was murdered by an invisible monster. When Buffy showed the gang the image of the monster killing the children the following morning, it didn't ring any Old Man Xander bells. Xander stayed until Angel showed up to relieve him, then went to the library to help research what was killing the children.
  
  Upon reaching the library, the action continued slipping by him. He learned from Giles and Oz that the invisible monster terrorizing the hospital children was called Der Kindestod, meaning Child Death. Giles explained that the monster sat atop the children, pinning them down like prey, then sucked the life out of them. It sounded so gruesome, Xander rushed back to the hospital to help Buffy. However, he was only in time to watch Angel hold Buffy as he assisted her back to her room. The Der Kindestod had already been killed and a frustrated Xander did little to nothing to help.
  
  Observing how much Buffy relished Angel's touch-how it pained her to know they could never be more-Xander couldn't help but feel defeated on multiple fronts. No matter how much skill he had developed through the loops or costumes, if he wasn't in the right place at the right time, he'd never be of help when it mattered, not progress with Buffy.
  
  Leaving the hospital, his miserable mind concluded, ' No Cordelia, and Buffy 's still all about Angel .' After a night of self-loathing, Xander redoubled his efforts to prove to Buffy and everyone in the group he could be helpful beyond the occasional thieving.
  
  Not long after the Der Kindestod incident, Xander learned one morning that Buffy stopped a shooting between a couple. He thought little of it. When he opened his locker and a monstrous hand reached out and tried to pull him inside the metal rectangle by his shirt, the group soon learned they were dealing with a poltergeist, and quickly began investigating. Sadly, Xander couldn't be of much help because Old Man Xander once again didn't remember the poltergeists either.
  
  ' That fucking Old Me is useless! ' he thought in growing annoyance.
  
  From the internet, Willow learned that in 1955, Sunnydale High student James Stanley killed his teacher, Grace Newman, on the eve of the Sadie Hawkins dance after she tried to break off their affair. It appeared to the Scoobies that the ghost couple would possess random people to reenact the last moments of their lives, in which James killed Grace before turning the gun on himself.
  
  Willow, Buffy, and Xander felt sorry for them, however, for different reasons. Willow and Buffy were empathetic to the tragic end of their forbidden love, whereas Xander didn't mind the student-teacher relationship. He simply hated repeating anything for years and years with no hope of progress.
  
  Old Man Xander should've remembered the fatal circumstance around the poltergeists, and Xander hated that he didn't. After more paranormal phenomena broke out around school, Xander and Buffy were possessed by the past lovers. It was late at night when Xander became James, Buffy became Grace, and they were forced to replay the tragic couple's final moments.
  
  In the empty hallway of Sunnydale high, the heart-sickened Xander told Buffy, "You can't make me disappear just because you say it's over."
  
  Buffy's face was filled with fear as she pleaded, "I just want you to be able to have some kind of normal life. We can never have that, don't you see?"
  
  "I don't give a damn about a normal life," Xander yelled, taking a step forward. "I'm going crazy not seeing you. I think about you every minute."
  
  Though Buffy's expressive eyes conveyed the same feeling, she was strong enough to push it back before nodding and confirming, "I know. But... It's over. We have to be."
  
  Buffy turned to leave, inflaming Xander's ire further, and he yelled, "Come back here! We're not finished!"
  
  Xander rushed to Buffy and grabbed her arm before turning her to face him. He pleaded, "You don't care anymore? Is that it?"
  
  "It doesn't matter," Buffy implored with the tragic passion in her voice as much as her eyes. "It doesn't matter what I feel."
  
  "Then tell me you don't love me," Xander demanded, shaking her arm with frightful strength. "Say it!"
  
  The tears welling up around her greenish-blue irises finally spilled, and Buffy didn't break eye contact as she cried, "Will that help? Is that what you have to hear?" Her tears flowed freely as she expressed, "I don't... I don't! Now let me go!"
  
  She managed to pull away from his grip but didn't run. It devastated Xander to hear her utter those words, like a sword shoved through his stomach. "No," he gasped. Shaking his head in pained disbelief, he repeated loudly, "No! A person doesn't just wake up one day and stop loving somebody!" A gun suddenly appeared in Xander's hand. Heavy with turbulent feelings, he struggled to raise the revolver, eventually pointing the shaky gun at Buffy. Her tear-filled eyes widened with terror as Xander finished, "Love is forever."
  
  Buffy ran from Xander, and unable to shoot her in the back, he quickly gave chase. From hallway to hallway and up the flight of stairs, he called for her to stop, however; she kept on running. When they were at the midway point between the first and second floor, Xander yelled, "Don't run away from me, bitch!" She kept running, and he followed until they were near the balcony on the second floor. The gun was shaking terribly in his angered hands as he yelled, "Stop! I mean it! Don't make me!"
  
  A terrified Buffy carefully turned around, softly voicing, "All right. Just... You know you don't want to do this. Let's both just calm down. Give me the gun," she said, cautiously extending her hand to the overwrought and crying boy.
  
  Punctuating with his gun, Xander yelled, "Don't! Don't do that, damn it! Don't talk to me like I'm some dumb-" However, the jerking movements of the gun while he yelled made his finger squeeze a little too tightly, and the revolver went off. A loud bang echoed throughout the halls of Sunnydale, then slowly, Buffy looked down to her chest, and she couldn't comprehend the dark reddish hole above her heart or why so much blood was spilling out. With needlepoint eyes of disbelief, she slowly looked at a shocked Xander, tears streaming down her face, then fell to the ground.
  
  The entire time James and Grace's horrid drama played out in the empty hallways of their school, Xander-the real Xander-had been yelling within himself to stop, to return control of his body, to not shoot the girl he loved. Not unlike the Hyena spirit or the Halloween costumes during the Janus curse, Xander couldn't stop anything while James controlled him. All he could do was watch until Buffy's heart finally stopped beating and everything went black.
  
  Xander looped back.
  
  "FUCK!" Xander yelled the moment he popped up on the smelly bed of his disgusting room. " FUCK! " he yelled even louder.
  
  After ripping his aged sheets off, Xander took the Navy SEAL route once again. He didn't deviate much from the previous loop and mostly had the same results, with slight improvements to his physical fitness, school grades, relationships, and forging. His forging specifically made a Slaymore that flared brighter than before when he spoke the incantation, and could now cut through anything without losing its sharp edge. As Xander had before, he forged the weapon using the gold from the Du Lac cross, however, this time, Slaymore burned any vampire it pierced like holy water.
  
  Xander even made himself a battle axe for fun. He extended the grip so he could use both hands to wield it, not unlike a sledgehammer but with an axe head. The young weapon-smith originally intended to forge a hammer just like Thor's Mjölnir, however, when he listened to the material, it was telling him it wanted to be a dual-wield battle axe with a long-blade on one side and a blunt butt on the other.
  
  The four runes he forged in the folds of the weapon were ᛞᚾᚨᛟ-Restore, Need, Power, and Worthy-so like Slaymore, it was incredibly strong. It didn't wield lightning like he fantasized it would, but Xander was thrilled he could throw the weapon, and sometimes-if he concentrated hard enough-it would slowly fly back to him. The first time he did it, Xander orgasmed a little in his underwear. His love for smithing redoubled all over again, and he didn't stop practicing.
  
  Rather than let Jenny get the Orb by herself in this loop, Xander came up with an excuse to go with her. Under the pretense of asking for magical material for smithing, they went to the shop together, bought the Orb, and she dropped him off without incident. The lack of attack surprised Xander, however, he only grew more nervous. He phoned Giles to check in on her that night, but several hours later, Xander got the call from a distraught Willow, sharing with him the tragic news of Jenny's murder.
  
  "Giles f-found her," Willow cried, but Xander couldn't feel as heartbroken.
  
  Jenny's death-or the deaths of any of his friends-wasn't his first time, and it was making him feel emotionally distant, jaded, and callous when he couldn't feel as much as his friends. Xander would later learn that Spike attacked and killed Jenny on her way home. And yet again, the plan to curse the blond vampire with a soul was scrapped in favor of murdering him.
  
  When the school shootings began again, Xander made certain to fit Buffy with a bulletproof vest the night they trained together. The slayer told him repeatedly that she didn't need the defense wear, but the time-repeating teen was so adamant about not looping again, he forced the protection on her. Graciously, she stood still and let him fit her with the vest. His friends thought him crazy for going to such extremes, until Xander and Buffy were possessed again. Xander expected to survive until he realized their roles were now reversed. Buffy was James. Xander was Grace, and she shot him in the chest, forcing Xander to loop back yet again.
  
  After months of mind-numbing repetition, improving the recreations of his powerful weapons, breaking up with Cordelia, and everything else he did, Xander was fitting them both in a bullet-proof vest. Somehow, on the night of the possession, Spike showed up as well. The rebel vampire had not been seen since February, but implausibly, the blond vampire returned to kill Buffy. Within the poltergeists' field of influence, Spike was possessed by Grace while James possessed Buffy again. And Xander was forced to watch them recreate the past lover's emotional breakup.
  
  Buffy shooting Spike in the chest was the only satisfying part of the entire vomit-inducing ordeal. Watching Spike fall over the balcony, Xander was happy to note he didn't die from the bullet to the heart or the fall, which meant Xander wouldn't be looping back. Buffy ran away and Xander followed her to the music room, where he grew nervous once again.
  
  A 50s-era record player magically appeared and a distraught Buffy, as James, placed a record on the turntable. She dropped the needle before turning to the reflection on the glass cabinet. Even Xander could see James reflected on the surface, mirroring Buffy's sadness for killing Grace-Spike. When the inconsolable Buffy began raising the revolver to her head, her hand trembling throughout as she cried, Xander quickly grabbed her hand and tried to wrestle the weapon away.
  
  "Come on!" Xander yelled as he pulled with all his might to pry the murder weapon from her grip. His knuckles were white, and he strained his muscles trying to pull the weapon away, however, the combination of Buffy's slayer strength and the poltergeist's paranormal power made it impossible to move the barrel away from her temple. Xander heard the click of her finger on the trigger when Spike burst through the door.
  
  "Don't!" Spike yelled.
  
  Buffy turned, skeptical of the sight of Spike, and asked with confusion, "Grace? But I... I killed you."
  
  Spike cautiously moved to the frazzled Buffy, reaching out to her as he said, "It's not your fault. It was an accident."
  
  Buffy shook her head the closer Spike got, unable to hear such forgiveness, and protested, "It was my fault! How could I let this-"
  
  Spike embraced her passionately, making Xander reflexively grip his stake harder as he watched the disturbing scene. It reminded Xander too much of the Old Man memories that starred Spike and Buffy, grossing him out.
  
  "I'm the one who should be sorry, James," Spike softly said to the crying Buffy. "You thought I stopped loving you. But I never did. I loved you with my last breath."
  
  A sobbing Buffy broke down, dropping the gun, and Xander was relieved to know he wouldn't be looping again. Then Spike comforted the overwrought slayer, voicing, "No more tears," before kissing her. Xander froze in mind, body, and spirit at the disturbing sight of the loving kissing happening in front of him. Knowing the future of Buffy and Spike's toxic and tumultuous relationship, Xander couldn't believe how much seeing it hurt more than simply knowing of it. Soon the past lovers experience their touching moment of redemption, making the kissing Buffy and Spike glow in warm, white light. Like smoke, the poltergeists rose from slayer and vampire until they vanished above the kissing pair.
  
  The next second of lustful kissing lasted an eternity before Buffy finally opened her eyes. At the sight of Spike's face, she stopped. Then Spike did as well, and they looked at each other in abhorrent shock. Spike's eyes grew even wider when he felt a sharp stake be driven into his back, through his ribs, and into his heart. Spike managed to look at the manic Xander before everything went black. The mentally exhausted time-looper may have woken up in his smelly bed and gross room once again, but with the lingering, traumatic image of Buffy and Spike making out in his head, he didn't feel an ounce of regret.
  
  The fuming teen nodded as he snarled, "Worth it."
  
  Xander restarted everything yet again, passing each time barrier with more confidence whilst working out, improving his forging speed & technique, his weapons' strengths, and trying to do better by his friends and Cordelia. Buffy was always incredibly heartbroken when she learned about Angel's curse. Whether Xander had Willow or Giles be the ones telling her, she blamed him for the fifth consecutive time. Trying to distance himself from Cordelia always made them end up in bed together, and his skills kept her there until she broke it off when he couldn't deny his feelings for Buffy. Then Xander began helping Giles train Buffy until the shootings happened once again.
  
  Xander, fitted himself and Buffy with bulletproof vests, however, he also called Angel to cover for Spike's attendance. Angel and Buffy were sparring in the library when the vampire sensed Spike, then the three searched the closed school grounds for him. The three were in the courtyard when the paranormal event happened once again. Buffy had her bullet-proof vest on, as did Xander, but the ones possessed were Buffy and Angel.
  
  By their declarations of love and loss, Xander could tell Angel would be the one holding the revolver, which was a relief, however, he couldn't rejoice for long. From behind Xander, he heard casual footsteps before a long whistle. The very human teenager turned, and to his dismay, Spike was observing the tragic drama unfolding between Buffy and Angel.
  
  "What the bloody hell is going on here?" Spike asked in clear confusion, despite his demonic face. "This is giving me some serious Passions vibes." Turning to Xander, Spike genuinely asked, "You catch that soap opera on the telly? Because I can't get enough of it."
  
  The intelligent Spike seemed to understand the drama beginning to unfold behind Xander and smiled evilly. The undead blond stepped forward with nefarious purpose and Xander stepped in front of him, blocking the villainous vampire from his homicidal goal. If Xander wanted to prevent Spike from killing either Buffy or Angel while they reenacted the supernatural tragedy, he was going to have to fight the vampire by himself; without the intent to kill him.
  
  ' Fuck me ,' Xander annoyingly thought as a confident Spike laughed at him.
  
  Fighting the vampire was nothing Xander hadn't done before. He fought Spike dozens upon dozens of times during his rage phase, however, those were day-loops. Xander didn't have to repeat much to fight the blond vamp during day-loops. Dying here would send him back six months, and the possibility of that was incredibly high. The vampire would likely not use the same moves he always did during Halloween, and Xander knew he wouldn't be able to force Spike to retreat without sustaining mild-to-serious injuries. If Xander didn't get to a hospital fast enough, he could just as easily die from blood loss, internal bleeding, or ruptured organs.
  
  ' Fuck me ,' he thought again, as he lowered his stance. Despite the confident vampire's superior speed and power, Xander was no slouch. Not only was he a capable fighter, but after six months of intense physical training, his body was in much better condition than his body on Halloween. Xander felt confident despite his perceivable fear.
  
  Rather than wait, Xander took the fight to him, charging the blond vampire. The young teen knew Spike's tells and how to feint attacks in order to counter. Being faster, a confident Spike swung a casual right hook first. Expecting it, Xander slipped it on the outside, because as he guessed, the blond vampire would follow with a backhand using the same hand. Xander stepped forward, gripped the swinging arm, and utilized the strength of his core to throw Spike with his own momentum. The vampire recovered quick enough, however; it was all to give Xander the half-a-second necessary to follow the throw with a solid roundhouse kick to his jaw.
  
  Spike was launched off his feet, spinning in the air before landing hard on the tile floor, but Xander didn't let up. Spike couldn't even spit out the blood before Xander quickly stabbed the vampire twice in his right thigh. He needed to avoid killing the impressive fighter while slowing him down to a manageable speed. Spike grunted before swiping at Xander's legs, forcing the teen to back away.
  
  Now incredibly enraged, Spike slowly stood up, leaning more on his left leg. He forgot about Buffy for the moment in favor of killing Xander. Despite his handicap, Spike lunged at Xander and the pair began trading blows. Xander kept slipping or dodging punches to his left, forcing Spike to put more weight on his injured leg if the vampire wanted to hit the teen.
  
  Nevertheless, Spike ignored the stabbing pain of his leg and raged forward, landing more and more heavy punches against Xander's defensive arms. Xander ignored the pain and countered as best he could with the stake in hand and his fancy footwork. His forearms were throbbing from the few punches Spike landed, however, the teen hadn't been hit in the face, throat, kidneys, or liver. Xander only needed to keep up this strategy for a few more minutes, then Buffy and Angel could help enough to force the vampire to flee.
  
  As a creature of adaptation, Spike suddenly halted his assault and backed away. Xander was confused a moment before he realized he had rotated too much, and the vampire had a clearer path toward Buffy. Xander had to leap forward to protect her, giving Spike the chance to take advantage. Despite stabbing the vampire in the shoulder, Spike got a solid hit across his face, dazing the boy. A terrible ringing replaced all other sounds in his ears, and Xander saw blinking bright stars in his blurry vision. He could already feel his mouth filling with blood as his congested nose trickled with the thick liquid, making breathing harder.
  
  Spike pressed his assault and Xander remained on the defensive, blocking as many shots as he could whilst moving back. Xander's blocking with his pointy weapon kept the vampire from doing crippling damage, however, everything was hurting worse. The vampire completely forgot about his injured leg and the sweating Xander was getting tired quicker. The teen had his technique and the presence of mind to avoid killer blows, but against Spike, recovering his offense was nearly impossible for a regular human.
  
  At the loud bang of a gunshot, the punch-drunk Spike turned and calmed enough to be shocked at the sight of Angel shooting Buffy in the chest. Xander felt relief for the respite and tried to recover as much as he could while slowly moving in the direction of the music room.
  
  "Well, this might just be one of the oddest nights I've ever come across," Spike remarked in disbelief. When Angel ran away, the blond vampire looked at the downed slayer, then the wounded Xander before quipping, "Not how I would'a done it, but dead is dead. Right, this is cause for celebration." Pointing a black-painted nail at Xander, Spike threatened, "I'll give ya a few days to make your peace with God, boy, then I'm coming for you and anyone you love. I don't want to hear any begging either. Serves you right for being so annoying."
  
  With a smirk, Spike turned to leave, his long leather coat billowing behind him. His leg didn't even seem to bother him anymore. The bloody and hurting Xander was thrilled to let the vampire think it was over and wondered how fast he could get to the hospital for the throbbing he was feeling all over his body. Spike nearly made it to the exit of the spacious quad when Buffy grunted and then coughed, halting his steps. Then Spike turned to the sound.
  
  As Buffy slowly made her way to her feet, Xander grimaced, "Fuck," when he realized the impossible battle wasn't over. Possessed-Buffy chased after possessed-Angel and Spike chased after her, forcing the irritated teen to repeat, "Fuck!" before ignoring his pain and chasing after them.
  
  Taking a shortcut to the music room, the sprinting Xander knew the destruction to his school would be an issue later, but he truly didn't have any other option. Xander extended his arm for several seconds before tackling Spike to the floor right outside the music room Buffy had entered. Using the momentum, he tossed Spike to the side. Quickly, Xander extended his hand again with his palm open as an irate Spike made his way to his feet. The teen remained with his hand outstretched, waiting, as the vampire growled with his nightmarish face before charging the young human.
  
  Xander stopped extending his hand to block Spike's fast punch with both arms. The force from the furious vampire was strong enough to knock his arms into his face, then off his feet to the floor. Spike kicked the stake away before picking Xander up by his collar and effortlessly slamming him against the hard wall.
  
  "Such an annoying little gnat," the vampire growled, baring his horrible fangs. "But an easily killable gnat, nonetheless!"
  
  Xander extended his arm again as his other arm elbowed Spike in the face when he tried to bite him. At the same time, Xander planted his feet on Spike's chest, and using the wall as leverage, tasked all the strength in his legs to push the incredibly strong vampire away. Playfully, Spike moved forward, regardless of all of Xander's leg strength trying to keep him back.
  
  Xander tried to swipe at his yellow demon eyes or club his throat, but the blond fighter slipped those attacks while pressing dangerously close to Xander's neck. Spike's fangs kept inching closer to the human's throbbing jugular, folding the injured teen's straining legs more than they should. Keeping his arm outstretched, Xander concentrated harder, desperately, and just as sharp fangs were about to sink into his neck, Spike stopped.
  
  The vampire heard something alarming-a mystery that gave him pause-and soon, the beat and bleeding Xander could hear it as well. Something very heavy was moving at incredible speed through walls, trees, bookshelves, windows, cabinets, chalkboards, and anything else in its way. Like a targeting missile, the destructive sound was headed straight for them. Xander's newly made weapon finally smashed through the last wall, knocking over lockers and making Spike behold a speeding battle axe, spinning straight into Xander's outstretched hand.
  
  It was a thing of beauty. The two-handed Viking-style battle axe had an overall length of forty inches, or 3.3 feet. The twelve wide, 7Cr13 carbon steel bearded axe head had a 9.7 inch, hair-shaving razor edge on one side and a blunt butt for bludgeoning attacks on the other. The curved handle was crafted of impact-resistant red-elm wood, then laid in a Tung oil bath for twenty-four hours, filling the wood pores, and swelling the handle so the wood would be fully protected and never shrink. It was wrapped in cowhide treated with palm leaf wax and heated beeswax, and felt absolutely invigorating in Xander's hand, as if it was healing to the touch. Though it looked heavy, his battle-axe felt incredibly light.
  
  Feeling relieved with his weapon in hand, Xander swung the blunt end into stunned Spike's ribs, eliciting a stiff grunt from the vampire as Xander's legs shoved the vampire back. Telegraphing his next move, the teen took a second longer than needed to throw the axe toward Spike's chest. Predictably, the vampire dodged and came right at Xander, but his outstretched hand already called his weapon back. Spike had to dodge to the side to avoid the axe's blade from biting into his back. Xander caught his weapon as he rushed forward to knee Spike in the face, making him grunt. He then swung the blunt butt of the axe into the vampire's stomach like a baseball bat. Spike grunted as he was shoved back, hitting the floor and rolling on one knee to a stop.
  
  As they glared at each other, Xander wondered what the vampire would fall for next as Spike angrily growled, "Bastard, you broke a bloody rib!"
  
  Xander just concentrated on his own labored breathing as he wondered what kind of internal damage his own body was suffering. Spike grabbed the trashcan near him and threw it as a feint. Xander spun his axe and batted the large receptacle away with the butt of his axe while he side-stepped. Spike met him in an instant, and rather than punch or kick, he spear-tackled the teen in the gut, bending him in half.
  
  Like getting hit by a car, Xander grunted as they flew many yards away. His entire chest felt caved in as the men slid on the cold floor to a stop. Fortunately, the bullet-proof vest lent him just enough protection to keep his sternum from braking. However, Spike was atop of him and punched Xander through his one-arm guard. Xander was dazed by the punch, but felt Spike's cold hands grip his chin and back of the head, ready to break his neck when Angel tackled him off.
  
  "Xander!" Buffy yelled as she slid to her wounded friend's side.
  
  The young teen could hear Spike and Angel fight and growl, however, he only cared to stay with Buffy and relax under her super-powered protection. It was a clear tactical retreat for Spike, who was now not only injured but outnumbered. When he took off, Angel chased after him.
  
  With the relief of safety and security the Slayer brought, Xander felt his body unwind, followed quickly by unbridled pain. His sweaty, hot, and swollen face grimaced at the agony flourishing throughout his broken body. From his back to his legs, shoulders, arms, neck, and face, Xander was hurting horribly. He could taste his blood clogging his nose and dripping from his busted lip. It was hard to take deep breaths and all his bones felt brittle and ached. Buffy mostly carried the hobbling teenage boy to the library, where Angel and Giles met them.
  
  "Spike's gone," Angel voiced as Giles demanded to know, "Goodness, Xander, what happened?"
  
  "He fought Spike," Buffy gravely answered, easily holding the limp and struggling boy.
  
  Confused, a concerned Giles asked, "Alone?"
  
  "No... choice- AH! " Xander yelped from the sharp pain in his ankle shooting up his body like lightning. The wounded teenager leaned on Buffy more when his vision began swimming, which didn't go unnoticed by the slayer, the vampire, and the watcher.
  
  "Don't speak," Giles ordered the boy, leading them to the library for medical treatment.
  
  Xander's vision darkened worse than the already dark hallway, and he felt like puking his boiling internal organs as he brokenly voiced, "Jus... neeeed... ta heal..."
  
  Sensing how bad of a state he was in, Buffy desperately yelled, "We need to get him to the hospital!" The wounded teen could barely hear Buffy say, "Xander, you need to let the axe go." Everything was blacking out despite the blonde yelling, "Xander? Xander, let go of the axe! Xander!"
  
  Couple of things. There's a reference to something called Twilight. For those that don't know, that is a villain in the comic continuation. I'm not a fan of the comics but they are canon, so my hands are tied.
  
  Right, Xander's weapon! Yup! The name of his weapon will be in the next chapter. And it will get better friends! For those interested, I'm NOT thinking of Stormbreaker from the MCU's Thor. I'm picturing Kratos' Leviathan Axe, but with a blunt butt instead of a smaller blade. Love that game.
  
  As for the fight. Spike is faster and stronger, but Xander is more experienced, insightful, and creative. It was a hard one to write because it couldn't be one-sided. I hope you enjoyed it though.
  
  I was surprised how well the canon dialogue for the James and Grace scene fit so well when Xander and Buffy were their avatars. Love's a bitch sometimes.
  
  That's all I got. As always, please let me know your thoughts. I get a lot of really good perspectives from your comments, observations, and critiques. I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Look forward to next week's chapter. It'll be a doozy. Thank you Oxnate and Chelanxar once again. Have a great one. Till next week,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Aquatic Life
  Welcome one and all to another chapter on this glorious Mother's day Sunday!
  
  Happy Mother's day to all the moms out there. Also, I can't forget to thank my betas, Oxnate and Chelanxar! Thank you fellas for your great notes. Anyway, I won't hold you up any longer.
  
  WARNING: Foul Language and Graphic descriptions of Violence.
  
  8.5K long. Enjoy!
  
  Aquatic Life
  
  Xander woke up with a stiff fright. His ears naturally picked up the ringing of his alarm clock, and his nose dreaded the stench of his room, but before he could feel disgusted over the pigsty he lived in, his entire body flared with acute, pulsing agony. The intense pain was alive and crawling all over him, like fire ants biting every square inch under his skin. Xander's muscles tensed on the seaweed green sofa as he tried to focus his mind on compartmentalizing the miserable torment. It took Xander nearly three minutes to settle his acute suffering enough to take deep and satisfying breaths. Only then did he notice he wasn't in his room.
  
  ' Huh ... Guess I didn't die ,' he thought as he looked around the apartment.
  
  Daylight was streaming through the curtained window and the injured Xander was lying on a leather sofa, half-naked. Many bandages covered the cuts on his purplish-black, sickly green, and putrid yellowing body, and felt a warm, thin film of greasy sweat over his skin. From his vantage point, the teen could see Giles in the kitchen. The watcher's back was to him, but he could see the Englishman leaning over to read a book while his hands were preparing some sort of concoction. His nostrils suddenly felt assaulted by the powerful smell stemming from there, which was surprising as his nose and face felt congested and heavy.
  
  With a stuffy nose, the aching and listless teenager groaned, "Is that tea you're making? Cuz it smells like the moldy tires hobos use to go number two in."
  
  Looking up from the text, Giles kindly voiced, "I see you haven't lost your colorful wit." He put the last ingredient in the pot before wiping his hands with a towel and asking, "How are you feeling?"
  
  Sitting up, Xander winced at the sharp sting of pain running up his spine and aggravating his throbbing headache. With a groan, he slowly voiced, "Like I went twenty rounds with Mike Tyson, then got thrown into oncoming traffic."
  
  Walking over to Xander to look him over, Giles remarked, "It's a miracle you're not dead."
  
  "The way I'm feeling, give it time," the beaten teen assured him, once again, trying to compartmentalize the pain.
  
  Giles looked down and noted, "I noticed you're still holding the axe."
  
  "Mnn?" Xander curiously hummed before looking down and realizing he had been holding his battle axe. It felt so natural, so a part of him that his fingers held on like his shoulder held on to his arm, or his neck held on to his head. "Uuuuh, yeah," he confusedly agreed, wondering why Dreadnought felt so perfect for him. "Weird, but holding on feels better than letting it go."
  
  "I suspect it must be assisting you," Giles hypothesized. With a curious brow, Xander eyed the watcher as he explained, "When you lost consciousness, Buffy was the only one strong enough to pry the axe from your grip and you immediately convulsed afterward. I came to the conclusion that the enchantments in your weapon were assisting your healing. As best Willow and I could detect, aside from gravitating to you upon command, it would appear it can increase your healing capabilities by a fair margin. As we speak, you're likely healing twice as fast as normal humans."
  
  It was the first time Xander forgot his body's screaming pain. His eyebrows raised and a small grin stretched his lips before he asked, "Really?"
  
  Xander wanted to scream like a little kid gifted with all the comic books in the world, but held it in as Giles hastily warned, "You aren't invulnerable by any means, and clearly, healing takes time, however, if not for your axe, you may have bled internally and died."
  
  " Woooooow ," Xander howled when he realized this would help keep him from looping back so easily. He yelled to the sky above, "Thank God!"
  
  Giles nodded sporadically as he agreed, stating, "Your weapon-making ability is quite impressive."
  
  Xander turned to the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs from the only bedroom in the apartment and saw Buffy and Willow. His redheaded best friend was the first to rush over and hug him, making him wince as the spider web of pain flared throughout his body. Immediately remorseful, Willow instantly pulled away and repeatedly apologized.
  
  "Sorry! Sorry! I'm so sorry!" she rapidly-fired. Xander held back the worst of it and nodded, then hugged her with one arm to show her he was fine-ish. When they pulled apart, the concerned girl asked, "How are you feeling? How's the pain? Is it too terrible? Have you taken the tonic yet?"
  
  Giles interjected, "I've nearly completed it."
  
  Turning to the adult as if he just kicked a puppy, Willow yelled at the adult, "You made me go to sleep because you said you'd finish it!"
  
  Giles was taken aback by her outburst, but clearly understood how upset and worried she was about her childhood best friend. Giles returned to the kitchen as Xander reassured Willow, "I'm alright... mostly." Her concerned face clearly showed she wasn't buying it, but he smiled before joking, "And can you smell that thing? It's all the way in the kitchen and that's already too close. You expect me to drink that?"
  
  Buffy's concerned voice asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"
  
  Happy to hear how worried she was for him, Xander jovially nodded as he reassured her, "I'm not a hundred percent, but gimme a couple of days and I'll be good for round two."
  
  "No!" Buffy and Willow yelled in unison.
  
  To see in their eyes the dead-set determination to keep him from any more danger was refreshing for Xander, since it reinforced how much they cared about him. The guys at Dinks cared about him in a younger-brotherly sort of way. Buffy and Willow cared about him in a familial way. After all their ups and downs, this small moment felt hard-earned and worth it.
  
  Willow got up and rushed to the kitchen as she voiced, "I'll finish the tonic... and see if I can give it a twinkie flavor."
  
  "You're a gift from God, Will," Xander called out.
  
  Sitting down on the couch next to him, Buffy bemused in great disbelief, "I still can't believe you fought Spike by yourself and survived... for longer than twenty seconds ; let alone minutes." She leaned in close and Xander could feel her warmth as the baffled girl asked, "How did you... Just, how?"
  
  Her bluish-green eyes glanced down at his axe and he knew she was dying for him to tell her everything. Xander smiled as he voiced, "I call her Dreadnought."
  
  Buffy smiled before remarking, "Okay, as far as weapon names, that's a definite A+." Becoming more earnest, she asked, "Seriously though, how did you manage to survive? I hate to say it, but Spike's a challenge even for me & Angel."
  
  At the automatic mention of Angel, Buffy paused in her thoughts, likely thinking about her recent kiss with the handsome vampire. Intent on moving forward, Xander simply replied, "Well, it wasn't easy."
  
  From the kitchen, Giles voiced loud enough for all to hear, "Angel confessed that he's witnessed you hold your own against one or even two vampires-"
  
  "Which is amazing!" Willow called out as she focused on the careful swirling of the tonic.
  
  "Y-yes, of course," Giles added before asking Xander, "Since when have you been able to defend yourself so effectively?"
  
  At Buffy's somber, yet curious expression, Xander wondered if telling them the truth about the time braid will somehow jinx his progress. Now that Dreadnought could help heal the injuries that may have otherwise been fatal, he didn't want to risk any of his friends deviating too far from their conventional paths simply because they learned about the time braid. He promised himself he'd tell them everything after he got out of the year-loop, so that's the plan he'll stick with.
  
  Even still, they were looking at him for answers and Xander hated lying to them, so he simply stated, "Since Halloween." At their confused faces, he elaborated, "That soldier I dressed as- He was a Navy SEAL with a lot of combat experience that I now have rattling around in my brain."
  
  Leaning in closer, Buffy's face morphed into one of disbelief and gratitude as she expressed to her dear friend, "First you save my life with the vest. Then you kept Spike from killing us. We were like possessed fish in a barrel. Easy pickings for him. And I couldn't do anything to help you. I could see you, but I couldn't do anything..."
  
  "Trust me, I know the feeling," Xander replied with an exhaustive huff. "Been possessed way too many times to count."
  
  Buffy's strong arms wrapped around his middle, her beautiful blonde head fit comfortably in the nook of his neck like puzzle pieces snapping perfectly together. Then she happily expressed, "I can't thank you enough, Xander." Buffy hugged him as firmly as he could withstand, and Xander only wished his aching body could take more. It was the first time in a while that she was so affectionate in her gratitude. Taking in her joyous warmth and scent like a healing tonic, he felt like he was under a spell, or high.
  
  "Especially for getting to smooch Angel one more time," Willow said, ruining their moment as she returned with the bubbling, snot-colored, healing drink. Buffy pulled away from Xander to smile knowingly at Willow, and Xander cringed to realize his girl-friends were still hung up on the majesty of the romance between Buffy and Angel, forbidden though it was. Hearing about Buffy kissing Angel in the music room hurt Xander more than the powerful aroma of the putrid tonic.
  
  "Oh... yeah, no... my pleasure," Xander dully returned.
  
  "Don't worry. Nothing else happened," Buffy reassured him with a cute slant of her head. "I'll kill Spike as soon as Angel finds him."
  
  Tentatively, Xander tried to emphasize once again, "I... uh- Um, I get this won't be happily received, but, I still think we should ensoul Spike."
  
  "Out of the question," Giles quickly stated, the hurt very present in his eyes, and the teenager didn't push it further. Heaven forbid Xander looped again, but if he had the misfortune to do so, he needed to make sure Jenny survived; even if he had to follow her all day and night.
  
  Xander stayed in Giles' apartment until he could walk without spiderwebs of pain shooting up his legs and spine. He even held onto Dreadnought like a walking cane. Then he went home-battle axe in hand-to rest. Though heavily bruised the next morning, he was feeling just well enough to drag his sore body to school and see the destruction his axe made of the school's walls, pipes, electrical lines, shelves, and lockers. The devastation to school property was blamed on doped-up, delinquent bandits with sledgehammers. Cordelia didn't believe the cover story for a second and asked the Scooby Gang what really happened.
  
  Xander told her the truth with Buffy and Willow confirming, but with heavy skepticism on her symmetrical face, Cordelia slowly asked, "You have an axe? You."
  
  With a great big grin, eager to annoy the skeptical girl, Xander informed her, "It's called Dreadnought."
  
  "I'm not calling it that," she leveled at the giddy nerd. Looking at the mayhem of the school, she asked him, "You have an axe that can fly ... to you... on command?"
  
  Smiling with glee, he answered, "Just like Thor. You know. From a comic book... that geeks read. Not so lame now, is it?" His smugness made her simply shake her head, fighting the amusement creeping up in her eyes and on her lips, then walked away. But Cordelia would return to the library more often and hang out with them more.
  
  The following week, Xander was fully recovered from his fight with Spike, however, he wouldn't have minded being on the injured list a little longer. Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia took turns treating him with more attention than he ever got before. Cordelia made him a personalized 'Get Well Soon' card that read, ' The Lengths You 'll Go To For Attention. Get Well Soon. I Can Only Be Nice For So Long .' Willow brought over a photo album so they could reminisce about their younger days at the water park and playgrounds. And Buffy brought him chicken soup her mom made since he was starving. He didn't need much from his friends, but he enjoyed being tended to. Their care was more than his parents did, who stopped leaving his dinner in the fridge anymore.
  
  It was a rare night that Xander, Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia got to spend time at the beach. They were celebrating their swim team's win in the state semifinals with their other juniors and seniors. The warm bonfire, the bright moon up above, and the rhythmic crashing of the waves were soothing to the teenagers gathered, however, it was a cold night.
  
  "All I'm saying is, it was a stupid idea to have a victory party on the beach at night," Xander complained to his friends, arms crossed to keep his chest warm. "It's officially nippy. So say my nips."
  
  "Well, it's the team's choice," Cordelia returned. "It was their victory."
  
  Noticing Buffy staring off into the pitch-black ocean, Xander called, "Earth to Buffy? Come in Buffy."
  
  Turning to them, surprised by her own inattention, she hummed, "Hmm?"
  
  Xander figured it had to do with Angel, because it always had to do with Angel. He asked, "I'm getting drinks. You want anything?"
  
  "I'll go," Buffy quickly asserted, hopping to her feet. "You relax and I'll be right back."
  
  However, she had taken so long, Xander began scanning the festive crowd of drinking teens. Off in the distance, he happened to spot her talking with the handsome Cameron Walker; Tall, chestnut-brown hair, and the captain of the swim team. Xander never liked him. To see her so comfortable with Cameron made Xander question his own self-worth, even if Sherlock, Achilles, or Casanova never would.
  
  ' Why am I getting all annoyed when I 'm soo the oldest soul here? ' he asked himself with annoyance. Slightly in his line of sight to Buffy, Xander noted Dodd McAlvy shoving someone's head into a metal beverage tub filled with ice water and soda cans while many of their classmates laughed. When Dodd pulled the boy's head out of the cold water, Xander noticed it was Jonathan, an unpopular waifish boy with grand plans of popularity. Xander was just like him a time ago, and couldn't allow this bullying to continue.
  
  Xander calmly walked over to Dodd who was yelling to a gasping Jonathan, "C'mon, Jonny! You gotta hold your breath longer than that if you ever want to make the team!" Turning to the crowd, he happily called, "Somebody time him," as he forcibly shoved Jonathan's gasping head into the tub of iced water.
  
  Buffy appeared just as Xander was about to grab Dodd's arm. They both pulled back as they said, "Oh, you were going to-" "I didn't mean to-"
  
  Dodd looked at them curiously as Xander extended his hand as he said, "No, no, after you, ma lady-"
  
  "No, you go. I insist," Buffy returned, shaking her head. "Plus, I wouldn't mind seeing a little more of what you can do."
  
  Xander nodded as a confused Dodd asked, "What the hell are you two doing-"
  
  Xander flicked the muscular teen's Adam's Apple with two fingers, engaging his gag reflex, and making him let Jonathan go as he coughed loudly. He gripped his throat for a moment and Xander calmly put his hands in his pockets. Immediately furious at the casual teen, Dodd stepped forward to punch Xander with all his muscular might, however, Xander was a master of spacing, timing and coordination. Xander's right foot hooked the heel of Dodd's forward stepping foot, and like a foot coming down past the edge of a cliff, Xander never let him plant firmly on the sand. He pulled Dodd's step so far forward, and all his weight kept shuffling forward until the tightly muscular teen hit the sand in a full split, instantly cupping his hyper-stretched groin.
  
  Many students winced to see such a simple move cause so much havoc. Xander felt so bad for Dodd, he didn't make fun of the cigar-chomping shark tattoo on his forearm. Cameron nearly shoved Xander, however, Xander's awareness kept the handsome swimmer from actually touching him. Xander sidestepped the angry boy, as the rest of the team moved in to protect their teammates.
  
  Buffy stood in front of Xander, raising her hands to the group of swimmers as she warned them, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Come on now. He had it coming."
  
  Cameron looked from Buffy, appealing to him with her expressive greenish-blue eyes, to a casual Xander, still with his hands in his pockets. With Buffy between them, Cameron calmed down, then nodded to his teammates. Gage grabbed a hobbling Dodd as he growled, "Whatever."
  
  Most of the team left together as Buffy moved to a soaked and shivering Jonathan and said, "Let's find you a towel."
  
  Irate, Jonathan yelled at Buffy, "Mind your own business! I could've handled that on my own!" Then the bullied boy stormed off.
  
  Buffy turned to Xander and plastered a lackluster grin on her face before sarcastically asking, "Ain't it just the funnest to hang out with me?"
  
  "Obviously, yes," Xander easily answered. "But I may be biased."
  
  The Scoobies didn't learn until the following morning that the night's festivities didn't end well. Xander learned in the library that Cameron made unwanted advances on Buffy, for which he earned a sprained wrist and bloody nose, and Giles informed them all that the remains of Dodd McAlvey were found on the beach that morning.
  
  "Vampires?" Buffy asked.
  
  Giles shook his head, looking away from the book in his hands to answer, "No. He was eviscerated. Nothing left but skin and cartilage."
  
  Buffy wrinkled her nose in disgust as she asked, "So, something just split him open and ate his insides?"
  
  Occasionally the odd one, Willow remarked, "Like an Oreo cookie." When they all turned to her, wondering if the disturbing comment really came from her, Willow tried to course-correct. "Except, you know, without the chocolatey cookie goodness."
  
  Giles cleared his throat before mentioning, "Principal Snyder's instructed the faculty to keep the news quiet for now so as not to unduly upset the students."
  
  "So," Willow started. "We're looking for a beastie?"
  
  "That eats humans whole," Giles elaborated. "Except for the skin."
  
  "Doesn't make sense," Buffy voiced her confused thoughts to the group.
  
  "Yeah, the skin's the best part," Xander grimly jested.
  
  Buffy turned to Giles and asked in all seriousness, "Any demons with high cholesterol?" Giles just gave the blonde a deadpanned look while Xander held back his desire to laugh. Buffy smiled a little as she cutely assured her watcher, "Later on, you're gonna think about that and you're gonna laugh."
  
  After school, the gang was researching in the library. Dodd's remains, the swim team, monsters, deaths, all keywords seemed suspicious, and Old Man Xander's memories flared with faint recognition. Xander felt so close to uncovering everything about this particular danger, it was right on the tip of his tongue. Then he felt dry-mouthed and went for a drink. In the lounge, Xander was feeding a second quarter into the soda machine when he suddenly heard movement-shuffling of clothes, sneakers on tile-and automatically honed in on the source. What might've been a monster headed in his direction only turned out to be a sickly Cameron.
  
  The boys stared at each other, clearly unfavorable to the other's existence, and Xander easily noted the swollen, purple & red wounded nose Buffy gave him. Cameron noted the small smile on the geek's face, and when he continued getting his drink, the swim team captain childishly bumped into him, knocking Xander's quarter to the ground. Mockingly, he lamely said, "Sorry... spaz."
  
  It was reassuring to know that taking the high-road wasn't because Xander couldn't beat the swim team captain to within an inch of his life. The raven-haired teen simply smiled as he picked up his quarter and jested, " Not forgiven, your swimteamliness."
  
  Cameron simply scoffed, "Loser," before continuing toward the closed cafeteria.
  
  "Liking the nose, Cam," Xander called out with amusement. "Good look for you."
  
  Cameron stopped mid-step, and turned to the casual teen before heatedly demanding to know, "Meaning what?"
  
  Xander smiled as he answered, "Meaning, Buffy must not be on your list of privileges. Meaning, I love it when you guys mess with her. It's so rare that karma is that instant."
  
  Cameron took malicious steps toward Xander, clearly intent on fighting, however, Xander didn't budge. The geek seemed entirely unconcerned and Cameron stopped before confessing, "You're lucky I'm hungry."
  
  "Cafeteria's closed," Xander called out to the boy when he realized that was his destination.
  
  "Not to me," the smug Cameron replied.
  
  Xander rolled his eyes before returning to his great soda dilemma. The teen was conflicted between grape and orange when he suddenly heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the cafeteria, followed by a meaty tearing sound and tables being knocked over. Realizing Cameron was in the cafeteria, Xander ran straight to the danger, all the while wondering if he should call Dreadnought or not.
  
  Well in the room, three tables were overturned, one bent in half, but Xander wondered more about the acute horrid smell attacking his nostrils. Ignoring his own distress, Xander looked around the room as he called out, "Anybody here? Cameron-"
  
  The teenager then came face to face with the stuff of nightmares. A gooey, black & green scaly creature that was seven feet tall with a spiny head, like a fish. The aquatic-looking monster had palpitating gills at the side of its thick neck, and large, black bulging eyes that never closed. Its gaping, piranha-toothed jaw widened like it was preparing to eat him, then let out a primal croaking screech.
  
  Suddenly, Xander remembered exactly where he'd seen a creature like this before, and voiced, "You miserable old bastard, finally remembered something."
  
  The creature tried to swipe at Xander, who leapt back, then it ran away faster than Xander could follow; losing it after the third corner. After telling Buffy and his friends what he just encountered, Xander met with Coach Marin to try out for the swim team. Despite barely scraping six feet in height, Xander was not only physically fit, but his muscular synapses, reflexes, and efficiency were at a God-tier level. Xander aced his tryout, and the coach was eager to have him on the team. His Old Man memories seemed to recall being average speed in the water.
  
  The following day, Buffy explained what happened when a vampire bit Gage the previous night. "Spitting out the blood means there's something wrong with it," Buffy claimed, and Xander knew more or less what he had to do. Aside from telling his evil-fighting friends the truth with no proof, he needed to get evidence of the coach drugging his students so the gang could stop him.
  
  Walking out to the pool area for practice, wearing only Speedos, Xander was half-amused, half shocked to see Willow, Buffy, and Cordelia gawking at him. He reached for an orange floaty nearby and covered his near-nakedness. Though their stares of approval felt nice, he couldn't deny some embarrassment. After all, Willow and Buffy have never seen him with so few clothes on.
  
  Still, working out five to six days a week for nearly two hours was no simple task to do for nearly half a year. His dorky persona in a fit body was not what Buffy or Willow were expecting, and it showed on their expressions. With Cordelia, Xander tried not to look too much in her direction. She had that hungry look in her sensual brown eyes and he didn't want to think about sex while in public wearing Speedos.
  
  "What are you doing?" Cordelia called out to him. She stood up and crossed her arms as she tried not to look at him all over. "Trying to fool people into thinking you're a member of the swim team?"
  
  Holding the flotation device to his pelvis, Xander hotly spouted back, "I am on the swim team! I'm undercover."
  
  Getting an eye-full, a broadly grinning Buffy teased, "You're not under much."
  
  The blushing Willow giggled as Xander pushed on to say, "I tried out and made the team so I can keep an eye on Gage and the others when Buffy can't."
  
  "Awww," Buffy sounded, touched by his thoughtfulness.
  
  "Harris!" Coach Marin yelled from the other side of the room. "Flirt on your own time! In the pool, now!"
  
  Xander nodded to the man before whispering to his friends, "FYI, he's my number one suspect."
  
  Curious, Willow asked, "What makes you say that?"
  
  "Shaggy and Scooby would say the teacher is always first on the list," Xander clinically professed before returning to practice.
  
  While gazing hungrily at Xander walking away, Cordelia casually asked the girls, "Is it me, or has Xander gotten kinda hot lately?" Willow choked heavily, and Buffy raised her eyebrows before Cordelia turned to genuinely ask them, "You two aren't interested, right?"
  
  Once Xander was done with practice, he tagged Buffy in to watch over Gage while he went to the forge. It was the following day when he learned from Buffy and Giles that the monsters attacking the swim team were actually the boys from the swim team. Buffy explained to Xander and Willow that the swim team had been doping in order to win their swim meets and gain the prestige of the school.
  
  "Something must be mixed in with the steroids," Willow guessed.
  
  Buffy told her male friend, "Xander, try to find out what these boys are taking, or at least how they're taking it; pills, powder, syringes."
  
  "What are you going to do?" Willow asked Buffy.
  
  "Giles is loading up the tranquilizer gun," the blonde slayer said before adding, "We're going fishing."
  
  Considering he knew the Coach was the culprit, Xander suggested, "How about we just talk with the coach? I'm sure he's the one doping the team. And thanks to my SEAL training, I know a few interrogation techniques that'll make him sing within the hour."
  
  "Love the enthusiasm," Buffy replied with a nod. "But let's figure out how he's doing it first, if it's actually Coach Marin."
  
  With a sigh, Xander nodded, and soon after swim practice, he was in the sauna with his teammates. He was about to subtly interrogate Sean about steroids and how the drugs was being put in their bodies, when his body suddenly felt alarmed, as if it was in peril. Looking around the sauna full of boys, his sharper mind realized the sauna could be a great aromatic delivery system for unknown chemical compounds. Better yet, the coach wouldn't even have to tell the students and risk one of them having a crisis of conscience. The Sherlock pattern within thought it made the most sense.
  
  Before the panic set in, the raven-haired teen leaned over and confidently asked Sean, "It's in the steam, isn't it?"
  
  Sean hesitated for a moment before asking, "Wha- What do you mean?"
  
  That was enough confirmation for Xander who promptly got up and ran straight to Giles to get the watcher started on an antidote. "See, Scoob and Shag were right!" a worried Xander called to his friends as he neurotically scratched at his neck. Though he wasn't expecting to actually turn into a monstrous fish, he simply feared looping back if he did. "It's always the teachers!"
  
  "We don't know that," Buffy returned, "But, I don't really trust Coach's whole ' they 're my inspiration ,' speech."
  
  While Giles, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia rounded up the swim team members, Buffy talked to the coach, but Xander soon followed after her. In the school's basement-filled with water pipes and regulators-the Coach happened to be looking down an open shaft with chuckling amusement. It took Xander but a moment to realize if the coach was in one piece and Buffy was nowhere to be seen, she was likely in the hole. Spotting the revolver gun on the table and the way he was so focused on the open shaft, Xander figured Buffy was down the hole.
  
  Xander grabbed the gun, and the noise of shoes on the metal floor made the Coach get up, however, as he turned to Xander, the bold teen backhanded the heavy-set man across the face, making him spin as he topple backward and into the hole. Xander noted the Coach falling on one of the monsters with a splash. Through the square hole, he was surprised to find a deeply flooded cavern, with the water level to Buffy's chest as she fought off two, much larger fish monsters.
  
  Laying flat on the floor, Xander extended his arm as deep into the water-filled cavern as possible as he called out, "Buffy! Grab my hand!"
  
  Buffy dunked into the water before springing up with all her slayer strength. Soaking wet, she leapt nearly ten feet to reach for his hand. A wet CLAP sounded when he caught her. Her dainty hand had an extremely strong grip, however, Xander didn't let go, and pulled the girl up to safety. Buffy quickly began shivering from the combination of dripping wet clothing, the cold pump room, and the fear of narrowly escaping death. Xander took off his outer sweatshirt and slipped it over her head.
  
  "Thanks," the damp girl gratefully expressed.
  
  "Just doing my part," Xander casually replied, before they heard a yell from the depths of the hole.
  
  Looking down, they noted the large fish monsters attacking their coach, breaking his limbs with an audible, meaty SNAP , and devouring him. Coach Marin yelled for help, and the teens extended their hands, but there was no way the old, heavy-set man was going to make a ten foot vertical leap out of chest high water. The humanoid marine creatures dragged the fearful man under the black pool of water. Though Buffy wanted to save the man, nothing but a single series of bubbles came back up.
  
  It was a sad end to a tale of desperation. Winning at all costs led to the deaths of Coach Marin, Nurse Greenleigh, Dodd, Cameron, and Gage. The swim team had to receive treatment for the fish steroid in their bloodstream and the school had to forfeit their spot in the finals for the state championship. The Scooby Gang needed a break after that and Giles kindly gave them the night off-specifically Buffy-from slaying.
  
  Later that night, Cordelia drove Xander to his house to grab a change of clothes and a few movies for rest and relaxation at her large house. Cordelia had been the one to invite him to watch a movie that night, and when he told Buffy and Willow about his plans, they invited themselves. Xander wasn't sure what plans Cordelia had for the night, but now, the gang was all going to watch a movie at her place.
  
  The pretty cheerleader was in her car waiting while Xander rushed through his collection of VHS tapes. Considering the large size of Cordelia's TV, he picked a few of his favorites: Back to the Future, RoboCop, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and one of his all-time favorites, The Goonies. Xander felt saddened by the technology of the time. He knew TVs would get much larger, thinner, and clearer. Then the boom of holographic technology soared after that. Those advancements were the one things he longed for from his future memories.
  
  Turning around with his movies in hand, he was shocked to see his father standing behind him. He gasped, "Jeez, dad! You nearly scared the living mess out of me." His father remained silent and Xander simply nodded, sarcastically asserting, "Good chat. I'm watching movies at a friend's. Might spend the night if it gets too-"
  
  Xander's cut off when his father grabbed him by the neck and threw him against the wall with more force than he expected, caving in the tacky wallpaper and drywall. Xander's body unconsciously retained enough balance to keep from falling to the floor. He was about to yell at his abusive father when the man threw a punch to his face. Xander jerked his head to avoid the strike and countered with a hard shove to the chest, pushing his father back.
  
  " Dad! " he yelled. "Seriously? You can't just say you don't want me to go-"
  
  Xander dodged the lamp his father threw, and with more speed than he's ever seen his father move with, he tackled Xander around the middle and they both went crashing through the wall. Dust, chunks of wall, and wallpaper covered them in the hallway. Dazed, Xander felt a lot of weight on top of him and didn't see the punch coming until it was too late. His face forcibly twisted to the side, making him cough streaks of blood out on the dirty carpet.
  
  Xander's vision of the dark hallway was immediately whirling. The punch felt incredibly strong; stronger than his father ever had used before. The dazed teen was struck across the face twice more before Xander lethargically grabbed the third strike and pulled Anthony Harris into a headbutt. That made the man recoil far enough for the teen to slip from under him.
  
  Xander put some distance between them, and touched his busted lip and bleeding nose. His heating face already felt thick with swelling as he yelled at his chuckling father, "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
  
  "Why, I thought that would've been obvious," Mr. Harris growled. "You're what's wrong with me; always have been. Actually, you are, by far, the biggest mistake of my life."
  
  Unbothered by Anthony's inebriated talk, Xander groaned from the throbbing pain before asking, "Jesus, how much have you had to drink this time?"
  
  "Look at me, you dumb fuck." The coldness in his father's voice made Xander's hackles stand on end. Truly looking at his father, the man didn't appear intoxicated. Taking a step closer into the bit of light in the hall, Anthony Harris asked, "Do I look drunk to you?"
  
  Xander's hand dropped to his side, his knees suddenly felt like wet paper, and his stomach turned & tightened so much he wanted to throw up on the spot. Xander couldn't believe it. He couldn't accept it. What he was seeing couldn't be real , because his father never had a vampire face before. The teen started laughing; more deranged in disbelief than amused.
  
  Xander took a step forward, professing, "Dad, that's not funny. That's... Halloween isn't for like five... months." Anthony Harris growled, then revealed the elongated teeth of a vampire with an angry hiss. It only made Xander doubt what he was seeing even more. "Dad.... s-seriously... whoever... put you up to this... that makeup's t-terrible..."
  
  Gesturing to his own face, Anthony growled with a disturbing tilt of his demon head, " This happened because of you, boy." Anthony stepped closer to his numb son as he said, "We did everything for you... raised you better than you had any right to... and you shat all over our sacrifice."
  
  Shaking his head, moving even closer to his afflicted father, Xander repeated, "No... no... n-"
  
  Anthony Harris grabbed Xander by the collar and slammed him into the wall as he yelled in his face, " We were missing for days! And you never even noticed! Your own parents!"
  
  "W-wait, wait! Dad, tell me- tell me wha-what haaappened," Xander stuttered as he pleaded, trying to regain his mental equilibrium. Feeling like he was losing his mind, Xander spoke, "I-I-I can help you- OOFF !"
  
  Anthony punched his son in the stomach, nearly knocking all the air out of his lungs before he replied, "It's too late for that, boy." He punched Xander in the stomach again, yelling in his pained face, "I'm a vampire now! They tortured me for days before they turned me! All because of you! You worthless, bottom-feeding, maggot!" He punched him again. "I hate you!" He punched him again. "I've always hated you!" And again. "Your mother hates you!" Anthony punched his son in the gut once more, before effortlessly lifting the gasping, beaten boy again.
  
  Xander could barely breathe, much less see clearly, but he obsessively focused when his father said, "They're probably still torturing her right now." Xander paled, perspired profusely, and felt sick in a way that had nothing to do with the physical agony of his stomach. "Imagine what you're feeling, then double it," Anthony continued. "That's what your poor, sweet mother is going through. Broken bones, ripped off fingernails, stabbing, burning... that's what her life for the past week has been, son. They're sadistic bastards, but, I can't wait to see what Spike has in store for you."
  
  Anthony hoisted Xander's limp form on his shoulder, casually walked down the stairs, and opened the front door to leave. The man stopped at the sight of a gorgeous brunette squeaking in surprise. She was so beautiful, he barely registered the large axe she was holding to her chest with both arms. Anthony could smell her succulent fear rolling off her, and so didn't fear the large weapon in her hands.
  
  Licking his lips, he remarked, "Well, aren't you just the prettiest little thing." Cordelia took a shaky step back in fear. "Oh, don't be scared, gorgeous. I wouldn't dream of hurting you. No, no... hurting you is definitely not what I want to do to ya."
  
  Eying the body slumped on Anthony's shoulder, the panicky Cordelia frightfully called, "X-X-Xander?"
  
  With a wicked smile on his vampiric face, Anthony gasped before asking, "Oh, you know my son? Hot damn, he's got some fine taste in women. Mnn! I could just eat you up."
  
  "X-X-XANDER," she yelled louder, despite her clear fear. "Wake up!"
  
  Moving a step closer, Anthony gently voiced, "You seem stressed. Are you stressed, princess? How about you come inside-"
  
  Much faster outside the home than inside, Anthony snagged Cordelia's hand, making her drop the axe on the stone floor with a heavy KLANG , and forcefully dragged her into the house. All the while she was being pulled into the confining home, then watched the vampire kick her only exit to freedom closed, Cordelia screamed, "Xander! Xander! Wake up! Please! Help! Help- ACK!"
  
  Anthony gripped her elegant throat with his supernaturally cold, powerful hand, causing her to choke her words, and slammed her against the wall just inside the Harris residence.
  
  "Come on, now. You'll wake the neighbors," Anthony slowly voiced so near her shivering face. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she stared into the demon's yellow eyes. He moved extremely close and sniffed her, then licked her cheek, leaving a saliva trail as tears streamed down her fearful eyes. "But if you really want to scream, I'll give you something nice and thick to scream about."
  
  The home's old door suddenly broke in half, bursting splinters of wood toward them as the large axe Cordelia dropped flew directly into Xander's outstretched hand. Amidst the momentary confusion, the half-conscious Xander swung the sharp blade of his heavy axe halfway into his father's shin. Anthony howled in pain, dropping his son and letting Cordelia go as he fell to the floor and gripped his wounded leg.
  
  Despite the bleeding Xander's exhaustion, Dreadnought helped him gain the strength to wield the weapon while powering up his healing process. With his red face swelling, Xander looked down at his groaning father gripping his injured leg, took in the evil vampiric face, then felt the impossible weight of the decision in front of him. Xander knew what to do with vampires, knew the evils they were capable of, but he couldn't stop realizing this was also his father.
  
  "Do it!" the huffing Anthony yelled. Xander gripped Dreadnought tighter, willing himself to decapitate his father, but he couldn't do it. Dreadnought shook in his hand, his face a mix of swelling and horror, while Anthony Harris just laughed loudly at his son. "I knew it! You're too weak, son! You've always been weak! CRYING ALL THE GODDAMN TIME! And you'll always be weak!"
  
  Groaning in defeat, Xander instead laid Dreadnought on top of his father's chest, somehow knowing Anthony wouldn't be able to lift it. It was similar to Mjölnir's rune enchantment ᛟ, or ōþila, meaning heritage & possession, where only those worthy may wield the hammer of Thor. In Xander's case, however, any human with a soul should be capable of picking up Dreadnought, since Willow, Giles, Cordelia, and Buffy already have. They don't seem to get the benefits he does, but they can still lift it.
  
  As Xander's father struggled to move the battle axe, as if he were pinned between a rock and a hard place, a distraught Xander took several sluggish steps back before sinking to the floor and just watched his father struggle in silence. Even when Cordelia begged Xander to move or respond, he couldn't. Even when Buffy, Willow, and eventually Giles showed up, Xander couldn't move. He simply stared at his father, fighting in vain to free himself, and let the tears fall down his swollen face.
  
  His father pleaded, yelled, threatened, and bargained with any of them to let him go. "I'll tell you where they're keeping her!?"
  
  "Keeping who?" an irate Buffy retorted.
  
  Anthony laughed maniacally before answering, "Why, the old lady of the house, of course." He looked over to his catatonic son and yelled, "You hear that, boy! Get this hunk of metal off me! And I'll tell you where your poor wittle mommy is being tortured! Hahahahaha!"
  
  Xander wasn't sure what to do. His mind felt numb, in a fog, unsure of what to feel, and it was only getting worse. Memories of his mother drinking, ignoring him, going through his room for whatever drunken reason filled his mind. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know where his mother was, but that only tore his heart because it meant he was a terrible son. It made his heart ache, his body feverishly sick, and his soul whither into a freezing mist. He heard many voices around him like muffled sounds, but the only one that seemed to move him was Buffy's.
  
  "Xander," her sweet, soft voice said. And for the first time, he looked up. Buffy was kneeling in front of him, a mixture of sympathy and resolve. He had no idea her hand was holding his, and she spoke in the most soothing voice. She simply looked at him, conveying with her eyes alone that she had his back in anything and everything he needed.
  
  "My mom..." Xander croaked, then felt the heat prickle his eyes before more hot tears streamed down his swelling face. "We need to- ...need to-"
  
  "It's okay," she assured him, gently squeezing his hand. "We will."
  
  "Not if you don't hurry," Anthony yelled. "She may already be dead!"
  
  Willow screamed at the vampire father, "Shut up!"
  
  "Gimme a blow job and I'll consider it," he laughed as Giles placed a calming palm on the redhead's shoulder to keep her from killing Mr. Harris.
  
  "Xander," Buffy softly called again, making him focus more on her. "Grab Dreadnought for me, please?" Xander looked at her as if his brain was deprived of oxygen and words held no meaning. Speech was effectively alien to him. "Xander," Buffy tried again, a little more sternly. "Please grab Dreadnought for me?"
  
  Slowly, the words seeped into his understanding, and little by little, he extended his hand. For moments, nothing happened until his faithful axe finally flew into his palm, instantly accelerating his natural healing process. Buffy quickly and brutally subdued Xander's vampire father with a submission hold.
  
  Holding him down with her supernatural strength, Mr. Harris wasn't going anywhere, and she yelled, "Talk! Now!"
  
  "Wha-What do you want t-to know? Hmm?" Anthony began between winces. Buffy was putting the hurt on him, however, the vampire still dramatized his retelling. "Want to know how Spike nabbed me and my misses on the way home? How he tortured us for days because our malignant waste of a son got in his way? Spike coulda killed someone called the slayer! Instead, my biggest regret in life humiliated him, stopped Spike cold. So, naturally, he took it out on his family."
  
  Buffy and the rest of the gang realized the Harris adults suffered because Xander stopped Spike from killing Buffy. The slayer, the watcher, and the witch immediately blamed themselves for the deaths of Xander's parents, but none more than the son.
  
  "You'd think our precious boy would care enough to even notice we were gone," Anthony continued. "But we never meant anything to him-"
  
  " Like I ever meant anything to you ," Xander yelled back. "Getting drunk every night, beating me when it got bad! Letting mom stay like that! Just tell me where she is so I can save her like you never could!"
  
  "He's so touchy-" Buffy interrupted Anthony's snarky mouth with a punch to the face. "Alright, alright," the vampire called out, flexing his jaw and making an audible clicking noise. "Promise me you'll let me go if I tell you. Let me go, and you'll find your bitch of a mother. Come on, son. Do one good thing for your old man."
  
  "...Fine," Xander eventually said.
  
  "The old pool," Mr. Harris voiced. "You know where. He thought you'd appreciate the attention to detail!"
  
  The old, painful memories flooded in. When Xander was five and his parents still tried to be good, they brought him to the pool with their other family and cousins. The pool was fairly open, popular, and amazing. He even ran into Willow, Jessie, or Cordelia on occasion. However, it turned out Xander had a fear of water. His tiny body visibly shook when he tried to toe the water. He certainly didn't want to go anywhere near the deeper end, much less the shallow end.
  
  The way the five-year-old Xander was fussing must've annoyed his mother, since she callously grabbed her young son by the arm and tossed him into the deep end. Xander screamed for help, but no one would since his father kept them away, reassuring them that he was just learning to swim. It felt as if they were trying to give him time to drown rather than pick up swimming. Eventually, the lifeguard did save Xander, and Anthony looked like the villain.
  
  It wouldn't be the worst thing they've ever done to him, but Xander remembered crying for days after that. He lost his fear of water, but he gained a healthy fear of his parents for some time. That moment was always a point of disappointment for Xander's parents. They felt they saw who Xander truly was, and it only got worse from there. But Xander refused to think anymore about that. Instead, he slowly got to his feet, dragged the sharp head of Dreadnought straight to his father, still being held down by Buffy.
  
  "Hey, hey, hey," his worried vampire father called. "Xander, son, you promised!"
  
  "I know... and I am," a fragile and crushed Xander softly growled through the knot logged in his throat. "I won't let you live like this." Xander raised Dreadnought above his head. All he had to do was allow the heavy metal to fall. The razor edge was so sharp, that he was confident the weight would push it through the bones of the neck. Instead, Dreadnought only shook above Xander's head. Letting the axe fall would end his father, and Xander couldn't bring himself to kill him for a second time.
  
  Sadly, Buffy staked Anthony Harris in his place, dusting Xander's father in his home.
  
  They went to the old Sunnydale Aquatic Center past Route 17, a community pool that closed in the early 90s. Xander was deathly silent the entire way, even when they broke the locks and walked in. The raven-haired teen remained silent as he walked to the one place he figured she would be. Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, and Giles followed him in silence past the dilapidated Snack Shack, the withering party pavilions, the dried-up & stained rock river, and to the medical bay. That's where he found his only puppy in his youth, and where he found his mother strung up to the old, rusted light fixture on the wall.
  
  "Oh my God," Xander heard Willow gasp, but Xander felt outside of himself. He couldn't think or feel. He simply observed and tried not to forget to breathe. Giles went to inspect the body, only to learn she wasn't dead-dead. She opened her vampire yellow eyes, shoved Giles out of the way, and lunged at her son. She was ready to kill him, but Buffy was there to fight her off. When the blonde slayer was about to stake her, Xander told her to wait. He then placed his axe on her chest and waited for the sun to come up.
  
  The thing that hurt Xander the most wasn't so much what happened to his parents, and his culpability in it, but the fact that he wouldn't deliberately loop back just to save them. He gladly looped back via killing Spike simply for kissing Buffy, but his shitty parents were turned into vampires and he, their shitty son, wouldn't do anything to loop back and save their lives. It forced Xander to take a cold, hard look at how deformed his morality seemed to be. Even if his parents were neglectful drunks, they were still his parents, and he should love them enough to save them.
  
  "I could go back... and save them," he absentmindedly said.
  
  "Xander, this is part of the grieving process," Giles gently voiced from beside him. All of them were around him, lending him support simply by being there. "Of course, we want to save the people we love, but sometimes... sometimes we simply cannot. We must find the strength to choose life and move forward with them in our hearts."
  
  Not truly hearing Giles, Xander continued voicing, "This happened because of me-"
  
  " No ," Buffy quickly asserted, moving in front of him. Staring into his one good eye, she asserted, "No, this is my fault! It's because you were saving me that this happened. And I'm so sorry, Xander. I'm just so very sorry." Buffy hugged him and he hugged her. Willow joined, as did Cordelia. It wasn't long before he heard his mother's screams of death with the first rays of sunlight, and he hugged his friends harder, letting the tears flow freely.
  
  Well, that happened. My poor boy.
  
  This chapter touched a bit on his young life, but I have a lot more planned for later. It's all part of making Xander better, whether he likes it or not. Like that saying goes, Only through fire and friction, is a strong sword forged. -Master Yoda. The next three chapters will be big ones for this story, then we enter what I call phase 2.
  
  I got more in store for his weapons, but at the moment, Dreadnought is lighter in his hands, than it actually weighs in others. It helps heal him. It's super sharp and doesn't lose its edge. And it flies to him on command. Does anyone else picture a spinning axe, or do you think it's static/rigid when it moves across the air? Cuz, I picture it spinning.
  
  As always, feel free to leave any comments, questions, or concerns. Thank you again Oxante and Chelanxar. Also, Happy Mother's Day again. Be well, fellow readers. Till next week,
  
  -Grae
  
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  A Monster
  Welcome back! Another chapter on another Sunday!
  
  I got a big one for you, so let's not waste any time. Big thank you to my wonderful beta readers, Oxnate and Chelanxar!
  
  WARNING: Violence, Foul Language, Lemon.
  
  11.6K words. Enjoy!
  
  A Monster
  
  The proceeding days were grueling, somber ones for Xander, but the first one was the roughest. He couldn't even think of a future. His thoughts were stuck in the past, and he mourned his present. His every minute felt like being buried alive and having no will to escape or even move; only this feeling was constant. The grief-stricken teen couldn't say or do anything, and wondered what higher power out there was forcing him to live when he could just as easily... not. Xander felt broken and simply laid in bed in Cordelia's home.
  
  The gang couldn't know if the Harris' invited Spike or Drusilla into their house or not. They couldn't even answer if a turned vampire would be capable of entering a home they owned when they were alive. Did the vampire no longer own it because they are undead? Without a clear answer, Buffy wanted Xander to stay with her in the spare bedroom, however, he wasn't fond of the idea of being near her. She could make him do things simply by hearing her voice asking-not unlike magic-but Xander didn't want to do anything but lie in bed.
  
  Without trying, Xander could easily hear Cordelia chewing out his friends in the room outside of his. She was furious on his behalf, and he could hear her easily through the walls. Xander heard his beautiful friend demand to know, "Did any of you even consider that his parents might be a target? A watcher, the slayer, and the class genius who just so happens to be his childhood friend! How could none of you think about him?"
  
  "Trying to shame us is rich coming from you," Xander heard Buffy retort through the walls. "No one in his entire life bullies or belittles him more than you do!"
  
  "Because I can do that without hurting him," Cordelia's muffled voice heatedly returned. "I'm a freaking artist like that! You might not understand that, but I don't care! Xander and I get each other. It's why we can bicker and move on like it's nothing. But what about you? None of you see the real Xander. He's just your pet-geek you keep around to shower you with praise, make you laugh, or help you research."
  
  "Who the hell do you think you are?" an upset Willow shot back. "Questioning our friendship, like we don't care enough! We love him! Which is more than you can say because you don't love anyone but yourself!"
  
  " That 's enough, all of you ," Giles' strong English voice came through the wall, shutting their argument down. "Xander is the one who suffered a tragic loss tonight. He'll need our support now more than ever, not our hostilities. Do I make myself clear?"
  
  In the thick darkness of the room, Xander heard the clock tick through his restless sleep and tortured wakefulness. Time, conversation, and hunger were meaningless to him, but the moment Xander regained some of his vigor was when he heard his friends talking about locating and killing Spike and Drusilla by the end of the week. It made him fear looping back, but it also made him realize he could see his parents again, soul-crushing though they were.
  
  Since their deaths, he hadn't stopped thinking about that night with his cat, how his mother became, how his father took it out on him, and how drinking was the only thing that helped them live years in a house without eventually killing each other. Anthony and Jessica Harris weren't winning any awards for parenting, and he'd likely be mentally better without them around, however, Xander struggled to hate them. Instead, he continuously asked himself if he should go back for them. It's what a good son would do-it's what Buffy would do-and he wanted to be good.
  
  Frustratingly, he couldn't think of an answer. His mind wasn't clear enough, wasn't focused enough to tackle such monumental introspective concepts. As ever, in extreme distress, Xander allowed himself to follow his emotions and was adamant when he weakly told his friends, "I want him resouled."
  
  They all turned to him as he stood by the bedroom door. It was still night out, but Xander couldn't be sure if it was the same day or not. His mind was a more terrible mess than his room on Halloween. They slowly moved toward him, but it felt inexplicably hostile, and Xander reactively took a step back.
  
  Giles stopped them from moving toward him, however, Buffy voiced, "You can't be serious. After what he did, he doesn't deserve a soul."
  
  "It's torment," Xander's gravelly voice replied. "I hate Spike's guts with every fiber of my being... but I've never been more serious. It's better this way. He'll suffer more. I don't want him dusted, I want him resouled... so he can suffer."
  
  Xander returned to his room and bed as they discussed it amongst themselves, however, none of them could deny him his request. By the end, Willow was sitting on the bed beside him, holding his hand as she told him they were going to look through Jenny's things in hopes she documented how to ensoul Spike.
  
  -B-
  
  Giles mentioned meeting someone named Doug Parren at the museum to inspect a demon statue they'd just received. Willow stayed with Xander while Cordelia asked to speak with Buffy in private. Without waiting for a reply, Cordelia turned and walked outside. Buffy momentarily considered following the blunt girl or staying by her friend's side, despite the guilt she felt.
  
  Buffy was the Slayer, the chosen one tasked with the strength and skill to stand against vampires, demons, and the forces of evil. Her life was set in the duty of stopping the spread of evil, and yet, she allowed it to infect the life of one of her best friends. Buffy had the strength and ability to stop any vampire, and yet she couldn't stop Spike from turning Xander's parents into the undead. She couldn't stop blaming herself.
  
  The blonde was certain whatever Cordelia wanted to discuss wouldn't be good, however, Buffy needed a break from feeling so powerless. She's felt that emotion for so long after breaking up with Angel, and that feeling doubled when she'd see how happy Willow was with Oz. It physically pained Buffy to have so much supernatural power, and yet be so powerless when it came to being with the man she loved more than anyone. Buffy couldn't take that feeling for much longer. With a sigh, she got off the couch and followed the abrasive cheerleader. They walked beyond her large swimming pool to the garden before stopping.
  
  Cordelia crossed her arms before hotly contesting, "He loves you, you know."
  
  Buffy let her head fall back, as if she were looking up at the night sky and asking for patience. Cordelia never ceased to surprise, though, primarily in less than helpful snide commentaries. Lately, Buffy wasn't sure why the brunette would argue in Xander's favor when she was the one who fought with him the most.
  
  Buffy groaned a bit before remarking, "Cordelia, I really don't get what your fascination with Xander is-"
  
  "I like him," Cordelia promptly interjected, confusing Buffy.
  
  The blonde squinted her eyes at the inconceivable statement before slowly asking, "You... like him?"
  
  Unconcerned with Buffy's grasp of the concept, Cordelia explained, "I realized that I like, liking, more than loving." Buffy was lost, but Cordelia continued. "Love makes people stupid. A vampire Slayer won't slay a vampire because she loves him. The most popular girl in school would stoop to dating a loser because she loved him."
  
  "Wait, what?" Buffy gasped with wide eyes, immediately thrown for a loop. Buffy nearly lost her equilibrium from the whiplash of getting annoyed by the girl's judgment on her love for Angel to being stunned by her confession of love toward Xander.
  
  "Not that you have any right to know details," Cordelia continued, as if she didn't just slap Buffy in the face with a bombshell. "But when you kicked him out of your little fiefdom, Xander and I started dating; in secret, obviously." Buffy's eyebrows raised at the confirmation and her mind went blank. "It ended when you finally stopped being a love-sick, woe-is-me maiden. That's when I knew he'd always love you, which hurt-more than I care to admit-but then I realized I like liking him more than loving him. Like I said, love can make you stupid, and I'm anything but. I'll look for love when I'm like, twenty-five or something."
  
  ' No, no, no, no. I am not dealing with this now ,' Buffy thought, completely underprepared to tackle a conversation like this when her friend lost his parents. Buffy was barely hanging on. Without the patience for her tactless argument, the slayer replied, "Not to underscore how completely cross-eyed, straightjacket crazy this is, but why are you even telling me this?"
  
  "Because, he loves you," Cordelia flatly returned, pestering Buffy further.
  
  The slayer knew Xander had feelings for her; strong feelings. After rejecting his confession the previous summer, she always hoped he'd get over her. She couldn't return his feelings and she didn't want to hurt him any more than her life, as the slayer already had. More guilt felt heaped onto her shoulders as she realized how horrible his life became because of her duty.
  
  She was brought back to the present when Cordelia continued claiming, "Xander does everything for you; spends weeks at a forge to make you weapons; illegally breaks into military bases to steal bazookas; fights a super-strong vampire by himself just to keep it from killing you."
  
  Buffy couldn't deny any of that and the heart-wrenching guilt only got heavier. She was always glad Xander hadn't asked her out a second time after summer, however, she could feel him try in other ways. She could see his feelings were still there when he researched for hours or made weapons, even if he didn't voice it. As ever, Cordelia went for the jugular and said the very thing Buffy dreaded.
  
  "It won't end well for him because you don't love him back," she asserted. "And the longer he has hope, the worse it'll be. You'll never love him back; not the way he wants. So, you may as well help me, help him, get over you."
  
  With that, Buffy found it easy to set aside her depression for anger as she took a hard step forward to heatedly clarify, "His parents just died, you guilt-trip us to hell about it, and all you care about is getting your boyfriend back? Excuse me, ex -boyfriend. How vain and selfish can you be!"
  
  Cordelia didn't balk at the accusation, and just as heatedly asserted, " I 'm not the Slayer! His parents getting killed by vampires is on you , not me . The very least I can do is help him get over you so he can actually find happiness."
  
  Done with the asinine girl, Buffy couldn't stand there any longer. She bit her tongue and left. Rather than return to Xander's side, she went to the nearest graveyard, fists clenched the entire way. Buffy needed to hit something; to do anything physical, so she didn't have to tumble down a mental rabbit hole of her failures. The slayer patrolled the graveyard like she was on a mission, but only grew more frustrated and powerless as the minutes of peaceful night ticked on. She simply wanted to take out all of her frustrations on a newly made vampire.
  
  When she heard the faintest dry leaf crunch under what sounded like a light foot, Buffy brought out her stake and was eager for a fight. She slowly stepped forward when she suddenly heard a brush rustling behind her. Concerned, she turned to find no one there, then she felt a presence, and Buffy swiftly turned, ready to stake the heart of the one behind her, when she met Kendra's eyes instead.
  
  Buffy pulled back and exhaled her zeal for a fight. "You know, most polite people call before they jump out of the bushes and attack you."
  
  "Just wanted to test your reflexes," Kendra stated in her Jamaican accent. "I got too close."
  
  "Luckily, you need to be close to get punched in the face," Buffy jokingly returned. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but I have to ask. What are you doing here?" Before Kendra could answer, Buffy suddenly interjected, "Wait. Let me guess. Your watcher informed you that a very dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale."
  
  "That's about it," Kendra acknowledged.
  
  "Great," Buffy lamented. "Any idea what this dark power is?"
  
  Kendra took a step forward before gravely answering, "My watcher sent me to stop the demon Acathla from rising and swallowing the world as we know it."
  
  "Oh. Okay."
  
  Buffy's complete lack of enthusiasm tilted Kendra's head in confusion. It clearly wasn't the reaction she was expecting, and asked her sister-slayer what was wrong. After a moment of silence, Buffy had them walk around as she painstakingly admitted to her culpability in the death of Xander's parents.
  
  "Is Xander alright- No," Kendra started, before correcting herself. "I don't imagine he is. What is being done to avenge his family?"
  
  Leisurely walking beside the upset Jamaican, Buffy dejectedly answered, "We were going to hunt Spike down and gut him like a fish before killing him, but... Xander wants to ensoul Spike, like Angel, and make him suffer alive."
  
  "That isn't surprising to hear," Kendra easily accepted, unsettling the blonde.
  
  "Are you kidding me?" Buffy called back, looking at the exotic beauty as if she were an alien. "That's completely surprising! Other than finding out about Xander dating Cordelia, it's the craziest thing I've ever heard!"
  
  More curious about that point, Kendra asked, "He has a girlfriend?"
  
  "Uh, had ," Buffy elaborated. "I think they broke up. Wait, why don't you think it's Looney Tunes?"
  
  "Looney Tunes?"
  
  "Crazy," the blonde clarified.
  
  "Xander has spoken to my watcher several times over the phone," Kendra admitted, completely surprising Buffy.
  
  Her mind quickly asked, ' Why would he call her watcher? Why would he care to? And why didn 't he say anything? '
  
  However, Buffy focused on Kendra as she continued saying, "He somehow convinced Zabuto that I must master social encounters, so that I am not easily deceived by unforeseen dangers."
  
  With surprised blinks at the discovery, the lost blonde stumbled to reply, "He- Wait, what? When was this? And what does that mean, social encounters?"
  
  "Raised from a young age under my watcher's tutelage, I was forbidden from speaking to men," Kendra shared with her curious sister-slayer. "I grew up oblivious to their social sorcery. Because of that disadvantage, I unwittingly experienced the... satisfaction of a woman."
  
  "A woman?" Buffy asked with confusion, and Kendra nodded. "Not a Slayer?" she asked, and the Jamaican shook her head. The blush on her cheeks was unmistakable and the slight wisp of a smile, it dawned on Buffy what the gorgeous islander meant and she hollered with wide eyes, "Kendra! Did you- Did you have sex?"
  
  Kendra didn't even seem embarrassed as she nodded and smoothly answered, "Aye."
  
  "Wow, when it rains, it pours, and I'm totally swimming here," Buffy joked. She was being bombarded with so much information that night and wasn't sure how she felt about it all. Curious about one thing, Buffy leaned closer as she asked, "How was it? Wait, can I ask that? If it's too personal, you don't have to say."
  
  Kendra didn't seem to mind, and answered, "It was unexpectedly otherworldly. I never imagined such pleasure was feasible, let alone possible for me."
  
  Buffy raised her stunned eyebrows as she exhaled. "Wow... Sounds amazing." Recalling all the girls around her in school who gossip about sex, or the magazines she's read about the same subject, Buffy mentioned, "I've heard most first-times aren't so great."
  
  Slightly uncomfortable, Kendra hesitated to ask, "Have you and Angel...?"
  
  Feeling down again, Buffy glumly shook her head before answering, "We're actually not together anymore."
  
  "I see."
  
  Eager to change the subject, Buffy asked, "Do you have a place to stay?"
  
  "There's no shortage of abandoned-"
  
  "Stop," the blonde interrupted. "You're staying at my place. Speaking of, I'll have to lend you my key since we're staying with Xander tonight."
  
  "May I join you?"
  
  Buffy nodded, and they began walking. In less than a minute, Buffy already had dozens of questions trapped in her head and eager to get out, and so couldn't help but ask for details. "So, when did this magical, amazing event happen?"
  
  Kendra was a little embarrassed, looking away and up to the moon above as she answered, "Last time I was here."
  
  Stunned, Buffy returned, "Wait, here in Sunnydale?" At Kendra's nod, the blonde slayer commented, "Mnnn, so that's why Xander talked with your watcher. He's right, you know. You have to be careful with pickup artists, and I don't mean the sleazy ones, either. Those are easy to spot. I mean the genuine kind. They're the worst."
  
  "Pickup artists?" Kendra asked with a curious head tilt.
  
  "Also called Players because they play with women's hearts," Buffy crucially informed the unaware beauty. "You called it social sorcery, and it really is. These men know exactly what to say to convince women to sleep with them. They can be sweet, funny, charming, or even genuine, but never actually mean any of it. They're professional liars and, essentially, the enemy of women everywhere."
  
  Slightly nodding her head in understanding, shaking her raven-haired ponytail, Kendra thoughtfully expressed, "I had not considered Xander to be a player." Buffy drew her brows in, confused as her sister-slayer asked, "In your estimation, is his reputation that of a player ? If so, I won't allow him the satisfaction of toying with me."
  
  Buffy was so confused, she stopped walking to face Kendra and asked, "Xander... Xander? I- I don't understand. What does he have to do with- ...Wait. Kendra, do I... do I know the man you slept with?"
  
  Nodding, he casually answered, "It was the night I met Xander-"
  
  "Oh, my, GOD!" a wide-eyed Buffy called out before covering her mouth with her hand and surprising the Jamaican.
  
  Concerned, Kendra eyed Buffy like she was wounded, asking, "Are you okay?"
  
  Buffy began pacing with her hand on her inflamed cheek as she bafflingly confessed, "I can honestly say I'm the farthest thing from okay there is." She stopped to ask Kendra clearly, "Xander? You're telling me you slept with Xander? My- My friend Xander? Really?" Arms crossed behind her back, Kendra casually nodded, and Buffy stepped away dramatically. "Wow! This is like a punch straight to the brain. I'm learning way too much about my friend too fast."
  
  "Perhaps you did not know your friend as well as you believed."
  
  "That's just great!" Buffy called out, throwing her hands in the air. "Not only did I practically kill his parents, but it turns out there's a whole side of Xander I didn't even know existed."
  
  With something of a wicked smile, Kendra remarked, "I can attest it was a very good side."
  
  Shaking her blonde head like her entire mouth was sour, Buffy called out, " Ewww! Don't say that and make me think about it!"
  
  "As you wish."
  
  Stunned by the revelation, Buffy couldn't believe it. First Cordelia, and now Kendra. It begged the question, ' How? ' Buffy felt certain she knew her lovable, goofy, and loyal friend. ' I thought he was ... I guess I can't expect him to be hung up on me forever, ' she couldn't stop her mind from thinking, then brushed the curious misgiving aside. Buffy didn't mind if he dated other women. It would help her friendship with Xander if he fell in love with a girl who would return his feelings. ' Cordelia practically demanded him back. Kendra doesn 't seem to have any complaints. And they're both uber-attractive... Damn, Xander. You really swing for the fences .'
  
  Turning to the silent, statuesque ebony slayer, Buffy hesitated to ask, "...Was he really that good?"
  
  The gorgeous slayer nodded as she voiced with conviction, " Very ."
  
  ' Oh my God! ' Buffy screamed in her head, cupping her mouth with her hand as a twisted fascination made her wonder what they did and how good Xander was. They began walking again, but Buffy's mind was a knotted mess of thoughts. Though she felt odd inquiring about personal details about her friend, Buffy couldn't help but crave more details and asked, "So... he hit on you and, and, you didn't know how to handle it, so you both ended up... doing it? Is that how it happened?"
  
  The ebony beauty nodded as sternly as ever, stating, "That is why Xander was so adamant I gain more experience dealing with men. He exposed a weakness that I don't want my enemies to exploit."
  
  "Wow, Xander..."
  
  Buffy was quiet throughout the rest of the walk. When they entered the Chase residence, Cordelia informed them Willow was with him and they left it at that.
  
  -X-
  
  Come early morning, Xander found Cordelia, Buffy, and Kendra in the spacious kitchen. The luxury room was exquisitely designed with marble, maple wood, and large windows to let a lot of sunlight in. The only reason it appeared the girls didn't notice him was due to their extreme focus on the ingredients and kitchen wear on the kitchen island in front of them. From the familiar red box to the white flour, it was clear they were trying to make breakfast.
  
  "But I've never heard of salt in pancakes," Cordelia proclaimed, raising the pink salt jar at Buffy. "Salty pancakes? Oh, I'm sure he'd like that," she sarcastically finished.
  
  "I'm reading it from the box! Right here," Buffy heatedly returned, showing the cheerleader the box of pancake mix. "You got a problem with it, take it up with Betty Crocker!"
  
  "Why must we make this when bread and water would suffice?" Kendra asked the two heated girls.
  
  "He loves pancakes," Buffy and Cordelia answered in unison, causing them to eye each other and softening their frustrated facial expressions.
  
  Moving past their odd, synchronous moment with a huff, Cordelia called out, "This is exactly why I didn't want to give Marguerita the day off. How are we supposed to eat now?"
  
  Despite having lost his parents a few days ago, Xander managed a smile as he walked into the kitchen. He wasn't anywhere near better, however, he had developed a strong habit of working out early in the mornings, so his body felt restless if he didn't go. They looked at his sweaty appearance, then upstairs, and Xander assumed they believed he was still in the bedroom with Willow.
  
  Cordelia quickly asked, "Why are you coming in from the front door?"
  
  "...To come inside?" Xander slowly answered, as if it were an apparent conclusion.
  
  "Where've you been?" Buffy asked, moving closer to him.
  
  The other two followed and Xander met them in the middle as he answered the blonde, "Morning workout."
  
  "Are you okay?" Buffy quickly followed, looking at him with deep soulful eyes, as if she were peering into his core for the truth.
  
  Uncomfortable with anyone engaging too deeply at the moment, he simply nodded before turning to the Jamaican slayer. "Hey, Kendra. Welcome back." She nodded her greeting, but he hugged her. Cordelia and Buffy watched the surprised slayer eventually lean her head into the hug as her strong caramel arms halfway hugged him back.
  
  "Thank you," she replied as they separated. "I wish it were under better circumstances."
  
  "What's going on?" Xander asked, thinking of how much he missed hearing her Jamaican Patio accent.
  
  "We don't have to get into it now," Buffy quickly interjected. The blonde moved to the kitchen island once again and grabbed the box of pancake mix as she voiced, "Our plate is officially at maximum capacity. It's gonna break if we add any more."
  
  "I heard about your parents," Kendra softly expressed to him. "I'm sorry."
  
  "Thank you," Xander replied with a tight smile, still conflicted about his decision to go back and grief-stricken at the same time.
  
  Before he could say any more, the four heard hurried footsteps coming from the second level, down the stairs, through the living room, and to the kitchen. Willow looked frantic in her bunny pajamas, red strands of her bed hair pressed to her face, but at the sight of him, she calmed down. Then, as if remembering what happened to her best friend, she rushed to hug him.
  
  "I'm super stinky, Wills," he said to the girl, hugging him tightly. Fortunately, Dreadnought healed most of his injuries by that point, and the pain flaring within him wasn't as severe as before.
  
  "I like stinky," Willow simply responded, eyes closed as her head caressed against his chest. "Stinky is good."
  
  For the second time that morning, Xander smiled, then asked, "Do me a favor?"
  
  "Anything," she replied, looking up at him without letting go.
  
  With a soft expression, he asked, "It looks like three out of the four strongest girls I know are losing to an evil box of pancake mix. Help 'em out?"
  
  She nodded with her cute smile and proclaimed, "If there's cinnamon, I'll make your favorite cinnamon brown sugar!"
  
  "Thanks," he said, before telling them, "I'm going to hop in the shower."
  
  When freshly clean Xander came down for breakfast, the girls discussed the logistics of everything he needed to do that day. He assured them he was fine, and they talked a bit about what Kendra was doing there. Despite his early morning exercise, Xander felt no appetite and barely touched his pancakes. Cordelia and Willow asked him to eat some more, however, it wasn't until Buffy backed them up that he did.
  
  While Buffy and Kendra left to meet with Giles, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia went to the police station to file a missing persons report on his parents. He answered their questions as best he could; Full name or names of the missing, date of birth, and social security number; Physical descriptions; Details of where and when they were last seen or heard from; Details of any vehicle that may be involved; And any known travel plans or destinations. The hardest question was when he noticed they were missing.
  
  Answering the officer, "N-Nearly a week," made him feel like a shitty son again.
  
  Then they asked about the habits and personalities of the missing. Smoking, drinking, prescription drugs, known haunts, type of personality, values & philosophy, friendly or depressed, or if they have emotional problems. Xander hated voicing the terrible truths of his home life to complete strangers, showcasing to them how ugly his family truly was. Worse yet, he didn't have to tell them anything, since he already knew where his parents were. However, he couldn't deny he deserved to be hated for how terrible of a son he was.
  
  Despite what anyone said, Xander knew he could save them. All he had to do was step off a very tall building, and he'd be back in his disgusting room. Anthony and Jessica Harris would be sleeping off their drunken stupor, and that uncomfortable, vile, but familiar life would be his once again. Xander wasn't sure he wanted that, however; he knew the longer he waited to decide, the harder it would be to turn back. The young man wanted out of the year-loop, and he had a little under nine months to go.
  
  "That's one pregnancy; that's nothing," he mumbled to himself as he walked through the halls of the precinct to his friends in the waiting area.
  
  Afterward, Willow left to go through Jenny's things to find clues for ensouling vampires, and Cordelia stayed with him at Wild Dinks. She brought a stack of magazines and pulled up a chair next to his workstation to read as he worked. The guys at the shop were curious, and after telling them a short version of what happened, they let him work in peace. Xander blocked the world away as easily as closing a door when he worked over his anvil, and he was so grateful for it.
  
  After a few hours, Cordelia was relieved by Willow, and then Willow was relieved by Buffy. He felt appreciative of them and the care they'd shown him, but nothing took away the guilt of what this ordeal uncovered; being a terrible son. Every time he stopped to take a break from the fire and superheated metal, all he thought of was how he could go back and save them, but because he was unwilling to sacrifice half a year of forward progress, he basically allowed his parents to remain dead.
  
  ' We really are- were the worst family ,' he mentally mused.
  
  All his thoughts went toward trying to justify this decision: his parents were drunks, abusive, and neglectful; they were more like roommates than blood relatives; even Old Man Xander didn't foster a better relationship with them in adulthood. Stopping them from becoming vampires in a new loop would not change him or them. Xander didn't feel an overwhelming need to loop back to save them, and that could only be because he didn't consider them a true family, which made him feel less human and more like a monster.
  
  It's possible Xander didn't care as much as he should, because, as Merlin warned, the high number of times he looped had desensitized him. To his dread, however, he also felt it wouldn't matter if there wasn't a time-loop. In the end, Xander came to the painful decision to save them if , by some terrible outcome, he was forced to loop back again. It felt like a flimsy excuse, but until then, he'd force himself to continue on.
  
  A touch on his shoulder caused a fright in him so badly, his spine stiffened and his skin felt like it was crawling. He turned to the stunning sight of Cordelia holding in her grin. Xander set the handle he was wrapping in leather down as she apologized for startling him.
  
  "It's fine," he said, waving her apology off. "You're back."
  
  "We've been switching all day," Cordelia answered as she eyed his untouched food. "Eat," she ordered.
  
  He looked into her stern brown eyes for a moment, and could feel how seriously she meant it. Fortunately, his stomach did feel as if it was eating itself. Xander took a bite of the PB&J before opening the bag of chips. Cordelia asked, "How are you feeling?"
  
  "Honestly? Numb," he answered between large mouthfuls. "They were shitty parents, but... but they were my parents. So, I'm guilty of being a shitty son for feeling that way."
  
  "You're not a shitty son," Cordelia quickly contested. "A terrible dresser, no doubt. But I know you would've saved them if you could."
  
  Turning to her, he asked, "Would I?" He wasn't going to tell her about repeating time because he still had hope he could make it out of the year-loop, however, he wanted her to understand the possibilities of their world. "With slayers, vampires, witches, all sorts of crazy magic and spells- I got the memories of a Navy SEAL because I dressed as one for Halloween. How could there not be a way to save them?"
  
  "Oh, yeah, because raising the dead always turns out okay," Cordelia sarcastically returned. "I can't cheer you up if you're going to be stupid about this."
  
  "If this is you trying to cheer me up, cuz Guantanamo Bay could use it to interrogate prisoners."
  
  "Maybe, but I got a joke out of you, so it's my win," she said with a smile, making him feel amused. Then Cordelia leaned in and kissed his cheek. The stunning girl looked deeply into his eyes and he knew he shouldn't push for more than he already had. She must've seen his hesitation and said, "It's okay. Don't worry about the extra stuff right now. I'm just too fantastic of a friend to not be here for you."
  
  He huffed something of a smile before replying, "Thanks, Cordy."
  
  Looking at the leather wrap with the metal menuki fittings on the table and within the bindings, the curious cheerleader asked, "So, you almost done? Not that I need my beauty sleep or anything. It's more like beauty sleep needs me."
  
  With half a smile, Xander relieved her of duty and answered, "You can head back. I'll walk home."
  
  Aghast, Cordelia asked incredulously, "You still want to work?"
  
  "Just a little longer."
  
  Turning to her chair, she grumbled, "Fine, I'll stay-"
  
  "You don't have-"
  
  "I'm not leaving you alone," she point-blank told him. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before compromising, "But can you at least make some jewelry?"
  
  Struck by the static electricity of an epiphany, Xander instantly thought of accessories and apparel that amplified the power of legendary Gods; the Ring of Power Eitri made for Odin, the golden ring of Draupnir, Thor's belt of power, Megingjörð, and his iron gloves, Járngreipr. When worn, Thor's belt of power, Megingjörð, was described as doubling his already prodigious strength. Járngreipr, the iron gloves, allowed the God of Thunder to handle his powerful hammer, Mjölnir. While iron gloves and a WWF-thick belt might be too ostentatious for the day and age, there was a lot of potential behind mixing those runes with the golden ring of Draupnir.
  
  The ring of power was a significant ring Eitri and his brother Brokkr presented to Odin. Draupnir multiplied the wearer's need, so long as there's already precedent for it; needing more strength will push the muscles to the very edge of their ability, or possibly beyond; Growing hair, changing eye color, healing faster, natural camouflaging, and so many more possibilities. The potential of a ring like that was so tantalizing, Xander stopped thinking of his parents for nearly a minute.
  
  The master smith began the project immediately, using Eitri's memories to write out everything he needed to complete this series of constructs. He imagined the first ring wouldn't work that well, so he planned to make as many as it took to get a powerful ring.
  
  The slayers came by a few hours later, and Kendra escorted Cordelia home while Buffy stayed with Xander. The silence between them extended for minutes longer than Buffy seemed capable of withstanding. Xander could tell she seemed eager-nearly amused-to say something, and eventually asked, "So... Cordelia..."
  
  The look on Buffy's eagerly inquisitive face-a mix of wide, knowing eyes, a curt smile, and a hungry expression-was all Xander needed to ask in bafflement, "She told you?"
  
  "So it's true!?" the befuddled, yet amused Buffy yelled in the empty shop. "Cordelia? Really? She's so not meant for you! She's like the anti-Xander."
  
  "Nice," Xander said, giving her props for the joke.
  
  "Thanks," Buffy replied, proud of herself.
  
  "Some people would say that's a good match," Xander remarked.
  
  "You mean being polar opposites?" Buffy asked before answering, "I can't see how."
  
  "I thought you'd be a little more understanding."
  
  "How could I possibly understand that?" Xander raised his eyebrows, and Buffy seemed to recall the opposite trait of her own love interest. "Okay, yes, the vampire slayer fell in love with a vampire. Can that please stop being a thing?"
  
  ' Not just one ,' Xander nauseously thought.
  
  "I could at least share anything with Angel," Buffy pointed out. "I can't even imagine what you and Cordelia talk about. Do you even have anything in common?"
  
  "She doesn't have a good home life either," Xander gravely pointed out, and the not-so-distant memory of his parents' death fell on them like a ton of bricks. Buffy went silent, however, Xander pushed on, saying, "My parents are... I guess they were alcoholics. Hers are drunks for money and prestige. If I wasn't such a loser and she wasn't Queen Cordelia , I don't doubt we could've been even closer."
  
  As if recalling something, Buffy thoughtfully revealed, "She said she understood you. I thought she said that just to prove her point. But I guess she really does."
  
  "She still drives me up the walls like the Exorcist," Xander lightly joked, without much humor. "But I can't say I don't get where she's coming from."
  
  "Why not date her then?"
  
  "As much as I care about her-as I'll always care about her-I'm just not sure the sun sets with her, you know?"
  
  "Yeah... I guess." After a long beat of silence between them, a nervous and eager Buffy asked with a higher pitch, "And does that magical sun happen to set with Kendra?"
  
  The smirking look of knowing on Buffy's gossip-happy face was all he needed to ask, " She told you? " With a restrained smile plastered on her face, Buffy nodded eagerly as Xander exclaimed, "What the hell? Are you using magic on these people?"
  
  "I should be the one asking you the same thing!" the grinning blonde hotly returned. "Kendra!? Like, how'd that even happen!?"
  
  "Hey, I'll have you know that I have no game at picking up girls," he promptly assured her, despite his talent to pick up beautiful strangers. "You think I could just ' turn on the charm ' with a girl as gorgeous as Kendra, and ' make it happen? ' I was as surprised about that night as anyone else!"
  
  Leaning in closely, Buffy quickly asked, "Did you know she was a slayer? Cuz that's a pretty big coincidence."
  
  "Maybe I'm just drawn to slayers," he smugly said with a shoulder shrug. "Or I just hit on the one exotic beauty who didn't understand how to navigate flirting. In all seriousness, I feel like I took advantage of her. It sucks not being on an even playing field, you know?"
  
  "You're asking the girl who's always stronger than all the cute guys she meets," Buffy simply put, and Xander nodded. The blonde then asked, "Is that why you yelled at her watcher? Kendra said you made him so mad."
  
  "She needs to learn," Xander adamantly asserted. "What if I had been a baddie?"
  
  "No, yeah, I get it," she quickly agreed. "Did you know she wants you to train her in the uh... social sorcery?"
  
  Quirking his brow a moment, he asked, "Social sorcery?" Then, figuring out what that meant, he asked, "Really? How?"
  
  "I don't know... maybe in a dark room?" Buffy's cheeks blushed deep red at her own joke.
  
  Xander smiled from his soul to see that, then playfully asked, "Was that the Buffy Summers admitting boys and girls do more than smoochies in a dark room?"
  
  "Hey!" she quickly protested. "I'm not some prude who can't talk about... You know- s-sex. I just... Why even bring it up?"
  
  "No pun intended," Xander quickly interjected.
  
  "Oh, shut up," Buffy cutely whined at his perverted joke. "I just mean, of all things private in the world, nuclear launch codes, and aggressive cuddling should be kept from the public."
  
  Looking at her suspiciously, Xander slyly asked, "So, you don't want to ask me for details?"
  
  The blonde seventeen-year-old looked heavily conflicted before hesitantly answering, "I guess? I don't know. I've never had a guy friend like you before, especially one that lost his virginity. Like, are we supposed to pretend it never happened, or do I give you a high five? I don't know the standard operating procedure here."
  
  "I wouldn't mind a high five," Xander admitted. "But that's just because I like high fives in general." Buffy raised her hand and Xander effortlessly slapped her raised palm with a clear CLAP. He then continued, "Look, ask what you want to know, and don't ask what you don't."
  
  "What if it's all just confusing?"
  
  "I guess you figure out why it's confusing," he suggested. "Which I just realized the subject of is my love life."
  
  "I know! I'm just going to- ...just, tell me what you're making."
  
  "A ring for you." At her widened greenish-blue eyes, Xander quickly added, "Not a wedding ring! Just a ring that could do stuff. Stuff like the weapons I make can."
  
  "Oh. Good," Buffy said with palpable relief. "That's good."
  
  "Actually, Cordy gave me the idea," Xander affirmed. "I figure since I can't sleep, I might as well do something useful."
  
  Her humored expression morphed to that of concern before she confessed, "You getting sleep would be very useful to me."
  
  Xander nodded for nearly seven seconds before softly admitting, "...I keep seeing them." Buffy let him work for a few hours before Giles and Willow showed up. Despite the early morning, Willow appeared wired, like she was on her sixth cup of coffee, and explained what she found on one of Jenny's floppy drives.
  
  "I just need a day to gather the ingredients," she told him enthusiastically. "Then I can cast the curse to ensoul Spike tomorrow night."
  
  Giles then warned his young fighters about the statue of Acathla and what could be done with it if it fell in the wrong hands. "The demon universe exists in a dimension separate from our own," the watcher started. "With one breath, Acathla can create a vortex- a kind of whirlpool that will pull everything on earth into that dimension. Any non-demon life in the demon dimension will suffer horrible and eternal torment."
  
  Wincing at the grim stakes, Buffy asked, "So, that would be the literal ' sucked into hell ?'"
  
  "Yeah, that's the part I'm really not a fan of," Willow told Buffy and Xander.
  
  "Oh, joy," Xander sarcastically added before Giles drove them to Cordelia's house, where Buffy and Willow spent the night again.
  
  When they got there, Xander was happy to learn the peppy Cordelia took Kendra under her wing and eagerly shared all her hard-earned wisdom with the gorgeous Jamaican. While Willow and Buffy slept in one room, Xander slept alone in a guest room, until Cordelia snuck into his bed. She was wearing the skimpiest bed-wear and hugged him close. Despite the grief on his mind weighing down his heart, his body responded to her comforting warmth and alluring scent. Her hand caressed his naked chest, and very soon, Xander was erect.
  
  "Don't worry," she whispered as she lowered herself between his legs. "Just relax and I'll take care of it."
  
  Removing his boxers, Cordelia wrapped her right hand around his jutting cock, fondling it gently before covering his meat-pole with her beautiful mouth. Xander groaned deeply as she sucked hungrily on his warm, jutting manhood, her lips caressing every inch of his length. The friction of her tongue caressing his sensitive glands made him curl his toes as he spasmed from bouts of pleasure. Her bobbing head grew faster as her hands tightened around the base of his shaft and swollen balls.
  
  "Jezuss, Cor," he gasped, closing his eyes in bliss as his hands dug deeper into her voluminous brunette hair.
  
  Sucking intently on his prick, Cordelia ran her suctioned mouth up and down the sides of his pulsing shaft, leaving trails of saliva across the velvety surface. She rubbed her pert nose against the underside of Xander's member when she moved down to sucking his balls, licking and stroking each aching orb of his flesh until Xander was sure he'd nut then and there. He felt like his entire being was in her mouth, sucking out more pleasure than he felt humanly capable of.
  
  Groaning deeply, Xander jerked his hips, letting her know he wasn't far from blowing. Cordelia moved to the tip of his manhood before completely deep-throating his erection, gripping the sides of her head with more strength. She let his cock slide into her throat, her tongue swirling all around him, basting his erect meat with her warm saliva as she sucked hungrily.
  
  Xander couldn't last another second, and his jutting body spasmed as he exploded in her sucking mouth. Cordelia happily fed on thick globs of his man-milk until his tense body completely collapsed on the bed, spent and overwhelmed with satisfaction.
  
  After she slid up and cuddled beside him, Xander happily gasped, "Wow, Cordy, that was amazing!"
  
  "Someone was backed up," she slyly voiced, licking her full lips.
  
  "It's been a while," he sheepishly confessed, enthralled by the sight of her sexy face. "You didn't have to do that, you know."
  
  "Are you kidding me?" she snorted. "I haven't stopped thinking about it since I saw you in that speedo."
  
  "Huh... I never considered fashion had that kind of effect on a girl," he lightly voiced as he held her close. "I mean, on guys, sure. Anything a girl wears will trip that wire, but on girls? No clue."
  
  "That's because you care more about being a good person than how you dress," Cordelia sweetly voiced in the room's darkness. "I still hate what you wear, but I can tolerate it because I know what a good guy you are."
  
  Gently placing the back of his hand on her forehead, Xander checked her temperature before stating, "That was literally the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
  
  Lightly jabbing his side, she retorted, "It nearly gave me a hernia, so don't expect it again."
  
  He chuckled, held her close, and the pair went to sleep, however, Xander could remain so for long. The following morning, Xander woke up before dawn to exercise and was uplifted when Buffy was waiting for him. He happily agreed to working out together, then regretted it twenty minutes later. Xander's never worked out so hard in his life. Buffy had the strength, stamina, and speed of a hundred men, so nothing he did could truly impress her. To prove it, she did twenty wide-grip pull-ups with his entire body hanging off of her waist.
  
  On the way back, Buffy offered to spar later, prompting him to ask between gasps, "Really?"
  
  "Of course," she cheerfully replied. "After that vampire, and Dodd, and Spike-" And at the mention of Spike, Xander recalled his parents yet again, and his failures as a son and a human being. But Buffy grabbed his hand, and with her bright smile, continued, "You don't have to if you don't want. I just meant you're so good... we could spar, is all."
  
  "It's fine, Buff," he softly reassured her. With a faint smile, he added, "It may not sound like it, but I'd love to."
  
  Xander spent the school day ignoring class and polishing the second ring he finished fabricating and grinding. He incorporated the runes ᛞ, ᛊ ᛋ, ᚠ for ' multiply ,' ' power ,' and, ' coin ,' just like the Golden Ring of Draupnir, and additionally fit the rune ᚾ, for ' need ,' like he had with Dreadnought. He expected it to drip gold rings or strengthen him somehow, but even though there was a small glow after he voiced the incantation, it's done nothing as of yet.
  
  Minutes after sundown, Angel came to the library and delivered terrible news. The tall vampire told everyone that Spike and Drusilla had stolen the statue of Acathla and killed the curator. "But I know where they're going to be," he finished.
  
  Giles, Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia turned to Xander, but he looked at Willow. She was setting up the long table for the ritual with the Orb of Thesulah in the middle. Turning into slayer mode, Buffy asked Angel, "Where?"
  
  "Midnight tonight, at the graveyard," Angel answered. "Spike needs something to release Acathla."
  
  Recalling the same separation from the Old Man's memories, Xander quickly voiced, "It's a trap, if I've ever heard one. How lucky are we to learn exactly what Spike needs to release Acathla? And of course, by lucky, I mean suspicious."
  
  "I was pretty thorough in my questioning," Angel said in his defense.
  
  Buffy looked between Angel and Xander for a long moment before shaking her head and turning to Xander. "Even if it is a trap, we have to go. If there's a chance Spike could be there, Angel and I could-" Buffy put her hand up as Xander was about to protest. "We could capture him. Knowing it's a trap will help us set one up for him instead." Softly, she added, "And if he's fighting us, he's not fighting you."
  
  Xander couldn't be sure if she was protecting him, making a tactical mistake, or both. Buffy grabbed Slaymore and strapped it to her hip. She was buttoning her blue long coat as she looked between Kendra and Xander and asserted, "You two to stay here and protect Willow, just in case."
  
  Before Xander could say anything else, Giles asserted, "Good luck," as if approving the plan, and everyone else got to work. Xander was torn between speaking up or doing things differently. He knew Drusilla came to the library with a handful of vampires, however, Xander, Kendra, and Giles should be able to handle that many. Additionally, he had Dreadnought. Xander felt confident they could repel any force, so he let Buffy go without arguing for a different plan of action.
  
  Buffy and Angel promptly left while Kendra, Xander, Cordelia, Giles, and Willow remained in the library to perform the spell. With Dreadnought resting on his shoulder, Xander patrolled the halls, checking to make sure doors were locked, and badgering Giles and Kendra to stay alert. Then he was called back when Willow was nearly ready.
  
  Xander stayed close to the entrance with Kendra while Giles and Cordelia assisted in the ritual. At the dropping of six white stones, Willow nodded to Giles, and they were set to begin. Then Kendra's supernatural hearing picked up a distant metal scratching against the tile floor. The barricades Xander set up to create choke points were being pushed aside, slowing the group of vampires approaching.
  
  "They're here," the Jamaican slayer told the room. Willow looked toward Giles, and the elder seemed conflicted.
  
  Xander just wanted to get it over with and gripped Dreadnought at the ready as he told Giles with clear conviction, "We'll hold them off." However, Xander was expecting Drusilla and a handful of vampires, not the large number coming from the front and breaking through the windows of the upstairs rear section of the library.
  
  With one look at the battle-ready Kendra, they knew there was no other choice but to divide their forces. Xander rushed upstairs to handle the five vampires breaking in while Kendra handled the seven vampires-including Drusilla-stalking through the front entrance. Cordelia and Willow stayed close to each other as Xander sprinted past them, contemplating what the best strategy would be to defend everyone in the room from a dozen vampires.
  
  Typically, Xander had the option of retreating to create space, which created an opportunity to attack, however, running from the demons here meant one or more could veer off and attack Cordelia, Willow, or Giles. Wide swings of his weapon would also be tough around the tight space between bookcases, however, Xander smiled as he thought of a plan.
  
  Xander threw Dreadnought with a vertical spin and each of the five vampires avoided it, telling him they knew of his weapon. It meant Spike prepared them for what to expect, which is likely why there were more vampires than Old Man Xander had faced.
  
  When the vampires stopped to dodge the massive battleaxe, Xander dropped the bookcase on the first two. Dreadnought was lodged in a wall as Xander back-stepped past another bookcase. Three more vampires chased, and when Xander called Dreadnought to his hand, they dodged the weapon again, allowing the teen to shove the bookcase on two more vampires. With more space, Xander was better able to swing his magically lighter weapon against the five angry vampires.
  
  Xander parried an ill-advised spinning heel kick from the first vampire before cutting deeply into his leg. He attacked while keeping them in front, dodging or blocking their series of telegraphed kicks and punches. Wind from their fast attacks rushed by his ears, millimeters away, however, Xander didn't panic. Though they were faster and stronger, the young warrior was the better fighter and tactician. Through quick combinations of snap punches, Xander slipped or blocked with the wood handle of his axe effortlessly.
  
  The axe-wielding teen parried another kick and cut the leg clean off, ripping a scream out of the second vampire's throat. He lobbed Dreadnought horizontally at two vamps who caught it and immediately were pulled down to the floor, as if the axe suddenly weighed tons more than their strength could lift. Xander staked the vampire that lost his leg before fighting the last fanged demon.
  
  The two vampires stuck to the floor pulled with all their might as Xander fought with a single vampire. He slipped his telegraphed punches, but blocking without Dreadnought was already hurting his arms down to the bone. Dodging low, he grabbed a loose book from the floor and tossed it at his head. The vampire dodged, only to be met with the point of his stake in the eye. The creature of the night yelled as it pulled away, then soon turned into dust after Xander staked the distracted vampire in the heart. At the scream, Xander risked a glance toward the lower part of the library, and was just in time to watch Drusilla slit Kendra's throat.
  
  " No! " Xander yelled as he noted two vampires grabbing Giles, while another struck Willow in the face before chasing Cordelia.
  
  Xander quickly stabbed the two vampires struggling to remove their hands from under Dreadnought, turning them to dust, before leaping over the railing to chase the vampire threatening Cordelia. Xander focused his rising rage on decapitating the homicidal demon, turning it into dust and sadly covering Cordelia in the gray ash. He quickly spun to see that Giles, Drusilla, and the remaining vampires were gone.
  
  Mentally setting them aside, he ran toward the wounded slayer and slid to her side. Her left hand was covered in blood, but to her side, as if she had tried to stop the profuse bleeding before losing strength to keep her palm tightly pressed to her neck. The way her bright red blood was pooling around her, Xander figured it was her left external jugular vein and prayed he wasn't too late.
  
  Without a second to lose, Xander put Dreadnought in her hand and instructed either Kendra or the axe to heal, then slipped his untested Odin's Ring of Power on her finger as Willow brought the first-aid bag from Giles' office. Cordelia called 911 while Xander applied pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding, but she was hemorrhaging so much blood, his hands were coated in inky red. Even unconscious, more blood continued gushing out, however, the only reason Xander didn't stop applying pressure was because Kendra still gripped Dreadnought. There was nothing else they could do but hope his magical items accelerated Kendra's superhuman healing enough to close the cut to her jugular vein.
  
  What felt like a lifetime later, Cordelia rushed into the library with the paramedics behind her. After Xander hastened to explain the axe was stuck to her hand, the medical professionals took her along with the weapon. Xander refused to stay and jumped in the ambulance while Cordelia and Willow followed behind them. Rushing Kendra up the hospital's ramp, Xander's heart stopped when she dropped the axe. Xander tried to put it back in her hand, but they wouldn't let him and she was rushed to surgery. After storing Dreadnought in Cordelia's car, the three waited in the sitting area while Kendra was in surgery.
  
  Willow called Oz and asked him to look around for Buffy, and Xander called Zabuto to inform him what happened. The elder watcher appreciated the call and simply asked to know if she died or not before hanging up. Considering the surgery hadn't ended, it annoyed Xander how little the man seemed to care. It made Xander wonder about the humanity of a watcher, and how unorthodox Giles really was. Buffy showed up an hour later and the gang huddled together in the hall to talk about what happened.
  
  "I thought we set a good trap, but they had a bigger force than I expected," Buffy told them. Glumly, she hesitated to share, "Now... they have Angel."
  
  Buffy clearly feared what they would do to her vampire love, however, Xander quickly informed her, "They took Giles too."
  
  Buffy's eyes widened with even more concern. She rubbed her face in growing frustration before turning to Xander and asserting, "I need you."
  
  "You got me," he quickly replied before turning to Willow and asking, "Can you do the spell here?"
  
  "I- The library's ambient magic would be much better," Willow explained. "It's why we went there instead of someplace more defensible."
  
  "Is that a no?" Buffy asked.
  
  Willow took a deep breath, eying each of her friends, her boyfriend, and Cordelia before proclaiming, "I'll try."
  
  "Do it," Buffy told her before she and Xander left.
  
  The first location the teenagers ran toward was Giles' apartment. They hoped there would be a trashed home where a clue as to where they took the watcher would be. Instead, the pair ran into a stranger. The short Caucasian male walked down the steps of the second floor a few seconds after they rushed in. While a sweaty Xander was catching his breath, Buffy yelled at the intruder dressed in a brown suit, mustard yellow dress shirt, and a brown fedora hat.
  
  "Who are you?" she demanded to know.
  
  "Whistler," he simply answered, calmly stepping up to her.
  
  "What are you doing here?"
  
  Whistler candidly replied, "Waiting for you." Leaning to the side to spot Xander, he added, "You're a surprise, though. Huh... weird."
  
  "Why were you waiting for me?" Buffy asked Whistler.
  
  "It wasn't supposed to go down like this," the clean-shaven man admitted. Walking around the apartment, he explained to the teenagers, "I figured Angel was here to stop Acathla, not to bring him forth."
  
  "What do you mean?" Buffy sternly demanded. "He wouldn't do that."
  
  "I got it on good authority that he would," Whistler stated with something of a Brooklyn accent. "What are you going to do if he's not the vamp you remember? Or, maybe I should ask, ' What are you prepared to give up? ' "
  
  Shaking her head in growing frustration, Buffy asserted, "You don't have anything useful for me, do you? What are you? Some immortal demon sent down to even the score between good and evil?"
  
  "Wow, that's actually a good guess," a surprised Whistler said. "You must ace all your tests without a lick of studying."
  
  Buffy aggressively got in his face and proclaimed, "Why don't you try getting off of your immortal ass and fighting evil once in a while? Cuz I'm sick and tired of doing it myself."
  
  "Uh, hello," Xander defensively called out, raising his three-foot battle axe for emphasis.
  
  "Sorry," Buffy quickly amended. "I meant us."
  
  "No, you had it right the first time," Whistler said between them. "In the end, we're always by ourselves. You are all you've got. That's the point of it all."
  
  "Spare me," Buffy said before walking to the door. Reaching Xander, she told him, "Come on. He's wasting our time."
  
  Watching the teens leave, Whistler voiced loudly, "The sword isn't enough!"
  
  Buffy was intent on leaving, and though Xander didn't remember all the details, Old Man Xander did remember one thing, and demanded of Whistler, "Could they be at a mansion?"
  
  Buffy turned to her best friend and asked, "What mansion?"
  
  Whistler swallowed audibly as Xander stated as truth, "One of the vampires I dusted mentioned something about a mansion."
  
  "There shouldn't be too many mansions in Sunnydale," a hopeful Buffy remarked. Turning to Whistler, she added, "Unless you want to save us the trouble and just tell us where they are." Whistler stayed silent, and Buffy nodded, noting, "No surprise there."
  
  Before they made it to the door, a desperate Whistler called out, "Angel's the key!" The teens looked at each other before walking back to the man in the Fedora. He confessed, "Angel's blood will open the door to hell. If Acathla opens his big mouth, creates a vortex, only Angel's blood can close it. Sending them both to hell."
  
  Xander didn't like the idea of Angel going to hell. He wasn't sure if that would loop him back or not. He knew Angel went to hell a few times from Old Man Xander's memories. The rules of the time braid might have allowed that, but he couldn't shake the feeling that was only wishful thinking. Thus far, Jenny had died, his parents died, Kendra may die, and Angel must die if Acathla was released. The time looper thought it was good enough that he was just surviving, but clearly, he was no help to anyone else.
  
  In Giles' apartment, glancing at the slayer beside him, he thought to himself, ' I need to do better .'
  
  "You may want to check Crawford Street first," Whistler offered, and the teens eyed each other. "I strongly suggest you get there before the vortex opens, 'cause the faster you kill Angel, the easier it's going to be on ya."
  
  "We won't need to kill him because he's not evil," a stern Buffy assured the certain half-demon.
  
  Xander wondered what was going on in Buffy's mind. This conversation stemmed from a destiny between Buffy and Angel, a destiny that had nothing to do with a nobody like himself, and he didn't like it. He worked so hard to build himself up, and the idea that it wouldn't be enough to merit any consideration with a destined girl like Buffy just made him feel rejected. It made him wonder if he wasn't good enough-no matter what he did-and he feared the answer to that question.
  
  "It's all on the line here, kid," Whistler told Buffy, but for a moment, Xander thought he was talking to him.
  
  "Don't worry about me," the blonde slayer gravely voiced. "I can deal... because I have nothing left to lose." Again, Xander thought to object to her solo act, however, as she left the apartment, he felt she wasn't talking about her friends. He gave Whistler one last look before following Buffy.
  
  It was nearly midnight by the time the pair made it to Crawford Street. The old abandoned mansion at the end of the serpentine road gave off an old Mayan temple feel. Weeds bloomed around the cracked street, and the grass was waist-height and unkempt. The three-story mansion comprised of two buildings, the main house, and a smaller chauffeur's apartment garage, separated by an unkempt paved courtyard. The main house had a long horizontal loggia spine on the northern side, connecting open and private rooms to the south. And of the many windows on the property, only one showed dim lighting.
  
  Xander barely caught his breath as Buffy asserted, "Save Angel first, then Giles."
  
  At his surprised expression, she was going to explain herself before his strategic mind caught up and answered, "So he can help us fight Spike and Drusilla. Got it." She nodded and Xander couldn't stop himself from asking, "Um, about what Whistler said-"
  
  "He's not evil," Buffy confidently interjected. "No matter how much we're hurting, I know he'd never release Acathla."
  
  Thinking of all the alone time she spent together with Angel-after the poltergeists and the der Kindestod-Xander hesitated to ask, "So, you two never... you know?" When she sternly eyed him without blinking, he nodded, voicing, "Right. Of course. I knew that."
  
  Walking through the foyer of the main building, they soon heard faint groaning-pain-filled wails-through the old and decrepit walls, then rushed ahead. With their weapons in hand, they reached a terrace toward the center of the main house and spotted a few vampires between them and their injured friends. Spike and Drusilla were trying to force a heavily weakened Angel to grab the sword from the stone statue of Acathla while Giles was being beaten by a few vampires for fun.
  
  Buffy and Xander stormed the spacious terrace and ran through the handful of vampires there. Xander threw Dreadnought, decapitating one, and forcing two to catch it while Buffy danced through her enemies, cutting limbs and necks off with the sharp edge of Slaymore. Xander would toss and call back Dreadnought, slicing through their enemies like a Yo-Yo blender. The pair made quick work of the few vampires, forcing Spike to throw Angel at Buffy.
  
  The blonde slayer caught her love while Xander rushed to help Giles. Xander wondered why Spike and Drusilla gave them up so easily until the blond vampire doubled over in pain. Spike held his chest desperately, as if a searing ball of fire was scorching his undead lungs and heart. Agonized, he beat his chest to get the pain out and groaned in fear. As if realizing what was happening to him, the unbalanced Drusilla screamed as well.
  
  "Nooooaaaaahhhhhh!" Spike yelled, rolling around on the floor.
  
  Helping Giles up, Xander knew then that Willow was the cause of their suffering. As long as Spike didn't die and Acathla wasn't released, Xander was counting their night as a raving success. Then Angel, tossing Buffy aside, yelled out with deep concern, "Dru!"
  
  A stunned Buffy stared at Angel skeptically, and through a fog of confusion, repeated, "Dru?"
  
  Giles was desperately motioning something terrible with his hands, yelling through his mouth gag. A sinister smile spread Angel's demonic face before he punched Buffy so hard in the face, she flew back seven feet before rolling to a sliding stop. Angel rushed to the wailing Drusilla as Xander quickly removed Giles' mouth gag.
  
  The beaten & bloody Englishman strained to take a deep breath before yelling, "He's not, haah , Angel!" Shaken and dazed, Buffy was bleeding from her nose and cut lip as she slowly made her way to her feet. Her watcher loudly clarified, "He's Angelus!"
  
  Xander couldn't understand how that was possible. Unless she lied to him, Buffy confirmed she hadn't had sex with Angel, however, he couldn't solve that mystery at the moment. Giles whispered to him, "Destroy the statue," which Xander quickly did with a powerful throw of his magical axe. Angelus was lifting Drusilla, as he watched the statue of Acathla blow outward from a precise hit of Dreadnought, and crumble to dust and dozens of jagged stone pieces.
  
  In all his horrific glory, Angelus turned to Xander, "Oh, Xander... I'm going to enjoy killing you."
  
  Helping him walk, Xander assisted Giles to Buffy's confused side as she asked, "Wha- What happened? I thought he wouldn't- We broke up!"
  
  From atop a few steps, holding Drusilla up while Spike coughed and struggled on the floor, Angelus happily taunted Buffy, replying, "Sad I couldn't be the one to pop that juicy cherry of yours. I would've loved to hear your sweet lips moan my name when I filled you to the brim. Hell, if you don't give it up to the white knight there, I might still get the chance. Forewarning, it'll get rough," he stated with a sinister smile.
  
  Buffy struggled for any shred of understanding, begging with tears welling up in her bluish-green eyes, "H-How? Angel, please."
  
  "Sorry, baby girl. No Angel here," the vicious vampire gleefully revealed. "Just Angelus the Scourge." Spike shot up to his feet and started running away.
  
  "Spike," Drusilla called as she chased after him.
  
  Before Angelus left, he smiled wickedly at the distraught and confused Buffy, relishing the singular expression before departing with, "Till next time, my love."
  
  The beaten three slowly left the mansion as Giles explained how Drusilla hypnotized him and made him see Ms. Calendar in order to learn how to bring Acathla to life. Giles then witnessed Drusilla hypnotize Angel next. As they walked the incredibly dark street down the serpentine driveway, the watcher informed them how he heard a hypnotized Angel say, "' Buffy. '"
  
  "Me?" a confused Buffy repeated.
  
  Giles nodded before answering, "Yes, as if he were actually seeing you. I imagine it was just as convincing for him as it was for me." Despite how distraught Buffy was getting, Giles continued saying, "Drusilla led him to another room for half an hour. I heard- well, the typical sounds of- of, um, p-passion, one might hear when they are- well-" Xander placed his palm on Giles' shoulder, nodding in understanding and the distraught and quiet Buffy nearly stumbled to hear the retelling. Giles finished with, "When they returned, he was no longer their captive, and they now had everything they needed to awaken Acathla."
  
  They took Giles to the hospital for treatment and the librarian detailed to the police that he tried to stop the men who attacked the library. Giles' story lined up with the statements Willow, Cordelia, and Xander gave the police, however, the only thing Xander cared about was how much worse the night could get.
  
  Upon returning to the hospital, Buffy, Xander, and Giles learned that Kendra died from her injuries. It was yet another horribly apparent layer of Xander's thick ineptitude. While the Jamaican's death didn't affect the time braid the way that Buffy, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Angel, and even Spike seemed to, Kendra's tragic end hit just as hard as Jenny's or his parents' terrible deaths. He thought it grotesquely unfair, but knew the blame fell squarely on his shoulders.
  
  ' If I was a better forge master ,' he mentally told himself. ' My weapons would 've saved her. If I was better... I would've saved her. '
  
  So, my betas and I had a bit of a discussion about the strength of Drusilla's hypnosis. I looked at her wiki, and it stated that she was capable enough to use this ability on humans and demons. I assume that would also include vampires. So, if Drusilla can hypnotize Angel, and trick him into thinking he's having sex with Buffy, would that break the curse? I don't know. I feel you can make an argument for both sides. So, I just went with this.
  
  Also, I couldn't find a definitive answer to a human, who was turned into a vampire, still being able to enter the house they owned when they were alive. Just because Anthony Harris became a vampire, does that mean he doesn't own his house anymore? That was another confusing one. In the grand scheme of the story, it's not a big deal, so I just went ahead and did it.
  
  Another point for Cordelia. I just love writing her.
  
  I also enjoyed Buffy learning more about Xander.
  
  I'm assuming the library has ambient magic that will assist the casting of the curse. Or else, why not just do it in a house to make sure vampires wouldn't be able to come in? It's less dramatic, sure, but I did wonder that when I saw the episode.
  
  Anyway, I gotta go. Thank you all for reading my crazy fic. Feel free to leave a comment. I read and reply to them. Thanks again Oxnate and Chelanxar. I really appreciate your dedication. Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Dead Deal Pt1
  Hey, it's Saturday.
  
  Sorry I didn't post last week. My betas and I went back and forth on these next two chapters until we had something we were satisfied with. So, my friends, you're getting a double chapter release this week end; chapter 30 today, then 31 tomorrow. Big, big, big thanks to my betas, Oxnate and Chelanxar, for this one. There was a lot of dialogue to get this chapter right. I hope you all appreciate the work and can forgive us for missing a Sunday release.
  
  Warning: Mild everything.
  
  8.9K words. Enjoy!
  
  The Dead Deal - Part I
  
  A couple of weeks after the Acathla affair, the detectives assigned to the Harris' disappearance case had talked to everyone who saw Anthony and Jessica Harris that day, and concluded the parents either ran away or were abducted. Considering they took nothing with them, there was no ransom demand, and their bank accounts were left untouched, the police suspected they were abducted, and presumed dead. As this was Sunnydale, no further investigation was pursued.
  
  Xander was forced to stay with his Uncle Rory for the summer until he could resolve an aggravating amount of paperwork and court filings to live on his own. Generally, a minor had to fill out a petition for a judge, or have an attorney fill one out on his behalf. In Xander's case, he had Willow, and she helped him out immensely. The petition had to explain why the seventeen-year-old Xander was seeking emancipation, information about his current living situation, and evidence that he was, or will be, financially self-sufficient. The fact that he made money at Wild Dinks went a long way to getting approval from the courts.
  
  Aside from the monumentally tedious labor of becoming emancipated, claiming his parents' life insurance, and transferring the house to his name, Xander continued working out through the summer. Flexing his body's musculature in a variety of ways-resistance training, sports, boxing-and pushing them as hard as he could was the second-best stress relief he had after forging. When Xander wasn't hanging out with Willow and Oz, he was at the forge, mastering his craft to make better rings and weapons.
  
  Sadly, Xander didn't have anyone else to hang out with. Cordelia left for Cheer camp soon after school ended, and would be vacationing with her parents in Las Palmas, Mexico after that. Joyce Summers was a twenty-minute-visit tops, or it would get weird. Xander had little to do with anyone, so, he slayed every night since Giles & Buffy left Sunnydale a day after Acathla was stopped.
  
  Spike fled that night, Drusilla & Angel chased after him, and Buffy & Giles soon hunted them. Xander wanted to go with her to stop her from killing either Spike or Angel, however, she insisted on going alone. Xander quickly pointed out Giles' inclusion, but the slayer made him the exception by simply explaining, "He's my watcher."
  
  "You need a combat specialist," Xander argued, not appreciating her flimsy reason for taking Giles. If Xander returned to October 31st after all the work and sacrifices he had put into this loop, he felt certain he'd lose his mind. He didn't have it in him to keep looping indefinitely without losing it. "Giles is great with books and critical thinking," Xander argued. "But you need a hunter with you."
  
  Buffy sternly looked into his brown eyes, placing her hand on his chest before soft-heartedly confessing, "Xander... this year-not being with Angel-has been nothing short of hell for me. And now the very thing we were trying to avoid in the first place, happened anyway." He noted the tears welling up in her greenish-blue eyes, but she pushed on to express, "Do you know what it's like to lie in bed and hope you fall asleep before you break apart? I need to do this, but, I need to do this alone."
  
  Unless he followed her in secret, there was no changing her mind. She asked him to be understanding, and with firsthand knowledge of what it's like being on the edge of losing it, Xander glumly nodded. He'll have to take the risk she wouldn't be able to kill Spike or Angel, forcing him to loop again. If she did, at the very least, he could save lives... if he still cared. Buffy also asked him to watch after her mother, along with Sunnydale, while she was away, which gave him a sense of validation. It also made him dread failing her. He'd already let Jenny, his parents, and Kendra die. Xander couldn't take any more if Joyce passed away on his watch as well.
  
  The worst part of Buffy's departure was revealing the truth about being the Slayer to her mother. It took an hour to convince Joyce that her daughter wasn't on drugs, then another thirty minutes to explain what a Slayer does. Buffy lifted the refrigerator with ease, and at the sight of the clutter accumulated, the embarrassed mother took the opportunity to sweep the mess underneath. Xander showed her the magic of his axe, and Giles explained the raging war between the forces of good and evil. Mrs. Summers was in shock for some time afterward, but Buffy couldn't stay to ease her worry. She promised her mother she'd call often, while Willow, Xander, and Oz promised Buffy they'd check in on her frequently.
  
  To Xander's daily dismay, Buffy was gone the entire summer. And she didn't even call him. He was fairly certain Buffy had been talking with Willow and Joyce for the first month. They'd mention to him touching base with her, however, they didn't share what they talked about. For a month, Xander wondered why he didn't merit a phone call, then, the second month ended any calls from Buffy altogether. Giles assured everyone they were fine, but other than that, no one heard from her. During patrols, Willow often pondered the reasons why with him, but Xander was always annoyed he never got a call to begin with.
  
  Giles and Buffy's absence left patrolling to the remaining Scoobies. Due to Xander's long-gained combat experience, the trinity of Xander, Willow, and Oz made a lot of progress as a team during the slow vampire summer, and had more successes than failures. Xander took the lead, Willow supported him with her magic, and Oz protected Willow with a newly forged spear. It wasn't at Slaymore or Dreadnought's level, but with one rune in the pattern-welded steel of the spearhead, the mid-range weapon was indestructible.
  
  The first time Willow saw Xander fight and kill a vampire on his own-using precise footwork and distancing to narrowly avoid rapidly thrown punches, then counter perfectly-the redhead couldn't fathom how capable he was. Of all his friends, Willow was right beside him through his long history of insecurity and screw-ups. Now the boy with a Snoopy dance was dusting vampires at the same level as their super-powered friend. With Dreadnought in his skilled hand, and his fourth iteration of Odin's Ring of Power on his finger, Xander could slip a vampire's hard punches, counter, and kill the blood-sucking demons without getting seriously injured.
  
  His ring specifically helped Xander in ways his battleaxe couldn't. Dreadnought felt like an extension of his body; supremely sharp, indestructible, flew to him on command, and boosted his healing process. Odin's ring brought out his body's capabilities upon command, no matter how latent. It was the runes of ᚾ, ᛞ, ᛊ ᛋ, for ' need, multiply, and power ,' he etched into the metal of the ring. The rune for Need was invoked when his mind asked for more strength, speed, healing, durability, senses, etc. The runes for Multiply & Power were like the volume knob on a radio. Xander could increase these by however much his body was capable of. If his body could typically bench 185 lbs five times, with the ring's effect, he could safely do twice as many reps for fifty percent more weight, pushing 277 lbs ten times. If his body couldn't-if he pushed it too far-there would be consequences.
  
  Pushing past fifty percent when his body couldn't handle it would shred his muscle fibers and tendons, forcing him to take time to heal. The consequences were apparent for all the things he needed. If he wanted to hear a conversation ten feet away, he could lose his hearing if something loud sounded off around him. Too much strength, too much speed, and too much healing all had consequences, whether he tore his muscles, sprained his joints, or became so hungry from healing; he could clear two family dinners by himself. Though the ring felt like Steve Rogers' Super Soldier Serum when active, it wasn't the same and had its downsides. Fortunately, the more he used it, the stronger he felt the following day.
  
  With the realization that every day was inching closer to the end of the year loop, Xander threw himself into training and all manner of forging to keep his anxiety at bay. The last thing he wanted to do was get complacent and loop back because of a careless mistake. So, the restless teen forged many one-rune swords until Pete Dink suggested creating chef knives. He explained they have a larger market than swords and are faster to make.
  
  "You can make one a day- a good one, obviously. Let's not skimp on quality. And they sell twice as fast," Pete informed him, and for the money & ease, Xander capitulated. As the business savvy Pete explained, "The more buzz you get about your knives, the higher the demand, and the more you sell. Then, we slowly raise the price." The scruffy blacksmith was giddy at raising the price and Xander couldn't begrudge the man his monetary pleasures. Pete helped him out a lot, and if he could return the favor, he would.
  
  Xander was making decent money by the end of summer, however, he only cared to see Buffy back by the start of school. That didn't happen. The one he saw through an opening crowded school hall, was Cordelia. For the first time in months, their eyes just locked on each other and were incapable of looking away. Their bodies were like powerful magnets within each other's field of influence, eager to crash against each other. Xander and Cordelia slept together on her first night back. Whether it was a good idea or not, they couldn't have stopped themselves even if they wanted to. It had been too long and there was no reason not to feel amazing in bed together. That night, he didn't let her rest until they were both spent and passed out.
  
  At breakfast, a more clear-headed Xander had to ask her, "Can we talk about last night?"
  
  They were in his kitchen and Cordelia was wearing nothing but panties and his Sunnydale sweater. Her hair was done up in a ponytail and she didn't look perfectly put together, but even this look was just so alluring on her. In the morning light, her natural beauty shone through like a scenery scene on a Hallmark card. So laid back and at home, this was a view he was certain no other man had ever seen, and felt honored. However, as amazing as they could be together, he knew her destiny wasn't in Sunnydale.
  
  "No," Cordelia flatly answered him before taking a bite of the egg white omelet he attempted to make. At the wrinkle of her button nose, it was clear she wasn't a fan of his cooking.
  
  Looking at his eggs skeptically, Xander made a mental note to learn how to cook as he replied, "I think we should."
  
  Setting down her fork, she turned to him before asking, "Why? There's not much to say. We hadn't seen each other in months and we got a little carried away."
  
  Raising his brows curiously, he slowly asked, "That's it? No lingering... feelings?"
  
  "Lingering feelings, hmmm ," she slowly repeated, tilting her head up in deep thought. Then, as if suddenly finding the topic extremely interesting, she stated with purpose, "You know what? I changed my mind. Let's talk."
  
  "Suddenly, I don't want to anymore," he replied with a quick head shake.
  
  "No, no, you opened this door," she asserted, sitting up at the dining table. "We're going to walk right through it."
  
  "I have no problems closing it," he swiftly expressed with growing apprehension.
  
  "Relax," Cordelia said with an annoyed expression. "I only want you to know that last night's pleasant trip to nirvana won't happen again. We won't sleep together, kiss, or anything beyond the normal high school, monsters, and slaying stuff."
  
  Unexpectedly taken aback, he voiced, "Uh... Okay?"
  
  "But, I still like you... It may even be more than like," she slowly confessed. At his perplexed expression, she added, "If you're confused, good. You nearly gave me a wrinkle stressing about this all summer."
  
  "Cor, you know I-"
  
  "Just, wait. I'm not done," she interrupted with a wave. "I accept-even if it makes no earthly sense-that Buffy seems to be the girl you so tragically want. I'm also not going to act on my feelings for you because I'm better than that. However, in return for my being all sorts of amazing about this, you're going to confess to Buffy, and try-I'm talking really try-to get together. None of this waiting it out, or being friends until she suddenly realizes, ' the one she 's supposed to be with was right here all along ,' crap. I want you to tell her the truth about your feelings. And don't sugar-coat it either."
  
  "So... you want me to confess so she can shoot me down right away?" he quickly asked, slightly offended by the stipulation. "Then you and I can get together, right?"
  
  Wincing as if disgusted, Cordelia quickly replied, "I will never in my right mind force a guy to be with me. If he doesn't see what a catch I am, he's clearly blind or mentally deficient!" Xander nodded as that seemed right on brand with her and he respected it. What worried him about her condition was when she stated, "I just don't believe she'll ever love you. And the quicker you realize that, the better off you'll be. So, promise me."
  
  Shaking his head, he objectively pointed out, "You can't just make me promise something like-"
  
  "If you're too scared to even try, I doubt you actually love her," she quickly interjected.
  
  "Hey, hey, hey... fear is a natural part of survival," Xander rationalized, already feeling the nervousness setting in.
  
  "Just promise me, Xander," she genuinely asked. "If you love her, if she inspires you or whatever, promise me you'll confess no less than three times."
  
  He hesitated to ask, "...And afterward?"
  
  "The only major plans in my future right now are prom and college. So, get one last look in-" She stood, removing her scrunchy and letting her luscious hair down as she posed in his sweater, twisting and turning as she lifted the hem just enough for him to barely see her lacy black panties. Then sensually added, "Because unless you get with the program, you won't ever see me naked again."
  
  Though Xander was scared his confession to Buffy might somehow lead to him looping back, he was also beginning to suspect that Buffy would be the thing that set him free. Xander couldn't explain it and there was no tangible proof for his theory, but his heart was the only part of him left to elevate. With the costumes and loops, he was able to gain skills he might never have before. Buffy could be the key to his heart, as well as his escape from the time braid. In his mind, it made as much sense as anything else.
  
  "Fine," he told her. "I promise."
  
  Cordelia nodded before leaving him without another word, going back upstairs to get ready. She didn't even offer him a ride to school. They were either back to the way they were, or in a holding pattern. Amused, Xander thought it was for the best and threw his battle-axe in a guitar case before leaving.
  
  The following night, Buffy and Giles finally returned, weary from constant travel. Willow, Oz, Cordelia, and Xander met them in the library and realized quickly that the watcher and slayer didn't have the energy to answer too many questions about their journey. They simply wanted to let them know they had returned and convey that things were fine now. Xander wasn't sure what that meant, and they didn't stay to explain it. Though he was happy the slayer hadn't killed either vampire, he found her return anticlimactic.
  
  The following morning, Xander spotted Willow and Buffy twenty yards away talking in the courtyard. He was on his way toward them when their serious expressions stopped him. With his decades of repeating history, Xander could tell this was a private conversation they likely wouldn't have with him. It was girl talk of sorts, which meant they wouldn't tell him, which he deduced involved Angel somehow. If it involved Angel and helped explain what happened, Xander accepted the guilty feeling of bidding his ring to enhance his hearing to eavesdrop on their conversation.
  
  When Buffy asked, "So, can you do it?" Xander was worried about his friend as much as his hearing. Filtering out all the other unwanted noises was incredibly difficult and it hurt like stabbing his brain with a blade made of noise.
  
  "If it worked with Spike, it can work with Angel," Buffy earnestly argued.
  
  His suspicions were founded when Willow asked, "What happened?" And Buffy hesitated before sadly answering, "I... couldn't do it, Will. I couldn't kill him. I had the chance. Angelus and Drusilla were about to kill Giles, and I just froze. All he had to do was say he loved me, and I was- I was done. I froze." Looking at Willow desperately, Buffy begged, "I need him to be Angel again, Will, or I'm not going to make it."
  
  It was fear that only Willow-as Buffy's best female friend-was privy to, and Xander didn't know how to feel. He was certainly vile for eavesdropping on them, however, Xander had a personal stake in Angel, Spike, or Buffy dying; a stake they wouldn't understand until he revealed everything to them. He vowed for the hundredth time to tell them everything once he escaped the time braid, and hoped they forgave him.
  
  The following night, Xander and Buffy were patrolling Shady Hill cemetery together. Xander wore his work khakis, boots, a gray long-sleeve Henley, and had Dreadnought on the special holster that kept the battleaxe at his back. Buffy wore black jeans, a muted orange top, a black jacket, and Slaymore strapped to her waist. They hadn't seen a vampire yet and were halfway through their patrol when he abruptly told her. "I'm expecting the new slayer any day now."
  
  The perky blonde turned to him, whipping her hair over her shoulder as she asked, "You're psychic now?"
  
  "It only makes sense," he somberly reasoned, thinking of the late Kendra fondly.
  
  "I guess," Buffy agreed before pointing out, "I don't see why she'd come here, though."
  
  "Well, we do have the best slayer on the block," Xander boasted with a smirk. "Maybe she'd want some tips."
  
  With a small smile of her own, an amused Buffy reminded him, "Not really how we operate."
  
  "I hope she's blonde," Xander playfully jested, knowing full well that Faith was a brunette. "You can never have too many blondes."
  
  Though he expected another smile, Buffy became more grave. Her expression was heavy when she queerly brought up, "On an unrelated topic... I wanted to ask you about Spike."
  
  "Unless it's that blond," Xander quickly grumbled. "We don't need any more homicidal blonds, thank you."
  
  Nodding, Buffy continued saying, "I happened to run into him while we were chasing Angel."
  
  " Ugghh ," he spat, rubbing his stomach with his hand. With a wincing smile, he asserted hopefully, "I hope he's a complete wreck, sobbing in a pool of his own tears and feces."
  
  "Uh, gross," Buffy replied, wincing at the visual. "Do you want to know what happened?"
  
  With a lackluster shrug, he answered, "As long as you still hate his guts, I guess."
  
  Buffy gently said, "He... asked me how he could go about apologizing to you."
  
  With a hard roll of his brown eyes, moving his entire head with the gesture, an animated Xander spitefully replied, "Aww, ain't that just the sweetest muck of horse manure that's ever been shoved down my ear canal."
  
  "Xander..."
  
  "What?" he asked, abruptly turning to her. With the horrible memory of his parent's disturbing end front & center on his mind, he questioned, "What's going on here? Why are we talking about Spike when we could be talking about the new slayer?"
  
  Raising peaceful palms to show she meant no offense, Buffy affirmed, "It's... It's just a serious case of the curiosity bug. That's all. I mean, you're the one who pushed to ensoul him when we were all happy to kill him. Now he has one; like Angel did."
  
  "So?" Xander quickly replied. "That doesn't mean I'm going to forget that he murdered my parents or Ms. Calendar or all the other horrible stuff he's done throughout his undead life!"
  
  "Hey, I get it. I get it," Buffy quickly conveyed, resting her palms on his shoulders, massaging them in hopes of calming him.
  
  "...Sorry," Xander said with a more relaxed disposition. "I just hate that guy and all his stupid, bad-boy Englishness."
  
  "I'm not asking you to forget or anything," Buffy softly shared with him. "I only brought it up just in case we see him again. I want to make sure you're okay."
  
  "If we ever see him again, it'll be too soon," he assured her.
  
  The pair patrolled several cemeteries together, and they took turns slaying the few vampires they came across, even making a little game of the kills. Points were awarded on technique, style, and time, and points were lost for damage taken, which was Xander's biggest weakness. They only dusted four vampires that night, but it was some much-needed fun for them.
  
  Toward the end of patrol, Xander nervously asked, "Hey Buff?"
  
  "Yeah."
  
  "Uh... I wa-was wondering- ahem! Excuse me," he coughed, feeling a sharp tickle in the back of his throat. With Cordelia's promise on his mind, Xander nervously asked, "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the Bronze tomorrow."
  
  "Mmmmmn, yeah, sure," she casually said, with a shoulder shrug. "See ya tomorrow."
  
  As Xander watched her leave and felt the nervousness seep out of his body, he got the impression she misunderstood his intent, and felt spared of the potential rejection. Even through his Casanova training, he never had to put his heart on the line to such an extent. Even with Cordelia, it wasn't the typical avenue of a boy and girl getting together. Walking home to his empty house, he realized none of the women he's been with-including Old Man Xander memories-happened normally. Natalie French, Ampata, Cordelia, Faith, Anya, and Dawn; Xander didn't chase any of them.
  
  ' And at least half tried to kill me- er, him? Me and him? Whatever ,' Xander thought as he entered his deathly silent home. He rushed to his room as he realized pursuing anything with Buffy was going to be unlike anything he's ever done in the future or loops.
  
  At the Bronze the following night, Oz and Willow were on the couch making out while Xander and Cordelia were talking nearby. The nightclub was as lively as ever, and out of the corner of Xander's eye, he kept watching Faith. She was dancing aggressively with a man in his mid-to-late 20s, likely a vampire judging by his dated dancing and pale skin. Faith was young, hot, dressed in a black crop top with a low neckline, and tight, striped orange & yellow leggings. She looked wild on the dance floor, and Xander could tell she enjoyed disorder and embraced craziness.
  
  When Buffy arrived, Cordelia immediately offered the slayer her seat. Surprised but grateful, Buffy thanked Cordelia as she sat next to her friend, who gave Xander a knowing glance before leaving. Easily understanding what the cheerleader wanted, Xander felt like he was sitting on a hot plate. Then Scott Hope stopped by.
  
  "Hi, Scott," Willow cheerfully began. "What are you doing here?"
  
  Xander went from incredibly nervous to incredibly defensive, and hated how he'd never be rid of his teenage hormones, no matter how many times he looped. He nodded tightly to the handsome brunette boy.
  
  Turning to Willow, Scott answered, "You told me if I came after eight, I could run into Buffy." The grotesquely candid Scott then admitted to Buffy, "I'm a bad liar. It's not good for the soul- or the skin; It makes me blotch." He was so charming, that Xander felt sick and Buffy smiled as she greeted him. "Don't you love this song?" he asked her.
  
  "Actually... I do."
  
  Scott waited a second before asking, "Would you like to...?" as he pointed to the dance floor behind him.
  
  "Dance?" Buffy asked.
  
  Unable to help the joke galloping out of his lips, Xander joked, "Either that or find a corner to talk about our lord and savior, Jesus Christ."
  
  Buffy gave her raven-haired friend the most amusedly disapproving look, to which he only grinned. She turned back to Scott and answered, "I, uh... I don't know. I mean... I don't know. Thanks for asking but..."
  
  Scott graciously nodded before offering, "I'll tell you what. I'm going to go stand by the dance floor. If you change your mind, you can mosey on over. If not... you don't mosey. No harm, no foul."
  
  Scott smiled before they all watched him go. Now Xander's emotions felt simultaneously respect for his fellow senior taking his chance, and pitiful for being so nervous about something so simple.
  
  "Come on, Buffy," Willow reproached her best friend. "The guy is pure charm, and normal, which is something we should get back to."
  
  Oz nodded before adding, "Plus, bonus points for the use of the word ' mosey .'"
  
  Xander focused heavily on Buffy's words of, "I'm just... I'm not ready."
  
  "What's stopping you?" Willow asked, and at Buffy's subtle look, three people knew the answer was Angel.
  
  Xander was wondering if he should make his move at all when the slayer suddenly got up. He asked, "Buffy?"
  
  "Uh... hold on," the distracted slayer said as she looked toward the other end of the club.
  
  Xander followed her eye line to the exit, and noticed Faith, along with her disco-dancing friend, was gone. The teen got up and followed Buffy. As they weaved through the crowd to get outside, Xander wondered if Buffy already felt her connection with Faith. He knew from his Old Man memories that the slayers had an odd bond, like an unconscious manifestation of a mental link between them, and go so far as to have slayer dreams about each other. As they rushed through the door to the cool night, Xander wondered if Buffy felt it.
  
  Outside of the Bronze, Buffy's head swiveled left and right, concerned as she asked, "Where'd they go?"
  
  Hearing a bit of a scuffle from around the corner, Xander answered, "I'm guessing in the alley."
  
  Buffy was already running like Faith's life depended on it. She took her stake out as she arrived, only to witness Faith happily slugging it out with the disco vampire. Buffy watched in complete confusion, and Xander simply studied the second slayer's technique. Faith's model face was full of glee, as her head slipped the vampire's punch and returned one of her own, ignoring the body and going for the face. Like any slayer, Faith was fast, hit hard, and her body was supernaturally conditioned to fight the very strong. The vampire was definitely feeling her consecutive hits, but everything else clearly lacked training.
  
  ' Abysmal ,' Xander thought as he watched the brunette slugger. ' Complete brawler. No footwork. Just toe-to-toe, slip and punch .'
  
  Buffy was taken aback when Faith left mid-fight to tell the blonde slayer, "S'okay, I got it. You're Buffy, right?" Buffy was speechless as the brunette introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Faith."
  
  The vampire was just as horrible of a fighter as it tried to grab Faith from behind. The gorgeous brunette head-butted him, and they all heard the meaty CRACK of a broken nose. It let her go and she immediately kicked the fanged creature toward the wall. She ducked a two-punch combination before kneeing him in the stomach and delivering a powerful right hook, knocking it to the ground.
  
  Faith quickly nabbed Buffy's stake, saying, "Can I borrow that?" Then stabbed the beaten vampire in the chest, turning it into dust.
  
  "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the new slayer is in town," Oz casually pointed out, and Xander nodded in agreement.
  
  Turning to the blonde slayer, Faith handed the stake back as she said, "Thanks, B. Couldn't have done it without ya," and returned to the Bronze as if nothing had happened. Willow seemed concerned for Buffy, Oz was cool about it all, Buffy was silently contemplative, and Xander was in a good mood. Despite all of his recent missteps, meeting Faith felt like a milestone. This was the first time he had met Faith, so there was no denying that he had come really far.
  
  They met the extroverted girl from south Boston inside, grabbed a corner for themselves, and immediately began sharing stories. This Faith was a lot like how Old Man Xander remembered her in the beginning, before she reformed. She was wild, carefree, fun, and dangerously promiscuous. She lived on the edge, pushed boundaries, and Xander wondered why no one thought her behavior was a red flag.
  
  "It was about a hundred and eighteen degrees," Faith energetically recounted to the gathered Scoobies. "I'm sleepin' without a stitch on. Suddenly, I hear all this screamin'. I go tearin' outside, buck-ass nude. This church bus broke down, and three vamps were just feasting on half the Baptists. So, I waste the vamps and the preacher's hugging me like there's no tomorrow. That's when the cops pull up and arrest both of us. Sexual assault on a minor for him, and public indecency for me."
  
  The story wasn't funny, however, considering he was the only one that knew her future, it was genuinely comical for Xander. He wanted to laugh, but simply remarked, "They should film that story and show it every Christmas."
  
  Faith grabbed another muffin and wolfed it down as she bemoaned, "God, I could eat a horse!" Turning to Buffy, she asked her sister-slayer, "Isn't it crazy? Slayin' always makes you just, so freakin' hungry and horny."
  
  Oz, Willow, and Xander all turned to Buffy with raised eyebrows to hear her answer. Put on the spot, the blonde seized up as she eyed her friends. Feeling pressured to answer, her lips opened and closed a few times before she awkwardly pointed out, "Well... sometimes I crave a non-fat yogurt afterward..."
  
  Willow asked Faith, "Why were you called to Sunnydale?"
  
  Looking at her half-eaten muffin, Faith answered, "I wasn't." Something in Xander's head told him she wasn't being completely honest when she quickly explained, "My watcher went to some retreat thing in England, so I skipped out. I thought, this is my big chance to meet the infamous Buffy and compare notes." Looking at Buffy, she asked, "So B, did you really use a rocket launcher one time?"
  
  At Faith's mention of the rocket launcher, it was confirmation for Xander that Giles did send reports to the Watcher's council, or at least to other watchers. It made the time looper wonder why the other watchers weren't sending Giles anything about their slayers.
  
  ' Or maybe Giles just doesn 't tell us what those other watchers send? ' Xander thought.
  
  After orating the Judge saga to the girl from South Boston, Faith asked Buffy, "Was he your toughest kill?"
  
  To Xander, it appeared as if Buffy froze. Her eyes went blank, as if remembering something terrible, then just as quickly, she returned and diplomatically answered, "They're all tough in different ways, I guess..."
  
  "I'm wondering," Oz began, looking at Faith. "What's your position on werewolves?"
  
  Proudly, Willow told Faith, "Oz is a werewolf."
  
  At Faith's raised eyebrows, Buffy explained, "It's a long story."
  
  "I got bit," Oz confessed.
  
  "Apparently not that long," the blonde awkwardly corrected herself.
  
  Faith answered him, "As long as you don't go scratchin' me or humpin' my leg, we're five-by-five."
  
  ' Yes! She said it! ' Xander mentally yelled, holding in his broad grin. ' That 's the first time I heard it! '
  
  After Buffy arranged for Faith to meet Giles in the morning, the group separated for the night. Xander then insisted on walking Buffy home. It was a cool August night as they walked to her home, and they made it a third of the way before he couldn't refrain from boasting any longer.
  
  "Told you," he said with a smile.
  
  Figuring out what he meant, Buffy rolled her eyes before replying, "She's not blonde, though."
  
  "She's not?" he jested. "Huh, I hadn't noticed."
  
  Giving him a stern, squinted look, Buffy demanded to know, "You're not going to sleep with this one, are you?"
  
  "No, no, no," he returned, shaking his head. Rubbing his chin in as if in deep consideration, he commented, "But after seeing Faith, I'm seriously starting to wonder if I have a type."
  
  Lightly shoulder bumping him, Buffy remarked, "Call me crazy, but I don't think you're going to trip your way into her pants."
  
  "Probably not," he easily agreed. "She strikes me as the type to club me over the head, drag me into her cave by my hair, and have her way with me." Buffy laughed wonderfully carefree from beside him, and he relished in such a singular treasure. The crescent moon in the ink-black sky above was bright. The night was crisp, and after a moment of silence, Xander felt there was no better time to ask.
  
  Rather nervously, he cleared his throat before saying, "Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about something."
  
  "What's up?"
  
  "This is... uh, difficult to get across, so, I'm just going to say it. I like you, Buffy."
  
  Turning to him, she smiled sweetly as she leaned in, affectionately rubbing shoulders as she replied, "Aww, I like you too."
  
  "No," he said, walking in front of her, stopping their progress. In the middle of her quiet neighborhood, Xander gazed deeply into her greenish-blue eyes as he confessed, "I like , like, you, but it's actually more like love , like you." Her face morphed to stunned surprise, and in his mind, he reasoned, ' in for a penny ... ' Then said, "I know this caught you off guard, but I've been in love with you since I first laid eyes- well, no. That was more like lust- Not that I do that anymore- Well, I mean, I guess I still do... okay, I'm crashing here."
  
  Buffy licked her lips like they were super dry before trying to interject, "Uh, Xander-"
  
  "Wait, wait," Xander insisted, wanting to get it all out before he stopped himself. "All I'm trying to say is... I can make you happy, Buffy. I know what you said to Scott, but I think we could be great together; if you just give me a chance. That's all I'm asking for; a chance."
  
  Eying the sidewalk, she hesitated to say, "...I don't know what to say."
  
  "Don't say anything," he assured her, leaning down to catch her eyeline. Their eyes connected again, and he asked, "Just, think about it. And if you'll consider it, meet me at Pink's this Friday, eight o'clock. Of course, since we're on the Hellmouth, Friday may be subject to change depending on the monster that's stupid enough to need killing."
  
  She half-smiled before slowly remarking, "...I love Pink's."
  
  "Best hotdog in California," he proclaimed.
  
  "...I still don't know," she said, shaking her head doubtfully. "You're one of my best friends."
  
  "I'm not saying it won't be an adjustment," he reasoned. "But, what's so wrong with being more?" At her silence, he asked, "Just think about it?"
  
  Buffy looked into his serious, vulnerable brown eyes and nodded once before answering, "Okay. I'll... I'll think about it."
  
  Faith spent the following day with the Scooby Gang. After talking to Giles about the disappearance of two individuals on Sunset Ridge, they showed her around school and retold a few stories of their adventures. Faith seemed particularly interested in Xander's battleaxe. In the library after school, he let her hold Dreadnought, then walked over to the other end of the room. The group watched as he called his magical axe to his hand, instantly astonishing the Boston Slayer.
  
  In a trance, Faith almost floated to Xander. Gazing between the axe and its master, the incredibly eager brunette asked, "How do I get my hands on one? Like, right now!"
  
  Incredibly proud, Willow boasted with a broad smile, "Xander made it himself."
  
  Whipping her head from the redhead to Xander, she gasped, "Really?" At his smiling nod, it was like a switch had been flipped. Faith somehow became softer, sensual. Her step forward added more sway to her hips and she tucked a strand of her lustrous chestnut brown hair behind her ear as her eyes seductively gazed into his. Her small smile felt incredibly inviting, and Xander raised his eyebrows high as her sexy voice stated, "So... you're good with your hands. I like that."
  
  She was a shameless flirt, and Xander didn't mind one bit; not enough to pursue Faith over Buffy, but happy for the attention. Willow and Buffy were astonished by the new slayer's blatant, provocative advances. Xander was just happy Cordelia wasn't there. Though he understood the cheerleader was staying away for a reason, he was sure she wouldn't appreciate another slayer vying for his attention.
  
  Xander cleared his throat before answering, "I, uh, wouldn't mind making you something."
  
  The bewitching brunette moved mere inches away from him as she replied, "Oooh?" He could feel her warm body heat as she looked deeply into his eyes and teased, "I feel a trade coming. Hope we can negotiate on a comfortable surface."
  
  Buffy and Willow were blushing deeply and Xander's throat was drier than a desert. He wanted to take a step back, but knew he couldn't; not with a girl like her. He plastered a serene smile, turning on his own charm, if only to keep from being overwhelmed, then answered, "Yeah, I doubt it'll be comfortable."
  
  With a lethal grin, she seductively returned, "Even better."
  
  Xander focused heavily on disgusting images of rotting corpses, clowns, and giant spiders to prevent his little soldier from saluting the room as he stated, "Just be real with us and I can get one started for you."
  
  A quirked, manicured brow was the only indication she was surprised. Then she asked, "You one of those sensitive types? Like to nice-guy your way into a girl's panties?"
  
  Buffy gasped from the side and Willow was blushing madly, but Xander ignored them as he moved to the heart of what he wanted from Faith. "I'm saying we can't help you if we don't know the full story."
  
  Drawing her brows together, wrinkling the skin between, she stepped back before asking, "You sayin' I'm lying?"
  
  "I don't think you're a liar, Faith, but I do think you're hiding something," Xander clarified. He could tell she was offended, and added, "Which is fine. We only just met. I don't expect you to spill your guts to complete strangers on day one or anything."
  
  With all her alluring sensuality gone, the native Bostonian was all attitude when she asserted, "You're right, I don't have to tell you anything."
  
  An irate Faith left the library after that, and though Xander was hoping for some alone time to talk with Buffy, the blonde said, "I'd better go after her."
  
  After the slayers left, Oz and Willow went to study and Xander told Giles to call the Watcher's retreat to verify Faith's story. "Perhaps we should focus more on our missing persons."
  
  "It's just a phone call, Giles," Xander started. "What if this is worse than she's saying?"
  
  Giles nodded and Xander left for Dinks to take his mind off Buffy and his confession with a lot of smithing. After school the following day, Xander had just missed Buffy. She'd been quiet all day, and he wrongfully assumed it was about his confession. He hoped to gauge which way she was leaning. Instead, he learned of her troubles with Faith and the name Kakistos from Giles. Apparently, Faith nearly got them killed on patrol when she lost her head to the thrill of battle, beating a single vampire to a pulp whilst Buffy had to fight four on her own.
  
  "It was fortunate she had Slaymore," Giles told him. "Or I shudder to think what might've happened."
  
  Xander didn't have any future memories of the vampire Kakistos, and asked the watcher, "So what's this Takitos guy?"
  
  " Kakistos is Greek," Giles began explaining. "It means, the worst of the worst. It's also the name of a vampire so old his hands and feet are cloven. He's quite a formidable foe, possessing the same powers as other vampires, however, to a much higher degree."
  
  Growing more concerned for Buffy by the minute, Xander asked, "So, where's she now?"
  
  "Buffy suspects there's a connection between the arrivals of Faith and Kakistos and went to speak with her," Giles answered. At Xander's expectant and waiting expression, he added, "I-I'm afraid I don't know where precisely-"
  
  Xander rushed out of the library. With Dreadnought in a guitar case over his shoulder, Xander first took the bus to the Motor Lodge Inn. When he could find neither Buffy nor Faith, he traveled to the cheapest motel in Sunnydale. It was well into the night when he reached the grimy motel, and due to the two police cars and an ambulance flashing their emergency lights, knew he had the right place. Xander found the room the police were investigating, and from afar, followed the trail of destruction as far away from the scene as he could. When the trail went cold a mile away, Xander ran around the poorest part of town until he finally found them.
  
  He had missed all the action once again.
  
  The beat-up slayers were walking out of an abandoned, burned-out building. Catching up to them, Xander noted how sweaty the dirt-covered girls were, how red their knuckles were, and Faith's busted lip. Other than messy hair, Buffy seemed fine. Upon reaching them, Faith apologized for being, in her words, a bitch, then politely asked for an axe like his to match Buffy's Slaymore.
  
  "I'll think about it if you leave that gross motel room and come stay at my place," Xander replied.
  
  "Excuse me," Buffy quickly replied, turning to her friend with raised brows.
  
  "What?" he asked the skeptical-looking Buffy. "There's plenty of space and having a slayer there would be safer."
  
  Buffy didn't seem pleased, but said nothing. With a hint of sinister fun behind Faith's smile, she wickedly stated, "Well, if all I gotta do for an axe is keep you safe, I'll stick to you like honey on a hot biscuit."
  
  That sounded more enticing than it had any right to be, making Buffy bid them goodnight. Getting anstier for a reply, Xander didn't want her to go, but assumed it was a tough fight and she wanted to rest.
  
  -B-
  
  Much later that same night, Buffy was trekking through a cluster of forest. It was silent, as if to give her plenty of time with her chaotic thoughts, however, Buffy refused to think. The more she thought, the more she hurt from her past with Angel, her present with Angelus, and everything else straining her heart to shreds. She had no fear walking through the small patch of forest, but upon arriving at the rear side of an apartment complex shrouded in trees, she felt her stomach sink with self-loathing and morbid excitement.
  
  Trying to remain calm, Buffy opened the back sliding door of the apartment on the first floor. Upon entering the dark room, her eyes adjusted perfectly with the moonlight shining in from the outside. She sensed a figure in the corner and wasn't surprised when the aggravatingly English voice asked her, "Well?"
  
  The blond vampire didn't switch the lights on as he prowled toward her. Buffy always hated his cocksure swagger as she answered, "I just need a little more time. I barely brought you up once."
  
  Scoffing in frustration, an irate Spike snidely pointed out, "Immortality might be part of the gig, sweetheart, but I'm not exactly keen on waiting an eternity."
  
  As he stalked her, Buffy felt the anger she wanted rising in her stomach before snidely retorting, "Maybe you wouldn't be if you weren't such an asshole. Don't forget, Spike, I'm the only one helping you."
  
  Leaning in far too close, the scent of his musk and cigarettes overwhelmed her nose as he challenged her by asking, "Are you? What's so bloody hard about telling your mate, ' good ol Spike, the vamp that did your parents in, wants to make amends? ' That so hard?"
  
  He irked her to no end. Spike aggravated her, and Buffy cherished how simple it was to hate him. The biting words easily slipped from a side of herself she didn't even know she had. She leaned in as well, and relished replying, "Just because you have a soul now, doesn't erase all the horrible things you did, Spike. He hates you. And so do I."
  
  As if her vitriol fell on deaf ears, he didn't even look hurt, only making her angrier as he replied, "Him I get." Spike walked closely around Buffy, letting his shoulder just graze hers as his sharp eyes and tongue easily saw through her. "You, not so much. All this time, hold up by my lonesome. I gotta ask myself, why are you helping me- Excuse me. Meant to say, why are you failing miserably at trying to help me?"
  
  At the repressed memory trying to break free of her weakening control, the heated slayer spun to face him with clenched fists and warned him, "Don't make me regret letting you live that night."
  
  She hated the knowing smirk on his angular face before he suavely reminded her of her shame. "As I recall, you more than let me live; what with you kissing me."
  
  "Don't get it twisted!" She instantly yelled. "You kissed me!"
  
  "You let me," he snidely returned, leaning into her personal space. "That's as good as, sweetheart."
  
  Looking up into his pale, death-like blue eyes, she hated the inexplicable pull they seem to have on her. Buffy felt like she could rant for hours about how much she hated Spike and everything about him. She knew of the horrors he had caused before he got his soul back; the deaths, misery, and chaos left in his wake. However, she could also see more. The dangerous asshole loved Drusilla as much as Buffy loved Angel, and now they were without their loves. Despite how much she hated him, Buffy recognized the anger in Spike, which is why they fought that night.
  
  Buffy tried to forget that night. After what happened to Giles, she just wanted to be alone in her self-loathing misery. Then Spike showed up. She couldn't help the way his words slipped through her defenses and went right at the heart of her depressing year. She blamed herself for everything that happened, but Spike offered a different hell to explain what happened.
  
  ' Love is blood ,' she recalled him preaching. ' It 's why you die without them. It's why you'll either kill him and die with him, or join him and hate loving him. Because you can't live without it. '
  
  More than anyone she knew, what Spike said made the most sense to her, and Buffy didn't want to hear that from him. The Slayer didn't want any sort of profound revelation from Spike. She didn't want him, of all people, to understand her more than people who actually care about her, but her body responded despite her desperate protest. She could feel the fear that Spike might be right creep up on her, like a cold chill up her spine.
  
  When the arrogant Brit wouldn't stop talking, Buffy's iron fist found his chin before she could stop herself, but Spike could take it. When he punched her back, Buffy felt more alive than she had in months. Unlike anyone else, Spike could take all of Buffy's supernatural abuse, surprising her by how much she needed to let out all the melancholy she'd been holding in. Every measure of sorrow she had been holding back for an entire year-ever since her relationship with Angel imploded-was let out through her bloody fists. Only, at some point, lost in the fog of fury, the pair fighting in an abandoned building ended their violent clash with violent kissing... violent grinding...
  
  ...And the frustrated slayer didn't hate it.
  
  Visibly shaking her blonde head of the repulsive mistake, Buffy shoved Spike back with a double palm to the chest before yelling loudly, "The absolute only reason I'm helping you is because I want Angel back!"
  
  "Sad that, seeing as he's with my Dru," he shot back, and she could see the pain in his dead-blue eyes. "Get Red to turn him back into Angel, then you can have your sodding brood back. In the meantime, just get your little pissant doormat in here so I can... so I can... so I can stop thinking about his bloody parents!"
  
  The way he gripped his face and momentarily looked anguished amused Buffy, and she wanted more of that. She happily walked up to him and clearly told him, "No."
  
  Spike didn't care for her response. He never did, Buffy noticed, but it only added to the fire. This would be the fourth time they met in secret, and the slayer knew exactly how it'll go, because a part of her was longing for the release. Rather than feel lost, depressed, and sad, she could hit Spike-someone who wouldn't break-and be hit back. Her body longed to replace the hurt inside for chaos, fire, and a sense of freedom no one else in her life could provide, but as a good girl, friend, and daughter, she knew she had to hate it.
  
  Spike closed the space between them to a few inches, towering over Buffy as he ordered, "Take off your clothes."
  
  Buffy didn't push him away, but she tightened her fist in undeniable anticipation. She allowed him to press onto her chest as she defiantly glared at him and retorted, "No."
  
  His hands gripped her hips painfully hard as he pressed her pelvis into his, and demanded of her, "Help me."
  
  Again, she angrily answered, "No," hating his touch like salt in an open wound, but allowing the sensation nevertheless.
  
  Spike grabbed Buffy by her shoulders and shoved her into the wall, nearly breaking through the drywall. The supernatural girl fought back, hitting him square in the face. He returned a hard strike of his own, and she didn't even attempt to dodge it. This chaos between them had nothing to do with self-preservation, and everything to do with beating the misery out of each other. For several violent minutes, the blonds fought in the dark room until they were less civilized creatures and more animals acting on instinct, making out on the cold floor violently. It was the pain of being hit, and the pleasure of dominating release that they wanted from each other. And they got it.
  
  -X-
  
  It was Saturday morning when Xander got a call from Buffy. He was in his garage, wondering if he should figure out how to fix his dad's neglected car so he could begin using it instead of walking everywhere. With reliable transportation, he could've gotten to Buffy and Faith's fight against Kakistos much faster and ensured neither of them got hurt. Xander wasn't sure if Faith's death would reset the time braid, nor did he want to find out. When he heard the phone, he rushed to the kitchen and heard the most amazing news.
  
  News too good for him to understand, and the stunned boy had to ask, "Come again?"
  
  "I said I'll go to Pink's with you," Buffy repeated.
  
  "Really?!" he yelled, unsure if he needed to sit down or jump up in joy.
  
  "Yes, but-"
  
  "But?" he interrupted. "There's a but? Is it a bad but? I don't like bad buts-"
  
  "Xander."
  
  "Right. Sorry."
  
  After a moment, her soft voice told him, "I'll go with you, but I'm still not sure... about us."
  
  Xander nodded, feeling a little more centered from his emotional outburst. Understanding her hesitation, he asked, "But you're willing to try?"
  
  "...Yeah," she eventually voiced, then reasoned, "We've hung out loads of times."
  
  "Especially now that Willow and Oz are..."
  
  "Yeah," Buffy agreed, with a hint of melancholy. "They are."
  
  "Okay, tonight then."
  
  Xander hung up and was dancing in the kitchen with joy, while Buffy only felt a large spectrum of abysmal feelings to sort through.
  
  Hey, well, that happened. Sadly, I don't have too much time. I'm in between shifts at the moment.
  
  I thought about what would break Xander, and some of you may have guessed what my answer was. Luckily you'll read the culmination of phase I tomorrow.
  
  Thanks again to Oxnate and Chelanxar! Great notes fleshed chapter 30 and 31 out very well. And again, sorry for the short Author's note. I need to et some sleep before I hit the graveyard shift. Look forward to tomorrow's update. Be easy friends.
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Dead Deal Pt2
  Ah, Sunday. How I've missed updating on this day.
  
  Welcome back, fellow readers. Thank you all for reading my fic and making it this far. I truly appreciate your support and I hope it's been an entertaining read thus far. Big thank you to my betas, Oxnate and Chelanxar. We went back and forth for days, but I think we got something good.
  
  Happy Memorial Day.
  
  WARNING: Foul Language and Violence.
  
  9.7K Words. Without further ado, enjoy!
  
  The Dead Deal
  
  Part II
  
  Xander was incredibly anxious as he marked the 14th of November with a red X on his calendar. The red marker squeaked unnecessarily loud against the matte page and it only reminded him how nothing about the past few weeks was working out the way he wanted. To keep himself from over-thinking about the fourth attempt at a first date with Buffy, the raven-haired teen picked up his blue caddy of cleaning supplies and returned to cleaning his house. Faith wasn't the cleanest roommate-clothes thrown about, empty bags of chips, books, and magazines laid about; not that he was complaining. Apart from working out and forging, cleaning gave him more to focus on.
  
  Xander was scrubbing the black oak coffee table from the pudding pop that melted and dried on it, as his mind wandered between Buffy, runes, his mistakes, his parents, the time braid, and how many recent Scooby mysteries he had missed. The two most prevalent thoughts were dates he hadn't had with Buffy and failing to be in the right place at the right time. In the first-ever loop Xander had reached the invisible monster, Der Kindestod, he barely did anything; Angel helped Buffy more. The first time he reached the poltergeist lovers, he messed that up, too. And since school started, he'd only missed more opportunities to help.
  
  Scrubbing hard at the particularly stubborn dried sugar, Xander reflected on how little he knew about fixing cars. He had a driver's license but no car, or else he would've made it in time to help Buffy and Faith fight the monstrous Pete Clarner two weeks prior. That night would've been his first date with Buffy if they hadn't discovered a mauled victim they all knew from school, a senior-like them-by the name of Jeff Walken. Jeff was friends with Oz, Scott Hope, Pete Clarner, and Debbie Foley.
  
  After Xander and Buffy rescheduled their second attempt at a first date, Mr. Platt, the guidance counselor, died next, and the Scoobies had to focus on figuring out who the culprit was. Only, Xander wasn't around to help then either. He learned after the fact that Pete Clarner was abusing a horrific tonic meant to mature him into a more masculine man for his girlfriend, Debbie. Only, the tonic he created changed him into a raging monster who became aggressively territorial over Debbie. The tonic, Xander was to learn, only brought out all the worst qualities in Pete. The misguided Pete nearly killed Oz, then mercilessly killed his girlfriend before Buffy snapped his neck. Willow had called him while he was forging a better ring at Dinks to help catch the escaped werewolf Oz. Giles, Faith, Willow, and even Cordelia were in school while he couldn't run fast enough to help them.
  
  ' Pathetic ,' Xander yelled in his mind as he scrubbed at the dried sugar set on the carpet.
  
  On the third attempt at a date a few days before, Xander invited Buffy to Homecoming, which she happily accepted. The gang had real fervor about the special night. Xander and Willow even reminisced about their younger days. They were in Willow's room getting ready for the dance. She was trying on dresses while Xander gave his honest, if uninformed, opinion. While he dressed in his tux, Willow had four dresses laid out on the bed. She walked from behind a privacy screen in a deep blue flare dress with a casual neckline.
  
  With a bit of a spin, Willow asked her childhood friend, "What do you think of this?"
  
  Xander was getting ready as well, casually putting on his tuxedo one cumbersome article at a time, when he looked at his best friend through the mirror in front of him. In truth, she looked beautiful in anything she wore, but nothing stood out yet, so he answered, "Beautiful."
  
  Willow wasn't impressed and returned to the privacy screen to try on another dress. From behind the screen, she voiced out, "It's my first big dance, you know, where there's a boy and a band, and not just me alone in my room pretending there's a boy and a band. So, I want it to be..."
  
  "...Special," Xander easily filled in, tucking his dress shirt into his pants.
  
  "Yeah."
  
  "Guess it's a good thing I spared no expense on the tux and limo," Xander returned.
  
  "And you didn't even have to go to your cousin Rigby," Willow pointed out. "I wasn't a fan of his before, but, he wouldn't even lift a finger to help you over the summer. I'm way less of a fan now."
  
  "You don't make as much money as he has without selling your soul," Xander replied.
  
  Willow walked out of the privacy screen wearing a dark purple floral lace bodice prom dress with a pink ribbon on her waist. She slid up the hem of the long dress to do a little twirl before asking, "What do you think of this?"
  
  Again, his redheaded childhood friend looked beautiful, and he answered as he had before. "Beautiful." Shaking her head with disapproval, Willow walked up to Xander and grabbed his black bow tie from his hand. Thanks to Sherlock, Xander knew, in theory, how to put on a bow tie, but he was happy to let Willow do it. Standing in front of him, she looked at him with nostalgia in her tawny brown eyes.
  
  "What?" he asked.
  
  With a sentimental smile, Willow cutely replied, "I was just- Remember the eighth-grade cotillion? You had that clip-on..."
  
  Smiling at that old striped bow tie, Xander returned, "I was stylin' with the clip-on."
  
  "And now here we are," Willow tenderly added. "It's our Homecoming."
  
  Considering how easy it was for the time braid to numb his experiences and emotions, Xander prayed it was his one and only Homecoming, voicing with levity and hope, "Face it, Will. You and I are gonna be in neighboring rest homes, and I'm going to stop by so you can adjust my eye patch."
  
  Quirking her brow at the odd choice of imagery, Willow asked, "Eye patch?"
  
  "Better than readjusting my teeth," Xander assured her with a smirk.
  
  After a smiling shake of her copperhead, Willow finished tying his bow tie before returning to the privacy screen to try on her final dress. Xander had thought about the one future he was aware of-a world where he married Buffy's little sister; where Spike seemed to be the best guy Buffy could manage; where Jenny, Kendra, and Joyce had died; a future where he never figures himself out and amounted to nothing. It was a depressingly disappointing timeline, however, if he could get out of the time braid, he had a chance to change things for the better. The raven-haired teen was putting on the tuxedo jacket as he thought about Buffy and how he wanted her to be the most meaningful part of his future.
  
  ' But we need to go out on a date first! ' he mentally yelled. Eager to think of anything else, Xander asked Willow, "So, you and Oz. How can I put this... are we on first, second or, ye gods, that feels good?"
  
  From behind the screen, she called out, "That is none of your business, Alexander Harris."
  
  Knowing her as long as he did, he could hear the blush on her cheeks. Nodding with an impressed smile, Xander reasoned, "Oh ho, rounding second, I see. Very nice."
  
  Her scoffing stutter before calling out in her nervous voice, "Y-You don't know that," made Xander think he was right on the money. "What about you?" she asked. "The way Faith's been acting around you... boy, she seems hungry. She's coming tonight, right?"
  
  "She is, but I bet Dreadnought's the only one in her leather-clad heart," Xander answered, feeling down because of the promise he made with Buffy. Though he didn't want to, he ultimately agreed when the blonde slayer wanted to hold off on telling their friends. Buffy said they should know what they have before telling anyone else. Slightly disappointed, Xander told Willow, "If I'm dancing with someone, it's going to be because she wants me as much as I want her."
  
  "Good for you," Willow voiced before walking from behind the screen, and Xander's jaw dropped. His beautiful redheaded friend wore a black A-Line sleeveless scoop long dress with appliques. The floor-length, black lace & tulle dress highlighted her womanly silhouette perfectly, and when she slowly turned in place, he was surprised by her daring deep V-back style. Willow was stunning.
  
  "I know, ' beautiful ,' right," she lamely assumed.
  
  "I was gonna go with gorgeous ," a stunned Xander genuinely assured.
  
  She blushed and smiled before joking, "I don't know if I can dance in this."
  
  He happily returned her smile and extended his hand before saying, "Piece of cake." Touched, Willow took his hand and the best friends stood close as they danced in place. Though there was no music, neither of the best friends cared.
  
  Throwing away the trash, Xander recalled their dance as the best part of the night. He was looking forward to dancing with Buffy at Homecoming, however, she only made it by the end of the dance. The blonde slayer wore a floor-length, blood-orange sheath satin spaghetti straps dress. Her silky blonde hair was done up, and she looked gorgeous, however, she also appeared to have been in a hard fight. One of her straps broke, her dress was covered in dirt, and her hair had leaves and twigs in it.
  
  Xander learned after the fact that Buffy and Cordelia were kidnapped and hunted by a group of assassins. It was supposed to be Faith alongside Buffy in what was dubbed SlayerFest 98, however, unbeknownst to the assassins, the other Scoobies set Cordelia and Buffy up to be alone in the limo driving them to Homecoming because they've been fighting each other incessantly. Buffy and Cordelia both wanted to be crowned Homecoming Queen, and the others couldn't take their fighting any longer, thus they tricked the pair into arriving at the famous dance together. Though Xander lamented another missed opportunity to help, he focused on Buffy and Cordelia's newfound respect for one another.
  
  Moving from his now clean living room, the frustrated Xander entered Faith's bathroom, thinking, ' I don 't care that our dates keep getting interrupted .' Then he noted the dried, purple wax running down from the sink to the floor, and mentally asked, ' What were you doing with a candle? And dripping wax everywhere? ' Knowing Faith, the only answer coming to his head made him think, ' This better not be some kind of sex kink? '
  
  Ignoring the fantasy building, Xander got to work cleaning, thinking of Buffy again; of how much he simply wanted to spend alone time with her. They didn't need to be on a date, he realized. A few nights ago, they could've fought the baby-eating Lurconis snake demon together, and he would've enjoyed it as much as any date.
  
  A few nights ago, Ethan Rayne had returned to Sunnydale, and like the Janus curse the previous year, he cursed candy that reverted all adults who ate it into irresponsible & rebellious teenagers. With another date ruined, Xander, Buffy, and Faith had to babysit the drugged Giles & Joyce. The teenagers were focused on keeping the adults and babies alive, and Buffy was extra motivated on keeping Giles and her mother from getting hot & heavy in a dark room.
  
  Fortunately, Xander was able to walk her home last night. The November night was cool, and though he didn't get to hold her hand, he lent her his coat and offered his elbow as they walked. Under the bright moon above, they talked as casually as they usually do. He coaxed a few laughs from her, which sounded sweet in his ears, and at her door, they set a new date for their date. She thanked him for walking her home and he waved her off before the moment he was waiting for finally happened. Buffy paused by the door and played with her keys. Xander immediately knew it was a signal, and gently, he leaned in for a kiss.
  
  Nervous, Buffy gave him a quick peck on the lips before rushing inside, leaving Xander standing there in evident confusion. The Casanova mental pattern within told him she was nervous about crossing that line, which was reasonable, however, Xander couldn't deny he felt a bit rejected. Though he was still thrilled to have gotten a proper romantic walk that ended with her lips on his, it wasn't quite as magical as he wanted it to be. Frustration kept him from sleeping last night, and he was in the forge working on the seventh iteration of Odin's ring.
  
  Xander dumped the scrubber in the caddy and rushed back to the calendar in the kitchen. He stared at the circled 19th of November and was praying they could finally do more than they've done thus far. Buffy said she was willing to try, however, there hasn't been as much progress as he had hoped and he wanted to change that desperately. Staring at the circled date, Xander was certain that would be the night to use everything he learned to impress her unlike ever before.
  
  Later that night, Xander, Willow, and Cordelia were at the Bronze listening to a live performance. It was a slow rock song and Oz was on the bass guitar. The entire crowd in the low-lit room was absorbed in the hypnotic music and swayed with the slow beat rhythm. When they finished their set, applause & hollering erupted in the room, and three of the four band members bowed and waved to their adoring fans. Oz was the only one who set his guitar down, hopped offstage, passed a gaggle of wide-eyed groupies, and joined Willow.
  
  "Oz!" Willow happily called out, kissing him on the cheek before hugging him. The eager redhead pulled back to bring him over to their table. As there were no seats, Willow lamented, "I'd offer you a seat but..."
  
  "This place is packed," Cordelia voiced, looking around the room. The club had very little room to move around in, compelling her to add, "Can I just say, I liked this place before it got popular?"
  
  Xander turned to her and jokingly replied, "You can, you have, and you will in our future, I'm sure."
  
  Xander looked around the packed room for what felt like the tenth time, prompting Willow to ask, "Looking for Faith?"
  
  Curious why Willow enjoyed bringing up the wild slayer, he told her with a half-smile, "No. Buffy."
  
  Willow nodded before asking the group, "Speaking of people and things they do that are not like usual, anyone notice Buffy acting different?"
  
  "Let's see," Xander began, counting off with fingers. "Killing an invisible, child-eating monster; breaking the neck of the student-turned-crazed Dr. Hyde-esque monster; torching a baby-eating sewer monster; freeing the enslaved adults of Sunnydale from doped candy... nope. She's pretty much the same old Buffster."
  
  Shaking her head, Willow specified, "Maybe, but it feels like it's more than that. She always has a different bruise or cut on her face. And, yeah, I know they heal fast, but still. Plus, I don't see her as much, and when I do, she's off, like, by a lot; Distracted."
  
  Looking at Xander, Cordelia voiced, "Maybe she's got a new honey?"
  
  "A boyfriend?" Willow repeated with concern. "Doesn't explain the bruising. Though, I guess the slaying with Faith explains the bruising. But why wouldn't she tell us she's seeing someone?"
  
  Shrugging, Cordelia remarked, "She's been weird since summer. For a whole year, she couldn't be with Angel for fear he'd turn into a homicidal maniac with fantastic bone structure. Then he hooks up with Gothic Lolita and turns into a psycho murderer, anyway. Now he's probably killing a bunch of people cuz she can't kill him herself. That kind of Shakespeare drama makes a girl different." Eying Xander out of the corner of her eye, Cordelia added, "I wouldn't be surprised if she was getting wild with someone who could handle her."
  
  Wishing that was the case, Xander cleared his throat before taking a sip of his soda. Willow shook her head in disagreement before telling Cordelia, "Buffy wouldn't do that. And if that were the case, she'd tell us."
  
  From behind them, they heard a familiar voice ask, "Tell you what?"
  
  The four turned, in perfect sync, to the blonde slayer behind them. Dressed in a pink spaghetti strap top and earthy-brown pants, Buffy looked at them expectantly; though innocently, as if she only wanted to know what they were talking about.
  
  "About your new boyfriend," Cordelia bluntly answered.
  
  Nervous, Willow hastily added, "Who we made up. Unless we didn't?"
  
  Taken aback, Buffy asked her friends, "This was a topic of discussion?"
  
  "Raised, never discussed," Oz casually pointed out.
  
  Closely eying the blonde slayer, Cordelia leaned in a bit and asked, "So? Are you with somebody or not?"
  
  Buffy looked at each of them, landing on Xander's expectant brown eyes last. A small smile spread across her pink lips before she diplomatically replied, "Well, I wouldn't use the word 'dating.' But I am... going out with somebody. Tonight."
  
  Xander felt his heart explode in pure bliss and his body vibrated in gooey warmth. Cordelia turned her head away in deep thought as Xander held in his glee. Willow, however, couldn't contain her zeal and demanded to know, "Really? Who?"
  
  Xander was ready to come clean and announce the truth to their friends when Faith showed up, slinging a tired arm around Buffy and Xander's neck. Leaning against them, the brunette slayer seemed like she just woke up and grunted to the group, "Hey." She turned to Buffy and asked, "Ready?"
  
  Turning to Willow, Buffy smiled as she slung her own arm around Faith's shoulder and jested, "Really, we're just good friends."
  
  When Buffy and Faith left to patrol, Xander didn't have the will to go with them. He seriously thought Buffy would confess that they were dating. He felt like a good opportunity to be open with their feelings for each other was just snatched away. Xander felt defeated and unwanted, however, a small voice inside him argued, ' Relax, she was just joking about that last part. She already told you she would be patrolling with Faith and Giles for an evaluation or whatever. She 's still 'dating' you .'
  
  Another voice inside of him argued back, ' If this could even be called dating! '
  
  The other side of him argued back, ' She kissed me, though! '
  
  ' It was a fucking peck on the lips! ' the other side of him yelled. ' Dogs do the same thing! And they use tongue! '
  
  Frustrated, Xander got up and left for the forge. He was nearly done with a new Odin's ring that housed all the runes he wanted. The only thing he was looking forward to was how bright the ring would illuminate after he voiced the incantation. He'd been getting better with each iteration and the magic that entered the construct felt stronger with each attempt. He made a mental note to talk to Giles about disposing the extras.
  
  The following day, Xander learned about Faith's new watcher, Gwendolyn Post. He had walked into the library to meet up with Giles, only to find Buffy telling Willow all about the blonde Englishwoman. Xander took a seat, playing catch up with yet more events he's missed. At the mention of Gwendolyn Post, he tried to recall the name from his Old Man memories as Willow asked for more details about the threat they were facing next.
  
  "Apparently, it's a demon called Lagos; coming to a Hellmouth near you," Buffy presented, like a movie trailer voice. "It's after an all-powerful thingamabob called the Glove of Myhnegon. And lucky me, I get to stop him before unholy havoc's unleashed, and another Friday night in Sunnydale is ruined."
  
  "Don't these damn monsters have any consideration for weekends?" Xander heatedly asked, already feeling the potential for another postponed date.
  
  "I know!" Buffy fervently agreed with him.
  
  "Giles?" Willow asked.
  
  Buffy answered, "There aren't any records of this glove's full power, so Giles is in full research mode."
  
  Turning to Xander, Willow noted, "I expect we'll be having a lot of late nights researching this Lagos."
  
  Xander turned to Buffy, the pain of delay evident in his face. Buffy simply winced and mouthed, ' Sorry .' Xander sunk into his chair as the slayer added her own section of misery. "At least she doesn't have you out there running through all twelve cemeteries in the hopes we find the right one that glove of power is in."
  
  Instead of going on his very first official date with Buffy, Xander was in the library with Willow and Giles pouring over stacks of old books. While Faith and Buffy were searching cemeteries, they were looking through almanacs, indexes, paranormal encyclopedias, labyrinth maps, and everything in between. Xander was reading through Kane's Twilight Compendium when he dozed off. He jumped right back up when Giles slammed his book on the table.
  
  "There's not a word about Lagos or the Glove here," the Englishman said, in growing irritation. Looking around all the books on the long wood table, Giles told his young researchers, "We don't have time for this near-missing. Find all you can about the demon itself: His strengths, weaknesses, place of origin, and most importantly, how he plans to use the glove."
  
  "Hey, you're not the Watcher of me," Xander sarcastically joked.
  
  "Then go home," Giles sternly clapped back. The watcher was taking this just as seriously as when he was dealing with Ethan; uncharacteristically mean. The frustrated Englishman finished stating, "But if you choose to stay, work."
  
  Giles returned to his office for more books as Willow rested her head on the large tome in front of her, groaning, "Ugh. It's late, I'm tired... what does he want from us, anyway?"
  
  "The number of a qualified surgeon who can remove the British flag up his butt," Xander casually answered.
  
  "My eyes are so blurry," Willow groaned, and Xander thought to give her one of his weaker rings in his bag. He would be just as tired as Willow if not for his practiced use of Odin's ring. All Xander needed to do was think about a need that his body could fulfill, then, through the ring's magic, his body would somehow generate the power to meet that need. He thought of how he needed to have more energy to stay awake, and though his body felt warmer, he was no longer sleepy.
  
  Sadly, when he tried to coat his bones in adamantium, the ring of power couldn't satisfy that request. When he tried to fly, shoot lasers out of his eyes, or bust out Kamehamehas, this iteration of Odin's ring couldn't grant him those nerd-gasmic abilities. Xander's theory for this limitation was one of two possibilities. Either the ring wasn't powerful enough, or the rune for Need only referred to the capabilities within his body's cells, like the way the ring only enhanced Odin's natural powers.
  
  The rune patterned, retro steel ring on his finger, etched with the interlacing dragons, enhanced Xander's natural ability as well. He could bench three hundred and fifteen pounds with his new ring, and it healed the muscular aches in mere minutes; He could run faster, see farther, hear better, and clear any facial acne in seconds. The confidence that he could survive the day-no matter what he faced-gave Xander a sense of accomplishment despite his many failures, and the deaths they led to.
  
  A book loudly clapped closed behind them, startling the teens as Giles rushed back to the table, saying, "Willow. Xander. You may stop your search. I have what I need."
  
  "Which is?" both of the teens asked as the watcher looked over an old almanac.
  
  "A likely location of the Glove of Myhnegon," Giles answered. He tapped the page sternly before voicing, "Housed here, in the Von Hauptman family crypt."
  
  Uncomfortably familiar with their town's many cemeteries, Xander remarked, "The big one in Restfield?"
  
  "Precisely," Giles confirmed.
  
  "Where's Buffy now?" Willow asked.
  
  A curious look crossed Giles' face before he slowly answered, "I'm not sure. But she must know."
  
  Eager to leave, Xander stood and volunteered to be the messenger, saying, "I could stake out the crypt; give her a heads up if she shows..."
  
  Nodding several times, Giles stated, "Yes, by all means, go."
  
  With a nod, Xander stood and grabbed his bag. Though he didn't have Dreadnought with him, he had Odin's Ring on. With his combat ability, his Viking seax knife in his bag, and his ring, Xander didn't think he needed his beloved battleaxe. Using his ring's ability to draw an abundant supply of energy out of his body, Xander ran through the streets of Sunnydale like he always imagined Captain America would. The idea that he was like a super-soldier with his ring on, nearly keeping up with cars in residential areas, put a broad grin on his face.
  
  Despite knowing the physical toll it'd take on his body later, his eager mind voiced, ' Let 's see how far I can push it .' Then he ran even faster.
  
  Cutting through a wooded area, Xander happened to spot a glint of moonlight bouncing off a blonde head of hair. He stopped running, sliding on the moist grass for several meters before stopping, then magically focused his eyes on the mystery person heavily obscured by many trees. It was only in view for a second before disappearing behind a thick patch of forest, but Xander felt nearly certain that shade of blonde was Buffy's. He guessed she was a quarter-mile away and started running through the wooded area toward the blonde.
  
  It wasn't long before he reached the same dark wilderness he spotted her. Scanning the area, he couldn't see her through the thicket of dark trees, but kept on running. Using Odin's ring, Xander tried to enhance his sense of smell, thinking if Wolverine could track targets like that, then he saw no reason he couldn't either. Only, Xander hadn't ever practiced such a skill before and when he thought of his great need to increase his sense of smell, the result was painfully unforgiving.
  
  A mile's worth of strong forest aromas hit Xander's nose like a baseball bat to the face; Damp moss, pungent algae, wet tree trunks, flowers, smelly animals, rotting animals, insects, leaf litter, and the worst, everything mixed terribly with animal scent markings like urine and feces. Immediately coughing hard, his head short-circuited through the olfactory nerves in his nose, making him lose his footing mid-run and hit the forest floor. Fortunately, he knew how to fall properly, and he rolled several times on the forest floor, avoiding all tree trunks, before sliding to a stop.
  
  Xander rolled on his back, panting. His nose was on fire and his face felt swollen as he concentrated on returning his sense of smell to normal and healing all of his injuries. When the pain finally subsided, the inexperienced magic-user opened his tear-filled eyes to the moonlit starry night above the towering pitch-black trees, then gasped, "Fucking A, Logan. That was no joke."
  
  He ignored the stinging pain and congestion on his face, his loss of smell, and his headache to lightly jog while his Odin's ring amped up his healing. The magical silver on his index finger wasn't as powerful as Dreadnought, however, the ring healed him well enough while he wandered through the thick forest. Fortunately, Xander knew his town like the back of his hand, and how to navigate using the stars above. After another five minutes of trekking, he didn't find who he assumed was Buffy, but he came across a familiar apartment complex.
  
  Xander was embarrassed it took him a second to recall the rear access to where Angel used to live. At the eerie sight of the black two-story building under the pale moonlight, Xander's heart was pounding in his chest, racing harder than when he was running. Combining the girl who he now hoped wasn't Buffy with this location and no one knowing why, didn't make him feel good.
  
  Unsure if the blonde girl came this way or just traveled past it, Xander inspected all around the small complex, searching the quiet building as much as he could from the outside. From what he could see, there weren't more than two floors, six rooms on each floor, and most of the windows were pitch black. Xander assumed it was one of the safest places a vampire could live in.
  
  Nervously, Xander walked inside the brick and steel lobby, looking more like a factory than the small reception area of an apartment complex. Scanning the empty reception desk, nothing stood out to him, however, looking down the dark corridor leading to the rooms, he only grew more nervous. Shaking his head of worrying thoughts, Xander was ready to give up when he heard a dull crash, then a slam. The muffled noise sounded like a fight in the farthest door down the hall of the first floor.
  
  Xander rushed to the door with the most sound coming through it. Pressing his ear to the cold black wood, he definitely heard two bodies in a physical altercation and a grunt that sounded like Buffy's. Without a second's hesitation, a fired-up Xander kicked the door open and rushed in to find Buffy and Spike, on the carpeted floor, half-naked and removing their tongues from the other's mouths.
  
  As Spike removed his hand from inside her unzipped pants before rushing to cover up their partial nudity, Xander's stomach twisted and knotted. A flustered Buffy was in her bra and couldn't cover up her torso too much since the buttons of her blouse seemed ripped off, making Xander stand deathly still. At the sight of their bloody noses, red knuckles, and her lipstick on his mouth, Xander's lungs stopped breathing. Imagining what they were doing, his whole body felt weak, brittle, so near to shattering.
  
  "Xander... Wait, okay?" Buffy started as she tied the tails of her blouse together, while Spike zipped up his slacks. "Just, wait. Just... This isn't what it looks like," a frantically uneasy Buffy tried, rubbing the blood from her nose, but only smearing it. Spike preferred to lean silently against the wall on the other end of the room, eying them as if expecting a boring drama to ensue.
  
  At Buffy's panicked & worried greenish-blue eyes, and her desperate words-like she knew how terribly she fractured their relationship-a corrosive feeling began bubbling in Xander's weak heart. That acidic despair pumped through his veins as he heard Cordelia's words of warning clearly in his ears.
  
  ' She 'll never love you .'
  
  A loud CRACK-like thick glass snapping in half under immense pressure-reverberated through his sickly body. It wasn't a sound that Xander could physically hear. He felt it in his core, and his eyes reddened with heat. Here she was, the girl he loved more than anyone-who was literally underneath the worst guy imaginable-was now trying to tell him his eyes were wrong. As Buffy tried to communicate meaningless words to him, Xander felt the good person he'd always tried to be slipping away.
  
  "This isn't what you think it is, okay?" she pleaded, smeared lipstick still around her mouth. Her nose had a bit of blood around the nostril and there was a fresh red bruise on her left cheek, like she'd been punched. Judging by the turned-over furniture, broken glass, and dents on the drywall, it was clear they were fighting, but also doing more. "I don't love him," Buffy proclaimed. "It's nothing like that."
  
  The breaking Xander wanted to yell how ludicrous that sounded, but couldn't speak through the hot, softball-sized lump lodged painfully in his throat. Instead, his red-hot eyes gradually glared sinisterly at her, hoping she could understand through the viciousness of his expression how disturbingly pathetic that sounded. She winced at the wounded anger plastered on his face, then he looked away.
  
  It felt like there was another side of him trying to stop whatever was slowly shattering inside of him, forcing Xander to pace. He tried to alleviate his severe agitation, however, he could only feel himself get angrier and angrier. Images of a half-naked Buffy underneath a shirtless Spike, uncoupling their mouths to look at him barging in, kept repeating in his head, as if making fun of him for daring to love a girl out of his league. Xander didn't just feel rejected. He felt like the greatest fool in the world.
  
  Buffy moved along with him, trying to talk face to face, conveying through a pained expression, "I've just been so- so-" She wiped the tears building around her red-rimmed eyes before saying, "The way it went down with Angel... it felt like I died . I was just so tired of feeling sad and, and powerless all the time. I needed to feel more than that. Anything more than that! Or I was going to break! That's it. That's all this is! I just wanted to keep from falling apart."
  
  Within himself, Xander returned to that line he felt when Kendra betrayed him; the time she prevented him from getting past the month-loop. He had raged against the world for what felt like years after that, however, he never truly crossed the line. He never wanted to embrace the darkness he had always tried to avoid. The darkness he always saw in his parents.
  
  Xander was only ever on the very edge of that line, overlooking the dark and heartless image of himself just past it. That mirror image of himself had skin as pale as milk, inky black eyes with glowing white pupils, and deathly white hair. The thing felt cold, uncaring to friend or foe alike, with a great potential for evil. It felt like death to see himself just on the other side of the line, or worse yet, a vampire. But at the moment, Xander felt comforted by the beastly presence.
  
  The heartbroken teen knew what his darker half promised. The allure of taking away his pain, self-hatred, and depression was far too liberating to resist. Crossing the line promised his heart would never be cuckolded and torn apart ever again; by Buffy or anyone. And the more Buffy tried to explain herself, the more Xander accepted the dead deal.
  
  "Xander... please say something," Buffy pleaded.
  
  But he didn't. Instead, he felt warm tears he didn't know were falling down his face; so warm they felt like blood. Tapping his face with his fingertips in surprise, he thought, ' Of course, I 'd cry .' He knew his father would be laughing at him again. Buffy Summers was the one love he wanted most in life, no matter the repetition, and she rejected him for another vampire, again; A villainous, arrogant, murderous vampire, no less. It reminded him of the pain Old Man Xander felt when he learned his Buffy was fucking a homicidal stalker...
  
  Only this time was even worse than his counterpart.
  
  Xander slowly faced Buffy, and his voice was deeply strained, dark, and filled with restrained fury when he snarled, "He... killed my parents."
  
  Buffy couldn't meet his eyes anymore. Shame compelled her to avoid the painful intensity of his crying glare, and she admitted, "I... I know-"
  
  " He killed Jenny! " Xander yelled with more strength. The farther past the dead line the heartbroken boy went, the more the dark doppelgänger inside consumed him, and the stronger, more insulted from hurt, Xander felt. "He tried to kill you when you were possessed! If I wasn't there, he would've!"
  
  "I know!" she exclaimed, finally looking at him in the crying, rage-filled eyes. "Xander, I know. It- It doesn't make any sense! It disgusts me-"
  
  " DOES IT?! " he screamed with powerful bass reverberating through the room.
  
  Buffy stepped back at the sheer vitriol in his voice and the crazed look in his feral eyes. Spike actually straightened as if standing by in case she needed him, but even that made the animalistic Xander glare at the vampire with murderous rage. Buffy extended her palm to Spike, telling him not to intervene and the vampire slowly backed down, as if he was her soldier. The non-verbal communication between them only enraged Xander more, and he walked directly toward Spike's calm demeanor.
  
  Glaring at the vampire, the broken Xander madly asked, "You want to do something, Spike? Hmm? You defending her? That it?" Buffy tried to move in Xander's way, but he went around her to yell, "Don't let her stop you, Spike! Go ahead! Do something!" In Spike's calm face, the irate Xander yelled, " Give me a fucking reason! "
  
  "Xander, stop-" She tried pulling him away, but the ruined teen threw his arms up at her touch and backed away.
  
  "Don't fucking touch me!" She backed away, raising her hands in peace. He had to ask, "Why, Buffy?! How could you?! YOU! One fucking vampire wasn't enough? You had to bend over for the one that murdered my parents?! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! "
  
  Buffy remained silent and Xander simply let it all out, accepting the dead deal with the monster within. Moving to tower over her, he demanded to know, "Do I have to be dead? Is that the only way you'll give me a chance?"
  
  "Fucking hell," Spike finally spoke in frustrated realization. To Buffy, he asked, "The poor sod's in love with you?"
  
  Easily provoked, the seething Xander pointed a stern finger at the cavalier vampire and threatened, "You say one more word... one more , and I'm going to lose it!"
  
  Buffy moved in front of Xander to keep his focus on her. Her eyes and nose were red as the miserable girl tried to explain, "It's not that I don't love you or that I can't love you. It's..."
  
  "It's what, Buffy?" he fiercely demanded. "That I'm too human? Is that it? My blood's too warm for you? Am I too weak with my regular human muscles?! Maybe it's the fact that I haven't murdered anyone yet! Should I go on a killing spree for you? Would that excite you enough to look my way?"
  
  Without looking at him, Buffy softly voiced, "That's not fair."
  
  At her delusional reply, a flash of memories of all of his time in the time braid made his eye twitch painfully. Throwing his arms up like the grand arrival of God, Xander yelled at the top of his lungs, " ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THIS IS FUCKING FAIR! " He had to take a second to breathe or risk passing out. "But I'm not leaving until you tell me why you're so fucked up!"
  
  "Easy now, mate," Spike spoke up.
  
  Glaring at Spike, Xander reminded him, "I'm pretty sure I told you to shut the fuck up."
  
  The blond vampire actually smirked, displaying open palms in peace as he voiced, "Listen, mate. She won't tell you the God's honest truth. Slayer or not, girls are like that. So, I will."
  
  "Spike!" Buffy yelled, but the suave vampire ignored her.
  
  He walked up to Xander and shared, "It's as simple as this: You-nice as you are-just don't do it for her. There it is. The simple truth." Spike moved closer to the heartbroken boy, turning to a distraught Buffy as he asserted, "She's a slayer, mate. She needs fire, chaos, anything that'll get her motor running. And I do mean anything ."
  
  Turning to Xander again, Spike moved in to truly articulate, "She wants that more than a good & boring bloke, even if it's from a right bastard like me. Bird like her needs to be slapped, punched, choked a bit. Gets her going! The first night my tongue was down her throat and my hand in her pants, only happened after we tried to beat the bloody piss out of each other. Show her that kind of darkness-like you're willing to kill her, or kill for her-and I give you my word you'll have her knickers round her ankles in no time."
  
  Silence descended, and Buffy was the only one nervous, until she wasn't. Wide-eyed with homicidal rage, Xander extended his hand out in desperate need of his murder weapon. Spike and Buffy knew what that meant and Buffy was quick to push Spike away and get in front of her best friend to plead with him, "Xander, don't! Everything he said is bullshit! I swear to you it's not true!"
  
  "That why you come here twice a week-"
  
  " Shut up! " a furious Buffy yelled at the vampire before softening and turning to her enraged best friend. Veins were popping on Xander's forehead and his flexed, extended arm was shaking as she begged, "Just, listen to me! I know I don't deserve it right now-I know that-but please, please , please trust me when I say you're the last person I ever wanted to hurt!"
  
  " BUT YOU DID! " he screamed, inches from her face, making her brace a bit. " WORSE THAN ANYONE! "
  
  Eying his taut fingers calling for his weapon, Buffy begged, "Xander, don't do this." She tried to pull his arm down, but he recoiled from her touch, making the slayer implore, "Please, don't make me..."
  
  Narrowing his feral eyes on her, he demanded, "Don't make you do what, Buffy?" She was terribly quiet, almost unsure of how to respond. He filled her speechlessness in by yelling, "Kill me defending your murderer lover? At this point... I'm done. I'm beyond caring."
  
  And Xander truly felt, deep inside, the dead deal struck was complete.
  
  "Don't do it, mate," a stern Spike warned.
  
  "Xander, please stop-" The two with their enhanced hearing, detected distant cracking and crushing of tree trunks against a speeding mass of heavy, sharpened steel. Buffy pleaded with him, "Why can't you just be my best friend?"
  
  Xander gave her the most villainous eye of disbelief before measuredly assuring her, "Even a friend wouldn't have fucked the bastard that killed my parents."
  
  "We never had sex-"
  
  " Don 't ever call me a friend again ," Xander angrily interrupted. Several walls filled with wood frames, wiring, and insulation were destroyed by a speeding mass of sharp metal, creating a trail of dusty debris until the missile that was his spinning axe snapped firmly into his grasp. Dust trailing the battleaxe settled around the enraged teen before he eerily told Buffy, "The Xander you knew is dead. And you killed him."
  
  Promptly, Xander swung the butt of the axe like a golf club, hitting the dining table toward Spike, and splintering off a few strips of the cheap wood. The blond vampire dodged the spinning table, rolling toward the only other exit in the one-bedroom apartment; the blacked-out sliding door that led to the veranda.
  
  "Xander! Please, stop!" Buffy desperately called, allowing Spike to make his escape.
  
  With two strong strides, Spike covered his face with his arms before jumping through the black window. Xander threw Dreadnought at the leaping vampire, hoping to slice an arm clean off, however, Buffy caught his battleaxe mid-air. The momentum made her spin a bit, but she turned to him and begged with her eyes.
  
  Though she may have been trying to stop him from killing a soul, all that mattered to Xander was that she was protecting Spike. She was protecting another vampire; one who she willingly gave her body to. Buffy was indirectly saying that an evil vampire was better than him, and he felt like a damned fool all over again. With rage coursing through him, Xander demanded power from his ring as his outstretched hand demanded Dreadnought back.
  
  Holding onto the battleaxe with all her supernatural strength, Buffy leaned back as she tried her hardest to keep his weapon from flying to him. The carpet under her ripped rather than make her slide to him, aggravating him more. He only got angrier when five seconds passed and her strength seemed capable of withholding his weapon. That was five seconds Spike was using to get away, and Xander couldn't allow that.
  
  Xander stopped calling Dreadnought, forcing Buffy to fall back, then called his weapon again when he shook her leverage. Xander ran forward as he caught his weapon, then jumped through the hole of the window before chasing after Spike. Demanding far past fifty percent, Odin's ring was building an inordinate amount of pressure throughout all of his muscle groups. His blood pressure was through the roof, straining his veins as his body generated as much power as humanly possible.
  
  Buffy was right on his tail, but she couldn't catch up to him as fast as the slayer normally would a regular human. Sprinting through the woods at what he could only guess was twenty-five miles per hour, Buffy was only slowly gaining on him. It was a testament to how impressive his Ring of Power was, however, alarms were going off in his body. At the sight of Spike's gelled-back blond head, Xander ignored any potential injury and ran faster.
  
  Calling forth a burst of power to his arms, Xander ignored the crackling noises to throw Dreadnought horizontally at the vampire. He hoped to cut him in half, however; the vampire was too good and ducked at the last minute. Spike rolled to the side as Xander called back his weapon. Dreadnought snapped into his reddening grasp before lunging knee first at the vampire. With his speed and power, Xander planted his knee into Spike's sternum.
  
  As the vampire's back slammed against the tree behind him, Spike glared at the rage-filled boy, his vampire face in full display, and grunted with a hiss. As Xander was magically empowered, the playing field between a teenage human and a vampire was nearly leveled, allowing the experienced fighter to swing his axe at Spike's stomach. The vampire shifted to the side, but couldn't dodge all of the sharp blade and yelled when Xander cut a few inches into his side. The tree impeded the rest of the slice.
  
  An angry Spike raised his arm to punch Xander, but at the sight of the teen, he held back. Even his face returned to his normal human look, pissing Xander off more. Who was he to go easy on him? To hold back, and try to take a moral high road when Spike destroyed his entire world. Calling for more out of his ring, the flushed teen's body felt extremely hot, but strong enough to punch a hole through Spike's head.
  
  Xander let go of his axe handle and managed a single punch to Spike's face before Buffy tackled him from behind. Xander and Buffy rolled on the ground as Spike spit a tooth out. Though Xander's heart pumped dangerously fast to support every fiber of his overtaxed muscles, he had enough strength to shove Buffy off of him before getting up. Xander ran toward Spike to finish the job when Buffy got in front of him again.
  
  "Xander, please stop!" she pleaded. As he demanded more from his artifacts, his skin became red and blood started leaking from his nose and eyes. "Xander, you're killing yourself!"
  
  Buffy kept her distance as Xander yelled with a monstrously deeper voice, "What the fuck do you care!"
  
  Dreadnought snapped back into his right hand, and despite Buffy's interference, he charged ahead. Buffy grabbed his middle and felt the full force of a slayer's strength hold him in place. However, his arms were still free. Spike ran again and Xander threw his weapons again. The blond vampire grunted like a wounded lion as Dreadnought's sharp edge sliced through his left forearm.
  
  Buffy swiveled her head at the wounded sound, then rushed to Spike's side, only adding gasoline to the fire burning within Xander. "That'sss right," he coldly voiced in the chilly night air. Calling his weapon back, he called out, "Go to your new... vamp, fuckstick!"
  
  Taking a few steps toward them, Xander suddenly felt a terrible snap from the very center of his brain, and his left vision went completely dark. From the bit of medical knowledge he remembered, Xander knew it was the long amount of raised blood pressure rupturing capillaries in his nose and eyes, and even some of the smaller veins in his brain. Xander dropped to one knee as his axe tried to heal all the internal damage he had inflicted on himself.
  
  However, he didn't care.
  
  Xander still wanted to kill Spike. He demanded more from his ring and stood up, but he felt dizzy on his feet. Xander would've rested if not for Buffy lifting Spike, draping his arm around her neck, and trying to take him away. Tossing his well-being aside, Xander sprinted after them, then barreled into them, knocking all three to the floor.
  
  Xander swung at Spike mid-roll and cut Spike's pinky and ring finger off, making him grunt angrily, but it only made Xander hungrier for the rest of him. Spike's vampire face appeared ready and eager to fight, but again, the turmoil within the vampire made him recoil from fighting back. Raising his axe for a final blow, Xander didn't care. Spike's soul can be his demise for all he cared for.
  
  Buffy jumped in front of Xander mid-swing and yelled, "He saved Giles' life! He saved Giles!" Xander hesitated, then paused as the crying slayer slowly explained, "Angel had already killed fourteen people... Fourteen lives, dead! Because I couldn't stop him. The night we almost caught him, our plan backfired. Angel was about to kill Giles, and again... I couldn't stop him. As much as I tried to end him, I just couldn't!" Tears were streaming down her pleading face, and Xander only felt worse with every second. "Spike showed up and saved him," she continued. Stepping forward, gazing into Xander's bleeding eyes, she implored, "I know you hate him, and you have every reason to, but he's not all bad now."
  
  It only hurt what remained of Xander's heart to hear her excuse. That or his ring's magic really was killing him. His heart was beating life-threateningly fast, and erratically as he leaned closer to say in his grave voice, "You defending him... after everything he's done... can only mean... when it comes right down to it... Jenny... my parents... innocent lives... previous slayers... me... we all mean nothing... to you."
  
  The blood freely flowing from his nostrils, Buffy yelled at him. "Xander, please stop! Let me take you to the hospital!"
  
  "You're sick, Buffy... A liar... and I... hate you now," he heaved, and that made her pause. His remaining vision was blurring, but he assured her, "But worse than that... I hate myself... for ever feeling... anything for you."
  
  Xander threw Dreadnought away, losing the healing acceleration, and instantly feeling worse again. When he tossed Odin's ring away, the pain his magical artifacts were holding back suddenly doubled. He staggered away, walking through the forest with blood dripping from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.
  
  Buffy tried to help him as he struggled to walk on the uneven and root-invested forest floor. He kept tripping and falling-hitting his head or spraining his wrist-and when Buffy tried to help, Xander pushed himself off of her, yelling, "Don't touch me!" Losing his balance, the exhausted teen dropped to his knee as he bellowed, "I said... don't..."
  
  Thanks to his SEAL training, a crippled Xander struggled on for miles without quitting, all the while Buffy stayed close. He was certain there were too many ruptured blood vessels to fix, and without the magic to help him heal, he felt closer and closer to the end. When he finally dropped flat to the ground and couldn't get back up, Buffy picked him up and put him on her shoulder before running to get him to medical attention.
  
  "No," he weakly whined. "Don't... touch... me... you... fucking monster!"
  
  Xander extended his worn hand. Buildings, cars, mailboxes, trees, gates, and anything in the way of Dreadnought's path was destroyed as it made its way to its master's grip. Instantly feeling its healing effects, Xander swung the axe and hit Buffy's leg with the wood handle, tripping them both. They fell on the manicured front lawn of a residential house with a large tree. With long-limbed branches, the tree was devoid of leaves and burnt black, as if burned, and it felt like Xander's tombstone for some reason.
  
  ' I 'm dead ,' Xander somberly thought. He remembered Whistler saying, ' In the end, we 're always by ourselves. You are all you've got. That's the point of it all .'
  
  Xander now knew that to be true. His parents, Willow, Cordelia, and Buffy; no matter their fundamental importance in his life, in the end, he couldn't rely on anyone but himself. He thought it was the perfect time to test something he needed the body of a God for.
  
  "You know... I never... tried... calling... lightning," he softly croaked.
  
  Having the same runes as Mjölnir didn't mean he had the same powers as Thor. The Norse legend was the God of Lightning, and there was nothing in the rune array within Mjölnir about lightning. Xander hadn't wanted to test it out in case he didn't survive and was forced to loop back. He had no such qualms anymore. With his shaky arm, Xander raised his battleaxe to the sky and tried to summon lightning the way he summoned his weapon.
  
  When nothing came forth from the night sky above, he wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed. He threw his axe to the side and let his body suffer the consequences of pumping out far more physical exertion than any human body could handle. Like building so much tension in every muscle and performing far more intensely than normally possible.
  
  Buffy sat next to him, eying him with unparalleled sadness. She sniffed before voicing, "I didn't mean to hurt you."
  
  He chuckled through the pain, spitting blood from his blood-stained mouth onto his cheeks and neck before whispering, "Like that... fucking matters. Almost prefer... you did. The fact that... you think... you're my friend... but did that with him... only shows... how broken you are... and how stupid I am... for never seeing it."
  
  "Xander," the tearful Buffy pleaded in restrained anguish. "Please, please, please let me take you to the hospital. You could die!"
  
  "No," he whispered. "Just... leave. Go back... to your vampire fucktoy. We both know... it's the only thing... you care about."
  
  "It's not! It's not!" she yelled, shaking his heavy body. "Stop saying those awful things!"
  
  "Fuck... Off," he said as sternly as his weakening body could.
  
  For several long seconds, Buffy didn't move, then nodded, making droplets of tears fall on him. She wiped her eyes of unending tears, got up, then left his limited sight, sadly voicing, "I'm sorry."
  
  Xander struggled to get up, but eventually did, and proceeded to walk miles, ignoring pedestrians trying to help while dripping blood all the way to Cordelia's house. When she answered the door, the shocked girl found him bleeding out on her front porch.
  
  "Oh my God! Xander!" she yelled, dropping to his side as she overlooked his bloody body.
  
  Xander's face was profusely sweaty and he had dark circles under his eyes. He coughed up blood as he responded, "L-Looks like you- you w-were right, Cor. She... She d-doesn't love me."
  
  Fear gripped the stunned Cordelia, and her brown eyes panicked as she voiced, "I- I-I'm going to call-"
  
  "No," Xander voiced, weakly holding her hand. "No. It's... too late. Irregular... heartbeat. Arrhythmia. Got minutes... at most."
  
  "We have to try, you idiot!" she yelled, doing her own thing, as she always did. Cordelia ran inside to call the ambulance, then came right back out, taking the decimated boy in her arms and holding him close.
  
  Xander couldn't even feel her warmth, but imagined it was there as he softly said, "Tell Will... I love her."
  
  "Just shut up!" she yelled, holding him close, trying not to let the tears out as she rubbed his face and hair. "Save your strength!"
  
  Losing more and more feeling to his body, a nearly comatose Xander managed, "If I don't loop... tell Buffy... she's dead... to me."
  
  "Xander, please, save your strength! The ambulance is on its way," Cordelia pleaded, letting the tears flow. "Where's Dreadnought! Why aren't you holding it!"
  
  "I hurt you... before, Cor," he weakly confessed. "I always... end up... hurting you."
  
  "You're not," her waving voice desperately assured him. "You don't."
  
  As his remaining vision began to darken from the outer edges, Xander asked, "Can I... tell you... a story?"
  
  "Tell me later," she hotly returned. "Please, just save your strength! Xander, you have to save your strength!"
  
  "I'm stuck... in a time loop... keep repeating... a day, a week, a month, a year," he said, barely above a whisper. "But... because I'm so stupid... I pushed you away. I always end up... hurting you."
  
  "You idiot, you can't hurt me! You could never," she yelled at the dying boy in her arms, crying freely.
  
  "I did. I did. Sorry, Cor. I'm... jus gonna rest... my eyes-"
  
  "No! No! Xander! Don't! Come on, keep talking to me. Tell me more about the time loop."
  
  "Sleepy..." Xander closed his eyes, but he heard faint sobbing. He then heard her yelling, but it felt farther and farther away.
  
  "This is your fault! It 's always your fault! Get off my property, Buffy, or so help me..."
  
  Xander woke up to his blaring alarm in his smelly bed. The date was October 31st, 1997.
  
  Phase one complete. On to phase two and a very different Xander.
  
  For those who've seen the show, you may have noticed I cut out the infidelity between Xander and Willow. I always thought it was cheap drama and never bought into it. Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed Xander and Cordelia more, so I hated the cheating. Speaking of...
  
  I'm not a fan of Spuffy. I think it's so obvious that a relationship like that would never work. And to argue that it would is just pure delusion. That being said, I do understand the character development a situation like that can bring about. I think they took it too far in the show, and broke their own rules to bluntly shove them together, but I get why it happened. Though it didn't happen the same here, I think the way I wrote this Buffy and Spike was a possibility if they were both of an altered mind to do so. If you didn't like that, I completely understand. Tho, no one can deny that would break him worse than anything else. But that's just me. FYI, I won't be putting Buffy and Spike together again in this fic. Once was enough for me.
  
  I didn't get a chance to read any comments thus far. I've literally gone from work to bed, then back to work with very limited amount of time to write. But I will later tonight. I finally have a night off.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to leave a comment. I always appreciate it. Thank you Oxnate and Chelanxar(the Comma Nazi), once again. I appreciate you guys poking holes and beating this fic into shape. Have a great one everyone, and happy Memorial Day.
  
  -Grae
  
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  Know Thyself
  Another Sunday, another chapter!
  
  Welcome back friends, family, and readers! Sorry, I didn't post last week. I just needed some time to myself, but I'm back. Big thank you to all of those who commented. It was such a big response, I was thrilled. I'm still answering them, so don't think I'm ignoring you. It's just been quite busy. Anyway, I won't keep you.
  
  Thank you to my amazing betas, Oxnate and Chelanxar. They've been doing a stellar job and I'm so grateful to work with them.
  
  Warning: Language. Mild sexual language.
  
  9.4K words. Enjoy!
  
  Know Thyself
  
  Xander was robbed. He felt incredibly angry about being robbed. Then he felt angrier at feeling angry about being robbed, and in his bed after many failed day-loops, the downward cycle continued exponentially. Staring up at his disgusting, yellow-water-stained ceiling, he thought back to the first thing he did upon looping back to Halloween day. Xander found Buffy right away and screamed unholy profanities at her.
  
  At the school's front entrance, Xander yelled at the top of his lungs, calling Buffy a liar, a whore, and the worst person to ever enter his life. The irate teen shocked the large gallery of gawking students at the scene, but worst of all, he shocked Buffy traumatically. Under the stinging distress of her eyebrows, her stricken greenish-blue eyes looked at him in acute confusion. Her pink lips opened and closed without a word uttered, completely lost on how to respond to his rage. She was nearly fearful, and it couldn't be more evident that she had no idea why he was accusing her of vile obscenities.
  
  Xander was robbed of any solace his broken heart deserved, because she had no idea what he was talking about. That clueless and hurt expression on her innocent face, like a cute little puppy being abused by the owner that was supposed to love them, made him feel like trash. Worse yet, Buffy held her textbooks tightly to her chest and walked past him without uttering a word. The blonde girl looked close to tears but was holding it in.
  
  Willow would find and yell at him for hurting their friend's feelings, finishing with, "I've never , in all my years as your best friend, been more disappointed in you, Xander. Never! "
  
  After another three desperate attempts to forcibly take the catharsis from the new Buffy, Xander was forced to accept that the confused and hurt slayer that stood before him wasn't the one that deserved to be yelled at. It made him feel like a monster when he had every right to this anger and her shame.
  
  When Xander couldn't tolerate appearing like the villain in their eyes, he switched to taking his retribution from Spike. However, after killing the English vampire a multitude of times, the results barely made the time looper feel better. Xander couldn't take his anger out on either Buffy or Spike because they weren't the same. He couldn't kill them without looping back, and no one could ever understand. It all felt so meaningless, and Xander didn't know how to continue.
  
  After looping back once again, Xander quite literally stayed in bed for what felt like months, which became odd. Like anyone else, his now-flaccid body was capable of going a day without eating or drinking water. When he reset, he would go that entire day-loop without eating or drinking again, and then he'd do it again, never quite feeling full or starved to the point of getting up. Eventually, Xander went weeks without eating or drinking anything. His circumstance was the same when using the bathroom.
  
  Xander would just urinate and defecate in the bed, because after the third or fourth time of waking up, everything would reset and his body's wastes would be gone. Other than ignoring the rank smell, Xander lost count of how many day-loops passed like that. Done with the world outside, he remained in bed, under his smelly sheets, for what could've been months. No one saw or called the distraught teen throughout that entire time.
  
  Not long into the months of day-loops, the shut-in began talking to himself; mostly about Buffy, but also anything & everything that came into his mind. Xander would repeat all the knowledge he learned from Eitri verbatim, then badmouthed Buffy. He would talk about how Sherlock approached dozens of unique crime scenes, then denigrated Buffy. He wondered about the complexity and difficult challenges of Willow being a lesbian when she seemed so in love with Oz, then vilified Buffy. Xander debated the merits between Spike and Angel as potential lifelong partners for Buffy, then cursed her for making him hurt this much.
  
  No wound inflicted by any fist, kick, or weapon ever hurt this much, and he knew what it felt like to be castrated. Xander felt like he exploded into a million pieces, with no hope of ever being put back together again, and cried often at the loss. The boy who loved Buffy more than himself was gone.
  
  "I'll never be the same again," he sadly voiced to his Skeletor action figure.
  
  When Xander ran out of thoughts to repeat aloud, he became interested in his mother's sleeping pills. Taking them felt like a good way of staying unconscious for as long as possible; the closest to an end he could get. Sleeping all day was more than enough of a reason to drag his flaccid body out of bed. Completely oblivious about the time of day, Xander shuffled into his parent's room, and found his mother's sleeping pills in the bathroom cabinet. Ignoring his reflection in the mirror, the heartbroken boy dropped five white tablets in his palm, then turned on the faucet to wash them down when his mother barged in.
  
  ' Alive and well ,' he glumly thought at the sight of her.
  
  Jessica Harris was a woman who was quite beautiful at one point, before she stopped caring. At the moment, her red hair was flattened to one side by her pillow and her pale skin had a sheen of sweat over it, amusing him in a way he wasn't expecting. It was the first emotion other than anger or sadness he felt. Her slow blue eyes looked at him before noting the orange pill bottle in his hand. Then her face slowly morphed from confusion to outrage.
  
  "Dear God!" she yelled, adding, "Are you stealing my pills?" The hefty woman moved toward her son before quickly backing away in disgust. With her forearm covering her nose, Jessica looked at his soiled PJs before asking, "Why do you smell like piss and shit?!" Leaning close to yank her bottle from his listless grasp, she yelled, "You know I need these for my insomnia!"
  
  Without a care in the world, the callous Xander mocked, "You mean getting shit-faced isn't for your insomnia?"
  
  Her mute face slowly morphed into one of complete shock, eyebrows raised, mouth opened, and Xander snorted a chuckle at her reaction. Anthony Harris then shuffled lazily into the room, sniffing and coughing loudly. When he noticed them in the bathroom, he asked, "The hell is going on here?"
  
  "Your son is stealing my pills," Jessica yelled at Anthony.
  
  "No. No, he wouldn't," Anthony replied, slowly walking toward Xander. He eyed the orange bottle in the teenager's hand as he gravely added, "Cuz I raised my boy better than that, didn't I?"
  
  Father and son were face to face. Anthony was unshaved with dark circles under his eyes. His forehead glistened with sweat and his thin brown hair was a mess. The larger father looked at his son with daring and Xander could see the promise of violence behind the drunk's putrid brown eyes, however, he didn't feel an ounce of fear. Moreover, for his bulldog of a father to try any intimidation on him felt laughable to Xander. It started slowly, from deep in his belly.
  
  "Uuuhhhaa... UhhhaaaHahahaHAAHAAHAA," he started, then hummed, looking at his parents and their confused faces. Xander laughed harder than he had in a long time. "HAHAHAHAHA HHHAAAAHOOOOOO... HHHHOOOOOO... HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
  
  His parents looked at him with a mixture of trepidation and disgust, only making Xander laugh harder. He had no clue why he thought they were funny. He'd been heartbroken for what must've been months with zero contact from anyone. For his neglectful mother to admonish him about her prescription drugs and his abusive father to play dutiful dad, Xander found them to be hilarious. He was laughing so hard, that he had to lean against the sink to hold himself up.
  
  "Jesus fuck," Jessica cursed before trying to wrestle the pill bottle away. She hollered, "He must've already taken some! How many'd you take?" When the cackling Xander couldn't answer, Jessica shook her head in disgust before looking at Anthony, saying, "Why didn't I listen to my mother when she told me you'd be the biggest mistake of my life? She told me!"
  
  "Oh, here we go again!" Anthony yelled, making Xander laugh even louder. "Cue the fucking violin! Poor Jessie's going to sob about how great her life would've been if she hadn't gotten knocked up by the baddest guy on the block! Like we both don't know what a psycho you turned out to be-"
  
  Jessica Harris slapped Anthony hard across the face, sharply rotating his head to the side. His shoulders instantly flexed and broadened. His traps hunched angrily as he stepped threateningly forward, glaring venomously down at his wife. The cross woman stepped forward with her chin raised, glaring just as intently into his eyes, holding her ground, almost daring him to lay a hand on her. Xander had seen them like this many times, and it only added to the hilarity of it all, making him hold on to the sink to keep from falling.
  
  When Anthony couldn't, or wouldn't, take out his anger on his wife-the mother of his child-he grabbed his cackling son's collar, and yanked him out of the bathroom with all his pent-up rage. Xander's body instinctively rolled over the bed before landing on his shaky feet.
  
  "IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT?!" Anthony yelled to both Xander and Jessica as he shoved his laughing son out of the room. "IS THIS WHAT I MARRIED INTO, YOU COLD-HEARTED BITCH?!"
  
  Anthony kept shoving the listless Xander from the hallway, down the stairs, through the living room, and to the kitchen, all the while yelling obscenities at both Xander and Jessica.
  
  The mother of the house coldly replied with hurt in her voice, "I never wanted you to begin with. You chased after me; wanted me more than anything. And you ruined me. Your son ruined me. I could've been somebody important if not for you and the son you shackled me with." Her voice was low, yet the malice embedded within carried to their ears.
  
  As Xander effortlessly dodged or slipped his father's poorly thrown punches, he was losing his mind from laughing so hard. Though Anthony couldn't land a single hit on the laughably inattentive teenager, he managed to shove Xander out of the house through the back door, yelling, "DON'T COME BACK, YOU HEAR ME? NEVER COME BACK YOU FUCKING BLIGHT!"
  
  Xander had heard the threat enough to not worry about being homeless. His laughing settled to silence the more he absorbed the fresh air once again. He was so accustomed to the stale, rank, and musty smog of his room, to be out in the cool, slightly humid night air nearly felt alien to his skin. Goosebumps erupted up his arms and neck, making him shiver.
  
  The dead grass on the unkempt yard crunched loudly under his bare feet as he walked the side pathway around his house to the street out front. Xander decided on a brief vacation from his self-imposed withdrawal. He was still in his PJs, still smelled of piss and shit, and barefoot, but the wayward teen wasn't bothered. Getting kicked out of the house was a minor inconvenience that would be rectified with time. Soon enough, he'll be back in his bed, safe and away from everyone.
  
  Wandering the neighborhood, Xander made his way to the main street and soon heard screaming and destruction. It was clear that Ethan's Janus curse had begun, however, Xander couldn't care less. Running adults and children in terror from monsters of all kinds didn't phase him. He simply strolled around his neighborhood in the chaos, content to be far enough away from Buffy and the gang to run into them.
  
  Cars crashed, a few street lamps were knocked over, and every innocent, confused soul was running for their life. Xander was hoping for a monster to finish him off so he could return to bed and nab his mom's pills before she woke up, however; luck wasn't on his side. The more his bare feet smacked the cold, hard street, the more he was ignored by the surrounding pandemonium. It made him sigh in disappointment, and that's when he noticed a boy-no older than ten-alone, on the sidewalk between two stores.
  
  Amidst all the surrounding chaos, Xander focused on the brown-haired boy, dressed in blue overalls, a red long sleeve shirt, and white gloves. With his red hat that had an M written on it, the boy was clearly supposed to be Mario from the Mario Brothers. It was a costume Xander appreciated, and would wear himself, however, he thought the young boy was ruining the costume by crying.
  
  Likely, because of all the scary chaos going around, the boy was crying terribly and pointing into the alley, however, Xander voiced, "Mario wouldn't cry."
  
  The detached teen shook his head in disappointment and walked over to educate the boy on what's expected as a man, and as a Mario. Upon reaching him, Xander heard a wailing scream coming from the alleyway to his right; the one the crying boy was pointing to. Mildly curious, Xander looked into the alley and noted a heavyset Caucasian woman with blonde hair wearing a puffy pink dress.
  
  ' Princess Toadstool ,' he thought, only, her dress was heavily stained with mud and a boot print on her back. She was being harassed by four older men in regular street clothes. These middle-aged men harassing one of his favorite princesses were clearly brutes someone would send to rough a person up. They were all unkempt and drinking as they shoved the heavy-set woman between them.
  
  The leader of the group was leaning against the wall watching, and Xander heard him say with growing frustration, "The sooner you tell us where he is, the faster this ends. You wanna get to your boy, don't you?"
  
  "Please!" she cried, holding her side as if she were in deep pain. "I don't know where Jonathan went!"
  
  "I guess she don't love her son," the leader told his friends, making them laugh.
  
  "I promise you," she begged. "I don't know!"
  
  The leader shook his head before pushing off the wall and leaning down to threaten, "Stop lying. We know you know. Charlie heard you talking to him over the payphone. So, this is how it's going to go. You either tell us where Jo-Jo went with our money, or I take your boy with us-"
  
  "No!"
  
  "And you'll never see him again!"
  
  "No, please," she begged through heavy tears.
  
  "This bitch is getting on my nerves," one other stated.
  
  "Beat her ass," the leader ordered.
  
  "Help!" she screamed before she was punched in the gut. With all the chaos around them, Xander doubted anyone would help, and he didn't care enough to do so either.
  
  ' Why even bother when everything 'll reset, anyway? ' Xander thought.
  
  The leader then looked to the entrance of the alley where Xander and the mini-Mario were standing and added, "And bring the kid over. Let him see his moms get what she deserves for protecting that thievin' shit!"
  
  Xander noted one of the old men walking toward them, but he didn't care. In fact, despite how serious the situation he stumbled into was, he was more annoyed by the mother than the men. It was yet more proof of parents caring more about themselves than their children, and despite how emotionally gutted he'd been for months, he couldn't help feeling thoroughly annoyed.
  
  The crying from the Mario beside him didn't help matters, and despite the clear threat walking toward them, Xander knelt beside the wailing boy, with heavy tears streaming down his face. He made the boy face him, then said, "Crying isn't going to solve your problems."
  
  Xander felt something akin to disgust when the boy's crying got louder in his ears. The melancholy whining echoed insidiously in his head and it quickly irritated him. He was ready to yell at the costumed boy to shut up when the little Mario was no longer just a stranger, but him.
  
  Xander saw himself, as a child, crying just like the first time he witnessed his parents fist fight each other in the living room. As a young boy, he didn't know what to do or how to help, so he ran to get help. Child-Xander screamed at the top of his lungs for thirty minutes, hoping anyone living, walking, or driving in his neighborhood would come and stop his parents from hurting each other. But no one came. Xander went hungry that night and cried all alone in a dark room.
  
  This mini-Xander in front of him was waiting for help-just as he had-and it was the first time in a long while that Xander felt a modicum of drive to do something other than wither away in his filthy room. He found the foreign sensation odd, but allowed it to move him. Xander raised his hand, ready to slap the crying boy as his own father would him, but the brunette boy put his little, white-gloved hands up to defend himself, arresting Xander's movement.
  
  The fear that he would be like his parents, like his father, made Xander want to save his younger self from his older self. He wanted to save himself so much; that he began crying. Hot tears flowed down his cheeks as he dropped to his knees and apologized; not just to the boy, but to himself.
  
  "Hel'p mmma Maamaaa!" the boy intelligibly cried.
  
  A request of any kind was refreshing to hear. No one had asked him to do something in what felt like forever, and Xander nodded, saying, "Okay."
  
  "Who the fuck are you?" the adult thug asked as he reached a gently crying Xander. At the smell of the teen, he recoiled, twisting his face away as he asked, "And why the fuck do you stink?!"
  
  Xander stood and faced the taller, more built man. Though his body felt quite sluggish compared to the epitome of the physical prowess he had when he faced Spike, he still had more than enough experience to take on four regular humans. The middle-aged adult didn't expect an attack, let alone a feint drop to the right, as if he was going to punch low with his right. It made the man brace for a low assault, before getting clocked in the chin with a straight right punch.
  
  Immediately, Xander's unconditioned knuckles were vibrating with pain, but ignored it as he walked forward, certain the adult was knocked out cold. The remaining three suddenly became far more alert to the smelly teenager. Despite being outnumbered, Xander's body felt like it was on autopilot. The confrontation felt so expected; he wasn't worried when they surrounded him. Like a card counter at a blackjack table, he could tell who would attack first and where they would target.
  
  Xander wasn't surprised when the biggest man, a six-foot-five black man with large muscles, charged first with a swing to his head. Xander stepped into the punch with his guard up, and blocked the large punch with his left arm, while rotating his body from his feet, through his waist, and then shoulders. The rotation gave Xander more momentum to knock the larger man out when the dense bone of his elbow connected with the black man's chin.
  
  He dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, forcing the remaining two to attack him in unison. Despite Xander getting punched in the face at the very moment he blocked the second attacker, his highly trained reaction allowed him to counter with a strike to the jaw and liver of each man with pinpoint accuracy. When the pained men stepped back in surprise, Xander attacked relentlessly, striking each one in turn. A barrage of punches and kicks to their face, neck, liver, knees, and feet. In less than a minute, three were knocked out and one was clutching his stomach in pain, groaning to be left alone.
  
  Xander walked back up the alley to the chaos created by the Janus curse and the waiting mother and son. She was holding her crying child dearly to her chest and thanked him for saving her as he approached. Xander only grew annoyed with her. She was acting like a mother when it was the easiest; when it wouldn't require sacrifice, and he rolled his eyes at her.
  
  "You think I'm gonna be around to help you next time?" he coldly asked. "They'll be back, bring more people, and I won't be there. So, you got two choices; either you give a damn about your son, and tell them what they want, or you throw him to the wolves and save his deadbeat dad."
  
  Hoping to encounter a powerful demon that might stand a chance of killing him, Xander turned to leave when the large woman called out to him, "Wait! Wait... if I give you some money, would you protect us?"
  
  Turning to her with a look of derision on his face, Xander shook his head in growing disappointment. Then irately rebuked, "Why do you hate your kid? He loves the shit out of you, but instead of returning the favor and giving him a good life, you'd rather protect the asshole you had him with. He stole money, you idiot! Get it through your thick skull that the only guy you should be considerate of is the one that's right next to you! He didn't do anything wrong! So why are you punishing him?!"
  
  "Who do you think- You think just because you saved me, you have a right-"
  
  " Shut up ," an irate Xander interrupted with a wave of his hand. Realizing the depth of his own words and how they reflected himself, he groaned in annoyance before telling the heavyset princess, "I'm just projecting. Go home before you get yourselves killed."
  
  Xander didn't even let the haughty woman continue, turning to leave. The raven-haired teen found a steel pipe and spent the rest of the night fighting demons and vampires until the curse ended. Then he went home. Soon enough, it was Halloween once again, and Xander considered staying in bed, as was his only mission. But he soon felt he couldn't do that anymore. Xander had a gnawing curiosity in his mind that wouldn't let him sleep, and had to leave his room to find answers. He didn't meet his friends, however. He walked through the streets of Sunnydale until he was standing in front of Ethan's Costume Shoppe. Looking at some costumes on display, the long blue robe made him think of the one person who might help him sort out his chaotic thoughts.
  
  The time-looper manipulated Ethan for the costume he wanted, then waited for the curse to start. Stroking his long, white, fake beard, Xander's chief inquiry was the anomaly of Buffy's love life and how someone so amazing could stomach being with someone so undeserving. Despite how devastated he felt, Xander needed to know the fundamental reason liars, cheaters, and bad men like Spike, Casanova, and to a lesser extent, Angel, were chosen over men that are objectively good. After all, he knew for a fact Cordelia and Willow have expressed attraction for Angel despite his being a vampire who had killed people before.
  
  When Xander was finally taken over by the spirit of Merlin, he quickly stated the key phrase, ' Coated in Illusions ,' then explained the situation to the sage warlock. Xander did not hold back in his retelling of everything that's happened thus far, and far too soon, they only had a few minutes left.
  
  Clearing his throat, the legend answered, "I lament the hardships and tribulations thou hast been forced to survive. For thee to seek me out after suffering such sorrows shows me a tremendous resilience."
  
  "Thanks. That's nice to hear, really," Xander spoke out into the pitch-black void. "But can we get to why some girls don't make sense?"
  
  "Of course," Merlin's echo-y voice said. "The presence of mutual ecstasy at finding a beautiful person, inside and out, with the rare capacity to cause thee happiness is typically expressed as love."
  
  "Sounds about right," Xander said as he wondered why it couldn't be so easy.
  
  "A warm and inviting notion, it most certainly is," Merlin agreed. "Twas imagined as a way of bringing an end to unhappy relationships that resulted from the old way of finding a partner; known as an arranged marriage."
  
  Thinking of his own wounded feelings for Buffy, Xander sadly voiced, "It seems like you're going to say that trusting our feelings is a disaster in the making."
  
  From the pitch-black darkness around him, Merlin's old voice continued saying, "The question of choosing those we fall in love with is as enigmatic as it is arduous. Because, all who subscribe to the ideology of romanticism are told, above all else, to trust thine feelings." With squinted eyes of skepticism, Xander nodded in acknowledgment because he didn't think there was anything wrong with trusting your feelings.
  
  "Following thy feelings is not unlike following thy instincts," Merlin continued. "And instinct hath been little better than calculation in underwriting the quality of our love stories." Xander was squinting his eyes, trying to see the deeper meaning behind what the old man was saying, and figured the elder meant that intuition was usually bad at picking a significant other.
  
  "The struggle with following one's instinct then becomes being attracted to the familiar rather than those who genuinely care for them in ideal and moral ways."
  
  The Merlin-possessed-Xander reached Ethan's and put a stop to the Janus curse, forcing Xander to kill Spike so he could loop back faster and continue talking to the sage. Again, they only had a few minutes after Xander explained everything, but at least Merlin picked up where he left off.
  
  "Adult love can be modeled on a template of the love created in childhood, and can thus be entwined in problematic attractions in adulthood," the wise man continued. "They may very well believe they're seeking happiness in love, but alas, with instinct, it is more likely they're searching for familiarity; recreating the very feelings one knows so well in childhood with a potential suitor. Some of those feelings can include wanting to comfort an adult who is often sad, out of control, being deprived of a parent's warmth, or being scared of their anger."
  
  That made Xander wonder if Buffy had some sort of familiarity with men in childhood she was using to pick the men in adulthood. It was weird to think of the similarities-if any-between Buffy's unavailable dad, Angel, and Spike, but if there was some trait in the three men that Buffy might respond to, it could be that they all may have felt unavailable to her. If she wanted her father's attention, she could also want Angel's and Spike's when they don't give it. However, without knowing Mr. Summers' personality, Xander couldn't be sure because he didn't know, so kept listening.
  
  "Oftentimes, our suffering in youth plays out in the things we're attracted to in adulthood, Merlin said.." Is it any wonder one may reject a suitor, not because they are too wrong for them, but because they are slightly too right, and such rightness may feel foreign or unearned? Thus, that suitor is rejected because it is not the love they are familiar with."
  
  Xander couldn't help but apply that premise to everyone; Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, and himself. Flashes of Buffy and Angel, or Buffy with Spike-whether his experience or Old Man Xander's-Cordelia and himself, Willow and Oz, or Anthony and Jessica Harris all had love in them, but through the filter of time, never lasted. Is it possible that no one around Xander, including himself, truly knew what it took to choose the right person for them? It didn't feel possible, but Xander continued listening.
  
  "To choose partners wisely," Merlin slowly orated. "We must suss out how certain compulsions within us may be playing themselves into our feelings of attraction. The person could stand to discover that slightly distant and or, possibly, sadistic people do always seem more interesting than what could be considered an amiable partner. That ought to make a person stop and think; for they may develop a clearer understanding that their vision of what love should feel like, may not be an especially good guide to personal happiness."
  
  Xander felt fairly sure he understood what Merlin was saying. The deeper meaning of his explanation and how it affected his life was right on the tip of his tongue. Fortunately, Merlin clarified by saying, "From my observation, where the feeling of love is concerned, we tend not to fall in love with those who love for us in ideal and moral ways. We fall in love with those who love us in familiar ways. This, sadly, has a high possibility of being entwined with problematic relationships."
  
  "Okay..." Xander gasped, feeling dizzy from the deep psychoanalysis. Without enough time at the moment to properly think about everything Merlin said, Xander simply asked, "So, if I want real or, I guess, wise love, what do I do?"
  
  Xander could feel the smile on his possessed face before the old spirit answered, "Examining our emotional histories, we learn that we can't simply be attracted to anyone. We're limited in the types we have because of certain things that happened to us in our past. Now, what do you do, you ask... Know thyself, and only then willst thou be able to shift the pattern, my young time lord."
  
  After a few repeats with similar endings, Xander thought long and hard about what shifting the pattern meant. The only thing he could think of was to become the familiar thing a girl sees, then slowly change into someone more ideal to them. He immediately saw drawbacks, such as Cordelia becoming less attracted to him if she became wise to the subconscious root of their relationship. It almost seemed to suggest that anyone who liked him, likely didn't understand why they did, and in that same token, anyone Xander liked was likely not the best person to like. Stomach-turning flashes of Buffy and Spike together made him agree wholeheartedly.
  
  ' Know thyself ,' Xander randomly thought.
  
  Waking up to the blaring alarm in his room, Xander felt the tiresome weight of a decision; to keep going or stop. Turning his head to look at He-Man, then Skeletor, Xander felt a slight ray of hope at the thought of the darker half, and vocally decided, "Fuck it. Why not?"
  
  Xander got out of bed, but made no plans to see his friends and play the role of the Xander they were familiar with. Before he began any forward progress, Xander needed cheap thrills and began by spending dozens of day-loops in LA reconnecting with Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Christina Applegate, and though he never watched the show F"R"I"E"N"D"S, he's seen more than enough pictures of Jennifer Aniston to figure out how to sleep with her. Fortunately, the gorgeous sex symbol was at the shit-end of a failing relationship she couldn't stop complaining about. It didn't take many loops to figure out the bewitching words and teasing caresses she needed to sleep with him that very night.
  
  Xander then became Achilles, Sherlock, and the Navy SEAL dozens of times to refresh their mental patterns in his mind. He became Eitri and an Avalonian elf again and felt a sense of pride at having adopted as much of their vast knowledge as he could. To spice it up, Xander convinced Ethan to make a costume of Nikola Tesla. Though extremely knowledgeable and an amazing engineer, Xander had the hardest time recalling all the math and equations for his thought patterns after the curse lifted. The complexity of long equations, proofs, and unending lines of numbers was just too confusing for his neurons to properly retain. Lastly, it took little convincing for Ethan to make Xander a mechanic's costume.
  
  After gaining a general knowledge of automotive repair, Xander took the Jenny route into the week-loop, and the night with her was better than with any of the celebrities he's slept with. He had history with Jenny, which made burying his cock into the drenched folds of her tight sex all the better. The way she'd bite her lower lip to keep from groaning in pleasure, or how her hips shivered helplessly while her pussy, overflowing with her sweet honey, meant more to Xander. He kissed her hungrily as he filled her insides with load after load of his potent seed and the lovers quivered in ecstasy.
  
  Come morning, he only promised they would never have sex again if they did it one more time, and he repeated the Jenny route several times, since it took Xander many week-loops to learn how to rebuild a motorcycle from the ground up. At first, Xander needed a couple of loops to find a gifted mechanic in Sunnydale, then he bribed Mr. Danh with a thousand-dollar scratch-off to teach him the finer points of motorcycle repair.
  
  Mr. Danh was a tall Vietnamese man, baby-faced with long black hair and broad shoulders. He had an offensive sense of humor that could make nuns laugh, and Xander got along well with him. With the brilliant mechanic's help, they visited junkyards for the best option. At the mechanic's recommendation, Xander bought a weathered 84 Suzuki GS400, then took the junkyard motorbike to his personal shop.
  
  The old junk was in quite a state; dirty, rusted, didn't start, malfunctioning systems, seized kick-start, missing wires, broken mirrors and lights, torn seating, and all-around unappealing. But at least the frame was intact, and the bike was dirt-cheap. Week-loop after week-loop, Mr. Danh instructed Xander through the thousand steps needed to rebuild a motorcycle to the very limits of automotive performance; From disassembly of the entire body and each system, such as braking, electrical, exhaust, and the engine block, to cleaning, welding, and repair. Even applying paint took more knowledge than the teenager expected.
  
  From the beginning of the rebuild, there were certain things Xander couldn't do as it would take longer than seven days to receive unique parts, so Xander used more loops to learn to fabricate what he needed from scratch, such as the crusted and torn seat. It took Xander dozens of week-loops to retain everything Mr. Danh had to teach him, then longer to do it at a professional level. Fortunately, he had a lot of heartache to ignore and nothing else to divide his attention. When the old mechanic rarely needed to tell him anything, the time-looper felt ready to move on.
  
  To save the lives of his lackluster parents, Xander didn't need to think hard to come up with a plan. He bought a Powerball Lottery ticket with the winning numbers for the 5th of November and used it to bargain with his parents. The night of the fifth, his parents were in their unkempt living room watching TV when Xander walked in and argued with them until they changed the channel to the drawing. From a manila folder, he took out two sheets of paper with six numbers written on them, and handed them to his parents.
  
  Eyeballing the paper with the numbers 2, 19, 24, 28, 35, and 26 written on it, the confused Anthony asked his son, "What's this?"
  
  "I bought a lotto ticket," Xander casually told them as he sat down and laid the folder down on the counter. "Those are the numbers I picked."
  
  Anthony snickered as he mouthed, "Jesus, boy. Here's a free piece of advice; wait a few years before you start making dumb decisions with your money. Garbage like this is just going to keep you stupid and poor."
  
  His mother shook her head as she snickered, but Xander said nothing and just showed them his authentic ticket. This was already the fifth week-loop, and he'd heard it before.
  
  Pointing sternly at his son, Anthony asserted, "You ought to be paying us for all the food we buy. Feeding you ain't getting any easier. You grow like a weed and are just as useless." They snickered and joked about the futility of the lottery until the numbers were called. With each number, Jessica sat up a little straighter on the couch, and when all of his numbers were picked-as they had in the previous loops-his parents jumped and screamed at the top of their lungs with unadulterated joy.
  
  Xander moved into the most spacious spot between the couch and the entrance of the living room for more elbow room. His exuberant father then walked up to his son and reached for the ticket, but Xander pulled back, looking at their jubilant faces falter with stern stoicism.
  
  His mother was the first to realize, "You're a minor. You can't-"
  
  "I know I'm not allowed to buy a ticket," Xander casually interrupted. "But I happen to know a gas station clerk who couldn't care less. I'm offering you guys a deal."
  
  The parents looked at each other before Jessica asked, "What deal?"
  
  Xander proceeded to bluntly tell them, "We're the exact opposite of a super caring family. So, I propose we go our separate ways. I stay here in Sunnydale, and you guys go travel the world and do whatever you want, so long as it's not here."
  
  Growing angry already, Anthony gasped, "The fucking nerve of you, you ungrateful-"
  
  Xander interrupted him, saying, "If you do everything I ask-everything-then you get this sixty million-dollar ticket."
  
  "Everything you ask- Boy! We 're your parents ," Anthony argued, taking a threatening step closer to his son. "You do what we tell you!"
  
  "Anthony," his mother called, asking him with her eyes to change his tact. Anthony backed off as she asked, "What do you want?"
  
  "Not much," Xander answered his mother. "You sign legal papers emancipating me. You give me the house, fully paid for. For the next five years, you give me a million per year. You'll also have to leave Sunnydale without telling anyone you won the lotto, and I mean no one; family, friends, coworkers, drinking buddies, no one. Just leave."
  
  Anthony couldn't stand it and stood right in front of his son, glaring at him as he threatened, "If you don't give us that ticket, you don't get any of that money."
  
  "Don't need it," Xander calmly told his father. "I have no problems ripping this piece of paper up right here."
  
  "How could you hate us so much?" his mother asked, as if she were a victim of abuse. "After everything we've done for you."
  
  Having heard that fake tone before, Xander ignored it as he casually answered, "I don't hate you, mom. I just don't want you here."
  
  "Let me see it," Anthony asked. "To make sure it's real."
  
  Xander handed his father the winning ticket for their inspection, and the parents huddled together to look it over. In previous week-loops, he didn't give it to them because it was so obvious why they wanted it, but as that never worked out, Xander switched tactics. His parents snickered and heaved together in grand relief, and Xander asked, "Do we have a deal?"
  
  Putting the ticket in his pocket before clapping a comforting hand on Xander's shoulder, Anthony took a deep breath and eyed his son with empathy. "Listen, son . I may not have always treated you the best. I'm man enough to admit it. But you're my blood, and a real father never abandons his blood. So don't worry about deals or anything like that. With this golden ticket, the Harris family'll be living in prime luxury for the rest-"
  
  "No," Xander called out, easily grabbing his father's wrist, and twisted it. Anthony groaned in pain as Xander forced the man onto his knee, then reached for the ticket. When Anthony tried to fight the lock, Xander twisted harder, corralling his father's attempt to break free by threatening to break his wrist.
  
  As he searched for the lotto ticket, his mother yelled, "Xander! You're hurting him! You're hurting him!" Once he had the ticket in his hand again, Xander shoved his father back, who instantly massaged the pain out of his wrist. "How could you do that to your own father?!" Jessica Harris yelled.
  
  " You have two options and only two options ," Xander yelled over them, shutting them up. "Agree to all of my terms and you get to live the life of luxury you've always dreamed of. Or, I destroy this ticket right here and you get nothing but the memory of what could've been if you weren't acting so prideful."
  
  "...You wouldn't," his father dared.
  
  Looking at them with heavy skepticism, Xander asked, "You really think I want to be around you two any longer than I have to?"
  
  "You rip that ticket, you'll be around us a lot longer," the cherry-blonde mother noted.
  
  "Don't care," Xander quickly rebuked. "Barely see you two as it is. Worse comes to worst, I'll just move out." His parents remained silent, and the room felt like a giant game of chicken, however, Xander wasn't waiting long for an answer. Elevating the ticket in front of them, the thumb and index of each hand gripped the middle of the rectangular paper. Ready to rip it, he asked, "No? Okay-"
  
  His arms barely made the motion before they yelled in unison, "WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! OKAY!"
  
  "Okay. Deal," Jessica hastily finished. "It's a deal."
  
  "Good," Xander cheerfully replied. The prepared teen grabbed the manila folder and slammed it on the coffee table, telling them, "I have a contract for you to sign that outlines everything I just said. Think of it as insurance, just in case you renege afterward and I have to send it to the authorities and they take it all back."
  
  Aghast by her son's behavior, the mother asked in disbelief, "You'd go that far?"
  
  Without a hint of sadness, the teenager nodded before stating, "I know it's excessive, mom, but that's only because I don't trust either of you. As soon as it's notarized, you get your ticket." Though the parents signed the contract, his father looked upset, prompting Xander to joke, "Don't look too happy, dad."
  
  His father only grumbled, "All that money, and people'll just say I'm a dead-beat father for taking it and leaving you here."
  
  Shaking his head, Xander reassured his father, "First and foremost, you are a dead-beat father. Don't ever doubt that." Anthony tightened his unshaved jaw as he held back his anger. "Second, it's my choice to stay here. Not yours. Third, I mean it when I say NO ONE LEARNS ABOUT YOUR WINNINGS! They don't need to know! Just tell people you're going on a much-needed vacation, and don't come back."
  
  Xander had his parents start by leaving messages with attorneys' offices to meet in the morning. With an attorney, they arranged Xander's emancipation and notarized the deal before he handed them the winning ticket. The lawyer told him it would take a few weeks for everything to be finalized, but it was all in motion. When Xander was ready to make it to the one-month loop, he restarted from Halloween and happily took the Jenny route.
  
  He used the week-loop to buy the scratchers for quick cash, then made his deal with Pete to work at Wild Dinks. Xander bought the junkyard 84 Suzuki GS400 motorcycle, ordered the parts he'll need for the rebuild, bought the winning Powerball ticket, passed his driver's license test for all the legal paperwork, exercised like a madman, destroyed Ted, then anonymously tipped the police off about its bunker. On the Scooby front, Xander begrudgingly warned Buffy about Ford, involved Angel when she didn't believe him, made his deal with his parents, met with a lawyer to begin all the legal paperwork, and happily told Buffy off for not believing him more.
  
  Xander's tone was certainly harsher than before, but he couldn't help the anger at the sight of her. Seeing her around school more alive than in the last long loop was grueling for his angry heart. His mind would torture him with images of Buffy underneath Spike, like disgusting animals, and it was enough for Xander to make excuses to leave; not that Buffy or Willow minded that much. As ever, they were too preoccupied with Angel's love for Buffy to worry about him too much.
  
  Once Xander passed the week-loop, he truly got to work. He had to deal with the Mark of Eyghon first, showing Willow the section on how it transferred from body to body, telling her to get Angel, begrudgingly saving Buffy from Ethan's tattooing, then helping save Jenny from the monstrous demon. After a solid day of forging, he went to comfort her that night and the pair ended up sleeping together all night. Come morning, Xander feigned understanding when Jenny wanted to keep things strictly professional, then left.
  
  Xander didn't have to follow Buffy to her date with Angel to know where Kendra was going to be. As before, he approached her, spoke to her, offered her a place to stay, then slept with her. The combination of his experience, technique, and her complete surprise at the pleasure he could make her feel, made her climax around his cock more times than ever before. Even still, the beautiful Jamaican slayer was gone by morning, and by noon, Xander and Cordelia checked Buffy's house, where they shared their first kiss for the umpteenth time.
  
  After escaping the Latvian worm-assassin, Xander and Cordelia rushed to the library, where they officially met Kendra as the second Vampire Slayer. The beautiful Jamaican helped Buffy retrieve the weakened Angel, and in the final fight, they brought the abandoned church down on Drusilla and Spike. As before, Xander asked for Kendra's help to retrieve the Du Lac cross so he could make his enhanced weapons. Despite her nervousness around him, talking to her made the ebony slayer feel more at ease. Xander had Kendra pass along his phone number to Zabuto so he could yell at her watcher for the idiotic way he had been training her.
  
  Xander called Jenny and, aside from flirting with the adult beauty, he asked for her help in locating the details of Angel's curse. Though Xander thought about letting Buffy learn about Angel's curse the hard way, he didn't feel right about putting innocent lives in danger just to spite her.
  
  With the gold from Du Lac's melted cross, he spent the weekend forging Dreadnought with more skill and focus than ever before. It took Xander three long weeks of intense labor, but after reciting the invocation, he was nearly blinded by the amount of light the infusion of magic produced. His lovely murder weapon felt electric in his hands, and Xander was thrilled to feel even more power in his axe than ever before. It cut through anything without losing its sharp edge, and the healing enhancement was much more effective; even helping him ease the muscle soreness from his intense daily workouts.
  
  In the month since he gave Anthony and Jessica Harris the winning lottery ticket, they were checking off the tasks to be completed efficiently. Of the payment options the Lottery office offered, his parents selected the annual payments of two million dollars rather than the one lump sum, as Xander insisted, fearing they'd spend the entire amount at once if they didn't take the annuity. With the first payout, they quit their jobs, paid off the remaining balance on the house, provided Xander with a personal bank account with a balance of a million dollars, rushed his emancipation, and transferred the house to his name. The eager and jubilant parents already decided on New York for their first stop across the world and the last thing they needed to do before they left was decide what they wanted to take with them.
  
  The first week of December, Xander saw his parents off with no plans to ever see them again. Three sober Harrises stood awkwardly next to the taxi in front of their-now, Xander's-home. Aside from the clothes on their backs, they only had three suitcases filled with their sentimental items. Anything else they needed, they were happy to buy brand new. The teen wasn't sure where they were going to live between traveling, but he figured they could take care of themselves. The only thing he asked of them was that they call, mail, or email him with every location change in case he needed to contact them.
  
  With a quick, "Have fun and don't die," from Xander; Jessica and Anthony Harris left Sunnydale and all the evils they were oblivious to for a hopefully long life of luxury. Watching the taxi drive away, Xander felt an odd sense of detached loss, like finishing a mediocre TV series; it wasn't amazing, but it was on for all of his life, and now it finally finished. Ultimately, he preferred this over their deaths, shrugged, and returned to the garage to work on his bike.
  
  Later in school, Xander considered telling his friends about the significant change in his life, since it felt odd not to mention it, but when he got an egg for the class project, his news had to wait. Xander faked accidentally dropping the egg in the library to discover the evil parasite within and the gang took care of the mother Bezoar the same day. Rather than visit Cordelia afterward, he returned to his garage to keep working.
  
  Rebuilding and modifying the junkyard motorcycle into a versatile, on-and-off-road scrambler bike turned out to be a bigger undertaking than he covered in the week-loops. All the parts he ordered were in and stacked in the garage's corner, ready to be installed, however, the list of tasks was long. His scrambler bike was going to take a lot of work.
  
  Xander fabricated different handlebars; replaced the tires with beefy off-road ones; repaired the rear lights, front lights, and turn signals; disassembled and cleaned the engine block; installed a supercharger; fabricated exhaust piping for the supercharger; replaced the headlight mount; installed a quieter muffler; replaced the grips; cleaned, repaired, and painted the gas tank; created a custom license plate bracket; painted everything stealth black; installed new & improved shocks; fabricated a custom seat; changed the front fender and rims; fabricated or modified stock parts as necessary; and installed new maintenance parts, such as filters, seals, rubbers, and fork gaiters.
  
  Frustrated with another stripped bolt, Xander offhandedly wondered why he didn't just buy a new motorcycle, since he had the money now. Then he thought, ' It 's not like Batman would buy the Batmobile at a dealership .' Additionally, for the missions he had percolating in his mind, he would need to know how to repair any damage his bike might sustain.
  
  Growing impatient, Xander encouraged Jenny to work faster by mentioning how close he was to tracing the Romani people, and she handed him a printed translation within a handful of days. Rather than seeing Buffy and Angel at the same time, he just went to Angel. He gave him the evidence and warned him what would happen if he stayed with Buffy. Though Angel didn't take it well and got in his face about it, Xander didn't feel anywhere near as bad as he had the first few times he did this. It made him wonder if he was becoming numb to their heartache or losing more of his compassion with every loop.
  
  ' Or Buffy fucking Spike ,' a small, wicked voice reminded him.
  
  Holding back his choking ire in his chest, he bluntly asked the tall vampire, "How do you think Angelus would torture Buffy if he came back?"
  
  Angel grew angry enough to show his vampire face, but even if he didn't have Odin's ring yet, Xander wasn't bothered in the least. The pale vampire retracted his demon face, then kicked the teenager out just as Buffy was walking up to his apartment.
  
  "Xander?" she asked curiously, and as ever, his stomach tightened at the sight of her. The confused blonde asked, "What are you doing here?"
  
  He hadn't expected to see her and just told her, "You should talk to Angel," before walking past her.
  
  Xander assumed Buffy was with Angel all night, since he saw her the following morning on the way back from his run wearing the same outfit. She was on his front porch dressed in the same blue jeans and pink spaghetti-strapped top, and looked a mixture of tortured and furious at the sight of him. Angel, no doubt, broke up with her, but looking at her red-rimmed eyes and irate face, it was clear she blamed him. Xander didn't care. He felt nothing but pain. Having been forced to see the girl he loved more than anyone hook up with Spike, the pain scale felt fairly balanced to him.
  
  Three feet from her, Buffy yelled, "How could you?"
  
  Sweaty from his run, Xander just wanted to get to Dreadnought to heal his pain and casually asked, "Wanna come in?"
  
  Stepping in front of him, keeping him from the steps of his porch, Buffy demanded, "Just answer me! No- Never mind," Buffy cut herself off as the truth sprang to her mind. "I know exactly why you , of all people, would do this!"
  
  Shaking his sweaty head, making his damp black hair mess about, Xander replied, "Uh, you mean to stop the demon half of your vampire boyfriend from murdering people, maybe? Pretty sure I did everyone a solid."
  
  Repulsed by his assertion, the angry girl stepped closer as she argued, "Do not pretend this had anything to do with saving lives! This was always about you! The only reason you did all that research was so you could figure out a way to break us up!"
  
  Xander stepped forward as well, finding the retribution he was denied due to his looping. This Buffy may not have been the one that was with Spike, but she was certainly wrong here, and Xander had no problem stating, "And the only reason you're so pissed off at me is because you think I'm some sort of doormat you can walk all over when your precious little feelings get hurt!"
  
  Though thoroughly angry, he could tell she was also surprised by his sudden daring. It must've been ludicrous to her that he had any other option but to feel deep remorse, however, Xander was done with that. That boy was gone. He kept reciprocating, "But guess what, Buffy! I don't care anymore! You can be angry at me all you want. It's not going to change the fact that you can't be with him!"
  
  She looked at him like she was ready to hit him. He even heard her fist tighten, however, she restrained herself since he was only human and she was strong enough to kill him. Xander didn't care about that either, and touted to the heartbroken slayer.
  
  "Oh, you want to hit me now, Buffy? Go ahead! Hit me! Take it all out on me. It's what you're good at, right?" Moving much closer, the incensed Xander glared into her beautiful greenish-blue eyes as he yelled, "Don't you feel betrayed? Huh? Like it's some unspoken rule that we're all supposed to ignore the risks to our lives just so you can feel loved by a dead guy." In mocking, he snidely taunted, "Dumb jealous Xander couldn't stand to see the girl he loves getting rear-ended by the dead-dick of a fucking fanged corpse -"
  
  Due to the close distance, the super strong and pissed-off slayer slapped Xander so hard across the face, everything instantly went black before he could even react.
  
  Please don't beat Buffy up too much😁😁. Breaking up with Angel just happened. Her emotions are still raw.
  
  Expect an update next Sunday. I'll answer more comments in the coming days. Thank you for reading. Thank you Oxnate and Chelanxar. Sorry for the short A/N. I just need some sleep. If you have any questions, please let me know or leave a comment. I love reading them and they really help me think of my story in different ways. Thanks and be well,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Warrior Wizard
  Welcome Back to another Sunday! And another chapter!
  
  So, special thank you to you guys for continuing to read this story. We're nearly to the halfway point, which will be a nice milestone. Also, I can't forget to thank Oxnate and Chelanxar. Despite all of us being busy, we managed to keep another deadline. Thank you guys for your dedication and hard work.
  
  I won't keep you any longer.
  
  Warning: Language and Violence. Mild descriptions of sex.
  
  11K words. Enjoy
  
  Warrior Wizard
  
  Xander woke up because an unpleasant, jostling movement sent bolts of pain through his jaw, skull, and down his neck. He felt as if he was in a running car, because the slightest bumps on the road would send rivers of white-hot pain into his brain. His eyes couldn't seem to regulate light, and the slightest ray of pure white would hurt to see. Xander's mouth, nose, and cheek felt like they were hit with a steel pipe, and stuck in a caved-in-like shape. His face was sweltering hot, like he was bleeding fire from his broken nose & fractured mouth. Xander would've been thrilled he didn't die from Buffy's slap if not for the agony of what was likely a broken jaw & surrounding bones.
  
  "Xander, remain calm," Giles' voice said from his left, but Xander couldn't see him. "We're nearly there. Hospital's only a block away." When Xander tried to talk, only agony sounded out. "Don't speak," the watcher ordered with concern. "Just hold on."
  
  Xander's hot, sweaty face felt as if it was swelling far too much. His neck seemed eerily dislocated and his throat, like it was stuffed with sharp glass. Everything hurt and desperately needed surgery, however, Xander didn't stay at the hospital. The second he got a shot for the pain, he ignored the agony of his jaw and the pounding migraine and forced his way home. It was a long, grueling walk, however, he thought it slightly better than destroying an untold amount of property upon calling his weapon.
  
  On wobbly feet, Xander made it to the only salvation he needed. In his bedroom, Xander gripped Dreadnought, and instantly, his body experienced a cool refreshing anesthetic better than anything the hospital gave him. The exhausted teenager fell into bed, and with weapon in hand, slept instantly. It took the day and all weekend to magically heal his broken jaw and surrounding bones, but it was leagues better than modern medicine. Xander just gripped Dreadnought, ate soup, and slept. Come Monday, his body still hurt to move, but he reassured Willow & Giles that the injury wasn't too terrible and he was getting better.
  
  Midway through the week, his vision was nearly perfect again, his migraines downgraded to annoying headaches, and he could eat solid foods again without painful toothaches. Xander learned from Willow that he was banned from slaying business, but having cleared the month-loop, he didn't care all that much. As the childhood friends walked down the school hallway, the raven-haired teen explained to his redheaded friend his side of what happened, and despite being on his side, it was clear she was disturbed by what he said to Buffy.
  
  "He's a vampire, Will," Xander defended. "And Buffy's the slayer of vampires. When it comes right down to it, it was never going to work out, to begin with."
  
  The stunned Willow whirled on Xander, sadly asking, "How can you say that? Buffy's our friend! And we support our friends even if it's hard."
  
  His half nod showed he wanted to agree but couldn't fully commit, stating, "Yeah... I mean, I'm with you there, but this is more than just hard. It's reckless endangerment of innocent lives; all so she can be with her undead boyfriend?"
  
  Disturbed, Willow grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the busy hallway and into an empty classroom. Turning on him, the worried redhead asked, "Why are you acting like this? I've never seen you this... c-callous, or petty."
  
  His black eyebrows shot up as he asked, "Wow... Wow, petty? Really?" Willow shook her head, saying no, but Xander continued, "Because I'm worried about innocent lives instead of drinking the Buffy/Angel Soulmate Kool-Aid? They should discontinue that flavor for health reasons."
  
  "It's that!" she hotly contested, snapping her fingers and then pointing at his mouth. "That right there! It's like you're mocking her for falling in love with Angel... like, maybe..."
  
  Her hesitance to speak clearly told him she didn't want to hurt his feelings, however, he waved her concern, reassuring her, "It's fine. Just say it."
  
  Hesitantly, she voiced, "Like, maybe you hate that she doesn't love you like that?"
  
  Other than the agony of getting slapped by Buffy, Xander was exuberant that he got to tell her off. He never wanted to be hurt like that again; never wanted to be so blind again. In his overly complicated way, Merlin warned him about instinct and how unwise love could lead to such heartache, so Xander was simply going to rebel and do as he pleased.
  
  ' It all seems doomed anyway ,' he thought before answering Willow with a shrug. "I don't know. I mean, that's as possible as anything else. But I wonder if we really can't help who we fall in love with, or we're all just so broken inside, we can't recognize actual love when we see it. Is it so crazy to believe some of us, me , get angry when others, Buffy , fail to see the obvious?"
  
  She blinked in surprise before slowly expressing, "That's... a somber thought."
  
  "But it makes you wonder, doesn't it?" he asked, before adding, "I mean, the love of a slayer and a vampire have just as much chance at surviving as the district attorney and a crime lord. Don't tell me all of the district attorney's friends aren't telling her it's not going to end well."
  
  Clearing her head of tangent curiosities, Willow fervently replied, "Whatever the case may be, Buffy doesn't deserve her friends unloading on her just because she loves who she loves. Love is love."
  
  Shaking his head in open disagreement, Xander leaned in and simply stated, "The second Angel has a moment of happiness, POOF goes the nice vampire. Angel reverts to Angelus, the Scourge of Europe; no ifs, ands, or buts about it. That's the curse. That's reality. If I ignored that, hoped it didn't happen so Buffy could be in love, I'd be partly responsible for anyone he ended up killing. If you're telling me I was wrong for doing what I did, then tell me what I was supposed to do."
  
  Willow bit her lower lip a little, her expressive eyes unsure of how to answer. After a moment of contemplative silence, the redhead settled for saying, "Maybe try not antagonizing a heartbroken girl with the strength of a hundred men."
  
  "You got me there," he said as he leaned back rather triumphantly. Though, he thought, ' Worth it .'
  
  When they heard the warning bell, the childhood friends walked out into the hallway as Willow assured Xander, "Giles and I will talk to her, but it could be a while before you can come back. It's too fresh right now."
  
  Uninterested, he shrugged as he replied, "Take your time. I'm in no rush to return to servitude." The disappointed look Willow leveled him with made him roll his eyes before sighing. For her sake, he restated, "I'll keep myself busy, Will. Just call me if anything comes up."
  
  Xander redoubled his efforts to finish his scrambler motorcycle. Unforeseen performance problems with the carburetor delayed his progress, but with Mr. Danh's help, he rebuilt the vital part with a repair kit. All Xander had left to do was simple stuff: Fasten the exhaust to the supercharger, connect the battery, alternator, and regulator, affix the handles & pedals, bolt on the matte-black gas tank, screw on the black leather seat, and lastly, attach a few clasps to hook Dreadnought on if he wanted. The final assembly took less than a day to finish and his first motorcycle looked absolutely gorgeous.
  
  "Finally!" he cried out loudly, eying every inch of his midnight scrambler.
  
  Most of the bike was stealth black, however, depending on the material of the surface, highlights bounced off the bike with a variation of soft or sharp light. The high-performance off-road scrambler looked intimidating, with its thick tires and hefty black & steel engine block. The repeated pop-pop-pops from the silenced muffler indicated clean bursts in the engine and an optimal burn when he accelerated. Though he test-drove it carefully, Xander relished the top-quality performance on and off the road. With his learner's permit and insurance already squared away, Xander said farewell to his days of running all over town with a great big smile.
  
  The first time he drove his scrambler to school-wearing a dark long-sleeve under a colorful Hawaiian shirt, khakis, and black sunglasses-Xander drew a lot of attention. The student body walking into school were blown away by his bike. Though they could see it was a unique-lookinh motorcycle, no student would guess that much of the aesthetics came from 21st-century designs, as Old Man Xander liked several of them. He'd later learn from Cordelia that his popularity shot up by eighty percent.
  
  When Xander caught Buffy's arrested and curious eyes, he grinned mischievously at her, then winked. The pretty blonde crinkled the bridge of her nose glaring at him before stomping away. Willow looked at him with, ' come on, Xander ,' eyes, and he nodded apologetically with a small smirk. She followed Buffy whilst Cordelia rushed over to him and insisted on dressing him to compliment the only enviable thing about him.
  
  Raising his lips from the water fountain, he wiped the dripping water on his shirt before he asked her, "Isn't that like couples stuff? I thought we were keeping this classified; need to know; as in, you don't want anyone to know."
  
  Walking down the hall together, Xander took a moment to recall how their current relationship formed once again. He tried breaking it off with her, but after their typical bickering banter, Xander became Cordelia's Geek-Vaccine again. Cognizant of the wisdom Merlin shared with him, the teenager was growing more and more curious about his feelings for Cordelia. She was great, and in significant ways, they were great together, however, Merlin had Xander questioning what was beneath that. From their first kiss in Buffy's basement, the raven-haired boy could always recall how much of their relationship was pure, animal attraction.
  
  Eying her out of the corner of his eye, he asked himself, ' What is that if not instinct at work? ' As they met for fun, Xander couldn't help but wonder if Cordelia really loved him, or if they simply connected well on a physical level. ' Plus, she had something deep with Angel when she moved to LA .'
  
  At his query about doing things couples do, Cordelia weakly replied, "We... are? ...I don't know," She hopped in front of him, stopping them near a corner of the hall, and seemed conflicted as she remarked, "I mean, the cooler you become, the less reason I have to hide you."
  
  "...So sweet," he sarcastically said, with a flat face. "With an offer like that, how could I ever refuse?"
  
  Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she begged, "Please, Xander! That's the best and only motorcycle in school! It's practically criminal to ride around in the fashion-disaster you wear on the daily."
  
  Looking at his colorful Hawaiian shirt over his khakis, he would've felt offended if he cared about what he wore. At her adorable face and pleading eyes, Xander felt his resolve crumble and groaned before replying, "Ugh, fine-"
  
  "Yeeessss!"
  
  " But ," Xander quickly interjected. "I'm only giving you an hour of prep and thirty minutes of actual shopping."
  
  Looking at him like he was a lost child, she shook her head before asserting, "That's not how this works. It takes hours of fittings to find the right style-"
  
  "Tough," he unceremoniously interjected. "Take it or leave it."
  
  "...Fine," she eventually agreed. "But only because I enjoy a challenge. And you have to give me five separate shopping days."
  
  Extending his hand, he nodded as he voiced, "You drive a hard bargain, Chase." With her beaming smile, she shook his hand, then asked how he came to own a brand new motorcycle while they walked to class. He answered, "It's not actually new or even expensive."
  
  As he would with anyone who asked, Xander explained to her having bought a junkyard bike and rebuilding it piece by piece. Though she was skeptical at first, the more he spoke about mechanics, the less she doubted him. Aside from the minutes of fame he earned throughout the week for his eye-catching and expensive-looking bike, his school life was mostly spent alone or with Cordelia in empty classrooms, storerooms, or her car. Jenny checked in on him from time to time, concerned he was taking getting kicked out of the group hard. However, Xander enjoyed his time away from slaying business, and actively looked for every opportunity to annoy Buffy.
  
  He'd sit near her in class, or go to the library to check out a book when he knew she'd be there. Any chance he got, he'd pass her in the halls or at lunch and completely ignore her. At times, being near her was like a double-edged sword, making him recall the pain the previous Buffy caused him. He could only bear it when he'd note how upset she clearly was. The way her tense hand would break her pencil was surprisingly satisfying.
  
  Though he was aware of his own pettiness, Xander refused to apologize. He refused to forget about her & Spike, or be a punching bag for the heartbroken girl to take her pain out on. He may understand the loss she was feeling, but his own heartache was an acute pain that wouldn't allow him to care. Though, he couldn't help but respect her being in school rather than in her bed curled up in the fetal position, crying and shitting herself.
  
  When one of their teachers needed him to pass an assignment to Buffy, Xander found her in the library talking to Giles about vampire business. He walked in as he heard Buffy tell Giles, "I'm telling you something is going-" She stopped talking when she noticed him enter.
  
  Pasting a smile on his face, Xander waved casually as he assured Buffy, "Oh, don't let me interrupt."
  
  "Way too late for that," she coldly retorted.
  
  "Oh, I see you want to keep blaming me for stuff that's out of my control," he said with a casual nod. "Fair enough."
  
  At Buffy's tensing shoulders, Giles stepped forward and asked, "Xander, what can I do for you?"
  
  Walking forward as he raised some papers, he answered, "Here to give Buffy her assignment." When she looked at him suspiciously, he added, "What? The teacher asked me to."
  
  "Leave it and go," she hotly told him.
  
  Xander didn't, and instead asked, "Can I have a minute?"
  
  "No-"
  
  "I, uh, must locate a tome. Be back momentarily," Giles hastily told the blonde slayer, who looked betrayed. He took one step away before he leaned in and asked his slayer, "Please be civil."
  
  Xander stepped closer and casually asked, "So, what's new?"
  
  She glared at him before sighing and telling him, "Just leave the assignment and go, Xander."
  
  At her evident frustration with him, the casual boy voiced, "It doesn't take a genius to figure out you're still pissed at me."
  
  With bubbly sass, Buffy tilted her head as she remarked, "No one's mistaking you for a genius."
  
  "No, just a rational person," he easily returned with a smirk. "And friend, while I'm at it."
  
  "Stop, Xander. Just stop!" Buffy called out, moving closer to him. It wasn't a threat of violence, but sheer frustration, as if she's had more than enough of his guile. Her greenish-blue eyes were pleading when she stated, "What you did... hurt me. And worse yet, it's like you were fine doing it. So, just leave the stupid paper and stay out of my life."
  
  Once again, any payback he wanted for what the other Buffy did was flipped on its head and made him feel like the bad guy. Xander couldn't escape the fact that he was being petty, however, he still didn't have it in him to be the friend to her he once was. In his heart, Buffy was dangerous, and he needed to be careful around her, or risk his sanity.
  
  With a deep breath, Xander was slightly more empathetic as he replied, "Believe it or not, I know exactly what you're going through. And I feel for you. Really, I do. But don't think that gives you the right to kill the messenger just because you didn't like the news." Xander tossed the stapled sheets on the library's wooden desk, adding, "Here. I wrote the answers for you on a second sheet because the awesomeness of my friendship knows no bounds."
  
  "Out," she hotly replied.
  
  Walking away from the peeved girl, Xander voiced, "Call me when you need me."
  
  "Don't hold your breath," Buffy advised with a snarky smile. "Or do. I don't care."
  
  As he made his way to the door, he called out over his shoulder, "Careful what you wish for." Before stepping out, however, he added with a smile of his own, "You might like me more if I were dead."
  
  After working on the fourteenth iteration of Slaymore, Xander showered off the sweat and grime of the forge and dressed in black tactical gear he bought. Though he loved the idea of making himself a superhero costume, he had little time or patience for the process. Similarly, leather was out of the question, as moving in the material was too noisy. Using the Navy SEAL mental pattern, Xander entered the army surplus store and bought a black, long-sleeved body tee, a hooded black jacket with a high collar, black cargo pants, knee & elbow pads, stealth military boots, gloves, and a black & grey camouflage scarf. He had a few knives made of wood in several pockets, Odin's ring on his finger, and hooked Dreadnought on the side of his bike before leaving for his first patrol.
  
  Xander imagined the Achilles and Navy SEAL mental patterns were exhilarated by the action, however, he remained extremely focused. He never let it slip his mind that vampires were faster and stronger than him without his ring and axe. Fortunately, even without Odin's ring or Dreadnought, most vampires didn't know how to fight as he well as did, or what to expect.
  
  Achilles for the hand-to-hand combat and the Navy SEAL for the strategy, Xander was patient and fought with his head to outwit them. With Odin's ring maximizing his body's performance and Dreadnought's ultra-sharp edge & ability to return upon command, Xander dusted five to six vampires a night without help. The close-quarter combat made him recreate his seax Viking dagger. The older versions were made with the rune, ᛉ, or algiz, for protection and defense, making the edge and body virtually indestructible. However, he wanted his seax dagger to do everything Dreadnought could for fighting in tighter spaces. It took longer to forge, but greatly opened his options of attack.
  
  After a week of slaying, he couldn't help but notice the escalating number of vampires he came across, many of whom didn't appear to be from Sunnydale. Xander knew the next big bad on the agenda was Spike and Drusilla's preparations for the Judge, but he didn't care. Xander had already gone through the legendary demon no less than a dozen times, and simply kept killing vampires until he came across Buffy & Angel fighting half a dozen vampires.
  
  Xander noted two vampires rushing away from the scene with a crate over their shoulders and assumed it was a body part of the Judge. The vampires fighting Buffy and Angel were desperately throwing themselves at the pair, as if it was less about trying to kill them, and more about delaying them. Even still, Buffy and Angel were much too experienced to be beaten by four vampires. Xander was set to chase after the two vamps with the crate when another four vampires showed up to help their undead brethren.
  
  ' With their experience, two-to-one was fine ,' Xander thought with growing concern. ' But four-to-one ... '
  
  Buffy and Angel were immediately on the defensive, dodging, blocking, and keeping the terrifying vampires from completely surrounding them. Though his friends had great footwork and experience, Xander felt nervous. A little luck on Buffy's side and she could take out one or two, alleviating the pressure, however, with some luck on the enemy's side, there was a higher possibility for Buffy or Angel to be hurt or killed.
  
  The fear of looping back had Xander quickly secure his camo scarf up to the bridge of his nose. He then lowered his black beanie to his eyebrows before unsheathing Hellguard, his new seax Viking dagger. Xander quietly rushed the melee from an unsuspecting angle, enhanced his arm strength with his ring, then hurled his dagger into the back of a vampire approaching Buffy's rear. The sharp blade was buried into the cold flesh of the supernatural corpse with a heavy THUD. The vampire fell forward on the grass beside the Slayer, with the hilt of the dagger sticking up for Buffy to effortlessly grab and utilize.
  
  Xander threw his battle axe into the chest of another vampire before taking out his wooden knives and fighting with one in each hand. As ever, no demon, vampire, or entity without a soul could lift Dreadnought-and now Hellguard-leaving one grounded while a strengthened Xander weave, slip, and counter the other two. With the incredibly sharp Hellguard in hand, Buffy was making quick work of the four she was fighting. Xander dusted one with his wooden blade to the heart while Buffy was already helping Angel finish off his group.
  
  Feeling the need to leave, Xander stabbed his last vampire in the forearm with his wood knife to distract it while he stepped back and summoned Dreadnought. Heavy metal hummed in the air to his grasp as Xander spun and cleanly decapitated the vampire. He then ran, hoping Buffy decided not to chase after him. Ring or not, there was no way he was going to outrun a slayer without seriously injuring his muscles.
  
  Hurdling over tombstones and ducking branches, Xander sprinted a quarter-mile to his bike, and only then did he feel comfortable she wouldn't chase him down. As he started his scrambler, the teen warrior extended his hand and waited for a moment. Once Hellguard flew into his grip, he peeled out of the cemetery's parking lot and back home.
  
  -B-
  
  Huffing from a tough skirmish, Buffy stared in the direction the man in black went, wondering if she should chase after him. He saved her and Angel from being forced to run or sustain serious injury, and she was grateful. Looking at the pattern-welded long dagger in her hand, she wondered if there was a way to use it to track the mystery man down and thank him for saving them.
  
  Eying the weapon with growing curiosity, Buffy asked Angel, "Who do you think that was?" Crouched down, Angel sniffed the dust-covered wood knife left behind until he hummed in recognition, prompting the slayer to ask, "You have something?"
  
  Angel stood up, and Buffy loved how tall he was. His handsome face looked deep in thought as he spun the wooden blade in his fingers. She thought he might've had a clue, but then her ex-boyfriend shook his head before answering, "Not sure. It's probably nothing."
  
  Feeling that powerful pull in her heart at the sweet sound of his deep voice, Buffy stepped closer to Angel. Being so close to him, breathing in his comforting scent, she felt like it took all of her energy just to stop herself from holding him. She clenched her fist tightly, hoping the pain of her nails digging into her skin would keep the dark thoughts of how unfair being forced to break up was. They both knew breaking up was to save lives, but that didn't stop her from hating every minute of it.
  
  Clearing her throat, Buffy tried not to sound too playful as she voiced, "Famous last words before it turns into something that bites and steals your shoes." His slight smile nearly made her heart burst with happiness, but flashes of dead bodies and Angel, crippled with guilt, made her shake her head of the feelings fogging her reason. "I'm just saying, you can tell me... We're still a team."
  
  He looked just as pained as she felt before he sadly said, "I know."
  
  Buffy stepped back for her own good, then looked over the exceptionally fine dagger in her hand. Angel moved closer and Buffy ignored his alluring scent as she asked, "What was up with his weapons? Did you see how the axe zipped straight to him? You think he could be, like, some sort of warrior wizard or something? Don't wizards normally use wands or staffs? Xander would kno-"
  
  Buffy stopped talking at the mention of her former friend. Buffy hated everything about her life at the moment. She didn't want to be angry at Xander just like she didn't want to stay away from Angel. However, to be friends with Xander and not be Angel's girlfriend just felt too unfair to accept. Squeezing the well-balanced dagger, she hated how much of her days have resorted to feeling angry or depressed. Buffy couldn't imagine how long she had to feel so dead inside, but she didn't think she could do it for long.
  
  Unexpectedly, the dagger was pulled from her hand with substantial force. Angel and Buffy watched t rotating weapon speed through the air in the direction of the mystery man. They shared a look, unsure of how to fit this development with everything else they've been seeing of late. The pair of them had been meeting more frequently to stem the rise in vampire attacks. To add a mystery fighter in black, helping them slay vampires, they had to wonder if there was a link.
  
  Angel said, "I'm not sure what to think about this guy or his weapons, but I'm more concerned with the increase in vampires. Something's going on. And I don't like it."
  
  With a nod, Buffy replied, "I'll talk to Giles."
  
  The moment she always dreaded was upon them. Though the attraction between them was palpable, Angel reluctantly pulled away, and left, leaving her alone.
  
  -X-
  
  Christmas came and went uneventfully for Xander, however, despite his sadness, he had fun. He visited Willow first and gifted her with a dozen of the best magical books he could get his hands on. The beautiful redhead was so ecstatic, she could barely talk to him over her eagerness to read them. After leaving the Rosenbergs, Xander found Giles at his apartment and gifted the watcher with a rapier he made. The thrust-style weapon, with a leaf guard, wasn't magical, but the Englishman enjoyed it nevertheless. Giles served tea as he asked Xander details about forging.
  
  After talking to his parents and Cordelia over the phone, and leaving a message for Kendra, Xander spent the rest of his Christmas with Jenny. They ate pizza and watched two movies as they talked about silly and innocuous things. Xander tried calling Buffy to wish her a Merry Christmas, however, he only spoke with Mrs. Summers. They talked for a good twenty minutes, and at the mention of a headache, Xander actually recalled how she died of a brain aneurysm. He spent next five minutes talking about the dangers of ignoring potential symptoms and highly encouraged her to get it checked.
  
  New Years was spent with Cordelia and for the first time in the loop, they went all the way. As backed up as Xander was, he orgasmed inside her eleven times throughout the entire night and morning, satisfying the gorgeous cheerleader thoroughly and repeatedly. Fortunately, Odin's ring allowed him to recover much quicker than ever before and he utilized its sensational effects until the gasping girl couldn't go any further.
  
  Come morning, Xander held Cordelia in his arms and was surprised by how different he felt about them as a couple. Before his conversation with Merlin, Xander cherished their spontaneous connection, however, now that he considered the deep-seated impulses possibly at play, he wondered if it was healthy to love her without questioning their feelings. Despite their similarities, they had even more differences. And despite the reasons, he did hurt her a lot.
  
  Xander made Cordelia breakfast in the morning and they exchanged Christmas gifts before indulging in more gratuitous fornication. A few weeks later, she came by on his birthday, and after discovering his new living condition-especially how bare most of the rooms were-she begged him to let her decorate. When she made it clear sex would be even better if he said yes, Xander readily agreed and they had a marathon of sex sessions. One of her gifts to him was a lot of lube and her anal cherry.
  
  Xander had been fighting vampires and a few demons all the way to Buffy's birthday without her finding out, however, he learned she was only one of two fighters who didn't know. At the beginning of January, Angel was waiting for the stealth-dressed teen by his bike.
  
  He had his hoodie over his beanie and his camo scarf covered half of his face, yet Angel greeted, "Xander."
  
  Rolling his eyes, Xander lowered his scarf as he lamely returned, "Angel."
  
  The teenager walked over to his bike as the brooding vampire cautioned, "You need to stop what you're doing."
  
  "That's vague," the tired teen pointed out as he clipped Dreadnought to the side of his scrambler. "Do you mean washing my gear with lavender-scented detergent or just existing in general?"
  
  "Neither," Angel answered, then paused a moment before correcting himself. "Actually, stop using the lavender. It makes you easier to track."
  
  Of course, Xander knew that and answered, "Maybe that's what I want." Having noticed how often vampires attacked women, he thought using scent would be a good snare for that behavior.
  
  "And why would you want that?" Angel asked from the other side of Xander's bike. "Trying to get in Buffy's good graces by slaying a few vampires?"
  
  Instantly irate, Xander looked at the taller man and asked, "Don't you mean the tentative mercy of an emotional dictator?"
  
  The vampire kept a cool expression, studying the teenager with a discerning eye before voicing, "You seem overly upset about Buffy giving you the cold shoulder. Cut her some slack. Deep down, she still cares about you. She'll come around."
  
  Leaning forward, Xander hotly contested, "Do me a favor. The next time you see Buffy, redirect what you just said to her, because it goes both ways."
  
  At the sternness in Xander's face, Angel raised his eyebrows and took a step back before mentioning, "When they said you guys were fighting, I didn't expect it to be so... candid."
  
  "What can I say? I shoot from the hip. Night-"
  
  "Wait," Angel asked, stepping closer and stopping him from getting on his bike. "I came to ask about your weapons. I don't care why you want to keep this from your friends, but I need to know where you got them."
  
  Confused, Xander looked at him with squinted eyes before asking, "They didn't tell you I work at a forge now? Wild Dinks on Cuhanga."
  
  "A forge?" the vampire curiously repeated, seemingly trying to make connections to the people he knows. Coming up with nothing, he further asked, "Can you tell me who gave them to you?"
  
  Xander followed the vampire's eye-line to Dreadnought, then answered, "You may not believe me, but I made them myself." Angel's slanting deadpan expression, as if he was waiting for the actual answer, made Xander scoff and retort, "I know, ' what? That Xander did? ' Shocking! "
  
  "Really?" he asked with genuine curiosity.
  
  "Yeah," the animated teen asserted.
  
  "...You did?" he asked again. Xander slanted his head and looked at him with peeved eyes. After a moment of consideration, Angel explained with an annoying level of rationale, "You've never displayed this type of skill before and you want me to act like it's normal for you to fight vampires using magical weapons?"
  
  Acknowledging no one in this loop knew he'd spent decades learning his skills, Xander shrugged with a measure of defeat before begrudgingly admitting, "Suppose you got a point. Doesn't change the fact I forged them myself."
  
  Nodding, Angel moved on to ask, "How many have you forged?"
  
  "You're asking a lot of questions for a guy who won't answer any of mine."
  
  Squinting his eyes in clear befuddlement, Angel pointed out, "You haven't asked any."
  
  " That 's probably because I want to go home and sleep! " he loudly professed. "It might be a spry morning for you vampire-folk, but us regular mortals are dragging ass at this time. So..."
  
  Xander hopped on his bike before turning it on. Angel moved in front of the softly purring motorcycle as he warned him, "If you don't stop whatever this is, you're going to get yourself killed. Then Buffy'll really be angry with you."
  
  Xander snickered mirthfully before raising his scarf over his nose and speeding away. The teen didn't heed Angel's warning, despite running into the pair a few times on patrol. Judging by the questions Buffy asked as he left, Angel evidently hadn't revealed his true identity to anybody in the gang, which he could appreciate. Xander saw Angel once again, a few days after Buffy's birthday. In fact, he was visited by the entire gang.
  
  Giles, Willow, Oz, Angel, and Buffy showed up at the forge when he had finished up. He was getting out of the locker room, drying his longish black hair from his shower earlier, when they came rushing into the hallway past the front office. Willow was happy to see him, giving him a powerful hug, while Giles remained all-business. Despite the threat at hand, Buffy stayed in the back, seemingly irked for having to be there while the others seemed pressed for time. Xander didn't have the energy to act surprised. He simply kept drying his ebony hair in the hallway as he looked at them.
  
  "Xander," Giles started, then took the lead to explain their need for his magical weapons.
  
  When Xander asked, "What for?"
  
  Buffy replied from the back, "He doesn't need to know."
  
  Turning to the slayer, Willow pleaded, "Come on, Buffy."
  
  "Xander, there isn't much time to explain," Giles continued. "Will you please trust us? It's a matter of life and death."
  
  Calmly, Xander pointed out, "It's a matter of life and death, but even something like that isn't enough for you to be upfront with me?"
  
  "This isn't a game," Angel voiced with some edge.
  
  Holding the ends of the towel slung around his neck, Xander sighed while he nodded in agreement, then asked, "Everyone but Buffy wait outside."
  
  "Come on, Xander," Willow tried.
  
  "It's okay, Wills," he replied, patting her shoulder. Giles took a calculating look between Xander and Buffy, then ushered the others back down the hallway and outside. After the watcher, Willow, Oz, and Angel left, Xander turned around as he voiced, "Come on."
  
  Without waiting, he walked down the other end of the hallway, which led to the sanding room. From there, they walked in silence through the forging room, welding benches, and their final destination: the storage room. Xander unlocked the prison-style bar door of the room, then walked to his personal storage space. Unlocking the steel mesh cage, Buffy was stunned to see so many weapons; swords, axe heads, spearheads, and a few daggers. As Xander grabbed the new and improved Slaymore, Buffy pointed at his three-foot battle axe with explicit recognition.
  
  Xander wasn't sure he was going to make Slaymore again. He was still furious at Buffy, however, that was precisely the reason why he decided to make it once more. Despite feeling repulsed by what she did with Spike, he didn't want to loop back upon her death simply because he wasn't around to help her. With Slaymore at her hip, Xander was certain Buffy could survive anything thrown at her, and he wouldn't be forced to repeat this small section of life again.
  
  "That axe..." Buffy started, staring at Dreadnought.
  
  However, Xander shoved the sheathed sword into her hands, reminding her, "I thought I told you to call me when you needed me." Irritation quickly returned to her beautiful eyes. Then, rather than reply, she turned to leave. Buffy jolted back when Xander didn't let go. When she looked at him in confusion, he answered her questioning gaze. "Tell me what you're fighting."
  
  "Xander, let go," she ordered. "I don't have time for this."
  
  "You know why that's not my problem? Cuz you need me more than I need you," he quickly answered. In his mind, he was calculating how close he could cut it before making it to the mall in time to kill the Judge. Certain they still had enough time, the raven-haired teen leaned in and asked, "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't."
  
  Leaning in herself, she gravely asserted, "People could die, Xander!"
  
  "Funny how it's fine and dandy for you to use that card when you need it, but I do the same thing, and it only pisses you off. Isn't that hypocritical?" She tried to leave again, and he held the sheathed weapon by the middle as hard as he could. Cognizant she could toss him across the room if she wanted, he demanded, "Tell me what you're dealing with so I can help you, you know, save the world and stuff." She stared at him in silence, which was a good sign because, with her strength, she could've just pulled him along with her. Pressing his luck, he reasoned, " I made this weapon, Buffy. I did . I need to know what you're fighting so I can tell you what it can and can't do."
  
  The irate slayer begrudgingly deflated in resignation before answering, "...He's called the Judge. Big blue guy; like a Smurf and an ogre had a baby. No weapon forged can stop him. Kills anyone with a soul."
  
  Xander nodded in appreciation, then nodded toward the handle. Buffy looked at the hilt's metal guard and pommel are cast with images of fierce dragons and heraldic beasts. Understanding his unspoken words, Buffy gripped and unsheathed the gorgeous sword from the scabbard.
  
  He introduced the weapon and its wielder with a showman's flourish, boasting, "Slaymore, this is Buffy. Buffy, Slaymore. You're going to love her. She can cut through steel without losing her edge. You'll notice she weighs less than she appears. That's because Slaymore is bonded to you, and weighs less in your hands than in anyone else's. She'll likely enhance your own abilities. I'm not sure how cuz I'm not a slayer, so be mindful of that. And it's forged with blessed gold, so it'll kill vampires easily."
  
  Buffy expertly whirled the blade in her hand and the slicing hum in the air spoke to her high skill level. He noted a slight smile on her face as she tested the weight of the blade. In another life, he would've relished the look of approval on her stunning face. Presently, she seemed like nothing more than a kid with a new toy.
  
  When Buffy sheathed her sword, Xander expressed, "If this Judge guy regenerates fast, then Slaymore might not be enough. Where are you going to be?"
  
  After a moment of silent contemplation, Buffy informed Xander, "This doesn't mean we're okay."
  
  "You're wasting time," he reminded her.
  
  "Sunnydale mall."
  
  With a smile, he asked, "Was that so hard?" He didn't care for a response and told the blonde beauty, "I'll be there in forty minutes. Try not to die till I get there."
  
  Xander called Cordelia, and as ever, had her wear a sultry number before picking him up. They got in and out of the military base with two cases and rushed to the mall. With Dreadnought on his back, Xander and Cordelia rushed inside to the food court. Many people were hiding as they had before, while Buffy fought the muscularly large blue demon. He did indeed regenerate nearly as fast as it was cut, however, the wounds clearly hurt him, as he yelled with every cut Buffy inflicted.
  
  Angel was fighting Spike and a group of vampires, and Giles, Oz, and Willow had their own fight to contend with. As before, Xander had Cordelia get innocent civilians out as he shouldered his assault rifle and started snipping vampires, starting with Drusilla. As Xander drew vampires to him from all angles, Cordelia, Giles, Oz, and Willow ushered the frightened civilians out to safety.
  
  When Angel was close enough, Xander tossed Dreadnought to him, and wasn't surprised the souled vampire could use it. Xander then called Buffy to get out of the way. He set the M72 LAW rocket launcher on his shoulder. Having always passed this moment onto Buffy under his misguided feelings of loyalty and affection, Xander relished pressing the square red button and blowing the Judge up.
  
  "WWWHHOOOOOO!" the excited Xander hollered as big smoking chunks of blue meat fell all over the floor of the food court. Shaking his head at the many splat noises, Xander quipped, "There's no putting that Humpty together again."
  
  The vampires scattered after that, with an irate Spike carrying the wounded Drusilla away to safety. With everything settling down, Cordelia and Willow were the first to reach him, excited by his pivotal aid and surviving the battle. In their tame way, Oz, Angel, and Giles were just as happy to be alive. Buffy nervously approached Xander, who was packing everything up as he shared with his friends additional one-liners he had lined up.
  
  She cleared her throat before softly voicing, "Xander?"
  
  Turning to the mildly injured slayer-an abrasion on her forehead and cut lip-she didn't seem angry anymore, but was quite awkward as she extended Slaymore to him, holding it in the middle.
  
  Her attempt to return the magical sword brought a small smile to his face because such a tiny gesture helped separate the Buffy that hurt him from the one standing in front of him, if only slightly. Xander pushed back the sheathed weapon, saying, "Happy birthday, Buffy."
  
  Instead, he extended his right hand to the side, and Buffy quirked her brow, unsure what he wanted until Dreadnought flew out of Angel's grasp and into Xander's. "That-" Buffy started, just as shocked as Giles, Oz, and Willow. "That was you!?" she finished.
  
  In disbelief, Willow asked, "You're the Warrior Wizard?!"
  
  Jovially, he replied to his dearest friend, "I'm not a wizard." Xander turned to Angel to ask, "You didn't tell them?"
  
  Buffy asked Angel, "You knew?"
  
  Seemingly uncomfortable, he cleared his throat before answering, "I... didn't think it was my place."
  
  "Xander, about these weapons," the hyper-curious Giles started. "Would you be kind enough to disclose how you came upon them?"
  
  "Since when can you use magic?" the eager Willow quickly asked. Then she smacked his shoulder before demanding, "And why didn't you tell me?"
  
  "Whoa, whoa, whoa, drowning in questions here," Xander called out. Eying Buffy, the teen suggested, "If it's okay with her majesty here, how about I come by the library tomorrow and do a little show and tell?" Giles and Willow turned to the blonde and eyed her pleadingly. With a sigh, a slightly amused Buffy nodded. Lifting the cases, Xander finished, "Right, I gotta return these before the army come-a-lookin'."
  
  Xander and Cordelia left and ended the night at his place, where she enthusiastically showed him how aroused watching him fire a gun made her.
  
  In the library the next day, Xander thought about his next series of moves. Spike was his biggest problem. He couldn't kill the English vampire, but for his sanity, he didn't want him anywhere near Buffy. In the previous extended loop, Spike left for months after being ensouled. If Xander could manage that faster-before summer-Buffy won't be near him. All of this hinged on Jenny absolutely not dying, as her death was the only reason they refused to cast the curse in the first place.
  
  Xander put the leather case he made for his axe on the table before untying the leather strings. He explained to Buffy, Giles, Willow, Jenny, Cordelia, and Oz, "Hardcover cases just break when I summon Dreadnought." Giles and Willow were inspecting Dreadnought, Hellguard, and Slaymore on the table while he explained, "What's important isn't necessarily the runes, which is why you can't write them down on any ol' thing and expect it to work. The vessel and how you craft it is what's really important."
  
  Xander explained how many blacksmiths don't have magical ability, thus must've incorporated it into their weapons via other means. He continued saying, "It takes a lot of hard work, intuition, and preparation to tempt even a small amount of magic into a vessel, but it can be done. I modeled Buffy's sword after Excalibur and my axe was originally supposed to be a hammer, but the material really wanted to be an axe."
  
  "Remarkable," Giles gasped, inspecting every inch of the pattern-forged steel.
  
  While Willow focused on the expertly etched dragon designs on Slaymore's guard and pommel, the mesmerized redhead asked, "Can you make anything else?"
  
  Smiling at their appreciation of his work, Xander answered, "I can make a lot, but I'm running low on materials of the magical variety."
  
  Looking up, the eager girl asked, "Such as?"
  
  "The Du Lac Cross," he began. "I melted it down and used that for the runes in each of the constructs. If I can get my hands on something else, I could make some other stuff."
  
  Raising her hand over the hilt of the sword, Cordelia flexed her arm several times before bemoaning, "How come I can't make it fly to me?"
  
  "Best guess? Only the master of the weapon can use all the features," Xander easily returned before looking over at the blonde slayer. "Buffy..."
  
  From the other side of the table, she looked at him in surprise, as if she wasn't expecting to be a part of the festivity. Though he wondered where her head was at, Xander tilted his head toward her weapon, telling her to try. She raised her eyebrows before eying Slaymore. Willow moved out of the way as Buffy extended her hand.
  
  When nothing immediately happened, Xander voiced, "Think about wanting Slaymore in your hand, like holding a friend's hand." The second she did, the Excalibur lookalike flew from the table straight into Buffy's grip.
  
  "Whoa," Buffy gasped, eying her weapon lovingly.
  
  "Cool," Oz added.
  
  With a cheery grin, Xander raised his hands and called the other two weapons into his grasp, then explained how he considered who he was making the weapon for during the forging process. "Or else it'll just be a really good sword," he finished. Now that he had everyone's attention, Xander pivoted the conversation to something of grave importance. He told his battle buddies, "I have a way of dealing with Spike and Drusilla without having to fight them."
  
  They all perked up and Giles asked, "How might that be?"
  
  "We ensoul them," he easily answered.
  
  "...You mean use the same curse Angel has on Spike and Drusilla?" Willow slowly asked.
  
  "Yup," he said, popping the p sound. "Think about it. They took the time, money, and effort to gather all the body parts that were scattered across the globe, and revive the Judge. Before that, they hired assassins and kidnapped Angel to heal Drusilla. They're likely planning something else right now. We need to deal with them before they eventually score a win on us."
  
  "Or," Buffy sounded with a thoughtful tilt of her chin. "I could just kill them."
  
  "Hasn't happened yet," he bluntly leveled with a wince. "And besides, why slay harder when you can slay smarter? Ms. Calendar and Willow can cast the spell from here, even though a defendable house would be better- magic reasons . Then we can relax knowing they're suffering from the most cosmic case of guilt imaginable."
  
  "While I c-commend your creativity," the prudent watcher began. "We cannot be certain of an outcome like Angel. It could be just as possible for Spike and Drusilla to kill with a soul."
  
  Eager for some revenge on Spike, Xander acted slightly slow as he reminded everyone, "Well, the curse forces them to accept remorse, guilt, and torment for all the lives they've taken; ' Force ' being the keyword there. So, I'm betting they'll be good little blood-suckers after that; guilt-ridden, but good."
  
  Cordelia and Jenny agreed with Xander's plan, Oz abstained from a vote, and Willow remarked loving the chance to try her hand at heavier magic. Despite having a majority, Xander knew no one would feel right about ensouling Spike if the watcher and the slayer didn't agree. Giles turned to Buffy, who walked up to Xander and asked if they could talk in private.
  
  The raven-haired teen followed her into Giles' office, where she proceeded to surprise Xander by saying, "I'm sorry." Xander raised his eyebrows as she added, "You were right all along. I was totally slaying the messenger, and I shouldn't have put what happened on you. You're one of my best friends and I was wrong for treating you the way I did."
  
  Xander was as stunned as he was conflicted. On the one hand, he wanted to stay angry at her over the craziness of hooking up with Spike, but on the other hand, this Buffy hadn't done that and did not know why he was punishing her with a cold shoulder. Though he couldn't deny a small part of him missed her, it was the innocence he missed the most. Missing her also made what she did feel that much worse, because parts of him were much more conscious of how profoundly she could hurt him. Xander wanted to stay away from that, like a recovering alcoholic wanted to stay away from bars.
  
  Still, standing up for himself and putting himself first didn't mean he needed to be an asshole unnecessarily, and with a slow nod, said, "Thanks. Um, it's like I said before, you know. It ain't fair sometimes what you have to put up with. You're like fate's punching bag, so I get it. That's why you have your rag-tag Scooby Gang."
  
  Buffy smiled gratefully at him, seemingly happy to have apologized, then gave him a powerful hug. He was slightly hesitant at first, but returned the hug while reminding himself she wasn't the one that hurt him. Then she stepped back, and with crackling energy, she lightly smacked his shoulder as she boasted, "I can't believe you're the Warrior Wizard. You could've told me it was you."
  
  "When? I was in the doghouse, remember?"
  
  "Yeah," Buffy said with remorse. "Again, sorry." Xander shook his head, deciding then and there to just try to move past the hurt. The bubbly blonde then asked, "When did you learn to fight like that?!"
  
  In Xander's first year-loop, he could always blame his combat ability on the soldier costume. Now that he dressed as Casanova in this loop, Xander went with an answer they couldn't disprove, even if they doubted it. He lifted his right hand and wiggled the finger with Odin's ring on it, and Buffy eyed the silver, beveled ring with runes written around it.
  
  "Believe it or not," he started. "It's called the Ring of Power, but it acts more like a gateway of need and replication. If I need to heal from an injury, for example-" Xander rubbed the spot of his jaw where Buffy slapped him.
  
  The beautiful blonde winced audibly before remorsefully asserting, "Really, really sorry about that. If it makes you feel any better, Giles gave me hell for days after that, and Willow totally gave me the silent treatment. I thought she'd never talk to me again. It was worse than prison."
  
  "Wow," Xander voiced. "Even I've never gotten the silent treatment."
  
  "Don't," Buffy warned. "It's terrifying."
  
  The smirk on his face when he said, "Well, you're not forgiven," made her smile and roll her greenish-blue eyes. "It functions on need, among other things. So, it can boost my strength if I really need it. Or, when I needed to know how to fight, that knowledge is then replicated from all the stuff I've seen, martial arts movies, tv shows, or one of my best friends kicking demon ass for years."
  
  Buffy nodded in understanding before condensing it to, "So... like monkey see, monkey do?"
  
  "Pretty much," he agreed with a nod.
  
  "What happens if you lose the ring?"
  
  "Then monkey dead," he bluntly assured, making her snort. "So, you on board with my idea?"
  
  Slanting her body to the side, as if she was unsure, Buffy slowly answered, "I don't know, Xander. I'd kinda just rather kill him."
  
  "Trust me, I would love nothing more," Xander strongly emphasized. "But I don't think it's the best play here."
  
  "Why? It's pretty much the only play in the Slayer PlayBook."
  
  ' Unless you 're fucking them ,' he angrily thought. His chest constrained at the reminder and he quickly shook his head of those vile thoughts before voicing, "We've been fighting the same kind of fight for so long, I just think we need to switch it up. If it works, that's two less vamps we need to worry about. If it doesn't, then feel free to feed their heart a healthy source of concentrated fiber."
  
  Buffy smiled before nodding, and saying, "Alright, we'll do it your way."
  
  "Sweet," he returned with a nodding smirk.
  
  "But I don't want Mr. Warrior Wizard going out there anymore," Buffy added, making Xander quirk his brow in confusion. "It's amazing enough you survived this long. No need to push our luck."
  
  Uncertain about her stipulation, Xander asked for clarity, "You want me to stop?"
  
  Confused herself by his reaction, Buffy slowly answered, "Well, yeah. Look, I know you have your tools, and you've been doing it for a couple of weeks, but you said it yourself. Without that stuff, you'd be in serious danger. Why take the risk?"
  
  "Because it's my choice," he flatly answered. "And I don't care if you're the Slayer. You can't take my choices from me."
  
  Buffy balked at his response before cautiously arguing, "Xander, you've helped out more than enough. And your weapons are the best thing since the invention of the wheel and A/C put together. But don't risk your life unnecessarily to prove something."
  
  Xander could feel the edges of confinement clamping down on him and his shoulders tensed to combat the pressure as he asked, "This isn't about me risking my life, is it?"
  
  "What? Of course, it is."
  
  "No, I don't think it is," he returned, shaking his head. Even if she couldn't see it, this restriction was clear as day to him. "This sounds more like you wanting to put me back in my box. Nice, safe, comfy Xander; good for a laugh, dishes out heaps of attention, and always follows obediently." Xander stared straight into her eyes and told her without blinking, "We're not watching that show anymore, Buffy. I've grown beyond that. So, if you don't want me out there at night, you better give me a damn good reason to change my mind."
  
  On the very edge of anger, the hotheaded teen walked past her to leave, but Buffy whirled in front of him and demanded to know, "Your life isn't a good enough reason?"
  
  Over the conversation and nearly to the door, he answered, "If you really knew me, you'd know the answer to that."
  
  Buffy grabbed Xander's shirt, stopping him. It reminded him of when she tried to stop him from killing Spike in the previous long loop. Xander had to force himself to remain calm, and once again, not combine the two Buffys as the blonde in front of him slowly asked, "Do you really think I don't know you?"
  
  He looked at her hand, gently placed his own hand over hers, then shoved it off, as if the touch was acidic. The dark-haired man leaned down as he gravely told her, "The Xander in your head and the one in front of you are not the same. The faster you realize that, the better we'll get on."
  
  With no warning, Buffy quickly put Xander in a headlock, making him yell, " What the -" before her supernaturally strong arms squeezed him into submission. Though she had thin arms, her flexed muscles felt like steel wires under her soft skin, and he pulled against her hold with all of his strength, to no avail.
  
  As the incredibly strong blonde forced Xander out of Giles' office to the others, Buffy yelled, "Giles! I think Xander's been possessed again- AAEEEEKKK !" The stunned girl hopped away, letting Xander go before whipping around and cupping her butt. With wide eyes, she looked at him in utter shock before shrieking, "Did you seriously just grab my ass?!"
  
  Xander was massaging his red neck as he hurled back, "Did you seriously just put me in a headlock?!" Though irate, he couldn't deny her firm, bubble-butt felt nice in his hands.
  
  The others were gathering around, and Buffy hesitated to explain, "Well... you're acting weird! Like, hyena-Xander-weird!"
  
  "The only weird one here is you," he retorted. "It makes total sense for Willow to be a genius AND good at magic, but I have something I'm good at, and I must be possessed by the spirit of a hyena again, right?"
  
  Standing closer as he inspected Xander, Giles cautiously asked Buffy, "Do you truly believe he's possessed?"
  
  Saddened, Xander whirled on the Englishman, asking, "Really, Giles?"
  
  "I-I-I'm sorry, Xander," the adult voiced with a slight dip of his head. "But this is a lot to take in, and one can never be too careful."
  
  Xander sagged his shoulders in defeat as the slayer gently stepped forward and urged, "Just let us check, okay? And if-"
  
  "If I'm not possessed, then what?" Xander challenged, standing straighter. Even if he could understand their position, it hurt, and he didn't have to like it. Staring down at Buffy, the irate teen asked, "What other BS are you going to invent to ignore what's right in front of you?"
  
  "You must admit, from our perspective, you are acting rather uncharacteristically," Giles prudently finished.
  
  Turning on the older man, Xander returned, "And that couldn't possibly be because I wanted to be more than a one-dimensional doormat for everyone to stomp on?"
  
  "No one thinks you're a doormat, Xander," Willow said, trying to alleviate the tension.
  
  "Well, not anymore, anyway," Cordelia pointed out.
  
  "I'm only going to tell you this once," Buffy slowly warned, stepping in front of him. She was supremely confident in her ability as she told him, "Sit down, and let them check you out."
  
  Xander took a step toward her, looking down into her confident eyes as he suppressed his growing irritation just below the surface, and just as gravely asked, "Or what?"
  
  Suddenly, the large library felt smaller and the tension between the two warriors was palpable as the room grew deathly silent. Looking into her amazing greenish-blue eyes, smelling her lovely scent, feeling her vibrant warmth, Xander didn't care for any of it anymore. In his mind, the fact that she was so beautiful only taunted him more. Buffy's beauty blatantly said he was worth less than an undead murderer, and that angered him every time. Xander was ready for a fight... itching for it.
  
  That was, until Willow gripped Xander's forearm and looked him pleadingly in his eyes as she asked, "Please, Xander? For me, just- just let us check."
  
  Looking into the brown, expressive eyes of his oldest and dearest friend, Xander felt his electric ire deflate. It was impossible for him to withstand her adorable effect on him. Rolling his eyes, Xander sighed before walking to a chair and slumping in it. The room was relieved, and it took Giles, Jenny, and Willow the rest of the day to try as many of the scanning spells as they could look up. Xander even took off his ring and begrudgingly let Buffy hold on to it. He only ever forgot his anger and was completely flabbergasted when one of the soul-type spells stated he was actually a hundred and three years old. Immediately, Xander's mind wondered if that was the age all the loops accumulated to.
  
  ' A hundred and three! ' he mentally yelled. His jaw dropped as he thought, ' It took me that long to stop being so stupid? Fuck! How did Old Me even survive? '
  
  The only way he could explain the number was using the Halloween costume and explaining that Casanova was pretty old when he died. Giles wasn't sure if that could be the reason, and they used the spell on Buffy. When the results stated she was a seventeen-year-old girl, Xander just shrugged. He had nothing that could explain that. They found it odd, but without explanation, the magic wielders concluded that they needed to perform different diagnostic spells.
  
  Xander stewed in annoyance until nightfall, when he had enough and was boiling. He stood up and grabbed his things as Buffy approached him, demanding to know, "What are you doing?"
  
  Xander just glared at her, communicating with his eyes that he's had enough. Buffy looked hesitant by comparison. Though she had complete confidence in her ability, he could tell by her lack of clear eye contact that she wasn't sure about her actions.
  
  Giles must've recognized the look, and for the sake of peace, said, "I believe that'll be all, Xander. Thank you. We'll, uh, begin researching the ensouling spell tomorrow."
  
  Xander extended his palm, and Buffy gently placed his silver ring on it. He walked past her, bumping her shoulder without uttering a word, and Cordelia followed him out of the library. In the student parking lot, Cordelia couldn't help remarking, "I thought you loved her; like gross, obsessive, puppy love."
  
  Careful, but honestly, he answered, "Whatever I felt for her fell off the pedestal and into the mud."
  
  Xander was clipping Dreadnought to the side of his scrambler when Cordelia hesitated to ask, "So... what am I?"
  
  "You're Cordelia Chase," he joked, though he knew what she meant.
  
  Not having any of that, she replied, " What am I. Not who."
  
  In the moment of silence that descended, Xander knew Cordelia wasn't the kind of weak, feeble-minded girl you lie to or sugarcoat the truth with. She could handle it straight, and so Xander walked up to her. Inches apart, he cupped her cheek as he honestly expressed, "You're one of the few people on this planet that I love."
  
  She saw right through him, and stepped back-out of his cupped hand-as she softly replied, "But... you're not in love with me?"
  
  "I love you, Cordelia," he promised her, however, the unconscious way she crossed her arms told him she was hurt and on the defensive. Still, he remained honest and confessed, "Just like how I know you love me. But, you're not in love with me; not really."
  
  Cordelia was someone Xander thought a lot about, especially after talking to Merlin. The idea that Cordelia might love him, not because he was special, unselfish, funny, exciting, or attractive, but because she unconsciously recognized a familiar suffering, didn't seem healthy. In his Old Man memories, he cheated on Cordelia just like Willow cheated on Oz. But despite the same caliber of infidelity, Oz took Willow back while Cordelia didn't take Xander back. Was that real love or did the illusion just break? Xander couldn't be sure, however, now he was more than brave enough to test the hypothesis that Cordelia didn't actually love him as completely as he once thought.
  
  "You and me, we're super similar," Xander confidently claimed. When she was on the cusp of refuting his assertion, he put his palms up right away, then reassured her, "Yeah, yeah. Aside from how attractive and popular you are."
  
  "And rich," Cordelia hotly added.
  
  With a sly smile, Xander returned, "We're both on that level now." At her small smile, he continued, "We got a lot in common where it counts, and there's nothing wrong with love that stems from a familiar feeling. But when you're in love with someone, you see a future. And I'm willing to bet when you think of me, you're not dreaming about a house, a bunch of kids, or growing old together. You like how I make you feel; something like, ' this guy gets me .'" For Cordelia to be silent, he must've been on the right track, and finished, "You're amazing, Cordelia Chase, and I'll love the shit out of you no matter what we go through, but you're not the girl I'll torment for decades in holy matrimony."
  
  Cordelia turned around and walked to the driver's side of her red BMW. She unlocked it, opened the door, and seemed as if she was going to leave without saying anything. Instead, she turned around and told him, "That would be torture, now that you mention it. I have homework to catch up on tonight, so..."
  
  Xander nodded, then she drove away, knowing he hurt her once again, and hated it.
  
  If anyone is experiencing symptoms of a brain aneurysm(Visual disturbances, such as loss of vision or double vision. Pain above or around your eye. Numbness or weakness on 1 side of your face. Difficulty speaking. Headaches. Loss of balance. Difficulty concentrating or problems with short-term memory.), please consider getting checked out. It could save your life.
  
  For those who haven't seen the show, In season 1, Xander is possessed by the spirit of a Hyena, which makes him act more dominant/alpha/territorial. It took a while before his friends noticed, but that's why Buffy immediately put him in a headlock. Hyena Xander was very strong and gave Buffy a challenge.
  
  I'm considering writing a side story of what happened to Buffy in the time loop where she hooked up with Spike. The reason why I didn't linger on that loop, was because any regret and remorse she would definitely feel, would simply be erased when Xander looped back. It benefits Xander's story more if he doesn't get that relief. But I see what you guys are saying and I should've considered your catharsis for the emotion invested in that chapter. My bad, guys. I'll try to be more considerate moving forward.
  
  Xander is getting up there in age, lol. I honestly lost tract around 70-80 years. In my head, becoming a forge master took the longest amount of time. Everything else, though big pies, felt like equal amount of time.
  
  Plenty happened in this chapter and we got plenty more to go. Thank you again for reading and taking the time to comment. Thanks again to my awesome and supportive betas, Oxnate and Chelanxar. Have a great one and till next week,
  
  -Grae
  
  P.S. From Ruin and The Last Prayer are on hold until I do 1 of 2 things; stop working 2 jobs or finish Chain of Ascension. They are not abandoned. It's just that Chain of Ascension is easier to write since the outline is detailed and done. Thank you for your patience.
  
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  This Is You
  Another Sunday, Another Chapter!
  
  Welcome back friends. This is a short chapter. Only 3.7K words. No warnings. Just FYI, the next handful of chapters will be on the shorter side. The previous 10K chapters were not the norm. Anyway, thank you to my amazing betas, Oxnate and Chelanxar.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  This Is You
  
  After stopping Spike, Drusilla, and The Judge toward the end of January, the weeks that flew by were low in excitement and slaying. Xander hadn't dusted over two vampires a night. On a few nights, he wouldn't run into a single vampire, and as he patrolled the streets and cemeteries on his scrambler, it left him with plenty of time to think. He thought heavily about escaping the Time Braid; about the point of it all; about Buffy, and worst of all, Cordelia.
  
  The spunky cheerleader had put a pause on their romantic relationship. Though he couldn't ignore how alone he felt without the comfort of her familiarity, he understood why she would end it. Cordelia was headstrong and wouldn't allow herself to show weakness by chasing a man who couldn't see how amazing she was. Even after he gave her a slim gold ring he had made if they made it to Valentine's Day. She was unimpressed with the simple precious gold until he revealed the magic embedded.
  
  "It's called Draupnir, or the dripper," Xander had explained. "As long as you wear it, every twelve days, three gold rings ' drip ' from the main ring, each the same size and weight as Draupnir. Collect enough of them, you can melt them into a nice bar of gold. Right now, the price per ounce is three hundred and thirty-four. Each ring is four ounces... twelve ounces total, so you're looking at four thousand every twelve days."
  
  Cordelia's eyebrows jumped, and she smiled before quickly controlling her giddy facial muscles. Looking from the shiny gold ring to him, the now stoic cheerleader simply asked, "Why? We're broken up."
  
  "I made it for you," Xander told her. "Whether we're together or not, doesn't matter. It's still yours."
  
  Cordelia whined, then hugged him, asking herself, though loud enough for him to hear, "Why do you have to be such an idiot?"
  
  Xander snickered and hugged her back. He loved her, and she loved him, and they would always be Xander and Cordelia. However, he wanted her to ruminate on his words about love. Like Buffy and Willow, she was one of a kind, and deserved better than a love based in the familiarity of past trauma. In any case, Xander left the ball in her court. If Cordelia wanted to continue anything, it would be up to her.
  
  After a super slow patrol at his fifth cemetery, Xander was walking to his bike as he debated driving around the Bronze a few times before heading home. Reaching the empty parking lot of the quiet cemetery, he was surprised to see Buffy admiring every angle of his bike. She was wearing black jeans and a purple top under a black jacket. With her blonde hair in a ponytail and Slaymore strapped to her shapely hip, the beautiful girl was clearly patrolling as well.
  
  Buffy turned to Xander as he approached, then voiced with a smile, " Really nice wheels."
  
  Xander lowered his camo scarf to say, "Thanks." Removing Dreadnought from his back, he clipped the weapon along the side of his Suzuki scrambler as he admitted, "She was a pain in the ass to rebuild, but way worth it." At Buffy's small laugh, he quirked his brow as he asked, "What?"
  
  Buffy's smile persisted as she scrunched her nose, then answered, "It's just really hard to accept this is you; on your motorcycle with your battle axe. It feels like the universe took a hard left, and we're all just catching up."
  
  "Part of that is my fault," he answered as he nodded. "Well, I guess all of that is my fault. There's only so many jokes you can tell before people think that's all you are."
  
  "You're more than that, Xander," she assured him with compassionate eyes. "You're one of two in the best friend department and number one in the best male category."
  
  Internally, he rolled his eyes as he thought, ' Typical .' Though Xander didn't want to be lovestruck by her ever again, he wasn't a fan of being her friend either. She had preconceived notions of what being her best male friend meant, and Xander didn't want to fit in that box anymore, remarking, "Well, that just won't do at all."
  
  "It's not your fault," Buffy insisted. "Willow's just like the sister I never had."
  
  "I didn't mean that," he stated.
  
  The slightly confused look she gave him amused him, and stimulated an entertaining idea. The idea of breaking that box Buffy had for him, confusing her idea of him so utterly, sounded fun to him. Challenging her opinion of him would be a form of defiance and retribution, which greatly appealed to him. Though Xander would need to draw on buried feelings for her, he felt confident that in the end-when it came right down to it-neither he, nor Buffy, wanted a romantic relationship.
  
  With a bold smile on his lips, Xander hummed a moment before playfully offering, "How about a deal? I'm assuming you still want me to stop being Warrior Wizard? Which, by the way, that name's doing nothing for me. What's wrong with the Black Axe, Hunter, Shadow? Hell, I would've gone with Raven. It's cleaner; smoother to say."
  
  "Well, I don't know," she cutely defended before sadly uttering, "Warrior Wizard just stuck. It was better than That Guy with the Axe ."
  
  "Yeah, I'd say you made the right call then," he quickly tried to placate her. "Solid 9 out of 10."
  
  "Ah, the beauty of perspective," Buffy joked, earning a smile from Xander. She then asked, "So, what's the deal?"
  
  "You be my valentine, and I'll stop being Warrior Wizard."
  
  Buffy's eyebrows raised, and for a moment, she was speechless. She didn't even blink. Xander was about to repeat himself when the stunned blonde sounded, "Uh... You mean..."
  
  Enjoying her uncomfortable confusion, Xander added with a smile, "I'm guessing you've heard of Valentine's day. Lots of red. It's right around the corner."
  
  Looking around their surroundings before settling her eyes on his bike, she deflected by asking, "Wasn't it a massacre?"
  
  "I think you're thinking of the gang war," he gave her. "Could be mistaken, though. Learning is hard."
  
  Finally looking at him, the apology was heavy in her expression as she sadly expressed, "I, uh, Xander, I'm flattered, really, but... I just don't think of you that way."
  
  Unbothered by the rejection, Xander simply shrugged before replying, "Then I guess I keep on with my axing ways."
  
  Her eyebrows drew in as her confusion returned, "That's a little manipulative."
  
  "It's called a deal, Buff," Xander replied. "You get what you want, and I get what I want."
  
  In disbelief, Buffy gasped before asserting, "Xander, I'm not going to be your girlfriend just to stop you from being stupid-"
  
  "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he quickly interjected. With some edge in his voice, he assured her, "I never said anything about you being my girlfriend." Buffy looked confused again, and internally, Xander was thoroughly entertained. "If I'm being totally honest with you, I'm still pissed at you for the way you've been treating me. Your slap nearly killed me, and you still haven't even apologized for accusing me of being possessed. So why would you think I'd forget all of that just to date you?"
  
  At her surprised and mildly hurt expression, Xander had to tell himself to tone the ire down. Though he enjoyed mixing her up and telling her off, he had to remember that the Buffy in front of him didn't do what the last Buffy did. This Buffy was confused and stunned by his reproach, because in her mind, she's only done one or two things for him to be angry at, nothing to deserve prolonged ire.
  
  Xander turned his bike on, revving it a few times before explaining, "I just want you to be my Valentine. That's all."
  
  Shaking her head out of her stupor, Buffy asked, "Why?"
  
  "Why? ...Because living in a box is uncomfortable-" At the distant sound of a long howl, Xander stopped talking. The howl and the bright moon instantly made him think about Oz, who had left earlier that evening because he wasn't feeling well. ' How the fuck did I miss that? ' he mentally berated himself as he told Buffy, "Get on!"
  
  Surprised by the seriousness of his tone, she asked, "Wha- Why?"
  
  "Need your Slayer senses," he quickly explained. Gesturing with his head as he revved his scrambler to life, he yelled, "Come on!"
  
  Buffy quickly hopped on and Xander took off to where he thought the howling was coming from. The blonde at his back gripped his waist harder when they cut between roads through rougher wooded areas. While Buffy felt like she was on an obstacle course in a motocross rally, leaping off hills and small ramps, Xander was kicking himself for forgetting about Oz. The desperate teen raced through any available space, listening closely for howling over the revving of his powerful motor. Fortunately, a slayer's senses were supernaturally sharp.
  
  Coming to a stop on a dirt path in a wooded area, Buffy heard a faint scream and pointed in the direction he needed to go. Xander gunned his scrambler through the area that turned out to be Make Out Lane. Scanning between the trees and bushes, the pair passed a few cars, one of which was rocking fairly hard, until they finally spotted an enormous werewolf on top of a screaming girl. Xander skidded to a stop, kicking up dirt and wood chips, then they saw a second person. This body, likely the terrified girl's boyfriend, was lying on the floor and bleeding terribly from a stomach wound. Fortunately, he was wailing and crying, rather than silent and dead.
  
  As he didn't want to hurt Oz, or let the werewolf bite the girl, Xander tossed a few of his wooden knives at the beast, bouncing off the center-mass of its back and getting the creature's attention. As Xander removed Dreadnought from the scrambler's clamps, the feral, growling beast turned to them. Oz was five-foot-three, but this beast was nearly seven feet tall. Its eyes were black pools with sickly yellow irises. Its saliva-dripping muzzle was filled with long, sharp teeth easily seen in the moonlight. Its hairy body rippled with wiry muscles, and the beast lowered closer to the ground as it approached the new threat.
  
  Xander eyed its long, black claws and wondered if the werewolf could hold Dreadnought. He figured Oz's good-natured soul was in there, but was it the same when he was in his werewolf phase? To his surprise, Buffy grabbed his weapon before rushing the beast, rotating it to use the blunt end as she yelled, "Get the girl!"
  
  Xander didn't hesitate taking out Hellguard as he ran around, yelling back, "Don't let it bite you!"
  
  Xander got the crying girl while Buffy fought the sturdy beast. The werewolf swiped at her with its sharp claws three consecutive times. She dodged the first two, leaning low, then moving back and using Dreadnought's handle to block the third strike. Though the force pushed her back, the focused slayer parried the heavy strike, rotating the battleaxe to hit its snout with the blunt butt. It roared back in anger before attacking Buffy again.
  
  When Xander reached the crying girl, she was mercifully uninjured. He tried to get her moving, but she was petrified in place, so he lifted her on his shoulder. Moving toward her boyfriend, Xander had to throw a wooden knife at the werewolf's back, distracting it momentarily to give Buffy more openings and keep it from biting her. After a series of dodging and countering, the fierce slayer managed to smash its knee with the blunt side of Dreadnought, causing it to dart away into the forest.
  
  As Xander was preparing the boyfriend for travel, wrapping the wound tightly, he told Buffy, "I'll get them out of here!"
  
  "I'll follow it and make sure it keeps its pearly whites to himself," Buffy returned. Xander quickly took off his black jacket with his bloody hands and extended it to her. The blonde shook her head, saying, "I'm fine."
  
  Xander rolled his eyes and threw it over her head. She pulled it off and looked at him in confusion before he reminded her, "In case I don't find you by morning, whoever that is, is going to be naked."
  
  "Oh," she sounded in realization. Nodding her head, she replied, "Right. Sorry."
  
  Using the ring to enhance his strength, Xander lifted the boyfriend on his shoulders, had the girl ride on his back, then rode as gently as possible to the hospital. Xander didn't stay to speak with the authorities, and left to find Buffy. Returning to the battle site, he tracked the werewolf and slayer for the remainder of the night. It was just after dawn when he spotted Buffy and Oz walking down the street. Oz was wearing Xander's black jacket and seemingly nothing else underneath. Buffy had a few scratches through her cut jacket, however, no worse for wear, which was a relief.
  
  Xander gave Oz a ride home, and the following night, he drew first watch. While Oz, in werewolf form, prowled back and forth in the library's steel cage, Xander sat at the long table in the middle, passing the time by sharpening wooden throwing knives with two thousand grit sanding paper. Since slayers needed far less sleep than normal humans, Buffy came in earlier than planned. Xander stood and grabbed his bag as she walked over and inspected his tactical-style knives.
  
  Testing the sharpness of one of the wooden blades, she asked, "No special powers for these?"
  
  "Nope," Xander answered as he rolled his sanding paper and put it in his bag. "Just good old-fashioned wood and sanding paper. The runes I know have the hots for metal, so..."
  
  "Why make them look like throwing knives instead of a normal stake?"
  
  "I was going to make a holster for regular stakes, but the multi-knife chest harness was on sale; seventy-five percent off!" Xander admitted, to which she hummed in nodding agreement.
  
  He began sweeping up the sawdust on the table and floor with a brush and dustpan when she eventually asked, "Are you still going out there? At night?"
  
  Turning to her, he asked, "You mean with the axe?" At her nod, he answered, "Yeah."
  
  "Even after coming across a werewolf?" she asked in disbelief.
  
  "Yeah."
  
  Moving closer to her friend, Buffy argued, "It could be something else tomorrow night, and you still think it's a good idea to risk your life when you don't have to? Call me selfish, but I'm trying to avoid going to your funeral."
  
  "Then don't go," he flatly contested. "And I do have to, Buffy."
  
  "But you don't," she wholeheartedly asserted.
  
  He stopped cleaning to ask her, "How would you know?"
  
  Xander could tell Buffy was ready to angrily retort, but restrained herself before confessing to him, "I just don't understand, Xander. Help me understand why you'd go this far when you could just live your life any way you want."
  
  She seemed to genuinely want an answer, nearly desperately so, and the Casanova pattern within saw a crack in her armor. Xander imagined Buffy might envy those who weren't destined to fight the forces of evil and could live a normal life. Buffy was a girl not unlike Cordelia when she was sixteen, then was called upon by fate to become a slayer. She was forced to give up any life she may have wanted for herself to fulfill a duty thrust upon her, and by all accounts, she did it well. Xander imagined Buffy wouldn't choose this life if given the choice, however, she couldn't know Xander was in the same situation.
  
  At first, he followed Buffy because he instantly fell for her. Through Old Man Xander's memories, he knew that his counterpart always held a torch for Buffy, through thick and thin, through her craziness with Spike, and even while married to Buffy's sister Dawn. Old Man Xander was compelled into this supernatural fight by his heart, his feelings. That was no longer the case. Now, he had no choice. The Time Braid wouldn't let him run to a normal life. Fortunately, he actually earned the skills to do the job now.
  
  ' What to say ,' Xander casually thought, eying the beautiful girl in front of him.
  
  Alone in the silence of the library, Xander couldn't help being fascinated by her one-of-a-kind beauty. Her heart-shaped, warm-toned face was encircled by golden hair. The low bridge of her button nose between vibrant greenish-blue eyes, and her sensual red lips were captivating. However, Xander couldn't forget the undead, blond bad boy she bestowed her beauty to, and as ever, his chest constrained at the memory. All the hopes he once had of a loving relationship with Buffy now felt like taunting torment, and worse yet, he was the only one who was forced to remember. None of this seemed fair, and suffering that alone felt like too much.
  
  Taking a breath, he asked Buffy, "You sure you want to know why I'm doing this?"
  
  "Yes," she answered with a nod.
  
  "Do you want the play-by-play or the short and sweet version?"
  
  "If I don't get the short version, can I get the play-by-play?"
  
  While disliking the idea of purposely hurting her, or anyone, he did enjoy the idea of confusing her; of mucking up her idea of him. Xander stepped close to her and leaned down; not too fast, but not too hesitant, either. Leading with the lower half of his face, his intention to kiss her was clear. However, Buffy's quick hand rested on his chest as she leaned back. With saucer-wide eyes, the surprised slayer looked at him in disbelief, making him smile.
  
  Xander leaned back before he concluded, "I guess you don't want to know."
  
  "Xander, just stop," she hotly told him, as she took a step back. "I already said I don't have those feelings for you."
  
  "That's fine," Xander said with a shrug. "At this point, I'd settle for some respect."
  
  Sternly, the cautious slayer retorted, "Hard to respect a guy who tries to harass girls."
  
  Amused by her reaction, Xander replied with just as much conviction, "Just as hard as to believe a girl claiming to be friends with a guy, but knows next to nothing about him."
  
  Exasperated, Buffy emphasized with her hands as she replied, "I don't know where this crazy talk is coming from, but I do know you, Xander!"
  
  "Oh? That so?" Xander challenged with a hint of a smile. "Do you know the names of any of the guys I work with at the forge?"
  
  "...Uh," Buffy sounded, unable to answer.
  
  Amused by the way her eyes peered up and to the left as she tried to answer his question, Xander continued to ask, "Do you even know the name of the shop?"
  
  "Oh!" she hollered with a snap of her fingers, "Wild... I want to say Dung, but that's not right, is it?"
  
  Xander shook his head before asking, "Do you even know my parents' names?"
  
  "Of course, I do-"
  
  "Do you know where they are?"
  
  Buffy looked confused by the follow-up question and asked, "What does that mean?"
  
  "It means Pete, Nestor, Hakeem, Joe, Paul, Juan, Jimmy, just to name a few," Xander answered with a bored expression. "It means the forge I've been working at for the past three months is called Wild Dinks , after Pete Dink, the owner. It means that my parents are gone, Buffy." More than anything, the confused slayer focused on his parents. At her puzzled expression, he answered, "They came into some money, tossed a few bucks my way, and left... the state."
  
  Buffy's entire demeanor changed. Her posture relaxed and her expression became empathetic as she softly voiced, "I... Xander, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."
  
  "Why would you?" he keenly returned. "You don't know anything about my life that doesn't fit this idea of me in your head. You don't listen to me when I warn you about stuff like Ford, Eyghon, a second Slayer, or Angel's curse. Then you boot me off the team because you'd rather blame the messenger than the powers that be. And let's not forget you thought it was so impossible for me to make weapons, I had to be possessed. How do you think it felt sitting in that chair and being tested on by my friends if for no other reason than you didn't think I could possibly have more skills than making jokes, paying you attention, or getting pummeled in fights?" Buffy was stunned by his assertion, and even still, Xander topped it by adding, "Do you really think I'd want to date someone so delusional?"
  
  Xander leaned back, and when she couldn't reply, he grabbed his bag and slid his wooden knives over the edge of the table and into it. Without another word, he turned to leave, and was nearly at the library door when Buffy finally thought to yell, "Then- why would you even want me to be your Valentine if I'm so horrible?"
  
  Xander turned about, walked up to the befuddled girl in stoic silence, and leaned in mildly quicker than before. As expected, Buffy just barely avoided his lips by rotating her head to the side. She backed away as she hotly told him, "Why do you keep doing that?! Use your words, jeez."
  
  Humored by her anxiety, Xander smiled softly at her, easing some of the tension in the air, then answered, "Actions speak louder than words."
  
  "I'm okay with a whisper," she assured him.
  
  "I love you, Buffy," he voiced with mild irritation, though how much he did, and in what way, was up for debate. Still, eager to confuse-to challenge-her, he asserted, "I should say, I'm in love with you. And I hate that I am. I hate what you do to me, but there it is. I'm here because I'm stuck. But even if I do have to suffer these feelings, I'm way past done being your doormat-"
  
  Exasperated, Buffy attempted to reassure him, saying, "You're not my-"
  
  " Then act like it! " he instantly yelled.
  
  Xander turned and left the speechless girl with the observant werewolf.
  
  Short chapter, so short notes.
  
  That Draupnir ring is from Norse mythology. It was one of Odin's rings, and it did 'drip' gold rings.
  
  Should I name Xander's Scrambler? Have you guys seen any youtube videos of people rebuilding motorcycles from junk to custom awesomeness? They're pretty cool.
  
  The next chapters I'm eager for you guys to read are 39 and 40. Those will be fun, I think.
  
  Thank you guys for continuing to read and comment on this work. I appreciate your consideration and interest. Hope you all have a wonderful week and expect a new chapter next Sunday. Take care,
  
  -Grae
  
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  No More Pretending
  Welcome back to another chapter on another Sunday!
  
  Thank you guys for continuing to tune in and reading this story. I truly do appreciate all of your support and comments. They help my mind focus on writing for an audience, so that's great. Big thank you to my betas, Oxnate and Chelanxar. They are killing it with their discerning eye and quick turn around.
  
  So, this one will be longer than last week's; 5.6K words.
  
  Warning: Language, sexual descriptions, and violence.
  
  PS. For those that celebrate it, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!🎉🎉🎆
  
  No More Pretending
  
  With Oz out of danger from his time of the month, the Scoobies prepared to ensoul Spike. After Jenny recovered from the magical ordeal of casting such a powerful curse, they would then ensoul Drusilla. Not that Xander cared about her, but if the curse stopped her from killing innocents as well, that was worth it. Xander entered the library dressed in his black tactical gear with his camo scarf around his neck. He had finished locking and barricading all the doors leading to the library, even setting up a box of water balloons filled with holy water, just in case.
  
  Though Xander didn't like it, the library truly was the best location to perform the curse. As Willow and Giles explained, the ambient magic emanating from the Hellmouth right below them amplified the channeling of the magic within the witch or wizard. Though there were some dangers to controlling such potent magic, Jenny assured them she could manage. The coal-haired teen only wished the library was more defensible.
  
  Xander joined Oz and Cordelia, leaning against the wall with Dreadnought in hand, and along with Buffy and Angel, they watched Willow, Giles, and Jenny prepare to cast the Ritual of Restoration curse. Willow arranged the items on the library's center table, preparing four candles, animal bones, runic stones, burning incense, and the glowing Orb of Thesulah in a sacred circle. Giles coached Jenny on her verbiage, and when she was ready, she took the white stones from Willow.
  
  Giles helped Jenny kneel in front of the sacred circle, squeezing her hand for encouragement. The dark-haired beauty initiated the incantation by casting the white stones over the circle, then recited in a deep voice, "Quod perditum est, invenietur..."
  
  Xander didn't understand the language, but the Sherlock mental pattern within could identify the language as Romani. Jenny performed the heavy curse with supreme focus. Xander was tense the entire time, always monitoring the doors with enhanced eyes and ears to anything aiming to disrupt the ritual. After five long minutes of grueling chanting, the candles flashed brilliantly, as did the Orb of Thesulah, then the items went dark. Jenny fell back into Giles' arms, absolutely exhausted.
  
  "Stay back," Giles told the concerned Scoobies. "Give her space to breathe."
  
  Xander warned everyone, "We should stay in pairs tonight. We can't be sure there won't be some form of retaliation." He specifically told Willow, Oz, Cordelia, Giles, and Jenny, "You guys can stay at my house while we patrol-"
  
  "You're not going out there," Buffy stepped forward to tell him.
  
  He winced playfully before reminding her, "Ooh, sorry, but teenagers don't get to tell adults what to do."
  
  Offended, she retorted, "We're the same-"
  
  "Emancipated adults, raise your hands," he interjected, raising his hand. Looking around to note his was the only hand up, he smirked at Buffy, who scrunched her nose at him.
  
  "We appreciate the offer, Xander," Giles interrupted. "But we couldn't inconvenience your parents that way."
  
  "You won't," Xander assured the watcher. "They don't live there anymore."
  
  With growing concern, Willow quickly asked, "What do you mean they don't live there?"
  
  "Good ol' mom and dad came into some money and left," he bluntly spoke.
  
  "Wait," the skeptical Willow contended. "You're... living alone?"
  
  "Yeah," he answered with a shrug. "But the house is paid off, so that's one less bill I have to worry about."
  
  "Since when?" Willow pleaded, feeling concern for her childhood friend welling up from her chest.
  
  "Uuuuhh... start of December," he slowly answered.
  
  "You've been living alone for two and a half months?!" she gasped. "And you never told us?"
  
  Cordelia snorted before pointing out, "I find it so funny that I know more about your best friend than you do."
  
  "Not really the time, Cor," Xander remarked.
  
  "If I'm awake, it's always the time," the sassy cheerleader casually leveled at him. She exclaimed to the gathering with bubbly enthusiasm, "I even helped decorate."
  
  Offended, Willow asked, "You told Cordelia before us?"
  
  "Can we please focus on group preservation right now?" Xander proposed with a raised voice. "I just want us to be safe tonight. When Ms. Calendar is completely rested, we'll do the same for Drusilla."
  
  "I suppose some precaution would be prudent," Giles voiced to the group as he held Jenny against himself.
  
  Buffy came up to Xander and asserted, "You're still not going out there."
  
  "We can cover more ground with three fighters-"
  
  "You're not-" She held her tongue before stating instead, "You need to stay with them in case-"
  
  "Vampires, who know nothing about me, somehow find my house and invite themselves in?" he asked with a quirked brow of skepticism.
  
  Growing frustrated by his disagreeableness, Buffy begged to know, "Why are you making this more difficult than it needs to be?"
  
  "If you want me to put the axe down, we can make that deal," he reminded her, making Angel look curiously between them.
  
  Buffy glared at his smiling face with nothing more than growing frustration. When she had no response, Xander told her, "I'll search from Olive down, after I set everyone up in my place."
  
  He then turned to the group and led everyone to his home while Buffy and Angel searched for Spike. Xander rode his bike while Giles with Jenny, Cordelia, and Oz, with Willow, followed in their vehicles. Xander's home opened up into the hallway, which connected the stairway leading to the second floor, the living room on the right, the kitchen in the back, and the entrance to the basement. Walking into his renovated home was a fresh experience for Willow. As the redhead was the only one who had witnessed the messy way his parents lived, she was thoroughly amazed by the clean two-story home.
  
  Xander had done a lot of cosmetic improvements when he had spare time, or when Cordelia insisted on doing something other than their physical activities. Recalling Old Man Xander's carpentry skills was effortless, and he remodeled simple things like throwing out the accumulation of old, unnecessary, and broken apparel and furniture, replacing the dirty carpet and stained wallpaper, sanitizing the home of beer and cigarette smells, building a workstation in the garage, and setting up a small gym in the basement.
  
  Thanks to Cordelia's stylish eye, the house now felt more like Xander. Though the color palette was wood, steel, and off-white, there was eye-popping color as well. The living room had navy blue accents, along with the main color palette that leaned more into the wood. The kitchen had warm olive green accents with the off-white of the main color palette. His bedroom still had his collection of comics & action figures, but was neatly organized throughout the clean space. Cordelia gave everyone the tour and pointed out the parts she insisted he change, throw away, or buy. She had him buy many new appliances and furniture to fit the bachelor's color scheme of the house.
  
  When Giles and Willow turned to Xander and eyed him curiously as Cordelia rambled about looking into a career as an interior decorator, the raven-haired teen answered, "What? You guys kicked me out for months and it was slim pickings out there. The choices were Cordelia or Larry, and Larry said no."
  
  After everyone was settled in, Xander got on his bike and rode around the seedier parts of Sunnydale, keeping his enhanced eyes peeled for anything strange. He walked through one of the twelve cemeteries in town, and aside from dusting one vampire, nothing seemed out of place. He didn't see skinny hide nor blond hair of Spike and wondered if Buffy and Angel had better luck. Xander returned an hour before dawn to Giles sitting on the brown leather couch, asleep with a crossbow on his lap.
  
  Xander moved out of the way before carefully voicing, "Giles?"
  
  The Englishman stirred awake and accidentally pulled the trigger, sending a bolt into the wall near Xander's head. The teenager looked at the bolt embedded in his off-white wall before turning to Giles, who quickly apologized and offered to repair the damage. Xander waved him off, assuring the watcher he could fix it.
  
  Buffy returned after dawn and reported to Giles and Xander, "We couldn't find him."
  
  As it seemed everything was fine, Giles escorted Jenny home, leaving Buffy, Willow, Oz, and Cordelia to hang out. Xander needed sleep first, but after a few hours, he came back downstairs and had rare, yet familiar, fun. Like the oldest of the old days, the five friends hung out, watched movies, gossiped about school, laughed, and ate their fill. When Xander explained and demonstrated some of the finer points of Odin's ring, Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia demanded acne-preventing rings. While Willow read in the comfortable living room, Oz and Cordelia took turns riding his motorcycle, leaving Xander and Buffy in his training room.
  
  At first, Xander only wanted to show her how much he could bench press with the ring. The teenager benched twice his own body weight three times, then the smaller girl did just as much for fun. Buffy added more, then benched four hundred pounds, three times. Xander felt like he couldn't slack off, and upped the weight he benched to four-fifty, three times. Buffy upped her bench press to five hundred. The metal creaking bar was bending around six hundred pounds, and mercifully, Xander didn't have more weights to add.
  
  Buffy smiled as she called, "Guess it's a tie." However, Xander was dripping sweat from the tip of his nose and panting, while Buffy was only taking deeper breaths with a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. Though it seemed like she could bench more, Xander simply nodded, unable to speak yet.
  
  While Xander was leaning over, catching his breath, Buffy fiddled with her fingernails before hesitating to ask, "Just... be your Valentine, right? And that's it? Nothing after that?"
  
  Wiping his face with his shirt showed his six-pack, which surprised Buffy. Her greenish-blue eyes were glued on his surprising abdominal physique until he dropped his shirt again. Xander heeded recuperation from his ring so that he could answer, "Yeah. Just... Valentine's and that's it. Unless you change your mind... then we'll have to talk."
  
  Attempting to convey how important this was to her, Buffy leaned down to look him in the eyes as she asked, "And if I don't change my mind?"
  
  It was obvious how serious she was about that possibility, and it made Xander smile. Through his Casanova mental pattern, Xander could tell Buffy was being considerate of his feelings by managing his expectations. She had no idea how the previous Buffy hurt him, thus couldn't know that he was only doing this for mild amusement; To pass his never-ending time with something he'd never done before. Nothing more.
  
  Waving her concerns away, Xander assured her, "Obviously, that's fine, Buffy. Listen, you're the one who wants me to stop going out at night. I just told you my price. That's it."
  
  Buffy looked deeply into Xander's confident brown eyes, and he never wavered. Then she said, "...Okay."
  
  "Okay?"
  
  "Okay... I'll be your Valentine," Buffy clarified. With a stern finger, the concerned blonde stipulated, "But then you have to stop slaying! Got it?"
  
  Xander restrained the broad grin he felt creeping up, but not the small smile that was left. ' Ahh, something new ,' he thought mischievously as he nodded in agreement. It was a deal he would honor. All he had to do was spar with her, or join her on her patrols, then he could show her she had nothing to worry about.
  
  The following night, Jenny was well enough to attempt Drusilla's ensouling. The sun had just set, and the school was devoid of students and faculty. The Scoobies were preparing while waiting for Buffy and Angel to arrive. Xander was locking hallway doors to the many ways into the library when he heard a name he wasn't expecting to echo through the hallway.
  
  "Janna!"
  
  Xander turned around and considered if he had heard incorrectly. Then he heard it again.
  
  " Janna! "
  
  Grabbing Dreadnought from its lean against the wall, Xander ran down the hallways until he spotted up ahead an elderly man entering the library. The man looked like a creepy mortician in a dusted black suit, tie, and hat. His long face, with a perpetually gaunt expression, had a large nose with a tiny mustache cresting his upper lip. The old man had graying curly hair and dark bags under his small black eyes. At the sight within the library, the man trembled with anger.
  
  Xander rushed in as the old man headed straight toward Jenny. Giles stepped in front of the man, however, he ignored the watcher, with eyes only for Janna. Ms. Calendar slowly put her hand on Giles' shoulder, confusing the Englishman, and stepped around him to face the old mortician-looking man.
  
  "Uncle," Jenny slowly said with reverence in her voice. "I'm sorry I haven't written in some time."
  
  In a thick Yugoslavian accent, the man sarcastically mocked, " Jenny Calendar . You look well. Comfortable."
  
  Jenny became increasingly uncomfortable, and Xander knew she was moments away from everyone she cared about learning her true identity; likely hating her for it.
  
  "Yes," Jenny spoke. "I'm fine."
  
  "I cannot imagine what is so important that you would ignore your people," the old gypsy-looking man said as he eyed everyone in the room.
  
  "Jenny?" Giles voiced, clearly lost as to what was happening.
  
  "Uncle, may we speak outside?" Jenny asked, extending her hand toward the exit.
  
  "The elder woman has been reading signs," her uncle spoke. Upon spotting the glowing Orb of Thesulah, he whipped around on Jenny. "It would appear she was correct. You dare attempt magics forbidden to us."
  
  "Uncle, please," Jenny tried, nearly to the point of being scared. "If we may speak outside."
  
  "For what reason?" he snidely asked. "So you can continue pretending to be Jenny Calendar , teacher of technologies."
  
  "Jenny?" Giles tried again. "Who is this man? Why is he here?"
  
  Loudly, her uncle asked, "Shall I tell them what you are too afraid to say, Janna?"
  
  "Please, uncle Enyos, don't," Jenny repeated, taking his hands and bowing her forehead. "At least allow me to tell them."
  
  "They are of no consequence," uncle Enyo chided. "All that matters is your mission. To observe Angelus' continued suffering."
  
  "Angelus?" Giles repeated.
  
  "Angel?" Willow asked, stepping forward. "What about him?"
  
  Daringly, Xander answered, "Her people were the ones who cursed Angel." Though he wondered if it was a betrayal somehow, Jenny didn't seem to think so, as she sagged her shoulders, simply saddened to have her deception outed. He looked at her and she couldn't look anywhere but her uncle and the floor.
  
  "Angelus destroyed the most beloved daughter of our tribe. Truly the best of us," Enyos said to Xander. Turning to Jenny, he told her, "He killed every man, woman, and child who touched the purity of her life. For that, we must never forget. Vengeance demands that his pain be eternal!"
  
  "I know, uncle," Jenny sadly voiced.
  
  "Then speak your name," Enyos ordered.
  
  Jenny couldn't look at Giles, and turned to her uncle before softly answering, "J-Janna... of the Kalderash people."
  
  "Good," the old man spoke. Enyos grabbed the Orb of Thesulah and threw it against the wall, smashing it into a thousand pieces. He professed to all in the room, "Those magics are not for you! They belong to our people, and with our people, they will remain!" the mean old man turned to leave, calling over his shoulder, "Janna, come."
  
  Jenny turned to the others, specifically Giles, and heartfelt expressed, "I'm so sorry."
  
  "Jen..." Giles tried, but Jenny left before the tears fell.
  
  The room fell silent for a time as each of them absorbed the news; especially Giles and Willow, who were the closest to Jenny. Xander felt fortunate for two reasons. The first, Buffy and Angel hadn't arrived yet. He didn't imagine either of them would've taken the unexpected development well. Second, and more importantly, Spike was already ensouled. Even if Drusilla wasn't cursed with a soul, all that mattered was that Spike was. There was less of a chance the Scoobies would try to kill him if he had his soul.
  
  Cordelia was the first to break the silence, asking, "So, of all the names to pick, how'd she think Jenny Calendar was a winner?"
  
  "That's your takeaway?" Xander flatly asked Cordelia while shaking his head.
  
  "She... lied to us," Willow slowly said with genuine pain in her voice. "How could she lie... to us?"
  
  "Who lied?" Buffy asked as she entered the room with Angel beside her.
  
  As a group, they explained what happened to the slayer and vampire. Afterward, a sullen Angel left, and Buffy went after him. Giles went home, followed by Willow and Oz. Cordelia eyed Xander a moment; just long enough to wonder if she might ask him to join her. Instead, the cheerleader left as well. With nothing left to do, Xander rode his bike to Jenny's apartment to keep watch. The last thing he wanted was for the beautiful computer teacher to die that night. Xander couldn't deny the anxiety of not knowing what would happen next, however, he was always relieved when the sun rose without incident.
  
  In school, Xander learned from his friends that Jenny was out, and thought, ' Man, when it comes to Angel, this gang is all about a one-strike policy .' In the privacy of the library, he then tried to reason with Buffy, Willow, and Giles, however, they claimed they couldn't ignore her lies and manipulation.
  
  "What manipulations?" Xander asked.
  
  "Her tribe, or whatever, sent her here to monitor Angel and make sure he continues to suffer," Buffy argued. "She's lied to all of us all this time; since the very beginning."
  
  Siding with Buffy, Willow angrily voiced, "Can't you see? She probably translated the curse and used you to break Buffy and Angel up for that very reason."
  
  Turning to Willow in surprised realization, Buffy gasped, "I hadn't even considered that, but, yeah. That makes total sense!"
  
  Looking at Buffy, Willow angrily added, "You and Xander never would've started fighting if not for her."
  
  "Oh, let's not underestimate how much I really wanted to stop being a joke," Xander wholeheartedly expressed.
  
  However, Willow continued saying, "This all started with the research she gave you ."
  
  "I was the one who asked for that research," Xander tried to remind them.
  
  "Or did she want you to think that?" Buffy asked. "She could've dropped hints to make you think that."
  
  " Enough ," Giles loudly said, clearly upset by the topic of Janna of the Kalderash people. "To class, all of you." For the upset watcher, everyone dropped it and went to class.
  
  In the days leading to Valentine's day, Xander made a habit of patrolling Jenny's apartment complex throughout the night. Since the Scoobies ostracized her from the group, he wanted to make certain she wasn't killed, like in previous loops. It was upon driving into Jenny's complex that Xander saw her car pulling out. He hoped it was nothing more than a grocery run, however, instead of the market, he followed her to a motel.
  
  To stay out of sight, Xander parked around the corner of the building's main office she entered. Dressed in stealth black, he stood in the shadows for several minutes, casually watching anyone going in and out of the building. When he heard what seemed like a muffled scream, Xander stepped around the brick corner, into the streetlight, and scanned the property. The parking lot had a few cars, including Jenny's, but all else was silent.
  
  When nothing happened, the battle-ready teen settled down some. He was half-turned when Jenny burst through the motel's double doors, chased closely by five rugged men. She ran directly to her car while the five men hollered and laughed as they stayed effortlessly close to her. Xander stepped back, extending his hand into the shadow of the alley so Dreadnought didn't destroy the brick wall reaching his grasp. With his powerful weapon in hand, he sprinted toward the distraught woman twenty yards away.
  
  Upon closer inspection of the five men, the snarling evil faces, extended fangs, and yellow eyes revealed them to be vampires. Jenny was searching her purse, likely for her keys, when a thin vampire with long arms grabbed her shiny black hair from behind. The largest vampire then wrapped his large arms around her struggling torso and easily lifted her off her kicking feet. She screamed and begged for them to let her go.
  
  "Please! No! Put me down!" she yelled as she tried kicking her captor.
  
  Despite being outnumbered, Xander knew he couldn't let the lethal group ahead of him take her. Once within range, Xander threw and buried Hellguard into the back of the nearest vampire, like a hot knife through butter. The sharp point of his supernatural weapon penetrated the heart of the blood-sucking demon, and it screamed harshly, sticking its chest out from the dagger in his back and calling the attention of the others. Xander kicked the screeching vampire, and like a bowling ball hitting pins, the undead corpse rammed into the others, knocking them back or off their feet.
  
  "Run!" Xander yelled, focusing on the remaining four vampires.
  
  Jenny tried to run from the large one she fell with, however, it held onto her forearm with a firm hand. Three vampires were up and nearly on him by the time Xander brought the blade of his battleaxe down on the hand holding her. He cut the appendage off, allowing two to grab his arms, as a third was ready to punch him in the face. The large vampire screamed at the bloody loss of its hand as Xander slipped the punch with precise neck movements, then kicked that particular demon back. The kick pushed back the two holding his arms, and he used the momentum to stumble enough for one vampire to be in the direct line between him and Dreadnought. Xander called his weapon to his hand, and the magically sharp blade cut through the demon.
  
  The vampire screamed, letting Xander go to call Hellguard. The other vampire holding him landed a hard punch against his cheek, shaking his vision, however, Xander spun with the punch and plunged his Viking dagger into his opponent's ribcage. Though four vampires were down and seriously injured, they weren't dust, and the last one was staring him down, bearing fangs and hissing evilly. With more room to maneuver, Xander enhanced his strength with his ring as he called Dreadnought and Hellguard into his hands.
  
  "Jenny, go!" Xander yelled.
  
  However, he didn't have a moment to look at her before rushing the healthiest vampire. Rather than fight the stronger being head-on, Xander lobbed Dreadnought. Predictably, the vampire caught the battleaxe, but due to the sanctified gold, it was impossible for the soulless to hold it. The unworthy demon bent in half as its hands dropped to the floor. Xander chopped the confused vampire's head off, before rushing to the frazzled Jenny.
  
  The vampires seemed determined to catch them and gave chase. With his weapons, Xander kept the vampires at bay as Jenny struggled to find the right key to unlock her car. Xander would toss Dreadnought and Hellguard, forcing them to dodge the weapons twice or risk being cut as they left and returned to his hands. He decapitated a second vampire like that, and the remaining two decided to run away. Xander dusted the unconscious vampire with a wooden knife through the heart before turning to the unnerved woman. Jenny was crying and shaking, however; the teen knew they couldn't stay.
  
  Xander knelt in front of the frantic woman and softly said, "Jenny, we have to go." Her eyes were unfocused, as if she couldn't see him, and he took her hand, making her look at him. He said, "Jenny... we can't stay here."
  
  "My... My uncle," she gasped. "They k-killed him."
  
  "I'm sorry," Xander softly replied.
  
  Rather than let her drive in her state, Xander led her by the hand to his bike before racing away. He only stopped by a payphone to tip the police about the body in the motel. Once home, Xander led the distraught Jenny to his living room and sat her on his couch. She was pale, unresponsive, and Xander didn't know how to deal with her grief, so he did the best his brain could come up with. He wrapped the sofa shawl Cordelia made him buy around her, made & placed a warm cup of chamomile tea in her cold hands, then phoned Giles to report the situation.
  
  When Xander couldn't reach the Watcher at his home, he called the Library. No one picked up, so he tried Buffy's house and found him there. Willow was there as well and after telling him about Jenny's ordeal, Giles informed him that Angelus was back, shocking Xander. He nearly dropped the phone. For a second, he wondered how, then recalled the only other way he's ever seen Angel turn into Angelus.
  
  ' Drusilla 's fucking hypnosis ,' Xander lamented before asking Giles, "How's Buffy?"
  
  "More in shock than anything," he sorrowfully answered. "I'm afraid he was rather twisted in his reveal."
  
  With concern, he asked, "What does that mean?"
  
  "We can discuss this tomorrow, Xander. I have to go-"
  
  "I'll be right there," Xander interrupted.
  
  "No," Giles hotly replied before asserting, "You ought to stay where you are. Watch over Je-... Ms. Calendar. There's nothing you can do here."
  
  However, Xander didn't feel right about being left out. He should be with his friends. He felt strong enough to make a difference, and offered instead, "You come here, and I'll stay with them."
  
  " No ... no," Giles ardently expressed. "I don't believe that would be for the best. I'll call you, should anything more happen."
  
  The elder Englishman hung up, frustrating the teenager who simply wanted to be relied upon. Though Xander wanted to go, he didn't think leaving Jenny or forcing her to go with him would be a good idea in her inert state. Despite his annoyance, Xander called Cordelia and made certain she didn't invite Angel into her home. The last thing he needed was to lose anyone he wasn't supposed to and looping back. He turned to the sight of a silent and forlorn Jenny leaning against the doorway.
  
  "Did he even ask about me?" she weakly asked.
  
  It took Xander a second to realize she meant Giles, then tactfully answered, "Uh, it's not like he doesn't care or anything. It's just that..."
  
  "Angelus is back," she finished, clearly having heard the conversation.
  
  "Yeah."
  
  "And he's after me," she said sadly.
  
  "And Buffy," he added. "For obvious reasons."
  
  "And Giles stayed with her."
  
  "I mean... it's sorta his job," he lightly offered.
  
  Jenny didn't seem to care and walked back into the living room. When she laid down on the couch, Xander dragged her off the furniture and took her to his room. He gently took off her coat and shoes before laying her down on his bed. He laid down next to her, fully clothed, knowing she'd need the warm comfort of another body nearby; however, neither would get much sleep; Jenny for the trauma she just suffered, and Xander, for the uncertain future he was now facing.
  
  Buffy wasn't in school the following morning, and in the library, Willow explained what happened. They were sitting at the center table, researching Angel's curse and any means the good vampire could lose his soul that didn't involve a moment of happiness. Willow explained how Angel came to the Summers home and tried to convince Buffy to sleep with him, but when she refused, he tried to overpower her. The entire time, he seemed to taunt their supposed love, and that hurt Buffy more than any physical injury.
  
  "Buffy fought him off with Slaymore," Willow sadly finished. "But she's pretty shaken, like, more than I've ever seen." Xander's hatred for Angelus and Spike was never far from his heart, so being upset wasn't an act; unlike much of what he does in a loop. Willow asked him, "How's Ms. Calendar?"
  
  "In a word: quiet," he answered. "As far as I can tell, she's holding it all in."
  
  "Is she with the police?"
  
  Xander nodded before adding, "She's identifying the body, then they're going to question her. I'm picking her up later."
  
  Willow woefully nodded before commenting, "It's a good thing you were there, or who knows what could've happened."
  
  ' She would 've died, again, ' Xander thought before asserting, "Looks like we'll have to do that spell a couple more times."
  
  "It'll have to wait until we get more orbs," Willow told him. "That mean uncle smashed up the last one we had."
  
  "I'll get on that," Xander offered, noting Cordelia entering the library. "You should look up spells to uninvite vampires."
  
  "Ohhh, that's right!" Willow bemoaned. "Oh, no! Oh no! I invited him into my bedroom."
  
  "You did what?" Xander demanded.
  
  "Wow, Willow, I didn't know you had it in you," Cordelia joked as she stopped in front of them.
  
  "He wanted to talk about Buffy," she sweetly whined. "And I didn't want to be rude."
  
  The Scoobies discussed plans to protect themselves from Angelus, starting with the spell to uninvite him from their homes. Xander checked on Buffy after school, but she didn't want to talk. He spent a few hours at the forge catching up on some work, then picked up Chinese take-out on the way home. He found Jenny in his room, on his bed, however, the silent woman wasn't hungry and asked to be left alone. Sympathetic to her request, Xander left, then rode to Buffy's to check on her and Willow.
  
  The three friends were in her backyard and Willow was relaying what happened when Angel couldn't enter. Buffy desperately begged Angel to tell her what happened, and humored by her pain, Angelus relished explaining how Drusilla finally rescued him from the hell of his conscience. Now, his only driving motivation moving forward was to torture Buffy and her friends for all the joyous agony he could squeeze out of them. The vampire declared war on the Scoobies, and subsequently raised the probability of Xander looping back.
  
  A despondent Buffy was silent until Xander groaned, "Damn." Then she ordered her raven-haired friend, "No more patrolling."
  
  Xander looked at her in confusion before asking, "How do you mean?"
  
  "Angel- He's too dangerous and too much for you to handle," Buffy argued. "I don't want you patrolling anymore."
  
  In all his decades of looping, Xander rarely fought against Angelus, however, he wasn't worried. Truthfully, Xander rarely ever felt fearful at the possibility of losing a life-and-death fight. Making light of the threat, an unconcerned Xander replied, "We won't know until we try."
  
  "No, Xander!" an agitated Buffy asserted. She stood up and looked desperately into his eyes as she proclaimed, "Whatever this thing with you is, it's over! No more slaying, no more risking your life, no more pretending to be something you're not!"
  
  "Buffy..." Willow sadly sounded between them.
  
  The slayer's greenish-blue eyes were a mix of distraught, frustration, and anxiousness, and Xander couldn't be sure why she was so adamant. It could be a fear of losing him, or doubt in his abilities. Either way, she was trying to take his choice away from him again, and he would no longer abide by that.
  
  Xander slowly stood up to his full height before conscientiously telling her, "Don't force your fears on me." He then left without another word.
  
  Other than dusting a pair of vampires, Xander went home to find a weeping Jenny in his bed. Identifying the lifeless body of her Uncle Enyos on a slab-on top of being ignored by Giles-she felt more alone than ever. Easily empathizing with her, Xander held her, rubbing her back as he repeatedly reassured her everything was going to be alright. They fell asleep that way, but at some point in the middle of the night, Xander slowly awoke to a warm, wet suction at his groin.
  
  The half-naked teen looked down and saw nothing but black, however, when he used Odin's ring to enhance his eyesight, he saw a head of ebony hair, bobbing up and down his erect penis. "Je- Jenny?" he grumbled, quickly becoming alert to the pleasurable situation; Jenny, completely naked, and sucking his cock.
  
  She pulled away with a bit of slurping before explaining, "I haven't thanked you yet, for saving my life."
  
  Feeling the pleasure cloud his mind, Xander sat up on his elbows as he replied, "You don't have-"
  
  "Shhh, just... let this happen," she finished before descending on his twitching manhood again
  
  She lowered herself on his erect meat tower, and Xander knew he would not hold out long. Not only has it been a while since Cordelia, but he wasn't wearing a condom, and Jenny always felt amazing. After his quick and embarrassing first nut, he got his revenge. She clearly wanted it rough and hard, and didn't even mind some toys he'd bought for his sessions with Cordelia. Xander handcuffed Jenny, blindfolded her, inserted a beaded vibrator in her ass, fucked her senseless, and made her sing his name with orgasm after orgasm for most of the night. Come morning, they decide it was a one-night affair they should not repeat.
  
  I debated ending the chapter with a long-awaited lemon between Xander and Jenny, however, with the amount of lemons I got in the pipeline, I figured I'd hold off here. More to come!
  
  Just out of curiosity, how much do you guys think Buffy can bench press? The world record is 782 lbs/355 kg, which is insane. Would a slayer do that despite her muscle mass, or would she do more? I'm curious.
  
  Just throwing this out there. Chelanxar is taking a vacation and will be unable to beta for I think a month maybe a little more. If there's anyone that would like to beta for a little while(or more if you like), just send me a PM on Royal Road or FFNet.
  
  Anyway, thank you all again for reading and if you'd like to leave a comment, I do read them and reply to most if not all(sometimes later than I'd like. Sorry.) Thank you again, Oxnate and Chelanxar, for beta reading this chapter. Till next week, have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
  P.S. Stranger Things and Top Gun: Maverick... **Chef's kiss**😘
  
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  This Old Dream
  Welcome back! It's Sunday, which means another chapter!
  
  So glad to welcome the newest member of my beta team, Jeanluc1986! Chelanxar is taking a vaca(have lots of fun!) Big thanks to Oxnate, Chelanxar, and Jeanluc1986 for beta reading this chapter.
  
  WARNING: Lemon. Language. Violence.
  
  6.8 K words. Please, enjoy!
  
  This Old Dream
  
  Xander was surprised when Willow told him Buffy was sick with the flu. He knew from previous loops that the Scoobies were right on track for the slayer to be hospitalized, which led to killing the life-force-sucking demon, Der Kindestod. The teen boy was fine letting Buffy deal with the child-killing demon. She'd get closure over the traumatic death of her cousin Celia, and more to the point, he couldn't see the monster. Despite that inconvenience, Xander made contingency plans to kill it if Slaymore healed Buffy of the flu. Dreadnought, Hellguard, Odin's ring, and Slaymore all amplified internal healing, which meant Buffy should be fine, but it seemed the flu or the common cold didn't qualify as an injury that needed healing.
  
  The Sherlock pattern within wondered why it seemed the flu or the common cold didn't qualify for magical intervention. Xander wondered if Buffy wasn't holding Slaymore at the time she got sick, thus unable to bid the magical weapon to help heal her. A second theory; Dreadnought, Hellguard, Slaymore, and Odin's ring were a warrior's weapons and accessory, and activated if an external enemy caused unnatural damage. Though it had merit, that wouldn't explain why his ring could remedy unwanted acne. Before letting it go, Xander wondered if illnesses like the common cold or flu weren't recognized as threats, but as active changes of improvement in the body. It would be similar to the aches after an intense workout, a necessary pain in the journey to becoming stronger. Their magical items might allow that in that case.
  
  In any case, Xander didn't focus on anything his friends were doing to solve the Kindestod case. He gave them clues as they worked, but their investigation was mostly in the background of his mind while he pondered why Buffy had been acting so odd of late. The time looper no longer went out of his way to see his blonde friend, spending most of his free time at the forge or patrolling. When Xander saw Buffy during classes, at lunch, or in the library, she was inexplicably quiet around him.
  
  Willow felt certain it was due to losing Angel despite breaking up, and suggested, "Just give her some time."
  
  Xander wasn't sure. He expected Buffy to be angry at him, or prevent him from patrolling. However, she didn't ask him to stop, nor did she even bring it up again. Sitting in front of Buffy's hospital room, he recalled the few glances she sent his way, as if she was having an internal argument with herself, and didn't know how to resolve it. Though Xander thought it was likely the Angel situation, he wondered if his words had something to do with her uncharacteristic behavior.
  
  ' Don 't force your fears on me ,' he recalled sternly telling her.
  
  As Xander thought about what Buffy's fear was, a tall, dark-haired man in a long black coat entered the busy hospital hallway. The teenager stood up to intercept the handsome man as he took in his surroundings, and mentally assessed the collateral damage should a fight break out. There were nurses walking to and fro, orderlies transporting supplies, a couple of cops talking as they waited, and a security guard dozing off. They were all near enough to get swept into combat.
  
  A calm Xander stood guard at Buffy's door just as Angelus stopped right in front of his face, eying the slightly shorter teen with a smirk, clearly amused. Even with Hellguard in his backpack, Odin's ring and his many decades of combat experience made him fearless in front of one of the strongest vampires to walk the planet. They were opposing wolves, eager to prove the other was prey. The unconcerned vampire tried to reach for the handle when Xander stepped in the way.
  
  The teenager casually told Angelus, "Visiting hours are over."
  
  Amusement all over his face, the vampire replied, "Well, I'm pretty much family."
  
  Xander stepped closer and returned, "Why don't you come back during the day... Oh, right. I guess you can't."
  
  Standing straighter, making their height difference that much clearer, the cool Angelus asked, "If I decided to walk in there, do you think for one microsecond that you could do anything to stop me?"
  
  The relief of knowing that he could actually stop Angelus-even if it wouldn't be easy-made Xander genuinely smile for the first time in a long time.
  
  "Yeah," Xander cockily assured him. "I'm game if you are."
  
  For seven tense seconds, it was a staring contest that neither broke. Xander wasn't bluffing, and Angelus could see that, making him curious as to why.
  
  "Buffy's white knight," the evil vampire mocked, and Xander wondered how true that was. Was the pull he felt for Buffy love, or some unflinching faith of something higher that he couldn't let go of. Angelus must've seen him thinking through his eyes, because he added, "You still love her... even though she gave her heart to me, a vampire." Moving in threatening closer, he spitefully said, "It must eat away at you... knowing that even now, she loves a monster more than she'll ever love you."
  
  Xander dropped his gaze, looking toward the floor as he considered all he's learned about Buffy; both the good and bad. Then he laughed before telling the cocky vampire, "I'm starting to realize, one man's hero is another man's monster."
  
  A mildly perplexed Angelus asked, "And what's that supposed to mean?"
  
  Xander slowly emphasized, "It means, it must eat you up inside, knowing she can see the good in you, even now. The hero saves, and we're coming for you, Angel."
  
  Any amusement on Angelus' face was gone, and was instantly deadly serious. Unbothered by the severity of a pissed-off vampire, a calm Xander opened his palm and Hellguard dutifully shot out of his backpack and into his hand. Angelus' dark pupils slowly looked down at the Viking dagger before returning to Xander's humorless expression.
  
  The villain nodded before leaving Xander with, "Tell her I stopped by."
  
  "I'd sooner tell her every puppy in the world died," Xander retorted, getting an odd look from Angelus before he left.
  
  It wasn't long after Buffy snapped Der Kindestod's neck, that life on the Hellmouth once again settled down to mildly dangerous. Not much had changed until he walked into the library and was informed of a shooting Buffy had stopped. Xander immediately bought bulletproof vests after school for himself and his blonde friend. Using his knowledge of previous loops, he nudged the research along, finding all the right books so the Scoobies learned of the poltergeists of James and Grace faster.
  
  Xander proposed that only he and Buffy patrol the school. Giles, Willow, and Cordelia were hesitant, but he assured them that bullet-proof vests should do the trick. For the final decision, they turned to Buffy, and though she looked as if she wanted to say something, the reserved girl simply nodded in agreement. On the night of the next possession, Xander expected he would be alone with Buffy, but heedless of his desires, she was once more possessed and he wasn't. The high school boy rolled his eyes in irritation, wondering which vampire would kiss the Slayer next. Buffy was possessed by Grace, and to Xander's ever-living surprise, James had possessed Drusilla.
  
  The undead hypnosis queen walked around the corner, and upon seeing Buffy, ardently confessed, "You're the only one. The only person I can talk to." With desperation and rage, Drusilla asserted, "You can't make me disappear just because you say it's over."
  
  Rather than confusion toward the emotional vampire, Buffy's face morphed into a mixture of fear, love, and heavy sadness as she replied, "I just want you to be able to have some kind of normal life. We can never have that . Don't you see?"
  
  From a side entrance into the square, Xander heard, "Well, that's weird." Angelus observed Buffy and Drusilla playing their possessed parts in fascination, then shook his head in disgust. "And pathetic, now that I think about it." Turning to Xander, the undead asked, "Care to explain?"
  
  Uncaring, the teen faced Angelus and simply answered, "Possessed."
  
  Unsheathing Hellguard from the holster at his lower back, Xander knew there was no way the vengeful vampire wouldn't take advantage of such a vulnerable Slayer. Standing between the possessed girls and Angelus, the teen recalled a similar situation where he defended Buffy from Spike. He hated that loop, making him eager for a fight. Angelus simply smiled at the prospect of killing Xander to get to Buffy.
  
  Taking off his black trench coat, the handsome vampire smiled as he asked, "You wouldn't care to share with your old buddy how long this lasts, would ya?"
  
  Calling on his ring to enhance his strength, flexibility, and durability to the highest caliber he was capable of, Xander rotated his shoulders as he answered, "Two, three minutes tops."
  
  Morphing his face into its demonic version with long fangs, Angelus gratefully replied, "I'm going to enjoy this."
  
  Raising his fists with Hellguard pointed downward, Xander returned, "Not nearly as much as I will."
  
  Xander felt light, nimble, yet powerful, and with his wealth of combat experience, he remained calm when Angelus blitzed him with inhuman speed. Nearly on him in less than a second, Xander attacked with a rounding kick to his midsection. Angelus effortlessly stopped, avoiding the spinning strike to get at Xander's now open back. The teen didn't mind the vampire's attempt to take his back. He was within range, as Xander's spin kick never stopped, and came right around to knee the much closer vampire in the jaw.
  
  Angelus spun in the air before hitting the ground. He immediately tried to get up but had to lean against a pole as he shook the dizziness from his head. Xander didn't let him rest. With his enhanced physical ability, he was on him just as fast as a vampire, punching him in the jaw with the fist holding Hellguard, adding a cut across his cheek from the sharp blade. The vampire tried to get distance; However, the teen warrior wouldn't allow him, dancing around Angelus and tagging him with powerful three-hit combinations.
  
  For a minute, Xander's intuition, quick feet, and hard hits kept the vampire at bay, then the undead demon couldn't take it anymore. When Angelus caught Hellguard by the blade to stop the barrage of hits, Xander let his dagger go, causing the unworthy vampire to be pulled down by a weapon he could not carry. Angelus had the sense to let go, letting the bloody blade hit the floor before charging the teen's waist and taking him down.
  
  Angelus got on top of him as Xander called for his Viking dagger. The powerful vampire got two hits against Xander's face before the teen caught his blade, instantly dazing his vision and cutting down his mobility. Though he began healing, it wasn't instantaneous, and his nose bled. Now Xander needed some distance, but the vampire was on top of him.
  
  Angelus was wary of Hellguard as he kept trying to land punches on the durable teenager. Xander slipped and blocked the punches, cutting the vampire's arms and getting more dots of blood splattered over him. A punch to the stomach slowed Xander down enough for Angelus to catch the wrist of his dagger hand and try to pin that threat to the floor. Xander tried to punch the vampire's throat with his left hand, but he slipped the strike and caught that hand before trying to pin it as well.
  
  They were in a battle of wills; Angelus trying to immobilize the teen's lethal hands with all his paranormal might while Xander resisted with all his enhanced muscles. Their arms were trembling trying to subdue the other. Xander's muscles were bulging, as he tried to push back with everything he had. The strain on their rigid faces amplified with every second. It appeared, however, that the vampire was stronger, slowly forcing the human's hand to the ground. Xander leaned his face forward and screamed in Angelus' demonic and bleeding face, who leaned down and screamed right back.
  
  Then the teenager smiled, confusing the vampire.
  
  Xander let go of Hellguard and called it to his left hand. The magical dagger flew in a straight line, directly to his left and nearly cutting the villain's nose off. When Angelus dodged it, Xander had enough leeway to twist his left hand, cutting into Angelus' hand, and freeing his limb. Grabbing the villain's collar, Xander pulled Angelus' face in for a hard headbutt, busting his nose with a satisfying crunch. The vampire rolled back-clutching his nose-and off of Xander, who quickly got on his feet.
  
  The fighters glared at each other, mentally preparing for round two, when they heard a gunshot ring out in the wide-open room. The pair turned to witness Buffy, looking at her chest, where she had been shot by Drusilla. The beautiful vampire looked horrified over what she'd done, then ran away. Angelus wiped his bloody face with the cleanest part of his forearm, only smearing the blood around as he saw Buffy fall.
  
  The wicked vampire then shouted, "Damn it, Dru! I wanted to be the one to kill her." Sighing audibly as he stared at Buffy's still body in disbelief, he paced with growing aggravation and spouting, "You know, you try so hard to plan the most poetic murder possible, and then a stupid gun ruins it all! This is why vampires hate guns. They take all the joy out of killing; so impersonal, limp-dick energy, you know?"
  
  "You would know," Xander casually voiced, wondering if he was lucky enough for Angelus to leave before Buffy got up.
  
  "Ha, ha. Don't make me kill you, Xander. Not when I was just starting to like you," the vampire threatened with a playful wag of his finger. He took one last look at the blonde girl unconscious on the floor, then sighed, shaking his head before saying, "Well, have fun at her funeral..."
  
  "Mnnn..." a female voice groaned.
  
  ' Of course ,' the luckless teen thought as Buffy, still possessed as Grace, slowly made her way to her feet.
  
  "Will you look at that," Angelus happily voiced as the beautiful girl ran away.
  
  Xander dreaded how long that part was going to take and the subsequent fighting, when he suddenly realized what that meant. He suddenly felt alive, a fantastic second wind sweeping him up with the prospect of an attractive event that had never happened before.
  
  A bloody Angelus was about to attack again when a bloody Xander threw out his palms and yelled, " WAIT! Wait! Pause! Time out!"
  
  The vampire actually stopped and looked at him with a hint of curiosity before stating, "There are no time-outs, here."
  
  Realizing the majesty that was at stake, Xander asked, "Uh, can we just postpone this for a few minutes?"
  
  "You disappoint me, Xander," the blood-sucker asserted, wiping still more blood from his newly healed nose. "I was actually getting a good workout in."
  
  "Listen, this has nothing to do with me and everything to do with what's about to happen," Xander voiced, cautiously stepping backward in the direction of the music room. Hoping not to miss a second of it, he added, "I promise you we can keep fighting to the death afterward, but I definitely don 't want to miss this."
  
  Angelus replied with a disappointed look on his face, "I don't care what you want to miss."
  
  "Whatever," Xander groaned in annoyance. He extended his free hand, and from the top of the nearby lockers, Dreadnought flew straight into his hand. Angelus' face lost all amusement as the heavily armed teenage warrior retorted, "You can stay here and be a prissy little prick for all I care."
  
  Xander started jogging slowly, all the while remaining focused on Angelus as he followed. The pair entered the music room and stood on opposite sides of Buffy and Drusilla a few seconds before the possessed girls began kissing passionately. Soft lips open and connected, noses side by side, their elegant jaw line elevated when their lips narrowed, then lower as their mouths widened to bind more closely. Drusilla's tongue descended into Buffy's eager mouth, adding to the wet suction sounds, as the beautiful girls held each other and expressed their love.
  
  "...Wow," a wide-eyed Angelus voiced.
  
  "Yeah," Xander returned, nodding.
  
  Even if it was wrong of him to enjoy the show, this was certainly better than fighting the strong vampire, and the entertainment value was through the roof. It was the first time Xander really noticed how hot Drusilla was and how incredibly sexy Buffy was when making out with another girl.
  
  ' Like all good things ,' Xander thought before considering the best way to separate them.
  
  When the girls finally realized what they were doing and abruptly stopped, Xander moved as fast as he could, wrapping his arms around Buffy's waist whilst simultaneously kicking the crazy vampire away. Angelus caught Drusilla while Xander held Buffy. Bringing up his palm, his intimidating battleaxe flew into his hand before asking the undead demons, "You eager for more, or are we done for the night?"
  
  With a final growl, Angelus took the confused Drusilla and left. Xander lowered Dreadnought when Buffy suddenly leaned heavily on him. She winced when he looked at her ankle. It was sprained from the fall after getting shot, and she had left the soothing relief of Slaymore in the library. Despite her protests, Xander gave her a piggyback ride while holding the handle of Dreadnought under her butt, like a seat. With her slim arms wrapped around his neck, they silently walked through the hallways.
  
  He set the Slayer down on the table in the library when she said, "Thanks for saving my life. First, with the vest-"
  
  "Which you thought was stupid," Xander interrupted with a smile.
  
  Mildly embarrassed, Buffy returned the smile, and nodded, before continuing. "Then you kept Angel from killing me. I'm completely stumped on how to thank you for that unbelievable achievement."
  
  "I don't know about unbelievable, but, you don't have to thank me, Buff," he nonchalantly replied as he leaned Dreadnought against the table. With fond recollection, he serenaded, "Not after witnessing that gift from the Gods."
  
  Buffy rolled her eyes and groaned in exasperation before asking, "Did you and Angel really have to just, like... watch?"
  
  Emphatically, he proclaimed, "As a heterosexual male with twenty-twenty vision, the only answer to that is obviously yes. Human and vampire-sworn enemies throughout time-literally stopped fighting and coexisted peacefully in awe of what truly matters in this world: hot girls kissing."
  
  Shaking her head in disbelief, Buffy grabbed Slaymore to help her heal as she asked, "What's wrong with men?"
  
  "Some would say women," Xander answered with a grin. "But I'm fine with that. And it's Angelus, by the way."
  
  Looking at him curiously, Buffy asked, "What?"
  
  "That wasn't Angel," he answered, nodding back with his head. "It was Angelus."
  
  "...Yeah... Right," she sadly vocalized. Turning more serious, Buffy touched his mildly swollen cheek before weakly saying, "You know I don't want you out there slaying."
  
  Despite enjoying the warmth of her touch, he joked, "You wanna make another deal?"
  
  "No, Xander," she frustratingly returned. "I just want you to be safe."
  
  Whether she meant safe in his assigned box, or safe in general, he couldn't be sure. Her greenish-blue eyes pleaded with genuine fear, and there was no question she was scared of losing him. It reminded him that all his friends feared death far more than he did. In Xander's time-looping world, his death only meant restarting life from Halloween. In their world, death was promptly followed by heart-stricken grief, and he could only dream of feeling that again.
  
  Regardless, Xander replied, "This is the Hellmouth, Buffy. Being safe isn't in the brochure." He took her cold hand and held it within his, warming them up as he reiterated, "Hell, the brochure'll probably try to kill you." She looked sad and Xander caressed her cheek, which she surprisingly allowed. "There's a difference between not wanting me out there because you think I can't handle it, and not wanting me out there because you don't want to see me get hurt." Caressing her enchanting face, he asked, "So, which is it?"
  
  She stared deeply into his unwavering brown eyes for a long moment, then answered, "You were right... what you said before, about putting my fears on you. I was thinking about that all this time, and I realized..." The world around them stilled before she softly answered, "I don't want you getting hurt."
  
  Xander felt the moment, leaned in, and kissed her. And Buffy didn't push him away. She stayed still, then leaned her jaw up, pressing their lips firmly together. The sensual touch was everything: soft, gentle, warm, comforting, and vivacious, and Xander couldn't help but deepen their kiss, pressing in to open her mouth a little more. He felt her return the kiss for a few moments before pulling away.
  
  Breathless, the uncertain girl groaned, "Xander, I... I don't think I can do this."
  
  "I may be biased here, but I think you can," he offered. However, she didn't seem too keen, and he frankly added, "Or don't. No one's forcing you here. Whatever it is you think I am-too pure, too innocent, just your lovable friend, or innocent bystander you think you've cursed by being around-I guarantee you, I'm not." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to the edge of the table, flush against his torso. Pressed as she was against him, Buffy had to spread her legs; It was the most sensual position the pair had ever been in. As she looked up into his confident eyes, he asserted, "Even if you don't know, I won't stop being me. I can't anymore, Buffy... not even when you finally see the real me."
  
  Slowly, Buffy placed her palm on his chest, however, she didn't push him away, as he was expecting. Instead, her hand slid up to his neck, and Xander leaned down to lock onto her lips once again. Her sweet fragrance filled his nostrils as her mouth opened for his. The high warmth of her oral cuddling was positively electric, making his skin tingle at the touch of her. Their necks and heads danced in a series of vigorous give-and-take. He wanted to press as much skin as possible against her perfectly symmetrical face. With eyes shut to feel more with their lips, the pair made out like only horny teenagers could, pulling each other like they were trying to mold into one. Then they heard Giles' distant voice echo, calling out for Buffy, and Willow calling out for Xander.
  
  When they separated, it was the first glimpse of her alluring face that struck him. Her gorgeous greenish-blue eyes were half-lidded and dilated pools of black. Her cheeks were deeply blushing, and her moist lips were plump and open, breathing in much-needed air. Caressing down from her forehead to her chin, Xander had always seen Buffy before, but this moment felt like the first time. She was the sexiest he had ever seen her, and it was because of him, which nearly made him burst out in laughter.
  
  He held it in, but the time-looper couldn't help thinking in amazement, and some disgust, ' How could not chasing her work better than chasing her? '
  
  The two separated well before Giles, Willow, Oz, and Cordelia rushed into the library, and all Xander could think about was how counterintuitive this development was; so much so, that he had to hold his laughter in as their friends checked them out. He easily recalled spending so much time and energy trying to be everything he thought Buffy deserved, only for Angel and Spike to have her. Then, when Xander didn't care more about her than the entertainment messing with her brought, somehow, they were kissing. Buffy actively kissed him: Xander Harris-friend-zoned to high heaven-and it boggled his mind.
  
  In the weeks that followed, Xander was living an old dream he wasn't sure how he'd arrived at. Something he would've loved more than life itself, if his image of her wasn't forever tainted. Around classes and Scooby meetings in the library, Xander and Buffy would find little pockets of private time to be very intimate. After a century of looping, this was truly one of the few firsts for him. His body came alive the second he saw her, and unlike ever before, he was filled with boundless energy the moment they touched. The rest of the world was easily forgotten when they were together.
  
  Xander had always loved her sense of style, but he appreciated the thin material of her outfits all the more because it felt like nothing was in the way of his long-earned technique. The young Casanova took much pleasure in discovering each of her erogenous zones, assaulting her senses with his deft caresses. She shivered when he massaged the muscles of her lower back, and her knees would weaken when his lips suckled and kissed the nape of her elegant neck. When he ran his fingers through her silky blonde hair, tingling her scented scalp as he kissed her deeply and massaged her lower back, Buffy would turn to putty in his hands, moaning deeply in his mouth.
  
  In an empty classroom during lunch, he'd sit her on a table. Her legs would wrap around his ass, keeping him close, and with their tongues in each other's mouths, they would make out for most of their mealtime. Her little moans and whimpers of arousal only spurred him on more. As their desires grew to irrational heights, they'd pull at each other to get ever closer. And before they knew it, the warning bell would ring, frustrating the teenagers while counting the minutes to their next hormonal dalliance.
  
  ' Careful ,' he kept reminding himself.
  
  The last thing Xander wanted to do was forget how easily Buffy could hurt him. However, when they patrolled together, they'd always end up making out against a tree or mausoleum. They'd study together, then make out. They'd train together, then make out; and through it all, Xander was only getting better at finding her little treasure troves of pleasure. Buffy couldn't believe he was so adept at sexual activity, and for once, he could use Casanova's costume to easily explain his inexplicable skill.
  
  Xander continued to surprise Buffy when he informed the group that he joined the swim team. They wouldn't know that he did so to stop the Coach's plan before the boys changed into sea monsters. His friends simply thought it was the next step after his coveted motorcycle to popularity. To keep a closer eye on the Coach, Xander tried out, and with his conditioned body, made the team by a respectable margin. All the same, he tampered with the saunas so there would be no changes.
  
  Thanks to magical assistance, his body could fully recover in a few hours rather than a day or two, which meant he packed years' worth of muscle-building sessions in a matter of months: a clear six-pack, broader shoulders, a fibrous back, strong legs, and muscles that popped with clear strength. Xander's body was much more developed than the typical teenage boy, which delighted Buffy, Cordelia, Willow, and many girls attending the swim meets. His body-wet and walking down the length of the pool in a speedo-drew in more of a crowd than he expected. For weeks, he had never felt so popular-so visible to everyone-before.
  
  At the beach party to celebrate getting into the state semifinals, Xander had to slip away and hide from the party mob. They all wanted him for something-whether clout, a motorcycle ride, or to get wasted. Sitting on a black rock overlooking the ocean and letting the crashing waves soothe him, Xander wondered if the coach was doping Dodd, Cameron, and the others in a different manner. After tampering with the sauna's water tank, his teammates shouldn't be as fast as they were. Xander thought he should slow down spending time with Buffy to properly investigate. After all, all the teenagers did was make out insatiably, to the point of dry humping each other.
  
  From behind him, the distracted boy heard, "So, Alexander Harris." The familiar voice turned out to be Buffy, sitting beside him. Holding up an imaginary microphone, she playfully asked, "You've just won the state semifinals, practically single-handedly, some might say."
  
  "Some?"
  
  "The ones with eyes," she added with a smile. "What are you gonna do now?"
  
  Xander looked at the sexy blonde warmly, hungrily. Buffy was taken aback a spell before returning a hungry gaze of her own. He smiled as he stated, "I was thinking of going home, but I'd rather hang out with Buffy Summers."
  
  Lowering her hand, Buffy hesitantly suggested, "You... could do both."
  
  The ride back to his home took nearly twenty minutes and half of that was due to red lights, but eventually, Xander and Buffy were stumbling through his front door, kissing all the while. He picked her up, and she instantly wrapped her legs around his waist before he led them to the closest comfortable surface. Xander and Buffy fell on his couch, making the blonde beauty squeal in delight before they were once again exploring every inch of their mouths.
  
  On top of her sensual body, massaging her sides as he kissed her deeply, her scent was hypnotic. Buffy wrapped her legs around his lower back, pulling him in and making his heart race as the smacking suction of their lips echoed throughout the room. With a singular purpose of making her moan his name repeatedly, Xander lowered his mouth to her elegant neck, nibbling at the zone she loved and inciting her to vent out pleasure-filled moans.
  
  Xander began dry-humping her, using his restrained erection to rub against her love button. Buffy spread her legs invitingly, thrusting back as his firm hands caressed the contours of her sexy hips and legs. Squeezing her ass made him remember when she put him in a headlock, and he couldn't help but snicker. Buffy rotated her blushing head to look at him in curiosity.
  
  "What?" she asked, slightly nervously. "Is something wrong?"
  
  "What, no," Xander quickly answered. As he massaged her firm bubble butt, the teen boy reminded her, "I was just thinking about the last time my hands were on your ass."
  
  Buffy giggled at the recollection before remarking, "I couldn't believe you did that. But... Mmmnnn ," she moaned as he tenderized her hamstrings, just under her butt, and he dragged his restrained cock against her womanhood.
  
  "But..." he whispered near her ear.
  
  "Aahh, I can't think... if you keep doing that," she cutely protested as Xander's intuitive body-from his hands to his lips, and pelvic thrusts-continued thrilling her sensitive zones.
  
  "I can keep doing more if you want," Xander softly voiced as his lips lowered to her clavicle.
  
  "...Okay," she softly voiced.
  
  He looked up at her, into the dark pools of her dilated eyes, and asked, "You sure?" Buffy took a deep breath, then looked away as she nodded. "Okay. Just let me know if you want to stop."
  
  Xander kissed the sensitive skin of her cleavage as his hands deftly unbuttoned her jeans, then lowered the zipper. Her chest was inflating and deflating considerably as the teen boy slowly peeled her tight jeans off. He quickly detected the scent of her sex, and despite the darkness of the room, saw the dampness of her lace panties. So close to her untouched sacred place, Xander couldn't think of anything else but to make her melt from an onslaught of pleasure. Bit by bit, he slid her panties down her toned legs, finding a nice little brush of dark hair crowning her tight pussy. Buffy's cunny was that of a wet maiden; small and immature, with no sign of her inner lips as her love juices streamed down her legs.
  
  ' So wet ,' he thought as his hands massaged her strong inner thighs.
  
  Xander's tongue began lapping up the pink line of her sex slowly up to her pink clit, protruding from her hood. Her legs shivered and tensed the second time he slowly lapped up her leaking cunny, savoring the taste of her secretions. When she moaned on the third long lick-in tandem with his hand kneading her thighs and butt-Xander's lust took over and he eagerly began eating her out, diving his strong tongue into her soaking sex and making Buffy squirm.
  
  " Mm mm MMm mmMM My God," she gasped, whipping her head back in a wave of intense pleasure that shook her.
  
  Using Odin's ring, he strengthened his tongue to dive deep and lap hungrily at her wet, hot love tunnel. Xander took the opportunity to grope her right breast, kneading eagerly, yet tenderly, and making her pink tips harden through her thin blouse. Buffy gasped in surprise through her open maw, swiveling her head from side to side due to the electricity his expert hands and tongue were buzzing inside her. He moved from one breast to the other, thumbing her pink nipples, as his talented tongue moved up to her clit as he inserted a finger in her hot, tight hole.
  
  Buffy opened her eyes at the insertion, shivering at the building pleasure her small body couldn't resist. He just kept working her perfectly sized bosom, massaging and pressing her breasts joyously, as if they were dough, while his finger entered her slowly but deeply. The blushing Buffy gasped and moaned under his expert care as his finger found her G-Spot, low and toward the back.
  
  " OOHhhh ! My God! My, my, mmmmmm ," she moaned as her pelvis thrusted on its own.
  
  Buffy couldn't help but moan continuously, and Xander could feel her getting close to no return. Her sex juices were spilling out, and her warm pussy was contracting more and more, as if begging for a second finger. His mouth on her erect clit, fingering her g-spot, and big hands on her breasts, jolts of pleasure were threatening to run up and down her spine nearly every second. Sparks of a massive orgasm would burst throughout her body and her pulsing sex felt like a steaming volcano on the verge of exploding.
  
  "So good!" she mewed as her sweaty body spasmed in preparation for a massive orgasm.
  
  When Buffy was right on the edge, Xander added a second finger and curled them around her trigger spot. The heat in her groin exploded into a wildfire of spasms, wave after wave of pure pleasure ripped throughout her vagina, spine, brain, then arms and legs. Never had she felt an orgasm so hot and intense in her entire life. Her vagina convulsed powerfully as she held Xander's strengthened fingers tightly. As her body quivered erratically, Buffy kept moaning deeply, her mind too far gone in bliss to even think.
  
  At the sight of the sexy girl cumming under him, Xander only thought to do more. His dick felt ready to explode, and he wanted more than anything to be inside of her, emptying his balls in the depth of her baby-chamber. After what felt like an eternity, Buffy's body went limp on the sofa, gasping to catch her breath.
  
  "Wow," she said after a while.
  
  Though Xander appreciated the recognition of a job well done, he was eager to get inside and unzipped his jeans. His zipper must've sounded like a chainsaw, because Buffy sat up before bearing witness to his jutting erection. At her look of nervousness, he wondered if the size intimidated her, even if he was average.
  
  With heavy guilt, Buffy asked, "I... don't think... Is it okay if- if I'm not ready... to go all the way?"
  
  Xander immediately nodded, saying, "Yeah, of course. We don't have to go all the way. There's halfway, a third, or no way. Whatever you're comfortable with." But inside, he was crying a little.
  
  Buffy swallowed audibly as she hesitated to look directly at his cock. She looked up and asked, "C-can I touch it?"
  
  "If you don't, I will," he joked, making her huff in a bit of laughter.
  
  The Slayer slowly touched the smooth skin of his erection, then slowly traced the rigid shape of it. Soon after, she was holding it. Sadly, the rest of their night was Xander instructing her how to jerk him off. Though he enjoyed eating her virgin pussy and watching her cum, it wasn't the most exciting end to the night. Even if he accidentally looped back, this loop would be worth it simply for this very memory.
  
  The next day, Xander told the Scoobies that they needed to investigate Nurse Greenliegh and Coach Marin, because he had seen things that didn't make sense. As in all the previous loops, the group uncovered how the adults were doping the swimmers; vitamin pills this time. This disqualified the school's swim team and led to rumors of Xander doping, not that he cared. On the other hand, he was forced to reassure his concerned friends that he never took any vitamins from either coach or nurse.
  
  When Giles went to inspect the stone statue that arrived at the museum, Xander knew Acathla was the next rung on the ladder to his freedom. When the beautiful Kendra arrived, everyone reverted to an all-business mindset. However, Buffy still learned about Kendra and Xander's one-night-stand. The blonde slayer gave him the coldest shoulder for most of the investigation.
  
  When Willow finally received an Orb of Thesulah, the ritual began as it had before. Buffy went to get Angel while the rest remained in the library. With Dreadnought in hand, Xander was better prepared to save Kendra. He monitored the entrance to cut their numbers down before they even reached Kendra or Giles. Drusilla also seemed better prepared as she brought three times the number of men as she did in the previous loop, likely in response to his improved ability.
  
  Even with Dreadnought, the vampires simply came at him from all angles, dealing with five vampires at the same time and another four waiting to jump in. The room was overrun with vampires, and protecting Willow from being bitten left Kendra's weak side vulnerable to a vampire grabbing her feet. Another vampire grabbed each of her arms, and Drusilla sliced her entire throat with the tips of her nails. Xander barely escaped the overrun library with an unconscious Willow, scared Cordelia, and injured Oz. Sadly, they successfully kidnapped Giles.
  
  Xander had to come back for Kendra's lifeless body. To his horror, the stunning Jamaican had several pairs of puncture holes, and had been drained of her supernatural blood. Crouching beside her, the bloody and beaten Xander wondered how much longer he would be a failure. As strong as he was, having saved Jenny from death, and even being in a relationship with Buffy, he yet again, couldn't save Kendra.
  
  The following night, Buffy and Xander went to the mansion to rescue Giles while Willow performed the ritual to re-ensoul Angel. With the full effects of Odin's ring, a vengeful Xander fought the vampires in the mansion to give Willow enough time to perform the ritual. At some point, Xander was suddenly sucker-punched from behind. One moment he was stabbing a vampire through the heart, the next, he was on the floor and everything was going dark. He thought he saw platinum blond hair in a black, leather trench coat fighting a vampire in front of him, but then passed out.
  
  Xander regained consciousness outside of the mansion, and was told by a weary and bleeding Giles that the vortex to hell had been opened, but Buffy closed it. The time-looper immediately panicked. He knew that meant Angel went to hell and he was expecting to loop back. However, he slowly realized he hadn't woken up in his bed. Walking beside Giles, Xander wasn't sure why this outcome didn't send him back, but he had to imagine that it meant Angel wasn't truly dead.
  
  The aching teen asked the Watcher, "Where's Buffy?"
  
  All Giles answered was, "She left."
  
  Xander assumed it would simply be for the night. After all, even if Buffy was with him, it didn't mean she wouldn't mourn the loss of Angel. He didn't see her the following day, or the day after that. As the week finished out, Xander accepted that Buffy wouldn't return, and his summer would be a lonely one.
  
  I try to have a story reason for every decision in my fic. So for those wondering why I'm maneuvering Xander and Buffy together, it has less to do with shipping and more to do with the theme of this fic, which is self improvement. That being said, I've categorized Xander journey in five stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. We're currently on Bargaining. I can't wait for Acceptance-Xander, because he's going to have his shit together.
  
  Anyway, my favorite moment in this chapter was Angel and Xander stopping their fight to watch Buffy and Drusilla kiss. So dumb, it's funny😂😂.
  
  Kendra, noooo!😭💔 I won't write anything here to avoid spoilers. But if you want to know a little more about what I have planned for her, shoot me a PM.
  
  That's all I got. Thank you all for reading and if you leave a comment, thanks for taking the time. Thanks again to my betas, Oxnate, Chelanxar, and Jeanluc1986. Hope you all have a great week.
  
  -Grae
  
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  Running Chances
  Yay! We're back! Another Sunday, another Chapter.
  
  Thank you all for continuing to read this fic. We're over the half way mark of this story, so, that's a mighty milestone, if I do say so myself.
  
  I'd like to clarify something I put in my author's notes last week. I said I've categorized Xander's journey in five stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Depression should be more like disassociation. So, he won't be like some emo boy.
  
  Big grateful thank you to my Betas, Oxnate and Deiticlast, who are doing a stellar job! Just, out of this world a big help in my writing process.
  
  WARNING: Lemons, Violence, Foul Language.
  
  7.8K words. Enjoy!
  
  Running Chances
  
  With the Slayer gone through the summer of '98, the remaining Scoobies had to be the line that stopped vampires from feeding on humans. Xander took on the bulk of the Slayer duties, fighting vampires, demons, and even a zombie. Fortunately, it wasn't a busy summer for the forces of evil. Willow and Oz helped as well, and they certainly wanted to do more, but Xander felt it was important the cute couple spent as much time alone as possible. Just because he spent most of his time alone in a graveyard didn't mean they should sacrifice their relationship to do the same. Xander forged simple weapons for them to use, but without more relics or supernatural materials to mix into the metal, they weren't nearly as powerful as Dreadnought, Hellguard, or Slaymore.
  
  A focused Xander worked on his bike, on his home, trained his body three times a day, and slayed vampires repetitively throughout the summer. But, in between each activity-when his mind had more leeway to wander-he'd think about Buffy. Sometimes he would be concerned about her, but more than anything, he was angry; angry at her for leaving and at himself for thinking he could seize some form of closure from her. Because he didn't think he could let go without closure. The only thing he could be grateful for was her being alive, or he'd have looped back. Adversely, that only made him anxious and angrier by the day. Buffy never called him, or any of the Scoobies.
  
  Xander's life brightened when Cordelia returned from her family vacation in Las Palmas, Mexico. In school, they squabbled about innocuous things-as they do-but that very night, she invited herself on patrol with him. Wearing a silky, gray blouse unbuttoned enough to show cleavage, and gray slacks, the beautiful girl watched on as he fought vampires. Cordelia was surprised to witness how easily one hit from the supernatural being could turn the tables on Xander, and he explained how having intuition, technique, enhanced strength, and strategy didn't take away from him still being human. The young warrior always fought conscious of the fact that he might have to fight at a disadvantage-whether he was dizzy, lost control of his limbs, or was injured. Thanks to the utilities of his tools-Dreadnought, Hellguard, and Odin's ring-Xander always came out on top. Since it was a slow night, Cordelia only cheered him on through three fights.
  
  Walking back to her after dusting his third vampire, Xander remarked, "You probably shouldn't give away your position cheering like that." With a smile, he added, "I mean, you make great bait, but I'd rather not have to make pretty, sparkly dust out of you."
  
  "As if you'd have the guts to dust me," Cordelia shot back with absolute confidence. They began walking back to his motorcycle as she asserted, "And FYI, you had better ensoul me if I ever get turned. With my looks, walking the earth for all eternity would be to everyone's blessing."
  
  Xander shook his head in disbelief before asking, "How could something sound so wrong and right at the same time?"
  
  "Obviously, when it's a fact," she answered assertively.
  
  Xander chuckled before driving her home. It was a cool August night and the moon above them was bright. The way she held onto his torso, warming him up, made Xander miss human contact. He hadn't been with anyone since Buffy left two months ago, and he hadn't had a girlfriend since Cordelia at the beginning of the year. When Xander pulled up in front of the tall gate of her luxury home, he waited for the stunning girl to get off, but she didn't.
  
  After a dozen seconds, a curious Xander turned his head, looking out of his periphery, and asked, "Uh, Cordy? We're here."
  
  She held on for another moment before moving back to see him, and abruptly asked, "You want to watch a movie?"
  
  Getting the sense something was wrong, Xander kicked out the bike stand before rotating his body to ask, "Is everything alright? Is it your parents?"
  
  Getting off the bike, the animated girl moved in front of him and said, "Now that you mention it, I have, like, a lot of rings I need melted down."
  
  Ever since he gave her the Draupnir ring nearly six months ago, she would ask him to melt the gold rings into a small bar. He'd done so three times, going so far as to even polish the precious metal and stamp the weight and element symbol on the face of it. Though he was happy she was making thousands of dollars for doing nothing more than wearing the magical ring, the process typically took thirty to forty minutes, and it was already 2 AM.
  
  "You want to do that now?" he asked her in disbelief.
  
  Eying him with sassy incredulity, she asked, "You have something better to do?"
  
  "Sleep would be nice," he answered with raised eyebrows.
  
  She tilted her head, batted her eyelashes, and pressed her lips together as she sweetly asked, "Please?"
  
  Looking at her captivating face with annoyance, Xander grumbled, "Fine."
  
  She squealed before turning about, and entering her large home as she said, "Okay, wait right here." She soon returned with a teddy bear bag over her shoulders, then they drove to his house. Upon entering his clean home, Cordelia called out, "Oh, thank God! I had the strongest fear your terrible sense of style would destroy all the hard work I put into making this place beautiful."
  
  Taking her hand and turning to walk back outside, Xander casually said, "Well, I guess you don't want me to melt these-"
  
  "Alright, alright," she insisted, pulling his hand to stay. "Sorry. I'm just..."
  
  "You're just... what?" he asked, looking at her with some confusion. "What's going on, Cor? This is me. Even if I have to be really patient, and brave mind-numbing headaches, you know you can tell me anything."
  
  "Okay... Okay," she started, letting go of his hand. "So, you know how I'm, like, so gorgeous? Like, literally one of the most attractive women you've ever seen?"
  
  His face quickly morphed to incredulity, eyes squinted and mouth gaped before asking, "Is that an actual question, or are you being rhetorical?"
  
  "You're right. It's so obvious I am," she pronounced as if it was so undeniable.
  
  "Wow, it's almost like you never left," Xander gasped in growing disbelief. "I already feel like ripping my ears off."
  
  "All I'm trying to say is that I can attract a lot of guys; almost anyone I want."
  
  "Then say that!"
  
  "I just did!"
  
  In an effort to avoid exasperated squabbling, Xander took a deep calming breath before patiently asking, "Cordy, where's this crazy train going, and is there an exit anytime soon?"
  
  Cordelia took a moment for herself and slowly replied, "Ever since we stopped doing what we were doing all those months ago, I went on dates with some of the hottest men you could imagine-like, one almost every other week. Even in Mexico, some drug lord offered to pay me ten thousand dollars just to pee on him."
  
  Surprised, Xander asked, "Did you?"
  
  "What? Of course not!" she yelled, as if offended, then shrugged as she added, "I did get his number though, just in case."
  
  Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Xander replied, "I'm assuming you're subjecting me to this auditory abuse for a reason."
  
  Crossing her arms, Cordelia looked at her boots, almost nervously, then swayed her lustrous mane of chestnut brown hair over her shoulder before timidly asserting, "It's just... I didn't feel it... with any of them."
  
  Leaning his head in closer, Xander asked, "Feel what?"
  
  "I don't know," she stomped her foot in agitation. "Good? Well, that's not true. Some of them were pretty good. But, not... really good... like you." Xander was surprised again, and she quickly explained, "I mean, for the life of me, you somehow knew exactly what to do. I can't explain that unbelievable miracle, but there it is. You got an A+. And you did it so... ughh !" she growled with a clenched fist, making Xander smile. "Anyway, none of the other men even came close to getting me as excited, let alone eager for it."
  
  Though he appreciated the compliment, he understood the loops perfected their physical coupling. So, he wasn't surprised. Xander cared more to ask, "How many guys have you slept with?"
  
  "Ugh! That's the worst part!" she called out. "Not a single one made it to the end! From the word go, I couldn't stop comparing them to you. Two managed to get to third base, but one was such a quick shot and the other had a strange package." With a slightly turned-off expression, she showed him her index finger bent like a hook as she elaborated, "It curved downward; a complete turnoff." She pointed that same finger in his face before yelling, "This is your fault, Harris!"
  
  Gently moving her finger out of his face, he asked, "Me? What'd I do-"
  
  "You ruined other men for me!"
  
  "I can't clarify enough how confusing all of this is," he groaned, pondering if he should stop dealing with women altogether. ' Buffy, Cordelia, Jenny, it 's always something ,' he begrudgingly thought. Xander rubbed his face hard before eventually asking the cheerleader, "What do you want me to do-"
  
  "Take responsibility, obviously!"
  
  Xander was silent for a moment, figuring out what she was indirectly trying to say. He then asked, "Did you bring the gold?" Cordelia looked like she wanted to say more, but grabbed her teddy bear backpack and pulled out a sandwich-sized ziplock plastic bag full of gold rings. At the sight of the bag, he informed her, "This is going to take a while."
  
  "Fine. Whatever," she responded with a hint of defeat and annoyance in her voice.
  
  Taking her hand, Xander said, "Come on."
  
  He led the confused girl upstairs to his room, tossed the bag of rings on the bed, then told her, "In the bathroom, there's a robe. I want you to wear it, and nothing else."
  
  Cordelia hid her smile well, but he could see the eagerness in her eyes as she turned on her heels and rushed into the bathroom. Having visited sex shops on several occasions, Xander had come across many subtle ideas that he could add to his room without turning it into an outright sex room. At each corner of his Queen-sized bed, Xander pulled out black straps that were fastened to the frame. He went into his closet and returned with a polished oak chest. The teenager took out scented candles, a blindfold, lubricant, and a black bag, placing them on the bed.
  
  When Cordelia exited the bathroom-robe loosely closed to tease skin down to her luscious C-cups-the room was dark except for the ten lit candles that gave off an aroma of rose and vanilla orchid. As Xander extended his hand, his face featured the slightest hint of desire and confidence. Holding her smile to an eager grin, Cordelia took a deep breath before taking his hand. He led the sexy cheerleader to the foot of his bed. She spotted the bondage items aligned on the right side edge and her spine became straighter, accentuating her large breasts in anticipation.
  
  Xander handed Cordelia the black blindfold, and she gave him a, ' really? ' look. Xander nodded, making her roll her eyes before slipping the garment on, eliminating her sense of sight. With the alluring aroma of the candles dancing under her nose and his warm proximity to her, Cordelia's heart began racing. Her body was warming up, and through the white bathrobe, Xander could see an outline of her erect nipples.
  
  "Lay down," Xander ordered, helping her lay in the middle of the bed.
  
  Gently, he fastened each limb of her seductive form to the four corners of his bed. She tested the give of the straps and found herself helpless to his every whim. Xander could do anything he wanted to her, and Cordelia would have no recourse but to accept his base desires, making her toes curl in excitement. He then unzipped the black bag. They both knew what was inside as this was not the first time he'd used a vibrator on her. The sound of Xander turning the vibrating egg on and off made the blinded, tied-down girl squirm with anticipation. The teenage boy lubed up the egg, leaned on the bed, and brought the sex toy to her leaking womanhood.
  
  "MMnnnn," the deeply breathing girl moaned as Xander slowly inserted the slippery oval into the tight nook of her wet sex. "X-Xander..." she gasped, unsure of how to finish.
  
  Xander pressed his forehead against hers, feeling her heat as he slowly slid the slippery ovule to the depths of her love tunnel, rousing her sex into a pulsing fervor. The hypersensitive girl pressed her flush brow against his, sticking to his heat. Her body felt more from the loss of her sight, the heightened scent of sex, and the warm touch of him. Then Xander turned the vibrator on.
  
  " MMMNN ," she moaned, arching her spine and squirming against the straps holding her to the middle of the bed. "Holy shii... haah, mmmn , Xander. I want it. Give it to me. Jus-Just give it to me."
  
  As Xander fingered her wet snatch, he softly said above the humming of the vibrator, "It's going to take me a while to melt all that gold." Getting off the bed, he finished, "I'll be back when I'm done."
  
  "Xander- MMN!" Her moan cut her off when he increased the vibration. "Waiaaahh!"
  
  He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I want you to think about all the very naughty things I'm going to do to you when I get back; How many times you're going to be gushing around my cock... And how I haven't had sex in months. So I'm very, very backed up."
  
  Xander kissed her, diving his tongue in her hot wanton mouth as he sucked on her full, red lips. She kissed him back with rage and desire, but Xander pulled away before she could feel more satisfaction.
  
  "MMNAAAAAUHH! Xander!" she yelled as he left her in a building cocoon of pleasure.
  
  Smiling as he sat at his workbench, Xander was rock hard in anticipation as he rushed through melting the gold. With Cordelia gone, and Jenny restarting things with Giles, Xander hadn't had anyone in his bed for months. It took a solid twenty minutes to set up his propane furnace and melt all sixty rings into small gold bars. Though he couldn't recall the exact price of gold per gram, he was sure the four small bars were worth ten thousand dollars. When he wrapped the precious metal and put it in her backpack, he noticed she had brought a change of clothes. Realizing she'd always planned on spending the night made him snicker. He then walked upstairs to enthusiastically reacquaint their sexual organs with earth-shattering orgasms.
  
  Opening the door to his dark room, her womanly fragrance permeated the room, mixing with the scented rose & vanilla candles. Then he heard her mewling moans, the straps of bondage crinkling as she pulled, and the creaking wood of his bed frame. Cordelia was tied up, sweating, with her legs spread, and a circle of love juice wetting the sheets underneath her. Her damp hair was matted to her sweaty and blushing face, and she was moaning between deep breaths. Best of all, parts of her sexy body would tremble from the aftershocks of an intense orgasm.
  
  Considerate of her overloaded nerves and vaginal wall, Xander pressed his hand to her flush and heaving chest. Through his ring's power, Xander thought about how he wanted her to recover. He wanted her to enjoy the pleasure of his prowess without losing sensation from the intensity. After a moment, Cordelia's breathing began to even and her legs relaxed. She hummed in appreciation as her body swayed in the pleasant tingle sweeping through her.
  
  "How's that feel?" he asked.
  
  "Mmnn... Like I'm floating," she sang.
  
  Xander unclothed himself as he said, "I hope you're ready for the main event."
  
  "Xander," the sweaty and heaving Cordelia called. When the nude boy's weight pressed down on the mattress, she begged, "Wait! Just... ah! Let me rest a li-little."
  
  Xander removed the vibrating egg-to her relief-before he massaged her toned and restrained legs, making her spasm from the firm touch. He said, "So warm; ready. And I'm rock hard, Cor."
  
  She couldn't see the naked man between her legs, but she could imagine the lean boy with his muscular chest and shoulders, and it was her imagination that ramped up her sensitivity to begin with, making her moan, "OOOHhh! I'm not gonna survive! I'm not gonna survive! You're gonna kill me!"
  
  Xander leaned down, heating her further as he whispered into her ear, "What better way to go is there?"
  
  As Xander opened her white robe, a thrill ran up her spine, making her pelvis shake with building pressure. He marveled at the stunning beauty of her naked body, and his jutting cock ached to be inside her. He brushed his manhood against her leaking vulva, and the heaving Cordelia bit her plump, lower lip as she swallowed audibly. Her whole body pulsed under him, and he could tell she was highly sensitive. It wouldn't take much from him to get her to orgasm multiple times that night, and he was eager to feel her squeeze him dry.
  
  While Cordelia was busy trying to steady her racing heart, Xander aligned his unruly erection and pressed the crown of his shaft at the slit of her hot wet sex. Cordelia's back arched as much as she could when his cock vigorously drove deep into her tight pussy. Her mouth was open but little noise came out, and Xander didn't move as the hot, moist grip of her sex squeezed his cock so deliciously.
  
  "Oohhhhh, God," Xander voiced, relishing in the radical pleasure. "I so missed you..."
  
  The horny teen pulled his cock out before pushing back in, making her tits jiggle beautifully, then did so again. Building a rhythm, her body swayed from shallow thrusts, and the pleasure of repeatedly filling her hot, dripping hole was unbelievable. Little by little, his meat stretched her love tunnel, easing his ability to go deeper and caress her trigger zones.
  
  " MMMNNNNN! " Cordelia squealed with shut eyes.
  
  Feeling the pressure build at the core of her being, like a water balloon filling past safe levels, she was too sensitive to not pop soon. Pulling at her bindings as she tried to fend off the strong wave of building ecstasy, her tits jiggled like jello, and Xander couldn't resist a mouthful. His mouth clamped on her soft delicious flesh, sucking tightly as his strong tongue flicked her nipple. Cordelia shook her sweaty head from side to side in desperation, completely at the mercy of his overwhelming pleasure.
  
  For minutes, wet, skin-on-skin clapping echoed off the walls, making the bed creak under his powerful rocking. The scent of sex, fire, and sweat made Xander mindless of anything but their swelling pleasure. As he pistoned his drenched cock into her convulsing sex-easily stroking her G-spot-his eager mouth switched to the other breast, tonguing her rock-hard nipple. Cordelia moaned over all of it, too exhausted to focus on anything but the pleasure about to burst magnificently from her aching vulva.
  
  Her spine stiffened when one of his hands played with her sensitive clitoris. Her restrained legs flexed, but her pussy became so warm and pliant, becoming even softer and inviting him farther in; as far inside as he could. Her hands pulled at the straps when her sweaty body began trembling, knowing she was moments away.
  
  "Xa-Xander!" the blindfolded girl moaned. "I'm gonna- You're gonna- You're making me- I'm cumming! I'm cumming! I'm cumming! I'mmmmmmmmmmm!"
  
  "Cum for me, Cordy," the pumping boy ordered. His dick repeatedly knocked against the upper flesh of her cunt, his balls slapping against her ass. Since it'd been months for him, Xander wasn't going to last long either. Massaging her pleasure bean as he sped up his pounding, he said, "Squeeze me dry, Cor."
  
  Cordelia wasn't expecting Xander to suddenly kiss her. And with one final thrust, he buried his sharply tingling cock as deep as he could. Her pleasure coil snapped and her mind detonated. A long, heart-busting explosion of pleasure ripped through her restrained form, and her pussy sealed shut around him, quivering as she held his dick in place. Since she couldn't draw in her limbs, the rippling electricity was free to run up and down her entire body, wrecking her with pure bliss. So hot, so full, and so high, Cordelia had never felt such a powerful orgasm.
  
  In her pleasure haze, she repeated over and over, "Oh... my... God."
  
  Xander forgot his name as he emptied his balls into the quivering girl. His throbbing cock felt like it would never stop ejaculating, expending load after load of his potent seed in her pulsing womb. After what felt like forever, Xander extricated his slightly softened penis from her pussy before laying beside her and catching his breath. Though Cordelia was just as tired, Xander had a magical ring that reinvigorated him in seconds.
  
  After a minute, a refreshed Xander removed her restraints, then said, "I hope you're ready for more, because it's been a while and I'm just getting started."
  
  He removed her blindfold and her expression was one of surprise, worry, and eager arousal. The two kept fornicating sporadically throughout the night until his balls were empty and she was thoroughly sated.
  
  The next night, Xander was once again faced with a running vampire, a situation he hated with a passion. Vampires that ran from him happened rarely during the summer, but after dusting most of the group-whether three or four-the last one would always run, and they ran faster than him. He'd been chasing a short Asian vampire in a full sprint for a mile when he was ready to let the Asian vampire go. Then, from behind a tree, an arm stuck out and stabbed the unsuspecting vampire in the heart with a stake.
  
  Spinning Dreadnought to the harness at his back, Xander wasn't surprised to see Buffy step out from behind the tree. After looping around his friends for over a century, he was rarely surprised by them anymore. Buffy had left without keeping in touch before. It would be no wonder if she did so again.
  
  Xander lowered his black camo scarf and stared. The blonde Slayer looked as gorgeous as ever, wearing tight blue jeans, a pink shirt, and a black jacket. Her silky hair was done up, with curling bangs framing her heart-shaped face. She tilted her head, looking him over his stealth, tactical outfit before saying, "I guess you haven't lost your touch, if they're running from you."
  
  He had thought of this moment for weeks, and now that it was finally here, he didn't know what to say, how to feel, or even how to react, so he deflected. "He probably didn't want to miss the sale at Macy's."
  
  Turning to the dust on the grass, Buffy remarked, "Aww, now I feel bad."
  
  Xander didn't move to hug her. He crossed his arms, wondering why he spent so much time thinking about her as he asked, "How've you been?"
  
  "Something akin to good," she casually answered. "But then again, the bar wasn't super high, to begin with." Buffy took a measured step closer, eying him with optimism in her greenish-blue eyes as she asked, "You?"
  
  Xander shrugged before answering, "As long as I don't die, have to wash gross goo out of my clothes, or-the most important one-go into the sewers, it's a pretty good day."
  
  Clutching her chest with both hands, she smiled empathetic appreciation as she said, "I'm touched you know the real pain of a Slayer now."
  
  "Yeah, no, I don't, actually," he quickly rebuffed, shaking his head. "If they jump in a sewer or bleed green goo, they've as good as won in my book. Go ahead and have the old lady, I say." Buffy snorted at the dark humor, covering her mouth with her hand and shaking her head. Their smiles soon faded and silence descended for a few awkward moments. Clearly, there were issues they needed to discuss, however, Xander simply asked, "So, were you looking for me? Or thought it was a nice night for a stroll in a creepy cemetery?"
  
  Buffy tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear as she answered, "Just out."
  
  "Oh," he lamely sounded.
  
  Taking a step closer, she blushed a bit as she added, "Buuuut, I thought I might run into you."
  
  "Oh?"
  
  "Yeah," the smiling girl said, then silence once again stretched between them. Xander wasn't going to be the one to talk, and he had no qualms turning around and walking away. Seemingly understanding as much, with a hard swallow and a deep breath, Buffy spiritedly offered, "I'll just come right out and say it. I'm sorry... for a lot of stuff, really."
  
  "Okay... just a blanket apology, or do I get specifics?"
  
  Nodding, her expressive eyes were apologetic as she answered, "For leaving like that. For not calling. For messing everything up. I'm really sorry for all of it, Xander."
  
  ' Fuck ,' Xander thought as he stared into the greenish-blue eyes of such a stunning girl. ' That face can captivate harder than Drusilla 's hypnosis .' Fortunately, Xander would always know how much she could hurt him. The memory of her and Spike was like a defense mechanism, and that held him back from ever losing his reason. With a nod, Xander accepted her apology, adding, "I wouldn't say you messed everything up, per se. More like hit the pause button. But now that you're back and..." At her change of expression, from friendly to uncertain, he lamely finished, "Everything can get back to the way it was?"
  
  Taking a step back, Buffy winced as she said, "I don't know, Xander."
  
  Not surprised, Xander smirked as he asked, "You don't, huh? Do you want to tell me what happened after I got knocked out? I talked to Willow, and she said she cast the curse."
  
  Shaking her head, Buffy quickly replied, "Nothing happened. I closed the portal. That's all."
  
  Xander knew better, but rather than pick at that scab, a niggling bit of dread had him inquire, "Just out of curiosity-and please be honest with me..." At her raised eyebrows, he asked, "Did you see Spike at any point while you were away?"
  
  Surprised by the question, Buffy pulled her head back-like smelling a strong, pungent odor-then answered, "Uh, no."
  
  "Do you know if he's in Sunnydale? Like you wouldn't hide that from me, would you?"
  
  Shaking her head at the odd line of questioning, she replied, "First: weird. Second: no. I just got in today. The only people I've seen were mom, Giles, and Willow."
  
  "Am I last on your list?"
  
  "It's not, like, in order of importance or anything-"
  
  "No, no, I know," he assured her. "I just mean... if you've got nothing planned after this, we can catch up."
  
  Tilting her head at the way he said that, the incredulous girl voiced, "Xander..."
  
  Mimicking her tone, he voiced, "Buffy..."
  
  "I came back because I can't run away from my destiny," she informed him. "But, I still need time for everything else."
  
  "Right, okay," he flatly stated with a nod. "Um, I'm not going to play this song and dance with you."
  
  "Xander..."
  
  "It's fine, Buff," he assured her, raising peace signs. "You're back in one piece, I don't have monster goo on me, and I'm not in a smelly sewer, so really, it's a stellar day."
  
  "You can't give me a little time just to think?"
  
  "When you want something, there's nothing to think about," he reminded her. "I could be gone tomorrow, and then what would there be to think about?"
  
  "Crazy thought, but if you stopped fighting vampires and demons, you might live longer."
  
  "Until I'm possessed," he reminded her. "Or fall for some demon chick, or any number of specials the Hellmouth is serving up that day. You're here because you see it as a duty you can't escape. In a way, so am I."
  
  "You can stop-"
  
  "I can't!" he emphatically asserted, surprising her. "When you're nothing before, and then you become more, you don't just turn your back... You don't just run from the fight ..." Xander stopped himself from explaining more, unwilling to volunteer too much personal information. She either got it, or would ask. And until she did, he'd keep it friendly. Moving on, he stated, "Look, whenever you feel like telling me what happened that night, you know where to find me."
  
  Without hesitation, he raised the camo scarf to his nose and left her in the cemetery.
  
  In school the next day, Xander warned everyone he expected a third Slayer soon. Sure enough, after a week of school, forging, and slaying, Faith showed up in Sunnydale, however, he didn't meet her at the Bronze with the others. Xander had been slaying every night to get the irritation out of his unsettled system. Along with his complicated status with Buffy, Xander was four to five months away from passing the year-loop and had a lot of building anxiety to get out.
  
  With his vision and hearing enhanced, the vigilant teenager was patrolling Sunnydale Cemetery when he heard a scuffle and ran to the sight of Buffy being ganged up by four vampires while a punch-drunk Faith straddled a single vampire, and gleefully punched him nonstop. It reminded Xander of the last time he had made it this far, and how annoyed Buffy was with Faith because she almost died fighting four vampires on her own. This skirmish seemed to be that night, and what's worse was how close Slaymore was to Faith. The tip was buried in the earth and sticking upright. But with the brunette Slayer between Buffy and Slaymore, it was clear calling the magical weapon to her would seriously injure the distracted Faith.
  
  Xander sprinted to help Buffy, who was fending off her vampires with a single stake. Enhancing his strength, Xander tossed his battleaxe, spinning in the air until the blade buried itself into the back of one blood-sucker. The demon screamed scathingly, flailing his arms up as he fell to the ground, giving Buffy a better chance against the remaining three. Buffy moved defensively from side to side, slipping punches as best she could. Now closer, Xander threw Hellguard into the side of another with the force of a bowling ball dropped from twenty feet up. Another violent scream echoed out into the cold night as Xander pulled out his wooden daggers as he kicked a third away from her with all his enhanced strength.
  
  The two vampires, with magical weapons stabbed deep into them, could not remove the holy weapons, meaning Xander could deal with one whilst Buffy dealt with the other. A feint followed by a one-two combination by Xander dusted the vamp before he called Dreadnought. Buffy ripped Hellguard out the side of the incapacitated vampire, then staked its heart as it shrieked in pain. It turned to dust just as Xander decapitated the last one. He crossed his arms with Dreadnought fixed in the crook of his elbow while Buffy walked to Faith. She pulled the Boston girl off the beaten vampire and humanely staked the demon of the night.
  
  "Hey, what gives?" Faith yelled as Buffy called Slaymore into her hand, then sheathed it.
  
  Heavily irritated, Buffy exclaimed, "Did you even realize I couldn't call Slaymore because you were in the way? I could've killed you if I did."
  
  To Faith's credit, she looked from where she was fighting to where Buffy was, and it seemed to click. The girl winced a bit before asserting, "My bad. But you're good, right? So, no biggie."
  
  Watching on, Xander asked Buffy, "New Slayer?"
  
  Nodding, an annoyed Buffy walked to him as she motioned toward Faith, and answered, "Xander this is Faith. Faith, Xander."
  
  At the sight of him, Faith's face lit up like a big Christmas tree, complete with cookies and milk. Her leather-clad hips swayed sensually as she walked over to him, giving him a playfully seductive greeting. "Hey there, handsome." Xander loved her husky voice as her brown eyes landed on his battleaxe, and commented, "Ooooh, I'm really diggin' that axe."
  
  Smiling at her bold flirtation, Xander jovially answered back, "The axe is really diggin' you." With wide eyes, Buffy looked at him in surprise, and he defended himself with a shrug, adding, "What? I said the axe."
  
  Squinting her eyes in skepticism, she clearly wasn't buying it and replied, "Please don't hit on her."
  
  Staring at her with a small smile, he asked, "Why? Jealous?"
  
  Looking between them in odd wonderment, Faith asked, "Are you two..."
  
  In unison, they answered, "Yes/No." However, Xander cheerfully explained, "We're currently denying our feelings for each other. And by we, I mean her."
  
  Turning to him in disbelief, Buffy asked, "Really? You have to do this right now?"
  
  "What?" the playful teen defended. "She's a Slayer. She's practically family." Moving on before Buffy could say more, Xander asked the newest Slayer, "So, Faith, where're you staying?"
  
  "Uh, the Motor Inn," she said, still assessing her sister-Slayer and the teen boy.
  
  "On Olive Ave?" Xander verified, recalling many loops when he had stayed in that disgusting motel. "Ugh, gross much?"
  
  Faith casually shrugged, asserting, "It's not that bad."
  
  "Maybe once you've secured an alliance with the rat colony," Xander remarked with repulsion. Shaking his head, he declared, "I won't have it! You're staying at my place."
  
  Taken aback by the abrupt invitation, Buffy asked him, "Excuse me?"
  
  "Buff, she's visiting-" he tried to say, then cut himself off to ask Faith, "You are visiting, right? Or is there a mission you're on?"
  
  "Visiting," the Boston girl replied.
  
  Xander recalled the legendary vampire she was running from, so he knew she was lying. Still, he acted curious as he asked, "Your Watcher let you visit?"
  
  Clearing her throat, she smiled as she answered, "She's on a retreat, so I thought I'd check out Cali."
  
  Turning to Buffy, he gestured to the brunette Slayer as he stated, "There you go. She can save some money and we can get to know the newest Slayer." At Buffy's unconvinced expression, he asked, "What? It's not like I don't have the room."
  
  Cautiously, the Boston native remarked, "Uh, I don't want to get in the middle of anything-"
  
  "Faith, you're solid. Don't even worry about it," Xander told her while enjoying Buffy's conflicting feelings. The axe-wielding teen moved beside the brunette Slayer and led her away as he voiced, "We'll go get your stuff and you can stay at mine."
  
  After she finished admiring every side of his motorcycle, Xander drove her to the dingy motel, grabbed her single bag, and went home. He quickly explained his situation while giving her a tour of his house. Xander didn't push her for information, flirt, or even respond to her flirting. They simply went to sleep, and the following morning, she met Giles in the school library. After Faith repeated being in Sunnydale to take in the sights, Xander suggested Willow, Oz, and Cordelia give her a tour of the school.
  
  Once they were gone, Buffy quickly proclaimed, "I can't believe you let a complete stranger stay with you."
  
  "I let Kendra stay with me," he reminded her.
  
  "That..." Buffy fell short of an immediate response, then asked, "Is that what this is about?"
  
  Truly enjoying how off-kilter she was behaving, he smiled as he mischievously asked, "Why Buffy, what- ever do you mean?" She stared at him in growing annoyance before Xander turned to the curious Watcher. "Giles, can you call the Watcher's council and ask about Faith's Watcher?"
  
  "To-to what end?" the elder asked, taking off his glasses to polish them.
  
  "I don't trust what she told us."
  
  "And you let her stay at your house!?" the irate blonde quickly asked.
  
  "Buffy, just because I think she might be lying, doesn't mean she's a bad person," he gently explained. He very poignantly asked, "Don't you think people lie to cover up pain or embarrassment?" The insinuation being she, herself, refused to tell him what happened the night she closed the Acathla vortex.
  
  When Buffy couldn't refute his question, Giles affirmed, "I'll call today."
  
  "Thanks," he said, however, before the watcher left, Xander moved along with the loop's event. "Oh, real quick. Do you know anything about Taquitos- no, uhhh, Kati- Help me out here, Buff."
  
  "Wasn't it, Kissing Toast?" a thoughtful Buffy asked, trying to recall the name she heard.
  
  "Uh, I could've sworn it was... Kakito?"
  
  Giles nearly stumbled getting out the word, "K-K-Kakistos?"
  
  "That's the one," Xander said, as Buffy snapped her fingers.
  
  Rushing toward his office, a concerned Giles asked, "Wh-wh-where did you hear that name?"
  
  The teens followed, and after looking at one another curiously, Buffy answered, "One of the vamps we dusted last night mentioned it."
  
  Playing along, Xander asked, "Is that important?"
  
  "It is," Giles told them as he grabbed volume after volume of tomes, reading the spines for a specific one. "It very much is. Kakistos is Greek. It means, 'the worst of the worst.' A vampire so old his hands and feet have cloven. One who revels in bloodshed."
  
  Xander skeptically voiced, "Well, it could be a coincidence that Faith is here around the same time this Kakistos dude shows up..."
  
  Getting on his wave-length, Buffy finished, "But it could be linked."
  
  "Maybe she's running," Xander added.
  
  Curious, Buffy asked, "What makes you say that?"
  
  "Before I was chasing down vampires, I was running very fast from them," Xander genuinely answered. Buffy mulled on his words as he added, "There's a fear there I can sorta see."
  
  "You may be correct," the Englishman voiced, as he read from his tome. "Her strong persona may be indicative of a defense mechanism."
  
  "I'll talk to her," Buffy told them.
  
  "And tell her what?" Xander challenged. "Expose whatever she's trying to hide? You think she'd be cool with that? Do you like it when people try to expose what you want to keep secret?"
  
  " This is different," Buffy asserted, eying him pointedly. "What she's not telling us could put people's lives in danger."
  
  "I agree with Buffy on this," Giles weighed in, making Xander roll his eyes. "We must confront her. Kakistos is not an adversary we can take lightly. For now, I have calls to make."
  
  When Giles left, Buffy took a long look at Xander, as if words were on the very tip of her tongue, however, she held them in and turned to leave. Xander tried not to linger on it, and instead focused on everything he missed in the last long loop. He completely missed the fight in the warehouse between Buffy, Faith, the ancient Kakistos, and his minions. Xander had also missed most of the fight against 'roided out monstrous Pete Clarner, who killed three people, including his girlfriend. He'd missed helping Buffy and Cordelia when they were kidnapped for Slayerfest '98. And after that, he had missed fighting the snake demon, Lurconis, that needed baby sacrifices to survive. Xander wanted to make sure he was at the center of all of it now.
  
  Later in the day, Xander and Cordelia were walking to the student parking lot when she told him, out of the blue, "I don't care what you do with her in the bedroom, just give me some warning if it turns to more than that."
  
  Confused, Xander asked, "Huh?"
  
  Cordelia explained Faith was asking them a lot of questions about him, which Xander found amusing. But then again, Faith was very flirtatious when it came to anyone who caught her eye, so he thought little of it.
  
  After forging at Wild Dinks, he returned home and found that Faith, along with her things, was gone. He figured Buffy came to talk to her after school, and Faith had likely decided to keep running from the threat of Kakistos. Fortunately, Xander knew exactly where they would be, and he had a very fast motorcycle.
  
  From afar, Xander surveilled a closed warehouse until Buffy and Faith took shelter within the building. Ten vampires ran into the building as well, and with Dreadnought tight in his grip, Xander rushed inside as well. Several vampires were trying to surround the two Slayers, and the largest of them, with cloved hands and feet, was watching in glee. The leader was bald, with a sadistic smile, and a red wound cut down his forehead, through his right eye, and to his cheek. Kakistos was large, looming over a frightened Faith, while Buffy was dealing with eight vampires.
  
  As Xander ran in to help, he noted the few times Buffy outstretched her palm and realized she didn't have Slaymore with her. The blonde Slayer was attempting to call her weapon, however, with the number of enemies around her, she had to make do with a stake and pipe she'd found. Deciding to help Buffy, Xander threw Dreadnought between Kakistos and Faith, its blade penetrating through the concrete floor with the handle sticking up.
  
  Xander took out Hellguard as Faith and Kakistos looked at the battleaxe between them. Xander was slipping punches and countering at the same time, while also watching Faith desperately reach for the axe. However, Kakistos punched her hard enough to send her flying. It laughed as it tried to draw Dreadnought from the stone floor. Xander and Buffy were making quick work of the dozen vampires, combining knees with kicks, elbows with punches, and dusting one vampire every five seconds. However, they couldn't help Faith yet.
  
  At least not physically.
  
  Xander yelled, "Get up Faith!" She was slow to her feet, bleeding from her nose. Despite how dazed she appeared, Xander yelled, "He can't pick it up! No matter how strong you think he is, he can't pick up my axe." She looked at Kakistos, trying with all its might to lift the battleaxe. However, he was failing miserably. The ancient vampire nearly looked pathetic, like a child refusing to release its toy.
  
  "But you're strong enough," Xander yelled as he elbowed a vampire in the jaw, then kicked it toward Buffy, who staked it in the heart. "You can lift it!" he continued. "You just gotta get up!"
  
  Faith spit blood on the dirty warehouse floor, and like a wild animal being released on prey, she grit her teeth, pushed off one knee, and darted at the large Kakistos. With a forward kick, she snapped the heel of her boot into Kakistos' chin, whipping the vampire's head to the side. She followed with a strike to its knee with her other foot, bringing it down to one knee as she grabbed Dreadnought's handle.
  
  Faith lifted the battleaxe out of the concrete, smiling before remarking, "Well, what'd'ya know."
  
  Though it weighed more in her hands than in Xander's-with her Slayer strength, it didn't matter. She whirled the heavy blade in a circular motion and decapitated the ancient vampire with a single swing. The head hit the floor and rolled lopsidedly toward his stunned men. Mr. Trick and the remaining vampires watched the scarred head fade to gray before slowly crumbling into dust. They turned to Faith, battleaxe in hand, bleeding from her nose, and smiling. The vampires ran out of the warehouse to fight another day.
  
  Xander exhaled a deep breath, extending his hand. The ring on his finger and the magical weapon he called to his hand took care of any aches and pains he had accumulated.
  
  After Dreadnought magically left her hands, an excited Faith exclaimed, "God, I love that axe!"
  
  With a smile, Xander said, "Maybe I'll make you one."
  
  Faith leaned in, showing more cleavage from her black, low-neck shirt, and seductively asked, "What do I gotta do to turn that ' maybe ' into a ' definitely ?'"
  
  Xander heard Buffy take in a quick jet of air before mirthlessly remarking, "If you two need some privacy-"
  
  Xander grabbed Buffy's hand and pulled her to his side before explaining to Faith, "Family is in short supply around here. We gotta get it wherever we can, so if you really want an axe like mine, all I ask is that you try to trust us." Turning to Buffy, who was staring at him, he added, "Try giving us a chance." He was holding her hand, but after a moment, Buffy smiled, seemingly touched, and slowly interlaced her fingers with his.
  
  He returned her smile before they suddenly heard an, " Uggh ," from Faith before the disappointed brunette asked, "Does this mean he's off the market?"
  
  Leaning against Xander happily, Buffy answered with a smile, "Yes."
  
  Though Xander was skeptical about his own happiness-always questioning if he was regressing to the love-sick puppy that was hurt so badly-he felt a measure of contentment. Things with Buffy were looking good, and in a few months, he'd be out of the year-loop-or any loop-forever. But it all made him skeptical. Xander's mind was prepared for the worst.
  
  -B-
  
  Buffy returned to the mansion on Crawford Street; to the exact spot she killed Angel to close the portal to the hell dimension. Standing in that room felt suffocating, as if she were buried alive and desperate to get out. Looking down at the cold, tile floor, the sorrowful Slayer took out the Claddagh ring Angel had given her. Staring at the beautiful silver, the knowledge that it was her last connection to the greatest love she'd ever known weighed heavily upon her soul. To move forward in heart and mind, she gently placed her most cherished love on the floor.
  
  "Goodbye," she softly said, hoping against hope it wasn't forever.
  
  After Buffy left the long, empty room, the silver ring began vibrating, tapping repeatedly on the hard floor before lightning and wind swept the abandoned space. After several bright flashes of blinding light, a powerful gust of force pushed all the windows open. The source of a heavy THUD hitting the hard floor turned out to be a naked, starved, and shivering body. Sulfur permeated the air as steam rose from the underfed body. The pale and trembling man turned his wounded body, barely taking in his surroundings.
  
  It was Angel, and his first word back was, "B-Buffy?"
  
  First, before I forget, Kakistos actually means Wicked in Greek. But I chose to go with the show's dialogue. Also, I have no idea how he picks anything up with cloved hands, let alone an axe. I mean, how does he get dressed without opposable thumbs? I just decided not to think about it too much.
  
  My favorite line was, "I'm assuming you're subjecting me to this auditory abuse for a reason." Xander and Cordelia are always fun to write. A close second was, "Yeah, no, I don't. If they jump in a sewer or bleed green goo, they've as good as won in my book. Go ahead and have the old lady." So terrible, it's funny.
  
  Alternate title to this chapter: Kissing Toast.
  
  Awww shii, Angel's back. I'll go ahead and let you guys speculate to your heart's desire. That's about all I got. Thank you all again for joining me again. I've been asked if I have a . I do. It's /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Only give if you want. There's no extra content on there, besides a digital copy of my original novel. Which can dl if you want.
  
  Any comments or suggestions, I'd love to read them. Thanks again to my betas, Oxnate and Deiticlast!
  
  Have a great one. Till next week,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Cosmic Prank
  Welcome back! Another Sunday, another Chapter.
  
  Thank you all for continuing to read this fic. I'm feeling good today and I hope you all are too. Great big thank you to my Betas, Oxnate and Deiticlast, who worked hard on this one.
  
  WARNING: Violence, Foul Language.
  
  10.3K words. Enjoy!
  
  The Cosmic Prank
  
  Since Xander and Buffy became official, he met Cordelia the following morning. Dressed in simple khakis and a long sleeve gray Henley, he waited by her usual spot in the student parking lot, leaning on his stealth-black scrambler until her red BMW drove in. It was beside her car that he broke the news that they couldn't continue their physical liaisons any longer. At first, Cordelia assumed Faith was the reason, remarking, "Damn, that girl works fast."
  
  Xander shook his head, and asserted, "Not Faith. Buffy. Buffy's my girlfriend now."
  
  Cordelia laughed hard from her gut. The amused cheerleader had to lean against her luxury car to keep upright. After he'd assured her three times that he was in a romantic relationship with Buffy and that, no, it wasn't a joke, he explained how he'd always be there for her.
  
  "Crazy as this is," Xander voiced, "you're super important to me, and I don't want to lose you just 'cause I'm with Buffy."
  
  Xander was surprised the stunning cheerleader wasn't all that upset. Instead, she casually shrugged before telling him, "Well, let me know when you break up."
  
  Blinking in surprise as she opened her pocket mirror to check herself, Xander assured her, "Uh, we're not breaking up, Cor." He leaned in closer, trying to catch her attention as the boy added, "I mean, I know we're not official just yet, but- We're not breaking up!"
  
  Clapping her mirror closed, Cordelia casually asserted, "I'm not trying to be negative here; I don't need that kind of energy in my life." She grabbed her bag as she added, "I'm saying this as a total 'people person:' I don't think Buffy feels for you what you feel for her. If you don't break up; Fine, great, whatever. If you do, call me."
  
  Though he found her assessment insulting, Xander took the win and felt satisfied their friendship was still intact. Walking with Cordelia to class, Xander spotted Buffy and Willow at the end of the hall, walking toward them. The golden-haired girl wore a lilac-colored halter top with white pants, while Willow wore a cute fluffy pink long sleeve under orange overalls. They were engrossed in conversation, making Xander nervous. If Buffy saw him and pretended nothing happened between them, then he'd know Cordelia was right. But if the blonde beauty smiled, or did anything other than pretend they weren't together, then he'd know genuine feelings were involved.
  
  Willow saw him first and smiled brightly before rushing him. The ecstatic redhead hugged him tightly, calling out, "I can't believe it!"
  
  Half hugging her back, the confused boy turned to Buffy, who was walking up to them, smiling warmly at him. The amorous gaze in her greenish-blue eyes felt answer enough, and Xander stopped holding his breath. With relaxed shoulders, he returned the smile before extending a hand. The blushing Buffy took it, and Cordelia groaned with a heavy eye roll before leaving. Watching his friend go, Xander felt for Cordelia, but he knew this was better than cheating, and she still had her love in the future.
  
  Walking down the hall hand-in-hand, Xander and Buffy attracted the attention of many nosy classmates. However, the two only paid attention to an excited Willow. She had more questions than she could ask for Buffy, then for Xander, and then for the both of them.
  
  The big one Xander focused on was when Willow asked, "Why now?" Buffy drew her brows in confusion, and Willow elaborated, "Well, I know how long Xander's been gaga for you. I was just wondering when you started returning those feelings."
  
  Xander turned to Buffy, who didn't seem too keen on answering. She looked down as she tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, then eventually said, "Well, it's kinda hard to point to when. I mean, I've always loved him as a friend. And he's doing all this amazing stuff, right? It's like a whole new Xan, and, I guess, it just grew from there."
  
  Willow turned to Xander and added, "You really have come into your own, which is amazing."
  
  "The Year of Xander was a rousing success," Buffy concurred, squeezing his hand.
  
  Walking between the two girls, Xander should've been happy, but he felt conflicted. The cold reality of their union was due to the simple fact that Angel was no longer an option. The realistic side of him wanted to hear the honest answer: ' I can 't be with Angel, so I'll be with Xander .' It wouldn't feel nice to hear, but it would-in his estimation-be closer to the truth. The hopeful side of him wanted to believe in the friends-to-lovers scenario. However, Xander vividly recalled the pain of hoping for what wasn't there.
  
  "Now we can finally double-date," Willow called out with a beaming smile, interrupting his thoughts. "We can take cute pictures together, and go to a fancy restaurant, and, well, probably order chicken fingers because, you know: We're only in high school and don't have a lot of money."
  
  "As a skilled laborer, I happen to have a lot of money," Xander reminded them.
  
  Turning to them with wide eyes, Buffy confessed in disbelief, "I completely forgot you had money!" She then joked, "I'd just like to remind everyone that I knew you before you had money."
  
  Xander had a joke lined up when he noticed Scott down the hall eying Buffy. Beside the handsome teen were his friends, Debbie Foley and Pete Clarner. The doleful gaze Scott gave Buffy wasn't nearly as important as Pete Clarner, with his arm draped around Debbie's neck. All Xander could think about was how Pete would murder Debbie-and three others-just because he wanted to be more manly for her. While Xander could admire the lengths some might go for love, he couldn't allow the monstrous Pete to kill because he was tragically misguided. Fortunately, Xander thought of an easy way to prevent the murders.
  
  Become the target himself.
  
  Rather than risk the lives of others, Xander talked to Debbie a few times in front of the rage-repressed Pete. Their conversations were brief and of nothing serious, however, he made certain she laughed or smiled at least once simply to make Pete jealous. Then Xander waited. When Pete attacked him, killing the monster would just be self-defense. His plan didn't take long to work. Xander, Buffy, and Faith were patrolling the next night. Xander was dressed in black with Dreadnought at his back. Buffy wore a similar stealth-like outfit with a black beanie, and Slaymore at her waist.
  
  Faith was advocating, "If you make a magical weapon for one Slayer, make 'em for all Slayers. I mean, it only makes sense."
  
  "You can call it the Xander Welcome Package," Buffy teased with a mischievous grin. "Only instead of a fruit basket, it's a sharp object of death."
  
  Shaking his head, Xander would've pointed out how Faith would need to die for the next slayer to get a welcome package, but he heard a twig snap. Magically heightening his senses, all three turned toward the direction of the source; darkness and patches of obscure woodland. An ominous forested graveyard surrounded them and masked the target of the sound. The three looked around them a long moment before another twig snapped.
  
  "There!" Buffy called, pointing at the columns of timber to their east.
  
  She immediately began chasing. Faith and Xander were right on her heels. Speeding through tree branches and leaping over headstones, the three hunters gave chase for some time, but the galloping humanoid was surprisingly fast. When the sound of running suddenly stopped, their target once again merged with the surrounding nature. They then heard a clear sound of heavy footfalls coming from behind them.
  
  Turning around, they look upon a large, monstrous human. Without a shirt on, his muscles were visibly beyond toned; bulky, heavily veined with greenish rivers running up his beefy arms, rippling chest, thick neck, and even face. He was a Hulk, only very tan instead of green. Despite his face appearing like that of a caveman's-large jawed, extended brow that made his black eyes look small, and thick lips-there was no doubt in Xander's mind who this growling mammoth was.
  
  "I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that's Pete Clarner," Xander casually voiced.
  
  "Who's Pete Clarner?" Faith asked, keeping her eyes on the giant.
  
  "Debbie's boyfriend?" Buffy asked, without looking away.
  
  "Haaaaarrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiisssssssssss," the monster hissed as the hulking mass lowered its stance.
  
  "Yeah, that's definitely Pete," Buffy said, nodding. "What happened to him?"
  
  "Why don't we ask him," Xander quipped, spinning Dreadnought in his hands to lead with the blunt end. It told the Slayers he wanted to try taking him alive. Groaning at the tough battle ahead, Buffy sheathed Slaymore and took out her stake just as the monsterfied boy charged them.
  
  "Flank him," Xander told them as he sprinted straight for the monster.
  
  Using a supreme sense of distance, Xander leaned his head forward, giving the beast a target. When Clarner threw a wide punch, Xander dodged it before bashing the blunt end of Dreadnought into its knee. The monster threw his head back, screaming, before swinging both arms widely. Pete's attacks lacked any technique, but one clipped Xander's chin, throwing him back and making him see triple.
  
  Buffy and Faith came in from either side of the monster. The brunette Slayer kicked Pete's knee, dropping it to the ground while Buffy jumped on his broad shoulders and wrapped her arms around its thick neck. Buffy held on, trying to choke it into submission as it whirled left and right and growled in growing rage. It tried to hurl the blonde Slayer as Faith's fists were digging into its steel stomach, but the wild Pete kicked her ten feet away. Grabbing Buffy's arms, it ran backward, smashing the blonde Slayer into a tree and shaking all the leaves.
  
  "Guaah!" Buffy grunted and let go, falling to the ground.
  
  Pete ignored her for Xander, who called out, "Come and get me!"
  
  Pete growled before running at Xander. It swung wildly, but the punches were telegraphed, and easily dodged all the strikes like a professional boxer. When Faith kicked Pete in the side, Xander once again smashed the blunt end of his hammer against the monster's leg, making it scream, and run away as best it could. Faith chased after it while Xander ran to Buffy's side.
  
  When she was feeling better, she told him, "Go. Back Faith up." Xander didn't want to leave, but she tapped Slaymore and told him, "I'll be fine. Go! No more Welcome Packages."
  
  Sprinting through the forest, Xander soon found Faith on the floor with Pete over her. He was choking her, and at the first sound of Faith's gargled choking, Xander threw Dreadnought with all of his might. The magical axe spun several times in the air before its sharp blade embedded several inches into Pete's skull. The highly pressurized blood that must've been pumping incredibly fast within his body spurted high out of his head before the boy went limp and fell over lifeless.
  
  Faith gripped her neck, gasping and coughing for air when Xander reached her. He helped her up as he asked, "Are you okay?"
  
  " Haah ... Y-yeah," she voiced, though she swayed on her feet.
  
  At the sight of her wounded state, he resolved to begin work on her magical weapon as well.
  
  "Come on," Xander said, offering his arm for her to lean on. "We'll get Buffy, then call the cops."
  
  However, they didn't find Buffy. When he saw her the following morning, she told him she'd gone to look around for victims, of which none were found. Despite Scott and Debbie's sadness over Pete's death, Xander was just happy they were alive.
  
  As word of his status as Buffy's boyfriend spread throughout the school, Xander felt a sense of accomplishment that still baffled him. It seemed so unbelievable that the two were now in a romantic relationship when all he wanted to do was get back at her. Xander nearly felt guilty about his initial motivations, but then he would be plagued by that night of Buffy underneath Spike. Those memories always made him feel less guilty about his intentions but never completely removed the feeling.
  
  In the days that followed, Xander and Buffy balanced their time between being with their friends and being a couple fairly well. He made her laugh and feel loved with every passing day, but after a few weeks, Xander couldn't help but note how far away she felt sometimes. She wasn't always present when they were together and they hadn't done more than kiss. In fact, every time she felt too good, she'd ask if they could stop, which he did. It made him wonder if everything he learned from Casanova wasn't working with her.
  
  He'd ask, "Is everything alright?"
  
  Her answer of wanting to be Homecoming Queen felt blameworthy. After all, he was nominated for Homecoming King as well, and he couldn't deny being distracted himself. Unlike everyone else, Xander knew Buffy and Cordelia-or anyone in the limo-would be kidnapped on the night of the dance and taken to the forest to be slaughtered by assassins. So, while they went about their day, Xander paid extra attention to their surroundings, and eventually spotted the same brown van tailing them.
  
  Xander noticed the surveillance vehicle following Buffy, Faith, and himself, and after some deliberation, he decided to bring it to the group's attention the night before Homecoming. Entering the library, Buffy and Willow were seated at the table discussing canvassing for votes. Oz was holding up hand pads for Faith to hit, and Giles was reading a large tome. Reasoning that the men surveilling them tapped the phone and were using parabolic mics, Xander walked up to Giles, then touched his shoulder, getting his attention. He then walked up to Faith. Tapping her shoulder unleashed an automatic three-strike combination to the head, solar plexus, and liver. He slipped the first, parried the second with his shoulder, and caught the third fist at the same time he softly dabbed her cute nose. At her good-natured sneer, he grinned before motioning for her to follow him. Xander took the confused Buffy's hand and motioned for Willow to follow him as well.
  
  After pressing a finger to his lips, alerting them to remain silent, the raven-haired teen led them to the payphone in the student parking lot. Xander dialed 911, then waited for the "911. What's your emergency?"
  
  "Yeah, hi," he responded. "I'm calling from Sunnydale High and there's this brown van, license plate, two, golf, alpha, tango, one, two, three parked in the westside access. I'm pretty sure the men inside are crack cocaine dealers. I've already seen a few students buying. Come quick!"
  
  Xander hung up and turned to the stunned group behind him, who were on the verge of yelling all the questions springing to their minds. However, he-once again-raised his finger, emphasizing with his eyes that they shouldn't speak just yet. Fortunately, they listened, and he led them to the westside access of the school. They waited there until two police patrol cars rolled up behind the brown van. Displaying two fingers to his friends, Xander pointed where he wanted them to see. They walked around the corner and the group subtly observed two, blond Caucasian males being forced out of a van at gunpoint. From afar, the Scoobies saw all the surveillance equipment inside the van, then left after more police showed up.
  
  Back in the library, Xander explained, "That van was surveilling us."
  
  "How can you be certain?" a curious Giles asked.
  
  "I saw them following me for a couple of days," Xander answered. "Then, I noticed them following Buffy and Faith. So, I'm expecting wacky-possibly bloody-high jinks."
  
  "Following?" Buffy quickly repeated. "For how long?"
  
  "Not sure," Xander replied, tilting his head in thought. "At least a week."
  
  Willow asked, "What do they want?"
  
  "Again, no clue," Xander replied. "But I bet we'll find out. We just gotta act like everything is normal. Faith can keep an eye on them while they keep an eye on us. And when they strike-before Homecoming, I would guess-she can back us up."
  
  Though they went back and forth on the plan, the Scoobies ultimately decided on Xander and Buffy feigning ignorance, with Faith waiting in the shadows. On Homecoming night, the black limousine Xander had rented stopped outside of Buffy's home. Dressed in a fitted tuxedo that James Bond would appreciate, the dapper teenager with his slick back hair stepped out with a corsage in hand.
  
  Walking up the walkway, Xander greeted Buffy at her door, and the stunning girl was dressed in an orange silk dress, which surprised him. He thought she'd dress to fight comfortably. After Joyce took a few pictures of the couple, Buffy and Xander were promptly kidnapped. It was a very slow kidnapping; nothing more than a wrong turn that could have been missed if he weren't paying attention, then driving them into the forest. Of course, the driver running away once they were parked was a bad sign.
  
  The pair were taken to a terribly old abandoned cabin-so dilapidated the ceiling caved in. Green plants nearly covered the entire withered building, and all the windows were broken. Despite being surrounded by dark ominous forest land, on a large rock in front of them, the pair saw a television connected to a VCR with a piece of paper that just read 'Press Play.' While Buffy pressed the play button, Xander went to the trunk of the black limo and grabbed his guitar case.
  
  The pair of warriors adjusted their clothes for a fight and grabbed their weapons as the video of Mr. Trick was saying in the background, "Hello, ladies. Welcome to Slayerfest '98." As Xander was securing Hellguard to his lower back, he appreciated the welcome, since he'd missed this event entirely last time. "What is a Slayerfest, you ask? As in most of life, there are the hunters... and the hunted. Can you guess where you two fall?"
  
  "' The hunted ,' said no one ever," Buffy replied right before he could.
  
  "Nice," Xander complimented. She beamed before he added, "I was going to go with, ' Hunters ... in hunted clothing .'"
  
  Buffy snorted before replying, "I'm glad we share the same sense of humor."
  
  "From the beginning of this tape," Mr. Trick continued, "you have exactly thirty seconds-no, that's seventeen now-to run for your lives." With Odin's ring, Xander expanded his senses and heightened his physicality as Mr. Trick concluded, "Faith, Buffy. Have a nice death."
  
  The cold of the forest slid up his skin and each of his arm hairs felt like antennas receiving signals from their surroundings. The hard dirt under his dress shoes, the creaking of branches in the wind, the unnatural silence of the animals, and the faint crunching of dry leaves under the feet of bodies in five different locations. Other than grass, pine needles, and algae-covered wood, Xander could smell three different odors that didn't belong in the forest: Cologne, cigarettes, and something tangy and cloying, like a sweet cheese.
  
  Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, hitting the television and forcibly shutting it off. The pair immediately started running. Staying low to the ground, they ran through the forest faster than the typical human was capable of. Xander pointed toward another shifty presence thirty yards away while he went toward the nearest one. Hearing cotton clothes quickly stretch, Xander threw Hellguard at the source.
  
  "AAHHHHH!" an old man screamed, popping out of a bush with a Viking dagger sticking out of his trapezius.
  
  The old man saw Xander coming and tried to aim his bolt-action hunting rifle-with scope-at the teen, but before the elderly hunter could pull the trigger, he called his Viking dagger back. The blade ripped out of his left trapezius, spurting out blood and making the man drop his rifle. With his full run, Xander punched the assassin hard in the face, knocking him out instantly. He then secured the bleeding, unconscious man with handcuffs the old man had on him. Using the man's clothes, Xander wiped the blood off of his dagger before grabbing the rifle.
  
  When the dapper teen heard a distant breaking of glass and wood echo through the forest, he grabbed a handful of ammo and darted off. Sprinting through the forest, Xander then heard a lot of automatic fire from a semi-automatic rifle, making him fear for Buffy's safety and run faster.
  
  Xander arrived in time to see two men dressed in black tactical gear aim their guns at an old cabin. Peering through the hunting rifle's scope, the teen saw one man switch from a German-made automatic rifle to a revolver grenade launcher. Xander wasn't sure if Buffy or Faith were in the cabin, but he took careful aim at the 40 mm round as it sank into the chamber. Xander held his breath at the end of his exhale-when his body was the stillest-then pulled the trigger.
  
  The explosion that killed the two assassins was enormous and blinding. With his heightened senses, Xander turned away as the shockwave washed heat and twigs over him. He shook his head to rid himself of the ringing before turning to the smoky ruin where the men used to be. At the sight of the small crater, Xander wondered what other explosives the assassins were carrying on them to produce such a large explosion.
  
  From the cabin, a yellowish demon with scales down the middle of his head like a Mohawk burst through the boarded window with Slaymore ran through its stomach. Buffy hopped through the window, calling her sword back to her in the process, and killing the yellow Mohawk demon.
  
  When Buffy came up to Xander, she asked, "Is that all of them? I can't sense anymore."
  
  "Me neither," he agreed, wondering if Faith was alright. Xander drove them back into town and, though slightly dirty, the couple entered the decorated gymnasium just as Faith showed up. "Where've you been?" he asked.
  
  "You had two vampires lying in wait in the library," she informed them. With a gleeful grin, Faith emphasized, " Had ."
  
  The music abruptly ended, and everyone turned to the stage. Principal Snyder tapped the microphone before announcing Sunnydale's '98 Homecoming King and Queen. Xander tilted his head down, smiling at Buffy. However, she wasn't nearly as hopeful. Her distant eyes told him she was distracted again. Before he could ask her if she was alright, Xander's name was called over the PA system.
  
  Like a knee-jerk reaction, Xander blurted out, "What? I didn't do anything." As the sudden center of attention, it took Xander a moment to realize he had been voted Homecoming King. "Oh," he said before the cheering started. Buffy and Willow call out in joy, pushing him toward the stage. The smiling faces and pats on the shoulder as he passed through fellow students felt superficial, but good. Standing on that elevated stage, blinded by the spotlight, Xander was surprised to be standing there at all. His hope that Buffy might stand beside him was dashed when Snyder called out Cordelia's name for Homecoming Queen.
  
  In his head, Cordelia made sense, but Xander couldn't understand why he had been picked until a photo was projected on a silver screen behind them. For those who cared to ogle, holler, and whistle, the picture showed a muscular Xander, wet, in nothing but his speedos during his time on the swim team. His ripped body left enough of an impact to vote him Homecoming King, apparently. After a dance with Cordelia, Xander found Buffy seated at a table and asked her if she was alright. She said everything was fine, but he wondered how honest she was being.
  
  Walking into school two days later, Xander noted the large blue banner hanging from the balcony of the campus square cheering on the school's football team, the Razorbacks. As he walked toward his locker, he wondered if he should join the football team next. Then he saw Principal Snyder once again forcing students to sell chocolate bars to raise money for the marching band's new uniforms.
  
  Before Xander went looking for the Scoobies, he looked at the boxes of chocolate as he asked Snyder, "By any chance, do you know where they're shipping these from?" At Snyder's cold dead stare, Xander smirked as he added, "I could buy two boxes if you happen to know."
  
  "Ten," Snyder countered.
  
  "Five," Xander returned.
  
  "Deal," Snyder shot back with a stern finger point. Xander extended the two hundreds he had in his wallet, but didn't let go when Snyder grabbed it. At the teen's raised eyebrows, Snyder answered, "Milkbar Co, on Spin and West."
  
  As Xander looked for his friends, he pondered skipping class and driving straight to the warehouse. Trying to convince anyone not to eat a candy bar without a good lie seemed harder than just burning down the building. Fortunately, this event wouldn't suffer any casualties. Even if the adults eat the candy, no one died. When Xander finally found Buffy, she already had a box of candy bars, and in an effort to prevent Giles and Joyce from eating them, he offered to buy the entire box.
  
  "Awww, that's so sweet," the touched Buffy expressed.
  
  "I have to go get the cash though, so don't sell those to anyone till I get back," Xander told her. He skipped school and went directly to the distribution warehouse on Spin Street and West. The building was larger than he'd expected, and he didn't think he'd be able to burn it to the ground by himself. He voiced to himself, "Just the candy, then."
  
  Xander filled two sports water bottles with gasoline, and with Hellguard in his backpack, he walked into the building with all the confidence of a weary worker. Walking into the spacious warehouse, nearly the entire floor was full of boxes of cursed candy, piled nearly to the ceiling. He didn't think the amount of gasoline he had was going to be enough. With a sigh, he thought of one thing that might work. However, he'd only ever used the spellwork when he had been possessed.
  
  "No time like the present," he mumbled to himself, walking deep into the aisle and away from the production line.
  
  Scanning the ceiling, he located two sprinkler heads with stacks of boxes directly underneath them. He doused the boxes with gasoline before lighting a match and starting two sources of fires. With his head down, he walked outside and waited. After a few seconds, the fire alarm went off, and soon after that, workers began exiting the building. They were gathering together as they focused on the white smoke emanating from the building.
  
  Clearing his mind as Merlin did, Xander closed his eyes and focused on feeling the ethereal all around him. It was the one spell Merlin had said wouldn't backfire on him. Xander couldn't sense anything, but that didn't mean there was nothing there. In his mind, he voiced in Latin, ' In regno nostro nox sit, et illis qui intra gressum dormiunt .'
  
  Four people in front of him fell asleep and dropped to the floor.
  
  "Holy shit," Xander gasped, suddenly realizing how tired he was. "Holy... shit," the fatigued teen repeated when he felt like sleeping as well.
  
  Using Odin's ring to keep his energy level up, he tried the spell again, putting another three workers to sleep. With seven people falling to the floor, the other adults panicked, stirring a frenzy. As no one could tell the spell was coming from him, Xander slipped between groups of frantic people and randomly put more people to sleep. When the firefighters, police, and ambulance showed up, the warehouse was shut down. Xander left the scene, feeling far more drained than he could have anticipated.
  
  With the ring's assistance, Xander stayed awake as he grabbed his spare cash, bought Buffy's box of candy, and tried not to sleep in class. Regardless of his efforts, by nightfall, the Scooby Gang were still forced to deal with the adults that had eaten the cursed candy bars, including Giles, Joyce, and Jenny. Once responsible adults, they were now immature, unreliable annoyances who didn't care about anything but delinquent fun and casual sex.
  
  Rather than researching the cause in the library with Oz, Cordelia, and Willow; Xander went to the hospital while Buffy dealt with the love triangle raging between her mom, Giles, and Jenny. With Dreadnought on the latch at his back and Hellguard at his lower back, he hid and waited for vampires to come and kidnap the newborn babies. However, even after Xander killed them and saved the babies, he couldn't ignore the giant snake-like demon in the sewers.
  
  ' If it stays alive, it 'll always be a threat ,' he reasoned, which is why Xander let one of the four vampires leave. He followed the wounded and limping vampire to a manhole, which is when he ran into Buffy, Giles, Joyce, and Jenny. Giles was dressed in blue jeans and a white tee with the short sleeves folded up to his deltoids. Joyce was quite a sight in black shorts and a black top showing plenty of cleavage. Jenny had on a conservative skirt, but tied the tails of her tight dress-shirt right under her breasts, showing her entire toned stomach.
  
  "Xandy-man!" Jenny sang at the sight of him, stretching both arms up before wrapping them around his neck. "There's my delicious Xandy-man, mmmn! " Xander looked at Jenny like she was crazy, and both Giles and Buffy looked at him with heavy confusion. Eying Giles-who was holding Joyce's hand-with vindictiveness, a jealous Jenny added, "Now here's a guy I know can get the job done! All! Night! Long! "
  
  With tremendous effort, Xander resisted the urge to look like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He slowly extricated the feckless woman from him, voicing, "Ooookay... Not sure what that's about." Though Giles stared daggers at Xander, he ignored it to inform the suspicious Buffy, "I'm following a vampire who tried to nab babies from the hospital. He went into the sewer. We're going to lose him if we don't hurry."
  
  Buffy nodded, getting serious before the group went down the manhole. The childish adults were complaining about the sewer water and the stench too loudly for Xander's comfort, so he and Buffy had to move fast or risk alerting their enemy ahead. The tunnel they were traveling down led into a large room with the entrance of another tunnel at the other end. Three torches to every wall were lit, and several more were on the platform leading into the tunnel ahead. Four hooded figures dressed in the brown robes of a monk were arguing with Mr. Trick around an empty stone cradle where the babies were supposed to be.
  
  Xander extended Hellguard toward the Slayer. She gratefully took it, and, without delay, they stormed the room. All four robed vampires attacked Xander and Buffy, however, it was no contest. With Xander's enhanced physicality and combat IQ, he could handle two vampires as easily as Buffy could. Hop-stepping left and right to dodge three consecutive punches, Xander countered the last strike with Dreadnought's handle, smashing into the nose of one vampire, while he kicked the second in the ribs. Continuing the spin, he decapitated that vampire before tossing the battleaxe to his last opponent. Though he dodged the weapon, Xander called it back, lopping off the vampire's head.
  
  He didn't even break a sweat.
  
  Buffy was done as well; however, they couldn't celebrate. The group sensed a powerful vibration rumbling around them, along with the sound of stone grinding against a tough hide, and Xander knew what was coming. Recalling how Buffy defeated the snake-demon in the previous long loop, Xander located the exposed gas pipes above.
  
  "Buffy!" he yelled, pointing to the pipes above them.
  
  He leaped and came down with the skinny pipe spewing gas out of the broken end. Buffy followed his example as the demon Lurconis appeared out of the tunnel in front of them. The elephant-sized snake was black and green, hissing and ready to dine on the teens in front of it. Aiming the flowing stream of flammable gas at the torches on the platform, both Xander and Buffy used their make-shift flamethrower to burn the snake. For nearly a minute, they incinerated the violently thrashing giant snake-demon until it was charred black and dead.
  
  After dealing with the baby-eating snake demon, Xander found himself following Buffy from afar. For ten days, he couldn't shake the feeling she was behaving off . Though they still met and talked, they did little more than that. He felt she was pulling away, and his gut was telling him why. On the third night of tailing her, Xander saw, with enhanced vision, Buffy and Angel kissing in the abandoned mansion on Crawford Street.
  
  Watching how passionately they kissed, as if they would die the second their lips separated, he immediately felt like a gutted fish. His intestines were being pulled roughly, making him feel emptier by the second. Xander felt cold, light-headed, and his enhanced vision spun in circles before the magic feeding them ended. The window he could clearly see through suddenly zoomed much too far away for him to observe Buffy and Angel anymore. Xander felt a different torture than when he was forced to see Buffy under Spike; less physically repulsed, and more dehumanizing. He then remembered Cordelia's words.
  
  ' You love her more than she loves you .'
  
  Scoffing at the depths of his stupidity, Xander walked home alone, feeling himself throw away more and more of his emotions with every hour. He couldn't sleep that night, and the following morning, he didn't know how to deal with Buffy-or what to say-so he stayed busy. Exercise, school, the forge, training with both Faith and Cordelia in his house's training room, and slaying at night. He didn't reach out to Buffy in school or talk to her when it wasn't absolutely necessary, and Xander found it telling when she didn't confront him about the change in his behavior.
  
  When Gwendolyn Post arrived as Faith's new Watcher, Xander quickly retrieved the Glove of Myhnegon. From the previous long loop, he recalled it hidden in the Von Hauptman family crypt in Restfield Cemetery. Instead of handing the glove over to the bitchy Englishwoman, Xander took it to Wild Dinks, where he stayed for the weekend. He broke down the glove, transformed fire into Living Flame, and immolated it to begin constructing Faith's magical weapon. In the meantime, Buffy and Faith dealt with Lagos, the warrior demon, who was searching for the glove of Myhnegon as well.
  
  The numb Xander only left the forge when Willow called, worried something happened to him.
  
  "Can you come by?" Willow pleaded. "I feel safer- we all feel safer-when you're here. And it's weird without you."
  
  The only reason Xander returned to the library was because Willow said Lagos nearly killed Faith trying to retrieve the glove. Xander still wasn't sure if Faith's death would force him to loop back, but he didn't want to find out. He leaned against the wall, holding Dreadnought in his hands as Buffy insisted the glove wasn't in the Von Hauptman family crypt. Without the energy to engage, Xander didn't tell the group he melted down the glove already. He simply stood in silent numbness.
  
  Gwendolyn was certain Giles and Buffy were keeping secrets, though Buffy denied it. Xander didn't expect Faith to accuse, "So, you're not hiding your ex-boyfriend in a mansion on Crawford? Angel was his name, right? The vampire who went crazy and killed a teacher."
  
  With rounding eyes, Buffy looked stunned while Giles, Willow, and Oz appeared confused. Giles turned to his Slayer and asked who, what, when, where, and why in a single word: "Buffy?"
  
  The blonde girl slowly turned to the silent and still Xander, and she could see in his brown eyes that he already knew. Cordelia's eyes landed on her ex-boyfriend and saw the depth of his heartache unlike anyone else in the room, then leveled Buffy with a fiery, "You bitch!"
  
  As Xander and Buffy stared at each other, Faith told the group, "I was wondering why he's been such a miserable sack of crap lately. Spotted Miss 'I Have No Secrets' sucking face with her ex."
  
  "Xander..." Buffy tried, only to be cut off.
  
  Turning to the Englishwoman, Xander expressly told Post, "Actually, I have the glove. I found it days ago."
  
  "Xander, please. Let me explain-" Buffy tried again, taking a step toward him.
  
  Sarcastically, Faith interrupted, asking, "Explain what? How you weren't really cheating when you were sucking face with a vampire?"
  
  "Buffy, did you... cheat on Xander?" Willow weakly asked, underlying her tone with genuine hurt.
  
  She was across the room, but that one step already felt too close. Now that everyone knew, Xander was feeling angrier by the second. He kicked off the wall and walked to the door when Giles spoke up.
  
  "Xander!" he called. "We must destroy it before Lagos can retrieve it."
  
  "No," Post asserted, stepping toward the cage. She opened the cabinet with all of their weapons and grabbed the crossbow before telling the group, "We must use it against him."
  
  "Why?" Giles argued. "Destroying it would be the only way to ensure no one can use it for evil."
  
  Xander ignored them all, then Post yelled, "Halt, young man!" Xander turned to the Englishwoman, aiming the crossbow at his chest. "You will take me to the glove."
  
  "Whoa, hey, Post," Faith called, clenching her fists in sudden worry for Xander. Buffy was inching closer to Post as Faith said, "That's going a bit far."
  
  "A piece of advice, Faith," Post started. "You're an idiot." Turning to Xander, she told him, "Move. Now."
  
  "Great... you're evil," Xander voiced sarcastically with a sigh. "That would be the cherry to end my day with."
  
  Feeling the furthest thing from fear there was, Xander walked toward Post without a single regard for personal safety. She aimed the crossbow more threateningly, but he didn't waver. "Xander!" many of them called just as Post pulled the trigger, launching the bolt straight at his heart. Xander had such an awareness in his daredevil state of mind that his hand instinctively snapped to his chest the moment she pulled the trigger. Though the skin between his pecs was cut, his flexed hand caught the wooden bolt before it did more damage than cutting his shirt. Faith punched Post as Xander tossed the bolt, turned. and left. Cordelia and Faith were right behind him.
  
  "Xander! I didn't think he'd be back!" Buffy called after him, but he didn't stop.
  
  -B-
  
  Wounded on behalf of her childhood friend, Willow looked at Buffy as if she didn't even recognize her, and the guilt paralyzed the blonde tremendously. The slayer felt like she were in an oven when her best friend asked, "Please say it's not true, Buffy. Please say you didn't cheat on Xander with Angel. Or that Angel is even alive, to begin with!"
  
  At a loss for words, Buffy's expressive face looked a mixture of lost and conflicted. She knew that she wronged Willow nearly as much as Xander, for they've been friends since kindergarten and Willow would feel just as betrayed. Ignoring the heat hibernating in her armpits, Buffy softly answered, "I don't know how Angel came back. But it's not what you think."
  
  " Which part?! " Willow yelled back, making Buffy's chest clench. "Lying to us about Angel? Or cheating on Xander?" Buffy lowered her blonde head in shame and Willow recoiled away from her, as if slapped in the face. The offended redhead was repulsed at the sight of Buffy, and hotly declared, "You need help, Buffy. But don't count on me to give it."
  
  Willow turned her back on the Slayer and left the library, followed by Oz. Despite how guilty she felt, Buffy still needed to explain herself. Angel had been feral when he found her, but he was GOOD now. He had come back from hell for her, and even though she and Xander had something special, it had never been as soul-searing, heart-stopping, star-crossed lovers type of love. Angel came back for HER. How could she just abandon him, even knowing what Angelus had done to those she loved? Buffy needed to make sure she didn't lose her friends, because she didn't know what she'd do without them. She was lost without them.
  
  In the silence that followed, Giles softly voiced, "Putting aside the tremendous lack of character it takes to betray the emotional bond with your significant other, it appears you've been hiding Angel. And that you lied to us."
  
  "I was going to tell you about him," she desperately asserted, needing one person on her side. "I just didn't know why he came back. I was waiting, but he's good now, Giles. I swear."
  
  "Don't interrupt me again," Giles softly spoke, and yet the words felt like a slap in the face to Buffy. "I won't remind you that the fate of the world often rests with the Slayer. What would be the point? But sadly, I must remind you that when they took me, Angel tortured me. For hours. For pleasure. You should've told me he was alive. You didn't. Where Angel is concerned, you have no respect for me, the job I perform, or even your friends."
  
  Her blonde head dipped, and her toned shoulders sagged. Buffy appeared defeated, half-crying, and clenching her fists so tight they shook. Swallowing what felt like a rock in her throat, her voice trembled as she tried to respond, saying, "G-Giles..."
  
  However, he told her, "Secure Ms. Post while I contact the Watchers' Council."
  
  He left his ward standing in the middle of the library, alone and in silence. Her once home-away-from-home now felt like a cold tomb.
  
  -X-
  
  For the first time in a while, Xander didn't want to do anything, but at least he wasn't soiling himself in his bed this time. Feeling buried under the heavy weight of despondency, he skipped school the following day and stayed in his room. Xander didn't eat, nor did he react much when Faith, Jenny, Willow, and Cordelia came to check on him. He'd told them he was fine and just wanted to be alone, but in truth, he felt grief and regret more than heartache. It was as if this was always the expected outcome; the one thing he could never change, no matter how many times he tried.
  
  Later that night, Xander suddenly heard Buffy's voice. He rolled over to see her in the doorway opposite his bed as she whispered, "May I come in?"
  
  The morose teenager rolled back the other way before answering, "If you're here to tell me how sorry you are, don't bother. It's not going to change anything."
  
  Buffy waited a moment, then took a step inside. The nervous girl took a deep breath before confessing, "I was more than ready to move on with you. I even felt so lucky to have you. But then he came back. I don't know how, but I was just confused."
  
  Xander didn't move an inch as he calmly asked, "Is that why you kissed him?"
  
  Taken aback, the blonde asked, "You were spying on me?"
  
  "You were acting distant, so I followed you to him."
  
  "So Faith didn't tell you?"
  
  Disturbed by her question, Xander sat up to ask, "Why are you here, Buffy? Because you can't possibly think that looking at you is making me feel better right now. Do you know what pouring salt and acid on a wound feels like? Because this feels pretty damn close."
  
  "I'm really, really sorry, Xander."
  
  "You're sorry," he slowly repeated, as if tasting the words in his mouth. His face grimaced as he asked, "You're sorry? What does that even mean? Are you sorry you cheated? Are you sorry you got caught? Are you sorry you were too chicken-shit to tell me? Are you sorry that I'm not some handsome, dark, brooding, two-hundred-year-old vampire for you to fall for? What the actual fuck are you sorry about?"
  
  "You deserve someone better-"
  
  "That's bullshit!" he cut her off, jumping to his feet. Glaring at her, he asserted, "I'm not the Chosen One. I'm not the one saving the world from apocalypses on a yearly basis! You are! I'm just a regular, no-name geek from a hick town in California! If anyone here deserves better, it would be the Slayer! But you're all about Opposite Day when it comes to love. If he ain't a walking corpse that murdered a bunch of people in the past, it's not good enough for you, is it?"
  
  Unable to look at him, Buffy only stared at the floor; sad, angry, but deeply ashamed as well. Without another word, she left.
  
  Willow stayed with Xander, Cordelia, and Faith more than Buffy, to support him through a hard time. Xander didn't want to go to school, or Wild Dinks, or train, or even to slay. He simply didn't have the energy he'd once had, and neither Dreadnought nor Odin's Ring could fix this pain. Sadly, Xander had people who cared about him, and they wouldn't let him suffer in peace. With Jenny's help, Willow, Cordelia, and Faith tried to keep Xander busy, dragging him out of bed, and forcing him to engage with the world. For a week, the fighters slayed together; the students studied together, and they would all hang out in his house. Xander avoided Buffy and the library whenever possible, but one day, she came to him.
  
  Faith and Xander were training and talking in his basement when Buffy knocked on his door upstairs. Though she was apprehensive about engaging with him, Buffy explained that Willow, Oz, and Jenny had been kidnapped by Spike. Giles had left for a Watcher's retreat, and Spike took some ingredients for a spell from the library before fighting Buffy off. The slayer came to Xander hoping to merge forces and save their friends because other than Angel, she had no one else.
  
  "You got a lot of nerve," Faith scoffed at the sight of her sister-slayer.
  
  Xander wasn't sure what Spike could do to them with a soul, but he didn't want to risk it. Pulling his scrambler out of the garage, Xander spotted Angel waiting by the curb, and immediately, he felt like killing him. If not for the threat of looping back, he would've called Dreadnought and ended the undead life of Angel. Instead, Xander ignored the tall vampire and raged internally.
  
  Xander rode around town with his enhanced sense of smell with Faith at his back until he picked up Willow's scent. Buffy and Angel followed him in Giles' car, all the way to the burned wreckage of the Bric & Broc warehouse. The group quickly went down to the basement and found Spike, knife in hand, threatening Willow and Jenny to hurry. Oz was on the bed, bleeding from the forehead and unconscious.
  
  Spike quickly sensed them and took Willow hostage, ordering Jenny to keep working. Lifting a sharp knife to her neck made him shiver in pain, so he moved it down to her stomach before declaring, "Stay back! I might not be able to kill her, but I can hurt her bad!"
  
  "Let her go," Angel threatened with a stake at the ready.
  
  "Listen, you goody-posh-twats," Spike started. "Just let the misses over there cast the same soul curse I got, on Dru. Then you can have your dearest Red back." Buffy barely leaned forward when Spike pressed the sharp blade dangerously close to Willow's stomach. "Ah-aah. Just give the witch ten minutes, luv. Then we can all go home for a nice cup of tea and biscuits."
  
  Reluctantly, Buffy stayed back. Despite being backed into a corner, Buffy, Angel, and Faith couldn't risk Willow's safety. However, Xander's been seething since he saw Angel, and told Spike, "Fine. I don't have a problem giving Dru a soul. Just switch Willow with me."
  
  Eying him as if he were crazy, Spike asked, "How stupid do you think I am, mate?"
  
  With his enhanced strength, Xander threw Dreadnought to the side, and its blade embedded deep into the stone wall. The sudden action put everyone more on edge, unsure of what he was going to do.
  
  "I'm weaker than a Slayer," he explained. "You can handle a regular human. I just want Willow."
  
  "Stay where you are," Spike warned. "I might not kill her, but I can still hurt her."
  
  The growing fear on Willow's face was an injustice. His childhood friend shouldn't be the one scared and hurting. Xander genuinely offered, "You can break my hands so I can't hold anything. Just switch her for me, Spike. Please. I know you can do that."
  
  Smiling at the violent offer, Spike nodded to Buffy and stipulated, "Have her do it. You let the Slayer break both your hands, and I'd be up for a switch-er-roo."
  
  Xander turned to Buffy without delay and extended his hands to the appalled slayer.
  
  "No," she emphatically asserted, shaking her head.
  
  "Do it," Xander told her.
  
  "No, I won't-"
  
  "Buffy! Stop," he interrupted. Eying Angel for a moment, he said, "You already made your choice. Let's just live with it."
  
  As they stared at each other, a dozen seconds passed in silence. When it appeared he wouldn't relent, Buffy reluctantly grabbed his hands. Her hands were surprisingly warm, but he wished they weren't. She started squeezing, but at Xander's first grunt, she immediately let go.
  
  " No ," she yelled, backing away. "Sorry, but I can't. I can't."
  
  Eying her with the dead eyes of a corpse, Xander incredulously asked, "You think because these are my bones, it's going to hurt worse than what you already did?"
  
  Guilt came across her face before the ashamed Slayer suggested, "Just let Ms. Calendar finish-"
  
  Xander didn't let Buffy finish. He took off his ring, walked to the nearest stone wall, then punched the red brick as many times as it took to hear the most disturbing CRACK echo throughout the room. He groaned terribly from the mind-altering agony burning up his arms and blurring his vision, but kept the cry in his tense throat. His skin reddened-feverishly so-and his forehead was sweating. His bloodied hands were shaking, and his tears were welling up in his eyes.
  
  His throat was wavy as he asked Spike, "Good?"
  
  The blond vampire nodded, and Xander traded himself for a tearful Willow. With Spike's arm around Xander's neck, the raven-haired teen appreciated the coldness. Then the bad boy vampire had to speak, curiously asking, "So... you two... a thing?"
  
  Rolling his tear-filled red eyes, Xander replied, "I'm in enough pain..."
  
  "Fine... fine," Spike accepted with a cordial nod. After another few seconds, while Jenny was casting in the background, the blond vampire continued. "Just... couldn't help notice the tension, is all. Trouble in paradise?"
  
  "...What paradise?" the suffering boy slowly asked.
  
  "Listen, mate," tilting his head in hope of catching Xander's drooping eyes. "I won't deny I was touched you'd go so far for a friend. Real admirable, that. So I'll give you a piece of advice; free of charge."
  
  "Oh, just kill me," Xander groaned miserably.
  
  Ignoring the request, Spike advised, "Forget her, mate. If you don't got it in you to take what you want, no apology, she won't ever notice you. Not till she's thirty and been through enough bad, bad men like me to know any better." Xander groaned more from the friendly advice than the throbbing pain poisoning his body like millions of tiny stabs. "You gotta get in their heads like a parasite. Keep fucking with 'em till she don't know what's what."
  
  "Is that... what Drusilla... has to look forward to?"
  
  "Dru's my everything," he happily shared. "I'd do anything for that girl, clearly; if stuffin' a sodding soul in her isn't proof of that..." Xander's vision was blurring and his balance was wavering so badly Spike had to hold him still. When Jenny finally managed to cast the curse, Willow and Faith took care of her while Spike threw Xander toward Buffy. She caught him while the vampire fought for his escape. Faith wanted to chase him down, but was more worried about Xander.
  
  The brunette Slayer pulled his battleaxe out of the wall and forced his hand to grab it. Though it hurt like crazy, he also felt a pleasant, cooling sensation spread through him. With the help of Odin's ring and Dreadnought's magic, Xander rested the entire weekend before function returned to his hand. Faith, Cordelia, Willow, and Buffy watched over him. One of the few times he awoke, he saw Buffy sitting in the chair next to his bed.
  
  Xander sat up, but didn't look at her when he stoically voiced, "If I've learned anything this time, it's that I can't force you to love me." His voice was gruff, as if he hadn't used it in days, when he added, "Maybe you can't force anyone. Maybe it's there, or it's not, and that's it."
  
  "That's the thing," she softly spoke. "I know it's there. I know I could be happy with you."
  
  "You know that, huh?" He said with a laugh, as if it were a solid joke. "But..."
  
  "But..." Buffy sadly continued. "I can't stop... My heart can't stop gravitating toward Angel. It's not something I can control, Xander; as much as I would want to."
  
  "You can't control who you love," Xander replied. "I get that-too much. But you can control honesty and integrity. That's neither here nor there, I guess." Finally looking at her, he saw the streams of tears rolling down her lovely cheeks and told her, "Just go, Buffy. There's nothing more to say."
  
  "I'm sorry," she said before moving toward the door. Just before she left, she confessed, "You know, Spike was right about one thing: If you and I are single in the future, I'd definitely go after you."
  
  Considering his time prison, he snorted at the absurdity before remarking, "If I ever make it that far."
  
  "I'll keep you alive, Xander," she assured him. "It's why I'm here."
  
  If Sherlock's numbers were correct, Xander didn't believe he'd live on past January, but when she said that, he had to laugh. ' It 's why I'm here ,' he repeated in his mind over and over again; only making him laugh continuously, because that sentence felt like the ultimate death sentence.
  
  Getting out of the day, week, and month loop required altering the perception of him in the minds of key figures; himself, Buffy, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Angel, and, likely Spike. As Merlin said, the time braid was about a realignment. There was no magical object to steal, no powerful spell to learn, or a godly foe to take down. No, he thought that the sickest joke Fate, or the Gods, could play on him, was making Buffy-the girl who breaks his heart the most-the key to his freedom, and that was too hilarious not to laugh about for hours. The time prison Xander felt stuck in, now felt he was on death row, and he was losing his mind.
  
  ' Knowing my luck ,' Xander thought between heaving laughs. ' The key to getting out would be the most impossible task; getting Buffy to pick me over them .' Xander laughed sporadically throughout the night at the most cosmic of pranks across all levels of realities and dimensions.
  
  Since he already wrote off getting past January, Xander did whatever he could to make the next one the last one. Aside from having regular sex with Cordelia, and now Faith, he would ask them questions he never had before; especially Faith. The Bostonian girl always came around in the last few months of the year loop, so he never had much time to get to know her. She wasn't much for sharing, but with every passing day, he learned something new.
  
  The first time they had sex, it was after fighting a formidable demon. They hacked away at the stout beast until they were covered in blue gore. Xander couldn't deny how sexy she looked in the shiny ichor. He didn't care about taking it slow or asking permission. He simply stepped up to her and kissed her. Immediately, the passionate brunette returned the kiss, and they couldn't get back to Xander's shower quick enough. Though he instinctively made mental notes of what made her moan louder, he simply fucked her into the shower wall and then the mattress all night. Faith was just as strong as Kendra, and as vigorous as Cordelia. Xander was thrilled to use all his enhanced strength to dominate her.
  
  It didn't take long for Cordelia to discover them and it was the next night that Xander started alternating between the brunettes. Though Faith tried to convince the popular beauty into a threesome, Cordelia simply wasn't into other women like Faith was. Fortunately for Xander, Dreadnought and Odin's Ring helped recuperate his energy between sessions. But overall, Xander enjoyed waking up next to a naked beauty every morning.
  
  More than anything, Xander hung out with Willow as often as he could. Being with her was the most innocent and carefree moments of the day for him. She would tell him what was going on with Buffy and Giles, and the intel empowered him to defend her and Amy when the town came after them for witchcraft. Xander, Faith, and Buffy stopped the adults from trying to burn Willow at the stake, while Giles, Jenny, Oz, and Cordelia undid the spell controlling the town. With the demon cursing the town exposed, Buffy quickly killed it, ending its influence on Sunnydale.
  
  Xander skipped Buffy's birthday, so only heard about how she lost her powers, and was forced by the Watcher's Council to kill a vampire without her Slayer strength after the fact. Willow explained it was an asinine trial all Slayers underwent when they turn eighteen, but Xander was more surprised that Giles was fired from the Watcher's organization. Apparently, caring about Buffy like a daughter instead of a weapon to use against evil was not tolerated amongst his superiors.
  
  Later that night, Buffy found Xander at Wild Dinks, working over his anvil on Faith's long-awaited weapon. He didn't greet her as he set the red-hot metal down to cool next to its twin, then waited. Buffy twiddled her thumbs a moment before saying, "I want you to come back."
  
  "I haven't gone anywhere," Xander replied.
  
  "Please, Xander," she sadly voiced, taking a step closer. "I'm so beyond sorry for what I did to you, and I hate that it turned out this way. I mean, do you really think I'd want to throw away what we shared for someone I can't fully be intimate with? I don't, Xander."
  
  The blacksmith didn't answer, because he was observing her. Somehow, she looked different; aged, nearly desperate. He wasn't sure why, but it was possible she hadn't been sleeping.
  
  Rubbing her red nose, Buffy continued saying, "I'd love it if it wasn't all so complicated. But I want you in my life. I need you in my life, because we're not the Scoobies without you."
  
  "I wish it wasn't so complicated either," he admitted. "But that's the thing, isn't it? It's how you want me in your life that's the problem, Buff. So..."
  
  "Don't give up on me," Buffy quickly voiced, halting him from returning to his work. He looked at her stern expression as she asserted, "I know I don't deserve it, and... and, I know that you're... with Faith sometimes... at night." He smiled at how sex-talk embarrassed the blushing blonde. "But, I know... I know you and I aren't done here. So, please, Xander, all I'm asking is that you don't give up on me; even if it takes me thirty years to earn your trust again. Don't give up. Because I won't give up on you." The sweaty teen looked at the seriousness in Buffy's greenish-blue eyes-a determination he'd seen so many times before-and knew she was being genuine. Though he found it odd when she stoically added, "I'll keep you safe."
  
  Buffy left him, and he didn't ask what she'd meant by that. Then he couldn't ask what she meant, because several mornings later, Xander woke up in the smelly and unkempt room of a geek. The day was October 31st, 1997, and once again, the dejected teenager had lost all the hard work and effort he put into every single day. The fit body, the beautiful girls, the bountiful money, and the sense of progress, but Xander didn't feel doomed. He had the spark of an idea that just might make the next year-loop the very last one.
  
  Hope you enjoyed that one. It was a hefty chapter, which is the only reason I didn't include a lemon scene with Xander and Faith. Don't worry, I definitely will in a future chapter. I just couldn't fit it in here.
  
  A great change is coming to Xander's character.
  
  So, because chapter 39 is one of my favorite chapters, I'll be releasing that on Friday, then I'll release 40 on Sunday. So, you got double the fun coming your way this coming weekend.
  
  That's about all I got. Thank you all again for joining me. My for those who'd like to tip, is /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Only give if you want. There's no extra content on there, besides a digital copy of my original novel. Which can dl if you want.
  
  I'd love to read any comments or suggestions. Thanks again to my betas, Oxnate and Deiticlast!
  
  Have a great one. Till next week,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Hey, Buff
  Whaaa? A Friday release?
  
  Hey friends. Welcome back. Big thank you to my amazing betas, Oxnate and Deiticlast. 👏👏👏 Also, can't wait for Chelanxar to come back. Hope you're enjoying your vaca.
  
  No warnings. 6.5 K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Hey, Buff
  
  Xander didn't need to spend dozens of day-loops as Sherlock, Achilles, Casanova, Eitri, or the Avalonian elf to recall the knowledge behind their brain pattern; though, he spent a loop as the Navy Seal, simply to reabsorb the elite soldier's overall tenacity. Like entering a large house with many stylishly colored rooms, Xander could access a sizable majority of their knowledge fairly well by that point, and felt the knowledge that he needed to learn didn't come from a costume. He had a suspicion that he needed to follow.
  
  When Buffy said, ' Wait until I 'm thirty ,' Xander had thought, ' I can do that .'
  
  Hence, his chief concern for the day-loops was making certain he could always get thousand-dollar scratchers to bribe the girls with. The lotto ticket would convince Willow, Buffy, and-for the fun of it-Cordelia to dress in whatever costume he chose. Xander then took several loops to convince Ethan to create a Sixty-year-old costume for them. Looking at the latest winning scratcher in his hand, he was grateful to Buffy for giving him the idea. Considering what great minds Xander had mimicked for most of his repeating life, it was amazing he hadn't thought of it much sooner.
  
  For the thousand-dollar scratcher, the fashion-conscious Slayer happily agreed to wear whatever Xander wanted. Though Buffy was slightly nervous about what he would make her wear, she found the Old Person costume hilarious. The stunning blonde wore a white wig, fake red reading glasses, a brown wool cardigan with her name written on a Bingo Night name tag, and she used a brown cane.
  
  Having failed at this a few times already, Xander didn't wear a costume, nor was he near Principle Snyder when he was forcing high school students to chaperone children trick-or-treating. He stayed with Buffy for most of the day, talking about everything she would buy with the thousand dollars as he waited for Ethan's chaos magic to take hold of the town. The pair of friends were walking around the bustling neighborhood, and Buffy enjoyed playing an old lady when 6 PM finally hit.
  
  As the chaos began sweeping the town, Xander could easily imagine his-Buffy's mind falling backward and landing in that invisible chair, aware of the world outside but numb to it and unable to get out. Like many wearing Ethan's costumes, she would have no control of her body, or speech, nor would she be able to tell where her consciousness ended and the other began. Even though he'd seen it before, Xander was still surprised to see Buffy's white wig revert to her long, golden-blonde hair and her face matured to no older than twenty-five. Instead of the feeble and hunched over body of a sixty-year-old, she stood with perfect posture; strong-shouldered. Nothing sagged and she certainly didn't need the cane.
  
  Buffy looked around at the chaos unfolding in the suburban neighborhood: cars crashing, many monstrous predators chasing frightened innocents, and wanton destruction of property. The sound of screaming, growling, and destruction filled the air. The now-veteran Slayer scanned every foot of the surrounding pandemonium-assessing threat levels-until her beautiful greenish-blue eyes landed on him.
  
  "Xander?" she called in shocked surprise, focusing on his smiling face. The astounded girl quickly cupped his jaw as she yelled, "Oh my god, Xander! You- You look so young! And- And your eye!" she remarked, caressing his left cheek and brow. "It's back!"
  
  "Hey, Buff," Xander softly said as he held her hands. He squeezed them affectionately before asserting, "I hate to cut this short, but we're in a bit of a time situation."
  
  The legendary warrior didn't even hesitate to nod and ask, "Back in time, higher plane, or alternate reality?"
  
  "Back in time and probably alternate reality," he quickly answered, and her focused face nodded. He elaborated, "Do you remember junior year? Halloween? You dressed up like an 18th-century girl. I dressed as a soldier. Then we got whammied by chaos magic and became the costume we dressed as."
  
  Her symmetric face winced and her eyes squinted as she answered, "Uh... Vaguely."
  
  "Okay, well, we're in that time," he informed her. "And it's something of a different reality because I've been stuck in this time-in a time loop."
  
  Her brows knotted in confusion as she repeated, "Time loop. Like Groundhog's day?"
  
  "Not exactly, but for simplicity's sake, let's go with yes."
  
  "Huh," she hummed, scanning the surrounding mayhem to jog her memory. "Can't say I've been in one of those."
  
  "It's not fun," he assured her. "And by that, I mean it's hell."
  
  Returning her attention to him, she said, "I just can't get over how young you look." Pinching his cheeks with a mischievously broad grin, she added, "You're like a baby!"
  
  Xander's head lazily avoided her pinch-happy hands as he asked with incredulity, "I look like a baby? What about you?" Stepping back, he observed the model-perfect figure and marveled, "You're supposed to be sixty and you still look twenty-five."
  
  With a pose and a smile, she gratefully replied, "Thanks."
  
  Unfortunately, the pair were in the thick of a tumultuous situation they couldn't ignore any longer. Slipping into his assertive guise, a somber Xander stated, "Since I have field awareness, follow my lead until we have more time to talk."
  
  "Roger, roger," she said with a dainty salute.
  
  The Slayer and Time Looper began running down the neighborhood. From previous loops, Xander knew Buffy couldn't ignore the threat of danger to an innocent begging for help. Picturing a civilian dying because she ran past them in their time of need had always stopped Buffy before, which forced Xander to adapt. As the pair ran through the chaotic neighborhood, he grabbed rocks from the floor-told her to do the same-and they sniped all the monsters they passed.
  
  "Go for the head," Xander told her, as he slung a rock at a gray-skinned monster's face with perfect accuracy. "Eyes, mouth, and neck will draw their attention to us."
  
  With her paranormal strength, Buffy either severely injured the durable monster or knocked it out. When they had six monstrous demons chasing them, she asked, "Now what?"
  
  Xander stopped running and turned to them. Extending his hand, he concentrated on the only spell his body could do without backfiring horribly. ' In regno nostro nox sit, et illis qui intra gressum dormiunt ,' he thought with eyes closed, and the magic he typically didn't feel extended from his hand and put the monsters to sleep. The heavier they were, the harder they hit the floor. As ever, Xander felt sleepy himself and rocked his head violently to fight through it.
  
  "What did you do?" Buffy asked in disbelief.
  
  "Sleep spell," the tired boy replied before continuing to run.
  
  Running up beside him, the curious Slayer asked, "Since when did you start using magic?"
  
  "I've learned a lot in here," he simply concluded, looking for more monsters to hit with rocks. Running into the next street, Xander noted the next interaction of the night and explained, "When we see Willow, tell her to look around for Cordelia and meet back at your house for safety."
  
  Soon after, the pair saw ghost-Willow and Buffy did as instructed. Willow left in search of Cordelia and Xander and Buffy continued running. Along the way, they would snipe monsters with rocks to the face, helping civilians and beating back monsters all while Xander explained the Time Braid. Entering Buffy's house, she looked around her old home with tender fondness while the raven-haired teen detailed how he's been repeating the day, week, month, and year.
  
  Taking a seat in her clean kitchen, she lamented, "Oh, wow, Xander. That does sound like a nightmare."
  
  Xander seated across from her as he expressed, "Most of the time, it feels like you don't exist. No matter how much fun or peace you get, it's always taken away. No one ever remembers, and after a hundred years of this, it's hard to even care about things."
  
  "I'm so sorry," she sympathized. "I can't even imagine what that's like."
  
  "And I wouldn't want you to," he replied. "I got the idea to give this-Buffy your entire life's memories in hopes I can learn something from older you; maybe get an idea of what to do."
  
  With a quirked brow, she proposed, "I'm thinking Willow and her super brain would be a bigger help getting out of this than I would."
  
  "She's next," he assured her.
  
  "She'd be first if it were me," Buffy jovially suggested. "Followed promptly by Giles."
  
  Bobbing his head left and right in uncertainty, he half agreed, saying, "Yeah, but... it's just... I have this feeling you're the key."
  
  Buffy groaned in impatient understanding as she admitted, "That would not surprise me." Shaking her head with exasperated disbelief, she added, "I'm like a sink drain. All the yucky stuff life has to offer swirls my way, eventually."
  
  "That's why I'm asking you," Xander pointed out. "You got the most experience getting sucked in the suck. It's why I thought you'd be my best chance."
  
  "Okay," she replied with a stern nod. "What do you need?"
  
  "This is going to sound weird," he began. "But I need your help to convince your younger self... to love me."
  
  Tilting her head in confusion, she began to say, "I do love you-" However, at Xander's raised eyebrows and squinted eyes, Buffy realized what he meant, and restated, "Oh, you mean, love love." At his nod, she recalled, "But didn't you turn me down when I thought we could-"
  
  "If I didn't have the memory of that," he interjected. "I never would've believed I-me, Xander Harris- ever turned you down! Ever! I've loved you since day numero uno. We never once sorted out those feelings, so why would future me turn you down? It makes no sense!"
  
  "Well, you had started with Dawn by that point," Buffy reminded him, tilting her head as if recalling the distant past. "And now that I think about it, it's not like I was putting up much of a fuss when you rejected me. Maybe that version of you saw what was really there. You've always been good at that, you know; perspective."
  
  "I could use a little perspective right now," he professed. "How do I convince 16-year-old Buffy-madly-in-love-with-Angel-Buffy-to choose me instead of him? Is it even possible?"
  
  "You mean without her living on with my memories?"
  
  "I already tried," Xander told her. "Every time this version of you keeps the memories, I reset. I don't know why, exactly, but them's the rules."
  
  Retracing his explanation, Buffy repeated, "You, me, Angel, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, and Spike can't die... because we all have things to do in the future, right?"
  
  Nodding, Xander elaborated, "My working theory is, if you know everything, too much will change for them; whether in a good way or not, I don't know." Looking up at the clock, the time-looper warned, "Hold on. Angel's going to be here in a sec-"
  
  "Angel?" she asked, sitting up and eagerly looking around the kitchen.
  
  "Yeah, I know," he grumbled with sagging shoulders. "You're excited to see him, but please remember, I'm the one stuck in hell."
  
  Reclaiming control of herself, she nodded as she assured him, "Okay, okay, okay."
  
  "He's going to come through the kitchen door," Xander began, pointing lazily with his thumb. "Tell him you think it's magic and we need to find the source. He's going to ask if we have any idea. Tell him you and I are going to talk to Giles and that when Willow comes back with Cordelia, they should head to Ethan's costume shop." Buffy repeated the instructions while Xander recalled the coming interaction from a previous loop. He then pleaded, "If you two could keep the public display of affection to a minimum, I'd appreciate it."
  
  At the insinuation she couldn't control herself, Buffy rolled her eyes with a smile before saying, "Please. I'm sixty, not some love-sick teenager."
  
  Angel arrived a few seconds later-tall, handsome, and deeply concerned for Buffy's safety. Angel embraced her, petting her silky blonde hair and Buffy could not stop smiling. Xander rolled his eyes when she took a deep inhale while in the embrace of her first love. Xander cleared his throat before Buffy began relaying the information. Determined, Angel endorsed the plan with a nod before caressing the side of Buffy's face. Staring into his dark, yet loving eyes, Buffy leaned into his cold hand when Xander coughed loudly, interrupting them.
  
  "We better go," Xander voiced, exiting the room.
  
  With a last look at Angel, the Slayer left the kitchen, following her best friend outside. Xander gave Buffy a bat, and the pair walked out of the neighborhood. The time looper drew in the monsters that were harming the innocent by sniping them with well-aimed rocks to the face, and Buffy would beat them with a bat until they ran or were knocked unconscious.
  
  As they walked, the concerned blonde asked, "You sure we shouldn't be running?"
  
  "There's time," he casually said, scanning their surroundings for monsters chasing anyone.
  
  "How can you look at all this and be so calm?" Buffy asked, aghast, as she eyed the burning cars and broken windows. The dutiful Slayer dodged the arm swipe of a tall green monster before batting its knee to bring it down, then elbowing its jaw when it was low enough; knocking it out.
  
  "In a word, numb," he voiced, playing with the rock in his hand. While he'd admit saving lives took precedence, Xander couldn't feel genuine worry for any life in Sunnydale. To him, everyone in town who may die will be alive in the following loop, and he explained as much. "I've seen this all thousands of times. None of it surprises me anymore. To tell you the truth, if someone dies, it doesn't even feel real anymore."
  
  "God," Buffy huffed in fearful amazement. "I'm actively restraining myself from jumping in here."
  
  "I'm sure I felt that way in the beginning," he offered. "But too much has happened. It's just hard to care... to feel anything," he sadly finished. Turning to her with more concern in his brown eyes, he pleaded, "I need to get out, Buffy. I need to! Or I really will lose the very little bit of me that's left."
  
  "Alright," she reassured him with a hand on his shoulder. At his nod, she continued, "Intro to Buffy's Heart 101. After seeing Angel again, I can tell you it's not going to be easy. All those feelings just spring right back up." Xander sighed and Buffy patted his shoulder comfortingly as she voiced, "The thing is... and don't take this the wrong way, but, it's you, you know? You're like... one of the best at being such a caring, fun, and devoted friend. It's hard to imagine you as anything else."
  
  "If that's not a cautionary tale for being a good friend, I don't know what is," Xander grossly remarked. "' Be the best friend! And by the way, she 'll never love you .'"
  
  With an exasperated sigh, she reminded him, "I still asked you out!"
  
  "In our mid-twenties, when there was no one else," he returned. "And we've established that I must've been suffering from temporary insanity."
  
  "Hey, loving Dawn wasn't insanity!"
  
  Xander paused for a moment, thinking about the end of his future self's marriage, then calmly replied, "It wasn't love at first sight, either." Buffy eyed him sadly as he added, "And we both know how it ended between me and Dawn."
  
  The somber Slayer nodded, pressing his shoulder to keep them moving. Buffy continued, "You being one of my very best friends was how I survived when I should've died. And I wouldn't trade that for anything."
  
  "Is that what it is?" he asked in doubtful wonderment. He used his finger to point between them as he asked, "I saved you as a friend, so... you don't want to see me as anything else because... I don't know. You lose your safety net, I guess?"
  
  "It's possible," she hesitated to answer with a half nod. "I mean, the closer someone is to me, the quicker they tend to die."
  
  "I survived," he astutely pointed out.
  
  "Oh, sweety. You're, far in a way, the exception. Not the rule," she said rather lovingly. "I just don't think I could've survived without you. I can save people. Willow can save people, as can Giles, Faith, Angel, and Spike. But we all have abilities. When you save us, it just means so much more."
  
  "Because I don't have powers?" he asked, pointing at a tall green monster running towards them. "Am I, like, your good luck charm?" Xander threw a rock directly into its yellow eye as he stated, "Like a rabbit's foot you clip on your keychain?"
  
  "Oh, come on," she voiced just before swinging at the head of the distracted monster. "You know you're more than that! " With a heavy THWACK, the monster hit the ground unconscious.
  
  "Am I?" He turned to look at her. "All these loops, Buffy-thousands of them-and I'm always treated like it's fine if I'm not more; like I'm not even capable-Like I'm not even allowed to be more."
  
  "Of course you are," she emphatically proclaimed. Stepping within inches, looking him in his eyes, she asserted, "We always supported you in anything; no matter what."
  
  "As long as I stayed the same," he argued. "When did you ever pull me to the side and force me to train? When did Willow or Giles push me to learn defensive spells? I mean, we all knew how easy it was to die out here. And yet, we played fast and loose with our lives because we were young and dumb. How insane is it I actually survived all those years without any skill or ability to back me up?"
  
  "A lot of people with abilities didn't survive," Buffy heatedly declared. She desperately wanted him to know, "If you wanted to be more, I know we would've supported you."
  
  Xander stepped away, shaking his head. Then he continued lightly jogging as he lamented, "I guess that's on me." Buffy was right beside him as he added, "But I'm trying to be more now. And I need your help."
  
  "To make me fall in love with you?" she oddly questioned. "How's that even a thing?"
  
  "I don't know!" Xander called out to the night sky, the frustration clearly getting to him. "I don't- I'm only guessing that changing your mind-making you see me in a different way-is the key. Because if not that, I really have no idea- I'm all out of ideas, Buff."
  
  Buffy asked, "So... then, how are you sure?"
  
  "I can't be sure of anything!" he stated. "I'm not Giles or Willow! I'm not smart enough to figure this out on my own."
  
  Taking his wrist, they stopped running as she made him look at her before insistently saying, "Hey, come on, breathe. Breathe with me." Xander calmed his breathing with slow inhales and exhales before Buffy continued. "It's going to be alright."
  
  "...I hope so," he said to be civil, but he didn't believe it. "Come on. We have to move," he said before they crossed the street leading to the shops.
  
  "Tell me why you think it's me," she asked.
  
  As they jogged, he evenly answered, "From what I've gathered, when the way you see me doesn 't change, I reset; admittedly, not just you, but Giles, Willow, or the others. Every time the way any of you see me does change, I keep moving forward. I initially thought all of you were just equal like that. But then... then you said something in the last loop that just stuck with me."
  
  "What?"
  
  "You said keeping me alive is why you're here."
  
  "Well, yeah!" Buffy concurred with an amused snort. "As a Slayer, I should think so! I can't agree more," she genuinely said with a warm smile. "That it?"
  
  "It's all I got," Xander said, crossing his fingers.
  
  "And you think that's the key?" she repeated with an inquisitive hum. "Like, do you feel it in your gut? Because, I can tell you from experience, sometimes all I have is my intuition, and I trust it every time."
  
  "I can't be certain," the teen boy admitted. "I mean, it's either getting you to love me, or world domination."
  
  "You can't be serious," she voiced.
  
  "Supreme Emperor Alexander Harris will not tolerate insolence," he sternly declared, concerning his blonde friend.
  
  "I don't think any version of me can love a dictator," Buffy defended. However, Xander stopped jogging and looked at her with raised eyebrows. He didn't even need to say Spike's name. His incredulous brown eyes said, ' If you could love someone like Spike, no one 's off the table .' Buffy seemed to understand and returned, "Neither Angel nor Spike were murderers when I was dating them... Can we please stay on topic?"
  
  With a sigh, he continued jogging as he voiced, "Fortunately for all of mankind, right now, my intuition is leaning toward you."
  
  "Okay, good," the relieved blonde answered. After six seconds of silence, Buffy answered, "Time."
  
  "Yes, time," Xander agreed, before curiously asking, "...What about it?"
  
  "It's the only thing I can think of that would do it," she elaborated. "With everything I know now, if I can completely fall head-over-heels in love with you instead of Spike, Riley, or anyone else for that matter, I know in my soul that would be better... Well, more peaceful, anyway-like coming home to a loving house and a warm meal after a long, terrible day. Just, bliss, you know?"
  
  "All those decades of fighting... peace sounds like a unicorn on steroids."
  
  "I'm going to pretend I get that and say, ' Yeah ,'" she playfully replied. "Sadly, sixteen-year-old me wouldn't know all of that. She's never experienced the pain I've gone through-the loss I've suffered. Losing Angel like that, mom dying, me dying, being ripped out of heaven, the depression, then self-medicating using Spike... it all shaped me into the person I am now. I can't even picture a life without all that grief and heartache."
  
  "That's a problem," Xander pointed out. "At most, I have till the end of January '99 before I loop back. It's going to be hard to cram all that pain in that amount of time."
  
  "They don't make it easy on you, do they?" she sympathetically asked. "All I can say is: if we'd gone out when you had the chance to say yes, I could've seen us getting married-white picket fence, big house, big dog, the whole nine."
  
  "Really?"
  
  "I already thought of you as family, Xander," Buffy assured him. "You got a hell of a lot manlier when you packed on the muscle and started commanding units. I mean, if it wasn't you, there'd be no one else."
  
  With sarcasm, Xander asked, "Have I ever told you that being a better option than dying alone is just the kind of high praise that gets me out of bed every morning?"
  
  "Shut up," the smiling Slayer said, shoving him a bit. "You know what I mean."
  
  "And Spike?"
  
  "Spike..." she repeated, the humor quickly drying out. "We tried. For a long time, we tried. And even now I still love him... but that just wasn't enough," she solemnly conveyed. "I kept noticing how different we were depending on the situation. Like, when it was just me and Spike-quietly at home with no baddie to fight-we just couldn't function the same, you know? And the quiet times were, like, the majority of our relationship."
  
  "Why couldn't you work during those times?" Xander cautiously asked. "He never told me."
  
  Buffy slowly and dismally answered, "When you're built for war, peace is hard. Spike and I just became restless during the peaceful times, which is different from couples with one person being the calm one, and the other the restless. When you have two restless people, it's like a feedback loop, and only gets worse with time. We could talk about things, sure. And it was fun most of the time. But after a while, it felt like we were trying to fill the silence-or, at least, it did with me. When we had a big baddie to fight or an apocalypse to stop, that's when we came alive. The ups and downs of fighting... that's when I felt our love the most. We clicked then."
  
  "So, when there was no one to fight, you were bored?"
  
  "Worse," she admitted, "We'd fight each other; fight to feel the love, which in hindsight wasn't a good sign. Spike's as alpha as they come. You can't take that away from him, nor should you. It's an intrinsic part of loving him as a person."
  
  "But you're an alpha too," Xander interjected. "As alpha as they come," he added with a smile.
  
  Buffy smirked before continuing, "Sometimes, our fights got so bad, even make-up sex couldn't fix it. Ultimately, we threw in the towel."
  
  "I remember he said something like that in San Fran," Xander finished, recalling his many future hangouts with the souled Spike.
  
  "Yeah," she weakly voiced. Turning to him, she conveyed, "If it's you, Xander, I totally would now."
  
  "Because I'm not an alpha?"
  
  Stopping them from jogging, Buffy looked deeply into his eyes before asserting, "Because you're my safe harbor, Xander." He stared into her greenish-blue eyes, and the stunning girl confessed, "Among other things, you brought me peace, whether we were at war or not."
  
  "But that was never the problem, was it?"
  
  "No," she admitted. "At sixteen/seventeen, I just didn't see you that way." She then admitted, "Thinking about it now, I suppose I always felt I could have that safe space without it being anything romantic."
  
  "When you finally did see me that way, I turned down the one girl I've wanted since the very beginning," he reminisced.
  
  "Some might say we make better friends."
  
  "Some might say I just didn't have the balls to break out of my self-inflicted friend zone and actually push for more," Xander countered with a touch of self-deprecation. "It's not like you ever dated a geek. Every guy you've gone out with were clearly men... and it's like I refused to ever grow up."
  
  "As if you were the only one," Buffy replied. "Let's not forget that before I was 'the Chosen One,' I was just a girl. An apocalypse for me at fifteen was zit breakouts, getting rejected by boys, and... whether mom and dad would get back together."
  
  "I wish Mrs. S was here, by the way," Xander solemnly mentioned. "So you can see her again."
  
  "That's right," Buffy suddenly realized. "She went on a business trip, didn't she?" Xander nodded and Buffy thought lovingly of her deceased mother before voicing, "I knew mom wasn't happy, back then I mean. I thought if dad just loved her- us , enough, he'd come back. But he was just selfish in the end." Xander nodded, listening as she continued, "Then, destiny sprinkled their magic dust on me, and WHAM! I stopped being a girl and became a freak-"
  
  "You are not-"
  
  "I know, I know," she assured him. "I don't mean freak in a bad way, but I'm not like Cordelia or Willow, or you. You guys never had to be a part of this world. I do. As much as I love saving lives-saving the world-there was no choice; No control over my life. So, yeah, I desperately wanted my friends to stay my friends."
  
  "Wait... so, it's not just about your love for Angel?" Xander began to clarify. "But you were also hellbent on keeping me in that friend zone?"
  
  "I really don't like that term; as if there's something wrong with being friends," she stated.
  
  "Yes!" he hotly countered. "Yes! The friend zone is not a great place to be. Prison and purgatory might be better."
  
  "Well, excuse me for wanting you in my life," Buffy huffed. "Look, I know now that leaning on you despite knowing how you felt about me was wrong and unfair. But what else could I hope for?"
  
  " More , Buffy," he quickly proclaimed, stopping once again. "You could've hoped for more."
  
  She argued right back, "Not with the average life expectancy of a Slayer, I couldn't." He paused a moment before she sadly asserted, "Not with death- actual death -always right around the corner, waiting for me and anyone close to me. I died within the first year I came to Sunnydale. You brought me back, but Kendra died. So many others died within three years of becoming a Slayer. That's my reality."
  
  To emphasize her point, Buffy pointed to all the chaos surrounding them; the burning cars, the running packs of monsters, the busted light poles, and the innocent souls hiding indoors. "Loving a boy-like a human one-who'd grieve me when I was murdered by a demon wasn't something I wanted to put anyone through, especially you." Without a reply from a thoughtful Xander, Buffy jabbed his chest with a stern finger as she said, "If you can get sixteen-year-old me to see you as a man in your own right, that's a step in the right direction, as far as I'm concerned. Brownie points if you can kick ass."
  
  With supreme confidence, Xander nodded as he replied, "I think I got that part covered."
  
  "I saw," she happily noted. "You fight even better than when you trained Slayers."
  
  Looking around for unique markers, Xander slowly commented, "We're falling behind. Let's run for a bit."
  
  Walking the Halloween-decorated halls of Sunnydale High toward the library, Buffy asked, "What's next?"
  
  While the blonde looked around in fond recollection, Xander answered, "We're going to tell Giles that we think all this chaos is coming from a British guy called Ethan, who operates a costume shop. Giles won't let us tag along, but he'll take care of the rest."
  
  Nodding, she then asked, "So, what do we do?"
  
  Xander informed her, "We can either go back outside and help out, or we can chill in the library and catch up."
  
  Staring at him with knitted brows, the mildly offended girl asked, "Is that even an option?"
  
  "Back outside it is," Xander lamely responded.
  
  After the pair met with Giles and reported their encounter with Ethan, they were told by the silently angry Englishman, "I'll take care of it. You two must return to the streets and help where you can." Before rushing out of the library, he told them, "Be safe, the both of you."
  
  Buffy and Xander are running through the silent school and back outside when the blonde said, "I think I have an idea that could help you."
  
  "If it has to do with ice cream, bubblegum, cola, pink lollipops, white-cheddar popcorn, fondue, and/or Ice Capades, I already know."
  
  "No... I mean yes, to all those earthly treasures," she happily corrected. As they engaged a typical vampire, Buffy added, "But I'm thinking outside the box here."
  
  "Good! Good," he voiced, as he dodged the vampire's obvious punch. No matter how fast the demon was, Xander's eyes could just tell what he was going to do. He dodged four consecutive attacks as he said, "We're officially outside the box and it's cold out." After a severe miss, Xander roundhouse kicked the vampire straight into Buffy's stake before asking, "What do ya' got?"
  
  They didn't wait for the vampire to turn to dust before running to the next monster. Buffy answered, "Okay. So, you know how I can be a little controlling-"
  
  " A little? " he repeated, craning his neck to look at her as if she were crazy. "The only way you're flexible is when everyone does what you want."
  
  "I'm not that bad!" she defended. However, with concern, she asked, "...Am I?"
  
  "What's important is you believe that," he replied with tender care.
  
  "Look, you just have to be flexible with me," the Slayer continued. "I don't really do traditional, so come at me in different and unexpected ways. I never expected Angel or Riley. I certainly never expected Spike, or any of them. Being different gets me to notice you."
  
  "So, less Xander, more anyone else. Got it."
  
  "No, I still want you to be you," she bellowed, as they spotted a car swerving to avoid a demon and strike a tree. The couple tried their doors but were stuck in a burning car when fire from under the hood billowed. The pair are sprinting toward the car on fire, however, Buffy gets there first.
  
  "Just add another side neither of us expected," she told him. "Something only you can do."
  
  With some effort, Buffy ripped the car door off its hinges, bending steel as the metal groaned sharply from the heated friction. Xander helped the couple out of the car as the Herculean girl tossed the driver side door like it was a paper plate.
  
  When the frightened couple was safely running away, Buffy turned to her best friend and sincerely expressed, "We've been together through thick and thin. You're my absolute best friend, and I love you to death. I've always had complete faith in you-powers or no. I know you can do this."
  
  His body reacted, hugging her without thought, and the veteran Buffy hugged him right back. "I miss Buffy pep talks," Xander confessed.
  
  Rather than going to Ethan's Costume Shop, Xander and Buffy fought vampires and demons until Giles eventually destroyed the bust of Janus. All the while, the pair were cracking jokes and enjoying their time together. Much too soon, however, Xander's Old Buffy left, and Young Buffy remained-in her white wig and brown cardigan-though with all the memories of her life intact. Young Buffy couldn't believe everything that would happen in her future, but Xander was there to comfort the shaken girl.
  
  They returned to the library, and seated opposite one another at the long table, Xander and Buffy spent hours going through all the deaths, disappointments, losses, heartaches, and the ultimate destruction of Sunnydale. With only a couple of lights on, they enjoyed the calm and cool ambiance as they went back and forth on the details of what happened during the end of their teenage years. It turned out Buffy had a marginally better memory than he did.
  
  Minutes before the reset, Buffy gave Xander a tip on winning her over. "Not to sound too conceited or anything," she began. "But stop putting me on a pedestal."
  
  "Wha- I don't-"
  
  "You do," she interjected.
  
  " I did ," he emphasized. "Trust me, that's over and done with."
  
  "Well, good," she asserted with a nod. "Because you have to see me . All of me. The good and the bad-because there are darker, more shameful sides of me you have to deal with and accept just like I did."
  
  In the mostly dark room, Xander leaned forward as he asked, "How do you mean?"
  
  "I save lives and that's always good, but that doesn't mean everything I do is good or worthy of being praised or treated so... tenderly."
  
  "Are you saying you want me to be cold towards you?"
  
  "I'm saying that I'll look at you differently if you call me out on my crap-just like anyone else-than if you treat me like I'm some delicate princess. Slayers are built tough."
  
  "That they are," he agreed. "I can do that. Anything else?"
  
  "Uh... well, sarcasm and jokes help distract me from the worst parts of the job."
  
  "I know. Same-sies."
  
  "Yeah, but..." Buffy squirmed in her chair, and suddenly took an interest in their dim surroundings, inspecting the checkout desk with false interest.
  
  "Buffy?" he cautiously called.
  
  Slumping her head, she begrudgingly looked at him, blushing brightly in her cheeks as she continued, "Ugh, this is so embarrassing. You promise I won't remember any of this?"
  
  "Sadly, I swear you and everyone else will forget about me and all of this."
  
  With a deep sigh, Buffy explained, "S-Sometimes, the things I don't want to think about... are feelings... of the boom boom kind."
  
  With raised eyebrows, the curious teen repeated, "Boom boom?"
  
  "H-horny," she answered, looking at her hands on the table.
  
  "Really?"
  
  The embarrassed girl quickly explained, "It's just... And I don't know why this happens, but, sometimes, fighting the way I do really gets the blood going. And I- I just can't help but feel... worked up ... down there. Ugh! God, this is too embarrassing!"
  
  "Don't leave me hanging here, Buff. I'm all ears."
  
  Shooting out a threatening finger, she quickly asserted, "You being a horn dog isn't making this easier! I'm trying to help you here."
  
  With peaceful hands up, he replied, "Right. You're right. Sorry. I may be over a hundred years old, but I'm always stuck with teenage hormones, you know."
  
  With a calming exhale, Buffy continued saying, "I... try to keep everything light and fun so, I d-don't t-touch myself later."
  
  Wondering the big question, Xander cautiously asked the blushing blonde, "Aaaaaand you're telling me this because you want me to...?"
  
  "If I remember this tomorrow, I'm seriously going to kill you!"
  
  "You won't! You won't! I promise," he assured her. Quickly checking the clock, he said, "Come on, we don't have long."
  
  Taking in a let out a deep breath, Buffy expressed, "With these memories, I get what every man I was with meant to me. Angel was pure love, Spike was self-loathing and destruction, and Riley was that all-American dream. Then there were a few dumb mistakes or one-night stands. Looking at all that, all the men-"
  
  "And women," Xander quickly interjected.
  
  "Yes, yes, and the very few women," she painstakingly admitted with a heavy eye roll. "Looking at all the people that left me... you've been by my side the longest, and I've loved you the longest, if in a different way than them. I'd happily trade all of those momentary loves for something that's more, like, forever. I want that, Xander. No! After gaining these memories, I really, really need that. I mean, where's my happily ever after? All that fighting, and I'm alone in the end? Like, really? So, you better do what you have to to win me over. None of this mild-mannered..."
  
  Everything went black.
  
  Xander woke up on the morning of Halloween, yet again.
  
  Did anyone think of Xander convincing Buffy to wear an older version of herself? Just curious if it was obvious. Willow is next. That'll be this Sunday's release. So look forward to that :)
  
  I know I have some readers who haven't seen the show or know about the comic continuation. I hope this all still made sense. If not, I'd be happy to answer and questions you have in PM or if you're on reddit. My handle is u/GraeFoxx_
  
  The chapters I'm looking forward to next are 48, 50, and 51.
  
  That's everything friends. Thank you all again for taking the time out of your day to read and possibly leave a comment. I truly do appreciate your support. For those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my is /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you want something else to read :)
  
  I'd love to read any comments or suggestions. Thanks again to my betas, Oxnate and Deiticlast!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Hey, Will
  Yay! Another Sunday reached, another chapter released.
  
  Hello, hello fellow readers. Welcome back. Big thank you to my amazing betas, Oxnate and Deiticlast. 👏👏👏
  
  Warning: Language
  
  4K words. Short one today, but along with Friday's release, that's 10K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Hey, Will
  
  5:59 PM, Friday. October 31st, 1997(PDT)
  
  Before the Janus curse turned everyone who shopped at Ethan's Costume Shoppe into the costume they purchased, Xander was trick-or-treating with Willow in a suburban neighborhood. Like Buffy before her, he bribed the redhead with a thousand-dollar winning scratcher to wear the costume of her older self: a white wig, fake red reading glasses, a brown wool cardigan with her name written on a Bingo Night name tag, and a brown cane. Xander didn't dress up for the night, but Willow had just as much fun with the costume as Buffy; walking slowly with a hunched back, pretending she couldn't hear him, and moving her ear closer to his mouth.
  
  Xander enjoyed the fun and peace being with Willow always provided, but he also thought about what he wanted to ask Future Willow. Since this would be his first loop with her older counterpart, he speculated on the number of loops he would need to get all the help she'd undoubtedly provide. Though learning all he could from Buffy took seven loops, he didn't expect as many with his childhood friend. Willow always broke down complicated topics into easily digestible morsels.
  
  In the fringe recesses of his mind, Xander entertained the possibility of manipulating Ethan into somehow making a costume of Buffy or Willow for him to wear. The treasure trove of knowledge more specific to his world than Sherlock, Achilles, Casanova, or Merlin could provide was incredibly tempting; Willow's expertise on magic or Buffy's fighting style. On top of that, understanding his friends more intimately than ever before was appealing. However, there were also memories he would never want in his mind; kissing Angel or Oz, fucking Spike, how they truly saw him. Those memories were enough to not proceed with that idea.
  
  The pair were not far from Buffy's house when the Janus curse began, and Willow's transformation was just like Buffy's. The white wig extended in length and turned copper. Though she should be a sixty-year-old woman, no cane was needed, and her face didn't wrinkle or sag. She looked no older than mid-twenties, highlighting how absurdly different his elder years were from his super-friends. Old Man Xander could barely walk and was feeble, yet Old Buffy and Old Willow still looked like radiant young women.
  
  Old Willow quickly observed the chaos violently unfolding around them: the howling of demons before giving chase to innocent civilians; the screeching of car tires as they came to a halt; and the destruction of windows, mailboxes, and cars. All around the pair of friends, innocent lives were screaming for help or threatening demons to stay away. It was as dire as ever, but Xander looked bored.
  
  Willow noted all the mayhem with a curious face before remarking, "Well, this is interesting."
  
  From beside her, Xander raised his hand and casually waved as he greeted, "Hey, Will."
  
  "Xander?" She turned to him and her eyes widened. She inspected every inch of his face before voicing with mild appreciation, "Oh, young Xander." It was like nothing surprised her and could take any new development in stride. Willow caressed the side of his face and gently thumbed around his left eye as she confessed, "I missed your eye."
  
  "Yeah," he said, leaning into her warm palm. "It's easier to tell if you're winking or blinking when you have two eyes."
  
  Willow snorted laughter before looking around them and asking, "Is this Halloween? '97?"
  
  Rolling his brown eyes in amazement, he answered, "Jeez, you and your memory."
  
  "How could I forget?" she put forth. "It's the first time I dressed in anything remotely sexy. It was a liberating night."
  
  With a small smile, he freely admitted, "It's definitely a treat to see every time."
  
  Picking up on the odd reply, Willow repeated, "Every time... What's going on, Xander?" Inspecting her hands, she observed, "The magic flowing through me is barely a trickle compared to what I'm accustomed to, but I don't feel spacial distortions, time variations, or reflective tapering."
  
  Unsure of what that meant, he nodded and agreed, "Uh, yeah. I don't feel those either."
  
  Leveling him with humored disbelief, she happily summarized, "It means I didn't travel back in time." Xander nodded, wondering why it was that Merlin and Willow could feel magic and he couldn't. Willow asked, "Was my future consciousness pulled back to this period somehow?" He was about to answer when she felt something. "Wait," she said, looking up at the night sky and seeing radio waves for all he knew. "Never mind. I know this power... Janus." Returning her attention to him, she asserted, "This is chaos magic. But how did I-"
  
  "I convinced you to change your ghost costume to an older version of yourself," Xander interjected.
  
  Her expression looked like she was making complex calculations in her head, and then understood. "So long as the curse is active, I'll exist in the past as my sixty-year-old self. But Janus isn't powerful enough to imbue this younger me with all the potency of my power."
  
  Nodding, a jovial Xander added, "And I have to say, for a granny, you're looking absolutely fabulous."
  
  Eying him closely, Willow asked, almost to herself, "How did you do this when you're still... no." The beautiful redhead moved closer, inches from his face as she inspected him thoroughly-as if peering into his very soul-and observed, "You're... not just you, are you? You're older. Much older. I can tell by your oscillating pattern."
  
  Taking her hands from his face, he cradled them gently as he softly explained, "Will, I've been stuck in a time loop for over a hundred years."
  
  Willow didn't react to the chaos surrounding them, but at that, her eyebrows rose and she gasped. His childhood friend could see the weariness in his brown eyes, and hugged him as she softly voiced, "Oh, Xander."
  
  While navigating Halloween night for the umpteenth time, he explained the gist of what was happening to him and his theory of how to get out. However, he was thrown off when she inquired, "Wait. You went as far as New York, and you still looped back?" At his nod, she thought for a second before asking, "Have you checked the stars?"
  
  Xander turned to her in confusion, asking with an expressive quirked brow and squinting eyes. Willow then explained, "Even the most powerful spells have a hard limit. For example, large spells can affect whole continents, but not necessarily the entire planet. But if there's a spell that does affect the planet, it typically doesn't affect other dimensions, or planes of existence. So we tend to check the stars."
  
  "Okay... How?" Then Xander recalled Merlin doing the same, and cited, "Oh! To see where they were in the sky."
  
  "Exactly," she replied.
  
  Still confused, Xander remarked, "I don't see how that's supposed to tell me anything."
  
  Happy for the teaching moment, Willow explained, "If there's a hard limit, it would be in space. You've been in a loop for over a hundred years. If, for instance, there were regions of the Milky Way or beyond where the stars suddenly shifted over because they were in a different position a hundred years ago, that would mean that time is moving normally however many light-years away. That would be the hard limit."
  
  "I'd imagine astronomers would be freaking out from the sudden shift," Xander figured. "But how does that help me?"
  
  Willow reasoned, "If that's the case, that narrows down the pool of suspects considerably; basically Old Ones, Gods, higher beings, and maybe-like a big maybe-me. But that's only if I absorbed the Seed, which would probably kill me."
  
  "Okay, well, that's..." Xander cleared his throat, thinking a mile a minute before asking, "Okay, there's a list of potential suspects. That's cool. I can go to each of them and figure out a way to beat the answer out of them." After a moment of thought, he asked, "What if the stars are exactly where they should be?"
  
  "If that's the case," Willow began, shaking her head in amazed disbelief. "That means this is far more powerful than should be possible. If the stars aren't out of place, I wouldn't be surprised if this affected other dimensions and realities. I'd have to study the problem for months to understand the source, and that might not mean I can do anything about it."
  
  Considering his luck, Xander deflated and sorely replied, "Since I'm not seeing crazy news bulletins from NASA about stars suddenly moving, why don't we just go with the worst case scenario? Just in case. If by some miracle, the stars have moved, I'll ask you later for that list of suspects."
  
  Scanning the skies, Willow voiced, "I'll keep investigating, for now. Maybe there's something I just haven't thought of yet."
  
  The time looper finished explaining the rest of the time braid before reaching the first event of the night; passing on 18th-century Buffy over to Angel and Cordelia. The life-long friends had them take care of Buffy before Xander and Willow walked to Ethan's Costume Shop. When Xander put a demon to sleep, Willow put all the demons within sight to sleep, making all the scary bodies drop at once.
  
  Vexingly curious, Xander had to ask, "How is it that you're not feeling sleepy? I get tired after one casting."
  
  "Mmmnnn," Willow hummed in mild thought. She then told him, "The sleep spell you use was as basic as they come, which is more of an area attack rather than a targeted one. You need to counteract the effects by absorbing ambient magic into your system, kinda like magical caffeine."
  
  "Of course," Xander groaned in annoyance. "That would be my luck."
  
  Giggling, Willow tapped his forehead. Her fingertips lit up a moment, and Xander felt much more alert. The teen boy thanked her and they continued walking. Her eyes glowed white as she looked around, and the talented witch couldn't help but be impressed, proclaiming, "This is so interesting."
  
  "It's really not," Xander had to reply.
  
  "Sorry," Willow expressed sympathetically, losing the white light in her irises. "I just mean, we have time loops, sure. Even I can create a time loop. But I've never come across a time braid before. The amount of power it would take to affect the entire universe, and likely other dimensions, is just astronomical. I can hardly comprehend it."
  
  "Since I'm the target for some reason," Xander began. "Merlin said my body/vessel doesn't appear to be aligned with my spirit."
  
  Spinning on her heel, Willow's hair whirled around as the surprised girl bellowed, "Merlin? As in the Merlin?"
  
  Nodding, Xander elaborated, "In some of the loops, I dress up as him and get him to answer questions."
  
  "Nice move. Gimme a second," she said.
  
  Willow's hazel-green eyes once again glowed brightly before waving rays of white light emerged around her body like a dancing aurora. Extending her arms out sideways, pointing her index fingers out, she rotated her limbs counter-clockwise until her left finger was pointed north and her right pointed south. Suddenly, the magical redhead wrote in the air bright geometric pentagrams and runic characters. They glowed like neon signs, but were not of a language that Merlin or Eitri recognized. After lettering six characters in the air, her practiced hands clapped together, causing the symbols to fly in and out of visibility before disappearing entirely.
  
  As her glowing eyes and white aurora lose their luminance, Willow sighed before stating, "Well, this sucks."
  
  Peering from the clear night sky above to his tired best friend, Xander asked, "What?"
  
  "Hmmm, I know all sorts of spells-can even invent a few-but the Janus curse isn't anywhere near capable of giving me all my future magic."
  
  "So..."
  
  "So, it means it's a little harder to do what I want," she replied as her eyes glowed white once again.
  
  Like a doctor giving a patient a physical exam, Willow began prodding points on his face, maneuvering his limbs, and spreading his eyelids for a closer look at his pupils. As he let her do as she wished, Xander simplified her dilemma by saying, "So, like an athlete switching bodies with a couch potato and expecting to perform the same?"
  
  "I mean, I'm no couch potato, but yeah, sure," she accepted with a shrug. Willow observed the front and backside of his palms before noting, "I can still see... Oh, wow, you've learned alchemy and metallurgy. I can tell by the energy patterns fluctuating around you." Stepping back to inspect him as a whole with her luminous eyes, she asserted, "It looks like magic really likes you."
  
  "Merlin and Eitri taught me to make magical weapons-which was not easy, by the way."
  
  With an ardent nod, the deeply canny redhead replied, "Oh, you don't have to tell me. I know how super finicky the ethereal are about their homes. Magical weapons are notoriously difficult to make, so it's incredibly amazing you can do this. I mean, the magic vibing around you would make you a grandmaster in some magical societies. If you trained in harnessing it, you'd be a pretty powerful wizard."
  
  "I'd settle for getting out of this," he remarked. Raising his shoulders and lowering his head, a meek Xander asked his best friend with longing optimism, "Think you can help?"
  
  Willow took a deep breath, and he can see uncertainty in her big expressive eyes. After a long pause, she sadly admitted, " Maybe if I was in my future body... or maybe not." His shoulders sank before she quickly explained, "To do something about this would require an ungodly amount of power. Way, way , way , more than anything I can harness. I can't even imagine... I mean... I guess I'm just wondering what ancient entity could be strong enough to create this? And why you?"
  
  "I've been asking myself that question this entire time," he strongly asserted. "Who does all of this just for me? Compared to all the other amazing people on the entire planet of this dimension, I'm a nobody . It makes no sense!"
  
  "This time braid is beyond magicians, curses, and most deities," Willow remarked like an academic observing a natural phenomenon. "The only thing not made of this universe is the soul of the living. This time braid feels like it's on that level."
  
  "Great," Xander sarcastically yipped. "You wouldn't happen to have the Above Godly Power's number, would you? Just want to check how many more centuries I have to stay stuck in the guillotine before the axe comes down."
  
  "Not funny," she asserted before reasoning, "If they're strong enough to create a time braid of this scale, they're strong enough to conceal themselves. You may have to accept not knowing their plans until they want you to."
  
  "You mean until I go crazy and become the future ruler of earth?"
  
  "Please tell me you're joking," Willow replied, as if dreading the answer.
  
  "My first proclamation is to cleanse the earth of all the bad boys that girls go gaga over," Xander declared dictatorially. "Only the meek shall inherit all the babes!"
  
  An anxious Willow babbled, "Oh, no. No, um, well, Xander, let's not forget that there is-there very much is -a way out of this. That's the point of a time braid-to realign something-which means, you don't have to, uh, rule earth, or anything. Getting out all comes down to you." At his hopeless face, Willow cupped Xander's cheek tenderly as she pleaded, "Just try to figure it out. Wherever you have to go, whatever you have to do-that's not global domination, please-try. If I know anything , I know you can get through this. You're a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for. I know it."
  
  Xander simply sighed, unsure he should risk his sanity entertaining the thought that she might be right. Like all the large demons slumbering around them, he also felt helpless. They couldn't escape their dormant situation either, and it made Xander wonder if escaping the time braid involved more than simply getting physically stronger. He hadn't figured the answer to the time braid out yet, and it was possible he never would.
  
  "I'm going to help you, Xander," Willow cutely asserted, feeding him a touch of hope.
  
  With a raised brow, he cautiously asked, "How? You're going to forget about this tomorrow."
  
  Nodding in agreement, she said, "True. I can't-nor would I-change your soul; especially in this delicate state of realignment. And nothing done to your body would stick anyway. But I can make it easier for magical energy to find you-or I should say, find your pattern. They're already following you, and love the vessels you create. What I'll do will be like the best advertising campaign they've ever seen. You're going to light up like the 4th of July! You'll still have to forge your weapons, unfortunately, but they should be much more powerful."
  
  "Wow, that'll definitely help. Thanks," he told her.
  
  Willow scanned their surroundings and as they moved through the neighborhood, she collected an orange leaf, a smooth rock, a broken shard of clear glass, and the metal cap from a bottle. The genius witch had Xander stand under a tree, widen his stance for better balance, and extend his arms. In his hands, she placed the items she had collected, then stood in front of him. The redhead placed her right palm on his forehead and her left palm on his chest before taking a deep, meditative breath and closing her hazel-green eyes.
  
  Softly, the powerful witch voiced in Latin, "Gratis, libenter, ac sine expectatione, cognitionis bonae participes te cognoscendi, dili-genter te quaerendi, sapientiam inveniendi, et fidelitatem, ut te tandem mater Semen amplectatur." Through Sherlock's mental pattern, Xander understood her to chant, ' Freely, willingly, and without expectation, share in the benefits of knowledge to know thee, diligence to seek thee, wisdom to find thee, and faithfulness so the Mother Seed may finally embrace thee .'
  
  The magic swirling freely around them nearly became visible to Xander. There was a warping of the visible spectrum that looked as if flickers of fire were dancing just over his entire body. Barely visible magic was bouncing around him repeatedly, like excitable fireflies. The streaks of light gradually became brighter until pure light began morphing into a shifting pattern. Then, little by little, the light dimmed again-as if it was leaking out through the shifting pattern-until Xander could no longer see anything ethereal.
  
  Stunned from the light show, Xander huffed, "Wow, Will." Rotating his hands in front of him, the curious boy oddly remarked, "I don't feel anything. Am I supposed to feel something?"
  
  "Only with the proper training," she happily answered. "But trust me: It's there."
  
  Trusting her implicitly, Xander replied, "cool," with a nod. "I'm actually pretty proud of my smithing. It just sucks when I have to start over."
  
  The pair began walking toward Ethan's shop again-magically setting every vampire and monster asleep along the way-as Willow noted, "Well, you get better every time. And some people would kill to go back and fix their past mistakes, so it can't be all bad."
  
  "Yeah, but after traveling back, they'd go on and live fifty or sixty years before the sweet release of death," he replied. "In this hell, anything I do-get ripped, make a ton of money, sleep with celebrities, be one of the coolest guys in school-it all gets erased... over, and over, and over again. It makes you want to stop trying. Stop caring. Stop... l-living."
  
  Willow took his hand and pressed into him, walking side by side as she insisted, "You can't give up, Xander."
  
  "I have one hope, Will," he voiced. "And if that doesn't pan out, I really will lose my mind and do the craziest things just to feel something."
  
  "You'll figure it out," she asserted, squeezing his hand. "I know you will. You didn't survive the Scooby Gang on just your wicked good looks. You always saw what needed to be done, whether we did or not-whether we liked it or not. You always saw it. I believe in you, and I know you can do this."
  
  Accepting her supreme faith in his insight for her sake, Xander simply nodded before asking, "Is there anything you want me to do for you, if I get out-"
  
  " When you get out," she corrected him. "And, no. I don't think you should. It wouldn't be right. Just do what you have to and I'll be waiting for you on the other side."
  
  After they destroyed the marble bust of Janus, Xander spent the rest of the night with Young Willow, talking about all sorts of memories they now shared, as well as the struggles he had been suffering through. Willow couldn't believe she was a lesbian, but like puzzle pieces coming together, couldn't believe how she didn't realize it sooner. With Willow's excellent memory, Xander learned more about the high school years he couldn't recall, confirming there wasn't anything else from the year loop that he was missing. Her constant and unwavering affection was such a relief to have, and Xander missed her as much as it was possible to miss anyone.
  
  They hugged until Xander woke up alone, which hurt him more profoundly than he was expecting. Meeting Old Buffy and Old Willow made him feel less alive. Meeting his dearest friends from a future he should be a part of only served to separate the time bubble he lived in from the real life that was waiting for him, making him sick to his stomach. Xander was scared of the very real possibility that he couldn't take any more looping. His mind felt so haggard and withered, he wasn't sure how much longer he had before he stopped caring about anything. If his Buffy-key theory didn't pan out, all the hope in him will be gone.
  
  Dragging himself out of his disgusting bed, Xander proceeded to check with astronomy labs around the states. After pretending to be a grad student working on his thesis, the astronomers confirmed the stars were exactly where they were supposed to be. He checked with twelve observation labs who were gracious enough to help, telling Xander that the time braid was indeed, that powerful.
  
  The only modicum of excitement in him was doing a day-loop with Cordelia's older counterpart. He hoped she didn't just fall to the floor as a corpse or disappear to the sky above. He wasn't sure which would happen, but that curiosity was more than enough of a reason to proceed. Unlike Buffy and Willow, Cordelia needed two thousand-dollar-scratchers to be coerced into wearing what he wanted, but eventually, she accepted the bribe. The fashion-conscious brunette dressed as an old lady for Halloween and nailed the white hair and cardigan as easily as any other outfit.
  
  At 6 PM, they were walking around the neighborhood with the kids, then he blinked, and suddenly, they were in the factory. While Buffy-dressed in her 18th-century red gown-left with Angel after beating Spike, Xander had no recollection of speaking to Old Cordelia or how they got there.
  
  "The fuck," he voiced to himself as he looked around the warehouse in confusion.
  
  Xander thought it odd. One moment, it was 6 PM, then the next, he was standing next to Cordelia and a group of scared kids. He tried multiple loops to figure out the bizarre anomaly. The time looper made Cordelia dress as an older version of herself, the Janus curse began, and just as quickly, it was over. Xander was in the closed factory once again with Cordelia and a bunch of scared children. When he asked her about being her older self, the popular girl didn't even know what he was talking about. He thought it so strange, and every time he tried, it would always end with the same outcome.
  
  Eventually, Xander decided to move on. With Willow's advertising and a wealth of new runes dancing around his head, he was desperate to implement his plan to break out of the time braid once and for all.
  
  There will be another Willow-centric chapter in the future, which is one of my favorites. After what Willow did here for Xander, expect his magical weapons to get much more powerful.
  
  I must thank a reader by the handle NineYetis for giving me the idea about the movement of the stars over time. I thought that was too good not to put in this chapter. I really hope this chapter helped with some of the mystery around the time braid.
  
  So, I feel I need to say something to those readers who aren't happy with Xander's feelings for Buffy. Some seem to feel any combination of the following things. 1. Xander is overly obsessed with Buffy, far more than makes sense. 2. How can Xander not see how toxic Buffy is? Any rational person would get away from her as fast as possible. 3. Buffy is a terrible person, a serial cheater, and shouldn't be Xander's endgame because she can't possibly change. These readers are totally entitled to their opinions as well as the right to express their opinion of my fic. No problems there. I just want to explain how I'm coming about this.
  
  First and foremost, the time braid prevents Xander from permanently leaving the Scoobies. Anywhere he goes, he'll always loop right back to Sunnydale, so leaving Buffy& friends isn't an option. That's a hard rule to this story that I'm not going to change. Next, I don't believe Buffy is a terrible person. Yes, she cheated, but let's not pretend she wasn't hurting from the loss of Angel, which was the inciting incident for both of her very bad decisions. I get that some of you may not believe that to be a good enough reason(or no reason), but that fault lies with me for not being a good enough writer to express how much she's hurting. She said she feels dead inside and fakes being fine around her friends. Anyone that knows human behavior knows that people can cope in different, and sometimes, unhealthy ways. Trust me, I get what she did was way wrong, but I also get that's she not some Amber-Heard-level schemer trying to hurt Xander. If you do, that's up to you.
  
  The chief reason why I find all this Buffy hate weird is because some readers aren't asking how damaged Xander has to be to accept this behavior from these versions of Buffy, because this is very much about him. I've always said that this isn't a Xander/Buffy story. It's a Xander story. That means that he needs to be in a more self-respecting place before those around him can react to that energy. Until Xander gets right in the head, heart, and soul, NO relationship he enters will ever stand the test of time. Xander doesn't need intelligence/skills, here. He needs wisdom. I hope that helped explain where I'm coming from and why I'm shaping the story the way I am. If you stick around, great. If not, I understand and hope you find something more to your liking.
  
  That's everything friends. Thank you all again for taking the time out of your day to read my fic and possibly leave a comment. I truly do appreciate your support. For those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my is /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you want something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my betas, Oxnate and Deiticlast! 33 more chapters before I hit the complete button. My goal is to finish it before the year is out. I hope I can!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Nox
  Another Sunday reached, another chapter released.
  
  Hello one and all. Welcome back and thank you so much for continuing this epic with me. Much appreciated. Big thank you to my amazing betas, Oxnate and Deiticlast. 👏👏👏 So thankful for their tireless effort and patience with me. Thanks guys.
  
  Warning: Language
  
  5.7K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Nox
  
  In the first dozen loops, Xander simply disappeared. As a student and a friend, he gave no explanation or warning for his disappearance. He dressed as a professional tailor for Halloween, stopped coming to school, stopped meeting the Scoobies, and stopped calling them. Despite the tailoring knowledge gained, this route never made it past the week-loop. Not only was cutting his friends off cold turkey terrifyingly lonely, but either Giles or Willow would die looking for him, forcing Xander to loop back. If they didn't die, he still wouldn't be able to stand up to any of his friends, promptly resetting him. After so many failures, the time looper decided to disappear gradually.
  
  Of all the routes to escape the day loop, Xander developed more of a plan using the Jenny route than any other. However, using the Casanova costume wouldn't explain the high level of skills he'd eventually display. The Navy SEAL route would've been the next best one since that costume could legitimately explain away any problematic questions his friends had. Ultimately, Xander needed to approach Jenny, and the Casanova costume offered more opportunities there. As a solution, the Casanova mental pattern advised using both costumes and lying about it.
  
  Xander told his friends he'd dress as a Navy SEAL and pick his costume up later, but when he went to Jenny's computer room, he was dressed as Casanova. As ever, the professional charmer, seducer, and liar turned the beautiful woman on with his extensive understanding of arousing the female body. Unlike many men, Casanova masterfully navigated the labyrinth of what made even a respectable woman like Jenny unlock and unleash her erotic desires, regardless of her ethics. By the end of the night, Xander and Jenny were tumbling in her bed, and she had a series of mind-bending orgasms before they fell asleep.
  
  The following day, Xander's plan began and he walked a path he'd only read about in comics. He practiced speaking in a deeper tone of voice all the while buying and selling the scratchers from the same gas station for quick cash. The influx of funds bought the sixty-million winning Powerball lotto ticket, a sewing machine, and the junkyard 84 Suzuki GS400. Xander made his deal at Wild Dinks, retrieved the Du Lac Cross and the Glove of Myhnegon, and finally ordered the parts he'd need to rebuild his scrambler once again.
  
  In the week-loop, Xander applied for his California ID, exercised like a madman, warned Buffy about Ford, then subsequently involved Angel when she didn't believe him. On the night of the lottery drawing, Xander made a better deal with his parents than he had before. In addition to getting a million per year for five years, the house paid off and under his name, he also told them to buy the abandoned Crawford Street Mansion and put it under his name as well. The Harrises met with real estate agents and lawyers to push through the property contracts and his emancipation as fast as humanly possible. Finally, before the week was up, he told Buffy off for not believing him more.
  
  In the month loop, the first task to deal with was the Mark of Eyghon. Willow figured out how the demon transferred from body to body and Xander told her to get Angel. He saved Buffy from Ethan's tattooing, then helped save Jenny from the body-snatching demon. After a solid day of prepping his billets for Dreadnought, Hellguard, and Slaymore, Xander went to the shaken teacher's apartment and comforted the woman all night. Come morning, Xander feigned understanding when Jenny insisted their relationship remain strictly platonic.
  
  A week before Kendra's arrival, Xander decided to keep much about his capabilities to himself. For his plan to work, he would need a clear level of separation between himself and his friends. Thus, he suggested nothing about a second Slayer to his friends. He didn't inform them about smithing at Wild Dinks, and not unlike before, he didn't tell them about his parents leaving Sunnydale. The raven-haired teen continued to workout his forever-young body, gild two percent of the Du Lac Cross's gold onto metallic threading, forge his magical weapons, and prepare his bike for the incoming parts he ordered; all without telling his friends.
  
  Instead of the Norse runes Xander typically used, he prepared Odin's Ring with the runic characters he couldn't recall learning. Somehow, he now knew an additional twenty-eight runes that hadn't come from Eitri, the Avalonians, or Merlin. The master artificer also knew the ethereal forces they influenced: from elemental forces to transformation, to protection, to intuition, to needs, luck, manifestation, knowledge, and more. Though Xander knew some characters didn't work well with others, he knew these mysterious runes were much more in tune with magic than the ones he had learned from the costumes. He wasn't sure if they were part of the advertising spell Willow casted for his soul, but the knowledge was the kind of god-tier legendary characters he knew had a lot of potential; like for his clothes.
  
  Magically altering what Xander wore when he fought the evil of the night was why he wore a tailor's costume for Halloween. Using the Du Lac Cross's gold-gilded thread to weave and embroider a specific rune scheme into the tactical jacket, black military pants, beanie, and black & gray camo scarf, Xander could potentially change into his gear, no matter where he was, in seconds. Rather than carrying his demon-fighting clothes on him or stashing them somewhere preemptively, the new runes in his head could make it so that he could use Odin's ring to summon his stealth outfit upon command. He wasn't sure if it'll work, but it was worth trying. Until he was successful, Xander would have no other choice but to change like normal.
  
  Along with the unknown runes floating around in his head, Xander also knew that the process of forging them into the metal required much more than just etching. In order for the runes etched and inlaid with gold to function at the highest level of power, Xander would have to etch them on steel that had one of seven complex pattern welds: Feather, Weave, Triangle, Ladder, Bubble, Firestorm, and Star. Each pattern weld produced a different result, which meant Xander had to forge the billet in such a way-folding, cutting, and re-stacking-that it would create a specific pattern down to the core of the steel. That pattern would act like the veins of the rune etched into the fuller of the blade, empowering the entire blade.
  
  Of the seven patterns, Xander chose the feather pattern because it was nearly as powerful as the firestorm pattern, but much more flexible. Working in front of the intensely hot forge, the immense knowledge made a flabbergasted Xander gasp, "this is fucking nuts," several times throughout the work.
  
  Using the steel from the Glove of Myhnegon, Xander began drawing out the white-hot billet, then cut it in half. The cut portions welded together would create a straight line. Crushing the corners of the red-hot steel would curve the line. Flattening the ends of the bright metal turned the curved line into patterns of Cs. Cutting the lengthened bar and re-stacking it changed the pattern from Cs to crushed Ws. Xander purified the metal in an amethyst crystal solution with every re-stack. The diligent weaponsmith cut the billet up and re-stacked it three more times, refining the W into thinner patterns. It wasn't until he split the white-hot billet in half did the thin W pattern become a feather pattern. The new process required double the amount of steps than he did before and Xander had to be extremely careful not to mess up. However, he knew the end result would be well worth the extra work.
  
  Since the start of the week loop, Xander had followed the instructions to perfection, and just before Kendra's arrival, he finished the new and improved Odin's ring using the spare material from Dreadnought's unfinished head. The ring in his hand was a flat-styled, acid-black finished, feather-patterned steel ring he engraved with Celtic knots. Xander rushed from Dinks to the workshop in his garage for the next part. Holding the grayish-black ring in the palm of his hand, he recited the invocation, which also changed from the Norse one that Eitri knew to what he suspected was either Hebrew or Aramaic.
  
  His mind voiced, ' To the disciple, from souls to dust, as we face our battles, may divinity grant us grace and greatness. Remove the barriers, and become godly .' However, his mouth spoke, "לתלמיד, מנשמות ועד עפר, בעודנו מתמודדים עם קרבותינו, ה' יתן לנו חסד וגדלות. הסר את המחסומים, והפוך לאלוהי."
  
  Instantly, the blackish ring in his palm glowed blindingly bright, and pure white light nearly engulfed him completely. Xander's eyelids couldn't even keep the pure illumination out until he buried his face in the crook of his left elbow. The ring felt so hot, he was scared it would get too hot to hold, but it never did. After several moments, the light finally receded, then disappeared. The grayish-black ring felt warm to the touch, and when he leaned in close, it hummed.
  
  "Tossing the prime directive right out the window," Xander gasped in awe as he slipped his new Ring of Power on his right index finger.
  
  Far more quickly than Xander was expecting, all the aches his muscles felt from working out all week were gone. Either the ring numbed the full-body pain or the microscopic tears in his muscle fibers healed rapidly. Flexing his muscles, Xander felt stronger, and due to the rapid repair of his aching body, immediately thought of the possibilities. The dark-haired teenager could achieve Olympic-level strength in a matter of weeks. Various types of flesh wounds, physical fatigue, and pimples could be taken care of in the same hour. Serious injuries would likely take a day or two, but Xander may not even need to go to the hospital again, which was such a weight off his shoulders.
  
  Depending on the amount of magic now residing in the ring, Xander could plead for more strength than he ever had before-possibly to the level of a Slayer or a demi-god like Achilles, but he couldn't be sure. It was enough to know a higher degree of strength would be there when he needed it. The Sherlock within would have him test the limits immediately, but Xander was more concerned with the finer points of his plan.
  
  The teen walked to the old mirror in his garage. Starting with the new rune for Need, Xander concentrated on a great need to lengthen his hair, and in ten seconds, his black locks grew half an inch. Tugging on the longer hair, the gleeful boy hummed to the heavens in pure delight.
  
  "HHHUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
  
  Xander knew this power would be incredibly helpful for his new plan of getting out of the time braid. He turned off the light in the garage, and in complete darkness, Xander concentrated on needing to see in the dark, and almost instantly, blobs of grayish shapes turned to lightly colored objects he could see in detail: the half-done scrambler, the tools neatly organized on the wall, his workbench, buckets, ladders, machinery, propane tanks, his crucibles and forge. Turning the lights back on, he returned to the mirror and played with his eye color; changing them from brown to blue, green, gray, black, then back to brown. He removed the acne from his face and unwanted body hair from his back, shoulders, neck, legs, and a few other areas...
  
  ...Areas that gave him an idea for another test.
  
  Running up to his bathroom and locking the door behind him, Xander dropped his pants and methodically inspected his respectable 5.9-inch member. It wasn't big, wasn't small, wasn't thick, or thin, and the crown didn't appear remarkable compared to the men in porn. Xander's penis was quite simply all-around average. Fortunately, what he lacked in size, he more than made up for in technique. Nevertheless, the raven-haired opportunist wasn't stupid enough to refuse enhancements if the option was there.
  
  With a deep breath, Xander concentrated on a great need to be longer. After several seconds of a vibrating prickling sensation-sharp enough to make him hold his breath and curl his toes-Xander's eyes widened at the result and he couldn't help snickering, "Holy Hakuna Matata!"
  
  Xander was in the bathroom for hours, magically sculpting his pleasure pole to erotic perfection. Circumference, diameter, length, even testicle size, he thought about every aspect of his cock and how effective every enhancement could be, regardless of position. Inspecting his fuck stick in the end-8 inches in length, 6.5 in circumference, and a more prominent crown-Xander could dominate the adult entertainment industry. Not that this specific alteration was relevant to the disguise he'd be wearing, but to know how heavy he was packing was a sizable confidence boost.
  
  Xander slept with Kendra when she came to Sunnydale because he saw no reason not to. He had the house to himself now. The Jamaican beauty would return to her country soon, and most importantly, she kept dying at the end of the school year. He hadn't been able to save her a single time, which was aggravating. Xander reasoned that if the gorgeous Kendra was doomed to die yet again, he would make certain she-at the very least-knew the pleasures of a woman. Dying young without ever truly living simply felt more wrong than using his knowledge to sleep with her.
  
  Since Kendra was a virgin, he didn't need more than his regular size and technique to blow her mind, but as a Slayer, she was far stronger than him. He was aware she held her strength back, but if she lost focus for even a moment, she could accidentally break his bones during climax. Xander needed strength, flexibility, and durability to truly meet her physicality, and with his new ring, he could do that unlike ever before. Kendra was a quivering mess by the end, though still gone by morning.
  
  The next day, rather than wait for Giles' call, Xander called him earlier than usual, and told him he would check Buffy's house for her. Xander and Cordelia met the worm guy, ran into the basement, vigorously kissed, then escaped much quicker than before. He didn't worry about doing anything different because his plan would start the moment he had all his tools.
  
  At the school, Xander was just in time to help Buffy deal with the policewoman that would shoot up the hallway. While the Order of Taraka assassin focused on killing Buffy, Xander threw a chair as hard as he could at the policewoman's head, knocking her off her feet. Though bleeding from a nasty gash at the back of her head, the dazed woman still escaped. In the library, Xander officially met Kendra before the Scoobies discovered Angel was taken by Spike and Drusilla.
  
  Xander had wondered how Spike would heal the weakened Drusilla without the Du Lac Cross. The vampire restoration ritual in the Du Lac manuscript could only be decoded using the cross and he had already melted the sanctified gold for the rune work in all his weapons. Xander wasn't sure how they would decode the manuscript without it, but Xander had learned long ago when a door was closed, a window was opened, and Spike or Drusilla would figure it out. As such, the Scoobies still rescued Angel, and Drusilla's strength was still restored.
  
  The following morning, Xander talked to Kendra about weapons she favored, her shyness, and her training. He wanted the lovely & shy girl to have more fun in life, and explained the benefit of reading people better. Then Xander gave her his number so he could yell at her Watcher. Mr. Zabuto was doing a grave disservice to his Slayer, and if he didn't correct her training, Kendra might die, yet again.
  
  Later that day, Xander meandered through school conflicted about the path he should take with Cordelia. Keeping an eye on the stunning girl during class or in the halls, he'd wonder if starting anything sexual with her benefited his plan or not. The mega-popular girl was always embarrassed by him in the beginning, and if something intervened-whether himself or magic-they always broke up for good. He was certain she was the best girlfriend he could ever have, but that felt like the ceiling of that relationship. Xander decided to remain friends once again, but, yet again, the aggravating girl hoodwinked him into being her geek vaccine. Walking out of the closet, the exhausted teen simply rolled his eyes and went with it.
  
  Using Odin's ring to keep him awake, Xander spent all the free time he had-day or night-intricately etching the new, more powerful, runes into the feather-patterned steel head of Dreadnought. He then inlaid sanctified gold from the Du Lac Cross into the etched characters to compound the power of his battleaxe. The patterned lines on the surface of the axe head-that travel throughout the Myhnegon steel-interconnected to each of the five runes in the scheme like veins connected to the heart, pumping energy throughout the body. After weeks of tedious and nerve-wracking work, Xander finally had the newly forged Dreadnought back in his hands.
  
  In the privacy of his garage, Xander hadn't expected the invocation to be far more blinding than when he activated Odin's ring. Despite wearing a black blindfold, pure white light engulfed him so completely, he was forced to heal the partial blindness it caused. Xander's three-foot battleaxe, with pattern welded holy steel, vibrated in his grasp like it was absorbing an entire lake of magic. Dreadnought was far more powerful than ever before. It was as near to indestructible as possible, could only be wielded by one with a soul, rapidly healed his injuries, and provided additional strength for him to easily wield the heavy weapon. However, Xander felt it could do more.
  
  The master Artificer not only used the Glove of Myhnegon in the steel, but added the rune character for Element. Though he shocked himself the first time, Xander was absolutely jubilant to learn his battleaxe now had an affinity for lightning. However, even more amazing than that, when Xander wished he could walk around with it in public without causing an uproar from teachers or police, it listened. Xander's stunning Dreadnought became invisible, making the hormonal teenager nearly cream his pants.
  
  The pleasure shooting through him buckled his legs and made his knees feel like wet paper. He was in a trance, admiring his weapon despite it being invisible. Even if he set it down, Xander didn't need to see it to know where it was and pick it up. He could throw it, and without touching it, make it invisible at any point. Xander could now keep his weapon latched to his bike or clipped to his back-holster and no one would be the wiser.
  
  The weekend Xander met Ted at Buffy's house, he-along with Willow-had been invited to stay for dinner, but kindly declined to stay. His scrambler needed to be done if his plan was ever going to start, so Xander spent the next two nights assembling his all-terrain motorcycle to completion. Proudly gazing at his mint stealth scrambler-with its toothy, off-road wheels, custom exhaust, and supercharger-the sweaty and tired teen nodded to himself.
  
  With appreciation, he voiced, "Alright. Let the games begin."
  
  After an afternoon of mini golf with Ted, the Summers, and Willow; they dropped Xander off first. He waved goodbye before entering his home and changing into his covert tactical gear-wishing the entire time to magically summon them one day. Dressed in black tactical pants, stealth boots, a hooded tactical jacket, a black & gray camo scarf that covered his neck, nose, and mouth, and a black beanie under the hood of his jacket, Xander hopped on his scrambler and roared the engine to life. He latched an invisible Dreadnought on the metal clasps of his motorbike, then took off into the night.
  
  Through the power of Odin's ring, Xander made his eyes glow whitish blue, making everything easy to see as he rode to Buffy's neighborhood. The sharp contrast of two glowing eyes in the middle of his black and camo-covered face made identifying him that much harder.
  
  Since the Order of Taraka assassin had killed the previous owner of the house across the street from Buffy, it was vacant. He squatted there and waited for Ted, Joyce, and Buffy to return from dropping Willow off. It wasn't long before Ted parked his car in the driveway and the three went inside. When the hyper-realistic robot left, Xander decided to begin embroidering the rune array he hoped would work into a practice shirt. The teen warrior spied on the Summers' home for the next two nights with no success-practicing his needlework the entire time-but judging by the way Buffy was getting more annoyed by Ted at school, he knew it would happen soon.
  
  On the third night, his enhanced ears heard a faint scream from within the house that sounded like Joyce. He tossed his half-embroidered linen, and rushed across the street with his very visible Dreadnought. He heard faint tumbling, like someone falling down the stairs, then a desperate cry from Buffy's mom. Taking a deep breath and lighting his eyes to a bluish-white, Xander steeled his nerves before kicking open the front door.
  
  ' Note to self, offer to repair their door later ,' Xander thought.
  
  The loud breaking of the door frame startled a panicked Joyce, who was at the foot of the stairs crying over Ted's motionless body. At the top of the stairs, Buffy reacted quickly to a strange man dressed in black holding a battleaxe entering their home, jumping from the second floor to land in the hallway with ease. The alert Slayer grabbed her mother's arm and pulled her behind her to defend her.
  
  Xander clipped Dreadnought to his back and ignored them to kneel beside Ted's supposed dead body. He knew it was a machine and not, in fact, 'dead,' but he had to prove to the blonde ladies that it was only playing at being dead and still operational. Xander grabbed its neck, making Joyce yell, "No!" However, Buffy held her back. When it didn't move, Xander squeezed Ted's throat with supernatural strength, called upon through his ring. The robot must've sensed the danger to its life functions, and suddenly opened its eyes.
  
  Xander felt the slight vibration of hydraulic fluid move before Ted attempted to grab the highly experienced fighter. The warrior in black dodged the hand coming as he unclipped Dreadnought from his back and lopped the arm off cleanly at the elbow in one fluid movement. With enhanced strength coursing through him, Xander swung his axe, targeting Ted's neck. However, the robot caught it with his other hand.
  
  With a small smirk under his camo scarf, Xander triggered his weapon's lightning, sending thousands of volts of electricity through its hand. The machine shook as it was being fried and a terrible hum escaped his mouth. Only when its eyes melted and smoke escaped its ears and nose, did Xander end the lightning. Pulling his weapon away, the machine dropped to the wood floor with a heavy THUD.
  
  Xander turned to the stunned women, and Buffy focused on his face. Dressed in black, with glowing bluish-white eyes, Xander stared at his long-time friend, and she stared back with an expression of focus and concern, but not of familiarity. Buffy didn't recognize him, and while it was unlikely that she would, it still disappointed him a little. Though curious if any of his friends would, it made him fall into the role of a stranger that much easier, like playing a villainous role in a movie.
  
  Buffy snapped out of her confusion to finally ask, "Who are you?" Then, looking at the robot trembling sporadically on the floor, she demanded, "And what did you do to him?"
  
  Using the ring to alter his voice to something deeper, yet resonating smoothly, Xander looked down at the machine and answered, "Ted Buchanan-the real Ted Buchanan-was an inventor from the 1950s." Kicking the bionic arm toward Buffy, he continued, "He created this robot of himself before he died. Since then, it's been drugging and kidnapping women using cookies laced with dematorin. The address to his bunker is on this piece of paper," he told them, lifting a piece of white paper from his breast pocket. He tossed it on the floor before adding, "You'll find bodies there."
  
  When he turned to leave, Buffy yelled, "Wait! Who are you!"
  
  Rather than answer her, he sprinted to his bike a house away and drove off. The following day, Xander couldn't deny enjoying Buffy's continual speculation about the man in black. He couldn't help but wonder if this was how Bruce Wayne felt when others would talk about Batman around him. The joyful exuberance of something new and exciting permeated Xander's entire being, and he could barely contain his smile as he played dumb throughout the day. His friends had no idea the person who kept Buffy from being charged with the murder of Ted Buchanan was right beside them, and it was a hoot.
  
  The only damper to his mood was the first failure of summoning clothes. On the shirt, he embroidered a rune array made of five runes: ܘܥܓܫܡ, or Šin Mēm Gāmal Ayin Waw, which roughly translated to Summon Covering . Since the gold-gilded thread in the shirt was the same gold from his ring, Xander expected the shirt to be summoned perfectly worn on his torso. And though he managed to summon the inanimate material to him, it bounced off of his chest instead. As Xander didn't have a lot of gold-gilded thread to practice with, he practiced different iterations of the rune array using characters for summoning, covering, on me, upon me, embracing me, dress, and anything else he could think of to be as specific as possible.
  
  Later that night, Xander spotted Buffy and Angel from quite far away. With his enhanced sight and hearing, he quickly learned they were making out instead of patrolling. He rolled his glowing eyes because he could just picture how many times this had happened whenever Buffy went patrolling. Mercifully, Xander heard a vampire sneaking around the lovers, and he briefly considered if the kissing was a strategy to lure vampires, like a false sense of security. However, seeing how fierce Angel and Buffy were making out, he doubted it was a strategy.
  
  Xander prowled patiently near the couple as well as the vampire stalking them for a meal. Using his ring to increase his physical ability, he had such control over every muscle fiber in his body that he made no sound as he moved within striking range. When Xander had enough of the kissing noises filling his ears, he sprinted out of the bushes, making enough noise to cause alarm.
  
  Xander ran past Buffy and Angel directly at the vampire. The demon hissed at him until he saw the large battleaxe in his hand and promptly began running. Perplexed by the abrupt activity, Buffy and Angel followed behind Xander as he sprinted as fast as a bicycle racing downhill. When the teenage hunter felt close enough, he threw Dreadnought at the running vampire and hit it squarely at the center of his back.
  
  "AAEEEEIIIIIIIKKKKKKKK," the vampire yelled as it fell forward.
  
  The vampire was face down on the grass, but still undead. Xander gripped the handle of his battleaxe and pulled his weapon out. The demon barely had a chance to scream before the young warrior decapitated it with ease. It was dust by the time Buffy and Angel stopped several yards away from him. In his stealth-black, tactical gear, with his glowing bluish-white eyes, Xander turned to the couple and measuredly latched his axe to his back.
  
  "You again," Buffy called.
  
  Neither of them could help but fixate on the glowing eyes between the black beanie and the black & gray camo scarf covering the bottom half of his face. Angel couldn't tell who he was either, but to combat the smell, the teen used his ring to give off a sweet smell rather than his natural scent. Again, their unawareness helped Xander feel free to do and say what he wanted without caring about anyone chastising him, because he wasn't Xander LaVelle Harris. He was a mystery man in a mask with no qualms about calling it like it is, and it excited the time looper like frighteningly little had.
  
  In his deeper augmented voice, Xander coldly asked, "Did you even notice the vampire stalking you, or did you not care that it was watching you tongue each other?" Buffy had the decency to look embarrassed, but Xander suddenly pretended to focus solely on Angel. He tilted his head as if inspecting the good-looking man, then Xander lowered his stance, taking a visible Dreadnought from his back and priming to attack.
  
  Feeling uneasy, Buffy trailed off as she asked, "Uh, what are you..."
  
  Buffy stopped when Xander jumped comically high in the air, then threw Dreadnought directly at Angel. It was a wild move and unlikely to work, but Xander wasn't trying to kill him. Both vampire and Slayer dodged out of the weapon's way, letting the axe pierce the earth instead. Expecting it, Xander released a small amount of electricity into the ground, stunning their nearby feet momentarily before he landed. Letting Dreadnought remain sticking up from the ground, the teen warrior grabbed a stunned Angel by the throat and lifted him up as he removed a wooden knife from the holster.
  
  As expected, Buffy quickly snapped out of it and grabbed his battle axe as she yelled, "Wait!"
  
  Xander turned to her as she swung his axe at him. Angel grabbed his attacker to keep him in place for Buffy, but Xander activated more electricity from Dreadnought, shocking Buffy before Xander buried his wooden knife into Angel's gut, making the vampire grunt in pain. Xander watched the pain and grimace in the handsome man's face as he twisted the wooden knife, and wondered why he wasn't horrified.
  
  Letting go of the knife, Xander called Dreadnought to his free hand and spun it into hitting Angel's side with the blunt butt of his axe. Buffy finally regained control of her shocked motor functions and attacked the disguised Xander. Though it was Buffy-his friend and complicated ball of feelings-coming after him, as if he were a threat, he only felt more free to be that anti-hero. They met and began trading fast snapping blows. Using the long handle of his axe, Xander blocked what he could and slipped the rest.
  
  When Buffy felt confident Xander would not use the blade of his mighty weapon, she took a strike to the chin to spin and kicked at the side of his body, sending him flying. Xander landed hard and the blossoming pain spreading through him told him a few ribs were broken. As Buffy checked on a wincing Angel, Xander slowly made his way to his feet, accelerating his healing with the magical assistance of his powerful tools.
  
  Despite the red bruise on her chin, Buffy helped Angel to his feet. Holding him around his middle, she yelled at Xander, "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
  
  Xander gripped his side as the magic treated his injuries with supreme haste, and with his altered voice, he returned, "I could ask you the same, Slayer!" Standing straighter, he pointed at Angel with his axe as he said, "He's a vampire! Goes by the name of Angelus, the scourge of Europe."
  
  With growing irritation, she yelled back, "He's not like that anymore!"
  
  For several silent moments, Xander played dumb, as if considering her assertion before asking, "What do you mean?"
  
  "He has a soul," the Sayer in love declared. "He's not evil anymore!"
  
  Xander was silent as he moved close to them, eying the wincing Angel intently. Xander wanted to have Angel hold his axe and explain how only those with a soul are capable of holding it, but when Buffy became more alert, he didn't think they'd just accept his word. Still, he tried.
  
  Xander gently raised his battleaxe and explained, "My axe can only be held by those with a soul." He tossed Dreadnought so it landed in front of the alarmed fighters. "Pick it up, vampire."
  
  "Why?" Buffy called back. "So you can shock us again? How stupid do you think we are?"
  
  They didn't make a move, not that Xander cared about their trust. Instead, he leaned more into the mystical. To help allay their skepticism, Xander leaned forward, emphasizing his glowing eyes as he inspected the Angel. Slowly, Xander said, "I see now," and the tension seemed to slowly ebb away. Leaning back and feeling much better, Xander called Dreadnought to his hand with a CLAP . They clearly took notice of the battleaxe flying into his grip.
  
  The mystery axeman was about to leave when Buffy yelled, "Wait! Who-or what -the hell are you?"
  
  Xander paused for dramatic effect, then casually answered, "A slayer, of sorts. From the shadows of man. Call me Nox."
  
  "Nox? Really?" Buffy asked with an appalled expression. "How about Not? As in not needed. In case you haven't noticed, this town already has a Slayer. It doesn't need an extra pair of glowie eyeballs; which is totally Creep City, by the way!"
  
  Though Xander was laughing on the inside, he rolled his glowing eyes apathetically before telling Angel, "Vampire, I warn you now. If you ever take a human life, I'll make it my personal mission to end you. Consider this your only warning."
  
  "Don't be rude and leave without a warning of your own," Buffy called out. "Mess with Angel again, and plan on having an extended stay in Sunnydale Metro-General."
  
  Enjoying the interaction, Xander walked away and didn't look back.
  
  This chapter had a lot of set up for the new loop, but it'll get moving soon.
  
  The pattern weld stuff is Damascus steel. They have some pretty cool and intricate patterns that can be made. I just listed a few that can be done.
  
  Xander can do porn now, lol. No, he won't tho😁😂.
  
  The alternate name for Xander's alter was Raven, but Oxnate and Deiticlast felt Nox was more unique, and I agree.
  
  That's everything friends. Thank you all again for taking the time out of your day to read my fic and possibly leave a comment. I truly do appreciate your support. For those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my is /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you want something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my betas, Oxnate and Deiticlast! Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Shadowmen
  Another Sunday reached, another chapter released.
  
  Hello one and all. Welcome back and thank you so much for continuing this epic with me. Much appreciated. Big thank you to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and welcome back, Chelanxar! 👏👏👏 So thankful for their tireless efforts and patience with me. Thanks guys.
  
  Warning: Language.
  
  5.5K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Shadowmen
  
  Buffy was irritated well into the following day by her encounter with Nox. In a white blouse, black skirt, and black knee-high boots, the blonde beauty vented to Xander, Willow, and Giles continuously throughout the day; breaking pencils, mumbling profanity to herself, or sighing. Whether the friends were walking down the hall, studying for a test in the library, or outside eating lunch; the Slayer was too frustrated to forget about the encounter.
  
  After school, the Scoobies gathered in the library to discuss and research any details about Nox, however, Buffy's aggravation sometimes got the better of her. Xander and Buffy were seated on one side of the long table while Willow sat opposite them. Giles was pacing in the open space in front of them, thinking.
  
  Buffy vented in growing aggravation, "He thinks he's hot stuff because his stupid eyes are made of night lights, but he's not!"
  
  "Buffy, please," Giles patiently sighed, trying to get his blonde charge to focus. "I asked if there was anything else you might've recalled from last night."
  
  With her hundredth sigh, the aggravated Slayer answered, "No. Just everything I told you."
  
  As much as Buffy was frustrated throughout the day, Xander was always so near to laughter. The slightest provocation had the potential to make him burst out laughing; when Buffy mumbled in class, ' I hope you get pink eye ,' before unintentionally snapping another pencil, Xander had to look away and bite the inside of his cheek to keep from cracking up.
  
  Lifting a book up, Willow commented, "It says here that Nox is Latin for night."
  
  Nodding, Giles chewed on the temple tips of his glasses as he repeated, "A slayer of sorts..." Turning to Buffy, he asked, "And you're certain he said, ' Shadows of man? '"
  
  Seated lazily in her chair, Buffy glumly nodded.
  
  Xander asked the Watcher, "Is a male slayer a thing? 'Cause if it is, where do I sign up?"
  
  "There can't be," Willow asserted. However, preconceived notions had her follow up with a curious, "Can there?"
  
  Feigning offense, Xander teased, "Whoa, Wills. You got a bit of sexism showing there. The prestigious Scoobie Gang organization has always been about equal opportunity slayage."
  
  "Wha- So am I!" the redhead hastened to assure everyone. "I just mean... I've never even heard of a male Slayer before."
  
  Deep in thought, a distracted Giles slowly answered, "That's because not a single documented case, legend, or rumor exists to support such an existence." The Watcher stopped pacing and straightened up before adding, "But..."
  
  "But?" Buffy repeated, sitting up. "There's a but?"
  
  Giles' face was constrained with uncertainty before he reluctantly admitted, "I can't be certain, nor is what I'm thinking possible, but..."
  
  Xander comically reiterated, "There he goes with that ' but ' again."
  
  Buffy smirked before turning to her Watcher and seriously asking, "Giles, what is he?"
  
  "Well, if-if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say a wizard, possibly an ancient one," he speculated, cleaning his glasses with a white handkerchief. "The glowing eyes, magical weapon, enhanced strength, and whatever else he has yet to reveal. A wizard would certainly fit the bill, as it were."
  
  Recalling the fight, an unsure Buffy contended, "He definitely didn't fight like a staff-carrying stiff with a long beard."
  
  "But he is on our side, right?" Willow asked the group. "He helped with Ted and now we know he slays vampires, too."
  
  "We must learn more about our mysterious Mr. Nox," Giles stated to the room. Turning to his glum charge, the Watcher requested, "Buffy, when next you meet him, try to learn more; anything, if possible-but if you're able, his age."
  
  Buffy rolled her greenish-blue eyes, irritated by having to deal with him again. "Ugh, I bet he thinks he's, like, king slayer or something, but he's not. If the Hellmouth opened up and swallowed him whole, they'd spit him back out for tasting like, like festering boils... on, on the anus of a reanimated rat corpse!" At Willow and Xander's pained and queasy look, Buffy warily asked, "Too much?"
  
  Xander casually remarked, "Only if you suffer from a vivid imagination and, or, are human."
  
  Willow nodded in agreement before sympathetically observing, "Nox really got under your skin."
  
  Xander couldn't help but ask, "Did he interrupt some heavy smoochies between you and Angel or something?"
  
  Reluctant to answer, a blushing Buffy heatedly returned, "...Th-that's not the point!"
  
  Later that day, Cordelia once again relegated Xander as her geek-vaccine, helpful to her only in relieving whatever attraction for nerds she might be afflicted with, and for the next two months, their physical relationship progressed much the same as it had in previous loops. They'd sneak away to closets and empty classrooms. Xander would come to her house, and with his skill, the pair progressed from first base to second, to third, and on New Year, they had sex. Xander didn't doubt he completely rocked her world, but since the gorgeous cheerleader wasn't a virgin, Cordelia was the first girl he got to use his enhanced length, girth, and a penetrating crown on. The fact he was so confident, big, knew all her weak spots, and had bottomless energy made Cordelia catatonic a few times from the intensity of the rolling waves of pleasure.
  
  Despite their physical compatibility, Xander didn't push for an official relationship status, like he often did in previous loops, and found the lack of pushing very telling. It was obvious to him why Cordelia wouldn't push to be a couple-her public image meant a lot to her. However, he didn't expect her to be content with just the physical aspect of their relationship. Without rejecting his desire to become an official couple or explaining how to please her sexually, the Sunnydale queen had little else to say. They took jabs at each other, chatted about school, or made out, but little more than that. It wasn't that Xander needed more. What surprised the time looper was that if he didn't push for something official, Cordelia wouldn't push either.
  
  Nevertheless, he mentally reasoned, ' It's only been two months. If it was a year, I bet she'd push to define what we were doing .'
  
  Aside from Cordelia, Xander did plenty of other things during December and January. He once again forged Hellguard with the same traits as Dreadnought, started on Cordelia's Draupnir ring, and spent as much of his free time working on the mansion's repairs as he could; taking him back to his soothing carpentry days. Chief among his new tasks was talking to Faith.
  
  Xander learned a lot about the sexy brunette during their pillow talk in the previous long loop. Helping her much earlier than in previous loops felt like a side quest to retain as much of his humanity as he could. He knew it was an incredibly selfish reason. He should want to just help people simply out of the kindness of his heart... but Xander just didn't feel that anymore. Most of his life felt like he was rolling with the motions.
  
  For his loose plan to work, he needed to talk directly to Faith, but calling her in Boston was difficult. There were sixteen Pat Lehanes in the phone book and he couldn't be sure if Faith would be there to pick up the phone. Call after call, when anyone other than Faith picked up, he'd ask for Faith. If she didn't live there, he'd apologize and hang up. Faith's home number was the thirteenth Pat Lehane he tried, however, she wasn't around often. After calling four times, Pat yelled at him for calling so much, forcing Xander to call once a day until Faith finally picked up.
  
  When the hard-edged girl finally did, Xander recognized her husky voice immediately, but still asked, "Who's this?"
  
  "You called me, asshole," the irate girl replied, making Xander grin.
  
  ' Bingo ,' he thought before employing his acting skills. With genuine feeling, Xander innocently expressed, "I... it's just, I'm looking for my parents. This is the number they gave me."
  
  "The only parents here are mine, and trust me, you don't want em," she quickly asserted.
  
  Hearing the cord moving like she was about to hang up, Xander yelled, " Wait , wait! Real fast!" When he didn't hear the end of the call signal, he asked, "You wouldn't happen to know a Jessica or Anthony Harris, would you? They go by Jess and Tony sometimes."
  
  "Nah," she flatly answered before hanging up.
  
  With a satisfied nod, Xander felt that went well. Given Faith's abrasive and enigmatic nature, it could've gone much worse, and she wasn't a girl that offered second chances. Xander waited a minute before calling back. Luckily, she picked up, and he said, "It's me again."
  
  "Dude, I don't know-"
  
  "Yeah, fine," he interjected. "I just want to ask if you know the popular bars in the Southie area. My parents, umm, enjoy a good drink or two... or ten... or more. It's just, they told me they were going to Boston and gave me this number, but I can't find them."
  
  He could hear her sigh and knew she was relating to the burdens of having alcoholic parents quite a bit. In the last long loop, neither one of them preferred talking about their upbringing, especially during pillow talk. However, every once in a while, Faith would make mention of her parents' drinking, or her father's gambling. They were off-handed comments, meant for a laugh, but Xander knew in his bones how serious she was. That was why it wasn't a surprise when Faith gave him the names of some of the most notable drinking spots in South Boston.
  
  After each name, Xander would ask questions like, "Do you think they'd remember heavy, non-Boston drinkers?" Or, "What's your name? Faith? That's an awesome name! Thanks for your help." Or, "Do you mind if I give you my number just in case you hear anything?"
  
  When she agreed, Faith asked, "What area code is this?"
  
  "California."
  
  He could hear the shock in her voice when she replied, "Wait. Your parents left you alone in California? Who's wiping your ass? Or feeding you?"
  
  "It was a tough call to make, but around age ten, I figured I should start wiping my own ass," he buoyantly answered, earning an unladylike snort from her. "I've been feeding myself. A lot of cereal and ramen noodles but I'm slowly moving into pasta."
  
  "Okay," Faith oddly replied. "But, like, why? Are you even eighteen?"
  
  "Uh, God, I wish," Xander exclaimed, praying for the time braid to be over. "No, I'm not. My parents told me they came into some money, and then they just left. I get calls from them when they're in a new city, but that's it."
  
  "Man, I thought my parents were bad, but that's fucked up," she hotly retorted. "No offense."
  
  "Nah, nah, you're good," he reassured her. "Sounds like you understand. What are the odds?"
  
  "Booze brings people together."
  
  "Like a terminal illness," Xander comically remarked.
  
  She snorted at his darker humor and they traded short but sweet horror stories about being raised by alcoholics. He told her about the cat incident and Faith told him about the insurance scam she helped her mother pull off at her job to gain disability checks. By the end, when she mentioned being pimped out to the son of a mob boss to pay back her father's gambling debts, Xander was almost certain she was joking.
  
  Even if she wasn't, he told her, "Thanks for helping, Faith. And for talking."
  
  "No worries," she said tensely.
  
  Xander could tell she was nervous. He knew well Faith was uncomfortable with anyone whose motives didn't seem apparent. It made her suspicious, and Xander knew this because he saw himself in Faith.
  
  "Hope you find 'em," the anxious girl added.
  
  "Yeah," he replied before asking, "Would you mind if I call you back sometime? Not to sound like a horndog, but you have a sexy voice." She snorted just before he finished explaining, "And more to the point, you get it. That's a double whammy."
  
  Faith snickered before answering, "Yeah, I guess... ' for nine-ninety-five a minute, you too can chat with one of Boston's most seductive women .'"
  
  Xander cracked out loud at the cheesy telemarketing sex worker imitation before cheerfully confessing, "That might just be worth it. Hell, I got a house full of stuff I'd happily sell."
  
  "House all to yourself," Faith whimsically repeated, as if eager to escape her own home. "You lucky dog," she teased.
  
  Xander shook his head-even if she couldn't see him-then replied, "I don't know." Looking at the clock, he added, "I've been talking to a total stranger for the past thirty minutes. I can't deny it's a little lonely."
  
  "You don't have friends?"
  
  "No, yeah, I do," Xander answered. "And they're great, but they... Uh, I guess they... just..."
  
  With a sense of empathy, Faith's husky voice finished his sentence. "They wouldn't get it."
  
  "Yeah. I mean, they'd sympathize, for sure," Xander asserted, feeling the need to defend Willow, Buffy, Cordelia, and Giles. "Like, they're not bad or anything, but yeah. They'd just..."
  
  "Yeah," Faith mumbled.
  
  Reluctantly, Xander said into the receiver, "Well, I guess I'll let you go."
  
  "Yeah, uh..." Xander held his breath for three silent seconds before-to his relief-Faith added, "Call me back. Even if you do find them."
  
  "Really?"
  
  "...Y-yeah," she hesitantly answered.
  
  Recognizing the trust she was placing in him, he lightened the mood by teasing, "Do I still have to pay nine-ninety-five?"
  
  " Shii ', I'm not running a charity here," she joked back.
  
  They ended that conversation with laughter, but the pair talked again once a week. He'd tell her, "oh, my parents are in New York, now," or, "sightseeing in London," or, "taking a train to Italy." When she asked where the money came from, he answered, "I was told not to ask too many questions, so honestly, I was a little scared they did something criminal-like rob a bank or sell drugs-but now I think they just won the lotto and didn't tell me."
  
  For some reason, that made her laugh, even though she declared how messed up that was. As the weeks came and went, Faith opened up to Xander little by little-not about their burdens as the children of abusive alcoholics-but in comfort. The brunette Bostonian felt free to joke with Xander, all the while knowing she didn't need to explain her home life since he lived it as well. The teen boy even helped her with her homework once. Eventually, Xander extended a standing invitation for Faith to stay with him if she ever came to Sunnydale.
  
  During patrols through the cemeteries, Buffy started seeing more of Xander as Nox at night. He interrupted her time with Angel often, snatched her kills from her, and never stayed to answer her questions, annoying her more and more with every passing night. Angel tried to talk to Nox as well, but Xander just ignored him. During the day, Buffy would complain to her friends that she was sure Nox was being meddlesome on purpose, bringing entertainment to Xander's jaded soul.
  
  "There are like twelve cemeteries in Sunnydale!" Buffy called out while they were studying in the library. "Why's he always at the one me and Angel are patrolling?" As Willow tried to explain the possibility of simply reading the same obituaries, Xander struggled to keep a straight face.
  
  When the health class's egg project was assigned, Xander once again partnered with the absent Buffy and kindly took the first watch of their egg-shaped child before promptly destroying it. Visiting Cordelia that evening, Xander replaced her egg with a normal one after they'd had their mind-blowing fun and then left for patrol as Nox. As he walked the silent cemetery, his eyes and ears were enhanced, and to his dismay, he soon heard Buffy and Angel making out-again-making him roll his glowing eyes.
  
  Mercifully, the well-known Gorch brothers had excellent timing. Xander could hear the notoriously violent vampires mumbling nearby, and though he couldn't tell what they were saying, he knew it was about Buffy and Angel. Lyle and Tector Gorch gave Nox the perfect excuse to interrupt them. With a smile on his covered face, Xander took off from his hiding spot and sprinted past Buffy and Angel toward the Gorchs. Speeding faster than any typical human, he knew the brothers were still too far to catch, but rather than properly sneaking up and killing the vampires, he had no misgivings about interrupting Buffy and Angel's snogging.
  
  As he threw Dreadnought at the running vampires, he predictably missed his target, embedding the axehead's blade into the trunk of a tree. The attempt to kill the vampires gave off the impression Xander wanted and slowed his running to a stop near to his axe. Buffy and Angel caught up to him, stopping several yards from him. Surrounded by tombstones, Buffy wore form-fitted gray pants and a white long sleeve blouse, while Angel dressed in his typical black pants, black trench coat, and dark purple dress shirt.
  
  "You again ," an irritated Buffy called. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
  
  Nox turned to them. The whitish-blue glow from his eyes nearly resembled the moonlight shining down on them. The fact that Xander was dressed in black tactical gear, with most of his face covered and in the shadow of his hood, made the small patch of wooded area seem that much darker-as if focusing on the two bright eyes made the rest of the cemetery more eerie. The fog drifting around their feet was blown away when Xander called Dreadnought back to his hand with a CLAP .
  
  Nox asked in his deeper, augmented voice, "Is making out in front of other vampires the only thing you two know how to do?" Buffy had the decency to look mildly embarrassed, while Angel remained stoic. Nox continued, "Did you even know you were being watched? Or is that part of some weird sex kink?"
  
  Feeling more bothered by his questions, Buffy heatedly replied, " We - ...We were just taking a break!"
  
  Turning to Angel, Nox asked, "How old are you, vampire? The Scourge has to be at least two hundred years old. But rather than behave like a mature adult, you've chosen to master acting like a hormonal teenager: young, dumb, and full of cum."
  
  "First: gross," Buffy yelled before asserting, "Second: don't get all high and mighty just because you caught us once-" Using his left hand, Xander put up five fingers and then three fingers-indicating it's been eight times-making a blushing Buffy clear her throat before changing tactics and yelling back, "Well... If you're so mature, why do you keep running away every time we ask you simple questions? Like, why don't you tell us how old you are?"
  
  "I'm old enough to know this thing between you two is like a car crash in slow motion," Nox replied. "Easy to see it will not end well."
  
  Buffy inhaled and held her breath as her greenish-blue eyes widened, as if wronged. With a stiff jaw, she demanded, " Who the hell do you think you are-"
  
  Nox interrupted her, nonchalantly citing, "When you're actually doing your jobs, have either of you noticed the increase in vampire activity? Moving in groups, but not to hunt."
  
  Buffy blinked as confusion showed on her alluring face. The Slayer tried to answer, "I... uh."
  
  Angel flatly answered for her, "We haven't."
  
  "Too busy inspecting each other's tonsils?" Nox chided.
  
  With clenched fists, Buffy took a few steps forward before hotly retorting, "I've had just about enough of you!" Xander was unconcerned by her passionate steps forward, or the stern finger she pointed at him as she declared, "If something's going on, me and my friends will figure it out. And I promise you, we'll do it way faster than you!"
  
  Though Xander grinned, he doubted they could see his cheek raise behind the camo scarf. "Promises, promises, Slayer," he ridiculed. Ignoring her and turning to Angel, Nox cautioned, "Heed my warning, vampire. Harm a single soul, and I come for your head."
  
  Angel's shoulders flexed as he stepped forward, standing right beside Buffy, and harshly advised, "I don't take well to threats, Sparkly Eyes. Either come at me or shut up."
  
  Unbothered, Xander walked away as Buffy yelled, "And his name is Angel! If you're going to threaten to kill someone, have the decency to at least use their name!"
  
  Xander mentally snickered as he left them. Before heading home, the teen snuck into his school and stowed away a bag with a spare set of his Nox attire. As he left the basement-passing the entrance to the Mother Bezoar cave-he was annoyed by his failure to get his clothes to magically appear on his body.
  
  As Merlin structured rune arrays, Xander considered the elder's Simple Task principle and split larger utilities and functions into smaller, specialized ones. However, the never-before-used runes in his head only left him with more variations to choose from, and thus far, no runic scheme felt right. Until Xander figured out the perfect sequence of characters to summon his attire on him-as if he were wearing it the entire time-he won't have another option but to use spare clothes.
  
  The following day, their teacher, Mr. Whitmore, was missing and the Scoobies investigated. They eventually become aware of the parasite demon controlling the students and faculty. Xander allowed himself, Buffy, and Cordelia to be knocked out by a mind-controlled Giles and Willow, but due to his ring's power, he woke up before they were taken into a room full of eggs. As soon as their mind-controlled captors left, Xander exited the low-lit room and retrieved his tote bag, quickly putting on his jacket, hoodie, and scarf. He purposely wore the same black pants that day, so that he didn't have to take long changing. With his newly forged Hellguard, he rushed back to the room and destroyed all the evil eggs just as Buffy was waking up.
  
  Xander, as the glowing-eyed Nox, told her in his deeper voice, "They dragged the boy somewhere else."
  
  "Wha?" She struggled, likely dizzy. "Wh-Where's Xander?"
  
  "He'll be fine," Nox gratingly voiced. "We have to hurry."
  
  "Wa- wait," the mildly sluggish Buffy protested, rubbing the back of her throbbing head as she eyed an unconscious Cordelia on the floor. Bringing her hand in front of her, her fingers were lightly stained with blood, indicating the wound wasn't life-threatening. Buffy ignored it, checking on Cordelia as she told the masked man, "We can't leave her-"
  
  "The faster we kill the mother Bezoar, the safer everyone'll be," Nox coldly interrupted, already reaching for the door handle.
  
  Buffy quickly grabbed his sleeve before stubbornly asking, "And if something happens to her while we're gone? I'm not leaving her."
  
  Since Xander didn't expect Buffy to know that Cordelia would be alright, he didn't argue. He slid Hellguard into the holster at his lower back, then effortlessly picked up the unconscious cheerleader-princess style. They exited the dark room and walked down the low-lit corridors of the school's basement level. Cordelia awoke when they nearly reached the dank cave that housed the mother Bezoar and all its possessed victims. Buffy had Cordelia stay behind her as they observed the helplessly possessed innocents digging a large hole in the center of the cave.
  
  Unfortunately, the Gorch brothers appeared behind them. While Buffy took on the sadistic vampires by herself, Nox sprinted toward the wide hole. However, possessed students and teachers blocked his way, attacking him with shovels. With Odin's ring and his Viking dagger in hand, a much stronger and faster Xander evaded, deflected, and shoved his way through the twenty bodies without seriously injuring them.
  
  After getting past a possessed Giles, he sprinted that last few yards before jumping over the hole in the ground. Using his enhanced strength, Nox hurled Hellguard into the open maw of the monster like a metal ball shot out of a cannon. Its sharp blade sliced through the softer internal tissues with ease. With as much command over his Viking dagger as he had with Dreadnought, Nox clenched his fist and triggered the strongest force of electricity he could muster for as long as possible.
  
  Millions of volts of electricity superheated the cool innards of the demon for a solid minute, creating an exponential expansion of super hot gas that resulted in a muffled explosion of steam and boiling monster innards. The demon's eye exploded outward, sending bits of brain, mucus, and other internal tissue up to the ceiling of the cave and outward. All the possessed students and teachers dropped to the floor simultaneously-having been severed from the dead monster's control-before monster warm guts rained on them.
  
  Xander felt sympathy for them as he recalled Hellguard, and the boy was instantly grossed out by all the blue icor charred on the blade. With little else to do, Nox discreetly left the cavern, and after a quick change in the dark corner he left his clothes in, Xander rushed back to help Buffy fight the vampire brothers. The Slayer staked one in the heart, but the other Gorch brother escaped. Though empathetic, Xander, Buffy, and Cordelia stayed three feet away from the slimed victims. The smell was quite pungent.
  
  After school the next day, the Scoobies discussed Nox at length in the library. Giles and Willow were of the opinion that the mystery axe-man appeared to be on the side of good, whereas Xander and Buffy actively doubted his intentions, claiming that he shouldn't be trusted so easily.
  
  As a point of argument, Xander reminded his friends, "He didn't even rescue me!" However, on the inside, he was having a lot of fun playing both personalities, and continued spouting, "I had to get out on my own!"
  
  An eager Buffy nodded beside Xander before she added, " And he left me to fight the Gorch brothers by myself! That's as shifty as they come."
  
  Playfully wounded by her words, Xander reminded her, "Hey! I helped. I hit one of them with a big rock."
  
  With a grateful smile, Buffy reminded her best male friend, "Then he threw you across the room."
  
  "It's called strategy," he remarked, playing to his weakness. "I distracted him for you with my effortless ability to be manhandled," he staunchly argued, making Buffy smile. Leaning down, he animatedly added, "You're welcome."
  
  Eying the two teenagers with tremendous patience, Giles sighed before contending, "Be that as it may, Mr. Nox assisted in saving everyone possessed last night and eliminated the Mother Bezoar. That's in addition to all of the good he's done thus far." Pacing in thought, Giles voiced with some frustration, "I only wish we could learn more about him."
  
  Reluctantly forgoing her ire for Nox, Buffy asked her concerned Watcher, "Will you finally tell us what your theory is? It's been months already. You must've done all the research in the world by now."
  
  "Yeah, show us his baby pictures," Xander exclaimed from beside her.
  
  Buffy laughed as she added, "Glowy eyes and an axe in his hand right from birth."
  
  "That may not be too far off from the truth," Giles remarked, making the teenagers stare at the adult in unexpected surprise. Even Xander was curious to hear what Giles' suspicion was, as the Englishman began explaining, "In the Primordium Age, there was a group of exceptionally powerful wizards known as the Shadowmen; for all the black they wore and their concealed faces."
  
  " Shadow of man! " Willow snapped up, excitedly making that connection before realizing she might've been too excited and awkwardly settled down.
  
  "That seemed to fit, yes," Giles relayed to the redhead. He explained to them, "This group of men created the first Slayer." Xander and Willow turned to Buffy expectantly, who shrugged her shoulders as if to say, ' I didn't know either .' Old Man Xander had a faint recollection of these men when he was a Watcher. However, Xander had only said the ' Shadow of Man ' phrase because Batman was Bruce Wayne's shadow.
  
  A baffled Buffy had to ask her Watcher for clarity. "You're saying that this guy-who's apparently ancient by ancient standards-was part of the group of wizards that created the first Slayer?"
  
  "No, no, I don't believe he is," Giles answered, shaking his head. "But... I do believe there may be a link we've yet to uncover." Turning to his ward, Giles pointedly said, "We'll need more information if we're ever to discern his origins."
  
  Buffy sagged in her chair and she returned, "I'll try, but he's not exactly Chatty Kathy."
  
  Giles cautiously suggested, "M-maybe attempt a bit more civil diplomacy."
  
  "Hey, I'm totally diplomatic," Buffy protested, sitting up again. "He's the ding-hole dictator for not listening!"
  
  After that entertaining meeting, Xander purposely made it so the Scooby Gang didn't see Nox for a couple of weeks. Before he ' left ,' however, Xander visited Jenny Calendar as Nox. He picked the front door lock and waited for her in the dark living room. Less than thirty minutes later, the foxy teacher walked into her apartment with a brown bag of groceries. Kicking off her shoes on the way to the kitchen, she set her bag down on the counter and turned on the light. With the bit of light in the apartment, Jenny instantly gasped when she noticed the dark form sitting on her living room couch.
  
  Nox brightened his whitish-blue eyes as he said in his deep voice, "I mean you no harm."
  
  The alert woman grabbed a kitchen knife from the wood block and pointed it directly at the mystery intruder. But for his glowing irises, she couldn't identify any of his facial features, so she demanded to know, "Who are you!? And what are you doing in my apartment!?"
  
  Nox stood up as he calmly answered, "I came to speak with Janna of the Kalderash people." That surprised her into silence, and he asked, "That's you, isn't it? You go by Jennifer Calendar and work as an instructor at Sunnydale High School."
  
  Silence in the room extended for several seconds before the cautious Jenny asked, "How... How do you know that?"
  
  "I'm conducting an investigation," Nox calmly relayed in his deep voice, hoping all the while to convey that he truly meant her no harm. "And I need to speak to your uncle Enyos."
  
  "How-" She stopped herself to think. After a moment, she lowered the kitchen knife, likely realizing that the mystery man in front of her knew more than she could successfully hide. "I don't know where he is," she flatly answered. "The Gypsy people aren't exactly known for staying in one place."
  
  "But you can contact him," Nox contended. "A phone number. An address."
  
  "No, nothing," she responded. "He contacts me, and only when he needs to."
  
  Even if she were lying, Xander didn't care, since this was about meeting her more than anything else. Walking toward the sliding balcony door, he teased, "I guess you're one gypsy that doesn't mind staying in one place."
  
  "If that's everything-"
  
  "Practice your magic, Janna," Nox interrupted, sliding the door open.
  
  "Don't call me that," she demanded.
  
  A light breeze entered the apartment, making the curtains billow around Nox as he informed the techno-pagan witch, "Something bad- exceptionally bad-is coming, and it'll mean the end for all of us if it wins."
  
  As Nox walked onto her balcony-which was four floors up-Jenny asked, "Who are you?"
  
  "Call me Nox," his deeper voice said over his shoulder. Mentally, however, he was telling himself, ' Alright Xander. Just like you practiced .'
  
  Running up to the sliding door, Jenny asked, "Why won't you team up directly with the Slayer?"
  
  "Maybe one day, when she's not so delusional," he answered her, as he gripped Dreadnought tightly in his right hand.
  
  Gripping the balcony's edge, Nox leapt over the banister of the terrace, exhilaration filling him as he fell four stories down. The rush of wind in his ears was instant, and his organs moved into his ribcage. Xander couldn't fly, but he could secure his feet on the handle of his now visible battle axe. With his immensely exceptional balance and firm footing, he positioned his hand a few inches above the middle of the handle, and gently called his axe to his hand. Dreadnought magically lifted his weight to reach his hand, slowing Xander's descent moments at a time until he touched down on the soft grass with ease.
  
  ' Good! Good job, Xan-man ,' Xander mentally exclaimed. ' You didn't bust your ass this time .'
  
  Nox turned and eyed the stunned teacher for a dramatic moment before disappearing into the darkness of the cold night.
  
  Fun chapter to write. Good stuff coming in next week's chapter.
  
  Yay! Getting to Faith a little earlier. Loved writing that convo.
  
  That's everything friends. Thank you all again for taking the time out of your day to read my fic and possibly leave a comment. I truly do appreciate your support. For those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my is /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Can't believe I made it to the same number of chapters as my Naruto fanfic. Next week, this will be the fic with the most chapters. Crazy.
  
  Thanks again to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Wolf You Feed
  Another Sunday reached, another chapter released.
  
  Welcome back and thank you so much for continuing this epic with me. Much appreciated.
  
  Big thank you to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! 👏👏👏 Thanks guys.
  
  Warning: Language.
  
  6.6K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  The Wolf You Feed
  
  Days before Buffy's birthday, Xander struggled with exhausting indecision. His mind would not stop asking if he should stand idle while Buffy and Angel consummate their love, allowing Angelus to return. Or should he stop it as he had done nearly every time before? The time looper intimately knew the horrors the sadistic vampire would inflict upon his friends and the citizens of Sunnydale. Xander felt as if he was granting the villain free rein to terrorize his friends, and all because Future Buffy said her younger self needed the perspective that pain and time brought. Stepping aside as a dark cloud of evil descended over his town made him sick to his stomach, but if it was the way out of the time braid, he'd bear it like a madman.
  
  ' The pain I 've gone through shaped me into the person I am now ,' Xander kept reciting Future Buffy's assertion repeatedly. ' I can 't even picture a life without all that grief and heartache .'
  
  And now, Xander was willingly allowing grief and heartache he knew he could prevent. It made him wonder where that line ended. He didn't want to enable unnecessary pain to those around him, but he couldn't ignore the possibility that allowing Angelus to return because of Buffy's decision was the only way out.
  
  Somehow, Giles managed to rent out the Bronze for Buffy's surprise birthday party. Xander was at the food table helping Cordelia with the chips and dip, and the distracted boy was hiding how incredibly nervous he was. Everyone was one night away from Angelus, and he felt every second.
  
  The anxious teen thought to himself, ' Does going through life 's hardship truly build a person in a different way than protecting them from that pain? Isn't being heartbroken and depressed the reason Spike snuck past Buffy's defenses in the first place ?' It still stung to think of Buffy's relationship with Spike, but he couldn't deny Spike had more success than Xander ever did. ' There has to be a small kernel of truth there ,' he thought, though the tone sounded more like Nox.
  
  Adding to Xander's anxiety, Angel was in the Bronze with all the Scoobies, setting up the table to put Buffy's gifts on with Giles like it was any other Monday night. Every minute, Xander thought to pull Giles and Angel aside and confess to everything, but every minute passed without such action. After the pool table was set with the cake and plates, the wrapped presents were on the table, the balloons and party hats were distributed to everyone, all that was left was to wait on Buffy.
  
  As the Scoobies waited for the girl of the hour, Xander walked over to the sound stage. Having experienced it many times, he fully expected the Slayer to burst through the window any minute. Even when Giles or Willow asked him to stay closer to the entrance of the club to welcome Buffy with a grand ' Happy Birthday! ' he stayed by the stage. Using his ring's power, the teenage boy heard Buffy fighting outside through the walls and counted the seconds.
  
  When Buffy and a vampire burst through the large, blacked-out windows, landing hard on the stage next to Xander, the unsurprised teenager casually grabbed a picture frame off the wall. When the vampire and Slayer stood up, Xander smashed the picture frame on the demon's head, allowing Buffy to grab the drumstick on the snare drum, and stab the distracted blood-sucker through the heart, dusting the vampire in epic fashion.
  
  After Buffy swooned over her surprise birthday party, they investigated the crate the vampires were transporting. Opening the large wooden box, the Scoobies found the Judge's blue arm inside. Xander played as surprised as everyone else, but within himself, he felt nothing. Xander was eating cake as the room discussed the unkillable demon and transporting the crate as far out of Sunnydale as possible. Jenny suggested Angel take it far away, which Xander knew wouldn't happen. He got more emotional over the fluffy velvet cake than the apocalyptic doom the Judge brought to the rest of his friends.
  
  The next day was the moment of truth. If Xander was going to keep Buffy from so much heartache and sadness, he had to act before nightfall. He helped the research along during the day, but he wasn't paying attention to any of the words in the book, since warning Buffy was always on the tip of his tongue. It made his stomach queasy just holding himself back, and by nightfall, Xander watched Buffy and Angel leave to infiltrate Spike's base of operations. Watching her walk away, as if in slow motion, he said nothing. Buffy and Angel were subsequently caught.
  
  Xander's mind was too distraught to see Cordelia or forge that night. He ran for hours, instead, like a man who didn't produce lactic acid and could run for days without tiring. When he ran across a pair of vampires, Xander happily ignored his internal conflict to fight the demons. The teen activated his ring and enhanced his strength and speed. Instinctively, the master warrior predicted their fast combination attacks, dodged, and countered them with ease. Grabbing a weathered pencil off the street, Xander slipped their obvious punches and stabbed each one squarely in the chest. They were dust in the wind before long, and the teen smacked his face, lamenting how little he felt with an exhausted groan.
  
  ' I 'm cool as a cucumber fighting two vampires-unarmed and by myself-but letting Angelus out of his cage terrifies the shit out of me? ' Chuckling to himself, Xander was tired of feeling conflicted-of worrying about what he was becoming-and simply gave up trying to feel secure about his decision. Walking home, he thought to himself, ' Just let the chips fall where they may .'
  
  The following day, a reserved Buffy entered the library looking for Angel, and due to all of Xander's sexual history with women, he could see how different the Slayer looked. Dressed in form-fitting black slacks, a baby-blue spaghetti-strap top, and a black sheer blouse, the teenage girl didn't appear physically different. He saw the change in her greenish-blue eyes. They felt more aware now, as if the world was no longer innocent, like learning she was the chosen one all over again.
  
  As Buffy deflected her friends' questions about the night before, Xander knew that Angelus had emerged. Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies didn't learn about the sadistic vampire's return until later that night when he nearly killed an unsuspecting Willow. Then, to Buffy's shame and embarrassment, they all learned the reason behind Angel becoming Angelus once again. Everyone was naturally surprised, and then argued about their chances of winning against the Judge before a distraught Buffy fled the library. In Xander's estimation, Cordelia said it best.
  
  "This is great," the beautiful brunette rebuked sarcastically. "There's an unkillable demon in town, Angel's joined his team, and the Slayer's a basket case. I'd say we've hit bottom."
  
  Rather than go to the military base's armory, Xander suggested to his affable gang, "Why don't we ask that Nox guy for help?"
  
  Looking away from the double doors Buffy had escaped through, a sympathetic Willow pointed out, "We don't know where he is."
  
  "Yeah," Xander admitted. "But, assuming the Judge and company don't strike tonight, we should try to find him, right? Maybe he knows something we don't. Other than me, Buffy, and Cordelia, has anyone here seen him?" Though Jenny looked conflicted, she held her tongue, and after a moment of silence, Xander continued, "Well, we know he hunts at night. So, unless anyone has a better idea, I suggest Cordy, Oz, and I start looking while the rest keep researching."
  
  Reluctantly, Giles agreed and Oz, Cordelia, and Xander spent much of the night searching, to no avail. The next day, Jenny was discovered by Buffy to be Janna of the Kalderash people, along with her mission to ensure Angel's continued suffering. Angry and betrayed, Buffy and Giles told the Romany woman to leave the library and not return. Xander knew all of this when he walked down the hallway-dressed as Nox-and noticed the computer teacher tearing up as she ran from the library. Though Xander ignored Jenny as he walked into the library with Slaymore in hand and an invisible Dreadnought at his back, he made a mental note to check on her later.
  
  Buffy, Giles, Willow, Oz, and Cordelia were all surprised to see the eye-glowing hunter in black enter the library. With the light of the room, Xander wondered if his friends would be able to see through his disguise. His black and gray camo scarf was up to the bridge of his nose and his black beanie covered down to his eyebrows. With his hood up, his face was covered in shadow, and the glowing whitish-blue eyes only focused their attention on the parts that could never be the Xander they knew.
  
  Buffy was the first to notice the dark prowler enter the library. As she stood up to meet the mystery man in black at the center of the room, the blonde voiced, "Giles, that's him."
  
  They all stood, and turned to his arrival. They stopped near Buffy to observe Nox in more light than they've ever seen before. Xander was a little nervous when they all stared at him, but none of them seemed able to see through the disguise. Nox tossed a sheathed sword at Buffy and she caught it by the middle with ease.
  
  "It's called Slaymore," Nox's deeper voice said. "It's similar to Dreadnought."
  
  "Dreadnought?" Giles asked.
  
  Taking the invisible axe from his back, Nox made his large weapon visible-surprising them-before reversing the effect and hooking it back in place. Buffy and the others shifted their attention from the magical axe to the Arthurian sword in her hand, pondering the possibilities. Buffy specifically had already seen Dreadnought in action and wondered if her sword could do the same. The Slayer gripped the handle and withdrew Slaymore from its scabbard with a smooth sounding SHLING .
  
  "Wooooow," Buffy gasped at the lightly glowing weapon.
  
  Thanks to Future Willow's magical advertising and the mysterious knowledge of the runes he gained, the Excalibur-style sword was even more powerful than previous iterations. The double-edged sword was pattern-welded with the feather model and the razor-sharp edge had a blood-red tint. The core of the blade had the runes ܕܗܓܪܘܩܦ etched into the steel and inlaid with gold from the Du Lac Cross. The dark lines of the feather pattern connected to the runes like arteries, supplying raw power to the blade and its wielder.
  
  Nox told the Slayer, "Since it's forged, I don't think it'll kill the Judge, but it should help."
  
  Taking Dreadnought from his back, Nox made it visible before throwing it at the ceiling, surprising Giles and Willow. Keeping his throwing hand extended, the others were surprised when the warrior called it back into his hand before it was embedded into the ceiling.
  
  "To call it to you," Nox began. "Just think about really needing it."
  
  Stepping forward, an amazed Giles stuttered to ask, "E-Excuse me-Nox, is it?" Xander didn't reply, so the Watcher continued, "Can you tell us where you originate from?"
  
  Ignoring Giles' question, Xander made a show of looking around the library before asking in his deeper tone of voice, "Has the boy been back today?"
  
  Looking around curiously, Giles asked, "What boy?"
  
  "He said his name was... Sander?" Nox answered with a curious flourish.
  
  Quickly, Willow was the first to ask, "You met Xander? Where?"
  
  "He found me," Nox revealed to the concerned group. "Told me what was going on with the Judge while I was away. He hasn't returned?"
  
  Both Willow and Cordelia stepped forward to ask with growing concern, "Was he supposed to?" and, "Did something happen to him?"
  
  More inclined to curb their worry, Nox told them, "You focus on the Judge." He began to leave as he added, "I'll find the boy."
  
  "I'm coming with you!" Cordelia called, turning to get her purse, and Xander felt touched she'd declare to go without hesitation.
  
  Nox extended his palm, making Cordelia stop before he explained, "Where I'm going will be dangerous."
  
  "Dangerous!?" Willow, Buffy, and Cordelia repeated.
  
  Buffy asked, "Do you think something bad happened to Xander?"
  
  "Possibly," Nox casually replied.
  
  "How bad?" the Slayer quickly followed with.
  
  "I don't exactly hunt in the safest areas," Nox answered. "If I'm being honest, I was surprised he actually found me. He's certainly got luck on his side."
  
  Willow turned to her best girlfriend and asserted, "We have to find him! He could be in serious danger!"
  
  With more edge to his deeper voice, Nox repeated, "I'll get the boy. You handle the Judge."
  
  Xander turned to leave as Giles called out, "Mr. Nox! If the sword isn't enough to stop the Judge, do you know of another method that may?"
  
  While walking away, he answered over his shoulder, "I do," before exiting the library.
  
  In his absence, the room fell silent. Hesitantly, Buffy turned to the worried group and, with a sense of urgency, asserted, "Priority one: we get everyone safe. Priority two: I kill it. Let's go."
  
  "Uh..." Cordelia sounded in shocked disbelief, then declared, "Priority one: find Xander! Or have you forgotten your friends?!"
  
  Turning to the popular girl, Buffy contended, " You don 't think I want -" However, the Slayer cut herself off, restraining her desire to do what she wanted in favor of what was needed. Slightly calmer, Buffy told the group, "We're going to have to trust Nox with Xander."
  
  "You hated his guts not five minutes ago," Cordelia continued to argue. "But now you're fine and dandy trusting him? Excuse me if I have zero confidence in your choice of men!"
  
  "What choice do we have?" Buffy yelled back. She simplified for the group, "Either we save Xander ourselves and let the Judge start killing innocent people, or we kill the Judge and let Nox find Xander." Turning to Cordelia, Buffy concluded with, "I know what Xander would choose."
  
  Despite how much she wanted to, Cordelia couldn't refute the argument. None of them could because they knew what Xander would pick. Accepting the Slayer's words, the woeful Watcher nodded and they all went to work.
  
  Xander rode his motorcycle straight to the army base, snuck in, pilfered the weapons he needed, stored them in a large army duffle bag, then rode back. Fully disguised with an invisible Dreadnought clipped to his back, the M72 shoulder rocket launcher slung over his shoulder, and the M4 semi-automatic rifle in his hands, Nox entered Sunnydale Mall. Every so often, a civilian or a group would run past him, but rather than fleeing from the food court toward his left, the scared civilians were coming from the right wing of the shopping center.
  
  ' Huh ... The theater this time ,' Xander thought as he observed Buffy fighting Angel & Drusilla in the lobby of the movie theater.
  
  Willow, Cordelia, and Oz were frantically trying to prevent amused vampires from terrorizing innocent civilians, while Giles sniped at the Judge with bolts fired from his crossbow. It didn't hurt the seven-foot-tall blue demon. The Judge even looked as if he felt nothing, but the attacks interrupted it from absorbing the lives of the civilians hiding around the entire area. Xander saw scared civilians behind counters, pillars, benches, trash receptacles, and the arcade games.
  
  He also observed Buffy hurl Slaymore at the Judge, annoying him when the sharp blade stuck in his body and his soulless, demon hands couldn't remove the weapon. When Drusilla and Angelus would be too much for her to fight against, she'd recall her magical weapon back to her hand. It was clear that, if it wasn't for Slaymore's magical properties, this would've been a much quicker fight.
  
  Walking with evenly measured steps and a low center of gravity-like a trained soldier infiltrating an enemy compound-Xander raised his assault rifle toward the first of eight vampires taunting Willow, Oz, Cordelia, and the civilians behind them, and it was as if the entire world went silent the second before he squeezed the trigger. Thunderously loud shots stabbed the ears of everyone in the room, turning their attention to the dark soldier calmly engaging them. Buffy, Angelus, Drusilla, Giles, Willow, Oz, Cordy, and all the vampires focused on the new arrival as Nox downed two of the blood-sucking demons. Though they wouldn't die from the bullets tearing through their flesh, the demons would certainly feel agony. The other vampires immediately charged at him as Nox patiently made a B-Line toward the Judge.
  
  "Go!" Xander's altered voice yelled at Cordelia, Oz, and Willow, and they began evacuating all the civilians while Nox dropped one howling vampire after another. When the Judge was in range, Nox jumped onto the concession stand and switched the assault rifle for the big gun at his back. As he pulled the back of the launcher out, unclipped the safety, and took aim, Buffy, Angelus, and Drusilla were running clear of the blue demon.
  
  The Judge barely asked, "What's that do?" before Nox pushed the red button and the soul-sucking demon exploded into a fiery ball of smoking blue chunks.
  
  Taking no time to appreciate the explosiveness of his work, Nox swiftly switched back to the M4 rifle-replacing the magazine-and returned to firing at the livid vampires, motivating them to flee for their undead lives. Angelus ran, as did Drusilla, but Buffy chased after her former lover while the disguised Xander rushed to his friends.
  
  Making sure his face was covered and his eyes were glowing, Nox told them, "Your friend is fine. A little roughed up, but okay."
  
  Willow asked, "Where is-"
  
  "Somewhere safe," Nox interjected, then left them with, "He'll call you."
  
  The mystery man in black ran off to chase the fleeing vampires, shooting several on his way out, if only to ensure none of them thought to loiter for fresh meat. He didn't chase long, but once the scene was sufficiently resolved, he returned the weapons he borrowed.
  
  Afterward, Xander stopped at a payphone and called-as himself-Willow, Giles, and Cordelia to let them know he'd gotten caught by the remaining Gorch brother, who wanted to use him as bait to get Buffy. Though Willow and Cordelia wanted to see him, Xander told them he was resting in Nox's secret lair, but he would see them the following day. After bidding them goodnight, he drove straight to Buffy's house.
  
  Still in black, face covered, and eyes glowing, Xander waited by her window until she finally entered her room, after which he rapped lightly on the glass. The blonde wasn't spooked to see him outside her bedroom, but she hesitated before opening the window, as if understanding the reason behind his visit.
  
  After her window slid up, the first thing Nox asked was, "You want to explain to me why Angel was not only standing by the Judge, but fighting you?"
  
  The blonde turned away from the window and rubbed her face before dejectedly confessing, "Listen, I've had, like, the longest week ever. Can we play ' Blame The Slayer For Everything ' another time?"
  
  "A Romany man was murdered," Xander told her. "A young woman was drained to death near Angel's apartment."
  
  More alert, she turned back to him to ask, as if surprised, "You know where he lives?"
  
  "That's where your mind went?" an irate Nox groused, making his eyes flicker brighter for a second. "I just told you people died because of him!" Clenching her fist, Buffy looked away, half glaring, half ready to cry to herself. She didn't say a word of defense or deflection. The Slayer simply took it in, and Xander eased his ire, deciding instead to move on. "He's a blood-sucking demon somehow shacking up with the Vampire Slayer. You really think I wouldn't keep an eye on your boyfriend just because you claimed he was good?"
  
  Feeling the anger rising, Buffy wiped her eyes before glaring at him and asking with crossed arms, "What do you want?"
  
  "Aside from a little accountability, I came to give you a warning," Nox's deep voice answered. "When I go for the kill, don't get in my way."
  
  Not that Xander would risk looping back by killing Angel, but Buffy didn't need to know that.
  
  Taking a step forward, the fierce blonde defiantly returned, "Or what?"
  
  Unbothered by her pressure, Nox answered, "You can choose. Either make sure you remember all the men, women, and children he kills from this point forward because you wanted a boyfriend, or I kick your pretty little ass."
  
  Bullishly, she mocked him with, "Have you been checking out my ass?"
  
  "My eyes see more than most, to begin with," he argued, before annoyingly adding, "and who told you to wear such tight clothing? I honestly don't know how you fight in half the things you wear."
  
  "Can't help but notice you think it's pretty," she continued teasing, as if winning somehow. However, Xander could tell she was deflecting. The girl in front of him looked happy to talk about anything else but Angel. Nox rolled his glowing eyes, as if annoyed by her insinuation, then exited through her window.
  
  The next night Xander, as himself, visited Jenny. She had been kicked out of the group by Buffy and Giles, failed her people, and saw her uncle's mutilated body. She was not in the best mental & emotional place and was self-medicating with a bottle of scotch. Despite how effortless it would be to end up in bed together, Xander evaded all of her advances. He may not have been in an official relationship with Cordelia, but if she wasn't doing anything with anyone else, he wouldn't either. When the distraught teacher passed out, Xander left his jacket on her bed and a glass of water on her nightstand with a note that read:
  
  ' I hope you feel better in the morning. And don 't worry, my lips are sealed. I won't tell anyone about tonight. Xander .'
  
  Ten minutes later, Nox entered her apartment. Taking her hand in his, Xander used his ring to wake her up. The woman was surprised and alert, but also still feeling the effects of the alcohol in her system. Thus, she wasn't terrified at his dark presence or when he sat on the edge of the bed. The inebriated woman took it all in stride as she sat up and rested her back against the headboard. Xander extended the glass of water and Jenny took it.
  
  He also grabbed the letter and looked at it a moment before asking in his deep voice, "Janna of the Kalderash people, will you consider assisting me?"
  
  The downtrodden teacher glumly answered, "Leave me alone."
  
  Nox handed her the piece of paper before pointing out, "Didn't I see the Xander boy leave here not long ago?" Jenny read the note as Nox added, "And isn't that his jacket on your bed? Aren't there rules about sleeping with high school students?"
  
  Recognizing his questions for what they were-threats-Jenny glared at him.
  
  Nox explained, "What I need from you is simple. When I first learned of Angel's situation, I did not know a vampire could have a soul. I discovered you, your uncle, and your people through my research on how his situation came to be. I'm here to ask you to recreate the curse that turned Angelus into Angel."
  
  Defeated, but with a hint of ire, she replied, "Those magics are lost, even to my people."
  
  "They're not," he assured her. "You can do this. I'm certain of it. And now you have the motivation to do so."
  
  "Are you threatening me?" she asked, though it was obvious.
  
  Humoring her, he answered, "If that's what it takes."
  
  "I'll... think about it."
  
  Taking the glass of water from her hand, he set it down on the nightstand before explaining to her, "I don't care who you bring to your bed." He could see the shame in her eyes but didn't look away as he finished saying, "But this can save a lot of lives. Do this for them."
  
  Jenny looked away, weighing the options in her mind. After a moment, she turned to him and asked, "How can I reach you?"
  
  Getting the cooperation he wanted, Nox stood up and took a piece of paper out of his front pocket. He set it down on the nightstand as he told her, "Here's a number." Before leaving, he instructed the sensual woman, "I'll never pick up. Leave a message and I'll get back to you."
  
  On their next Review Day meeting, the group was in the library recapping what happened against the Judge as well as examining Slaymore. Giles and Willow enjoyed examining the magical sword, and the unknown runes etched on the surface, but were intrigued even more when writing them on a sheet of paper did nothing magical. Within minutes, Giles and Willow began trying to identify the runes, figuring there had to be a process to activating the characters. While they were busy researching, Xander pulled Buffy to the side to talk.
  
  Unlike in previous loops, Xander not only understood the heartache Buffy was going through, but he could act on it. During the night, Nox could be the mean part of his personality, saying and doing whatever he wanted without fear or care of reprisal. During the day, Xander could be the friendliest friend Buffy or Willow could ask for. The separation of self was liberating because Xander didn't have to remember terrible memories of Buffy or his home life. Nox could take all of that on himself, while Xander could be free to be a friend and nothing more.
  
  Leaning against the check-out desk, Xander gently expressed to Buffy, "I can't pretend to know what you're going through. I mean, I'm sure it sucks... I just can't imagine how much. So I won't try. I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry this is happening to you." The blonde beauty blinked in surprise while he finished with, "And that you always have me in whatever way you need."
  
  Buffy thought in silence for a second before suddenly wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly, making him feel content. Xander hugged her back and held her for as long as she needed. The embrace wasn't sexual or forced, but it came from a genuinely friendly side of his heart. Saying the nice things he wanted to say during the day and the less nice things he also meant at night was a strangely satisfying duality; a peaceful feeling. It reminded him of a story Future Oz told Old Man Xander about when they were in Tibet fighting another wave of evil.
  
  Oz had recounted the story of an old Cherokee Indian teaching his grandson about life. The wise elder told his grandson that a fight was raging inside of him. ' A terrible fight between two wolves ,' he said. ' One was evil: anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego .' The grandfather then explained that the other wolf was good: ' joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith .' The grandfather explained that this fight was going on inside of every human on the planet. When the grandson asked which wolf would win the fight, the old Cherokee simply answered, ' The one you feed .'
  
  Letting Buffy go, they returned to the others to finish Review Day. All the while, Xander felt confident he was feeding the right wolf.
  
  Nox went on patrol that night and found a lethargic Buffy absentmindedly treading the cemetery alone. Xander could just imagine how much her world had changed, but as Nox-who remembered all the abuse he'd suffered from his school, parents, and friends-he didn't care. Her broken heart felt no different from his when he found her under Spike or with Angel all those loops ago. To see her so despondent that Nox barely needed to sneak up to her, he felt justified.
  
  Though mean, Nox felt in character when he voiced from behind her, "The view's a lot different when you're not sucking vampire-face, isn't it?"
  
  Instantly tense, Buffy spun around, her hand already around Slaymore's handle. When she realized it was him, the annoyed Slayer huffed before firing back, "Sure is. It got a hell of a lot worse."
  
  "So hostile to the man who gave you that sword," Nox pointed out.
  
  Buffy removed the leather belt carrying Slaymore from around her waist, and lifted the magical sword as she asked, "You want it back?"
  
  Raising his palm, Nox explained in his deep, gruff voice, "The sword was made for you, Slayer." Removing Dreadnought from his back and making it visible, he added, "Just like Dreadnought was meant for me." Latching his axe on his back again, he voiced, "I wouldn't take Slaymore back even if you offered it to me. But I wouldn't mind a bit of gratitude."
  
  "Gratitude?" she repeated with raised eyebrows. She clenched her sword hard enough to make the leather creak as she stepped forward and argued, "You've done nothing but belittle me with your snarky comments and judgy looks since I met you. And I'm supposed to be grateful?"
  
  Taking a stern step forward as well, Nox sharply pointed out, "For saving your mother, saving your funny friend, giving you a one-of-a-kind sword, and saving your ass when it was getting handed to you by your ex and the Judge? Yeah, a little ' thank you ' would be appreciated!" Though nervous for being so close to her, his eyes were bright and his face was mostly covered, so he wasn't overly worried when he towered over her to say, "Or do I have to be the walking dead to earn any goodwill from you?" Buffy freely glared at him, but he didn't buckle in the slightest under her ire, and instead demanded, "Tell me what changed Angel."
  
  Defensively, she asked, "Why?"
  
  "I need to know," Nox simply answered.
  
  "Then find out somewhere else," she asserted. "And stay the hell away from me."
  
  Stepping back, Nox answered, "as you wish," surprising her. "I'll ask your funny friend."
  
  Immediately protective of her friend, Buffy warned, "Stay away from Xander."
  
  "Why?" Nox returned, smiling under his camo scarf. "I saved his life. Maybe he's a little more appreciative."
  
  Stepping up to the taller man in a slow and threatening manner, the provoked Slayer warned him, "I said, don 't go near my friends."
  
  Tilting his head at the smaller girl, Nox's smile reached his glowing eyes as he asked with amusement, "Or what? You gonna slay me? Or are you just going to try your best, then fail miserably, like with your corpse boyfriend-"
  
  Buffy punched him hard, and all he could do was rotate his body with the momentum to absorb most of the destructive impact. As his vision danced and the night vision went in and out, Xander recalled an old tip from Willow. He could hear her say, clear as day, ' Probably best not to antagonize the broken heart of a teenage girl with the strength of a hundred men .'
  
  Calling on the power of Odin's ring, his migraine, dizziness, broken jaw, and lacerated oral cavity began to heal in less than thirty seconds. It still hurt like crazy, but Xander's Navy SEAL training helped him embrace the pain as he straightened up. With his back to her, Nox lowered his camo scarf around his neck, since he was expecting more blood out of his mouth and nose. He lowered the rest of his beanie down to the tip of his nose, and with his hood down, he looked similar to one of his favorite Marvel characters; like the black Daredevil mask, only with perfectly cut holes for his glowing eyes to see through.
  
  As Xander spit out red and wiped his bloody nose, his night vision came back, and he felt his throat could speak deeply once again. Nox faced her, and at the blood traveling down his lips and chin, Buffy at least had the decency to look mildly apologetic. Enhancing his physical prowess as much as he could, his shoulders flexed and his neck looked thicker as he stepped up to her.
  
  His voice was grim, like two moss-covered stones rubbing against each other as he asked, "Did that make you feel better, Slayer? Is that the kind of person you are? Someone who enjoys assaulting other people because you didn't like what they had to say?"
  
  Never breaking eye contact, Buffy didn't reply to his criticism of her. She looked stuck to Xander; furious without justification, remorseful but stubborn, and with no outlet to vent these destabilizing feelings. Nox didn't care and pushed further.
  
  "What's the matter?" he asked, obnoxiously tilting his head around hers. "Cat got your tongue? Or could that be guilt? You did something to turn Angel, didn't you?" She glared intensely at him with an unstable mixture of pain, anger, shame, and sorrow. Nox grabbed the collar of her shirt, and lifted her as he commanded, "Tell me, Slayer. Tell me what you-" She pushed him away-letting her drop to her feet-but he grabbed her hands and pulled her in closer. "Is that self-loathing I see in your ugly eyes? Hmm? You're supposed to be some kind of hero and you can't even speak? Just say it! "
  
  "No!" she yelled, pushing him away before the frustrated girl swung wider than she should.
  
  Xander caught Buffy's arm and spun, bouncing her off his back and flipping her on her back. She grunted as she hit the cold grass, but recovered quickly. As the riled-up Slayer came for him, Nox threw his battleaxe and dagger to the side, alerting her that this would be a weaponless brawl. Facing a furious Buffy without the option to kill or lose, Xander was surprised by how composed he was.
  
  Stepping into each other's strike zone, Buffy launched a right straight that Xander leaned into, and blocked the powerful hit with his arm as he shoulder-checked her. Nox followed that with a forward kick to her stomach. She flew back, rolling on the ground before landing on her feet again. As she gripped her stomach, they glared at each other before blitzing once again.
  
  The fighters traded blows effortlessly and impossibly fast. In the span of a second, each one could get two hits in. However, Xander quickly learned that Buffy still had more power than he did, making him wonder if she was always that strong or whether it was the anger fueling her. Slipping consecutive punches to his head-feeling the pressurized wind-Nox blocked the last punch with his left as he hit her face with his right. The fast-paced trading of blows and blocks moved them around the cemetery, using anything to get the advantage over the other.
  
  Xander used the ring's power continuously for speed, strength, agility, and above all, healing-because her attacks felt strong enough to rupture organs and break bones. He needed far more strength because her strength easily overpowered his own. He needed durability so his bones wouldn't break just by blocking her powerful strikes. Even still, Buffy wasn't the type to fight with fury, and that energy deterred her focus. She made mistakes, fell for feints, and felt more tired than she should actually be.
  
  A kick from her had Nox spinning in the air, but he used the momentum to kick her legs out from under her. When she tried to roll over, he snatched her back, wrapping his arms around her neck. In a normal fight, there'd be no way Xander would ever get her in such a vulnerable position, but she wasn't calm enough to fight properly. Buffy tried to bully herself free, using brute force to remove his arms.
  
  It was working, making Xander think, ' Fuck, she 's strong! '
  
  Nox rolled them to the side, and they kept rolling on the dirt and grass until he was on top of her and they were facing each other. Nox's legs were between hers to keep her from kicking him. His hands struggled to hold hers above her head, using all his strength and weight to keep her there while he demanded to know, " What did you do, Slayer? "
  
  The dirtied blonde struggled to overpower him, then tried to headbutt him when his head was close enough. Again, Nox pushed Buffy's fears and guilt to the surface by demanding to know, "Why did An- Angel t-turn?" When she wouldn't stop struggling, he yelled, " Buffy! "
  
  At her name, she tried to headbutt him again, but led with her chin, extending her neck out like a swan. Bitingly hard, their lips met instead, stunning Xander for several seconds, more than enough time for Buffy to flip him. She was now on top, and with his senses returned to him, Xander recalled what a previous Buffy had told him; about what the rush of a fight does to her.
  
  She arched back to throw a punch at the same time he gripped her hips and slid her back onto his hardening cock. She hit him in the face, knocking more blood out of his nose, but it lacked a lot of her usual power. While Nox rapidly healed, he used that pain-filled energy to roll them over. On top once again, Xander thrust his restrained erection into Buffy's clothed center.
  
  "Mmnnn," she moaned in her gritted maw.
  
  Buffy's hands reached for Xander's neck and face, and he fought her as his pelvis kept pumping into hers. He could see her nipples poke through her thin shirt before he pinned her hands over her head and pushed in for the kiss. After a moment, she returned the kiss vigorously and her legs wrapped around his thrusting hips. Xander had a steady rhythm of rocking her entire body by smashing into her aching center as his one free hand began to roughly massage her left breast. A dirt-covered Buffy moaned into his bloody mouth when he tweaked her nipple and began meeting his thrusts. He let her hands go to massage her ass with his right hand while he moved his lips to kiss, suck, and bite at her sensitive neck.
  
  When her moaning whimper mixed oddly with a long howl, a curious Xander took several seconds to slow down and realize that howling wasn't coming from Buffy. It then dawned on him what that long howl meant. Xander pulled away, surprising her. They were breathing heavily as she stared at him, first in shock, then in embarrassment, and finally in shame, but he cut it off there.
  
  "We, uh, hah , have to go," he roughly voiced.
  
  He got up and off of her, extending his hand. She eyed it for a moment before taking his unspoken offer, and being pulled to her feet. As they readjusted their clothing and brushed off dirt, blades of grass, and twigs Xander heard the howling again. He extended his hands to call back his weapons. They spun in the air before he caught and holstered them.
  
  Buffy did the same with Slaymore, but when Nox began running, she asked, "What is it?"
  
  "Did you hear the howling?" he asked.
  
  Buffy looked around in confusion before hesitantly answering, "Uh... yeah?"
  
  Xander turned to her as they ran. At her strained, flabbergasted half-smile, Nox rolled his glowing eyes. As they ran toward his scrambler, Xander told her, "Werewolf."
  
  Short A/N today as I'm quite tired.
  
  I may not be able to post next Sunday. I'm have some difficulties writing. I'll of course try to update. Just thought I'd warn you.
  
  Thank you to those who pointed out that gypsy was a slur. I honestly had no idea.
  
  Xander is really trying to get out now and crossing lines he normally wouldn't. Which is why I like the wolf story. I'm sure Xander thinks he's feeding the right wolf. I guess we'll see.
  
  Thank you all again for taking the time out of your day to read my fic and possibly leave a comment. I truly do appreciate your support. For those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my is /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Beast Within
  A little late, but another Chapter on another Sunday.
  
  Welcome back and thank you so much for continuing this epic with me. Much appreciated!
  
  Big thank you to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! 👏👏👏 Thanks guys.
  
  Warning: Violence, Language and Lemons!
  
  7 K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  The Beast Within
  
  The nights before, during, and after a full moon can invoke a person suffering from lycanthropy to change into a werewolf. Typically, werewolf bites infected most humans with the curse. They were the lucky ones, as there was a small percentage of people that died from the metamorphosis process. Those bitten either live the rest of their lives with this incurable affliction or succumb to a painful death, which is why Nox and Buffy raced on his stealth-black scrambler to Make Out Lane.
  
  With Buffy holding Nox's waist, he raced through fields, parks, and on the street whenever possible. He pushed his bike hard, not only to get there faster, but to ensure Buffy held onto him tightly, pressing her soft chest into his back. Speeding over uneven terrain or jumping some hills, Nox enjoyed the warmth of her body as she held on for dear life. All too soon, they were slowing down, allowing her to ease her grip as they reached the popular make-out spot. Nox drove slowly through the forested area, extending his senses for any sign of the werewolf.
  
  After driving around for five minutes with no sight or sound of the paranormal beast, Buffy asked, "Is this how you get all the girls here? Faking DEFCON One to trick them to Make Out Lane?"
  
  With heavy sarcasm, Nox replied, "Oh, yeah, no, that makes total sense. We were basically dry humping back there, but I put a stop to that in order to race all the way here so we can kiss around virgins." Shaking his head in disappointment, he added, "Sometimes I wonder about you."
  
  "S-Shut up," the embarrassed blonde clapped back.
  
  "You shut up," he returned, but instantly regretted getting swept by his emotions. He could almost feel how amused Buffy was as he bemoaned, "It's been so long since I felt this immature."
  
  "Yeah, well, you're the first guy I've ever regretted kissing," she retorted. "Congratulations."
  
  "If you call that kissing, I can't wait to see what you call sex," Nox humorlessly teased.
  
  "Shut up!" she called out, shaking his shoulders from overwhelming embarrassment.
  
  Nox's head lulled back and forth from her shaking as he pleaded, "Slayer, will you please listen for anything out of the ordinary? We're here for a reason."
  
  She stopped to say, "Yeah, you say that, but I haven't heard a single-"
  
  A nearby howl interrupted the blonde girl, and Nox roared his motorcycle to life, making Buffy hold him tight as he rushed toward the source. They narrowly avoided trees, branches, and bushes as Xander navigated through the rough terrain of the forest, all the while Buffy was holding on for dear life. Less than a minute later, the pair spotted the crazed beast attacking a car with a screaming couple inside.
  
  Nox slid the bike to a halt, while Buffy jumped off and used the momentum to engage the six-foot-tall animal. She attacked the distracted werewolf, hitting its side with a shoulder charge harder than any two-hundred-and-fifty pound NFL linebacker could. The paranormal beast was blasted back like a bomb detonated right next to it. However, it hit the ground and effortlessly rolled onto its hairy feet, its claws digging into the earth as if nothing had happened. Extending its furry hands and long black claws, the large beast growled at Buffy for getting between it and its meal.
  
  As Nox checked on the terrified couple inside the car, he yelled, "Don't let it bite you!" When Buffy gripped Slaymore's handle, as if to unsheathe the magical weapon, Xander yelled, "And don't kill it, either! There's still a person in there!"
  
  Frustrated, Buffy yelled back, "Will you shut up and help them!"
  
  " You shut up ," Nox mumbled to himself, once again feeling so immature. Rushing to the car, Xander noted with disbelief how Buffy got on his nerves as easily as Cordelia.
  
  To keep from being severely injured or injuring the beast gravely, the Slayer kept Slaymore sheathed. As the beast charged at her, Nox opened the car door and saw a lot of blood coming from the boy's forearms. There was blood everywhere, on their hands and all over the seat. For a moment, Xander was scared the boy was bitten, but upon closer inspection, the wound seemed to be several deep gashes, as if he had raised his arms to defend himself from sharp claws. Gripping the boy's arm, Xander quickly thought of healing his arm through the magic of his ring. He only thought it was working when the boy's terrified face seemed to relax.
  
  The werewolf attacked Buffy with savage ferocity, swiping at her with its muscular and shaggy arms as if she were a fly. With her supernatural agility, Buffy evaded the fast claws, hearing their sharp whistle of cutting wind by her ear. The blonde Slayer wasn't accustomed to its ferocious style of fighting, but Buffy fought it back with her covered sword while Xander jumped in the driver's seat car and started the car.
  
  The werewolf turned to the car's tires peeling out-kicking up dirt and grass-then chased after its meal, followed closely by Buffy. With such a narrow path and trees all around them, Xander was turning left and right and couldn't drive as fast as he wanted. The beast was nearly on them, and he couldn't outmaneuver it.
  
  Sprinting right behind it, Buffy wrapped the belt several times around the handle and guard to keep the scabbard from flying off before she threw her weapon with all her strength. Her sheathed sword spun in the air as it flew ahead of the galloping werewolf. Like a fish on a hook, the Slayer extended her hand, calling her sword back and managing to catch the wild beast's chest and neck before reeling it in. To his relief, Xander lost sight of the large wolf in the rear-view mirror, but kept driving for several minutes anyway.
  
  He pulled over as soon as they were back on the main road and ordered the frightened girl to drive straight to the hospital. Nox then sprinted back as fast as he could to back up Buffy. Minutes later, he found his bike, but no Buffy. Hopping on his scrambler, Xander followed the trail of broken branches or claw marks on trees until he found them deeper in the forest. Xander had no intention of hurting Oz, but he unclipped Dreadnought from his bike and took it with him. If worse came to worst, he'd use the blunt butt of the battleaxe to hobble his movement.
  
  Tag-teaming the paranormal beast at the very least gave the teens a sense of safety. When the werewolf focused on Buffy, swiping left and right at her with inhuman speed and strength, Nox would flank it from the rear and strike its strong legs or back. When the feral beast focused on Nox, Buffy would do the same. The teenagers struck it repeatedly in the sides, legs, and back, bringing it down to its knees. Rather than continue fighting mindlessly, however, the werewolf was smart enough to run, forcing Nox and Buffy to chase it.
  
  When teens were close together, it turned in an instant and barreled into them like a bowling ball into pins, slashing and raking at them. Whacking the beast in the snout with the end of Dreadnought's handle, Xander suffered a flesh-tearing slash to his stomach as the beastly wolf spun from the hit. Buffy jumped on its hairy back as Xander tumbled back and leaned against a tree, clutching at the blood spilling from his stomach. The two gashes weren't too deep, but he would need several seconds to heal.
  
  Nox watched Buffy-on its back-using Slaymore to choke its thick neck as it spun and leaped left and right to get her off. It roared and tried to scratch off the sheathed steel at its neck, but even if its claws tore off sections of the scabbard, the magical weapon within would not break and clipped its long nails. When the werewolf became desperate for air, it ran desperately toward a tree and leaped at it, back first, smashing Buffy against the rough bark.
  
  "GUUOOFFFFFF!" Buffy cried as all the air in her lungs was forced out of her.
  
  Her greenish-blue eyes bulged as Slaymore slipped from her stunned fingers and the werewolf broke free of her grip. It ran ahead and turned about as she slumped against the tree. With a mighty roar, the carnivorous beast bared all its long teeth and sharp claws before charging the Slayer. A wincing Buffy braced herself as its long, saliva-covered teeth came down with a vicious CHOMP right in front of her face as Nox barreled into its side like a torpedo.
  
  Xander pushed the ferocious beast as far away from Buffy as he could, but the claws dug into the earth, plowing up dirt and keeping it from being pushed far. It tried to swipe at Nox since he was so near, but the teen was so angered that he blocked or dodged six consecutive swipes before flipping backward-toward Buffy-and kicking the werewolf's muzzle with the heel of his boot. The werewolf spun backward, hitting the dirt face first.
  
  The space gave Xander enough time to run toward Buffy, throw Dreadnought into the earth, and grab his friend. The werewolf was already charging toward them, passing Dreadnought just as Xander used all of his enhanced strength to leap into the air. They were ten feet up when Xander let loose what he hoped was not a lethal amount of electricity into the ground. If he had to guess, Xander would say at least fifty thousand volts of electricity into the ground, instantly running up the werewolf's feet. The beast froze in place, vibrating erratically for the seconds it took for Xander to touch back down.
  
  Lethargically, the werewolf dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Smoke enveloped the paranormal beast, feathering into the air, but Xander was just glad it seemed to be alive. The beast stayed in place while it recovered from the shocking attack, but if it tried to run, Nox kept Dreadnought in place to shock it into submission.
  
  Seemingly safe for the moment, Nox eyed the blonde Slayer in his arms. Holding him around his neck, Buffy leaned back when their eyes met and she held their gaze. Nox wasn't sure what she saw in his glowing eyes, but in hers, he only saw a confused and scared girl, unhappy with the state of her life. Xander could think of any number of outcomes Buffy could only dream of; her soulmate, her parents back together, a lot of friends, and the right to choose her own future. However, those longings were denied to her, allowing men like Angel and Spike into her heart and body, which annoyed Xander to no end, because the time braid took from him what becoming the Slayer took from her: the choice of a simple life with simple wins and simple losses.
  
  Xander held her tighter-not for her sake, but for his own-because he never truly understood the pain of destiny until the time braid seized his life. He missed his old life, and could easily imagine how much she missed hers as well. When Nox felt a hand touching his covered cheek, he realized Buffy was looking at him sympathetically, trying to console him, so he immediately put her down. He focused on the werewolf, trembling sporadically as it rested, but it felt awkward now. Buffy truly was his greatest weakness, and she needed to be conquered if he ever wanted to be free of the time braid.
  
  Ignoring each other in silence, they recalled everything that happened between them that night. Nox's eyes glanced her way a moment, and without a word, he removed a leaf from her tussled, dirty-blonde hair. It was then that they realized how incredibly dirty they were, as if they had been rolling around the dirt and grass for an hour. Buffy quickly tried to fix her hair, flustered with the thought of how she must look at that moment.
  
  Ignoring how mud-caked his stealth gear was, Nox stated in his deep voice, "I need to stay here." She looked at him as he added, "To keep him in place. Can you bring my bike here?"
  
  "I, uh, don't know how to drive a motorcycle," she sheepishly admitted.
  
  "Carry it on your shoulders," he casually suggested. "It only weighs four hundred pounds."
  
  "Oh, is that all?" Buffy sarcastically clapped back, though slightly amused. "I'll just roll it here."
  
  Buffy turned to leave and made it three steps before Nox stepped up behind her. His hands gripped her waist and pressed her into him as she twisted to look at him. His camo scarf was down to his chin and his hoodie covered his face from the nose up, like a half-mask.
  
  Despite his Batman-Esque cowl, Buffy focused on his glowing eyes as she asked, "Wh-what are you doing?"
  
  As Nox massaged her sexy hips, he explained, "It's a point of pride for me to never leave a girl unsatisfied."
  
  A pink blush quickly flushed her dirt-stained cheeks, signaling to him her arousal. She turned to face him while in his embrace, giving his hands access to her apple-bottom ass. Buffy felt conflicted. She tried to push him away, but her arms hadn't the energy to do so, and folded when he leaned forward, pressing his crown against her flush forehead. When his right hand snaked its way to her pants' button and zipper, opening enough for his fingers to find the waistband of her panties, Nox saw in her conflicted gaze confusion, anger, regret, and arousal.
  
  When her arms seemed on the precipice of pushing him away, Nox challenged her by saying, "Or you could tell me what happened to Angel." Her greenish-blue eyes were saddened as he added, "Because that matters more to me than making you cum."
  
  Buffy looked heartbroken, but Nox didn't care. His right hand slid further into her panties while his left hand gripped her hair and pulled her into a rough kiss. Regardless of the lack of love in the act, this was still Buffy, and if fingering her hot, wet sex in the middle of the forest was what she needed, then this was what he'd give her. Using his experience, skill, and her growing disbelief at how he was commanding her aroused body to respond, Xander brought the sexy Slayer to orgasm in less than two minutes. He prolonged the waves of pleasure by using the power of his ring to make his fingers vibrate inside of her sensitive sex. He took her lips as she moaned by the unexpected stimulation, then held her upright until her waves of bliss finally subsided.
  
  In her ear, Nox whispered, "What are you doing, Slayer?"
  
  As if snapping out of her euphoric haze, Buffy turned away from him, biting her pink lip in uncertainty as she did her pants up. The flustered girl mumbled something about getting his bike then rushed away, leaving Nox in silent amusement. Not long after, the sun touched the horizon, and the pair witnessed the werewolf transform back into its human form. As Nox called back Dreadnought and clipped it to his bike, Buffy was stunned to recognize the sleeping boy on the ground was Oz. Nox took off his jacket, covered the naked boy's body, and pulled Buffy by the elbow a few yards away.
  
  He whispered, "Isn't he one of your friends? I remember seeing him with your group at the mall."
  
  Cognizant of how close to her Nox was standing, Buffy hesitated to answer, "Yeah... I didn't... know. He didn't say anything." Her eyes suddenly widened as she voiced, "Oh, Will..."
  
  It struck Xander then that Buffy was worried about Willow, once again, reminding him how out of touch he was. He felt nothing and couldn't even remember the last time he felt concerned about how his best friend would feel to learn her boyfriend was a werewolf. It made Xander angry, tired, and reckless to escape the time braid. To save his sanity, he fed all that energy into Nox.
  
  "Maybe he didn't know," Nox proposed.
  
  "...Yeah, maybe."
  
  Nodding, he said, "It won't be long until he wakes up." She just hummed in agreement before he added, "You should go. I'll take care of the rest." Perplexed by his suggestion, Buffy turned to him and he answered, "Your friend is going to have a great sense of smell when he wakes up." Wiggling the fingers that had been inside her made her blush vibrantly. Nox smiled and told the sexy girl, "Go. Call your Watcher and let him know. I'll make sure Will gets home."
  
  Looking at him in confusion, Buffy sounded, "Huh?"
  
  Eying her curiously, Nox remarked, "You said his name was Will, didn't you?"
  
  Raising her blonde head in realization, she corrected, "Oh, no. His name is Oz." Turning to the slumbering boy on the grass, Buffy sadly explained, "Willow-Will-is his girlfriend... and I just..." The Slayer didn't need words to express the genuine sadness expressed on her face.
  
  "I see," Nox voiced solemnly. "I'll make sure Oz gets home."
  
  In the library later that day, Buffy explained to the assembled Scoobies what had transpired, much to Willow's worry, and Oz explained being bitten by his cousin. With two more nights of transformations ahead, the friends made a schedule to watch Oz throughout the lunar event. Cordelia went first, followed by Buffy-so that she could patrol afterward-Xander, Giles, and finally, Willow proceeded.
  
  After another failed experiment to make his clothing teleport to him, Xander walked into the library and first noted the steel cage was lined with blankets for privacy. However, he could easily see the werewolf prowling within. Even stranger than a werewolf in the library was Buffy, seated at the long table, reading one of Giles' larger dustier tomes. The light-hearted Xander pointed a shaky finger at the unbelievable sight in front of him.
  
  Of all the Scoobies, Xander and Buffy were the two least likely to research willingly, which prompted him to ask with dramatic concern, "Who the hell are you and what have you done to my bestest friend, Buffy!?"
  
  Amused, the blonde Slayer smiled at him before closing the book-shooting a puff of dust in the air-as she admitted, "Just thought I'd..."
  
  When she delayed too long, Xander filled in, "...Try being the Slayer a Watcher would be proud of? But then you realized, ' oh, wait. Reading is boring, and that 's why movies were invented .'" Buffy barely smiled, easily letting him know how serious she was. She had been distracted all day-likely thinking about her encounter with Nox, he imagined. Xander wasn't sure if he should be offended or flattered, but he leaned against the table beside her seat and asked, "Is this about Angel?"
  
  Buffy eyed her raven-haired friend with such internal strife-seemingly poised to ask something complicated-before abruptly looking away and asking, "You... You talked with Nox, right?"
  
  ' She was thinking about him ,' Xander thought before answering, "I don't know if I'd call it talking. Generally, conversation involves fair exchange, and he's pretty stingy with the words ."
  
  "Yeah," Buffy uttered with a half-laugh. Then, she cautiously asked, "What do you think about him?"
  
  "I think I love his bike," Xander returned. "Like, a lot." At her slightly disenchanted expression, the raven-haired teen added, "And I guess... I just hope he's alright, you know? He's doing good stuff, and all, but we know next to nothing about him. Honestly, he kinda reminds me of Angel, like, in the beginning, when he started helping and was all mysterious and stuff."
  
  "Oh," Buffy sounded, thoughtfully considering his words. "I guess. Maybe a little."
  
  At the distant look on her pretty face, Xander joked with a half-grin, "Well, it seems like our Mr. Nox isn't the only one stingy with the words , huh?"
  
  Buffy smiled before saying, "Yeah, I guess I'm a little out of it." Showing him the enormous book she was reading, she explained, "I was just hoping to learn more about him."
  
  "Why?" Xander asked.
  
  Getting up, she grabbed her bag and answered, "I just don't want to be wrong again."
  
  "Buffy-"
  
  The Slayer interrupted him to say, "See you tomorrow."
  
  After being relieved by Giles, Xander, as Nox, was patrolling the streets on his scrambler when he spotted Buffy limping as she walked home. Wearing a lilac-colored jacket over a purple camisole top, and gray slacks, the wounded Slayer was bleeding from the forehead, nose, and busted lip. There was also a red bruise around her right eye. Her right hand was affixed to the right side of her torso, as if she had a broken rib. Buffy's limping was because of her injured left knee and her jacket had clear boot stains from a man's shoe. Besides her serious injuries, what really surprised him was that Slaymore was at her hip rather than in her hand. The fact that she wasn't healing herself made Nox wonder about her state of mind.
  
  The hooded teenager pulled up next to the limping Buffy and demanded to know, "What happened?"
  
  Surprised by his appearance, but too distraught to care, the bloody Buffy mumbled nonsensically, "He's- He's going to keep coming after me, until... until... h-he... he..." She hugged Nox desperately, twitching, like he was a lifeline.
  
  Xander knew she meant Angel. Nox grabbed her shoulders and held her away from him to look her in the eyes as he proclaimed, "Don't let him get inside your head, Slayer."
  
  " He 's already -" Buffy cut herself off, as if debating how vulnerable she wanted to be with him. After a moment of silence, she quietly asserted, "He's always been there. That 's why this hurts so much ."
  
  Leaning in close, Nox told her, "Then do what you have to to get him out!"
  
  At his assertion, Buffy paused, their faces so close to each other. Her soulful, greenish-blue eyes gazed into his glowing ones, but her brows were drawn in, wrinkling the skin between them, as if she were ready to cry any moment, but held it in. Xander felt the town around them quiet down and fade away. The hurt girl in front of him didn't even feel like Buffy. Even if she made mistakes, she rarely, if ever, looked this weak-this broken-and Xander didn't know what to do with that. Buffy, however, leaned in, looking into the mesmerizing glowing of his eyes, and touched his face.
  
  The Slayer's fingertips touched the hem of his camo scarf, as if craving to pull it down, but before she could, Nox's hands covered hers. She pressed her trembling lips together in a line of regret, and slowly backed away, nodding in accepted rejection. With some reservation, Nox raised her hands over his head, confusing her, until he placed them on his shoulder. When she understood he wanted her to get on, the injured girl struggled onto his bike.
  
  Hurting as bad as she was, Xander drove the drowsy girl to his mansion. Without turning on the lights, he carried her inside the spacious home, and laid her on the soft brown couch, leaning Slaymore against the armrest. Opting to keep the lights off, Nox left her on the only furniture in the room, and quickly returned with his second ring of power. It didn't take him long to forge the silver ring with Celtic knots etched on the surface, as it was made mainly for healing.
  
  "Gimme your hand," he said before taking her left hand and purposely sliding the large ring on her ring finger. "Now, just think about how you need to heal. Think about needing to heal fast."
  
  She looked at him in his glowing eyes-the only illumination in the dark room-before closing her eyes and doing as instructed. The large silver ring reshaped to fit her finger before she groaned, awash with sudden tingling relief. After fifteen minutes in silent darkness, the worst of the beating subsided. Sitting on the opposite armrest of the couch, he watched her breathing steady and she was no longer feverishly sweating.
  
  Nox lowered his camo scarf to his neck and rolled the half-mask portion of his beanie down to his nose. He asked in his deeper voice, "How do you feel?"
  
  "Way better, actually," she said with a hint of astonishment.
  
  "You know Slaymore could've done the same thing," Nox noted without insult.
  
  Buffy paused for a moment, rotating her head to see her magical sword resting against the armrest above her head. She huffed in embarrassed amusement before admitting, "Ugh, I guess I was way, way out of it... He can do that," she lamely finished.
  
  "Seems so," Nox asserted before sitting on the edge of the couch next to her hip and facing her. Buffy sat up-though her toned legs still rested along the length of the couch. He gently took her left hand that wore the ring, and instructed, "Now, listen carefully. The next thing I want you to really think hard about needing, is feeling much, much hornier-"
  
  Buffy immediately pulled her hand away and shoved his shoulder. Nox chuckled deeply when he saw her blush, even in the dark room. He smiled as she took off the ring and gave it back to him, putting it in his pocket. The silence between them grew, and under his glowing gaze, Buffy fidgeted anxiously. Leaning closer, Nox placed his palm on the other side of her waist to support himself. The Slayer swallowed in nervous anticipation, licking her lips at the possibility of a kiss, but also conflicted about crossing that line again.
  
  When their hot lips met, rather than feeling a sense of serenity, Xander felt fire in his bones. He tilted his head to deepen their joined mouths, and Buffy eagerly allowed him. Their heads were locked by their angle-swapping mouths, and as his tongue descended into her warm mouth, the pair could feel how hot and heavy it would get. Then Buffy put her hand on his chest, pressing him back.
  
  Looking deeply into his glowing eyes, her eyes were dilated with arousal as she asserted, "This isn't... Don't think this is anything more than what it is; it's... it's just physical. That's it."
  
  "Is that so?" his deeper voice whispered, as his right hand began caressing her hip and lower back. Buffy closed her eyes and let her head loll until her crown leaned against Nox's beanie-covered head. "Even regular eyes can see how far you're willing to go to avoid talking about Angel."
  
  Nox could feel her body tense immediately, but he didn't permit her trauma to bother him. His hand massaged her side and back as his head nudged hers to the side, allowing his other hand to massage the delicate length of her neck. Little by little, the distressed Slayer relaxed, unwinding under his talented hands. He stopped to remove her jacket, peeling the dirty garment over her head and leaving the sexy blonde in her purple camisole top. Her breathing intensified as he tweaked her stiff nipple through her thin top.
  
  "Mnn," she moaned.
  
  When Nox moved his hands down to unbutton her gray slacks, Buffy leaned back against the armrest while he asked, "Is this how you want to get him out of your head, Slayer? By giving me your body rather than admitting what you did-"
  
  "Oh, just shut up!" she yelled before launching herself forward.
  
  Palms on his shoulders, she pulled him in, and like a girl who didn't want to think about anything, kissed him desperately. Nox indulged the reckless girl, opening his mouth and returning her kiss just as vigorously while she peeled down her form-fitting slacks. His right hand massaged her toned stomach, feeling her muscles twitch as she kicked her gray pants off, while his left grabbed hold of her neck and hair to control the ferocity of their locked lips.
  
  When she was just in her purple camisole and matching panties, the strong girl pushed Nox on his back and straddled his pelvis. Half his body was on the couch, supporting them as she laid flat against his chest and they made out once again. His hands caressed her body from neck to ass, and Buffy felt his restrained erection restrained pressing against the mound of her sex. With blood rushing through her veins, the inexperienced girl instinctively began rolling her pelvis, dry humping him, as she had in the cemetery a few nights ago.
  
  Such a level of physical intimacy may have been enough for Xander, but not for a character like Nox. Nox was the embodiment of Xander's animal-strong, big, and fierce-and he took what he desired. As the man made out with the beautiful blonde-sensually massaging her lower back, hips, and neck with firm hands-Nox knew to push Buffy much further, for he knew the hot-blooded girl was running from heartache and accountability. If this was the direction she chose, he was going to press her resolve until she woke up or broke down.
  
  Nox's right hand gripped her neck and pulled her face away. It wasn't a choking grip, but it was firm. The aroused Slayer looked disappointed and confused as he extended his arm fully, making her sit up. His left hand deftly undid his pants between her straddled legs, unzipping his fly and peeling back his underwear to let loose his thick cock. His meat pole was throbbing between her legs and through his hand; he could feel her swallow at the size.
  
  "Take them off," Nox ordered.
  
  Buffy didn't even take a second to consider what was about to happen. She shook her head, swinging elegant strands of her blonde hair, and quickly removed her panties before straddling his waist again. The sexy Slayer paused when she felt the underside of his throbbing manhood touch her sensitive quim. Xander couldn't imagine what was going through her head, and ignored that genuine concern when Nox gripped her hips as she sat on his cock.
  
  Buffy closed her eyes as his stiffness spread her tight entrance, moaning, "AAHH! MMMNnnnn..."
  
  Nox felt bestial desire as his love muscle shook eagerly at the touch of her hot love petals leaking against him. Buffy quickly began thrusting her hips, coating his thick member in her love juices. The girl had her eyes closed and rode his pelvis, rolling her throbbing pussy up and down the length of his cock in a frenzy. Despite her frantic behavior, Nox caressed her love nub as she was riding his cock. With his ring's power, he vibrated his thumb to stimulate her clitoris.
  
  "MMMNNN!" Buffy moaned.
  
  Her legs shook, and she fell forward. Though she rested on his chest, his finger kept sending waves of pleasure through her sensitive sex, up her spine, and throughout her body.
  
  " MMNn ... AAN ... Uuah... Uaaahh ," she moaned as her pelvis kept thrusting.
  
  Unable to take anymore, Nox effortlessly sat up, gripping her firm cheeks before rotating them on the couch with driven hunger. With her beautiful body under him, Nox was feral as he took her purple top off, quickly followed by his own. However, he was careful to keep his beanie-mask from coming off. His right hand deftly guided his cock to her entrance, while his left gripped her hip. At the feel of her slick lips pucker, then crown around him, sucking him in, invitingly, Nox thrust his thick cock inside the nude Slayer.
  
  "OOOOHhhhhhhhhh!" Nox sounded. "Fuuuuuck yes," he added as Buffy moaned so sweetly.
  
  Buffy's belly fluttered as her sex was stuffed with a hot, pulsing cock. Her taut love-glove enveloped every inch of his love until he was fully sheathed inside, and not unlike Kendra and Faith, Buffy's velvety softbox was a level of supple and firm many women couldn't compete with. Her hot womanhood clenched at him, pulsing as she milked more pleasure out of his fat phallus. Nox could feel her lust for more as her pussy sucked him in, but he slowly withdrew his rock-hard member before slamming back into her.
  
  " OOOAAHHHHHH! MMMN! " Buffy moaned as her body rocked with his thrust.
  
  As Nox built up a steady rhythm, her dripping slit contoured around his thick dick. Hers was the most vigorous cock pocket he'd ever been in, and he lost himself to the pleasure of being inside her. Nox pumped into her relentlessly, slightly changing angles to get the most wonderful sounds from her throat.
  
  " AAH! MMMN! YESS! FUU- FUUU- FUUUCCCKKK," she'd moan along with every meaty slap of their pelvises.
  
  Buffy rocked under him with every powerful thrust. Gripping her hips, Nox pounded into the girl with ferocious intent, making her pert tits bounce. Her hard nipples were so hypnotizing as they swayed with each pounding of his cock into her core. He widened his feet for better balance as he leaned down to suck on her rock-hard pink nips.
  
  " OOOAAHHHH! I 'MMMM ... YOU'R EEEE ," Buffy said incoherently. And with the increased rate of her pussy squeezing him, Nox knew the sweaty girl would blow soon.
  
  Nox pounded into the lewd Buffy hard enough to push the couch back. They were like animals in heat, fucking and moaning in the throes of ecstasy. Instinctively, Nox was caressing her G-spot whilst feasting on her breasts and nipples, sending the powerful girl into a frenzy.
  
  Buffy felt the world crumble around her. Nothing mattered in the face of so much pleasure, and she only had one task. It wasn't to save anyone, kill a monster, or carry the heavy burden of a hero. Her one, simple task was to be an object of sexual desire, and the way her mystery man couldn't control himself gave her a sense of accomplishment she hadn't felt for a long time. Then, to her ever-lasting surprise, Nox's cock vibrated inside her.
  
  "OOOOHHHAAAHHHHH! WHAT IS THA- THA- MMMN!" she loudly moaned.
  
  "You... Didn't think... I was like... any regular ol' guy, did you?" Nox asked her as he focused his vibrating cock against her melting G-spot.
  
  When she felt the largest pleasure coil inside her begin to burst, she whimpered, " I 'm cumming! I'm cumming! I'mmmmmm -"
  
  As Nox focused on staving off his own impending climax, he worked on getting her off. As he pumped his thick rod inside her dripping snatch, her eyes rolled back and her blonde head jolted from side to side from the overwhelming bliss. Her grip tore the leather cushions at the seams as her spine arched. For the briefest moment, her body stilled just before she exploded. Buffy had a heart-stopping orgasm tremble from her sex throughout her body as she was racked with wave after wave of euphoria.
  
  Her mind went blank with bliss and her body quivered as her cunt clamped down on Nox's cock. He couldn't hold back any longer and, with a final thrust, stuffed himself fully within her quaking wetness. From the pressure in his balls, through his veiny shaft, and out the crown of his head, Nox shot load after load of his thick seed. With his ring's power, he produced more semen and could enjoy the tickling sensation of filling her up to the brim. After Buffy milked his engorged manhood, he pulled out as she relaxed a moment against the couch.
  
  "What... was that?" she asked between deep gasps.
  
  "I can make my muscles... twitch on command," Nox explained as he quickly recuperated his strength.
  
  He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet so she was flush against his chest. He tilted her chin up before kissing her with dominance. As their faces tilted around their locked lips, his tongue delved into her oral cavity, rubbing masterfully against her own. His hand massaged her scalp for the long moments of their kiss, and then he gripped her silky strands and pulled away. Buffy's eyes were glazed over with arousal, and he felt just the same.
  
  Nox turned her around and had her bend over. With her ass up, Buffy rested her hands on the moist couch. Realizing that her juices coated the couch cushion, the smell hit her nose and oddly aroused her further. When his warm, firm hands gripped her clammy hips, she trembled with anticipation.
  
  The aroused Nox aligned his cock at the entrance of her pulsing wet womanhood, and without preamble, spread the line of her pink lips into a wide O. Buffy's toned legs shuddered and her spine arched as he buried himself halfway into her slick sex on the first thrust. As she spread for the rest of his sausage, Buffy moaned loudly, allowing her head to droop as the pleasure once again fogged her brain.
  
  It wasn't long before he was fully inside the supernaturally firm girl. His drenched cock pulled out before thrusting back in, slapping her round ass as Nox fucked the Slayer doggystyle. Her soft box clenched at him to stay, but he kept pulling out and pounding into her, grinding his head against her most erogenous zone. With every thrust, the pleasure would weaken her arms until she could no longer support her weight. With her face in the hot, wet mess on the cushion she'd cum on, Buffy could only moan as he impaled her dripping pussy to an even higher level of paradise than she had felt before.
  
  Nox's pumping meat stick was unrelenting for minutes. He dug his fingers into her firm hips as he fucked the moaning girl into the cushion. As the wet sounds of smacking filled the sex-stenched air, she bucked back and forth, and he could feel her squeezing him more and more. He made the naked girl panic when he reminded her of his vibrating cock. Her sultry back stiffened before she got up on her arms, twisting at the waist to protest.
  
  "Wah- AH! Wait! I- UMM! I can't!" she tried to communicate before Nox gripped the back of her neck and pounded her rear harder. "You're going to- I'm gonna fucking- AAHH! I'm cumming!"
  
  Nox vibrated his pumping rod until the paranormally strong Slayer slammed her face into the cushion and clamped down on his cock like a vise. Nox held firm as wave after wave of electricity made her body quiver sporadically in undiluted ecstasy. Nox massaged her lower back and hips as she lost herself in rolling waves of bliss.
  
  When she finally settled down, Nox had her sit on his lap. She lowered her dripping sex on his erect member, and moaned when her labia parted for his manhood. Buffy bounced on his lap, riding his stiffness as he sucked wantonly on her pert pink nipples. Their gleaming bodies gyrated against one another, grinding repeatedly as they ran their hands over each other's slick flesh. When Buffy's bucking hips grew faster, Nox vibrated his cock once again, sending them both over the edge and into the embrace of pure ecstasy.
  
  For the next hour, Nox fucked Buffy any which way he felt like, cumming inside of her at his leisure. And though it didn't matter whether she climaxed or not, Nox wanted to hear her moan and scream until her throat was hoarse. He relished the way her tight cunt would quiver around him when she came repeatedly. Thus, he couldn't avoid her ever-grander orgasms, until she finally passed out from bliss-mingled exhaustion.
  
  Nox had long been ready to sleep, but couldn't just yet. He left her a note before heading into the garage where he stored his tools and his motorcycle. Using his ring's power, he kept himself awake for an hour to work on some rune schemes. Thinking about how injured Buffy was, Xander wondered if he could magically turn normal clothes into light, yet incredibly strong armor. Since he was having little luck with teleporting, armor seemed like a great next step. Xander was working out how the rune array would look when Buffy finally entered the spacious room. Neither of them spoke, and before it got awkward, Nox tossed her a blindfold.
  
  She looked at him curiously, but he only turned on his bike. After Buffy reluctantly put on the black cloth, they rode out of the mansion. She held onto him tightly and enjoyed the coolness of the night and the vibration of the bike as they traveled to her house. Buffy's neighborhood was dark and silent as he stopped in front of her home.
  
  As she got off his bike and handed him the blindfold, Nox told the quiet girl, "I get what you're going through, Slayer."
  
  She looked at him with distant eyes and it wasn't hard to imagine her mind was a kaleidoscope of Angel, lost love, Angelus, unfairness, and all the mistakes she'd made. Xander would have hugged her; Nox would tell her nothing and walk away; and the boy in the middle wasn't sure which wolf to feed. The mean wolf with more success-or the nice wolf who was often a doormat. All his pain and heartache made Xander's decision.
  
  Nox softly admitted, "I've lived lifetimes with that feeling of unfairness, loss, and complete confusion. My advice: find someone to lean on. A nice guy... bonus if he can make you laugh." He sat more comfortably on his bike as he added, "Really try, Slayer, because if you keep this up-and I know exactly why you would-you'll regret feeding that beast for the rest of your life."
  
  Nox didn't wait for a reply. He drove away for some much-needed rest, and time to figure out how he felt about what just happened. It was the first time he had sex with Buffy, and he couldn't tell if it was what he wanted or not.
  
  Another short A/N today as I'm quite tired. Life has been demanding recently but it's all good because we still updated. Hoped you guys enjoyed it.
  
  I should be able to publish next week.
  
  Thank you to those who pointed out that gypsie is a slur depending on how it's used.
  
  I'm not going to lie. I had a hard time writing this chapter. I liked how it came out(big thanks to my betas who help me see things/my writing differently) but it took a lot of work to get through it.
  
  Thank you all again for taking the time out of your day to read my fic and possibly leave a comment. I truly do appreciate your support. For those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my is /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Happy Valentines
  Another Sunday demands another Chapter!
  
  Welcome back and thank you so much for continuing this epic with me. Much appreciated!
  
  Big thank you to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! 👏👏👏 Thanks guys.
  
  Warning: Violence, Language and some light lemons.
  
  8.8 K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Happy Valentines
  
  Xander set aside the powerful runes floating around his head-the ones he ultimately concluded came from Willow's spell during Halloween-to spend most of his free time rebuilding a second bike. Though figuring out how to imbue his clothes with magical properties-like teleportation or defense-was very important, he could no longer tolerate taking the bus to school surrounded by dullards. His sanity was too fragile to risk unnecessarily. He couldn't drive to school in Nox's scrambler-to avoid being found out by his friends-and so, wasted half an hour every morning walking.
  
  The young mechanic found a Honda CB750 Nighthawk that was in a collision, for five hundred dollars. Luckily, most of the damage was cosmetic. He brought the bike to his main house's garage, broke it down to its individual systems, ordered the parts he was sure to need, then deep cleaned every part he was going to reassemble. The transmission especially needed extra attention. Xander began customizing the bike into a cafe racer by cutting off sections of the frame and the seat, which took another week on its own. After the new parts came in-the shocks, rims, off-roading tires, and headlight, among other smaller parts-it took him two additional weeks to put everything together.
  
  During that fortnight, Xander used his time in classes to figure out how to write out the unknown runes in his head. They were unlike anything Giles had cataloged in the library. As a test, Xander showed both Giles and Willow a runic array and asked if they could figure out what it said. Even after a week of researching, neither of the smartest people he knew could source the characters. He felt like he was discovering a new language. Using Sherlock's steps of deduction, Xander broke down the difficulty of using the runes; from understanding the problem creating the magical effect, he wanted to design a solution, and then draw a flowchart.
  
  For Valentine's day, Xander talked to Faith over the phone so they could make fun of the holiday together. He later gave Cordelia her Valentine's gift: a gold ring that dripped three gold rings every nine days. Xander was surprised by how detached he felt being with her after what he did. He'd had sex with Buffy nearly three weeks ago, but he was still having sex with Cordelia. That should automatically make him a creep.
  
  There were details that played in his favor: technically, Xander was single-as Cordelia didn't want anyone knowing they were in a physical relationship-and Nox was the one that had sex with Buffy, not him. It was a pitiful excuse, as far as excuses went. But in the end, he didn't feel like the scumbag he probably should be. In fact, he didn't feel much of anything anymore.
  
  The only things that made Xander feel alive were being Nox, or anything he hadn't ever experienced before. Working at the forge or on the Nighthawk made him forget about the time prison he was drowning in. And being an asshole in the form of Nox was liberating. However, giving Cordelia a magical ring that dripped more gold rings again wasn't nearly as exciting as the first time, if at all.
  
  Still, Xander plastered his face with as much excitement as he could muster and gave Cordelia the magical ring, adding, "I made it myself. Happy Valentine's Day."
  
  Raising a brow and tilting her head, Cordelia looked at the plain gold ring in her palm without enthusiasm, and asked him, "Okay... Why though?"
  
  Not surprised by the spoiled girl's lackluster reaction, Xander argued, "What do you mean, why? You can't rely on your dad's money forever. Think of this as a backup."
  
  "A basic ring that 'drips' more basic rings?" Eying him with incredulity, she asserted, "I know they say it's the thought that counts, but that's just something poor people came up with because they can't afford... oooh." Plastering a fake smile on her stunning face, she expressed, "Thank you... Xander... for the gift."
  
  The teen boy rolled his eyes in disbelief, then sighed before explaining, "Cordy, the price of gold per gram is around five hundred bucks. Just one of the rings it drips has four grams; times that by three rings-that's twelve grams. Times that by five hundred bucks and you're looking at six thousand dollars every nine days." Cordelia's eyes bulged in disbelief. She looked at the simple gold ring, and then at him, to which he answered her unvoiced question. "Yes, it's real."
  
  "Oh my God! Xander! I love you!" She kissed him deeply before pulling back and clearing up in her typical Cordelia way, "I mean, like, at the moment , I can't imagine loving anything more than you, but tomorrow's a different day, you know-"
  
  "Kinda ruining the moment, Cor."
  
  "Right," she said with a wide and genuine grin.
  
  As Xander stood still, Cordelia leaned in sensually. Her soft breasts pressed deliciously against his strong chest, and the pair enjoyed the electric arousal easily building between them just before she kissed him. Their lips met and their affections progressed gently; a slow kiss as their heads tilted and mouths opened to allow more tongue touching. The tang of orange juice was still on her tongue as Xander explored her mouth with acute familiarity. He knew how she loved being kissed and he wowed her with practiced ease.
  
  Making out with Cordelia should've made Xander feel guilty-and in a minor way, it did. However, that emotion felt more like a memory. After a century in the time braid, Xander knew he should feel guilty about kissing Cordelia after having sex with Buffy, but in his heart, it barely registered a blip. For most of his days, Xander simply moved on automatic, like a professor giving a lecture for the thousandth time while simultaneously thinking about what groceries to buy for dinner. The only times Xander had any significant sensations of emotion was when he was doing something new, which, at the moment, was being Nox and fucking Buffy.
  
  However, at the moment, he was at Cordelia's mansion, celebrating Valentine's evening. The lovers were naked on her queen-sized bed, the sheets bundled around them. Xander was seated on the edge, with the stunning brunette straddling his lap and riding his cock. As the beauty rolled her pelvis, Xander's sculpted glans pierced her tight pussy repeatedly, dragging out streams of her sticky essence before stuffing her with cock once again.
  
  " Mmmm! " Cordelia moaned, eyes closed and back arched as her powerful legs and ass did all the work. Xander's mouth dined on her large mammaries as he met her thrusts, pumping into her fuck tunnel as best he could from his seated position. The glistening Cordelia-strands of her chocolate hair stuck to her face-moaned as her bouncing intensified. Her juicy tits danced up and down as she leaned back and supported herself with her palms on his knees.
  
  " Nnnnhhhhhh! Oh my God!" she moaned out to the ceiling. The electricity was building to a breaking point as she whined, "I'm cumming! I'm cumming! I'm mmm mmm! "
  
  Their hoarse panting mingled in the dark room as she impaled herself with reckless abandon. Xander was on the verge of nutting as she bucked and gyrated harder until her pleasure coil finally exploded and her tight cunt clamped down on his cock. Like her arms and legs wrapping around him, her quivering pussy squeezed as he orgasmed with her. They held each other as quakes of ecstasy ripped through them. Cordelia moaned in his ear when she felt his hot load fill her love tunnel-like coming out from the cold into a warm cabin-her whole body tingled as they held each other and enjoyed the waves of bliss making them mindless.
  
  Before Xander left the satisfied brunette, he explained being unable to meet up as often due to a new project. When she asked what the project was, he answered, "You know Nox? I kinda thought I'd make a bike like his."
  
  "You? Really?"
  
  "You should know by now how good I am with my hands," he casually replied before giving her a kiss goodbye.
  
  The next night, Xander was walking out of the auto parts store with the countershaft and spline collar he needed for the Nighthawk's transmission rebuild. He was inspecting the cleanly cut part as he walked to the bus stop when he felt a hard bump on the head, and then complete darkness. He didn't even have time to think, let alone react.
  
  Xander didn't know how long he was out for, but when he started coming around, the first thing he registered was the splitting migraine. His head was hot and throbbing with stabbing pain. He could barely think as he heard oddly augmented voices around him. Sometimes they sounded close, but other times, far away.
  
  When they finally came into focus, he heard, "Xander... and your love for him... but I'll give him back... one piece at a time. Love... Angel."
  
  When Xander opened his eyes, his vision was blurred, but he could see a tall man dressed in black looking at a sheet of paper, rereading its contents.
  
  "Passion," Angelus voiced. "It lies in all of us: sleeping, waiting. And though unwanted-unbidden-it will stir, open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us; guides us. Passion rules us all. And we obey. I obey. How could I not... take your friend? I was compelled to, like a blazing inferno consumes. I took Xander, and your love for him, but I'll give him back... one piece at a time. Love, Angel.
  
  "So beautifully cruel," a female voice said.
  
  Xander tilted his head to see who spoke, and the shifting weight made his migraine throb even worse. He thought about how much he needed to heal. However, the familiar tingling and numbing of the pain didn't happen. Unable to heal was so shocking he panicked for a moment before he realized his ring wasn't on his finger. Xander looked around the low-lit room and recognized the familiar base. With growing awareness, he realized he was chained to a vertical surface, arms and legs spread-eagled, and he could see Spike watching Angelus and Drusilla as they overlooked tools of torture on a table. Xander recalled Giles' warning:
  
  ' I want you all to remain vigilant ,' Giles stated. ' In the past, the worst part about Valentine 's was Angelus' propensity to be quite ruthless. '
  
  Not only was he ashamed for being caught unaware, but he realized Angelus' gift to Buffy was Xander's dead body, likely cut up and horrifically mangled. Setting that aside, he wondered where his ring went, because it wasn't as if he was completely out of options. Xander could always call Dreadnought and Hellguard, but if he did so, it would have to be at the appropriate time, as he didn't want to kill Angel or Spike. Additionally, a small part of him also didn't mind doing something different.
  
  Xander found himself chained spread-eagled to a vertical torture cross, bleeding from the head, in throbbing pain, and without his ring or weapons. His friends didn't know where he was, and there was a strong possibility he could loop back. Though fearful of the time braid erasing so much of his time and effort, he was also excited about the newness of the danger level. The minimally dire situation was different-unexpected-and he didn't want to let that suspense go right away.
  
  Spotting Xander awake and looking at them with half-lidded eyes, Spike voiced, "Look who finally decided to join us."
  
  Angelus turned around and happily clapped his hands, rubbing them against each other before greeting the teen with a grin. "Xander! Just in time. I'd hate for you to miss what we've got planned."
  
  Playing to his human feebleness, Xander pulled on his restraints, making the metal links clink with each tug as he voiced, "Wha-whaa?"
  
  Observing the teen struggle, Angelus casually walked up to Xander, nodding in feigned sympathy before saying, "I imagine you have questions."
  
  "W-What is this?" Xander anxiously asked, playing up the kidnapped victim. However, he could already feel his interest waning.
  
  "Allow me to explain," Angelus said with levity in his voice. Clearly, he was happy to have someone so close to Buffy. "As you know, it's Valentine's day, so I put my men to task. I wanted them to bring me one of Buffy's friends, and one of our guys got lucky. You were literally walking right by him and he happened to see a pipe on the floor. I mean, what are the chances? Anyway, the short of it is: you, my friend, are going to be a fantastic present for our beloved Buffy."
  
  From his wheelchair, Spike sat up in interest, and repeated, "Our, you say?"
  
  "Oh, yes," Angelus confirmed with a chuckle. Turning to Drusilla and Spike, the mirthful vampire cupped and roughly patted Xander's blood-stained cheek as he proclaimed, "In case you didn't know: ever since she came to Sunnydale, the young and hopeful virgin before you has had the longest crush on the vivacious Buffy Summers."
  
  "Unrequited love," Spike remarked with a devilish grin. "Maddening thing, that."
  
  "Poor, poor boy," Drusilla sang. "The lights in his eyes are crossed and I can hear them scream. Such love for his Slayer is a great... hell."
  
  Spike chuckled and Angelus grinned mockingly as he added, "He does love her, doesn't he? It must just eat you up inside, Xander. To know that I got there first."
  
  The three vampires clearly enjoyed taunting him, and as much as Xander wanted to play the brave-yet-obviously scared victim, he couldn't manage it at such a pivotal moment. In truth, they made him want to laugh-not that anything they did was particularly funny-but Xander knew that in the presence of such famously terrifying vampires, fearing for his life was expected of him. He was supposed to be scared and praying for a savior. Instead, he barely felt alive enough to feel such fear, and considering how he used to be at the start of this journey, that was funny to him.
  
  Returning their smiles, Xander casually replied to Angelus' taunting, "Not so much, actually." Indifferent to his predicament, the teen joked, "Buffy might've mentioned a comparison to baby carrots. You know: like, that oddly shaped one you sorta leave in the bag." Spike coughed loudly to hide his unexpected chuckle as the bold teen asked Angelus with genuine concern, "Do you feel your sadism is overcompensating for some performance issues in other departments?"
  
  Just in case it wasn't clear to everyone in the room, Xander nodded toward Angelus' crotch and Spike beat his chest and coughed loudly to avoid laughing. Angelus' shoulders hunched aggressively as the rage inside of him grew. Xander could hear knuckles cracking and felt a little more excitement. Pissing Angelus off was dangerous, but that was also why it was fun.
  
  A homicidal Angelus leaned closer, glaring intensely through a restrained expression as he voiced, "For that, I'm going to cut out your tongue first and leave it on her nightstand. The idea of Buffy-and your infuriating friends-receiving bloody pieces of you, every day, for weeks-until only your rotting head is left-fills me with unparalleled joy."
  
  "Yeah, yeah," Xander replied with a bored expression. More importantly, to satisfy a curiosity, he looked at each of them as he asked, "Now that the three of you are here, I've always wanted to know who Drusilla loves more." Angel and Spike hesitated to look at each other, equal parts wondering about the shackled teenager's lack of fear as well as the answer to his question.
  
  Drusilla stepped closer to Xander with a dream-like swaying of her hips as she sang, "You naughty, naughty boy."
  
  "Oh, you have no idea," he smiled at the beautiful vampire, pondering in that moment what series of circumstances might lead to him fucking her. Putting that train of thought aside, he asked, "But seriously, Dru- Can I call you Dru? You are one sexy vampire. I can't deny I've had a few fantasies, but, you have both of these good-looking bad boys here. One loves you, the other is Angelus, but it's not clear whose face you're sitting on at the end of the day."
  
  Spike seemed to take offense and aggressively replied, "You couldn't possibly understand our love."
  
  "Sure I can," Xander assured him. "Sociopaths with obsessive disorders are studied fairly well nowad- AOUUFFF!"
  
  Angelus punched Xander hard in the stomach, knocking all the air out of him as he yelled, "Enough!" Xander bent from the stomach as far as his chains would allow, but then the sudden movement shot stabbing pain from his head injury down his spine and to his toes. His vision blurred and danced as Angelus proclaimed, "I'm going to enjoy torturing you. You'll be begging me to kill you before long, but I won't. You hear me? I'll make sure you stay alive for weeks to feel every ounce of agony! And knowing that my torture of you will also torture Buffy is the sweetest cherry on top. If we're lucky, she might even commit suicide."
  
  The pain shooting from his stomach and head was intense, but Navy SEAL training knew techniques to help cope with agony. Xander coughed and gasped, trying to gather his breathing again, to wheeze. "Be-fore... you do that... Gimme... ahem! A... fighting chance." The vampires looked at each other curiously as the teenager argued, "C-come on. It's not... like I'm going anywhere." Breathing a little easier, Xander pleaded, "I want... to fight the asshole who jumped me. You know how expensive... those parts were?"
  
  Angelus and Drusilla seemed suspicious, but for the first time ever, Xander appreciated Spike's aloofness.
  
  "Shit... why not?" Spike asserted with a shrug, before reasoning, "I could bloody well use the entertainment." Though still wary, Angelus nodded as Spike turned in his wheelchair and yelled out, "Someone get Tanner!"
  
  With a quirked brow, Xander asked Spike, "What kind of a name is Tanner for an evil vampire?"
  
  "Don't even get me started," the blond returned, shaking his head. "Back in my day, a vampire took pride in an alias that spread fear and bloodshed everywhere they went. You weren't really somebody until some terrified pissant was running all night to warn the next town over."
  
  "Yeah," Xander agreed, nodding. "I mean, how are you supposed to build an evil reputation on a name like Tanner?"
  
  "You're preaching to the choir, mate," Spike replied in total agreement. "Alas, beggars can't be choosers. And the suburbs are filled with Tanners, Coles, and Garretts."
  
  Xander was unshackled from the torture furniture and escorted out of the room. They walked out to the main floor of the abandoned factory, Bric & Broc, and even passed the hole in the cement floor Buffy and Angel had made weeks ago to escape Spike and the Judge. He was surprised they hadn't fixed it yet. As a carpenter, Xander knew it wouldn't be easy, but all the vampires did was put four orange cones around the hole with caution tape cordoning off the fall into the sewer below.
  
  Walking between Drusilla, Angelus, and Spike, Xander noted the large gathering of vampires ahead. They were rowdy and in a circle in the center of the room, like an underground fight club. Xander was shoved into the circle of blood-sucking demons while the henchmen growled and bared their fangs close to his face. However, the teenager didn't care about their scare tactics. He focused solely on the tall and gangly Tanner, waiting for him in the center of the circle and shadow boxing-badly.
  
  His opponent was an unassuming thin man with straw-colored longish hair and baby-faced. Xander could easily see why he'd missed the frail-looking man. His long face was the definition of uneventful. The shirtless man was at least 6'4" with wiry muscles and wore tight jeans and black boots. However, what was most important about his appearance was his hands. As Tanner was shadow boxing for the crowd, Xander focused specifically on a flicker of silver on his left hand, and to his great relief, the vampire was wearing his Norse ring.
  
  Xander wasn't sure if Odin's ring worked with the soulless, but he didn't want to find out. The situation needed careful consideration, but the teenage fighter had a strategy that could work. Trying to play up a false sense of security, the surrounded Xander spread his arms out and boasted to the room, "Oh, you best believe I'm going to dust you, Tanner! "
  
  The henchmen all laughed joyfully while Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla smiled confidently. It was obvious they didn't take the weak human seriously, which is exactly what Xander wanted. As he stretched and spun his arms to loosen his shoulders, he bragged, "Buffy's been teaching me some moves, so don't think this'll be easy for you!"
  
  The vampires only laughed harder, cheering for the smirking Tanner, as they took bets on how fast the raven-haired teen would lose. Xander, on the other hand, was assessing distance, Tanner's dominant hand, how he shifted his weight, and how badly his throbbing head hurt. Despite some dizziness, his body still seemed highly capable.
  
  Angelus raised his hand, silencing the henchmen, before stipulating to Tanner, "You can kick his ass." The onlookers laughed before the boss finished saying, "But don't kill him. Or, I kill you."
  
  Xander resisted the urge to use proper footwork to avoid alerting them about how skilled he actually was. Acting irate, the haughty teen demanded of the tall vampire, "Did you at least pick up the parts I dropped?"
  
  Tanner laughed as he responded, " Pphhffft ! I threw 'em in the garbage!"
  
  "You son of a bitch!" Xander yelled before recklessly charging the larger vampire like a novice.
  
  Tanner allowed Xander to tackle his stomach because he didn't budge an inch. The crowd laughed as Tanner grabbed Xander's middle and tossed him off. Hitting the floor aggravated his head wound, sending fresh waves of sharp pain down his body. Using that stinging pain to keep him moving, Xander got up and put his fists up like an amateur.
  
  Xander fought the vampire, pretending to be of the strength and speed of a seventeen-year-old boy. He would throw out a series of punches, putting no weight into them, and Tanner would dodge them before countering effortlessly. Xander took shots to the stomach, face, and sides after his own combination attacks failed. His nose was soon broken and bleeding. His lip was cut and his left eye was swelling up. His stomach felt gutted and feverishly hot, but Xander fought through the pain. He stayed up and continued fighting pathetically, waiting for that perfect moment.
  
  The crowd pushed Xander whenever he got too close. It was with a hard shove to his back, sending the teen forward, that he finally got his chance. Seeing the human shoved toward him, the confident Tanner went for a very lazy punch-a wide swing with the hand that had his ring. Xander's right hand grabbed the oncoming fist by the wrist. His left hand grabbed the elbow. And as he spun, pulling the vampire's weight into his back, Xander flipped his opponent off his back with its own momentum. Xander controlled the surprised vampire's body in the air so that instead of landing on his back-like a typical judo throw-Tanner came down head first into the stone floor, likely breaking his neck, though not killing him.
  
  As the surprised gang of vampires watched Tanner's body jolt and slacken, Xander quickly pulled the ring off the convulsing man and slipped it on. Odin's ring resized to fit his finger, and he immediately made it invisible before thinking of a great need to heal his injuries. Immediately, Xander felt the numbing agent as his body quickly began recovering.
  
  Looking at the twitching Tanner in disbelief, an amused Spike remarked, "Bloody hell."
  
  To give himself as much time to mend his battered body as possible, Xander wiped his bloody nose with his shirt as he asked the gathered vampires, "Now that everyone's here... Dru can finally tell us... who she loves more... Spike, or Angelus."
  
  Everyone turned to Drusilla-even the two vampires dragging Tanner away-and looked at her with curiosity in their eyes. Drusilla only smiled at Xander before sensually shaking her head, effectively telling everyone she would not play this game.
  
  Changing tactics, Xander turned to an annoyed Angelus, and provoked the legendary vampire by saying, "If Darla were here, I bet it'd be obvious who you'd pick, but since she's not-"
  
  Bringing up Angelus' past love and the vampire that sired him had the desired effect. The tall and handsome vampire rushed faster than Xander's weakened and injured body could react, and gripped his neck with an iron hand. Though Xander was hoping to be hit once again, then tossed in a cell, Angelus broke his neck before being dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
  
  The irate vampire yelled at the men, "Get outta here! All of you!"
  
  The goons all rushed out of the center of the warehouse and away from their furious boss, but Xander could feel the vibrations of the thundering feet. From fingertips to toes, his body shook sporadically like the flickering of a dying light bulb, until he could feel nothing. Xander's eyes widened in fear when he tried to move, only to find he couldn't. He couldn't move his prickly fingers, toes, arms, legs, or anything below his neck. What if he didn't loop back and stayed paralyzed forever?
  
  Xander's mind immediately panicked, yelling, ' I can 't move! I can't feel anything! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! '
  
  Looking at the teen's body on the floor like a stain on the carpet, Spike told Angel, "Would've been better if he were alive to send her body parts, mate."
  
  At the sound of Spike's voice, Xander's mental fortitude kicked in, and recalled his training. With great effort, he accepted the terrifying situation and repeated his name and driver's license number endlessly in an effort to remain disciplined.
  
  "I don't like the bad man," Drusilla told her boys.
  
  "It's okay, poppet," Spike sweetly told her. "Bad man's dead now... or will be soon enough, anyway. I can still hear a heartbeat."
  
  Furious, Angelus walked over to Xander and gripped his hair. The time looper was more curious about what he was going to do than fearful of his life, but the possibility of staying paralyzed made him irrationally wonder if he was out of the loop. Angelus took the letter he'd written out of his pocket and used it to wipe the blood off of the teenager's face, a terrifying addition.
  
  He let Xander's face hit the cement floor, adding more pain and injury before declaring, "I'm going to go deliver a letter. I can't wait to see her expression break, horrified to learn that I killed someone she loves."
  
  Clapping daintily, Drusilla sweetly cheered, "Ooooouuuuh, it'll be marvelous!"
  
  Extending his hand, Angelus said, "Come with me."
  
  "No, she stays here," Spike argued, taking Drusilla's hand. "We can't risk-"
  
  "Risk? What risk?" Angelus called, pulling her away from Spike in his wheelchair. "She'll be with me," he cockily told the blond. "Right where she wants to be."
  
  Unable to move, Xander could only hear them argue as they left. He then prayed that all the vampires in the hideout would leave him alone long enough for him to heal such a devastating injury. Paralyzed from a broken neck was the worst anxiety he had ever endured, but he was surprised it wasn't the sudden death many movies portrayed. Additionally his lungs and heart continued working despite not feeling anything below his neck. Sadly, magically mending his broken neck wasn't a quick fix. Xander laid on that dirty floor for long tortuous minutes, and while he was healing, he couldn't know if vampires would come by and bite him for a snack, or throw knives at his body for their sick amusement.
  
  Long stressful minutes slowly turned into an hour, an hour and a half, two hours, and then four hours. He must've recited all the runes in his head a million times. He even paired unexpected runes together to focus on a task as his body healed as fast as magically possible. After eight hours on the cold floor, physical sensations finally spread down his neck and to the rest of his body, and he let out a huge sigh of relief. However, Xander could barely move. His muscles spasmed, and he had terrible coordination, but he didn't dare stay a second longer.
  
  Xander struggled to stand on uncoordinated feet as his ring continued healing him. His first step was tentative, but he followed his left with a shaky right, and moved toward the wall. Xander needed cover as he moved through the very familiar hideout. With a palm on the wall to hold him up, he wasn't in any condition to fight a child, much less many vampires. Assuming all the exits were covered, Xander pondered his escape when his mind recalled the hole that was sectioned off with caution tape and slowly made his way to the next room. Though there were two guards seated at a table by the wall, they were sleeping. The half-crippled Xander struggled to crawl to the hole silently, and dreaded the ten-foot drop to his freedom.
  
  Gripping the concrete edge, he tensed his arms and back as much as he could before going through the opening, one leg at a time. Just dangling off the ledge was painful, but he psyched himself up before letting the cement edge slip from his fingers and dropping to the steel floor below. The second his tingly feet made contact with the cold wet sewer, a shooting pain traveled up his entire body, and he thought about how much he needed for his vocal cords not to work. Through the magic of his ring, Xander screamed silently for nearly a minute, letting the tears stream down his cheeks before he eventually pulled himself together and forced his tortured legs to keep moving.
  
  Activating his night vision, he walked for several minutes through the cold and dank tunnel until he needed to rest. He kept moving for another hour before resting again. The power of his new Odin's ring was incredible, but it could only enhance Xander's natural healing ability, and the more exhausted he became, the harder it was to heal himself. His vision was constantly swimming, and with every single step, his body felt like he was walking on nails.
  
  Xander pushed his battered body to its outer limits-like a Navy SEAL would-and then some more, and when his exhausted form finally made it to a manhole cover, it took another hour to remove the two-hundred-and-fifty pound cast iron lid. When he was out of the sewer, it was already morning, but at least he had a vague idea of what part of town he was in. To his luck, his house wasn't more than four miles away. However, to his misfortune, it was four miles away, and his broken and battered body had to walk for the next two hours.
  
  Entering his incredibly clean but simple home, Xander dragged his feet to the phone and called the library first. On the first ring, Willow's voice yelled, "Please tell me you found him!"
  
  "...Heeeyy Will," his cracked and weakened voice whispered.
  
  "Xander! Oh my God! Xander! Where are you! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
  
  "I'm... at... my place," he weakly voiced as his legs finally gave out. He fell to the floor and went straight to sleep as the ring continued to heal him.
  
  Two days later, Xander finally awoke, opening his eyes to the sight of Willow and Cordelia seated on either side of him. He was in his room, as he saw his few action figures and the bookshelf of comics. Turning his head left and right alerted the girls, and his copper-haired best friend leaped to his chest, holding him dearly and crying while Cordelia called everyone from downstairs.
  
  Over Willow's crying head, he noted the darkness outside of the window, then Cordelia wiping her red-rimmed eyes. Her button nose was red as well, and he found her need to maintain a brave face cute. Before long, Buffy, Giles, and Oz were also in his room. While a weeping Willow held him, Giles spoke from above her.
  
  "Xander, before anything else, we've been unable to locate your parents," the Englishman said with anxious urgency. "Were they with you when... when you were abducted?"
  
  His voice was hoarse and as weak as the rest of him when he slowly explained, "Mom and dad... left... three months ago."
  
  Tears streaming down her pale cheeks, Willow looked at him to ask, "Wait, what? What do you mean, left?"
  
  As he tried clearing his dry throat, Buffy handed him a glass of water, which he graciously took. He then slowly answered, "They came into some money... left me some of it... then put Sunnydale in their rearview. They're somewhere... in Europe, I think. Not sure where, though. We don't talk much."
  
  As surprised as the rest of them, Buffy asked, "Why didn't you tell us?"
  
  "Being abandoned by your parents... isn't exactly... a great conversation starter," he told them with half a grin. "Besides, I'd rather we all kept it light... have a few laughs. It's crazy enough... with demons, monsters, and bears... oh my."
  
  "No, Xander! You should've told me," Willow cried. "You know I wouldn't have let you go through that alone!"
  
  Xander took her hand and squeezed it as he replied, "The important thing is... I got away."
  
  "How did you get away?" Cordelia asked.
  
  "Challenged one of them to a fight," Xander answered her with a lethargic grin. "Not smart... but, while they were all laughing at a weak human getting pummeled... I rushed to this hole in the ground. I was in the sewers for a while... and when I got out, our Mr. Glowie-Eyes was fighting a few vamps. He got me out of there. Dropped me off here. That's when I called." Xander remarked, "That's twice he's saved me. I'm racking up the life-debt."
  
  Giles had the group let him rest and Xander slept for days recuperating. But, in actuality, he pretended to be hurt longer so he could go out as Nox. After Willow and Cordelia left his house, Xander changed into his covert gear-camo scarf up to his nose and black beanie around his crown-and went patrolling. In the third cemetery he visited, he spotted Buffy fighting a vampire in front of a small mausoleum. As many trees blocked the moonlight from lighting the fight, he walked closer, passing weathered headstones, to admire the creativity in her combat. He was seven feet away when she kicked the demon toward the mausoleum. The vampire bounced off the stone wall before she easily staked it in the heart.
  
  "Nice," Nox stated in his deeper voice.
  
  Buffy turned to him, expressionless, and after a beat, walked straight to him. Though Xander was nervous when she raised her hands, all the Slayer did was roll down his beanie half-mask to his nose before lowering his camo scarf to his neck, to kiss him. The sexy blonde was pressed against him, touching his cheek and neck as she tilted her head and deepened the kiss. Opening her mouth was an invitation he accepted, and dived his tongue into her orifice, caressing her languid organ. His hands held and massaged her lower back as the pair vigorously kissed until they needed air.
  
  Pulling away, the disguised man asked, "What was that for?"
  
  Buffy looked into his glowing orbs with gratitude as she responded, "For rescuing him."
  
  Nox snorted in amusement before replying, "You should probably kiss him. He got pulled into the lion's den and fought his way out. For a normie, that's not bad."
  
  The blonde beauty swayed her head left and right before expressing, "Well, right now, I'm thanking you."
  
  "...Then get on your knees."
  
  They were still pressed against one another, his firm hands lightly caressed her lower back and ass, and the sexual tension between them was thick. However, Buffy was taken aback by the command, looking apprehensive as she asked, "Why?"
  
  "Because you want to thank me," he casually challenged. He could see it in her eyes; the nervous girl was thinking, but despite herself, also growing aroused. She swallowed audibly but didn't reply, so he asked, "What's the matter?"
  
  Buffy looked away, but she couldn't hide her blushing cheeks as she replied, "...I've- ...I've never done that ."
  
  He could tell she was getting aroused by the second, so his right hand gripped her neck and lightly squeezed as he asked, "Do you want to thank me regardless of how it makes you feel, or only when it also makes you feel good?"
  
  She turned to him, gazing into his glowing eyes. As her heart rate increased, so too did her breathing. However, though nervous, she looked away as she asked, "W-where?"
  
  "Right here," Nox answered, to her surprise.
  
  She looked around the silent and dark cemetery before double-checking, "Wait, here? Now?"
  
  Nox stepped back, grabbed her hand, and led her to the backside of the mausoleum as he said, "No better time like the present."
  
  Leaning against the cement wall, he contemporized that, as Xander, he didn't want to go this far and felt disgusted with himself for pressing her like this. But, Nox could do what Xander couldn't or wouldn't. And if he thought about it, Older Buffy did say to come at her in a different way. Though it didn't feel right, it would be the sacrifice necessary to get out. Xander willfully forgot himself and let Nox take over as he unbuttoned his trousers and unzipped his fly. Though anxious, Buffy lowered herself to her knees and pressed her palms on his thighs before his manhood spilled out from his lowered underwear.
  
  Looking at his flaccid cock, Buffy curled her elegant brow curiously before noting, "Uh, it's not..."
  
  "Hard?" he finished. She looked up at him as he answered, "Yeah. You have to put it in your mouth, and suck on it until it gets hard. Stroke the base while you suck, then when I'm ready to blow, take it all in your mouth and swallow everything that comes out. A guy can't ask for a better blow job than that."
  
  Realizing this was a line Buffy had never crossed before, he could tell the blonde was hesitant. Nox caressed her gorgeous face a moment before the primal fighting spirit within made her lean away from his caress. "Or you can go find that nice guy, like I told you to. As much as I'd love to train those pretty little lips of yours to suck cock properly, I'd prefer a Slayer with inner peace and a healthy romantic relationship."
  
  Either Buffy didn't like the words ' romantic relationship ,' or she was trying to prove something to herself, because she took a deep breath and reached for his cock. Taking it in both hands, she raised the crown to her lips. Nox could feel the warmth and the anticipation was making him half hard. Buffy opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around the glans of his dick, the warmth sending tingling goodness up his manhood.
  
  "Don't let your teeth touch it," Nox ordered as he leaned his head back, massaging her head as the pleasure increased.
  
  Buffy started sucking as her tongue tentatively touched the underside of his shapely head. Nox encouraged her with his hands and the blonde beauty took more of him in her mouth, sucking and licking as he had explained. His cock grew in her mouth, filling the small space by the second, until it was a labor to take half of his eight inches. The Slayer was a being of tremendous physical capability, and with his urging, she started bobbing her head, taking half his length as she sucked and licked his veiny shaft.
  
  "Gods, that's good," Nox groaned, feeling his legs weaken.
  
  Sadly, she had a gag reflex, so he couldn't go too deep, but her suction was beyond this world-beyond the tolerance of a normal man-and her tongue ceaselessly glistened his throbbing member. Her full pink lips were wrapped airtight around him as she bobbed deeper and deeper. His dick was gliding in and out of her mouth as one hand squeezed the base and the other played with his balls. Nox relished in her enthusiasm, like she was truly thanking him, and he moaned his appreciation.
  
  The urgency of her cock sucking was getting to him, and he gripped her bouncing blonde head. Closing his glowing eyes, Nox groaned as he filled her small mouth with his thick meat, touching her uvula. Buffy braced herself, pressing her palms to his thighs before his heavy balls squeezed out its storage of spunk. At the feel of his thick ejaculate hitting the back of her mouth, Buffy opened her eyes in surprise before squeezing them shut. But she didn't pull away. As Nox blasted stream after stream down her lovely throat, the blonde did her level best to swallow it.
  
  On her knees, drinking his love jelly, it was like she was another girl, and for the first time, Xander realized why older Buffy told him to stop putting her on a pedestal. She may be the Slayer, his hero, and the most beautiful girl he's ever seen, but as she gulped his frothy ejaculate, she still had sides to her that were not, more or less, unlike any other girl. Once Nox let out every ounce of his potent seed into her stomach, he let her go and she backed away, coughing as she regained her breath.
  
  "Hot damn," he gasped as he zipped up. "Not bad for your first time. I'm thoroughly invested in saving all of your friends now." Buffy glowered at him before getting up to leave. He wrapped his arms around her torso from behind and, from beside her head, asked, "Mad, Slayer?" He thrusted his pelvis against her firm apple bottom as he asked, "Or are you angry at yourself for getting turned on from sucking cock?"
  
  He could feel her nipples harden against his forearm, and wasn't surprised when she backed her ass into his growing erection, when they heard a twig snap. They stepped away from each other to listen for anything. They had enough experience and ability to feel in the air that something wasn't right. The pair began trekking through the cemetery, all the while feeling an eeriness with every step. Five minutes into a forested area, they picked up a pair of vampires moving oddly ahead.
  
  After stalking the vampires for several minutes, Nox and Buffy stopped when they heard, "Buffy, Buffy, Buffy."
  
  They turned to Angelus, walking out from behind a tree. Then they spotted over a dozen vampires coming out from behind other trees, likely waiting for them. Nox counted at least fifteen, all with bats, clubs, or crowbars. Neither Buffy nor Nox brought out their magical weapons, though they moved closer to each other.
  
  Angelus plastered a vile smile on his face as he asked, "How's Xander, by the way? Have you found his body?" Buffy glared at the gleeful vampire, but remained silent and tortured as he continued, "I can't deny how much I admired him, the way he stuck his neck out for the ones he loved. Shame I had to break it."
  
  Despite feeling a great sense of shame, the confused slayer asked, "You... you broke his neck?"
  
  Angelus seemed taken by her question and asked, "You haven't read his autopsy yet?"
  
  "Vampire," Nox called out, hoping to get off the topic, and asked, "Tell me how you turned back to Angelus?"
  
  Buffy looked between Nox and Angel in fear.
  
  Angelus was playful as he tilted his head to ask, "Oh, she didn't want to tell you, did she?" He sucked in air through his teeth before acknowledging, "I suppose it would be a little embarrassing. You see, when Buffy here so innocently spread her lovely legs for me-despite being a horrible lay-she quite literally squeezed the soul right out of me."
  
  Angelus's men chuckled and laughed while Buffy looked mortified with grief, embarrassment, and anger. Nox stepped forward, removing Dreadnought from his back and Hellguard from his holster, eager for a fight. He told the embarrassed girl, "I'm going to kill them all, Slayer." The distracted blonde turned to him as he continued, saying, "That's what I decided a long time ago. It's fifteen to two, so there's no way I can protect you. They're going to come at you, and only you can make the decision to fight." Nox stabbed Dreadnought into the earth beside him, and turned his back to stare into Buffy's eyes as he added, "So, get your head in the game, Slayer, and let's kill them together."
  
  As Xander hoped, Angelus gave the order to charge. Buffy's eyes widened as they were blitzed from all sides. However, Nox winked before bracing himself for a leap. Understanding his intention, Buffy bent her knees and waited another second for the vampires to come a little closer. At the same time, they both leaped into the air and Xander let loose at least a million volts of electricity to travel eight feet all around them. Instantly, eight vampires froze in place, shaking and frying for the two seconds Nox and Buffy were in the air.
  
  As soon as they touched down, Nox charged ahead, tossing his battleaxe into the remaining group of vampires with a high-velocity spin. Angelus attacked Buffy with a smaller group of vampires as Dreadnought tore through two more vamps before returning to Nox's grip. With Slaymore in hand, Buffy fought Angelus and three more minions. Not unlike Nox, Buffy was taking damage on the weak side. She was constantly struck in her back while fighting the two in front of her. However, the primal essence of a Slayer awakened, and soon she was battling the vampires with a torrential passion, slashing and spinning her magical sword in tandem with spinning kicks.
  
  The teenagers continued to fight for nearly five continuous minutes, slashing and killing until an irate Angelus reluctantly retreated. Heaving from the constant focus and exertion, Nox took Buffy's hand, and despite their injuries, he only had one thing in mind. He dragged her to his bike, covered her eyes, and drove fast through roads and lawns to get to his mansion.
  
  Once on his brown leather couch, clothing scattered on the floor, and the nude teenagers fucked all night in every position he wanted. The Slayer was hot and aroused from the boiling heat of battle and threw her head back when Nox's cock slid into her dripping pussy. Buffy spread her legs wide, wrapping them around his hips so he could shove his shaft deep into her hot honeypot.
  
  " MMMMNNNN! " Buffy moaned, gripping at the man atop of her as ecstasy stirred within her like a storm. "OOHH, FFFUUUKKK! SOO GOOOD!"
  
  Nox groaned as he pumped his thickness in and out of her cunt, expanding the tingling heat throughout their bodies. Buffy held him tightly for minutes, as he rammed his throbbing manhood into her slopping pussy. They kissed passionately before he moved to her neck and breasts. His thrusts quickened, rocking the couch as he felt closer and closer to a high edge. Buffy's legs trembled as she felt her orgasm approach and her hand dug into his hair, squeezing.
  
  "N-NOX!" she yelled. "I'm gonna cummmm! I'mmm gonna- I'm almost! I'm!"
  
  Xander plunged faster in and out just as he activated the vibration of his manhood, groaning loudly at the intense feeling rippling through him. Buffy arched her back and her cunt shivered as her pleasure coil snapped from tremendous stimulation. Buffy hugged Nox desperately to her as her cunt clamped down on his thick man-meat, her small breasts crushing against his muscular chest. Their glistening bodies shuddered as they orgasmed in unison. Coupled together, Nox unloaded streams of his seed into her womb as her pussy shivered, clenching him tightly as she had a heart-stopping explosion of ecstasy rip through her. From cunt to brain, everything went white, and Buffy passed out as Xander emptied his balls into the gorgeous girl.
  
  They fucked again after some rest, and then a few more times before their lust was eventually sated. Xander was surprised by how vigorous Buffy became when her motor really got going. In front of her home-minutes away from dawn's light-Buffy leaned in and gave him one last, languid kiss before pulling away. He could see in her greenish-blue eyes that she could be convinced to go another round, but she held strong and forcibly pulled away from him, as if he were a drug.
  
  ' She might even be more insatiable than Faith ,' he thought as she took several steps back.
  
  Clasping her hands behind her back, the cute blonde asked, "Angel mentioned breaking Xander's neck. Did you fix it?"
  
  "I told you, he's not bad," Nox mildly boasted. "You put the grand majority of people in a situation like that, most would've given up and died, but he kept going and found me." Feeling an opening for something new, he suggested, "You should give him a chance. Maybe he'll surprise you."
  
  Buffy was taken aback by the suggestion, as if she'd been insulted. She stepped closer and genuinely wanted to know, "Why do you keep doing that?" Nox remained silent, unsure of how to respond, but she clarified, "Why do you keep pushing me away?" Nervously, she inquired, "Am I... am I not good ?"
  
  "I already told you I get it," he reminded her. "I know what was taken from you. It wouldn't surprise me if every day felt like you were suffocating in a gas chamber. You're looking for anything to take away the poison that's all around you. Anything ."
  
  "So..." Buffy started, but didn't know how to finish asking. "I'm not... I'm..."
  
  Assuming she was focused on validation, Nox assured her, "You feel great, Slayer. Better than great. But that doesn't take away from the fact that you're running from the pain, just like I did."
  
  Buffy sighed before vehemently explaining, "I can't imagine a single guy I go out with ever understanding."
  
  "Nothing and no one is going to magically make you feel better; not even my magic dick," he replied. "That's not the kind of world we live in. If you date your friend, you'll probably feel even worse, if I'm being honest. But there's going to come a time when you will feel better-more at peace-and that guy that stood by you? He'll be even more amazing than anything you and I ever do." Xander kissed her-which she enthusiastically returned-before pulling away and revealing, "I'm going away for a while."
  
  Taken aback, she asked, "Where?"
  
  "To track down a few leads," he answered. "Now that I know how Angelus came to be, I might know where to start looking."
  
  Growing more concerned and curious, she asked, "Looking for what?"
  
  "Help."
  
  "Help?" the anxious blonde repeated with a quirked brow. "What do you mean, help? How? I was told there was nothing we could do."
  
  "There's always something you can do, Slayer," he replied matter-of-factly. "You just have to look hard enough."
  
  Understanding why he was pushing to know so much, she slowly asked, "...Is that why you kept asking me? I thought-"
  
  "I only wanted to torture you?" he interjected, then admitted, "There was a little of that, too. I won't deny it. But the main reason was understanding the curse better to see if there's any chance of bringing Angel back."
  
  Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Buffy remarked, "You could've just said that."
  
  "You could've just asked why I wanted to know," he casually returned.
  
  "...I guess I never did ask," she reluctantly admitted with deflated shoulders. "But you're not lying about helping Angel?"
  
  "I'm not," he assured her. Turning on his motorcycle, he added, "But don't get too excited, Slayer. Even if Angel does come back, you two can never be together... not unless you want to unleash Angelus on the world again."
  
  First and foremost, I will not be updating next Sunday due to health reasons. I just need a week to recuperate. Thank you and apologies. But I'll make it up to you guys in the future with a double release.
  
  Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. I had fun writing the captured Xander scene.
  
  Thank you all again for taking the time out of your day to read my fic and possibly leave a comment. I truly do appreciate your support. For those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my is /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
  P.S. Happy Birthday to my sister... not that she actually reads my work 😑😑
  
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  Men To Miss
  Yay! Sunday! Chapter! Release!
  
  So glad to be back. Though I enjoyed my rest, I missed you guys and I missed updating. I appreciate your patience.
  
  Big thank you to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! 👏👏👏 This was a larger chapter and they did a great job.
  
  Warning: Violence, Language and some light lemons.
  
  10.7 K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Men To Miss
  
  Xander used the last two weeks of February to ' heal ,' but in actuality, most of that alone time was spent working on his café racer motorbike. Not that he didn't enjoy Cordelia, Willow, and Buffy taking care of his every need during his bed rest. They repeatedly asked if he needed anything and brought him all his meals. Cordelia would give him a blowjob when they were alone. Willow would explain her thoughts on rune schemes, and Buffy clowned around, often falling into comedic rabbit holes with him. Xander enjoyed their physical and emotional care of him, like a dehydrated man relished the life-sustaining taste of water. The girls even wanted to help fill the empty space of his bare home since he got rid of nearly everything.
  
  When Xander finally heard the message from Jenny claiming she was close to reconstructing the Ritual of Restoration curse, he walked to his closet, unlocked the black chest, and suited up, fitting his camo scarf to his nose before leaving. As Nox, he surveilled the woman from afar as she went home, left to buy groceries, went to the magic shop, and finally returned to school. Nox was outside of the school, leaning against the wall just underneath the windowsill of Jenny's classroom. With his enhanced hearing, he heard her tapping away at her keyboard, and waited for what he knew would happen.
  
  Thus, he wasn't surprised when he heard Jenny gasp before asking, "Angel... How did you get in here?"
  
  "I was invited," Angelus' voice coolly answered as Nox casually pushed off the wall and walked to the open window of the neighboring classroom. He effortlessly leaped inside the empty classroom as he heard Angelus through the walls snidely say, "The sign in front of the school: ' Formatia Trans Sicere Educatorum .' Enter all ye who seek knowledge." Angelus laughed and clapped his hands as he added, "What can I say? I'm a knowledge-seeker."
  
  Throughout Angelus' mocking speech, Xander walked through the classroom, into the hallway, and straight to the computer room. Amping up his power through his ring, Nox kicked the door open-stunning Jenny and alarming Angelus-before he asserted, "Hello, class. I'm your substitute teacher, Mr. Here-To-Kick-Your-Ass. All vampires please line up."
  
  Despite threatening the use of fisticuffs, Nox unsheathed Hellguard from his lower back, making the Viking dagger visible to the blood-sucking demon. Itching to pay Angelus back for breaking his neck, Nox threw Hellguard at the vampire, who dodged it with a head slip. However, Angelus couldn't be sure Nox would call it back, and split his focus on the weapon and Nox. The dagger embedded into the wall just as Xander fluidly went low with a leg attack, throwing the vampire off just as the teen warrior punched Angelus' jaw with all of his supernatural force.
  
  All three of them heard the cracking of bones and knew his jaw bone was fractured as he hit the floor, violently shuffling all the desks aside. The vampire clutched at his face as he rushed to his feet just in time to be kicked in the chest with all the strength Nox's magically enhanced body could produce. Though he heard several more thudded cracks just before Angelus blasted through the window, it was clear the blow wasn't critical, or Xander would've looped back. Broken glass and dust blew outward as Angelus hit the soft grass outside.
  
  Walking to the damaged window, Nox saw the vampire rolling on the ground, clutching at his chest and groaning in obvious pain. Nox wouldn't be surprised if a bone punctured something. He summoned Hellguard back with his free hand as he called out, "Class dismissed, bitch."
  
  Nox grabbed the Orb of Thesulah, handed it to a shaken Jenny, and took her hand before walking toward the exit. As the humans walked out of the classroom, Angelus was, somehow, still capable of laughing maniacally behind them. It was a gargled, high-pitched, heaving laughter and Nox didn't know how he had the energy, but was glad that's all he did. Xander really didn't want to risk looping back because the vampire's ego wouldn't allow him to take a loss.
  
  Nox clipped his invisible Dreadnought on his scrambler before the pair rode away from the school, straight to Giles' apartment. Jenny was quiet throughout the trip, right up to Giles' door, and Xander just held her hand. The disguised teen made certain his camo scarf covered up to his nose, his beanie was down to his eyebrows, and his hood was up-covering his face in shadow-before knocking. When Giles opened the door, Nox barged in with the shaken Jenny in tow.
  
  "Mr. Nox? Jen- Ms. Calendar," Giles stuttered, surprised by the unexpected visit but still upset by Jenny's betrayal nearly two months ago.
  
  Nox led Jenny straight to the couch in the living room while an alert Giles followed. The Englishman was curious to know what had happened, and Nox quickly answered in his augmented voice, "I need to hide her here."
  
  Observing a frazzled Jenny for a moment, Giles turned to Nox and asked, "A-and why would that be?"
  
  "Angelus nearly killed her tonight," Nox simply replied, making Giles stand straighter, touched by deep concern. "They either know she's helping me or they're just targeting her because of her connection to the Slayer."
  
  Suspicious of her, Giles asked Jenny, "How long have you been helping him?" He didn't allow her to respond before turning to Nox and asking, "Helping you to do what, if I may ask?"
  
  "Restore Angel's soul."
  
  That cut through Giles' disappointment with the beautiful teacher and he gasped, "My word. Can you do that?"
  
  Nodding to the shaken woman, Nox answered, "She can. That's why I asked for her help." Giles seemed somewhat ashamed, as if reconsidering his treatment of her. He looked at Jenny with more humility than he had before as Nox stated, "Listen, I need to get back out there."
  
  "Of course," Giles rushed to say. Gazing at Jenny with more acceptance, the Watcher confirmed, "I'll guard her with my life."
  
  Jenny's face softened as she returned a grateful grin.
  
  "Good," Nox replied in his gruff voice, though happy for their positive step. "I would've taken her to the Slayer's house, but I couldn't be sure if she invited Angel into her home or not."
  
  Almost not even paying attention to what Nox said, Giles casually answered, "Well, yes, I do believe-" But then it struck the Englishman: that Angelus-as much as Angel-would have an invitation to enter Buffy's home whenever he wanted. "Dear God," Giles gasped with growing worry.
  
  Nox's glowing eyes stared at Giles in disbelief before cynically asking, "Did none of you think he might be able to enter her home as Angelus?" Rather than feel embarrassed, the uneasy Watcher seemed more afraid of the potential outcome, and hurriedly moved toward his phone. As the older man entered his kitchen, Xander pushed on to say, "You need to find a spell to reverse an invitation. In the meantime, the Slayer and anyone else who invited the vampire into their home needs to stay in another house. Someone smart enough not to invite a vampire into their home."
  
  As Giles grabbed the kitchen phone's receiver, he asserted, "I- uh, suppose Buffy can stay here."
  
  "And the Slayer's mother?" Nox interrupted.
  
  "That... would be more challenging to explain," Giles admitted, pausing a moment to consider what he'll say.
  
  Curious, Jenny asked Nox, "What about your place?"
  
  Within the darkness of his hood, all she could see was Nox shaking his head like two fireflies moving left and right in perfect synchronicity. "There's a reason I don't invite strangers into my home, Janna. The minute others learn where I hang my axe, I'm compromised."
  
  "We wouldn't be strangers if you opened up to us more," Jenny voiced, though a touch embarrassed.
  
  Nox looked at her with no change in his glowing eye's expression, allowing her to realize on her own how that wouldn't be happening. After the silent moment, he said, "I gotta go." He asked Jenny, "Are you good?" The raven-haired woman nodded gratefully before Nox warned, "Don't go out alone-no matter what. They're after you for a reason."
  
  She nodded, and he left without another word. Knowing what would happen, Xander raced to his mansion to park his scrambler, then took a taxi back home. Rushing into his living room, he found that he'd already missed four calls from Giles. Xander changed out of his Nox gear before calling back.
  
  "What's up, G-Man?" Xander started. "I just got back from the comic book store- Yeah, I know, I know. Nothing happened, though. I saw you called. What's up?"
  
  The Watcher explained with urgency the freedom Angelus has to enter not only Buffy's home, but Willow's as well. He asked if Buffy and her mother could spend the night at his house. Giles, Jenny, and Willow had found a ritual spell that would revoke Angelus' invitation. However, they needed a few hours to gather all the materials before performing the spell on the two houses.
  
  Xander replied, "Yeah, yeah. Bring 'em over. Which cover story are we using for Mrs. S?"
  
  Giles answered, "Uh- ah, gas leak."
  
  "Got it," Xander casually replied.
  
  Buffy and Joyce arrived twenty minutes later and Xander hailed the beautiful blondes with a booming, "Welcome to Casa de Harris!" He hugged the mother and daughter before commiserating, "Super sorry to hear about the gas leak, Misses S."
  
  "I appreciate that, Xander," Joyce gratefully returned. "And thank you for letting us stay in your home. I hope we're not imposing. I know this is so last minute."
  
  "Pish posh! Of course not," Xander replied, with a wave of his hand. "I'm happy to help. I know it's only for the night, but make yourselves at home," he added, before taking their bags. After showing them the living room and the kitchen, he led them upstairs to the guest rooms as Xander humorously disclosed, "There are no bedtimes in casa de Harris. Only fun times, which includes-but isn't limited to-candy before meals and root beer floats after. Don't worry, I have PB&J for you, Buffy. Kitchen's always open, so breakfast, lunch, and dinner are whenever you want. I tried getting you a nice bottle of wine, Mrs. S, but I couldn't find a clerk who'd sell to a minor on short notice."
  
  "Oh, my- Xander!" the surprised, yet amused, mother called. She shook her head mirthfully as she stated, "Don't even joke like that."
  
  "Yes, Mrs. S.," Xander sang with a wide grin before opening the door to her room.
  
  Joyce walked into the simple yet clean room and set her bag down on the perfectly made bed. The walls were painted a rich, deep blue with a beige line that matched the ceiling and carpet, bisecting it. Aside from the full-sized bed, there was a dark brown nightstand with a matching chest at the foot of the bed and a chest-of-drawers against the wall. There was a full-length standing mirror in the corner and a framed poster of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars hung up. When Cordelia, Willow, and Buffy were helping him decorate his house, they fought his rich geek culture, but the teenage boy had managed to have at least one pop-culture memorabilia in every room.
  
  Turning about-impressed with the pleasant scent and tidiness of the room-Joyce walked up to Xander, took his hand, and earnestly expressed, "Xander, I want you to know that if you need anything-and I mean anything -do not hesitate to call me." The caring mother huffed, as if annoyed by a thought before affirming, "They may be your parents, but leaving you like this... It's wrong, Xander. And you have our support any time you need it."
  
  Truly touched by her kindness-so touched, he forgot about being stuck in a time prison for over a hundred years-Xander smiled from the heart before expressing, "Thanks Mrs. S. I appreciate that." She nodded and let go of his hand before he added, "It's not so bad-living alone, I mean. It's definitely been an adjustment, but not too bad."
  
  "May I ask," Joyce began with concern in her green eyes. "How are you doing with everything? Bills, food-"
  
  "Mom! Isn't that kinda personal?" a concerned Buffy quickly asked.
  
  "Sweety, I'm not trying to embarrass your friend," Joyce began. "But as an adult, I can't ignore this." Turning to Xander, she pleaded, "I hope you can understand, Xander, I have to make certain you're okay."
  
  "Yeah, no, I get it," Xander assured his friend. "It's fine by me."
  
  Xander gave them the grand tour while explaining how the house was already paid off, and with the money he earned from his part-time job, he could pay all the bills without problems. When Joyce asked what his part-time job was, he felt compelled to share with her and Buffy that he'd been working at Wild Dinks making chef knives. Buffy couldn't believe he was working at a metal shop, but when Xander showed Joyce the bike he was nearly done rebuilding, it made more sense to his friend. To say Joyce was thoroughly impressed by his level of maturity was an understatement.
  
  After leaving the Summers girls to get settled in, Xander was in the garage, working on the leather seat of his motorbike. Before long, Buffy walked in and watched him screw the leather seat on; one of the last stages of completing his cafe racer build. The gas tank was on the workbench and there was still some electrical wiring that needed to be connected, but it was evident to the Slayer that he was nearly done.
  
  As he focused on securing the black leather seat, Xander asked, "How're you holding up?"
  
  "I'm not," she glumly replied. "But I'll manage."
  
  Xander understood why she seemed down. Staying with her mother while Giles, Jenny, and Willow risked their lives to safeguard her home made the Slayer feel powerless, which then made her anxious. Waiting went against her nature as a teenage girl, let alone a supernatural fighter.
  
  "You're where you need to be, with your mom," Xander assured her. "They'll be fine. And if anything happens, they'll call."
  
  "I know," she glumly admitted.
  
  His hands stopped working before he kindly offered, "You know I'm here if you ever need a shoulder, right?"
  
  "I do," she gratefully said. Looking over his motorcycle, she embellished, "I'm more wowed by this chrome beauty. I still can't believe you actually built a motorcycle. It was just a rusty pile of junk a few weeks ago. I had no idea you could do this."
  
  "Yeah, you and me both," he said, smiling with a sense of accomplishment.
  
  Despite the exhaustion of living in a time loop, there were moments when completing a project, whether a weapon, motorcycle, or accessory, gave him a great sense of accomplishment. He was proud to see the end results of his hard work. If only he could translate that into escaping the time braid.
  
  Clearing his throat, he informed Buffy, "It should be good to go by tomorrow."
  
  "Color me a pink shade of impressed," she boasted with a bright smile. Gazing at the gorgeous cafe racer, the Slayer confidently asserted, "All the girls are going to line up for a ride on this."
  
  Xander snorted before reminding her, "I'm still a geek, Buffy. The sworn enemy of all that is cool and dateable. Only now, I'm a geek with a steady mode of transportation. Plus, smooches must be easier in a car than on a bike."
  
  With a cute uptick of her chin, the pretty blonde replied, "As a girl, I can confidently say we'd happily make that sacrifice."
  
  Setting down the ratchet, Xander leaned on his bike and inspected Buffy carefully before asking, "Since when have you been into motorcycles?"
  
  The blonde shied away from his observant gaze before hesitantly confessing, "I... I w-wouldn't say I'm into them, more or less. Just..."
  
  "Nox?" Xander bluntly spoke.
  
  "What?" the taken girl replied.
  
  "That's why I got one," Xander explained, easing her rising anxiety. "His is just so cool."
  
  Feeling more relaxed, Buffy nodded happily before asserting, "Yeah, his is pretty cool. But wanting one and knowing how to rebuild one are two entirely different things."
  
  "You got me there," he returned, grabbing the ratchet to continue screwing the seat in place. "But working around the house made me realize I'm actually pretty decent with my hands; like, I can build stuff."
  
  "I can totally see that about you," Buffy genuinely stated before joking, "Now all you need is a battleaxe and you're set to slay."
  
  Snorting, the teen boy returned, "Well, the super strength, speed, agility, magic, fighting ability, and glowie eyes would help." Buffy smiled and Xander took that opportunity to say, "Hey, Buff, I've been thinking..."
  
  "Uh oh," she teased.
  
  "I know," he gasped. "Prospecting for new thoughts is always dangerous work."
  
  She shook her head mirthfully before asking, "What's up?"
  
  As tenderly as he could, Xander asked, "Do you ever think about telling your mom the truth? About being the Slayer?" She stood straighter and her eyebrows raised, but before she could say anything, he added, "I mean, I can understand why you want to keep her away from dark stuff of that world, but, it's hard to deny she'd be better able to handle spur-of-the-moment things if she knew what she was dealing with."
  
  "No," Buffy started, automatically shaking her head. "No, no, no. I can't even think about that without hyperventilating; we're talking major wiggins here."
  
  "Yeah, I get that," he agreed, watching the girl have a mini panic attack. "It's obviously up to you. I'm just scared Angelus might visit when you're not around and trick her into inviting him in."
  
  "Great," she called out, throwing her hands up in growing distress. "Thank you very much for the nightmares I can expect to have for the next month."
  
  Leaning down to look the worried girl in the eyes, Xander asserted with considerate certainty, "Nothing's going to happen, Buffy. Your Ragtag Scooby Gang won't let it." Her small smile was enough for him to continue. "I just thought I'd bring it up because... I think you and your mom can take on anything together. Summers girls don't have that quit in them."
  
  Grateful for his encouraging words, Buffy expressed, "Thanks, Xander. You really are a great friend." With a smile, she added, "FYI, you should expect mom to invite you to a lot of dinners. Declining is not optional."
  
  "She's really worried, huh?"
  
  "How'd you think that was going to go? You mentioned eating candy before dinner and root beer floats after," she playfully argued. "You totally triggered her mom instincts. She may not be able to sleep tonight."
  
  "I guess she's not a Super Mom for nothing," he teased.
  
  With a smile, the blonde asked, "Who told you to start adulting before the rest of us?"
  
  "It definitely wasn't in any plans I drew up," Xander positively assured her with a big shrug. "I had my money on-"
  
  " Willow ," they both finished, smiling.
  
  Xander continued, asking, "Do girls even like responsible guys? Aren't you lovely ladies all about the bad boys like Angel, Nox, that guy from Dirty Dancing-"
  
  " Mmn , Johnny Castle is a dream," Buffy quickly interjected, clutching at her chest with both hands. At Xander's raised eyebrows, she quickly added, "If you're into a frequent amount of crying and fighting, I mean."
  
  Confused, Xander slowly but genuinely asked, "Aren't you?"
  
  Buffy's eyes became serious in thought for a moment, then shook her head in recoil. She planted her palm on his shoulder and assured her friend, "Xander, you have your own place, your own ride, you work, and you're only seventeen. There's not a doubt in my mind you're a mega catch."
  
  "Maybe for thirty-year-olds who've already gone through their Johnny Castle phase," he replied. "How about you?"
  
  "Me?" she repeated, taken by his insinuation. "...Me? What-"
  
  Easing the teasing, he elaborated, "I mean, have you thought about getting back on the love horse?"
  
  "Oh," she said, before focusing on his odd choice of words. "Please don't call it a love horse."
  
  "The Mighty Horse of Love ," he retried, enunciating every letter of the word 'love.'
  
  "That's not any better," she said with a snorting laugh.
  
  "Some stallions are worth the rough ride," he continued, teasing with a grin.
  
  "God, you're only making it worse," the humored girl replied. Xander remained silent and Buffy had a sobering thought before sharing, "I don't think I'm ready yet. And that's putting it mildly."
  
  Xander figured as much. Her heart-crushing moments were no longer surprising to him. Losing Angel-her greatest love-made Buffy act irrationally, like leaving Sunnydale for the summer, ' coping ' with a neutered Spike, or, now, ' coping ' with Nox. In that same breath, Cordelia had talked with that jock, Doug Jeffries, when she was pissed at him. And even Jenny slept with Xander when Giles ostracized her.
  
  He joked by saying, "Soooo, you don't think you're ready to hop back on that mighty love steed?" As Buffy snorted and rolled her eyes, Xander somberly thought, ' Are we all just too messed up to figure out love? And if so, does that mean it 's too late to have something good and wholesome? '
  
  The room fell silent when Buffy took his hand, bringing him out of his thoughts as she stared deeply into his chocolate eyes. Her beautiful face was sincere and remorseful as she expressed with genuine tenderness, "I wasn't ready to kill Angelus before. I can't put it into words why, but I just couldn't. But then he took you... I thought you were dead, Xander... dead because of me... because he wanted to taunt me."
  
  "I'm alive ten times over because of you," he reminded her.
  
  "No, please," she argued, squeezing his hand for emphasis. "When you have to do what I do, all it takes is the one time where I don't make it. I wasn't ready to let Angel go, and I almost lost you because of it. You have my word: I'll never let anything like that happen to you again."
  
  In an endless void of mundane monotony, Xander was surprisingly touched by her declaration. Her greenish-blue eyes were so serious, and her will to protect him at all costs was almost palpable. It was so rare for Xander to see that level of determination from her, making him wonder if this friendship direction wasn't the way to go. However, he couldn't deny that the Nox route to Buffy also worked; faster too.
  
  An errant thought asked, ' Which wolf am I feeding? '
  
  Xander set aside the confusion over the two psyches to assure Buffy, "You don't have to make that kind of promise-not to me, anyway." He took her other hand, and with just as much openness, returned, "I know where we live, and what our extra-curricular activities are. We protect this town and everyone in it-without brownie points, might I add-but that comes with risks... serious risks. You're my hero, Buffy, and I'll protect you as much as you protect anyone."
  
  Swelling with gratitude, Buffy hugged him around his torso, saying, "Anybody ever tell you you're really good at cheering people up?"
  
  They hugged in his garage for several moments before going back to chatting about mundane things while he worked on his bike. Willow came over when she, Jenny, and Giles finished performing the reverse invitation spell on the two houses. The three friends watched a movie together and ended up falling asleep on the couch.
  
  Xander continued his double life with one foot in the day-life with the Scooby Gang, and the other rogue foot firmly in the night-life as Nox. Going to school on his customized motorcycle boosted Xander's popularity by a wide margin, as did letting Cordelia and Buffy clothe him to match his black, red, and pale gold cafe racer. Xander eventually showed his friends the forge he worked in, and overall, he got to spend more time with them during the day.
  
  At night-when he wasn't balls deep inside of Cordelia-Xander was patrolling the streets of Sunnydale as Nox, slaying vampires, and the occasional demon. He avoided Buffy in part because he didn't want to keep being that sexual crutch for her when she was clearly trying to put Angelus & the ensouling curse behind her. But he was also avoiding her because the Scoobies' plans weren't aligned with Nox's.
  
  Nox met with Giles and Jenny days later at the Englishman's apartment. The three were in his living room with the lights turned off, at Nox's request. Not that Xander didn't have confidence in his disguise, but it didn't hurt to play it safe whenever possible. Jenny was seated on the couch, Giles standing behind her, and they both watched Nox pacing in front of them. They followed the luminance of his eyes as he explained wanting to test the ensouling ritual on Drusilla before doing so on Angel.
  
  "Drusilla is the only thing holding those two together," Nox elaborated. "Without her, Spike and Angelus will just fight each other. That's better for us."
  
  Giles countered with, "Or they'll put aside their enmity and combine their efforts to retrieve her."
  
  "Without Drusilla, they're fractured," Nox insisted. "Spike, especially, will do anything for her, which leaves Angelus exposed. After we know for sure the ritual works, we can do Angel next, then Spike."
  
  Jenny shared a concerned look with Giles before asking the pacing man in black, "Why ensoul Spike?"
  
  "Why not?" Nox argued. "Look, if you do Angel first, it'll be exactly how it was before: the Spike and Drusilla show. Take Drusilla out first, and I promise you Spike and Angelus will fight each other as much as they try to fight us. Ensouling Drusilla, then Angel, and finally Spike, is the best strategy here."
  
  "That may very well be," Giles stated, cleaning his glasses. "But I'll have to discuss this with the others."
  
  "Fine. Let me know," Nox said with a nod.
  
  "Will you be around?" Jenny asked.
  
  Nox moved to leave as he ignored her to say, "You have one orb right now. I'll get my hands on another two soon."
  
  The following day, the Scooby Gang had a meeting after school to discuss who to ensoul first-Angel or Drusilla. At the center table in the library, Giles-with Jenny by his side-explained to the teens Nox's point of view, and after a quick discussion, they all voted on a plan of action. That night, Nox made certain that Buffy found him, and though he knew what she was going to tell him, he still acted annoyed when Buffy said they were going to ensoul Angel first. He kept an arm's length away from the Slayer, pacing in annoyance, but Buffy seemed understanding, and waited patiently for him to speak.
  
  After several moments, Nox couldn't help but ask, "Did you even hear the argument against Angel first?"
  
  "I did," she kindly answered. "But we all agreed Angel should be rescued first."
  
  Nox stepped close to her, eying her sternly-making his eyes brighter for emphasis-before he accused, "If this has more to do with you getting your boyfriend-"
  
  " It doesn 't ," she quickly assured him, shaking her head. "It doesn't. I promise. But he's still a friend. And we save our friends."
  
  Nox had nothing to say to that, and thus turned to leave. Though Buffy appeared to want something more from him-to keep talking-she held her tongue and watched him go. In the following days, Buffy became very ill and needed to be hospitalized. Xander knew why and what to expect, so he spent most of his free time constructing rune schemes while his friends played their parts against the evils of the child-eating Der Kindestod. The time looper absentmindedly spoke the words he needed to say and helped the group as needed, all the while focused on the powerful runes in his head.
  
  Xander was seated outside of Buffy's room, sketching how he expected to weave the runes into his Nox gear. His hands stopped writing when he felt a depression in the air, like a subtle chill crawling over his skin, like the safety and security in the room was suddenly sucked out. He was like prey who couldn't see their predator stalking them. Then he saw Angelus walking toward him from the other end of the hall. With a sigh, Xander put his notebook away before standing in front of Buffy's hospital room like a bouncer. Angelus was surprised to see him, raising his eyebrows before smiling cynically.
  
  The confused vampire stopped right in front of the teenager and cheerfully teased with psychotic undertones, "Xander, Xander, Xander, you're a funny little boy." He inspected him from head to toe before stating, "You should be dead."
  
  Unbothered by how close Angelus was, Xander casually pointed out, "Well, you are dead and still walking around; being annoying. So what's death, really?"
  
  "I'd be happy to show you," Angelus offered, tilting his head menacingly with his cruel smile.
  
  Unfazed by the intimidation, Xander returned, "The feeling's mutual."
  
  Angelus smiled before stating, "Another time."
  
  The tall vampire attempted to bypass Xander and enter Buffy's room, clearly believing nothing a mere mortal did could be enough to stop him. Angelus wore his malice and villainy like a badge of honor, bullying those around him. However, Xander was long past being cowed, and stepped in front of the cruel demon.
  
  "Visiting hours are over," Xander tauntingly said.
  
  Angelus turned to the teen slowly before asserting, "Well, I'm pretty much family."
  
  Xander didn't move, remarking, "Anyone she calls family are able to visit during the day."
  
  Angelus smiled broadly, showing plenty of his pearly teeth before stepping back to impress upon the teen paladin, "If I decide to walk in there, do you think for a microsecond that you could do anything to stop me?"
  
  Xander was now facing the downside of giving Nox all the credit for his fighting prowess. He was confident he could stop Angelus from entering the room, but the vampire didn't know that, nor would he believe him if he claimed as much. Xander had to rely on using his surroundings to bluff the tall vampire.
  
  "Maybe not," Xander forced himself to say. "Maybe that security guard couldn't either, or those cops. Or all the orderlies... I'm kind of curious to find out. You game?"
  
  "Buffy's White Knight," Angelus taunted. "Guys like you are so hopeless, it's tragic. It wouldn't surprise me if you stuck to her for the rest of your life because she'll always be better than anything your pathetic, insignificant life could amount to. I've seen so many of you throughout my years, and it always makes me laugh when a girl as delicious as Buffy gives it up to a piece of shit like me instead of a doormat like you."
  
  Due to how accurate the vampire's evaluation was of the way he used to be, Xander mirrored Angelus' smile. The raven-haired time looper certainly didn't feel like a doormat anymore. Other than feeling as if Buffy was, somehow, the key to getting out, Xander didn't believe he was still in love with her. He was using her to get out, and that wasn't love. Nor was the top-shelf sex he had with her about being in love. Everything was about getting out. So, it was funny how much had changed since his pathetic years.
  
  ' It 's not love ,' he mentally emphasized with finality before telling Angelus, "I'm sure you don't hear this enough, but I'm glad you're here, Dead Boy, because Angel was the biggest threat. He was good for her, but now he's gone, and you're nothing but a failure in every way that matters. So, thanks."
  
  "The next time I kill you, I'm going to make sure she watches," Angelus threatened. "Tell her I dropped by," he finished, then left.
  
  Buffy and Xander handled the Kindestod together, as they had in previous loops, and though he enjoyed carrying her sickly body, princess style, back to her room, nothing new changed, so it all bored him. Days later, Xander, dressed as Nox, rode his black scrambler to the cemetery he knew Buffy would be patrolling. She was walking the trail leading away from the plots with Slaymore strapped to her hip, likely finished patrolling that cemetery.
  
  Buffy turned to the sound of his motorcycle approaching, and when he was beside her, he said, "Heard you were sick. Doesn't usually happen to Slayers. Must've been a pretty mean bug."
  
  Tilting her head daintily and clasping her hands behind her back as she leaned forward, she cooed, "Aww, you worried about me?"
  
  "Of course," he bluntly stated, making her eyebrows spring up in surprise. "You're the only slayer around. You know how much more work I'd have without you here?"
  
  Buffy rolled her eyes as she sarcastically replied, "Just what every girl wants to hear." Nox shrugged and she continued, "I'm much better now. Thanks for asking."
  
  Indifferent to her teasing, Nox moved on to business, asking, "When will Janna perform the soul-restoration ritual?"
  
  Buffy was such an open book to Xander. Even if she answered, "Tomorrow night," he could tell she would rather not talk about business.
  
  The blonde girl didn't like the coolness in which he was treating her, and Nox could tell as much when he asked, "And you all still believe the first should be Angel?"
  
  Buffy stood straighter before answering, "We do."
  
  "Have you decided on the other two?" he asked.
  
  "Not yet," she said. Nox sighed with a hint of aggravation before moving to drive away. Buffy then placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned to her as she asked, "Why do you want to change Spike and Drusilla so much?"
  
  The lie he prepared flowed naturally out of his mouth. He said, "I need to know if Angel is just a fluke, or if other vampires can be changed too."
  
  "Why?" she asked.
  
  "If it turns out the entirety of their kind were always capable of turning good, we might've been murdering a bunch of corpses- a bunch of potentially good undead without ever trying to help them."
  
  Buffy's eyes widened at the thought, remarking, "There's a sobering thought." Her face winced as she realized, "I must've killed hundreds by now."
  
  "And I've dusted a hundred times that," Nox asserted, earning a skeptical look from her.
  
  "Not that it's a competition or anything," the competitive girl mumbled. Clearing her throat, she asked, "What if it turns out Angel is a fluke?"
  
  "Then it's business as usual," Nox casually answered.
  
  "Stab, stab, stab. Dust, dust, dust," Buffy lightly jested.
  
  "I see you know the drill."
  
  Having gained all the information he wanted, Nox was about to leave when Buffy softly voiced, "I... haven't seen you around much."
  
  Maintaining his aloof behavior, he coolly replied, "This town has no shortage of weird deaths to investigate." Nox leaned closer, gazing vibrantly into her greenish-blue eyes as he pointed out, "Besides, I didn't think you'd want me around."
  
  Buffy took a moment to think-likely of her situation with Nox upon the precipice of getting Angel back-before asking, "Why?"
  
  "I thought you'd be happy to keep those two worlds separate," he keenly answered. "The pure fairytale love with him, and the shameful, amoral fuck-fest you have with me."
  
  Buffy's eyes widened before she blushed and looked away. The embarrassed girl cleared her throat, asserting, "It's not that I don't like you-"
  
  "You don't have to spare my feelings, Slayer," Nox interrupted, admiring how cute the flustered blonde was. "I told you, I know what this is. I went into this situation with you already knowing what it meant."
  
  "...Which is?"
  
  "Jesus, you really don't listen," he bantered.
  
  "I do!" she insisted. "All the time; to everything... But, like, about what, exactly?"
  
  Nox shook his head before answering, "I went into this physical thing with you knowing you'd eventually open your eyes and find something better than me."
  
  "Again, with this fabled nice guy, you speak of?"
  
  "They're tricky beasts to find, I'll give you that," Nox attested with a hint of humor. "They have unintentionally excellent camouflage. Kindness, consideration, a good shoulder to cry on, sometimes funny, and they give you all the attention you could ever want. They're the easiest men to miss."
  
  With a growing expression of disbelief, a skeptical Buffy asked, "How's that camouflage? All girls want that in a boyfriend."
  
  "No, they want that in the guy they're attracted to. Not the same thing," he expounded. "I guarantee you your best male friend has all, or most, of those traits, and you've never considered him as a potential boyfriend."
  
  "Xander wouldn't..."
  
  When Buffy cut herself off, Nox hummed before acknowledging, "Ah, the funny one."
  
  Growing uneasy, Buffy pushed on to ask, "So, you never see yourself springing for a date at the Fondue Hut with a nice girl? Or maybe settling down?"
  
  "Never," Nox easily answered.
  
  Taking a step forward, Buffy softly asked, "Doesn't it get lonely? Being by yourself all the time?"
  
  "You worried about me all of a sudden?" Nox teased.
  
  Slowly, she admitted, "...It's not all of a sudden. You've helped us out a ton-even though you're super crabby about it-but you're always alone."
  
  ' If only you knew ,' he thought, once again being reminded of the time prison he was drowning in. He teased, "You gonna do something about that, are ya?" At Buffy's raised eyebrows, Nox felt that was a mistake to say and quickly moved on to say, "When you've lived as long as I have, being alone is something of a mercy; less complications."
  
  "How old are you?" the intrigued girl asked.
  
  "What color panties are you wearing?" She blinked, looking at him with wide eyes. "What?" he asked. "You're asking me a lot of questions. I have important questions too."
  
  "I haven't even asked you that many," she cutely quarreled. Nox waited, looking at her for an answer to his question. She shook her head, smiling slightly as she stated, "I'm not telling!"
  
  With his deeper voice, he suavely asked, "You'd rather show me?"
  
  "...no," she eventually answered, the blush creeping down her neck.
  
  He could imagine she was recalling their nights together as he remarked, "Well, that wasn't very convincing."
  
  Turning away to keep walking, she urged, "Don't you have a sidewalk to illuminate?"
  
  "Nice," Nox admitted, making her smile. "Hop on," he said, and Buffy didn't even hesitate.
  
  Nox then gave her a ride to the next cemetery she was to patrol. When she got off, the blonde beauty looked at him invitingly, as if silently offering to patrol together. It wasn't hard to imagine how their night would end: balls deep under the sheets. He could already feel his manhood swell with eagerness to go in that direction. However, despite the electricity between them, Nox drove away. As much as he wanted to unload inside her again, his mind was growing more and more confused.
  
  Xander doubted himself, his plan, and his theory. And that scared him, because if Buffy wasn't the key to getting out of the time braid, he felt he would just evaporate into nothingness. If this failed to get him out of the loop, he didn't see a point in trying anymore. He'd burn everything, unleash evil in all its forms, and destroy the future everyone else on the planet so unfairly had. He'd take it all just to fill the growing void of emotional paralysis inside him.
  
  The next night, the magical members of the Scooby Gang performed the soul restoration ritual in the library, and though it drained Jenny to the point of exhaustion, she was ultimately successful. Xander, Jenny, Willow, Oz, and Cordelia stayed in Giles' apartment while Buffy was near the warehouse, looking for Angel. An hour later, Giles' phone rang. The Watcher answered it, and after a moment of silence, he informed the room that the ritual was a success and Angel was indeed back.
  
  "Where are they?" Willow asked.
  
  Hanging up the phone, Giles answered, "Angel's apartment; for his recovery."
  
  The Watcher could feel how nervous that made most of them and reassured them Buffy wouldn't do anything to jeopardize their safety. The next night, the Scooby Gang gathered in the library. Buffy entered with Angel beside her, holding his forearm, which was worrisome for all in the room, though clearly nothing had happened.
  
  Giles asked Buffy, "And Nox?"
  
  Xander watched her shake her head, alerting the group the mystery man wouldn't be taking part in the meeting. For all the pomp and stance, Angel simply wanted to apologize to everyone, especially Jenny and Xander for nearly killing them. Angel laid it on thick, stating how he hoped they'd forgive him one day, but understood if they never trusted him again. That was when Cordelia wanted to know if there was going to be a repeat of Angelus. Buffy and Angel looked at each other sadly before answering, "No."
  
  Unbothered by their tragic love story, Xander asked, "Should we do the same to Drusilla and Spike? I mean, in terms of cutting the head of the snake, this was a hell of a lot easier than fighting them."
  
  "Jenny- Miss Calendar is still recovering," Giles reminded them. "I wouldn't say it was easy on her part."
  
  "I don't think you should," Angel voiced.
  
  "Why?" a curious Willow asked.
  
  Angel explained to the group, "Even with souls, I don't think they're capable of the outcome we'd all want-Dru especially. She's not exactly playing with a full deck."
  
  "And Spike?" Xander asked.
  
  "It's possible, but to what end? They need to be stopped, not saved. I know all the weak spots in their security. We can sneak in there and kill them before they even know we're there."
  
  With a skeptical expression, Cordelia asked, "Just the two of you? Are you even a hundred percent?"
  
  "I'm afraid I have to agree," Giles affirmed. "I'd feel more comfortable with that course of action if Nox joined you."
  
  "I'll ask him," Buffy assured the group.
  
  "I'll go with you," Angel stated. "I have to apologize to him, too."
  
  Before Angel and Buffy leave, Xander asked, "What if Nox doesn't want to storm their hideout? What if he just wants to ensoul them?"
  
  Buffy paused for a moment, dropping her gaze to truly consider what the mystery man in black might say, then answered her friends, "If he doesn't want to... then we don't do it."
  
  Angel looked at Buffy with consideration, but kept anything he thought to say to himself.
  
  Xander knew the pair would not find him that night. Nox made scarce appearances for the next week, which Xander used to focus on forging, stitching a complex rune scheme on his Nox gear, hanging out with his friends, making the swim team, and, whenever possible, being with Cordelia. Joyce had also invited Xander to several dinners, and in return, Xander fixed a few of the issues around their house; replacing malfunctioning electrical outlets, fixing the hinges of doors, unsticking windows, changing the filters in the A/C and garbage disposal, and changing the worn & wobbly knob of the shower. Throughout his time at the Summers' home, Xander noticed Buffy was reserved.
  
  After the latest dinner, he offered to give her a lift to patrol, which she gratefully accepted. As it was still early for slaying, they rode around for twenty minutes longer-enjoying the peace and quiet the evening air brought them-before reaching Restfield Cemetery. There was a difference between Buffy riding with Nox and Buffy riding with him. She held on by his shoulders, rather than wrap her arms around his torso as she did with Nox. Though not what Xander wanted, it was still a peaceful ride.
  
  After hopping off, Buffy said, "Thanks for the lift."
  
  "Anytime," he voiced. When she was about to leave, Xander asked, "Hey, Buffy. Is everything okay? I noticed you've been a little more, meh , lately."
  
  Buffy took a moment to consider her words before slowly admitting, "I'm dealing." Looking around the empty cemetery parking lot, she confided in him, "It's a lot having Angel back, but also not having him back... not the way I want, anyway. It almost feels worse this way."
  
  Xander nodded, saying, "I'm sorry you have to go through that. It's majorly unfair."
  
  "Thanks," she responded with a smile. "For everything. Mom's officially in love with you, by the way."
  
  "Aha! My master plan is coming together perfectly."
  
  With a smile, she said, "See you tomorrow."
  
  Before she stepped away, Xander called, "Hey, Buff. Do you want to try driving the bike?"
  
  Pleasantly surprised, she asked, "Really?"
  
  "Yeah," he cheerfully replied with a big grin.
  
  For the next thirty minutes, Xander showed her the basics of driving a motorcycle, running alongside her like a father would a child first learning to ride a bicycle. However, Buffy had supernaturally better physical control and picked up the balance and maneuverability fairly quickly, increasing the speed with confidence. Despite her Slayer reflexes, she nearly toppled over, swerving harder than intended when a squirrel ran in front of her. Avoiding the creature made the muffler scratch and dent against a yellow parking pole. Xander ran up to her as she apologized profusely.
  
  "Oh my God, Xander, I'm so sorry," she cried. Looking over the damage, she vehemently asserted, "I didn't mean- I didn't see the pole- A squirrel ran out- I'm so, so , sorry!"
  
  "Buffy, Buffy," he called, getting her attention. Shaking his head, he asserted, "Hey, it's okay. Don't worry about it."
  
  "But I-"
  
  " Buffy ," he interrupted, gripping her shoulder. "If something breaks, I fix it. It's what I do. Okay?"
  
  Though she slowly nodded, the blonde girl was obviously still upset. The raven-haired teen left her as Xander, but returned later as Nox. Buffy was already fighting a group of vampires, and oddly enough, the skirmish didn't feel random to his eyes. From his vantage point, the vampires were too coordinated to be run-of-the-mill fresh vampires, as if they were working as a team. Three engaged Buffy simultaneously while three more circled them. She had Slaymore in hand, so Xander wasn't overly worried. However, he couldn't shake how strange their attack was.
  
  Swift as the wind, Nox sprinted into the fray, pumping his legs as he tossed Dreadnought with both hands with a blender-like death spin. As the long blade of his battleaxe impaled one of the vampires prowling Buffy, Nox unsheathed Hellguard and stabbed a second blood-sucker through the back. The commotion attracted the demons' attention, allowing Buffy to decapitate the one nearest to her.
  
  Losing the element of surprise made the fight harder for Nox, but not impossible. Sharp claws swiped at him every second from three sides, clipping him twice. He had to magically push his body to dodge left and right, or block in half-seconds as he sliced into their skin at the same time. He timed their attack pattern just right to dodge into a spin kick, hitting a vampire in the chin before calling his battleaxe back. The spin finished with Nox chopping off the leg of the third vampire, causing the demon to scream in agony. The last one ran away. As Nox dusted the immobile vampires, he turned to the Slayer and smirked in appreciation.
  
  Buffy was being pushed back by three vampires attacking in unison. However, Nox could tell from her footing that she was in control. The three demons were all lined up in front of her, attacking together-punching and kicking to trip her up-likely assuming that they had the upper hand. It was no surprise to Nox when-in one fluid motion-Buffy impaled one through the heart with Slaymore, stabbed the second with the stake she always carried, and decapitated the last one cleanly with her blade, bursting the three into plumes of dust around her.
  
  Nox was leaning against a tree when the Slayer walked up to him, a small smile on her lips. She said, "Hey you," before they heard a twig snap in the woods behind them. The pair tracked the sound and eventually spotted another group of vampires attacking a tall man with dark hair. Buffy and Nox quickly intervened, seeing that the man being attacked was Angel. Buffy, Nox, and Angel fought the group of killers until half were dusted and the rest retreated. Huffing with exhaustion, Nox found their running away odd since vampires, generally, only ever retreated when they feared the true death. This felt more strategic.
  
  "Well... that wasn't normal," a panting Buffy remarked.
  
  "Something's going on," Nox stated, leaning on his battleaxe, begging his ring to replenish his lost energy.
  
  "I'll check my sources," Angel told them.
  
  Worried, Buffy stood straighter as she stated, "You shouldn't go alone."
  
  Eying her with greater worry, Angel uneasily expressed, "You shouldn't be alone either."
  
  Annoyed by their sappy concern, Nox flatly told them, "Then both of you go."
  
  Turning to him, a concerned Buffy asked, "What about you?"
  
  "With this many vamps around, someone's gotta keep patrolling," Nox bitterly answered.
  
  "You should come with us," she said, looking at Angel for support. "We can patrol after we learn more about what's going on."
  
  Eying her incredulously with brighter eyes, like a bright flicker from a flame, Nox asked, "And risk one of them biting someone? No thanks. I'll take care of them myself."
  
  "You saw how many came after us," Buffy argued, stepping forward defiantly. "If you fight that many alone, you could die-"
  
  " Then I die , Slayer," he bluntly proclaimed. "I don't care about my life! I just don't want a single one of these blood-suckers snuffing out any more innocent lives!"
  
  Nox started walking away when Angel called out, "Wait! There's something I've wanted to tell you for a while now."
  
  "Save it, vampire," Nox spat back. "You weren't my first choice to bring back. You can thank your friends for that."
  
  Stepping forward, Angel asserted with shame in his voice, "But you saved Jenny Calendar from me... and provided the orb. You had Buffy's back when I attacked her. You saved Xander when I nearly killed him. That's more than enough to thank you for."
  
  Nox lowered the whitish-blue luminance of his eyes, and after a long moment, answered, "If you really want to thank me, do everything in your power to make sure Angelus never comes back."
  
  Nox turned and walked in the direction of his bike. With his enhanced hearing, he could faintly hear Buffy asking Angel, "Do you think you can find out what's going on by yourself? He could probably use the backup, even if he doesn't want to admit it."
  
  Angel paused for a moment before answering, "Of course. I'll let you know what I find out."
  
  Buffy soon caught up with Nox and the pair hunted groups of vampires for the next several hours. They killed a dozen, and at a crucial point, Buffy had to leap atop a tombstone just before Nox called a large amount of lightning to him, electrifying anything in a twenty-foot radius of him. Five vampires stood shaking in place, sizzling with smoke coming out of them until all five burst into dust.
  
  Even if Xander loved calling lightning just like Thor, it always hurt him to do so. His ring and axe were working double-time to heal the gasping boy as fast as possible. Once they were the last ones standing, the forested area of the cemetery was a smoldering battlefield. Buffy and Nox were exhausted, but when his twitching body was about to topple over, Buffy held him up with one arm around his middle, and draped his arm around her neck. He allowed her to help him walk to his bike, enjoying the comfort and strength of her warm body.
  
  At his scrambler, the Slayer asked, "Want me to drive?"
  
  He tilted his head to eye her as he snapped Dreadnought into place, then asked, "Since when did you learn to drive a motorcycle?"
  
  "Since my friend Xander showed me... today."
  
  "He did, did he?"
  
  Naturally, Xander was scared to let Buffy drive him all the way to her home. Going in circles in the parking lot wasn't the same as busy streets, but despite the probability of serious injury, he consented, to her zeal. Buffy got on first, then Nox sat behind her, wrapping his muscular arms around her thin waist and holding her close. She shifted her butt against his crotch, and Xander felt himself swell to half-mast. After such an intense battle, he imagined her hot blood was flooding her with vigorous energy. Without combat to exhaust that bubbling energy, an alternative activity was needed to replace it.
  
  On the road, Buffy was overly cautious when it came to turning, but that could've been because she felt his hardness against her cheeks. Nox would've done more with his hands, but he didn't want to distract her too much. It was enough that when she came to an abrupt stop, or accelerated, more of his hardness was pressed against her apple-bottom, but they eventually made it to Buffy's home. He gave her hips a none-too-gentle squeeze before getting off, and when they faced each other, the blush on her pretty face was unmistakable.
  
  Buffy didn't bid him goodnight. She stood before the taller man, looking around, and didn't know what to do with her hands. To break the silence, Nox asked, "Is he a nice guy?"
  
  Her brows drew in, confused, as she asked, "Who?"
  
  "Xander."
  
  "Oh, uh, yeah, he is." The thoughtful way he nodded his head made Buffy suspicious of his question and she added, "He's also one of my best friends and way not a subject of romantic interest." Shaking her head, she asserted, "I can't stand the idea of ruining what we have just to start something I wouldn't even be all that serious about."
  
  Annoyed, Nox rolled his glowing eyes before clapping back, "Jesus Christ, it's got to be raw, uncut, animal magnetism straight from the get-go with you, doesn't it? Is taking a date or two to see if you can build something so unthinkable? Let me tell you, when you've lived as long as I have, taking things slow isn't some terrible omen of a doomed relationship. It's the smart thing to do."
  
  Buffy raised her eyebrows at his response before choosing to focus on his age. She asked, "How long is long?"
  
  Losing interest, he simply answered, "Long."
  
  The blonde shook her head before saying, "Giles thinks you're a descendant of an ancient group of powerful wizards called Shadowmen."
  
  Nox shrugged as he replied, "Maybe. Unlike you, I don't have a Watcher to give me the deets on what I am."
  
  Taking a step toward him, the attentive girl asked, "Does that mean you don't know about your past?"
  
  Nox shook his hood-covered head, certain she would misunderstand his situation. After all, no one could know he meant the time braid and the underlying reason he had to be the one to suffer this way.
  
  "But you know about the Shadowmen?" Buffy guessed.
  
  To keep the mystery going, Nox shrugged again before flippantly stating, "There was a time when I needed answers and infiltrated the Watcher's council to get access to their archive. Hella douchebags, by the way. The tests these guys do-especially to slayers on their eighteenth birthday-it'd make you sick to your stomach. But, yeah, I know enough about a lot of things, but nothing about what I am exactly."
  
  Buffy focused on the torn sleeve of his jacket. Taking his arm to observe his injury, the heartfelt girl asked, "Why don't you talk to us? To Giles? I'm sure he can help you."
  
  "Thanks, but I expect only the Almighty can help me," Nox jested. "All I need to do is figure out a way to schedule a meet & greet."
  
  "I'm telling you, our team can help. We're good at this," Buffy insisted. She gripped his wrist as she said, "But I won't push. Instead... c-come on."
  
  As she started pulling him toward her house, Nox asked, "You want me to go up there?"
  
  "That's where all the healing happens," she replied, though mildly hopeful.
  
  As she led him around the side of her home, Nox remarked, "That's not the only thing that happens up there."
  
  Buffy twisted back as she walked forward to assert with no conviction, "My mom's here, so-no. Healing is the only thing happening up there."
  
  "Sexual healing," Nox challenged, but she said nothing as they reached the climbing point below her bedroom window.
  
  Though his body still felt singed-as if all his joints were caked with grime-Nox had the strength to climb to the second floor and into Buffy's room. Xander noted how it smelled sweetly of her and instantly relaxed. She grabbed her first-aid kit from under the bathroom sink and returned to help him take off his holster and jacket, then lifted his skin-tight shirt to disinfect his cuts, though they were nearly all healed. Nox lowered his beanie half-mask to his nose and his camo scarf to his neck so he could lean in and press his nose to the nape of her neck and inhale her alluring scent. Buffy didn't stop him, and only leaned in for more contact as the sexual tension between them overrode their reasoning.
  
  Nox abruptly picked her up, and she wrapped her toned legs around his waist as he laid her on the bed. Hot blood was rushing through the young teens, pushing all of their limbs to urgently move just enough clothes out of the way so his erect phallus could enter her soaking womanhood.
  
  " MMMNNN ," she moaned, as he spread her pink line into a wide O, tickling her lower stomach.
  
  " Fuck ... You're so tight," Nox groaned.
  
  After basking in the sensation of hot, wet tightness stuffed to the brim, the teenagers fucked each other with as little sound as possible. Buffy bit her lip as Nox pounded into her repeatedly, the clapping of their wet pelvises and restrained grunts filling the room. Her hands gripped the bed's sheets, nearly tearing them as her lover pumped madly into her sopping cunt. The blonde girl wouldn't let her moans escape her lips. Her small breasts jiggled with every thrust as the teens worked up a sheen of sweat.
  
  Nox's left hand roved over the half-naked girl's sensual body, caressing her flushed and sensitive skin and massaging the muscle underneath. His right rubbed her taut stomach as it made its way to her clitoris. Buffy moaned loudly in her throat, rotating her head from side to side as his right hand stroked and caressed her love button, teasing it into a frenzy with his fingers. Her hands caressed his neck and shoulders as his powerful body bucked the beautiful girl on her bed, his crotch slapping hers as his cock stuffed her slick sex repeatedly.
  
  When he felt they were close, Nox leaned down and kissed the beautiful Slayer, his tongue diving into her wanton mouth, dominating her defiant tongue. Her toes curled, she moaned louder, and her back was arched as her body shivered with building ecstasy. As he covered her mouth with his, submitting the sensual girl to him, she moaned loudly as her entire body ignited from a massive orgasm. Her slick womanhood clamped down on his monster shaft, quivering deliciously as he grunted and came inside her. His head shot back as the bliss shorted his brain and he filled her sex with his virile seed. After such a mind-numbing orgasm, Buffy lay limply on her bed, heaving as beads of sweat raced down her skin.
  
  Rather than risk another round, Nox put his clothes back on. Before leaving, he told her, "I won't do this again unless I know you're trying, Slayer." Wrapping her sheet around her mostly naked body, she stood as he added, "Give your boy a shot, or go on a few dates with other guys. I don't care which, just try."
  
  "I'm not cheating on any of them with you."
  
  "A date or two isn't a relationship, just like sex isn't a relationship," Nox pointed out. "All I ask is that you try. If you're not feeling them, thank 'em for their time, then come find me. That's all." After a moment of silent thought, she nodded, and he left her room, which now smelled of sex.
  
  Nox didn't expect to find Angel on the street below, waiting by his bike. The vampire's fists were clenched and his shoulders were hunched. Eying the angered man, Nox had his ring raise his glucose and acidic levels to change his body odor to a more sweet and citrus smell, masking Xander's natural musk. However, he didn't think he could do anything about the scent of sex lingering on him.
  
  Walking straight toward him, Nox felt like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but he didn't care. He had to endure their relationship-and far worse than that-for years upon years, so it was more than fair for the brooding vampire to endure this.
  
  As he casually hopped on his bike, Xander asked the irate vampire, "Got something to say?"
  
  Looking between Buffy's home and Nox, he asked, "Since when has this been going on?"
  
  Nox sighed in growing frustration before saying, "I was hoping you'd share anything you learned."
  
  Angel sucked his teeth in annoyance, and Xander wondered if they would be fighting in a minute. Instead, the handsome vampire answered, "Drusilla put out a bounty on Buffy; a significant one. Every vampire on the west coast worth their fangs knows about it and they're coming to collect."
  
  Confused, Nox replied, "Huh, didn't think vampires cared that much about money."
  
  "We don't," Angel hotly asserted. "Most of the older ones have plenty of it. Drusilla offered any vampire or demon her hand in ever-lasting marriage if they could bring me to her alive and kill Buffy."
  
  Truly surprised, the time looper whirled his head back before remarking, "That's new."
  
  With hunched shoulders, the angry vampire asked with a hint of warning, "Did you take advantage of her?"
  
  Turning to him in confusion, Nox asked, "Why would I take advantage of Drusilla- Oh, you mean the Slayer. No. Unlike you, I can clearly see that being with her would only end in disaster."
  
  "Then-"
  
  " If you must know ," he interrupted with dwindling patience. "Consider it self-medication. She felt like she was dying of a broken heart and was desperate to feel anything else. Only, instead of drugs or alcohol-like anybody else would at her age-she used me."
  
  Angel clenched his fist tight enough for Nox to hear his knuckles crack, as he retorted, "Doesn't seem like you hate it."
  
  Clearly, Angel was restraining himself from attacking him, likely due to feeling indebted to Nox. Regardless, Nox replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
  
  " Yeah! That happens when the girl is hot and you're a heterosexual." Sucking his teeth, Angel turned away, looking at Buffy's house mournfully as Nox argued, "What was I supposed to do? Force her to stop? Beautiful girl like that can get it from any guy she wants. At least with me, I can talk some sense into her along the way." Recalling the state he'd left Buffy in, Nox told the silent vampire, "I recommend waiting until tomorrow to warn her about the bounty."
  
  Then he drove away.
  
  Alright, I hate to say it but I may not update next week. It's also a very large chapter, and my betas and I are still working on it. If we can finish in time, of course we will update. But just a heads up, in case you don't see an update. If you want me to update it on the following Monday, or Tuesday, just let me know in the comments. I'm trying to maintain a Sunday release schedule, but if enough commenters want it, I'll post it as soon as it's done(after Sunday).
  
  Hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. I liked a lot of parts. It had a nice mix of everything. The next chapter will have some very interesting events happening.
  
  Thank you all again for taking the time out of your day to read my fic and possibly leave a comment. I truly do appreciate your support. For those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my is patre /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Love or Obsession?
  Barely made this update. No notes today. Need sleep. Just wanted to say thank you to readers who continue to enjoy and support this story, and my amazing Betas. They worked hard on this chapter. If it wasn't for Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar, I would not have been able to finish. SO thank you all.
  
  Warning: Violence, Language and some light lemons.
  
  12.6 K words. My biggest chapter yet.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Love or Obsession?
  
  -B-
  
  Hanging out at the Bronze, Buffy observed-from her vantage point on the second floor-Xander, Willow, and Cordelia dancing in front of a live band. The blonde girl wore shimmering gold pants with a black spaghetti strap top, drinking from a cup and listening to the slow vocal music. Ben Straley approached her from behind, leaning into her vision to greet the distracted girl. Buffy quickly thought the tall boy was handsome, with chestnut brown hair, gentle brown eyes, and a pleasant smile.
  
  "Hey," he said with familiarity, as if he knew her.
  
  Buffy panicked as she didn't recognize him.
  
  At her blank expression, he nervously added, "I'm Ben." When her unsure expression didn't change, he further added, "We had Algebra II together last year."
  
  With an apologetic expression, Buffy said, "Sorry. I pretty much repress anything math related."
  
  Ben continued trying to remind her, stating, "M-Ms. Jackson. Second period. You sat in the seat three over, one behind."
  
  A vague memory of him entered Buffy's mind, but it wasn't flattering. Ben had fallen asleep in class and when he was shoved awake, he'd fallen to the floor. He had laughed it off with the rest of the class, then failed to answer the teacher's question.
  
  "Oh!" she exclaimed, nodding in recognition. Recalling him now made Buffy feel guilty for being so oblivious to some people, but upon closer inspection, he reminded her of Xander: nice and caring. Someone who could be a good friend. "Yeah, I remember now. The one with the desks, chalkboard, pencils, and stuff."
  
  "That's the one," the humored boy said with a smile.
  
  Tapping her head, she joked, "Like a steel trap."
  
  Buffy felt his nervousness and was already ready to decline his obvious interest even before he said, "So... I w-was wondering. You know the dance tomorrow night?"
  
  "You mean the Sadie Hawkins thing?" she asked. "The deal where girls ask the boys."
  
  "Yeah," he confirmed cheerfully. "I thought maybe, if you're free, you might ask me."
  
  Buffy didn't blink as she said, "Oh, gosh, uh-"
  
  Ben instinctively felt the rejection on the tip of her tongue and raised his palms, stating, "Oh! Oh, hey, no. Don't-don't worry about it."
  
  He was backing away as Buffy tried to ease the sting of rejection by replying, "No, no. You seem like a really great guy. It's me... I... I'm not seeing anybody. Ever again, actually."
  
  "Oh," he replied. "That's... too bad."
  
  He looked at her with an odd mixture of disbelief and pity before thanking her and leaving. As she watched him walk away, she grew dispirited for having to reject a nice boy. However, all Ben did was make her think about Angel and Nox-more specifically, how she couldn't be with one while being rejected by the other. Diving deeper into her thoughts, Ben seemed the exact kind of nice guy Nox wanted her to try dating. But she couldn't see what was the point of even trying if she felt nothing. Returning her attention to her friends below, eying Xander specifically-as he danced with both Willow and Cordelia-Buffy felt terribly conflicted.
  
  ' Should I ask him? ' she constantly wondered, which always annoyed her. She simply couldn't understand why Nox was pushing her away. ' A nice guy? Really? Like, why? What could that possibly change? If anything, I 'd only end up hurting him. And I don't want to hurt Xander, or anyone! '
  
  With a huff, the Slayer unknowingly squeezed the metal guardrail too hard, bending the steel railing to an audible whine by accident. Panicking, Buffy looked around before quickly making her way downstairs, where she ran into Willow.
  
  "Hey," the redhead said. "You bailing?"
  
  "Yeah," Buffy answered, adding, "I'm going to stop by the library and see if Giles wants me to patrol, then call it a night."
  
  "You've been doing that a lot," Willow pointed out. "In fact, you've been All-Work-And-No-Play-Buffy."
  
  But Buffy did want to play. Only, the person she wanted to play with, didn't want to play with her. She felt it in her chest-in her stomach-a desire to run into Nox every night. However, that desire also came with the shame of being in such an unhealthy relationship. Buffy struggled with wanting it and not wanting it because it felt good in the moment, but she also couldn't bring herself to tell Willow or the others. She couldn't bear it if her best friends-the best reason she was alive-saw her differently.
  
  "I play," Buffy tried to assert. "I have big fun. I came here tonight, didn't I?"
  
  Nodding, Willow replied, "You came, you saw, and you rejected."
  
  Buffy glanced upstairs where she had met Ben, and asked, "You mean that guy?" At her nod, the blonde explained, "I'm just not in date mode right now."
  
  "Maybe you need to date to get in date mode," Willow offered with an encouraging smile.
  
  Glumly, Buffy admitted, "I don't think I'm ready for that, Will."
  
  Shaking her head and swaying her long hair, Willow insisted, "You're thinking too much. Maybe you need to be impulsive."
  
  "Impulsive?" Buffy repeated. "Do you remember my ex-boyfriend, the vampire? I slept with him. He lost his soul. The demon that wore his face nearly killed Ms. Calendar before we restored his soul, and now we can never be with each other again, literally , to keep people from dying. The next impulsive decision I make will involve my choice of dentures."
  
  "Okay, the Angel thing went badly," Willow conceded. "I'm on board with that, but that wasn't your fault, Buffy." Leaning closer, she emphasized, "And anyway, love isn't always like that. Love can be nice, too."
  
  Though Buffy still didn't feel it, she couldn't help but fixate on the word nice. Hesitantly, she asked her friend, "Do you think... you can fall in love-like, that big Disney love-dating someone... nice?"
  
  "Of course," Willow greatly asserted. "That's usually how it happens... I've read... somewhere. Oh! But-but, it's true in my case. I totally didn't have the feels-or anything, besides friendship-for Oz when we first met. He was just a great guy I could talk to and have fun with." The redhead professed with a broad smile, "But now, I love him, like, totally Disney love."
  
  Buffy could clearly see how happy her friend looked, and she recalled her heartbreaking conversation with Angel. They were in his apartment, standing in the middle of the living room, facing each other as much as the inevitable. The pair understood, without saying much, that they could never be a couple again. Seeing the sadness in his eyes-knowing hers were just as sad-felt like she was trapped inside of a coffin and couldn't breathe-couldn't move. His whole demeanor was so heartbreaking, she didn't think she could ever be happy again.
  
  Breathing heavily, Buffy's heart felt like it was racing, and she clenched her fists tightly. She needed to hit a demon to death, or find Nox to fuck the misery out of her- anything to be free of the suffocating poison choking her. However, Nox-the last good thing in her love life-told her to try for a nice guy, alluding that they were, somehow, the answer. He made Buffy wonder if asking Xander out on a friendly date wouldn't be the worst thing.
  
  Before leaving the Bronx, Buffy asked Xander for a ride to school to see Giles, and he happily obliged. It was touching how much he cared for her, but she couldn't deny it wasn't the same feeling she got with Nox. Getting on his bike, she didn't want to compare the two because it wouldn't be right, but deep down, she knew Xander just couldn't match up to Nox.
  
  ' What 's wrong with me? ' she asked herself as they rode down the street. It was terrifying to think of the answer because she truly suspected something was terribly broken inside of her.
  
  At his back, as they drove to their high school, Buffy tried to analyze Xander in a new light. Holding him around his torso felt better than she expected. His jokes weren't as immature as they used to be, nor was he as perverted. He had a motorcycle, and his own house. He came over for dinner often, which was always nice, and he even dressed better. Xander had so much going for him-checked so many boxes-but she still didn't feel it... the passion.
  
  She recalled Nox saying, ' Jesus Christ, it 's got to be raw, uncut, animal magnetism straight from the get-go with you, doesn't it? Is taking a date or two to see if you can build something so unthinkable? Let me tell you: when you've lived as long as I have, taking things slow isn't some terrible omen of a doomed relationship. It's the smart thing to do. ' Buffy didn't want to cheat on anyone, but even he said what they were doing wasn't a relationship. ' Try, Slayer ,' he'd said. ' Just try .'
  
  When Xander let her off at the rear entrance of the school, Buffy recognized that they were alone and that there was potential for something meaningful to happen. Instantly feeling self-conscious, she swallowed audibly as he was preparing to leave.
  
  With a tentative step forward, she nervously asked, "H-Hey Xander?"
  
  Xander looked at her, and seemed to sense the situation, cutting off the puttering engine. Still seated on his bike, he replied, "Yeah?"
  
  She looked deeply into his chocolate eyes and found them nice. In fact, his face wasn't unappealing. There was a comfort there that allowed her to continue saying, "I was... I was wondering... if..."
  
  After her long pause, the confused boy asked, "Yeeeah?"
  
  Buffy wiggled her fingers, finding it odd that her palms were sweaty. She took a deep breath, and said, "I've been... The thing is, I k-keep getting asked to the Sadie Hawkins dance."
  
  Xander crossed his arms and his face seemed playful as he curled his brow in that comical way he did. Buffy quickly felt more at ease-realizing that Xander would always be Xander. She smiled as he replied, "Uh, unless I've been misidentifying genders all my life, I don't think those guys are familiar with the rules on that one."
  
  ' Maybe Willow was right ,' she thought. ' Maybe I am overthinking it .' Feeling more relaxed, she asked, "I was hoping we could go?"
  
  His eyebrows sprung up as he asked, " We ? As in, you and me?"
  
  The Slayer suddenly felt nervous again. Though she answered, "Y-Yeah."
  
  Buffy loved the idea of friendship with Xander, but being more gave her pause, like she needed to be cautious. It was dangerous to lose a good friend like him. He and Willow were how she stayed sane throughout the hardships of her duty, and she didn't want to lose him because she hurt him unnecessarily. Buffy didn't want to feel even more trapped if she lost him.
  
  "As-as friends!" she quickly added. "Friends. You know, so I can tell guys I'm already going with someone."
  
  Xander deflated some, but nodded nevertheless as he replied, "Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, of course. Anything for you, Buff."
  
  Buffy nodded before they said their goodnight. Less than thirty minutes later, she stopped a male student from shooting his girlfriend with a gun that vanished.
  
  -X-
  
  Resting his head on his hands as he looked up at the high ceiling, Xander gave a fleeting thought to the poltergeists of James and Grace, since he expected Buffy to stop the shooting that night. He was laying in Cordelia's queen-sized bed with the stunning beauty, but he wasn't thinking about helping the ghosts pass on, or how he needed to buy bulletproof vests, or even how amazing Cordelia felt snuggled up against him. Xander was more amazed that Buffy had asked him to the dance. He hadn't expected it. Not truly. As Nox, he may have told her to date a nice guy, but Xander hadn't believed she'd pick him.
  
  "Buffy asked me to the Sadie Hawkins dance," he said out loud, looking over the lightly sweaty beauty cuddled up beside him.
  
  Riding the last waves of pleasure with dark hair matted to her heart-shaped face, Cordelia leaned back to ask him with a queer look, "You want to bring that up now?"
  
  "Well, I wasn't going to bring it up before we started," he reasoned with a smirk. "That'd be crazy."
  
  Nodding, she agreed, saying, "Yeah, I guess." Cordelia moved away to look at him, propping herself on her elbow with her head resting on her hand. As blunt as ever, she asked, "Did she really ask you? Because I find that hard to believe."
  
  After a huff of humor, Xander replied, "Admittedly, she asked to go as friends, but it got me thinking. We can't keep doing this if you get a boyfriend, or I get a girlfriend. Otherwise, it's cheating."
  
  "Deduced that all on your own?" she sarcastically asked.
  
  "I'm serious, Cor," he asserted, supporting his head on his hand. They faced each other as he explained, "I think we've been doing this teenage hormonal thing so long, we can't just suddenly stop and be a normal couple. It's too backwards."
  
  The way her eyes squinted, Xander expected the fire, and Cordelia didn't disappoint, hotly retorting, "You got what you wanted, so you're bailing. Is that it?"
  
  "Stop it," Xander returned with just as much edge in his voice. "You know that's not it."
  
  "Well... what do you want me to say?" Cordelia demanded. "It sounds like you're dumping me, but we... We never even got a chance to figure out what this was."
  
  Xander paused for a moment, both loving and hating how difficult this always was. He enjoyed the emotional high of being with her, but disliked that he also felt shame and self-loathing whenever their coupling ended. As he learned through many loops, inevitably, something would always break them up-even if that something was his decision-and that would be the end of them. Xander and Cordelia were great, but also fragile, which disappointed him.
  
  Clearing his throat, he confessed, "I love what we have-in and outside of the bedroom-but if there was more, I think one of us would've pushed for it by now."
  
  Cordelia paused to consider his words, then said, "Maybe I was just waiting for you to push."
  
  "I could say the same thing," he softly returned. "I think, deep down, we both know we're like a safe haven for each other-a really good rest stop. I can trust you, and you can trust me. I'll always watch your back and I trust you to have mine. Plus, you feel absolutely phenomenal."
  
  "Damn right," she asserted with a cocksure grin, making him huff in amusement. "So, what you're too scared to say is: we're, what? Friends with benefits?"
  
  "First, I have no such fear," Xander returned. "And second, sure, but with a heavier emphasis on the ' friends ' part." Cordelia was silently ruminating on his words before he added, "You've been in my life so long-driving me crazy for most of it-I just want you to be happy, even if that was with someone else... not that I expect anyone to top me."
  
  Cordelia smiled warmly-with a tender expression-before groaning in frustration. She glared at him, though with no real malice, as she said, "You just had to ruin it, didn't you? We could've been anything if you just kept your mouth shut, but now the magic is gone."
  
  Though she was putting on a brave face, Xander fully expected her to drop her mask when she was alone, likely to cry herself to sleep. He knew how much she protected herself, and as they'd never become public in this loop, she'd never truly dropped all her guards when they were together. It was because Xander didn't push for more that Cordelia didn't trust him enough to show her most vulnerable side... the side that always led to her hating him for breaking her heart. In this loop, however, that wasn't the case. He believed she would be better sooner than she had before.
  
  The teenage boy smiled devilishly before saying, "Yeah, you know what? You're right. I did ruin the magic. You. Are. Right." The sexy cheerleader eyed him suspiciously before he added, "Looks like I'll have to use my considerable skill in the art of funny business to make it up to you."
  
  He pounced on her naked form, and a giggling Cordelia squealed in delight. "Xander!"
  
  It wasn't long before the sexy girl felt Xander's cock slide into her tight pussy. Spreading her legs wider apart to allow him deeper reach into her moist slit, Cordelia moaned in building euphoria, relishing his length and girth as he filled her to the brim. The seductive girl held onto Xander's muscular body, pressing her large bosom against his chest as he pumped in and out of her yielding pussy. The sound of flesh slapping and the bed creaking filled their ears. Their mouths were locked together, tongues entwined, as Xander pounded the seductive girl into the mattress.
  
  When the glistening beauty's moans grew louder, and her flush body trembled, Xander knew she was moments away from climax. Her vagina was quivering around him, squeezing with greater intervals as her fingernails dug into his skin and her toned legs wrapped tight around his bucking ass. When her spine arched, her head dropped back, and her toes curled, Cordelia's pussy clamped down on his meaty cock like a warm vise-setting him off. Her orgasm triggered Xander's, and the lovers climaxed together for a third time that night. The moaning gradually died down along with the trembling of their ecstasy-filled bodies.
  
  Even still, as they held each other, panting and satisfied, the time looper wished he felt more.
  
  -
  
  The next morning, Xander and the rest of the Scooby Gang met in the library, where they learned about the school shooting that Buffy prevented. As they had before, they investigated the source of all the strange happenings around school. After George, the possessed janitor, shot Ms. Frank, the equally possessed teacher, and then killed himself, Xander purchased bulletproof vests for himself and Buffy, and insisted she wear it.
  
  Helping her adjust the vest over her white shirt, he joked, "Gotta keep you alive to sweep me off my feet at the dance."
  
  "Good thing they rescheduled it for tomorrow," she replied with a smile.
  
  As the night progressed, Xander wondered who would be the one making out with Buffy this time. It had been Angel, Spike, and even Drusilla; all vampires. Though, he didn't mind if it was Drusilla again. Sadly, Xander wasn't surprised to see Angel show up in the indoor courtyard. Buffy asked why he was there, and the vampire replied, "I followed Spike here."
  
  Xander's head dropped to hear the name of the one vampire he didn't want kissing Buffy. It would only trigger his need to kill Spike, and by extension, that traumatic memory. Xander's heart sank at the idea that he might still be angry enough to kill Spike simply for kissing Buffy again. He wasn't that stupid anymore, nor did he feel much emotion anymore, but somehow, he still felt an urge in his gut he couldn't explain. If Spike was chosen once again, killing the blond vampire and looping back was a real possibility.
  
  The three split up, though Xander hung out near where the action was going to be. He stashed Hellguard nearby, and idled in place, deeply world-weary. Strolling lackadaisically through the hallway, he didn't know where Angel, Buffy, or Spike were, but he expected to see at least two of them any second. Xander prayed James and Grace would possess Spike and Angel, and leave Buffy out of it, but then he unexpectedly lost his balance. The teen felt like he was falling backward, but when trying to break his fall, he discovered he had no control of his motor functions.
  
  Xander instantly feared he was looping back to Halloween somehow, but instead, he heard Buffy say, "You can't make me disappear because you say it's over."
  
  Xander turned and saw her looking at him with lovesick eyes, and he instantly knew they were the ones possessed. His mouth was speaking words that weren't his own.
  
  "I just want you to be able to have some kind of normal life," he said to her. "We can never have that, don't you see?"
  
  Though there was a ring of truth in Grace's words, Xander quickly realized the danger of this situation. Neither himself nor Buffy were able to defend themselves, and Spike was in the school. Xander suddenly found himself to be eternally grateful that Angel was there.
  
  While Grace and James replayed the fatal tragedy of their end, Xander waited to either loop back because one of them died, or be shot. However, the seconds dragged on. Xander tuned out the melodrama between Grace and James when he finally heard, "Well, what do we have here?"
  
  Xander couldn't see him as the sound came from behind him, but he recognized Spike's voice anywhere. Then he heard a punch, followed by a lot of grunting and muffled smacks. As Grace and James moved away, Xander was trying to concentrate on the fight, all the while wondering who was winning. He cringed at the thought of cheering Angel, and resigned himself to stewing in growing frustration.
  
  Finally, the humans were on the balcony when Buffy pointed her gun at Xander and yelled, "Don't talk to me like I'm a stupid-"
  
  BANG. The revolver went off, and Xander was so grateful that he was shot in the chest.
  
  "James..." he weakly voiced before falling off the balcony.
  
  With his ring still active, Xander didn't fear the fast fall and painfully hard stop against the stairs below. Even as his head hit the stone step, cracked, and bled profusely, his ring was already healing him. Xander lay there looking at the night sky for nearly a minute before Grace finally got up and rushed to meet Buffy in the music room.
  
  As the music played from the record player, Grace-in Xander's body-forgave James-in Buffy's body-before the lovers kissed; sweetly at first, as if confirming they were real, then quite passionately. Xander lost himself in the physical intimacy, reacting with practiced ease exactly how Buffy loved to be kissed, intensely with tongue. It seemed like she felt the same, and that only excited him more. Xander didn't think about how Nox fit into this kiss, the passing of time, or the world around them. Not until she massaged his chest and his body recalled the bullet that impacted the kevlar, did he break the kiss. Xander pulled away, his entire body vibrating with pain.
  
  "Guh!" he groaned in sudden pain, resting his head on her shoulder as the ring continued healing him.
  
  Buffy yelled, "Oh, my God, Xander! Are you okay?" she desperately asked, helping him stay on his feet.
  
  Xander leaned on the strong girl and half smirked as he replied, "Are you k-kidding? N-Never felt better."
  
  "I shot you!" she exclaimed with growing worry.
  
  With a wave of his hand-feeling his ring finishing with the worst of his injuries-he asserted, "Oh, don't sweat the small stuff, Buff. I'm just like, finally! One possession that actually turned out okay."
  
  "You must have brain damage because nothing about shooting you is okay!" a distressed Buffy returned. Then, looking at the back of his head, and the blood that trailed down to his neck and stained his shirt, Buffy yelled, "Oh my God, your head!"
  
  Wrapping his arm around her neck, Xander leaned in and looked her in the eyes, trying to relay calm stability as he affirmed, "Buffy, it looks worse than it is. Trust me, I'm fine."
  
  She seemed to see as much in his eyes. After a charged moment, the blonde suddenly looked away before softly commanding, "Come on."
  
  Buffy would've carried Xander if he didn't outright refuse, and eventually, they met up with Angel. The vampire had a bruise on his cheek and his lip was busted, but mercifully, he had been successful in stopping Spike without killing him. Xander was fully healed by the time the other Scoobies joined them, but pretended to be mildly injured as they explained all that had happened, minus their kiss.
  
  The next night, Buffy and Xander went to the Sadie Hawkins dance together. Though they went together, the dancing, the laughs, and the fun didn't feel different from when they hung out as friends. Along with their other friends, they simply enjoyed themselves. Afterward, the pair went to Pink's Hotdog, and he ordered two dogs each. Despite the energy requirement for fighting and healing, Xander and Buffy only ate twice as much as normal meals.
  
  Once settled on the outdoor benches, a curious Buffy asked, "Any idea why Cordelia told me not to break your heart, then changed her mind and told me it'd be okay if I did?"
  
  "If I use my trusty-but super worn out-Cordelia decoder ring," he began, "I suspect she wanted to be nice, then realized she had an image of blunt honesty to maintain and reversed what she said. That's pretty much her MO."
  
  Her eyebrows rose as she shook her head, nonverbally saying, ' okaaay ,' before genuinely expressing, "With all the craziness that happened, I hadn't expected to have fun tonight. But I did."
  
  Setting down his soda, Xander nodded before agreeing, saying, "Same-sies. We should do it again."
  
  "For the next dance or the next Sadie Hawkins dance?" she asked before taking a bite of her second hotdog, groaning delightfully at the deliciousness.
  
  After swallowing his bite, he proposed, "Well, this might be a wild idea, but, I could ask you to a regular, non-Sadie-date where food and fun would be all but assured."
  
  Buffy stopped eating and looked at him with wide eyes before stating, "That... that sounds like a date."
  
  "It does, doesn't it?" he astutely said.
  
  Buffy cleared her dry throat before rationally replying, "But what if us dating completely wrecks our friendship? It happens, like, all the time. Would you really want to risk what we have like that?"
  
  Though he should acknowledge the realistic risk and act with understanding and caution, Xander felt nothing of the sort. After so many loops with the same people at the same time and place, the world felt binary. All he needed was a yes or no-will they or won't they-so he could just move on. Xander wanted to get out of the time braid and had little patience for emotional hang-ups.
  
  Thus, he quickly answered, "Hell yeah," to Buffy's surprise. "I know we're friends, Buff-best friends, actually-and I never want to ruin that, but the thing is, I don't think we can. I mean, even if we break up, I'm still going to love you and want the best for you. That's not going to change; ever. But, if by some miracle we end up having something that lasts... that keeps going into next year... and the year after that... for the rest of our lives..."
  
  At the tantalizing possibility of escaping the time braid, Xander nearly lost his emotional equilibrium, momentarily brought down by the massive weight of the sadness, despair, and trauma that he regularly repressed.
  
  Clearing his throat and getting control of himself, he continued, "W-wouldn't that be worth it?"
  
  Buffy was quiet for several seconds, and when she continued to eat-likely thinking about his question-he continued to eat as well. After returning the pink trays, they were by his bike when Buffy finally responded.
  
  "We have to take it slow," she softly said.
  
  Xander's eyebrows rose in surprise before he remarked, "Well, that's new." She looked mildly confused, but he pushed on to say, "Slow..." With a knowing grin, he asked, "You mean like Nascar slow?" She suppressed her own grin and squinted her eyes at him, as if to say, ' not funny .' Xander smiled before asserting, "We can do slow. Regular slow."
  
  Their first date was during the day at an ice cream shop, and despite their gelatos, it was unexpectedly awkward. Seated outside to bask in the warm shine of the sun, the silence was like a third wheel that wouldn't leave. It was as if Buffy didn't know how to act around him, and Xander felt doomed it would always be like this, thus trapping him in ever-repeating time forever. As ever, he joked when he was nervous, essentially saying they had been alone plenty of times before, only without the possibility of kissing later. Buffy snorted in amusement, and they had an easier time connecting after that. By the end of the date, they'd remembered they were great friends who could talk and laugh about anything.
  
  Kissing was a challenge, however. They hadn't done it since being possessed. Buffy even evaded a kiss attempt. In front of her home, he had leaned down, and before their lips met, Buffy dodged. He pulled back and saw her eyes were the size of saucers. She quickly said goodnight and rushed inside, closing the door behind her with thunderous force. Though he would've preferred the kiss, her nervousness-and the fact that she enjoyed kissing Nox-was still amusing.
  
  Not that intimate moments between them mattered more than the nightly attacks Buffy, Angel, and Nox were facing; hellish battles. The Slayer was playing down the constant attacks to her friends during the day. However, as Nox, Xander knew how arduous their battles against teams of vampires were. Additionally, different breeds of demons appeared with dozens of vampires every other night.
  
  After a week of constant battles with many enemies, a frustrated and worn-out Nox demanded of Buffy, "Tell Janna that I saved her life, and I demand she repay me by performing the ritual on Spike."
  
  "That's not the smart play," an irate Angel said to him.
  
  Nox yelled back, "Continuing to do this is not smart!"
  
  Angel had been on edge every time Nox was near Buffy. Ever since the vampire had learned about them, it seemed as if he was eager for a fight. Thus, he stepped up threateningly to Nox, who happily stood his ground as the vampire argued, "Even if we give him a soul, it doesn't mean he'll automatically help us. Souls don't automatically mean they're good!"
  
  Glaring brightly at the vampire, Nox growled, "You don't think I know that, you blood-sucking parasite-"
  
  A conflicted Buffy pushed them apart with her supernatural strength, eying them with worry as she pleaded, "Stop. Please."
  
  Nox backed away, quite done being a corner of this love triangle. Before leaving, he told them, "We change Spike first, then we promise to change Drusilla, too." Extending his hand, Dreadnought flew out of the demon skull it was stuck in, and into his grasp-splattering neon-yellow blood on the grass-as he finished saying, "We won't dust her and they can be together, but only if he helps us. He'll do anything for her."
  
  Xander learned the next day that Buffy relayed the message and Ms. Calendar agreed, but to his surprise, Willow wanted to be the one to perform the ritual. She had been working closely with Jenny to learn more magic, and felt she could do it. Xander already knew she could, so he supported her.
  
  The following night, Angel and Buffy positioned themselves close to the Bric & Broc factory, while Xander guarded Willow as she performed the ritual. Once completed, Willow was incredibly drained, but Giles, Jenny, and Oz took care of her. Xander left to patrol and found Buffy and Angel fending off a wave of attackers trying to get a comatose Spike. It was another long night of fighting and injuries. Nox hated inviting the vampires into his mansion, but the sun was rising and they couldn't make it to Angel's apartment in time.
  
  Looking around the mansion, Buffy asked, "Do you actually own this place?"
  
  "Mnn" was all Nox sounded as he carried an unconscious Spike to the cellar. The two behind him were looking around as he chained the unconscious Spike to a pillar.
  
  Angel noted, "Didn't think anyone lived here."
  
  "That's the point," Nox remarked. With the last click of the metal latch, he turned to Angel and stated, "Expect to be uninvited when you guys have a place to go." He turned to Buffy and said, "Come on. I'll drive you back."
  
  Buffy nodded silently before asking Angel, "Will you be alright here?"
  
  "Yeah," he said with a longing smile. "You should go. There's no telling when he'll wake up or what state he'll be in."
  
  Half an hour later, they were in front of Buffy's home, with the morning light tinting the house in an orange hue.
  
  She hopped off the bike before asking, "Do you really think Spike will help?"
  
  Nox was apathetic as he answered, "I'm not a hundred percent, but if he sees it's for Drusilla, I think he will."
  
  "Is that love or obsession?" the curious Slayer wondered aloud.
  
  After a century on the nauseating Love Roller Coaster, Xander was so tired of love and all its problems, he had begun questioning the point of it. In his estimation, all that emotion seemed to do was make people stupid; whether stupid-crazy, stupid-dumb, stupid-angry-and he'd admit at times-stupid-happy. It was a drug that overrode logic and reality, because couples like a Slayer and a vampire wouldn't happen otherwise. His parents wouldn't have happened either.
  
  "I'd put my money on obsession," he lamented, and she looked disappointed to hear it. Not that he cared, adding, "Love encompasses so much in life-the good and the bad-but I've seen it fail so many times, it's more bad than good, in my opinion. As long as I've been alive, love-no matter how great it is in the beginning-always spoils; rots, and then we have to live with that smell."
  
  Buffy nodded, but he could see in her expressive eyes how sad he was making her. It was like he told her Santa Claus wasn't real, making him feel a small twinge of remorse. Xander recalled Merlin's tutelage, and he reluctantly added, "Even still, Slayer, I don't doubt real love is out there."
  
  Buffy perked up as she asked, "Really?"
  
  Nox nodded, stating, "I've been told by a reliable source that true love is like two bodies sharing one soul. So, I do believe love is out there; just, not what people imagine it to be." Buffy nodded with a hint of a smile, grossly annoying him when he felt like such a sucker. Moving on, he stated, "Anyway, obsession is just about loving yourself."
  
  "So, if Spike takes the deal, he's obsessed with Drusilla," Buffy summarized. "But if he doesn't, it shows he loves her? And we continue to suffer the pleasure of Drusilla's company."
  
  "Or the other way around," Nox countered. "For as long as I've lived, I still don't know if a vampire without a soul is incapable of feeling love. Maybe they feel it and just hate it. Whereas, with a soul, we feel it and embrace it... to varying degrees, anyway."
  
  Buffy nodded, and before the silence stretched too long, she randomly admitted, "I went on a date recently."
  
  "With your funny friend?"
  
  "Yeah," she answered.
  
  When she didn't elaborate, Nox figured, "I take it you don't like him."
  
  "No, I do," she quickly asserted. "Xander's great, and funny, and caring... and-and great? I said that, already." She laughed anxiously before saying, "It's just..."
  
  Nox wondered if she could hear the amusement in his voice when he asked, "He's too good for you?"
  
  Reeling by the verbal slap, she sternly returned, "I wouldn't put it that way."
  
  "I would," he insisted, earning a cute glare from the blonde.
  
  " More like , we're just... not... the right fit," she struggled to explain. "He tried to kiss me and I just... I t-turned away. I'm sure he hates me now."
  
  Xander recalled the end of their last date: leaning down for the kiss and Buffy pulling away. He realized he hadn't felt embarrassed or rejected when she'd pulled away. After the amount of physical intimacy he had experienced from a large variety of women, it was actually more interesting that she turned away. Buffy stood out, which was interesting, to say the least.
  
  "You've never even kissed?" Nox asked. "Poor guy."
  
  "No, we have!" she quickly corrected. "I mean, we were possessed at the time, but after, we were totally smooch city." At his calm bright eyes staring at her, a dejected Buffy sank her head before groaning, "Ugh, why am I even telling you this?"
  
  "Why turn away if you enjoyed kissing him after being possessed?" he asked. Buffy eyed him a moment before considering how to respond, but she remained silent. After several moments, Nox urged, "Don't force yourself to feel something you don't, Slayer. But, if he's a friend, there must be qualities about him you like. Try to focus on that." Buffy nodded and was then surprised when Nox hugged her. He softly voiced, "If he's still not the right fit, find me, and I'll hold you down and fill you up until you're a quivering mess and begging me to stop."
  
  He could feel her soften in his arms, and when he pulled back, her face was red. Nox left the Slayer and stopped by Angel's apartment to get packets of animal blood before returning to the mansion. He gave Angel a cot and blankets to sleep in and told the brooding vampire, "I have some contacts I need to meet. I won't be back for a while. Don't touch my stuff."
  
  Xander spent his school day practicing his stitching in preparation for his rune-embroidered gear. He stitched geek-culture emblems like the Autobots, GhostBusters, and the Mortal Kombat logo on simple white cotton fabric. Every once in a while, he wondered when Buffy might ask him to talk in private. The thought that she was constantly thinking about ending their romantic relationship provided another layer of intrigue to his long, monotonous days. Toward the end of the school day, she seemed primed to talk. However, Xander invited her to see his first swim meet instead.
  
  "Swim meet?" Buffy repeated curiously. "Swimming to meet who?"
  
  Xander shook his head, amused, before reminding her, "I told you guys I joined the swim team."
  
  Her eyes bulged before exclaiming, "We thought you were joking. Did you seriously join the swim team?" At his nod, Buffy shook her head before realizing, "Wait, when do you even practice? You said you work at the forge after school."
  
  "Coach lets me practice whenever because of my job, so I just go when I have free time." At Buffy's skeptical eye, he assured her, "I'm really on the team!"
  
  Buffy, along with Willow and Cordelia, wouldn't truly believe he was on the swim team until they witnessed it themselves. The girls traveled with the team to UC Sunnydale's Olympic-sized pool for the first round of the tournament. The large facility on the college campus had seating on three sides of the large pool for nearly two hundred people. As it was the beginning of the tourney, friends, family, and fans of swimming came from both sides, filling a third of the stands.
  
  Buffy and Willow were seated behind Cordelia and the cheerleaders when each member of the Sunnydale swim team was introduced. When Xander stepped out and unzipped his team jersey in front of the sixty people in attendance, standing in nothing but his speedo, he instantly caught everyone's attention. He didn't have the lithe physique every other boy around him had. Xander was cut, with round, broad shoulders. His chest and lats were sculpted like a football player's, rippling with power. The teenager even had a six-pack. His chiseled back and legs looked just as strong as the rest of him, and there wasn't a drop of fat on his athletic frame. Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, and all the girls in the room feasted at the sight of Xander in nothing but tight swimming briefs, inciting a lot of private discussion among the crowd.
  
  Every meet in a swimming tournament followed a standard order of events. All the boys competed in four strokes: freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, and breaststroke. Additionally, each race had a specific distance of 50 yards, 100 yards, 200 yards, or 500 yards. The race was long and arduous for every teenage boy that wasn't Xander Harris. He didn't wear his ring while he swam each event, because, after months of nightly, high-level training and rapid healing-and decades of fine-tuning his motor skills-Xander's physical performance was at the upper echelon of human ability. Thus, he didn't wear his ring, not because it wasn't allowed, but because he simply didn't need it.
  
  During the freestyle event, Xander's smooth flow of each stroke was insanely powerful. Every flex of his versatile muscles propelled him effortlessly through the water. His form during the butterfly stroke was so perfect, he nearly shot himself out of the water from the smooth flow of energy pumping through him. His back and breast stroke could challenge marine animals. With his level of strength, Xander dominated every event, trouncing the competition with plenty of energy to spare.
  
  "Oh my God, Xander!" his friends cheered from the side. They couldn't believe he was so phenomenal.
  
  After they won, Xander noticed a positive change in Buffy. She didn't avoid his kiss that night, which began gently. However, their teenage hormones soon took over and their mouths were locked together for several minutes. Xander's hands caressed her sides and lower back with deft technique, making Buffy moan in his mouth. Xander was instantly hard, but Buffy pulled away, taking several moments to catch her breath. He felt an urge to voice the powerful attraction between them, but refrained. She bid him goodnight with a gentle kiss on the lips, and on his way home, he could feel she didn't want to end things with him just yet. She still wanted to keep their relationship a secret, but only so Buffy could talk to Willow first.
  
  -
  
  After school the following day, the Scoobies all gathered in the library. The sun had gone down, and it was awkwardly silent. It was odd for them to see Spike in the library, casually snooping around and not attempting to kill them. And vice versa, Buffy-or Angel-was trying to kill him. Regardless of the lack of homicide, Xander enjoyed the newness of it. He still wasn't a fan of Spike and Buffy being in the same room together-It seemed to him he'd always feel that sting in his chest-but it was still new, and that was enough.
  
  Spike snapped his fingers before pointing to Xander and asking Angel, "Shouldn't that tosser be dead? How's he still alive? You don't bounce back from a snapped neck like you fell and scraped a knee."
  
  Willow gasped, whipping her head around to her childhood friend, but Buffy quickly explained to those who didn't know that Nox had healed him.
  
  With a smirk, Xander loudly asked the room, "Shouldn't William the Bloody be feeling more guilt for all the terrible murders he's committed against men, women, and children throughout his long life?"
  
  Spike looked angered and then ashamed, and then angered for feeling shame. He groaned and smacked his head-as if trying to punch the guilt out-before eventually yelling, "Ugh, I bloody hate this thing!"
  
  Dropping her hand to Slaymore's handle, Buffy cheerfully offered the blond vampire, "I'd be happy to take the pain away."
  
  Focusing on the topic at hand, Giles asked, "Spike, we need to know what you've decided to do. Will you help us?"
  
  The blond sucked his teeth in annoyance before rehashing the deal. "I help you fight, you shackle my Dru with a soul, then you let us go-no harm, no foul-yeah?"
  
  Giles nodded, answering, "That's the deal, yes."
  
  "And more than you deserve," Jenny added.
  
  "Aww, hurt your feelings, did I?" he asked the pretty teacher with a mockingly insincere expression. He looked at all of them as he cynically asked, "I didn't try to kill you before, did I? Cuz, I don't care! B'sides, I'm a forcibly neutered vamp now. That's gotta count for something."
  
  "Spike," Buffy warned.
  
  "Yeah, alright," he called back. "Don't get your knickers in a twist. You got yourself a deal. I need to hit something, anyway."
  
  "Then we do it tomorrow," Buffy asserted.
  
  "We should recon tonight," Angel suggested. Buffy nodded, and soon afterward, the three fighters left.
  
  Less than an hour later, Nox watched Spike, Angel, and Buffy go to the Bric & Broc factory from afar. He was nearly caught after they went in because they soon came right back out. Nox overheard the three argue, and it was evident that Drusilla and her crew had abandoned the building. Spike insisted they not perform the ritual as planned.
  
  Nox overheard him yell, "If you stuff a soul in her surrounded by those vile animals, they'll either kill her, or do worse! And I swear to you, if she suffers, I'll do everything in my power to get rid of this thing and hunt you all down!"
  
  From a payphone, Buffy relayed to Giles-who relayed to everyone else-that casting the ritual was canceled until they located Drusilla's new hideout. For the next couple of weeks, Angel, Spike, Buffy, and Nox fought an uptick of demons and vampires almost every night, but they didn't kill many. The evil forces were given express instructions to run at the first sign of their loss, thus not many died before they all retreated. It was as if the four fighters were being tested nightly; as if someone new had come in with a crew of their own, absorbed Spike's old crew, and was engaging the Scooby Gang in little skirmishes to figure out their weak spot. They couldn't even chase after the vampires for fear of being separated and falling into an ambush.
  
  Xander had to admit the addition of Spike made the fights easier. Despite being more of a brawler, he was a high-level fighter. However, Nox ignored Angel and Spike whenever possible. If the four of them were fighting together, Nox made sure none of them died, but other than that, he barely even spoke to them. Since Buffy was dating Xander more seriously, Nox barely spoke to her, either. The masked hunter simply showed up, fought, then left.
  
  -
  
  Due in large part to Xander's superb swimming, their team qualified for the finals in the state championship. His friends made it to each of his swim meets, and Xander gained a bit of a following, but despite all the beautiful girls coming up to him, he only hung out with the Scoobies, especially Buffy. They'd been on five official dates, held hands, and even kissed in public, though not so much around their friends. Willow was reserved around them, meaning Buffy talked to her, but with Oz's help, she tried to be happy and supportive of her friends.
  
  Before any of the other swimmers were irrevocably changed into walking sea monsters, Xander alerted the group about the oddities he'd been seeing. As they had done in previous loops, the Scoobies uncovered the coach's scheme to dope his swimmers into winners, and the team was subsequently disqualified from the state finals. Though Xander had the test results to prove he wasn't doping, most of the student body didn't believe him-not with a physique like his.
  
  When Kendra finally arrived, Xander had one mission: keep the Jamaican Slayer alive. He didn't worry about the statue of Acathla being stolen or how this new crew might try to release the demon. He just wanted to make sure the sexy girl didn't die because he couldn't save her.
  
  Considering Xander owned the mansion they typically stored the statue in, finding and destroying it was now more difficult; not that he minded the excitement of the unknown. It wasn't as if the bad guys never dropped clues about their hideout, and with Nox's enhanced abilities, Xander was never worried about finding them. But for the extra bit of suspense, he allowed his friends to do most of the information gathering, simply to see if they could figure it out on their own. The possibility that they were getting closer to Acathla bringing about the end of the world by swallowing it in a vortex to another dimension gave Xander such a rush.
  
  He almost wanted to see the majestic chaos of it-the destruction, the despair, the panic all across the world-but then Angel and Spike found where Drusilla was hiding, and Xander felt empty again. He felt so close to allowing it. If he wasn't dating Buffy-if she didn't look at him with a growing sense of affection, as if she was growing happier dating him-he would have let it all come to an end.
  
  As it stood, the Scooby Gang planned to launch their attack on multiple fronts. Spike, Angel, and Buffy would go to the new hideout while Xander, Giles, Oz, and Kendra watched over Cordelia, Jenny, and Willow as she performed the ritual. When Willow began the Soul Restoration ritual, Xander expected Drusilla or something to show up, but no one did. Willow chanted the words. A light emanated around her, disappeared, then the redhead slumped over, physically drained. It was when they were checking a nearly comatose Willow, that the group heard clapping coming from the entrance of the library. They all turned to see a black man Xander recognized from previous loops as Mr. Trick. However, he wasn't supposed to be here so early.
  
  ' That 's new ,' Xander thought with some appreciation.
  
  What wasn't new was the threat he brought along with him. Mr. Trick brought far more vampires than Xander had ever faced at one time, even with Buffy and Angel. As the blood-suckers filed into the library, Xander wondered why this moment in every year loop had to always be so difficult. There must've been thirty vampires looking at them like they were lunch. The time looper debated calling Dreadnought to him, as it was stashed nearby-along with Hellguard-but that would mean he'd be found out. When Kendra stepped forward, doggedly prepared to single-handedly defend the Scoobies, Xander felt like he had little choice.
  
  Eying the growling vampires at the entrance of the library, Xander ordered the Watcher, "Giles, get them out of here."
  
  Giles quickly scooped up Willow in his arms, Mr. Trick didn't wait to order his men.
  
  "Kill them," he said, and the blood-sucking monsters swarmed Kendra like a tidal wave of fanged terror. Giles, with a worn-out Willow, Oz, Cordelia, and Jenny rushed to the emergency exit. Sadly, Mr. Trick had the exits covered and Giles was forced to retreat into his office, where they barricaded the door.
  
  Xander couldn't hold back here. His right hand summoned Dreadnought to him, breaking through the entrance and slashing through five vampires, while Odin's ring enhanced his speed, agility, durability, and power. Kendra didn't even have time to be surprised when Xander caught the spinning battleaxe, but from the rear of his offensive, Mr. Trick grew concerned at the sight of the human. As Xander began swinging Dreadnought, Mr. Trick ordered more vampires to attack Kendra, as she only had a stake.
  
  Despite their fighting prowess, Kendra and Xander were surrounded by supernaturally strong enemies. Like Kendra, Xander was attacked from all sides as he swung his battleaxe mightily, batting a vampire aside like a rag-doll while injuring another two, only to be kicked at that exact moment. Like water, Xander flowed with the momentum, and his footwork allowed him to always be in a stance that put power in his swings. So even if he got kicked in the back, he'd roll with it, spinning the axe to cut off being swarmed, and spring to his feet, hacking away with the constant spin of his weapon.
  
  Xander couldn't tell how Kendra was doing with all the vampires around him, but he heard amused hollering, some laughing, and, "Get her! Get her! Now, now, now!"
  
  Xander summoned Hellguard, which took a little longer to reach his left hand as it was in his bag in his locker. A vampire slid low to the ground, under Xander's swing, before clamping on his leg and biting down, drinking his blood as his Viking dagger finally cut through some unsuspecting vampires and reached his hand. Xander stabbed the vamp at his leg in the head before tossing Dreadnought onto a group of vampires. The unworthy demons instantly went down and couldn't get up, allowing Xander more freedom to move.
  
  With his dagger in hand, Xander went from vampire to vampire, kicking from one to the other like a ping-pong ball. He was trying to slash and stab his way closer to Kendra, who he couldn't see over the constantly shuffling bodies. Xander couldn't see her, but it felt like she was on the ground, and that made his heart sink. He chose not to let Acathla happen. The Jamaican beauty should live with everyone else.
  
  Xander electrocuted the vampires stuck under Dreadnought before calling it back, before tossing it again. The teen warrior was ferocious in his attempt to get to her. A vampire could drain a human in seconds, so if Kendra was on the ground and they were biting her like he envisioned, every second mattered. Xander ignored the deep cuts from sharp nails, the punches that felt like sledgehammers, and didn't stop hacking away at any vampire in the way. However, it wasn't enough.
  
  " Kendra! " he yelled when he saw her on the floor, motionless.
  
  When it was apparent to Xander that she was being drained by five vampires, that moment of pause allowed two vampires to jump on top of him. Xander killed one when two more jumped on. Calling on his strength to keep from dropping flat to the floor allowed even more vampires to jump on. Then he felt fangs pierce his skin.
  
  "Guah!" he groaned when it felt like four sets of fangs bit him.
  
  He felt his strength bleed out along with his blood and instinctively called his battleaxe before shocking them all with millions of volts of electricity. Xander felt the painful burning in all his nerves, but he didn't let up until he felt close to blacking out. The searing tearing of his insides began to heal as quickly as possible with the help of his magical items. However, he needed to get to Kendra. With all the strength he didn't feel, he pushed up with his arms, rolling twitching bodies off of him.
  
  It seemed like the electricity affected the entire area, downing most of the vampires and steaming some of the wood fixtures. Though struggling to move, Xander pushed himself over twitching bodies to Kendra, stabbing downed vampires in the brain with Hellguard. When he reached her, the panting boy placed his fingers against her bloody neck, looking for a pulse. He couldn't find one, and she wasn't breathing. Despite the small fires around the room, Xander placed his ringed hand on her chest and began administering CPR as he commanded his ring to heal her.
  
  He mentally yelled, ' Come on! Don 't let her die! Not again! Heal! Heal! Heal! '
  
  Xander was bleeding from several gashes and puncture wounds, sweating profusely, but he performed a hundred chest compressions every minute for three minutes; pushing blood through all her organs inch by inch. When he thought it had been too long, and she wasn't coming back in this loop as well, Kendra suddenly coughed a long exhale, returning to the land of the living. She gasped and heaved, trying to collect her breathing. Her trembling limbs were weak and aimless, but all that mattered was that she was alive.
  
  As the woozy Xander relaxed, he suddenly recalled his own injuries and bid his ring to help heal himself before seeing black. Xander must've passed out because Cordelia was shaking him awake while Jenny was treating Kendra, and Giles and Oz were putting out the fires in the darkened library.
  
  The beautiful cheerleader leaned down and whispered, "Do you want me to hide the weapons?"
  
  Xander didn't feel well enough to speak and tried to nod his head, but his twitchy body wasn't responding well, then passed out again. He was feeling only slightly better when Buffy and Angel showed up, but he didn't open his eyes and he heard what had happened from them.
  
  "Drusilla made a deal with a vampire named Mr. Trick," Angel told them from a few feet away. "She'd be the bait while he took all their remaining forces here."
  
  Buffy felt closer to Xander when she said, "Somehow she knew she'd be re-ensouled."
  
  Angel added, "It didn't matter to her if she was ensouled as long as Mr. Trick killed all of you."
  
  "Where is she now?" Giles asked.
  
  Buffy's voice seemed distracted, like she was looking at something unsettling as she answered, "Spike took her... and they ran."
  
  Xander could hear Buffy kneel beside him from the way her clothes stretched to her movements. With his weapons still in his hands, he could imagine what she was looking at; what she had to be speculating.
  
  Cordelia seemed to sense as much and stated, "That Nox guy came by and let Xander hold his weapons. It's probably healing him or something."
  
  Unconvinced, Buffy eyed Xander with growing suspicion before slowly raising the flat of her hand in front of her. The edge of her palm covered his face from the nose up.
  
  "Buffy!" Cordelia yelled. Buffy turned to the brunette, who urged, "We have to get them out of here."
  
  Buffy carried Xander while Angel carried Kendra, and they all went to Xander's house, forcing the recuperating teen to invite the vampire. Cordelia stayed with him throughout the night and the following day. Later that night, Angel returned with news from Drusilla. They were all gathered in Xander's living room while Angel explained the deal Drusilla had made with Mr. Trick.
  
  "If Trick kills us, he can take the statue," Angel explained. The tall vampire told them where the statue was stored and who the next owner was. "It's already on the road and if we don't track it down, Acathla will be in the hands of Kakistos in two days' time."
  
  Unexpectedly, Buffy got up and rushed upstairs. They were unsure of what she was doing, but when she came back down with Xander's secret Go Bag and threw it at him, he knew.
  
  ' Fuck ... she knows ,' he thought to himself, mildly humored.
  
  Irate, the scowling Slayer ordered him, "Let's go."
  
  Willow and the others quickly protested, saying, "Buffy, he's injured."
  
  However, Xander casually got up and unzipped his black bag. Giles, Willow, Cordelia, Jenny, Oz, and Angel were all shocked when he took out his black, hooded jacket and camo scarf. They were silently observing one person they thought they knew become another, and when Xander called Dreadnought to his hand, it was like two worlds colliding. Though he enjoyed their shocked expressions of disbelief, he walked to the garage with a silently fuming Buffy right behind him.
  
  As their friends watch him and Buffy get on his NightHawk cafe racer, he imagined how disappointed they must all be, and how betrayed Buffy must be feeling. He imagined she wanted to strangle him, but knew that the mission came first and he was the only one with fast transportation. So Xander sped out of his garage, straight to the warehouse that had been storing the Acathla statue.
  
  When they arrived, they found nothing in the building. It was gone. Buffy threatened the security guard with bodily injury if he didn't talk, and they soon learned when it left, the route taken, and a description of the shipping truck: it was a white and baby-blue box truck, headed for Massachusetts. As it already had several hours on them, Xander sped through the streets of Sunnydale faster than he ever had before. When the police started chasing them, Buffy held on tighter-sometimes a little too tight, he felt-as Xander lost them off-roading in the night's darkness. Soon enough, they spotted the box truck on the interstate near the California border.
  
  On the off chance the driver was unaware of the cargo and clueless about the existence of vampires, Xander didn't destroy the tires with Dreadnought, possibly killing him. Instead, he drove right beside the transport vehicle, and Buffy leapt onto the cab step. She punched through the window, gripped the man's neck, and forced him to stop. Xander cut the bolt to the back doors before opening the box, and inside, they spotted the gothic statue of Acathla. It was gravel before long, and for good measure, they scattered the sediment in the desert surrounding them. Xander took the sword that had been stuck in it for an immediate project that needed magical material.
  
  Once the pair were back in Sunnydale, Xander stopped at a gas station, and that was when Buffy got up and left. As he filled his tank, he casually watched her walk to the sidewalk and down the street, all the while wondering what might be going through her mind. After all, they hadn't said a word to each other about his secret coming out. He imagined she'd at least punch him. So lost in his thoughts about the rest of the loop's viability, he was surprised when she came back.
  
  The heated girl had her fists balled up, and was glaring at him. He expected a punch hard enough to send him back to Halloween, and activated his ring. However, upon closer inspection, he also noticed her red-rimmed eyes, telling him this was a moment of sadness for her, not anger. It hurt him more than he'd expected when she yelled, " HOW COULD YOU!? "
  
  Buffy then walked away before Xander could reply. Once his tank was full, he caught up to her and followed a good ten yards behind. It reminded him of when she had followed him after he'd caught her and Spike. This Buffy felt as hurt and betrayed as he did in that painful loop, and he knew he should feel deep shame and remorse; so much so that it nearly felt like he did.
  
  He asked himself, "I feel bad about this, right?"
  
  The only answer he got back-the only one that mattered-was, ' You 're going to loop back, anyway, you worthless idiot .'
  
  That was enough to lose all hope and not care about anything anymore. Thus, the listless Xander didn't try to explain himself. He was certain she was furious with him, but he let her be angry. Xander hoped she'd ask him to explain. That would've been a good sign that maybe he could escape the year loop. Sadly, she didn't, and he didn't blame her.
  
  Buffy ignored him for the few remaining days of the school year, and it was hardly a surprise when Willow, Oz, and Giles looked at him like he was a stranger. Angel punched him hard across the face and threatened serious bodily injury if he didn't stay away from Buffy. Jenny threatened to turn him into a toad for his manipulation. Willow and Giles were extremely disappointed in him. Willow's crestfallen eyes were especially heart-stirring to see directed at him. But at the very least, she-along with Giles-wanted to know how he could betray them so terribly.
  
  A casual Xander looked between them, and with an unexpected, yet genuine smile, he told them, "Sure. Let's all meet up at Buffy's tonight."
  
  With that, he turned and went to class, leaving them dumbfounded. After school, he entered the destroyed library and eventually located the specific book he wanted. He rode to the mansion and locked everything up, then he went home and prepared for an extended break. Xander figured Buffy was leaving Sunnydale, and he was quite done with that. Upon knocking on her door later that night, Buffy told him to leave and that she couldn't stand the sight of him. However, a voice behind her pleaded with her, and she reluctantly relented. Willow opened the door, though still deeply disappointed in him.
  
  "Thanks," he said with a smile, baffling her further as he walked in.
  
  In the living room, Xander found everyone already waiting for him: Giles, Jenny, Oz, Kendra, and Cordelia. He imagined they all had conversations about him before he arrived, but he didn't care. Nothing they said would change anything for him. He still felt doomed.
  
  After Willow took her seat on the couch beside Oz, and Buffy went to the farthest corner, Xander clapped his hands and said, " So , I promise this won't take very long. I know a lot of us got some vacationing to do, and I wouldn't want to keep you from all that summer lovin'."
  
  "Just get on with it," an irate Buffy snapped.
  
  Xander shrugged before handing Giles the book he'd taken from the ruined library, and said, "I earmarked the page."
  
  A confused Giles looked around the room a moment before opening the book to the page and read aloud, "A-Anima in senectute. Latin for A Soul in Age . It's a spell to reveal the age of a person, like carbon dating the soul, as it were."
  
  "Perfect," Xander said, then walked to the kitchen table and grabbed a chair. He set it right in front of his confused friends before requesting, "Go ahead and use that on me." They all looked at each other hesitantly, but Xander encouraged them, stating, "It's okay. It'll help."
  
  Giles cleared his throat and stood to perform the spell. Angel appeared midway through the casting with a traveling bag in his hand and stood next to Buffy. The Slayer explained the little that'd happened as the vampire glared at Xander, who just gave him the middle finger. Since the last time they'd done this spell on him, Xander had, apparently, now been stuck as a teenager for a hundred-and-six years, confusing the group, to say the least.
  
  Giles, Willow, and Jenny used the spell on themselves and each got the right age, so when they turned to a knowing Xander, they had to ask, "How?"
  
  "...That's not possible," Jenny gasped.
  
  "Care to explain what this means for those who don't know gibberish?" Cordelia asked the magicians.
  
  Having given up on the rest of the loop, Xander stood up and told the gathered friends, "I'm leaving." Their faces only grew more confused and, or, irritated, but he didn't care. He was tired of being the one to stay in Sunnydale while Buffy went soul searching. This time, he was going to be the one traveling.
  
  A struggling Willow pointedly asked him, "Why would the spell say you're a hundred and six?"
  
  Xander ignored her question and continued with his own topic of conversation. "I'll only be gone for the summer, so not forever." Looking at Buffy, he added, "Just in case someone else was planning on leaving the Hellmouth unguarded, you can't now."
  
  Willow's anxiousness was growing to fear when she admitted, "Xander, you're scaring me."
  
  Xander leaned down, looked her in the eyes, and made an effort to reassure her with a comforting expression as he said, "Don't be, Wills. I only had you guys do that spell to show you I'm still me and not possessed or something."
  
  Jenny demanded to know, "Why did you lie to everyone? How could you lie to everyone?"
  
  Continuing with his monologue, Xander easily voiced, "I've decided to go with Kendra and visit her home country of Jamaica. I expect tons of beach fun, delicious food, and if I'm being honest, some reefer."
  
  Many of them turned to Kendra in surprise, but the pretty Jamaican only shrugged and said in her thick accent, "I have no quarrel with him." When that failed to change their stunned expressions, Kendra felt an urge to add, "And he saved my life."
  
  Turning to Cordelia, Xander added, "Maybe I'll visit Mexico after. I hear Las Palmas is nice this time of year." Cordelia smiled a little brightly before returning to a serious countenance.
  
  "Xander, please," Giles pleaded, clearly agitated by the lack of accountability. "We're attempting to understand how it is you could do something so-so... deplorable."
  
  " To us ," Buffy irately yelled, glaring at him. Xander only winked at her, unbothered by any of it.
  
  "Is it because of your parents? Is this like a Batman thing?" Willow tried to understand.
  
  Ignoring their queries, Xander continued, "While I'm away, I want you guys to play a little game I've titled, ' Dude, What Happened To Xander? '" Turning to Angel, he quickly added, "Ah, everyone except you, Dead Boy."
  
  "Don't call him that," Buffy warned, and Xander rolled his eyes with a shrug.
  
  "Just tell us what happened," Willow begged him with her big adorable eyes. "Why have you been pretending to be Nox all year long? How are you even able to wield magical artifacts? Where did you even get them?"
  
  "All stellar questions, Will," he cheerfully commended. "This is why you're going to be in charge of my mystery game. You'll ask everyone here what you need to in order to figure out what happened to me-"
  
  " This isn 't a game, Xander! " Buffy yelled. "Just tell us! Before... before I really start hating you."
  
  Her scowl had a hint of sorrow mixed in, telling Xander he'd genuinely hurt her. Unfazed by her and all of their collective outrage or supposed betrayal, a bored Xander just repeated, "Tell me, tell me, tell, tell, tell.... No. Nox has been telling you for a year now. Why don't you try figuring it out on your own? Or let Willow figure it out for you."
  
  To avoid letting the conversation devolve into pointless yelling, Willow quickly asked, "Why me?"
  
  "Because you know me better than anyone," he easily answered. "Including me."
  
  Shaking his head, Giles removed his glasses for cleaning before dolefully stating, "I must say, Xander, you're proving to be exceptionally uncooperative. All we're asking for is the truth."
  
  "And you need that right now, do ya?" Xander quickly returned. "Don't worry, G-Man. It'll be a relatively slow summer for slaying. You'll have plenty of time to play my game."
  
  "And if we don't?" Giles asked.
  
  "Then don't," he answered with a shrug. "I'm not forcing anyone. But if you want to know, you'll have to play."
  
  Willow started to ask, "What do we do-" However, Buffy was moving to leave, having run out of patience. Willow ran to her friend and grabbed her hand, holding on as she begged, "Buffy, please!" With a pleading look from her friend, Buffy sagged her tense shoulders and reluctantly stayed.
  
  "Like I was saying," Xander casually continued. "Willow's lead investigator. Answer any of her questions as honestly as you can and let her piece it all together. Simple." Turning to his friend, he continued, "When you're confident you know what happened to me, I'll tell you everything. If you're ninety percent right, I'll do you the solid of filling in the blanks where you need 'em."
  
  The room was silent, absorbing the twisted manner in which Xander stubbornly refused to be accountable for his actions. When Willow realized they would learn nothing Xander wasn't willing to give them, she asked, "Where do I start?"
  
  "You have a ton of questions already," he pointed out. "Just answer them one at a time."
  
  "I take it I can't ask you?" she inquired.
  
  With a smirk, he shook his head before answering, "Sorry, that'd be cheating. But, while I'm away, I'll answer one question a month." Willow was unexpectedly excited to hear the bonuses if she did well, then recalled the seriousness of the situation and became dour again, which made Xander smile.
  
  "Right," he said with a clap of his hands. "That's all for you guys." Turning to the blonde Slayer, Xander asked as he pointed to the front door, "Buffy, can I have a quick word in private?"
  
  "No," she flatly retorted.
  
  He clapped his hands together like he was saying a prayer as he childishly returned, "Pretty please with a cherry on top."
  
  The fuming Buffy walked up to Xander, and bitterly told him, "If you're done, get out of my house... and n-never come back."
  
  Despite earning the full extent of her ire, Xander didn't move. He simply took the moment to appreciate her face and how unfairly attractive she was, even when angry at him. Buffy blinked, and her mouth pressed down until her lips were a line. Buffy had never been great at hiding her emotions, and for a moment, Xander saw the hurt underneath her angry face. However, a large and irritated Angel stepped up to Xander-interrupting them to back Buffy up-with squared shoulders, balled fists, and a looming presence of danger.
  
  Angel glared down at Xander as he angrily declared, "She told you to leave."
  
  Xander turned to his head, eying the taller man before stating with a small smile, "I don't want to hurt you, but we both know it wouldn't bother me one bit if I did."
  
  Angel made the mistake of forgetting that Nox was Xander and roughly grabbed the teenager's collar, and upon drawing strength from Odin's ring, the teenage warrior immediately grabbed the vampire's hand with his right at the same time he placed his left forearm against Angel's elbow and rotated his body to bend Angel's elbow the wrong way in less than a second. Angel grunted at the pain of his hyper-extended elbow before Xander twisted Angel's hand and forcibly bent the vampire over.
  
  Buffy quickly pushed Xander's chest, forcing Xander away from Angel before yelling, "Enough! We're done. Leave."
  
  Looking deeply into her greenish-blue eyes, Xander softly voiced, "One sentence, Buffy. One sentence, then I'll go. Promise."
  
  He didn't realize his eyes were glowing a bit. Buffy looked away in growing turmoil, like her stomach hurt, before hurrying outside. Xander nodded to his stunned friends-winked at Angel, who was massaging his arm-and walked outside himself.
  
  The blonde had her arms crossed and her back to him. She couldn't look at him, so he simply told her, "Take your mom to the hospital and have them do an MRI scan of her brain."
  
  Then, Xander walked away, ready for a much-needed vacation.
  
  I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I love the next three chapters. I should be able to update next week.
  
  Thank you all again for taking the time out of your day to read my fic and possibly leave a comment. I truly do appreciate your support. For those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my is patre /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Summer Lovin'
  ...The exhaustion is real. Another Sunday greets another chapter.
  
  Short A/N today. I clocked in a LOT of hours at my jobs this past week, so lack of sleep is critical right now. Other than that, I apologize for not updating last week. This chapter ballooned to a hefty size. It was 5k words but it's now 10.3K.
  
  Big thanks to my betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar. I truly appreciate your hard work guys. This story wouldn't be anywhere near as good without you.
  
  Warnings: Lemons, Language, and Violence.
  
  10.3K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Summer Lovin'
  
  Giving up on the current loop, Xander decided to have fun with the rest of its duration before inevitably being stripped of everything he had gained-all the muscle, money, and respect-and forced back to the starting line. The haggard teenager was going to enjoy his vacation, and with any luck, Xander would return to Sunnydale-two and a half months later-refreshed, like a new man.
  
  After packing Dreadnought, Hellguard, and the melted steel that was once Acathla's sword, Xander put the Hellmouth and the town built over it in his rear-view mirror. He didn't worry about his friends' opinions of him, them figuring out the truth, or any of them dying. Xander simply boarded a plane with Kendra to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, then boarded the connecting flight to Jamaica. They weren't seated together on the first leg of the flight, but on the second leg, they were, and she, understandably, wanted to know why his friends-Buffy in particular-were so upset with him.
  
  Xander wouldn't reveal the details about the time braid to her-as he couldn't ignore even a small chance it would only make things worse-but he simply explained waking up one morning with more knowledge and skill than any of his friends would easily accept. And rather than explain it all to them, he simply created an alter ego that would embody all of that knowledge. When Kendra asked why Buffy, in particular, was so angry, he confessed to having sex with the blonde Slayer as Nox without revealing that she was fucking Xander.
  
  Though, he pointed out, "Just to be clear, I wasn't the one who initiated it. The sex just happened."
  
  Eying him skeptically, Kendra challenged his assertion by asking, "Do you mean to say you had no desire to sleep with her?"
  
  "I'm not going to sit here and deny enjoying it," he offhandedly admitted. "I think we both know that'd be a lie. But of all the ways I'd want to be with Buffy, that wouldn't even crack the top ten."
  
  "Then why?" the stunning mocha girl asked.
  
  At the nightmarish memories of Buffy's terrible taste in men, Xander huffed in disgust before stating, "Because I knew for a fact that if it wasn't me, it would've been someone much worse-like a vampire that sucks the joy out of you instead of blood, you know? Someone who wouldn't care about Buffy or what she was going through, as long as he got what he wanted." With a sigh, he glumly finished, "But how do you argue a point that hasn't happened?"
  
  Though Kendra was pensive, she didn't seem to hate him. He took the opportunity to admire her exotic beauty. The Jamaican sat cross-legged, and her skin-tight pants highlighted her long, toned legs. She wore a long-sleeve black crop top that hugged her appetizing breasts, but despite her stunning figure, Xander marveled at her heart-shaped face at the end of her long neck. He couldn't stop staring at her milk-chocolate complexion, her full red lips, and her dainty nose. Under her languid eyelashes, Kendra's regal eyes were black most of the time, but became shockingly hazel when the sunlight hit the irises. Her ebony hair was braided up to the back, where voluminous tresses tumbled freely down to her shoulders. Kendra was all-around gorgeous, but at the sight of her silver neck choker, Xander recalled how she had died for nearly two minutes.
  
  The puncture holes on each of her arms and her neck underneath the choker had already healed. However, Xander couldn't forget how close the Jamaican Slayer had come to never waking up. Vampires had nearly drained her body of blood, and if it weren't for the magic of his ring, she wouldn't have recovered, which wasn't enough for him.
  
  As he looked at her form-fitting clothes, Xander couldn't accept such a close call again. For the past few months, he had been working on a rune scheme that would instantly dress him as Nox because he always loved the idea of transforming before a fight, like Sailor Moon. The teen boy held in his chuckle as he first imagined himself transforming into a Sailor Scout uniform, and then imagining the same with Kendra. Such a transformative ability made his geek-heart giddy, but after the library, it became clear that wasn't nearly as necessary as defensive wear. Due to the close call Kendra suffered, Xander knew he needed armor more than summoning lame clothes.
  
  ' As thin as silk but tougher than kevlar ,' he thought.
  
  Unexpectedly, characters from the runic language he was almost certain he learned from Old Willow swirled from the shadows of his knowledge into a sequence that would do exactly what he wanted. One simple line-ܢܪܗܐܕܛܥ, which roughly translated to airtida' aldurue, or Armor Wear-made him gasp because he knew it would work. He'd spent so much time trying to force clothes to teleport to him, it was surprising how easy it was to create protective clothing.
  
  ' Why the hell didn 't I think of this sooner? ' he chastised himself.
  
  So upset at his immaturity, a frustrated Xander immediately regretted not packing his sanctified golden thread he made out of the Du Lac Cross. He could have tested the Armor Wear rune array while he was on vacation. If he couldn't find similar sanctified threading in Jamaica-or Watcher Zabuto didn't help him-Xander would have no other choice but to wait until he returned to make durable clothes.
  
  His thoughts were interrupted when the curious girl beside him suddenly asked, "Did you know me... before we met?"
  
  Xander turned his head and looked into her hazel eyes. He could see what she really wanted to know: did he lie to sleep with her? Well and truly done with the lies, he flatly answered, "Yes."
  
  In the blink of an eye, she was concerned before tentatively asking, "And you manipulated me into sleeping with you?"
  
  Without breaking eye contact, or fear of retaliation, Xander unabashedly confirmed, "Yes."
  
  That hurt her. The Jamaican Slayer closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, clenching her fists until he heard her knuckles pop. Even the metal armrest her elbow rested on creaked as it warped under her supernatural strength. Her jaw clenched, and it was evident she was attempting to calm her fury down and keep from punching him in the mouth, which he understood.
  
  Though naïve and incredibly anxious around men, Kendra had the best intentions when she met him all the months ago: to keep him safe. However, through his manipulation, Xander was Kendra's first sexual partner. She had trusted him with her body, and regardless of how much she enjoyed herself, she likely had a positive opinion of him. To then learn the man she had allowed inside her had deceived her the entire time... Xander imagined Kendra was furious at him, and likely, herself.
  
  Even still, he wasn't worried. If the time looper died by her righteous hand-or his friends back in Sunnydale died because he wasn't around-he would just loop back and start all over. He would meet a fresh set of friends who would have no memory of what he had done or feel wronged in anyway. Xander watched Kendra slowly calm down and elevate above the anger, but despite admiring her self-control, he knew very little mattered when there was no hope.
  
  After several tense moments, an irate Kendra growled, "Why?"
  
  Casually, he replied, "Honestly, I didn't think you'd want to die a virgin."
  
  Sobering significantly from her urge for violence, her eyebrows drew in, before a more curious Kendra asked, "Excuse me? Explain."
  
  A lethargic Xander calmly reached around and touched the choker over the bite mark as he explained, "I'm sure you remember when we were swarmed by vampires. I've known about that night well before we even met; the night that you die-typically by a single vampire; Drusilla, actually. This time was a little different-since there were so many of those bastards-but again, you'd have died... if not for me, I mean."
  
  Kendra was silent for the rest of the trip, her perplexed expression telling him she was deep in thought. After a few minutes of silence, Xander eased more comfortably into his seat before closing his eyes and catching up on some sleep. He didn't wake until their descent and was glad he did. As he looked through the oval window, he enjoyed the view of the sun rising over the ocean water, and coating the lush, tropical landscape in amber light.
  
  They were finally in Jamaica, Kendra's home. The pair hadn't entered the country through Montego Bay-the biggest hub for tourists. They didn't travel to the west coast, where he truly wanted to go: Negril and Seven Mile Beach, where all the craziest parties happen. Xander and Kendra came out of Port Esquivel Airstrip on the southern coast of the island, due to how much closer it was to Zabuto's compound in Hellshire.
  
  ' From the Hellmouth to the Hellshire ,' Xander thought with some annoyance.
  
  The second Xander stepped off the small plane, he was instantly hit by a wall of humidity. However, regardless of the thick atmosphere, Jamaica was gorgeous. Kendra and Xander traveled by boat. Riding the choppy wave, he marveled at the tropical beach line they followed, passing the lively clubs, restaurants, music, and beaches. Everything he laid his eyes on seemed so much fun, and he was ready to swan-dive into the excitement.
  
  Soon they reached her home's port. She tied her boat to the dock and Xander noted the five over boats, three of which were powerful-looking speed boats. He had to assume it was how she got around the island. Kendra led Xander up the stairs of the cliff to Zabuto's compound. The property looked like an army base the size of a football field. As they walked through the fortified terrain, Xander noted four outposts, a well and a water tower, several training grounds with practice dummies, an armory, a tiny barracks, and the largest building on the base, which was a three-story complex. Walking into the center building of the compound, Xander noted that this was where they had stored their many books.
  
  Xander met Zabuto in the study on the first floor of the library. Three of the walls of the room were filled with old books, as was the large desk in the middle, and it smelled of stale herbs, musk, and charcoal. The man seated behind the desk was big with soot-black skin, a clean, round face, and-oddly enough-light-blue eyes. He was dressed in all black with a colorful tam to hold in his dreadlocks. If the large man had said nothing, the Watcher would've given off a caring and inviting impression. However, Xander quickly learned that the man was a tyrant.
  
  The first thing Zabuto said to them-to Kendra-was, "It is difficult for me to accept your return with your head held high, as if you did not die or require assistance to complete your mission."
  
  Kendra immediately lowered her head and clasped her hands together. Her exquisite face was now a dejected mixture of anxiety and shame, quickly annoying Xander.
  
  "While it is true the crisis was averted," Zabuto continued, "you've certainly failed me, and your sacred duty."
  
  "Now wait-" Xander tried to rebuke, only to stop when Kendra grabbed his forearm.
  
  Zabuto glared at Xander with his disarmingly blue eyes, but the teenager stood defiantly straighter, tensing his shoulders as he flared the luminance of his eyes. It was a clear warning to the elder Watcher to tread carefully. The stern man blinked in surprise, but kept any comment about Xander's glowing eyes to himself.
  
  Instead, Zabuto said to his ward in his deep voice, "Be ready to train harder than ever before, Kendra. You must overcome your many weaknesses. The world depends on it."
  
  "Yes, sir," Kendra quickly assented.
  
  "No one will mourn your death at your current level of skill," Zabuto added with a hint of malice, further annoying Xander.
  
  However, Kendra continued gripping his forearm-to keep him from saying anything-as she returned, "Yes, sir."
  
  Zabuto grunted in approval before ordering, "Begin your meditation. I will be out momentarily. Dismissed."
  
  Like a robot, Kendra immediately nodded before quickly leaving the study.
  
  The second they were alone, Xander remarked, "Fuck, you're an asshole."
  
  Zabuto stood up, and Xander was surprised by how tall he was. Looking up at the Watcher, he estimated his height was no shorter than 6'9". The tall man walked around the large desk full of books and loomed over Xander, inspecting him. If the older man meant to intimidate the teen, he wasn't impressed by Xander's bored expression or subsequent yawn.
  
  "Guuaaahhh... sorry," Xander apologized after yawning. "I'm still a little jet-lagged."
  
  Zabuto shook his head before stating, "I've spoken with Watcher Giles. He attempted to explain your role in the war against the forces of evil, but I do not care. You have no place here, nor do I want your American influence anywhere near my Slayer. I'm afraid I must ask you to leave my home and never return."
  
  "Just... the biggest fucking asshole," Xander mumbled, shaking his head in disappointment. Though the Watcher bristled at the flagrant disrespect, the teen calmly proclaimed, "I saved Kendra's life. Where's your gratitude? I can't imagine someone as knowledgeable as you would invite bad karma into your home by turning away the man who saved your Slayer from certain death."
  
  Zabuto was quiet for several moments, but Xander wasn't worried. Watchers, by nature, could not ignore supernatural forces; superstition among them. With a huff, Zabuto angrily asked, "What do you want? Money? Treasure? Name it and let us be done with this."
  
  Xander smiled before dropping to one knee and unlocking his hard-cover case. Flipping the lid open, Zabuto softened at the impressive sight of the expertly crafted Dreadnought and Hellguard within, perfectly sectioned with black foam. The teen grabbed the softball-sized lump of steel and tossed it to Zabuto. The man caught it with both hands before inspecting it.
  
  "That ball of steel used to be the blessed sword of the virtuous knight that put Acathla into a dormant state," Xander informed him, who looked surprised to hear it. "What do I want...? I just want to enjoy my vacation with Kendra. But since you seem like the type who needs a lamp shoved up his ass to lighten the fuck up, I'll make a deal with you."
  
  "You test the limits of my patience, boy," Zabuto growled, clearly furious, but willing to listen. "Speak!"
  
  Xander only smiled at how irritated the older man was. It seemed to him the Watcher didn't interact with people often enough. ' Oh well ,' Xander thought, as he extended his hands and summoned his weapons. At the sight of Dreadnought and Hellguard speeding into his outstretched hands, Zabuto instantly forgot the blatant disrespect. His stunned, widened eyes looked at each weapon, moving closer to inspect them.
  
  However, Xander dropped his arms to his sides before stating, "I promise to make Kendra a magical weapon like mine, IF you let us have recreational time while I'm here." Zabuto eyed the teen as he added, "She can still train-I'll even train with her-and if she patrols, we can do that together too. But I want us to have some fun while I'm here."
  
  Zabuto seemed extremely tempted, and after several moments, he nodded before stipulating, "An hour a week should be more than-"
  
  "For a magical sword that vampires won't even be able to lift, how about six hours a day ?" Xander interrupted. He argued, "I'm only here for a month. That's not a bad trade-"
  
  "Kendra's duty demands she train seven hours a day, studies for five, then safeguards the island for seven," Zabuto interrupted. "Excluding meals and travel, she only sleeps five hours. She has no time for recreation ."
  
  "Jesus Christ!" Xander gasped. "You train her that much and she still nearly died? You have to be, like, the worst trainer ever."
  
  "Who are you to denigrate me or how I train my Slayer?! A mere boy!"
  
  Xander tossed his weapons toward Zabuto and called them back before they struck the flinching man. Once they clapped back in his hands, he repeated, "A mere boy, am I? You sure about that?" As the Watcher stood straighter, Xander informed him, "You know, Kendra's the most dutiful Slayer I've ever seen, but it's common knowledge that any failings of the student are a reflection of the teacher. So, if she's a failure, what do you think that makes you?"
  
  Zabuto looked from Dreadnought to the warped ball of steel in his hand as Xander added, "For better or worse, you're responsible for her life. Do her a favor and agree to my deal. She'll be a better Slayer because of it."
  
  The silence extended for dozens of seconds. Zabuto was deep in thought, weighing his options and considering the choice ahead of him from all angles. Xander put his weapons back in the case. Once he had locked it, Zabuto sighed and deflated, almost in defeat.
  
  "Two hours," he said.
  
  "Five," Xander countered.
  
  "Three."
  
  "Four."
  
  "...Deal," Zabuto glumly agreed. "But I expect a detailed account of everything you intend to do during this recreation time."
  
  "No, absolutely not," Xander quickly replied, making the man bristle. "But I'll write down everything I need to forge her sword while you tell me about monsters and patrols, and how a single Slayer covers, like, four thousand square miles."
  
  Begrudgingly, Zabuto explained how most of the evil activity on the island happened in four locations: Montego Bay, more commonly known as MoBay; Kingston, the capital of Jamaica; Negril; and Spanish Town. Thankfully, Zabuto's compound on Hellshire wasn't a hotbed of evil activity, but a perfectly situated location to reach all the problematic areas via boat or dirt bike. Sadly, as a result of Zabuto's strict tutelage, Kendra had no friends or opportunity to socialize with the people of her island.
  
  After handing the Watcher his list of necessities, Xander settled into the tiny barracks before meeting with Kendra. She was in the garden, sitting cross-legged on a large, smooth boulder and meditating. She looked gorgeous meditating in the morning sun. Soon Zabuto joined them, and Xander happily informed Kendra of the recent amendment to her schedule.
  
  "Kendra," Xander called. "Mr. Zabuto feels that since you tried your best, you deserve a break." Kendra's eyes widened in disbelief, as thought the man never gave breaks. "Also, he cares so much about your well-being, he insisted that you and I enjoy a bit of R&R-that's rest and relaxation-while I'm here." Kendra's eyes squinted, and Zabuto looked furious in his silence. Xander could tell she wasn't buying it and he was angry, which made him smile as he added, "Since he insisted we have a good time while I'm here, I said it would only be right if I made you a magical weapon. So, think about what you want and how you want to spend four hours out of the day."
  
  Kendra's stunned face brought a smile to Xander's face, and the newness of it all made leaving Sunnydale for the summer worth it.
  
  With Zabuto observing, Xander trained with Kendra. As he didn't have to hide his ability anymore, he fought her without holding back. Neither Watcher nor Slayer was expecting Xander to best her so consistently, frustrating her. Xander danced around her, moving his feet so he was always in the best position to counter her attacks. When she kicked, he swept her off her feet. When she punched, he slipped it and effortlessly countered. Even her combination attacks didn't fare better against Xander's skill level, as he parried each attack before putting her into a submission hold. With his decades of experience, Xander could read Kendra like a book. Her perfect form and textbook strategy were simply too predictable. Thus, despite her overwhelming strength and speed, he won more bouts than she did.
  
  They spent the rest of the day gathering all the materials he would need to make her a magical weapon. Xander would have to forge for eight hours of his day to complete her sword before he left, but to spend four hours of leisure time with Kendra was worth it. As they went shopping through the classical architecture of Spanish Town-enjoying the cool sea breeze and murmur of Jamaican music playing-Kendra spoke more about the evils on the island from her point of view. As they used the day to set up his forge, Xander was surprised to learn that Jamaica had more of a demon problem than a vampire problem.
  
  "The island has too much sun and hurricanes," Kendra explained. "Demons can be in sunlight and work as muscle for the gambling, prostitution, and drug trade on the island."
  
  That very night, Xander helped Kendra disrupt a human trafficking ring, despite there being no demons or vampires to slay. Zabuto's network informed him where the deal was taking place, and Xander and Kendra infiltrated an old abandoned building in Bull Bay, south of Kingston. They'd anchored the boat and snuck into the mildly guarded building, where, one by one, the two hunters quietly knocked out all twelve sentries before they knew what hit them. The final boss was easily led to a metal platform with a Viking dagger on it. The moment the trafficker touched it, Xander electrocuted the man.
  
  The police soon arrived and the teens started walking along the beach, back toward their boat. The moonlight was bright above them as Xander explained effective tactics to infiltrate a building and how radios would help them communicate. Though the attentive girl agreed, she seemed reserved around him. She was even walking slowly. He wondered what she was thinking about, and as the waves soothingly crashed against the sand, Xander looked up at the bright moon as he spoke his piece.
  
  "You know, it's my personal belief you're way too gorgeous to die without experiencing intimacy at least once." They looked at each other as he added, "But if you think that's wrong or you only want to have that experience with someone you really care about, then I promise you, here and now: I'll never do that again."
  
  She grew confused by his words and remarked, "You speak as if time can be so easily reversed."
  
  With an uninspired smile, he confirmed, "With the curse I'm living, it can."
  
  Kendra stopped to ask, "How?"
  
  He turned to her and said, "I'm not explaining that. Honestly, it'll only bum me out." She moved like she was ready to argue, but he put his hand up. "It's a curse. That's all you need to know."
  
  "Watcher Zabuto has one of the largest libraries-"
  
  Shaking his head, he asserted, "There's nothing anyone can do. No one but me. So, trust me: what I'm going through doesn't matter." Kendra seemed hesitant to agree, but Xander continued. "All I need from you is your decision. So just say the word, and I'll never sleep with you again- Ah , but I'll keep saving your life, obviously! Don't ever doubt that."
  
  They walk a few moments in silence before Kendra admits, "Love and intimacy are luxuries I do not indulge in. I cannot jeopardize my sacred duty to the world to satisfy any emotional desires I may have. It would be too selfish."
  
  "No, Kendra, it wouldn't," Xander asserted, easily hearing Zabuto's tutelage through her words. "Nothing about wanting to enjoy your life is selfish. You deserve to have good things-to experience good things; you and Buffy. You're heroes." Turning her to look in the direction of the abandoned building, he stated, "Look at all the lives we saved tonight-twenty-three boys and girls are safe now because of you. It's unfair for you to miss out on all the awesomeness life has to offer just because you're always busy protecting us."
  
  Kendra sighed before turning away from the far-off building. She looked at Xander as she expressed, "That is kind of you to say, but Zabuto was right. I am weak-" Before Xander could refute her assertion, she placed her finger against his lips before continuing. "And you, also, were correct in your assessment of my vulnerabilities. If you are able to get close to me, others with more nefarious intentions can do so as well. I would do better knowing my weaknesses so that I may overcome them. That is why love is a luxury I cannot afford."
  
  The ebony beauty walked around him, and they continued down the beach by the tree line. At the sight of their boat, beached on the sand, Xander walked ahead of her. He faced the beautiful girl, admiring her skin-tight outfit-black slacks, and matching spaghetti strap tank top-with her hair braided to the back, where the shiny tresses fell to her shoulders. Xander took her hand and looked deep into her dark eyes.
  
  "...Do you want to practice with me?" he asked.
  
  "How do you mean?"
  
  "Overcoming your weakness," he simply answered. "If you're more familiar with men-more experienced with them-then you can be more suspicious of their intentions. It'll be way harder for anyone to take advantage of you."
  
  She eyed him curiously before asking, "How do you practice a skill like this?"
  
  Xander led her to the nearest palm tree when the night breeze picked up. All the tree leaves joined the symphony of tidal waves crashing. Alone under the moonlight, it was incredibly romantic, and when he massaged her hands and wrists, she became suspicious of his intentions.
  
  Kendra protested as Xander said, "We start with the hardest part."
  
  Though she was concerned, she didn't pull away, which told him all he needed to know. Xander smiled when Kendra asked, "Is this truly practice, or are you only interested in satisfying your own pleasures?"
  
  "You're suspicious of my intentions. That's good," he genuinely told her. "You're already doing amazingly well." Taking her sensual hips, Xander swayed to the rhythm of the ocean waves crashing around them as he said, "I'm glad someone as strong as you can see through men like me. It tells me you've trained your mind as much as your body, which is not an easy thing to do." A small trace of a smile broke her stern face for a moment, prompting Xander to add, "God, Kendra, you really are the most beautiful girl. Especially the way you fight. It's way better than anyone I've ever seen."
  
  "I... yes," the bashful Kendra hesitated to say, swaying along with Xander. They were so close to each other, making her nervous as she stated, "I train every day to be the best."
  
  He slowly leaned in to peck her cheek, then pulled back only enough to stare into each other's eyes as he softly voiced, "I always think about that night we shared." Moving their hips together to the sounds of the ocean, he added, "Do you ever think about that night?"
  
  She opened her lips to speak, and Xander pressed his own against her soft, full lips. After a moment of realization, Kendra returned the kiss in earnest. The pair were making out on the beach under the moonlight, and soon his hands began massaging her firm figure. Kendra could feel his hard-on against her stomach, and when her hands pulled in, Xander abruptly pulled away, thoroughly confusing her.
  
  He told the befuddled girl, "Consider that your first lesson: Beware of flattery. People like being praised-about their beauty, their strength, or competency-but you have to be careful they're not just lying to you to get what they want. Complimenting someone is a good way of manipulating them without them even realizing it."
  
  Realizing her failure, Kendra looked away in shame and felt compelled to step back. However, Xander held her in place. He leaned over some to make meaningful eye contact, massaging her waist to get her attention. When she looked at him, he smiled comfortingly before stating, "I ended the lesson there because I don't want to trick you into anything else that may or may not happen. I know you have a sacred duty, but I want to thank you for being a hero in one of the best ways I know how. So, I'm asking you to be a little selfish, because I really, really want us to keep going."
  
  At his smile, she couldn't help returning a small grin of her own. She took a moment to consider her position-on the scenic beach, under a beautiful moonlight, in the arms of a man she knew could satisfy her as a woman. She took in and exhaled a deep breath before nervously saying, "We... We'll end the lessons here, then... if you... if we c-ca-"
  
  Xander kissed the timid girl, who quickly gave in to her desire and returned the kiss. With the excitement of their one night together still fresh in their memories, it wasn't long before Kendra's back was against a palm tree and Xander was on one knee, face buried in her pussy. Her left leg rested on his shoulder as his tongue explored deeply into her shaved mons, and his hands massaged her ass. Kendra moaned freely as his slippery tongue vibrated against the bliss-inducing folds of her quivering sex. His left hand left her firm, meaty ass to play with her extended clitoris, making her moan louder.
  
  " MMMMOOOHHHNNNNnnnnnn ! MORE-MOOORREE, XANDER!"
  
  His vibrating tongue slowly slid in and out of her drenched cunt, driving the Caribbean girl wild with ecstasy. Her dripping vagina slowly constricted as her hands gripped the tree hard enough to crack the bark. Kendra's moaning breathing increased the closer she came to an explosion. Her thighs flexed, pussy trembling as it contracted around his lapping tongue, and when her spine arched, Xander pulled away.
  
  Kendra looked at him with heavy betrayal in her eyes. She was right on the edge and ready to fight him for stopping what would've been a long-awaited climax. Instead, Xander stood and kissed the girl, despite her essence all over his mouth. Kendra didn't care and kissed him back as her left leg wrapped around his waist. With his pants already at his ankles, Xander gripped his meat pole and parted her sweet sex-feeling the heat warm his entire lower body-before driving deep into her warm center with a hard thrust. Half of his length stuffed her tiny canal, making the girl throw her head back as her legs trembled sporadically.
  
  " MMMMMNNNNN ! OOOHHHHHHH !" she moaned to the moon high above. "MORE... AAHN ... IN! I WANT IT DEEP! TO THE END! FILL ME, XANDER! FILL ME!"
  
  As Xander gripped her hips, Kendra grabbed hold of the tree from over her head at the same time. Xander groaned in bliss as he pulled out before fully stuffing the exotic beauty to the hilt, making her scream. She was already close, but even still, he made his dick vibrate as he pulled out before stuffing her once again. Kendra moaned weakly with every pump of his thick cock, making streams of her honey drip down her toned legs. The clapping of their pelvises mixed with the ocean waves, and their lust only grew as his thick meat slid in and out of her love tunnel at an animalistic pace.
  
  Kendra couldn't take it any longer, her right hand reaching out to him erratically as her cock hole started squeezing him. Her pelvis began bucking fitfully. Her legs trembled, but Xander kept her in place as the boy relished pumping in and out of her clenching fuck hole until she hit her breaking point. Kendra's back arched, her cunt clamped around his vibrating cock, as she was hit with a long, heart-stopping orgasm, quivering from head to toe. Her eyes closed as waves of bliss ignited tingling pleasure throughout her entire body.
  
  Xander couldn't take her climax for more than twenty seconds before he let go. His cock swelled inside of her as he shot his load deep inside her, triggering another full-body eruption of ecstasy. As Xander relished gushing load after load of his cream into her hot depths, the catatonic boy had to lean forward, pressing the sexy girl against the palm tree so they could both stay upright. It took them several minutes to settle down enough to pant more easily.
  
  "Be honest with me," Xander huffed, leaning back to look the gorgeous girl in her eyes. "You've wanted to do this from the moment you knew I was coming to Jamaica with you, didn't you?" Under his truth-seeking gaze, her attention wavered, and it was easier to see the blush in her caramel skin. Kendra remained silent, making Xander smile as he assured her, "Don't worry, Kendra. Until I leave, I'll fuck you as many times as you want."
  
  Kendra looked like she wanted to agree, but she could only nod bashfully, making him kiss her once again. They went another round, his thick cock pounding her from behind as her strong hands gripped the unfortunate tree for dear life until they climaxed together. The dutiful Slayer insisted they return to the compound afterward, where upon he learned she refused to do anything sexual in close proximity of her grumpy Watcher.
  
  The only time of the day Xander and Kendra didn't spend together was in the mornings-when she would study her books, and Xander would be at the blazing furnace, forging Kendra's magical weapon-a CuMai Damascus Crusader short sword. He named it, Ordermír.
  
  Xander used a billet of 1095 and 15N20 steel, and layered it with rune-inscribed copper. In his mind, the master-smith envisioned the entire process: Welding the stack of different carbon steel into a nice steel bar, re-squaring it on the diagonal, re-squaring again, and twisting it to get the proper star pattern to enhance the oddly-learned runes in his head. In his mind's eye, the process continued with layering and welding the finished, twisted bars with the copper and strong 1084 steel. After a long forging process-stretching and flattening the red-hot billet to properly space the pattern-he'd grind the sword into shape, heat-treat it, temper it in oil, sand it to a razor-sharp edge, and finally work on the guard, pommel, and handle.
  
  His skill was so prodigious, Xander knew the exact day he would finish. He thanked the almighty power above that Zabuto managed to locate a hydraulic press, or else hand-hammering would have taken him longer than a month. Along with the runes he planned on etching into the core of the blade-heightened by the perfectly crafted star pattern-Xander expected the sword to be the sharpest he had ever made, able to slice through anything with ease.
  
  Aside from her studying and his forging in the mornings, Xander and Kendra were inseparable for the rest of the day. They sparred together for an hour before noon, and then Zabuto begrudgingly let her go with him to any part of Jamaica he wanted. Xander wanted Kendra to practice her social skills during the afternoon, and when night fell, the pair fought vampires, demons, and a bit of crime. Kendra saw more of the beauty of her island through Xander's fresh perspective, and she would've enjoyed it more if her social studies had gone better.
  
  Between the hours of four and eight, the pair would travel to the beaches mostly populated by the younger crowd, and Xander would help Kendra attempt to navigate the intentions of anyone who approached her. It took some convincing, but she eventually agreed to wear a sexy, neon yellow bikini as she braved walking the populated beach alone. With her insanely unfair beauty and matching body, it never took longer than a minute for some tall, muscular man to approach her.
  
  In the beginning of her socializing training, Xander would stay beside the anxious Kendra-like training wheels in human form-as they walked the beach, and even then, she was approached. However, Xander didn't interrupt. He stood silently and allowed the charming men to woo her in an effort to help her out of her shell, which was difficult. Kendra had the hardest time looking them in the eye-much less talking in complete sentences. When the men became too forceful in their flirting, however, Xander intervened. Fortunately, he only had to knock a few men out.
  
  It took two weeks for her to maintain eye contact and engage in small conversations with complete strangers. To help Kendra understand how simple men can be, Xander had her pretend she needed to use the restroom. After she excused herself, the Slayer would hide nearby, and eavesdrop on the men asking Xander about her. With her senses, she'd easily overhear how sexy they thought she was, how much they wanted to be with her, and many asked if she was a prostitute. Four of the men even threatened Xander with bodily harm if he didn't leave before she got back. It didn't end well for them.
  
  After days of these sessions, the gorgeous Jamaican finally understood that nearly all the men approaching her just wanted sex or her physical company, and would pay handsomely to have either. Kendra couldn't believe the amount many of the men would pay to be with her in one way or another. However, Xander reiterated that sex shouldn't be a transaction.
  
  "Never let anyone convince you that you need to have sex with them to eat something or stay in a nice home," he said on their way back to the speedboat. "You have my permission to beat them to a pulp if they do." Holding her hand as they walked back to the compound-and prepare for patrols-he expressed, "The special guy you let into such a vulnerable place needs to be someone you care about deeply. You fight, Kendra. That's what you do for all of us. You're not someone who can be purchased for their amusement. Don't let anyone take advantage of you."
  
  Toward the end of her socializing training, Xander had Kendra play a role like an actor, approaching men with an undercover mentality to lower their defenses. To his surprise, the caramel beauty had an easier time communicating with men when she pretended to be on an information-gathering mission. As she spoke-with Xander listening from nearby-she would attempt to interpret what they wanted. After she excused herself-or beat the intoxicated men who wouldn't take no for an answer-Xander would help open her mind to other possibilities.
  
  "Some are fathers with a daughter complex," he casually explained as they dragged a dead demon back to the boat. "Some are good guys, some are teachers, or city officials, or from any walk of life, really. But ultimately, all these guys are just trying to turn a desire they have in their head into a reality-which may or may not even involve you."
  
  "How do you mean?" Kendra asked as they reached the dock they tied the boat to. The demon's hard scales scratched the old wood as she asked, "If they approach me, would that not mean their desire is for me?"
  
  "Not necessarily," Xander answered. "You're the person in front of them, so they want you to fulfill that desire. But if you say no, they'll just look for someone else. Think of it like casting a wide net and catching however many girls they can."
  
  As they reached the edge of the dock, Kendra tossed the demon into the water as she asked, "All because of the way I look?"
  
  "In the beginning, yeah," he confirmed with a nod. They hopped on the speedboat as Xander added, "Most men will simply care about your appearance. But the few good ones will enjoy your company because they like your personality."
  
  Kendra turned the powerful boat on before looking at him and asking with a smile, "Do you enjoy my personality?"
  
  He smiled right back while moving up behind her. Xander pressed his raging hard-on against her firm round butt and whispered, "Oh, very, very , much."
  
  Throughout the passing weeks of his month in Jamaica-every chance the teenagers got-the pair were having intense sex. With the exception of the compound, they had sex everywhere they thought they could get away with it. Even without his magical ring, Xander was always eager for more and had the skill and energy to keep going. However, Kendra was more reserved with her desires. There were times when she felt it was too good, and, as if the scales were unbalanced, she would feel the need to clear out a vampire or demon den. With every successful mission, the pair had sex many times to multiple happy endings.
  
  The last week in Jamaica, Xander presented Kendra with her Crusader short sword. The medieval-style sword was soot-black with silver star-shaped patterns running up the fuller to the copper temper line. The double-edged sword was thirty-one inches and razor sharp. Its handle was wrapped in soft black leather, the guard was silver, and the pommel had the rune for Order etched on it. It weighed two pounds, but was likely nothing in her hands.
  
  Kendra was absolutely amazed by the stunning sword. Even Zabuto commended him on a job well done. The caramel Slayer never left the compound without Ordermír, but even so, she summoned her magical weapon as efficiently as Xander and Buffy called upon theirs. Like the other weapons, no one without a soul could lift the Crusader sword. It killed vampires easily and healed its master. Additionally, a clean slice of her sword was capable of projecting blades made of wind. With practice, Kendra could slice a wall three feet away. She was eager to thank him with several blowjobs after that.
  
  On Xander's last night in Jamaica, Kendra admitted she didn't like the idea of going back to her life before him. They were at the departure gate of the international airport in Kingston. She had more fun in a single month than she had her entire life, and due to that fact, Zabuto insisted on walking him to the gate. The tall Watcher was eager to get rid of Xander and his influence on his Slayer.
  
  In front of Zabuto, Xander took her hand and told the stunning girl, "Kendra, believe me when I say you don't need me to enjoy your life." She took a step closer as he added, "You're in a beautiful country with beautiful people. Take a pottery class, gardening, whatever you have an interest in."
  
  "And if I don't have any interests?" the sad girl quietly asked.
  
  "You're a fighter, remember?" he replied with a smirk. Playfully interlacing their fingers, he suggested, "Take some lessons or teach little girls and boys how to fight. It's okay to enjoy your life on your own terms." Kendra nodded when they heard the airport announce his last call for boarding. Before they parted, he made sure she knew, "You can always call me, or visit, any time you want. I'll pay for the ticket; first class. Enjoy your life, but remember what we learned together. Always be suspicious of the people around you, until they've proven themselves worthy of your trust. I don't want anything to happen to you."
  
  In front of Zabuto, Kendra leaned up and gave Xander a long kiss goodbye. The large man tried to pull Kendra away, but Xander effortlessly grabbed the Watcher's hand and twisted it as he deepened his kiss with the beautiful Slayer. After a minute, their lips parted, followed much too quickly by their bodies. Taking off from the runway, Xander imagined Kendra was getting an earful from her Watcher, but smiled when he suspected she wouldn't care.
  
  After spending a month in Jamaica with the gorgeous Kendra Young, Xander flew to Tijuana International Airport in northern Mexico before taking a smaller plane to a smaller airline. A bus took the teen to Sandy Beach in Puerto Peñasco, where the Las Palmas Resort was located. Traveling from place to place took most of the day, and despite the new location, Xander couldn't say he was overly excited. The coast of Mexico was certainly beautiful, but the minor interest he felt had more to do with seeing Cordelia in a bikini for the next month.
  
  Xander met Cordelia at the luxury resort, with its four large towers and many villas right on the beach. The beach-front property overlooked the vast Sea of Cortez and had four miles of white sandy beach all to itself. The resort was a gated community with full-time security, three outdoor pools, several indoor heated pools & hot tubs, many game rooms, full workout gyms, several restaurants, nightclubs, and stores, as well as many fun activities to do. Cordelia met him at the entrance of the resort wearing a black and navy bikini with a long black sarong wrap hugging her curvy hips, baring plenty of her beautiful legs.
  
  Xander hugged the sexy cheerleader, lifting her off her feet to heal his weariness in a way his ring couldn't-with her warmth and weight holding him, too. Both of the teens were tanned from many days frolicking in the sun, making Cordelia's smile brighter, but when she looked at his luggage, her smile died down.
  
  "Sooo," she started in a tone that made Xander nervous. "As much as I want you here-trust me, I fought for you-but I've been overruled. Sorry, but daddy said you can't stay with us. And we have a villa on the beach too."
  
  Xander shook his head, as if to say, ' of course .' With a huff, he nodded before saying, "It's fine. I'll just rent a room-"
  
  "Also, they're all booked," Cordelia cut him off, grimacing from having to deliver the bad news. "I checked." At Xander's disappointed expression, she added, "What? It's summer. They're always booked throughout the summer." Though mildly irritated, Cordelia gripped his hand and squeezed it before saying, "Come on. You haven't eaten, right?"
  
  Xander shook his head. However, he stated, "I should probably figure out where I'm going to be sleeping tonight."
  
  "Just leave your stuff in my room for now," Cordelia insisted. "Eat first, then we figure out where you're sleeping. If worse comes to worst, I'll sneak you into my room... which might also be an issue, FYI. Security here is like Fort Knox. With their security, you'd think they were suddenly hosting the leader of the free world. I mean, this place is nice, but the private grills here still use charcoal instead of gas. How cheap is that-"
  
  "Cordelia," Xander interrupted with a strained smile. "How about we get some food?"
  
  Xander didn't know that Cordelia had already begun her dinner, thus was surprised when she led him to one of the luxury restaurants where her parents were waiting. It wasn't the first time Xander had met Cordelia's parents, and wasn't surprised when the head of the Chase household was incredibly suspicious of Xander's relationship with his daughter. As they ate their eight-course meal, the adults grilled him. Even when Xander shared fabricated goals of becoming an officer in the military & studying trade-or revealed that he owned his home and built his bike-nothing endeared Mr. Chase to him.
  
  So out of touch with those they consider below them, Cordelia's mother blatantly told her daughter, "Usse him for the bit of fun he can give you, dear, then dump him." She was quite intoxicated-having drunk more than she ate-and slurred her words as she finished saying, "We have sserious partnerss for you to conssider."
  
  "Yes, yes, it was nice to meet you, Sandor," Mr. Chase irately voiced, getting his name wrong. Turning to his daughter, he asserted, "Say goodnight to your friend, dear. We'll expect you up shortly."
  
  As the parents left, Xander shook his head in amused disbelief. Their attitude was nothing new to him, which was why he didn't sneak into Cordelia's room that night. He was far too capable to need them. Instead, Xander went into the old city architecture of Puerto Peñasco seven miles away and rented a cheap motel room. After leaving his things, he traveled into the nightlife of the city to find a scooter to rent to head back to Las Palmas.
  
  Xander enjoyed how loud and lively the city was at night. The streets were bustling with so many people, he often bumped shoulders from so little space. Mexican music blared from almost every building or pub he passed. Vendors were calling out to every one that passed them, trying hard to sell their wares. Though Xander wasn't a huge fan of the sombreros, he liked, and purchased, a black and white poncho with skulls at the center of some Aztec symbols.
  
  Once he rented a scooter, he returned to his room to learn that his luggage and case that stored Dreadnought and Hellguard were stolen. The door wasn't busted and nothing else was taken, making Xander sigh in annoyance. Lazily, the teen took the stairs to the roof and walked to the edge. Looking down at the lively nightlife, he prayed he only hurt the ones who stole his weapons. He extended his hands and cautiously summoned his weapons. When his hands felt as if they were tugged on from below, Xander realized who the thief was.
  
  As it turned out, all of his belongings were in the motel owner's room because summoning his weapons destroyed three levels of ceilings to reach his open palm. Xander leapt down the hole, and though grateful no one was hurt, he threatened the portly man with grievous violence if anything else went missing in his room. The owner let him stay in the room for free, but Xander decided to leave his weapons with Cordelia.
  
  As ever, Xander and Cordelia didn't let her parents ruin their fun, and the pair spent a lot of time swimming, sunbathing, playing games, and even exercising together. Xander allocated a section in the training rooms for a mat so he could teach the agile girl self-defense moves. As a versatile cheerleader, Cordelia's conditioned body was highly adept at absorbing his knowledge, mimicking new movements and positions nearly to perfection.
  
  For a girl of her height and build, Xander taught Cordelia what would be most advantageous in a fight against anything bigger and stronger than her. As most of the Scooby Gang's battles against evil took place on the street-where anything could happen-and at close quarters, Xander began with the basics of Krav Maga. Though it involved mixed martial arts, Krav Maga was designed for potentially lethal situations. There were no rings or octagons with rules, thus illegal moves like eye-gouging and groin shots were techniques to learn.
  
  Xander was teaching her how to fall, as it was a likely scenario. He gently flipped her onto the mat, making her land on her back before staying on top of her. They hadn't kissed or done anything intimate together since he had arrived, but looking deeply into her amber eyes, a small spark that was always there, enticed him. The light reflecting off of Cordelia's brown eyes made him wonder about her.
  
  Gazing at her panting, flush face, he softly asked, "Why haven't you asked me about Nox yet?"
  
  She scrunched her brow, as if to say, ' Where 'd that come from? ' Despite the questioning look, she candidly answered, "I didn't realize I had to."
  
  Intrigued, he asked, "You don't want to know why? Why I'm like this?"
  
  "Oh please," she bemoaned in her comically irritated way, like she was above it all. "It's not rocket science. You were a pathetic loser who didn't want to be a pathetic loser anymore, which has been working out great for me."
  
  Xander smiled at how dependable Cordelia's "Cordelianess" was, and leaned down to finally kiss her sweet lips. The sexy girl returned the kiss, happily allowing his tongue to caress her, but before long, they were interrupted by loud laughter entering the gymnasium. A group of young men, clearly college students-likely fraternity brothers-made a lot of noise as they walked toward the teen lovers. There were six of them with drinks in their hands, and it was clear as day they approved of Cordelia's tight activewear-a black Nike sports bra and matching leggings.
  
  The teens got to their feet, and despite Xander being there, the six young adults languidly surrounded them. They were tall, muscular, and mostly good-looking men, likely the type Cordelia would have gone for the year before. The time looper was no longer capable of feeling worried other men may tempt away a girl he was with. Accordingly, when they ignored him to unabashedly invite Cordelia to their room for some fun, he remained stoic.
  
  With a false smile plastered on her gorgeous face, Cordelia told the leader of the frat boys, "I'm having more than enough fun right here, thanks."
  
  The head of the group-the tallest and most handsome of them-smiled cockily as he returned, "Then how about you practice with us? Come on, several of us can teach you some serious moves. Trust me, you won't regret it."
  
  Cordelia, being who she was, responded with a crafty grin before suggesting, "I'll consider sparring with anyone here... if you beat him, first," she finished, pointing her thumb at Xander. With knitted brows of confusion, Xander turned to the girl with an innocent smile just before she said, "Go get 'em, tiger."
  
  At those iconic words, Xander brightened up as he called out, "Oh, you read it!" Xander gave her a few Spider-Man comic books to read on the plane if she got bored. He was glad she read them.
  
  "I was bored on the flight," she said with a casual shoulder shrug. "And I'm nothing like MJ, by the way."
  
  Smiling, Xander stepped to the center of the mat while Cordelia moved to the side. The development attracted a few onlookers as the cocky frat leader stepped up, taking off his shirt. He was confident, but Xander wouldn't even need Odin's Ring of Power to beat all six men. His strength and reflexes were so attuned to vampires, demons, and monsters that six inebriated frat boys were nothing to him. They moved painfully slow and telegraphed everything they were about to do. Xander was forced to hold back a lot, but nevertheless, with his superior strength and technique, striking each of them in the liver or gut dropped them to the ground. In less than a minute, four of the frat boys couldn't get back up, and two of them threw up.
  
  "Holy shit," an aroused Cordelia gasped from the side, looking from the downed college boys to the bored Xander in amazement.
  
  A very zealous Cordelia dragged Xander away and lead him to her bed back in her villa so she could fuck him hard. He hadn't been able to use his ring's vibrating power on Cordelia before because he hadn't wanted to be discovered as Nox, but that wasn't the case anymore. Xander did so then, and the sexy cheerleader lost herself in mindless orgasms. Though she didn't last as long as a Slayer, he still enjoyed every second she squeezed his seed from his balls.
  
  After a shower, they left to have dinner in one of the fancy restaurants below when Xander was approached by an atypical local man who introduced himself as Raul De'Santos. Despite being Mexican-in his mid-30s-he had bright red hair with a matching beard and pale green eyes. Raul was a few inches shorter than Xander, but he couldn't hide under his gray, three-piece suit: the man used to be a fighter.
  
  He took off his sunglasses-despite being indoors-and offered Xander the opportunity to fight in a match later that night. Raul was apparently well-connected and had friends in the hotel always searching for potential clients. One of them saw Xander fight the frat boys with ease and reported so. Raul promised Xander a lot of money if he won, but the teen declined, saying he didn't need money.
  
  The Mexican bargained, suggesting in his Broken English, " Hermano , there must be something that you, uuuh... want , no?" Xander squinted his eyes, thinking of what he might want. After all, Raul couldn't know that material things meant nothing to Xander, because all he wanted was to get out of the time-braid. However, his vacation currently lacked in several areas of comfort that could be remedied.
  
  Curiously, Xander asked, "How much access do you have?"
  
  " Depende en what one desires," Raul explained. "We speak of lawful requests or more... illicit?"
  
  "Definitely lawful... I think," Xander added with uncertainty. In either case, he asserted, "I just want a good room to stay in and maybe a boat ride or something fun for us to do while we're here."
  
  The redheaded man smiled victoriously before assuring him, "Compadre, so long as you win, we can give you the very best vacación Mexico has to offer."
  
  After scheduling a time and place to meet, Xander and Cordelia were driven south for thirty minutes to a city called Puerto Lobos, or Port of Wolves. The pair were escorted to a cathedral intricately carved out of the face of a mountain. Many people entered the carved mountain, taking wide stairs down into a massive subterranean coliseum. The rocky arena had seating for hundreds of people, and they all gathered to watch men battle at the center of the stage.
  
  The teens followed Raul to the waiting rooms for other fighters. Xander had to check in his hard case housing Dreadnought, but he didn't mind so long as his magical battleaxe was close by should he need it. With so many bodies traversing the large room-buying food, alcohol, and gambling-Cordelia was worried, even if she didn't show it. If this were a movie, she fully expected them to be offered as a ritual sacrifice for a barbaric deity. Though Xander didn't discount that possibility, he wouldn't be against seeing that.
  
  Throughout all of it, Raul explained to them they were in the midst of an underground fighting ring, and a tournament was held every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for the entire summer. Since Xander was behind, he would have to fight several times that night-to catch up to the other combatants-if he wanted a room at the Las Palmas Resort. Unbothered, the teen warrior shrugged-to Raul's delight-and eventually, Xander was called to step into the large, square ring.
  
  His first opponent was a short Asian fighter who used a combination of Karate, Tae Kwon Do, and Muay Thai, exciting the warrior within him. Sadly, he was a smaller man with less mass. Xander brought him to the ground and made him submit within seconds. Xander's second opponent was Russian and much larger than him, with brawny muscles. However, he was far too slow. Xander countered everything the hulking man threw with pin-point strikes, including the knockout counter-punch right to the chin. Xander's third and fourth opponents also lost to the combination of Xander's superior experience, technique, and physique. These opponents quite simply weren't stronger than the vampires or demons he was used to facing. Xander didn't even have to use his ring, and with his fifth win, he secured a spot on the Saturday card.
  
  Waiting for De'Santos on the surface, Xander and Cordelia were shocked when the Mexican redhead pulled up in a beautiful '69 Ford Mustang GT rather than the white transport van they had arrived in. Raul stepped out of the souped-up muscle car with a big smile and wide open arms.
  
  He told Xander, "Amigo, consider this beautiful car yours for your stay here. And if you win more, it only gets better." De'Santos also got him a King room at the resort, which could also be upgraded if he kept winning. Once Cordelia's parents went to sleep, she snuck out of their villa and stayed with Xander all night.
  
  The following night, Xander remained undefeated and was put on the dockets for the following week's matches. The teen warrior kept fighting under the name Noche Blanco-White Night in Spanish-every Friday and Saturday, upgrading his stay at the resort up to a villa of his own, and his muscle car to super luxury cars. Xander and Cordelia took complimentary snorkeling trips, went jet skiing often, scheduled helicopter rides, and shopped far too often for Xander's patience. The teens had VIP access to all the best nightclubs & restaurants in the city-which Mr. & Mrs. Chase thoroughly appreciated. They went horseback riding on the beach-which was illegal unless you were ultra special-and throughout all the activity, Xander and Cordelia started and ended the day fucking to multiple orgasms.
  
  It was on his last night there, with Cordelia snuggled next to him, that she admitted, "I'd say I love you, but really, it's more like I'm just happy... you're in my life."
  
  He huffed softly, just living in the serene moment before simply replying, "Ditto."
  
  Craning her head up, the confused girl asked, "Ditto? Did you really just say ' ditto? ' Care to be a little more evolved than that, or am I sleeping with a Neanderthal here?"
  
  "Oh, no, I'm taking that ditto back!" he called back, leaping on the happily squealing girl. "The ditto has been rescinded! You get nothing but grunts now!"
  
  Xander grunted like a caveman to Cordelia's fits of bubbling laughter. They played together until he had to leave for his flight to Boston.
  
  Yay! We got to spend plenty of time with Kendra! And she got a magical weapon 😊
  
  Cordelia is always a treasure to write. Just love her.
  
  He's going to Boston next. I'm sure you all can guess what that means 😁
  
  Since I'm getting close to my financial goal, I'm working more. But this also means that soon, I'll be able to quit one job. Then I'll have more time to write. I can finish this fic and get back to The Last Prayer. I've been rewatching Naruto too, so I can't wait to get back.
  
  That's all I got. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thank you once again for reading and taking the time to comment.
  
  I truly do appreciate your support. For those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my is pay tree on dot-com/graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Five-By-Five
  Another Sunday greets another chapter.
  
  Short A/N again. Lots to do, and so little time left for sleep. Big, big thanks to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar. I sent them the chapter Saturday morning, and they get me notes by the next day. Such a fast turnaround. I truly appreciate your hard work guys!
  
  Warnings: Lemons, Language, and Violence.
  
  9K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  EDIT(10/19/22): Just five changes with a few lines of extra dialogue.
  
  Five-By-Five
  
  For the last two weeks before school started, Xander traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, flying into their international airport. Rather than accept Faith's offer to meet at the airport, Xander took a taxi down to South Boston by himself, enjoying the stark contrast of the locations throughout his vacation. He went from the lush rainforest of Jamaica to the coastal plains of Mexico-both of which had amazing beaches with azure blue waters-to the concrete jungle of Boston. The urban area, filled with tall buildings and Old English architecture, felt harsh and challengingly dense, but Xander gravitated toward that energy.
  
  Xander had talked to Faith before leaving Jamaica, and after checking into one of South Boston's better hotels, he got ready to meet in one of her favorite tavern. It was afternoon when he entered the Fat Lady, and at the sight of a familiar brunette head in the farthest booth, he lamented a missed opportunity. Having talked to Faith all year, Xander knew a few of her favorite taverns and clubs she liked to frequent, and he could've surprised her. But, as he couldn't be sure where she'd be-or where she might be patrolling-he hadn't wanted to waste any of his limited time looking for her.
  
  As he walked through the club & restaurant, the interior gave off a rustic feel with its red brick walls and dark wood beams above. The tavern felt very similar to the Bronze, with a dance floor, a stage for live bands, pool tables, and populated with teenagers. Xander moved through the crowd and up the booth she was seated in. Faith was dressed in mostly black, in her leather jacket, leather pants, and boots. Her red top had the Paisley print of a bandanna. She seemed nervous to him, but she was trying to play it off by fidgeting with the salt and sugar packets in front of her. Xander stepped right up to the model-gorgeous brunette and smiled knowingly at her.
  
  She returned the attention cautiously, but after a moment, she slowly asked, "Xander?"
  
  Xander pretended to be shocked by her level of attractiveness, calling out, "Shit! It really is you! I didn't think you'd be this hot."
  
  She smirked and nodded in cocky understanding-as if she got that all the time-but the conceitedness only made them laugh. Their small talk was quick: where he was staying, how long he'd be staying, what he did in Jamaica and Mexico, and how he enjoyed them. Faith was awed by his adventures, but in return, she claimed nothing was new with her. He knew she was lying. Faith should be the Slayer now, but Xander didn't push her. Instead, the teen boy asked for the grand tour of Boston, causing her to snort in disbelief.
  
  "If you think the south side of Boston is going to even come close to the gorgeous beaches of Jamaica and Mexico, you're either out of your mind or smoking the right stuff, man."
  
  " Shit! " Xander cursed with wide eyes. "I totally forgot to smoke some reefer while I was there."
  
  Faith chuckled before stating, "Well, we definitely got that here."
  
  "I spent two months having a lot of sun and beach fun," he remarked. "I'm actually kinda over that for now."
  
  "Well, if you're in the market for dreary misery, we've got that in spades."
  
  After leaving the Fat Lady, Faith began showing Xander around the touristy spots, which the punk rock girl didn't care for. She visibly cringed when he took photos with his disposable camera while wearing a white 'I ❤ Boston' T-shirt, like all the other tourists.
  
  Unable to leave because she was his guide, Faith glared at him as she noted, "I know you're doing this to annoy me, but it's not going to work."
  
  Xander only smiled wickedly, aggravating her sense of style, but also amusing her.
  
  For the next several days, the pair went to Fenway Park, museums, and aquariums, all the while making fun of everything. They watched movies, went to comic shops and record stores, and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. Their dark humor and cynicism just matched impressively well-so well, in fact, it worried Xander that it wouldn't last.
  
  ' Because nothing ever lasts ,' he thought, momentarily panicking when he felt the bottle he stuffed all of his hopelessness in nearly burst. However, Xander held on, compartmentalizing what the never-ending time braid was doing to his mental state in favor of having more fun with Faith.
  
  Xander asked to check out a weapons shop in the hopes it might entice her to reveal her new role as the Slayer. As they walked through the moderately sized store, he explained several fun facts about weapons and graded the quality of the shop's selections. When Xander judged most of them as little more than subpar decoration pieces, she was curious to know what he considered top-notch. They left the store and went straight to his hotel, where Xander unveiled his hand-forged weapons. Faith absolutely fell in love with Dreadnought, expressing her own love for axes. However, she didn't tell him she was the Slayer.
  
  Mildly disappointed, Xander moved on and asked, "How about you take me to some of your favorite spots? I feel like we've been making fun of tourist spots this entire time."
  
  After a moment of thought, she asked, "It's no Jamaican rainforest, but have you heard of the BPG?"
  
  Faith didn't have many places in Boston she truly enjoyed. However, she trusted him enough to bring him to a serene park called Boston Public Garden on Charles Street in Beacon Hill. It was evening when they got there-her favorite time of the day-and Xander felt thoroughly charmed by the large landscape. It was the type of park for picnics, strolls, and riding Swan Boats. The flowers were vibrant against the green grass, and abundant throughout their walk.
  
  "I don't know why I like it here," Faith admitted as they walked. She kept looking forward as she added, "I mean, it could all burn down tomorrow, but, I guess... I wouldn't like that. It's nice here."
  
  Their stroll through the extensive park was a serene experience, and Xander understood why Faith liked it. As Boston Public Garden was in the center of downtown Boston, the tall buildings of the city could be seen surrounding them. They reminded Xander that the dark world was never far, but couldn't reach him in the peaceful park. He imagined it was a place where she didn't have to think about how crappy life can be. It made Xander want to hold her hand, but he didn't want to make light of the moment by diving into some friendly bickering. They simply walked the park for a half-hour before leaving.
  
  Throughout his time in Boston, Xander sprung for taxis often to get around. However, he would always hope to get attacked while they walked from place to place. If she couldn't confide in him her role as the Sayer, the next best option was to catch her in the act. Faith even made him promise not to go out at night unless he absolutely had to, and if he did, to stay in public areas. Sadly, six days of his two weeks there passed, and they still hadn't been attacked. Boston had plenty of crime, so Xander wondered where the monsters were.
  
  After the sixth day, Faith hadn't told him the truth, and he assumed it was because she didn't trust him, or, more than likely, her Watcher had laid on the 'Slayers-Work-Alone' fairly thick. Though Xander didn't want to freak her out with how much he knew, he also wanted to prepare her and possibly save her Watcher from being butchered by Kakistos.
  
  On the seventh night, Xander asked if she wanted to go to a club. Faith readily agreed, but despite dancing extremely close with such a seductive girl, his eyes were searching for vampires. In his mind, he was eager for one trying to take a potential victim somewhere quiet. He had no such luck, however. Xander didn't spot a single vampire in the club or even anything suspicious. The teenager was forced to dance with the sexy Faith-dressed in black short-shorts, a black crop top, and knee-high boots-and have normal fun.
  
  Faith insisted on walking him back to the hotel, and he considered that the moment to come clean when he suddenly felt an eerie feeling of being watched, like prey. Even Faith quieted. Then she picked up the pace, taking his hand so they'd walk faster. Xander was hoping for a vampire, but instead, a large green hand at the end of a monstrously thick arm reached out from the dark alley they were walking past and grabbed Faith's arm. A seaweed green foot kicked Xander away at the very moment Faith was pulled out of sight.
  
  Xander's body knew how to hit the ground without causing serious injury. Decades of mental conditioning and highly tuned muscle memory made his body react with the momentum, hitting the floor but rolling to his feet. Even so, unbridled pain kept him floored. Red-hot agony flourished up the right side of his body, where its foot had struck him. Whatever ambushed them was strong and surprisingly fast despite its large limbs, but Xander's ring was already healing his tenderized muscle. The air in his lungs felt hot and his ribs ached with every breath. The teen needed a moment to inhale without tremendous pain, all the while he heard grunting and bottles breaking in the dark alleyway.
  
  "Fuck! Get up you idiot!" he yelled at himself.
  
  Despite the fractured bones that were healing rapidly, Xander rushed into the dark alley and focused on the animalistic brawl between the 5'5" Slayer and the seven-foot-tall, greenish monster. When he recognized the hulking beast, Xander's gut shriveled. Faith was fighting a Cohgara demon; incredibly strong with thick durable skin, and hard to kill. Its fists were nearly the size of her head and the demon launched them in combos Faith could barely dodge. Xander wanted to help her, but knew better than to split her focus by jumping in.
  
  While she fought, Xander snuck into position with an extended hand. He called Hellguard to him with his hand raised above his head-having left it on the balcony of his room-while observing the monster's fighting style and waited for a clear opportunity to jump in. Its fast attacks aimed to decapitate her head from her body, making Faith dodge more than she intended. Its large fists cratered several sections of the brick walls. Xander observed the fight and could easily see the failures in both of their styles. It was as if they were both only focused on headshots. Neither of them paid attention to their footwork or countering, which saddened Xander.
  
  ' God, she's such a noob ,' he thought lamely, though still cognizant of how tough Cohgara demons were. They may not be thinkers, but their kind had killed many-including Slayers-with their brute strength alone. Watching Faith slowly losing ground, he recalled that these demons nearly always were hired muscle. They tended to have a boss, and in Boston, Xander could guess who might command such a dangerous demon.
  
  He wondered if this had any connection to Kakistos when Hellguard finally reached his raised grasp with an audible CLAP . He noted no dust or scratches from buildings-telling him he avoided any serious destruction-Faith's primitive Slayer instinct must've kicked in then. Faith matched its speed, blocking an incoming punch at the same time she sent a punch of her own. She struck him in the chest, neck, and chin, forcing the enormous monster to grunt at the tremendous strength of her punch. With a hard counter to its stomach, Faith brought it down to one knee. Sadly, she got too cocky and stepped in for a wide punch to its hideous face.
  
  The Cohgara demon surprised the Boston Slayer with an unexpected uppercut to her pretty face, sending her flying headfirst into the brick wall opposite Xander, making her grunt sharply before hitting the floor. Xander saw her, beyond the demon, try to get up before falling limp and unconscious. It took a step toward her, likely to finish the job or possibly kidnap her. Xander couldn't be sure, but he also didn't want to risk her life.
  
  Spinning Hellguard in his hand with ease and confidence, a highly enhanced Xander-his nutrient and oxygen-dense blood pumping into his entire musculature-charged forward. The hulking beast reached down to grab the unconscious Slayer at the moment Xander tossed the magical blade. It sank into its back, making the monster pull its thick arms back in pain as Xander ran ten-feet up the brick wall-parkour-style-in an arc. The screeching demon thrashed around, trying to grab the magical blade embedded in its back as Xander landed between it and Faith.
  
  The monster thrashed wildly as Xander waited for his chance. Its swinging fists destroyed sections of the wall before the hulking thing finally faced him. Xander extended his hand and summoned Hellguard, hoping his magical blade would bulldoze through its muscular body and burst out through the front. The monster planted its size twenty feet and tried to fight being pulled toward Xander for several seconds before the blade ripped through its right pectoral, splashing out greenish blood.
  
  Xander caught the gore-covered blade, turning away to avoid most of the splattering of the thick fluid on his face. The Cohgara monster stood still a moment, as if shutting down, with its right pectoral popped out like an arrow had punched through paper. Its viscera was streaming down the meaty flaps of hanging muscle, but it hadn't fallen over yet. Cohgara demons were notoriously difficult to kill. Thus, Xander wasn't surprised when it stood straighter, as if it had finished rebooting.
  
  Xander didn't hesitate to toss his magical dagger at the beast before breaking into a sprint. As if nothing had happened to it, it swatted the Viking dagger away-getting a finger cut off in the process-before attacking Xander. Losing to its longer reach, the skilled, super-powered teen slid low, calling Hellguard to his hand before slashing its arm and leg before rolling to his feet.
  
  The beast ignored the hemorrhaging cuts to attack Xander with blazing speed. The teen could barely keep up with the three punches it threw per second, getting grazed with every other punch. However, Xander's footing was masterful, so even as he stepped and evaded the punches, it didn't take the teen more than a few seconds to be in a position to dodge and stab at the beast's center mass.
  
  Once again, it stilled, as if shutting down, but it hadn't fallen. Ignoring the radiating heat and stench of the hulking monster, Xander's heightened sensory perception could tell from the micro-vibrations traveling through his dagger that he hadn't punctured its heart yet. As Xander couldn't recall where its heart was, he pulled his dagger out, splattering more green blood on him, and quickly tried to stab its veiny head.
  
  Before he could bury his blade in its brain, the Cohgara beast caught Xander's wrist. It was the hand that was missing a finger-dripping even more blood on him. Xander yanked twice but couldn't pull away from its insane strength, so he tossed Hellguard so his other hand could summon it. However, before Xander could do any damage, the beast's grip easily broke Xander's forearm, ripping a scream of pain from his throat.
  
  " AAHHHH ! MMMNNnnnnnnnnnnn," Xander groaned, holding in the immense pain.
  
  Xander quickly ignored the pain that was already being healed to slice at its stomach, chest, and neck. With its other arm, the monster smacked Xander in the face. Unable to avoid it, he moved with the hit, to avoid getting his neck snapped. This sent the teen eight feet away, and knocked Hellguard out of his hand. Xander hit the stone floor head and torso first, using his arms and bodily rotation to land as well as any martial artist. He rolled to a stop, but his nose felt broken and his vision didn't stop spinning. Aside from the terrible disorientation, his nose felt clogged with blood, and his wrist and forearm were in terrible, throbbing pain. The injured teen saw the monster sluggishly step toward him, and with all its injuries and blood loss, Xander couldn't believe it was still moving.
  
  Dirty, covered in red and green blood, Xander summoned Hellguard to his hand and was planning on lighting the monster up with millions of volts of electricity when, suddenly, a form leaped onto its back. Faith wrapped her arms around its neck, putting it in a chokehold, and squeezed for all she was worth. The monster tried to rip her off, but she avoided its desperate hands. After a minute of frantic struggling, Xander heard a muffled SNAP, and the monster's head bent horizontally back. Faith eased her grip up as the large Cohgara monster dropped to its knees before falling chest first.
  
  Xander relaxed and concentrated his ring and dagger to heal him double-time. At the sound of honking, they recalled the public street wasn't far, and they rushed out of the alley. Though Faith was worried about his broken forearm-actively insisting they go to the hospital-Xander assured her he'd be alright and had them return to his hotel instead. They caught a lot of attention, walking through the elegant lobby covered in dirt and blood. However, with a lot of thumbs ups and affirmative nodding to the worried staff, they made it to his room without incident.
  
  Xander walked straight to the bathroom, with a concerned Faith on his heel, asking, "Are you sure you're okay?" He ignored the question to step in the tub and turn on the shower, spraying a cold jet of water over him-clothes and all. The blood and dirt washed off, adding an extra sense of relief to the healing his ring was doing. Faith watched him for a moment before asking in disbelief, "Hello? Earth to Xander. Come in, Xander!"
  
  Swiveling his head to steer the water to either side, Xander slowly answered, "Don't worry. I'm getting better."
  
  Grabbing the folded towel on the counter, Faith pressed it against her bloody nose. She wiped her face of blood, but she seemed to care more about her questions, anxiously asking, "Can you please tell me why you're not freaking out right now?"
  
  When Xander felt more mobility in his wrist, he turned off the warming water. After a long exhale, he answered, "I'm not losing my marbles right now because I see stuff like that all the time."
  
  Drawing her nice eyebrows in disbelief, she gasped, " Really? "
  
  "Oh, yeah," he replied, grabbing a towel from the hanger. "Sunnydale's a veritable cornucopia of vampires, demons, monsters, werewolves, and poltergeists. Hell, I've been possessed a few times. It's hard for any of this stuff to get to me anymore."
  
  "Are you serious!?" Faith called out in disbelief. At his nonchalant nod, she yelled, " Why didn't you tell me?! " Xander stopped drying his wet hair as Faith continued asserting, " You've been holding out on me this entire time? I thought we were friends! "
  
  Mildly surprised by her stance, Xander cautiously replied, "We are, but, like, how exactly do you explain to someone that you fight the supernatural on a nightly basis?" Recalling her secret, he clapped back with just as much fervor, "Besides, you didn't tell me about your superwoman powers! You cracked that thing's neck like it was a twig!"
  
  Faith balked at this and hesitated to point out, "Uh, well... in my defense... you never asked."
  
  At her sheepish wince, Xander smirked before asking if they could get cleaned up. They showered separately, and Xander lent her some of his clothes. Before they could continue the conversation, though, the tired Xander fell asleep while she was in the bathroom, and rather than wake him, she went to sleep in the king-sized bed as well. Healed and rested by mid-morning, Xander ordered breakfast for them and they ate as he explained how Sunnydale was like Grand Central for everything ugly that goes bump in the night.
  
  After he was done giving her the broad strokes of his world, he asked her, "What about you?"
  
  Taken aback by his question, her brows drew in as she asked, "What about me?"
  
  Xander nodded before clarifying, "Uh, your whole ' I Am Wonder Woman, Hear Me Roar ,' act."
  
  Growing concerned, Faith set her plate of Belgium waffles to the side, and in all seriousness, asserted, "Listen, you have to forget about that."
  
  "Why?"
  
  With a long exhale, the Bostonian cautiously replied, "I have someone-who's kinda like a teacher-and she's been showing me the ropes for all of this."
  
  Xander snapped his fingers, and pointed as he proclaimed, "So you really are a Slayer, aren't you?"
  
  Faith's brown eyes bulged as she began to ask, "How-"
  
  "I know the Slayer in Sunnydale," he interrupted with a smile. "And the one in Jamaica, too. They have Watchers that guide them through all the madness. Think of them like the tweed-wearing conductors of the Crazy Train."
  
  Stunned by the revelation, Faith leaned forward as she asked, "There's more than one Slayer?"
  
  "You didn't know?" he asked.
  
  Shaking her head slowly, Faith retreated into her thoughts as she slowly replied, "She never told me. Uh, Dormer, my Watcher."
  
  "Well, you're still new," Xander reasoned.
  
  "How do you know?" she asked in surprise.
  
  "I was there when the last one died for a minute," he dolefully shared.
  
  "...How'd it happen?" she cautiously asked.
  
  "A lot of vampires," he simply answered. Elaborating on Dormer's decision, he added, "It's probably why Dormer wanted you to get used to the life first. Other than avoiding Kendra and Buffy's mistakes, you really don't need to focus on them. You got to learn your way of being a Slayer."
  
  "Maybe," a bewildered Faith slowly voiced. Suddenly becoming more attentive, the brunette asked him, "So, you really do know, don't you?"
  
  "Yeah," he huffed lazily with a nod. "I know a lot. I could even patrol with you if you want."
  
  "I think I should run it by Dormer first," Faith replied. "Not that I don't trust you or anything. It's just... she's been watching out for me: talking to my parents; trying to get me out of that school."
  
  With confident eyes, Xander asserted, "Well, Faith, you have another friend here, too."
  
  Faith seemed touched but also shook her head, saying, "You may want to reconsider that. A Slayer's life is dangerous for anyone around her. That's why Dormer says Slayers work alone."
  
  Xander smiled as he assured her, "They don't always. I've worked with Buffy and Kendra."
  
  "Buffy and Kendra," Faith repeated slowly, as if to commit the names to memory. Xander then explained why Faith wasn't the only Slayer. "Holy fuck... So, you revived both of them?"
  
  Never having thought of that, Xander hummed a moment before nodding, saying, "Huh. Yeah, I guess I did."
  
  "How'd you miss that?" she bellowed.
  
  "It's not really something I think about," he honestly replied. "Besides, they've saved my life loads more than I saved theirs. So, I still owe. Hell, you saved my life last night."
  
  "You saved mine first," Faith quickly pointed out. "Shiiii, maybe keeping you around is a good idea," she drawled with a grin.
  
  "You won't hear me complaining," he teased with a hint of a smile. "Being a Slayer is a dangerous gig, and I definitely don't want to lose you."
  
  Faith leaned back, looking at him with humored, yet suspicious eyes as she asked, "What are you getting all sappy on me for? Don't you know how much ass I kick?"
  
  "I don't, actually," Xander flatly answered. "If you want to show me though, I wouldn't mind sparring."
  
  Faith snorted, holding back her amusement before joking, "You sure that's how you want to cop a feel? It might not end so well for ya."
  
  Xander smiled at her sensual cheekiness, remarking, "Someone's a little cocky." Faith only shrugged-not at all denying it-before he asked, "Care to make it interesting?"
  
  The sexy girl tilted her head and her lustrous brown hair cascaded to the side with a healthy bounce. She quirked her brow before stating, "You can't possibly know Slayers if you think you actually stand a chance of beating me."
  
  Playfully, he responded, "If it's such an easy win, then name your price."
  
  "Fine," she said with a saucy grin. Faith nodded over to his weapon case and declared, "I want Dreadnought."
  
  "No can do," Xander said.
  
  "You said to name my price," Faith returned with a smirk. "Backing out already?"
  
  Xander rolled his eyes before getting up and walking over to his weapon case. He took out Dreadnought, then handed it to her before walking to the other end of the room. When he demonstrated how he summoned his magical weapon to him, Faith was thoroughly amazed, hopping off the bed. With wide eyes, she looked back and forth between her empty hands and his.
  
  Xander then explained, "Dreadnought will only follow one master. So even if I gave him to you, the most you can do would be to swing it-"
  
  "Then tell me how to get one!" she quickly interrupted, rushing to him. "I have to have one!"
  
  With a proud smile, he replied, "I can make one for you. I made Dreadnought, Hellguard, Slaymore-that's Buffy's sword-and Ordermír. That's Kendra's Crusader-style sword."
  
  "So, all I have to do is wipe the floor with you and you make me a badass axe?"
  
  "Essentially, yeah, but-"
  
  "Oh, that's five-by-five," she happily cooed. "Five-by-five all day!"
  
  "Keep in mind, we're just sparring," Xander reiterated. "You're not trying to kill me. Also, it takes at least three weeks to properly make a weapon like this. The process is super tedious, so don't expect anything right away. But most importantly, you're counting your chickens way the hell before they hatch, little missy. If you want one of my super-duper awesome magical weapons, I'm going to need you to put up something of equal value."
  
  Faith turned on her sex appeal in an instant, becoming incredibly alluring as she stepped very close to him with a light bounce in her step and sweetly asked, "I don't have a lot, but if I can, I'll give it to you as often as you want."
  
  Xander didn't retreat when she pressed up against him, feeling her soft, sexy body lean into his. Looking into her sexy eyes hungrily, he playfully asked, "Promise?"
  
  Reading his agreement in his eyes, she replied in her husky voice, "I'm a Slayer of my word."
  
  Xander and Faith went to the hotel's gym and asked the concierge for blue mats to practice on. Their gymnasium was fairly spacious with a small cardio section on the left, their weights section on the right, and a square for stretching or free-motion training in the middle. There wasn't more than an elderly couple, and a balding man on the treadmill talking to someone on his phone. Xander set out the thick exercise mat as Faith lazily stretched. The beautiful Bostonian clearly wasn't worried about losing. They both wore his clothes, gray sweats, and an undershirt, though they were baggy on Faith. She had to tie her white tee just under her breasts, showing her toned stomach.
  
  "Hope you're ready to eat mat," Xander called out as he moved to the center of the mat.
  
  Walking to the center, she returned with a sly grin, "Ready to name my new kickass axe."
  
  Xander smiled before saying, "Ding, ding."
  
  Eying her like a hawk, Xander immediately surprised her by blitzing ahead. Faith wasn't expecting the burst of speed and was forced to block the first punch by raising her forearms. Her balance wasn't great, and Xander focused a second and third punch to her solar plexus and stomach. Her eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't stop. Xander threw out punches in combination with foot swipes to keep her off balance. When Faith became too frustrated, she threw out a punch Xander immediately caught, pulling her in, and flipping her over his back. She landed on the mat, but he hadn't let go. Xander locked her arm between his legs and pulled her limb with all his strength. He understood how durable Slayers were, and thus didn't fear breaking her arm.
  
  When she couldn't get out of the armbar easily, she used more strength to break it. He immediately knew he wouldn't be able to make her submit, so he used her pull to make him roll them over so she was on top and he was on the bottom, disorienting her and keeping her in the lock. When she tried to break out again, he let her arm go and instead wrapped his muscular legs around her neck, shoving her bicep against her throat. Straining his legs, the intense pressure of her arm and his legs around her neck was cutting off the blood circulation to her brain. Frustrated, Faith used her other arm to pull him off as she lifted them both on her strong legs. Xander easily shifted his body around to put her in a rear-naked choke hold. She fought him for several seconds, but he only let go when she nearly passed out.
  
  "One - zip," Xander called as he stepped back. "We'll do best out of five."
  
  On one knee, Faith massaged her neck as she eyed him cautiously. Xander had an easygoing expression as he waited for her, which annoyed the hot-blooded girl. She got to her feet before she was fully ready and darted toward the boy. Xander thought she would be more hesitant after the consecutive submission moves, but the brash girl didn't seem to be the cautious type when fighting.
  
  Faith was a brawler and led more with her fists, so when she was within range, Xander went low, attacking with a low kick he knew she would dodge. However, Faith wasn't expecting him to continue the spin and leap into a roundhouse. She put up her guard, but the force of his kick pushed her back, though not far enough. Faith stayed on her feet, and with her strength, speed, and durability, she was on him as he landed. His footwork helped him avoid a flurry of punches, zipping left and right.
  
  It wasn't that Xander was stronger than her. It was that he had more experience, and thus could guess her attacks accurately. He dodged, blocked, and evaded her punches and kicks until Xander countered. He parried her straight punch into a grapple, snatching her wrist and flipping her on the mat. Immediately, Xander put her in an arm bar, which made her panic to get out of. However, no matter what she did, Xander would counter from submission hold to submission hold until she wasn't sure what to do and tapped out.
  
  "Two - zip," Xander gently said, annoying her. He could tell she was only getting angrier-for her lack of skill, for losing to a human despite being a Slayer, for tapping out-and Xander added fuel to the fire by cockily asking, "You planning on showing me something anytime soon?"
  
  Faith's face morphed into barely restrained anger. Her competitive Slayer spirit drove her to angrily grumble, " Oh, I'll show you something ," while coming at him with clenched fists.
  
  The third round was much harder for Xander. Faith was angrier, faster, stronger, and even her instincts were sharper. It was like she absorbed his style and was moving differently. He was watching her supernaturally adaptive ability alter her offense in progress, and it was amazing to see. If Xander hadn't had his ring's strength and his vast experience, he would've buckled under her fast onslaught of punches and kicks. Her diamond-hard fists were flying right by his head, grazing his cheek and popping his ears with the gust of wind. They were a blur to the three people working out in the room, and Xander was always on the verge of a one-hit knockout.
  
  However, Xander wasn't capable of being worried anymore. He'd long passed that limitation. For a fraction of a second, he thought about the times he'd sparred with Buffy and Kendra. Buffy was a much more adaptive fighter, and he couldn't tell what she might do next. The blonde Slayer always capitalized on weak spots in creative ways, which made her dangerous to fight. Kendra's combat style was far more straightforward-very angular and by the book-which he'd informed her of in Jamaica, and though she had the potential to be powerful, she was also too predictable. If an opponent could predict her moves, it would be hard for her to win.
  
  Of the three Slayers, Faith was the weakest overall fighter. She was a brawler; all thrill and no forethought. Xander could trick her with feints easily because she fell for everything. A juke to the left had her punch to the left, missing him completely when he dodged to the right and countered with a blow to the body. A slight lift of the knee had the reckless fighter block low, but then he threw a straight punch to her unsuspecting face. Xander sprinkled these feints in so she wouldn't expect them when they happened, and it all angered her more and more.
  
  Thus, despite Faith's superior strength, speed, and durability, Xander's experience kept him just ahead of losing to her. After connecting a spinning kick to her solar plexus, Faith lost all composure and charged at him, trying to tackle him to the floor. Xander's body reacted without thought-as if he'd done this motion millions of times-lowering his stance. His right forearm knocked hard against her trapezius and his left arm hooked around her right elbow. With her momentum, Xander easily flipped her on her back, and with her right arm still in his left arm's control, Xander aimed a surgical strike to her chin, knocking the strong girl out.
  
  The elderly couple and the businessman had stopped working out and Xander only then noticed they were watching the entire fight. The teen smiled and waved, but it only frightened them, showing him, once again, how out of touch he was with normal people. Xander sat near Faith, but he didn't have to wait over twenty seconds before she woke up with a start, backing away from him in a panic. Xander immediately backed away and raised peaceful palms to show he meant her no harm. After taking a moment to gather her bearings, Faith settled down and nodded to him before quickly rubbing her jaw.
  
  Moving closer, Xander gently asked, "How're you feeling?"
  
  "Ugh," she groaned before answering, "Like they're going to revoke my Slayer's license." Faith eyed him curiously before asking, "You... You are human, right?"
  
  "One hundred percent," he replied with an affable grin that only pissed her off.
  
  "Then how-"
  
  "I do have a little help from this ring I made," he confessed as he playfully extended his hand, wiggling his fingers as if he were showing off a wedding ring. She barely huffed in amusement before focusing on Odin's Ring of Power. "It enhances my strength, speed, yatta, yatta, yatta. Basically, it helps me to not die so easily."
  
  Realization struck her so hard, her head slunk back before demanding to know, "Why the hell didn't you say anything?! All this time, I'm, like, struggling when I should've been wiping the floor with you-"
  
  "Faith," Xander interrupted. "You didn't lose because I was physically stronger." She eyed him curiously as he explained, "In fact, even with this ring, you're still stronger and faster than me. You lost because you lead way too much with emotion. It was comically easy to trick you and get you mad. And once you lost your head, you were done."
  
  "UUGGGHHH," she groaned in embarrassed defeat, rubbing her face intensely. After a moment, she asked through her hands, "Can we go again?"
  
  Xander smiled and answered, "We can go as many times as you want."
  
  Looking up with a hint of hope, she asked, "And you'll still make my axe?"
  
  "Nope!" he loudly proclaimed, making her squint in annoyance at him. "Sorry. When I see you've made some progress in using tactics, technique, and awareness, then I'll make one for you. In the meantime, you lost." He eyed her hungrily when he reminded her, "Which means... you know."
  
  Faith expressed disappointment, which she then tried to mask with a weak smile before replying, "Uh, y-yeah... I guess. No, right, of course, you'd want... Want to go to your room?"
  
  With an eager smile, he shook his head before stating, "Here's fine."
  
  Faith was confused, drawing her brows together before warily noting, "Uh, unless you want to give that old couple a heart attack, we should go to your room. Plus, I'm not in the mood for public play."
  
  "Well, too bad," he asserted, continuing his fun. "Because I want this to happen in public."
  
  Surprised by the teen boy in front of her, Faith leaned back and asked, "You're... you're a bit of a freak, aren't ya?"
  
  Xander smiled broadly before dropping the teasing and calmly asking, "Faith... what do you think I want from you that's worth a magic axe?"
  
  The sexy girl sighed and shrugged before timidly answering, "You know... the same thing other guys want."
  
  "So they want your friendship, too?"
  
  Confused by him yet again, she gasped, "The fuck?"
  
  "Asking you to trust me is obviously more valuable than any axe, no matter how magical it is," he asserted, as if it was the obvious thing every guy wanted from the brunette beauty. "So, I'll just ask for your friendship instead, with the hopes that one day we'll know each other so well you can trust me."
  
  "...Friendship?" she repeated in disbelief. She leaned forward and punched the blue mat before yelling, "You idiot! We're already friends!"
  
  "And now it's official," he said with a smile.
  
  "My bad, you're not a freak. You're a special kind of idiot," she hotly stated. "God, you made me think... I thought all you wanted was..."
  
  "Sorry, not sorry," he teased, making her relax some. "Maybe I went a little far with the teasing."
  
  "Nah, it's cool," she said, waving him and his little prank off. "I just didn't want to think you were like... that ."
  
  "I get it," he assured her. "I'm no stranger to casual sex, but my advice: save it for someone special; someone worth it."
  
  Turning on the charm, the seductive brunette leaned closer with half-lidded eyes and a knowing smile-her lustrous hair flowing down with a healthy bounce-and she asked in her husky voice, "Aren't you someone special?"
  
  Xander felt her sex appeal hit him like a shockwave, raising his eyebrows and drying his throat in mild surprise. However, with his experience, he regained control and playfully responded, "Me? Why no. I'm just your typical seventeen-year-old monster-slaying, magical-weapon-forging teenager with a big dick. Nothing special about me."
  
  Faith burst out in laughter before eventually settling down to ask him to teach her one of the moves he had used on her. She picked up most of what he taught her, and they both enjoyed how intimate their physical grappling, holding, and choking was. At the end of their sparring session, the pair were drenched in sweat, but jovially laying on the mat, catching their breath.
  
  Xander sat up and explained to the equally gleaming girl, "Luckily, Slayers can pick up combat techniques pretty fast. What would take me weeks to master; you could figure it out and use it in combat in a day or two, if that."
  
  Sitting up, Faith replied, "Dormer said the same thing, but she can't spar with me since she's too old. I gotta pick it up by fighting."
  
  "Hmm, that makes sense," Xander noted before suggesting, "You should introduce us."
  
  "Who? You and Dormer?"
  
  "Yeah," he answered. "I mean, I only want to help, and I have other Watchers that can vouch for me if she needs it."
  
  Faith agreed and introduced him to Diana Dormer later that day. The elder Watcher wasn't what Xander had expected. She was old-practically at death's door-bone thin, with white hair in a tight bun, and wrinkled with patchy skin. Wearing a long-sleeve purple dress with a gray cardigan, Dormer looked regal with high cheekbones and green eyes, but also incredibly frail all around. She seemed hard-nosed and caring, and her guidance of Faith was very dated. After the elder Watcher got off the phone with Zabuto, she accepted Xander's claims.
  
  For the rest of his short time in Boston, Xander tried to open up Faith's combat proficiency to be more strategic and tactical. They sparred every day under Dormer's keen observation. She may have been impressed with his ability, but he couldn't be sure. The senior Watcher only spoke about what Faith could do better. She paid him very little attention, but he was ultimately fine with that. Faith was the most important thing there, and Xander wanted her and Dormer to be prepared as much as possible for Kakistos without outright telling them about what awaited.
  
  As the days passed, Xander wondered if he should just tell her about knowing what may happen. The three talked often about evil activity happening all around the city, but none of the vampires and demons seemed to be related to Kakistos. Xander hoped the Cohgara demon they killed was linked to Kakistos, but even that led nowhere. The teenager wasn't sure why that was, but he wanted to take care of the ancient vampire before he left Boston.
  
  The pair were inseparable for the remainder of his trip. She even slept in his hotel room. They sparred and patrolled every day, and the entire experience was more than fun. It was titillating. Of the three Slayers, Faith was far more honest and straightforward with her sexual desires, often making sexual innuendos and explicit jokes. Two nights before his departure-and after a tough night of slaying-Xander was going to enter the shower after Faith got out when she pushed him into his king bed and started making out with him.
  
  When their lips broke apart, he tried to ask, "Wha-wait... what about-"
  
  "Just shut up," the horny girl quickly interrupted. "We'll still be friends after."
  
  The pair made out on the bed, their lips locked as their hands caressed the other. Fresh out of the shower, Faith smelled sweet, and though he was still dirty, she didn't seem to mind as her hands deftly unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. Xander's tongue fit comfortably in her mouth as he kissed Faith passionately. With the sexy brunette on top of him, his hands massaged her lower back and round ass. She moaned softly, letting him roll them over, so he was on top of her, his erect cock pushing out his boxers.
  
  "You're so hot," Xander groaned as he nibbled Faith's neck.
  
  Faith turned her head and spread her legs, offering him all the access he wanted. She loved the feel of his weight pushing down on her and his cock throbbing against her melting cunt.
  
  "Take your pants off," she ordered impatiently.
  
  Xander moved off her and the bed, giving her a close-up view as he removed his dirty t-shirt, revealing his chiseled chest, abs, and arms. Faith bit her lip when he dropped his jeans and underwear, and stood before her with an eight-inch cannon jutting up between his legs.
  
  After swallowing a sudden buildup of saliva, Faith asked, "Well? What are you waiting for?"
  
  With a wolfish grin, he leaped onto the bed, kissing her hotly. Raising his body temperature with his ring, his warm right hand stroked her pussy over her panties. She moaned in his mouth, letting the experienced boy have his way with her. As his left hand caressed her B-cup breasts, Xander's right hand moved the front panel of her panties aside and rubbed the wet entrance of her pussy.
  
  "Mmnn... Don't stop," Faith moaned, her blood boiling with lust.
  
  "I'll go until you beg me to stop," he teased, stoking her slippery slit.
  
  She returned with a cocksure grin, "Challenged accepted, Sweet Stuff."
  
  Xander kissed her, his experienced tongue exploring her wanton mouth as she wrapped her creamy thighs around his waist. Faith moaned into his mouth when his finger pushed inside her sex as his thumb fondled her pulsing clitoris. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for more as he fingered her wet cunt. He inserted a second finger, coating them in her essence as he brought her closer to the edge. His left hand covered her right breast, squeezing the supple flesh and pinching her sensitive teat.
  
  At the delicious mixture of pain and pleasure, Faith moaned blissfully, breaking their kiss. His mouth moved down to suck and nibble on her neck before slowly making his way down to her left milk mound. Faith squirmed under his expert ministrations, her sex-starved flesh burning with desire. Xander switched to her right tit, sucking and lightly nibbling on her pert nipple as he rapidly pumped three fingers inside her drenched cunny. He could hear her heart racing against her ribcage as her breathing quickened.
  
  Faith's hand dropped to Xander's crotch and gripped his throbbing cock. His meaty pole was hard and large in her small hand. She slowly rubbed the head and fondled the veiny shaft to greater and greater pressure, finding just the right amount to make Xander groan happily. Then she began jerking him off. However, it wasn't enough for her. Faith gently caressed his shapely crown with her free hand-dragging her fingers through his long hair and scratching his scalp-and coaxing him to release her breasts and look at her.
  
  With hungry, half-lidded eyes, she said, "I want it in my mouth."
  
  Xander moved up on the bed and laid spread-eagle for her. Her hands slid up and down his toned thighs as she moved between his legs. In no time at all, her tiny mouth covered his cock, sucking hungrily as her lips caressed every inch up and down his manhood. Xander groaned deeply at the amazing suction, closing his eyes in dizzying bliss as his hands rested on her head, gripping her damp tresses. Faith's head bobbed up and down his meaty pole, sucking passionately on his prick as trails of saliva gathered at the corners of her lovely mouth. Her pert nose regularly pressed against his pubic hair, inhaling his musky scent as her hands began massaging his balls.
  
  This was the best blowjob Xander had ever felt in his extraordinarily long life. The sweaty teen gripped the bed sheets when he felt close, lightly tearing them. When Faith took his entire length, deep-throating him to the base, her tongue wiggling against the underside, yet somehow still sucking him in, Xander felt the beginning of the end. He lost all senses as his balls tightened before shooting his load down her throat. Thick globules of his spunk filled her oral cavity, forcing the sexy Slayer to swallow his cum.
  
  "OOHHHHHhhhhhhhhh.... God that wwasss it!" he moaned, as his body shook and quaked with his euphoric release.
  
  After his orgasm settled, Faith licked him clean before voicing, "You better not be done."
  
  Xander snorted. Even without his ring, he wouldn't be done after one shot. Faith noticed as much when he hadn't gone soft, bringing a wicked smile to her face. Sitting up, Xander grabbed and rolled Faith over. On top of her, her legs wrapped around his waist as he positioned his rock-hard cock against her dripping pussy. He gripped her waist before thrusting with his hips, impaling her tight pussy with his thick shaft.
  
  "FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK," Faith shouted, arching her back as he filled her tiny space to the brim. Xander pulled out before thrusting back into her hot, wet tightness, ripping another groan from her throat. "FUUCcckk me! MMMNnnnnnnn," she moaned out as her cunt widened to accept his pulsing meat.
  
  The perspiring brunette began rocking under him as Xander pulled out, and in, building a rhythm as she gripped the pillow under her head. Her lovely B-cup mammaries bounced deliciously with his every thrust. Her toned stomach and graspable hips were perfectly shaped, making him pound into her love tunnel all the harder. When he found her G-spot, her pussy gripped him tighter, and he focused on the sensitive area. Again and again, he shoved his long meat stick into her tight, slick vagina, making her shiver. Her nipples were erect as they bounced, and he couldn't stop from sucking one of her alluring teats as he pounded into her.
  
  " MMMnnnnnn! Yes! Xander! Just like that!" she moaned as he repeatedly slammed into her.
  
  When his thumb caressed her erect clitoris, Xander felt her squeeze his manhood. She shivered more frequently and her spine arched in anticipation of a large climax. Focusing on her pleasure spots, it wasn't long before Xander felt her hot pussy clamp down on him, quivering erratically as she had a long, heart-stopping explosion of ecstasy. Her head shot back and her back vaulted in a deep arch as her perspiring body quaked under him. Faith's mind disappeared in the white bliss as waves of pleasure vibrated her entire body. Having busted his first nut, Xander didn't cream inside the quivering girl. He simply allowed her to ride out the waves of pleasure until she was once again settled.
  
  When she was more receptive, Xander repeated her earlier sentiment. "You better not be done."
  
  Before she could respond, Xander gripped her knees and hooked them over his shoulders before grasping the naked brunette's hips. He pulled out of her sensitive, nectar-drenched pussy before stuffing her once again to the brim. Faith moaned out louder than ever, arching her back as her hands ripped the pillow's linen cover. Her tits bounced as he pumped into her tightly pulsing quim, hitting her G-spot frequently. Her hair stuck to her red face as Xander humped her quivering cunt with powerful thrusts. The young Slayer's head swiveled from side to side, her legs trembling as the pleasure built twice as fast as before.
  
  "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! " she repeated as he neared her greatest fall yet.
  
  Xander wrapped his arms around her legs, keeping her in place to thrust to her very core, milking out ounces of vaginal fluid. Fucking her was the hottest thing he could imagine. She made him forget everything, and when one hand descended to her clitoris, stroking the sensitive bud, Faith's head shot back. The pleasure coil at the center of her sex snapped and her sensitive pussy clamped down on him.
  
  "Fuck!" Xander gasped.
  
  He arched his back as he buried himself to her very depths-teeth gritted-and emptied his balls inside her small cock pocket. The warm liquid filled her center, making her toes curl as his thick seed prolonged her mind-numbing orgasm. The lovers lost all sense of awareness to the cascade of bliss washing through them. After nearly a minute, they settled down enough for Xander to let her legs go and fell atop her. With his sweaty head beside hers, she grinned before kissing him deeply.
  
  Though Xander softened inside of her, it wasn't long before he was rock hard again. Faith didn't wait to get on all fours, eager to get fucked doggystyle. She dug her palms into the bed's mattress, her whole body rocking as Xander pumped his cock into her tight cunt. Faith panted and moaned loudly, her breasts swaying freely as buried his meat stick repeatedly.
  
  SLAP!
  
  "AAAH!" she moaned loudly when his palm smacked her left buttock. He rubbed her smooth, round ass before smacking it again with an open palm. "AAAH! Fuucck You!" she growled happily in a hoarse voice.
  
  Xander's hand massaged her waist and lower back as he fucked her to another full-body orgasm. Faith bit her lower lip to stifle the explosion of pleasure, moaning heavily in her throat. Faith shuddered as her quivering sex gripped his cock, sucking him in, as if hungry for his seed. Xander felt like the entire lower half of his body was inside her, and unloaded in her thoroughly filled sex for the third time.
  
  The sweat-covered lovers collapsed on the drenched bed, Xander over Faith, panting as the pleasure hovered deliciously throughout their system. They needed a longer break and fell asleep that way. However, they woke up a couple of hours later and proceeded to fuck like rabbits once again. Xander rocked her world multiple times that night... in the morning... and well into the afternoon. They spent an entire day in his room fucking.
  
  Before Xander left, he let them know about the incident with Acathla: How a vampire named Mr. Trick, who worked for an ancient vampire named Kakistos, acquired the demonic statue from Drusilla. He recounted how he and Buffy destroyed the statue before it made it out of California, but they still needed to be careful. He didn't need to be ultra-accurate with the fact. He simply wanted them to be vigilant when it came to Kakistos.
  
  The teenage boy added, "And call me if you need anything ."
  
  Xander couldn't leave without fucking Faith one last time at the airport. Neither of the hormonal teens cared about public play. Until the final call for his flight, they kept fucking in a bathroom stall, in a supply closet, and behind the desk of an empty terminal. Faith was insatiable, and he absolutely loved it.
  
  Throughout the summer, Xander only got three calls from Willow. She would ask him a single question, which he would answer, then she would continue searching for the truth of the matter. On the night before he flew back to Sunnydale, Willow called his hotel room and asked Xander a question that made him smile.
  
  FYI. I may(or may not) be reuploading this chapter with slight modifications tomorrow. It depends on how many(if any) edits are made. The chapter is 95% there, I just want to give it one more read. I'm just too tired to do so today and I didn't want you guys to wait another day or think I wasn't updating. I apologize for the lapse in professionalism.
  
  Other than that, I hope you enjoyed the read. Faith is one of my favorite characters. I enjoy writing her as much as Cordelia.
  
  Next up is chapter 50, Willow Investigations. It's one of my favorites, so I can't wait for you guys to read it.
  
  I appreciate your support, gentle readers. And for those ballin' out of control, who enjoy tipping, my pay-tree-on pay tree on dot com /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! You make this whole thing run so much smoother.
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Willow Investigations
  Another Sunday ushers in another chapter 😁😁
  
  CHAPTER 50! Guys we have 23 chapters left before the end. Can't wait to hit that complete button. Anyway, welcome back fellow readers, and thank you for continuing this journey with me. Big thanks to my betas: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar. They worked hard on this one.
  
  Warning: Mild Language
  
  9.4K words
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Willow Investigations
  
  "It was bad," a husky voice expressed. "He started out like any other teenage tyke, with a sweet tooth for twinkies and a head for heroes in colorful tights. He was en route to breaking our hearts and couldn't be bothered to slow down. He dropped us like a bad habit. Long-limbed, gangly, with raven hair and eyes just as black. A sucker for a laugh, he had jokes for days-"
  
  "Willow?"
  
  Willow snapped out of her all-consuming monologue and turned to her boyfriend. Looking out of her window, the redhead noted they were parked and her two-story home was to the right. They had made it from Buffy's to her house faster than she'd expected. Willow realized she had been lost in thought, recalling the stunning revelation about her childhood friend.
  
  At Oz's raised eyebrows-as if asking if she was alright-Willow slumped down and sheepishly confessed, "I'm trying to think like a detective."
  
  "By monologuing like one from a 1950s film noir?"
  
  With a shrug, a despondent Willow replied, "Well, Xander and I used to watch them all the time. I thought it might help me get in the mindset, you know?"
  
  "I'm sure you got this," Oz assured her, holding her hand comfortingly. "Whatever this is."
  
  Smiling at her boyfriend gratefully, Willow dispensed with the old detective narration and focused on separating the problem at hand. Something unusual had happened to Xander. That much she was sure of. However, before she could form any opinions, she needed to know every interaction Xander or Nox had with all of them. At the moment, she felt questioning all of them would help her figure out what happened to her childhood friend.
  
  Clearly recalling his dull, defeatist brown eyes, she wondered to herself, ' Why did he look like that? Like nothing mattered? Like we didn 't matter? '
  
  Willow continued recalling the conversation the gang had after Xander left Buffy's home. Buffy voted for cutting Xander off, and she had her supporters. Cordelia left soon after, but not before telling the rest of them, "And you have the nerve to call me heartless."
  
  Kendra left as well, stating, "As I was not here for his deception, it is not my place to offer an opinion."
  
  Those that remained were split between those who wanted to know what happened-who needed an explanation-and those that didn't. Buffy, Angel, and Jenny felt Xander had crossed a line he couldn't come back from, and were content to stay angry at him. Giles and Willow couldn't stop thinking about all the things Xander could suddenly do, never mind the drastic changes in his behavior. Oz wasn't overly invested one way or another, but he was Willow's boyfriend and Nox had stopped him from eating anyone as a werewolf-thus he sided with his girlfriend.
  
  For twenty long minutes, Giles had argued with opposition over investigating the source of Xander's change, and until that point, Willow hadn't uttered a word. Her mind only wanted to know what had happened to her friend. She knew he could never betray them-not unless he was tricked-but his cavalier attitude when they questioned him was the source of all her doubt.
  
  ' Was that really my best friend? ' she had thought.
  
  Despite the ongoing debate, Willow stood up and interjected, "I'm going to do it!" They all turned to her, taken aback by her raised voice. She explained, "Something strange is going on-something we don't understand-and when that happens, we investigate." She looked at Buffy and asserted, "And it's Xander! I know you're pissed. We all are... I think." Shaking her head, he asserted, "I just mean, do we really want to take the chance that something insane could've happened to him that we don't know about?"
  
  Buffy countered, "But you, Giles, and Ms. Calendar said it yourselves: That spell won't work on someone who's possessed, so it has to be him."
  
  "But we don't know!" Willow exclaimed, already thinking of four scenarios that might explain that result. "The fact that he is Xander-but doing stuff Xander isn't capable of doing-should be enough of a reason for us to investigate. Until we learn the absolute truth, we shouldn't give up on our friend."
  
  Buffy was silently contemplating, as were the rest. When none could refute Willow's viewpoint, Giles asked, "How do we proceed?"
  
  Willow nodded sternly before revealing to all, "I'm going home."
  
  "Not precisely the direction I had in mind," a befuddled Giles remarked.
  
  "I'm going to write out a list of questions," Willow told Giles. She then eyed everyone as she asserted, "Like Xander said: I know him better than anyone. And we've all had some form of interaction with him."
  
  Jenny irately asked, "With Xander or the fake?"
  
  "Either," Willow answered the teacher. "I need to compile all the questions I have. And, uh, I want to apologize in advance to everyone, if the questions are a bit on the personal side. I don't know what I'll find out, but I need to be thorough, so if everyone can think of every encounter they had with either Xander or Nox, I hope you'll trust me enough to share that with me. It's all to find out what happened to our friend."
  
  Of all of them, Willow eyed Buffy the most. She knew Xander's feelings for the Slayer, which made her question how much of this transformation had to do with her. Willow watched Buffy as she gazed at Angel. The Slayer and vampire seemed to have an unspoken conversation, because Angel nodded before leaving with his duffel bag. Whatever plans they may have had seemed to be on hold... for now.
  
  Finally home, Willow sat on her bed with a pen and a Scooby-Doo notebook with Velma on the cover and the word 'Jinkies.' Xander bought it for her not long before he started calling them the Scooby Gang because he said Velma reminded him of her-they were both the genius of the group. Shaking her head of fond and distracting memories, Willow opened the notebook and began writing every curiosity about Xander and Nox she had, no matter how trivial.
  
  She wrote out dozens of questions about the larger stuff, like his powers, his physique, his weapons, the motorcycles, and why the spell results claimed he was a hundred and six years old. She wrote questions about his personality changes throughout the year; wondered when it all started; how the others could help her figure out what happened; and most importantly, what single answer could possibly explain everything. Willow stayed up all night narrowing down questions for everyone that would best help her formulate a picture of what happened to Xander.
  
  The next day, Willow was on her way to Buffy's house, and grateful school was out, as it freed her to make as many trips as she needed to learn the truth. ' Just like detective Cullen, from The Man Who Cheated Himself ,' she thought, recalling the night she and Xander saw that old movie together. The memory saddened her to the point of anger. Willow couldn't stop wondering if she had let him down in some way that forced him to do this, and that self-doubt upset her.
  
  On Buffy's street, she put her worries to the side and focused on the task at hand. Eying Buffy's quaint two-story house, she hoped for a painless encounter. Soon enough, Willow was in Buffy's room, sitting across from her on the soft bed. It was slightly awkward between them, but Willow reiterated their objective, all the same.
  
  Afterward, Willow asked her, "How did you know Xander was Nox?"
  
  Buffy became pensive, and Willow could tell her friend was measuring her words carefully before speaking. "When we were in his house-after Xander and Kendra fought those vampires-I found his bag with the camo scarf."
  
  Though Willow nodded in acknowledgment, her brain wouldn't leave it there and asked a follow-up question. "That could've been a scarf he bought. Why did you think it had to be Nox's?"
  
  Buffy was silent for nearly a minute before asking, "How much did he tell you?"
  
  Sagging her shoulders, Willow moaned, "Buffy..."
  
  Patting her bed with both hands, the blonde ardently replied, "I just want to know if you know."
  
  "Know what?" the confused Willow asked.
  
  "Come on, Will," she pleaded. "Even if Xander didn't tell you what happened, you're way too observant not to pick up on stuff. You're like the eagle eye when it comes to all things mysterious."
  
  "Do you really think we'd be in this situation if I was as perceptive as you think I am? He's my best friend, and I had no idea." Buffy became quiet and thoughtful, then Willow gently added, "But you did. Please, Buffy. Don't you want to know why all this happened?"
  
  "I..." Buffy tried, then shook her head, asking instead, "Just... tell me what you think first."
  
  "I can't-"
  
  "Will, please," Buffy pleaded.
  
  For the first time, Willow saw how conflicted her friend was. Her beautiful face was wrought with sadness, anger, and a deep frustration. She didn't know why Buffy was reacting this way, and as curious as she was, she couldn't deny learning the truth worried her. Willow didn't enjoy the idea of a reality where Xander would purposely hurt Buffy.
  
  "I'm trying to... I'm just... so angry with him," Buffy forced herself to say. Using her hands to animate her words, she expressed, "I want to rip his intestines out , wrap it around his neck, and hang him with it! "
  
  Willow grimaced at the sight of Buffy's hands pulling on an imaginary rope, as if strangling an imaginary neck with it. "That's... graphic," a wincing Willow said. It was yet more evidence that whatever happened between Xander and Buffy-or possibly Nox and Buffy-seemed as personal as possible. It begged the question, "What did he do to you?" Buffy remained quiet, causing Willow to add, "I'm your best friend too, Buffy."
  
  That deflated Buffy's ire enough to cautiously ask, "You... don't need to tell the others... right?"
  
  "Since when have I ever been Little Miss Gossip Girl?" Willow asked, aghast. Though, with a moment of thought, she quickly added, "To anyone but you, I mean. You know, cuz on account of you being my only girl-friend."
  
  Buffy nodded, though she looked pained to continue. After a moment of conflicted thought, Buffy moaned, "God, this is so embarrassing."
  
  "I promise I won't judge," Willow gently assured her.
  
  Buffy looked at her door-still closed-and, with her heightened senses, knew her mother wasn't behind it. Taking a deep, calming breath, Buffy hesitantly confessed, "I s-slept with- ahem! I slept with Xan- Xander-"
  
  "YOU! You! Oh! Oh my God! Buffy! Oh-"
  
  Willow didn't know where to look, or even what to do with her hands. Sitting straight up, she looked around, searching for someone to confirm what she had just heard wasn't a joke. However, eying a blushing Buffy confirmed, all over again, the stunning revelation was fact.
  
  Growing incredibly anxious, Buffy slapped the bed space between them, calling out, "Hey! Hey! You promised no judging!"
  
  Holding her forehead in disbelief, the shocked girl returned, "I thought you were going to say, ' developed a crush on him! ' But slept with? Slept? As in sex? With Xander?!"
  
  A panic-stricken Buffy sprung her index finger straight to her lips, attempting to lower the volume, before stating, "It was more like Nox , and I've noticed the volume of your judginess hasn't gone down one bit!"
  
  "Sorry! Sorry," Willow replied, trying to control herself. She rubbed her face to remove her surprised expression, explaining, "I just- Wow! Like, I did not sense that, at all! "
  
  With slumped shoulders, Buffy reiterated, "Now you know why I'm way into using his guts to string him up by his neck."
  
  "Yeah... that's-"
  
  "Total douche status," Buffy finished, leaning against her bed's headboard in abject embarrassment.
  
  Buffy looked so despondent, Willow lost the urge to question her further. Despite all the questions left unanswered in her Scooby-Doo notebook, she closed it and changed the subject to less emotional topics; summer homework, shopping, and slaying. After leaving Buffy's, Willow returned home to call Cordelia, who was at cheer camp, and asked her how she knew Xander was Nox.
  
  Through the phone, the popular girl replied, "Why would you think I knew?"
  
  At her desk in her room, Willow rolled her eyes before answering, "The way you were watching over him after the vampire attack. You wouldn't leave his room after he got hurt, and you told Buffy that Nox left his axe to heal Xander, but no one else saw him. So it seemed a lot like you were covering for him."
  
  "Yeah, so?" Cordelia curtly responded.
  
  Doubting Cordelia was going to be of any help, the redhead set her pencil down and leaned back in her chair as she replied, "Cordelia, I need to know what Xander's relationship with everyone was like so I can understand when things started changing, and hopefully, why."
  
  After a moment of silence, Cordelia sharply asked, "Are you just trying to pry juicy details out of me, or something?"
  
  Willow made a face of disbelief, though asked, " Are there juicy details to know about? ...Cordelia?"
  
  "I need to talk to Xander first," the cheerleader replied before hanging up.
  
  Willow groaned in annoyance before jotting down how incredibly unhelpful she was. If anything, that conversation-along with Buffy's bombshell-had only helped Willow realize there was much about her childhood friend that she didn't know about, adding to her frustration and worry.
  
  Oz was the easiest to speak with as he knew very little, and what he knew, he'd shared freely. They were talking in his van the next day, and the one tidbit that helped explain Cordelia's defensive reaction was when Oz noted, "I smelled Cordelia on him pretty often."
  
  Blinking several times in surprise, Willow had to ask, "Him? You mean Xander or Nox?"
  
  "Xander. I never got Nox's scent," he coolly clarified. "The one upside of being a werewolf-or downside, depending on the situation-some people don't bathe as much as they should," he added with a wincing expression. "I have a pretty cool sense of smell now. Cordelia wears expensive perfume. Sometimes, when she and Xander would go off somewhere, they'd come back with his scent on her, and hers on him."
  
  Willow replayed the sentence in her mind, understanding each word individually, but becoming confused when they were used together. She shook her head for a moment before full understanding hit her like a ton of bricks. "So... so, that means..." Her head recoiled at the mental image-Xander, Cordelia, eying each other with a loving expression-and her face winced in disgust as she yelled, " Eeeewwwww! Really!? Really!? Xander and Cordelia! Xander and- Oh my God! Oh my God! How!? Just how!?"
  
  Ever the calm presence, Oz lightly shrugged before saying, "Figured if they didn't tell anyone, it wasn't my place to either."
  
  A frantic Willow immediately rushed home and called Xander, demanding to know, "Are you some kind of perverted gigolo!?"
  
  Xander snickered good-naturedly and asked, "Is that your question for the month?"
  
  Willow let out a long exhale, calming down before slowly answering, "No... But, Cordelia! Really?! Just, how?! Why?!"
  
  "Will-"
  
  The flustered girl interjected, "What about the 'We Hate Cordelia' club? Of which you 're treasurer! "
  
  Xander chuckled to himself for a moment before replying, "Opposites attracting will be a bit of a theme here."
  
  "Is that all you're giving me?"
  
  She heard him exhale before answering, "Cordelia and I share something fundamental in common; the kind of thing that could bring two people together."
  
  Still traumatized with disbelief, she whirled around, nearly pulling the phone off her desk as she demanded to know, "And what could that possibly be? What could she have that I-" Willow covered her mistake with a cough before quickly continuing, "Th-that any non-Cordelia girl doesn't!"
  
  "Bad parents," he calmly answered, making her lose some of her edge.
  
  Willow knew all too well how terrible Xander's parents were. However, other than how wealthy Mr. & Mrs. Chase were, she never considered anything more than that. Cordelia always appeared spoiled, entitled, and always flaunted her excess. ' What more was there to consider? ' Willow asked herself.
  
  Xander stated, "My parents abuse alcohol. Hers abuse money and status. I know they're not the same, but either way, Cordelia and I were neglected. I met you. She met Harmony. The rest, as you know, is history."
  
  From an academic perspective, Willow understood the difference between nature and nurture, but she didn't feel an ounce of interest in trying to understand Cordelia. Not after Xander's betrayal of their shared hatred for Cordelia. However, it made Willow think of their other best friend.
  
  "And Buffy?" she asked.
  
  "Me and Cordelia ended anything intimate before Buffy and I even went to the dance."
  
  It was shocking to Willow how blasé he was about this duplicity. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why he didn't sound more apologetic or considerate, and his behavior vexed her. After they hung up, Willow needed the rest of the day to compose herself. However, when it was nearly nightfall, she went to Angel's apartment to ask the vampire for his take on Nox and Xander.
  
  "Other than being Buffy's friend, I never cared much for Xander," he admitted.
  
  They were in his low-lit, rustic apartment-dark wood, stone, and leather furniture. The earthy home was a style that could be popular among bachelors in a big city. Willow was on his couch with her Scooby-Doo notebook on her lap and Angel was pacing in front of her. It seemed as if talking about Xander/Nox aggravated him, though she was grateful he was answering her questions.
  
  "Nox seemed very formidable; someone much more sure of himself," Angel continued. "It certainly explained why Xander survived when I... when the other me, broke his neck."
  
  "You said Nox was someone sure of himself," Willow prefaced. "Did you feel it had to be someone who's lived a long time? Like a hundred and six years long? Or could it be possible that it was another personality?"
  
  Pausing a moment to look at her, he asked, "You're thinking he might have multiple personalities?"
  
  "Right now, I want to rule out as much as possible," Willow explained. "But multiple personalities wouldn't be that odd. I mean, we're only teenagers, and the crazy-scary life & death stuff we deal with on a weekly basis is comparable to soldiers surviving the horrors of war."
  
  "Like his mind created a second personality to cope with all the stress and trauma."
  
  "Maybe," she replied. "Honestly, I think that's why we crack jokes all the time-when things get really stressful-to make light of it. Or how else can you deal with so much without breaking?"
  
  "I suppose it's possible," Angel admitted, returning to his brooding pacing once again. "But I never got that impression. Nox felt like someone who couldn 't die. He talked like one."
  
  "How do you mean?" she asked, writing down his responses.
  
  "The things he said, like how he didn't care if he was killed; as if it didn't seem possible to do so," he answered. Willow nodded, remaining silent to allow Angel time to process his thoughts. The handsome man then continued, "Also, the way Nox fought screamed decades of experience. Much more than Xander could ever hope to develop, even if he trained every day of his life."
  
  Surprised by the estimation, Willow's eyebrows sprang up before she asked, "Is that something magic could teach him?"
  
  "Nothing I've ever heard of could do that, but it's a possibility."
  
  "Nox spent the most time with Buffy," she prefaced, and immediately, Willow felt the shift in him. Angel seemed tense, conflicted, but also restrained, as if he wanted to punch something. However, she continued, "Did she ever share with you a suspicion that Nox was Xander?"
  
  " No ," he practically growled. "They were just too different. He even had a mansion."
  
  Cautiously, she said, "But she did figure it out."
  
  "I assume she has her reasons," he gravely said.
  
  Willow thanked him, and for the moment, left it at that. The following day, Willow's investigation led her to the school's computer lab-as the library was being repaired-where she met Giles and Jenny. She sat at the front of the class with her notebook open in front of her. Jenny sat at her desk and the Watcher stood by the dry board in front of Willow. Sadly, the adults couldn't provide many details as they hadn't interacted much with Nox, and Xander didn't appear any different to them. Giles couldn't even be sure when the change happened.
  
  "Sadly, I don't pay as much attention to Xander as I likely ought to," the Watcher admitted.
  
  Willow tried to mollify the man, stating, "Well, he does joke around a lot, but that's because this is all so crazy, right?"
  
  "I suspect you would know more than I, I'm afraid," Giles replied. "But, I'd say so, yes."
  
  Willow asked, "Why do you think Xander didn't just tell us he was Nox?"
  
  Removing his glasses, he remarked, "The most common reason one might have to lie is to protect oneself from punishment, or possibly someone else from punishment."
  
  "But that's not the case here," Willow stated as she finished writing. "Xander never denied it, even when he knew we'd..."
  
  "Be suspicious of him?" he filled in.
  
  "Think badly of him," she emphasized. "Which should've freaked him out! The Xander I know never would've wanted us to think badly of him- especially when he was clearly in the wrong. But it was like this Xander didn't care if we knew. He didn't even feel the need to explain himself... like what we thought didn't matter."
  
  "I always consider the problem-solving principle of parsimony in times like this," Giles began. "Entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity."
  
  The quote sounded familiar, and it took Willow a short moment before asking, "Do you mean Occam's Razor?" At his stuttering nod, Willow huffed before stating, "You could've just said the simplest explanation is usually the best one."
  
  "Y-yes, well," Giles stammered to agree, making Jenny smile admiringly at him. He explained, "There are nine reasons, give or take, why a person would lie. The first is to avoid punishment or protect another from punishment."
  
  "Which isn't the case here, I think," Willow voiced as she wrote down his words.
  
  "I'm inclined to agree with you," he concurred before moving on to the second reason. "To avoid imminent harm."
  
  "Not that one either," she also vetoed.
  
  "To win the admiration of others," Giles continued.
  
  Turning to him, Willow half-nodded before stating, "He'd definitely want that... but the way he acted when we learned the truth doesn't fit with someone who's about to lose all the admiration he worked so hard to gain."
  
  "Agreed," Giles accepted with a curt nod. "Hmm, to avoid embarrassment or get out of socially awkward situations."
  
  "Definitely not," Willow said, returning to writing. "He didn't feel bothered at all, much less embarrassed, nor was he trying to get out of anything."
  
  "To obtain a reward not readily obtainable."
  
  Willow quickly thought of Buffy, but again, the way he acted at the end didn't fit. Without permission to share Buffy's business, Willow simply stated, "Maybe, but maybe not."
  
  "Care to elaborate on that?" the Watcher asked.
  
  "Sorry, not just yet," she said with a wincing expression.
  
  Giles nodded before continuing, "To maintain privacy without notifying others of that intent."
  
  "He definitely wanted to maintain privacy," Willow noted, recalling the many occasions Xander had to come clean. "Even when we all confronted him, he wouldn't tell us why he did all this."
  
  Nodding, Giles remarked, "Instead, he has us playing his game, as he called it."
  
  "But he's also open to letting us figure it out," Willow objectively added, before asking, "So, does that really fit?"
  
  "That may be because he has no other alternative," Jenny suggested.
  
  Willow half-nodded again, unsure about all of this. Nothing quite fit, and it felt like getting a question half-right. Moving on, she asked Giles, "What's the last one? You said nine."
  
  "Right," he stated before continuing. "Uh, arguably the most dangerous motive for telling lies; to exercise power over others by controlling the information the target has."
  
  "You think it could be some kind of sick power trip?" Willow asked, shuddering at the thought Xander could be so devious.
  
  "Though it worries me to think of Xander that way, it's possible," Giles gently offered. "I give you it doesn't fit his innocuous personality, however, that's precisely why that would work for him; perhaps why he would even go this far."
  
  If Willow thought of Xander as just anyone else, she wouldn't deny that possibility. However, this was Xander. The same boy who played with her when no one else would; who made her laugh at things she never would've thought of; who expanded her mind to a world beyond reading and academics. It was nearly impossible to think that her kind, funny, and sweet friend could be so ruthlessly manipulative.
  
  "I... guess," Willow hated to admit. Though, she quickly added, "But even that doesn't fit just right."
  
  "Why do you say that?"
  
  After a moment of thoughtful consideration, Willow went with the only answer that made sense to her. "Because the Xander I know would never do that." She could see in their eyes they thought she wasn't being objective. However, even if she was being biased, she wasn't lying, adding, "He loves his friends like they were his family."
  
  "And yet he did lie to his family," Jenny pointed out.
  
  "And more to the point," Giles continued. "He assumed a character like Nox, which boggles the mind-"
  
  Standing straight up, pushing her chair back in the process, Willow yelled, "That's right!"
  
  "What is-"
  
  "He lied about being Nox," Willow quickly answered them. "Someone strong and smart and as far from the Xander we know, right? Why would any of us believe him if he just told us one day that he had superpowers!?"
  
  Giles tried to answer, "I believe he could've easily shown as much-"
  
  "Yeah, but where would that get him?" Willow excitedly argued. "We would just spend I-don't-know-how-long investigating him, trying to figure out how he came across these abilities."
  
  "And absent a satisfactory answer, we would simply come to accept it," Giles reasoned.
  
  Raising her finger, she confidently returned, "But there is an answer. Something as strange and unique as Nox, I think. He said as much when he started this game."
  
  Nodding in understanding, Giles asked, "Do you truly believe there's a single answer that would explain everything?"
  
  "The Xander I know wouldn't lie about that," Willow returned.
  
  "Then do you believe you can find it?"
  
  "If I know my best friend... or I should say, if he's still the Xander I know, then yes."
  
  Willow moved on to the second phase of her investigation. It was undeniable that Xander lied by omission; the proof of which was all the power and knowledge Nox displayed. However, now, she needed to know the extent of his extraordinary abilities. Willow recalled how Nox fought vampires in the Sunnydale Mall during The Judge's assault, as well as the magical sword he gifted Buffy with. She even tested Slaymore with Giles. For clear answers, Willow would have to talk with Buffy once again.
  
  The next day, she was in Buffy's room, once again, sitting on her bed with her notebook open. However, when Willow caught Buffy looking at it, she put it away. That seemed to relax Buffy, so Willow asked, "So, I was hoping to learn more about all the powers and abilities you've seen Nox perform." A forlorn Buffy looked at the determination in Willow's eyes, who gently added, "I promise this is only about his powers."
  
  Buffy sighed before glumly answering, "The axe thing."
  
  "Can you be a little more specific? Sorry, this is important."
  
  "Calling Dreadnought to him," Buffy elaborated.
  
  "Dreadnought?" Willow repeated curiously.
  
  "That's what he named it," Buffy clarified. "Not bad as far as magical-weapon-naming goes."
  
  "Like, Dread Not as in Have No Fear, or Dreadnought as in the War World II battleships?"
  
  With a raised brow, an unsure Buffy admitted, "They sound the same to me."
  
  "Maybe I'm over-analyzing that detail," Willow remarked, moving like she was going to write it down, then recalling that she put her notebook away.
  
  Curious, Buffy asked, "Are you having fun doing this?"
  
  "No, no," Willow quickly placated her friend. However, Buffy looked skeptical and remained silent. Willow couldn't help confessing, "Well... maybe a little." Buffy nodded with a small smile, and Willow tried to reassure her friend, "I realize how crazy sensitive this is. It's not like I don't, but I can't deny the brain tickle feels good. But I can totally hate it if you want!"
  
  "It's fine," Buffy assuaged, jovially accepting her friend. Continuing, she added, "Nox- Xander ... He also has Hellguard, the Viking dagger. He can call it to him just like I can call Slaymore to me."
  
  Willow nodded, filing those details into her memory bank before adding, "Did he say anything else about them?"
  
  Buffy nodded before answering, "He said he made Slaymore, but that Slaymore chose me."
  
  Confused, Willow asked, "He made them? How?"
  
  "I have no idea," she answered, slowly shaking her head.
  
  "If we accept that Nox and Xander are one and the same, which still feels crazy," Willow began saying. "And that Nox knows how to do a lot, then we have to accept that Xander has more knowledge about magic and smithing than he should."
  
  Tilting her head in thought, Buffy began saying, "Well, he did mention..."
  
  "What?"
  
  "This might sound crazy," Buffy prefaced, "but he mentioned infiltrating the Watcher's Council to learn a bunch of stuff about a lot of things."
  
  "Really?"
  
  "Yeah," Buffy answered. "When he would've had the time to do that? I have no idea. He told me that after I asked him about being a Shadowman. But he must've been lying about that, right? He heard Giles say it when we were all in the library and just made up the rest."
  
  Willow half-nodded before asking, "But it felt authentic when you heard it?"
  
  Buffy sadly nodded, stating, "Clearly, Xander's the undisputed champ of liars. He even made the Watchers sound like complete jerks."
  
  Drawing her brows together in curiosity, Willow asked, "How'd he do that?"
  
  Tilting her head back, Buffy slowly answered as she recalled the conversation. "Uh, he said they do tests on Slayers for their eighteenth birthday."
  
  "Uh, can I use your phone?" Willow asked, pointing at it on her nightstand.
  
  At Buffy's nod, the redhead jumped off the bed, grabbed the receiver, and dialed the number to the library. She wasn't sure if he'd be there, but she could try his apartment next. Fortunately, after the fourth ring, Giles picked up, and she quickly asked, "Xander, as Nox, told Buffy that he infiltrated the Council and learned a bunch of stuff, including tests that are done on Slayers for their eighteenth birthday. Does that sound accurate?"
  
  Giles was quiet for several moments before answering. "I'm afraid so. I will not reveal the details of these tests, but I can confirm they exist."
  
  At Willow's surprised expression, Buffy mouthed, ' What 'd he say? '
  
  Willow nodded before asking the Watcher, "Could he have guessed that they tested Slayers?"
  
  "Anything is possible," Giles replied. "Though I couldn't say how."
  
  Willow thanked him and hung up before confirming the tests to Buffy.
  
  Surprised and worried, Buffy sat up as she asked, "Uh, did he happen to mention what kind of tests? My eighteenth is, like, seven months away."
  
  "He didn't, but I'm sure we can figure it out by then," Willow assured her. Moving on, she asked, "Can you think of anything else that made Nox's age and experience authentic?"
  
  Sighing at another annoyance being the Slayer brings, Buffy moved on and answered, "The way he fought." With a dazed expression, as if recalling all of their battles together, Buffy mournfully added, "He was so... creative with his movements; his counters, his strategy. I've never thought to maneuver the way he does. The way he plans ahead, and he doesn't force it, but he's also spontaneous. Sometimes..."
  
  When Buffy seemed hesitant to continue, Willow gently asked, "Yeah?"
  
  Buffy sighed again before hesitantly revealing, "Sometimes... I'd just watch him fight, like I was watching TV. It was so... mesmerizing-beautiful-like art."
  
  Willow understood the anger the first time she interviewed Buffy, but from the gentle expression on the Slayer's face, she was reading a different feeling. With her unfocused bluish-green eyes, Buffy looked absorbed by the memories, as if there were parts about her interaction with Xander/Nox that captivated her.
  
  It made Willow cautiously ask, "I have a question, which you don 't have to answer if you don't want to."
  
  Buffy seemed to know what Willow was going to ask and answered, "I was definitely crushing on Nox."
  
  Willow's eyebrows raised as she asked, "Really?"
  
  With long nods, the blonde added, "Kinda hard at the end there."
  
  "Did you hit on him or did he hit on you?"
  
  "I want to make it clear that I wasn't trying to start anything," Buffy asserted. "It's just... everything with Angel... it wasn't like I was just a little sad about what happened. I felt sick to my stomach every single day. Just getting out of bed and moving felt impossible. It was like being in a coma of misery, and I couldn't wake up. I thought I'd always stay that way."
  
  Feeling her dear friend's palpable misery, Willow nearly sobbed, "Buffy... I didn't know." Scooching closer to her friend, she took her hand as she asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
  
  "I didn't want to worry you-or anyone-so I played it down," Buffy lamented. "After the whole Judge fiasco, I was basically the walking dead. Then Nox appeared, asking me questions about Angel. He just kept pushing me, wanting to know how he turned, and I didn't want to think about it. The more he brought it up, the more dead I felt so I-and I'm not proud of this, by the way-but I h-hit him... so he'd stop. He fought back. We rolled around, and somehow... uh, ended up... kissing. Honestly, I hated it." Willow waited patiently, not wanting to interrupt Buffy, and after several moments, the blonde continued. "It wasn't that the kiss was bad or anything. It made me feel something other than being depressed over Angel, which was all I wanted." She took another moment to compose herself before finishing, "This thing with Nox kinda evolved from there."
  
  "Until you slept together?" When Buffy slowly nodded, Willow gently asked, "Did you think he would've slept with you if... you weren 't feeling like you were?"
  
  "No," she snickered. "In fact, he..."
  
  "Buffy...?"
  
  Buffy slumped, defeated, and pointed out, "You're worse than mom asking about earrings I may have borrowed." Willow smiled at what felt like a compliment before Buffy continued, "Fine. There was a time when I thought Nox didn't like me because he kept pushing me away."
  
  "In what way?"
  
  "I'd invite him places... You know, places ... Places with a bed," she finished with raised eyebrows.
  
  "Oh?" Willow curiously asked before fully understanding. "Oh!"
  
  "Yeah," Buffy confirmed.
  
  "Sorry," Willow said with a wincing expression. "Still haven't gotten used to this whole Xander, and you, and a bed, and fluid exchange-"
  
  " Oh~kay ," an embarrassed Buffy quickly interjected.
  
  "Sorry," a blushing Willow quickly added. "Just, keep going."
  
  "Right," she gratefully replied. "Uh, so then Nox would reject me- er, the offer. That, or he kept telling me- Oh! " she sounded with a snap of her fingers. "He kept pushing me to date Xander!"
  
  "Really? He said to date Xander specifically?"
  
  "Well, no, not specifically," she deflated. "But he said, ' date a nice guy .' He was always on about me finding a nice guy, but that had to be because Nox, as Xander, knew that Xander was the only nice guy I knew... right?"
  
  Though Buffy seemed genuine in wanting to know if her theory had any merit, Willow instead asked, "Did you ever ask him why he wanted you to date a nice guy?"
  
  With a sigh, Buffy glumly answered, "He said he knew what I was going through... and the way he said it... I really believed he knew exactly what I was feeling; more than anyone. I really trusted him." Again, Buffy became quiet, and it seemed to Willow that she was reminiscing about important moments she shared with Nox. Restraining how upset she seemed to be, a hurting Buffy asked, "How could he lie about that?"
  
  Despite the moisture building in Buffy's red-rimmed eyes, Willow felt compelled to suggest, "Maybe... he didn't."
  
  "Come on, Will," Buffy returned, sniffing and wiping her eyes. "He lied about everything."
  
  "He lied, sure," Willow readily admitted. Though, slowly, she expressed, "But a lie by omission isn't the same as flat out claiming something untrue is true. It's not like any of us asked him if he was Nox. And I really do feel that if there wasn't a good reason, Xander would've owned up to lying to us. But the way he acted that day, and the more I learn, it really is starting to feel like we're missing something-something big."
  
  Though upset, Buffy asked, "Like what?"
  
  Shaking her head, Willow could only answer, "I'm trying to figure that out."
  
  After leaving Buffy's, Willow went home and called Xander to ask the first authentic question of the month. However, she couldn't reach him until the following morning.
  
  "Hey," he sounded, as if tired. "Sorry, I missed your call. Late night patrolling a bigass island. What's up?
  
  Focusing on nothing more than solving the mystery at hand, she ignored her bubbling curiosity of what patrolling in Jamaica entailed and asked, "Can I talk to your parents?"
  
  "Good question, Will," Xander boasted, and she could just hear his smile. She patted her Scooby-Doo notebook forlornly as he continued saying, "I'll give you their number so you can verify yourself, but I'll answer anything you wanted to ask them."
  
  Clearing her throat, she asked, "Why'd they leave Sunnydale?"
  
  "They came into some money and I told them to go travel," he plainly stated.
  
  "Travel where?"
  
  "The world."
  
  Surprised at that, Willow creased the skin between her eyebrows before asking, "How'd they get enough money to travel the world?"
  
  He straightforwardly admitted, "I bought a Powerball ticket that won 60 million, and gave it to them under the conditions that they emancipated me, paid off the house, transferred it under my name, left me a million a year for five years, and left Sunnydale forever."
  
  He was so casual about that, Willow was flabbergasted. She could barely ask a follow-up question as her shock disrupted her train of thought. "How... How could you... buy a winning ticket, give it to your parents if they agreed to your demands, then lie to us about it?"
  
  "All good questions," Xander cheerfully replied. "You're doing stellar work. I gotta get to forging. Jamaica's gorgeous, by the way. It would be tons more fun if Zabuto wasn't such an uptight, live-by-the-book-die-by-the-book pain in the ass, but whatever. Later."
  
  After he hung up, Willow called Xander's parents, and though they gave deflective answers so as to not lose the money, they indirectly confirmed what Xander said. Willow's investigation then led her to the newly repaired library to explain this latest development to her friends. Giles, Jenny, Buffy, and Oz were seated at the table while a pensive Willow paced at the foot of it. They were all just as shocked to learn the truth about Xander's financial situation and the true reason his parents left.
  
  "Huh, that's pretty weird," Oz voiced. He looked at the others and reaffirmed, "Weird, right?"
  
  Stunned, Buffy gasped, asking, "He's been rich this entire time?" When Giles, Jenny, and Oz looked at her, she cleared her throat before clarifying, "I just mean, why not buy a motorcycle? Why rebuild a junkyard bike? ...Or give out better presents?"
  
  "Perhaps he prefers to use his hands," Giles suggested.
  
  "Probably wanted to supe it up himself," Oz offered. "I've seen plenty of bikes, but never one like his. A lot of guys have asked me about it too. They want to know where he got it."
  
  Willow voiced, "I think what's important here is that he bought a winning lottery ticket."
  
  "Why?" Buffy asked.
  
  "Because it would appear to be premeditated," Giles cautiously answered. At Buffy's curious expression, he added, "As if he knew he'd win."
  
  The anxious Willow nodded, expounding, "He didn't say anything like, ' I couldn 't believe my luck ,' ' what are the odds ,' or, ' could you believe that? Insane .' Nothing like that. It was just like Giles said; he bought it with the expectation he'd win the lotto."
  
  Buffy asked, "You don't think he just got lucky and started all of this because he got money?"
  
  Jenny ventured to ask, "Maybe the money or the ticket's cursed?"
  
  "He gave 91.6% of the entire pot to his parents," Willow hotly stated, shooting down their theories as she paced. "And you saw his house. He doesn't even buy more than he needs; like material things aren't important to him."
  
  "If he knew what the winning numbers would be," Giles began to reason. "That would suggest he has knowledge of the future."
  
  Willow half-nodded, like she mostly agreed before stating, "Toss that in with everything else he seems to know, and I'm starting to think Xander- this Xander is from the future."
  
  Buffy whirled at the insane theory before asking, "If that's even the case-like capital IF-why not just say that?"
  
  "I... I don't know," Willow frustratingly replied, roughly rubbing her forehead. "Maybe there's more... Something I'm missing!"
  
  "It's okay, Will," Buffy gently expressed, concerned for her friend. "You're doing great."
  
  "You need to sleep," Oz suggested.
  
  "Have you not been sleeping?" Buffy asked with growing annoyance. She looked from Oz to Willow, but neither answered, making her stand straight up and call out, "Okay, that's it! I'm calling him and threatening to kick his hundred-year-old ass if he doesn't tell us everything!"
  
  "Hundred..." Willow slowly repeated. She stopped pacing and turned to all of them as she yelled, "Of course! The spell! It said he was 106!"
  
  Curiously, Buffy replied, "Yeah, we already knew-"
  
  However, Willow interrupted, explaining, "If you take away the seventeen years he's already lived, you're forced to assume he's from 89 years into the future. But who remembers six random lottery numbers from that long ago?"
  
  "Perhaps he has perfect recall?" Giles suggested, though didn't seem too confident in that.
  
  "Maybe," Willow admitted, before adding, "but I don't think so. Faking being moderately forgetful for that long would take a lot of effort. And now that I think about it, it's not like he was really trying to hide."
  
  "He-"
  
  "I know, I know," Willow affirmed, cutting Jenny off. "He kept things from us, yeah, but I mean, none of us ever really suspected Xander-our goofy, lovable Xander who has a Snoopy dance-could possibly be that Nox."
  
  "Buffy did," Jenny pointed out.
  
  Neither Willow nor Buffy commented on how she knew, but Willow needed to know more. She gave Buffy a few days before visiting her once again. They were in her room, on her bed, once again. Willow didn't even bring out the notebook, and she asked, "When did you first start suspecting Xander and Nox were one and the same?" At Buffy's hesitation, Willow conveyed, "I'm sorry, Buffy. I know you'd rather not talk about this, but I really think this might be the key to everything."
  
  Buffy took several silent seconds to come to terms with what was being asked of her. Willow knew it was incredibly private, but was grateful when the beautiful blonde slowly answered, "I guess... it was the first time I kissed Xander."
  
  Though Willow still felt a pang of something in her chest-to know Buffy and Xander had been intimate-she ignored those emotions to ask, "Because you'd already kissed Nox, and kissing Xander felt the same?"
  
  "Yes, and no," Buffy half-answered. "Me and Xander kissed twice. Once after we started dating- well, went on a few dates. I wouldn't exactly say we were exclusive..." At Willow's raised eyebrows, Buffy cleared her throat before continuing. "Anyway, we also kissed once before that. The night we were possessed by those poltergeists."
  
  "Of James and Grace?"
  
  Buffy nodded before explaining, "At the end of it, the ghosts kiss-"
  
  "You never mentioned that," Willow curiously pointed out.
  
  "Which meant Xander, and I kissed," Buffy quickly hurried through. "When James and Grace left, Xander and I... sorta, kinda... kept on going. I mean, it reminded me so much of kissing Nox, I didn't think to stop. For a second, I actually thought I was kissing Nox. When it hit me it was Xander, I just assumed I was going gaga for Nox. Then we saw Xander in a speedo."
  
  "Yes, big fan of that," a nodding Willow asserted.
  
  "Agreed," Buffy confirmed.
  
  Moving on, Willow asked, "So, because you've seen Nox, uh, in the buff , you could say Xander looked similar."
  
  "Yeah, but, it was usually dark when Nox and I... you know, so I couldn't be sure."
  
  "Do you hate Xander?"
  
  Widening her eyes in surprise, Buffy asked, "What kind of question is that?"
  
  "You're mad at him, and I totally get why," Willow thoughtfully shared. "He lied to us. Whether by omission or not, he did. And it's worse for you because you opened yourself up to him- to Nox -in a way you haven't with anyone other than Angel." Willow paused a moment before playing devil's advocate again and stating, "But it doesn't sound like he maliciously set out to fool you or us. Nox knows so much our Xander couldn't possibly know; a great fighter, an expert in an unidentified discipline of magic, weapon-smithing, building motorcycles, carpentry, picking winning lottery numbers. He knew about Ted before any of us."
  
  "That's right," Buffy called out, recalling the terrible robot. "Nox busted in like the Kool-Aid Man, and chopped Ted up for parts before we even knew what was what. That set Xander and Nox apart right away."
  
  "It did," Willow confirmed before asking, "Was he any good? In that department, I mean. Or was it just-"
  
  "No, no," Buffy interrupted. Nodding with wide eyes, she assured her best friend, "He was... he was really, really good! Like, wowsers."
  
  "Exactly- ...wait, really? Wowsers?"
  
  Palm on her chest, the slightly blushing Buffy confessed, "My heart's racing just thinking about it."
  
  "Wow," Willow voiced in disbelief. But it also made her feel left out, and she couldn't help asking her friend, "Is it wrong of me to feel left out, you know, because of Oz?"
  
  Buffy quirked her brow in confusion as she repeated, "Left out?" Willow's eyes widened as Buffy asked, "Who else is there besides me?"
  
  Willow's throat suddenly felt dry, and she tried to clear it several times as she hummed, "Oh, uh..."
  
  However, there was no hiding the slip of potentially juicy gossip, making Buffy sit up in rapt attention, yelling, "Willow! Spill!"
  
  Inhaling with an open mouth, Willow raised her palms as she proclaimed, "Uh, okay, but you have to promise not to tell anyone!"
  
  "I promise! I promise!" the excited Buffy said, bouncing on her bed. "Now, come on, spill!"
  
  After a long sigh, Willow sadly said, "Cordelia."
  
  "Nooooo!" Buffy called out, completely floored. The thunderstruck girl repeated, "Cordelia? Really? EEWWWW."
  
  "I know!" Willow called out along with her. "Oh, God, you have no idea how long I've been holding that in!"
  
  "But it's Cordelia!"
  
  "I know! She's so like if skank-city married air-head town!"
  
  "Meow, Wills," Buffy complimented.
  
  "Thanks," she replied with a smile, enjoying the comradery. "I rarely get 'meow.'"
  
  A flabbergasted Buffy had to ask, "How did that even happen?"
  
  "I don't know the details," Willow admitted. "It was so disturbing, I forgot to ask. I know, for sure, it's been going on since Oz became a werewolf. He could smell their activities on each other."
  
  "So neither of them told you?"
  
  "Xander confirmed it when I asked- well, when I yelled ," Willow answered, mildly regretting how she had reacted to the situation. "Cordelia acted really cagey when I asked her questions about him, but she didn't confirm it."
  
  Buffy leaned in closer and cautiously asked, "Do you think they... went all the way ?"
  
  Lowering her voice as well, Willow answered, "If you asked me that about our Xander, I'd say no." Buffy nodded in agreement at that as the redhead continued. "But Nox? I'd say yes. So... I have no idea. I can tell you that anything they were doing ended before you went to the dance with Xander. He told me himself."
  
  Skeptical, Buffy asked, "And you believe him?"
  
  "Honestly?" At Buffy's nod, Willow answered, "I do."
  
  "Even after all this?" she asked, and Willow slowly nodded. After several moments of silent contemplation, Buffy asked, "What does he even see in her?"
  
  Though Willow never thought to ask that, she answered, "Aside from her obvious-"
  
  "Yeah, yeah," a dejected Buffy quickly interjected. "I guess you could say she's on the pretty side, if you like that leggy, big-breasted, cheerleader type."
  
  "She has a nice smile," Willow offhandedly added before shaking her head and asserting, "Xander said they shared something fundamental in common. They both have bad parents."
  
  "He never talks about his parents," a vexed Buffy remarked.
  
  "Cordelia doesn't mention her mom, and only brings up her dad when it's related to money," Willow added.
  
  "So, what? They sensed the bad upbringing vibes in each other and..." Buffy used her index fingers to simulate kissing.
  
  Willow lightly snarled at the sight before cautiously suggesting, "I guess two people having sex doesn't always have to be about love." Neither girl ignored how that related to Buffy. The blonde understood wholeheartedly when her friend added, "Pain can do the same."
  
  "...I don't hate him," Buffy ultimately answered. "What you were asking: I don't hate Xander. I hate myself more than anything."
  
  Willow leaned forward as she tried to say, "No, Buffy-"
  
  However, Buffy cut her off, shaking her head before continuing. "When I see him-think about him-I only hate what I did even more. I didn't want to feel that, so I dumped all the blame on him, which makes me hate myself even more. I just can't stop thinking how screwed up I can be, you know? I didn't think I could let that happen to me, but I did. So, when I see him-think about him-it makes me think: How messed up am I?"
  
  "No, no, Buffy, don't," Willow vehemently denied, reaching out to take Buffy's hand. She held it firmly as she asserted, "You can 't hate yourself for feeling as hurt as you did. The way you and Angel loved each other was so pure, so one in a billion. I'd be surprised if you didn't lose it a little when that was ripped away from you. I can't even imagine getting over something like that in a few weeks, so it's impossible for me to judge you."
  
  The friends moved into each other's arms, holding one another for comfort and support. Buffy didn't cry, but she held on so tight, Willow was near to the point of asking her to stop for fear of breaking her ribs. After several minutes, Buffy moved back, wiping her red eyes of excess moisture.
  
  "So," Buffy began, sniffing as she wiped her eyes. "What's the answer? Now that you know pretty much everything."
  
  Willow smiled in appreciation before seriously answering, "I'm leaning toward visions."
  
  "Not like the ones I get?" Buffy asked for clarity.
  
  "No, maybe clearer than that," Willow answered. "It would explain why he knows some things, but not everything."
  
  "Doesn't explain why he wouldn't just tell us," Buffy noted.
  
  "Yeah," the redhead couldn't help but agree. "Out of everything, that's the one thing I don't get. Why not just tell us? We're his friends. Obviously, we'd help no matter what he was going through."
  
  "I'm still angry with him, like out of my mind angry," Buffy confessed wholeheartedly. She then tempered her ire before admitting, " But if there's a good reason-I mean, it better be a damn good one-I'd be happy to stand corrected."
  
  Their conversation motivated Buffy to take her mother to the hospital to do what Xander suggested. While they waited for the results of the MRI, Willow thought about one question above all. "Why not tell his friends?" For days, this question occupied most of her conscious thoughts. ' If Xander came from the future, ' she thought. ' If he was having visions; if he was possessed again; if he were anything ; why wouldn 't he tell me? '
  
  By the end of July, Willow had talked to everyone several times. Jenny had revealed that Xander already knew about her uncle Enyos, her origins, and her people when she hadn't told anyone. Angel revealed that Nox seemed surprised when he had informed him of the bounty Drusilla commissioned on them. It only highlighted Willow's certainty that Xander knew many things he shouldn't, but not everything; not unless he was receiving visions of the future, or was from the future.
  
  After a couple of weeks, Buffy learned that her mother had a brain tumor and if she didn't start treatment immediately, the probability of her dying soon was high. Buffy couldn't think of being mad at Xander anymore or worry about her relationship with Angel. She was much too worried about taking care of her mother.
  
  As she supported Buffy, this added to Willow's pile of clues. However, she needed one last piece to put it all together. The Velma picture on her Scooby-Doo notebook taunted her. It wasn't until Willow half-listened to Buffy point out how her life felt as if it was stuck on repeat that she thought of something.
  
  "Going to the hospital, going on patrol, going to bed, then repeat," Buffy shared. "Luckily, she'll be coming home soon."
  
  "...That's...That's it," Willow slowly realized.
  
  "I mean, I know it's not the worst problem to have in life-"
  
  Standing up as all the pieces were falling perfectly into place, an astonished Willow called out, "No, no, not- Umm, I think I figured it out."
  
  Concerned about her friend, Buffy asked, "Figured what out?"
  
  "The only thing that makes any sense!" she yelled. Willow rushed to the nearest phone to call Xander. Sadly, he didn't respond, but he reached her later that night.
  
  "Sup, Wills-"
  
  However, the excited girl quickly interrupted, asking, "Are you repeating your life? Or are you being reincarnated into your own body?"
  
  She heard him chuckle with pride, and the suspense was killing her.
  
  Xander answered, "Why don't you and Oz watch a show on me. You have the spare to my house. Just press play."
  
  Oz drove Willow to Xander's house, and in his room, they turned on the TV and VCR. The tape was already loaded and when she pressed play, they watched episode eighteen of season five of Star Trek, the Next Generation. The title of the episode was Cause and Effect and it was about the ship being trapped in a time warp that forced the crew to endlessly repeat the same experiences until they make different decisions that get out of the time bubble. By the end, Willow knew the difference between the show and Xander's situation was not only does he remember, but the loop he was living in was longer than a few days.
  
  She jumped up in joy as she discovered, "Xander's stuck in a time loop!"
  
  Hope you all enjoyed that chapter. It was one of my favorite ones to write. I'm definitely looking forward to you guys reading 51 as well. It continues right where this one left off.
  
  Favorite part: I enjoyed the 1950s style detective monologue in the beginning.
  
  Not much else to say about this chapter. So, thank you all again for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay tree on is pay tree on dot com /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my amazing betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Girl Talk
  Another Sunday, another chapter 😁
  
  Sleepy. Short A/N. Welcome back fellow readers. Hope you enjoy this one. Big thank you to my betas: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar.
  
  Warning: Mild Language
  
  7.7K words
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Girl Talk
  
  "It's not exactly a time loop," Xander told his friends.
  
  Xander had returned the night before school started, and Willow made him promise to meet everyone at the library an hour before anyone showed up. He stood in the middle of the newly repaired library and comfortably paid a negligible amount of attention to Buffy, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Jenny, or Oz. Though he should have felt sorry for lying to his friends for nearly a year, the tanned teenager was aloof and not at all interested in their opinion of him. His attitude only reinforced Willow's theory.
  
  The night before Xander's arrival, Willow had immediately called Giles and Buffy to his house to watch the Star Trek episode. She passionately asserted to the gathered Scoobies, "The reason he doesn't care is because he's done this so many times, it's impossible to care!" Despite Buffy and Giles watching most of the episode, they seemed hesitant to fully accept her theory. However, Willow only continued, "Think about it! Even if we found out, even if we hated him, or we never found out, or anything! He'd just repeat everything all over again, like nothing ever happened! It's why he knows certain things, like lottery numbers, but not everything, like Drusilla offering herself in marriage to whoever kills us-which, you know, desperate much?"
  
  Willow's theory seemed to fit with everything, though Giles noted having never come across any literature on something like a time bubble. " If anyone had," he said. "The person shouldn't remember, or consider the feeling of déjà vu. I couldn't even begin to comprehend the sheer amount of energy required."
  
  "So... what does this mean, exactly?" an unsettled Buffy asked.
  
  "I, honestly, can't even imagine," Willow gently answered her vulnerable friend.
  
  "We must know more," Giles expressed.
  
  In the library the following morning, the Scooby Gang all watched the apathetic boy meander at the foot of the table. Like Cordelia, Xander was also tanned from his vacation, which he liked. After a deep inhale, the blasé time looper casually told them, "It's not exactly a time loop. It's more like a time braid."
  
  "What's the difference?" Willow eagerly asked.
  
  Xander didn't look at any of them. He simply eyed all around the room as he answered, "A loop is the repetition of a day or a week, or whatever the set amount of time is in that cycle. Nothing changes until you figure out how to get out." His eyes landed on Willow as he continued, "A time braid has interlacing cycles. If you can get out of a day loop, you now have to make it out of a week-loop. If you make it out of the week-loop, say hello to the month-loop. One month not long enough for ya? Then enjoy the hearty monotony of a year-loop."
  
  They were all surprised at the depth of his time dilemma, but Willow gasped, " That many? "
  
  "Oh, it gets better," Xander told her with a humorless smile. "If certain people die, I automatically reset; do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars."
  
  Cordelia didn't hesitate to ask, "Like who?"
  
  Returning to his pacing, Xander casually answered, "All the people that do great deeds for humanity in the future, I imagine."
  
  Nodding impatiently, Cordelia returned, "Yeah, yeah, but who?"
  
  "Cordelia, please," Giles chided. "Clearly knowing that sort of information might alter the events-"
  
  "Buffy, obviously," Xander answered, making the blonde Slayer smile a little. "Willow, Angel, Giles."
  
  "M-me, truly?" the surprised Watcher interjected, looking around as if to ensure the others had heard his name.
  
  Xander nodded, even though he was paying more attention to the ceiling, wondering how the library might look with a coffered ceiling instead of the granular one the carpenters had clearly used. He continued, "Cordelia-"
  
  "Me!" the stunning cheerleader beamed with a happy squeal, before asking, "Really?"
  
  Xander nodded indifferently as he added, "Spike-"
  
  " Spike?! " many of them repeated in unison. They all cringed at the surprising name-drop.
  
  "No," Buffy said, shaking her head. "Now I know you're lying."
  
  Turning to her, he found it funny she would take that stance, given how far she went with that vampire in previous loops. With a sigh, he asked her, "Why do you think I tried so hard to stuff a soul in that limey bastard? Trust me, it wasn't cuz I liked his sunny disposition. I just didn't want to loop back because one of you killed him."
  
  They paused for a moment to absorb his answers. Then Willow gently asked, "What's it like?"
  
  "In a word: hell," he bluntly answered, and it unnerved his oldest friend to hear him say that so casually. "I mean, it's not brimstone, death, and hellfire, but try imagining everything you do, any accomplishment you worked hard for, just getting completely erased like that -" he finished with a snap of his fingers. "No matter what you do, what connections you make, how many times you graduate junior year, how hard you train your body, how much you hope things will be different; it always gets erased... and you have to start all over."
  
  Turning to them, he explained, "Or say you don't do anything; don't train, don't make any money, don't sleep with anyone, don't graduate-you still start over. Nobody you talk to will understand. Then they just forget you ever said anything, to begin with. You can't die, you can't get out, and you're all alone. Always alone; for decades."
  
  "...106 years," Willow gasped.
  
  "Yeah," Xander said to her with a measure of hopelessness. "You guys are always there, always my friends, but I can't share this . I can't tell you anything with any hope that it'll matter. I could be crazy angry at you for lying to me or kicking me out of the group. I could be depressed or sad, or happy, or proud, and never be able to share my life with any of you because you'd all just forget; erased, gone, like nothing ever happened. Then, in the next loop, you'd look at me like the things we've experienced never happened." Xander chuckled a bit as he concluded, "Right now, looping back is like getting a fresh set of strangers that just happen to have your faces. Hoping for anything different kills me the most, so I just stopped trying."
  
  When none of them seemed to have the words to respond, Xander returned to lazily walking back and forth without a care in the world. They could love him, hate him, or all of the above, for he was done with the loop. However, he could see in their saddened and worried expressions that they care about him-even if they didn't know how to help him-which only added to his misery.
  
  ' As much as they want to, they can 't ,' he thought.
  
  "You knew about Angel and you didn't tell us," Buffy realized with a hint of fear. "Didn't tell me ."
  
  ' Typical ,' he thought.
  
  "I have," Xander replied. "Loads of times. Sometimes, Angel still turns into Angelus. Other times, he kills you; you kill him; and either way, I loop back."
  
  "No," a flustered Buffy stated, standing up. "I didn't ask because... I just mean... from where I'm standing, it's hard to accept this; that you can keep so much to yourself-like big things-without letting us in."
  
  "Again, I have," Xander reiterated. "It's just pointless to beat a dead horse." Staring at their collective expressions of disbelief and sadness, Xander pivoted away from their worthless sympathy and stated, "That doesn't mean everything stays the same." Looking at Jenny, he told her, "That night I saved you? Angelus usually kills you, or Spike kills you. Then Giles goes crazy and torches their hideout."
  
  Cautiously, Jenny asked, "You don't reset when I die?"
  
  "No," the teen easily said with no regard for how she would feel.
  
  Mildly offended, Jenny asked, "Would you even go back to save me?"
  
  "My parents were tortured and murdered, and I didn't go back for them," he told her. The implication was clear to them. If he didn't go back for his parents, he wouldn't go back for her. Before they asked, he explained, "They got turned into vampires, and nearly killed me and Cordelia. I eventually looped back, but not because I wanted to save them. I died, so there wasn't a choice. They're alive now, though."
  
  As if it dawned on her, Willow asserted, "The lottery ticket. That's why you sent them away!"
  
  "Sure did. Better than seeing them like that again," Xander confessed. "The mansion that I own; it's where Spike, Drusilla, Angel, or a variation of them, usually hole up afterward. They bring Acathla there and everything."
  
  "That's why you bought it?"
  
  Xander nodded, and a bewildered Cordelia asked, "So, you own a mansion, but for some ungodly reason, you choose to live in a regular house?"
  
  Many of them deflated at the oddity the cheerleader focused on before Giles asked, "You're telling us this... I can only assume you've told us before?"
  
  "Dozens of times, though, mostly in the beginning," Xander casually answered. "Like I said: I stopped after a while."
  
  With growing caution, Willow asked, "So... does that mean... you don 't think you're going to make it out of the year loop this time?"
  
  "You're way too smart, Will," he said, smiling for the first time. "No. No, I don't."
  
  "Why?"
  
  "Honestly, I don't know exactly how to get out," the time looper confessed. "My working theory is Buffy."
  
  "Wait, what? Why me?" the blonde quickly asked.
  
  "Don't know," he answered with a shrug. "Getting out of the day, week, and month loop always involves some sort of internal progress; changing myself, changing your opinions of me, becoming something, realizing something... it centers around this group, and this group centers around you."
  
  "Like Phil and Rita from Groundhog Day," Willow remarked. However, most of them looked confused, prompting her to ask, "Haven't you seen the movie yet?"
  
  "You told us last night," Buffy pointed out. "Blockbuster hasn't even opened yet."
  
  "We haven't had the time, as of yet," Giles reiterated. "If you would elaborate."
  
  As Xander paced, Willow summarized for those at the table, "Phil is a news weatherman-a real Scrooge of a character-and secretly likes Rita, his producer, but she'd never give him the time of day. In the movie, he's stuck in a time loop that repeats the day, and with every loop, he sort of loses his mind. He even... dies a lot," Willow grimly said before turning to Xander.
  
  They all locked eyes on Xander, imagining how many times he must've died. However, Xander continued lazily walking back and forth, unbothered by their concerned stares. Willow seemed close to crying, but shook her head and sternly continued.
  
  "E-Eventually, after a lot of loops, Phil realizes his love for Rita will never change no matter how many times he repeats the day, even if he's repeating that day for eternity," she added with a heartfelt grin. "That's what breaks him out of the loops and they live happily ever after."
  
  "Awww," Cordelia and Buffy cooed in unison.
  
  "Right?" she agreed, the romantic within Willow having returned.
  
  Understanding the premise from an intellectual, problem-solving perspective, Giles callously asked, "So, you believe Xander and Buffy are like the Phil and Rita characters, respectively? And they must fall in love to end the time braid?"
  
  With wide eyes and raised brows, both Buffy and Xander looked at each other in stark surprise. Xander could tell neither of them felt it was necessary to point that out, and he could only imagine it was because they both had their reasons for not mixing romantic love into their friendship. At this stage of Buffy's life, it was impossible for her to be in the right mind frame for a healthy relationship, and Xander was done trying. He was quite fine being friends with optional benefits.
  
  "Uh, wow, G-Man, putting us on the spot much? Cuz 'happily ever after' is no pressure at all," Xander sarcastically pointed out.
  
  "M-Major social faux pas, Giles," a self-conscious Buffy agreed. "Teenagers are deathly allergic to awkward, if you didn't know."
  
  "And standing out," Xander added.
  
  "Exactly," Buffy agreed, nodding along with Xander.
  
  With sympathetic eyes, Willow slowly reasoned, "But if it's the only way..."
  
  Clapping his hand and drawing their attention, Xander reiterated, "I want to stress that I have no idea how to get out. I've never made it past the year loop. For all I know, there could be another one after that. So, yes, no, and maybe, all qualify as answers."
  
  While the rest absorbed that in silence, Cordelia wanted to know, "So, what's next?"
  
  "Faith ought to be here in a few weeks," Xander answered.
  
  "Faith?" Willow repeated.
  
  "The new Slayer."
  
  "After Kendra?" Jenny asked.
  
  Xander nodded, and Buffy asked, "Was Kendra supposed to live?"
  
  "No," he bluntly said, taking them aback. "Actually, this was the first loop where I've ever saved her. Drusilla usually kills her, so I'm guessing that's the reason it didn't happen this time." Despite their shock, Xander continued as if it were nothing. "After Faith shows up, there's this Jekyll and Hyde kind of guy killing people. Homecoming is ruined when Mr. Trick contracts killers to hunt and kill Buffy and Faith, sometimes Cordelia-"
  
  Anxiously sitting straighter, Cordelia demanded, "Wha- why me?"
  
  "They mistake you for a Slayer," he answered.
  
  "Fantastic," she sarcastically said, waving a hand in frustration. "I just love how much hanging out with you dweebos pays off."
  
  Xander rattled off, "Then there's a sewage monster that eats babies to deal with, and on, and on, and on," rotating his hand as if too impatient to elaborate. "It's never-ending."
  
  "Lucky for us, you can warn us now," Jenny noted.
  
  "Indeed," Giles agreed.
  
  "For as long as I'm around anyway," Xander glumly pointed out, saddening Willow.
  
  "Hey, don't talk like that," a worried Willow told him. "You never know. This might be the one where you get out. Now that we all know, we're obviously going to help. We'll do everything we can."
  
  Xander eyed a quiet Buffy for a split second before answering, "I hope so. Anyway, I'm kinda tired of talking, so... I'll see you guys later."
  
  Xander was a few steps away when Willow stood up and called, "Wait!" When he turned, she timidly asked, "C-Can you do the eye thing?"
  
  With a small smile, Xander flared his irises with a glowing whitish-blue light for them to see, surprising most of them.
  
  Astonished, Willow asked, "How do you do that?"
  
  "Sorry, Wills. Man's gotta have some mystery about him," he said before leaving the library.
  
  -B-
  
  When Xander left the library, Buffy didn't know what to think or feel. Subtly looking around the table, it seemed a sentiment shared by all. However, unlike her friends, Buffy felt the familiar weight of leadership weighing her down. As ever, the ultimate responsibility for saving anyone would fall on her shoulders. She would never say it was a burden. To know that Xander would be stuck in a time loop until he lost his mind if they didn't help him-if she didn't help him-felt like an unyielding pressure.
  
  Cordelia interrupted her thoughts when she stood up and said, "Buffy? You look like you can use a touch-up. I'll help."
  
  Buffy scrunched her face in confusion, asking, "What? I'm not wearing makeup."
  
  "Then you can definitely use a touch-up," Cordelia asserted as she grabbed her bag. "Come on, I'll help you."
  
  "I don't need makeup, Cordelia," an irate Buffy retorted, concerned more with the gang coming up with a plan.
  
  Cordelia was at the foot of the table when she turned and said, "Oh my God, get a clue! I don't actually care about your makeup. I just want to talk in private."
  
  "Then say that , you vapid loon," Buffy hurled back.
  
  A heated Cordelia raised her voice to retort, "That would only defeat the purpose-"
  
  " If you would both please! " Giles heatedly interrupted, slamming his palm on the surface of the table. The frustrated Watcher rubbed the bridge of his nose, relaxing some before continuing, "Do your ' makeup ' outside. If we stand any chance of helping Xander-one of our own-escape this time braid, some of us have extensive research to do."
  
  "He mentioned since Halloween, so there's not a lot of time left," Jenny pointed out.
  
  Giles left the table, followed by Jenny, and the girls observed them retreat into the stacks for a solution. Buffy, Cordelia, and Willow left the library, walked down the empty hallway, and into the girl's bathroom; silent the entire time. Judging by the determined look on Cordelia's face, and her crossed arms-like she was ready for battle-Buffy knew she would not enjoy the conversation. Fortunately, Willow stood right beside her, providing the comfort which her presence usually brought.
  
  Cordelia eyed them both before asking the Slayer, "So... Are you going to go out with him? Because he's pretty much doomed if you don't."
  
  ' I knew it ,' Buffy thought, shoulders slumping under the weight of what was demanded of her. She weakly returned, "Uh, how's this any of your business?"
  
  " Rude ," Cordelia clapped back. "Why wouldn't it be? I'm just as much Xander's friend as you are."
  
  Immediately, Buffy recalled the truth of Cordelia's intimate relationship with Xander-the same relationship she had with him-and intentionally asked, "Is that all you two are?"
  
  "What's that supposed to..." the cheerleader began to ask. At their knowing expressions, Cordelia realized they must've uncovered her sexual relationship with Xander, prompting her to ask, "How's that any of your business, Rita?"
  
  Confused by the name, Buffy repeated, "Rita?" Then it hit her. Rita and Phil; Buffy and Xander. "Oh," she sounded before hotly contesting, "Look, even he doesn't know how to get out of the loop. Maybe I'm involved, but maybe it could have nothing to do with me."
  
  "But let's face it: everything has to do with you," the brunette bitterly stated. "There isn't a demon, vampire, or curse in this town that isn't in line to mess with the Slayer's life, and by extension, anyone around her. So, I ask again: Are you going to date him or not?"
  
  "I..." Buffy began, but her mind went blank. Turning toward Willow for help, she also looked curious. They both wanted answers-looking to her to solve the problem-and in a moment of frustrated honesty, she moved away from them and yelled, "I don't know!" Turning back to them, the anxious girl responded, "How can I just- In a situation like this? I don't know, okay? I don't."
  
  "But you..." Willow stopped herself and looked at Cordelia, as if it was too personal for present company.
  
  Surprised and hurt, Cordelia asked them both in disbelief, " Really? We've fought vampires and demons together. You make me read a ton of disgusting stuff in the name of research. I've ruined so many quality outfits backing you up; had to get my hair treated after so many fights, but you draw the line at girl talk?"
  
  "It's not like you tell us girl things," Willow defended. "I had to find out about you and Xander from Oz!"
  
  With a quirked brow, Cordelia asked, "How'd he know?"
  
  "He has a great sense of smell," Willow proudly answered. "You two smelled like each other... often."
  
  "Oh," the beautiful brunette replied. Quickly over it, she tactfully explained, "In my defense, he was such a dweeb, I couldn't risk my reputation if anyone found out."
  
  Buffy shook her head, always amazed by how offensive Cordelia could naturally be without even realizing it. She allowed the anger to fuel her response, asking, "And now? He finally meets your shallow standards, so it's okay?"
  
  Willow seemed more curious to learn, "Wait, how long has this been going on?"
  
  Cordelia looked between them for several long seconds before announcing, "Fine. Let's hash this out like civilized ladies. Slumber party at Buffy's tonight."
  
  "Wait, why my house?"
  
  "To be near your mom, obviously," Cordelia answered as if it couldn't be more obvious. At their stunned expressions, she insisted, "I'm not completely heartless."
  
  Buffy was indeed surprised, as she wasn't sure how Cordelia knew about her mother's prognosis. Not that it mattered in the end, because Buffy never enjoyed being away from home for long. The longer away she was, the more anxious she became. She easily imagined entering the living room, or somewhere, one night, and finding her mother's stiff body on the floor. It was a reoccurring nightmare, thus Buffy appreciated Cordelia's consideration, even if her delivery left much to be desired.
  
  -X-
  
  Xander spent the day mostly in his own head. Now that he was back in Sunnydale, he wanted to use the runes in his head to make everyday clothing as light and malleable as cotton, but tougher than kevlar. He weighed his options between using his Nox gear or sticking with an typical outfit he could wear in public without calling attention to himself. Mostly, Xander wondered about the golden thread he made using the sanctified gold from the Du Lac Cross. He wasn't sure if he had enough to write out each rune character on each article of a full outfit.
  
  Throughout the school day, Buffy didn't speak to Xander. She was likely deep in a rabbit hole of her own thoughts, which he didn't mind. Willow asked him questions about magic and Cordelia asked about all the crazy things he had done in past loops. She also told him about the slumber party and how he would need to patrol without Buffy. Xander smiled and nodded, certain they were going to talk about him.
  
  Giles asked to join him on patrol to keep him company and ask a few questions to help solve the time braid problem. Later that night, Xander returned from Wild Dink's, and Giles was waiting. The teen offered the Watcher his second bike, which he accepted, and for the next half hour, the pair rode through the back roads of Sunnydale for fun. They took winding turns, raced on straight-aways, and even went airborne, taking off a steep hill. Eventually, they parked the bikes at the first cemetery on their patrol.
  
  The exhilarated Englishman smiled appreciatively as he stated jovially, "I must admit, it has been some time since I last rode. I've forgotten how invigorating it can be."
  
  "Looks like you haven't lost a step," Xander casually replied, unclasping the invisible Dreadnought from his bike and securing it to the harness at his back.
  
  As ever, he kept both of his weapons invisible to avoid unwanted attention from the police or something worse. Xander was dressed in his black Nox gear, though, with his black and gray camo scarf around his neck, and his jacket's hoodie down. Giles wore brown slacks and a navy blue tweed jacket. He had a crossbow hung on his right shoulder and a stake in his left hand.
  
  As the pair walked past lines of cemetery plots-looking for graves of the recently deceased-Giles asked Xander about the magic he'd learned and used as Nox. The teen explained how he'd used Ethan's Halloween curse to gain all sorts of knowledge he hadn't had before.
  
  "Clever," Giles said.
  
  "Yeah, but if I don't use Whatever I learned, it eventually goes away," Xander explained.
  
  It was a cool night and the half-moon above did little to light up their path. The cemetery darkened under the dense canopy of the patches of trees they walked through. Fortunately for Giles, there was enough light for him to witness Xander-with no facial covering-fight a vampire as easily as Buffy did. Xander's flexible physique moved fluidly, evading punches and kicks like water flowing around a rock. With one simple dodge of the vampire's fist, he unsheathed Hellguard, and with the following parry, Xander easily impaled it in the chest. He then fried the demon until it was dust in the wind.
  
  Upon Xander's casual return, Giles gasped, "Incredible."
  
  At the Watcher's flabbergasted expression, an amused Xander asked, "Because I'm not the Slayer, or because it's me?"
  
  Snapping out of his stupor, Giles replied, "I- Well, yes, I cannot deny the manner in which you expressed yourself is a part of the reason this is so astonishing. But that's not an indictment of any sort of negative opinion of you, Xander. Quite the contrary, in fact. I've always counted you among the very bravest of young men I've encountered, and I feel quite honored to witness the culmination of all the potential I believed to be in you. You were integral to our team even before all of this. Never doubt that."
  
  Such a genuine confession actually moved Xander. He felt a little misty-eyed and cleared his throat before voicing, "Thanks, Giles." The father figure Xander never had then witnessed another vampire kill before Angel showed up, like a shadow that wouldn't recede. He stared daggers at Xander, but the teen didn't care.
  
  "Angel," Xander mildly greeted.
  
  "Xander," Angel returned, adding, "or should I say Nox?"
  
  "Whichever pisses you off more."
  
  Angel ignored the teenager to ask Giles, "Did Willow figure it out?"
  
  Giles turned to Xander for permission-something Angel hadn't missed-and the young man simply shrugged before continuing to patrol. Giles then explained everything they had learned as they trailed behind Xander. After five minutes, Angel rushed the raven-haired teen, gripped his shoulder, turned him about, and cocking his fist back to punch him. However, his intended victim had already heard the rushed steps on the grass, as well as the rustling of his leather jacket, and leveled the razor-sharp edge of his battle axe against Angel's neck-purposely making it visible only at the end.
  
  "I thought you couldn't kill me," Angel growled, not lowering his fist.
  
  "I've killed you and Spike for a lot less," Xander assured him with supreme confidence. "It's usually way worth it."
  
  Angel slowly leaned in and bitterly snarled, "You knew I was going to turn into Angelus, and you did nothing to stop it! How psychotic are you?!"
  
  "By now? I'm probably off my rocker," the teen easily replied.
  
  Giles rushed to pry them away from one another as he told Angel, " As I said , he's tried stopping your change before!"
  
  Xander conveyed to the irate vampire, "I'm trying to end my hell, not yours." He lowered Dreadnought as he confessed, "As much as I'd love to stop every bad thing that happens in this town, it's not possible. I'm not God. Nowhere near it."
  
  "Let's allow cooler heads to prevail," Giles pleaded, and cautiously, Xander and Angel separated. More at ease, The Watcher then told the men, "I may not understand the full scope of animosity between the two of you, but if we're to continue as allies, I suggest you put an end to it." Their silence seemed like positive progress to Giles, who asked, "To that end, Xander, what is one thing you admire about Angel?"
  
  Still staring at Angel with mild annoyance, Xander claimed, "Admire is a strong word there, G-Man."
  
  "Fine, say one nice thing about Angel."
  
  "Huuuaah," Xander sounded with a wince. "Uh, well, if you're shoving an emotional gun to my head-"
  
  "Xander," Giles called, his patience strained.
  
  "...Fine," the teen called. "When he has a soul, he's not a complete dick." At Giles' stern eyes, Xander rolled his eyes before specifying, "Angel... is... reliable."
  
  "Good, very good," Giles said with a stern nod. He turned to the vampire, asking, "Angel? If you'd say one nice thing about Xander."
  
  The tall, brooding vampire snarled a bit before asserting, "I'm a little too old for this."
  
  "Not too old to sleep with a sixteen-year-old," Xander sharply remarked.
  
  "She was seventeen," the heated vampire argued.
  
  " By a few hours, you pedo! " Xander clapped back with disbelief.
  
  "Enough, the both of you!" Giles yelled, stepping between them. He looked at each of them with irate disappointment before stating, "Putting aside the undeniable fact I don't care to hear one word about Buffy's... intimate life, try acting like civilized gentlemen. Angel, if you would, please , say something nice about Xander."
  
  "...He can see the sun."
  
  "Perhaps something slightly more unique," Giles requested. "A character trait, perhaps."
  
  Angel was having just as hard a time with this as Xander had, but eventually said, "He's... funny."
  
  "It's funny how that sounds more like an insult coming from you," Xander noted.
  
  Stepping angrily to an unflinching Xander, Angel eyed the teen fiercely as he expressed, "He can make Buffy laugh!" The silence extended for several moments before he specified, "He can make her laugh in a way I can't."
  
  "Good, very good," Giles said, nodding amicably. "Now, let's shake hands and try to be better men moving forward."
  
  Slowly, Xander and Angel shook hands with a firm grip-possibly too firm. After a second, it became clear they were only interested in trying to crush the bones of the other's grip. Giles jumped between them and, despite the significant amount of force he used to try to pry their hands apart, he was unsuccessful. Xander and Angel let go after a moment, nearly making Giles stumble.
  
  The Watcher yelled, "Really! You two! Such childish behavior from such old men!" He repositioned his glasses as he demanded, "I want you both to patrol together."
  
  Despite his annoyance, Xander didn't care, and so said, "Wouldn't be the first time."
  
  "That so?" Angel asked.
  
  The time looper nodded before explaining, "In a few of the loops where I warn you guys about Angelus, Buffy gets super pissed at me and kicks me out of the group-she thinks I did it on purpose to break you guys up," he elaborated to them. Nodding at Angel, he continued, "Mr. Brood & Gloom here kinda feels sorry for me and would... not hang out , per se. But he'd test my weapons while we patrolled; gave me notes and stuff."
  
  Giles appreciated the olive branch until Angel replied, "Tell me more about Buffy hating you."
  
  "Oh, you're going to love this," Xander sarcastically boasted. "The story starts with you being the second worst guy for her."
  
  "Dear God, grant me patience," Giles bemoaned, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.
  
  "Second?" Angel repeated curiously. "Who's the first?"
  
  "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named... shall not ... be named," Xander hesitated to finish as he realized the moniker said it all.
  
  Giles took the lead in their conversation and asked, "How long did it take for you to learn your combat skills?"
  
  For the rest of the night, the Watcher had to steer the bulls away from direct conflict. Giles couldn't even let them fight together, as they would only compete in that as well. Every once in a while, Xander wondered how the slumber party was going. Cordelia, Willow, and Buffy in the same room-trying to get along-amused him because he wondered how much they would confess to each other.
  
  -B-
  
  After Cordelia finished an unexpectedly long and friendly chat with Joyce-discussing fashion and interior design-she joined Buffy and Willow in her room with the diet sodas. Buffy and Willow were on the fluffy bed with pillows on their laps and a plate of snacks between them. All three girls were in their nightwear-light blue flannel pajamas for Willow; Yummy Sushi pajamas for Buffy; and red satin shorts and a matching cami top for Cordelia.
  
  The critical cheerleader looked around the small room with scrutinizing eyes. Buffy watched her focus on the striped walls, beige curtains over each window, the dream-catcher hanging on the wall above her bed, and her stuffed animals. Sitting on the plush chair moved closer to the bed, Cordelia easily tested her patience when she remarked, "Pretty much what I expected."
  
  Rolling her eyes, Buffy asked, "You have a problem with my room?"
  
  "Chill, jeez," a sassy Cordelia returned. "It's nice, okay."
  
  Feeling the need to play peacemaker, Willow told Cordelia, "Since you're the one who wanted to do a slumber party-which, by the way, fun-I think you should start."
  
  Given how much Willow put up with at the hands of Cordelia-years of verbal bullying and insults; then losing Xander to her-Buffy was surprised to see her friend trying. For her to be president of the We Hate Cordelia club and go this far showed just how much she was willing to do to save Xander. It gave Buffy a sense of hope and courage to do the same.
  
  Eying the pair of them suspiciously, Cordelia cautiously inquired, "Am I going to be the only one sharing here? Or can I expect fair exchange?"
  
  "This isn't a transaction, Cordelia," Willow replied. "We're trying to be closer as friends, and maybe figure out a way to help Xander."
  
  Nodding toward the Slayer, Cordelia challenged, "Isn't that her job?"
  
  " No , it isn't," an annoyed Buffy ardently protested. "And I'm getting pretty sick and tired of you trying to lump this all on me."
  
  "Of course you would," Cordelia retorted, as if it was typical. "It's just a job to you, isn't it? Listen, if you can't love him like that, then don't interfere when others try."
  
  "You mean you?" Buffy challenged. "Are you sure he's cool enough for you to bring out in public?"
  
  "I don't care about that anymore," the popular girl asserted. "I just want him to get out."
  
  Willow interjected, asking in a soft and curious tone, "Do you love him?"
  
  "Mnn... kinda," she honestly answered.
  
  Buffy and Willow looked at each other, as if to confirm it was a strange response, prompting the redhead to follow up with, "What kind of answer is that?"
  
  "It's not the same 'soul mates' kind of love," she asserted with air quotations, as if it was a childish fairytale to believe in. "It's more like we understand each other. The stuff we've gone through isn't all that different. As much as we can hate each other's guts sometimes, I trust him, and he trusts me."
  
  Willow and Buffy were surprised by Cordelia's thoughtful candor. If there was one thing neither of them could take from the pretty cheerleader: it was that she always spoke her mind, whether they liked what she had to say or not. Buffy and Willow could trust that Cordelia wasn't lying, which meant there truly was an unusual connection between her and Xander. Neither Buffy nor Willow knew how to feel about that revelation.
  
  However, they stopped thinking when Cordelia blatantly added, "Bonus: the sex is out of this world!"
  
  Buffy's eyes widened like saucers while a beet-red Willow choked on nothing, like a tickle suddenly appeared at the back of her throat. After patting her chest, the redhead eventually pleaded, "C-Can you at least ease us into that? That's my best friend you're talking about."
  
  Curious to know a little more about Xander and Cordelia's relationship, a blushing Buffy asked, "H-How long?"
  
  "Hmmm, about eight inches and thick -"
  
  "No! Not that," Buffy yelled as Willow closed her eyes and shook her head while repeating, " He 's my best friend. He's my best friend -" "I meant how long have you two been together ?" Buffy asked.
  
  "Oh," Cordelia replied. Tilting her head, she revealed, "New Years was the first time we slept together but our first kiss was... Oh!" Cordelia turned to Buffy and asked, "Do you remember when that Latvian worm guy was in your house trying to kill you?"
  
  Willow and Buffy asked in unison, " That long?! "
  
  The gorgeous cheerleader ignored their question to think aloud, "You know, this whole time loop thing explains why he's so good in the sack."
  
  Though weirded out about the topic of sex with Xander, a blushing Willow cautiously asked, "You mean you asked him if he slept with you in previous loops?"
  
  "Of course I did," Cordelia asserted. "How could I not? It's insane how good he can make me feel." The beautiful cheerleader exhaled sharply, with a faraway expression, and blushed as she admitted, "Just thinking about it gets me all worked up."
  
  For a brief moment, a curious Willow looked at Buffy with a curious eye before asking Cordelia, "What'd he say?"
  
  "He said we had," the cheerleader answered. "And in a lot of the loops, we're usually together, but something always gets in the way. Apparently, he always ends up hurting me because, as he put it, ' he 's an idiot ,' which, like, duh. You'd have to be missing something to reject this," she boasted, posing cutely in her plush club-style chair.
  
  Buffy rolled her eyes, amazed at how Cordelia could be admirable one minute, then completely unpleasant the next. It made Buffy uneasy, wondering about where Xander's heart truly lay. Or if he cared at all. ' Would just anyone do for him? ' she brooded.
  
  Willow pushed on to ask, "How'd he hurt you?"
  
  "He wouldn't say," she replied. "But he promised that he'd always make sure we're good, no matter what. I'm not sure if I'm fine with that, but I don't hate it."
  
  Willow's curiosity compelled her to nervously ask, "Did, uh, you ask him if... if he slept with anyone else?"
  
  "...Like us?" Buffy nervously asked.
  
  "Obviously," Cordelia returned, eying them skeptically, as if to communicate, ' how could I not? '
  
  Confused, Willow asked, "Obviously you asked, or obviously he did?"
  
  "Obviously, I asked," the brunette clarified. "He said he hadn't slept with either of you before, which I thought had to be a lie." Willow and Buffy shared a look as Cordelia wondered aloud, "Maybe he won't tell me because he wants to be, like, a gentleman or some such nonsense. But that doesn't make sense, right? Because he's all like, ' the end is nigh .' You'd think he'd sleep with anything with a pulse."
  
  Recalling her own mind-bending pleasures with Nox, a blushing Buffy hesitated to ask, "Then... did he get all his experience from just being with you?"
  
  " Absolutely not ," she laughed to say. "He's slept with loads of women! Even top celebrities!" she added, making Buffy and Willow perk up, eager to hear details. "Obviously, I had to ask him who, but he said it didn't matter because none of them would remember anyway, which was a drag."
  
  "I guess that's how looping back always feels for him," Buffy absentmindedly noted. "Like a drag," she added, trying to stop recalling how good being with Nox felt.
  
  Sighing and sagging her shoulders in defeat, Willow bemoaned, "Loads of women, and yet again, I'm the one left out-"
  
  With wide eyes, Buffy quickly interrupted, "You mean us- we - we 're the ones left out-"
  
  "Y-yeah," Willow quickly said, nodding as she tried to repair her slip. "Right, us, we. Out of the, uh s-sex loop-both."
  
  Cordelia hadn't caught on and insisted, "Well, I can assure you, you're definitely missing out." Turning to Buffy, she added, "But again, I have to ask. Are you going to help him?"
  
  Growing tired again, Buffy bluntly asked, "How? No, really, how? I would love for someone to explain to me how to get one of my best friends out of a time loop. Because I don't know. Nobody does. Even he doesn't."
  
  "Maybe don't look at him as one of your best friends," Willow suggested. "I mean, you were crushing on Nox, and they're one and the same."
  
  Whipping her blonde head, Buffy turned to Willow in a state of panic as Cordelia pounced on the new information. "Wait, you were all about Nox, but not Xander? Oh my God, that's hilarious," she remarked, laughing for a spell. "And now that I think about it, a little tragic, too. It's like you're attracted to broken men."
  
  "I wouldn't say it's like that ," Buffy sadly vocalized.
  
  "Wait," Cordelia said haltingly. "Why'd you start dating Xander if you were all about Nox?"
  
  "Nox told her to," the redhead answered.
  
  Inciting Buffy to cry, "Willow!"
  
  "And you did? Just like that?" Cordelia continued to ask.
  
  "They were kinda-"
  
  "Willow!" Buffy interrupted again.
  
  However, the redhead argued, "She's sharing, too, Buffy."
  
  Cordelia smiled brightly before asking the reluctant Buffy, "So... You and Nox... How far'd you get?" Growing beet red, Buffy turned away, but couldn't hide her awkward, blushing shame, easily communicating to Cordelia just how far they'd gone. "Wow, you too! Are we talking full-on interior decorating?"
  
  "Ewww," Willow bemoaned as a defeated Buffy dropped her blushing head into her plush pillow.
  
  When Cordelia realized it was all the way, she shrieked happily at the juicy gossip. "Oh my God! We're like, totally Sausage Sisters now!"
  
  "EEWWWWWW," a grossed-out Willow wailed, covering her ears and closing her eyes. "Why! Why! Why!"
  
  Exasperated with the redhead, Cordelia asserted, "Can you please chill out and get used to the words Xander and sex in the same sentence?"
  
  Uncovering her ears, Willow whimpered, "But you never said either of those in the same sentence."
  
  Cordelia rolled her eyes before returning a hungry stare at the blushing Buffy. Despite her pillow still covering her face, the cheerleader asked the Slayer with giddy interest, "So, how good was he?"
  
  Willow covered their blushing faces with her pillow, and Buffy fell back on her bed, making Cordelia giggle with glee. From behind Buffy's pillow, the blonde's muffled voice yelled, "I don't want to talk about this anymore!"
  
  "As if there's something more exciting to talk about than Xander," Cordelia maintained.
  
  In a desperate attempt to move on to a different topic, Buffy lifted the pillow to ask, "How was your trip? Where'd you go, again?"
  
  "Las Palmas, Mexico."
  
  Making a mental connection, Willow asked, "Didn't Xander go there?"
  
  "Sure did," Cordelia confirmed with a beaming smile. "And let me tell you, we had the most amazing time you could possibly imagine."
  
  The beautiful brunette then explained for quite some time everything they did, how her parents didn't even bother to pay Xander attention until he had cars, the best room, and took them to the fanciest restaurants. She explained the underground fight tournament and how easily he beat everyone. Willow insisted she skip the sexy times, but it was clear they did so a lot.
  
  "Mnn! It was so much fun," she exclaimed.
  
  "He was in Jamaica too," Willow pointed out. She eyed the girls with curious wonderment before slyly insinuating, "Do you think he and Kendra..."
  
  "Oh my God!" a jubilant Cordelia screamed.
  
  "No! They wouldn't!" Buffy had to dispute. "This is Kendra we're talking about."
  
  For half an hour, the girls went back and forth, laughing and speculating on whether Xander and Kendra had sex. Cordelia hypothesized he had, stating how there's not too much else to do on vacation. Considering her own time with Xander, Buffy couldn't be sure, and Willow couldn't be convinced. Her childhood friend wouldn't sleep with so many girls and not tell anyone.
  
  "I say he did," Cordelia continued to claim. "And I should be pissed since I sort of have the most claim to him." Turning to Buffy with a serious expression, she added, "But I don't, do I?" Buffy matched her countenance as Cordelia observed, "It's always you, isn't it?"
  
  "It can't have been always if he was with you most of the year," Buffy argued.
  
  "He stopped doing anything with me the moment you asked him to the Sadie Hawkins dance," the brunette returned. "He dropped me the second he could go to the dance with you... as friends, no less. I won't lie. That kinda hurt. To realize I'll never be the girl, especially when you so obviously don't deserve him."
  
  Buffy ardently asserted, "I never asked to be the girl ."
  
  "As if that matters," Cordelia declared. "You didn't ask to be the Slayer either, but you're the one we're stuck with!"
  
  Tensing her shoulders, Buffy shot back, "You're welcome to fight monsters hungry to kill you every night if you think you can do better!"
  
  "Whatever," Cordelia scoffed. "I'm telling you now: until you make up your mind, I'm making sure he's never alone; especially at night! I'm talking full on heels to Jesus with a bellyful of baby-gravy-"
  
  "EEEEEEWWWWW," Willow wailed. "Buffy, make her stop!"
  
  Buffy patted her dear friend's shoulder as a stern Cordelia continued, "I may not be the girl, but he shouldn't be alone before he loops back."
  
  "You can't think like that," Willow hotly protested, despite her blushing face. "None of us should! I'm not the girl either, and I haven't been the girl for a lot longer than you. But I won't let him keep living that hell. I won 't let him loop back."
  
  The three had little else to say after that-not without devolving into a shouting match and possibly waking Joyce. Cordelia went to bed soon after, as did Willow, but Buffy wasn't sure if either of them were sound asleep. The Slayer assumed they were awake and in deep thought about the day, like she was. Everything she learned about Xander, Nox, and what he'd been going through was too sad and upsetting to reach a point where sleep would come. She recalled intense sex with Nox at night, then goofy chatter about their lives, dreams, and observations during the day. The duality was hard to accept.
  
  Buffy had practically avoided Xander all day because she couldn't reconcile that the force of nature Nox represented was also her funny and caring friend. The hardest pain Buffy had to endure that year was losing Angel to Angelus, but when Nox had told her he knew the agony she was going through, she believed him. Now that there were no more secrets between them, she could finally ask him why they went to such lengths in such a dark way.
  
  ' Why can 't we... in a regular way? ' was her final thought before going to sleep.
  
  Hope you all enjoyed that chapter. The next chapters I'm eager for you guys to read are 54, 55, and 56. Lots of good stuff coming.
  
  Favorite part: "By a few hours, you pedo!" Though, I've been told by my betas that there are a few funny parts in this chapter.
  
  Not much else to add. So, thank you all again for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay tree on is pa tre on dot com /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Potential Path
  Yay, we made the Sunday deadline! Let me tell ya, I did not make it easy for my beta team. I sent them the draft a day before updating. Just one day! And they still pulled it off. Give it up for Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Thank you guys for your speedy work.
  
  Warning: Mild Language, a squirt of lemon.
  
  7K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  The Potential Path
  
  It wasn't difficult for Xander to grasp Cordelia and Willow's concerted effort to give Buffy and himself more time together. For five minutes, Xander assumed that Cordelia and Willow were simply getting along and doing more activities together. However, he figured out the truth when he would spot them secretly watching from afar. He'd expected the girls to attempt breaking the time braid, though, forcing Buffy on him like this didn't seem likely to work. Xander still had his hangups when it came to her, and Buffy shared some apprehension.
  
  The Slayer was quiet for most of their time together. On some level, Buffy seemed to support the plan as she walked with him to and from class, sat next to him, and ate lunch together. They kept their banter light and fun, all to Willow and Cordelia's frustrations. With his sharp eyes and decades of experience, Xander could tell they wanted Buffy to do more when the girls huddled together, which only made him laugh. Xander imagined Buffy was deep in thought, trying to reconcile the two sides of him. Xander was the doormat best friend, and Nox was the cocky fuck toy she could rely on.
  
  It wasn't until they were patrolling Sunnydale Cemetery together-at Giles' insistence-that Buffy eventually worked up the courage to say, "I haven't thanked you yet... for telling me about my mom."
  
  "It's cool, Buff," he said with his typical smile. As they leisurely walked past tombstones to the one they were looking for, he asked, "How's she doing?"
  
  "She finished the last of her treatments," Buffy said. "She'll need to watch her blood pressure, but she's better, thanks to you."
  
  "Sweet," Xander replied. "Keeping Mama Summers around for as long as possible is like rainbows, puppies, and sunshine all rolled into one."
  
  "You are not wrong," she humorously agreed. "She wants to treat you to dinner, by the way."
  
  "What for?" he asked with a raised brow.
  
  "Obviously, I told her you were the one who suggested the checkup," Buffy informed him. "She's been hoping to thank you."
  
  "You didn't have to tell her."
  
  "I wanted to."
  
  Xander eyed the blonde beauty and truly saw how genuine the invitation was. He sternly nodded, replying, "Okay. But ... can there be twinkies?"
  
  "It might take a bit of begging, but I'm sure we can swing it," Buffy returned with a smile.
  
  After several seconds of awkward silence passed, Xander asserted, "You know you don't have to, right?"
  
  Buffy eyed him curiously before asking, "Have to what?"
  
  "Feel pressured to do something you don't want to," he answered.
  
  "I'm not feeling pressure," she assured him. "No pressure here. This is a pressure-free zone."
  
  Grinning, he happily expressed, "I know you, Buffy. You'd chop off your own arm if it meant saving a life. So, let me be clear: I don't want you to start anything between us because you felt forced to. I'm only looping the same year for all eternity here. I'm not actually dying."
  
  Buffy walked beside him in silence, mulling over his words. It was until they were on their way back to his bike that she finally said, "Giles thinks that if you keep looping like this, you'll lose yourself more and more... until you don't care about anything anymore."
  
  Xander nodded in agreement, and added, "I could be an evil dictator, kill countless people, and destroy society as we know it, all just so I can feel something. I know. Merlin told me the same thing."
  
  "Merlin?" the blonde repeated in surprise. "As in the Merlin? How?"
  
  Xander quickly explained dressing like him for Ethan's Halloween curse, and having a conversation with the legend. "Like being pen pals with one of the greatest wizards in history."
  
  "Woooow," Buffy sang. "Have you told Willow yet?"
  
  "And give her a heart attack? No, no. Some things need to be said in the right moment; like if she's ever accidentally shot with a tranquilizer dart." Buffy laughed as he played out the scenario, " Willow! Willow, are you okay? Oh, by the way, I talked to Merlin in a bunch of my loops. "
  
  "I wouldn't be surprised if her adrenaline kicked in and kept her awake long enough to grill you for details," she jokingly replied.
  
  "Probably."
  
  "Can I ask you something?"
  
  "Is it the thing you've been wanting to ask me for the past few days?"
  
  "...Maybe?" Buffy hesitated to reply, eying him with raised eyebrows.
  
  He chuckled before stating, "Shoot."
  
  The anxious girl took a deep breath before asking, "When you were Nox, you said you understood what I was going through. What did you mean by that, exactly?"
  
  "I've seen you lose Angel more times than I can count," Xander began explaining. Turning to her and surveying her face closely, he emphasized, "I'm so familiar with your loss; it's second nature to me. You carry yourself throughout the day like you're hanging from a meat hook, and that light in your eyes is completely gone. I think that's the saddest part; when that spark is gone, but you act like it's not a big deal."
  
  "I don't act like that," Buffy protested. "I just don't want you guys to worry."
  
  "I know," Xander easily agreed. "I get it. I've also felt the same loss."
  
  "...With Cordelia?" Xander eyed her in surprise, and Buffy clarified, "She mentioned you two always date in the loops. It seems like you've been with her the longest."
  
  "I have," Xander confirmed. "I love her, no doubt."
  
  "Really? Cordelia?" a stunned Buffy asked. "Wow."
  
  Xander snorted before asserting, "Believe it or not, she's a sweetheart." At Buffy's wide eyes of disbelief, he added, "I'm serious. She just doesn't want to let you know she is."
  
  "I'll take your word for it," Buffy replied with a small smile. "So why not with Cordelia? I mean, if you love her, you should be with her."
  
  "How should I put this?" He asked himself. "Mmmn, you and Angel were each other's priority. Cordelia and I are like each other's option. Even though we found something together, and can have a lot of fun, we're not each other's first choice-never have been, never will be-which is why it's always easy for us to break up. It's why I always try to make sure we're good."
  
  "I didn't know," Buffy softly replied. Xander simply shrugged, and they continued walking toward his bike. After a moment, she asked, "So, if not Cordelia, then who?"
  
  "You, Buff," he easily answered. "You were always my priority," he added, halting Buffy in her steps.
  
  However, Xander continued walking. She caught up with him a minute later and the pair got on his bike and rode to the second cemetery. Xander was sure she was thinking the entire way to their next destination. After they got off the bike and made their way into Sunnydale Cemetery, Buffy tentatively asked, "So, we... uh, fall in love?"
  
  He chuckled before replying, "You may have been my priority, but I was always your second, third, or fourth option," Xander huffed in amusement. At her queer facial expression, he clarified, "You didn't need to be in love with me for me to lose you." Buffy nodded, easily understanding unrequited love. "But while we're on the topic," Xander continued. "I need to ask: Do you want me to stop being Nox?"
  
  Confused by his query, she reminded him, "I mean, I already know you're-"
  
  "When I loop back," he interrupted. "Would you rather I never be Nox, or maybe just stop anything sexual from happening between us?"
  
  Buffy stopped walking and paused for a moment, absorbing the question. She looked worried to Xander, unsure of what she wanted. He wondered if she subconsciously enjoyed being treated that way. He hated thinking that Spike was right about Buffy, but as she hesitated to answer-to deny the rough way Nox treated her-it was harder to ignore.
  
  In a hopeful tone, she pointed out, "Maybe you won't loop back."
  
  "...Maybe," he said, more for her than himself. "I'm riding this one out to see what the official end of the year-loop is. It's somewhere after your birthday, but before February."
  
  "Okay, stop," she said, grabbing his elbow. "There's nothing saying that you'll loop back, so stop talking like that."
  
  Xander saw all the hope in her greenish-blue eyes and wished he felt the same. He wished he felt anything at the moment, as it seemed like she really didn't want to lose him. However, his heart was unresponsive.
  
  Placing his hand over hers, he admitted, "I don't know what else to say, Buff. I need to think about getting out-about the next step-or else I will go crazy dictator mode. I can feel it, too. It's right there," he said, patting his chest, then moving up his neck as he added, "and it's always getting closer. Having hope hurts too much. So, just give me the yes or no on Nox." She seemed dejected to hear that, but Xander blew her mind when he informed her, "And you should know, if your answer is no, there's a high chance you'll just do the same thing with Spike."
  
  " HUUAACK !" Buffy gagged loudly, tongue out, dry heaving a moment before yelling, "WHAT! NO! NO! NO!" Blonde strands swayed left and right as she shook her head violently, likely envisioning it as she yelled, "THAT'S- THAT'S GOT TO BE A LIE!"
  
  "Trust me, I wish with every fiber of my being that it was," he voiced.
  
  Xander grabbed the upset blonde roughly, and she was surprised when he pinned her against the nearby tree, pressing his pelvis into hers with a hand to her throat. Though she seemed ready for anything, his mildly glowing eyes arrested any movement to free herself. Buffy let him keep her body wedged between him and the tree. At the heat building between them, her breathing quickened, and with the blush in her cheeks, Xander knew where Buffy's head was.
  
  "Part of the reason Nox was so forceful was because Spike was exactly the same way," he revealed, flashing his eyes whitish-blue. "Hurting as badly as you were, for as long as you were, even a fucking asshole like Spike felt better than that poison suffocating you, especially after an entire day of faking smiles for your friends or pretending to be interested in anything. You wanted someone to manhandle you, Buffy-to break you physically as much as you felt broken in here," he finished, tapping her chest above her heart.
  
  Buffy looked so distraught, she couldn't speak. Xander understood, and leaned back a bit before stating, "I didn't want Spike to do that this time, so I did. But, unlike him, I wanted you to get better; to move on from the bad boy. Spike wanted you to stay the same, to stay angry and hurt, so you'd always need him."
  
  "...I can't believe that," the sickened girl bemoaned.
  
  "We fought in this loop, Buffy," he reminded her. "Remember? You were hitting me, I was hitting you. We rolled around on the ground, all because you didn't want to tell me about Angel. And then what did we do?"
  
  Eying him in complete shock, she gasped, "That's... how it happened? With him ?"
  
  Nodding, Xander remarked, "That asshole was happy to tell me how I'd never measure up, too."
  
  "Ugh, I really feel sick," she weakly voiced, gripping her stomach and cupping her mouth.
  
  "A few things: One, that's the proper response to that information," Xander affirmed. "Two, I killed him loads of times for this express reason. Three, it wasn't Spike this time. It was me... if that's any consolation. Four, and most importantly, there's nothing particularly wrong with you or your feelings towards me, Angel, or even Spike."
  
  " Spike , Xander," she bemoaned, pushing him away. Raising rigid hands, she reiterated, " Spike! If what you're telling me is true, then no, there is something very wrong with me-"
  
  He rested his hands on her shoulder and leaned down to look her in the eyes as she said, "No, there's not. Trust me. I've had the longest time to wonder what was wrong with you. Why couldn't you just be with someone good-and breathing-who'd love you as much as you loved them? But that's too idealistic in a world like this. It denies a side of you that is there, no matter how dark it may be. Eventually, I realized I was only seeing the parts of you I wanted and ignoring the rest."
  
  "If Spike is the destination to some sides of me, I'd rather cut those out with a dirty hacksaw, thank you very much," she fiercely stated.
  
  Xander huffed in amusement before assuring her, "Spike isn't the destination. At the most, he was a rest stop-a creepy one. It was just... you had no one, Buffy. In your eyes, I was too immature; you didn't want to disappoint Willow or Giles, and your mom doesn't know. You didn't have a single person to turn to. I know what that hell's like. It makes me do crazy things, too. This time around, I chose to be what you needed, even if... it wasn't how I wanted it."
  
  Buffy focused on that and cautiously asked, "Did you... hate doing that? Being that... aggressive?"
  
  "...No," he said evenly. "It's another side of you, and I'm done living the world with rose-tinted glasses on."
  
  Xander could see the turmoil in her eyes and felt her pull away. It seemed to Xander she was ready to run, which wasn't surprising. Buffy needed time to process, and couldn't do so in front of him. Xander removed his hands from her shoulders, but before she could leave, they heard a distant scream. The pair spent much of the night fighting the occasional vampire together, but Xander could tell she was distracted the entire time.
  
  Later that night, Xander was surprised to return home and find Cordelia's car parked outside his house. Once inside, he smiled at the sight of her sleeping in his bed. He then showered, changed, and moved to join her. Xander always looked forward to the morning when she was there holding him, but then he thought of Buffy and wondered if this was wrong. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Cordelia. Rather than risk it, Xander stepped away, grabbed a pillow & blanket, and slept on the floor, where she found him in the morning.
  
  She poked his cheek until he woke up, and asked, "Uh, why are you sleeping on the floor?"
  
  Stretching as he sat up, he answered, "Cuz sleeping next to you now isn't the same as before."
  
  "What's changed?" she asked, looking down at him off the edge of the bed.
  
  "You know what I did with Buffy," he softly answered. "I might be stuck in a time loop, but I still happen to know it's not right to take advantage of you-"
  
  Cordelia shuffled forward as she grabbed his head and kissed him, shutting him up for several moments. When she pulled away, the baffling girl sarcastically asked, "Do you really think I didn't know you have some sick obsession with her? It's so obvious, it's painful. But that's not what this is about."
  
  "Then what's this about?"
  
  "You said we had each other's back," she reminded him.
  
  "Yeah..."
  
  "Well... I don't want you to wake up alone."
  
  Xander grew quite fearful then. This was her way of helping him, and it gave him hope he didn't want. Xander didn't want to get used to the comforting warmth of waking up next to someone he loved, because, when that inevitably went away, only his dark thoughts remained. Waking up alone hurt too much to imagine, but he shook that nightmare from his mind and smiled weakly at her. Cordelia didn't seem to like his reaction and pulled him into the bed.
  
  The sexy cheerleader laid on his legs, her face above his crotch, and told him, "Let's not forget: love or no love, you're still single."
  
  She then gave him one of her very best blowjobs before he fucked her into oblivion on his bed. Even rushing to school, they were still late, but they had fun, as they tended to do.
  
  Xander spent the rest of the week talking with Giles, Willow, Cordelia, and Oz about many of the things he had done. Oz was casually surprised Xander hadn't picked up an instrument in the hundred years he'd been looping. After Cordelia's father rebuffed her strong warning about getting ahead of his tax evasion, Xander helped Cordelia melt all the gold rings she had collected from the magical ring he'd given her, and buried the gold bars in her backyard. It was unclear if any money she deposited in her account would be seized by the IRS, so she preferred not to risk it.
  
  Willow nearly hyperventilated when she discovered he had spoken to Merlin many times. Her knees buckled, and he had to hold her up as she tried to ask him several questions at the same time. Immediately after that, Jenny, Giles, and Willow wanted to learn everything he knew about the legendary wizard, including his spells and rituals. The three magic users often brought him a spell to look over and asked for any thoughts on how Merlin would tackle it. Xander may not have been suited to wielding magic, but it was amusing to have the smartest people he knew seeking knowledge about it from him.
  
  Buffy remained casually reserved, keeping their conversations light and fun as she likely thought about their last conversation. Xander imagined she was reflecting repeatedly on her shortcomings when it came to her choices in men. It wasn't long before the newest Slayer came to Sunnydale, on the Greyhound from Boston.
  
  Dreadnought in hand, Xander was patrolling his fourth cemetery, leisurely killing any vampires he came across. He was walking back to his bike when he heard doors closing and noticed Oz's van. Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia all got out and his mild curiosity was quickly answered when he saw the leather-clad brunette behind them. Xander guessed Faith had run into them at the Bronze-as she had in previous loops-where she killed a vampire in front of them, and outed herself as the third Slayer. Oz must've driven them from cemetery to cemetery until they'd spotted Xander's bike in the empty parking lot.
  
  "Faith?" Xander called out, hooking his battleaxe to the clasp at his back. She smirked and nodded back before he asked, "Holy hell, what are you doing here? Why didn't you call? I would've picked you up."
  
  Rather than remaining cool and aloof, halfway to him, her face morphed into one trying to hold back tears. The hard knock girl from Boston, who had suffered a hard life, hugged him desperately, as if he was her last lifeline. His friends saw him wince at the tight embrace, but he called on his ring's power to help numb the pain and heal the deep tissue bruising as he hugged her back. Eventually, she let go and quickly wiped her eyes, trying her best to hide her vulnerable expression.
  
  Faith asked if they could talk alone and Xander called it a night. After the Scoobies arranged to meet in the library before school started the next morning, Xander and Faith got on his motorcycle and drove away. When they entered his warm and cozy home, he gave her the grand tour.
  
  After closing the door of the master bedroom, Faith remarked, "Wow, so they really did leave, huh?"
  
  "You didn't believe me?" he asked, leaning against the hallway wall.
  
  "Hearing it and seeing are two different things," she simply put.
  
  The moment of silence dragged on, and it was apparent Faith was uncomfortable with it. She was holding in something terrible, and he didn't need to guess to know what must've happened again. Watcher Dormer had been killed.
  
  "So...?" was all Xander asked, and she told him everything. As he feared, Kakistos still managed to kill her Watcher in front of her eyes, and Faith still maimed the ancient vampire. The scared Slayer then escaped to the only place she thought to be safe: Sunnydale.
  
  Leaning on the opposite wall, Faith struggled to admit, "I didn't listen to you." She sighed before banging her head hard enough to dent the wall. "Sorry!" she said, but Xander waved it away, assuring her it was fine. After a moment, she confessed, "I got hasty... lost my cool... then the bastards got the better of me, and... and r-ripped Dormer in half." Faith grabbed his hand and asserted, "I need a weapon, Xander. I need a weapon like yours if... if I'm ever going to kill those fuckers."
  
  Xander nodded in understanding, though she thought he was agreeing until he replied, "You don't need a weapon like mine, actually. But I'm still going to make you one."
  
  "I knew I could count on you-"
  
  "For a price."
  
  She smiled seductively before realizing who she was talking to and became suspicious. She cautiously asked, "...The kinda price I'm thinking about, or the kind of price your corny ass would think about?"
  
  "Mine," he answered with a grin, making her roll her eyes. "And for your information, there's nothing corny about the unbridled power of love and friendship."
  
  Rolling her eyes, she groaned, "Ugh, how am I friends with such a cheesy Care Bear?"
  
  Playfully cocksure, he answered, "Because the D is strong with him."
  
  She snorted before continuing. "Fine, what? We getting matching friendship bracelets now?"
  
  "Oh, much worse than that," he assured her with a grin. "I want you to give my friends a chance. I know you don't trust easily, but I got some of the good ones. Just give 'em a chance to show you they can be trusted."
  
  "God, you're so sappy," she exclaimed, shaking her head in good humor. " So sappy."
  
  He chuckled before teasing, "If you really try, there's something good in it for ya."
  
  She eyed him skeptically before asking, " My kind of good, or your kind of goody-goody good?"
  
  "Good for the both of us," he answered. Smiling seductively, Faith leaned against Xander, gazing at him sensually as she pressed her breasts against his chest. With a curl at the corners of his lips, he mischievously answered, "Four new friends that'll always have your back."
  
  Faith rolled her eyes and stepped away as she yelled, "What? D'you turn gay since that night?"
  
  Xander laughed at her irritated outburst for a moment before stepping closer to her and stating, "Faith, I only enjoy having sex when it's about fun and comfort. Not to help someone forget how scared they are about a really big bad that murdered one of the few good people in their life."
  
  The brunette stepped even farther back, yelling, "I'm not scared! What do I have to be scared of!? I'm going to bed!"
  
  She turned to leave before realizing she didn't know which room she would be staying in.
  
  "The one on the left," the amused boy called out.
  
  Faith slammed the door behind her, and though she was mad, he smiled because he felt she would be alright. Xander used the extra time to stitch his Armor Wear runes, ܢܪܗܐܕܛܥ-or airtida' aldurue, which roughly translated to armored garb-on his tank top. He figured he could wear the undergarment most of the day, and should it work as well as he hoped, the thin material would protect nearly all of his major organs.
  
  The Scooby Gang all met in the library the following morning, and Xander introduced Faith to Giles. Buffy, Willow, Oz, and Cordelia sat at the long table, and Giles stood behind them. Faith was next to Xander at the foot of the table as he explained the gist of what had happened to the newest Slayer and her Watcher.
  
  "Terrible news to hear," Giles stated sadly, removing his glasses. "I knew her only by reputation, but her long tenure as a Watcher was well respected amongst her peers."
  
  "That's Giles-talk for she'll be missed," Xander translated for Faith.
  
  "Oh," Faith said before turning to the Englishman and replying, "Uh, thanks."
  
  Looking between Xander and Giles, Buffy asked, "Should we be worried about this Taquitos guy?"
  
  Giles corrected his charge, saying, " Kakistos . And yes, very much so."
  
  Buffy turned to Xander for confirmation-looking for the future insight his looping provided-and he answered, "We can't slack off when we go up against him, but we've survived worse."
  
  Pointing at Faith with her chin, Cordelia asked Xander, "Does she know about you?"
  
  Curious, the Bostonian turned to him and asked, "Know what?"
  
  With fluttery blinking eyes, he answered in a cutesy way, " That I 'm special ." Faith rolled her eyes, with the smallest smile gracing her lips as Xander turned to Giles and asked, "I was hoping you could train her with Buffy? I'll help if you need."
  
  "Well, I-I-I certainly wouldn't turn away your expertise," the twitchy Watcher replied. "A-and Buffy could use an adequate sparring partner."
  
  Faith raised her palm as she asked Xander more than the others, "Not for nothing, but wouldn't a wicked axe be better? All I need is good, sharp steel in my hand, and I bet I could chop 'em up before dinner gets cold." Turning to Buffy, she quickly added, "Not that I don't appreciate a good brawl."
  
  Recalling his trip to Boston, Xander replied, "You remember when we first sparred? And I whooped your booty? I mean, wiped the floor with you. Even though you're stronger-"
  
  "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" the competitive Slayer heatedly interjected.
  
  He leaned in closer, and tapped her temple as he sagely explained, "You gotta be a weapon up here, Faith." Leaning back, he continued, "And Giles can teach you that, so even if you don't have a hunk of steel in your hand, you're still the most dangerous girl around."
  
  "Well, second most dangerous," the other competitive Slayer couldn't help but correct.
  
  Faith turned to Buffy and didn't back down from the challenge, smiling cockily as she asked, "Oh, that so? Care to put your money where your mouth is, Barbie?"
  
  "While I appreciate the enthusiasm," Giles stated, cutting off the rising tension between the Slayers, "I'd first like to assess your current skill level."
  
  Faith looked at Xander, pleading with her eyes to avoid this. He just said, "Please? For me, your Xander-Bear." Faith snickered before reluctantly nodding. She stayed to train with Giles while everyone else went to class.
  
  Xander warned the gang how Kakistos and his men were going to come at them, and how they were going to herd them into an abandoned warehouse. Until then, Xander would help Faith in any way he could, beginning with her weapon. Standing over his forge, stoking the fires, he already knew what she'd love to wield, and heated broken pieces of an old, enchanted sword-used by an Aztec Slayer-to temperature. Luckily, there was enough material for what Xander wanted to make.
  
  When thinking of Faith, he felt she was a wild, unorthodox kind of fighter, and wanted her weapon to reflect that. Though she liked his battleaxe, he felt she would like something shorter, better, with a long enough blade to slice a vampire's neck clean off with one stroke. He also envisioned her with a weapon in each hand, which only added to the complexity of the rune work. The weapons needed to be of one 'mind' but separate, like two devices connected via Bluetooth.
  
  After work, Xander returned to the library to spar with the hot Slayers. He had sparred with each of them before-in this loop and previous ones-but never with an audience who knew about the time braid. From the elevated portion of the library, Cordelia, Willow, and Oz watched Xander, Faith, Buffy, and Giles. Xander and Faith took turns fighting Buffy on the blue mat, so that Giles could explain technique and tactics to the brunette Slayer, while Xander kept Buffy warm. Giles also used Xander and Buffy's sparring as an example of good strategy and thinking on the flybetter tactics.
  
  Xander and Buffy never fought going all out, as he didn't want them to trash the library. In their light sparring-when he covered her, pinned her down, or their faces would be right next to each other-he felt charged moments between them. Perhaps she was recalling their intimate moments together, especially after they were physical. The pair would pause on top of one another, feel the spark, and a blushing Buffy would pull away. Whether she was embarrassed because of the audience or due to discomfort, Xander took it in stride.
  
  On the fourth day after the third Slayer's arrival, Buffy and Faith were attacked by more vampires than they could handle. The girls were corralled by teams of vampires toward the closed factory where Kakistos and Mr. Trick appeared. Xander had been following them since the beginning and, with his camo scarf and glowing eyes, began attacking vampires from behind them. Buffy let Faith handle Kakistos and only interfered when absolutely necessary. Faith was initially scared of the elder vampire. However, just like in previous loops, she summoned the courage to fight and slayed the cloven-limbed vampire with a heavy wood beam through the heart.
  
  After the dust settled, Faith was so excited she wrapped her arms around Xander's neck, and regardless of Buffy's presence, kissed him in front of her. Xander was a little surprised, and one eye turned to Buffy's completely shocked expression. After a few seconds, Xander pulled away from the exuberant brunette, and though she apologized, she seemed too worked up after getting her revenge on Kakistos to actually be apologetic.
  
  "Sorry," she said to them. The girl was bubbling with energy as she added, "I usually get hungry or horny after a fight, and that was one hell of ah fight! I mean, did you see me stake that thing with a twelve-foot pole?!"
  
  "It's fine," Buffy affirmed, nodding in clear accord. "I get it... the hungry part! " she quickly added, her eyes growing wide in fear they might think she meant horny. "The hungry part- I'm going home."
  
  Buffy turned to leave as a seductive Faith glanced at him with wanton eyes, "We should do the same."
  
  The invitation couldn't have been clearer. However, Xander waved for the blonde girl as he told Faith, "Actually, before that, I have to tell you something. Buffy, can you stay? She's either going to hit me or want to stay somewhere else."
  
  Eying him curiously, Faith asked, "What are you talking about?"
  
  Buffy realized what he was going to do when Xander asked, "You remember when Cordelia asked if you knew? You asked, ' knew what? '"
  
  "And you said you were special needs."
  
  "Minus the needs part, but yeah."
  
  Xander then explained knowing who she was because of the time braid and using what he knew about her to position himself to be friends. It didn't surprise him when Faith stayed with Buffy that night and learned the details of what Xander was going through from her fellow Slayer. She stayed away from him in the days that followed and talked to Willow, Giles, and even Cordelia about him.
  
  After a week, she went to Wild Dink's to see him. He was in the middle of making her weapons, but she didn't seem to care. All of her deviant affection and warmth toward him was gone. He could see the trust was broken in her irate and skeptical eyes. Everything he'd tried to do to help her-to be an anchor for her-seemed on the brink of disappearing. She was there to talk, so he set down the dark red billet, allowing it to cool, wrote down where he left off in the process, and took a break. He led her to the back of the forge, where the crew generally hung out on the good days or tested the sharpness of a blade. He leaned against the table and waited for her.
  
  Near to glaring as a person can be, the bitter brunette asked, "Did you at least feel like shit keeping all that from me?"
  
  "Honestly, no, not really," he honestly admitted. Xander knew his continual lack of sympathy and feelings was becoming a problem, but other than breaking out of the time braid, he didn't see another way of solving it. He continued, "I didn't tell you about the time loop, true, but that doesn't change the fact that our parents are a disappointment. I still care about you, and I still want you to know you can trust me."
  
  Irate, she hollered back, "How the hell am I supposed to trust you when you've been lying to me this entire time!?"
  
  "Because I told you-"
  
  " You knew Dormer was going to die! " she yelled, clearly showing how much she cared about her Watcher.
  
  Remaining calm, almost indifferent to her obvious expression of anger and betrayal, Xander replied, "I know a lot of people that die. I can't save everyone, Faith. Just like I can't stop every bad thing from happening. I knew you needed help, so I helped. That's it."
  
  "Well, you did a shit job," she hurled back.
  
  Nodding, he replied, "You won't hear any argument from me."
  
  Her face was full of disgust and disappointment. She saw him as worse than a stranger, and Xander couldn't be sure why. Her reaction seemed excessive. However, she didn't explain further, so after some moments of silence, Xander returned to work. Four hours later, he was surprised to find her waiting for him at his house. She was on his porch when he walked up.
  
  "Can you really not get out?" she asked.
  
  "Want to come in?" he replied. Faith ignored the request and stayed put, waiting for an answer. With a sigh, Xander dropped his backpack on the ground and replied, "Nothing I've done so far has worked."
  
  Faith mentioned, "Willow thinks Buffy's the key, or something."
  
  "Maybe, maybe not," he said. "Willow's a bit of a romantic."
  
  Skeptically, she asked, "You've talked to other versions of me? Which is why you thought you knew me?"
  
  "I do know you," he asserted. "It's just not in the traditional way. You gotta remember: I'm a stranger to everyone who meets me, but no one's a stranger to me. How do you expect me to be honest about something like that without freaking people out?"
  
  Faith didn't seem to have an answer for that. However, she hotly returned, "I'm still pissed at you!"
  
  "Understandable," the apathetic boy accepted.
  
  "And you're really fine with that?" she questioned, and again, was surprised by how little he cared. At his nod, she continued, "Willow said it's because you have no hope of beating this thing. Which sucks, cuz what she really can't see is that you're nothing but a coward and a quitter!"
  
  Faith left after that and stayed with Buffy for a short while before returning to the Motor Inn on Olive Avenue. The hard-boiled brunette was cordial with him after that, but Xander could tell whatever connection they had once shared was gone the moment he lost her trust. No more friendly banter, sexual innuendo, sparring, or even patrolling together. She had cut him off.
  
  In the library some days later, the Scoobies were seated at the center table of the library, as if it were a council meeting, going over the list of future conflicts Xander had made for them. Rather than share the paper, Giles read aloud, "Big monster killing; SlayerFest is about assassins and not festive at all; Sewer snake monster wants to eat babies; Fu- oh, dear. Uhh," Giles eyed Xander with concern before self-censoring, "An expletive toward Spike. That... prima donna kicks up a fuss because Drusilla won't coddle him."
  
  "You really don't like Spike," Jenny pointed out.
  
  "Understandable," Buffy remarked with a nod before shivering.
  
  Giles cleared his throat before continuing, "There's a Sunnydale witch hunt in January. And on Buffy's birthday, the Watcher's Council are... dicks- Really, Xander? Could you be less helpful?"
  
  He shrugged before explaining Buffy's birthday situation was the farthest he's ever gotten. Then he offered them the choice of actions their group could take.
  
  "Either let it happen to a certain point, or stop it before it even starts," Xander bluntly asserted, leaning back in his chair. They looked at him as he added, "Keep in mind: if you stop it before it starts, it's like giving the bad guys another chance to get it right."
  
  "Why?" Buffy wondered aloud. "If we slay-slay-slay, or get them arrested, then it should be no problem."
  
  "Then you're killing someone who hasn't done anything yet," Willow reasoned with deep consideration. She also pointed out, "And you can't arrest someone who hasn't committed a crime yet."
  
  "Stopping what happens doesn't stop why it happens," he simplified, standing up to address them. With flourishing hand gestures, Xander sounded like a game show host as he voiced, "Just like our next contestant on the Price is Evil, Mr. Pete Clarner! Come on down! He, through the power of love and stupidity, created a potion to be more masculine for his girlfriend-"
  
  Acquainted with Pete, a curious Buffy asked, "Debbie Foley?"
  
  "Yeah, some of you know them from class," he acknowledged. "After taking this potion a bunch of times, he turns himself into an aggressive monster that eventually kills people, including Debbie."
  
  "How'd we stop him last time- er, I mean, in a previous loop?" Faith asked.
  
  "Once he was in full-on rampaging mode as Mr. Hyde, he got his neck snapped-most of the time, by Angel, but sometimes by me or Buffy." Xander answered. "So, it's up to you guys. Decide how you want to handle it, and we'll do it that way."
  
  Oz repeated Willow's observation. "But he's done none of that yet, so it's not like we can take him out or get him arrested."
  
  "This is quite the moral dilemma," Giles thoughtfully remarked. "At the moment, Mr. Clarner is only a potential transgressor. He has done nothing to warrant our involvement. However, if we delay-"
  
  "He kills Debbie and other people before we do something?" Buffy finished, giving him a queer eye.
  
  "That is, of course, too far," Giles assured the blond. "But we obviously can't do anything too extreme before he even attempts an evil act."
  
  "Yeeesh," Cordelia commented, before asking Xander, "Is this what you've been dealing with?"
  
  "It's a little easier when you accept the fact you can't save everyone," Xander answered her, saddening Willow. "Assume you stop Pete from killing anyone this time," Xander continued. "The life that's led him up to this decision is still there. He thought of taking the potion once. There's no saying he won't think of doing it again. Only, I won't know about it next time. It's like with Angelus, the Du Lac Cross, Ted, the Coach, other stuff. I've stopped them all from getting their way, but sometimes Angel still turns to Angelus, Drusilla still gets a power-up, and all the other stuff happens-only in different ways."
  
  "But the other option is letting someone die," Giles distastefully noted. "That's not something we can allow ourselves to do."
  
  "It's not the only other option," Willow stated. "You've been letting things happen to a point and stopping it before it gets too terrible." With hopeful eyes, she asked him, "What's that look like in this scenario?"
  
  Xander could tell Willow was anxious about him. Ever since they had learned about his hell in the time braid, Willow, Giles, and Jenny had been researching non-stop for a way to get him out. It had been a few weeks, and despite the dozens of books read, they still hadn't come up with anything. Other than a spell for a weak time loop, they had nothing but hope to cling to-Willow, more than anyone.
  
  Clearing his throat, Xander answered, "Around the full moon is when all this stuff happens; specifically, a mutilated body out in the woods. I suggest we stop Pete from killing anyone, but leave him be until he's too far gone, then, X him out."
  
  They eyed Xander with a mixture of concern and surprise in their eyes, but, as ever, Xander didn't mind. It was amusing enough for him to continue the loop.
  
  "That's a little... callous," Jenny remarked.
  
  "Again, it's up to you guys," Xander told them with a shoulder shrug. "I'll do whatever you want."
  
  "We should talk to Pete," Willow suggested. "Maybe we can change his mind. You said he does it for Debbie. Maybe if he realizes he doesn't have to go so far, he'll never become a monster and we can prevent the whole thing."
  
  Cordelia was the first of them to side with Xander, saying, "I don't know. I'm with Xander on this one. You can't save everyone, and there's no guarantee he won't do it in the future."
  
  Though Faith was amicable toward Xander, she agreed with Willow. "I'm with Red. Let's try to save people when we can."
  
  Xander felt her dig at him, but didn't care much.
  
  "Really?" Cordelia asked the brunette slayer. "Even after your watcher? He did warn you about Kakistos and it still happened."
  
  Before Faith could angrily repudiate the cheerleader, Giles quickly stated, "I vote we attempt to reason with him."
  
  "Same," Jenny agreed, placing a palm on Cordelia's shoulder.
  
  Buffy eyed Xander a moment before siding with Willow, stating, "Let's talk him down."
  
  With Oz also voting to talk Pete down, the Scoobies came up with a plan.
  
  I couldn't fit it in the previous chapter(51) but Buffy and Xander needed to have a conversation. More on them in future chapters.
  
  Least favorite line: My kind of good or your kind of goody-goody good." I really couldn't come up with anything. If anyone has a suggestion, I'll pick the one I like the most and change it.
  
  Announcement: I may not be able to update next week. I'm quitting my second job, which will open up my schedule. I'll soon have a lot of free time to write, however, for the next 2 weeks, I'll be working like a mad dog, trying to squeeze as much $$ out as possible. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay tree on is at /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content in there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Endless Return
  Another Sunday, another chapter!
  
  Thank you all for returning and sticking with this journey. We're getting closer guys. Soon, this fic will be completed😭😭
  
  Big thank you to my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Thank you guys for your speedy work.
  
  Warning: Language, LEMONS, and disturbing scenes.
  
  8.1K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  The Endless Return
  
  To Xander's surprise, talking Pete Clarner out of taking his monsterization potion actually worked. After tailing Pete from afar for several days, the Scoobies stopped his first attack with the combined combat level of Xander, Buffy, and Faith. It was a relatively fast skirmish. The group then pretended to realize the monster was Pete and confronted him in front of Debbie. They had a frank and heartfelt intervention for Pete, and Debbie pleaded with her boyfriend to stop taking the serum, professing how much she loved him just the way he was. Emotional, Pete embraced his girlfriend and promised to never take the serum again.
  
  "I love you," a crying Debbie said, hugging him tighter.
  
  "I love you, too," a teary-eyed Pete replied.
  
  The gang watched on with a sense of accomplishment. However, Xander didn't care if the crisis and the deaths often attached to Pete's monstrous change were avoided this time. His friends felt it was a victory, but it felt too minor to him. Willow thought he ought to draw hope from avoiding terrible outcomes, as it meant there was hope he could escape the time braid, but Xander wasn't sure. As much as he wanted to believe her, the possibility of all that hope being erased if he looped again was too rage-inducing to face.
  
  If he looped again, he thought, ' Why not just destroy the world? It 'd definitely be exciting .'
  
  Feeling on the edge of becoming that megalomaniac future ruler of earth, Xander simply remained quiet, watched, and waited.
  
  The bored time looper spent most of his free time patrolling, training with the Slayers, or forging Faith's weapon at Wild Dinks. It had taken him nearly two months to figure out a runic array and forge a pattern-weld for two separate axe heads from a single ingot. The problem he faced was not wanting the magic housed within each axe head to feel separate from the other. The magic flowing from each weapon needed to feel as if it was coming from one home, but housed in two pieces. Xander had messed up a couple times before coming up with a strategy that even Eitri would be impressed by: forging one dual-bladed axe that he would split down the middle. After that hurdle, the rest of the intricate process was as normal as could be.
  
  Xander was done with the axes by Homecoming, so the night before the dance, he met up with Faith before she started patrolling. She still hadn't forgiven him for lying about his future knowledge and blamed him for not doing more to prevent Dormer's death. Xander simply didn't have the energy to figure out what more he could do to convince her that he couldn't save everyone.
  
  Thus, the beautiful Bostonian looked at him coldly, with a hint of annoyance, as he approached her in the cemetery. Regardless of their chilly attitude toward each other, Xander lifted the black case and opened it, presenting Faith with her newly finished weapons in a velvet lined red cedar box. At the stunning sight of the hatchet-styled Tomahawk axes with criss-cross leather wrapping the handles, her annoyance was temporarily forgotten.
  
  The deadly weapons were 20-inches in length with 8-inch heads and 6-inch cutting edges. The rosewood handles were curved and the balance of weight made them easy to grip or throw. The high-carbon steel heads were rough and dark, but the runes etched on the base were silver and polished. Gently, a stunned Faith took them out of the box and spun them in her hands as if they always belonged.
  
  "They're amazing," a wide-eyed Faith gasped.
  
  "I call them Blood & Lust," Xander said, indicating each one. "Or Blood/Lust if you want to refer to them in the singular."
  
  "Blood/Lust, huh?" she repeated. Looking at him with a smile, she remarked, "Couldn't have picked a better name myself." She looked at him and, as though she recalled being disappointed in him, her face lost its joyous expression. Still, she accepted them graciously, saying, "Thanks for these."
  
  He explained to her how to summon them, then left.
  
  From the list of warnings Xander gave them, The Scoobies knew about Mr. Trick surveilling them for his hunting party. Since the ones attempting to murder Buffy and Faith were demons, assassins, and vampires, no one in the group had any moral objection to slaying them. Buffy asked Angel to go to Homecoming with her. Faith agreed to go with Xander, but solely so it would make sense why he'd be in the limousine as well. The night the limo showed up at Buffy's home, Xander, Buffy, Faith, and Angel were all dressed in dashing formal wear and entered the vehicle.
  
  They weren't at all surprised to find themselves in a forest with a video playing on the TV, introducing them to SlayerFest 98. In the forest, the four fighters were surrounded by a number of assassins; German twins, Hans & Fredrick Gruenstahler; an old hunter named Frawley; Kulak, a yellow demon of the Miquot Clan; and the vampire Gorch brothers, Lyle and Tector. Unbothered by the danger surrounding the, everyone other than Angel extended a hand-two hands in Faith's case-and from the back of the limo, four weapons ripped through the metal trunk and into their lethal hands.
  
  "Fucking wicked," Faith happily called out, spinning her beautiful axes in her hands.
  
  With Xander's knowledge of where, more or less, the assassins were, the four fighters expertly made quick work of the assassins that stayed. Lyle Gorch ran away after his brother was dusted by Faith, as did Hans when Angel killed his brother. Angel wanted to hunt them down, even if it took all night. Buffy, however, pleaded with him to attend the dance with her and her friends. Faith wanted to keep fighting, and Xander simply didn't care.
  
  "We can hunt them down tomorrow," Buffy proposed to them. "Tonight, let's dance."
  
  With Angel's nod, they all go to Homecoming. At the decorated gymnasium, all the teenagers were on the dance floor having fun. The large room was lit with flashing and spot lights. There were white tables all around the dance floor, some with snacks and drinks. The energetic, fast-paced music eventually gave way to slow songs for couples and close friends. Xander danced with Willow, but kept one eye on Angel and Buffy dancing together. They made him nervous because he couldn't be sure they wouldn't do something stupid.
  
  As he expertly swayed with Willow, he asked, "Do you think they'd repeat the same mistake?"
  
  Willow followed his line of sight and saw Buffy and Angel dancing closely. The love on their faces was evident, even from a distance. The redhead shook her head before confessing, "Angel's actually leaving. This might be the last dance they ever share."
  
  "Really? I didn't know," he admitted.
  
  "Whaaa?!" Willow exclaimed sarcastically. "You mean you and Angel don't tell each other everything ?"
  
  "Look at you with the zingers," Xander said with a smile.
  
  "Thanks," she said with a cute smirk. The group-Willow in particular-had been feeling good about their wins over the forces of evil. It was why she looked jubilant when she remarked, "It's a good night for zingers. Zingers and tacos."
  
  Xander huffed in good humor before asking, "Is he going to Los Angeles?"
  
  "How'd you... Right. The loops," she responded. She nodded before answering, "He told Buffy he'd stay until you're out of the time braid."
  
  "What a swell guy." Xander sarcastically replied.
  
  "Come on," she returned, lightly shoving him. "You don't feel the teensiest bit bad for them?"
  
  "You're a romantic, Wills, and I've become a pragmatist," he asserted. "A Slayer falling in love with a vampire might be considered compelling romance, but it's that Shakespeare kind of love-i.e. Let's-Take-Poison-Because-We-Can't-Be-Together-that I can't support. It overrides logic and reality. Romeo and Juliet could've... I don't know-waited a few years till they were old enough to survive on their own and then be together. But where's the romance in that, right? It's like love has to be this grand ' Be All, End All ' kind of thing, or somehow , it's not real, which doesn't make any sense."
  
  "In their defense, they thought the other one was dead, so."
  
  "It's an imbalance," he insisted. "Having love but making poor decisions, or making smart decisions but never being in love. If those are the only choices, I'll pick the second. I've done my share of the first one, and let me tell you, it's not worth it."
  
  "Merlin was right," Willow said. "You and magic just don't mix." Nodding toward Debbie and Pete, lovingly dancing together near an equally affectionate Buffy and Angel, she told him, "Look over there. Pete and Debbie are happy-together-and in love, because we had hope they could be that way. You have to have hope for a better tomorrow, Xander, or how else can it happen?"
  
  Xander looked at the devoted Pete and Debbie-slow dancing adorably-and happened to catch Buffy's eye just past them. The blonde beauty caught his eye as well and it was the first time her warmhearted expression broke. He could see a wealth of conflicting emotions on her face. She was dancing with Angel-the man she could never be with-while being observed by the boy she often gave her body to. Xander wondered if Willow was right, only to recall how smart she was.
  
  ' Obviously, she 's right ,' he thought, feeling a glimmer of hope spark within him.
  
  The couples and friends slow-danced on the dance floor, and when the song was nearly at the end, an ear-piercing gunshot cut through the merriment in the room. BANG! BANG! BANG! The gunshots were promptly followed by screaming, panic-stricken teenagers. Xander saw a bloom of red mist catch the spotlight, and Buffy & Angel fell to the floor with other teenagers. Immediately his heart sank, expecting to see black and wake up in his disgusting bed and unkempt room. However, after a second, Xander hadn't looped back to Halloween. In the chaos of running students and teachers, Xander turned to see Hans moving toward his target, taking a couple more shots at Angel's body as it covered Buffy.
  
  Xander dragged every ounce of power from his ring and rushed the assassin, gripped his gun-wielding wrist, and broke it. The German man threw his head back, groaning horribly in pain as he dropped the gun. Xander flipped him on his back, then swiftly broke his arm, making him scream. Xander noticed Faith dealing with Lyle Gorch out of the corner of his eye. Then an ear-piercing scream cut through the room, followed by pained wailing. Several feet away, Pete Clarner was sobbing his eyes out, holding a limp Debbie in his arms as she bled from the small hole in her chest, staining her pretty blue dress.
  
  With enhanced strength, Xander punched Hans in the face-feeling the feedback of his jaw breaking-and knocked him out. Rather than tie him up, Xander was going to snap his neck to ensure he didn't wake up, but Giles rushed and slid to the floor next to the assassin, stating, "I'll secure him! You assist Faith!"
  
  ' It 'd be easier just to kill him ,' Xander thought, but he didn't care enough to have that moral argument.
  
  Xander looked for Faith, but before he could help, she staked Lyle Gorch with a piece of a broken chair, turning him into dust. Turning to Buffy, he was relieved to see that Angel took all the gunshots meant for her. He then rushed over to Debbie. Pete was still holding her, begging her to hang on until the paramedics arrived. However, Xander knew nothing could be done. Pressing his fingers to her neck confirmed she had no pulse.
  
  The Sunnydale police quickly responded to the shooting, and by the time they arrived, an unhinged Pete ran away. Xander thought to follow him, but stayed with his friends as the police took the gunman away. Outside, behind the school gymnasium, many parents quickly arrived, and police and paramedics assisted any student that needed it, even if it was a minor injury. From several yards away, Xander and the Scoobies were quietly observing Hans being treated for his broken arm by a paramedic before being escorted to the police cruiser. It was then that everyone in the student parking lot heard a loud roar.
  
  "AAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!
  
  Xander and his friends turned to a monsterized Pete, bigger, furious, and focused on no one but the German assassin. Cold dread sank to the pit of Xander's stomach as he realized there were at least fifteen innocent lives between the enraged Pete and Hans. Xander, Buffy, and Faith dashed toward the monster like a ball shot out of a cannon. However, they were much too far away to stop Pete from clubbing three crying girls out of the way. He sent them flying like rag dolls.
  
  "MOVE!"
  
  "GET AWAY!"
  
  "RUN!"
  
  People shouted as Pete tore through police, parents, students, and medics to get to Hans. Buffy and Faith nearly reached the heartbroken monster when officers began shooting the rampaging beast. The Slayers ducked and Xander tackled a mother and son to the ground to keep from getting shot. A dozen police officers put bullets into Pete, but it didn't stop him. The beast tore through them as he was being shot, until he finally punched through the passenger window of the squad car.
  
  The monstrous Pete gripped Hans around the neck, dragged him out, and smashed his head against the street. A sharp thud, like the crack of an egg, rang out, and Xander could see Hans' body spasm and his limbs extend. Though tired and bleeding from dozens of bullet wounds, Pete's hands wrapped around Hans' skull and he squeezed until it popped and crumbled, shooting trails of blood and chunks of brain everywhere.
  
  The last shot rang out, and Pete finally dropped. He tried to speak, but only blood came out, and then he was dead. It wasn't silent. Crying parents and teenagers; police and paramedics yelling out orders-but somehow, Xander heard none of it as he stared at the bleeding Pete lying lifeless beside the mutilated body of Hans. He felt an indescribably grim feeling at the gruesome sight, like despair and impotence.
  
  "Fighting for nothing," he muttered. "An eternity of endless return."
  
  In the end, rather than agreeing with Xander's suggestion to stop Pete early, Debbie died, Pete died, two police officers died, Hans died, and many others were injured due to either Pete manhandling them out of the way, or officer-friendly fire.
  
  Willow took his hand as Giles and Jenny corralled their teens away from the scene. Loosely dressed in their fine attire, the Scoobies gathered in the library and were despondent-all but Xander. He said nothing and wasn't surprised by the turn of events; or more accurately, he didn't feel anything. Xander was more upset by how affected his friends seemed to be rather than the unnecessary deaths they'd witnessed that night. He nearly felt left out, because he knew he should be feeling the same way, but he didn't.
  
  "Free will versus determinism," Giles morosely voiced, breaking the silence as he cleaned his glasses. "Is the future set or can free will alter events yet to pass?"
  
  A flustered Willow argued, "Ob-obviously, it can change! Xander changed it before!"
  
  "Unfortunately, it's as he said," Giles replied. "The order of events changed, but not the, uh, outcome."
  
  "I was supposed to die, Rupert," Jenny stated. Pointing at Xander-who was leaning against the wall-she added, "He stopped that. So, it's not impossible."
  
  "Right! It's not impossible! We can't quit!" Willow continued to protest. She rushed up to Xander, and with tears in her eyes, yelled, "We can still save you, Xander! I know we can!"
  
  It was clear to everyone how much Willow wanted to break Xander out of the time braid. He simply smiled and hugged the distressed girl, embracing for several minutes because her love for him always moved his stone-cold heart. He then told everyone he was going to patrol. Willow called to him as he left, but he didn't stop.
  
  Walking through the graveyard, Xander felt his heart race and his muscles tense. He told himself, over and over, he'd already given up on this loop, but after twenty minutes of trying not to let the feeling welling up inside break him, Xander smashed his fist into the rough trunk of a tree. The entire tree shook and his fist felt broken, but he didn't care. The pulsing agony of his twitching hand felt better than the small amount of hope Willow had made him feel.
  
  "Rough night," he heard from behind him.
  
  Recognizing the voice, Xander stood straighter and quickly cleared his eyes before continuing to walk forward. Angel followed as Xander asked, "What do you want?"
  
  "Came to tell you to watch over Buffy," he answered from beside Xander.
  
  "That goes without saying."
  
  "I'm leaving."
  
  "I heard," he returned. "Have fun in L.A."
  
  Angel stopped in front of Xander, halting their walk. The vampire didn't break eye contact as he said, "Listen, I'm not going to pretend I care about you. What you did to Buffy is unforgettable and unforgivable."
  
  "Oh?" Xander sarcastically questioned, before joking, "And here I was laboring away on our friendship bracelets."
  
  "I know what living alone-without hope-looks like," Angel solemnly continued. "If you really want to get out of the hell you're in, trust your friends. Trust Buffy. I guarantee you it's the best move you can make." Xander cleared his throat to talk but didn't feel like replying. He stayed silent as Angel reiterated, "Watch Buffy's back."
  
  In his mind, he wondered, ' Why? What does anything matter anymore? ' However, Xander didn't want to be on the receiving end of a prolonged, emotional pep talk. Not that he felt annoyed by Angel, which was a change of pace, but he'd rather be alone. He told the vampire, "You don't have to head off to L.A. so soon. We can always use the help."
  
  Angel nodded before leaving.
  
  Hours later-with a fully healed hand-Xander returned home and wasn't surprised to see Cordelia's car in his driveway. After parking his motorcycle in the garage, he walked up to his bedroom and was surprised by the sight. There were a dozen lit candles around the room, half burned down, which meant it had been hours. On top of the chest, at the foot of the bed, was a plate of twinkies and root beer in a bucket with mostly melted ice. What initially grabbed his attention was the gorgeous Cordelia, laying in his bed dressed in sexy black lingerie and wearing a blindfold. She had a red ball gag, but it was lowered around her neck because the sexy cheerleader had fallen asleep.
  
  Even more surprising than the half-naked slumbering beauty was Faith. The brunette Slayer was also in his room, seated in the plush chair by the window. She casually nodded at him as if this were a typical encounter, then walked over to him and whispered, "She's smokin' hot with clothes on. In sexy-ass lingerie, damn , the girl is fucking edible!"
  
  Xander snickered in agreement. With a nod, he led the Slayer out into the hallway. They each leaned on opposite walls as he whispered back, "What are you doing here?"
  
  "I... had something to tell you," she said. Faith paused, eying the floor a moment before looking him in the eyes and stating, "I overheard Angel when he came to see Buffy. He mentioned you weren't taking it well. After tonight, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why. So, here I am." With a lecherous grin, she added, "Walked in on Cordelia sleeping-happily, I might add."
  
  Xander smiled at Faith's vulgarity before confessing, "She likes to make sure I'm not alone in the morning. And I like letting her."
  
  "You'd be a limp-dick idiot not to," Faith remarked with an assertive nod.
  
  He snickered before asking, "So, what's up?"
  
  "I'll just cut to it. I wanted to tell you that I'm not sorry," Faith bluntly stated. Xander huffed in a mix of amusement and mild irritation. His reaction seemed to only annoy her before she explained, "On my way here, I did think I was going to apologize. If what happened tonight happened to me over and over again, for decades, I'd have given up a long time ago, too. It really hit home... what you're going through. But then I remembered how Angel and I wanted to chase down the assassins, Buffy wanted to go to her stupid dance, and you didn't care. If you had said something- anything -about chasing them instead, we could've hunted them down and no one would've died tonight."
  
  Xander actually felt his left eye twitch in growing annoyance, feeling that impotent dread within bubble up again. He could feel his chest, shoulders, and arms flex in hostility as he leaned down and asked, "Then why didn't you and Angel go after them? I wasn't stopping you. You chose to go to the stupid dance too!"
  
  Practically glaring at him, Faith irately asserted, "You're just a quitter."
  
  "Says the girl who ran here with her tail tucked between her legs," Xander retorted, absent any humor.
  
  Leaning closer, she nodded as she retorted, "Yeah, maybe I did run, but it helped, and I killed that son-of-a-"
  
  Immediately irked by her trying to compare their circumstances, Xander abruptly yelled, "There's nothing for me to kill here, Faith!" She tensed a moment as he added, "There's no bad guy I can stake through the heart to get out! I can't even die!" Xander paused when he realized he lost control again. Shaking his head, he stood straighter and demanded, "You know what? Just get out."
  
  Faith looked at him with the same anger and disappointment in her brown eyes. She said all she needed to without words. Her expression told him how much of a failure he was; how he wasn't strong enough to get out, let alone deserving to. Somehow, her letdown expression also told him he was bad in bed. Faith angered him more than anyone had in a long time.
  
  He couldn't help but slap the wall and point away as he yelled, " Get the fuck out of my house! "
  
  The brunette beauty gave him a final look of disapproval before leaving. A hot Xander entered his bedroom, blew out the candles, roughly took off his clothes, and plopped himself in bed. Though seething quietly, he covered the naughty Cordelia before trying to get some sleep. However, sleep would not come easily, even when he used his ring to force his body to relax enough to rest. Nightmares of Pete's dead eyes-and looping back for all eternity-kept waking him up.
  
  By four in the morning, he simply went downstairs and finished working on his incredibly durable Armor Wear. Forging Blood/Lust had taken much of his time, but fortunately, he had very little left to do. He spoke the incantation, "Lāmadh Semkath, Taw Ṣādhē WawLāmadh. MemKāph Dāl Khēth." It roughly translated to: "I come to you, oh master of all and eternal. Protect your King."
  
  The tight, black, muscle t-shirt with the rune array stitched straight down from the left armpit to the hem glowed golden white a moment before dimming into nothing. Picking it up and testing the stretchiness, it still felt like a normal muscle shirt. Rather than hang it on a wall and throw knives at the enhanced cloth to see how well it held up, Xander wore the garment and laid on the floor. Taking one of the many knives around him, he casually lobbed it in the air above him. With his weapon's efficiency and muscle control, the sharp chef knife spun at the height of its arch before coming down directly above his heart.
  
  He didn't even flinch as the blade bounced off of his chest.
  
  Xander wasn't sure how he felt when the sharp point didn't penetrate the thin material. He felt pressure, like a finger poking him, but nothing more. He knew the knife wouldn't have enough force to pierce through his sternum and stab his heart, but he wouldn't mind the pain. Xander grabbed another knife and repeated the toss and attempted to stab all over his covered torso. He laid on the floor watching the knife come for him repeatedly, which was how Cordelia found him.
  
  He was so focused on zoning out that he hadn't noticed her coming down the staircase, wearing a red silk robe.
  
  With growing concern, she eyed him on the floor, the knives all around him, and a few stuck in the ceiling-thinking of Faith made him fling the blades too hard. Xander sat up and noticed the early morning light coming through the window. He stood as she met him, checking his muscle t-shirt and his skin underneath. Though everything was fine, Cordelia was eying him like he was a death row inmate and his execution was tomorrow.
  
  Her concerned face made him respond with, "Morning. How'd you sleep?"
  
  Cordelia leaned in and kissed him for several moments and Xander couldn't help the arousing pleasure pitching a tent. Cordelia shoved Xander onto the couch and straddled his lap before kissing him once again. Her fingers ran through his lengthy black hair and caressed his sturdy neck as her tongue descended into his open mouth. She sucked at his tongue as she dry-humped his rising cock. Soon, his meaty manhood popped out of his boxer's flap and he pushed aside the front panel of Cordelia's lingerie.
  
  "Mmm," she moaned in his mouth upon the skin-on-skin contact.
  
  As she rolled her hip, rubbing against his veiny hardness, Cordelia's soaking sex coated his man-meat in her warm juices. Xander stroked her hair and gripped her neck with just enough pressure to excite her further. She was growing hotter, boiling, as his free hand pinched her erect nipple, squeezing and massaging her large breast.
  
  Xander broke their kiss and sat straighter so he had easier access to her large mammaries. Cordelia moaned, wrapping her arms around his head as his mouth sucked on her sensitive nipple. She laid on him, losing control to more sensitivity as his hands expertly coaxed waves of pleasure to ignite her. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, making her hair stick, and her body burned for his touch.
  
  "I want it," Cordelia gasped. "Give it to me."
  
  Slowly, Xander gripped his shaft and rubbed the leaking entrance of her pussy before she lowered herself on his thick rod, spreading her for as long as she groaned.
  
  "MMMMMNNNNNNNNNnnnnnnnnnnnnn," she sounded with eyes closed, slightly trembling.
  
  Little by little, Cordelia's sex covered the entirety of his manhood, and Xander groaned happily at her hot, wet sex tightly pulsing around him. While Cordelia gripped the top of the couch, Xander massaged her clit and ass as he sucked on her beautiful tear-drop breasts. Slowly, she lifted her sex, generating delicious friction, before impaling herself once again. Arching her back, the bouncing Cordelia moaned as she built up a rhythm. Her body was glistening with perspiration as she rode his thick cock.
  
  Xander's cock stroked Cordelia's G-Spot repeatedly, better than any man she had ever been with. The moaning cheerleader knew she didn't have long and slammed onto his pleasure stick harder, desperate to get him off as well. Her pussy shivered with every stroke, sending more and more intense waves of bliss through her body. Teasingly slow, the electric pleasure traveled up her spine, and the closer it moved to her brain, the closer she came to a monumental orgasm.
  
  Xander gripped her waist, eying the blushing beauty-with her gorgeous chocolate hair cascading around her blushing face-and before she could realize what he was doing, began vibrating his cock. The ecstasy shot up her spine, neck, and into her brain. She saw white as her flush body violently detonated in a long explosion of heart-stopping pleasure. Hugging her lover for dear life, her cunt, legs, torso, and arms quivered violently. The way her pussy gripped him, Xander couldn't hold on and gritted his teeth as he emptied his balls inside her. Feeling his warm fluid flood her insides kept Cordelia in a state of bliss for far longer.
  
  After they finally regained their senses, the lovers went for another round, finding solace and comfort in their lovemaking. For Xander, it was just what he needed to forget about the time braid and Willow's hope, but Faith's indictment of him stayed in his mind, annoying him. After their third mind-blowing round, Cordelia pleaded for rest. She dragged him to her side so they could rest on the couch together.
  
  Looking into his eyes, the spent girl said, "Don't be... sad."
  
  "I'm less sad now," Xander assured her. "Getting my balls emptied has the amazing effect of giving me a positive outlook on life."
  
  "After last night, I mean," Cordelia specified. "Don't be sad after last night. Those deaths weren't on you. You gave them the choice to decide, and they chose wrong."
  
  "Thanks," he said, kissing the tip of her nose. "But if I loop, it's not going to really matter."
  
  "You said 'if.' Good," she said, nestling her head in the crook of his neck and resting.
  
  Xander felt scared that he still had hope, because if he ever woke up on Halloween again, he didn't think his sanity would survive it. The fear of doing anything for stimulation made him latch on to his anger toward Faith. He still couldn't believe she had the gall to call him a coward-after everything he had gone through. That flush of anger kept him centered that morning.
  
  It was a somber day at Sunnydale high school. Debbie's locker was plastered with notes, stickers, and pictures of love and mourning. In the library, Xander tried to tell the Scoobies the next big problem that would happen, but it was too soon for them to forget the night before. In the days to come, the gang eventually decided to burn all the cursed candy Ethan Rayne produced to turn the adult population into mentally irresponsible minors. Then Ethan threw the gang a curve ball Xander hadn't expected. Rather than ending his plans after the candy bars were rendered useless, the chaos mage executed a backup plan; tainting coffee beans with the immaturing spell and distributed the cursed product everywhere they needed to infiltrate.
  
  Having drank the free coffee, the irresponsible Giles and Joyce's sexual escapades were still found out by Buffy, Xander, Faith, and Jenny. While a quietly infuriated Jenny watched over Giles and Joyce, Faith and Xander went to the hospital first to protect the babies. Buffy went to beat Ethan up for any other information Xander hadn't already told her. When Ethan knew nothing new, she went to the sewer to slay the snake-demon Lurconis. The Slayers and Xander entered the dank and smelly underground, and with their godly weapons, it was no match for them. They killed the sewer monster with little fanfare.
  
  The entire Scooby Gang then had to spend the rest of the night looking for Giles and Joyce, who ran away from Jenny to continue their fun times until the curse wore off. The next day, Giles and Jenny's relationship was sadly on life-support, if not dead.
  
  When Gwendolyn Post arrived and claimed to be Faith's new watcher, the Scoobies humored her. Xander had already warned them about her and had long since replaced the glove of Myhnegon with a fake. They played ignorant of the Englishwoman's nefarious plans for the magical artifact until Gwendolyn put it on and tried to kill them with it. Faith punched her in the face, and as it happened in previous loops, the Council collected the rogue Watcher.
  
  Buffy scored an unexpectedly high SAT score and Xander's was just under hers. Buffy and Willow were talking about colleges, universities, and a life that Xander was certain he'd never get to see. He humored them for as long as he could before leaving for Wild Dinks. After a long shift at the forge, he was leaving the metal shop when he was knocked out from behind. His vision wet black and slowly awoke in a cold and dank basement. Despite a large amount of cobwebs in every corner of the stone room, it was well furnished with a table, several chairs, and even a large bed. Willow was on the bed beside him.
  
  Rubbing the back of his head, Xander groaned, "What the hell..."
  
  The candlelight hurt his eyes, and his head was throbbing. Immediately, he used his ring to heal himself.
  
  Moving to him with concern, Willow helped him sit up as she said, "I can explain."
  
  The redhead then told Xander how Spike and Drusilla returned to Sunnydale because Drusilla had a vision that they needed to help the Slayer.
  
  "Which Slayer?"
  
  "I'm pretty sure they meant Buffy, since they don't seem to know about Faith," she answered. She explained how they then kidnapped her on her way home to ask her what Buffy needed. The fear of being murdered, being fed on, or being turned into a vampire kept her from answering the terrifying villains right away.
  
  "But then, Drusilla asked me again, and I felt really safe-secure," she stated in evident confusion. "Then I told them everything they wanted to know! I didn't mean to, but, but, I just..." As if saying it out loud helped her realize the truth, she shouted, "Oh no! I think I got whammied!"
  
  "Drusilla is a master hypnotist," Xander revealed. "She's tricked all sorts of people and demons into telling her what she wants. She even tricked Angel into thinking he was making love with Buffy instead of her."
  
  "Is that how he turned in one of the previous loops?"
  
  Xander nodded before asking, "What'd you tell her?"
  
  Under Drusilla's trance, Willow had confessed that Buffy needed to fall in love with Xander to save his life. She then said, "Spike came up with an idea and they left. An hour later, they're dragging you down here. I think they went after Buffy next."
  
  "Well, aside from the humiliation of being captured, that's new," Xander groaned as the ring finished healing his head injury. Hopping off the bed, he told her, "Come on."
  
  Walking toward the basement steps, Xander momentarily wondered if he should summon his weapons. Given the state of the basement, he was fairly certain the building must be abandoned. However, he investigated more to see if he could escape without Dreadnought or Hellguard.
  
  With Willow behind him, Xander used his ring to enhance his strength. He broke the old wooden door that led to the first floor and immediately wished he hadn't. For a split second, a gang of vampires waiting just past the threshold seemed as surprised to see him as he was to see them. Xander quickly shut the door on the vicious blood-suckers just as they rushed to feed on the teenagers. Their combined weight nearly pushed the door open. However, he managed to hold the door shut, already knowing it wouldn't hold as they pounded and clawed at the door.
  
  Over the banging and scratching, he yelled, "Find me something I could use as a weapon!"
  
  "Uh, will bottles do?!" Willow called.
  
  "Sure," he returned, quickly taking the heavy clear glass.
  
  Xander only needed five to fifteen seconds to summon Dreadnought to him, depending on how far it was. So long as he kept them bottle-necked at the door, he should be fine. As the feeble door broke apart from the repeated onslaught, Xander prepared himself for a fight and leaped back; his right hand ready to attack as his left hand called for his weapon.
  
  Surprisingly, there were fewer vampires rushing down the cellar steps than he was expecting; only three of them. Regardless, Xander fought for seven seconds, keeping them away from himself and Willow, before his trusty battleaxe burst through the old ceiling and into his hand. With Dreadnought, he swiped low, forcing two vamps in front of him to step back, and Xander continued the rotating momentum, decapitating both of them with his second swing. The third focused on the severed heads dropping to the floor as they turned to ash before looking back at Xander, who had brightly glowing eyes and a big axe. The vampire turned and ran.
  
  Making their way upstairs, Xander and Willow saw why more vampires hadn't descended into the basement. Buffy, Angel, Spike, and Drusilla were fighting the rest of the vampires. Xander stayed with Willow as he watched the four fighters slay nearly two dozen vampires and provided color commentary.
  
  "You're dropping your elbow before you punch," he called to Buffy. "They're going to notice- Oooh! See."
  
  "Shut uuuuppp!" Buffy yelled back after having been punched in the face. Enraged, she delivered a smooth roundhouse kick to one vampire before slicing completely through the body of another with Slaymore.
  
  "Hey, Angel!" Xander yelled. "You gotta remember to breathe if you don't want to lose power- oh, right. Nevermind."
  
  "Hey, Spike!" Xander called next. "You should block with your face more!"
  
  A concerned Willow pulled the hem of Xander's shirt as Spike gave him the finger mid-fight. After they finished slaying the bunch, they saw Mr. Trick fleeing the scene. Xander explained to the group that he had never discovered who Mr. Trick was working for, but he wouldn't expect to see him again.
  
  "Well, I'd say that was a rousing success," Spike stated, clapping his hands. "I think we got a knack for this hero malarkey, don't we, love?"
  
  Spike wrapped his arm around Drusilla's shoulder, but she wasn't paying attention as she eyed Xander curiously. Considering he never had the chance to question her before, the time looper asked the undead beauty, "Do you know about me?"
  
  Tilting her head from side to side in a sweet manner, she replied, "Do you know about yourself?"
  
  Though annoyed, he asked, "What should I know about myself?"
  
  "Mean, mean , man," a childishly hurt Drusilla sang, dancing around Xander. "You'd swallow us all-swallow the world before you're full." Turning to Spike, she said, "Can we leave, Spike? I want to go to the green place with the little umbrellas."
  
  "Brazil, here we come," Spike declared, wrapping his arm around the vampiress' thin waist.
  
  Xander reached out and grabbed Drusilla by the shoulder, spinning her about.
  
  The blond vampire immediately rushed to her defense, retorting, "The bloody hell do you think you're-"
  
  Xander instantly raised the razor edge of Dreadnought against the blond man's neck before demanding to know from Dru, "What should I know about myself, Dru? About anything?"
  
  Drusilla gazed serenely into his hazel eyes for a long moment before softly saying, "That which we all must know. What terrifies us most."
  
  With half-lidded eyes, she smiled drunkenly before singing a slow song about there being nowhere to belong. He let her go, and Spike and Drusilla left soon after. Come Christmas, thoughts of anger, loss, and fear kept Xander from getting much quality sleep-even with his ring. He tried hiding his insomnia from his friends, but Cordelia-who was the closest to him-told Willow, who told Buffy, who then talked to Giles. They were all working together to help him. However, he wasn't expecting Buffy to feel what wasn't in her to feel.
  
  Faith was the only one not trying, which annoyed him the most. He'd tell her to shut up if it wouldn't reveal how much she bothered him. To clear his head of building anger and anxiety, Xander took an impromptu trip to Big Bear, the nearest mountain to Sunnydale. The secluded getaway was a three-hour trip away, but he stayed there for a weekend of peace and tranquility in the snow-covered forest.
  
  Riding down the mountain, he rode faster than he should have, and in his distracted state, took a nasty tumble, wrecking his bike. Fortunately, his magically durable muscle T-shirt and dark jeans greatly dulled the impact. However, his head, hands, and arms were badly scraped against the icy roads. Odin's ring healed him as he walked to the nearest pay phone so he could tow his bike back home.
  
  That was where he found Buffy waiting for him, and she looked pissed. Stepping onto his porch, she saw his dried blood and torn jacket, and became overly concerned for him, rushing him inside. Xander assured her she didn't have to worry all the way to the kitchen, as he was fully healed, but she put her foot down and insisted on checking herself. Taking off his shirt, he thought Buffy's reaction was exaggerated, but did as she wanted.
  
  After she wiped his strong arms of dried blood and dirt, she checked the rest of his chiseled torso. When she looked relieved, he asserted, "Told you. I'm fine, Buff."
  
  "I know," she hesitated to admit, somewhat embarrassed by her reaction. "I just... you were gone all weekend and no one could reach you. Even Cordelia didn't know where you were. I wasn't sure how looping back works, whether we all go on living without you or not. I just... got a bad feeling."
  
  Xander didn't need Casanova to tell him to ease her worries with a comforting hug. She held him so tight, he had to ask, "Are you sure you're okay?"
  
  "Yeah," she answered, moving back. "I'm better now."
  
  He nodded and put on his muscle T-shirt as he said, "I'm not really sure what happens to everyone in the loop after I reset. I always assumed the entire reality gets wiped out. It'd be weird if I up and left without a trace-like the Scooby Gang without Scooby-Doo."
  
  " The Gang just doesn't have that family-friendly brand you want when you're killing monsters," Buffy pointed out. He chuckled some, though it didn't feel genuine. She asked, "So, where'd you go?"
  
  "Just needed to clear my head," Xander deflected.
  
  "And did you?"
  
  Buffy noticed how much more sullen and dejected he was as he lamely answered, "A bit."
  
  "You know we're trying, right?"
  
  "I know."
  
  "Willow, Ms. Calendar, and Giles haven't stopped researching," she assured him.
  
  With a weak smile, he cupped her shoulders as he gently said, "I know, Buffy. It's alright." She didn't seem to like his answer, but there was nothing more to say on the topic. "I need to check my bike, so I'll be in the garage. Stay as long as you like."
  
  Xander turned to leave, only to stop two steps later when Buffy hugged him from behind, solemnly confessing, "I don't want you to go away." She tightened her hold on him as she added, "I need you."
  
  Curious, Xander turned around in her embrace. She didn't let go, but she backed away enough to look him in the eyes as he asked, "Nox or Xander?"
  
  "You, you idiot," she retorted before standing on her toes, grasping his head, and kissing him deeply.
  
  After the initial shock, Xander registered her desire, desperation, and tongue, and leaned in himself. As they pressed closer, his experienced hands wrapped around her, massaging her back up and down. He tilted his head, opening his mouth to intensify the kiss. Xander could feel her warm body, soft breasts, and hardening nipples against him while their tongues slowly explored each other's.
  
  Xander was surprised by how much desire Buffy was showing. The small girl pulled him in, standing on the tips of her toes to press flush against him as she rubbed down his neck and chest. Her mouth sealed perfectly with his, suctioning as her tongue wrestled with his. Her eyes were closed, and she mewled cutely in his mouth. He had no doubt that she wanted him, but he couldn't tell why. Whether she missed Nox, simply didn't want him to loop back, or she actually felt genuine feelings of romantic love toward him, Xander couldn't say. Worse yet, he feared asking the question.
  
  When the horny teenagers finally needed air more than the other's tongue, they broke apart. Sitting on the couch, Buffy confessed to him that she was feeling scared of what it would mean to be with him.
  
  "Me or Nox?"
  
  "Why do you keep asking that?" Buffy returned. "You're you. That's all that matters to me. But more importantly, I'm not afraid of being this way with you anymore." Xander was secretly skeptical, and his silence led her to reply, "I know. Better late than never. But in my defense, it's sort of on brand for me," she finished with a stunning smile.
  
  Xander wasn't sure how honest her words were-to him or herself-but if she was willing to try, he saw no reason not to as well. Above all, it was new for Buffy to want him despite Angel still being in the picture. Though, Xander didn't see Angel at all in the next few weeks, and assumed it was because the vampire didn't want to see them together.
  
  ' That, or Angel knows Buffy isn 't with me out of love, but to save my life. And he doesn't want to be around for that because they still love each other... '
  
  Xander hid his overbearing pessimism from Buffy and tried to enjoy their time together. The days leading to Christmas and New Years were joyous in their ability to help him forget about the time braid or looping back. He wasn't sure if it was ignorant bliss or faking it until he made it, but he was the boyfriend he always wanted to be with Buffy, like wearing an old suit he used to love. They went on many dates and laughed a lot. Buffy always had a witty sense of humor, and they riffed effortlessly off of each other. Their banter was the reason it was always easy to forget the impending doom of the time braid when they were together. And they had a lot of sex.
  
  Xander and Buffy had sex multiple times a day. The bubbly blonde was always sweet and shy when it came to public affection, which he loved teasing her about. She would turn red and get embarrassed when he made dirty jokes in public, but when they were alone, she was so wanton with her passions. She loved how well he commanded her body, and pushed her boundaries regularly with him. They even did anal on his birthday, though it required a lot of fun preparation. All in all, Xander enjoyed the respite being with her was.
  
  January came around and the Scooby Gang took care of the Gingerbread demons quickly. When Quentin Travers and the Watcher's Council wanted to subject Buffy to the Cruciamentum, the test didn't work since Xander had already warned her about them. Giles hadn't warned the council that Buffy already knew and was subsequently fired. Xander was happy to tell Travers off, calling their tests barbaric, but the elder Watcher didn't pay him any attention.
  
  Despite Xander and Buffy being in a committed and loving relationship, January 26th, 1999, was the last day of the year loop. He wanted to wake up on the 27th because he had run into Jack O'Toole-nearly getting in a fight with the boorish teen-which made him recall Old Man Xander's memory of the night he had lost his virginity to Faith. The time looper craved waking up next to Buffy in the morning-holding her tightly as they went to sleep to keep warm with companionship. Xander's strongest desire was to stop existing and start living his life again.
  
  Instead, he awoke to a blaring alarm, opened his tired and empty eyes to a disgusting ceiling, and he knew by the smell alone that he had looped back to October 31, 1997. With no one in his arms, and everything once again taken away from him, Xander was on the very edge of snapping.
  
  "I... can't take this anymore."
  
  Well, that happened. Before you ask, the next three chapters will be VERY BIG for this fic and Xander. Lots of information and tough reads ahead. Hope to hear your thoughts on them.
  
  How do you guys feel about Faith's hatchet-style Tomahawks? Do we like the name(Blood/Lust)? I thought it was fitting for her, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.
  
  I'm still working 2 jobs. I tried to quit but they're so desperate for workers they basically made me an offer I couldn't refuse: free food and more money. Crazy times. This means that I can't really get to the Last Prayer just yet. But I will guys. Thank you for your patience.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay-tree-on is at /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content on there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  Fuck, Faith
  Hey friends! Welcome back to another Sunday update :D
  
  First, apologies for not updating last week. It was just not possible. With me working so much that week, to one of my betas feeling unwell(he's better now), we just couldn't get it out.
  
  Second, I noticed a few of the comments for the previous chapter mentioned how all the loops added up shouldn't equal the end of January 99. The day, week, month, and year loop are actually 11% longer. It's why Xander loops back at 3 AM rather than midnight. The week, month and year loop are all longer as well, it's just that I simplify it by saying a day, week, month, or year loop. Hope that clears things up.
  
  Third, this story is 1 year old! That's a lot of words in a single year :)
  
  Lastly, big thank you to my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! They really made me rethink a lot of this chapter. So I'm very grateful for our creative process. Thanks guys :)
  
  Warning: Blood, Language, and Violence.
  
  Big chapter. 9.8K
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Fuck, Faith
  
  For a short time after looping back, Xander couldn't see a point in continuing. He laid in his horrible-smelling bed, staring up at the yellow stain on his ceiling, and fuming. Buffy had been his hard theory for escaping the time braid, and despite being in a loving and committed relationship with her, he'd still looped back. Xander wanted to feel like a victim in a dangerous world-like a lost little lamb-because if he could suffer just enough, he fantasized someone would undoubtedly come and rescue him, and he wouldn't have to keep trying, struggling, and failing over and over again. Xander could simply be saved and finally live again.
  
  However, Xander was far too irritated to truly believe that, much less accept such a dream. Maybe in previous loops, he would've laid in bed, deathly still, for what could've been hundreds of day-loops, fantasizing about someone rescuing him from his hellish time prison. But his mind kept replaying Faith's callous assertion of him.
  
  ' What she really can 't see is that you're just a quitter. You're nothing but a quitter ,' Faith's voice would repeat over and over.
  
  "Why would she say that?" he obsessively asked, tossing and turning.
  
  In that loop, Xander had yelled at her to get out of his house and pretended to be above it, but deep down, he knew he should've yelled something else at her-something more heinous. Something that would hurt her as much as she hurt him. Though he had planned on becoming a world-wide terrorist for fun, Xander found enough of a reason to get out of bed: To tell Faith she was a cunt.
  
  And he didn't want to say she was a cunt because she had just as shitty of an upbringing as he did. He needed her to understand she was a cunt that deserved her shitty life. Xander knew that would do the trick. However, the exhausted teen refused to dedicate a lot of his invaluable time waiting months before she entered their lives. He would wreck her within the week-loop.
  
  Xander slogged through the mind-numbing routine of the day-loop-ignoring his friends and family-purchased the scratch-off tickets, sold them for several thousand dollars, and bought a one-way plane ticket to Boston. Surprisingly, the farther away from Sunnydale and the torture of its monotony, the more energized he felt. The closer he got to Massachusetts, the more he eagerly dreamed of the look on Faith's face. SHe wouldn't remember him, but he was fine with that, so long as his words hurt her.
  
  When Xander landed at Boston Logan Airport, he took a taxi to Roxbury in South Boston. It was a gloriously sunny day without a cloud in the blue sky, but the neighborhood of Lower Roxbury was the epitome of crime, blight, and poverty. Many of the littered areas his taxi drove through were sketchy and often traversed by the homeless, jobless, or criminally associated. From their past conversations, he knew Faith lived in a two-bedroom apartment complex on the top of a hill, and the multi-unit row homes leading up to the brown apartment complex looked as if they were built in the sixties-old, faded, and in terrible states of disrepair.
  
  Faith's apartment looked as hideous as the rest of the street, but Xander ignored it. Getting past her building's minimal security was child's play to him, but looking through the many advertising junk mail left on the floor for the Lehane household took longer than expected. If her alcoholic parents were anything like his alcoholic parents, they threw their junk mail on the floor too, and after twenty minutes, he found Faith's father's name with their apartment number.
  
  As Xander walked through the gang-graffitied hallways with flickering lights above, he recalled Faith telling him she didn't live in the best area, but eying a dead-beat bum unabashedly shooting heroin into his veins was staggeringly worse than she described. The gray walls were yellowing or tagged where they weren't chipped or scraped off, and the brown carpet was stained with nearly every step.
  
  "Fuck," he cursed when he learned the elevator wasn't working. Taking the stairs, he mumbled, "I thought I had it bad."
  
  On the third floor, Xander ignored the curious tenants eying him as he walked down the hall. He was dressed in simple jeans, boots, and a black shirt, but considering how clean he looked, he could understand if he stood out. When he finally reached Faith's apartment, he knocked on the door, then continued walking past it. When no one opened the door, he repeated the knock-and-walk before concluding no one was home.
  
  With a standard lock picking set he'd bought at the local hardware store, Xander used Sherlock's knowledge to easily break into the apartment. With his very first step, his nose flared when his olfactory senses were assaulted. His eyes squinted next as the alcohol smell made them water. The worst part of being in Faith's home was that it eerily reminded him of his home, only smaller.
  
  Walking through the disorderly apartment, it was messy in the best areas, filthy in the worst, and filled with empty beer cans and liquor bottles. The air was thick with a stale gag-inducing smell. The trash can was filled beyond the brim with takeout boxes and had cockroaches running to and from it. Except for alcohol and condiments, the fridge was virtually empty. Faith's room was just as similar to his; messy with clothes, magazines, and food on the floor, but cleaner than the rest of the place.
  
  "At least it doesn't smell as bad," he muttered as he started looking through her things, hoping to find a clue as to where she might be.
  
  Other than discovering what school she went to, Xander found nothing that narrowed down his search. While he believed her school was the next likely place she'd be, he didn't think he could make it there before the school day ended. Sitting on her bed, Xander waited patiently for her. When her parents returned home, he hid under her bed and continued to wait. Xander waited for two more days like this-only leaving to buy food-before he concluded she wasn't coming back anytime soon.
  
  With four days left in the week-loop, Xander decided on taking drastic measures. He took a taxi to Dearborn High School, one of the worst schools in Boston, according to the talkative, yet oddly well-informed cab driver.
  
  "Ranked 310 out of 330 in the state, with over two thousand rugrats," he said in his thick Boston accent. "A worse school, you will not find in all of Boston, my friend."
  
  When Xander was let out in front of the three-story, U-shaped building, he observed the drudgery of the entire area, and a despondent Xander whispered, "...A wretched hive of scum and villainy."
  
  The school was made of weathered brick walls and timeworn wood frames. The windows were hazy and most of the building's ground level was covered in graffiti. Dearborn high school looked more like an old coal factory than an institute of higher learning. The brownish grass of the courtyard in front of the steps wasn't maintained and even had a tire on it. Xander ignored the grungy exterior of the school and entered the building, but it wasn't much better.
  
  "Fucking hell," he muttered, looking around and growing more annoyed.
  
  The security guard-dressed in khakis and a dark polo shirt-was seated on a stool, leaning against the wall and snoring loudly. The unpolished floor was a patchwork of old and new tiles, many of which were cracked, and the walls were brick painted with their school's colors or tatted drywall. The Californian saw the same banners and fliers warning of drugs, alcohol, and teen pregnancy in the hallways, only they were much older than those in Sunnydale. Xander couldn't imagine attending this school could actually fill any students with a sense of pride. Dearborn felt more like a deterrent to believing in a brighter future.
  
  Classes were already in session, but he didn't want to walk from room to room-through three floors-looking for Faith. The taxi driver had said two thousand students attended the homeless-looking public school and she might be cutting class, to begin with. It would only be a waste of time.
  
  Following the signs above, Xander made his way to the main office, passing another school security guard and a uniformed Boston police officer, complete with gun and bullet-proof vest.
  
  Pointing behind him with his thumb, Xander told them, "Uh, that guard at the door is sleeping." The men sighed and shook their heads as Xander added, "What if a crazy man walked in here? You might as well hang up a sign that says ' All Psychos Welcome .'"
  
  The security guard asked, "Where are you headed?"
  
  "Main office," Xander answered. "I'm new here."
  
  "Down the hall on the right," the guard told him.
  
  The school's main office was just like any other, with a reception desk in the front, several desks and cubicles behind it, and file cabinets lined against the white walls. The fluorescent lights added a grayish tint to everything, as if the room was decomposing. The only real color was the green from an aloe plant on one of the desks.
  
  "At least it's clean," Xander muttered to himself as he walked to the empty reception desk.
  
  A plump woman with red-framed glasses-either a teacher or office aide-stood up from her desk and walked up to him, dully asking, "What can I do for you, hon?"
  
  Xander ignored her to look at the cabinets and offices. He was hoping to spot the word 'Records' or see letters, such as, 'L - M,' anywhere. However, without his ring, he couldn't zoom his vision closer to read the small white labels on their filing cabinets.
  
  When the teen hadn't responded, the dark-haired woman leaned in closer, looking at him over her red glasses, and rudely called, "Helloooo? Any day now."
  
  Unable to locate what he needed, Xander returned, "Sorry. I think the address on my student file is wrong. My parents never got my report card mailed to them."
  
  "What about the copy we give you?" she asked.
  
  "Would you believe they thought I forged it? As if I couldn't get an A in math by myself," he huffed, acting vexingly offended.
  
  The plump woman with small eyes wasn't amused, but asked, "Name?"
  
  "Xander Lehane," he answered. "Well, Alexander Lehane."
  
  "Lehane?" she repeated, looking at him oddly. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Faith Lehane, would you?"
  
  ' I guess Faith has a rep ,' he thought before adapting. Playing aghast, Xander asked, "That troublemaker?" He waved away her query, assuring her, "Pfffftt! No way! My parents would be rolling in their graves if they thought I was hanging out with her... And if they were actually dead."
  
  She eyed him for several seconds before shaking her head and walking away. Dragging her feet toward her desk, the older woman seemed bothered by his words-either by his lack of an accent or any prior knowledge she had about Faith. She removed a key from the drawer and walked toward the right wall of cabinets. Another woman entered the room then-auburn-haired-and likely a teacher, judging by the pace she was moving, as if she needed to get back to class.
  
  The plump receptionist stopped walking toward the cabinets and called, "Mrs. Sullivan? Mrs. Sullivan? Would you be a doll and help Mr- ...Hey! Hey! Get down from there!"
  
  As Xander only needed to narrow down the location of Faith's student file, he hopped the reception desk and walked straight to the section of cabinets the receptionist was headed toward.
  
  "Stop! You're not allowed back here!" The larger women yelled, but Xander ignored them.
  
  Pulling on the handles, he learned they were locked. Turning to the plump woman, she realized what he wanted and hid the key behind her back. Xander sighed, but took out his lock picks and had it unlocked five seconds later. The first drawer had last names that began with the letter K. Dropping two more drawers, he found the letter L. However, two more teachers from the back offices arrived.
  
  "Marty!" the plump woman called. "He's stealing files!"
  
  "Janet, call security!" Marty ordered. "And check if officer Whitmore left yet."
  
  Janet ran out of the room.
  
  When the two male educators were within five feet of Xander, he stopped looking for the name Lehane, and stood up. Though he'd lost his Super Soldier level of strength, he still had over a century of fighting experience and the highly-tuned muscle memory that came with it. So, even against adults with bigger muscles, Xander didn't hesitate to draw power from his feet's stance, add more force through the rotation of his hips, and sucker-punch the first man with a clean hit to the chin. It was technique and experience-more than raw strength-that made the teacher's bald head swivel like a bobblehead toy, before he dropped to the ground, unconscious.
  
  The plump woman screamed as Marty instinctively tried to grab Xander. Far too experienced, the teenage looper effortlessly grabbed Marty's hand and twisted it as he pulled in, getting the educator off balance before expertly elbowing him in the chin. Xander casually returned to continue his search as Marty dropped to the floor, unconscious. After another couple of minutes, Xander finally found Faith's student file. However, before he could look through it, two of the school's security guards and the uniformed Boston police officer-Whitmore, he recalled-rushed into the room with Mrs. Sullivan, ready to subdue the delinquent.
  
  With a mildly annoyed expression, Xander sighed and slumped his shoulders before walking straight to them as they yelled for him to stop. He ignored their commands as the three men cautiously approached. Officer Whitmore was in front of Xander, and the security guards were moving to either side of him. Their tactic of surrounding him didn't matter to the teen warrior.
  
  Xander simply kept walking calmly toward the officer until the security guard to his right reached out to grab his shoulder. He rotated his right arm twice: one to shove the guard's out-reaching hand away, and the second to counter with a clean hook to the chin, making his head spin and brain bounce horribly in his skull. The guard dropped like a sack of potatoes.
  
  The remaining security guard dashed forward to tackle the teenager from the side. However, Xander hopped away as he brought his leg up and kneed the man trying to spear him in the chin. There was a meaty crunch before the security guard hit the ground, screaming in agony as he cupped his likely broken teeth. Shocked to witness grown men on the ground between a bored teenager, officer Whitmore whipped out his baton, fully extending the metal implement.
  
  The officer swung two... three... four times as he advanced on Xander. However, the bored teen stepped back three times, evading each swipe, before extending his foot forward and using the tip to catch the officer's boot as he stepped forward. Xander pulled his feet back and forced the officer's feet to glide on the floor, taking away his ability to stand and making his legs split with the drop of his heavy weight, as if he'd slipped on a banana peel. The teen used the opening to kick him in the face as he fell. Officer Whitmore wasn't unconscious, but he was bleeding heavily from his broken nose and far too disoriented to chase after Xander.
  
  The distraught Mrs. Sullivan ran from the room, and the plump secretary was gone as well, allowing Xander a moment to finally open Faith's student file. He wasn't surprised to see she was a year behind, not that he cared. Armed with the knowledge of the classrooms she should be in, he ripped the school map off the wall and left the main office, though he winced as he did. Pushing his untrained muscles to accomplish such dexterous and agile movement built a lot of lactic acid.
  
  Disorder descended the school's hallways as students were being evacuated. Xander casually walked through the chaotic halls, looking from the map to his surroundings, hoping to spot Faith or her classroom. Despite his weaker body, Xander dropped another two teachers before they left him alone as he searched. Having fought demons and vampires-even in his weakest state-humans were nothing against his experience and muscle memory.
  
  All the students were gone as he made his way from her first period to her sixth, nor had he seen her. However, he looked through the teacher's attendance books before leaving each class. Xander learned that Faith had stopped coming to school for the past six or seven weeks in all but two classes. Rifling through the English & Science teacher's desks, Xander found out the male teachers-Luca Bronson & Owen Mardyke-were not only giving her perfect attendance, but a passing grade, which gave him a sinking feeling in his stomach.
  
  "Please don't be what I think it is," Xander groaned in the empty classroom, growing more annoyed by the stark realities of her life.
  
  Cutting through the silence, Xander could hear police sirens in the distance, moving closer. With a sigh, the teen walked the emptied halls back to the main office. The school was mostly vacant, with no less than two people always watching him from afar, likely reporting his location. They watched him enter the main office, walk to the furthest office, and kick open the principal's office door. Of course, Principal Olom had already evacuated.
  
  The police sirens were much closer, alerting Xander to the few minutes he had to quickly rifle through the personnel files of the faculty. He found the home addresses for Bronson, Mardyke, and Principal Olom and stuffed the sheets in his pocket before leaving. Xander ran to the entrance doors and looked out of the window.
  
  Thus far, there were only three police vehicles parked on the sidewalk and courtyard. There was quite a crowd and four of the six officers-along with several teachers-were urging the students and nearby onlookers to move back. The remaining two officers were by the lead car, aiming their guns at the door. Xander assumed these patrol officers were the first responders and that more police were on the way. Even still, six was too many if he had any hope of not being shot.
  
  Xander turned and sprinted to the school's rear exit, hoping they hadn't covered that route. His optimism was dashed when he saw through the door's window a police Ford Bronco parked on the pathway between the gymnasium and the parking lot fence. There was no way past the two officers, but Xander felt confident he could take them out without dying. He only needed to get close enough.
  
  The teen looper shoved the door hard as he ran through it, forcing the metal to hit the door stopper hard and make a loud banging noise. Xander looked behind him as he frantically ran forward, hoping to give the impression that he hadn't seen them and that he was running away from the police in the front.
  
  " FREEZE! " Xander heard, and immediately raised his hands in the air as he finally noticed the two cops in front of him. He acted flustered and surprised as he noted the small crowd of students and teachers gathered many yards behind the police Bronco.
  
  "Keep your hands where I can see 'em!" the officer in charge yelled, keeping his gun trained on Xander. He was a large black man-6'5", at least, with broad shoulders-and his partner seemed rookie-young. "Do not-I repeat- do not move!"
  
  Xander pretended to be afraid, and with his shaky hands raised as high as possible, he wailed back in fear, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
  
  "Control-984, we have eyes on a single, male-possible suspect-exiting the rear of the school," the rookie said into his shoulder radio.
  
  The curious crowd of students and teachers in the back watched the officers order Xander to turn around, then walk backward toward them, and finally to get on his knees. All the while, Xander sniffed and wailed apologetically in hopes of giving them a false sense of security. The lead officer was to the side of Xander and well out of arm's reach. The young partner cautiously walked up behind him and grabbed Xander's right wrist, followed by the left wrist, and forcibly positioned his arms behind his back. It took the young one several attempts to handcuff Xander, but after doing so, he lifted the saddened teen to his feet.
  
  The rookie was on Xander's right with a hand gripping his elbow and nodded to the lead, stating, "Secure, sir."
  
  "Control-984, we have one in custody," the lead said before holstering his sidearm. As they walked back to the Bronco, the lead officer approached Xander on his left and demanded to know, "What's your name, son? Are you a student here?"
  
  ' Think flexible thoughts ,' Xander jokingly told himself as he relaxed his body.
  
  With his mastery of harmonious muscle movement, Xander jumped with just enough strength to lift his knees to his clavicle without elevating himself above the officers. As the tips of his feet scraped his cuffed wrist passing over them, the teen jumped-roped his manacled hands so seamlessly, it appeared as if he were simply walking beside them. The moment the officers realized his cuffed hands were now in front of him, they paused, and in that split-second of disbelief, Xander grabbed the lead officer's gun.
  
  The rookie pulled on Xander's elbow to get the teen away. However, from the vague memories Xander gained from when he dressed as a police officer, he'd already unhooked the security clip and pulled the weapon out. The rookie tried to draw out his sidearm, but fumbled as Xander calmly pointed his 9mm at his face. Both men felt ready to rush him, but Xander stepped back to make them rethink that action. The distant crowd groaned and scattered after witnessing the three-second altercation.
  
  No longer acting distraught and pathetic, a calm Xander kept his gun trained on the only officer with a gun. The teen could see in the young officer's green eyes that he was scared, but held it in and kept his senses.
  
  "Easy man," the larger senior officer calmly voiced. "This doesn't have to end in a bad way."
  
  Xander understood their worry but he simply wanted to continue finding Faith, and calmly told the rookie, "Hands up."
  
  "You don't have to-"
  
  "Shut up," Xander interrupted. "Come on. Bring 'em up."
  
  The rookie hesitated, however, the veteran ordered, "Do it."
  
  "You too, Big Guy," Xander ordered the senior without looking at him.
  
  Xander nodded his head, and though hesitant, they both moved toward their Ford police SUV. The veteran officer tried to talk Xander into giving up, but the teen simply told the rookie, "Slowly, I want you to press the retention clip with your right hand and pull the gun out with your left. If you deviate from my instructions or go faster than I like, you're taking two to the chest."
  
  Though Xander was several feet away, he wasn't sure if the vest could withstand the impact. He hoped they had the sense to not endanger their lives, because at this point, Xander was curious enough to wonder what it'd feel like to kill in cold blood.
  
  "Go on Danny," the veteran said with his hands still raised.
  
  After Danny had his sidearm in his non-dominant hand, Xander ordered, "Toss it in the passenger side."
  
  Though reluctant, the rookie followed directions. Now that neither officer could shoot him, Xander casually unclipped the magazine and cocked the glock's slide back to eject the bullet in the chamber relatively high. The officers looked confused as Xander casually caught the bullet. The teen tossed the gun on the floor as he answered their unasked question.
  
  "Lucky for you guys I'm not here to kill cops," Xander said. "Plus, I'm not big on guns." Cracking his neck, as if preparing himself for a brawl-despite still being handcuffed-the teen added, "Come on. I don't have all day."
  
  When Xander raised his right knee to his chest to stretch his quads the two officers whipped out their batons before rushing him. With his mind-boggling wealth of combat experience, the young warrior wasn't concerned. He very nearly felt a rush at the elevated level of difficulty. However, even without his hands, Xander made quick work of them. Neither of the uniformed officers-armed with their batons-could withstand the teen's fast flurry of kicks.
  
  Kicking the rookie in the chest propelled him toward the veteran. With supreme aim and balance, he kicked the larger man in the neck. Despite taking a hit to his leg and shoulder, Xander bounced off of each man like a ball in a pinball machine, kicking them in the face, neck, knees, or chest in rapid succession. Xander was a hurricane of kicks, evading most of their swipes, until the veteran was on the floor, wincing in terrible pain as he gripped his knee, and his unconscious partner was right beside him.
  
  As Xander wasn't sure how much time he had before their backup arrived, he ignored the throbbing pain of being hit in the head, and moved quickly. He grabbed the key to the handcuffs and removed them. Quickly snatching the veteran's gun and magazine, he tossed them in the Bronco before jumping in and racing off of the property.
  
  Recalling the hazy experience gained after he dressed as a race car driver, Xander sped through intersections, back alleys, and even drove on the wrong side of the road to get far enough from any possible pursuers. After successfully escaping a safe distance away, Xander used the map in the glove compartment and a sharpie to highlight the route to all three addresses. Fortunately, they weren't far apart.
  
  The two teachers, Luca Bronson & Owen Mardyke, had single-room apartments while principal Olom lived in a nice three-bedroom home in a suburban neighborhood. Upon picking the locks of the apartments, Xander learned the middle-aged English teacher, Mr. Bronson, lived a relatively good life. He was an average-looking Caucasian male, of average height & weight, with sandy blond hair and blue eyes. Bronson also had a girlfriend-judging by the photos on the walls-and at the sight of a wedding magazine on the coffee table with tabs sticking out of it, he assumed they were also engaged. Without the man or clues, Xander left for the next address.
  
  Breaking into Owen Mardyke's home, Xander noted how different he was from Bronson right away. The science teacher's entire apartment was spotless and mostly white, with beige accents. The walls, carpet, chairs, and sofa were all white, while the dinner table and frames were all a golden oak color. Stranger than that, neatly hanging on every wall, were dozens of framed insects pinned on white paper. As if that didn't assault his senses enough, the entire space stung his nostrils with the smell of formaldehyde.
  
  From the three photos he found of Mardyke, the, roughly sixty-year-old man was balding, short, and obese. He wore thick glasses and had an overall appearance that screamed serial predator. Going through his meticulous files, Xander noted he didn't seem to do anything else but teach, clean, and shop from mail-order catalogs. After setting everything to the way it was, Xander left for the last address.
  
  Principal Olom's house wasn't quite as easy to break into since he was a family man and his wife and two daughters were home. Fortunately, he saw all three in the living room watching the breaking news about an officer-involved shooting at Dearborn high school. Xander quietly scaled the backyard wall to the second floor and went from window to window until he found one that was unlocked.
  
  He entered the home through the daughter's room and silently made his way through the second-floor rooms. He found nothing of note in Olom's bedroom, and after sneaking his way to the study downstairs, found nothing that could help him locate Faith. However, there were some check stubs written out from a student services fund to Olom's wife. He could be wrong, but it appeared the principal was embezzling funds from a student and activities program and lining his pockets with it.
  
  " FFFFFFFuuuck this place," Xander gasped, feeling astounded by how many horrible things were happening here.
  
  "Who are you?" Xander heard a small voice behind him ask.
  
  He turned to see one of Olom's brown-haired daughters at the door-ten years of age, judging by the sight of her.
  
  Xander sported his friendliest smile and sweetly answered, "I'm your mommy's underage lover, sweetie." He set down the folder and walked toward the door. He patted her head as he walked past and said, "Tell your daddy that your mommy moans like an Albanian field wench."
  
  Xander walked past the living room, making the wife scream and run to her daughters as he calmly left the home. She was likely calling the police, but as he jogged to the police Bronco, he couldn't care less. It was already three in the afternoon, and he was no closer to finding Faith than when he started.
  
  As Mardyke seemed the creepiest, Xander returned to his apartment and picked the lock once again to gain entry. To his great fortune, the heavyset, balding man was inside, sitting on his white couch, watching a home video of children playing on the jungle gym in some park. Mardyke had on wired headphones, and didn't hear Xander sigh audibly, shaking his head in exhausted disgust. The teen calmly walked to the kitchen, swiped the chef's knife from the set, and returned to the living room.
  
  Mardyke was so focused on the perversion on the television, he hadn't noticed Xander until his chin was grabbed and yanked to the side and the sharp edge of a big knife was pressed against his flabby neck. The old man instantly stiffened in surprise, screaming through gritted teeth. He started hyperventilating when Xander pressed the blade deeper into his skin, drawing a single trail of blood. The fat teacher was shaking like a leaf, breathing heavily, and it was amazing how fast he began to sweat.
  
  Though terrified, Mardyke yelled, "Take anything you want! Please, just- just d-don't hurt me."
  
  Rather than answer, Xander elbowed the back of his head, sending the man rolling off of the couch and onto the floor. After the teen leaped over the couch, he got on top of the round teacher and punched him in the face several times, until a crying and bleeding Mardyke was begging him to stop.
  
  Pressing the knife to his neck again, an irate Xander said, "Faith Lehane. Tell me everything . And if you even think about lying to me..." Xander poked the man several times in his chest with the tip of his kitchen knife, drawing dots of blood and making the man grunt in pain. "You'll get more than just a pinprick, ya get me?"
  
  The crying man yelled, "I-I-I d-didn't do anything w-wrong! I promise! I didn't!"
  
  "Woah, woah! I haven't even asked you a question yet!" Xander yelled back. "You're lying to me already?!"
  
  "N-n-no! I-I-I swear, I-I-I didn't!"
  
  Xander slapped Mardyke in the face-hard-yelling, "Listen!" He slapped him again and again, yelling, "Listen!" When the sweaty man finally became submissive, Xander eased his assault to ask, "Mr. Mardyke, are you listening?"
  
  With a knife to his flabby skin, Mardyke yelled, "Yes! Yes! P-P-Please! I'm- I'm listening!"
  
  "Good," Xander replied, gently patting his fleshy cheek. "The first thing I need you to understand is: I'm not the police or any form of law enforcement." The terrified teacher just listened, blinking so hard his entire head flexed to do it. "I need you to understand that because it means I'm not here to serve an arrest warrant, charge you with something, and hope the law convicts you to a lifetime of getting butt-fucked by a big guy named Bubba. I'm not bound by any laws that would otherwise prevent me from gutting you like a pig right here. Ya get me?"
  
  Mardyke shivered, cried, and nodded all at the same time.
  
  "So, since I don't care if you live or die," Xander continued. "Worry less about going to jail, and more about seeing tomorrow, because if you don't answer me honestly, I promise you it'll be your last night on earth. Do we understand each other?"
  
  "Yes! Yes, please! J-Just- Jussst d-don't k-kill me," the whimpering man begged.
  
  "Good," Xander grimly said with a smile. "The rules are simple. Tell me everything you know, and I leave. Lie to me again and I dye the carpet with your blood."
  
  The old man frantically nodded his blubbery, sweaty head, and told him everything about his involvement with Faith and what they'd been doing together. Xander quickly felt sick to his stomach. The abominable teacher took advantage of her, propositioned a passing grade, good attendance, and some money in exchange for oral sex, feet sucking, and shaving off her pubic hair so she'd look more like a child.
  
  "But I swear, I didn't do anything else!" he bellowed. "I swear it on my mother's life, I didn't!"
  
  Restraining the urge to throw up or stab him, a furious Xander forced himself to ask, "Were there other girls?"
  
  "No!" he yelled, shaking his chubby face. "No! I couldn't! L-Look at me! Fat! Ugly! Old! There's nothing I could do! Not even with the girls that'd go that far for a free pass!"
  
  "So, there were others?"
  
  "Yes! But I never-"
  
  " Who! " Xander interrupted. "Who told you to do it with Faith!"
  
  Xander didn't like how long it was taking the sweaty and scared fat man to answer. With masterful control over the chef's knife, he smoothly cut a long gash down the sick fuck's left cheek. Then he sliced the man's shoulder skin and forearms as the hollering man tried to defend himself. None of the injuries were life-threatening, but it scared the man enough to yell, " Mark Bronson! M-M-Mark Bronson! He- He was the one who told me."
  
  "Why?!" Xander yelled.
  
  "I c-c-caught him," Mardyke hastily returned. "I c-caught him with a different student! I was going to get him fired, but-but-but he offered me a girl! He offered me Faith! And-And-And I'd never- with someone so pretty- so young-"
  
  "You sick sonofabitch!" Xander cursed, raising the red-edged knife.
  
  "Wait, wait, wait!" he yelled, hiding his face under his pudgy arms. "I swear, if it wasn't for him, I never would've done it! I never would 've done it! "
  
  Recalling the same rage he felt during his angry phase, Xander-without thought or hesitation-pierced Mardyke's frail stomach with the kitchen knife, burying five inches into the older man's large gut. The teacher's eyes widened with every inch of the razor-edge slicing into his flesh. It was only when Xander stopped that the man passed out from the shock. In his comatose state, Xander tied him up with the lamp's cord before calling the police.
  
  "Hey, police? Yeah, I stabbed this pedophile in the stomach with a big knife," Xander said. "If you want him to live, I guess you can dispatch an ambulance. I wouldn't recommend it though."
  
  Xander left the receiver on the counter before leaving the apartment and driving straight to Bronson's apartment next. Parking behind the six-story building, he grabbed the shotgun from the squad car and broke into Bronson's apartment. The middle-aged teacher was on the phone when Xander rushed in and kicked the shocked man square in the solar plexus. The man was knocked clear off his feet and hit the wood floor hard, clutching his chest as he struggled to breathe. The heaving Bronson only looked up when Xander planted his boot on his chest and cocked the long-barrel firearm before pointing the muzzle straight to his face.
  
  What was, likely, most unnerving for the petrified teacher was how calm Xander's face looked as he demanded, "Faith Lehane: Tell me everything. And when I say everything, assume I've already talked to your pervert-in-crime, Mardyke. So, if you fucking lie to me..."
  
  Xander tilted the muzzle to the side and squeezed the trigger. The explosive blast was deafening, echoing in the room and making the man shiver and cry as he turned away from the blast. Hot pellets destroyed the wood floor, splintering wood pieces everywhere and even cutting Bronson's cheek. The neighbors certainly heard-meaning it wouldn't be long before the police arrived-but the threat of death got the attitude from Bronson that Xander wanted.
  
  Bronson hurriedly confessed to everything. Targeting young girls from bad or unstable homes, offering them help, taking advantage of them, then blackmailing them with video recordings he secretly took of them. He had done it to seven girls, one of whom was Faith. Xander demanded to know where the videos were, and Bronson showed him where he stashed the secret tapes.
  
  Xander shoved the muzzle of the shotgun against the crying man's temple and demanded to know, "How do you contact Faith if she doesn't go to school?"
  
  "I- I- I- I don't- don't," he cried. "I haven't seen her in months! Sheee g-got a boyfriend a wh-while ago! Told me he'd kill me if I e-ever laid a hand on her ag-again."
  
  The thoroughly irate Xander demanded, "What's his name?" When Xander heard sirens approaching, he knew his time was nearly up. He shot another round at the floor, stating, "I'm not going to ask you again."
  
  A sniveling Bronson quickly confessed everything else he knew. "I never got his n-name. But he was wearing Trip O colors. They're organized-deep Irish mob roots. Even police don't mess with them, so I left her alone. I swear, that's all I know! I swear it on the Christ Almighty!"
  
  Certain he was telling the truth, Xander asked, "Where?"
  
  "A-All of Roxbury Heights," he quickly answered. "Off of Pontoon by the park."
  
  With little time left, Xander didn't hesitate to point the 12-gauge shotgun at the filthy excuse of a human's foot, and as Bronson yelled, he pulled the trigger. Eight hot lead balls exploded out of the barrel. The sharp CRACK echoed throughout the room as searing pellets ripped through his skin, muscle, and bone like a hot knife through butter. At close range, the pellets were tightly grouped together, so the entire floor wasn't blown off. However, the blast scattered bits and pieces of a screaming Bronson's foot across the floor, and the teacher's entire body went rigid as he attempted to grab his shredded foot.
  
  Xander ignored the screams of agony and put on one of the VHS tapes for any police that entered. Then he quickly made a sloppy tourniquet out of the man's belt and tied it around his leg before rushing out of the home, leaving the apartment door open for the authorities. The teen ran to the fire escape and took it to the alley below. The Bronco burned rubber escaping the scene moments before police cruisers screeched to a halt at the front of the building.
  
  Three miles away, Xander stopped at the parking lot of an outlet marketplace. He grabbed all the weapons and ammunition in the SUV and put them in a black duffel bag before taking a taxi to the housing projects deep into Triple O territory. It was on the drive there that Xander had a moment of peace to process everything he'd learned about Faith and the revolting realities of her life. Realizing she didn't have the option to alter her circumstances with a time loop-like he did-forced him to feel painfully humbled.
  
  Anytime he had ever talked to her about her past, she'd always downplayed how bad she had it. Thinking about his home life and how little he brought it up to his friends-or joked about-he thought about the many times he'd done the same thing. Xander still wanted to yell at Faith, and call her a cunt, but he wasn't sure he could say she deserved the hand life dealt her. Being raped repeatedly by Bronson and Mardyke for however long they did made him want to hurl. Banging his throbbing head against the window, Xander regretted not shooting their balls off.
  
  The cab let him out in one of the worst areas he'd seen yet. The buildings-businesses or residential-were faded brick and old slats, built on littered streets. People went about their day like they were zoned out and aimless, or hustling with their heads on a swivel. Walking around the rough neighborhood with a black duffle bag over his shoulder, Xander was certain he stood out like a sore thumb. However, he had two things going for him: he wasn't a cop and he had nothing to lose.
  
  Entering a rough-looking park with plenty of sketchy characters around, Xander spotted a group of young gangsters, each of whom wore Trip colors: green and white.
  
  He walked up to them and asked, "I'm looking to offload some product." Xander shook the duffle bag, allowing them to hear what he meant. "Any takers? I'll give you a sweet discount if you're Trip O."
  
  One of the four, raised his shirt to scratch his stomach, showcasing his 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol tucked in the waistband of his jeans.
  
  As the other three menacingly stepped closer, the leader said, "Why don't you go ahead and leave that there. We'll find a place to offload all that."
  
  Having expected it, Xander nodded and slowly dropped the heavy bag on the grass. The bag was facing them, and they backed away when they read the three letters printed on it: B.P.D.
  
  In their momentary distraction, Xander raised his shirt and removed his 9mm glock before stating, "Great. Glad to hear it. I mean, you may have to be careful where you use them because I'm sure the city will hunt you down to get them back. Anyway, let's talk price."
  
  The four gangsters declined to talk trade and backed away, viewing him as a larger risk than previously anticipated. Xander looked around the area and he could tell he was being watched. He imagined some look-out was reporting his presence to someone big enough to intercede. Thus, Xander left to buy a sandwich and waited on a park bench. Less than an hour later, six larger, older gangsters showed up and insisted he join them.
  
  Xander let them take the duffel bag, and was led to a nearby corner store, where they took him down into the shop's basement. Three were in front of him and the other three were behind him. When they reached the small room, Xander saw a chair in the center with a lot of dried bloodstains on the floor. Clearly, the place was where they were going to interrogate him... roughly . However, Xander was in a rush and didn't want to deal with the gang's long process of vetting him before allowing him to talk with whom he needed.
  
  As they neared the chair, Xander heard from behind him the sharp scratching of a shoe on the cement floor, and knew the biggest of the six was about to grab him from behind. The exact moment he saw hands enter his peripheral vision, Xander gripped the left wrist, slipped underneath the larger man's armpit, and pinned his left arm behind his back, surprising everyone.
  
  At that moment, Xander pulled the gun that was at his back and shot the two mobsters nearest him in the gut-which he expected would be excruciating but had a higher chance of survival-before the others began shooting. The teen hid behind the larger, quaking man getting filled with hot lead. Shots were popping like firecrackers for several seconds. Xander was tagged in the leg and shoulder, skimming the skin and sending fiery pain up his limbs to his brain.
  
  When the large meaty shield Xander held up by his jacket dropped to his knees, the teen feared he wouldn't make it. However, when the gangsters paused to reload, Xander leaned out, and due to the close range, accurately fired three shots at three guts. Xander quickly left his cover and shot two more in the arm when they tried to raise their guns. Fortunately for his plan, five were still alive.
  
  "Well, that was invigorating," Xander said, looking between the flesh wounds at his left shoulder and right calf muscle.
  
  The teenager kicked all of their weapons away before waving his gun for them to sit against the brick wall. Xander grabbed the chair and moved it in front of the leader before he demanded to know who in their gang roughed up a teacher for touching high school girls. He gave them all the specifics Bronson confessed, but they weren't sure.
  
  While pointing the gun at them, he said, "If y'all want to live, I suggest you start making calls before you bleed out."
  
  They began calling underlings from the phone in the basement while Xander threatened them with death if they tried to tip off their colleagues. They kept their inquiries simple after Xander shot one of them for being too talkative. All they asked, in their thick Boston accents, was, "Have you heard of one of ours roughing up a Dearborn teacher for diddling high school girls? Yeah, in Roxbury." If the person on the phone hadn't, they'd ask, "Do you know who might know?"
  
  It was just after midnight when they got the right gang member on the phone and handed it to Xander, which was a relief. Three of the five had passed out and Xander wasn't keen on the idea of hunting down Trip O gang members all night just to find the one he was looking for.
  
  "Listen carefully," a sluggish Xander started. "Your captains already told you to tell me everything you know. If you're lying, I shoot one and let the others live so they can tell the rest of the gang you're the reason..." Unsure of their names, Xander pointed to one and asked, "What's your name?"
  
  When the man didn't answer, Xander didn't hesitate to shoot him in the calf muscle, making him scream before yelling his name, "P-Pe-Petey! It's- It's Petey!"
  
  Returning to the phone, he was about to speak when Petey's wailing became overbearing. Xander turned to the other gangster and told him, "Make him shut up or I shoot you next."
  
  Nervously, the larger man cleared his throat before muttering, "Sorry, boss," and clamping his meaty hands over Petey's hollering mouth.
  
  "Thank you." Returning to the call, Xander continued over the heavy breathing of the wounded men. "I hope you heard that. Keep in mind if you lie to me, Petey dies, and the others tell the gang it was because of you. Now, tell me everything you know about Faith Lehane."
  
  The dutiful young gangster told Xander what he knew: How he met Faith in a bar, hit her up, and took her to his place where they hooked up. Their romp sessions happened often enough for her to tell him about the problem she was having, and he took care of it.
  
  "Then she left and I haven't seen or heard from her since," the voice on the other end finished.
  
  "Do you have her number?"
  
  "No," he promptly answered.
  
  "Fuck," a tired, injured, progressively annoyed Xander cursed. "Where'd she go?"
  
  "I don't know," the young gangster answered. "I heard she's hooking up with some drummer."
  
  "I need a name," an irritable Xander demanded. "Petey's life's on the line here."
  
  "Alright, alright, you crazy ffffuck," he hotly complied. "There's a deadbeat I know, Ronnie, stools at O'Malley's. They were a thing once, but that's it, alright! That's all I know!"
  
  "What's Ronnie's number?"
  
  "I don't know! I barely know the guy."
  
  " Goddamnit! " Xander yelled. "You better tell me something before I start flat-lining your friends!"
  
  "Alright!" the voice yells. "Just let me make a call."
  
  "You got five minutes," Xander ordered. "But no pressure."
  
  Xander shot the wall to make sure he understood, then hung up. Four minutes later, the phone rang and the young gangster gave him the number to O'Malley's, confirming Ronnie was there. Xander then called the bar, and the bartender handed Ronnie the phone.
  
  "Ronnie?" Xander asked. When he confirmed, he continued, "I'm looking for Faith Lehane. Know where I can find her? I'll pay your tab. You can even drink the good stuff if you want."
  
  After assuring Ronnie and the bartender that the tab was on him, he told Xander that she'd been hooking up with a drummer named Kenny.
  
  "Pretty sure he's playing over at Claddaghs tonight, on Marmadukes," he said.
  
  Xander had the gangsters call an ambulance before thanking them for their time, and commandeering one of their cars-the keys that had the Mercedes logo. He grabbed his duffel bag of weapons and limped out of the cellar before racing to Claddaghs in a silver '95 Mercedes Benz, S-Class. When he got to the bar & club, he bribed the bouncer with a hundred, then walked around the large room, asking for Kenny. He also used a hundred to enter backstage and see the band in the green room. There were at least fifteen bodies in the small room, mostly young girls in slutty dresses.
  
  As Xander didn't have a face to go with the name, he called out, "Yo! Kenny! ...Kenny! I got that bottle service!"
  
  When the drummer moved a girl out of the way at the sound of his name and free liquor, Xander smiled before aiming his glock directly at his handsome face. All the girls in the room screamed as everyone moved as far away as they could in the small room. Xander walked closer to Kenny, making the terrified man unconsciously back away and up the couch he had been sitting on-frighteningly focused on the gun-until he was pressed flat against the wall.
  
  Calmly, Xander demanded, "Where's Faith?"
  
  The mid-to-late twenty-year-old with long, sandy-colored hair pissed his pants as he eyed the man pointing a gun between his eyes. Xander had dried blood around his nose and mouth. His left eye had blood in it from the baton that had hit his head. He had blood around his left shoulder and right calf. But above all, Xander's eyes were cold and intensely resolute. Kenny had no doubt he'd die if he didn't answer. Thus, he revealed everything he knew about Faith and where she should be.
  
  Eager to avoid shooting anyone who wanted to play 'The Hero,' Xander left the room and ran out of the club before anyone outside of the green room learned what happened. He ran a block down the street to the handicap space he parked the Benz. The parking lot was full of cars but it was devoid of people. It was silent until a loud CRACK rang out, and he felt his arm being shoved back. Confused, Xander looked down at his right biceps and was mildly impressed to see a dark hole with blood freely flowing out.
  
  Without hesitation, Xander ducked, pressing his body against the Benz as a rain of bullets hailed from the darkness above him. The windows of the Benz were blown out as the car was riddled with bullet holes. Sharp metal snapping and glass shattering filled his ears. As Xander wasn't sure how many were shooting at him or their locations, he knew his best strategy was to flee. He shot back to either side of him to keep anyone at bay when he suddenly felt a painfully sharp pinch on his stomach.
  
  When he saw red, he ignored the blood and shot ahead of him, forcing the hidden man to take cover. From his low position, he pulled on the driver side door handle, opening enough to dive in. However, he felt another agonizing burning stab in his thigh. He knew he was shot once again, but took out the keys, all the same.
  
  As bullets tore through metal and glass, the little transparent razors cut his skin as he focused on starting the car and occasionally shot back. When the car finally started, he threw the gear in reverse and slammed on the gas. Unable to see, he crashed into a solid a second later, and assumed it was another car. Recalling the layout of the parking lot, Xander put the car on drive and turned the wheel as he sped away. He took a chance to look over the dashboard and narrowly avoided hitting a telephone pole.
  
  Fortunately, the engine was still running and none of the tires were shot. Ignoring the agony swelling his body-like millions of hornets stabbing his organs-and his blurring vision, he raced away. Xander expected a few to follow him, but after running three red lights, causing one of them to get T-boned by a truck, he lost them. Xander could drive to the address Kenny gave him in relative peace of mind.
  
  Each step to the three-story apartment building was a struggle to overcome. Agony ripped through him as he slowly made his way up the stairs, holding his injured arm against the bullet wound in his stomach while he left a trail of blood on the floor behind him. Even still, he wouldn't be denied his prize, the very promise that brought him to Boston in the first place.
  
  Heaving and bleeding, Xander weakly knocked on the apartment, and after a minute, a girl's voice asked, "Who is it?"
  
  Xander's voice was weak and raspy as he answered, "I'm looking for Faith."
  
  Before Xander left the green room, Kenny had confessed to him that Faith had been his regular hook-up until their band got a new singer.
  
  "Faith took a liking to her and left me for her," Kenny fearfully confessed. "When it didn't work out with Liz, she left the band and Faith went with her. Been staying at her place the past couple of weeks."
  
  Kenny gave Xander the address before stating, "Sucks for Faith, tho. Liz don't swing that way."
  
  From the other side of the door, Xander heard Liz claim not to know Faith, but Xander shot the lock off the door before agonizingly kicking it open. The way his body was feeling, he knew he only had minutes. He found Faith inside with a pretty blonde girl, and they were in the corner of the studio apartment. They were wearing shorts and tank tops and Faith had a bat in her hand, ready to use it.
  
  "I don't know who you are, but stay back, or I will cave your skull in!" Faith yelled.
  
  Slowly, Xander lifted the suddenly incredibly heavy gun and waved for her to drop the bat. Though the brunette beauty complied, she stood defensively in front of the frightened Liz, glaring at the beaten and bloodied boy. Xander limped toward them, making them incredibly nervous, but rather than hurting them-or yelling-he slumped in the chair facing them. He was sweating heavily, his eyes were droopy-one was red with blood-and he felt no energy left in his body.
  
  Even still, he mustered up what remaining strength he had to say, "My name is... Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you." He didn't know if she was a Star Wars fan or not, but she clearly got the joke, looking mildly less afraid and more annoyed now.
  
  The heavy pistol slipped from his slack fingers to the hard floor with a loud clatter. Faith looked at it a moment before rushing to grab it and pointed it at him.
  
  Xander didn't care as he told her, "Fuck you, Faith..."
  
  "How do you know my name?!" she demanded. "Who are you?!"
  
  They heard sirens in the background, but it was too far away to disturb him as he continued. "You think... I 'm a quitter? How could you... say that? To me! "
  
  "Faith, who is he?" Liz desperately asked.
  
  Shaking her head, the brunette returned, "I don't- I don't know you!" Turning to Xander, she demanded to know, "Who are you?!"
  
  "Fuck you, Faith!" Xander yelled, sapping a lot of his little strength. With a weakened neck, his head swayed as he stated, "Don't you know... how badly... I want to get out? How much... I just want to stop... and let it all pass me by? But then... you called me... a quitter! A... a coward! And that... got to me!"
  
  His head fell back, forcing him to look at a clean ceiling above, and wished with all his heart his ceiling was just as clean. Tears streamed down his eyes and strands of saliva stuck between his lips as he continued.
  
  "But why'd your life... have to be so... so shitty?" he cried, recalling the misery of the day. "Looking for you... I saw... it all... your life... and- and... it was... shit... from top to bottom. I hated... what you said... but... your whole life... just the single... one you have... wass just sooo... It makes me feel... so... sooo... Fuck! I hate whaat you did... Faith. N-now... I have to... keep... g-going... because of you! "
  
  Xander forced his head up to look at the distraught girls before telling Faith, "Fuck you... Faith. Now... I... c-can't... quit..."
  
  Darkness took his blurry vision. Xander woke up on Halloween morning, still angry, and hating Faith for exposing him the way she had. He wanted to stop trying and failing as much as he wanted to prove her-and his hellish circumstance-wrong.
  
  "One more time," he muttered to himself.
  
  However, despite deciding to postpone his conquest of Earth to try once again, he understood he had to do things radically different, beginning with killing Xander completely.
  
  This was one of my favorite chapters. I'm not sure how close I am to canon Faith's upbringing. I know both of her parents were alcoholics(just like Xander's) and her father also had a gambling problem. But that's about it. I imagine it was bad but hopefully not as bad as I depicted here.
  
  I want to apologize if my description of the rougher side of Boston was a little harsh. There are obvious many gorgeous sides to good ol Beantown 😁😁
  
  I will not be updating next week because I want to release the next two chapters(55 & 56) in the same weekend. They are very important moments in Xander's journey and I think it would be a detriment to the reading experience if you had to wait a week between chapters. Also, I want the extra time to really get them right.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay tree on is pa tre ondotcom/graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content on there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
  
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  The Ugly Mirror
  Welcome to 1 of 2 of our double release. Today is Saturday's release. Hopefully no one will read tomorrow's chapter(56) thinking that it's actually today's(55).
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! They really came through on these chapters. Thanks guys :)
  
  BIG WARNING: Attempted rape and suicide attempt (Not descriptive). Mild sexual situations, and language.
  
  10.8K words
  
  Enjoy!
  
  The Ugly Mirror
  
  After a century of failure in nearly every conceivable way, Xander came to the conclusion that he could only escape the time braid as Nox. He wasn't certain that completely cutting out his principal persona would work, but he had never tried that avenue before, and he felt good about it-hopeful, even. After all, Nox did what he wanted, said what he wanted, took what he wanted, and didn't apologize for any of it. Living solely as Nox was possibly the ultimate key to gaining his freedom.
  
  ' Buffy fell for Nox, too. Not you ,' a small voice in his head pointed out. Xander bristled at the disturbing taste she had in men while realizing her unorthodox attraction to them was why he asked Buffy, ' Nox or Xander ?' when she claimed she needed him. Because deep down, he knew she wasn't capable of loving plain old Xander.
  
  Eying the yellow stain on the ceiling of his bedroom, Xander added, "Plus, Faith..."
  
  The realities of her life bothered him deeply-touching a place within him he had long bottled up. Tracking her down had shown him he wasn't the only one suffering, and how stupid it was to believe that-as if no one could understand his torment. The leather-clad Bostonian had stopped accepting the life fate dealt her and did as she wanted, and he would follow suit.
  
  "She's a survivor," he grumbled. "And I... can be...? No. Nox is the survivor. Nox can succeed where Xander failed."
  
  Xander rolled out of his smelly bed and exited his room. The first thing the mildly hopeful teen did was run half a mile to the nearest payphone and asked the operator to connect him with Boston PD in Roxbury. The last thing he wanted was to be tracked down because he used his house phone.
  
  "9-1-1, what's your emergency?"
  
  "I'd like to report a crime and need to be transferred to the detective on duty," Xander stated.
  
  After a few minutes, the teen heard a gruff voice respond with, "Detective Dunham."
  
  "Hello, Detective," Xander said after he was connected. "I'd like to report aggravated sexual assault on several minors. Two pedophile teachers have been raping girls at Dearborn high school in Roxbury. I'm not kidding, and yes, there's proof." Xander quickly explained to the detective where they would find the video evidence to arrest Bronson and Mardyke. "I'll give you to the end of the day to put them in cuffs, or I go straight to the news outlets."
  
  Xander hung up before the detective could ask questions about him.
  
  With a renewed sense of direction and an abundance of impatience, the time looper didn't waste any loops becoming Eitri, Achilles, Sherlock, Old Man Xander, the Navy SEAL, or Merlin. He simply dressed as Casanova and took the Jenny route again since she played an important role in his plans. As ever, Jenny advised they never have sex again, but Xander offered one last romp for good measure. Though hesitant, her better judgment yielded to her yearning desire for another series of mind-blowing orgasms.
  
  Xander went about his day on autopilot-whether dodging his parents, hanging out with friends or sleeping in classes-all the while, he was planning his exodus from this life. To know that his existence as Xander Harris would finally come to an end was a stimulating realization. Xander was thrilled to be on the cusp of throwing away all traces of his life as a teenage boy and finally living as a respectable man. He felt as if he was growing up and finally moving forward, putting a smile on his face all day in anticipation. However, there were steps that needed to be taken first.
  
  Xander went through his well-adapted checklist. He bought the Scratch-Off tickets, sold them for a hefty profit, and bought his junkyard 84 Suzuki GS400. He bought the Powerball lottery ticket and prepared to maneuver his parents to leave Sunnydale. He ordered all the parts he'd need to build his scrambler-style bike and quickly sped past the DMV tests to get his driver's license. Most importantly, he began working at Wild Dink's and gathered all the meta-materials he'd need to forge Odin's Ring, Dreadnought, Hellguard, Slaymore, Ordermír, and Blood/Lust, and reproduce his Armor Wear.
  
  Before anything else could be done, Xander was forced to deal with Ford's reinsertion into Buffy's life and his scheme to trap her. He warned Buffy about the handsome Two-Face a single time, and when she didn't listen to him, he allowed her to learn that particular lesson the hard way. It seemed to be the only way the Slayer grew up, which he could begrudgingly relate to. Xander let Willow, Giles, and Angel handle most of it, and in the end, Buffy was saved from Ford and Spike's ambush.
  
  The raven-haired teenager worked hard that first week, whether he was breaking down his motorcycle; forging Odin's ring at Dink's; making his deal with his parents; or getting his emancipation started. He worked all day & night and slept during classes. Xander only broke away from his mission to, yet again, warn Buffy about Giles' friend, Philip. Unsurprisingly, she believed her Watcher more than him. He still stood up for himself-to get out of the week-loop-and the next few days played out as expected with Ethan and Eyghon. Xander saved Buffy yet again, and she apologized for not trusting him.
  
  As part of his new Nox Plan, Xander visited Jenny later that night when he knew she'd be upset, afraid, alone, and drinking. He slept with her that night, expelling every ounce of pent-up anxiety and semen into the sexy woman until he finally felt relaxed. In the morning, sitting on her couch, Jenny once again explained to him they could never be together like that ever again. He didn't agree.
  
  "...Xander," the sexy teacher said with a sigh. "It could never work out between us. I was feeling... I was in a dark place after the whole possession, and I took comfort in you. That wasn't right."
  
  "You took a lot of comfort in me," Xander noted with raised eyebrows. "I mean, you drained me dry-"
  
  " I - yes, well," the blushing Jenny stuttered to explain. She inhaled deeply before confessing, "I admit it was... unexpectedly ... fun , but that can never happen again! I enjoy being your teacher and friend, and nothing more. Do you understand?"
  
  "Oh, yeah, I know," he cheerily agreed. "I'm not saying we should Rock the Casbah a few more times because I want us to be more." To her surprise, Xander placed his hand high on her warm thigh, gripping it slightly as he added, "It's just that I'm leaving Sunnydale, and I figured-since we already did it-why not comfort each other a few more times before I go?"
  
  The blushing Jenny heard his words, eyed his hand sensually squeezing her thigh-likely reminding her of the previous night through his touch-and she didn't remove it. Instead, she asked, "Wh-What do you mean you're leaving Sunnydale? Where are you going?"
  
  Xander moved his hand to her sensitive inner thigh as he casually answered, "My parents came into some money-somehow-so they want to leave." He slid closer to her, allowing him to massage deeper between her legs, and pretended to be sad as he softly answered, "This is my last week here."
  
  "Wow," a blushing Jenny moaned when he reached her sensitive bud. However, she remained lucid enough to ask, " Haa - Haave you told your friends?"
  
  "Not yet," he sighed, suddenly halting his finger's tender ministrations. "If I'm being honest... it feels impossible to leave them, but it's like I have no choice."
  
  Jenny blinked in surprise when Xander pulled his hand back before slumping against the couch's headrest, as if suddenly losing any interest in her pleasure. Only then did Jenny realize how wide she'd spread her legs and quickly closed them. She didn't move away from Xander, however, and instead crossed her sexy legs.
  
  Clearing her throat, she absentmindedly commented, "Uh, if that's what your parents want, then there's nothing you can do until you're legally an adult."
  
  "That's, like, a little over a year away!" Xander bemoaned, playing upset. "What if Buffy and Willow forget me by then? What if something bad happens while I'm gone? I'll never be able to forgive myself."
  
  "You can't think like that, Xander," she replied, sitting side-by-side and leaning back with him. "They'll be fine, and I'm sure they won't forget you. You're a memorable guy."
  
  Xander nodded before turning his head, looking into her chocolate eyes before sweetly asking, "Can I stay? Just a little while longer."
  
  Jenny gazed into his eyes and hesitated to answer, "Fine." Despite her misgivings about engaging in a taboo affair, she let Xander in her bed every night that week-sending her quivering body to mind-numbing paradise regularly-until the day he told his friends the truth.
  
  Friday after school, Xander had his friends gathered at the table in the library. Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, and Giles looked mildly curious, but clearly expected little from him. They made a few errant comments about how distracted or quiet he'd been lately, but ultimately, let him be. As the girls chatted about school, they had no clue he was going to exile the Xander they knew and loved, which made him want to smile gratefully-though he held it in.
  
  Xander cleared his throat, getting their attention, and announced, "There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. My parents are leaving Sunnydale... and they're taking me with them... so... I'm leaving."
  
  The moment of stunned silence extended long enough for Xander to raise his eyebrows in confusion, wondering if they had heard him. A moment later, a confounded Willow asked, "What?"
  
  Xander repeated what he'd said, because it truly seemed as if his oldest & dearest friend hadn't understood what he said. After another moment of stunned silence, Willow stood up and hugged him, already tearing up before she reached her oldest and best friend. With a soft and genuine smile, Xander hugged her back, once again being reminded of how much he loved their friendship.
  
  When Buffy hugged him from the other side, Xander felt a pang of doubt, giving him chills. He began wondering if he had it in him to leave them. Panic rose sharply when it felt as if he truly was disappearing, even if only in their eyes, because in many ways, their eyes were all that mattered to him. However, holding their warm and caring bodies tightly, Xander forced himself to remember that he was doing this to see them outside of the time braid once again. The mentally exhausted teen held them desperately and prayed to see them after he escaped his time prison.
  
  When he heard the library door closing behind them, Xander realized Cordelia had left. He excused himself-pausing a moment to hug a tearful Willow again-promising to come back and explain more before rushing after the cheerleader. Xander caught up to Cordelia outside in the student parking lot and asked the beautiful girl for a hug.
  
  With a deadpan expression, she retorted, "You can't be serious?"
  
  Xander smiled before saying, "Cordy, I know that-no matter how much you pretend not to-deep down, you care. I may never come across a girl who assaults my sense of serenity as skillfully as you do-which let's face it: two Cordelias in this world can only mean there is no God."
  
  Eying him with a quirked eyebrow, she said, "I'm really confused here."
  
  "I'm just saying you're one of a kind and I'm going to miss you," he plainly said.
  
  "Oh... Okay, fine," she begrudgingly agreed, though Xander could tell she was putting up a front. "But you better not do anything weird."
  
  "You mean emotionally or with my hands?"
  
  Xander hugged her like he meant it, because he did, and she couldn't deny feeling the sentiment. Unexpectedly, she hugged him back, and he wondered if she felt how much he cared. He was going to miss her. However, he'd see her again as well. When Xander pulled away, he kissed Cordelia's cheek-surprising her-and left.
  
  Xander spent most of his school time with Buffy and Willow, enjoying the little bubble of new feelings-so much so that he nearly canceled his plans to completely shed his Xander-skin. However, he was committed to escaping his purgatory of time and promised to call them as often as he could. He informed his friends he'd be back to take his SATs, and after many tearful hugs, Xander LaVelle Harris-as they knew him-left Sunnydale for the foreseeable future.
  
  To the Scoobies, their dopey Xander-shaped friend had left before Kendra arrived to stop Drusilla from regaining her former strength. To Xander, he had become Nox and had much more time to do anything he wanted. He moved most of his belongings to the mansion on Crawford. He had all his camo gear ready, his scrambler bike was ready to go, and he just finished forging Odin's Ring. In its capacity to house even more magic, elevating the potency of what he could already do, the ring was even more powerful than before. With the additional spare time, Dreadnought was two weeks away from completion.
  
  Using Odin's ring, Nox began augmenting his body, enhancing his athleticism for peak performance. Nearly every hour, for several days, he would exercise intensely and recover rapidly with his ring's magic, slowly growing all of his muscles-including the one between his legs. His dedication made him suffer through the aches, but by the end of the week, he felt much stronger and looked the part of a lean bodybuilder-only much more flexible.
  
  Recalling Kendra's consent from when he was in Jamaica, Xander met the beautiful Slayer as himself and slept with her as he did in previous loops. With everything he knew about her weak spots, he had the moaning beauty gushing and trembling ceaselessly before long and throughout most of the night. The dutiful Kendra was gone by morning to, as ever, capture Angel. And with that, Xander had no need to be Xander again, like Batman shedding off his Bruce Wayne persona. Nox wore his camo scarf and left to rescue whoever was sent to Buffy's house.
  
  To Nox's baffling disbelief, Giles sent Cordelia to check on Buffy by herself. The Order of Taraka-a deadly secret society feared for their refusal to quit until the job was done-were contracted to kill Buffy, and Giles unknowingly put Cordelia in harm's way. On the other hand, Xander couldn't help but smile at the distant sight.
  
  From atop the roof of a home three houses down on the opposite side of the street, his enhanced eyes watched the beautiful cheerleader park her BMW in front of Buffy's and walk up to the front door. She knocked, and when no one answered, returned to her car. She then walked back to the house and peeked through the windows before returning to her car. Seemingly in conflict with herself, a frustrated Cordelia changed her mind again and returned to the house, where she checked the windows. When one of them opened, allowing her entry, Xander was annoyed.
  
  ' All this time, breaking in from the back, and a window was open? ' Nox asked himself with growing annoyance. ' Where do you think we live? Canada? Lock your windows! '
  
  Nox spotted the Latvian worm assassin walk across the street and knock on the door of the Summers' home. Though Nox wanted to rush over and make sure nothing happened to her, he waited. Cordelia let the fake makeup salesman in, and Nox ducked just as the assassin took one last look around the neighborhood before entering the home. After a second, Nox enhanced the strength and elasticity of his muscles through his ring and raced from rooftop to rooftop-leaping over the space between houses with ease-then jumped onto a tree branch before using the swinging momentum to propel him into the front yard. He hit the soft ground and rolled into a mad dash across the street like a Parkour expert.
  
  Rather than bust the door open, Nox slowly turned the knob-rolling his eyes when it clicked open. Rushing inside, his hand swiftly removed a small black dagger from his belt. The cheerleader and the salesmen were exactly where he expected them to be: to his right, in the dining room with his large briefcase of cosmetic supplies on the table between them. They turned in unison to the stranger dressed in black with his hoodie up and half his face covered by a camo scarf.
  
  "What the..." Cordelia trailed off at the sight of Nox's glowing whitish-blue eyes.
  
  With the assassin so close to Cordelia, Nox didn't hesitate to throw the knife into its neck. Cordelia screamed as she backed away, but the worm assassin didn't move or cry out in pain. He simply watched Nox rush toward Cordelia, take her wrist, and keep the reluctant girl behind him. As Nox stepped back, the assassin casually removed the small blade from his neck-as if it were nothing-and dropped it as he followed them.
  
  Simply to keep the monster in its human form, Nox stated in his augmented voice, "How the mighty Order of Taraka have fallen. Once proud assassins who foolishly believe it's a boast to always complete the job, now target innocent human girls who know nothing. Where is your shame?"
  
  The three slowly kept moving back from the dining room toward the kitchen.
  
  The Latvian assassin said in his mundane voice, "By Taraka law, whomsoever maliciously speaks of our righteous order shall surely be put to death."
  
  "Um, I really, really , really don't know anything!" Cordelia called.
  
  "Your lives are now forfeit," the assassin stated, as the teens drifted toward the kitchen.
  
  Once Nox saw what he needed to the right of him, and he took the special dagger he'd prepared from the side pocket of his military slacks. It was a heftier steel dagger connected to a black and red cable. Nox spun it like a rock tied to a rope and let that kinetic energy drive the blade into the center of the assassin's chest.
  
  The Latvian assassin smiled and shook his head. He was about to grab the blade and remove it until Nox smiled back. The assassin analyzed the cable attached to the metal dagger. The red-&-black-colored wire was soldered to the steel blade and looked as if it had been ripped off of a lamp. The monstrous assassin then saw the plug in Nox's gloved hand as he inserted it into the outlet, and knew exactly what was about to happen. He slumped his shoulders in defeat just before he was electrocuted with an intense electric shock.
  
  The man-mimicking bug monster seized, unable to break down into the thousands of mealworms that made up the assassin. There weren't many volts in the typical home outlet, but if shocked for long enough, anyone or thing would certainly die.
  
  Nox turned to Cordelia as she watched in horror as worm-bits began peeling off of the salesmen, falling to the floor dead, and asked, "Miss Chase?" When she couldn't take her eyes off the frying man, Xander grabbed her and had her turn away from the smoking bug man. He gently squeezed her shoulders as he called, "Cordelia?"
  
  Mildly surprised, the shocked girl turned to him and asked, "H-How do you know my name?"
  
  "Not important," he answered. "You need to leave."
  
  "I... I don't understand," the confused girl responded.
  
  "Get in your car, and drive home," Nox slowly instructed. With a slight shove, he added, "Go."
  
  "What about..." Cordelia asked, finishing the question with a quick glance over her shoulder.
  
  She instantly regretted it. The steaming assassin was missing a charred chunk of its face, neck, and stomach. Its steaming skin was red while simultaneously leaking white puss over it. Because of its weakened neck structure, what was left of its wormy head hung around his chest. Blackened mealworms were dropping on the surrounding floor, and the smell of burning bugs reached their nose. Cordelia immediately looked away from the horrifying sight.
  
  "It's okay," Nox told her. "You go. I'll stay and clean up."
  
  Gently, Nox led her to the front door. When she stopped at the threshold, he looked at her in confusion.
  
  Sheepishly, she asked, "Uh, about the makeup bag... I mean, you're not going to need it, right?"
  
  Xander huffed, surprised by this girl's priorities despite the pile of frying bugs only a few feet away. Shaking his head in disbelief, he grabbed the wide briefcase and handed it to her. She flashed him her trademark Cordy Colgate perfect smile before leaving.
  
  Returning to the walkway between the kitchen and the dining room, Nox waited until he was sure the assassin was dead before disconnecting the plug from the outlet. The Latvian worm assassin crumbled like a crushed cookie. It took him less than ten minutes to clean, and though there was a ting of a burning smell in the air, there was, fortunately, no damage to the house.
  
  After discarding the trash bag full of chard mealworms in the outdoor garbage bin, Nox checked the house one last time before getting on his bike and speeding to school. He walked into the building for higher education with his hoodie up, his scarf loosely hanging around his mouth, and dark sunglasses on. Nox made his way to the hallways dedicated to the career booths, where he watched Buffy and Willow from down the hall of the packed area.
  
  When Buffy stopped at the Law Enforcement presentation, Nox moved toward the policewoman's rear. The moment the undercover assassin pulled out her Beretta revolver to shoot Buffy, Nox gripped the unsuspecting woman's wrist and raised the aim to the ceiling. Her first shot rang out, scaring everyone into a frenzied sprint. Xander flipped her on her back, then broke her wrist. However, rather than scream, she withdrew a second gun from her ankle. As Nox wrestled it away, she kicked him off and dashed toward the exit. Waiting there was Buffy, who easily restrained her until the real police arrived. By then, Nox was gone.
  
  Everything after the assassination attempt proceeded as it had in previous loops. Nox waited from a concealed position on a tree branch for Buffy, Willow, Giles, Jenny, Cordelia, and Kendra to arrive at the old church in the forest. He used Odin's ring to enhance his telescopic vision and observed the Scoobies infiltrate the derelict sanctuary to rescue Angel. With two Slayers and two absent assassins, Nox felt confident they could get the weakened Angel out. However, to his great dismay, they had enough dominance to kill Spike-and Drusilla-automatically looping Xander back to October 31st.
  
  After a long sigh in his gross bed, he cursed, "Fuck."
  
  Xander redid everything as he had before, only Nox didn't interfere with the policewoman's assassination attempt in the school's career fair. He allowed for a more balanced playing field in the church, thus Angel was saved and Spike didn't die.
  
  Without school to go to, Nox spent his time repairing the mansion-specifically, the faulty plumbing-training his body through the curative power of Odin's ring, patrolling every night, finishing Dreadnought, and occasionally stalking various people. He made a very convincing homeless man's costume that allowed him to follow people around during the day without being bothered. Odin's ring helped him tremendously in this. Not only did Xander change his eye color from brown to light blue, but he darkened his skin tone to the rich honey tan he had after vacationing in Jamaica and Mexico. More muscular and tanner than Xander, with bright bluish-white eyes, Nox felt more comfortable in his disguise.
  
  Once Dreadnought was finished-and stronger than ever-Nox visited Jenny Calendar. He purposely picked the moment she was using her sex toy to get herself off to knock on her window-giving her such a fright. Jenny screamed, demanding to know who he was and Nox quickly informed her he was looking for Janna of the Kalderash people. She was flustered, not thinking properly, and her unsettledness allowed Nox to use his knowledge of her real identity to persuade her to restart practicing her magic.
  
  "What for?" she asked him as he was leaving.
  
  "To safeguard the future," Nox grimly answered. As Jenny appeared unconvinced, he added, "Should I ever need a witch to cast a spell, I now have you, Janna."
  
  When Xander called his friends, they shared everything that happened with them. He learned how much of an impression Nox had made on Cordelia. Willow informed him about the magic she was studying with Giles, and Buffy talked about school and Slaying. These calls were so precious to the isolated teenager, he felt an unparalleled urge to make them laugh as much as possible. It was like his mind was compensating for the silence around him most of the day, and talking on the phone was his only outlet to speak. Xander wasn't sure if they sensed it, but they laughed and had a good time speaking to him, and that was all that mattered.
  
  He used the conversations for the small moments of connection he hungered for, but also to time when certain events in the loop happened. It was how Nox learned Ted had entered the picture-Buffy was not a fan of his while Willow loved him. The redhead told him how excited she was that they were going miniature golfing and that's how Nox figured out when they were going. He was right on time when he burst into the Summers' home-like he had the first time he was Nox-and showed the alert mother and daughter that Ted was not human, but in fact, a robot.
  
  As the stranger in black turned to leave, Buffy demanded to know, "Who are you?"
  
  Ignoring her question, he, instead, told her to investigate the real Ted Buchanan, as well as the address he'd written on a piece of paper before leaving. A couple of dull days later, Xander was in his mansion and it felt like the walls were closing in on him. He needed to interact with someone, so he visited Joyce. As it was night out when the beautiful woman exited her gallery, and Xander was wearing his all-black Nox gear, he, unfortunately, couldn't avoid startling her. Nox even walked slowly towards her from the front with his hands up and still spooked her.
  
  "Sorry," Xander's augmented voice said. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay after the other night."
  
  With a hand to her chest, the unnerved mother said, "I- I... hah . Yes, I believe I am. The police explained everything. However..." Looking at the stranger in black-except for his camo scarf-for a moment, she added, "I have to ask-"
  
  Interacting with someone he knew, even if it was only a sentence, scratched just enough of his itch to socialize that he cut her off to say, "I only wanted to know you were okay. Be safe," he finished, turning to leave.
  
  "Wait! Please, wait." When Nox turned to her, she asked, "Please, let me thank you. All those poor women that had been reported missing and found like that by the police... I could've been one of them if not for you."
  
  Internally, Xander was eager to continue conversing. Externally, Nox was detached as he casually replied, "If you want to thank me, don't interfere in your daughter's duty as the Slayer."
  
  "...As the what?" she asked in confusion.
  
  "The Slayer."
  
  Joyce's brows drew in as the confused woman asked, "And what exactly is that? It's not gang-related, is it?"
  
  Xander laughed internally, but Nox simply shook his head as he answered, "The Slayer... as in, the chosen one." Joyce was still lost, so he added, "Wields the strength and skill to stand against vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness... Stops the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers." When none of that registered with the blonde mother, a flummoxed Nox asked, "Hasn't she told you?"
  
  "Vampires? Demons?" she slowly repeated. "Are you... unwell , by chance?" Nox rolled his glowing blue eyes before she added, "I just mean, you're dressed like that, and you, rather violently , ended Ted. You're either in a gang or..."
  
  "Medicated?" Nox finished.
  
  "Well..."
  
  Nox shook his head before returning, "So, a robot so lifelike you slept with it makes total sense, but vampires and demons are beyond the scope of reality?"
  
  "I... robots are built by men," Joyce was embarrassed to admit. "It's machinery and science. Not fantasy and supernatural."
  
  "How about magic?"
  
  "...What about it?"
  
  "Do you believe in magic?"
  
  "Obviously that's not real either."
  
  Nox took his battleaxe from his back, however, Joyce saw nothing in his hand. He often kept it invisible when he was out in public, but he also didn't want to frighten Mrs. Summers when he approached. He presented his hands as if they had nothing in them, then his battle axe magically appeared, shocking Joyce back a few steps.
  
  "It's okay," he assured the mildly stunned woman. "It's just some magic to hide it."
  
  "That... I... How?"
  
  "How about we up the ante? Look into my eyes." Joyce hesitated a moment but eventually acquiesced to his request. Nox made his eyes brighten, then dimmed them before making them even brighter, all to her complete surprise. With a smirk he was sure she couldn't see, he asked, "So, what was that about magic?"
  
  Eying him with wide and confused eyes, she eventually said, "Even if what you say is true-which again, I don't believe for a moment-you must have my daughter confused with someone else. My little girl is not a fighter, let alone this- this Slayer ."
  
  With a nod, Nox replied, "I just thought of how you can repay me for saving your life, and in your head, the life of your daughter." Nox told her to go home, refrain from discussing this encounter with her daughter, then dress comfortably before meeting him after midnight. The wise mother was skeptical, but he assured her, "If you really want to know who your daughter is, you'll meet me. If not, I won't bother you again and you can keep your head buried in the sand."
  
  Joyce met Nox down the block from her home at 12:30 AM and claimed she was only there because Buffy wasn't in her room. It was weird for Xander, having Buffy's mom hold on to him as he drove them to the cemetery on his motorcycle. She was unsettled by both the cold night in the eerie graveyard and the fact that she was there with a stranger that had a large battleaxe. As they walked between aisles of burial plots, Nox instructed her to be very quiet.
  
  "There are things out here that can hear your heartbeat from far away," he informed.
  
  "I can't control that."
  
  "I know," he replied. Spinning Dreadnought in his hand, he added, "That's why I have my axe."
  
  Xander advanced slowly, with Joyce right beside him. He knew Buffy would be patrolling the area as it was the one cemetery that got the most action. Stopping at least fifty yards away from some movement, Nox leaned closer to Joyce and pointed toward the blonde girl beside the taller, dark-haired man. As she couldn't see as well, they moved closer-enough for Joyce to recognize her daughter beside a tall, handsome man.
  
  Nox whispered, "That's Angel. He helps her slay vampires." Joyce leaned forward, then raised her eyebrows in surprise. An annoyed Nox hastened to add, "Uh, he's also her boyfriend," since the couple jubilantly started making out against a tree.
  
  Joyce wanted to leave when the couple in the distance were interrupted by a vampire digging itself out of a grave. Buffy and Angel waited until they were attacked by three other vampires, possibly friends of the one digging himself out. Joyce wanted to run to her daughter when she was being attacked, but Nox held her back and covered her mouth with his hand, forcing her to do nothing but watch. Buffy handled two vampires by herself, effectively fighting them back before staking one in the chest.
  
  Thinking her daughter was a murderer, Joyce shook at the sight of the man being stabbed through the heart, until the vampire turned to dust. Buffy dusted her second opponent while Angel finished with the two he had been fighting. The couple promptly returned to making out and Nox rolled his non-glowing eyes. He then led a stunned Joyce away from the area and back to his motorcycle.
  
  Fortunately for them, they ran into a vampire along the way. Joyce gasped at the horrendous sight of its demonic face while Nox gently tossed his battle axe, the length of which was parallel to the ground. The soulless creature gratefully caught Dreadnought with both hands, but as he was unworthy, the vampire doubled over as his weapon dropped to the floor like a ton of bricks.
  
  Nox and Joyce watched as the evil creature tried with all its supernatural might to lift the weapon, but the vampire may as well have been trying to lift the Earth. Nox explained to the Slayer's mother that vampires were indeed real-as were demons, magic, and many of the supernatural things she may have heard of.
  
  "And your daughter, the Slayer , is the chosen one destined to fight the forces of evil," he finished, pointing at the grunting vampire.
  
  Walking around his back, Nox stabbed the vamp in the heart with a wooden dagger, making it screech before turning to dust. He then escorted the silent and shocked woman out of the cemetery and back to her home. Walking the silent woman to the door, she appeared overcome with the revelation of the supernatural, and how her only daughter was involved in that world. So much so, it worried him.
  
  Before she went in, Nox told the stricken woman, "I know this is a lot to take in, but try to remember a few things." Focus seemed to return to her eyes as he explained, "I'm really strong, fast, and skilled at killing all sorts of supernatural stuff. And your daughter is even more powerful than me. I know you're going to want to protect her and talk her out of it somehow, but save your breath. The best thing you can do for her is to be a supportive mother. And when she's out there fighting, know that I'll be watching her back if she needs it."
  
  Joyce said nothing, nor did she nod.
  
  Nox added, "Let her come to you, Mrs. Summers. Think of it like a daughter trying to tell her parents she's gay. When she's ready, she'll tell you. Till then, don't push."
  
  In hindsight, Xander realized that night was the root of his mistake, for he later learned from Willow that the minute Buffy returned home, Joyce confronted her about the dangers her life as the Slayer brought, as well as the men she associated with. They argued for hours until Joyce gave Buffy an ultimatum: either stop slaying and seeing Angel, or leave her house. The Slayer left and stayed with Angel. Two nights later, Angelus returned-months ahead of the norm-and the first thing he did was kill Joyce. Buffy was so distraught she could barely fight a new vampire, let alone Angelus, so Xander gave up on the loop and decapitated the sadistic vampire.
  
  Xander reset and did everything as he had before, only he didn't alert Joyce of her daughter's double life. Xander spent the daylight hours of December, Christmas, and New Years alone, fixing up the mansion, forging, and obsessively conditioning his body. At night, he spent time with the only company available to him: the vampires he killed on patrol. Other than chatting with his friends on the phone, vampires were the most interaction he had, since he couldn't risk being spotted as Xander.
  
  "Even Batman had Alfred and Robin, you know what I mean, Frank?" Nox complained to the vampire trying to kill him.
  
  "My name's! ...Not! ...Frank!" the vampire yelled between all the punches Nox easily evaded.
  
  "Oh, sorry," Nox responded, slipping a punch to the left as he countered with Hellguard through Frank's undead heart.
  
  For fun, Nox adopted the bad habit of interrupting Angel and Buffy's make-out sessions as often as he could. Nox had introduced himself to them exactly as he had before, including threatening Angel if he ever tried to kill a human. Buffy always had a curiosity to learn more about the mysterious man, but Nox never stopped to give her that satisfaction.
  
  Over the phone, Xander learned just how much Buffy disliked Nox-especially his haughty attitude. She wouldn't stop talking about him. Buffy complained so much every time they chatted that she apologized for talking of nothing else. Xander assured her it was fine, and that he missed them so much he was happy to hear anything they had to say. It mentally and emotionally did him wonders when Buffy expressed feeling the same.
  
  "I miss you, too," she confessed. "It's nowhere near the same without you. Willow tries to bring the funnies-and she can... sometimes-but I don't have the heart to tell her it isn't the same."
  
  Xander laughed, noticing how much longer their conversations were getting. It was easy to talk to Willow as well, but she was always putting off studying for school or reading something about magic to talk to him, so their conversations never went on for long. Xander and Buffy could talk about anything just as easily, but Buffy was flexible with her study times. Sadly, talking to Cordelia on the phone wasn't as enjoyable. They usually ended up bickering and hanging up in frustration. In person, that felt like sexual tension. Over the phone? Not so much.
  
  Nox couldn't talk to Faith over the phone or go to Boston and get the brunette hellraiser, as he wasn't sure how any of this ' Kill Xander Idea ' would play out. However, he always made certain the teachers of Dearborn High School were arrested and charged with many counts of sexual assault of a minor or abetting sexual assault.
  
  When the Mother Bezoar and her parasitic eggs began, Buffy finally got answers to her questions about Nox. Willow had told Xander about the school project over the phone, so he knew when everything would happen. Nox hid out in school for several days, and when he spotted Buffy being dragged into a room full of parasite eggs, he immediately intervened. She was waking up as he stomped on the final two eggs.
  
  "S'you... again," the woozy blonde slowly noted.
  
  She rubbed the back of her head, and on her palm, there was some blood.
  
  "Easy, Slayer," Nox said, handing her a handkerchief.
  
  Taking the cloth, she dabbed it against the back of her head, wincing before she asked, "How'd... you get here?"
  
  "Is that really important right now?" he returned. "There are people that need saving."
  
  Buffy and Nox made it down to the cavern where the possessed people were digging out the mother Bezoar. Nox dashed between the outstretched hands of the slower-moving people digging the creature out. Just as he reached the hole in the ground, he leaped into the air, and threw Dreadnought into the beast's mouth. With a clenched fist, Nox triggered an electrocution of the mother Bezoar with all the lightning his battleaxe could expel. The suddenly super-heated guts liquefied and turned to steam nearly in an instant, causing a tremendous explosion. Monster innards shot out of the hole like hot water shooting out of a geyser, sending bluish slime and charged internal tissue everywhere in the cavern and on the students. Though everyone was covered in hot monster soup, at least they were no longer under its influence.
  
  Buffy fought the Gorch brothers alone until Nox helped, and was surprised by how effortlessly they fought in unison. They switched opponents with perfect synchronicity and after Nox killed Tector, he swiveled the axe into Buffy's hands at the precise moment to cut off Lyle's head. She turned to give him his weapon back, but Nox was already gone. Then Dreadnought flew out of her hand, bursting through part of the stone wall to reach its master.
  
  Buffy later explained to Xander over the phone, "It was like he knew what I was going to do before even I did. We were so... in sync, which is super weird."
  
  "Weirder than a blue monster in a hole in the ground, mind-controlling half of the school?"
  
  "When you put it that way... yeah," she answered.
  
  Xander chuckled. After so many sparring sessions with her and real-world combat together, fighting by her side had become second nature to him. He felt just as confident he could do the same with Faith and Kendra.
  
  Nox stayed hands-off for Buffy's birthday. He only observed from a distance as the events progressed exactly as they had before. The Scoobies had discovered Spike and Drusilla's scheme to resurrect the Judge. The blue demon was resurrected, Buffy slept with Angel, and he turned into Angelus. Xander knew it was serious when neither Buffy nor Willow picked up his calls. He called the library and let it ring, but again, no one picked up.
  
  "I guess it's time," Xander said, hanging up the telephone.
  
  Nox grabbed the freshly-forged and even more powerful Slaymore and headed to the library. With his camo scarf covering half his face-the hoodie doing the rest-his glowing eyes, tan complexion, and muscular frame, none of them recognized him as the Xander they knew when he walked into the library, interrupting their research. Nox knew Buffy wouldn't be there, but he didn't expect Cordelia's absence from the research team.
  
  In his deeper voice, Nox asked the Watcher, "Where's the slayer?"
  
  Removing his glasses, a surprised Giles hesitated to reply, "She- uh, she's currently not here, Mr. Nox, is it?"
  
  Willow, Oz, and Jenny observed the stranger carefully as he responded, "I heard about the Judge." Extending the sheathed sword to them, he said, "Give her this. It's called Slaymore. It's a forged weapon, so it won't kill the Judge, but it's a magical weapon, so it'll annoy the hell out of him. Tell her it works a lot like my axe." Nox handed the Englishman the wrapped weapon, but warned him with a stern finger: "Do not unsheathe it. The Slayer needs to be the one to do it, or it'll complicate the bond. Do you understand?"
  
  "I-I-I, uh, yes. I do," Giles stammered to get out, eying the wrapped sword delicately.
  
  "Good."
  
  Nox turned to leave when Willow called out, "We could use some help!"
  
  "I know," he said halfway to the door.
  
  Giles called out, "Where are you going?"
  
  "To get a weapon that can kill it."
  
  Nox rushed directly to the army base, commandeered the weapons he needed, and rushed to the mall. He arrived seconds after Buffy charged at her powerful enemies-Angelus, Spike, Drusilla, and the Judge-with the blood-red blade of Slaymore in hand. The blue soul-sucking demon was raising his hands when Buffy threw her sword and lodged it in his wide chest.
  
  Having witnessed Nox using Dreadnought before, Buffy tested summoning Slaymore and was stunned when it worked. She threw Slaymore into the Judge's abdomen, and as the soulless demon struggled to remove it, Buffy fought Angel, Spike, and Drusilla simultaneously to give Giles and the others time to get as many people out of harm's way as possible.
  
  Nox advanced on the supernatural threat with measured precision, elevating and aiming his assault rifle at the nearest vampire before squeezing the trigger. Thunderous gunfire cut through the room as he shot vampire after vampire down, dropping undead bodies with masterful accuracy. The bullets didn't kill the evil creatures. However headshots put them down for enough time, and Nox was a good enough shot now to score headshots easily at short distances. Nox emptied the clip, keeping the vampires at bay while Giles and his friends got the civilians out.
  
  Nox tossed Hellguard and Dreadnought at different vampires-dropping them to the ground-as he yelled at Buffy, "You may want to call Slaymore back!"
  
  As she did, Nox hopped on the concession stand, aimed his rocket launcher at the blue demon, and pushed the red button. Less than a second later, the evil creature was blown to pieces, scattering the defeated vampires to the wind. Buffy ordered the others to collect the body parts as Nox changed magazine clips in his M16. He then ran after retreating vampires, clipping a few on the way to his motorcycle before returning the now-empty weapons to the armory of the military base.
  
  After riding back to Sunnydale, Nox waited for Buffy by her bedroom window. When she finally entered, he asked-as he had in previous loops-why Angel was standing beside the Judge. Buffy wasn't anywhere near ready to speak on the subject or admit to her part in the circumstance and told him to leave.
  
  Nox then warned, "When I go for the kill, don't get in my way."
  
  Feeling that anger rise within her, she challenged, "Or you'll do what?"
  
  "I'll knock some sense into that pretty little head of yours."
  
  The very next night, Nox found Buffy trekking through the cemetery alone. As he had in previous loops, he pushed her to open up about Angel turning into Angelus, but she vehemently resisted. They fought and with his unmatched skill, vast experience, and magical ring, Nox not only survived the bout, but matched the brokenhearted Slayer. He wasn't delusional, however. He knew if she were mentally and emotionally sound, he wouldn't be able to trick her so easily. Sadly, that wasn't the case.
  
  Nox had Buffy pinned under him, but rather than answer his questions, she kissed him to shut him up. Xander returned the kiss for several moments before she fought him again. When he outmaneuvered her again, the frustrated Buffy kissed him again, and soon they were rolling around in the grass for a different reason. Xander had been horny for so long, he was dry-humping her with his restrained hard-on, and nearly missed the werewolf's howl.
  
  Nox reluctantly pulled away before irately explaining, "We gotta go."
  
  The confused blonde followed him to his bike, where they raced to Make-Out Lane, and intervened as the werewolf was attacking a couple. Nox froze when he recognized Cordelia with the asshole jock from school, Doug Jeffries. The werewolf cut deeply through the skin of the jock's midsection, making him bleed heavily, and worse yet, Cordelia had been bitten in the arm. It was immediately apparent to Xander that becoming a werewolf wasn't enough to make him loop, but he couldn't accept that.
  
  Nox struck the werewolf in the chest with Dreadnought and electrocuted the beast. He then hopped on his bike and raced to Spike's factory. He snuck inside and killed Angelus, immediately triggering the reset. Despite being in a fog for most of it, Xander repeated everything again, only he didn't confront Buffy on the same night Oz turned into a werewolf. Nox prevented anyone from being attacked or bitten that night, and convinced Oz the following morning to tell his friends about his affliction because they'd understand.
  
  Later that day, Xander talked with Cordelia over the phone and asked why she wasn't with the gang more often. When she asked how he knew, he answered with a lie.
  
  "I asked the others."
  
  Her casual answer of, "I stopped going," unsettled him. When he asked why, she asserted, "Oh, please. Like I don't know when I'm not wanted. At least when you were there, I had someone to make fun of. And, I guess, sometimes you were funny. But now, it's, like, just Willow, Buffy, and Giles; a bookworm, a diva, and a stiff-all of whom have a terrible sense of fashion. I just don't see the point of staying."
  
  Surprised and simultaneously not surprised, Xander stated the obvious. "Uh, how about helping to prevent the end of the world? You know, the big blue marble you, me, and everyone else live in."
  
  "They were doing just fine without me," she finished.
  
  Xander had never anticipated Cordelia might leave the Scoobies just because he wasn't there. He couldn't be sure if that put her in more or less danger, but he was certain he'd find out.
  
  After his call with Queen C, Xander talked to Willow and Buffy, and though Buffy was subdued, they were happy to hear from him, apologizing for not returning his calls. Willow explained everything that happened with the Judge, minus the Buffy sleeping with Angel part, and all Xander wanted to know from Buffy was if she was alright. As it was his only outlet to socialize, the urge to make her laugh felt as vital as oxygen.
  
  The next morning, Xander woke up in his old room with his alarm blaring on the nightstand beside him. He didn't need to know it was Halloween to know he had reset once again. However, he didn't know why. It was so mentally difficult to redo everything as he had before, he resorted to using his ring's magic to artificially elevate his happy hormones-dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin-to get through it. Once Nox reached the same point, he followed Cordelia more often, as she was the only one not in the group.
  
  Sure enough, Angelus targeted the beautiful cheerleader because of her relation to Buffy and would've killed her again had Nox not stopped it. Nox then questioned Buffy about Angelus and they ended up fucking in one of the mausoleums in the cemetery. After an hour of feral mating-overflowing her womb with a large quantity of his backed-up cum-Xander finally felt clear-headed and refreshed.
  
  To be on the safe side, he warned Buffy to uninvite Angel from her home. "And if any of your friends invited him into their homes, have them uninvite him as well."
  
  Nox had Jenny begin deciphering the ritual, and as he knew the text by memory, by that point, provided her with some of the translation just to speed her up. Nox made it a habit to spy on the comings and goings of the factory and his friends-especially Cordelia, since Willow was rarely ever alone, Buffy was the Slayer, and Giles could defend himself well enough to escape if need be. Cordelia was the only one who was alone more often than he liked.
  
  Like in previous loops, Buffy prevented Angelus from killing a classmate. However, he stunned the Slayer simply by saying how much he loved her, then Angelus beat her bloody for fun. Nox found the beaten girl and didn't ask questions. He took her to his mansion and healed her up before asking what happened. She didn't answer, but he forced her to look at him. With overwhelming shame, depression, and anger fueling her, Buffy couldn't help but fight him in his home, and after he subdued her, they made out.
  
  That night he fucked her hard-the way they both needed-and with the aid of his ring's abilities, brought her to screaming orgasm multiple times. Though they were both tired, he drove her back to her house so her mother wouldn't worry. As he did before, Nox told her he understood what she was going through. However, he didn't advise her to find a nice guy that could make her laugh. Xander wasn't around anymore. Xander was gone.
  
  Nox's patrols rarely coincided with Buffy's, but when they did, they would patrol together, and after a heavy fight, he'd push her against a tree and make out with her. He'd then drive her to his mansion, where they would fuck to forget everything that was horrible about their worlds and drowning in primal pleasure until morning.
  
  It was near Valentine's Day, and Buffy was just coming down from a powerful orgasm when Nox asked from beside her, "How long are you going to let a guy you don't know nut inside you? Not that I'm complaining."
  
  The sweaty lovers were in his king-sized bed in the pitch-black room. She turned to look at him, though only able to see his glowing eyes and make out trace amounts of his facial features, and remarked, "If you told me about yourself, then I'd be letting a guy I know... d-do stuff to me."
  
  Nox didn't need to see her in the pitch-black room to know the prudish blonde was blushing. Despite all the sex they were having, Buffy's reticence to commit their sexual activities to words always amused him.
  
  "What's to tell?" Nox casually asked. "I'm nothing and no one. I have no friends, no family, no future, far too much past, and I'm constantly suffering. If you know a thousand guys, then you know a thousand men better than me."
  
  "I don't believe that," she kindly told him, shifting closer to him. She rested her palm on his muscular chest as she said, "Besides, I don't know a thousand guys."
  
  "How many do you know?"
  
  "A few," she answered. "Giles."
  
  "Your Watcher."
  
  "Yeah. He helps me the most," she sweetly confessed. "He's like a doting father, but for a Slayer. My friend Willow has a boyfriend named Oz. If you looked up the definition of 'chill' in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of him. And then there's Xander."
  
  "Is he in your group?" Nox asked, looking at her. "I don't think I've seen him."
  
  "He left before you got here," she explained. "But we talk on the phone almost every day."
  
  Nox paused a moment before eventually asking, "What's he like?"
  
  Buffy leaned back and tenderly answered, "Nice. Funny-like a dry sarcastic humor. Even though I can see a joke coming, I can't ever tell what it'll be, so he's pretty witty. Ugh! I miss him a ton."
  
  "Have you dated?"
  
  Whipping her head to look at him, the surprised girl responded, "What? No! Why would you even ask?"
  
  Nox couldn't help but chuckle because that's exactly the reaction he expected Xander would elicit from her.
  
  "Poor bastard," Nox's deeper voice grumbled.
  
  Thoroughly confused, Buffy hesitated to ask, "...Why?"
  
  "Because nice guys finish last," he casually answered. "I bet you anything he'd rather be tied to you romantically, but a girl like you would never give a guy like that the time of day-not unless it was out of pity."
  
  Feeling more offended, an irritated Buffy moved away as she asked, "Why would you say that? You don't know anything about him. Or me!"
  
  Nox sat up, eying her with his glowing eyes. As all he had on was the beanie that doubled as a mask down to his nose, he intensified the glow as he confidently asked, "You're telling me-with a straight face-that he isn 't into you?"
  
  Buffy sagged a little as she answered, "Well... so what if he is? He's a teenage boy. They're into a lot of girls."
  
  "I'm talking about love, Slayer," Nox specified. "Does he love you, yes or no?" When Buffy failed to answer, he continued, "Exactly. I'm not being foul here. This is reality. You're special, he's not. Thus, you'll never see him as a love interest or even someone to fuck."
  
  "Ugh, that's... just so wrong ," Buffy emphasized before removing the bed sheet. "I'm leaving."
  
  Nox grabbed her forearm as he asked, "Why?"
  
  "Because I really want to hit you right now," she stated, and feeling her tense muscles flex, he could believe it.
  
  However, Nox didn't care and pulled her in, making her land on his chest before reminding her, "Like we don't know how that usually ends." She tried to pull away, but wasn't using much of her abundant strength as he continued saying, "Why are you getting bent out of shape for, Slayer? Unless you're telling me you would fuck, date, or marry the nice kid you ' miss so much ,' nothing I said was a lie."
  
  "It's how you're saying it!" she yelled back. "Like I'm incapable of being with someone who would treat me nice! Or Xander is undeserving of my love just because he's not-"
  
  "Strong? Masculine? The complete opposite of a doormat?" Nox interrupted. "Angel treated you nice, but deep down, you always knew a vampire like him was dangerous-strong, able to challenge you. You've been squeezing me dry on the regular, and I sure as shit don't treat you nice or make you laugh. Your mouth says you want nice, funny, and good, but your body wants a man that can control you, excite you, make you wet just at the sight of him. That's the reality, Slayer. You're just not meant for little boys like Xander. And little boys like him are not meant for wildcats like you."
  
  "That's wrong," she insisted. " You 're wrong ."
  
  "So go date him and be bored out of your mind," he said before rolling her over and pressing his raging hard-on against her sex. "Or stay and I can show you the highs of being alive."
  
  When Buffy didn't leave, Nox imposed pure pleasure and ecstasy on a despondent blonde for hours-with the help of his ring-drowning her in a world of pleasure until he emptied his balls in the stunning beauty. Nox met her several times that week, and though she protested at first, in the end, she'd always hold him tightly as she orgasmed repeatedly around his cock. On the other hand, Buffy stopped asking him questions and tended to leave him afterward.
  
  Xander reasoned one of the six must've died because he reset yet again.
  
  Repeating everything as he did to his ever-increasingly exhausted soul, Nox later learned it was Cordelia again. She was kidnapped and killed by Angelus while he was playing rough sex games with the lost Buffy. The detached Nox saved her yet again, and continued his sexual dominance over Buffy. However, he felt far more haggard, hollow, and less human. He walked around his empty mansion like a ghost-or worse, a ghoul: a nightmarish version of a human-and it was scaring him in ways he hadn't thought possible. But he wanted out more than anything, and Nox was his best bet.
  
  When Jenny Calendar died by Angelus' hand, the time looper did not go back. Nox asked Willow to perform the soul restoration ritual, but sadly, it was too soon for her abilities. Willow wasn't ready to channel that much magical power and died from exhaustion, resetting him once again.
  
  When Nox saved Jenny in the following loop, he used the life debt to force her to perform the ensouling spell on Drusilla. He kidnapped her and locked the miserable woman in his basement. Jenny nearly died performing the spell and told him they were done. The beautiful teacher went to Giles and Buffy, and when she told them she could change Angelus back to Angel, Buffy stopped all of her sexual exploits with Nox.
  
  It was like the blonde beauty came to a realization, and to Xander's horror, he didn't see that until they were fighting for real. Buffy told him they were done, but Nox didn't believe her. The shell of a boy simply thought she wanted it rough again and kept fighting to get her clothes off. He pushed his ring and skills to the limit, fighting her to submit to him, and even then, the delusional Nox was so certain he knew what she needed. Nox finally pinned her to a tree and ripped the strap of her blouse off when Buffy summoned Slaymore to her hand and nearly cut his arm off to get him off of her.
  
  Nox fell back on the cold ground and looked at her in complete shock, wondering why she'd take their game so far. Buffy pointed Slaymore between his glowing eyes and angrily threatened him, "If you ever touch me again... I'll kill you."
  
  Buffy's bluish-green eyes were glaring at him, serious in her threat, but also with tears welling up just over her red-rimmed eyelids. Her normally full lips were thin and snarling at the edges and her button nose flared as she huffed from the fight to get him off of her. In that moment, Nox realized she wasn't lying, and worse still, what he'd just done. It was what Spike had done. Nox had done what Spike had done, which meant Xander had nearly...
  
  Xander didn't know who he was anymore and ran away.
  
  In his bathroom, he looked in the mirror and didn't recognize a single thing about himself. He grew to hate his ice-blue eyes, the incredibly tanned skin, the comically large muscles, and the voice that wasn't his. In the mirror was everything that he hated about Spike looking back at him, welcoming him with open arms-Spike's selfish and obsessive attitude, and his complete disregard for Buffy's well-being. Xander had fooled himself into thinking this abomination was what he needed, but in the end, it disgusted him.
  
  Xander punched through the face in the mirror and through the wall, cutting into his skin and drawing blood. Before he could even think to heal, his stomach spasmed, and he vomited terribly over the toilet in a way that even Odin's ring couldn't heal. His body shook and shivered-as if his body were breaking down-forcing the teen to fear what was happening to him.
  
  ' This is it ,' the trembling boy fearfully thought. ' This is the end .'
  
  Though he expected the time braid to have run its course and finally allow him to die, he simply suffered in the darkness of his room for the rest of the night.
  
  Xander stopped patrolling immediately, and when he stopped that, he had nothing. Dropping off some animal blood for the dour-yet beautiful-Drusilla, nothing but an animalistic imperative drove him to have sex with her. She didn't even resist him, and her room-temp sex organ felt fitting. Drusilla simply laid there while he took menial pleasure from her, and when he finally climaxed, it was a pitiful thing, like the shooing away a fly-buzzing nuisance. He hadn't realized he was crying until Drusilla cupped his face and looked him in the eyes with just as much pain.
  
  "Such tormented eyes," she sadly sang. "The eyes of one painfully visible, yet entirely ignored. You dance around aimlessly, and don't stop when you should-round and round you go-spinning so fast... you break. I can see them, the many, many snowflakes, falling and falling, breaking before they ever touch the ground. Rest your cold head snug against the bosom of death. Only then, will it all melt away."
  
  "You... you mean kill myself?" Xander pitifully asked as tears continued to stream down his face.
  
  Drusilla smiled dreamily before answering, "You're already dead."
  
  Xander had never tried to end his own life before. He'd been in lethal accidents or killed by others. He had even exhausted himself to death, but never had Xander grabbed a gun, pressed it to his temple, and pulled the trigger. Despite knowing death wasn't an option for him, this felt different. This suddenly seemed like the best way out to him. In fact, walking upstairs, he wondered if suicide was all he had to do to get out of the time braid, and rushed to his weapon's cage. Excited for a certain end, he grabbed a Glock, loaded it, pressed it to his temple, and promptly pulled the trigger.
  
  An explosive CLAP echoed throughout the room, and a puff of red mist stained the floor as Xander's body slumped to the floor. However, he didn't die immediately. His body quaked spasmodically and the sight and sound of the room danced in and out of focus. The sick teenager struggled to breathe, but somehow, he wasn't dead. He then felt his ring trying to keep him alive. Slowly, with terribly trembling hands, he removed his magical band from his finger, and soon after, Xander saw darkness.
  
  This chapter is either the 1st or second darkest chap in this story. I think it's the 1st. It's the main reason why I wanted to do a double release. 55 and 56 are big moments in Xander's journey. So, expect the next chapter tomorrow(Sunday).
  
  If some of you had a hard time with this chapter, I understand. It was difficult to write as well. Xander's really on the breaking point. I can't wait for you guys to read what happens next. I think some of you have already guessed it.
  
  I know some of you wanted Xander to get it on with Drusilla. I'm sure this isn't how you wanted it to happen. Apologies :)
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay tree on is dot com at /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content on there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Happy Holidays,
  
  -Grae
  
  P.S. It was my birthday on the 13th. I didn't do much, but I thought I'd mention it since this story is also over a year old now.
  
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  A Child Called Boy
  Sunday! Welcome to 2 of 2 of our double release. Today is Sunday's release, not to be confused with yesterday's release. Hopefully you're not reading today's update(56) before yesterday's(55).
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! They really came through on these chapters. Thanks guys :)
  
  Warning: Mild sexual situations, and language.
  
  12.3K words. One of the biggest in this fic.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  A Child Called Boy
  
  When Xander had looped back, he hadn't awoken in his repulsive room. Oddly enough, it was October 31st, 1997, but rather than being in his bed with a blaring alarm beside him, he awoke outside on the front lawn of a random house in Buffy's neighborhood. Additionally, Ethan's chaos magic had already cursed everyone wearing his costumes, confusing Xander. He wasn't sure how he missed the lead-up to the curse-if, possibly, his fractured mind was losing all sense of time, but then, from behind him, he heard a familiar voice.
  
  "Oh, Xander... If you're remembering this, you must've really hit rock bottom."
  
  Xander turned his gaze upon a stunning Cordelia, as if dressed in brilliant bright light, and hard to look directly at. Suddenly, he felt an incredible spiritual and emotional energy radiating from her. It was so strong, it pushed him back and burst his heart with an overflow of emotions so potent, he wanted to weep in the fetal position under a rock. It was as she was lowering the intensity of her divine majesty that he remembered when he spoke to Willow and Buffy's older versions. He had also tried to speak to Cordelia's older version multiple times, but couldn't. He would just ' wake up ' when the Janus curse had been resolved.
  
  "Wh-Wh? ...H-H?" the strung-out Xander struggled to ask.
  
  "I'm sort of a big deal now, so it's not as easy to summon me like you did Buffy and Willow," she told him, as if reading his mind. The brilliant glow around her settled to where he could see her without hurting his eyes. She continued, "I purposely made it so that the only way you would remember this was when you hit rock bottom. So... congratulations!"
  
  Xander felt physically incapable of responding to her and was visibly trembling.
  
  "Oh, sorry," she said, quickly realizing why he was so shaken. "Let me just..."
  
  The spiritual pressure and emotional drain lessened even more-to a manageable level-but he could still feel it like a constant gust of hot wind, making it hard for him to breathe around her. Wiping his sweaty brow with his forearm, the neurotic Xander was surprised to see the entire town was frozen still.
  
  "Wow, I'm actually inside a Time Braid," Cordelia cooed, looking around the frozen neighborhood. "I bet no one in the Higher realm has ever been in one before. I'm so getting promoted for this."
  
  "C-Co-Cordy?"
  
  "That's me! Your resident Higher Being for the Powers That Be." She leveled him with a grand smile and a tilt of her head. "I can see you've been through the wringer."
  
  "Y-you can?"
  
  "I can see a lot now," she stated, fixing her radiant hair. "And I'm going to help you see, too."
  
  "See what?" His confusion was quickly shoved out of the way for sheer desperation, at the possibility of escaping the time braid. Xander instantly dropped to his knees and grabbed the hem of her long, form-fitting white dress as he begged with clear yearning, "Ar-Are you going to help me get out of this?! Can you get me out?! Please, Cordy, I need to get out!"
  
  Cordelia flew around him, bending forward as she chided, "I get you're a hair's breadth away from snapping like a deranged twig, but I'm going to need you to tone it down a notch."
  
  "I- I don't know how to anymore," he freely admitted, eying her desperately. "I feel like I'm out of my cracked mind and can't get back to- to... whatever I'm supposed to be!"
  
  "Like I said, I'm going to show you," she asserted. "So take a few deep breaths." He nodded before taking several deep breaths and trying his hardest to calm down. After a few minutes, Cordelia softly cooed, "Good. Very good. Now, you know you're in a Time Braid, but do you know why?" Xander shook his head. "I won't lie to you. I don't exactly know either. These things are super rare, but if it's what I think it is, then I think I need to take some of the blame here. I'm only speculating here, but I think that day might be why I'm here, too."
  
  "That day? What do you mean by that day?"
  
  "Usually, a Higher Being doesn't make direct contact with you normies, even when a soul is at their lowest point, such as yourself. After all, there are tons of people on Earth who have it way worse than you and we don't visit them either. It's kind of a rule. But in your case, here I am, which means something very powerful is at play here."
  
  "You mean this isn't you guys? The Powers That Be?"
  
  "Uhhh, maybe , but maybe not," she said, tilting her head, only adding to his confusion. "It's sort of like that saying, if God can create anything, could he create a boulder so heavy he can't lift it? The answer is yes and no. Up until the moment he lifts it, the boulder is heavier than he can lift. So long as he doesn't lift it, he can live in a world that has a boulder he can't lift."
  
  "But the second he tries to lift it, he can, since he's God," he concluded. "You're saying the Powers That Be can create this Time Braid, but haven't?"
  
  "Not sure," she replied with a quaint shrug. "The source of this is unknown to me-which is really odd-but I know I'm involved. That leads me to believe this is the bosses, since I wouldn't be involved otherwise."
  
  "So... who's doing this to me?"
  
  Shaking her head, she reiterated, "Not sure. I don't know why this is happening, or who created it, or even why you. But for my part, I think this has a lot to do with something I said to you back in our senior year of high school; something that stuck with you for the rest of your life. I have to take a share of the blame for this."
  
  Shaking his head, he felt like attempting to think was even harder than trying to remember. ' Something Cordelia said in their senior year ...' Xander wondered. Shaking his head, he asked, "What did you... oh, the Zeppo."
  
  "You remember," she sweetly sang with a smile. "Back then, I told you it was in reference to Zeppo Marx, the ' straight ' one out of the Marx brothers, and long considered the most unexceptional of their act."
  
  Xander felt the unsettling truth of her words as he said, "And you were right. Of all of us Scoobies, Old Me was the only one who didn't amount to anything. Willow, Giles, Angel, you, obviously Buffy, even Spike- everyone but me did amazing things."
  
  "Yeah, pretty much," Cordelia casually agreed. "I was right on the money, huh?"
  
  His shoulders sagged, and he sighed before sarcastically replying, "Thanks, Cor. This has been great ."
  
  Cordelia flew closer to him, winning his attention with her smile as she pointed out, "Xander, I was right, but not because it was meant to be that way."
  
  With knitted brows, he asked, "What does that mean?"
  
  "My Zeppo comment only cemented a frame you already saw in yourself, which was a bigger problem than anyone could've realized."
  
  "Okay... why?"
  
  "Because, other than saving Buffy & friends from the bomb in the school basement, and talking Dark Willow down from destroying the world, everything else about you, more or less, stayed the same. That's called a pattern. Saving your friends once or twice in decades of fighting isn't enough to change the pattern. Think of it like a ladder, and the rungs are your moments of success. Sure, you have three or four rungs, but that's it. You won't be able to climb to the top without small incremental rungs to elevate you."
  
  "Like the loops in the time braid? One day, one week, one month, then the year?"
  
  "I guess, sure," she casually answered with a shoulder shrug. "Truth be told, I may be an agent of the Powers That Be, but even I don't know much about time braids. They take an incredible amount of power to create, and most of us don't even know where it comes from. It's one of the very few things that I or any of the other Higher Beings don't know enough about."
  
  "Fine," Xander huffed. "You can't tell me why this is happening to me, specifically, but can you tell me how to get out?"
  
  "That much is pretty obvious," Cordelia said. "You have to break the pattern, which means it's time for one of my favorite parts of the gig." At his raised eyebrows, she happily answered, "Show and tell!"
  
  "Wha-"
  
  Xander shut up when the surrounding suburban neighborhood suddenly disintegrated from solid leaves, grass, street, power poles, houses, mailboxes, cars, people, and monsters to a gaseous form of similar colors. The colored mist swirled around them like they were in the eye of a tornado before slowing and reshuffling. The blurry gusts of different colors soon solidified into a crystal-clear hospital room.
  
  It was a plain room, seemingly outdated compared to Xander's future memories of technological medical advances. A woman was in a hospital bed, holding a baby against her bosom. A man stood by the door, and happily gazed at his family. It was his parents, Anthony and Jessica Harris née Garlington, and they looked completely different from how he remembered them. To Xander, they were far too skinny and young to be real. Anthony was dressed like a hippie-in a faded blue shirt unbuttoned, red sunglasses, a yellow bandanna, mustard-colored pants, with white shoes. His hair was long, and his face was clean-shaven. His mother looked beautiful-even in her hospital gown-with her cherry-blonde hair, long and blown out.
  
  "There they are," Cordelia said. "Your parents were kinda hot."
  
  "This is what you meant by show and tell?" Xander demanded to know, turning to her. "Is there any way we can just skip it? I'm not in the mood for a trip down memory lane."
  
  "Suck it up, buttercup," Cordelia replied, ignoring his stare. "This is the source of it all, so it's important you don't wuss out, or you might be stuck in this until you go crazy."
  
  "...Shouldn't the higher beings be nicer to their subjects?"
  
  "Yeah, 'cause that's not backward, or anything," she sarcastically replied with a roll of her eyes.
  
  "Cordelia Chase, in a celestial seat of power over all mankind," Xander moaned with a hint of fear, shaking his head as if realizing the magnitude of that. "If that's not a point for atheism, I don't know what is."
  
  " Anyway , you started with them," Cordelia continued, giving him a snarky look before returning to his parents. "Your mom: straight-laced, very pretty, and from a wealthy and very conservative family. That is, until she met your rebel-without-a-cause father. Her family didn't approve of the union, and when your parents eloped, they disowned her."
  
  "It isn't enough that I already know my family fights a lot? Do we really need to get into the gory details?"
  
  "Uh, duh !" she quickly returned. "Stop running and pay attention, Xander. This is important."
  
  The pair turned to the good-looking Anthony, stepping closer to the loving picture of his wife holding his son. The smile on his face was from ear-to-ear and genuinely wholehearted.
  
  "There's my fancy lady," Anthony said, walking toward the bed.
  
  "Oh, here's papa," Jessica quietly called, twisting and elevating the sleeping baby in her arms for her husband to see. "Come meet your beautiful son, Alexander LaVelle Harris."
  
  "Yup... there I am," Xander glumly noted, feeling a sense of doom pressing down on him.
  
  "Oh, my GOD!" Cordelia cutely bemoaned, moving in closer to the sleeping infant-Xander. "I can't believe how adorable you look! With your full head of hair and chubby cheeks!"
  
  Xander paid less attention to Cordelia's squealing enthusiasm and more to his father. The handsome man wasn't moving. He took off his red sunglasses and eyed the new mother with a look Xander remembered well. Anthony felt disrespected and would soon become very upset.
  
  "Alexander? LaVelle?" Anthony repeated. Shaking his head as if confused, he said, "We agreed on Tony Jr."
  
  " No , that's what you wanted," Jessica replied, eying him as if she was preparing for a fight. Xander knew that look as well. "Father said-"
  
  " Father said ," Anthony angrily finished, throwing a hand in the air. "Here we go again. What'd he say this time, hmm? How am I a failure now?"
  
  After taking a deep and calming breath to not disturb the small baby in her arms, Jessica answered, "Father said that if I gave him his and grandfather's name, he'll-"
  
  "He'll what?!" Anthony yelled. "What's he going to rub my face in this time?! As if it's not his favorite way to use his fucking money. I'm getting real sick and tired of this, Jess. So fucking tired!"
  
  "Seriously?!" Jessica demanded, looking at him as if he were crazy. She reminded him, "We don't even have a house, Tony! How long are we going to keep living at your mother's? And now with a baby?! Father said he'd give us a house if I named him after them-"
  
  "So I'd have no choice but to think of that smarmy bastard every time I call for my son!" Anthony raged. " How 's it possible you can be this stupid?! Can't you see he's doing this on purpose because he hates me?!"
  
  "Oh, no, don't even try that!You've hated him from the very start!" Jessica yelled back, sitting up and sharply shuffling the baby in her arms and waking him. Almost as if forgetting the infant in her arms, she retorted, "At least he owns a company and can take care of his family!"
  
  As the yelling parents rang loudly in his ears, Xander focused on his baby-self, crying weakly under all the commotion. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and he couldn't quite catch his breath as he asked Cordelia, "Can we please stop this? Like, it doesn't really matter, right? I mean, I already know they fight."
  
  Cordelia eyed him with concern before sadly answering, "No." Xander turned to her and asked again, but with stone-cold eyes. She shook her head, sympathetically adding, "You make a lot of bad decisions, Xander-like, a lot -in life and love. Don't you ever wonder why that is? It's not just bad luck. It's deeper-at the heart of you."
  
  "And what's this supposed to do?" Xander grumbled, pointing to his parents.
  
  "We'll see, won't we?" she replied.
  
  "We need a home, Tony, and daddy is giving us one," Jessica reiterated. "Please, do it for your son."
  
  Anthony glared at her in silence, growing angry at her request and seemingly arguing with himself. Barely able to contain his fury, Anthony growled and huffed before punching the wall. Suddenly realizing baby-Xander was crying till he was red in the face, Anthony stomped out of the room, leaving without having even held his son. Tears running down her face, Jessica held baby-Xander close, gently shushing him as she cried to herself.
  
  Xander turned to the angelic Cordelia in a mixture of fear and irritation, asking, "How much more of this-"
  
  "Until you understand," she quickly answered him. "Deeply, fully, and without reservation."
  
  "...I don't want to see this, Cor," he solemnly stated.
  
  "It's been over a hundred years of basically walking in circles," she gently admonished. "How badly do you want to get out?" Xander gritted his teeth and shivered before she added, "Minus world domination, you've done everything else-which, FYI, conquering the planet wouldn't work, either. You've strengthened your body, improved your knowledge, and gained a lot of valuable skills. This is the last thing, Xander. And sure, facing it will be hard, but you won't be alone."
  
  Xander carefully observed Cordelia extend her hand. However, he was hesitant to take it. Setting his sight on his young mother, Xander knew he was on a jagged path through a thicket of thorny vines: death by a thousand cuts. He wanted to stop the pain, not add to it, so he didn't want to take Cordelia's hand.
  
  "Look lower," Cordelia told him.
  
  Reluctantly, Xander lowered his gaze to the crying infant in her arms.
  
  "Do it for him," Cordelia said.
  
  Xander hated admitting to himself he felt a deep-seated fear weighing him down. He never enjoyed thinking of his parents and became adept at forgetting them the moment he left his house. Now, if he wanted to give that baby a chance-give himself a chance-he felt obligated to see exactly how alike he was to his alcoholic and abusive parents. Without looking, an anxious Xander tentatively reached out and took Cordelia's hand.
  
  When the pair took a step forward, everything around them quickly shifted into cloudy puffs of swirling wind again. They were in the eye of a multi-colored tornado for three steps before the gaseous gusts slowed and reformed into the living room of Xander's boyhood home. Though unfurnished, it was cleaner and brighter, like a comforting Hallmark card. Moving boxes were piled in the corners of the room and moving men were walking up and down the hallway with more boxes.
  
  "How many trips like that do we get before we use up the special effects budget?" Xander asked.
  
  Cordy snorted, but just pointed ahead. In the center of the room was Jessica, holding baby-Xander in her arms, and an older man with styled gray hair, dressed in a black, pin-striped suit. He looked as if he worked at a high-powered law firm for fifty years. The older man eyed the infant lovingly, letting baby-Xander's small hand grip his finger.
  
  "I can tell from his grip," Alexander Sr. told his daughter. "He has the hands of a surgeon or an engineer. Is it too early to discuss academies best suited for STEM fields?"
  
  "Maybe just a tad, daddy," Jessica said with a smile.
  
  "Well, he has to go to the finest institutions if he's to make something of himself," the man insisted.
  
  Jessica swallowed before reluctantly admitting, "A-Actually, Tony and I talked about him attending the local schools."
  
  "Whatever for?" Alexander Sr. asked. "I'll cover the cost of boarding him in the best private schools. My grandson must have the best opportunities available. That's all that matters."
  
  "You got us this beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood with nice schools nearby," Jess pointed out. "Wouldn't it be better for Xander if he was with his parents instead of a bunch of strangers in a stuffy old school hundreds of miles away?" Alexander pulled his finger away from the baby's grasp as he eyed his daughter with concern as she continued. "Let's just try him out at the local schools first, and if he does well, we can talk about university, okay?"
  
  Alexander took a step away and observed her critically. When she avoided looking into his eyes, the senior knew the truth, and asked, "This is coming from him , isn't it?"
  
  "Daddy-"
  
  "Mr. Garlington, to you, Mrs. Harris ," he coldly instructed, stepping away.
  
  "Daddy, please," she pleaded with him. "Don't be like that. Tony needs to have some say in raising his son."
  
  "So my grandson can turn out like that poor excuse of a man? Useless but for the degradation of duty and the corruption of morals. That man is a cancer..." Alexander cleared his throat before telling his daughter, "I will give you this one opportunity to save your son from him. Or all of it is gone."
  
  Her eyes widened before she asked, "But the house is under-"
  
  "You can keep the damned house, Jessica," Alexander interrupted. "What will a roof over your head matter if the foundation is rotten?"
  
  "But Tony's not that bad," Jess insisted with a fearful expression. "Why's it so impossible for you to give him a chance? He's working right now! For us!"
  
  "An errand boy," he said, as if spitting filth out of his mouth.
  
  "No, you always said a man is only a success if he provides for his family," the young mother argued. "Tony works at the post office now-a government job-which means he's providing!"
  
  "He'll work there for a few years-if that-then it'll be a supermarket job. After that, it'll be a retail position, then a warehouse position, and then, and then, and then," Alexander Sr. foretold. "He's lazy, Jessica-unambitious. I can see it in his eyes; He expects the world to be handed to him on a silver platter, and like a petulant child, throws a fit when the world doesn't conform to his whim. Is that the example of ' success ' you want your son to adopt?" At her silence, he added, "Convince your husband to set aside his selfish need to feel important and think of what's best for young Alexander. Or I vow to never be a part of your lives again."
  
  Jessica looked fearful, distraught, and could do nothing but nod.
  
  With a quick exhale, Cordelia asked, "How rich was your grandfather, anyway?" Her elegant eyebrows arched high as she replied, "Wow, that's fairly wealthy for his day. Easily top one percent."
  
  "I didn't even say anything," a confused Xander said.
  
  "Yeah, my higher-being brain is like super Google on steroids. I can ask myself almost anything and get an answer."
  
  "So? How much was grandpa worth?"
  
  "At the height of his net worth, nearly five million."
  
  "Doesn't really sound like much," Xander noted with an arched brow.
  
  "In the 80s? That's... brain, help me out... Around 18 million in today's- er , your day's money."
  
  Whipping his flabbergasted head to her, the teen yelled, "What the hell?! Where'd it all go? Wait, is that why my parents fight all the time?"
  
  Cordelia eyed him sadly for a moment before answering, "...Let's keep watching."
  
  "Can't you just tell me, Brainiac?"
  
  Shaking her head, Cordelia extended her hand as she solemnly replied, "Let's keep watching."
  
  Once again, the room exploded into a puff of colorful smoke before swirling around them with the violence and speed of a blender. After a moment, the particles of chromatic gas slowed before shifting into solid shapes of a new environment. They were in Anthony and Jessica's bedroom. Baby-Xander was crying in his crib, flailing his tiny arms and legs, begging for attention, but his parents were gone. Through the walls, Xander and Cordelia could hear Anthony and Jessica shouting at each other on the first floor of the house.
  
  Though muffled, they could hear Anthony yell, "Because he never had a son of his own and now he wants mine! And you're giving my son away!"
  
  "I just want Xander-"
  
  "Don't say that fucking name in front of me!"
  
  "It's just a name!"
  
  "JUST DON'T FUCKING SAY IT!"
  
  "Fine! Don't you want our son to have the best? Like I did?" a wailing Jessica asked.
  
  "And look where all those fancy schools got you! No job and a blue-collar husband," they heard him through the walls. "It doesn't matter what we give that kid, he's still going to be whatever he's going to be! If he wants to be a screwup, he'll be a screwup! If he's destined to be something else, that's what he'll be!"
  
  "How can you even say that about your own son?! If you don't love him, then just say that!"
  
  "Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you?! You and that asshole dad of yours would just love to see me fail at raising my own boy!"
  
  "We just want the best-"
  
  "THEN YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE SIDED WITH HIM OVER ME!"
  
  "I ALREADY LEFT MY FAMILY BECAUSE OF YOU! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT!?"
  
  " LOYALTY! I'M YOUR HUSBAND! I 'M THE ONE TAKING CARE OF US! TREAT ME WITH THE GODDAMN RESPECT I DESERVE!"
  
  "MAYBE WHEN YOU'VE ACTUALLY EARNED IT, I WILL-"
  
  Xander and Cordelia hear a loud banging noise, and for a moment, the stone-faced Xander wondered if his father hit his mother, but quickly concluded it was drywall instead of her face. There was a violent symphony of loud noises, possibly the table flipping and glass breaking before the closing of a door. Xander and Cordelia might've heard Jessica weeping from downstairs if not for baby-Xander's crying.
  
  After that, the dark bedroom shifted to a luxurious sitting room. Xander and Cordelia were impressed by the elegant room, with its high ceiling, and three 3-light chandeliers aligned with three tall, arching windows. The sunlight lit the room with a warm glow. Alexander Sr., Jessica-holding baby Xander-and a woman Xander hadn't seen before were sitting on the couch and seats in front of the fireplace. On the red oak coffee table in front of them were three steaming cups of tea.
  
  "That's Anne Leslie Garlington," Cordelia informed him. "Your maternal grandmother. This is your grandparents' house... well, with a sitting room like this, it's so obviously a mansion."
  
  Xander absentmindedly nodded, but was focused on Alexander Sr. He looked quite upset, and Xander feared it was because his mother decided not to accept his offer to provide for his education. Xander already knew he hadn't gone to the best schools, so clearly, any chance he had for a brighter future somehow fell through. He couldn't even recall his maternal grandparents until Cordelia showed him. In truth, Xander hadn't met any family from his mother's side. Every event that unfortunately brought the family together would always exclude her side of the family tree.
  
  Alexander huffed with irritation before standing up and exiting the room. Both of the women stood and watched him go with trepidation.
  
  "Daddy?" Jessica called after him, but he'd already left the room.
  
  "Don't worry, sweety," Anne Leslie reassured her daughter, gently squeezing her shoulder. "He'll come around." Jessica nodded and hugged her mother with one arm, careful not to distress baby-Xander. Anne Leslie smiled adoringly at the cute baby between them, massaging its cheeks as she made cooing noises. While her eyes remained on the adorableness of the baby, Anne Leslie warned, "Don't expect your father to compromise again. You know him. He doesn't accommodate well, especially to those he doesn't hold in the highest regard."
  
  "I know," Jessica said with a hint of worry.
  
  Anne continued, "If your husband pushes too far again, your father will leave, and I highly doubt you'll see us again."
  
  "I know," Jessica repeats.
  
  "Make sure that never happens," Anne warned her daughter. "I'd hate it every day for the rest of my shortened life if I was forced to miss out on my only grandson's childhood, but I won't go against your father."
  
  "I know, mom," Jessica sympathetically replied. "We won't let it come to that."
  
  "Anthony must allow Xander to attend any middle school of our choosing," Anne reiterated. "Even if it's a boarding school outside of the country."
  
  "I'll make Tony see this is for the best," Jessica assured her mother, nodding fervently as she added, "I promise."
  
  "...I suppose we'll see," Anne hesitantly stated. Turning her attention to her grandson, she kissed each of his chubby cheeks before saying, "I better go settle that old man down, or he'll be tossing and turning all night."
  
  After thanking her mother profusely, Jessica and baby-Xander were alone in the sitting room. The jaunty mother elevated Xander to the sky and twirled several times, eliciting joyful, bubbling laughter from the months-old baby.
  
  "We did it!" the cheery mother sang. "Ah! I can't believe he agreed to let you attend local schools!"
  
  The baby giggled happily before Jessica brought her son to her chest, holding him tightly to her nurturing warmth, willing her happiness to carry through to her baby. The cherry-blonde mother gently swayed from side to side, humming soothingly as she rubbed her baby's back. Baby Xander sweetly cooed, comforted by his mother, and held onto her tightly. It made Xander's hand tickle with a faint trace of familiarity, and the uncomfortable teen flexed his hands to rid himself of the eerie feeling.
  
  Completely at ease, Jessica softly said, "I know you're laying down all day, waiting for someone to come along and hold you close; waiting for someone to love you; to accept you." She leaned baby-Xander back and looked into his large brown eyes as she added, "I'll never stop being that person for you. I love you more than anything, my beautiful baby boy, and at every stage of your life, you'll always, always have me. That's a promise your mommy is making to you."
  
  "Aww," Cordelia sounded. "You know, the most important years in a child's development are from day one to age five. The experiences and relationships formed during those years determine how their brain develops. In fact, by the time children reach five years old, 90% of their brain is already developed."
  
  Xander heard her. However, he was more focused on his mother, lovingly holding his infant counterpart. It was painfully clear to Xander how much his mother loved him, which hurt all the more when he recalled all the emotional and physical abuse he'd endured in the latter stages of boyhood, and wondered, ' What the fuck happened? '
  
  "Just so you know, I can hear your thoughts," Cordelia remarked.
  
  "Why am I seeing this, Cor?!" Xander yelled out. "Seriously, I already know my parents fucked up."
  
  "We're here to find the missing piece," Cordelia gently answered.
  
  "The missing piece is her lie!" Xander yelled, squaring his shoulders in growing agitation. "She said she'd always love me! Always be there for me. There! We found it!"
  
  "In all fairness, she does look like she loves you very much," Cordelia carefully mentioned.
  
  Whirling on her, he yelled, "Then what the fuck happened?!" His chest swelled with pent-up emotion, ready to burst out, and he turned away from his celestial friend to try and calm down.
  
  Placing a calming hand on his shaking shoulder, Cordelia gently said, "I know it's hard, Xander, but do you want to continue making the same mistakes over and over, or do you want to know what the problem is so you can start to mend it, and hopefully, do better?"
  
  "Iwould've been better if I actually went to the schools my grandparents wanted," Xander retorted.
  
  "Better without Willow? Without Buffy? And all the lives you saved by meeting them?" Cordelia asked. "You were instrumental in saving Buffy's life, who went on to save the world multiple times. If you weren't in Sunnydale when you were, the world would be a radically different place-and likely overflowing with evil."
  
  "So, I needed to suffer in that house because the world would've been doomed if I hadn't?"
  
  "You're not a sacrificial lamb, Xander," Cordelia easily answered. "You didn't need to suffer, but you also didn't need to go to private schools to be better. Your mother went to private schools, and you saw how her decisions affected her life. My parents went to public schools, created their wealth, and lost it all. Where you go to school isn't the safe bet against bad decisions that you think it is."
  
  "Then what is?"
  
  "I suppose we'll have to keep going until you figure that out."
  
  Once again, the scene in front of them crumbled into multi-colored plumes of dust before swirling around them and once again settling into a new location. Xander and Cordelia were in the familiar playground of the most popular park in town. Hammersmith Park was one of the biggest in Sunnydale. The five acres of forestry and gardens were close to the police and fire stations, and had a baseball field, which allowed for many games and community events. Hammersmith was also safer than Weatherby Park and close enough to many neighborhoods.
  
  Xander and Cordelia were walking behind Anthony Harris, holding four-year-old Xander's hand as he walked toward the sandpit of the playground. The tired father was dressed in his Blockbuster uniform and looking around the large playground. There were many children playing and mothers gossiping together as they watched their young ones.
  
  "Oh, that's a nice one," Anthony muttered to himself, staring at a brunette woman escorting her daughter to the sandpit. The gruff-looking father kneeled beside his energetic son, pointed toward the mother and daughter, and said, "Alright boy, you see that little girl with the pretty mommy?"
  
  Older Xander turned to Cordelia and asked, "Uh... isn't that you and your mom?"
  
  "I suppose this is the day we met," she replied, watching with curious, yet concerned eyes.
  
  "Wh-Where?" Four-year-old Xander slowly asked, his full attention on trying to run to the swing sets.
  
  Anthony held his son back with a firm grip on his arm and physically forced little Xander's small head to look over at the sandpit. With less patience, he repeated, " There , by the sandbox. You like playing in the sand, right?"
  
  "Nooooo," child-Xander moaned, trying to pull away. "It- It gets e-everywhere!"
  
  "Hey, hey," Anthony growled, shaking his son. "Stop that right now, or I swear to God we're going back home and I lock you in your room. Is that what you want?!"
  
  "I'll be good. I'll be good," child-Xander emphatically replied, eager to stay in the park. "I promise."
  
  "Always listen to me, okay?" Anthony sternly demanded. "I'm the one who cares about you the most."
  
  "O-Okay," the young boy answered, nodding his head, making his long silky dark hair sway.
  
  "Good," Anthony asserted. He pointed to the little girl making a sand sculpture with her blue bucket, and said, "Now, I want you to go and play with that little girl over there, okay? Can you do that for me?"
  
  Little Xander nodded energetically before running to little Cordelia in the sandbox. Taking his name badge off, Anthony smiled and walked toward the younger Mrs. Chase.
  
  "He's not going to do what I think he is, is he?" Cordelia asked. Her brain must've answered before she cursed a second later. Xander and Cordelia then watched Anthony flirt with Mrs. Chase while their children played.
  
  "I shouldn't say this as an impartial Higher Being," Cordelia began as she walked over to her younger self. "But your father is scum."
  
  Xander looked from their parents to Cordelia and back, asking, "Uh, they don't... you know- They don't, right?"
  
  Kneeling beside the four-year-old Xander and Cordelia, the Higher Being answered, "No, thank God."
  
  The young Xander must've asked the equally young Cordelia what she was making because the cute girl answered, "I'mm mm-making, Europe," as she lifted the blue bucket off another shaped sand.
  
  With a tilt of his head, the confused boy asked, "What's ' You Up ?'"
  
  Looking at him, offended, four-year-old Cordelia returned, "Not ' You Up !' Europe !"
  
  Eying her with growing confusion, child-Xander asked, "You Rope? Is that- Is that a game? Can I play?"
  
  Little Cordelia set her bucket down and flatly told him, "There's something wrong with your head."
  
  "Aww, the first time I ever insulted you," Celestial Cordelia happily remarked, turning to grownup Xander, who was shaking his head. "I can't believe I was that observant at such a young age."
  
  Teenage-Xander walked up to child-Xander as the small boy easily shot back, "You-Your mouth is worse than my head !"
  
  "You have no idea, Mini-Me. No idea," Teenage Xander commiserated, making the Higher Being roll her eyes.
  
  Little Cordelia laughed and little Xander smiled.
  
  "I'm Cordelia," the little girl said.
  
  "Xander," the boy returned with a smile.
  
  "Aww, aren't they cute together?" the elder Cordy asked. "We totally could've been besties. I even met you before Willow and Jessie!"
  
  Xander nodded before asking, "Have you ever asked yourself why we started feuding?"
  
  "Not really," she answered. "It was enough to know that I didn't like you."
  
  As the children continued playing in the sand, everyone nearby heard a loud SLAP. The pairs of Xander and Cordelia turned to see that Mrs. Chase had slapped Anthony. The pretty mother stomped over to her daughter, calling out, "Creep!" They-along with half of the other parents in the playground-watched Mrs. Chase pick up her daughter as she ordered, "Never speak to this boy or his horrible father, you hear me? They're very bad people."
  
  "Fuck you, you stuck-up bitch," Anthony yelled back as he grabbed his son's hand. "Can't even take a joke. That's why you're going to die alone!"
  
  "...Charming," Celestial Cordelia sarcastically remarked as she and Xander watched the parents take their children away in opposite directions.
  
  Shaking his head in disappointment, Xander groaned, saying, "And not at all surprising. Dear old dad hit on Buffy at Old-Man-Xander's wedding."
  
  While the park remained the same, the people all puffed into smoke, swirled around in many circles, and rematerialized in different spots as different people. Four-year-old Xander was being led to the playground by his mother, and Xander and Cordelia observed how the other mothers were gossiping about little Xander and Jessica. Little Xander simply wanted to dash toward the swings, pulling at her arm to hurry, and hadn't noticed the stares from the mothers and some children.
  
  When Jessica finally let him go, he ran straight to the swing set. When the exuberant boy snagged an empty seat, he smiled at the other three children playing. They smiled back until their mothers called them away. Xander watched the three boys leave but thought nothing of it. Jessica, however, saw her son, swinging on the swing set alone. The anxious woman sat down at a nearby bench, and the only other mother seated there left.
  
  Cordelia and Xander watched Jessica nearly come to tears before a red-haired girl rushed to the swing set with a book in her hand. She took a seat next to Xander, but rather than swing wildly like the boy was doing, she opened the book and read. On the bench sat a red-haired man in the most mundane, earth-toned clothes-brown slacks, a moss-green button-down shirt, and a brown corduroy jacket with patches on the elbows.
  
  "Mr. Rosenberg," Xander gladly noted.
  
  The man simply nodded to Jessica, who was clearing her eyes. The young mother returned the greeting with a nod and half-smile and the parents watched their children socialize. Xander and Cordelia walked over to the children and heard Xander ask why she wasn't swinging. However, Willow was so timid, she simply shook her head. Though Xander looked confused, he simply shrugged and kept swinging beside her, laughing and cheering at the high ups and fast downs of the pendulum motion.
  
  With a wave of Cordelia's hand, time sped up significantly. Parents and children zipped by them as many afternoons came and went in seconds. Xander wasn't sure exactly how much time passed, but he knew it was enough for little Willow to speak comfortably with Xander. She was showing him the pictures in a National Geographic when a boy came over and smacked the magazine out of her hand. Xander shoved the boy to the ground, where they wrestled. It was the first fight Xander had ever been in and their mothers had to break the angry boys apart.
  
  "I can't believe that's how you met Jessie," Cordelia remarked, watching the irate boys being forced to shake hands by their mothers.
  
  "I don't remember this, but all that matters is that we became best buds," Xander replied with a shrug.
  
  With a wave of Cordelia's hand, time sped up once again, and the pair watched the child versions of Xander, Willow, and Jessie play together, attend school together, and meet for holidays-Halloween being their favorite time of year. The three watched old detective noir films and Scooby-Doo together. They read comic books or flipped through magazines, played doctor and Monopoly, and often listened to music in Willow's room. They were as thick as thieves, a stark contrast to Xander's home life.
  
  "You look happy," Cordelia noted.
  
  "...I was," Xander admitted, realizing the oppressive parts of his young life that they hadn't seen yet: his time at home.
  
  "Being with your friends was the only place where you felt you belonged," Cordelia tentatively observed.
  
  "...Yeah," Xander's voice was raspy when he finally did reply. His throat suddenly felt hot and swollen, and there was a pressure on his chest, as though someone was sitting on him.
  
  "Because your home was..."
  
  "...Yeah."
  
  With a wave of Cordelia's hand, everything shifted from three children playing tag at recess to the living room of Xander's home. Just like they had gone through Xander's happiest moments, they now observed his very worst. Xander crying in the living room while his parents yelled at each other in the kitchen; his incredibly drunk father-who smelled like a distillery-slurring through an unprompted explanation of women too close to Xander's wincing face; Xander sitting at the dinner table, alone, clutching his stomach and waiting for his parents to return home; finding his mother in her bedroom, crying herself to sleep. She'd often give him advice on women, and if it helped her, he'd listen attentively.
  
  "If you find a girl you like, make sure she doesn't waste her time on terrible men!" the wailing Jessica told her distraught son as she hugged him desperately.
  
  Xander and Cordelia witnessed ruined birthdays, cheap gifts and clothes, and a much too young Xander crying through much of it.
  
  "Fuck," teenage-Xander cursed as he turned away from his crying counterpart. The swell of despair nearly broke his control.
  
  A somber Cordelia shifted the environment once again. They were in the living room of Xander's home. The young Xander was bigger, likely eight or nine years of age. Jessica set the birthday boy in front of the television and turned the dial until a cartoon came on. Dressed in black slacks, a white dress shirt, and a red bow tie, little Xander scooted closer to watch She-Ra: Princess of Power as she wielded her sword against demons and flew on her winged unicorn.
  
  "I guess we know where your love of blondes came from," Cordelia tried to joke, but Xander was deathly focused on his parents in the kitchen. They looked more like he remembered; older, indifferent to their unkempt appearance, and fatter. Just like young Xander, they were dressed to go out as well.
  
  "Tony," Jessica began as Anthony grabbed a beer from the fridge. "I'm asking you, please don't bring up anything about Xander's future. This is his first birthday party with mommy and daddy, and I don't want you ruining it for him."
  
  "That's right, I'm the one who ruins it all," Anthony sang, twisting the bottle cap off and setting the beer on the table next to the other five. "Crazy, bitch. Don't start with me, okay? Just don't," he warned, taking a long swig. "I've been at work all day and I don't come home to put up with this shit-his birthday or not, you hear me?"
  
  "I'm just asking you- begging you-please avoid drinking and picking a fight with Daddy," Jessica pleaded. "It's been five years since we've seen them and my mother won't be able to take the stress. You can't make a scene, especially around her, or I might never see them again."
  
  "Why do you always have to put that shit on me?" Anthony yelled. "He's the fucking asshole that can't wait to show off his mansion, his cars, the life he can give my son!"
  
  "Exactly!" Jessica yelled. "It's a better life than this , and if you'd just keep your mouth shut around him, we can all have a better life!"
  
  Slamming his beer on the table, Anthony yelled back, " You don 't need his goddamn money! I provide for us! Me! Can't you see you don't need him?! Our lives are infinitely better without him or his fucking plans for my boy!"
  
  "How is this better?!" Jessica yelled, completely fed up with how crazy her husband sounded. " Daddy bought this house for us- no, not us. For me , and my son! You've had six jobs in five years and waste most of your checks on drinking every day. You embarrassed me and alienated Xander-"
  
  "I've told you a million times not to say that fucking name-"
  
  Jessica spoke over him, yelling, " You alienated him by shameless flirting with the other mothers! Why do you think no one will be his friend?!"
  
  "The fuck are you on about? He's got plenty of friends," Anthony retorted, getting angrier. "What's their names... You know. Those two. Whatever. I swear he'd rather spend all his time with them INSTEAD OF HIS FUCKING PARENTS!"
  
  The heated Anthony threw the bottle against the kitchen wall, sending broken shards of glass everywhere with a loud POP . Xander and Cordelia noticed young-Xander looking behind him. However, the boy didn't seem to care and returned his attention to the television. The eight-year-old had grown so callous, he simply raised the volume of the cartoon show to drown out his parents' yelling.
  
  "Tony!" the irate Jessica retorted. "I promise you, if you do anything- anything -to ruin our futures, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life!"
  
  "Yeah, baby girl," Anthony sinisterly returned, moving to his wife. "Go ahead and threaten me. Hit me with some divorce papers. Try to take that dumbass in the living room away from me. We all know you wouldn't last a week out there by yourself. Not with your idiot brain and those weak-ass blowjobs."
  
  Jessica slapped him in the face. The crisp SMACK echoed into the living room, but little Xander couldn't hear it. Anthony returned his surprised eyes to his wife's as she screamed, "Don't you dare! I'm not, nor will I ever, whore myself for money!"
  
  Anthony only grinned, eying her like a predator as he responded, "Yeah, you are, bitch." Jessica shook her head as he added, "You're my whore. And you're not out there on the streets because you work on my dick!"
  
  Anthony pressed her against the wall and forcibly turned her around. Though she fought back, her efforts were half-hearted, as if stuck between wanting his forceful domination of her and not wanting it.
  
  "No! Wait! Wait, Tony! Not- Not here!" she tried as she shifted against him. "Xander'll hear-"
  
  "Shhh... He's watching cartoons," Anthony assured her, moving her raised skirt out of the way and unzipping his pants. "He won't hear me fuck! MMmm. His! Mom's! Slutty! Cunt!"
  
  He emphasized each word with a thrust into the pinned woman. Rather than cry or scream, Jessica moaned blissfully, quickly arching her back and inviting her drunk, aggressive husband to have his way with her.
  
  He kept thrusting into her as he asked, "This is what you want, isn't it? You fucking freak! This is how you love being treated!" When Jessica remained blissfully silent, Anthony gripped her neck and demanded by her ear, "Say it!"
  
  "This is what I want!" Jessica loudly whispered with her eyes closed. "This is it! It's... Just fuck me, baby!"
  
  Cordelia didn't express her disgust. Instead, she turned to Xander, who was focused on his younger counterpart. Young Xander remained oblivious as he watched the tube TV on maximum volume, while his parents took animalistic pleasure from each other against the wall in the kitchen. Young Xander looked zoned out, caring more about what was on the television than in the reality around him. The boy just watched the heroes that he'd always wanted to meet.
  
  Xander and Cordelia watched the Harris family enter his mother's parents' mansion, where Xander was having his second birthday party. The event wasn't with his friends or anyone he knew like his first party. He'd already had a birthday party with Willow, Jessie, his parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins-none of whom were from his mother's side. This party was strictly with the Harrises, Alexander Sr., and his wife, Anne Leslie, who had been resting upstairs.
  
  The entry hall and nearly every room beyond that were decorated with many blue, silver, and black balloons, streamers, and pennant banners. At the top of the hall was an intricately designed banner that read, 'Happy Birthday Alexander!' While little Xander was utterly amazed at the opulence of his second bday bash that week, Anthony Harris eyed the professionally done banner with tremendous aggravation. Jessica eyed her husband and could easily tell he felt incredibly disrespected.
  
  Though little Xander enjoyed the magician, and the small petting zoo-with goats, sheep, bunnies, and a small horse-it was only a matter of time before Anthony blew up. Watching from afar with a drink in his hand, the bitter father kept his anger bottled up as his son enjoyed the remote-controlled trucks and the bottle rockets he excitedly shot into the air, but with every bout of laughter or smile of joy on his son and Alexander's face, Anthony only became angrier. Jessica tried to placate her husband by showing him around the mansion and promising to leave soon.
  
  It was nearly through the end of dinner when Anne Leslie came downstairs and entered the dining room. It was the first time little Xander had seen someone so sickly. The weak, older woman had no hair on her face, a clear tube under her nose wrapping around her face, and a quilted beanie over her head. Little Xander wondered who the man dressed in white behind her was because he had been wheeling a canister behind the older woman.
  
  Jessica quickly stood up, followed by Alexander, and rushed to her mother, saying, "No, mother! What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting!"
  
  The mother weakly hugged her daughter as she slowly said, "Nonsense. And miss... my grandson's birthday party? He's only eight... once."
  
  "Even still," Alexander Sr. began, holding his wife up from the other side. "You need your rest more."
  
  "Just let me... see him... once," Anne weakly asked, sluggishly looking around the room for the birthday boy. "I may never... be able to... again."
  
  Pressing her lips firmly together, Jessica's eyes reddened as she nodded. She turned to her son, wearing his golden crown made of shiny plastic, and drew in her brows, confused at the sight of Anthony whispering something into the birthday boy's ear.
  
  "Xander, dear," Jessica called, instantly making Anthony bristle.
  
  The angry father glared at his wife as Xander ran over to his mother. Jessica swallowed nervously before leaning down and placing a comforting palm on her son's little shoulder. Eight-year-old Xander was slightly apprehensive to stand so close to such a sickly woman, smiling adoringly at him.
  
  "I must look... a fright," Anne weakly said, trying to fix her wool beanie.
  
  "Nonsense," Alexander said, eying her with affection. "You look as beautiful as the day we met."
  
  "Xander," Jessica softly said. "You might not remember meeting her, but this is my mother, your grandmother, Anne Leslie Garlington."
  
  "Oh, just... call me... Grandma Anne," the sickly woman requested. "It's such a pleasure... to meet you... my boy."
  
  Young Xander seemed nervous and turned back to look at his father. Jessica, Alexander, teenage-Xander, and Cordelia saw the man nod to his son, who returned his attention to his grandmother.
  
  "D-Dad said you got sick on purpose to get away from your husband," Little Xander remarked. "He said you'd rather die than be with him. Is that true? Cuz that's kinda crazy."
  
  From across the room, they all heard Anthony burst into barrels of laughter. He smacked the table, holding his gut as he laughed, and to be able to make his father laugh, little Xander smiled. Before Alexander could admonish the repugnant father, Anne Leslie's knees gave out. If her husband hadn't been holding her, she would've fallen to the floor.
  
  "Take her back to her room," Alexander ordered the nurse.
  
  Jessica quickly wrapped Xander in her arms and left the room with him as Anne was carried out. Teenage Xander and Cordelia watched Alexander rush the laughing father, grab him by the collar, and punch him in the face. However angry the man was, he was still old, and thus, his attack had little effect on the inebriated man. Anthony pushed him off, and the elderly man hit the edge of the table before falling to the floor. Alexander hoisted himself to his feet before jumping on top of the man and punching him in the face.
  
  Jessica ran in and screamed at Anthony to get off of her father. She pulled at her husband's shoulder with all her might, and after an arduous struggle, Anthony pushed her off and got up. Alexander rolled over, disoriented and wincing in obvious pain. He was bleeding from his nose while Anthony laughed.
  
  "That's what you get, you miserable old bastard!" the drunk Anthony yelled. "God, I always wanted to do that!"
  
  "G-Get out," Alexander yelled from the floor.
  
  "Daddy-"
  
  "Get OUT!" he yelled, directed toward his daughter.
  
  "Daddy, please!" a crying Jessica called, trying to help the older man up. "Please, let me help-"
  
  Alexander smacked her hand away, yelling, "LEAVE! You, that filth you call a husband, and his ilk are no longer welcome here!"
  
  "Please don't say that," Jessica cried, getting on her knees in front of her father. "Don't throw your only daughter out!"
  
  "You did it to yourself!" he yelled. "After everything we've given you, you chose a man like that! You forsake your parents-who gave you everything-and now your son's future, for that . I once held you against my bosom and vowed to protect you, but I've failed. You're dead to me, daughter. To have lost you and my grandson... such sadness."
  
  "Come on," a drunk Anthony said, pulling Jessica's elbow.
  
  However, she threw herself onto her father, begging with tears streaming down her face. "It doesn't have to be like that!" she screamed. "I'll divorce him! I'll divorce him! You never have to see him again! I promise!"
  
  "Fucking bitch," Anthony cursed, though chuckling. To teenage-Xander, the inebriated man seemed proud of what he'd done. "Come on, babe. Let's go."
  
  "NO!" Jessica yelled.
  
  Alexander looked at his weeping daughter's face and shook his head, stating, "He's already tainted the boy. I'm using the last of my energy to care for your mother. Just as our words of warning never reached you, never reach out to us again. Now get out of my home, and live the bitter life you've chosen."
  
  "Noooo!" the frantic woman yelled.
  
  To Teenage Xander, his mother had lost all grasp of sanity as she continued screaming to stay. Anthony pulled Jessica as Alexander forced her grip off of him. She begged with all her might, but Anthony dragged her away. Alexander was nearly out of her sight when she screamed, "I'LL LEAVE THEM BOTH! YOU WERE RIGHT! You were right! I'll leave them both for you! JUST DON'T ABANDON ME, DADDY, PLEASE! PLEASE , DON'T ABANDON ME! I CAN'T STAY IN THAT HOUSE! I CAN'T! I WON'T MAKE IT! I'LL LEAVE TONY! I'LL LEAVE XANDER! JUST TAKE ME WITH YOU AND MOMMY, PLEEEEEAAASSE! "
  
  Teenage Xander dropped to his knees and couldn't stop the massive amount of tears he'd been holding back from pouring from his red-rimmed eyes. His face was burning, his throat felt swollen-as if stuffed with a golf ball-and his weakened body was shaking like a leaf. A woeful Cordelia kneeled beside him, rubbing his back, but all Xander could focus on was his screaming mother frantically promising to leave her husband and son to stay with her parents and their lifestyle.
  
  "M-Mom?" a sweet innocent voice called.
  
  Alexander, Anthony, and Cordelia turned to the eight-year-old Xander, standing in the room, clutching the door frame and watching the dramatic event with his large brown eyes in ever-growing concern. Jessica and older-Xander couldn't look at the boy, who they imagined was confused, scared, traumatized, and crying.
  
  "Wait for us outside, boy," Anthony ordered as he kept pulling on the frantic woman. "Go on!"
  
  Alexander Sr. eyed the young Xander one last time before shaking his head and leaving. Though the scenery changed, Xander remained on the floor, crying freely as he heard his parents' muffled argument from child-Xander's bedroom. The boy couldn't sleep and stared at his ceiling.
  
  "You've ruined it!" Jessica's muffled voice yelled. "Father would've taken me back! Taken us back if you weren't so fucking useless!"
  
  "Useless, am I?" Anthony happily returned. "He left you. You have nothing, and no one, but me. So, who's really the useless one here?"
  
  "I never should've married you," the broken woman sadly concluded. "If I'd listened to my father... If I'd just done what he asked of me... I would've been married to Carmichael! He would've taken care of me! Given me a luxury home! A maid! A son who's not a worthless idiot like his worthless father ! I would 've been happy! "
  
  "Sucks for Carmichael," Anthony laughed. Eying her rear end, he added, "That ass belongs to me now!"
  
  In the morning, both Xanders and Cordelia saw Jessica sleeping on the couch with bottles of beer and liquor around her. The observers knew she had changed after that night, and they watched as the young boy helped his drunk mother to bed. Jessica Harris had become sullen, and drank every night. Both parents had to work to keep up with their alcoholic habit, leaving Xander to his own devices. The young boy watched TV, played with his friends, or dealt with his parents' bouts of alcohol-fueled fights.
  
  Young Xander tried to care for his mother like she had always cared for him, but she stopped responding with love and kindness. The young boy truly knew she had changed when they went to the water park. They had gone many times during the summer of '94. Xander had made friends with a cat that he fed regularly.
  
  He presented his mother with the cute, purring feline, boasting, "I promise I'll take care of it, and love it, and-and feed it! He really wants a home and no one'll love him more than me! So, so, can we keep him? Please?"
  
  Jessica Harris callously grabbed the cat and threw it against the wall. After a pain-filled meow and a THUD, little Xander screamed, and tried to reach his furry friend, but his mother held him still. Xander tried to pull away because his cat wasn't moving, but Jessica shook him until the fearful boy looked at her.
  
  She calmly asked, "Do you think you're a hero? You think you can save every stray that comes asking for help? Because you can't! No one will save you! No one will save that poor cat, no matter how much it wants to live a better life!" Though the mother's eyes were filled with tears, they wouldn't spill. Moreover, she looked angry as she added, "Those comics you love to read are a lie. Heroes don't exist, boy. Use people for what you need, then drop them like I did that cat, because this world is filled with villains. Not heroes."
  
  Jessica slapped him hard in the face-so he'd remember-then walked off. Though young Xander appeared as if he wanted to cry, he clenched his little hands and refused to do so. The few tears that spilled over, he roughly wiped away with his forearm, and then rushed over to the cat. It seemed to be alive, but he couldn't be sure. The young preteen gently picked it up and rushed it to the water park's medical center. After handing the injured animal to them, he never saw the cat again.
  
  Cordelia then displayed many flashes of young Xander with his mother.
  
  "You know how much mommy loves you?" the drunk Jessica asked her son. He was trying to pick her up off the muddy ground of the backyard and escort the filthy woman to her bedroom's bathroom. "Tell mmme-me a joke," she slurred. "Girlss love it when you-you make 'em laugh."
  
  Trying to pull the heavy woman by her arm, little Xander called out, "Come on, Mom. Jeez, you smell!"
  
  "You don' like your mother thisss way?" she asked as she slowly got up on uncoordinated legs. They nearly fell over as his drunk mother insisted, "Well... blame yer fffather for that. I ssmelled great! I used to be kind... c-caring... I loved life an-and evvveryone in it." Tears were welling up as she added, "I wasss innocent... until I met your father... and was lied to... ssseduced with sso... much... passion."
  
  When they reached the kitchen, Jessica pushed her son off, and his side hit the sharp countertop. She didn't notice as she grabbed another bottle from the fridge and began drinking again. "He turned me... into thisss," she called, raising her green bottle, but the injured Xander didn't care. The dizzy boy left the room as she yelled after him. "That's what happensss when you fffall in love wiff toxic, asshole men! All that love... jus... just disssappears! Gone!"
  
  Cordelia continued shifting through the rest of Xander's life. When young Xander was older and Anthony couldn't verbally dominate him easily, he resorted to physical violence to teach his son. Jessica had long stopped caring, and Xander grew accustomed to the way of life. While he was outside of his house, he'd joke and have fun with his friends-often argue with Cordelia-and when he was at home, he'd stay in his room-joyfully watching TV or reading comic books, but always fantasizing about heroes-and only came out to eat or prevent his drunk parents from falling asleep outside.
  
  "Humor shares similarities with trauma," Cordelia narrated as she watched a teenage Xander focus on learning Klingon in his room.
  
  These were the moments of his childhood that Xander could easily recall and didn't need Cordelia to show him. He hadn't recalled his grandparents or that birthday party, and those new-found memories made Xander feel more hollow than anything the time braid had done to him. He couldn't stop crying, and eventually stopped trying to prevent the tears. Silent, with a face vacant of all emotion, Xander remained seated with his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around them.
  
  When Cordelia's glowing hand touched his face, Xander finally paid attention. She was seated right in front of him, and they were back in present-day Sunnydale. Looking around, Xander noted that not only was it Halloween night, but also that it was exactly 6:00 PM. After looping so many times, he recognized the exact moment the Janus chaos curse began.
  
  "Hey," Cordelia softly called. Xander returned his attention to her as she said, "We obviously form attachments with parents and friends from infancy to our adolescent years. Rather than caring for you and your well-being-like the many examples you saw on TV-your parents used you: your father did it to keep your mother, and your mother did to regain the easy and luxurious lifestyle she once lived."
  
  Having seen what he'd long forgotten, Xander felt her words burn into his very soul.
  
  "You replaced parental attachments with an even stronger attachment to your friends," she continued. "Hell, even me." Cordelia showed Xander memories of himself, Willow, Jessie, and sometimes Cordelia playing in the park's playground. They were truly happier times, and little Xander had the biggest smiles when he was with them. "You shared yourself with them and they accepted you as their dorky, funny friend. They quickly became your everything. Then Buffy came along, and upon meeting a real-life hero, that attachment only grew."
  
  The memories shifted to a collage of instances where Xander would watch Buffy from afar or even when they were hanging out and no one was paying attention to him. "She cared about you like her nice and funny friend, and because you loved her so much, you put her at the top of the attachment heap. It would be nearly impossible for you to leave her-not your hero."
  
  Xander saw so many instances where he would put everything down to be with his friends, especially Buffy. Saw himself agonizing at the sight of Buffy and Angel together, and forcing himself to accept their relationship-despite his feelings for her-because he'd rather not lose her.
  
  "Your entire life wasn't driven by positive self-expression or a healthy sharing of love," she explained. "But to ensure your friends-basically your adopted family-never left or abandoned you like your parents had. So, you held onto the nice funny guy routine, like your life depended on it. You never strayed, never pursued your own dreams, and never doubted if that mindset was for the best, because you knew you'd have nothing and no one without them. That scared you more than fighting monsters or being seen as an incompetent man, and I'm fairly sure this is why you're looping."
  
  "Just... because of that?" his raspy voice barely got out.
  
  " Just that ? We're talking about the full scope of how you see yourself!" she emphasized. "It's why you took the meaning of 'Zeppo' the wrong way. I used it to attack you, but it wasn't wrong until you twisted the meaning to fit a false identity."
  
  "H-how else was I supposed to take that?"
  
  "Even if Zeppo Marx was considered the most unexceptional one in the group, his participation elevated his brothers' performance. Zeppo may not have been as busy as his brothers, but they functioned the absolute best together, as a quartet." Xander thought of his most important friends: Buffy, Willow, and Giles. "From the outside looking in, you would appear as nothing special beside Willow, Buffy, and even Giles. But from within your network of friends, you were keeping up with legends while only being human. Unless you think a regular human could battle beside the Slayer-one of the biggest magnets for evil on the planet-for forty to fifty years and survive."
  
  "Giles-"
  
  "Was trained in strategy, and combat. He has deep knowledge of demons & lore, can perform magic, and isn't in the thick of the fight as often as you are," she effortlessly interjected. "You had no training; never became a magician; never gained any powers, and became nothing more than a carpenter. And you still kept up."
  
  "No, no. I led missions-"
  
  "Yeah, I know you became a commander or whatever," she interjected, waving her hand and showing memories of when Xander was the commander of the Slayer organization. "But that was way , way after high school, and you didn't do it for long. That wasn't supposed to be your life, Xander. With my celestial sight, I can actually see how much more you were meant for, but your trauma and subsequent chronic attachment syndrome wouldn't allow you to become what you needed to be for fear of losing them. You were meant to help elevate your friends in ways no one else could, but you actively forced yourself to remain an idiot for so long, you couldn't live without it."
  
  "I... I..."
  
  "Now, you're stuck in a time braid and have no choice," she reminded him. "That's what this specialized prison is for: a realignment of destinies. Even if you're meant to be the Zeppo, you're supposed to be the best damn Zeppo that ever existed! If there was a support center for heroes, you'd be the number one employee ten years running. You're supposed to be a hero's hero, Xander. But that's never going to happen unless you change... unless you let that trauma go."
  
  Xander stared at her with a fearful gaze, feeling his chest swell until it hurt from what she was asking of him.
  
  "You gotta let go of this idea that you'll end up alone if you challenge your friends and family," she gently told him, resting her hands on his shoulders and staring deep into his eyes. "They're not going to leave you or use you like your parents did just because you stand up to them, or if you tell them you want to be treated better. You know that, already. How many more years of repetition do you need before you finally believe it? Like, now that I think about it, how dense are you?"
  
  "Is this your idea of inspiration?" an ashen-faced Xander woefully asked. "Cuz you should know, it feels a lot like the time I shot myself in the head."
  
  "There's that deflective wit again," Cordelia pointed out, refusing to let his attempt to distract win.
  
  "I don't know how to do what you're asking me to do, okay?!" he yelled. "You made me see all of that ... And I hated it... every disgusting second of it... but what's changed, Cor?"
  
  "Your parents shaped you, sure," Cordelia admitted. "But the piece that you're missing is: why you're nowhere near as bad as you could've been. The jealous hatred from your father. The regret and insecurity from your mother. You had the makings of a monster, Xander. But instead of embracing evil and quitting on the world, you never gave up on a better future for yourself-because that's the heart of who you are. Not only are you inherently good, but you're a fighter, or you never would've survived that home with as good of a heart as you did."
  
  "...I don't see that," a tearful Xander weakly admitted. "All I can see is what they did-the dumb, dark mess they left behind."
  
  Cordelia hugged the boy, holding him with such loving strength as she assured him, "It's there, Xander. You've always trusted me, and I'm telling you, it's there. You just have to trust yourself. Just be you-the real you."
  
  "Who is that?" the sobbing boy with the red face pitifully asked. "It's not Nox. It's not the first-round version of me that put them on a pedestal. I feel like I've never met this real me."
  
  "I know," she sadly agreed, gently caressing the back of his head. "But you will. And you're going to love him. He's the guy we all can't wait to meet. The guy that can stand shoulder to shoulder with Buffy, and Willow, and all the great people walking the Earth because you're made of the same stuff."
  
  Xander had nothing left to ask-no words left in him to speak-and simply hugged one of the best people he'd ever met, crying horribly on her celestial shoulders. Cordelia held him for as long as he needed to let it all out-all the pain, judgment, embarrassment, abandonment, and crippling fear. He cried it all out until there was nothing left.
  
  When he finally settled down, Cordelia gently asked, "Better?"
  
  "...Thanks, Cor," he slowly huffed, sniffing as he stepped away.
  
  "No need to thank me," she replied with her beaming smile. "It's sort of what I do now."
  
  "Still, thank you."
  
  She shrugged happily before telling him, "Just a friendly reminder: you'll only remember this after you've hit rock bottom. Only then will you move on with these memories."
  
  "That's why the costume didn't work on you that time?" Xander asked.
  
  "Well, they sorta did, but only of my choosing," Cordelia replied. "I noticed Willow enticed magical energies to be attracted to your soul pattern." Touching Xander's forehead with the tips of her glowing index and middle fingers, she stated, "I'll add something a little more celestial. Nothing crazy, mind you. Just some runes and a bigger level of attraction. It'll help a normie like you keep up."
  
  Xander could feel an electric pressure vibrate his brain, making him wince as she imprinted knowledge of Celestial runes for forging and body armor directly into his brain. Oddly, they were and weren't familiar to him, as if remembering something extremely important.
  
  Removing her fingers, she continued, "Before I go, you should know, I want you to know that I'm always destined to end up here-as a Higher Being, I mean." Xander looked at her, uncertain of what that meant. She smiled as she added, "It's better this way."
  
  Still confused, he tried to say, "I don't understand-"
  
  "I guess that's all the time we have," she sadly interjected.
  
  "Wait," he called, taking her hand before she could leave him. "I..."
  
  "It's okay, Xander," she said with a gentle smile. "I believe in you."
  
  "I don't know how to thank you," Xander weakly said, feeling the tears once again flow.
  
  "Just be you. That'll be more than enough," the smiling beauty finished before fading away.
  
  Xander snapped upright, waking in his dirty bed. He could tell it was October 31st, 1997 by the state and smell of his room. Though he still felt mentally strained from over a century of loops, he couldn't believe those memories were locked inside his head all that time, and it took shooting himself in the head to remember. Xander huffed, humored but also in disbelief.
  
  Turning to his window, the sun over the horizon, for the first time in a long time, Xander felt hopeful-well and truly hopeful for a better future. His eyes burned with growing moisture as he felt anticipation for actually greeting the fully realized version of himself-the one that made all the difference in the world. Without a moment to lose, he exited his room.
  
  Thinking deeply of Cordelia's show and tell as he made his way to Ethan's Costume Shop, Xander knew who he needed to be moving forward.
  
  Yes, the title of this chapter is a reference to the book, A Child Called 'It.' by Dave Pelzer. We had to read it for high school and it always stuck with me.
  
  I truly hope that this chapter helped my awesome readers understand why(in my story at least) Xander is the way he is: his attachment issues, fears, self-doubt, loss of confidence, prone to making bad decisions. Coming from a toxic home like that, unless you break away like Faith, I don't see how Xander could truly know who he is. And if he didn't know who he is, how could he make the best decisions for himself, you know? I did my best with this chapter because I really felt that canon was lacking this angle to the character. This is a much more stable foundation to build on and I look forward to showing you guys this next stage of his ascension: Acceptance.
  
  In canon, Xander's father apparently nearly sold him to a group of Armenians. I couldn't see a place to put that in, so I just thought I'd mention it here. Also, I'm not in favor of this current gender war and man hating scene. The reason why I wrote Anthony Harris like a toxic asshole is because that's how he's depicted in canon. He really is a bigot and sexist, so that's how I wrote him. There's not much on Jessica Harris, so I took a lot of creative liberties with her.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay tree on (period) com /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content on there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :)
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  I hope you all enjoyed the read. I should be able to update next week. I literally had to as my manager if I can take an extra day off. So, I should have more time than usual to write. Thanks again, fellow readers, and happy Holidays,
  
  -Grae
  
  PS. Thank you for the Happy Bday wishes :)
  
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  The Mantra
  HAPPY NEW YEAR! And welcome to 1 of 2 of our double release. Today is Saturday's release. Hopefully no one will read tomorrow's chapter(58) thinking that it's actually today's(57). Sorry for not posting for the past couple of weeks. My betas and I have been very busy with holiday/new year stuff and work. So, sorry about that. But we're back!
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Thanks guys :)
  
  Warning: Foul language and Mild sexual situations.
  
  9.1K words
  
  Countdown: 16 chapters left before the end :)
  
  Enjoy!
  
  The Mantra
  
  For Halloween, Xander dressed as Old Man Xander. Originally, he thought to dress as the Soldier, but decided he needed a scapegoat to blame all of his advanced skills on. His friends might believe the Soldier instilled a sense of discipline in him, but forging magical weapons might be harder to believe. The moment the Janus curse began, Xander's spine hunched forward and he became a feeble eighty-year-old man that his friends had to take care of.
  
  Since Xander knew he'd only slow his friends down, he had already planted the seeds Giles and Willow-as well as calling Angel to arrive earlier-so that the Scoobies could solve the problem quickly. He may be feeble and near death, but the very least he could do was make certain the Janus Curse wouldn't last for very long. The night was relatively young by the time Giles smashed the bust of Janus, ending the curse on the town. Though he felt embarrassed about being locked in a closet for his safety, the momentary indignity was a small price to pay for the freedom he'll gain because of it.
  
  When Xander returned home, he finally had a moment of peace to think about everything he'd experienced since the start of the time braid-the hard-earned wisdom he had gained. Learning that he needed to stand up for himself to pass a time barrier was important. The same could be said for mastering a trade, mastering his body, and mastering his emotional ability. However, the critical part he was missing-the distinction Higher Being Cordelia had pointed out-was that he needed to do all of those things for himself, not simply to escape the time braid.
  
  The looping shouldn't have even been a factor and Xander knew that imperceptible difference to be true when he saw the history of his parents. If not for the juiced-up therapy session from hell-or heaven-he never would've considered trying to make amends with them. He would've been smarter, stronger, and happy to be free of them because he wouldn't have seen them as a factor of getting out of the time braid.
  
  Now, however-as he watched them eat their cereal in complete silence the following morning-Xander felt, in his soul, that he couldn't allow their relationship to remain stagnant. His miserable and broken parents were now a big part of his checklist, and not simply to escape the time braid, but because he carried his family everywhere he went. His mother, father, and grandparents were a part of his vessel, and he could never move forward without realizing that.
  
  On his way to school, Xander thought of the pseudo-family he'd made outside of his home. Willow, Buffy, Cordelia, Giles, Jenny, Oz-to some extent, Angel-and Faith. His Scooby Gang, and the strong bond of attachment he felt towards them-specifically the hero that brought them all together. Thinking about them now, his heart raced at what he needed to do. Xander recalled Old Buffy asking him to try for her. Even young Buffy asked him to wait for her. But he would not do that anymore; he was no longer seeking validation from others.
  
  "Just be me," he mumbled to himself. "The real me."
  
  The mantra was so vague, Xander had no idea how he wouldn't mess it up, but that was what he would think about everyday moving forward. ' Just be me .' Every time he encountered a decision, he'd think of himself, his morals, his ethics, his principles, and try to make the best decision that represented him. He expected many mistakes ahead of him, but he had faith he was like Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, and Giles.
  
  "So... maybe I'll be alright," he reassured himself.
  
  Rather than gather everyone in the library the day after Halloween, and explain what it meant to be Old Man Xander, the time looper prepared for his hard-earned trade as a weapons smith, his emancipation from his parents, his relations as a friend, and potential boyfriend to the girl he felt gelled best with him. Despite all the women he'd slept with, the list of girls that were special to him wasn't long, but he smiled at the thought of growing old beside one. Xander was no longer afraid of desiring something amazing because he didn't fear feeling hope. He was undaunted and would never let that go again.
  
  After Xander had spoken to Boston detectives about the pedophile teachers at Dearborn-Bronson & Mardyke-he began running. For hours, he ran up and down Sunnydale, nabbing the Du Lac Cross & the Glove of Myhnegon, buying and selling the scratch offs tickets, and buying the Powerball ticket along the way. In the next two days, the teenager secured work at Wild Dinks, purchased the junkyard 84 Suzuki, disassembled it, and ordered the parts he knew he'd need. He applied for a legal ID the morning before Ford entered their lives.
  
  Xander had seen the handsome teen from Buffy's past so many times, he could identify the young man from his peripheral vision. He felt a familiar sense of jealousy, but he told himself, ' Buffy and Willow aren 't using you. You don't have to act on your jealousy so that they would understand you. You can speak your mind, no matter how mature your opinion, and they won't think it's weird. You got this. You got this. You got this. You got this .'
  
  The three were sitting in the lounge chairs, talking about Angel and Drusilla-though the girls didn't know the woman Angel had spoken to was Dru-as well as the possibility of dancing at the Bronze when Ford came over.
  
  Xander practically mouthed along as the handsome teen said from behind Buffy, "I'd suggest a box of Oreos dunked in apple juice, but maybe she's over that phase."
  
  When Buffy gave Ford a big friendly hug, Xander reminded himself that he didn't have to play the part of a jealous, friend-zoned boy. More to the point, he didn't need to waste his time trying to act envious of other men because he couldn't have what they had. He could now feel how much of a waste of time being there was, so he stood up and walked up to Ford.
  
  "Hi, I'm Xander," he said, extending his hand.
  
  "Right." Buffy sheepishly grinned as she introduced her best guy friend. "Ford, this is Xander, and that's Willow. Guys, this is Ford- uh, Billy Fordham."
  
  "Nice to meet you," Willow said as Ford shook Xander's hand.
  
  Xander turned to Willow and Buffy, and said, "I gotta talk to Oz about some music lessons, so I'll see you in French."
  
  "Wait," Willow called before Xander could get too far. "Osbourne? He's a senior. When did you start talking to him?"
  
  "I haven't," Xander casually replied. "But I've seen him play at the Bronze and I think it's about time I got my jam on. Later!"
  
  Xander walked to class with an eye out for Oz, but his mind was focused on his Armor Wear. Now that Xander knew the celestial runes in his head were a gift from Cordelia, he was determined to use them to survive anything the time braid had in store for him, and to the benefit of his friends. Fortunately, Xander ran into Oz, and though the senior was taken aback by the junior's casual approach, he kindly suggested starting with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica.
  
  At the Bronze later that night, Xander only half paid attention to the drama between Buffy, Ford, and Angel. He still made jokes, but not as a jealous teen threatened by another man's relationship with Buffy, but to keep the tense meeting light and fun. The moment also offered Xander a window into the men Buffy allowed into her life and in her heart. Not unlike himself, he could objectively say she made bad choices in matters of the heart as well.
  
  ' Or maybe there just aren 't truly good choices? ' he wondered. ' They can seem great in the beginning, but after some time, those cute traits become annoying traits, which changes the entire dynamic of the relationship. Maybe you just have to do the best you can with the one you 're most compatible with? '
  
  Buffy was a Slayer who chose to love multiple vampires, and those relationships contained many toxic and abusive elements. She had many one-night stands in her future and her healthiest relationship was with Riley, which also soured in the end. Xander didn't look at Buffy-standing awkwardly between Ford and Angel-as his greatest love anymore, or even with loathing hatred. She used to be the hero that he revered in comic books or TV shows. Now, she was simply a cute, crazy-strong, kickass girl, with just as many flaws as anyone else.
  
  ' She 's firmly in the family category now ,' he thought, content to want nothing more than the very best platonic relationship with her.
  
  When Buffy and Ford left together, Cordelia approached the group, eying the handsome senior leaving with Buffy. She asked, "Who's the tasty treat?"
  
  ' Oh, I 'll give you a tasty treat ,' Xander thought as he answered, "Buffy's oldest and dearest."
  
  Angel asked Willow, "He just moved here?"
  
  Xander took the childish liberty of poking Angel by answering, "Yeah. And boy, does he move fast." Angel turned to Xander, who freely smiled at the brooding vampire. The time looper may have matured, but he felt fine giving Angel a hard time. It was just his way of interacting with the vampire.
  
  Xander knew Angel would visit Willow later that night. However, he spent the rest of the night meticulously forging Odin's ring, which still needed five days before the magical artifact would be ready. As he worked, he thought of the work ahead of him: finishing his scrambler motorcycle, forging Dreadnought, Hellguard, Slaymore, Ordermír, and Blood/Lust, on top of tailoring his Amour Wear. However, the ring was his first priority, and he worked throughout the night.
  
  The following day, Xander didn't wait for Willow to reveal what she'd discovered about the suspicious Ford. He approached Buffy to speak in private just as school let out. Xander led her to the school's weight room, practicing his harmonica along the way. Due to his highly tuned physical capability, Xander could relax his breathing for perfect pitch, but as a novice, he lacked the ear necessary to recognize notes by their tone. Recalling what he'd read in a beginner's guide, he refrained from narrowing his cheeks to get the proper sound.
  
  As they walked into the weight room, a pleasantly surprised Buffy asked, "You're actually doing that? I kinda thought you were joking."
  
  "Nope," he responded with a smirk. "Serious as a heart attack on your wedding night."
  
  As Buffy rolled her eyes and shook her head, Xander noted Cameron Walker, Gage, and a few of the more dedicated swim team members also working out. The teen nodded to the swim team captain, but of course was ignored. Instead, Cameron paid more attention to an oblivious Buffy.
  
  They went to the farthest bench for some privacy before Buffy asked, "So, what'd you want to talk about?"
  
  The raven-haired boy set his backpack beside the bench as he answered, "Ford."
  
  Eying the room, she asked, "And we need to talk about Ford here?"
  
  "Just trying to get my workout in before I leave for work," Xander answered.
  
  "Leave for work?" she asked with a single raised eyebrow. "As in a job? As in, a company that gives you money to punch-in and take an elevator down into the mines?"
  
  Xander snorted before asserting, "I think your concept of a job is a little behind the times, but in a nutshell, yeah. Papa's gotta slave away to feed his family."
  
  Buffy seemed surprised by the idea of his work and curiously asked, "Wait, so what are you doing?"
  
  Raising the horned hand sign for heavy metal rock 'n' roll, he replied, "I work at a heavy metal shop!" Buffy smiled at his antics as he added, "I'll give you the details later, but as it turns out, I'm pretty good with my hands."
  
  "'Grade A' hands. Nice," she cheerfully replied. "I'm happy for you."
  
  "Thanks," he said, setting down dumbbells on either side of the bench.
  
  "So, what's this about Ford?"
  
  "Disclaimer: I know he's an old friend," he cautiously began.
  
  "Ugh, that's a loaded disclaimer," the alert girl remarked. "He's an old friend, but ..."
  
  " But I'm getting a bad feeling about him," Xander admitted.
  
  She asked, "Are you?" as if unsurprised that he would have a problem with another boy in her life-as if it were typical.
  
  "Yeah. I don't think he's being honest with us."
  
  "Us?" she repeated, looking at him with mild disappointment. "Uh, Xander, I don't know where this is coming from, but even if you can't trust him, you can trust me. And I'm telling you: Ford is a great guy. There's nothing for you to worry about."
  
  "We live on the Hellmouth, Buffster," he reminded her. "There's always something to worry about."
  
  "Well, not this time," she asserted with finality. "He's just a really good friend and I'm sure you'll like him too... if you give him a chance. I promise."
  
  As she turned to leave, Xander quickly said, "I'm just watching out for you."
  
  The Slayer turned and reminded him, "And I'm grateful, but that's not your job. It's mine. I'm here to watch out for you and everyone else. I'm telling you, Ford is fine-it's Slayer-approved. See you tomorrow."
  
  As Xander watched the vexed girl leave the weight room, he accepted that she-along with everyone else-had a path to walk, whether good or bad. As much as he wanted to help the people he cared about, it was equally as important to take care of himself. His elevation to competency would be the difference between trying to be and simply being . This level of solace allowed Xander to feel sound-of-heart even if Buffy rejected his advice.
  
  Laying down on the bench, he mumbled the lyrics, "At first I was afraid-I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side. But then I spent so many nights... thinking how you did me wrong-And I grew strong. I learned how to get along! "
  
  Humming the tune in his head, Xander gripped the barbell, and dedicated himself to the grind. Of course, he could've waited until he forged his ring to enhance his strength, but showing Buffy and the swim team that he was working out would go a long way helping them accept his sudden feats of strength later on.
  
  -
  
  As ever, Buffy and Angel handled Ford's betrayal and subsequent escape from Spike's ambush in the bomb shelter without much difficulty. Xander spent the rest of the week training, forging Odin's ring, cleaning every part of his bike, practicing his guitar or harmonica, and convincing his parents to accept his conditions for the sixty million lottery ticket. He might have a new outlook on life, but he wasn't dumb enough to ignore sixty million dollars. However, unlike previous loops, Xander added additional conditions to the deal.
  
  After admonishing his father for trying to physically take the ticket from Xander, his exasperated mother demanded, "What do you want?"
  
  "Not much," Xander calmly answered. "You sign legal papers emancipating me, give me the house-fully paid for-and give me a million per year for the next five years. You'll also have to leave Sunnydale without telling anyone you won the lotto. I mean no one: not family, friends, coworkers, drinking buddies, no one. Just leave."
  
  Anthony couldn't stand the disrespect and got in his son's face, glaring at him as he threatened, "If you don't give us that ticket-"
  
  "I'm not done," Xander interrupted, unbothered by his father's futile intimidation. "I also want you both to go to counseling-couples or individual. I don't care which. Even if you have to do it over the phone, I want you both talking with a licensed professional."
  
  "I'm not wasting my money on some shrink!" Anthony proclaimed with balled up fists.
  
  "Take the amount out of what you owe me," Xander countered. "I don't care if I have to pay for it. I'd even join the calls and talk to someone myself. I just..." Looking around the disgusting home, Xander asked with revulsion, "Aren't you guys tired of living like this? This isn't a lack of money. This is something else-something worse."
  
  With flexed shoulders and clenched fists, Anthony yelled, "I don't need some fucking quack making up psycho-babble to tell me I'm a nut case!"
  
  "Okay, that's not, at all , what they do," Xander clapped back. "But even if it is: tough! This is non-negotiable!" Holding the sixty million dollar ticket up in both hands-between his fingers-as if ready to tear it, he asserted, "If you really feel that sixty mill and a luxurious lifestyle isn't worth talking to someone for an hour a week, I can tear this up right-"
  
  "Wait! Wait!" Anthony yelled, eager to rush his son, but holding off. "Wait."
  
  Lowering his arms, Xander looked at his father with sympathetic pleading as he stated, "You're just talking to someone, dad. It's you and them, and no one else has to know. I don't have to be in the convo nor does mom. You're not even paying for it. So, what's it going to be?"
  
  Xander didn't have to remind them he had insurance if they reneged on the deal. He didn't care about losing all that money nearly as much as they did.
  
  "Please, Tony," Jessica pleaded, holding his arm. "After everything ... we deserve this."
  
  She looked at the father with just as much pleading. Before Cordelia's show and tell, Xander would never have known what that look in her eyes meant. Now he knew how much they'd lost, sacrificed, and regretted ending up where they had-not that it was an excuse to treat their son as they had. However, he understood that their many regrets were likely why they drank every day. He knew they were running, just as he was running. They didn't have a divine friend to help them uncover their trauma, but Xander was hopeful a therapist might help them.
  
  Anthony glared at his son and wife for several moments before huffing and stating, "I ain't telling him shit!"
  
  "Stay in complete silence, then," Xander replied. "Or talk about the game. Whatever you do or say will be between you and him."
  
  The irate father finally grumbled, "...fine."
  
  "One last thing," Xander said, instantly irritating them.
  
  Jessica bemoaned, "What more do you want? My liver?"
  
  With his best Anthony Hopkins from Silence of the Lambs impression, Xander eerily said, "Now that you mention it, that would go great with some fava beans, and a nice chianti. Pftpftpft!"
  
  "Oh! Stop that!" Jessica groaned, smacking her childish son, who chuckled as he barely defended himself. "I swear to God, I wonder about you sometimes..."
  
  Xander simply smiled before continuing, "When you guys decide on a place to settle down, I want you to join AA." His mother took a deep breath, ready to refuse, but Xander cut her off. "Before you fight me on this, it's also non-negotiable."
  
  After a moment of contemplative silence, a sly Anthony asked, "Just join?"
  
  Xander rolled his eyes, conscious of pushing too much too fast. He fully expected his parents not to take that last non-negotiable seriously and suffer through it simply for the money. However, Xander hoped that his parents would eventually realize their own mental and emotional damage so long as they remained exposed to a therapist and AA meetings. That was all he could buy for them with sixty million: just a chance.
  
  "Yes, dad," Xander lamely answered, already envisioning his parents blowing it off. "As long as you go to the meetings, it counts."
  
  "Deal," Anthony returned with a half grin. "And don't even think about adding anything else."
  
  After the family signed the agreement, notarized and filed it with a lawyer, Xander handed his father the lottery ticket. Tony was in high spirits, practically skipping to the car to collect his winnings. In previous loops, Xander would've let them go and walked the other way, content to finally be rid of them. However, after everything he'd learned, he snatched his mother's hand before he even realized it. She turned around, looking at him in confusion.
  
  Xander smiled before stating, "Uh, I want you to do something else for me."
  
  "Jesus Christ," she cursed in disbelief. "No! Haven't we done enough?! You've already given us the ticket. Just stop! Let us live our lives."
  
  "I just want you to call me," Xander softly replied. Her brows drew in as he added, "When you're out, traveling the world-doing whatever you want-I just want to hear from you; where you're going; what you're doing; if you're eating right; having fun; sleeping well. All of that."
  
  Looking at him with confusion in her squinted eyes, she asked, "Why? Do you know how much we've lost because we had you? No! You don't! The last thing I want to do is call you and report every little thing we're doing?!"
  
  Xander felt as if his beating heart was squeezing through his throat, rendering him mute for a moment. Ignoring the prickly sweat building in his armpits, his dry throat audibly swallowed as his mother walked away from him. However, rather than let her leave, Xander rushed ahead of her, cutting her off.
  
  He ignored Anthony's honking to tell his mother, "This money will completely change our lives, but the one thing I really want to change is us. I want us to be like we used to-close-like when you'd take me to the park and watch me play on the swings." Her eyebrows raised at that and he asked, "Didn't you make me a promise when I was a boy? That you'd always be there for me? If we can't talk once a week, fine. Once a month, then. I just want us to be the family we were always meant to be."
  
  Jessica Harris was at a loss for words, and eyed her tall son with a hint of anguish, as if faintly recalling her past. She seemed flustered for a moment, then quickly shook her head and walked away. Xander imagined memories of the past were very painful for her to recall, but he hoped she'd remember her promise because he truly wanted to make amends. Maybe then she might tell him about his grandparents.
  
  -
  
  Later that night, Xander, Buffy, and Giles found the Watcher's old friend Philip, deceased, on campus. They then saw the demonic woman deform into a slimy blue liquid that seeped into the ground. As ever, Giles refused to answer Xander's questions and ordered them to leave before the police arrived. Buffy gripped his arm and effortlessly dragged the teen away.
  
  When they were back in the hallway, walking toward the library, Buffy asked, "What's going on with you? Giles said he's got it, so let's trust him."
  
  Xander remained silent as they walked, but when they reached the library doors, he stopped and said, "You know, I've been thinking a lot about this."
  
  Buffy eyed him curiously, asking, "The dead body? It hasn't even been a few minutes."
  
  "You asked what was wrong with me," he reminded her. "Do you want the answer?"
  
  Buffy's shoulder slumped as she stated, "Xander, there's nothing wrong with you. I only meant that Giles is taking care of it, so we don't have to worry."
  
  "No," he responded, shaking his head. "There is something wrong with me."
  
  Buffy eyed him closely, taken aback by his statement, and asserted with conviction, "Hey, no. I don't know why you'd say that, but nothing about you is wrong. You're a great guy and one of my best friends."
  
  "I don't mean wrong as in evil or a mistake," Xander clarified. "But I have been lacking. Again, do you want the answer?"
  
  Standing straighter, as if preparing herself, she replied, "I'm not going to agree, but fine. Tell me."
  
  "We don't have to go into too much detail, but let's just say that my home life was less Brady Bunch and more Nightmare on Elm Street," Xander began. "You might imagine, years of living in a bad way had me wanting things other people had that I didn't-a clean house, parents that aren't just putting up with you, a healthy example of love."
  
  "I know you've had a tough home life-"
  
  "Just let me finish," Xander asked, and Buffy slowly nodded. He continued, "With all the TV I've watched and comics I've read, I fantasized about heroes more times than I can count. At first, I wanted to be the hero-strong, fast, smart-but when it became obvious I didn't have what it took for that, I dreamed a hero might save me. Then I met one-a real, true-life hero-and I latched on. I wanted to do everything for you, Buffy."
  
  Growing uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, Buffy avoided eye contact as she said, "Xander, I-"
  
  With a raised palm, Xander interrupted her by insisting, "Buffy, just let me finish." She swallowed nervously and then nodded before he continued. "Any problem you had, I wanted to be the answer for. Any support you needed, I want to be that with a smile. I wanted to be your everything-the way you had become mine-because you were my hero and I loved you."
  
  Buffy couldn't quite maintain eye contact, but he didn't mind, and continued, "When you rejected me this past summer, I began thinking long and hard about me, and you, and my entire way of thinking. On top of dressing like myself for Halloween, I think I've figured it out-the thing that's ' wrong ' with me."
  
  Buffy focused on his every word as he patiently unburdened himself.
  
  He gazed into her greenish-blue eyes as he stated, "My parents were like a personal Hellmouth, but rather than fight them, I ran... and kept on running-every day. Then I met you and I latched on like my life depended on it. Not just because I wanted you to save me, but because I wanted you to change me. I wanted you to make me strong... so I could fight... and wouldn't be forced to live with parents like that ."
  
  Xander took a moment to settle his erratic heart rhythm. In her silence, Buffy watched her friend expressing himself unlike ever before in growing concern. Clearing his throat, he continued, "Obviously, it doesn't work like that, which, duh , right? Um, I needed to save myself, but I had zero confidence I could actually change anything. That weakness-that powerlessness -always made me angry, and standing next to you only made that worse with time. Could you believe every time you saved lives, I was both happy and mad? So, yeah, I was wrong."
  
  "No," Buffy disagreed. "Are you kidding me? You're not powerless or weak! And how does someone with no confidence jump into a fight with no regard for themselves? Especially when you're not even trained to fight! You've saved lives too, Xander! You saved my life after the Master killed me!"
  
  "I wasn't going to let the only hero I've ever met die-"
  
  "Exactly!" she jumped in. "Because you do have the confidence- and the courage -to do the right thing-to change-no matter how dangerous. That's amazing, Xander."
  
  Though grateful, Xander shook his head, saying, "No, Buffy. I did that because I was terrified of what it meant if you died. I saved you because if I didn't, I knew there'd be no chance for me," Xander continued, making Buffy draw her brows in. "If there was no chance for you-a legit superhero-how could I ever hope to survive my life? My parents? Or be a good man? The only hero I've ever met... dying? The anger would've filled me with hate."
  
  "But you are a good man, Xander!"
  
  "Maybe deep down, sure, which could be why I clung onto you so tightly-the good in me wanted to survive. But that doesn't mean I was well-adjusted... or I wasn't, anyway. I'm only now figuring out who I am," he replied. "So, yeah, the thing that's ' wrong ' with me? It's me no longer accepting the way I used to be- especially after Halloween."
  
  "Okay, why do you keep mentioning Halloween?" she asked, quirking a brow.
  
  "I'll tell you later," he assured her. "That's the reason I told you Ford was off. It wasn't a jealousy thing. It was me watching your back because I love you, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you, and that's the kind of friend I want to be: reliable, competent."
  
  Buffy exhaled a deep breath before admitting, " You are! I trust you with my life!"
  
  "Unless it's about Ford?" he asked. "Slayer Seal of Approval, remember?"
  
  Shaking her head in regret, she admitted, "You're right. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you about Ford." She took a step forward to take his hand, as she said, "But I do trust you-" However, Xander stepped back, out of reach, cutting her statement off.
  
  "I'm telling you now," he continued, pointing behind him with his thumb. "What happened back there feels off too, but again, instead of giving me the benefit of the doubt, you're brushing me off; asking what's wrong with me for not just accepting the way things are. I'm done with the way things are, Buffy."
  
  "Okay," the flustered blonde returned. "Okay. I'm sorry I brushed you off-really-but it's Giles. We know Giles. He's not Ford. We know he's on our side."
  
  "I get that," he agreed with a nod. "He's kinda like that little tugboat that keeps the huge ocean liner from crashing into the dock and sinking... a little tweed tugboat with glasses." He snorted at the funny mental image. Buffy must've envisioned it as well, since she smiled and nodded. Getting back on point, he continued, " But , what I'm saying is: just because he may not want your help, does that mean he won't need it? I mean, can he really be mad at you for caring too much?"
  
  Buffy looked into his confident brown eyes for several moments, thinking to herself before finally stating, "O-Okay. I'll talk to him later, while we're staking out the blood delivery."
  
  With a small, but content, smile, Xander nodded and left. Giles hadn't shown up that night, and the following morning, Buffy asked her Watcher more questions than she had before. However, as ever, the embarrassed and ashamed Englishman refused to answer. They were eventually attacked by the possessed corpse of Philip. Buffy trapped it in the steel wire-mesh cage until it broke out, and fought the group.
  
  Rather than allow Jenny to become possessed-since the group hadn't yet discovered how the demon jumped from host to host-Xander moved the only viable body for possession out of the way. It must've looked odd to everyone-Xander rushing to move Jenny's unconscious body away from Philip's melting corpse when he shouldn't have cause to.
  
  "Smart man," Ethan spoke from the floor. He grunted when Cordelia pressed her foot harder into his back. "All I mean is, the demon travels from corpse to corpse."
  
  "Ms. Calendar isn't dead," Willow pointed out.
  
  "No, but why risk allowing it to enter her unconscious form?" the chaos practitioner asked. "If my dissolved friend had made contact with her, even a speck, I have little doubt it would've possessed her and continued its bloodthirsty ambitions."
  
  Giles returned to the library as Jenny was coming to, and soon after, Ethan quickly pushed Cordelia off and ran away. Xander wanted Jenny to stay to make sure she hadn't been possessed, but Giles insisted on taking her home. Having grown overly cautious due to repetitive looping, Xander sat on the opposite street outside Giles' apartment, and to his mediocre surprise, a possessed Jenny left Giles' apartment and headed for Ethan.
  
  With a sigh, he mumbled, "It must've been a speck of that goo, then."
  
  Buffy eventually showed and insisted Giles tell her the entire truth. Soon, she was running out of the apartment to save Ethan. As ever before, Xander called the library, had Willow get Angel, and meet him at Ethan's Costume Shoppe. In the backroom of the closed shop, Xander effortlessly beat Ethan away before he had a chance to tattoo the mark of Eyghon on Buffy's neck.
  
  The proceeding order of events wasn't any different than he had experienced before: Angel's inner demon destroyed the Eyghon demon, and Jenny needed space from Giles. Xander visited the distraught teacher later that night, but only to cheer her up with a thousand-dollar scratcher.
  
  The very next day, the Scoobies met in the library, where Xander announced his goal of being the group's weaponsmith. "Being an old man can teach you a few things, I don't mind telling ya," he joked, though they didn't quite make the connection. They simply looked at him with confusion. The zany Zeppo then gave them the phone number to Wild Dinks in case they needed to reach him.
  
  Buffy looked at the piece of paper before noting, "You were serious about this? But you're sixteen. How are they letting you work there?"
  
  "I worked out a deal with Pete," Xander answered. "So, I'm making my weapon first, then I'll make your weapon," he listed, pointing at Buffy. "If anyone else wants one, it'll have to be after that."
  
  Smiling appreciatively, Giles informed the youth, "T-The council adequately supplies the Slayer with sufficient weapons, Xander. But the gesture is appreciated."
  
  "Yeah, ditto," Buffy cheerfully added. "I'm good on shiny stabby things for now, but, by all means, make yours. What are you thinking of making?" she eagerly asked.
  
  He answered with a wicked smile, "There could only be one: a battleaxe."
  
  "Interesting," Buffy hummed with a smile. "You're going to need a lot of upper-body strength and counterweight to get the most out of that. The whole thing needs to be balanced, too, or your swing'll be off. And if it's off, you'll have to compensate, which'll only waste more energy."
  
  Content to hear her talk about weapons, Xander readily asked, "Do you want to test anything I make? Make sure it passes the twenty-point Slayer inspection."
  
  "I'd love to," she returned with a smile.
  
  -
  
  When Xander finally finished Odin's ring-forged with even better patterning than before-he could feel how much more magical energy it housed as it healed all his aches from working out. He began using its recuperative power to help him become more flexible, agile, faster, and stronger, as he worked on his next project: Dreadnought.
  
  Properly forging his trusty weapon-especially with Cordelia's celestial runes-used to take him a month of steady work. But by this point, he'd forged the construct so many times-each time slightly better than the last-it only took him two and a half weeks to finish. Sadly, his battleaxe was only ninety percent done by the time Kendra arrived.
  
  ' Ah, Kendra ,' he thought. ' To sleep with, or not to sleep with? That is the question .'
  
  Upon the gorgeous Jamaican's arrival, his mind was plagued with that question, and repeating his mantra hadn't helped him discover an answer he could feel at peace with. If he slept with her, wasn't it just a selfish decision? Or could that event help Kendra challenge her world order? For days, he pondered the morality of it versus the desired outcome. He could feel the good and evil wolves within, eager to feed on his decision, but after enough time, he removed himself from the equation and thought solely of Kendra.
  
  She'd admitted to him on the beaches of Jamaica that their union had helped her. It was only after their night together that she began coming out of her shell. Kendra became better in many facets of her life because of their interaction-sexual or otherwise. And more than anything, had learned the full extent of her weakness in interacting with men. On the other hand, if he didn't sleep with her, he wouldn't have to lie to her.
  
  ' Would she be okay that way? ' he thought, though the answer made him nervous.
  
  After much deliberation, he concluded that their night together had more benefits than disadvantages.
  
  "It'll just be the one time," he said to himself, more worried about whether she'll live or die than getting his rocks off. After all, in his century of looping, he'd only ever saved her once.
  
  Xander and Kendra's meeting, their dining, and their return to his house all went as it had before. With his parents gone, they had the house to themselves and Xander shattered any expectations Kendra had of her first time with a man. More than anything, Xander was simply thrilled that the loving experience was as far removed from the predatory sex Nox'd had with Buffy as possible. The experienced lover paid close attention to her wants, teased her needs, overpowered her when he knew it'd thrill her, and kept her in euphoric bliss for long spells of time. The exotic beauty was vibrating deliciously by the end and squeezed him dry for his efforts.
  
  The very next day, Xander and Cordelia were breaking into Buffy's house. Xander saw his coupling with the abrasive girl not only as an act of love, but as a necessity at this point. Being with him kept her out of more danger than when she was alone. He was pleasantly surprised when the new hope coursing through his veins made kissing Cordelia feel nearly like their first time. Their lips locked with an equal mix of passion, desperation, and pleasant surprise. After their abrupt kiss, Xander devised the plan of escape, and did so safely.
  
  He officially met Kendra in the library-to everyone's surprise-and Xander couldn't help quipping, "Maybe I'm a Slayer magnet," with a knowing smirk.
  
  Xander fetched Ms. Calendar to help the gang research, then made a show of picking books at random that turned out to be just what they needed. After the Scoobies rescued Angel from Spike and Drusilla, Xander talked to Kendra in private as she helped him retrieve the fake cross he'd made. He said everything she needed to hear to aid her in recognizing areas of vulnerability.
  
  "I hope we meet again," he confessed. "Except, without the high stakes. Maybe for fun? If you liked being with me, I mean. You kinda left right afterward, so I thought you didn't have a good time-"
  
  "N-No, I- I- I... I did. V-very much," the nervous girl admitted, with a heavy blush traveling up her neck and face. "B-But I cannot experience such p-pleasures again, sir. It wo-would be too..."
  
  "If you're going to say selfish, that's completely wrong," he asserted. "After everything you and Buffy do for all of us, you deserve a little joy or happiness for yourself-more than a little, actually. There's a balance, Kendra. And yeah, you always have to be careful with who you trust. But you still deserve good things in your life. And you'll never convince me otherwise."
  
  She nodded her appreciation for his words and they said goodbye for the moment.
  
  Xander finished Dreadnought by the following day and had everyone gather in the library for the grand unveiling. With a showman's flare, Xander opened the custom case he'd made, and pulled out his gorgeous two-handed battle axe with the longer tooth on one side, a blunt butt on the other, golden inlaid runes, and steel braces from the glove of Myhnegon. The blade made a slight slicing noise when it moved quickly, as if slicing the air in half. Everyone was instantly astounded by the professional-looking weapon, in addition to the boy that made it.
  
  "Xander!" Willow exclaimed, leaning in closer to inspect Dreadnought. "Did you really make this?"
  
  "It's gorgeous," Buffy exclaimed with clear amazement in her greenish-blue eyes.
  
  "Um, y-yes, quite impressive," Giles mumbled, focusing on the golden-inlaid runes and feather pattern.
  
  "Really, though," Willow gasped, asking, "You made this?"
  
  "Sure did," he answered them with a cheerful smile. "It took me nearly all month."
  
  Cordelia's voice cut in over the rest as she asked, "Why make an axe when all you do is wait for Buffy to save you? And did you even think about the logistics? Lugging around something that heavy is only going to make you easier to catch. Then, death."
  
  Happy for the banter, Xander contently replied, "As ever, Cordelia, your concern is as touching as a cold sore." Cordelia rolled her eyes before Xander added, "For your information, I'm going to be fighting more from now on."
  
  Stunned by his claim, Buffy peeled her gaze from the majesty of Dreadnought and said, "Uh, Xander, this is a gorgeous weapon, like, really -I may borrow it, like, all the time-but maybe leave the slaying to me? I really appreciate your wanting to help, though! Gold star for going above and beyond!"
  
  "Eh!" Willow cutely pouted. "I want a gold star too."
  
  Xander assured his blonde friend, "I'm not going to get in the way, Buffy. Don't worry. You're still the Slayer. I'm just going to help."
  
  "Help slow her down," Cordelia quipped. Xander walked over to Cordelia with the axe in hand. Buffy raised her eyebrows, likely wondering if Xander would actually get violent with her. Instead of violence, however, to everyone's growing curiosity, Xander extended Dreadnought to the gorgeous cheerleader. Even Cordelia wasn't sure why he was giving her his weapon, but she took it in her hands, dropping slightly under the unexpected weight.
  
  Xander walked to the other side of the library as he explained to the room, "I get that you're all worried-especially you Cordelia."
  
  "As if-"
  
  " BUT ," he cut her off. "I'm asking you guys, as my friends, to trust me on this. I know I can handle it. I was 'Old Me' for Halloween, after all."
  
  As he stopped ten yards away, a snarky Cordelia asked, "So, you want to be feeble and useless in youth as well?"
  
  Xander turned to her and shook his head at her with clear worry, sadly mouthing, "So worried..."
  
  " I 'm not -"
  
  Xander cut her off again to address the Slayer, "Buffy knows what dressing up in those costumes means."
  
  Looking around first, she asked him, "I do?"
  
  Xander smiled before extending his hand, summoning his gorgeous battleaxe, and Dreadnought flew from Cordelia's grip straight to his grasp with extreme haste, shocking everyone yet again.
  
  " Xander! " Willow joyously bellowed with wide eyes.
  
  "My word," Giles voiced, quickly cleaning his glasses.
  
  "How'd you do that?!" a stunned Buffy exclaimed.
  
  Looking at the other witnesses with fearful dubiousness, a confounded Cordelia asked, "The axe just flew, right? I didn't imagine that? The axe flew."
  
  Xander cleared his throat before teasingly asking Cordelia, "What was that about, ' feeble and useless ?'"
  
  Eying her best friend in disbelief, Willow gasped, "How did you... that was magic! Since when have you been able to wield magic?"
  
  "I can't," he shared with her and everyone, quickly confusing them. "The axe is magical, not me-but it's bonded to me, so it lends me its abilities."
  
  Willow quickly questioned, "Like Mjölnir is to Thor?"
  
  "Exactly like," Xander gladly answered her.
  
  "This is truly remarkable," Giles voiced, inspecting every inch of the weapon. "A magical weapon hasn't been created in decades, possibly centuries-that we know of, of course." He focused on Xander to ask, "How were you able to accomplish such an undertaking?"
  
  Slanting his head in humored exasperation, he answered them, "I already told you guys. Does no one get what being 'Old Me' for Halloween means?" They all look at each other, not quite grasping his train of thought. "Buffy, you remember everything about that Duchess you became, right?"
  
  With a grossed-out expression, like drinking rotten milk, Buffy groaned, "Ugh, I actively try to repress those memories... and she was actually a Lady in Waiting hoping to marry a Duke, which then would've made her a Duchess." Looking at Willow, she lamented, "I hate that I know that."
  
  "I don't," a stunned Willow reassured her. "I think that's really impressive."
  
  With a curious brow, Giles reasoned aloud, "So, you've also retained the memories of the costume you inhabited? An old man."
  
  "Not just any old man," Xander clarified, smirking at them as he added, "I became the older version of myself, which you guys happily made fun of."
  
  It dawned on Giles and Willow the fastest. However, the redhead was the one to yell with wide eyes, "Which means you have the memories of your entire life!"
  
  "Gold star for Willow," Xander brightly replied.
  
  "My word," Giles gasped.
  
  "That means you know things that'll happen!" an excited Willow gasped.
  
  Xander shook his head as he began to say, "Well, I don't-"
  
  "Oh, my God," Buffy groaned in realization, drawing their attention. "It's going to be such a relief to see the bad guys coming waaay before they get here!"
  
  Again, they interrupted Xander as he began to explain, "Actually, I won't-"
  
  "Oh! Can you tell us how we'll do on our SATs?" Willow eagerly asked. "Or what university we enter?!"
  
  "Uh..."
  
  Cordelia curiously asked, "What companies should I invest in?"
  
  "We mustn't get carried away," Giles told the youths, urging them to settle down. The Watcher then asked, "Xander, what can you tell us about these older memories?"
  
  "Not much," he bluntly stated.
  
  "...Come again?" Giles asked.
  
  With a cute huff, an irked Cordelia asked, "Wait, do you or don't you know what companies will be uber successful?"
  
  "I turned into an eighty-year-old version of myself," Xander reminded them again. "How easy is it for an eighty-year-old to remember the day-to-day of their sixteen-year-old life? I do have a lot of memories of stuff that'll happen in the future, but they're mostly from our twenties and up; or big, significant moments, and-" He raised Dreadnought as he added, "The skills I've developed over the years, including being a weaponsmith."
  
  "Then, do you remember us? Like, in the future?" Buffy asked. "Or... Wait. We're not dead, are we? Because if we are, I don't want to know!"
  
  "But if he doesn't tell us, isn't that like telling us, anyway?" a worried Willow pointed out.
  
  "Okay, okay," Xander called out, waving his hand. "I can't tell you everything because I don't remember everything clearly."
  
  "Are you senile?" Cordelia asked.
  
  With slumped shoulders, he retorted, "I'm eighty, Cor! Or he 's eighty!" Eying everyone, he explained, "I remember plenty-just, not a lot about the teen years. It's sorta like asking you to remember what you did on a random Tuesday when you were four years old. If it's about our twenties, I recall plenty more of that."
  
  Giles remarked, "Attempting to recall anything with perfect clarity over sixty-four years ago would be a challenge for anyone, I imagine."
  
  "So, we do live to see our twenties?" Cordelia asked, with a heightened sense of curiosity.
  
  "It's more than that," Xander asserted. Nodding toward the blonde, he added, "Just like Lady Buffy here, I don't care to remember everything."
  
  "Why not?" Willow asked.
  
  Setting Dreadnought in the hardcover case, he answered, "Because if we get complacent just because we're confident we'll survive some big bad or whatever, that's a sure way of getting careless, and dying ! Or getting someone killed. That's basically my worst nightmare right now-like, I keep thinking you guys might die because of something I said. So, I just don't want to."
  
  "Xander has a valid point," a pensive Giles said, growing concerned about the responsibility of such information. "We mustn't underestimate the treachery of overconfidence-no matter how reliable the source-and must remain vigilant. One mistake could lead to catastrophic demise."
  
  Xander nodded before stating, "I'm doing the stuff that, as it turns out, I'm actually good at, and that's pretty much all I need from Old Me." Sitting next to Cordelia, he added, "If you guys want to know personal things about yourselves, I don't mind answering-if I remember-but honestly, I wouldn't recommend it."
  
  Leaning back against the seat, a sultry Cordelia asked, "So, about those stock tips..."
  
  Xander snorted and smiled, thinking about how he could always count on Cordelia's Cordelia-ness. He then answered, "Even if you knew which companies will be big twenty years from now, you're still going to have to wait."
  
  Stepping forward, Willow asked, "Is there anything you can tell us that might help us now?"
  
  Scratching his chin, Xander replied, "Mmnn, I can say that even when we get knocked down, which will happen-way more than we'd like-we never quit. No matter how strong the enemy is, or when things don't go our way-or when we fight each other-we always do everything we can to save a life, or the world. Always."
  
  Willow smiled proudly, stating, "That's actually nice to hear."
  
  "Makes me want to go slay something," Buffy remarked, sitting straighter.
  
  Patting the black case housing his axe, Xander informed the blonde, "Expect a really sweet Christmas or birthday present. Depends on how fast I can finish it."
  
  "Uuuuggh," Buffy groaned, slouching as she returned, "Don't you know patience is the death of a Slayer?!"
  
  "A strength , is what I think you meant to say," Giles corrected his blonde ward. He turned to Xander and curiously asked, "W-Would a rapier be out of the question?"
  
  "Whaaa? Weren't you fine with the 'Made In Watchers' stuff?" Xander happily teased the adult. "I'm just messing with you. They take a while to forge, and I have to make Kendra's after Buffy's, so it'll be a few months."
  
  "Of course, of course," the Watcher quickly replied, trying to hide a grin.
  
  An excitable Willow leaned closer and eagerly begged to know, "How do you make them magical? Tell me everything!"
  
  "By being the opposite of a magical person," he sadly told her.
  
  He then explained the process of a non-magical person creating the home for all sorts of magical energies to reside in, then hoping these energies chose to live in the vessel he created. They were interrupted when Cordelia begged to know which companies would grow big, and he gave her a list off the top of his head. None of which she recognized.
  
  With a quirked brow, she asked him, "What the hell is Net... flix? Amazon? Like the jungle?"
  
  He quickly answered her questions about the companies before answering more of their questions. Fortunately, much of Xander's future information was too far down the road to be of any real use at the moment. Additionally, there were other questions he couldn't answer because it wasn't first-hand experience for him. However, there were some questions he wouldn't answer or lied by omission about.
  
  When a bashful Buffy slyly asked, "Do you know anything about Angel?"
  
  He closely observed the slight blush in her cheeks and the hope in her unique eyes. He imagined she was hoping to hear good news: a marriage, a big house, a white picket fence, and a dog. Xander immediately felt the good side of him hit with a hard choice to make, and didn't like his options because any of them could turn out terribly for the ones he loved. He either told them about Angel and how his curse was broken, or he let Buffy experience that pain.
  
  The experienced time looper wasn't worried about the innocent lives Angelus murdered since he recalled all the victims and where they were attacked. Xander knew he could prevent those deaths, leaving only one real question... should he allow Buffy to suffer? He then recalled Old Buffy's words.
  
  ' Sadly, sixteen-year-old me has never experienced the pain I 've gone through-the loss I've suffered. Losing Angel like that, mom dying, me dying, being ripped out of heaven, the depression, then self-medicating using Spike... it all shaped me into the person I am now. I can't even picture a life without all that grief and heartache .'
  
  "Hello? Earth to Xander?" Buffy asked, waving her hand.
  
  The Slayer was still looking at him, waiting for an answer, but he didn't have one. He could tell that she-along with the others-was growing concerned and worried what his answer might be. However, he would not be rushed, and trusted his friends would understand. He put up a finger and continued trying to think of the best course of action.
  
  ' No ,' he thought. ' Buffy might be asking about Angel, but this was about more than her .' He asked himself, ' Are you going to stop Oz from being bitten? Tell Willow she 's actually a lesbian? Warn Giles of Jenny's true identity and her potential death? Warn Cordelia about her father's tax evasion? Warn Debbie that her boyfriend was going to kill her? Warn the swim team their coach will turn them into monster fish? Are you going to stop every bad thing that you know is going to happen to someone in this town? Because Buffy shouldn't be any more special than Willow, Oz, Giles, Cordelia, or anyone else. So, if you prevent her moments of suffering, shouldn't you prevent it for everyone else as well? '
  
  Xander didn't think he could do that. It would just be too much. And how could he not lose himself in all of that. Thus he answered Buffy, "Angel doesn't always have it easy, but he's a good guy and his friends always watch out for him."
  
  "...That's it?" Buffy asked with raised eyebrows, as if she was disappointed he wouldn't reveal more.
  
  "Yeah," Xander stoically replied. He could see Buffy question it, but repeated his mantra. ' Just be me. Just be me. Just be me. The real me .'
  
  He decided to say nothing of Angelus. Buffy had her path to walk-as they all did-and he shouldn't interfere solely due to knowledge he wouldn't have had if not for the constant looping. In his mind, he told himself he'd be there for them through it all and save as many of them at the exact moment. That was his responsibility and he wouldn't want his friends fixating on the bad.
  
  ' I 'll tell them everything if I get out ,' he mentally vowed. With his friends around him, he sternly added, ' When I get out. I promise .'
  
  So, first and foremost, I'd like to take a moment to address some of the criticism from the previous chapter. The main reason for 56 was to give Xander the therapy session he needed. He needed therapy, and that's pretty much it. Cordelia did give him knowledge of celestial runes, but he's been using them without knowing where he got them since chapter 40. He just always assumed they were from Willow since Cordelia wouldn't allow him to remember until he hit rock bottom. I know some readers have asked why didn't Cordelia just show him those memories then and there. At the time, Xander had spoken to Old Buffy and had hope that he could get out. Then he got more hope/encouragement when he spoke to Old Willow. Higher Being Cordelia would prefer if Xander figured himself out on his own. And this is very much my mistake as the author. I should've made that much more clearer. I guess I was just so busy trying to get everything else right. When Xander hit rock bottom, that's when he remembered the memory of it all.
  
  For those who think I messed up/ruined the fic because I wrote that the time braid is a realignment of destinies and Xander was destined for more even if he's just meant to be the Zeppo. I don't know what some readers have understood about this but all I was saying was that he could have been more than what he was. The line I wrote was, "Even if you're destined to be the Zeppo, you're supposed to be the best damn Zeppo that ever existed." That doesn't mean he's destined to JUST be support. The key word there is "if." If he's supposed to be something , he's supposed to be the best damn something that ever existed.
  
  That was my biggest problem with canon Xander. He never amounted to anything even though he had a lot of potential. Even in the comics, he still didn't become anything vital. I personally think Buffy and Faith are destined. Cordelia is destined. To some extent, Angel and Spike are also destined. One could argue Willow is as well. All sorts of stuff happen to all of them. The one person in the Scoobies who, for sure, isn't destined, is Xander, and I think that's his greatest strength, because that means he can be anything. ANYTHING! ...But only IF he just got his mind right and dealt with his childhood trauma, which he never did in canon. That's all chapter 56 was about, confronting his hurtful past and showing him why he became the way he did. If some of you think that's incorrect or wanted Xander to become varying levels of OP, sorry to disappoint. I've always wanted a competent and balanced Xander, because I think that's the one that would've made the biggest impact in the show. Hope that helped explain where I was coming from.
  
  As for chapter 57 Author's Notes, there isn't much since I'm going to be posting the next chapter tomorrow. I will say this chapter was mainly about Xander starting to mend his relationship with his family-the one he was born with and the one he made. Knowing himself as deeply as he does now, he'll have an easier time making better decisions for himself moving forward because that's how therapy works.
  
  I am curious to know how you all feel about Xander keeping the Angelus thing to himself. I went back and forth on that one for a long time. I just figured that if Xander wasn't going to do it for everyone, then he shouldn't give Buffy special treatment when he's capable of preventing those potential victims from dying. I could be wrong of course. Let me know.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay tree on is dot com /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content on there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :) I also just got a cashapp($GraeFoxx) for those who just wanted to tip once.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  I hope you all enjoyed the read and have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
  Just to be clear. I'm not made in any way upset about the criticism the last couple of chapters have gotten. We're all in different stages in our lives so I don't expect us all to see eye to eye on everything. Always feel free to speak your mind in my comment section. Just no hateful stuff, please and thank you. Happy New Year!
  
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  The Hot Topic
  Another Sunday, another chapter!
  
  Welcome to 2 of 2 of our double release. Today is Sunday's release. Hopefully no one will read yesterday's chapter(57) thinking that it's actually today's(58).
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Thanks guys :)
  
  Warning: Foul language and Mild sexual situations.
  
  5.6K words. Shorter chapter today.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  The Hot Topic
  
  Aside from using the magical forces housed within Odin's ring to heal his aching muscles and slowly enhance his physicality back to a more athletic, flexible, and well-endowed build, Xander spent his time in the final stages of reassembling his Suzuki Scrambler. The hard repairs, painting, and fabrications were all done, and he only required another day to couple every link and tighten every fixture. Unfortunately, before he could finish, Xander met Ted once again.
  
  The time looper was walking down the sidewalk toward Buffy's house when he noticed Buffy and Willow coming from the opposite direction. The three friends met in her driveway and talked about his work, though Xander could tell they wanted to ask him more about the future memories his older self was able to remember. He had been intentionally vague with his friends so as to-in essence-not jinx anything, and his friends accepted that. As they walked up to her door, he could tell they were always curious to learn more.
  
  As ever, Buffy heard the wine glass break through the walls and rushed inside, worried for her mother. In the kitchen, the Slayer abruptly stopped at the sight of Joyce in the arms of Ted, breaking their kiss. Like in every previous loop, Buffy didn't like the traditional salesman, and Xander sided with her being far more cautious with the man. He didn't eat Ted's cookies or the pizza rolls he made to avoid being drugged. They all sat for dinner, and as they ate, Xander pondered ways of exposing the murderous machine within. Bringing a battleaxe to dinner as an ice-breaker and then accidentally slicing off an arm made him chuckle, but also felt a little far-fetched.
  
  Instead, Xander asked, "Hey, Ted? You wouldn't happen to know anything about mechanics, would you? I'm rebuilding an 84 Suzuki GS400 and I'm having the hardest time with either the clutch cable, friction plates, or possibly the crankshaft, cuz it really drags when I shift."
  
  Buffy, Willow, and Joyce gaped curiously at the teen boy, and an impressed Joyce remarked, "I didn't know you were into automotive repair, Xander."
  
  "Yeah," Buffy echoed, eying him in equal wonderment.
  
  Willow figured, "Oh! Did ' the Old Man ' help you with that?"
  
  Xander turned to Ted and noted, "A different old man-not my dad, or anything." Answering Willow and the girls' curiosity, he continued, "But yeah, he started helping me figure it out, but then he left recently, and I've been stuck on this problem for a while. I don't really have the money to take it to a mechanic, so I've been hoping to find someone who can help."
  
  Ted nodded, thinking it over when a suddenly concerned Joyce said, "I must admit, I was surprised a moment ago-I suppose I hadn't expected you to say that-but now that I think about it, I'm not so sure I like the idea of you riding a motorcycle, Xander. They're very dangerous. I'd hate to hear you were in a terrible accident."
  
  The genuine concern on Joyce's face was striking, and Xander instantly noted the difference between Buffy's mother and his own. Thus far, his parents were following the terms of their deal to a T, but refusing to do anything else, meaning Xander had yet to have a single conversation with his mother. Not that he expected to so soon, but when Joyce was this caring, Xander couldn't help but be impatient with his own mother.
  
  ' It might take years ,' he told himself, thinking of the limitations of the time braid. ' But so what? ' he thought, marveling at the surge of faith within him. ' I can wait for them to come around eventually .'
  
  With a smile and a nod, Xander said to the beautiful and caring mother, "You're right, Mrs. S. Bikes can be pretty dangerous, but I mainly want to use it to get to school. I have to take public transpo otherwise."
  
  "Well, I think that's admirable," Ted shared with the table. "Young men should learn how to use their hands." Ted took a bite of his apple pie-making Xander wonder where the food went-and seemed to savor it for a moment before stating, "I'll tell you what. It wouldn't be wrong to say I have a decent head for mechanics. I'll stop by and see if it's anything I can help you with. How's that sound?"
  
  "That sounds great, Ted!" an excited Xander replied, hating how over-the-top his fake sincerity was. "Thanks!"
  
  Joyce looked pleased, and Ted smiled at her. All the while Xander thought, ' Oh, I 'm going to slice you up good, you rusty, pie-eating toaster .'
  
  In school the following day, Willow, Xander, and Buffy exited their class and were walking to the lounge area while the redhead attempted to convince Buffy to give Ted a chance. Xander pulled out his harmonica as he listened to Willow suggest that Buffy possibly had separation anxiety. She said, "The mother figure being taken away... Conflict with the father figure..."
  
  "He's not my father figure," Buffy contested sharply, making Xander mildly curious about Buffy's issues. Despite all of his looping, he didn't know much about Mr. Summers-only that he left his family, and despite hating him for leaving, Buffy was always keen on seeing him. At their silence, Buffy realized she'd snapped and apologized. "Sorry. I admit it's weird-seeing my mother frenching a guy is definitely a ticket to therapy-land. But it's more than that. I'm telling you, there's something off about this guy. He's... too clean."
  
  At the sharp note from his wind instrument, Willow turned to Xander and asked, "Xander, what do you think?"
  
  The girls looked at him as he casually confessed, "Oh, I don't trust Ted; not one bit." Considering the help Xander had asked for during dinner, he could understand why they were taken aback by his distrust of Ted, but explained, "I only asked him to look at my bike because I wanted to question him without your mom around."
  
  With widened eyes, Buffy insisted, "I so need to be there."
  
  An eager Willow asked, "Oh, can I come, too? I want to see your motorcycle."
  
  "Yeah, sure," Xander agreed as Ted walked up to the trio.
  
  The salesman explained updating the software in the main office's computers and thought to give Willow the floppy disks he'd promised. The unassuming man also scheduled a half hour before they all went miniature golfing to look at Xander's bike. Xander thanked Ted with a large grin and only dropped it once the life-like robot was gone. He then went home after school to complete his scrambler.
  
  Willow and Buffy came by a few hours later. Due to school, forging, and motorcycle repair, Xander hadn't had a lot of time to throw out the massive amount of junk hoarded in the house, so his house was still in a state of disorder. He hadn't painted his home yet, and when Willow and Buffy entered his living room, they saw how empty it was except for the full, heavy-duty trash bags lined against the wall. At their surprised expressions, he quickly explained how he was in the middle of spring cleaning the entire house.
  
  They nodded in acceptance before asking about his parents. He felt his mouth about to reply, 'Out of Town,' as he usually did, but it felt wrong... like something Nox might say. Instead, he answered, "They're on a much-needed vacation."
  
  As the girls talked about what they would do if they had their houses all to themselves, Xander led them into the garage, and at the sight of his black, imposing bike-showcased in the center of the space-the girls were stunned into silence. Willow and Buffy gasped at the intimidating high-performance off-road scrambler, with its hefty black steel engine block. Their peeled eyes inspected every inch of the awesome bike, from the custom exhaust he had fabricated to the supercharger he'd installed, the matte-black gas tank, the custom black leather seat, and the off-roading tires, thick with ground-gripping teeth-like treading for stellar traction.
  
  "Xander!" Willow bellowed, eyes glued to the bike. "This is... Wow! I'm speechless. This looks better than anything you special order from a dealership!"
  
  "It looks so butch ," Buffy breathed, gawking with extreme approval. She touched the handle as she asked, "Did you really build this?"
  
  "Sure did," he cheerfully answered. "It's all stuff I learned throughout my ' Phantom Years .' That's what I'm calling those memories."
  
  "Did those phantom memories change you?" Willow asked. "I mean, it's like experiencing an entire life, right?"
  
  Turning to Buffy, he asked, "Lady Buffy of Buffdom, did the Duchess change you?"
  
  Shaking her head, an amused Buffy answered, "No. It feels more like remembering a dream than an actual memory."
  
  "Same here," Xander added, returning his attention to Willow. "Like, remembering beating every level of Super Mario Bros, but once the game is shut off, I'm back to me."
  
  "But you can still do this?" Willow asked, pointing to the imposing bike.
  
  Xander shrugged, stating, "I mean, it only makes sense to keep doing all the cool stuff I learned in those years-or it'd be such a waste."
  
  "See. This is why whoever said, 'School is Hell,' should be shot," Willow cutely remarked. Buffy and Xander eyed her with concern, making the redhead uneasy. She cleared her throat before justifying, "I just mean... learning is fun."
  
  "You have your own sort of humor," Xander noted. "I respect it."
  
  Walking around the imposing motorcycle, an awestruck Buffy quipped, "I foresee a handful of girls' numbers in your future."
  
  "Oh, wouldn't that be the dream?" Xander chuckled. "What I foresee is a bunch of guys coming up to me and saying, ' Sick bike, bro. What 's the horsepower on that thang? Can I drive it, man? ' It'll be like being on a never-ending gondola of hell... with grandmothers," he fearfully added, making the girls smile.
  
  When Ted came by, Xander made sure Dreadnought was invisible and leaning against the workbench. After explaining to Ted he was in the middle of spring cleaning, he escorted the murderous machine into the garage where Buffy and Willow were waiting. Before Buffy could grill him, Xander asked if Ted could inspect the gearbox, requiring him to lower himself to get a good view of the part. When the man knelt on one knee, Xander leaned against the workbench and 'accidentally' let his heavy axe fall straight onto the man's ankle, slicing right through the realistic machine's ankle. The man screamed as he fell on his side-clutching his stump-and a stunned Willow and Buffy rushed to assist him.
  
  Xander simply picked up the lightly sparking foot and asked, "Hey, Ted? What's up with the robot foot? You're not, like, the T-1000-generic white guy edition-coming from the future to kill women, are you?"
  
  Assuming the rest of his body was also machinery was a leap for Xander to make, but fortunately, Ted was quick to aggression and gripped both Willow and Buffy's necks. Xander immediately called the invisible Dreadnought to his hand and hastily brought his powerful battleaxe down, driving the incredibly sharp blade through the middle of its face, unleashing lightning and frying the delicate circuitry within. The malfunctioning robot let Buffy and Willow go, and the girls backed away, coughing and rubbing their necks all the while. Ted shook and spasmed a moment before powering down forever.
  
  Snapping his fingers, Xander acted as if he suddenly recalled something important, and called out, "That's why I didn't like him! Ted was a robot!"
  
  A shocked Buffy turned to Xander and asked, "You knew?!"
  
  "No! Of course not," Xander assured her, hating himself for lying. "How often do you suspect people of being robots in disguise..." He thought of the Saturday morning cartoon when he sang, "Heh, ' Robots in disguise .'"
  
  A baffled Buffy called, "Xander?"
  
  "Right," he said, snapping out of his reprieve. "Anyway, I was getting some bad jo͝ojo͝o vibes from him, but I couldn't place why, exactly."
  
  "And you think it's from your phantom memories?" Willow asked as she massaged her neck.
  
  At his casual shrug and nod, Buffy asserted, "From now on, all your vibes are mandatory topics of conversation. Mandatory!" For Buffy to demand to know more about his insights made him chuckle a bit before nodding.
  
  Fortunately, his friends accepted his explanation about Ted. The three came up with an excuse to cancel miniature golfing, and Buffy informed her mother. The Scoobies then investigated the mystery behind Ted Buchanan. Xander helped them along with lucky finds, and soon, they learned who he truly was, forcing Buffy to have a tough conversation with her mother. The Slayer explained that the man that she was in a relationship with was, in fact, a con artist, and that the police were investigating him for the disappearance of other women. Though Joyce was quite disappointed and embarrassed, Buffy was there to support her.
  
  Xander wished he could've helped Joyce more, but he knew there was nothing he could do.
  
  -
  
  Riding into the student parking lot on his custom scrambler-revving the engine and drawing attention-Xander was the hot topic among the top cliques in school. The Who's Who of school gossip were talking about him and his butch bike; not that their opinions held any actual worth to him. However, he couldn't deny enjoying the attention when he removed his helmet, locked it on his bike, and walked away as if oblivious to all the staring he felt. The heightened interest in him for simply owning an eye-catching motorcycle was mildly addictive, and Xander could understand why Cordelia adored the attention she got everywhere she went.
  
  Additionally, Xander walked with a swagger-straight back, squared shoulders-like a well-oiled machine. His every movement, from his toes to his head, felt smooth and powerful. Using the healing rate of Odin's ring to speed through intense sets of exercises and recovery, he was inching closer and closer to that lean, yet ripped, musculature he wanted, taking weeks rather than years. Every time Xander ended up in a storage closet with Cordelia, her wandering hands noted the differences in his broader shoulders, chiseled abs, chest, and muscular back. And yet, she strangely never questioned his supernatural physical improvement. He chalked it up to Sunnydale Syndrome.
  
  Xander and Cordelia were making out in the storage closet by the music room this time. His hands expertly caressed her body like a masterful conductor, amplifying her throbbing pleasure. As they made out, the sexy cheerleader pressed her flush body against his as if the room was cold and she needed his body heat. Wet kissing sounds filled their ears as her needy hands pulled at his shirt, trying to bring him in to satisfy her growing lust. Xander imagined Cordelia was stunned by how exceptional he was at making her feel so hot and euphoric. He had her pinned against the wall, when they finally broke away for much-needed air, but kept their foreheads pressed together.
  
  Staring into her alluring chocolate eyes brought a smile to his face. Xander was glad he put Buffy in the friend zone and only had thoughts to pursue Cordelia. He wasn't certain they'd last, however. As much as he loved her, Cordelia-like Buffy and all the Slayers-seemed to have an unavoidable destiny, unlike himself and many other regular folks. Not that it mattered to Xander, because even if she was destined to become a Higher Being, he was eager to stay with her all the way to that point. A sizable portion of why he was so excited about his future was because of her.
  
  Sadly, he couldn't reveal as much. Xander and Cordelia had a different way of communicating; more defensive, creative, and with a lot of angst. Xander ran the tip of his nose against her jawline as he kissed her neck exactly how she loved it, making the quivering girl moan, "Oooh! Gaaawwd..."
  
  In that precise moment, Xander could feel her brain reactivate. Her body stiffened, as if caught with her hand in the cookie jar. He could tell she was panicking about the swell of emotion he brought out in her, and when she tapped his shoulder, Xander backed away. Cordelia fanned herself with both hands before palming her blushing cheeks, making the abrasive girl look absolutely adorable to him.
  
  Xander knew why she was suddenly conflicted. Despite the uptick in his popularity due to his motorcycle, Cordelia was still far more popular than he was, and had been since elementary. As ever, she was having a hard time justifying why the most popular girl in school felt so good with one of the school's biggest geeks. It sucked, but he was used to it.
  
  As Xander wanted to relieve some of her anxiety and avoid the Geek Vaccine route, he asked, "Do you want to hear the story of us?"
  
  Cordelia reacted right away, asking, "You remember us?"
  
  "Of course," he casually responded, hoping that revealing this much wouldn't lead to anyone's death. He continued, "There's a reason why we're making out in a supply closet despite hating each other."
  
  The sexy cheerleader relaxed as she crossed her arms and smirked, citing, "This should be interesting. Let's hear it."
  
  Crossing his arms as well, he explained, "In a nutshell-outside of the loves of our lives-you and I are, like, the best boyfriend and girlfriend we'll ever have for each other. The only person who'll top me is the one guy for you, and vice versa. The only person who'll top you-"
  
  "I know what vice versa means," she interrupted, eying him as if he was a simpleton.
  
  "Maybe you do, but you're also a cheerleader," he casually clapped back. "Who knows what that pretty little head of yours retains?"
  
  "Beg like a cute little puppy, and I might tell you," she insulted and flirted at the same time, making him snort. "So... we... as in, you and I-"
  
  "That's generally what we means, yeah," he interrupted in a snarky tone, making her scrunch her nose and make a crabby face at him.
  
  "We... dated? In the future?" she asked.
  
  "Yup."
  
  With some hesitation, she nervously asked, "Then... we broke up?"
  
  "In the end, yeah," he glumly admitted. "It's really sad too, cuz... you know, I rocked your world-like, you would not believe how good I was at sending you to heaven-but, in the end, we both knew it was for the best."
  
  Cordelia laughed heartily, deep from her gut, resting her hand on his shoulder. After several moments of laughter, the breathless girl asked, " You ? Rock my world? Oh my God, as if!"
  
  Xander snaked his arms around her waist, pulling Cordelia flush against him. A soft squeak escaped her full lips before their mouths were joined. As they passionately kissed, Xander's hands caressed her back and sides flawlessly, stimulating her into wrapping her arms around his neck and melting in his arms. Their hot, wet tongues danced against each other as she pressed her ample mammaries against his muscular chest, exciting her in a way no man had ever done before.
  
  When Xander abruptly pulled back-leaving her in a daze-he quipped, "Just like that."
  
  Realizing just how forward she'd been leaning, Cordelia quickly stepped back, turning to the side and tucking strands of her lustrous hair behind her ear. She cleared her throat and replied, "Uh, mmn, okay. Fine! When's this ' love ' of mine supposed to happen?"
  
  ' Years from now in LA with Angel ,' he thought as he shook his head and answered, "Oh, not for years."
  
  "Okay," she said with a nod, as if making a mental game plan. "Okay, okay." Turning to him, she heavily asserted, "Until then, you're my boyfriend-no, my secret boyfriend." Looking at his Hawaiian shirt and white undershirt, and black jeans, she recoiled, as if incredibly offended. " And I need to redo your entire wardrobe."
  
  Looking at his always deficient style of dress, an irked Xander pointed out, "Ugh, clothes are clothes, Cor," he protested.
  
  With a comically hurt expression on her face, Cordelia retorted, "That is- by far -the most hurtful thing you've ever said to me."
  
  "Forget the wardrobe for a second," he insisted. He took her hand and swayed closer to her as he asked, "How about a compromise? We can be a secret couple to everyone... except my friends."
  
  Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Oh, I'm sure you'd love to tell them, but no. I can't risk my reputation being ruined because they couldn't keep their mouths shut."
  
  ' Of course ,' Xander sadly thought, feeling his shoulders sag. Since his super-charged therapy session with Higher Being Cordelia, the exhausted time looper had more hope than ever before. However, to hear one of his greatest loves display the same insecurity when it came to a public relationship with him felt disheartening. Objectively, he understood it wasn't her fault. She was simply on that specific point in her journey, but he couldn't deny it poked his frustration.
  
  Taking a step back, he returned, "So, you want me to lie to my friends because you care more about what strangers think of you?"
  
  Cordelia rolled her eyes, as if annoyed by the way he was minimizing her popularity, and asked, "Do you honestly think they'd understand? I 'm not even sure about... whatever this is!"
  
  Her conflicted facial expression told him she was genuinely confused about her growing feelings for him, making him wonder if he should've said anything about their future selves. He had hoped they would be a couple much faster and stay together for the long haul, and though that was still possible, he suddenly wondered if he pushed her too much too fast.
  
  Xander gently kissed her cheek, and told her, "Then take some time to wrap your head around us being a couple-a real couple." At the door of the closet, he turned to ask, "And when you get a chance, ask yourself: if you're really Cordelia Chase-Queen C of Sunnydale High-then what do you have to be embarrassed about?"
  
  He then left her with her thoughts.
  
  -
  
  Xander was seated in Mr. Whitman's class-next to an empty desk-when the bad eggs were handed out. He partnered with the absent Buffy and cheerfully told her about the child-caring assignment when they met in the library. This next dilemma was far easier to handle than Ted's situation. Xander ' accidentally ' dropped the egg as he walked toward his friends and ' unintentionally ' stepped on it, grossing the girls out when they saw what was inside. After their disgust at the alien creature settled, the Scoobies did as they always had, and investigated the paranormal mystery.
  
  They discovered the mother Bezoar, and, like before, Xander threw Dreadnought into the monster's beaked mouth and electrocuted it with enough power to demolish a ten-story building. The bodily fluids within superheated, and the boiling flesh expanded so fast, the creature exploded out of the hole like a geyser, covering everyone in goo. Again, Xander was grossed out when Dreadnought returned to his hand, covered in monster ichor.
  
  -
  
  Come December, Xander was in his living room, seated on his couch and staring at the phone on the coffee table in front of him. It had been a week since he'd given Cordelia time to think about them as a couple, and she still hadn't come to a clear conclusion. The lovers would still make out in closets and Xander hadn't told his friends yet, so Cordelia was getting what she wanted. However, if she didn't come to a decision soon, he couldn't continue with the half-relationship.
  
  The situation with Cordelia gave him time to think of another girl that he thought fondly of. Xander had been trying for several weeks to get ahold of the wild Boston girl with no success-which was just as well, since he wasn't sure how to help Faith. Xander knew-far too intimately-how hard her life was, and how little she trusted anyone, let alone strangers. So many people in her life had let her down, taken advantage of her, or lied to get what they wanted from her, and Xander refused to let her see him that way. He wanted her to trust him and to lean on him when life was unfairly harsh. Xander knew how much she needed that.
  
  On the other hand, if he didn't lie to her about why he was contacting her, it was highly unlikely she'd listen-much less accept-a completely crazy story about magic and curses being the reason he knew so much about her. Taking the honest route, he fully expected her to laugh, call him crazy, and hang up. It was yet another challenge to his more centered way of being.
  
  ' Fuck it ,' he told himself.
  
  Deciding to be as upfront with her as possible, Xander dialed her home number first. It rang several times, and though he was fully expecting no one to answer, to his surprise, Faith picked up. Xander was used to it ringing or being yelled at by her annoyed parents. He was all but certain he'd waste another couple of hours calling all around Boston-and leaving messages-to find her.
  
  For her to be back home, he thought, ' I guess she 's not at Liz's place anymore... '
  
  Clearing his throat, the nervous boy asked, "Is this Faith? Faith Lehane?"
  
  "Who wants to know?" her sexy husky voice asked.
  
  "Xander. Harris," he tensely answered.
  
  "Never heard of ya," she returned, then hung up.
  
  Staring at the phone-hearing the mocking dial tone-Xander shook his head as he thought, ' Of course .' He dialed again and waited several seconds before she picked up. "Yeah, I know you don't know me, but we need to talk."
  
  "That's funny," she replied, adding, "Cuz no, we don't."
  
  Faith hung up again, and an irritated Xander lamented how much he missed lying to get his way. Still, he held firm to the belief that this was the better way and called once again. She didn't pick up, but he let it ring for nearly a minute before she finally answered.
  
  "What's your damage?!" she yelled.
  
  "Let's make a deal," Xander quickly offered. "You like money, right? I got some. If you want it, I can send it to you."
  
  The line was silent for a tense moment, and Xander held his breath so as to not jinx anything. Then she cautiously asked, "...Did Ronnie put you up to this? Cuz I ain't getting back with that deadbeat."
  
  Leaning back, he felt slightly more confident. Hoping to keep her interested long enough to establish a rapport, Xander replied, "The only Ronnie I know goes to the same school I do in Sunnydale, California."
  
  "California?" she repeated with surprise. "You're calling me from Cali? And what kind of name is Sunnydale? It sounds like a pastry's asshole."
  
  Xander recalled her using that before and replied with another one she liked. "That or California's raging yeast infection."
  
  Faith snorted at that, remarking, "Not gonna lie, that was good."
  
  ' Because you said it ,' Xander thought with a smile before answering her, "I aim to please."
  
  After a moment of silence, she asked, "So, you for real about that money?"
  
  "Very."
  
  "Why?" the suspicious girl returned. "Who told you about me? Was it Steve? Kenny? Are you police or something? Cuz I ain't talking to no cops."
  
  "None of the above," he casually answered, thanking the stars she hadn't hung up.
  
  "You a reporter?" she further questioned. "The only comment I got about those teachers is fuck off -"
  
  "I'm not a reporter," he quickly interjected before she hung up. "I have a crazy story to tell you, but I get that I'm a stranger and you aren't the trusting type."
  
  "The fuck..." she mumbled. "How would you know?"
  
  "The answers to all your questions are in the story," he baited.
  
  After several silent seconds, Faith intolerantly stated, "You got one minute."
  
  Xander snickered before replying, "It's going to take a lot longer than a minute, but here's the rub: You listen to my story, and I'll send you three hundred dollars."
  
  "...Four," she haggled.
  
  Thinking of the tens of thousands he'd be willing to give her for the future's sake, Xander smiled and returned, "I'll make it five if you make little moaning noises sometimes."
  
  Like a switch flipped, Faith's husky voice sounded gentler as she replied, "For five hundred bucks, I'll moan as much as you want, lover-boy."
  
  "I'll send you half up front so you know I ain't playing you," he assured her. "When you get it, call me back and I can tell you stuff like, how much you love walking around Dorchester; how you always wanted a sister; how you dreamed of starting your own production company called Boston Diva; how you're a sucker for Pudding Pops and can't stand people who eat mint chocolate chip ice cream because you think they're pretentious assholes trying to be edgy; and so, so many other things."
  
  Faith didn't hesitate to yell, "What the actual fuck! How the hell do you-"
  
  "All answers are in the story," Xander interjected.
  
  "Are you some sick stalker following me? Are you watching me right now?"
  
  He could hear rustling through the phone, as if she was getting up and looking through her window.
  
  Xander returned, "That'd be a hell of a trick since I live in California." Before she could retort, he continued, "Listen, you got two-fifty on the way. If you want to hear the craziest story ever, call me back."
  
  After a long exhale-the seconds of which wrecked Xander's nerves-Faith replied, "...You better not be wasting my time."
  
  "Wouldn't dream of it," he casually replied as he hopped to his feet and fist-pumped the air.
  
  Xander quickly explained the money order process and left his home to send her the funds. The following day, they talked again, but as Xander wanted to prolong their conversation, he didn't tell her the entire story in one sitting. In fact, he started slowly, voicing how similar they were because of their parents, their alcoholism, and how challenging it was growing up in that environment.
  
  "But I've talked to my mom over the phone," Xander said. "It didn't devolve into a screaming match, so, you know... progress."
  
  "Over the phone?" Faith repeated curiously. "Are they in a clinic or something?"
  
  When Xander explained how his parents won the lottery and left to travel the world, a stunned Faith replied, "Are you kidding me?" Before he could answer, however, it dawned on her how much money he had, and she asked, "Wait... is that why you have money to burn?"
  
  "Sure is," he said back.
  
  "Shit!" she loudly cursed. "I should've asked for more!"
  
  In a flirting, teasing tone, Xander asked, "Want me to pay your way through college, baby girl?"
  
  With the same energy and tone, the sexy girl with the mildly raspy voice answered, "Mmmmnnn, you know it, Daddy. I'd do anything for an education."
  
  Xander burst into laughter, causing Faith to join in. Mid-laugh, he remarked, "God, that was so cringe!"
  
  "Shut up! It wasn't that bad!" Faith yelled in her defense. "If I was standing right in front of you, trust me, you wouldn't be laughing."
  
  In truth, her husky voice did sound sexy to Xander, but he preferred to keep things light. With the hope of talking to the spunky Bostonian regularly, Xander updated his deal with Faith and promised to keep sending her three hundred and fifty dollars a month until his tale was done and she had no further questions. Faith agreed, seemingly because the more he talked, the more questions she had.
  
  After Xander had hung up, he looked at the phone with a grand sense of accomplishment. As he talked to Faith about his life, he'd come to learn that there were only two girls that made the most sense-possibly three if Willow wasn't on-track to discovering her sexual orientation in the future. What amazed him was that Buffy wasn't one of them. Though he loved the Slayer dearly, and would help her wherever he could, choosing Buffy as his love above all was as messed up as Buffy's choices in romantic partners. They were both reacting-on a chemical level-to a fundamental dysfunction within.
  
  In the end, the two girls were, ' Faith and Cordelia ,' he thought, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. ' Between the two, though ... Cordelia ,' he thought with a sense of peace.
  
  Xander felt he needed to put his all into a proper relationship with Cordelia. As much as he loved Faith, he understood she likely wasn't in the best mental and emotional headspace for a serious relationship. He could tell she had a hard time trusting those types of hopeful emotions. If he could be a trusted friend to her, that would be more than enough for him. Xander didn't want to lose her trust again-not like he had in the last long loop-because the man he wanted to be was someone even Faith could rely on.
  
  Short chapter, I know. But I originally thought of this story to work on writing shorter chapters. On my Last Prayer fanfic, most of those chapters average 17K words. It was a lot.
  
  I think it should be obvious by now that I like Cordelia and Faith. I think they're great characters. Not to say that I don't like Buffy. I love her character, as well. I just can't tolerate her choice in men.
  
  I think a lot of readers brought up good points as far as Xander not telling the Scoobies about Angelus. I personally feel I could've written it either way.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my is pa tree on dot com /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content on there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :) I also just got a cashapp($GraeFoxx) for those who just wanted to tip once.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  I hope you all enjoyed the read. I should be able to update next week. Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Charged Moments
  Welcome to another Sunday release!
  
  So glad you're all here, sticking with this fic. I know it hasn't all been stellar but I appreciate you coming back and giving me another chance to entertain. So, let's just into this one!
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Thanks guys :)
  
  Warning: Foul language and Mild sexual situations.
  
  12.3K words. Big chapter today.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Charged Moments
  
  As December was a slow season for vampire slaying, Xander felt he was being considerate to his friends by picking the slow season to fight all the monsters eager to feed on the innocent. However, Buffy and Giles were annoyingly more concerned about his well-being. They had no idea how much experience and training he'd gained throughout his long lifetime of looping. The Slayer and Watcher were oblivious to his time troubles, and simply wanted nothing bad to happen to him, trying as they might to talk him out of slaying.
  
  The Scoobies had gathered in the library after school-Buffy to finish homework; Willow to practice her magic with Giles and Jenny; and Cordelia because she knew they all wanted to talk to Xander. He should've been on his way to Wild Dinks to continue forging Hellguard, but his friends asked him to stay for a bit. They sat him at the end of the long table while the rest of the gang sat on the side of him, making him feel like he was the subject of an intervention.
  
  Giles warned, "Despite your many contributions to the fight against evil, Xander, what you're asking for is orders of magnitude more dire."
  
  "I just want to patrol," Xander said as if it were nothing.
  
  "Alone!" Buffy pointed out, eying him in disbelief, as if he wasn't taking it seriously. "You want to patrol on your own with monsters that can rip you apart!"
  
  "I'll make sure not to leave behind my super-duper magical axe," Xander emphasized, trying not to smile too broadly. Considering everything he could do, he found it funny that they'd be so worried about him. He simply needed a chance to prove he could handle it.
  
  Cleaning his glasses, Giles gravely stated, "You can have crosses, holy water, and the sharpest stakes-even with every conceivable protection-everything can go terribly wrong in the blink of an eye. You won't have the strength of a Slayer to rely on."
  
  "I know-" he tried to say when Buffy interrupted.
  
  "What about us?" the Slayer asked, pointing between Willow and herself. "Do you know how worried we'd be... if the worst happened?"
  
  Xander noticed the concern on all of their faces-Willow, in particular, remained silent because she wanted to be supportive, but her large expressive eyes were clearly worried. Even Cordelia seemed oddly silent and conflicted. Unfortunately for all of them, Xander could no longer keep quiet just to comfort them. He'd learned from his celestial therapy session that he lost himself in others far too easily. Like Higher Being Cordelia had told him; he needed to be himself. So, in consideration of himself and his friends, Xander asked to spar with Buffy-in the library-before going out into the field.
  
  The blonde beauty hopped on the idea and quickly stipulated, "If I win, you leave the Slaying to me."
  
  Xander shook his head-rejecting the bet-and countered with, "How about this: if you win, I get to keep trying until I beat you? Then when I do, I slay with your blessing." Xander stood up, towering over the seated Buffy, and leaned down-looking deeply into her greenish-blue eyes-as he emphasized, "But if I win, I go out... right now ."
  
  It was such a power move, Buffy's mouth opened slightly, stunned he'd be so bold. So confident in herself, Buffy stood up as well, playfully glaring at him as she extended her hand in agreement. They shook and she squeezed his hand hard. His expression hadn't faltered, and Xander was thankful he had his ring to ease the ache afterward.
  
  After school the following day, the Scoobies met in the library once again and the long table and chairs were removed to put out the blue mats. Willow, Jenny, and Cordelia were on the elevated section, leaning against the railing as they looked down onto the sparring area. Willow and Jenny seemed worried for Xander, Cordelia seemed eager for the action, and Giles was at the bottom, officiating the match between the fighters.
  
  Upon Giles' gesture, Xander and Buffy took the middle of the blue padded mats. They were dressed in their red & gray P.E. clothes, but Giles insisted Xander wear elbow pads, knee pads, and use a mouthpiece. Otherwise, he wouldn't allow him to spar with the supernaturally strong Slayer.
  
  With supreme confidence in herself and the bout's outcome, Buffy was the epitome of relaxed, but Xander didn't mind. He understood that the Xander in her mind-in all of their minds-wasn't the one measuring the distance between himself and Buffy or recalling her fighting style. Buffy was the most creative fighter of the Slayers he had fought, but she had her tells as well.
  
  With a hint of a smile, an amused Buffy asked, "You sure you want to do this? You might regret it later."
  
  "I'm telling you, it's fine," he maintained, returning her slight smile. "I trained- er , Old Me trained loads of people."
  
  Old Man Xander may have led missions when he was in charge of operations for the Slayer Organization, as well as sparred often with multiple slayers, but he hadn't taught much. The organization had much better instructors to teach their forces. The Old Man and his experiences were simply the best cover for the unprecedented skill level Xander would, no doubt, have had to explain to his friends.
  
  Giles warned his paranormally strong charge, "Even still, Buffy: minimal strength."
  
  "Right-o!" she called with a cutesy salute, and Xander tried not to feel insulted.
  
  As soon as Giles called the match to begin, Xander was in his element. His century of fighting the best, had honed his body's technique to maneuver with such proficiency, his attack speed and power were amplified. It was why, when he lowered his center of gravity and took two measured steps forward, before launching a spear-like straight punch, Buffy barely dodged... as he expected. The Slayer may not have been expecting his level of skill, but her reflexes were still otherworldly.
  
  The strike Xander truly intended was the foot pivot into a side-body shot she couldn't dodge after evading his straight punch. Buffy looked at him in surprise, but Xander immediately followed with a punch to her face. The shock of being struck phased the durable Slayer far more than the actual hit did. Xander could see it in her wide eyes: her blood was boiling. Buffy's competitive spirit had come alive and was unwilling to abide by such a transgression.
  
  Growing nervous at the sight of his Slayer, Giles tried to halt the spar, calling, "B-Buffy-"
  
  However, she went after Xander, and he didn't mind one bit. Buffy was certainly stronger and faster than Xander, but he was patient and clever. He knew her style and could anticipate and counter her strikes and steps effortlessly. The fighters had a quick exchange of high and low punches, blocked by either side. Xander wasn't sure what his punches felt like to her, but his arms felt like they were blocking hits from a rolled-up magazine-the thick kind.
  
  ' That 's minimal strength?! ' Xander's mind yelled, utilizing his ring to heal himself as he fought.
  
  As ever, realizing that he had the reach advantage, Buffy immediately switched to leg strikes. Her technique, flexibility, and agility allowed her to quickly strike low, mid, and high with the same leg. Xander dodged, blocked, and dodged into a spinning kick to her midsection, making her grunt as she fell back. Hitting the ground, she rolled onto her feet, stunned by his combat IQ.
  
  His eyes said, ' That 's right. The student has become the master .'
  
  However, her heart was pumping-hot blood coursing through her-and Buffy couldn't take the loss. The durable Slayer used more speed to move in close and fight him at the body. Due to her stature, Buffy often had to fight larger opponents at the body level. She knew where to punch to hurt her foes and slow them down-but Xander knew that as well.
  
  At close range, her every strike was caught and redirected, and with his footwork, he could force her to flip or put her in a series of submission holds. Xander was certain she'd eventually use brute strength to break his every hold, but not quickly enough. He twisted his midsection, evading a punch to the liver and grabbing her hand to twist her into a flip. However, she landed on her feet, grabbed his hand & leg, and pulled, countering his flip with one of her own, and sending him to the mat.
  
  Xander hit the cushioned floor, but he hadn't let her arm go, and put her in an arm bar. When she broke out of that, he fluidly put her in a guillotine. Buffy had the strength to break out of that as well, but he easily switched to her back and put her in a rear naked choke hold. Wrapping his legs around her waist, she finally tapped out.
  
  Buffy slapped the mat after they separated, frustrated-not because she lacked in strength-but because she wasn't sure how to counter him. Xander imagined the experience was like trying to hold water in her hand. Getting up with hunched shoulders, an irate Buffy ordered her watcher, " again ," as she dropped her stance and raised her fists for the second round. Giles stepped in the middle to stop the heated blonde.
  
  "Before that," he rebutted, holding up a quieting hand. He turned to the teen boy and asked, "Xander, wha-what was that?"
  
  Xander casually answered, "A mix of CQC, Silat, jiu-jitsu, Krav Maga, and Muay Thai." At their frozen faces of disbelief, he repeated, "I told you, Old Me trained a lot of people for missions and stuff." Their surprised faces morphed into a hesitance to accept. "Guys, I- Old Me never stopped fighting all the creepy crawlies that go bump in the night; we're talking decades here. How long did you expect me to just wing it every time we were out there? Obviously, I had to learn how to fight, or I'd die."
  
  Buffy walked up to him-suspiciously calmer-and something in Xander's head told him she was going to punch him.
  
  "Fine," she said with a tight smile. "December can be your trial period. You do well against the real thing, you got the coveted Slayer Seal of Approval."
  
  Though wary, he replied, "Sweet."
  
  "Oh, and Xander?"
  
  Xander grabbed the incoming punch and flipped her onto her back before putting her in an arm bar. Even if it felt as if he was trying to bend a steel bar, he could keep her in the submission for three seconds before it seemed like she was going to toss him. He let her go and they both rolled away before getting to their feet.
  
  With a cheeky smile, Xander remarked, "You're way stronger than me, Buff, but you still weigh an easily flippable 120 pounds."
  
  Despite looking torn between ashamed and angry, she corrected him. "116."
  
  "Wow, Xander," Willow gasped from their elevated vantage point. Suddenly self-reflective, the redhead recognized, "I feel like I've been saying ' Wow, Xander ,' a lot lately. But, yeah, that was amazing." At Buffy's annoyed look, an uneasy Willow quickly added, "Uh, but mmn, not, like, super amazing."
  
  "Quite impressive," Giles mentioned, irrespective of Buffy's mounting frustration.
  
  With some disappointment, Cordelia pointed out, "I was expecting you to get creamed, but beating up a girl doesn't feel like something to be proud of either."
  
  Leveling a heavy helping of incredulity on the beautiful cheerleader, Xander emphasized, "She's superhuman, Cor! That was like Jimmy Olsen kicking Wonder Woman's ass."
  
  "Hey!" Buffy whined in protest. "Wonder Woman was taking it easy on Jimmy, so Jimmy should really watch what he says."
  
  In consideration of her competitive spirit, Xander playfully zipped his mouth closed and threw away the key. She observed him pull off the velcro straps of his pads and casually tossed them to Giles before leaving for work. They agreed on a meeting time for his first night out slaying, and he went about his day with more anticipation than he was expecting. Having patrolled more times than he could count, he shouldn't have felt so excited, but he did.
  
  As he suited up in his Nox gear-black tactical trousers and hooded jacket, an athletic compression long-sleeve shirt, and a black & gray camo scarf-he credited his optimistic outlook to everything he'd been through. All the mistakes he wasn't smart enough-or aware enough-to avoid had already been made. Now that he knew himself-without fear that he'd ruin everything-he felt confident in everything he did, as if he knew only good things were ahead, even if there was still plenty of bad around.
  
  Xander hooked Dreadnought on his bike and raced to Restfield Cemetery. Utilizing his ring's power to enhance his nighttime vision to near perfection, he walked through the forested area of the cemetery without tripping, and after a while, he saw Buffy. She was wearing blue jeans, a white tank top, and a burgundy leather jacket. Upon spotting Xander in his stealth gear, Buffy was a mix between impressed and humored.
  
  "Are we infiltrating Count Chocula's castle, Commander Harris?" she playfully asked. "And here I am without my grappling hook."
  
  "Ha ha, very funny," Xander sarcastically replied. "We should all be so lucky if all slaying ended with chocolaty treats."
  
  Buffy snorted and her smile died away when she noticed the glow of his eyes-not the whitish-blue glow he used when he was Nox. The luminescence emanating from his brown eyes gave off a golden orange light that Buffy found charming.
  
  "Aww, that looks so pretty," she expressed.
  
  Before Xander could reply, Angel appeared like a shadow that wouldn't recede. To limit what Angelus would know later, Xander would've preferred if Angel hadn't joined them, but as he was Buffy's boyfriend, he didn't have a choice. Xander remained professional and amiable. His only goal for the night was to prove to his friends that they didn't need to worry about him when he went out at night, so he focused on slaying. With Dreadnought, Odin's ring, and his decades of experience, he took care of the few vampires they came across by himself.
  
  Three nights passed like this-Buffy and Angel watching Xander killing vampires from nearby. As the three were entering their sixth cemetery on the fourth night, Buffy couldn't help remarking, "I can't say I mind the free time to do other things."
  
  Her loving gaze landed on Angel with a knowing smile, making Xander very much want to yell, ' I 'm not risking my life here so you can have more time to suck face! '
  
  Though the desire was there, Xander had learned the hard way that such an attitude wouldn't solve anything. In truth, it would only stunt his growth in the long run, which would then hurt those he loved. If he was ever going to be a man worthy of building a much more meaningful life, Xander needed to be above it all, so he walked away from the affectionate couple and continued patrolling-whether they paid attention to him or not.
  
  Later in the night, Xander was in the middle of a hard scuffle with a pair of very large and experienced vampires. With their similar features, Xander assumed they were brothers-white, tall, brunet, with broad shoulders. Unlike many previous vampires, these two seemed to embrace the concept of ' Never Underestimate the Opponent ,' and used strategy from the beginning.
  
  The shorter vamp would fight Xander head-on in a series of quick combinations, keeping a careful distance while the taller one tried to flank Xander's blindside. As Xander used his battleaxe to block the high-speed combination attacks, he'd have to worry about his second opponent moving behind him, and attacking when he was most distracted.
  
  ' Were these guys military, or what? ' Xander's mind yelled as he dodged a series of attacks from both of them. He also wondered why he'd never fought them before. ' Maybe they were created by a vampire either me or Buffy might 've killed? '
  
  Xander had been on the defensive since the beginning of the fight, swinging his battleaxe in intricate trajectories to keep them at bay. The vampires attacked at full speed and Xander could barely keep up with the four limbs striking from either side of him. It was only after he took a hard punch to the face-blurring his vision-did Xander allow himself to flow with the momentum and kick one in the chin as he attempted to slash the second.
  
  However, the second vampire gripped the neck of Dreadnought-and since Xander was holding it as well, the soulless demon didn't drop. Xander felt powerful hands grip his shoulders and an ominous presence behind him intent on sinking its fangs into his neck. Before Xander could be bitten, he began healing himself as he activated Dreadnought's electricity, frying his opponents along with himself.
  
  For three agonizingly long seconds, every cell and nerve ending in Xander's body felt like they were being stabbed repeatedly and set ablaze. After the three count, the twitching vampires lost all motor functions and let the teen go, dropping to the ground. Though Xander twitched and felt like his muscles were baked to a crisp, his magical weapon and ring healed him fast enough to decapitate both vampires before they could get back up. When Xander leaned against a tombstone to rest, his spinning vision saw four rotating Buffys rushing toward him in a panic.
  
  "Xander!" the anxious blonde yelled, and soon, her hands were on his face, neck, and chest as she frantically looked over his bleeding wounds. She was like a worried hen while Angel stood behind her. "What the hell were you thinking disappearing like that?! You could've been killed!"
  
  Still slightly dizzy from the sledgehammer-like punch to the face, Xander tried to assure her, saying, "Uh, y-yeah, n-no. I-I-I-It's alright, Buffy. I'm good. I'm good."
  
  "No, you're not good!" she clapped back. Touching his wounded face, she insisted, "You're obviously hurt!"
  
  As his ring finally restored reasonable control to his speech and movement, he focused on his worried friend and tried to sound normal as he replied, "I'm a little banged up, but there's nothing to worry about. I'm already healing."
  
  Shaking her head, Buffy asserted with finality, "No, no, I don't think this is a good idea. This is just too dangerous."
  
  "Buffy, relax," he said, standing on his own again. "Look, I'm fine. I can do my happy dance if you want."
  
  Eying him sternly with a mixture of frustration and worry, she hesitated to ask, "Can't you just... not do this? For me? Please?"
  
  Shaking his head, he easily answered, "Sorry, but that's a big fat no-go on that, Ghost Rider. This is me now. More me than I've ever been. And I won't ever go back."
  
  Slumping her shoulders as if baffled, she argued, "Can't you see I'll always worry something's going to happen to you? I'll have to babysit you every night to make sure-"
  
  " Whoa , hey, babysit? Really?" the stunned boy quickly interjected. "What's this really about, Buffy? Because you can't possibly think I'm that much of a liability after kicking your ass and dusting vampires on my own while you two were tongue-slaying each other's tonsils."
  
  Mildly embarrassed, the blushing blonde tried to deny it. "We weren't-"
  
  "Smooch-city?" He cut her off, asking with raised eyebrows, "Really?" Pointing toward Angel's face, he added, "Your boyfriend still has lip gloss on his face."
  
  Though stoic in stature, Angel rotated his head, as if to look around, and tried to discreetly wipe the shiny gloss from around his lips with his shoulder. He wasn't successful.
  
  Buffy cleared her throat-eager to move past the awkwardness-and begged to know, "Xander, why do you want to do this?"
  
  Looking at her as if it should be obvious, the far-more enlightened time looper asked, "Is being destined to fight the forces of evil a prerequisite to slaying?" Buffy blinked in mild surprise, having not expected the question. "Is it so hard to believe non-destined people want to help because they can , and not because they have to ? More to the point, is it so terrible that I want to be more than what I was? I'm doing this because I have a responsibility to the people I care about-and just as important-a responsibility to myself."
  
  Grasping for any point of contention, an anxious Buffy hesitated to ask, "Well... can you not ?"
  
  Xander rolled his eyes before returning, "Can you not be the Slayer?"
  
  "That's different and you know it."
  
  "You had less of a choice, no doubt," he readily admitted. "But if you value choice so much, you need to respect that this is mine, and no one's going to change that."
  
  Xander walked off as Buffy yelled, "You'll live longer!"
  
  Over his shoulder, he called back, "We all die sometime."
  
  For the rest of December, the tension between the friends was frosty, leaving Willow in the middle playing peacemaker. Xander and Willow were talking by his locker, between classes.
  
  "She just wants you to stay safe," Willow argued on Buffy's behalf one afternoon.
  
  "I get that," Xander replied, closing his locker. "But unless she's letting me make decisions for her life , I'm not letting her make decisions for mine. I gotta get to work. Later."
  
  Xander had more free time to work, and afterward, he'd often patrol alone at night. Oddly enough, he found himself running into Buffy or Angel more times than he expected. There were twelve cemeteries in Sunnydale, a bustling nightlife, and a college campus not far away, yet they ran into him so much he wondered if they were keeping an eye on him.
  
  ' Yup, they definitely are ,' he thought with certainty after his enhanced nose picked up Buffy's lavender-scented body wash. He was watching him from a quarter mile away, which was mildly insulting-if babysitting was, in fact, what she were doing-but it also showed that she cared, and he was content to focus on the silver lining.
  
  Xander didn't know why, but eventually, he found himself enjoying the audience. He'd gone so long-through so many loops-hiding his abilities from his friends. He was even a shadow incarnate by the name of Nox. Now, he felt the glow of sunlight wash over him. Xander was free to express himself-regardless of how that might risk his friendships-which led to unexpected joy and a peculiar decision to dance.
  
  For some reason, knowing that Buffy might be watching made him dance as he fought vampires, specifically the choreography of Michael Jackson's Thriller. He'd mix dance moves of the popular song into the fights: raising his rigid hands like a monster creeping around at night as he stomped to the imaginary beat or moonwalking away from a series of punches before kicking, spinning, and grabbing his package. One time, a vampire felt the power of Thriller and did the creepy strut with Xander, which was mind-boggling-though the teen still dusted him in the end.
  
  At school the following day, Buffy saw Xander walking down the opposite end of the hall and she couldn't help but burst into laughter-likely imagining the dancing. Xander smiled broadly and bowed to his adoring audience and the iciness between them had melted. They were great after that.
  
  -
  
  Xander's secret relationship with Cordelia was going well, but he still tried to convince her that a genuine relationship would be better than sneaking around to make out. The lovers were in her bedroom and her parents were gone, the maid having left for the day. Sitting next to each other on her bed and fully clothed, Xander had decided not to have sex without being boyfriend and girlfriend. However, Cordelia was content to have the best of both worlds: her title as the most popular girl in school, as well as a secret relationship with a geek that stimulated her passion. She might also have been hesitant to start anything because of what he'd revealed about their future.
  
  "I'm telling you," he argued, frustration coloring his voice. "There's only one guy better than me for you, and he's not around-" ' In the daytime ,' he thought as he finished, "So we might as well just date."
  
  With equal frustration, Cordelia reasoned, "Just because you say that doesn't make it true!"
  
  Xander leaned in and, with a wicked smile, remarked, "Sounds like you want proof."
  
  The teen boy lowered his face between her soft legs. From the stain on her satin panties, he could tell she was already wet. Slowly, he shimmied her panties off before he kissed and massaged her inner thighs. Cordelia moaned when he began sucking on her damp sex, his scratchy tongue slithering inside her leaking mound.
  
  "OOh! Mnnn," he heard her moan, gripping his broad shoulders.
  
  He slipped his tongue past her gleaming labia petals and licked her sensitive walls. His hands massaged her ass and clit as he sloppily dined on her love tunnel. After many moments, her legs tensed as Cordelia was struck by an intense orgasm, making her body quiver and toss as she held his head in place. Xander lapped up her gushing honey until the heaving girl finally settled down.
  
  He sustained her euphoria and made her melt one last time before asking her, "How was that?"
  
  "Yessss! Mmmore pleasssse!" Though she didn't agree to be his girlfriend, Xander obliged and brought her to several quaking orgasms before she left with her parents for Christmas vacation in Vegas.
  
  Spending the holidays mostly by himself, Xander kept busy forging-Hellguard and Slaymore-patrolling the sudden uptick in vampire activity, practicing his guitar, and repairing his house. Xander and Cordelia had sex for the first time on his birthday in January-to her very vocal and repeated delight-and not long after that, Buffy and Angel consummated their relationship, unleashing Angelus upon the world, yet again.
  
  Xander wasn't far away when they did the deed, preventing the woman that died in previous loops from walking down that alley, thus preventing her death. He also trailed the vampire with Dreadnought in hand to prevent anyone else's death. After Angelus revealed himself the following day, Buffy needed to be alone, and Giles and Willow asked Xander about the evil vampire.
  
  The time looper was forced to answer, "Uh, Old Me doesn't remember this."
  
  "B-But you said Angel doesn't always have it easy," Willow reminded him with her near-perfect recall. "Is this what you meant?"
  
  Xander shook his head, but couldn't voice the lie. Instead, he leaned into the age thing and replied, "Sorry guys. Old Me just doesn't remember the younger years."
  
  Thoughtfully, Giles asked, "Could you have altered something the moment you gained knowledge of the future?"
  
  "I don't know," Xander repeated, clearly disappointing them-either from the lack of answers or because he, as himself, wasn't helpful.
  
  ' Just be you ,' he reminded himself. ' It 's okay. You'll tell them the truth, eventually .'
  
  Willow shook her head, and rephrased, "He means... Okay, you can fight now, you have a magical axe, and you can build stuff like your motorcycle. All of that had to have happened later on in his/your life, right? So, doing all of that much earlier might've triggered a change somewhere that we couldn't anticipate."
  
  "Like an alternate timeline?" Xander asked, though he knew the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
  
  "Exactly," Willow answered.
  
  "Regardless, we must now deal with the return of Angelus," Giles sternly intoned before walking to the stack of books.
  
  Xander got the subtle impression they were blaming him for Angelus' return, which, in a way, wasn't a lie. He certainly could have warned them about the curse and credited the source to Old Man Xander. However, the time braid had already shown him that Angelus could still return even without consummating his relationship with Buffy. Xander would've likely been forced to kill or kidnap Drusilla to prevent that, which would likely send Spike down a drastic path of revenge. It would all be unpredictable, and if the wrong person died, Xander would automatically reset.
  
  'T his way is easier ,' Xander thought, even if he hated lying to his friends. ' As long as I save the people Angelus usually kills, we should be good .'
  
  Giles, Willow, Cordelia, and Jenny redoubled their efforts in researching how to defeat the Judge. Buffy's Slayer visions revealed Jenny's true identity, and while the irate blonde confronted Janna of the Kalderash in the main room of the library, Xander was in Giles' office, calling the motel room the Romani man always stayed in.
  
  As Buffy, Giles, and Jenny argued outside, Xander warned Enyos, "Angelus is on his way to kill you. If you want to live, you need to leave Sunnydale. Now." Uncle Enyos didn't believe him. Recalling the man's odd eccentricities, Xander stated, "The moment the sun sets, it won't just be any vampire coming after you. It'll be one of the strongest in the western seaboard."
  
  "And how do you know this?" the ghoulish-looking man asked in his thick Romani accent.
  
  "Common sense," Xander answered. "The first thing Angelus is going to do is get some revenge on the people that cursed him. That's you and Janna. If you don't want that to happen, you need to leave town, or come here and let us protect you, because he won't stop until you're dead."
  
  "I do not fear death, boy," Enyos replied. "Vengeance is not a word, nor an idea. You modern children treat it like commerce-one thing for another. Not for us . Vengeance is a living thing, moving through generations. It demands his pain be eternal, even if I must forfeit my life to carry out its will."
  
  Xander rolled his eyes at this display of devout insanity before heatedly returning, "Then let us carry it out. I promise you we can. You don't need to die needlessly. But if you stay in this town, he will find you, and he will kill you. So what's it going to be? Leaving while the sun is still up, or letting us protect you?"
  
  Enyos hung up.
  
  "You stubborn old bastard," Xander grumbled before calling once again, but the Romani Elder wouldn't pick up. Eventually, he couldn't hear a signal at all, meaning he had unplugged the phone from the wall. Xander sighed in annoyance before looking out of the office. Giles and Buffy had finished kicking Jenny out of the group and the beautiful teacher was leaving the library. The sun was still out, meaning he had enough time to race to the motel and save Jenny's stubborn uncle.
  
  Xander walked out of the office and absentmindedly mentioned to everyone, "I'm going to check if she's alright," before exiting the library.
  
  After hopping on his bike, Xander raced to the motel and broke into the room the old man was typically murdered in, but the old man wasn't there. An hour after sunset, neither Enyos nor Angelus had shown up. Xander was growing more nervous with every minute, envisioning Angelus getting lucky-spotting Enyos elsewhere-and killing him. After another half-hour, Xander left the room and rushed to Jenny's apartment. When he saw the emergency vehicles and flashing red and blue police lights outside of her building, he knew the worst had happened.
  
  "Fuck," Xander cursed, feeling the pain of his stomach-churning failure.
  
  Rushing to the yellow tape, he saw a distraught Jenny inside an ambulance, crying beside a filled body bag.
  
  "Fuck," he cursed again, feeling great sympathy for her.
  
  As Jenny was surrounded by police, Xander felt confident she would be safe for the night, and after making a mental note to visit her later, he raced back to school. Walking into the library, Willow was the only one who cared enough to walk up to him and quietly ask how Ms. Calendar was. Oz and Cordelia looked up to hear his response while Buffy and Giles continued reading.
  
  Irked by their cold attitude, Xander loudly stated, "How nice of you to ask!" Buffy, Giles, Cordelia, and Oz looked at him as he added, "She's upset, actually! But safe! For now, anyway."
  
  Xander hoped his stern eyes and the passive-aggressive jab conveyed how much he disagreed with their treatment of Jenny. Seemingly still upset over her own loss, Buffy slammed shut the book in front of her and stalked from the library. Xander understood more than anyone how much her mental and emotional state dictated her actions since he had been the same way. So, he couldn't completely criticize her, but he wouldn't stand by and say nothing.
  
  Giles was the biggest disappointment. He was older than the seventeen-year-old Slayer-more intelligent, mature, and easily the wisest of them. Xander understood how much the Englishman loved Jenny and certainly must've felt betrayed-possibly used-by her, but for him to condone kicking her out because she kept her origin and purpose a secret seemed impulsive and unfair. Despite Xander's frustration with his friends, the Scoobies still had the Judge to take care of, and thus he conveyed his idea for defeating the blue demon.
  
  That night, Xander and Cordelia took her car to the army base and broke into the armory. They took what he needed and returned to the gang to meet the Judge in the mall. Unlike previous loops, Xander hadn't given Buffy Slaymore, nor had he planned on being the one to use the M72 LAW shoulder rocket launcher on the Judge. He gave the birthday girl the honor of shouldering the anti-tank weapon and blowing the blue demon to bloody bits. Xander enjoyed his M16A4, shooting plenty of vicious vampires who came too close to them or civilians.
  
  After the explosive warhead met with the Judge, erupting in smoke, fire, and body parts, Buffy impassively jested, "Best present ever."
  
  "Thought you'd like it," Xander remarked, lowering his rifle. "Shame they didn't have your color."
  
  Looking over at the destroyed balcony and the plume of smoke setting off the sprinklers, Buffy spotted Angelus escaping and ordered her friends, "You guys pick up the pieces. Keep 'em separated."
  
  As Buffy chased after Angelus, Cordelia bemoaned, "Pieces? As in body parts? Our job sucks!"
  
  Rather than stay with his friends to collect smoking blue chunks of the Judge, Xander snuck away and followed Buffy. Turning a corner, he spotted the Slayer fighting with Angelus under the shower of the fire sprinklers. After Angelus blocked her one-two punch and countered with a backhand to the face, Xander could tell this was a psychological battle, and that Buffy was losing.
  
  "You know what the worst part was?" Angelus asked the Slayer. "Pretending I loved you." He punched her in the face once again, knocking her to the floor before happily stating, "If I'd known how easily you'd give it up, I wouldn't have bothered."
  
  Buffy got to her feet, and Xander could tell she was trying to ignore his words, but she simply couldn't. The vampire lived in her head as much as her heart. Buffy blitzed, attacking with a mid-kick. His block was useless, however, as she rotated her foot's trajectory to strike his knee, dropping him low enough to elbow him in the chin.
  
  Angelus fell back as Buffy said, "That doesn't work anymore. You're not Angel."
  
  The sinister vampire seemed overjoyed at her defiance and massaged his jaw before claiming, "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" He walked calmly around the Slayer as water rained down on them. Xander watched as the vampire said, "Doesn't matter. The important thing is, you made me the man I am today."
  
  Buffy charged again, and Xander could see the impatience in it.
  
  ' Calm down, Buffy ,' he thought as he watched them battle, though the blonde received the worst of the vicious blows. Their back and forth quickly ended when Angelus punched Buffy hard, sending her through the glass counter behind her. She rolled over in pain before Angelus grabbed her jacket's collar and dragged her through the sharp glass.
  
  "You're not quitting on me already, are you? Come on, Buffy. Show me how much you want it," he leered.
  
  To Xander's surprise, Buffy used one of his jiu-jitsu moves, kicking off the wet floor into a spin, forcing him to bend forward as she kicked his knee. When he hit the ground, she mounted him and wailed on his face with her fists. Xander could see the agony and despair in her punches and imagined they weren't as powerful as they would have been if she were calmer. The more Angelus laughed, the weaker she seemed to become, until she pulled out a stake from her back.
  
  Xander's butthole puckered the instant he thought she would kill Angelus, but then she stalled. Buffy couldn't kill him. Her hand trembled, making Angelus laugh even more before punching her and kicking her off him. The Slayer sluggishly rolled onto her feet but was slow to get up and face the nightmarish monster wearing the face of the man she loved. Then Angelus punched her, sending her back several steps.
  
  An aggravatingly charming smile crossed Angelus' face as he said, "You can't do it. You can't kill me."
  
  Despite the pain in her conflicted expression-possibly tears camouflaged by rain-Buffy threw her stake at him. He easily dodged it, but the opening allowed her to kick him between his legs with all the strength in her super-powered leg. Xander winced as Angelus instantly dropped to his knees, mouth open, and in such extreme agony he couldn't even scream.
  
  "Just give me time," Buffy hoarsely whispered before walking away.
  
  Joining her as they walked back to their friends, Xander remarked, "Slayer-kick to the balls... you definitely inverted something. He's going to be pissing out of his ass for a week."
  
  Buffy wasn't in the mood for humor and simply replied, "I thought I said to pick up chunks of the Smurf reject."
  
  "And miss that beautiful kick? No way," he answered. At her stern yet saddened expression, he asked, "You okay?"
  
  Buffy huffed and, after a moment of hesitation, answered, "I... wish I knew."
  
  Xander simply nodded sympathetically, and the pair returned to help their friends.
  
  Later that night, Xander visited Jenny. She opened the door, and instantly his nose was bombarded with the familiar smell of alcohol. The unbalanced woman leaned against the door frame with a drink in hand and smelled like a distillery. She couldn't be bothered with a glass, and was drinking whiskey straight from the bottle-most of which was gone.
  
  Jenny must've been drinking for hours, as it took her a moment to recognize him. She smiled at him before dragging him into her apartment. She lost her balance pulling him in and he had to wrap his arm around her waist to keep them from falling. Holding her up with ease made her laugh, and she wrapped her free hand around his neck.
  
  Unconcerned with her ability to stand, she asked with a heavy slur of her words, "Pleease tell me you brought annnother tha-thousand scratcher?"
  
  "Ms. Calendar," he tried as he closed the door with a kick.
  
  He struggled to move her to the couch in her living room as she jabbered, "Cuuz tha would really really cheer me'up right now."
  
  Xander had come by to make sure she was alright, but ended up taking care of her until she passed out. Before leaving the slumbering woman, he left her a note next to some aspirin and a glass of water. Rather than call him the following morning, she went to his house later that afternoon. She was suffering from the worst hangover she'd ever had, but explained that she couldn't apologize and thank him over the phone. Xander invited the beautiful teacher inside.
  
  His home was much now that it was February. All the trash, clutter, and old carpets had been thrown out. Xander had mended and restored the furniture that he wanted to keep, and repainted the interior. The hallway Jenny entered now had a wood flooring with dark gray walls-with a Star Wars Poster on it-and a white ceiling. The living room they entered had midnight blue walls with white corner accents, wood flooring, and a dark oak leather couch. All the pictures had white frames. The light entering the space warmed the room, and the bookcase was filled with comics and fantasy books.
  
  They ended up in his kitchen, and Jenny was just as impressed with the room as she was with the others. The cabinets, countertops, and table were dark wood, the walls were gray, and the floor was a light gray tile. The appliances looked old but were cleaned and redone to give them an industrial feel. The impressed teacher looked around the room as Xander prepared some tea for her and hot chocolate for himself.
  
  Pulling out a seat, Jenny sat down as she expressed, "Xander, I am so, so , sorry you had to see me like that."
  
  "It's okay," he said, leaning against the black and steel stove. "You were having a bad one. Happens to all of us."
  
  "Nevertheless, I'm your teacher," she asserted, eying the teen earnestly. "You should never be exposed to that type of behavior from an adult who's supposed to be a beacon of guidance and responsibility."
  
  He smiled as he jested, "If it makes you feel better, I have most of the memories of my eighty-year-old self, so, in a way, I'm older than you."
  
  "That doesn't make me feel better at all and I'm still sorry," she returned, shaking her head.
  
  "I said it's fine."
  
  When the water was boiling, Xander poured the hot water into two mugs. He mixed two tablespoons of cocoa mix into his and dipped two tea bags in hers before covering it. He set their drinks down on the kitchen table, and she nodded in gratitude.
  
  The sexy gypsy looked nervous as she blew on her steaming beverage before hesitantly asking, "Did I do anything... weird?"
  
  He instantly knew what she was asking, but thought to enjoy himself a little. Xander quirked his brow as he repeated, "Weird?"
  
  Jenny cleared her throat, then nodded before specifying, "Anything I shouldn't have?"
  
  Xander shrugged, replying, "Just typical drunk stuff."
  
  "Yeah, but, ahem , nothing inappropriate, right?"
  
  The teen looked at her seriously as he stated, "I didn't take advantage of you, if that's what-"
  
  "No! No, I- I know that," she quickly assured him, setting the hot mug down and putting a hand up. "It's just... I can get a little... affectionate when I'm drunk."
  
  Playing acting in realization, Xander moaned, "Oooh! Well, yeah, I guess you were a little touchy-feely. And that's definitely the first time a teacher's kissed me." Jenny clapped her face with both hands and groaned in renewed shame, making Xander laugh on the inside. She hadn't actually tried to kiss him, but he just couldn't help teasing her. "Nothing serious happened," he assured her. "Also, the kiss tasted like vomit, so don't think, like, I enjoyed it or anything."
  
  "Please, stop," she begged, hiding her face from sheer embarrassment. "Just... don't say anymore."
  
  Restraining the urge to smile, Xander moved closer to her to explain, "Ms. Calendar, I came by to make sure you were okay." Jenny turned to him as he added, "Your uncle died and the gang seriously dropped the ball in the sympathy department. Nobody's perfect. You're allowed to lose your head a little."
  
  When she was seconds from breaking down, he moved his chair beside hers and hugged her. Jenny held him back and sobbed into his shoulder, mourning her loss. Xander knew she just needed a break, and let her cry it out until their drinks had gotten cold. After pulling back, they looked into each other's eyes and Xander saw that line of intimate possibilities spark between them. In her state, he easily felt they could take comfort and pleasure in each other-even if it was only once-but he refused to cross that boundary again. Xander pulled away and gave her a grand smile instead. Jenny smiled back and looked a mixture of grateful, aroused, and embarrassed.
  
  The teenage boy moved his chair away and drank some of his now tepid chocolate. Jenny took a sip of tea as he explained, "You know, besides making sure you were okay, I went by your place last night because I wanted to tell you something else."
  
  Setting down her mug, she asked, "What's that?"
  
  "My older self doesn't remember everything about this time, but one thing he does remember was Angel living in LA."
  
  "Fantastic," she huffed in disbelief. "He moves his shop of horrors to the City of Angels?"
  
  "No, not Angelus," Xander corrected. "Angel. Angel moves to LA."
  
  Turning to him as her hungover brain picked up the train of thought, she asked, "Are you saying he can turn back?"
  
  With a casual nod, he answered, "If these memories are right, then yeah."
  
  "Have you told-" Jenny stopped herself to think a moment before rephrasing her question. "Does Giles not want to see me? Is that why he asked you to tell me?"
  
  "He doesn't know I went to see you," he answered. "Neither does Buffy."
  
  "Then-"
  
  "I wanted to tell you first because your people were the ones that originally cursed him," he said. "So, if there's anyone that could figure out how to bring Angel back, I'm sure it's you."
  
  Jenny looked at him, touched by his confidence in her. It gave her the courage to ask, "Aren't you curious to know about my past? My people?"
  
  Xander shook his head, stating, "I don't need your autobiography. We've fought enough monsters together for me to know you're a good person."
  
  With a smiling huff, Jenny cheerily remarked, "You're a really nice guy, Xander."
  
  "Hopefully not too nice," he joked. "They're cursed for all eternity to finish last with the ladies."
  
  Leaning in, she insisted, "Only the smart ones will see how great of a catch you are."
  
  As they finished their drinks, Jenny asked about the decor, having never seen such professional and stylish work done. They made small talk about his house until they finished their drinks and she excused herself, thanking him before leaving. As she drove away, Xander was certain she was going to start decoding the re-ensouling ritual the second she was home, not just for herself, but likely for her uncle and clan, as well.
  
  The following day, Xander came by Buffy's house with a long black case in hand. After ringing the doorbell, Joyce let him in, whom he greeted warmly. As the beautiful mother called for her daughter, Xander noted the squeaky front door and offered to fix it for her.
  
  "Oh, no, you don't have to do that," she graciously assured him.
  
  "It's fine, Mrs. S," he replied, swiveling the door back and forth to locate the source of the squeaking. "I fix stuff around the house all the time. I'm pretty used to it."
  
  As she watched him observe the top hinge, she asked, "Are you sure?"
  
  "Positive," he answered. "It's better than paying a handyman a hundred bucks for ten minutes' worth of work."
  
  Taken aback by his offer, she gratefully answered, "Well... okay. That would be a big help, actually. Thank you, Xander."
  
  They heard Buffy come down the stairs, and she looked miserable, as if all the warmth in the world had disappeared. At the sad state of the beautiful girl, Xander remarked, "That right there is one sad puppy."
  
  "I'll bring you both some lemonade," Joyce offered before leaving.
  
  "Hey," the disheartened girl greeted.
  
  Xander could empathize, and returned a small smile before stating, "So, I made a mistake."
  
  "There's a lot of that going around," Buffy somberly commented. "Come on," she said, waving him up.
  
  She turned, and he followed her upstairs to her room. Buffy was throwing away empty Kleenix boxes and balled-up tissues as he walked in. The curtains were closed and if not for the lamp on her nightstand, the room would've been dark. It reminded him of when he'd had his heart broken-by her-and he'd stayed in his room for loops on end. Ignoring the depressive scene, Xander set his black case on her desk.
  
  "I won't stay long," he said, unlocking the case's clasps. "I just came to make up for my awful choice of birthday presents."
  
  "I got to shoot a bazooka," she told him as she eyed the black case. She offhandedly added, "Pretty much the best gift I've ever gotten."
  
  Xander turned and smiled as he said, "Well, I want to give you something a little more lifelong than ' push button, make boom .'" Xander stepped back and extended his hand, insinuating that she open it. Though glum, the pretty blonde focused on the hardcover case as she walked over. With little delay, she opened it to see Slaymore within.
  
  The weaponsmith felt proud when he noted the Slayer's stunned face. The moment Buffy picked up her sword, he turned away, expecting the brilliant light to brighten her dark room. Buffy shielded her eyes from the sword's intense luminance as it bonded with her.
  
  After the light disappeared, Xander said, "Sorry. Forgot to warn you."
  
  However, she hadn't truly heard him. Buffy unsheathed Slaymore and held up the gorgeous double-edged sword. Its overall length was 40 inches, 32 inches of which was a razor-sharp edge of pattern-welded blade. Xander had used copper in the folding to produce the star pattern in the black steel and had etched the celestial runes for 'Exalted Power: Holy Warrior.' The guard and pommel were made of a zinc alloy with silver and gold plating from the Du Lac Cross and the Glove of Myhnegon. Though Buffy was downcast over losing Angel, she seemed genuinely surprised by the God-tier weapon.
  
  "Buffy, meet Slaymore," Xander introduced. "It works a lot like my axe."
  
  With raised eyebrows, she asked, "Lightning included?"
  
  "Sorry, no lightning," he replied with a wince. "But Slaymore is way better at killing vampires than Dreadnought."
  
  "Really?"
  
  Nodding, he claimed, "Like holy water, a cross, and a stake somehow made a beautiful killer baby together." She was looking at the weapon forlornly, and Xander knew she was thinking of Angel. "Here," he said before taking the sword and moving to the other end of the room. "Call Slaymore to you, and really mean it; like wanting a best friend when times are tough." Buffy took a moment to clear her thoughts, extended her hand, and Slaymore flew straight into her grasp, as it always had. "You've made another BFF, Buff."
  
  "Thanks, Xander," she solemnly expressed. Looking from the sword to her friend, she added, "I love it. I know it doesn't sound like it right now, but I really do."
  
  Xander walked over and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her with comforting warmth as he said, "It's okay, Buffy. I know you're in a world of hurt right now, and I hate that this is happening to you." Buffy hugged him back as he added, "But you have people on your side who love you and will always be here for you. Bonus: Slaymore can kill just about anything that tries coming after you." Buffy snorted at that. "Giles and I can handle slaying. Take all the time you need."
  
  "Thanks, Xander," she murmured against his chest.
  
  They pulled back enough to stare into each other's eyes, and though he recognized a charged moment between them, he understood himself better and knew that it wasn't appropriate. She was grieving, hurting like her ribs were broken and every breath hurt-but more importantly, he loved her like a cherished friend and cared more about her emotional state than anything else. Xander's fingertips teasingly caressed the tip of her nose in a downward motion, startling her out of her funk.
  
  He backed away before promising, "See you tomorrow." Grabbing the case, he stopped at the door, turning to suggest, "And give Willow a call. She's the undisputed champ of helping people feel better."
  
  "I will," she gratefully replied. Before he left, she called, "And Xander? You're not so bad yourself."
  
  With a smirk and a wink, he replied, "Obviously," making Buffy grin and shake her head after he left.
  
  -
  
  The night before a full moon, Xander was patrolling with Cordelia rather than doing other things with her in her bed. He was dressed in his Nox gear and his eyes glowed with an orange-brown color. He finally had Hellguard at his lower back and Dreadnought was in his hand. Cordelia was dressed in black jeans, boots, and a lilac dress shirt under a black trench coat tied at her waist. She'd have looked incredibly sexy if the outfit didn't remind him of something Angel might wear.
  
  Though Giles and Willow were also patrolling, the group had split up into pairs. Xander and Cordelia had been arguing about their relationship's status. Xander was reaching his breaking point, and Cordelia couldn't seem to understand that.
  
  With some frustration, Xander asked, "Dinner and a movie with me is too much, but patrolling the cemetery for the undead to kill is fine?"
  
  From behind him, Cordelia asked, "What's your point?"
  
  Xander stopped walking and turned to her, stating, "It's been two months already." Cordelia seemed irritated by the topic as he added, "We've done a lot of the physical stuff, but none of the romantic stuff."
  
  "Why do you keep bringing that up?" she demanded. "Why can't you be like a normal guy and enjoy sex with the hottest girl in school, no strings attached?"
  
  "Because you deserve better than that, Cor!" he exclaimed. She crossed her arms as he added, "And I do, too! I want to take you out to dinner and a movie. I want to show you where I work. I want to hold hands, be your Valentine, cook for you, make you feel special & loved, and do all of that boyfriend stuff. I don't want to hold back because we're in public or keep lying to my friends because you don't want anyone to know."
  
  "Why?" she hurled back. "What's the point of being a couple when we're just going to break up?"
  
  " See?! " he yelled. "This is exactly why I don't tell you guys what goes down in our twenties and thirties, because then it becomes this standard by which you base all your current decisions on. If I hadn't told you about us, we'd be dating- in public -right now."
  
  "But you did! You did tell me!" she hotly contested. The riled-up girl yelled back, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I don't want to break up with you when it's so obvious how much it'll hurt!"
  
  Xander settled down to hear her admit that. Of course she'd want to avoid unnecessary heartache, but it meant more that she'd love him so much, she'd rather not start anything for fear of life after such a union. Cordelia must've realized what she said and looked away, taking a step back. Xander grabbed her hand and pulled her in, taking her other hand as he gazed into her eyes.
  
  "Yeah, it'll suck for a while-I get that," he admitted. "I'm not looking forward to that either, but I'm still going to love you and be there for you, even if we're not a couple anymore. We'll still be Xander & Cordelia. Just... with less nudity." His hands cupped her cheeks as he once again proposed, "Come on. Let's do the romance stuff. Let's be a couple."
  
  Even in the moonlight, her cheeks blushed as she mumbled, "I can't believe you'd rather be my boyfriend when I'm completely onboard with just a sex friend. You have to be the weirdest boy ever."
  
  "Weird for you," he replied, already feeling her answer, even if she didn't say it.
  
  He leaned down and kissed her. Cordelia happily returned the kiss when they heard a twig snap. They broke away before spotting Willow fifteen feet away. Her eyes and mouth were wide open in disbelief, and pain was etched on her face. The only thing that interrupted that incredibly awkward moment was a distant howl echoing across the night sky. Xander knew what that meant, and, adding to his unease, Willow chose that moment to run away. With a frustrated groan, Xander took Cordelia's hand and ran after his best friend. Only when they ran into Giles did Xander leave Cordelia with him and enhanced his speed to catch up to Willow.
  
  Once he caught up to the redhead, he grabbed her hand, stopping her as he called out, "Come on, Will!"
  
  The upset redhead pulled her hand away, whirling on him as she yelled, "I knew it! I knew it! Well, not ' knew it ' in the sense of having the slightest idea, but I knew there was something I didn't know. You two were fighting way too much. It's not natural."
  
  Rather than staying out in the open cemetery, Xander picked Willow up and started walking back toward Giles and Cordelia. Fortunately, they weren't far.
  
  "Let go of me," she yelled as she pushed at his strong shoulder and arm.
  
  As he noted Giles and Cordelia running toward them, Xander lamely admitted, "Look, I know it's weird."
  
  "Weird?" Willow repeated, eying him as if he were crazy. "It's against all the laws of God and man! That's Cordelia! Remember? From the ' We Hate Cordelia Club?! '"
  
  Walking toward them, Cordelia asked with more surprise than hurt, "You had a haters club for me?"
  
  Sitting up as best she could in Xander's arms, Willow proclaimed, "Of which he was treasurer!"
  
  "Can we not do this-" Xander tried, but was tired of her squirming and gently set her down. "Willow! Look, I was gonna tell you."
  
  Stunned, the hurt girl returned, "Gee, what stopped you? Could it be shame?"
  
  "All right! I get it!" he asserted. "Can we please focus on the werewolf right now? There'll be plenty of time for you to yell at me later."
  
  "Werewolf?" Giles repeated with growing concern.
  
  "Yeah," Xander answered. "Did you not hear that howling? Werewolf. Sounds like it was coming from Make Out Lane. I'm going to go ahead-"
  
  "How convenient!" Willow heatedly interjected.
  
  " We 'll talk later ," Xander emphatically stated, assuring her with stern eyes. "Right now, I want everyone to stick together and try not to get bit."
  
  Xander ran to his bike and raced to Make Out Lane, running red lights and speeding off-road to the popular make-out spot. The werewolf was where it typically hunted, and he got there just as it was clawing and peeling metal off the roof of a car to get at the terrified meals within. Xander raced toward the beast and just as it opened a big enough hole to stick its head in to satisfy its hunger, he stabbed it in the leg with a wooden dagger, easily getting its attention. Xander skidded to a stop a safe distance away and revved his motorcycle, glaring at the supernatural predator while giving the beast a new target to hunt. The feral beast pulled out the wooden knife and roared at the teenage nuisance before hopping off the car and giving chase.
  
  Xander spun his tires, kicking up chunks of earth before darting off and away from the innocent civilians. The werewolf chased after him, and Xander stayed close enough to be too tantalizing of a meal to pass up. When the raven-haired teen was confident they were far enough away, he slid the bike to a stop and leaped off in one fluid motion. Extending his hand, Dreadnought flew off of the bike and into his hand. Spinning it so that he was leading his attacks with the blunt butt of the battleaxe, Xander was prepared to fight the paranormal beast without killing him all night if he had to.
  
  The running beast lunged at him, leading with its dangerously sharp claws and following with its large maw full of sharp teeth. Enhancing his speed, strength, agility, and endurance for maximum performance, Xander raised his battleaxe and braced for impact. Like an unstoppable force smashing into an immovable object, Xander's feet cratered the earth as he was moved back several feet, but he had the strength to hold firm as the werewolf's claws and fangs caught the ends and middle of his three-foot weapon. With his incredibly heightened strength, Xander held it back as it tried to chomp on his head.
  
  "Sorry, Oz," he groaned as he suddenly pulled in, landing on the dirt back-first and kicking the beast in the stomach, sending it flying with the momentum. Xander had let go of Dreadnought as it was flung and before it could toss his weapon aside, he sent thousands of volts of electricity into the feral beast.
  
  The werewolf was stunned for several seconds before Xander ceased the shock attack and called Dreadnought back. The beast was steaming and disoriented and twitchy when Xander made his followup attack. He hit the werewolf with the blunt end of his battleaxe, which kept it from recovering. For the next several hours, Xander had it on the run, but, eventually, it regained enough of its senses to attack him.
  
  It must've realized the dangers his axe caused and avoided it as often as possible. The werewolf used its longer reach to swipe at him, and Xander could block or avoid most of them. However, the claws were always close enough to rip his jacket to ribbons, making him wish he had his armor-wear.
  
  ' It 's on the list after Ordermír ,' he thought.
  
  For another few hours, Xander chased the beast, avoiding its series of claw swipes, and chased it again, since it seemed to realize how big of a threat the teen warrior posed. He was injured a few times, mostly in the arms, except for one slash across the cheek and a deep cut to the abdomen. Even still, he continued chasing the werewolf, making certain Oz didn't kill anyone.
  
  Towards the end of the night-long battle, Xander was trailing the supernatural wolf's tracks when Buffy found him. He was limping and clutching at his heavily bleeding abdomen. At the horrible sight of his injuries, she demanded they stop, but he insisted they keep following the wolf.
  
  "Xander you have to stop or you'll bleed out!" she desperately called.
  
  "It's fine," he groaned, wincing at the tightening of his gut to speak. "I just need... a few minutes."
  
  "No," Buffy growled.
  
  However, he wasn't stopping. "We can't let it- g-get away."
  
  Grabbing both of his shoulders, she wouldn't allow him to move another inch, and fiercely asserted, "I'll track, you stay!"
  
  At the intensity of her serious eyes, Xander obliged. He rested against a tree as Buffy tracked the werewolf. After a few minutes, his slashed skin finally sealed up, and he continued following the trail of broken branches Buffy had made. He finally caught up to her thirty minutes before dawn, watching the werewolf lay down in a small clearing, seemingly for the remainder of the change. Xander jogged back several miles to get his bike and returned just as the sun broke the horizon.
  
  Buffy was stunned to see the werewolf was Oz. Xander lent him his torn and bloody jacket, since it was better than nothing, and when he returned to his bike, Buffy asked him if he knew.
  
  Xander was honest and said, "I sort of forgot."
  
  "How can you forget something so huge?!" she whispered.
  
  "I mean, he's so chill about it, we almost don't even notice," Xander answered. "Plus, he lives in Tibet later on, so it's not like Old Me saw him often."
  
  Buffy seemed to accept that, and once Oz was ready, the three walked back in silence. Oz was contemplating his life from that point forward. Buffy was worried about both Oz and Xander, since he was lethargically pushing his bike beside them, giving his body more time to heal from the worst of the werewolf's feral attacks. Eventually, they came upon a road, and when Xander felt ready to give Oz a lift home, they were found by Giles, Willow, and Cordelia.
  
  Willow was in shock to see Xander-with his bloodied midsection-and Oz, naked but for the bloody jacket he was wearing. Cordelia rushed to Xander and was relieved when she saw that his six-pack stomach only had a pink line where there was once a deep gash. Willow had taken off her sweater and given it to Oz for more modesty.
  
  With a trace amount of nervousness, Oz smiled weakly as he told Willow, "I guess I'm a werewolf."
  
  "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" the anxious redhead asked.
  
  "I'm alright," Oz reassured her, hugging her before turning to Xander. "I'm more worried about Xander."
  
  "The bonehead," an annoyed Buffy remarked, likely aggravated he'd put his life on the line battling a werewolf.
  
  Mildly glaring at Cordelia and Xander, an irate Willow rebuked, "Oh, I'm sure he'll be alright! He's done crazier!"
  
  Looking between the three in confusion, Buffy asked, "Am I missing something?"
  
  Oz leaned over as he casually noted, "Feeling a bit of that myself."
  
  Walking up to Oz, Giles offered him a blanket from his car as he told the teenagers, "There is no teenage melodrama more important than Oz's current state."
  
  Buffy perked up and curiously asked, "Melodrama? Who? What? When? How? Tell me!"
  
  Willow answered all of Buffy's queries with, " Xander and Cordelia are dating! "
  
  Buffy's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she turned to her male best friend. Xander raised his gaze to the morning sky, as if praying to Higher Being Cordelia for patience, while Very Much Mortal Cordelia just shook her head and crossed her arms, effortlessly handling the attention.
  
  Even Oz commented, "That's... unexpected."
  
  Ignoring the teenage soap opera playing out before him, Giles turned to Xander and asked, "Xander, are you okay?
  
  "Obviously, he's suffering from serious emotional problems," Willow continued to vent.
  
  Xander sighed at how hurt Willow was, but answered Giles by shaking his head.
  
  With a wide, knowing grin, an eager Buffy asked Xander, "Since when has this been a thing?"
  
  Giles pleaded, "Children, please, can we focus on the one person who truly requires our attention?" The Watcher turned to Oz and led him to his car. "Come along, Mr. Osbourne," he reiterated.
  
  "You can call me Oz," the chill teen offered.
  
  Willow followed them, giving Xander one last irritated look of disappointment.
  
  As they watch Giles drive away, Cordelia huffed audibly before reminding Xander, "And you wanted to tell them... Aren't you glad we kept it from your friends?"
  
  The thoroughly entertained Buffy asked, "For how long?"
  
  As he had just about enough of everything that didn't involve getting some much-needed sleep, Xander replied, "I'm going home."
  
  He walked over to his bike, and the girls followed him.
  
  "You want to ride your motorcycle when you're obviously hurt?" Cordelia asked incredulously. "Uh, did you hit your head while you were fighting the werewolf?"
  
  "Yeah, I did," he answered, clipping Dreadnought to the bike's side. "But, I'm dating you, so, let's not chalk up my crazy decisions to fighting off a werewolf."
  
  "I'm following you home," she asserted before walking to her car.
  
  Fearful at the thought of Cordelia driving behind him, he pleaded, "Just... don't hit me!"
  
  Buffy joined Cordelia as she drove behind Xander to his house. Tired, Xander haphazardly took off his blood-stained clothes halfway to his room, took a quick shower, then passed out on his bed. When he woke up, he was bewildered to discover Buffy and Cordelia were still there. He could hear them talking and couldn't help enhancing his hearing to eavesdrop.
  
  Buffy was saying, "Maybe we should just go back to uncomfortable silence."
  
  "Don't pretend you don't want to know," Cordelia's voice replied.
  
  "I don't! I don't! He's one of my best friends," Buffy rebuffed. "Thinking about him like that-"
  
  "Isn't going to suddenly change the way you feel about him," Cordelia interjected as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "This isn't porno-logic. Can't you just ask me? I haven't been able to tell anyone for weeks!"
  
  "I thought you didn't want anyone to know."
  
  "Yeah, before ," Cordelia clarified. "Now that you all know, I need to tell someone how good he is-"
  
  "Uuaagh, Cordelia. I'm really not-"
  
  "Fine! Whatever," she hotly rebuked. "We always have to know about your drama, but no one ever wants to hear about what's going on with me."
  
  Xander could feel Buffy's sullen silence from the second floor and promptly walked downstairs to the kitchen. He noted they were wearing different outfits, meaning they'd gone home and returned at some point.
  
  Grabbing a bowl from the cupboard, he asked, "You guys are still here?"
  
  Cordelia casually informed him, "She wants you to take off your shirt."
  
  "I- I don't," a flustered Buffy told the brunette before clarifying to Xander, "I don't. I just- Giles wanted me to make sure you weren't bitten."
  
  "I'm not, but..."
  
  Xander shrugged and took off his shirt, letting Buffy see his ripped muscles. Though lean, every major muscle group-chest, abs, shoulders, biceps, neck, and back-popped imposingly. He spread his arms and slowly turned around, letting the blonde get an eyeful of muscles that only had a right to be on ripped Olympic athletes.
  
  She snapped out of her reverie when he asked, "See anything?"
  
  Dumbstruck by his physique, she stuttered to answer, "Uh, n-no. You're really- ...You're good." Xander put his shirt back on, hearing a disappointed 'aww' from Cordelia.
  
  Despite her blushing cheeks, Buffy pushed on to ask, "Now you can explain to me what the hell possessed you to take on a werewolf by yourself?"
  
  "Exactly," an equally upset Cordelia chimed in, eying him accusatorily.
  
  At the sight of their combined aggravation toward him, Xander cleared his throat before cautiously answering, "I- er, Old Me recognized the howl." While still lying to them, it helped the time looper to know that, in a sense, the old version of him did recognize the sound of a werewolf's howl. "He fought plenty of werewolves, so I felt I could too. Plus, I didn't want anyone to get hurt."
  
  "And I don't want you getting hurt!" Buffy once again asserted.
  
  " We ," Cordelia corrected with a stern look toward Buffy. "We don't want that."
  
  Xander sat at the table and eyed the both of them as he said, "Buffy, I'm going to keep going out there, whether you like it or not. But I promise you- I promise both of you, I'll be as careful as humanly possible. We can spar and train, or whatever, as much as you want, so you're comfortable, but I'm not stopping."
  
  Buffy and Cordelia seemed resigned to accept his decision, and the three had lunch before he grabbed his tools-for some repairs at the Summers' home-and gave the blonde a lift back to her house.
  
  Two nights later, Buffy and Xander broke into one of Sunnydales' many funeral homes to investigate the death of a classmate. Xander knew it wasn't Theresa, since he had saved her from Angelus by giving her a ride home on his motorcycle. Opening the casket, they were saddened to see Theresa's friend, Monica. They saw the fang holes on her neck and knew that a vampire had drained her, but Xander couldn't be sure if it was Angelus.
  
  Suddenly, Monica opened her eyes and immediately attacked Buffy. The Slayer fought the young vampire with ease until she mentioned how much Angel still loved her. Buffy instantly froze, and Monica would've bitten her if Xander hadn't staked her from behind. He kneeled to check on his friend, and she quickly wrapped her arms around him, clutching at his shirt.
  
  Xander could feel her trembling. Buffy was hurt and scared, and he gave her the most comforting hug he could manage. Through the power of his ring, he raised his body temperature to warm her up as he held her. He simply wanted to be a stabilizing force for her, because he understood how it felt when the world was yanked from underfoot.
  
  After many moments, Buffy eased her hold and leaned back, gazing gratefully into his eyes. They were so close and he was so warm, her eyes changed. Her pupils dilated, making her greenish-blue eyes seem larger. She swallowed and her eyes flicked to his lips. Xander leaned forward, close enough to kiss, but rather than touch her soft lips, he gently pressed his forehead to hers.
  
  "It's alright, Buffy," he softly told her. "You're going to get through this. It may not feel that way right now, but trust me. I know you." He cupped her heart-shaped face as he gently expressed, "You're the strongest girl I've ever met. And if anyone can handle this, it's the girl that puts the world on her shoulders, and keeps us all safe every night."
  
  Buffy once again hugged Xander desperately as her tears overflowed, streaming down her cheeks and onto his shoulder.
  
  No author's note today. Too tired. Will update next week.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay tree on is on the site dot_com /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content on there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :) I also got a cashapp($GraeFoxx) for those who'd like to tip once.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  I hope you all enjoyed the read. Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Valentine's Hostage
  Yay to another Sunday release!
  
  Welcome back fellow readers. Glad to have you!
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Thanks guys :)
  
  Warning: Foul language, and mild violence.
  
  7.3K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Valentine's Hostage
  
  During January's phone call with Faith, Xander delved into the mysterious forces of evil, revealing to her the existence of vampires, demons, and monsters, and shared with her his encounters with many of them. Of course, she didn't believe him, but whether she did or not, that wasn't what was important. All that mattered was that he was upfront about that unbelievable fact and that they were talking semi-regularly. Moreover, the pair enjoyed goofing off and going on tangents that had them laughing by the end. Faith asked if vampire leprechauns were real because she'd once mixed Count Chocula and Lucky Charms; and wondered if a werewolf on the moon would remain that way indefinitely.
  
  February's phone call was the longest yet, and Xander-not typically a fan of long phone conversations-found himself speaking with Faith for over an hour and a half without even noticing the time. With their matching dark sense of humor, he found it was effortless. Xander shared with her the forces of good; such as Slayers, Watchers, positive magic-wielders, and magic in many of its forms. Faith was once again unconvinced but enjoyed his story-telling ability, as well as the money he sent. To Xander's amusement, she made fun of everything, calling a witch that was both good and bad 'bi-hexual,' and even shared her own form of magic: making boneless things hard and other things wet without water. It was more sexual than Xander expected, but he laughed all the same.
  
  With a touch of self-deprecating humor, Xander quipped, "Compared to that, my magic's pretty lame."
  
  "What's that?"
  
  "Annoying one person for the rest of our lives in holy matrimony," he joshed.
  
  "Shii, my magic's definitely better," Faith guffawed. "Do you know why marriage is like a fart?"
  
  "Who do you think you're talking to?" a playfully cocky Xander asked. "It's like a fart because if you have to force it, it's probably shit."
  
  They both laughed, relishing in the freedom to joke without thinking of their burdens in life. After another twenty minutes of joking around, Xander stated how he had to go, and Faith couldn't help but reply, "Oh... okay. Uh, before you do... I still don't understand how any of this is related to me or how you, specifically, know me."
  
  "Oooh, I'm afraid that's all the time we have folks. Stay tuned for more-"
  
  "Oh, you motherfucker!" she interjected.
  
  He laughed before stating, "The next one's going to be real juicy. Promise."
  
  -
  
  As a condition for going public with their relationship, Xander agreed to let Cordelia revamp his wardrobe. But even with his improved fashion on top of his popular custom motorcycle, Cordelia couldn't shake the judgmental looks from the school's elite class and her own Cordettes. As soon as they walked down a crowded hallway hand in hand, it was as if a switch had been flipped and everyone was staring at them with shock and disapproval.
  
  Xander was unfazed by the gossip and unwanted attention, even from Willow and Buffy. He proudly showed Buffy the gift he'd made for Cordelia while they were out on patrol. It was the golden Draupnir ring he'd always made. He hadn't explained how it duplicated every nine days, but he was curious to know if Buffy thought Cordelia would like it. The hesitant blonde couldn't offer an opinion.
  
  "It's... pretty," Buffy observed. "But it's Cordelia. I have no idea. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the two of you dating."
  
  Xander acknowledged, "I mean, yeah, we don't have a lot in common, but we have the stuff that matters."
  
  Kindly, Buffy replied, "Well, then, I'm sure she'll be happy with the gift."
  
  Putting away the golden ring, Xander asked, "How are you holding up?"
  
  "I'm holding," Buffy replied with a smile that Xander didn't believe was genuine. "I was going on close to two minutes there without thinking about Angel."
  
  "I get that," Xander offered. "Getting your heart broken can feel like going through withdrawals. The bigger the love, the harder it hurts."
  
  As Buffy gazed at Xander, he could see the gears turning in her head, as she processed his words. Her expression was one of surprise, but he couldn't be sure if it was because she didn't expect him to understand what she was going through or because she didn't want to talk about Angel with him.
  
  Hesitantly, Buffy asked, "How... do you..." Before she could finish expressing her thoughts, she seemed to change her mind and put up a brave face again, joking, "I bet you didn't even get the shakes when you got over me."
  
  Xander snorted, thinking, ' Oh, if only you knew! '
  
  After everything he'd gone through due to his twisted misunderstanding of love, Xander could only look at Buffy with a sense of acceptance. They let the topic drop there, and though the rest of the night felt strange, Xander didn't mind. The only girl he was worried about was Cordelia, since they had only been public for a few days and she wasn't handling it well.
  
  The following day, pressure from Harmony, and the other popular cliques, made Cordelia change her mind about going public. They all shared wide-spreading belief that Cordelia Chase-consistently the most popular girl since middle school-was committing social suicide by dating geek-extraordinaire Xander Harris. He hadn't been able to spend time with her all day, and after school, she asked to talk. The anxious cheerleader pulled Xander into an empty classroom and pleaded with him to deny they were together.
  
  Though his heart ached with disappointment, Xander understood Cordelia's predicament and tried to ease her nerves, stating, "Cor, the cat's already out of the bag and there's no putting it back. But it's going to be okay. We can get through this. We don't need other people's opinions to be good together."
  
  "Look," the tense Cordelia exclaimed, roughly tucking her loose hair behind her ear. "We can still be together... Let's just do it where no one can see us. I mean, we're not voyeurs. And why bring other people down around Valentine's by flaunting our happy relationship?"
  
  Xander could see the clear desperation in Cordelia's eyes as she longed to have her popularity back, reminding Xander of what he had told Buffy about withdrawals the night before. He tried to stay composed on the outside, but on the inside, he knew he shouldn't feel disappointed in her. She was seventeen and hadn't gone through nearly the amount of growing pains he had. It wasn't right to expect a certain level of maturity without the work necessary to attain it, but he still felt sad. Xander gently took her right hand and slid the replicating golden ring he'd made for her onto her ring finger.
  
  At her curious and stunned expression, he explained, "That was going to be your Valentine's Day gift. Made it myself." He then explained how the ring duplicated every nine days-allowing her to melt and sell the gold-before softly expressing, "If you're too embarrassed to be with me, then we can't be together."
  
  He kissed her on the cheek before walking out of the classroom.
  
  News of their breakup spread like wildfire, and for the next two days, half the popular cliques in the school either openly mocked him for shooting out of his league, while the other half were content to talk about him behind his back. Xander didn't mind, and could casually go about his day. Buffy and Willow were sympathetic and offered to cheer him up by taking him to the Bronze.
  
  He'd rather not, but Buffy asked, "Come on, misery loves company. Let's do ours together."
  
  Willow felt compelled to add, "Uh, well, I'm not actually miserable, on account of, you know, my boyfriend Oz, but I can still come, can't I? Oz is playing and, and, I'm really good at channeling my inner misery. It'll be like I've never felt happiness in my entire life."
  
  Xander snorted in amusement and decided to go. Sadly, they happened to go on a night that Cordelia and the Cordettes went. He should've expected it-what with it being so close to Valentine's Day. The popular dance club was decorated with red, pink, and black balloons, streamers, and many heart-shaped cutouts. Cordelia was on the dance floor, dancing with her shallow friends and some older guys. She wore her sexiest black dress that accentuated her ass, showed plenty of her toned legs, and offered plenty of cleavage-Xander's favorite.
  
  She stopped dancing the moment their eyes locked, and he could see the regret-the longing-but fierce determination in her brown eyes. Xander might be strong of mind, but he certainly didn't want to see Cordelia dancing with a bunch of guys all night, and bid his friends good night.
  
  "Are you sure?" the concerned Buffy asked. "Oh! How about movies at my place? Mom won't be home 'til later. We can storm the pantry for sugary treats."
  
  "As much as I enjoy a good gorging, I'll pass this time," Xander replied. "You guys should have fun, though. Say 'hi' to Oz for me."
  
  Xander went home and changed into his Nox gear, hoping to slay some vampires, or just find anything to hit. Sadly, he found nothing to kill by his fifth cemetery, feeling extra rejected when even blood-sucking monsters wouldn't attack him. As he stomped through the cemetery, Dreadnought in hand and ready, Xander dreaded a lonely Valentine's Day. He was surprised, however, when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him. Drawing in his brows in curiosity, he ran through a patch of trees, and on the other side, in a clearing under the moonlight, he saw Joyce Summers.
  
  "Mrs. S?" he questioned as she walked onto the path between two lines of smaller mausoleums
  
  Xander stilled when he noted three men walking out from behind the mausoleums on either side of the scared mother. Two very large vampires walked right behind Joyce, and Spike stepped forward. The blond-haired menace jovially brought a knife up to her neck-making her shiver a moment in fright-as he looked at Xander with a cocksure grin. The threat was obvious, and typically, Xander wouldn't become overly worried. However, unbeknownst to Spike, Xander's determination to save Joyce was equal to his determination not to loop back via killing Spike.
  
  ' Held hostage by the one guy I can't kill ,' he frustratingly thought.
  
  "You know the drill," Spike said, pressing the blade harder against Joyce's skin, making her shudder and try to move away. Sadly, the larger demons held her in place. "Toss it here," the blond ordered, looking at the large battleaxe in Xander's hand.
  
  The teen warrior made a show of drawing the axe behind him, as if to throw it at his enemies, but reluctantly thought better of that action, and simply tossed it. Xander would never risk Joyce's life, but he needed to touch Hellguard at his lower back and make it-in addition to his ring-invisible. Xander tossed Dreadnought. The heavy weapon landed and skidded several yards to a stop in front of the kidnappers.
  
  The English vampire approached the magical weapon with a sneer, and attempted to lift it off the ground. To Spike's immense surprise and amusement, no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't even budge it. In his strenuous pulling, his fingers slipped, and he sprung up so fast he nearly lost his balance.
  
  "Bloody hell!" the astonished vampire called. "You really can't lift the thing."
  
  From behind him, Spike's vampire thug asked, "Can I try, boss?"
  
  Turning, Spike nodded and moved aside as he said, "Go on then, Curly. Give 'er a whirl."
  
  The 6'5" 280 lb vampire with a baby face moved around Joyce to the weapon and rubbed his hands before attempting to pick it. They watched the groaning Curly try to pick it up while Xander focused on the meaner-looking vampire holding the knife to Joyce's neck. Despite the large vampire's supernatural strength, Dreadnought would not be moved by anything without a soul.
  
  Curly strained to lift it so incredibly hard, Spike felt compelled to warn him, "Don't pull your back out, now." Curly ceased his futile attempts before their boss turned to the second vampire and asked, "Moe?" With the knife to Joyce's throat, the scowling Moe shook his head. "No? Right then." Spike looked at Joyce and said, "Go on then, mum. Let's see what you've got."
  
  A trembling Joyce looked like she was holding in how terrified she was as she turned to the blond vampire, confused.
  
  "Pick it up," Spike slowly instructed the scared woman.
  
  Cautiously-as if she wasn't sure if they wouldn't just kill her if she moved-Joyce took a step forward. "There you are, darlin'," Spike encouraged. "Just a few more steps, then pick it up."
  
  The anxious mother warily moved to the weapon. When she grabbed it, Xander thought he might be able to pull the woman to him upon calling Dreadnought, but there was no guarantee she'd hold on and with Moe-a constant threat to her jugular vein-right beside her, he didn't want to take the risk. Though it took more muscle to lift the heavy metal, Joyce picked up Dreadnought whereas the vampires couldn't.
  
  "Will you look at that?" Spike scoffed in amused disbelief. "Guess our dear ol' Angelus was right." Turning to Xander, he called in praise, "You're a very talented weaponsmith. We're going to get a lot of use out of you."
  
  A confused and nervous Joyce stuttered to call, "X-Xander?"
  
  Xander's heart broke for her. He didn't want such a lovely person in danger, and with steady eyes and a comforting expression, he assured her, "Don't worry Mrs. S. It's going to be okay."
  
  "That's right Mrs. S. Everything's peachy," Spike teased. Getting to business, he confidently walked around Joyce as he instructed Xander, "Right, this is how it's going to work. Mum here is going to hold on to that axe of yours-tightly-and not let go. It's literally her lifeline. Moe and Curly are going to take her somewhere nice and safe, and if you call that bad boy from her hands at any point, they kill the Slayer's mum right on the spot. Understood?"
  
  "You can have me," Xander offered. "Just let her go."
  
  Looking at Xander as if he were a dunce, Spike asked, "Why? So you can call your magical axe when she's safe? Give us a little more credit than that, mate." Xander sighed before nodding to Spike in agreement. "There's a good lad."
  
  While Moe kept the knife to Joyce's throat, Curly walked over to check Xander for any weapons. Before the vampire reached him, the teen raised his arms with a convincing level of frustration-wanting to sell his being backed into a corner-and summoned the invisible Hellguard to his hand. After Curly patted him down and tossed his belt of wooden daggers, he gave Spike the all clear and the group split up. Moe, Curly, and Joyce headed north, whilst Xander and Spike went south.
  
  "It's going to be okay, Mrs. S!" Xander called before the vampire shoved him along.
  
  Xander was taken to their hideout-the Bric and Broc building-and moved through the warehouse while discreetly holding onto the invisible Hellguard the entire time. Vampires came out from behind every stack of crates and corner to witness the fresh meat being brought for slaughter. At the center of the warehouse, Xander was shoved so hard before Angelus and Drusilla that he fell to one knee, nearly dropping his dagger to the concrete floor. The Bric & Broc building was as cold as ever, but otherwise, it was a fifth or sixth home to Xander by this point.
  
  "Xander," Angelus called out with a clap of his hands. He was smiling as he grabbed the teen hostage by the shoulders and effortlessly lifted him, joking, "No need to be so formal. I can't tell you how happy I am to have you join us." As Xander wasn't overly worried, he gave Angelus a lifeless half-smile as the vampire merrily walked around him, saying, "I was just telling my friends how talented you are at making magical weapons, and they couldn't believe it. Said there was no way. That I had to be lying."
  
  "Wouldn't have if I didn't see it with me own eyes," Spike chimed in. "Fantastic work, boy."
  
  Drusilla moved very close to their prisoner, and he tried not to get hard from the memories of having had sex with her in a previous loop. Out of her mind, she may be, he couldn't deny how attractive she was. The mystical vampiress lightly passed her gesticulating fingers over his face and neck as she hummed.
  
  Drusilla closed her eyes a moment before voicing with a dream-like tone, "His soul is positively bursting with knowledge." She swayed left and right rather erotically as she sang, "Round and round and round it goes, like a dancer in the frost; forever frozen and spinning! So wondrous!"
  
  Xander wondered what her fractured mind saw in him as the broad-shouldered Angelus stood imposingly in front of Xander-the threat to his life was unmistakable-and asserted, "And we really, really want that knowledge. So, if you want to live, which, if I'm being honest, you probably won't. You're just too close to Buffy, and Valentine's day is tomorrow. How can I not mutilate your body and leave it in her bedroom, you know? I'm sure you understand it's just too good of a gift to pass up."
  
  Xander simply nodded, stating, "Yeah, that's pretty standard."
  
  For a moment, Angelus was confused by Xander's lackluster reaction, but smiled, laughing it away, saying, "I never really credited you with the smarts to catch on quickly, but clearly, I was wrong. Though, don't make it too boring for me. Feel free to scream as often as you'd like."
  
  Unfazed, Xander's eyes darted to Drusilla, then Spike, before returning to Angelus, and said, "You were saying something about my knowledge."
  
  Again, Angelus was taken aback by Xander's dull reaction, but brushed it off before continuing, "Right. Now, rather than saving your own skin, if you want Buffy's beautiful mother to stay alive by the end of the night, you're going to write down everything you do know in this little notebook." The vampire boss extended his hand and one of his minions handed him a notebook that he slammed on the table. "We're also going to verify the accuracy with our guy to make sure you're not lying. Though, if the info you gave us doesn't check out, I'm going to be very upset with you, Xander. So upset, I'd have to take all my frustration out on sweet, innocent Willow. Do we understand each other?"
  
  Ignoring all the snarky comments or questions coming to mind, nothing mattered more than Joyce remaining safe and unhurt, so he casually replied, "Yeah. I got it." Throughout Angelus' speech, Xander had been making educated probabilities and predictions, compelling him to add, "But, if I can make a small request? I mean, seeing as I'm going to die and all."
  
  Angelus turned to the others, wondering about the odd teen, before shrugging and stating, "I suppose. I'm a nice guy-for a murderer, I mean. Let's hear it."
  
  Xander took his keys from his pocket and tossed them to Spike before asking, "Can someone bring my bike here? I built it from the ground up. If tonight's the night I kick the great bucket... I want to see her one last time before I go."
  
  "Mystical bond between man and machine," Spike chanted with reverence. "I respect it. I'll fetch her for ya. Could use a joy ride, anyway."
  
  "No, I'll go," Angelus declared. He walked up to Spike and took the keys. The blond eyed him with restrained annoyance as the older vampire explained with glee, "The look on Buffy's face when she sees me on his bike is too good to pass up."
  
  Spike heatedly told Angel, "You know how much I love a mean bike, brother."
  
  "You can have it after I'm done," he returned before snidely adding, "just like everything else."
  
  Wrapping her arms around Xander's neck, Drusilla remarked, "She'll come for him."
  
  With a wicked smile, Angelus replied, "I'm counting on it."
  
  "Oooohhhh, so evil it's beautiful!" she happily sang.
  
  "Lock our guest in our finest room and be ready," Angelus ordered the crowd of vampires. "We'll be having company over soon!"
  
  As the crowd of vampires cheered, two of the blood-sucking demons shoved Xander forward. Having visited the building so many times over the century, he'd memorized the layout and knew the holding room they were shoving him toward. The vampires opened the steel door and pushed him inside the brick room. Xander was familiar with the manacles bolted to the wall and the blacked-out windows with security bars. Fortunately, they didn't lock him up. Though even if he was, he'd just cut through the steel bars with Hellguard.
  
  The vampires threw the notebook at him, the pen on the floor, and the smaller skinnier one ordered, "Write! And remember, we can remove an ear if you're not writing fast enough."
  
  "Yeah, I know. I was there," Xander told them. Before they left, Xander quickly asked, "Hey, are either of you friends with Moe or Curly?"
  
  "Shut it and get writing!" the skinny vampire yelled.
  
  "I will, I will," Xander genuinely replied, grabbing the pen and notebook. With a child-like demonstration, he displayed how he was going to write while continuing to inquire, "I was just wondering if you could call and tell them not to hurt her. It's obvious I'm going to die-no doubt about that-but if I know she's okay, it'll be worth it, you know?"
  
  They looked at each other for a moment and laughed. As he chuckled, the larger of the two asked, "Why the hell would we do that? How stupid do you think we are? There is no calling them." Immediately, Xander wondered if there was no communication because wherever Moe and Curly were didn't have a phone, or because only the bosses were allowed to call. The larger vamp added, "They're just going to kill her if you don't do what the boss wants."
  
  Hoping to squeeze a little more intel, Xander asked, "Which boss?"
  
  "Spike-" "Angelus-"
  
  The vampires turned to each other, surprised by the other's answer.
  
  Prodding a little further, Xander asked, "Wouldn't the boss be whoever's giving Drusilla the ol' seesaw?"
  
  "Spike-" "Angelus-"
  
  They turned to each other again. The shorter vampire quickly had enough and punched Xander in the stomach. "That's enough!" he yelled, threatening, "Get to work or lose an ear!"
  
  Though in serious pain, Xander exaggerated it to agony as he wrapped his arms around his stomach and he fell to the floor. He gasped for air and cried out as he grunted, "I think... you broke... a rib!"
  
  Pleased with himself, the shorter vampire smirked as he touted, "Serves ya right for mouthing off."
  
  They left and locked the steel door behind them, the locking mechanism making a loud CLANKING noise. Already healed, Xander groaned loudly so they wouldn't hear him cut through the metal bars with his unbreakable Hellguard. As he worked, he thought about Joyce and how to save her.
  
  Dusting all the vampires it took to escape the building would be easy for him to do, but he didn't know where they were keeping Joyce. While he was searching for her, Moe and Curly could get a call from Spike or Angelus and that would be the end of the beautiful mother. Buffy would be the wild card. Angelus and Spike could use Xander and Joyce to coerce the Slayer, which wouldn't help Joyce. However, if he could get to Buffy first, she could save her mother. Xander had cut through most of the bars when his guards returned.
  
  Xander pretended to be writing when they entered the room. The shorter one informed the hostage, "Angelus- the boss -just got back," he said. "Won't be long before the Slayer shows up and gets sucked dry."
  
  "I hope they give us a turn before they kill her," the larger one remarked. Pretending he had pliers in his hand, he acted out pulling teeth as he said, "I'd love to pull her teeth out and add it to my collection. She nearly killed me once, but she had a nice set of ivory on her."
  
  Rolling his eyes, the shorter one ordered, "Man, just shut up and check if we're cutting off an ear or not."
  
  Before the large one even moved, Xander showed them the notebook, and they saw empty pages. They smiled before laughing, and rather unexpectedly, the calm human joined them. Xander laughed with them long enough for the vampires to slowly stop.
  
  The larger one asked, "What're you laughing about?"
  
  "He's probably lost it," the shorter vamp asserted.
  
  "Nah," Xander told them. "I'm just realizing I don't need both of you."
  
  With incredibly enhanced speed and power, the far stronger Xander rocketed towards the nearest vampire. He swiftly decapitated the demon with a single slash, using the momentum to spin into a powerful roundhouse kick to the chest that sent the demon flying before it turned to dust. The white powder of the foe flew into the eyes of the larger vampire, distracting him long enough for Xander to stealthily come up behind him and place a now visible Hellguard against his neck.
  
  The vampire stilled as Xander casually explained, "This magical blade I got against your neck is called Hellguard. It's specially designed to kill vampires. Just touching it feels a lot like holy water-"
  
  "AAAGGGGhhh!" it groaned in pain, as Xander pressed the flat of the Viking dagger against the vampire's pale skin.
  
  Xander eased the mild torture and pressed the razor edge to the demon's jugular as he said, "If you want to live, we're getting out of here. What's your name?"
  
  "B-Brett," he stiffly answered.
  
  "Brett, it's nice to meet you. Now let's go." When the vampire made to move toward the door, Xander shook his head, saying, "No, no, no, no, no. Not that way."
  
  Once the pair were outside, Xander summoned concealing magic from Odin's ring to make him as close to invisible as possible-like the camouflage of an octopus. He wasn't completely invisible but close enough that in the night's darkness, his vampire hostage seemed to be the only one visible leaving the factory. Xander rushed his prisoner near the best spot to spy on the Bric & Broc building-an abandoned warehouse two blocks away with a caved-in roof that was overgrown with vegetation-and just as Xander hoped, Buffy attacked the vampire.
  
  Xander didn't pull Brett back when the Slayer sneak-attacked him with a kick to the face. Xander winced as Brett flew and landed hard on the dirt, then became completely visible again, stopping Buffy in her tracks. She looked at him in disbelief and asked, "Xander?"
  
  Before he could answer, the strong girl launched herself into his chest, hugging him desperately-as if he had returned from the dead. A gentle smile formed on Xander's face, and he hugged the anxious girl with one arm. He only pulled away to throw his dagger through Brett's hand and into the ground, preventing the groaning vampire from running away.
  
  Xander pulled away from Buffy, and, though surprised to see how relieved she was to see him, he sternly informed her, "Buffy, we don't have time. You need to take Brett here and go find your mom."
  
  Drawing her brows in sharp confusion, she asked, "My mom? What-"
  
  He quickly explained, "They kidnapped your mom cuz they knew I'd come quietly with her as a hostage. Two vampires named Moe and Curly are guarding her. I know they went somewhere north of Golden Gate cemetery, but I don't know where." Pointing a thumb at the injured vampire, he added, "Brett's going to take you right to them if he wants to live."
  
  Quickly understanding the situation, the focused Slayer nodded as she said, "Alright, let's go."
  
  "No can do," he sadly stated, taking a step back toward the Bric & Broc building. Buffy quickly grew worried as he explained, "If they see I'm gone... I don't know for sure they can't just call the vamps holding her and kill her. I need to go back and buy you as much time as I can to find her."
  
  Stepping forward and grabbing his hand, Buffy shook her head as she declared, "No. I'm not letting you go back to a warehouse full of vampires! Anything could happen while I'm searching, and Brett might not even know where my mom is! No, Xander! I'm not going to let you go back there! Just come with me-"
  
  Xander had to leave sooner than he could force Buffy to see reason. So, he leaned down and stunned the girl with a kiss. Their pressed lips wasn't an overly affectionate kiss and didn't last for more than three seconds, but it was warm and comforting. As quickly as the smooch began, it ended, and Xander backed away, nearly snickering at her shocked expression.
  
  With a smile, he said, "That wasn't one of those dramatic goodbye kisses or anything. I wanted you to snap out of it, and I sure as hell wasn't going to slap a Slayer." The corner of her mouth curled, but she was still more surprised by the kiss, until he said, "Everything's going to be alright, Buffy. Now, go!"
  
  Before she could stop him, Xander turned and ran back, summoning Hellguard so Buffy could take her hostage and find her mom. He made it into the room through the window and began writing typical sword forging steps but with gibberish runes, temperature, and times. After an hour in his room, Xander assumed they were done waiting for Buffy to show up because Spike came in and dragged him out. The blond vampire flipped through the notes as they walked back to the main floor, but oddly enough, he mainly boasted about Xander's scrambler-style motorcycle.
  
  "That is- hands down -the best scrambler I've ever seen," Spike complimented. "Used to be into Bratstyle, myself, but moved on to Cafe Racers in the 50s; they were all the rage back then."
  
  Despite being enemies, Xander found himself remarking, "CRs are definitely great for speed and handling. I would've gone that route, but I needed that on & off-road kick, you know?"
  
  "Naturally, naturally," Spike readily agreed with a wave of his hand.
  
  Xander felt odd about this level of camaraderie with the vampire that'd caused him so much pain in the past, but it was nice talking about performance bikes. Additionally, how could he claim to have moved on if he still held a grudge-not that he was eager to be friends? However, he could at least be civil. Xander would never claim to like Spike, but he liked how he was handling being next to the charming sociopath. It made Xander feel like he'd accomplished something important.
  
  Spike boasted, "I nearly went mad when I saw the turbocharger and custom exhaust! How much boost did you get?"
  
  "175," Xander proudly answered.
  
  "Mate, you're a lunatic!"
  
  It was strange-and yet not strange-to get on with Spike. In his Old Man memories, Xander knew that they had become roommates later on, and eventually friends, though much, much later in life. At the moment, however, the blond vampire was still very much evil.
  
  Once in the main room, a far more annoyed Angelus said, "Really hate to interrupt the nauseating bromance, since we're killing him and all..."
  
  In the middle of the warehouse, Xander saw his beautiful stealth-black bike and grinned broadly. Turning to his captors, as if asking permission with his eyes, Spike nodded. The raven-haired teen jumped on his bike and extended his hand for the key. Angelus looked at him as if he were crazy to even ask.
  
  Xander reminded the vampire, "Where am I going to go in a warehouse full of vampires? I just want to start her up."
  
  Rolling his eyes, Angelus tossed him the keys and Xander turned on his bike.
  
  "Ohhh yeah," he moaned happily, putting more emphasis on his enjoyment than was necessary.
  
  Angelus was distracted, complaining to all that would listen. "I'm just... I can't believe she didn't show," he said. "I really thought she would. I'm so disappointed in her."
  
  "I'm always disappointed when a liar's pants don't actually catch on fire," Xander nonchalantly commented. Though Spike chuckled, Angelus looked ready to kill Xander, who simply suggested, "Maybe she doesn't think you have me."
  
  ' Just keep them talking ,' Xander thought.
  
  Irked at the human, Angelus scornfully rebutted, " Or maybe she doesn't love you nearly as much as you love her."
  
  Perking up at the juicy gossip, Spike teased, "Does he now?"
  
  "Oh, yeah," Angelus answered with a mocking grin. "The virgin hopeful love was radiating off him like the stink off shit," he relayed, making the others laugh. Angelus walked up to the teen as he gleefully mocked, "Sad you'll never get the chance to taste such a sweet cock sleeve, but the need to leave her a Valentine's surprise is insatiable."
  
  Lifting the notebook, Spike suggested, "We should probably make sure this actually works before we off him. Not everything has to be about your ex, mate."
  
  "I honestly just want to kill him," Angelus grumbled, flinging his arms in frustration.
  
  "And what are we supposed to do about the Slayer's weapon?" the rational Spike argued. "Or his , for that matter? Can't even lift the bloody thing."
  
  "Fine!" Angelus called out, exasperated, as if they were arguing about taking out the trash. "He doesn't need his legs to write. Anyone have a problem with me cutting off his legs and sending them to her? No? Great."
  
  From over his shoulder, Spike called out to any of his captains around the room, "Someone go nab a doctor from the hospital. Make sure he doesn't bleed out on us," he said, more for himself.
  
  Considering how long it had been, Xander asked, "Is Mrs. Summers okay?"
  
  "I'd worry more about yourself, mate," Spike replied.
  
  "What for? I'm going to die anyway," the teen returned, pointing his chin toward an irate Angelus. Spike nodded in agreement before Xander continued, "I just want to know that she's okay. I mean, you're keeping my bike-that I worked super hard on, by the way. The least you can do is tell me if my death saved her or not."
  
  Angelus casually ordered the few captains in the room, "Tell 'em to have their fun with her, then let her go before dawn." Spike rolled his eyes, as if disapproving of the order, but was also indifferent. He nodded to one of his men and he moved to the phone, likely to call Moe and Curly.
  
  ' The moment of truth ,' Xander thought as he casually focused on the stout vampire.
  
  Still on his running motorcycle, the teen prayed Buffy got to her mom in time as he watched the demon pick up the receiver and began dialing, suggesting to Xander that the place was known among the vampires in the room. The vampire that would decide his fate stopped dialing a moment and turned to Spike.
  
  He cautiously asked, "Boss, can we go over too?" Spike gave his captain a confused look, to which he responded, "You know I wouldn't normally, but it's the Slayer's mom. Opportunity like that don't just come around all that often."
  
  "No," Spike heatedly answered. "We may be blood-thirsty demons who delight in killing and torturing innocent women and children, but we got more class than that ."
  
  "Go ahead," Angelus told the fifteen men in the room. Spike looked at him in disbelief and Angelus asked, "What? It's Valentine's day. What's wrong with sharing the love? And can you picture the glorious look on Buffy's face when she learns her mother's been ran through every which way by a gang of vampires?" The gleeful vampire pumped his fists as he groaned, "Aaaaahhh! If only I was there to see it. The agony, shock, remorse, and self-loathing in her eyes. It'll crush her, I just know it."
  
  Hoping to delay them even longer, Xander pointed out, "Man, you're really obsessed with her. It's all ' picture Buffy this ,' and, ' imagine Buffy that ' with you. It's like there's only one song in the jukebox."
  
  "Hate to agree with a blood bag, but let's call a spade a spade, mate," Spike concurred. "You're obsessed."
  
  Angelus walked over to Xander and punched him hard across the face, knocking him off his bike and onto the stone floor. His vision blurred, tripled, and danced around in circles. The stabbing agony he felt was signaling to his brain that half of his face was blown off. It was more likely that his jaw was broken. Additionally, he could feel blood in his mouth and streaming down his nose. Fortunately, with his ring, Xander was already healing.
  
  "Someone get that doctor here quick," an irate Angelus yelled. "I just realized he doesn't need his tongue to write either."
  
  A vampire groaned in annoyance from just out of Xander's line of sight.
  
  "Uh, Boss?" the stout vampire called.
  
  Spike replied, "Yeah, Charlie?"
  
  Charlie's round face looked confused as he said, "Ain't no one picking up."
  
  "What do you mean?" Spike asked, drawing his brow together.
  
  Shaking his head, Charlie responded, "I've been calling and calling, but it just keeps ringing."
  
  Becoming suspicious, Spike ordered his men, "Get over there. Make sure they're not just playing."
  
  With his bike idling next to him, Xander wondered if Buffy had rescued her mother yet. If she hadn't, then escaping right now would likely lead to Joyce's death. If she had, this might be his best-and only-chance to get out. Xander was desperate to go while they were distracted, because the moment the doctor arrived, he was going to have to fight Angelus, Spike, Drusilla, and a warehouse full of vampires to get out. He didn't think he could do that without killing Spike or Angel, triggering him to loop back.
  
  Xander's broken jaw and bleeding nose were nearly healed when the phone rang. Charlie picked it up, and Xander heard him say to Angelus, "Uh, it's for you."
  
  The handsome vampire put the receiver to his ear and smiled as he recognized the voice on the other end. That was all Xander needed to open his palm and summon Dreadnought to him. He looked around the factory for a rough location of where everyone was as well as any opportunity for a diversion. When Angel turned to Spike, he gestured with his head to get Xander.
  
  The blond vampire almost looked remorseful, but walked over to the teen. Xander got to his feet and threw the now-visible Hellguard at Spike. With the blond's skill level, he caught the Viking dagger by the handle just as the tip punctured his shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain before immediately being pulled down by his unworthiness to wield the weapon.
  
  Xander shocked the vampire with a bout of electricity before he hit the ground and called his Viking dagger back. Angelus and Drusilla came at him from both sides, but he was unwilling to kill either of them. Dizzy as he was, he didn't trust throwing the knife at moving targets with much accuracy, but he could make sure the three were tangled. Xander dodged Angelus' punch to grip and pull him in when Drusilla grabbed him from behind. Before they could sink their fangs into him, Xander electrocuted them and himself-all the while begging for his dagger and ring's curative forces to heal him-before they dropped to the floor.
  
  Xander no longer felt the agony on his face. Instead, his organs felt baked, his blood was like sludge, and he couldn't control his spasming body. He blacked out for a few seconds, then pushed himself to move and continue calling his trusted battleaxe. With Angelus and Drusilla down, there were still ten other vampires moving to attack him. Then they heard destruction from afar, while Xander only felt it. Dreadnought destroyed walls and beams and cut three unlucky vampires in half, coming to its master's outstretched hand. Xander instantly felt better with his familiar weapon in hand.
  
  Three vampires hadn't expected Xander to gently toss the battleaxe to them. Either they didn't know, forgot, or thought better, because two of them caught it and were immediately bent in half, being dragged down by their hands. The third one's foot was caught underneath the butt of the handle, trapping him as well. Xander electrocuted all three so hard they burst into dust as he fought two other vampires, swiping at them with Hellguard to keep them at bay. The remaining vampires were assisting their bosses, as a spasming, burnt, broken, and hurting Xander jumped on his bike and raced to the receiving bay doors.
  
  "After h-him!" Angelus yelled, and the two henchmen that were helping him ran after Xander.
  
  Without the space to pick up speed, they were on Xander relatively quickly. However, he summoned Dreadnought as they were about to grab him. Dreadnought sliced through one vampire, and once his weapon was in hand, he decapitated the other. It was then that Xander noted two vampires arriving with crossbows in hand.
  
  He peeled out and went as fast as he could, maneuvering around crates and columns to the receiving bay doors. He leaped off of his bike as he was being shot at. Bolts from crossbows whizzed by his head as he chopped through the chain and lock of the door. Grabbing the handle to lift the vertical-retracting door, a bolt punctured through his left trapezius muscle.
  
  "AAGGhh!" Xander groaned, feeling the agonizing burning immediately.
  
  He had seconds before Angelus, Spike, Drusilla, and many more vampires were on him. Xander didn't have time to pull the short arrow out, so he gritted his teeth and pulled the metal door open, running to his bike. He threw Dreadnought at them with all his might, and while it spun in the air, he triggered a violent amount of electricity as he jumped on his bike. As he rode his scrambler under the receiving door, the night's cold mist hit his face as another bolt struck his back.
  
  His vision was swimming, and he felt like his body was swaying even on his bike, but he didn't dare stop. He needed to get away first, and rode his bike hard and fast toward his house. Despite his ring keeping him awake and replenishing the blood loss, he needed to remove the arrows. However, upon stopping and attempting to do so, he learned his right hand couldn't reach them, especially the one at his back.
  
  Xander raced home, all the while thinking, " Heal, heal, heal .'
  
  He eventually pulled into his garage, though he wasn't sure how. It felt like the left side of his brain had gone to sleep while the other drove, and now he couldn't remember how he'd gotten home. He stumbled to his phone and called Giles before falling to the grown, all the while thinking, ' Heal... heal... hea- '
  
  Then he saw black.
  
  Again, no author's note. I'm nodding off. I'm planning on a double release next weekend. It all depends on how fast we finish editing chapter 62. So, for sure, you'll get 61 next week.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay tree-on is dott com /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content on there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :) I also got a cashapp($GraeFoxx) for those who'd like to tip once.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  I hope you all enjoyed the read. Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Letting Go
  Meet another Sunday, enjoy another release!
  
  This chapter(61) is 1 of 2. I'll release the next chapter(62) tomorrow, which is a Monday. So don't read tomorrow's chapter(62) thinking that it's today's(61).
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! They did a great job, especially since we're all swamped. I'm trying to change jobs to give me a better schedule for writing. Overnight jobs are a bit more demanding than I'd like at the moment.
  
  Warning: Foul language, and mentions of sex.
  
  7.3K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Letting Go
  
  Xander stirred from his slumber due to a dull ache pulsing in his back. As he opened his eyes, his first sight was the familiar framed of a photo of himself and Cordelia on his nightstand. The alarm clock beside it read 06:37 AM, a sight that startled him. He couldn't understand why the clock was on, as he had unplugged the cursed thing for the past several days.
  
  ' The fuck? ' he mentally cursed, staring at the bright numbers on the alarm clock. To his surprise, he hadn't felt the typical rush of panic that he had grown accustomed to after decades of failures. The clock now read 6:38 AM, yet he felt oddly calm. He realized in that moment that the numbers held no power over him. They were just numbers and their meaning was what he assigned to them. With this realization, he let his fear fizzle out and began pondering why he was in his room in the first place.
  
  The teenager was in his bed, lying on his stomach, and to his surprise, he was still holding his magical axe, Dreadnought. Releasing the weapon, he rolled over, relishing the slight aches in his muscles. He only then noticed Buffy was sound asleep in his plush armchair, her legs curled up to her chest and her head resting on the back of the chair. As he sat up, the bed sheet slipped down his muscular frame, revealing bandages wrapped around his chest, under his left armpit, and over his left trapezius muscle. The sound of him removing the tape awakened the sleeping Slayer.
  
  "There he is," Buffy breathed, moving to his side. "Hey," she said with a smile, relief evident in her voice.
  
  "Hey," he responded, grateful for the sight of her bright expression, because if Mrs. Summers had been harmed in any way, Buffy wouldn't be smiling.
  
  As the blonde helped him remove the bandages, he attempted to ask, "How's your-" but his voice came out as a croak. Buffy quickly grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand-which had his Lion-O action figure on it-and handed it to him.
  
  The parched boy drank the water gratefully as she answered, "Mom's fine, thanks to you."
  
  Buffy continued removing the bandages as he quenched his thirst. When the glass was empty, he let out a long sigh of relief, saying, "Tell your mom it was my fault she had to go through that."
  
  Buffy leaned over to look at him with a raised eyebrow and asked, "You want me to lie to my mother?"
  
  He tilted his head up and responded, "You planning on telling her the truth about slayage?"
  
  Buffy's greenish-blue eyes widened in fear before she shook her head and said, "No, I'll come up with a better lie than blaming it on you." Buffy examined his skin and noted, "Not even a scar."
  
  Patting Dreadnought appreciatively, the smirking time looper thanked all of his magical items for continually keeping him in the game. Buffy tossed him a black shirt, and he put it on before suggesting, "Tell her they came after me for ransom money. Easy."
  
  "Points for creativity," Buffy offered, nodding with piqued interest. "But, I'm not sure that'll hold up in the court of motherly opinion."
  
  "Trust me," Xander assured her. "It'll hold."
  
  Buffy moved the armchair closer to the bed and sat down, her expression conveying concern. "You had us all worried," she softly admitted. "I thought you weren't going to do that anymore."
  
  Sympathetically, he replied, "Couldn't help it." He understood that her concern was born from her love and care for him. He took her hand and gave her a reassuring smile before saying, "Sorry. Really, I am. I feel the same way when you go out there."
  
  "The difference is I'm the Slayer and you're-no offense-just human," Buffy pointed out, squeezing his hand for emphasis.
  
  "You're definitely built tough, that's for sure," Xander agreed. "But in a weird way, you and I are made of the same stuff, Buffy. Just packaged differently. You're the Chosen One and get all the perks that come with that. The rest of us have to take it upon ourselves to try and make a difference... which means you're looking in a mirror. Just like you won't stop saving lives, I don't have it in me to stop either."
  
  Slumping back in her chair, Buffy sighed, clearly resigned to forever worrying about him.
  
  Xander let go of her hand and leaned against the headboard before asking, "So, where is everyone?"
  
  "Willow and Cordelia are sleeping-in separate rooms," Buffy said, emphasizing the last bit. At Xander's raised eyebrow, she explained, "They were fighting about whose fault it was you were out there in the first place. Cordelia blames me, Willow blames Cordelia, and I... I'm just happy you and mom are okay."
  
  "It's nobody's fault," Xander insisted. "Evil does evil. Targeting me is almost a compliment, honestly."
  
  "The most twisted compliment I can do without, thank you," Buffy remarked. "Anyway, Giles kicked them out so you could rest, but I'll get them. They'll be thrilled to see you."
  
  As Buffy stood up to leave, Xander called out, "Hey, Buffy," halting her exit. "Thanks for saving me."
  
  At his genuine gratitude, Buffy's demeanor softened, and before he knew it, she hugged him tightly. After a long moment, she pulled back and said, "Xander... You saved my mom. I should be thanking you ."
  
  Buffy gave him a quick kiss on his cheek as Willow and Cordelia entered the room. At their surprised pause, Buffy quickly straightened and reminded everyone, "He saved my mom!"
  
  Willow rushed over, tears streaming down her face, and practically speared Xander in a hug, squeezing him tight as her tears spilled. Xander patted her back, muttering assurances that he was fine. But as he did, he couldn't help but glance over at Cordelia. The stunning brunette looked like she was torn between joining in on the hug and blaming herself for his injuries. Xander extended his hand, and though hesitant, Cordelia took it. That's when he noticed she was wearing the Draupnir ring he'd made for her on her finger. As Willow's sobs subsided, Xander began to spin the tale of how he escaped the Bric & Broc warehouse.
  
  Now calm, Willow leaned back from her oldest friend and remarked, "It's a good thing they didn't know about Odin's ring or Hellguard."
  
  Xander nodded in agreement before asking, "Where's Giles?"
  
  "Supply run," Buffy answered.
  
  With a quirked brow, Xander pointed out, "What for? I have everything we need. I even bought tea!"
  
  Shaking her head in resignation, she explained, "From what I understood, you have some sort of herbal lemon tea and his British sensibilities just wouldn't allow him to drink anything but real tea, which is, apparently, black." At Xander's disbelief, she commiserated, "I don't get it, either, but there you go. Also, the books on your shelves had too many colorful pictures for his taste."
  
  "There's just no pleasing those Brits," Xander jested, shaking his head. "Whatever. Can one of you call Ms. Calendar and make sure she's okay?"
  
  Willow asked, "Why wouldn't she be?"
  
  "Why should we care?" an irked Buffy asked, still bothered by the duplicitous teacher.
  
  Xander deflated at her indifferent attitude, but was patient enough to remember that they hadn't had nearly as long a time to grow and mature as he did. He turned to Buffy and entreated, "Come on, guys. Sure, she didn't tell us who she really was and why she way here," he admitted. "But it's not like she committed a cardinal sin."
  
  Unwilling to let her ire go, Buffy asked, "Have you been talking to her?"
  
  "Of course, I have," he emphatically answered, and Buffy seemed taken aback. Before she could say anything, he asked, "How else was I going to ask her to look into a way of bringing Angel back without talking to her? Not that I needed a reason, by the way. "
  
  Buffy was shocked by Xander's revelation and stepped forward, her voice trembling as she asked, "Wait... you what?"
  
  Xander could see the confusion on Willow's face as she echoed Buffy's question, "Why would you do that?"
  
  Understanding their surprise, the teen boy explained, "I may not have been Angel's biggest fan, but he's infinitely better than Angelus. Plus, my Old Man memories recall him living in LA; like, normal-Angel, not psycho-Angelus. So, this whole Angelus stuff has been really confusing."
  
  Buffy, still in disbelief, asked, "But why go to her? Why not come to us?"
  
  Xander reasoned, "Her people were the ones that cursed him. It makes the most sense that she'd be the best one to figure out how to ensoul him again."
  
  With a tinge of hope in her voice, Buffy asked, "Do you really think he can come back?"
  
  Xander confidently replied, "Of course. Angel's a good guy who's stuck in Hell right now. He's done a lot of good and deserves to be saved." Buffy's eyes welled up with tears as she turned away, wiping the corners of her eyes. Xander told his friend, "Call her. Make sure she's okay. In fact, call Giles and ask him if he can let her crash at his place. You know, for safety," he added with a knowing smirk.
  
  Buffy couldn't help but laugh, citing, "You want to play matchmaker at a time like this?" Nodding, she remarked, "I respect it."
  
  Cordelia, who had been quiet until now, spoke up, "Can we talk? In private?" she added, looking at Buffy and Willow.
  
  Buffy nodded, but Willow seemed uncomfortable with the idea. The blonde grabbed the redhead's hand and pulled her towards the door as she said, "We'll go make those calls."
  
  Once they were gone, Cordelia hugged Xander tightly and he returned the embrace, relishing her soft warmth.
  
  "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.
  
  Xander reassured her, saying, "It's okay," but she interrupted him.
  
  "No, Xander! It's not okay!" she cried, leaning back to look into his eyes. Her nose was red, and she looked near to crying as she said, "I couldn't stand up to five dingbats but you stood up to psycho vampires to save Buffy's mom! I'm the one you should be ashamed to be with!"
  
  Xander shook his head, assuring the distraught girl, "I'm not, Cor. Not even a little." Caressing her silky hair, he added, "I get it. I know more of the game plan than you do, so it's not really fair to ask so much of you."
  
  Cordelia scoffed, "Asking me to not be ashamed of my boyfriend isn't a hard requirement. It shouldn't even be a question. It's, like, so basic."
  
  She hugged him again, but Xander pulled away. He grabbed Dreadnought and leaned it against the nightstand before getting comfortable. Cordelia snuggled up next to him, holding him as she rested her head against the nape of his neck.
  
  "I almost lost you," she whispered.
  
  Xander held her tightly and caressed her arm as he replied, "I'm still here, Cor." Though he was nervous about jinxing himself, he dared to add, "And I ain't going anywhere."
  
  Cordelia hesitated before asking, "Would... you... still want to be my boyfriend?"
  
  Xander smiled, asking, "In public?"
  
  " Way in public," she declared, propping herself up to look him in the eyes. "Super public! I'll announce it in the society pages if you want... Though, I insist our photo be taken by a professional."
  
  Xander chuckled before taking her in his arms-holding her dearly-as he said, "You drive a hard bargain Chase, but what else is new? Of course, I still want to be your boyfriend. You can't get rid of me that easily. It's you and me."
  
  "You and me," she softly returned, smiling as she rested against him.
  
  -
  
  When Buffy informed Xander that Jenny was still alive and staying with Giles for safety, he was relieved. He suggested that they perform spell for revoking invitations on any houses Angelus had been in, and Giles was kicking himself for not having thought of it. Buffy brought Joyce to Xander's house on the pretense that he would explain what happened while he rested. In actuality, Willow, Giles, and Jenny used that time to perform the Revoke Invitation Ritual on Buffy's and Willow's homes.
  
  As Xander welcomed Buffy and Joyce into his home, the raven-haired teen added a subtle limp to his walk and a bandage to his cheek to sell the act. He escorted them to his living room, but when he offered to get them drinks, Joyce insisted he take a seat and offered to make them drinks herself. The trio ended up in his kitchen where Joyce made hot cocoa for the teens and tea for herself. During this time, Xander explained how his parents had recently come into a significant amount of money, and the kidnappers who had taken Joyce were attempting to use her as leverage to kidnap him before demanding a ransom from his parents.
  
  Gazing around the beautifully renovated kitchen, Joyce inquired, "So, then, where are your parents?"
  
  Nonchalantly, Xander answered, "They left. Now that they have the funds, they're traveling the world. Last I hear, they were in Brazil... or Peru. One of those. They're not great at keeping in touch."
  
  Concerned for his well-being, the caring mother asked, "And you're living here alone?"
  
  "Well... uh... yeah," Xander hesitated to answer. He could see the doting mother growing anxious at the thought of a minor being abandoned by their parents, and he didn't want to make her worry needlessly. He attempted to lighten the situation by adding, "If you mean ' alone ' in the sense that no one else lives in the house with me? Then yeah, sure. But my heart is full of company."
  
  Buffy smiled at his response, but then abruptly realized, "Wait, when you said they were out of town, you meant forever ?"
  
  Xander confirmed, "As of yet, there are no plans for their return. So... yeah."
  
  Drooping her eyebrows, a confused Buffy asked, "How are you feeding yourself?"
  
  Joyce gave her daughter an exasperated look of disbelief at such an oblivious question. Xander smiled and gave them a tour of his house, explaining the details of how he takes care of himself. Giles and Willow had said they needed no longer than an hour to prepare the ritual and uninvite Angelus, so Xander explained to the Summers girls how he renovated most of the rooms, even showing Joyce his motorcycle. She was so impressed by his professional work that he offered his services in any repairs she might need around the house or on her car.
  
  In the wake of Xander's revelation, the rest of the Scoobies were left reeling. Buffy had informed them that Xander's parents had taken leave since December and had no plans on returning. They were dumbfounded, to say the least. Joyce and Giles even attempted to talk to his parents over the phone, but due to Anthony and Jessica's reluctance to reveal that Xander was the one who purchased the lottery ticket, the conversation was brief.
  
  Anthony hastily explained, "As long as that boy's alive, we more than did our job."
  
  Then he hung up.
  
  Giles, Joyce, and Jenny did not take kindly to Xander's parents-at all. The three adults often checked in on Xander multiple times to make certain he had all that he needed-specifically knowledge on money management. Willow couldn't believe he hadn't told her, and while genuinely eager to be there for him in whatever way he needed, she was also upset by how much he'd been keeping from her. Cordelia, though initially upset, got over it after they had sex in all the rooms in his house.
  
  In school, Cordelia, with her fiery spirit, made it publicly clear to Harmony, the Cordettes, and anyone watching that she and Xander were a couple. Once again, they were the hot topic around school. As the weeks went by, the couple ventured out on various dates, dining at restaurants, watching movies, dancing at the Bronze, and even going on shopping trips to the mall for 'quality' clothes-much to Xander's dismay. He even introduced her to his coworkers at Wild Dinks. Their dates always ended in the bedroom, but on the occasions when Cordelia was allowed to dress him, she always came the hardest.
  
  Cordelia's fashion obsession made it apparent to Xander that, while they had a great time together, she still had some growing up to do. In truth, all of his friends did, but not by much, since the girls had always been more mature than he was at the beginning of the time braid. The maturity difference was sharper after spending so much time with Cordelia, but he was still young at heart, and he'd never dare break up with her over it. In his mind, they could grow together.
  
  -
  
  Xander's March phone call to Faith explained everything that had gone down on Halloween-dressing as an older version of himself and Ethan's curse. Even though the Bostonian didn't believe it, she thought it was funny he'd become a feeble old man. Since he had already explained magic and curses, he told her how he had retained a lot of his older self's memories, including knowing people he hadn't met yet.
  
  "Wait," Faith slowly realized. "You're saying the reason you know so much about me... is because magic gave you the memories of experiences you haven't even made yet?"
  
  Xander knew she couldn't see him, but nodded his head all the same as he replied, "How else do you explain my knowing stuff about you-like you wanting a pitbull when you were a little girl and wanting to name it Rosco-without ever meeting you? I mean, you've confirmed everything I said about you so far. It's not like I'm bullshitting you."
  
  He heard her sigh in frustration before asserting, "I knew you were building up to something , but... come on! This was such a letdown."
  
  Xander's shoulders sank in disbelief as he argued, "We've been talking for months about paranormal stuff-vampires, monsters, slayers, magic, and curses-and on top of the things I shouldn 't know about you, you're still surprised when the answer to all of this is magic?"
  
  Faith chuckled before asking, "You actually believe this shit?"
  
  "Kinda have to or I get eaten with no regard for prep time or seasoning," he casually answered.
  
  "And that you turned into an old man for Halloween?"
  
  "Yep."
  
  "That you're besties with a Slayer?"
  
  "Yep."
  
  "That I'll be a Slayer?"
  
  Despite his reservations about that outcome, he answered, "If I don't change anything? Yep, yep."
  
  The last thing Xander wanted was for Kendra to die simply so that Faith could become the next Slayer. However, he understood saving the Jamaican Slayer would be tough. After all, in a century of looping, he had only ever saved the beautiful girl once. For whatever reason, Kendra seemed destined to die just as much as she was destined to be the Slayer, which Xander always thought was unfair. Regardless of the odds or the will of the fates, he had hope that he could save her again. Kendra didn't have to die, even if that meant Faith wouldn't become the Slayer.
  
  Xander continued, "The reason why I know you is because I'll meet you in the future when you're a Vampire Slayer. End of story." At Faith's long and silent contemplation, he added, "I get that you don't believe me, but it's the truth-and I had to tell you because I know life hasn't been fair to you. I don't want to be one of those people that lie to get something from you. If you don't want to talk to me again, I'll understand. But at the very least, I hope I've shown you not everyone you meet is untrustworthy."
  
  For nearly a minute, Faith said nothing, which made Xander incredibly anxious. The ball was in her court, and anything she chose to do, he'd accept. Whether that was hanging up on him and never talking to him again, telling him he had wasted her time, or possibly continuing to talk, he'd be onboard with any decision she made.
  
  "...Tell me how we meet?" she finally asked. " And why it is I'm crazy enough to trust you with personal stuff about me?"
  
  Relieved, Xander let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in, and replied with a smirk, "Until next time, stay tuned for more on, When Xander Explains -"
  
  "Oh! You fucking asshole!" the frustrated girl yelled, making Xander laugh before they ended the conversation.
  
  -
  
  A week had passed, and the generally bustling halls of Sunnydale High were now eerily uncrowded, as half of the student body had succumbed to the flu. Just like in all over loops, Buffy had fallen ill as well, leading Xander to the unmistakable conclusion: the Scooby gang would soon have to confront Der Kindestod, the nefarious child-eating demon. Though the creature's method of consuming life force energy was revolting, Xander's role in taking the monster down was relatively minimal compared to the significant efforts of Giles, Willow, and Cordelia. All Xander did was stand guard over Buffy's room as she recuperated, which gave him ample time to hone his stitching skills.
  
  As he sat vigil outside of Buffy's hospital room, a sudden sense of impending danger came over Xander-not unlike being in a dark forest surrounded by unseen predators. He knew, with a certainty that bordered on premonition, that Angelus was on his way. Without hesitation, he put away the cloth and needle he'd been using for his stitching practice, and reached into his backpack for the Hellguard. As he set the invisible Viking dagger on the chair beside him, and stood as the darkness entering his peripheral vision soon came into clear sight.
  
  Angelus, the Scourge, confidently walked down the white hallway with a bouquet of flowers in hand. The time looper wasn't fooled by the handsome vampire's façade of civility. Xander stepped forward and blocked Angelus' path to Buffy's door with a casual ease that belied the gravity of the situation. The vampire's smile faltered as he met Xander's steely gaze, aware that the teenager was not to be underestimated.
  
  "Turn around and go back to your coffin," Xander calmly commanded, his eyes locked onto Angelus'.
  
  "I'm pretty much family, so..." Angelus replied with an irritatingly charming smirk.
  
  "Even family aren't so rude," Xander quipped. "If you really have to be a pain in the ass, at least have the decency to do it during normal business hours... Oh, right. I guess you can't."
  
  "If I decided to walk-"
  
  "Into Buffy's room, do I think for even a second I could stop you?" Xander cut in, his patience worn thin from hearing the same response ad nauseam. At the vampire's moderately surprised gaze, he explained, "You're not exactly original. And the answer is: Yeah. I do." Slowly, Xander raised his hand, opened palmed as he glared into Angelus' sinister eyes, and asked, "Should I show you how?"
  
  Angelus' gaze flicked to Xander's outstretched hand, recognizing all too clearly the unspoken threat. The vampire then casually scanned the hallway, taking note of the orderlies and police nearby, and they both knew that any fight that broke out would cause an uproar, and possibly prove fatal.
  
  The vampire let out a huff of amusement, his features twisted into a smirk as he mockingly declared, "Buffy's White Knight."
  
  Xander rolled his eyes, his tone weary as he retorted, "Can you please not call me that? You didn't like it when I called you 'Dead Boy,' which I stopped doing, by the way. How about returning the favor?"
  
  "...I'm not buying it," Angelus growled, his eyes narrowed as he studied the teenager.
  
  As this particular encounter in the year loop had rarely played out this way, Xander's interest was piqued, and he asked, "Not buying what?"
  
  "This little attitude change. You still love her," the vampire said, making Xander sigh. "You're not chasing her like some pathetic, lost puppy, that much is clear. But I can see it in your eyes, in your actions. You can't hide it... not from me."
  
  "Cuz we're so alike, you and I," he sarcastically quipped.
  
  "You still haven't given up on her, not really," Angelus persisted.
  
  Xander's annoyance was palpable as he retorted, "If you don't leave right now, I got some steel on the way that'll help move you along."
  
  Angelus laughed, wedging the flowers under his arm before clapping his hands together as if his life wasn't in danger. Even if killing Angelus would send Xander back, the satisfying urge to do it on principle was incredibly tempting.
  
  "So brave," Angelus mocked. "You standing here, risking your life for her..."
  
  "I'm sure the concept of friendship must be impossible for you to wrap your demonic brain around, but friends tend to want to protect friends from murderous psychopaths," Xander replied with annoyance.
  
  "You really don't get it," Angelus asserted condescendingly. "Here's a tip... Unless you're saying you'd never -in a million years -be with her, then you haven't stopped loving Buffy. And to say otherwise is just delusion because if you two were stranded on a remote island, I'd be surprised if you weren't tumbling in the sand, smashing pissers by the end of the week."
  
  "Charming," Xander sarcastically replied. "Are you leaving? Or are we going to dance?"
  
  Shoving the flowers against Xander's chest, Angelus sneered, "Tell her I stopped by."
  
  "For your rectal exam? Not sure why you think she needs to know, but sure," Xander quickly retorted, lowering his hand.
  
  As the vampire departed, Xander couldn't help but take note of the difference. For once, the teenager didn't have to depend on the assistance of the orderlies or police officers in the hallway who'd intervene in the event that a physical altercation broke out. He posed enough of a threat for Angelus to back down, which was exhilarating.
  
  As always, Buffy emerged victorious against Der Kindestod, and Xander carried the sickly girl-princess style-back to her room, all the while Angelus' words occupied his thoughts. Even if he didn't like the evil prick, Xander didn't want to be afraid of being challenged. He'd learned so much through his trials and tribulations that he felt confident enough to ponder the possibility of ever giving the beautiful blonde a chance. As he laid the feverish girl back in her bed, he wondered if he still loved her beyond friendship.
  
  His mind drew up a blank, which was disconcerting; however, the question was also a waste of time. Cordelia was the one girl for him, and until the pearly gates about were ready for her, he had no plans of ever changing that.
  
  After Buffy's discharge from the hospital, the town's danger level had decreased enough for Xander to make significant progress forging Ordermír. To his surprise, Joyce had arranged for her daughter bring him dinner at Wild Dinks, to ensure he was eating properly. Though he had explained it was unnecessary, the caring mother wouldn't hear a word of protest, which he found touching. Sometimes it was just Buffy who brought him food. Other times, it was Buffy and Willow. Either way, it was always a fun break from work.
  
  Xander soon tried out for the swim team, and with his tremendous physicality, he easily earned a spot. To avoid using the drug-laced sauna, he leveraged his swim time to make a deal with Coach Marin, to allow him to practice with the team but leave immediately after. Though the Coach didn't appreciate being unable to fully guide Xander's ability, he understood that Xander had an after-school job and limited time for anything else.
  
  -
  
  Several nights later, Buffy intervened in a shooting between a couple, alerting Xander to the next event in the loop and prompting him to take a trip to the Army Surplus store. Cordelia heard 'shopping' and invited herself, but was disappointed upon arriving at the warehouse full of military gear. Nevertheless, her fashion sense made its presence known as she matched tactical gear for summer and fall. Rather than buying two vests, like Xander had done in previous loops, he bought seven-one for every member of the Scooby Gang.
  
  Cordelia readily accepted his explanation of being prepared for the worst, then casually asked, "Okay. So what's up with Buffy?"
  
  Unsure of her meaning, Xander played the familiar role of the nervous teen and answered in quick succession, "Nothing! We're just good friends! Her mom makes her bring me lunch!"
  
  Cordelia huffed in annoyance as she replied, "No! I mean, what 's up with Buffy? Like, is she okay?"
  
  Relaxing, Xander replied, "Sorry. I'm not used to you addressing subjects not directly related to you." She smacked his shoulder, and he smirked, answering, "She's as fine as she can be, Cor. Why?"
  
  Removing the bluish-white camouflage jacket off the rack, Cordelia examined it against Xander's frame as she spoke. "She only blew off Ben Straley-the most eligible hunk in school. He's all sorts of dreamy, and his father owns a department store. I mean, he's the guy I'd be going out with if I wasn't so obviously brain-damaged-no offense," the sassy girl finished.
  
  Xander shook his head, lacing sarcasm in his voice as he responded, "Oh no. Why would I be offended?"
  
  "Anyway," Cordelia continued. "Ben told Lynette, who told Charity, who told me that Buffy wouldn't even give him the time of day."
  
  " I don't know what to tell ya, Cor," Xander casually responded. "She probably still has hope we can save Angel. I mean, she's practically reading more books than Willow."
  
  Cordelia's expression grew serious as she asked, "Do you think it was a good idea to get her hopes up? Like, didn't Giles say putting the curse back on Angel will mean they can never... you know?"
  
  "I know," he answered. "And I'm sure she does as well."
  
  "Honestly, if I had to give up sex to be with anyone, I'd be on to the next guy in a hurry. No offense."
  
  Xander stared at her, wide-eyed, unsure of how he was even supposed to take that. "Then I guess you're counting your lucky stars I'm blowing your back out every night." He leaned in to whisper, "Making you cum until you're begging me to stop or passing out, huh?"
  
  Though her eyes were sharp as she glared at him, her full red lips couldn't hold back her grin. The air between them was thick with conflict and sexual tension; However, they both knew their affection for each other ran deep and that was all that mattered to Xander.
  
  The Scooby Gang soon learned of the tortured spirits haunting the halls of Sunnydale on the anniversary of their tragic end. Xander fitted himself and a reluctant Buffy with vests. Despite her aversion to body armor, Xander insisted she wear it, all the while pondering if he should've created his Armor Wear before starting Ordermír. He knew stitching the runes into his clothes wouldn't take longer than a week, but he still hadn't made the golden thread from what remained of the Du Lac Cross, and that was the longest part of the process.
  
  ' Should I make the Armor Wear before starting on Blood/Lust? ' he wondered. ' Nah. I should get Faith her axes. They 'll help her against Kakistos and might even save Dormer's life .'
  
  To his surprise, a third or fourth party hadn't entered the school on the eve before the Sadie Hawkins dance. Neither Angelus, Spike, nor Drusilla had entered the school to kill them. There was no one around to witness a distraught and crying Buffy shoot Xander in the chest. Though he fell over the balcony, his ring healed his head injury, and despite the pain pulsing in his chest, his vest kept the bullet out of his body. A few minutes later, Xander was in the music room, kissing Buffy.
  
  The feel of her lips hungrily wanting his made him feel delirious. With the breathy, moaning sounds of their kisses filling his ears, Xander couldn't help but recall their kisses throughout the time braid-from the timid and gentle ones to the ravenous, wanton ones-and his body reacted instinctively. He pressed the Slayer against the wall for more. However, when Buffy quickly returned his lustful passion-holding his sides and pulling him in-Xander suddenly regained his composure.
  
  He quickly pulled away, and despite the half-lidded expression of sexual desire on Buffy's face, he mentally questioned himself, ' What the hell am I doing? '
  
  His surprised expression finally registered with Buffy, and she 'awoke' as well, standing straighter and covering her mouth with her hand. He could see in her greenish-blue eyes that they were both wondering how much of the kiss was the poltergeists and how much of it was them. Xander's face contorted in a grimace, not just because he didn't like the answer and he suddenly felt tremendous guilt, but also because the blunt force trauma to his chest from the gunshot flared up in terrible pain.
  
  Xander dropped to one knee, clutching his chest as he thought, ' Heal anytime now! ' Though Xander always understood that major injuries took precedence and a longer time to heal-especially if he hadn't eaten-he was desperate for the ring's magic to work faster.
  
  Buffy helped Xander walk to the library-insisting he lean on her-when an anxious Xander asked, "What am I going to tell Cordelia?"
  
  Buffy cleared her throat, but took several moments before answering, "I mean... we were possessed. I'm sure she'll understand."
  
  "...And if she doesn't?" he worriedly asked.
  
  "She will, Xander," Buffy comfortingly replied. "I would."
  
  Worried about Angelus' words and Cordelia's destiny, Xander wasn't so certain. Like an idiot, he'd already told her she had a true love out there, even if she wouldn't 'meet' him for some time. So many 'What If' scenarios were running through his mind, and none of them filled him with hope. Cordelia was a singular individual, who demanded a lot, but loved with her whole heart. Lying to her simply wasn't an option, so Xander told Cordelia that night.
  
  After the Scoobies took stock of all the damage and made certain Xander was tended to, the couple went to his house and he explained the salacious detail omitted to the others. He assured her he had no romantic feelings for Buffy, and rather than getting angry or slashing him with her words, she simply said, "Okay," and shrugged, as if she wasn't sure why he thought that was such a big deal.
  
  Cautiously, he asked, "Really?"
  
  "You weren't in control of your actions," Cordelia pointed out as if it was obvious. "Is it a little surprising? Sure. But it's not the first time you've been possessed, so we're fine. I promise."
  
  Though Cordelia said they were fine, and they had a pleasant evening together, Xander soon noticed how introspective she became. Over the next few weeks, he noted an amplification of her moods. She'd fluctuate between their quarreling and loving moments with sharp regularity. She wasn't acting differently, nor did she seem unhappy with him, but Xander couldn't shake the feeling that something felt off.
  
  As the swim team began competing, Xander became an instant sensation. With his impressive level of physical fitness-broad-shoulders, clear six-pack, taut chest, toned legs, and a well-shaped back-wearing nothing but a speedo and dripping wet, all the girls from many schools paid close attention to him. He was quite literally a wet dream come to life, and though vain, he enjoyed the attention.
  
  More than anyone else on either team, Xander was lean yet remarkably muscular, and with his flexible range of motion, he was the fastest swimmer, despite not having the same wingspan and large hands as others. His popularity soared, along with Cordelia's-much to her delight-but he still couldn't shake the feeling something was off.
  
  After the Scoobies once again exposed the coach for doping the players and preventing any of them from transforming into fish monsters, Xander confronted Cordelia. Oddly enough, they were walking hand in hand through Hammersmith Park. As they passed by the upgraded playground, Xander stopped and chuckled at the recollection of their four-year-old selves' first meeting. His stopping anchored Cordelia, who had been distracted, and his chuckling brought her out of her thoughts.
  
  She gazed over at the sandbox, and the confused brunette asked, "What?"
  
  Xander replied, his voice tinged with nostalgia, "That's where we first met."
  
  "Really?" she asked, scanning the area as if trying to recall the memories. Seemingly giving up, she turned to him and coyly asked, "How fast did you fall in love with me?"
  
  With a small chuckle, Xander replied, "By our third sentence, we were already insulting each other."
  
  Her lips curved into a smile as she said, "Sounds about right." But for a fleeting moment, a hint of distance crossed her beautiful features, as if a dark thought clouded her mind. She quickly shook it off and squeezed his hand, her smile returning as she said, "Come on. Let's get some non-fat yogurt."
  
  As he began to walk, tugging on their joined hands, Xander remained rooted on the spot, halting her forward progress. She turned to him in confusion, but he firmly believed there was something she wasn't telling him, and she knew that he knew. Xander pulled her over to the shaded bench where his mom used to sit on and watch him, and they sat down.
  
  Cordelia looked at him with concern as she asked, "What? What's wrong?"
  
  Xander turned to face her, his beautiful girlfriend, and confessed, "I can feel something, Cor. Something that's bothering you, but you won't tell me about." Cordelia's expression grew guarded, her breath deepening and her features becoming expressionless. He could see she was putting her guard up, which hurt, but he squeezed her hand and pleaded, "Just talk to me. You know you can tell me anything."
  
  Cordelia remained silent for several moments, her gaze fixed on the sandbox where they played as children, likely conflicted about how honest she should be or if she should just completely deflect. She let out a sigh before sitting straighter and speaking.
  
  "When you kissed Buffy-" she began, but Xander attempted to interrupt her to explain the possession again. She placed a finger to his lips, stopping him, and saying "Wait. It's not what you think. Just let me finish."
  
  Though hesitant, Xander nodded, and she continued.
  
  "When you told me you guys kissed, I thought to myself, ' why would he need to tell me that, ' you know? It's like, I'm not so petty I can't see you weren't in control of your actions. But then... then I realized you told me because that kiss meant more to you than it should have. It's Buffy. It's always Buffy with you."
  
  "No, Cor," he interrupted, scooting closer and grasping her hand in assurance. "I promise you we're just friends."
  
  Cordelia gave him a sad smile, replying, "Yeah, I know. But that's now, isn't it? That won't always be the case, will it?" Xander was silent for a moment, so she continued. "All of sophomore year, you followed her around like you were on her leash."
  
  "I'm not-"
  
  "Stop," Cordelia implored, her eyes pleading with him to let her finish. Though reluctant, Xander nodded and she continued, "I get that you're not about her like that anymore. You grew a spine- finally ." Xander rolled his eyes but listened. "I get that you're just friends now. But the thing I've been thinking about the past few weeks is what you said about us: ' excluding the loves of our lives, you and I are the best ones for each other .' You won't tell me who my guy is, which is annoying, but fine. I understand."
  
  Cordelia's watery gaze turned to the ground, her voice tinged with sadness as she confessed, "But, I hadn't ever thought of who your girl would be-I mean, not seriously. Not until now. I always knew you had a thing for Buffy, but I never actually thought it could be her . Then you kissed, and it hit me... you already met the love of your life. And you're dating me despite being right next to her."
  
  Xander shook his head in mounting frustration as he exclaimed, "No! No! I've had just about enough of this. I am not in love with Buffy, nor am I the love of her life."
  
  "Duh. She's totally obsessed with Angel, or whatever," she pointedly stated.
  
  "Exactly," he confirmed. "Be her number two choice? No thanks. I have more self-respect than that."
  
  "But you love her," Cordelia stressed.
  
  "Is it such a sin for friends to love each other? There is such a thing as platonic love."
  
  "And when you and I reach the end... of our road" Cordelia lamented, her shaky voice laced with vulnerability. "Who's the girl for you then?"
  
  If he were forced at gun-point to provide a name, Xander he likely would've said Faith, but Cordelia didn't yet know about his conversations with the Bostonian. Cordelia nodded, likely assuming he'd rather not say it was Buffy, annoying him. From Cordelia's perspective, Xander had been in love with Buffy since sophomore year of her lived experience. From Xander's perspective, he'd given up on Buffy years ago.
  
  "What if I decide to leave Sunnydale after graduation?" she asked. "Which, by the way, is a very likely possibility. Would you come with me or stay here? ...With Buffy?"
  
  Xander cleared his throat and sternly replied, "It's not that I want to stay with Buffy. It's just-"
  
  Cordelia smiled a heartbreakingly sweet smile at him as she caressed his cheek before saying, "I think this is enough."
  
  Despite how open-ended that sentence was, Xander instantly felt his heart fracture and his eyes prickle with heat, a physical threat of the overwhelming loss he felt in that moment. "Cor-"
  
  "I remember when you gave Buffy hope we could bring Angel back," she softly said. "You knew how much she loves him, and despite how much you must love her-possibly will love her-you didn't take that hope, that love, away from her. It made me think that you really, like, really , love her." Cordelia's nose was red and her eyes were as watery as his as she added, "And if I love you, like, really love you... shouldn't I... let you go?"
  
  He hugged her as he said, "No! Cordelia! No, you shouldn't!"
  
  He wasn't sure if she was crying, but he certainly was as she said, "This is why I've been so distant lately." She held him so tight as she sobbed, "I'm sad, Xander. B-Because I l-love you so much... and I really don't want to let you go." She burrowed her head deeper into the nape of his neck as the crying girl cried, "I really don't..."
  
  It was the most vulnerable they'd ever been, and they held onto each other for a very long time, trying to keep from breaking apart.
  
  Please don't bite my head off, 😉😁 Listen, I love Cordelia too. She's great for Xander at this stage in his life, and maybe even beyond that, but let's not pretend she doesn't become a Higher Being for the Powers That Be in 4-5 years time. Sure, as the author, I can change that, but it doesn't fit within the confines of this story. If I keep X/C together all the way till 2003 and she still becomes a Higher Being, Xander will be all alone after that, which doesn't fill me with joy. I'm not saying there isn't a story there. I just came up with something else. And she'll still be around to bring the fun.
  
  Chapter 62 is coming out tomorrow, Monday. It'll be on the short side, but it'll round this chapter(61) nicely.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay_tree-on is dot c0m /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content on there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :) I also got a cashapp($GraeFoxx) for those who'd like to tip once.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  I hope you all enjoyed the read. New one tomorrow. Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Choke Point
  I'm releasing on a Monday. Weird, but I'll take it.
  
  This chapter(62) is 2 of 2. I had released the previous chapter(61) yesterday, which was a Sunday. I just don't my readers to read today's chapter(62) thinking it was yesterday's(61).
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Warning: Foul language, and graphic violence.
  
  4.6K words. Short chapter today.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Choke Point
  
  In the following days, Xander and Cordelia struggled to come to terms with the aftermath of that fateful afternoon. They still met up, held hands, chatted, and bickered about inconsequential things, but their time together was now tainted with a sense of impending loss. The couple often clung to each other, and if the mood struck, made love with desperate intensity, as if trying to hold onto something slipping away. Cordelia called it the slowest breakup in history. Every passing day felt like an erosion of their physical intimacy, a gradual diminishing of the passion for each other they had once shared. Despite the weeks of heartache and uncertainty, the pair came out relatively unbroken, with a friendship that fondly remembered the chaotic yet intimate love between them.
  
  When Kendra arrived from her majestic country of Jamaica to bring dire news about Acathla, Xander knew he had to act fast. He went to the museum, intent on destroying the statue, but as it often happened in the time braid, Fate had other plans. The stone demon must've been stolen en route, and since Xander owned the mansion on Crawford Street, he wasn't sure where the vampires had taken it. In the meantime, he stuck close to the stunning ebony Slayer whenever possible.
  
  Though Kendra was clearly anxious with his proximity-likely due to their night together months ago-Xander couldn't shake the feeling of danger looming just around the corner, and wanted to be ready for any fatal threat Fate had in store for her. To that end, he presented the beautiful Slayer with the freshly forged Ordermír.
  
  As the Scooby Gang researched ways to stop Acathla in the library, Xander walked in with a black case in hand. "Kendra," he called out, getting her attention. "Despite the totally horrible and completely unpredictable reason for your return, I'm glad you're here." The beautiful Jamaican blushed and cleared her throat, leading Xander to think, ' She definitely remembers our night together .'
  
  "Evilness on the Hellmouth is pretty standard, though," Buffy quipped.
  
  "No," Cordelia declared, turning to Buffy. "You have to say it like, ' Evilness on the Hellmouth? No, cuz that never happens .' With sarcasm and a little attitude."
  
  Perplexed, Buffy asked Cordelia, "Are you seriously coaching me to speak as offensively as you?"
  
  Leaning back in her chair, as if defeated, Cordelia sighed before muttering, "I just don't see it."
  
  "See what?" Buffy asked in growing confusion.
  
  As Xander set the black case on the center table, he couldn't help but feel a swell of affection for Cordelia for the way she watched over him. She was completely wrong about his supposed future with Buffy, but it made him feel happy that even if they weren't dating, she still watched out for him, and that brought a smile to his face. Likewise, he also didn't see the connection between Angel and Cordelia, and felt the urge to beat the vampire into shape. The same old thoughts began swirling in his mind, questions he'd asked himself a thousand times before.
  
  ' Why couldn 't it be us? ' he wondered. However, weary of the same question, his mind easily answered, ' You mean besides her ascension into a Higher Being in four years? Your connection together is based on shared trauma that you take out on each other. It 's not healthy, and once that's gone, so is the connection .'
  
  Xander's expression changed to one of sadness-which Cordelia mirrored-as they both knew, deep down, that their relationship wasn't meant to last.
  
  ' Fuck, I hate this ,' Xander mentally yelled, as he opened the weapon case for the dark-skinned Slayer.
  
  Inside, nestled in the thick foam padding, lay Ordermír in a black sheath. Kendra looked from the fine weapon to Xander, who nodded with a smile and said, "I hope you don't mind. I named it Ordermír."
  
  "...Ordermír," Kendra repeated, gazing at it in awe.
  
  With grace and ease, she picked up the sword and removed it from its sheath, the metallic sound ringing through the library. In her hand, the Slayer held a CuMai Damascus Crusader-style double-edged sword. Xander had used a billet of 1095 and 15N20 steel and layered it with copper, creating a black steel with golden star patterns and silver edges. The star pattern he'd forged the blade in was the same one he'd used for Buffy's Slaymore, giving it a holy effect and an affinity for killing vampires. Additionally, the guard was a silver alloy, and the pommel was engraved with a Crusader cross. Kendra couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and admiration as she held the weapon, knowing that Xander had crafted it specifically for her.
  
  For the next few minutes, Xander meticulously detailed the exceptional properties of Ordermír, emphasizing its supernatural sharpness, indestructibility, and the boost it would give her healing abilities, which was a priority for him. Buffy chimed in and exalted the strengths of her own magical weapon, easily killing vampires and drastically improving her combat capabilities. Kendra listened astutely, like a student sitting in the front row of a classroom, eager to learn.
  
  Xander then demonstrated how Kendra could summon her weapon, just as he and Buffy could with theirs. The dark-skinned Slayer watched intently, her expression, one of pure amazement. The look of gratitude on her stunning face was staggering, and Xander couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. It was as if she'd never received a present before, and this one meant the world to her.
  
  In that moment, Kendra forgot her shyness around men and threw her arms around Xander in a tight embrace. He was taken aback by the strength of her hug, and feared for the integrity of his ribs and begged his ring to heal him so as to not interrupt her overpowered display of gratitude. As she pulled away, Xander couldn't help but feel a pleasant warmth in his chest, but before his heart could consider another girl, he knew he wasn't ready to start anything right after Cordelia. Being in the same room was difficult enough, as he often found himself longing to hold her in his arms again.
  
  While the Scoobies were researching everything they could about Acathla and the nefarious manner by which Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla might utilize the world-ending demon, Jenny finally finished recreating the Soul Restoration ritual. The plan quickly changed to restoring Angel's soul, and with his help, locate the demonic statue so they could destroy it. As in all previous loops, the soul restoration ritual worked best at night and right above the entrance of the Hellmouth, which was located right below the library.
  
  As the hours ticked by, Giles, Willow, and Jenny meticulously prepared the ingredients and arranged the symbols necessary for the Soul Restoration ritual, their focus intense and unwavering. Meanwhile, Xander worked diligently to fortify the library, ensuring that every entrance was secured and reinforced. Kendra assisted him-Ordermír on her hip-with the heavier impediments like lockers and vending machines. Buffy, meanwhile, was on the other side of town, dead set on her mission to lure Angelus out of hiding while Jenny performed the curse.
  
  This moment was one of the most crucial choke points in the time braid. For whatever reason his brain couldn't fathom, moments like the return of Angelus, the reawakening of the Judge, the tragic tale of the poltergeists, and Kendra's death were notoriously difficult for him to completely prevent. However, unlike previous loops, Xander was far more centered, and he felt a renewed sense of determination because of it. His weapons were stronger and his faith-his hope for a better outcome-burned stronger than ever before.
  
  Once the clock struck midnight, Xander thought to himself, ' The moment of truth .'
  
  Buffy was on her way to meet Angelus, drawing him away from Acathla and the others, while the soul restoration ritual was ready on the table. Xander, armed with Dreadnought, was stationed at the entrance of the library, scanning the hallways for any sign of a threat. Kendra remained close to the others as Jenny performed the spell on the library table, but Xander also insisted Oz, Giles, and Cordelia carry weapons-a spear, a sword, and a crossbow, respectively.
  
  As Jenny began chanting, "Este scris, această putere este dreptul poporul..." Xander enhanced his hearing to listen for any signs of intruders. Considering how many vampires always showed up-which generally depended on how strong he was-Xander expected a large force to equal his and Kendra's combat skill with magical weapons. However, Xander hadn't expected the handful of footsteps headed in his direction.
  
  The footsteps grew closer and louder, jumbled together, but they didn't sound like many. Xander stepped out of the library, and walked down the hall toward the sounds as they stopped at each barricade. He heard the banging and clattering of objects being removed and chains being broken, and figured roughly five people were headed in his direction, which made no sense to him.
  
  With a squinted expression, a confused Xander asked himself, "Why five?"
  
  Slowly, he approached the rectangular window of the barricaded door, and spied Spike walking straight toward him with a pair of henchmen on either side. Though there were only five, Xander's eyes widened with fear. His back stiffened at the sight of the approaching vampires, and he clenched his battleaxe tightly before running back to the library.
  
  Xander burst through the double doors and yelled, "Stop! Stop! Stop!"
  
  They were all shocked to see him so panicked, almost as if they'd gotten used to him being calm and collected. Xander rushed up to them, shaking his head at Jenny, and the concerned woman stopped chanting.
  
  "What is it?" Giles tried to ask.
  
  Rather than answer the Watcher, Xander yelled at Kendra, "Check the emergency exit!"
  
  The Slayer rushed to the library's rear exit as Willow declared, "Xander?! We can't stop now. Buffy's meeting Angel-"
  
  "Now! Now! Now!" Xander yelled over her, trying to get them all to move toward the rear exit.
  
  Willow and Jenny hastily pushed all the ritual's necessary items to the center of the cloth that was laid on the table and wrapped it all up in a makeshift sack before being directed toward the emergency exit.
  
  Suppressing her growing anxiousness, Cordelia called, "Xander?" as he shoved them all forward.
  
  While his hyper-sensitive ears listened to Spike and his goons breaking down the last barricade, Xander barely paid attention to Giles when he asked, "What's happened? What's the threat?"
  
  "It's Spike!" the frustrated teenager answered, wondering how many more seconds they had before the worst was upon them.
  
  Shoving them all to get moving, all Xander cared about was exiting the library and running to safety. He only stopped focusing on Spike and driving them forward when Kendra returned. She was supposed to be removing the cabinets and bookcases blocking the emergency exit, but his skin went cold when the alarmed girl looked at him and shook her head. They stopped at the sight of her concerned expression, informing Xander she was smart enough to look through the small window above the door first.
  
  ' Spike 's got the back covered too ,' he thought.
  
  "Kendra, what did you see?" Giles asked.
  
  "Two men waiting outside with-" she began to answer as Xander scanned the room and saw the only refuge they had a chance of surviving in.
  
  Without hesitation, he pushed them all toward Giles' office, yelling, "In! In! In!" Kendra lifted a large cabinet over her head-ready to barricade the door-as he desperately shoved them inside. Before closing the door, he ordered, "Stay low, and don't come out till either of us tells you."
  
  Cordelia, her voice trembling with worry, asked, "W-Why? What's going on?"
  
  Gazing at her, it pained him to answer, "They brought guns."
  
  Her eyes widened in fear as he closed the door and Kendra dropped the large metal cabinet in front of the door for their protection. With his friends safely squirreled away, Xander ran toward the entrance just as Spike and his goons kicked open the double doors, all of whom were armed with M16 semi-automatic rifles-the same type he had always stolen from the army base. The smirk growing on Spike's face easily told Xander vampires didn't need an invitation to get on base and steal them, but he wasn't going down without a fight. Before the enemy could raise their long-ranged weapons, Xander threw Dreadnought with all of his enhanced strength.
  
  The razor edge of the battleaxe buried itself several inches into the tiled floor in front of them as the much-too-exposed Xander darted for cover. As the first series of loud gunfire rang sharply throughout the room-whizzing past him as he ran to the bookshelf against the wall-the raven-haired teen activated the lightning magic in his weapon, sending millions of volts through the floor and up and down the weapon. The gunfire stopped abruptly as electricity ripped through the tiles. But as he ran face-first into the wall-denting the drywall from the impact as he sought cover behind the width of the bookshelf-Xander felt a sharp pain pierce his left shoulder.
  
  "GGGghhhhrrrmmm," Xander groaned in pain.
  
  Grimacing through the waves of agony, Xander gritted his teeth as he peered over the edge of the bookshelf. His vision blurred a little, but he still peeked at Dreadnought-sticking up from the ground-and shocking anything conductive within a five foot radius. The tiles popping off the ground like popcorn were, likely, not conductive and exploded from the magnitude of electricity flooding out of his weapon; however, the cement underneath certainly was, and the supercharged footing kept Spike and his men back. Additionally, if they moved too close to Dreadnought, branches of electricity would shoot out and shock them, providing an added layer of defense.
  
  Enraged by the electrical impediment, the armed vampires began shooting at Xander and Kendra from where they stood, at the entrance of the library. Kendra jumped behind the reception desk while Xander slammed his head against the wall as bullets tore through the books and wood frame of the shelf. Xander quickly realized the short width of the bookcase was no match for the lead onslaught. Bullets ripped splinters of wood and shredded paper around his face as he pinpointed the nearest area that offered adequate cover-up the stairs and behind another bookcase.
  
  "Over there, boys! Get her!" Xander heard Spike yell.
  
  The respite of gunfire directed at him allowed him to witness the attackers laying heavy fire at the reception desk.
  
  "Kendra!" Xander yelled, but before he could hear a response, they turned their guns on him again.
  
  Xander pushed his body into the wall, but the bullets were tearing through the books and wood, sending paper, dust, and splinters all over him. He feared he'd have to lower himself, which would expose his legs, but then he mercifully heard the shooting stop, followed but the magazine ejection. Thinking they were reloading, Xander quickly took off, running up the stairs. However, one rifle still had a few bullets left, and just as Xander threw himself behind the double-shelved case, his right thigh caught hot lead.
  
  "UUUGGGRRRRHHHH!" Xander groaned, begging his ring for more assistance, and soon, the pain subsided into a dull throb. In a surreal way, he knew he still had two bullets inside of him, causing him to bleed out, but didn't feel the problem was an emergency worse than vampires with guns shooting at him.
  
  Xander heard one vampire scream.
  
  "You alright, Reggie?" Xander heard Spike yell.
  
  "Y-Y-Ye-Ye-yea-yeah," the vampire stammered, as if he had very little control of his speech.
  
  Xander commanded Dreadnought to increase the electrical output as he heard the sound of heavy footsteps and grunting. There was a brief fight before the teen heard the distinct sound of sharp steel stabbing through flesh, followed by a scream and more shooting. The raven-haired time looper then heard the worst sound escape Kendra's lips; a groaning grunt filled with sharp agony.
  
  ' She 's shot !' his mind instantly thought, knowing that one bullet from semi-automatics might as well be three. He feared the worst, grunting, "No, no, no," and immediately summoned Hellguard.
  
  The Viking dagger was in his bag on the seat by the long table. Summoning it raised the bag, giving them a sudden target to shoot at as the dagger rushed through the wooden railings and bookshelf to reach his hand, giving them his exact location. Spike and the other three immediately shot at Xander's location.
  
  Despite the momentary flare-ups of bristling pain, he forced his injured and bleeding limbs to crawl toward the other end of the bookshelf as bullets ripped through everything above him. The thunderously loud explosions of shooting, as bits of paper, sharp wood splinters, and dust rained down on him, were disorienting, but he kept crawling forward until he felt another searing pain stab through his right side and along his back.
  
  "AAGKKH!" he grunted, but held it back. "Mmnnnnnnn! Mmmmnnnmmmmm..."
  
  Kendra grunted in tremendous pain until he couldn't hear her anymore. He ignored the magically dulled agony of his own three bullet wounds and focused only on getting to her. However, the one plan he came up with that wasn't suicidal risked her life: wait until they ran out of bullets again and fight them into retreating-all the while hoping Spike wouldn't die. Fortunately, the long tendrils of lightning erupting from his weapon kept them at bay, forcing them to fire from a distance... but he needed to get to Kendra.
  
  ' Heal, heal, heal ,' he desperately thought, hoping Kendra was healing herself as well.
  
  When the vampires finally reloaded again, Xander pushed himself off the carpeted ground and rounded the shot-up shelf he was behind. With all of his enhanced might, he threw Hellguard to the nearest vampire. The dagger sliced through the air with deadly precision, but the effort it took to throw it like it had been shot out with the force of a cannon sent a fresh wave of agony through him, causing his knees to buckle. Then he felt searing hot metal skim his right shoulder and trapezius, ripping up bloody bits of skin and leaving deep gashes.
  
  Fortunately, Hellguard found its mark and stabbed through a vampire's forearm as he defended himself from the large dagger. His soulless body was unworthy of holding it up, and immediately the vampire doubled over. As the sweating and shivering Xander took cover, he triggered his dagger's lightning and fried the vampire to dust, leaving only three. The vampires shot volleys at the hidden teen, shredding the bookcase with a hail of bullets, the splinters of which added more cuts to his face and arms. After five seconds of continuous fire, the vampires finally stopped and an eerie silence descended on the library along with the smoke and kicked up dust.
  
  "You know, I gotta thank you for this one, mate!" Xander heard Spike yell. "Personally, I hate these things. Sucks all the joy right out of killing, it does. And when you're immortal... Well, all you have left are the little joys of life. But, since you got some mighty nasty weapons of your own, I had to up the ante now, didn't I?"
  
  They fired another short burst at him and Xander made certain Dreadnought and Hellguard continued flooding the entrance area with destructive electricity to keep them at bay.
  
  To his dread, he heard Spike taunt, "I hate to be a 'glass-half-empty' kind of guy, but I think this girl might be dead." Xander enhanced his hearing, but couldn't pinpoint Kendra since he heard no sounds coming from the reception desk. The teen gritted his teeth in frustration as Spike called out, "Stay where you are, and we keep shooting until one gets you. I bet that'll end this nasty clog up of lightning you got here. Then we go in and kill the rest of your friends. Or ... you come out now, and we'll leave your little friends alone; scout's honor. How's that sound? Pretty generous."
  
  Beads of sweat dripping down his brow, mixing with the blood from his many lines of cuts, Xander swallowed before yelling back, "From one motor-head to another... I call bullshit!"
  
  Xander heard Spike snort before returning, "Listen, you're not really in a position to refuse. We nabbed plenty of rounds and can stay here all night playing a fun game of Shoot the Fishies in a Library. But, in appreciation of your fine taste in bikes, I give you my solemn oath: If you come out now, I'll only kill the adults. Your friends I'll turn and take under my wing, and I take quality care of that scrambler of yours. A sweeter deal you will not get, mate."
  
  Xander had no idea what to do, nor the time to think of a decent plan, so he yelled, "If you really think I'm going to let you kill my friends, you're crazier than Drusilla."
  
  "Hey!" Spike yelled. "That was completely uncalled for."
  
  Despite the flare ups of agony from the bullets still inside him, Xander felt mildly guilty for brining her into the conversation unnecessarily, and the aggravated teen yelled back, "Yeah. My bad."
  
  "Alright," Spike replied. "And don't knock becoming a vampire until you you've tried it. It's a profound and powerful experience. Trust me, your friends'll feel more alive than they've ever had in their entire pathetic lives. And getting turned by William the Bloody will give them instant street cred. I've built up quite a resume of kills."
  
  "How about you come over here and we'll talk about it?" Xander replied, knowing full well they couldn't get past his battleaxe.
  
  "I'll give you to the count of three," Spike retorted. "One... two... oh, well. Kill 'em boys- AARGGGGGHHHH!"
  
  Spike screamed, prompting Xander to look through a bullet hole, hoping it was Kendra. As he prayed neither of them died, he witnessed something he couldn't explain. Spike dropped his rifle and clutched at his chest, screaming in agony, as if a feral creature was clawing its way through his chest.
  
  "Boss?" one vampire-a brown-haired, tan man-suspiciously called, looking at his leader with confusion.
  
  Xander saw the remaining two move closer to Spike as he dropped to his knees, shaking his head like there was a worm slithering around in his brain. The teen truly wasn't sure what was happening to Spike, but he hadn't looped back, so clearly the vampire wasn't dying.
  
  "What's going on? ...Boss!" the second vampire yelled-a straw-haired, short man-reaching out to his struggling leader.
  
  In frustration, the brown-haired vampire aimed his semi-automatic rifle in Xander's general direction and opened fire. Xander ducked as bullets tore through lamps, windows, and other wooden bookcases, sending splinters flying. The demon was clearly shooting wildly, as no one understood what was happening to Spike.
  
  Suddenly, the gunfire stopped, and the double doors of the library were kicked open again.
  
  The teen heard, "Boss! Where are you-" followed by running, and distant cries of, "Boss!"
  
  Cautiously, Xander braved peering through the bullet holes and saw that Spike and the brown-haired vampire were gone. The straw-haired vampire gestured to the library, asking, "What about killing- Goddammit!" The frustrated vampire slapped his thigh and began jogging out, bemoaning like a disgruntled employee, "There's always something with this crew!"
  
  Once the threat had finally subsided, Xander shot to his feet and ran toward Kendra, ignoring the fluctuation of pain his ring was handling. He jumped the stairs, then leaped onto the reception desk, causing more blood to seep out of his wounds and drip on the counter. The sight that Xander was forced to witness turned his stomach and sent a shiver down his spine. Kendra laid on the red-stained tile, with seven or eight bullet holes in her, a pool of blood under her, and she wasn't holding Ordermír.
  
  Xander summoned Dreadnought and Hellguard to him from the charred-black floor before leaping to Kendra's side, nearly slipping on the blood. Though he was dizzy from all the movement, he immediately put Ordermír in her hand, Hellguard in the other, and commanded them to do everything in their magical power to save her life. With two fingers to her neck, Xander checked her pulse, and there was nothing.
  
  "...Flatline," he gasped, his heart constraining painfully. "No, no, no... Not again!"
  
  Xander pressed his joined hands on her chest over her heart, and despite the hot, flaring pain in his arms, he began CPR. Recalling the vague medical knowledge he'd gained from when he'd dressed as a doctor all those years ago, Xander counted every chest compression, knowing that there was a small chance she could be revived as long as he could pump oxygenated blood into her vital organs.
  
  A hundred chest compressions per minute took a lot of energy from the wounded teen, and he was dripping in sweat as he begged all of his magical artifacts to save her-to keep her alive. He ignored the muffled cracking of her ribcage and continued counting well into the hundreds, but Xander didn't stop.
  
  After they shoved the door open, Giles came out first-sword at the ready-cautiously followed by Oz and Cordelia with their weapons in hand.
  
  "Dear God," Xander heard Giles gasp.
  
  They looked around, and once certain the threat had passed, Willow and Jenny came out as well.
  
  When Cordelia looked over the reception desk, she exclaimed in shock, "Xander! Oh my God!" and rushed over to Xander's side. At the bloody state of him and the area, her right hand covered her mouth and her left covered her stomach. "You're- You're- You've been-" but she couldn't finish as the Watcher rushed in to help.
  
  Giles dropped to Kendra's other side as the sweating Xander ignored their shock, gasps, and even their pleas for him to stop. Xander didn't stop even after what felt like minutes had passed.
  
  ' Come on! Not this time! ' he mentally yelled. He kept doing chest compressions, breathing life into her mouth as Willow and a weary Jenny walked into view. He wasn't sure why Jenny looked so drained, but he hoped she hadn't caught a stray bullet as he kept demanding his magical items to, ' Heal! Heal! Heal! '
  
  Giles placed his hand on Xander's shoulder, sending a fresh wave of pain through him, as the Watcher stated, "Xander, you must stop. You'll only worsen your injuries."
  
  " Come on ," an exhausted Xander groaned, still compressing her chest. " COME ON! "
  
  With a sudden, angry urge to shake her back to life, Hellguard sent out a powerful jolt of electricity, shocking them both. Xander momentarily trembled and the ebony Slayer gasped, coughing out blood as her body convulsed back to life. At the sound of her groaning, labored breathing, Xander felt a surge of relief wash over him to see such a bloody sight. Kendra had a myriad of injuries, but her heart was beating again, and she was gripping Ordermír like a lifeline, tightly and desperately.
  
  Despite his own injuries, Xander's attention was solely focused on Kendra, as her well-being was all that mattered. However, as the adrenaline and urgency began to fade, Xander felt a wave of dizziness disorienting him. His head felt like it was wobbling in circles, and before he knew it, he keeled over to the bloody floor. He was looking at a blurry ceiling as Cordelia's beautiful face came into view, her expression one of utter distress, but he couldn't hear her. He couldn't hear anything anymore.
  
  As the darkness crept in, Xander's vision faded until he saw nothing but blackness. He passed out as his body finally gave in to exhaustion, injuries, and a great need to recuperate.
  
  I know that was a short chapter. It's part of the reason why I wanted to do a double release. I hope you still enjoyed the read. The next chapters I'm looking forward to are 65-69. Very entertaining chapters in my humble opinion.
  
  Thank you to those who pointed out my mistake in the previous chapter. I'm sorry you had to read that. I went ahead and fixed it. So, again, thank you.
  
  Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment(if you're so inclined). For those ballin' out of control who enjoy tipping, my pay tree-on /graefoxx. I only have a dollar tier list because it's just a tip jar. Other than my original novel, there's no extra content on there. DL it if you'd like something else to read :) I also got a cashapp($GraeFoxx) for those who'd like to tip once.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  I hope you all enjoyed the read. Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Down Trust Street
  Welcome one and all to another Sunday and another Chapter!
  
  Apologies for not updating last week. This was a hefty chapter and I worked a lot of hours last week so I couldn't get it out in time.
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Warning: Foul language, mild sexual situations, and violence.
  
  11.9K words.
  
  Down Trust Street
  
  Xander awoke to the dull sensation of a persistent ache coursing through his lethargic body. The surface beneath him was stiff as a board, and his limbs felt heavy with the weight of his exhaustion. Even his eyelids felt heavy, and he struggled to open them. When he managed, Xander was momentarily blinded by the stark whiteness of the room he was in. The blurry room eventually came into focus, and along with the beeping monitoring equipment on either side of him, he realized he was in the hospital.
  
  With effort, Xander attempted to sit up, and it was then that he felt his trusty battleaxe still firmly clasped in his hand. The razor edge was swathed in thick bandages, likely to prevent any of the medical staff from suffering cuts. The fact that he was still gripping Dreadnought was a testament to how seriously wounded he was and how much more time he needed to heal. Xander briefly wondered if his sluggish state was due to his lack of nutrients-for he felt starved-or if the gunshot wounds had inflicted more damage than he initially believed.
  
  Gingerly flexing his index finger, the teen felt the reassuring weight of his ring still in its place on his right hand. He mentally requested his magical ring, ' Heal, heal, heal ,' and quickly felt a cool tingle wash over him. However, the pang of hunger in his stomach warned him of his need to nourish himself if he wanted to hasten his recovery.
  
  ' Fuck, I need food ,' he lethargically thought in frustration.
  
  As he curiously looked to his right, he was taken aback to find Joyce seated in a chair along the wall. She appeared to be sleeping, with her head resting on her hand, which was propped up by her elbow on the chair's arm. From the slumbering mother at his bedside, he glanced around the room until he spotted the clock on the wall. It read 7:36 PM.
  
  ' Jesus, it 's almost been a full day ,' he thought, as he attempted to sit up.
  
  Lethargically moving to sit upright caused the bed to creak, waking Joyce. She quickly made her way to his side, gasping, "Oh, my... Xander, are you okay? How do you feel?"
  
  "...Like moldy swiss cheese," he croaked. She handed him a glass of water, which he gratefully accepted-ignoring how heavy it felt in his hand. After quenching his parched throat, he groggily asked, "How's everyone?"
  
  "Everyone's fine," Joyce replied with a sigh of relief. "Kendra is still in the intensive care unit, but she's recovering faster than the doctors could believe, so they're hopeful."
  
  "Good... good," he said, trying to get comfortable. Joyce grabbed an extra pillow and tucked it behind his lower back, easing the strain on his core muscles. "Thanks," he whispered, settling back more comfortably. He was starved for information about his friends, as well as what happened to Angel & Spike, the world-ending demon Acathla, and whether he'd be looping in a few hours or not. So, he tactfully asked, "And Buffy?"
  
  With clear relief, the mother exclaimed, "She wasn't there, thank heaven- No. I'm terribly sorry," she regretfully apologized.
  
  "It's fine," Xander reassured her. "I'm glad she wasn't there either."
  
  Joyce nodded and smiled awkwardly, before answering, "Buffy and the others are outside."
  
  ' I guess she hasn 't dealt with Acathla yet ,' he thought, then asked, "Who's with Kendra?"
  
  "Mr. Giles and Ms. Calendar," Joyce responded.
  
  "Good," he said with a nod.
  
  "I tried calling your parents," Joyce continued with a frown. "I couldn't reach them, but I left a message, so I'm sure they'll call back as soon as they get it."
  
  With a small smile, he shook his head lamely, saying, "It's fine."
  
  When Xander asked to see his friends, Joyce informed him that the doctors had mandated no more than one visitor at a time, stressing he needed rest following his four-hour surgery. Despite her kind-hearted insistence, Xander was firm in his need to see his friends.
  
  "I'll recover faster if I see them," he emphasized with a touch of playfulness. "And if you could get me some food-I'm starving !"
  
  Her expression softened, and with a tired smile, she relented, allowing the girls to stay until she had returned with food for him. Like a torpedo, Willow rocketed straight to his chest, hugging him tightly. Xander winced slightly at the flare-up of pain, but the sight of his friends-relieved of their worries-eased it. With a carefree smile, Xander returned his sobbing friend's hug, finally letting Dreadnought go, but only feeling marginally more pain around the areas he was shot in.
  
  Cordelia leaned over, tilted his chin upward, and pressed a tender kiss on his lips for a long moment. She then offered him a grateful peck on his nose before stepping back. Buffy watched them, her eyes darting between Cordelia and Willow, and then she stepped away to the foot of the bed, as if distancing herself-almost sadly. Having observed Buffy's behaviors for over a century, he easily understood that the young leader felt responsible for his hospitalization, and didn't feel she had the right to express her relief.
  
  ' She 's punishing herself ,' he thought before cautiously asking, "You alright, Buff?"
  
  Before Buffy could answer, Cordelia interjected, "She's just mad because we have to kill her boyfriend now."
  
  " I 'm not ," Buffy hotly contested, eying the brunette with annoyance. Turning to Xander, she insisted, "I swear I'm not."
  
  Xander could easily sense the tension in the air and surmised that a difficult conversation must've taken place between the girls, and likely with Giles, as well. Since he knew Cordelia didn't have a filter, he figured the interaction hadn't gone well.
  
  "Someone want to explain to me what happened?" Xander asked, tentatively.
  
  Willow pulled away, sniffling, and clearing her cheeks of tears as she answered, "Um, they started shooting before we could even get the ritual going. So, instead of restoring Angel's soul, we zapped Spike, hoping that would get them out."
  
  "Nice," Xander praised. "That saved our lives."
  
  "You and Kendra held them off long enough," Willow weakly returned, her voice quivering.
  
  "So, we still have to deal with Angelus," Xander observed. "I guess we'll have to get him next," he reasoned, saddening Buffy. Willow was empathetic to her friend and Cordelia appeared conflicted, as if she were weighing her own emotions.
  
  "We don't have another Orb of Thesulah, which is key to the ritual," Willow sadly noted. " We can't do it without one, and they're not easy to come by. The orb we used was the only one we had, and we're lucky it didn't break in all the mayhem."
  
  Recalling that he hadn't informed him of the spares he had-for Spike and Drusilla-Xander casually informed them, "I bought a pair of them..." Instantly, they all looked at him in stunned silence, surprising him as he hesitantly added, "Uh, just in case something happened."
  
  Buffy was so overjoyed, the grateful Slayer quickly moved to the other side of the bed and hugged him, relieved she wouldn't need to kill Angel. At the sight of the friends hugging, Cordelia crossed her arms, appearing irked. He knew the conflicted girl was thinking something along the lines of, ' Helping the person you love to be with someone else sucks .'
  
  Holding him tightly, Buffy whispered, "I'm glad you're okay."
  
  "Thanks," he replied, patting her on the back. When she stepped back, he asked, "What all happened with Kendra?"
  
  Willow answered, "After you brought her back, the magical weapons kept her around long enough for the paramedics to get to her. No one could get you guys to let go of the weapons, so they had to operate on you both like that. Kendra's surgery was touch-and-go since she was shot more, but they stabilized her and she made it through."
  
  "Good. Good," he said. "I hate to say this, but I don't think she was supposed to live."
  
  "Why?" Buffy asked.
  
  "Old Me had no recollection of her," he answered, before elaborating, "Buffy and Faith were the Big Time Slayers in that timeline, so I'm assuming Kendra died young-uh, no pun intended."
  
  "Faith?" Cordelia thoughtfully repeated. "That's the girl who's been calling."
  
  With raised eyebrows, the surprised Xander asked, "She called?"
  
  Cordelia explained, "We went by your house hoping your parents left a message with their new number. Instead of those air-hogging ingrates, there were a bunch of messages from a girl saying she got her powers. I'm sure she said her name was Faith in one of the messages."
  
  "Super-secrety information like that shouldn't be left on an answering machine, but fine," Xander remarked dryly. He told the group, "Yeah, her name's Faith, and I've been talking to her once a month since December."
  
  "Why?" Willow inquired.
  
  "To help her- Well, more like prepare her," he answered.
  
  "Channeling your inner Watcher?" Buffy remarked with a proud smirk. "Why not tell us?"
  
  "Unlike you or Kendra, Faith did not, by any means , grow up in the best environment," he began explaining. "It was pretty bad. From the Old Me memories, she did a lot of bad things at the beginning of her Slayer days that she later tried to atone for."
  
  "What kind of things?" a concerned Buffy asked.
  
  "If no one helps her? The kind that gets you sent to federal prison," he gravely responded.
  
  "Wait, Slayers can go bad?" a stunned Cordelia questioned, as if never considering an evil Slayer. "Jeez. There's a horror movie waiting to happen."
  
  "She doesn't have to," Xander claimed. "I figure I'd try to be one of the first people she can actually trust-who won't just use her-so that maybe she can do better."
  
  "That's amazing, Xander," Willow praised.
  
  Buffy nodded, adding, "Ditto. Do we get to meet her?"
  
  "I assume so," he answered. "I'll call her later. Right now you need to go to my mansion on Crawford street. That's where I kept the spare orbs."
  
  All three girls were stunned to hear he had a mansion.
  
  "A mansion?" Cordelia repeated, taken aback. "What mansion?"
  
  "Part of the deal with my parents," Xander disclosed, kicking himself for his long-developed tendency to keep things to himself. "It's a property I fix up in my spare time."
  
  A flabbergasted Willow argued, "You're just... Why are you keeping so many things from us?"
  
  The mildly guilty boy asked his childhood friend, "What's there to tell? I'm not doing anything over there besides repairs. And only in my spare time."
  
  With an air of authority, Buffy nodded and addressed the group, saying, "Alright, let's get to work before they bring Acathla back."
  
  "Would it be okay if I cast the curse?" Willow asked Buffy. "Ms. Calendar is still out of it."
  
  Nodding, Buffy said, "If Giles gives you the okay..."
  
  "I'm staying," Cordelia said, closing the distance between herself and Xander.
  
  Though the recovering boy appreciated the gesture, he knew they'd need a car and said, "Cor, they're going to need you. I'll be fine. Promise."
  
  "...Okay," she hesitantly agreed before adding, "but I'll be back."
  
  "You better," he returned with a wink and a smirk. He then turned to Buffy and asked, "Can we talk for a sec?"
  
  After a final embrace from Willow and a kiss from Cordelia, Buffy and Xander were alone in the room. Though the Slayer appeared eager to venture into the night and defeat the impending calamity, she was also curious to know why he requested she stay. Xander seriously entertained the chilling idea of informing her about her mother's health issues, but quickly dismissed it, realizing that would only distract Buffy in her fight.
  
  Instead, he reassured her, "This is going to work."
  
  With some relief, she nodded and agreed. "I know. I know it is. Was that it?"
  
  "Uh, yeah," he stammered.
  
  She looked at him curiously before challenging, "It doesn't seem like it."
  
  Smirking, he replied, "I was just trying to think of a way to convince you to let me come with."
  
  Buffy stepped forward and sternly warned her friend, "I will tie you to this bed if you even think of leaving before they clear you."
  
  "All I need is some food and a few more hours of sleep, and I'll be good to go," he returned in a teasing manner.
  
  "I'm getting the rope," she retorted.
  
  "Alright, alright. I'll be good," he guffawed.
  
  Regarding one of her best friends with fond concern, a far more vulnerable Buffy whispered, "You really scared me."
  
  "I know. I'm sorry," he gently replied.
  
  "Even after this, you're still not going to stop, are you?" she asked with a tone of disappointment, as if she already knew the answer.
  
  "I'll consider taking a vacation," he teasingly replied with a grin. "But no. No, I'm not." He reached out and clasped her hand, and with a smile, told her, "Go save Angel."
  
  She returned the smile, squeezing his hand in gratitude, before departing to face Angelus and Acathla.
  
  Joyce soon returned to his hospital room with an infuriatingly healthy chicken salad. After finishing his lackluster meal, Xander called Faith from the room's phone. When she hadn't picked up, he assumed she was out relishing in her newfound supernatural abilities, and likely picking fights with handsy men. He left her a voicemail explaining he was in the hospital, and a few hours later, she called back.
  
  "What the fuck are you doing in the hospital?" Faith demanded to know the second he picked up the phone.
  
  He snickered before remarking, "So, I take it you finally believe me?"
  
  "Are you kidding!?" she exclaimed, her voice full of excitement. "This is the most amazin' thing that's ever happened to me! But seriously, why are you in the hospital?"
  
  "You already know a new slayer is activated when the previous one dies," he began to explain.
  
  "Yeah?" she answered.
  
  "Well, I was next to your predecessor when they tried to kill her," he explained. "Got caught in the crosshairs."
  
  "Holy shit! B-But you're okay, right?" she asked, her tone filled with genuine concern.
  
  "Yeah, yeah, I'm good," he assured her, feeling touched by her worry. It made him think she cared about him beyond the money he sent her. "It takes a lot to bring down the ol' Xan-Man."
  
  She groaned at the cheesy nickname before asking, "What happened?"
  
  "A lot of shooting," he summed up before going into detail about the series of events that landed him in the hospital, including the fact that he'd been shot four times.
  
  By the end, Faith yelled in disbelief, "They dug four bullets out of you! How the hell is that alright?"
  
  "I'm still alive and I'll heal good as new-won't even have scars unless I decide to," he answered. "On top of that, Kendra survived, and you got your powers. Four bullets for three slayers in this crazy world is not a bad trade."
  
  "You're fucking nuts, man," she gasped in disbelief, chuckling at his gall.
  
  "Part of the gig," he suavely returned. "This is your world too, now. I imagine you've been out having a bit of fun. Not that I'm judging. I get it. I'd do the exact same if I could toss guys three times my size like a football."
  
  "Yeah, just a few fights," she admitted with a laugh. "But they all had it coming."
  
  "I don't doubt it," he agreed. "Just, don't forget: You got way stronger, but the world isn't any less dangerous."
  
  "...I know that all too well," she remarked, her tone serious.
  
  "I know you do," Xander sadly agreed.
  
  Eager to change the subject, Faith asked, "Can I see you?"
  
  "No doubt."
  
  "When?"
  
  "I'm thinking of going on vacation this summer," he informed her. "I'll stop by Boston for a week."
  
  "You better," Faith insisted. "I gotta thank my Daddy, properly."
  
  "Or two weeks. Maybe three weeks," he hastily restated, making her snort and laugh. Afterward, he added, "Until then, listen to your Watcher."
  
  "Should I tell her about you?" Faith inquired.
  
  "Only if you want to, Faith," he replied. "I trust you."
  
  Xander lay in his hospital bed, awaiting the outcome of the Soul Restoration Ritual and the possibility of the world plunging into the hell dimension. It was odd for him to wait for news since he was generally at the very front of the action. While he waited in silence, he was reminded of a time before the loops, when he regularly waited for updates from Buffy, Giles, or Willow-though he never enjoyed being the last to know.
  
  When Willow and Cordelia returned, Xander was relieved. He wasn't surprised Willow begged to be the one to cast the spell, nor that she was successful, so he assumed Buffy had succeeded in stopping Acathla since Angel had regained his soul. However, when Buffy failed to show up to class in the last few days of school, Xander knew Angel had been sent to the hell dimension for the sake of the world, and Buffy had been forced to send him there.
  
  ' She left Sunnydale ,' he thought. ' There goes Jamaica, Mexico, and Boston .'
  
  -
  
  The largest concern about Xander's summer was, somehow, convincing Joyce-who wasn't his mother-to undergo an uncommon CT scan of her brain. As Buffy was absent, he couldn't leave the potential danger in her head unchecked, and it weighed heavily on Xander's mind. During a dinner visit, he asked, as a favor to him, if she would get an MRI Scan of her brain.
  
  "They want me to get one, but I'm, like, deathly afraid of that machine. I'd ask my mom, but, well, you know," he explained. Though she tried to assure him that the medical machines were perfectly safe, in the end, she agreed to get the scan in an act of solidarity.
  
  When Joyce received her results, she was shaken to her core, but Xander was not only there to offer emotional support-helping in any way she needed-he also utilized his skills as a blacksmith. Rather than make his Armor Wear first, he made Joyce a healing ring.
  
  He explained, "Have you ever heard those stories where a mother lifts a car off her child? This ring will enhance the ability that's already inside you. I don't recommend doing that outside of an emergency though. It takes a lot of energy and you may regret it the next day. But you can. The real reason I'm giving this to you is so you can supercharge your healing. Just tell it to heal you-every morning. Write yourself a reminder if you have to, but do it every day. Please never forget."
  
  Joyce gratefully accepted the ring, and for nearly all of summer, they talked about a range of topics, most of which centered on Buffy's childhood and teenage years. To Xander's surprise, Joyce even asked him about Slayers, revealing that Buffy confessed to being one. Joyce asked Xander for more details, and he happily shared many good stories of Buffy's experiences of being a hero to many.
  
  Xander reassured the worried mother, "I'm not a hundred percent sure of why Buffy left, but I bet you she's dealing with something big in her own way."
  
  Kendra graciously extended her stay in Sunnydale for an additional month, residing in Joyce's warm and hospitable home. Xander, Kendra, Willow, and Oz spent many enjoyable evenings together over delicious meals that were filled with laughter as they shared funny stories. However, despite the joyous atmosphere, there was a Buffy-shaped hole that Joyce, Willow, and Xander felt most nights.
  
  There were many nights during the first month of Kendra's stay that she'd patrol with Xander. However, as it was slow, the pair would often spar together. After a good session, he'd massage her sore muscles, and with a few sweet words, they'd give in to their desires and derive pleasure from one another. Despite staying in Joyce's spare room, Kendra would be in Xander's bed first. The Casanova protégé understood Kendra was mostly grateful for saving her life and gifting her with Ordermír, but he suspected she also wanted another experience like their first night together. Thus, they were sleeping together regularly, and Xander enthusiastically expanded her view of the world of sex.
  
  As Kendra's time in Sunnydale came to an end, Xander made a concerted effort to ensure that she, Willow, and Oz had memorable and enjoyable experiences throughout her stay. Despite the touch of sadness at the thought of saying goodbye, he remained hopeful that their paths would cross again.
  
  With Joyce on the road to recovery, Xander explained his need to see a friend for a week. While Giles, Jenny, Willow, and Oz took on slaying duties-and Willow promised to check on Joyce daily-Xander traveled to Boston. He met Faith at the airport, and to say she was shocked at the sight of him was an understatement. He was dressed in simple jeans and a black shirt, but at the sight of her approving expression, he was reminded that he had the type of defined muscles clothes couldn't hide.
  
  "What?" Xander asked playfully, catching Faith by surprise.
  
  "Nothing," she replied, looking away. "I just... with all your nerd-talk, I was expecting a stick-thin, acne-infested geek, wearing coke-bottle glasses."
  
  Xander chuckled, then faked indignation as he playfully replied, "How dare you mock our beloved Dungeons and Dragons' high wizard, ClappingCheeks81, with your accurate description of him! Did you know he once spent an entire weekend studying the lore and history of the Forgotten Realms to better role-play with my dwarf cleric?"
  
  "Oh my God," she gasped, flabbergasted, with a hint of horror. Though she understood he was joking, she was amazed by the depths of his geekiness, and as she shook her head, she responded, "If we're going to stay friends, you can't ever repeat that sentence out loud again."
  
  Xander laughed at the stunned girl, and they joked around as they exited the airport. As they checked into his hotel, Xander asked if they could meet her Watcher.
  
  "Really?" the Bostonian asked.
  
  "Yeah. I'm only here a week," Xander replied. "I want to make sure you're both good before I go."
  
  Faith agreed and, half an hour later, they were at an old and creepy three-story house, whose white paint was thoroughly faded and chipped. The aged home was roughly three miles from Faith's apartment, but perfectly situated between many cemeteries and nightclubs-prime hunting grounds for vampires and other demons. Still, nearly all the floorboards creaked and groaned when he walked into the old building. Cobwebs clung to many corners of the entry hall, and the once-luxurious furnishings were now moldy and decaying. The walls were adorned with faded and torn wallpaper, and the musty smell of decay and books filled the air. Dust covered nearly every surface that wasn't a book, for there were a lot of tomes.
  
  "That's a lot of books," Xander noted, amazed at the number of volumes on the ceiling-high bookcases in every room.
  
  "Can you believe Dormer wants me to read all of them?" an intimidated Faith asked, leading him to the study.
  
  "I'm more shocked you guys haven't hired a carpenter or handyman," Xander replied, groaning in irritation. Looking at the state of the home, his carpentry skills were screaming to fix the sad state of the shabby decor.
  
  "She won't let anyone inside," Faith complained. "And I'm not doing it! I barely clean my own room, and she expects me to clean an entire house?"
  
  "Jesus, I'll do it," an antsy Xander offered. "This place is giving me serious anxiety."
  
  "Are you a neat freak?"
  
  "Yes. Proudly," Xander answered without hesitation.
  
  Faith snorted as they entered the dimly lit room of Dormer's study. The musty scent of old books, parchment paper, and scented oils filled their nostrils. The walls of the room were lined with shelves upon shelves of leather-bound tomes and even scrolls.
  
  In the center of the room, an enormous mahogany desk dominated the space, and behind it sat an old Englishwoman. Her frail fingers gripped a cup of tea as she looked over a stack of papers, her sharp eyes scanning each page. Her silver hair was pulled back in a tight bun, pulling at her many wrinkles. The old woman gave Xander a fright when she looked up and her piercing ice-blue eyes locked onto his. Her wrinkled lips curved into a small smile, and she beckoned him closer with a gnarled hand.
  
  "You must be Xander," Dormer stated, her voice weak and scratchy. "Come. Sit. Faith has told me quite a bit about you."
  
  After taking a seat, Dormer had him repeat the story he'd told Faith. She listened attentively and confirmed that when it came to chaos magic, that outcome was indeed possible. However, she also proposed that their new timeline had likely been greatly altered due to his actions. Dormer didn't expect many events to happen as they once might have.
  
  "Well, continuing with that spirit of great change," Xander interjected with a smile. "I come bearing gifts."
  
  Xander placed a sleek black hard-cover case on the mahogany desk and opened it for the women to admire. Within lay the magical twin axes, Blood and Lust, which were nestled in thick foam padding, along with a belt to securely fasten them. Faith's eyes widened like saucers, once again filling Xander with a swell of pride at satisfying yet another Slayer with his work.
  
  "I named them Blood and Lust," Xander informed her proudly. As if in a trance, Faith reached for her magnificent weapons, prompting Xander to quickly warn Dormer, "You may want to cover your eyes."
  
  They did so just as Faith's hand gripped the hatchet-styled tomahawks, and the weapons detonated a blinding white light, such that his eyelids were nearly useless. This iteration of Blood/Lust was clearly one of the best he'd ever created. The Tomahawks measured 20 inches in length, with 8-inch heads and 6-inch cutting edges, and were wrapped in crisscrossing leather. The curved rosewood handles were designed to fit comfortably in the hand, and the balanced weight made them easy to grip or throw. The high carbon steel heads were rough and dark, but the silver and polished runes etched on the base added a touch of elegance. Faith was instantly in love with her new weapons.
  
  Just as he had with Kendra, Xander meticulously detailed the exceptional properties of Blood/Lust, emphasizing its supernatural sharpness, indestructibility, and the boost it would give Faith's healing abilities. He explained to the Watcher and Slayer how his magical weapons could be summoned, which would drastically improve Faith's combat capabilities. Faith was a ball of unparalleled joy and eagerly anticipating nightfall to put them to bloody use.
  
  "My, my," the elderly Englishwoman gasped the first time she saw Faith summon Blood to her. "At my age, one appreciates directness, so allow me to be candid with you, and leave it at that," Dormer prefaced. "Upon learning of your visit from Faith, I had every intention of denouncing your romantic relationship and bringing it to a speedy end. It pains me to say I've seen far too many Slayers fall victim to the misguided allure of love, quite easily leading them to their downfall. However, I must say, I've never come across a human as gifted as you, young man, especially at your age. It's led me to reconsider my initial intention. Hence, I shall approve of your relationship... but only for the moment."
  
  Xander was blinking repeatedly, thoroughly taken aback by this confusing revelation. He wasn't sure what Dormer knew, what Faith had told her, or why. He simply hummed in awkward agreement and allowed Faith to continue talking about how Xander lived on the Hellmouth in California.
  
  "Sunnydale. I know it well," the old woman remarked with a long hum. "Rupert Giles is stationed there, is he not?" Xander nodded, still trying to wrap his mind around being perceived as Faith's boyfriend. "Such a studious young man," Dormer remarked of Giles. "His Slayer is a unique talent."
  
  Xander nodded, and added, "Yeah, I'm actually friends with her." Dormer was pleased to learn that Xander was more than capable of keeping up with Faith in a sparring session and asked if he could assist in training her. "Yeah, sure," he agreed. "I'll let Giles know too. For the life of me, I don't know why Watchers with Slayers don't talk to each other more."
  
  Dormer graciously expressed her gratitude to Xander for visiting and bringing such a quality gift, and then requested that Faith show him around her patrol route. As soon as they were out of earshot of the eerie house, Xander couldn't contain his dumbfounded curiosity any longer.
  
  He let out, "Okaaaaaay! Care to explain what that was about?"
  
  "What?" Faith replied, eying him in genuine confusion.
  
  "What do you mean, ' what? ' Boyfriend?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
  
  "Ah, that," she answered nonchalantly, continuing to walk ahead. "That a problem?"
  
  Though Xander wanted a straight answer, he sensed that something was off. Faith was generally direct with him, especially when it came to sensitive or confrontational topics-she simply wasn't one to hold back. Her evasiveness now suggested that she was hiding a deeper, more emotional response-one that made her feel too vulnerable.
  
  "That depends on the explanation," he eventually replied, keeping pace with her as they walked toward the first cemetery.
  
  Faith let out a sigh and explained, "Dormer is way too old school, and isn't a fan of the rando I pick up whenever I'm in the mood. A Slayer's got appetites, you know."
  
  "I do," he readily agreed.
  
  Frustrated, Faith clenched her fist as she added, "She wants me to stop sleeping around, especially with people who don't know I'm the Slayer. Apparently, I could be putting them in danger."
  
  "She's not wrong," he said, raising four fingers as he added, "shot four times."
  
  "Well, if that's the discrepancy, then that's pretty much every guy or girl I want to hook up with," Faith argued. "If I can't tell anyone I'm the Slayer, and I can't hook up with anyone who doesn't know I'm the Slayer-cuz they might get killed, or whatever-then that leaves me pretty much blue-balled forever! Which... No! Not having it!"
  
  "Sounds like a catch-22," Xander said. "So am I just your cover or... keeping you sane?"
  
  Facing him, Faith eyed him with half-lidded eyes, turning on her seductive charms as she said in a husky voice, "Play your cards right, and we'll see."
  
  Xander played his cards extremely right that very night. After an exhilarating fight with a couple of vampires, the rush of blood, and the euphoria of surviving a battle to the death, he asked, "Aren't you going to thank your Daddy?"
  
  They were drawn to each other like magnets. Faith was a lot like Cordelia in that way-very physical, with no words needed-and was highly impressed by his size, stamina, technique, and attention to her needs. But above all, she loved his vibrating dick. She couldn't get enough of his package activating midway through her orgasm, wracking her quivering body with wave after wave of multiple orgasms. The lovers were doing it every day, regardless of the time.
  
  While on patrol, however, Xander wanted to track down and kill Kakistos before he left. Sadly, there was next to no usable intel on the ancient vampire. As he was leaving Boston, he reminded her to be careful of Kakistos and his men.
  
  "I don't know how it could happen this time," Xander warned her. "It could be him. It could be something else, so you have to be careful."
  
  "I will," the beautiful girl assured him. "Just... come back, you asshole!"
  
  Faith kissed him passionately, pulling at his shirt as they made out until they ran out of breath.
  
  Pulling back, Xander bluntly asked, "Are we dating?"
  
  Faith rolled her eyes before returning, "Oh, you need a label to know how to function? Just do your thing and I'll do mine, and sometimes we'll do each other's thing. End of story."
  
  He snorted, replying, "Let things do things, copy that. We'll see each other again. Promise."
  
  -
  
  Walking the hallways on the first day of school, Xander was taken aback at the sight of Cordelia. He couldn't help the rush of excitement of having her back, and when she noticed him, they both smiled. She'd been gone all summer, and they hadn't even spoken over the phone, despite his thinking about her. They simply weren't the type to have civil conversations over the phone, but seeing each other after so much time reignited their wanton longing for one another.
  
  Despite a century of looping, Xander was always stuck in the body of a hormonal teenager, and seeing Cordelia in a sexy skirt that accentuated her graspable curves and fitted sleeveless top, he could barely resist the temptation to skip school, take her home, and handcuff her to his bed. As it was, the teenagers were forced to wait until school ended to go to his house and spend the rest of the day catching up in his room, holding each other, and making love.
  
  Xander asked if they were together again, but Cordelia bluntly answered, "No." The ache in his chest didn't settle long when she added, "But we can take a break from being broken up every once in a while."
  
  Xander chuckled before happily sending her to heaven and back.
  
  On the second day of school, Buffy returned while Xander was patrolling. He was chasing after an acrobatic vampire who knew the value of ' live to fight another day .' Enhancing his speed, Xander had to chase him down, but could barely keep pace. He was about to hurl Hellguard at the bloodsucker when the vampire ran chest-first into a stake, turning into dust.
  
  "Losing your touch, old man," Buffy quipped as she walked from behind a tree.
  
  Taking a moment to catch his breath, Xander returned with a smirk, "Either word got out about me, or vampires just like getting their cardio in."
  
  "It could be a new tactic, like, a false sense of security. We should look into it," Buffy suggested, stepping closer to her friend.
  
  "Shhh!" Xander quickly responded, bringing a finger to his lips. Cautiously, he looked around before warning her, "Careful. If you say anything about researching too loudly, Giles pops up out of nowhere with an almanac in his hand and a theory on his lips."
  
  Buffy snickered, shaking her head at his goofiness. The friends embraced in a tight hug for a long moment before he welcomed her back. "Thanks," she replied with a grateful smile. "And thank you for watching out for my mom. She told me everything you did for her."
  
  Xander shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal and asked, "How've you been?"
  
  "Good-mostly," she answered with a hint of evasion.
  
  The friends began walking, Xander with Dreadnought in hand and Buffy with Slaymore on her hip. The moon was high in the sky, and though they were talking, they were still vigilant for any sign of danger lurking in the shadows.
  
  "Good," he returned. At the small niggle of an old fear in his head, Xander cautiously asked, "You didn't meet Spike wherever you were, did you?"
  
  "Wha? No. Why?" she asked, her confusion clear in her voice.
  
  "I never told you that Spike sticks around a lot? Starts helping like Angel?" At the mention of his name, Buffy stopped walking. He stopped as well, and could feel the friction between them, prompting Xander to ask, "What happened?"
  
  "Don't you know?" she asked, her tone of disbelief.
  
  "I don't know everything."
  
  "But you know this, don't you?" she pressed.
  
  "It's not hard to put two and two together," Xander replied. "We didn't all get sucked into a hell dimension, which means you stopped Acathla, but you left right after without telling anyone. Willow was sure the curse took, which means the portal was opened before Angel was brought back, and you had to kill him."
  
  "I'd give you a gold star if that was actually just a guess," she said, her tone heavy with insinuation.
  
  "...You think I'm lying?" Xander asked, taken aback.
  
  "Are you?" Buffy countered. Without explaining the Time Braid, Xander was at a loss for words, prompting her to say, "Exactly," as if his silence were a guilty verdict. "You knew I was going there to kill Angel, and I think you wanted to warn me when you asked me to stay behind. But you just let me go."
  
  "No!" he exclaimed. "I'd never do that to you! This is me, Buffy! You know me! Why would I?"
  
  "Because!" she nearly yelled. In a lower yet firm tone, she replied, "Because of your feelings for me."
  
  "Wow... wow," a flabbergasted Xander gasped, his voice filled with disbelief.
  
  "You kissed me the second he was gone," she pointed out, as if the act was damning evidence. "And you said he lives in LA, so I thought everything would be fine, but this entire time you knew he would... I would have to..."
  
  Buffy turned away, wiping her face, clearly overcome with restrained emotion. The anger and hurt she felt over losing Angel was palpable, yet her irritation toward Xander was mixed with an underlying tenderness that indicated she still held a special place in her heart for him. She would've kicked him out of the Scoobies, otherwise. She, apparently, needed someone to blame, and as ever, he fit the bill.
  
  ' Fuck that ,' he thought.
  
  "So, because of these imaginary feelings everyone thinks I have for you, you thought I'd make you..." Xander trailed off, his frustration boiling over. Buffy remained silent, but he could hear her affirmation in her silence. Irritated, Xander brashly explained, "For your information, sabotaging you and Angel isn't an example of love. It's selfishness- Perverted selfishness. You really think I'm capable of doing that... You know what? I am capable of doing that. I admit I'm not the best guy. I make bad decisions. I mess up, a lot . There are darker sides of myself that I truly hate, but I'm telling you, I'd never do that to you. Love- real love-means wanting the best for you, even if that's not me, which, by the way, I'm totally fine with!" Buffy remained silent, contemplative as he finished with, "Not that you deserve to know, but he'll be back."
  
  Xander left, and for the next few weeks, he returned the same chilly shoulder Buffy was giving him. Their strained relationship was limited to talking only when absolutely necessary, and they avoided each other whenever possible. Even when he came to repair something for Mrs. Summers, she would either leave or retreat to her room, avoiding any interaction with him-not that Xander cared. He worked on himself, on his Armor Wear-sewing the sanctified golden thread into his Nox gear-and patrolled as he wished.
  
  When the tension seemed too much for Willow, she finally revealed to Xander, "Buffy thinks you let her go, knowing she'd have to kill Angel-without warning her-but it's not like she believes you're a bad guy or anything. She's so grateful to you for taking care of her mom while she was away. She just feels, like, since you won't fess up to making a mistake, she needs to stay away."
  
  Eying his childhood friend, he asked in all seriousness, "Do you really believe I sent her there knowing there was no other way than killing Angel? That I would want her to do that to the person she loves more than anyone else?" Willow's hesitation made him tilt his head in surprise. "Really?!"
  
  "No, I, no, of course not," she hurriedly replied, trying to placate him. "I don't believe you'd ever do that. It's just... with the whole knowing the future thing, it... Well, we talk about it all the time-what you know and why you don't tell us much."
  
  With growing frustration, he once again reiterated, "I've said it so many times! My eighty-year-"
  
  "-year-old self doesn't remember everything about the teenage years. I know, I know," Willow interjected.
  
  "And there are some things I shouldn 't tell you," he emphasized. "I told Cordelia one thing about us, and it took us months to get past it. And honestly, I'm pretty sure it's what killed our relationship. Do you think I'd want to take that chance with you guys?"
  
  Willow shook her head. She seemed to understand his position, but then she asked, "Does Angel really come back?"
  
  "If he does come back, does that excuse me somehow?" he challenged. "Would you all stop treating me like a jealous asshole just because he's back?"
  
  "Hey, come on," Willow protested. "No one thinks you're being that. It's just... being rational can be difficult when you lose someone you love. She doesn't mean to take it out on you."
  
  "I know, Will," he empathized.
  
  Rather than more words that'd fail them, a comforting hug between best friends was much more helpful.
  
  -
  
  Xander wasn't bothered by Buffy's attitude toward him because he hadn't heard from Faith in over a month. He called and left several messages, but she never called him back. He was getting so worried, he was preparing to buy a ticket to Boston. Instead, she showed up in Sunnydale, looking for him at his favorite hangout spot. Instead of finding him at the Bronze, she met Buffy and the others. As ever, when Buffy spotted a vampire taking the beautiful brunette outside, Faith killed it and proceeded to introduce herself to them as the newest Slayer.
  
  The gang then looked for-and subsequently found-Xander while he was patrolling, dressed in his stealth gear, battleaxe in his hand, and his eyes glowing brownish gold. At the sight of Faith and the group approaching him, Xander knew the terrible demise of Watcher Dormer had happened once again. He leaned his axe on the tombstone before walking over and enveloping Faith a comforting embrace.
  
  "Is she?" he asked, referring to Dormer. A sad and angered Faith just nodded against his chest. "I'm so sorry."
  
  "I couldn't stop him," Faith mournfully confessed. She stepped back to reveal, "But even if I did... she... she was going to die, anyway. I would've been all alone, no matter what."
  
  Curious about that detail, Xander asked, "What do you mean?"
  
  "Cancer," Faith lamented answering. "They tried to use her as a hostage, but she sacrificed herself to force me to get away. Before those sick bastards ripped her apart, she told me to run here. To you."
  
  "I'm glad you did," he whispered into her hair, to which she nodded. Xander could tell she was uncomfortable with such displays of sentiment, so he changed the topic, remarking, "I guess you met the others." Clearing her throat, Faith nodded as she looked over to the Scoobies. He then asked, "Where's Blood/Lust?"
  
  "I had a belt for them, but they swing too much when I run," she explained. "I was hoping you could make a better holster for them-so they stay still."
  
  "Yeah, sure." Turning to the others, Xander announced, "So, we've got an ancient vampire on the way."
  
  "Kakistos?" Willow asked.
  
  "Yup," he confirmed. "He wants to kill Faith. Well, he wants to kill everyone , in general, but Faith's at the top of the list."
  
  "I have that effect on vampires," she quipped with a smirk.
  
  "Oh, that doesn't stop at vampires," Xander teased.
  
  "True," Faith responded with a nod.
  
  With a hint of criticism in her tone, Buffy inquired, "So, you remember this Takitos guy?"
  
  Xander tilted his head, looking at her in disbelief, as if to ask, ' Really? You want to do this now? ' At her resolute demeanor, Xander shook his head and calmly answered, "There's a reason why I remember Kakistos ."
  
  "I'm listening," Buffy replied in a sharp tone.
  
  "It's private," he firmly returned.
  
  "How convenient," she retorted sarcastically. "Maybe you shouldn't be involved in this."
  
  "Too bad, that's not up to you," Xander hotly leveled at Buffy, not backing down.
  
  Buffy eyed him with disbelief as she asked, "Excuse me-"
  
  "Okay, okay," Willow called, positioning herself between the heated friends. "I think that's enough."
  
  Faith looked around, confused, asking no one in particular, "I walked in on something, didn't I?"
  
  "Come on," Xander told the Boston Slayer. "Let's get your stuff. You're staying with me."
  
  "She can stay with me," Buffy said assertively, stepping forward. "We have a spare bedroom."
  
  "I'd rather stay-" Faith began to say before Xander interjected.
  
  "No, hey, it's okay," he said, eying Faith with understanding. Not willing to endanger the unusual connection he knew Buffy and Faith would eventually develop, he added, "You should get to know each other." He turned to Buffy to add, "I'll bring her by when we get her stuff."
  
  Faith was none too pleased about being governed without her say and hotly told them both, "Uh, how about I stay wherever the hell I damn well please?"
  
  Recalling himself, Xander realized making decisions for her was crossing a line and explained, "I know, Faith. I'm not trying to be controlling or anything like that. I just thought it would be good for you to be with another Slayer." Eying the blonde Slayer a moment, he added, "Buffy... is someone you want on your side."
  
  "Like I give a shit," Faith retorted, making Xander snort. " I 'll pick who I want on my side. I don't know what's going on between you two, but I know you," she stated, looking at Xander. "So, I'm staying with you. End of story."
  
  Extending his hand, Dreadnought flew straight into his grasp, spinning like a top as he accepted her decision. "Okay." Turning to his friends as he hooked his battleaxe to the holster at his back, he said, "I'll bring her to Giles tomorrow morning."
  
  "Ugh, how early?" Faith groaned, hating the idea of waking up at the ass-crack of dawn. "Like, does 'early' mean 'noon' on the west coast?"
  
  "Slayers don't even need more than four hours of sleep," Xander pointed out.
  
  "Yeah, but then you gotta factor in the beauty sleep, which is like an extra five hours," Faith pointed out. "Or else we end up looking like hideous zombies."
  
  "As opposed to the pretty zombies?" he asked with a smirk.
  
  "Killing them hurts the most," Faith confessed with a pained expression.
  
  In Xander's home, Xander gave her the tour, all the while ignoring her suggestive looks. It was clear to a blind man what she wanted, but Xander didn't feel any sexual activity was a good idea at the moment. He brought her a towel, and when she tried to kiss him, Xander pressed it to her face, impeding the kiss.
  
  At her confused expression, he sternly told her, "If we fuck, I don't want it to be because you need a distraction from whatever messed up shit we're dealing with. I want to smash your insides for the pure joy of it. So, until we deal with Kakistos, no nookie for you."
  
  Glaring, Faith reminded him, "You realize I can get it from anyone I want, right?"
  
  The cocksure Xander stepped forward and grinned as he reminded her, "But do any of them have a vibrating cock?" To her surprise, he kissed her deeply, one that she fell into easily. But before it could escalate to nudity, he pulled away and said, "I want you too, Faith. But unlike those other people, I actually care about what's going on in your head, and in your heart." Faith seemed uncomfortably placated. She didn't like it, but he tilted her chin up as he added, "Once Kakistos is dust, I'm not going to stop fucking you to high heaven until you beg me to."
  
  Faith inhaled deeply, pressing her lips together and swallowing in delicious anticipation before nodding. "Fine! But I'm killing the shit out of that pig-hoofed bloodsucker!"
  
  "You better," Xander replied cheerfully before they went to bed.
  
  The following morning, the pair were on their way to school when Xander broached the topic of giving Buffy a shot. "She's going through something too," he said. "Not that I'm making excuses for her. You guys might be different, but I'm telling you, there's a bond there that's unlike anything else."
  
  Faith rolled her eyes before stating, "Look, I'm not saying I'm done with her forever, but if we get anywhere, it's not going to happen if she's going to keep being a bitch."
  
  Xander nodded in agreement, and soon enough, they were meeting Giles. Learning about Kakistos went as it always had, and soon, the group was researching the ancient vampire. As a favor to Xander, Faith spent time with Buffy, Willow, Oz, and Cordelia, while Xander went to clear his mind at the forge for a few hours. They had one more night to themselves before the attack. Kakistos was like an abusive ex-boyfriend who followed Faith across the country to set her straight. Thus, Xander was aware the vampire was her demon to conquer, and neither he or Buffy could do it for her.
  
  Xander watched Buffy and Faith from a distance. He saw them argue outside of the Bronze when they were ambushed by a group of vampires. The pair were then maneuvered toward a closed-down factory where they met the ancient vampire, Kakistos. The Slayers summoned their weapons as the fight began, and Xander rushed to their aid, attacking the minions attempting to surround the girls. With their God-tier weapons, the three could make quick work of the blood-sucking demons, but there were many of them. The battle was effectively six to one. Xander, Buffy, and Faith had to attack, defend, and constantly move to keep from being surrounded.
  
  The strongest among them, Kakistos, enjoyed the show until his men segregated Faith. Facing such a terrifying monster brought her fears to the surface, weighing her down, cramping her muscles, and throwing off her aim. Even after Faith slashed Kakistos' side and back with, the brunette Slayer was sent flying when she was back-handed in the face, forcing Buffy to rush over and battle the ancient vampire. The trembling Faith struggled to get up, and Xander rushed to her side.
  
  As he fought back half a dozen vampires eager to kill him, he yelled to the fallen girl, "Where's your head at, Faith?! You going to let it end like that? Or do you want to pay him back like all the other motherfuckers who take from you?!"
  
  Her answer seemed to be spitting out blood. Kakistos punched Buffy across the room and Xander rushed to catch her, redirecting her momentum so they spun into proper balance. They didn't miss a step, fighting the vampires swarming them in unison.
  
  Faith extended her hands, and Blood/Lust flew to her hands as she rushed the terrible evil. Despite its injuries, it was still fast, punching at her face with its cloven hooves at tremendous speed. Faith dropped, sliding under his strikes before swiping at his right leg with Blood. She got up as Kakistos dropped to one knee, and swiftly beheaded the vampire with Lust. While Kakistos slowly turned to thick dust, the three warriors continued slaying vampires until the rest of them ran away.
  
  Though they were sweaty, bloodied, and tired, they relished in their victory. Faith, especially, felt great after winning such a monumental battle and was eager to celebrate.
  
  "Mom said it was okay for you to stay with us, if you like," Buffy told her. "We had Kendra stay with us too, so I think she feels responsible for Slayers."
  
  Dramatically, Xander chanted, "A mom to one Slayer is a mom to all Slayers!"
  
  The girls chuckled, shaking their heads at his shenanigans.
  
  Xander shoulder-checked Faith softly and the brunette relented, answering the blonde, "Fine. But if you've got a problem with Xander, I'm telling you right now, this isn't going to work."
  
  Xander and Buffy looked at one another before the blonde confirmed, "It's fine."
  
  "Five-by-five," Faith replied. She then grinned before telling Buffy, "I'll be by with my things tomorrow."
  
  Curious, Buffy asked, "Why not tonight? You're not hurt, are you?"
  
  "Nah, nothing like that, B," Faith returned. "I'm just starving! I need some meat in me, one way or another."
  
  Further confused, Buffy asked, "Uh, what other way is there to get meat inside..." Her eyes widened and she blushed a deep shade of red when it dawned on her. The flustered girl responded, "Oh! Jeez! Ahem! Do you, uh... I didn't know you had a boyfriend."
  
  "Nah, B. Better," she returned with a cocky grin. "I got a stud . I call him Sweet Spot, and we have the most mind-blowing sex ever."
  
  "Faith!" Buffy sputtered, looking between her friend and sister Slayer. "X-Xander's right there."
  
  Faith didn't care and put her arm around Buffy's neck as she whispered, "You wanna hear some of the most outlandish things he could do to a woman?"
  
  Shaking her head and swallowing nervously, she replied, "I don't think now's really the time-"
  
  Faith continued saying, "He can hold me down-even with my strength-and pound me into the mattress like a raging bull trying to break me in half! What he can do with his tongue and how deep it can reach has me gushing like a goddamn freight train! All. Night. Long."
  
  Buffy pulled away, blushing incredibly, stating, "Right, I g-got it. Thanks for the visual."
  
  Eying Buffy in a new light, Faith admired how flustered Buffy was as she asked, "Anyone ever tell you, you're cute when you're blushing?"
  
  "I... don't think so," the embarrassed girl stammered. "I'll, just- I'll see you tomorrow."
  
  When Xander and Faith were finally alone, he kept his word, and the pair didn't wear clothes or leave his house for two days. He played her sensitive body like a symphony and pleasured the beautiful brunette until she was a quivering mess of continuous orgasmic bliss. For two full days, they slept, fucked, and ate until they were completely satiated. However, the sole downside of the weekend was how uncomfortable Faith became when Xander wanted to make slow, intense love. When she felt how much he loved her, she would either pull back, or break eye-contact.
  
  ' She just needs time ,' he reminded himself.
  
  -
  
  Xander was taken aback one afternoon when Buffy brought Scott Hope to their table during lunch and introduced him to the gang. Despite everyone already knowing him from class, Buffy seemed particularly friendly with him. In Xander's mind, he didn't expect them to last, but it was nice to see her move away from vampires.
  
  Later that night, Xander and Faith patrolled together, discussing Mrs. Summers' request for Faith to re-enroll in school. Despite her reservations, Xander assured her he'd help her study, and even suggested a point system that would reward her for every question she got right. However, Faith was firm in her belief that her future as a Slayer was set, and school would only be a waste of time.
  
  The pair also talked about Buffy. Without being a creeper, Faith appreciated being around the beautiful & chaste blonde. Their conversations about Buffy felt odd to Xander; not unlike two guys talking about a hot girl they admired. He didn't have much of that since the only other males in his life were Giles and Oz, both of whom didn't fit the profile. Though Xander wasn't vying for Buffy's attention anymore, it wasn't as if he couldn't appreciate her stunning beauty and heroic acts. So long as his relationship with Faith progressed, he didn't care if they discussed Buffy every once in a while.
  
  Their conversation was cut short when the pair heard a faint and distant scream, likely two miles away. Xander and Faith sprinted toward the source, but despite his magically enhanced body, the Slayer was faster in pure sprinting speed. Faith outran Xander little by little, until he was thirty yards behind her.
  
  He yelled, "I'm right behind you!"
  
  In a few minutes; however, Xander heard a different sound-animalistic grunts and fighting. He was hesitant to stop and investigate, but also figured Faith could take care of herself, especially with Blood/Lust. A sharp turn and half a mile later, Xander arrived to witness Buffy attempting to subdue a very feral Angel without injuring him. Xander picked up a rock and struck Angel in the back of the head. When the growling vampire turned to the interloper, Buffy used the opportunity to knock him out with the butt of Slaymore. Buffy and Xander exchanged a look for a moment, stoic brown eyes staring into contrite greenish-blue eyes.
  
  Not in the mood for a heavy conversation, he told her, "Come on." Buffy picked Angel up and followed him to his mansion, which wasn't very far. Xander invited Angel in and they locked him up in the basement. "He can stay here for now," Xander said, before turning to leave.
  
  Buffy quickly stepped forward and asked, "Where are you going?"
  
  "Gotta link up with Faith," he told her. "We heard a scream earlier."
  
  With a hint of eagerness in her voice, she asked, "Do you need help? I can come with-"
  
  "Buffy... we both know where you want to be," Xander plainly interjected.
  
  He was by the door when an anxious Buffy called out, "Thanks."
  
  Though he paused for a moment, Xander left without responding. When he finally caught up to Faith, he kept Angel's return to himself. The Boston Slayer already knew the history between Buffy and Angel, but Xander didn't feel the need to talk about him. He found it annoying how Buffy's mood could shift depending on the person she loved. Regardless, Angel was Buffy's problem to reveal to the group.
  
  He learned from Faith that the scream they heard was from a girl witnessing a monster attack her boyfriend. Faith wasn't able to locate the monster in time, but Xander knew it was Pete, and he knew just how to draw him out. He wasn't going to let the unbalanced Jekyll & Hyde teenager off the same way the Scoobies had attempted to do in the previous loop. If it wasn't one excuse that set Pete off, it would simply be another. The Looper was going to handle this like it should be handled, catching the culprit in the act.
  
  As the Scooby Gang began investigating the monster attacks, Xander made an effort to chat up Debbie as often as possible-especially in front of Pete-going so far as to make her laugh. The Looper wanted to provoke the teen, and he could see out of the corner of his eye that Pete was seething with repressed rage. Xander didn't have to wait for long to move up to the top of Pete's hit list.
  
  That night, the raven-haired teen was on his way to meet Faith at Restfield Cemetery. He left Wild Dinks on foot to give Pete an easy opportunity to attack him. He was in his Nox gear, with Dreadnought and Hellguard, and they were invisible to the naked eye. When he reached Restfield, he was doubly surprised. Not only had Pete not attacked him yet-making him wonder if the monsterized teen was even stalking him-but he saw Buffy waiting for him instead of Faith.
  
  "Where's your bike?" Buffy asked.
  
  "I felt like a walk," he explained before asking, "What are you doing here?"
  
  Buffy's demeanor changed to one of mild anxiousness before she answered, "I asked Faith if I could patrol... with you instead."
  
  Eying him nervously, she cleared her throat as she waited for a response. Xander simply nodded before entering the cemetery, and Buffy followed beside him. Though she appeared on the verge of speaking, she remained silent. The pair went a while without a vampire to kill or a word spoken, all the while Xander was wondering when Pete was planning on attacking.
  
  ' Any day now, you juiced up, Pickled Dick, ' Xander thought as the pair rounded an old mausoleum.
  
  They were walking past headstones when Buffy finally cleared her throat and asked, "D-Do you happen to know who this stud of Faith's is?"
  
  Xander was expecting her to ask about Angel, but it appeared as if she needed to build up courage first by starting with a different subject. Unbothered, Xander flatly replied, "She hasn't told you?"
  
  Shaking her head, Buffy tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she answered, "She seems to think I need to know every detail about what they do, but she won't tell me who it is."
  
  With a bit of a smirk, Xander asked, "Do you want to know?"
  
  Buffy eyed him apprehensively before eventually answering, "I... It's not like I'm some old spinster who'd never dare talk about sex. I just don't need all the gory details. And she paints a very vivid picture!"
  
  Xander chuckled before saying, "If Faith hasn't told you, then I shouldn't either."
  
  "...I guess," the disappointed blonde hesitated to agree. "I want her to trust me, though. The same way she trusts you."
  
  "She will," Xander assured her. "You just gotta give her time. And always be honest. Too many people have lied to her to get something from her. She can't take that anymore. Break her trust once, and that's it."
  
  Buffy nodded appreciatively. Seemingly more comfortable, Buffy commented, "Giles thinks Angel went to the hell dimension. Do you- Would you know anything about that?"
  
  Mildly annoyed by the change of topic, Xander retorted, "You trust me now?"
  
  "It's not that I didn't-" In an effort to gain his undivided attention, Buffy stood in front of him and genuinely apologized. "I'm sorry, Xander. Really, I am. I shouldn't have treated you that way. I was wrong. Can you forgive me?"
  
  Xander could easily see how sincere Buffy was in her apology. Her demure demeanor screamed regret for her actions and hope of forgiveness. Xander wasn't angry at Buffy, just like he wasn't angry at Cordelia for breaking up with him, or at Willow for being upset with him when he kept things from her. It was moments like these that always reminded Xander that he'd learned more about himself due to the time braid than they ever could. It was moments like these where he couldn't truly be angry, because it wasn't their fault he was ahead.
  
  With a sigh, Xander confessed, "I can't stay mad at you, Buffy-but just like you want Faith to trust you more, I want you to trust me, too."
  
  "I do-"
  
  " No ," Xander interjected. "You want to trust me. It's not the same thing as actually trusting me." Stepping forward, he reminded her, "You really believed I wanted you to kill the person you love because of whatever feelings you think I have for you. That's-"
  
  " I know , I know," Buffy interrupted, shaking her head in regret. "Trust me, I've been kicking myself ever since... well, since you told me that wasn't what someone who felt genuine love could do." With a sigh, Buffy felt vulnerable enough to confess, "You're not the only one that makes mistakes, Xander. I'm not the best person, either-far from it. I make bad decisions and mess up all the time. I even have sides of myself that scare me." Buffy's expression was one of resolve as she affirmed, "But I do trust you."
  
  Despite himself, Xander loved hearing the words. They sang blissfully in his ears, but he was wise enough to know that it wasn't enough anymore. He said, "I'll keep an open mind, but I think we're beyond words, Buffy."
  
  Slightly taken aback by his skepticism, she cautiously asked, "What does that mean?"
  
  "It means I'll believe it when I see it," he answered.
  
  Xander turned to leave when Buffy held his arm, clearly intent on saying more. However, any words of disagreement she had never graced her lips. Their heartfelt moment of reconciliation shattered when Pete, in his monster form, charged at them from the shadows of the nearby trees. Xander and Buffy nimbly dodged, diving out of the way before springing back to their feet, ready for a fight.
  
  Monsterized Pete slowly turned around, locking eyes on his target, and hissed, " Haarrrrisss ." The ferocious Pete growled, "You tried to make a move on my girl? You 're a dead man! "
  
  "I think we found our monster," Xander commented.
  
  Buffy's face squinted in recognition before she tentatively inquired, "Pete?"
  
  With lightning speed, Pete lunged at Xander, closing the distance in a second. However, the time looper side-stepped the brute and countered with two quick punches to the liver and jaw. Xander only then learned how solid Pete was as the monster shrugged it off. Pete swung wide and fast, attempting to take Xander's head off with a single punch, but the teen deftly dodged each attack until Buffy kicked Pete's leg out from under him. With enhanced strength, Xander delivered a punishing blow to the monster's face.
  
  Pete stumbled back, clutching his jaw, and roared in rage before charging at Xander and Buffy. The Slayer and Looper worked in tandem, taking turns attacking and evading. Every time Pete tried to eviscerate Xander with a punch, Buffy would attack its rear. When Pete went after Buffy, Xander would return the favor, all the while waiting for when they would have no choice but to resort to deadly means. Bleeding from his nose, losing ground to their combined attacks, the monsterized teenager was only getting angrier and larger.
  
  When Xander tried to break his arm, Pete threw him ten feet away into a headstone, momentarily dazing him. Just as Pete charged at the dazed boy to finish the job, Buffy jumped in to fight him. All of her hits landed, but it was becoming increasingly clear that the monstrous mutant teen was not going to stop. He back-fisted Buffy in the face, and charged after Xander again. Before Xander could cut Pete in half with Dreadnought, a sprinting Angel intervened, leaping off of a tombstone, and landing on Pete's muscular back.
  
  The vampire wrapped his chains around the monster's neck and pulled with all his strength. Pete jerked and spun, trying to hurl Angel off, but the vampire held on, even when Pete slammed him into a tree. They struggled for nearly a minute until Angel, with one final tug, broke his neck, ending Pete's killing for good.
  
  Buffy cautiously walked up to Angel. Though he was still feral, at the sight of her, a calm washed over the vampire.
  
  "B-Buffy," a confused Angel stammered, and the blonde Slayer rushed to him. They embraced dearly, and she cried at finally having him back in her arms.
  
  Uninterested in the reunion of the forbidden couple, Xander grabbed Pete's foot and dragged the body away. He left the corpse on a bench and made an anonymous call to the police. As ever, they took the better part of an hour to arrive and investigated for less than three minutes before ruling it as a drug overdose.
  
  "Sunnydale's finest, ladies and gentlemen," he joked.
  
  As Xander retrieved his bike and drove home, he thought of the doomed nature of Angel and Buffy's love for each other, Cordelia's brave act of love by letting him go, and Faith's hesitation to enter into a monogamous relationship with him. Each example solidified his belief in the impossibility of love being as effortless as depicted in the movies. Previously, he would've struggled and lost hope, but now, he found himself surprisingly resilient and unwavering in his convictions.
  
  "You have time," Xander told himself, walking his motorcycle into his garage.
  
  As he tossed his keys in the bowl, his kitchen phone rang. Curious as to who'd be calling him at such a late hour, Xander picked up and said, "Xan-Man's Chicken, you kill 'em, we grill 'em." Xander heard what he thought was ocean waves in the distance and bird calls, but no reply. "Hello?"
  
  After a long moment, the teen was surprised to hear his mother's voice say, "I-I heard you were in the hospital. But... I suppose you're fine if you're picking up."
  
  A small smile creeped onto his face before he replied, "Uh, yeah. I'm fine. No biggie."
  
  "Your friends really bothered us, you know," the irritated mother said. "We're trying to enjoy our lives. We don't need them panicking, and calling us over every little thing."
  
  "Next time I'm shot, I'll be sure to tell them not to call you," Xander sarcastically responded. "I'm glad you called, though."
  
  "Don't get so sentimental. You'll be on your period in no time," Jessica mocked.
  
  Ignoring her sharp tongue, Xander reminded himself that his parents no longer had the power to dictate his actions. ' They 're just messed up people who brought me into this world ,' he thought. In a moment of curious spontaneity, a curious Xander asked, "Mom, why'd you stay with dad?"
  
  "...Why in heaven's name would you ask me that?" he heard her ask.
  
  "I just mean: you had a lot of opportunities to leave-before and after grandpa," he stipulated, sitting down at the kitchen table. "Why didn't you just go?"
  
  "Who told you about...? Was it your uncle Rory?"
  
  "Don't worry about where I learned it," he replied. "Just... tell me: Why'd you stay? Was it love?"
  
  Jessica Harris laughed loudly for a long moment, and Xander remained silent. After she settled down, his mother replied, "God, you're so dumb, boy."
  
  "Then educate me, ' Oh Wise One ,'" Xander retorted, leaning back in his chair.
  
  She huffed before asking, "Do you remember how much you loved going to the amusement park?"
  
  "Yeah."
  
  With cockiness in her tone, she asked, "Were you pulling us toward the safe and easy rides? Or were you begging us to let you ride the dangerous, more exciting ones?"
  
  Though Xander understood her analogy-the thrilling excitement of large twisty roller coasters being valued over the boring safer ones-he was more curious to ask, "Doesn't that mean you're getting on those rides for what they give you? And has nothing to do with the person next to you? Isn't that kind of selfish?"
  
  Jessica stuttered to reply, but in frustration said, "Shut up! I can't believe I took time out of my day to check on you... Such a waste."
  
  Xander reminded himself that her cutting words didn't affect his life anymore, and simply replied, "Thanks for calling, mom," before hanging up.
  
  That was a big chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it. We got a lot of really good chapters coming and I should be able to update next week.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  I hope you all enjoyed the read. Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Damn Disney
  Another lovely Sunday begets another lovely chapter!
  
  I really don't like how there's no more indentation. It's weird. Anyway, Welcome back. Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Great group of guys right there.
  
  Warning: Foul language, sexual situations(Lemons), and violence.
  
  8.6K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Damn Disney
  
  As the students of Sunnydale High eagerly awaited the approaching Homecoming dance, the halls of the school were abuzz with palpable energy and excitement. Nominations for Homecoming King and Queen were the center of conversation amongst the juniors and seniors, with the most popular among them vying for the crowns. To Xander's surprise, he had been nominated; but as he didn't care about such awards, he made no effort to campaign for the title. Instead, the only school-related task he bothered with was reminding Buffy about the senior class photos and avoiding any unnecessary drama between her and Cordelia.
  
  Since Faith had turned down his second request to be his girlfriend, Xander asked Cordelia to be his date for the formal dance. He was irrationally disappointed, and yet content that she had declined, informing him she was already going with someone else; naturally, it was a popular jock. Buffy was also without a date, and, in an effort to become better friends, had invited Faith to be her plus one. After making it clear that school dances made her nauseous, the sexy brunette accepted. However, for some inexplicable reason, she then went on to Xander as her plus one, leaving both himself and Buffy thoroughly confused. Although he delighted in any deviation from the usual routine, they couldn't help but wonder about Faith's unique frame of mind.
  
  Confused, Buffy reminded her fellow Slayer, "Uh, Faith, that's not really how this works. It's a couples thing; As in two friends, two more-than-friends."
  
  "Oh, what? You need labels to function?" the sassy Bostonian clapped back. "There's no rule saying the three of us can't go to some stupid starry-eyed dance and grind up on each other with no consideration for what Jesus might say, is there?"
  
  Eying her with a quirked brow, the confused Buffy hesitated to answer, "...I-I guess not?"
  
  Though equally baffled, Xander could only think to respond with, "I see no problem with this."
  
  Buffy leveled him with a deadpan expression as she teasingly said, "Oh, I'm sure you don't."
  
  With a cocky smirk, he restated, "Silly me. What I meant to say is, I'll pay for everything, including the limo."
  
  Though Buffy's eyes widened at that, she remained hesitant about the unorthodox arrangement until Faith pointed out, "We're going as friends, right? Cuz you're acting pretty weird about this."
  
  "No, yeah, right," Buffy quickly agreed. "Friends."
  
  With that, Buffy shrugged and agreed to the unexpected twist and Xander gave them a thousand dollars to purchase whatever they wanted. The girls were thrilled by the generous gift, making Xander feel like a real-life Bruce Wayne. At the mall, Buffy and Faith-along with Willow-set off to find their perfect outfits while Xander picked out his tuxedo, ensuring that it was both stylish and comfortable. He also bought two beautiful corsages and made arrangements with the same limousine company that typically kidnapped them for SlayerFest.
  
  On the evening of the dance, Xander arrived at Buffy's house in a luxurious stretch limousine-his invisible battleaxe in the trunk. He rang the doorbell, and after Joyce let him in, his breath caught in his throat as he took in the stunning sight of Buffy and Faith descending the stairs together. Buffy was dressed in a blood-orange spaghetti-strap dress that accentuated her curves, while Faith was a vision of dark beauty in a corset-style halter dress with delicate lace sleeves and a black choker around her neck. The two Slayers couldn't be more different, yet both exuded an undeniably alluring beauty.
  
  Xander struggled to find the words to express his awe, and could only settle with a lackluster, "You both... look absolutely beautiful."
  
  "Thanks," Buffy returned with an appreciative smile. "You clean up pretty nice yourself."
  
  "Yeah, you're definitely a meal," Faith added, eying him hungrily, as if she wanted to tear his clothes off. Xander cleared his throat as he tried desperately to fight his rising need to have her right there in the Summers' foyer.
  
  Joyce was thrilled at the sight of the dapper teens and insisted on taking a few photos. She snapped shots of them on the staircase, by the front door, outside on the lawn, and by the limousine. Once Joyce was out of film, Xander warned the girls, "You may want to bring your weapons." They eyed him curiously, to which he explained, "Just in case the Hellmouth wants to do Hellmouthy things, and crap all over our night. I even put Dreadnought in the trunk."
  
  The girls exchanged wary looks before excusing themselves, retrieving their weapons, and putting them in the limo's trunk. With a final wave to Mrs. Summers, the three climbed in and set off, ready to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime night. After twenty minutes of driving, Xander wasn't surprised when the limousine drove them to the middle of nowhere for SlayerFest '98.
  
  While Buffy and Faith were confused by the television and VCR hooked up to a generator in the middle of a forest, Xander made his way to the driver's side and unlocked the trunk. The video was in the middle of its message when Xander stood beside them, Dreadnought in hand.
  
  "This is why I pay attention when I get a bad feeling," Xander remarked, rotating the weapon playfully in his grip.
  
  At the sight of his battleaxe, the Slayers retrieved their magical weapons.
  
  Of the three, Buffy's eyes were the most filled with anger, unsheathing Slaymore as she mumbled to herself, "If any of them get even a speck of blood, ash, or stain on my dress, I'll grind them into dust and fertilize Mom's garden with their ashes."
  
  "Damn, girl," Faith happily gasped.
  
  "Little dark, Buff," Xander commented, pleasantly surprised. "It's just a-"
  
  "Don't even finish that sentence!" Buffy exclaimed, eying him dangerously.
  
  Xander smirked and decided to take on the assassins with the guns, and suggested, "We should split up. I'll head east."
  
  "I got north," Faith eagerly added.
  
  "I guess I'll go west," Buffy said.
  
  "Meet back here in thirty?" Xander asked, and at their nod, the three took off in different directions.
  
  Summoning the power housed inside Odin's ring, Xander boosted his speed and strength to super-soldier levels while also making his skin cells absorb the small amount of light in the dark forest rather than reflect it, making him harder to detect. He heightened sensitivity to sound-upping the frequency he can detect to the smallest noises over a hundred yards away-and Xander was able to easily pick out the unnatural sounds of metal rustling against skin & cloth amidst the natural sounds of the forest. He sprinted through the woods like a stealthy black panther on the hunt for hunters.
  
  Xander easily pinpointed the human hunter, Frawley, wearing his wolf pelt and hiding in the bushes with his rifle. The Looper approached him from the side with the speed of a torpedo. Frawley sensed the danger fast-approaching him, but even if he began raising his rifle, it was too late to get a shot off. With his momentum, Xander swung Dreadnought, cleanly slicing through his left forearm and the rifle. Sparks and blood shot out as the hunter cried out in agony, rolling in the dirt as his right hand clutched the bleeding stump. Xander decreased his ear's sensitivity as he came around and pressed his knee into Frawley's neck, cutting off his oxygen supply to the brain until he passed out.
  
  In the seconds he waited for Frawley to lose consciousness, Xander wondered if he could summon fire with his battleaxe. He considered making a tourniquet so the assassin wouldn't die, but cauterizing the wound would be quicker. Raising his magical battleaxe, Xander requested fire, but the axe head didn't spontaneously combust. Instead, he requested the high heat from the lightning it was already capable of, and to his surprise, the metal slowly glowed whitish-orange, quickly heating to an extremely high temperature.
  
  Though struggling to stay near the radiating heat, Xander remarked, "Cool."
  
  Realizing the light was giving away his position, he quickly scorched the bloody stump of the severed limb, abruptly waking the hunter up and causing him to let out a blood-curdling scream. Xander ignored the screaming and smell of burning flesh until the stump was fully cauterized. Allowing his axe to return to its normal state, the teen took off, sprinting toward his next targets: the German assassins, Frederick and Hans.
  
  A deafening shot rang out through the forest, and Xander raced toward the source, fueled by the familiar adrenaline of battle. His enhanced senses guided him to the approximate location of his foes, but then his ears picked up the familiar sound of a metallic CLINK. His eyes widened and his heart raced at the unmistakable sound of a pin being removed from a grenade.
  
  Xander saw them in the darkness, one of the twin assassins preparing to throw the grenade into a nearby cabin, which he assumed Buffy, Faith, or both of them were in. He only had one chance to make the shot count, but Xander had such mastery of his weapon, it felt like an extension of his own body. The blade was supernaturally sharp and Dreadnought's weight was perfectly distributed, allowing him to wield it with otherworldly speed and precision.
  
  Without hesitation, Xander cocked his axe back and hurled it at the would-be-killer with all of his enhanced might. Xander's axe soared through the air like it was shot out of a cannon, spinning like a deadly blender, and effortlessly sliced through the assassin's outstretched hand before he hurled the grenade into the cabin. He let out a blood-curdling scream, and the grenade fell to the ground.
  
  The twin, unfazed by the surprise attack, focused solely on the live grenade that dropped next to them. He threw himself down, grabbed the explosive device, and was about to throw it away when it detonated in his face. Due to the additional grenades on their belts, the brothers were blown to cooked chunks in the massive explosion. Xander covered his ears with his hands, having forgotten to lower their sensitivity.
  
  "Fuck me," he cursed, asking for his ring to heal is burst eardrums.
  
  Summoning Dreadnought, Xander jogged to the cabin just as the demon Kuluk flew out of the window. The yellow-skinned assassin hit the soft earth, gripping its neck as yellow blood streamed through its clawed digits. Kuluk tried to stand and run, but only stumbled and fell, motionless. With the demon dead, the only assassins left were Candy and Lyle Gorch.
  
  Xander knocked on the cabin door before calling out, "Hey neighbor! You left a dead body on the front lawn, and can I borrow a cup of sugar-"
  
  Buffy opened the door, startling Xander. Her expression was one of desperation as she turned around, presenting her back for inspection, and begged to know, "Xander, is there a tear?! I thought I heard a tear! Please tell me he didn't rip my dress or I swear to God I'll kill him again!"
  
  Taken by Buffy's alluring backside-eagerly presented to him for inspection-Xander was momentarily caught staring. Despite himself, flashes of many nights where he gripped her waist as he rammed her deeply from behind came to the forefront of his thoughts. He shook his head of the hormonal thoughts and was about to answer when he suddenly sensed someone behind him.
  
  Xander was startled when Faith came from behind him and said, "Let me see." The brunette looked at him with mischievous eyes, effortlessly communicating that she caught him staring. A faint smile broke his lips as he looked away, feeling mildly embarrassed. Faith checked out Buffy's dress and nodded appreciatively before stating, "You're good, B."
  
  Faith informed them that she'd taken out the vampires as the trio returned to the limo, and Xander drove them to the dance-since the driver must've ran away. They hit the dance floor with Willow and Oz, who asked about their tardiness. After a quick explanation, the friends made the most of the tacky-looking dance and had a great time together. Even when Doug Jeffries and Cordelia were crowned Homecoming King and Queen, the Scoobies still had an unforgettable time.
  
  As Homecoming came to a close, Willow and Oz stole away, eager to have the rest of the night to themselves. Meanwhile, Xander, Faith, and Buffy were loath to call it a night, and instead returned to Xander's place to watch a movie. He loaned them some of his clean clothes-even if they were baggy on them-grabbed some snacks and drinks he always had on hand, and settled on his plush couch to watch Aliens.
  
  Sitting on either side of him, Buffy and Faith continued to prove just how different they were. On Xander's right, the brunette Slayer was fully enjoying the horror film, even laughing at the grisly death scenes. On his left, Buffy was less enamored with the suspenseful and bloody parts, opting to nestle against him and seek refuge behind his shoulder from the frightening images.
  
  Xander smiled as he thought, ' She fights real-life monsters every night, but is scared of the fake ones on TV ... '
  
  Two-thirds of the way through the movie, there came a persistent knock at the door, jolting the three of them from the scary movie. Bemused, Xander pried himself from the cutely frazzled Buffy and answered the door. Upon seeing Cordelia, Xander was unable to appreciate how incredibly sexy she looked in a tight spaghetti strap black dress, due to the intensity of the irritation she directed at him.
  
  She immediately leveled a stern finger at him before accusatorily yelling, "You've single-handedly ruined all future boyfriends for me!" Cordelia strode inside, took Xander's hand, and led him upstairs, continuing her tirade. "I've been on eleven dates since we broke up, and not a single one of them could do anything right!"
  
  On the third step, Xander pulled her back and said, "Uh, Cor... Buffy and Faith are here."
  
  Cordelia pivoted and looked at him skeptically. At his confirming nod, she walked around him and peered into the living room, spotting Buffy and Faith on the couch, watching them-one awkward, and the other naughtily amused.
  
  "Oh..." Cordelia simply said, then joined them on the couch. Xander barely pressed play before she asked, "Is it almost over?"
  
  The remaining thirty minutes of the movie were tense for Xander. Faith struggled to contain her amusement, holding in her laughter. Buffy was a mixture of emotions he couldn't quite read-though, fortunately, it was nothing ominous. Cordelia was visibly impatient, arms crossed and tapping her bicep. When the credits finally rolled, Cordelia stretched her arms out and yawned.
  
  "Oh, man. I'm totally wiped," she claimed as she stood up. Turning to Xander, she asked, "Mind if I crash in one of your spare bedrooms? I'm too tired to drive."
  
  With her lackluster performance, Cordelia wasn't fooling anyone, but Xander played along, answering, "Uh, yeah. Sure."
  
  "We should get going, anyway," Buffy hastily added. Faith protested, wanting to stay and watch one more movie, but Buffy took her hand and pulled her along.
  
  "What about his clothes?" Faith tried, eager to stay.
  
  "We'll return them later," Buffy hastily responded as she rushed to the door.
  
  Xander barely escorted them to the door when they wished him goodnight. The second he reached the second floor, Cordelia jumped him, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing him deeply. Her hands caressed all over his back, neck, and hair, while Xander gripped her ass as he walked them to his room. He kicked the door open and plopped the sexy cheerleader in the bed, eliciting a giddy squeal from her.
  
  As Xander quickly undressed, he asked, "I guess we're taking a break from being broken up again?"
  
  "Obviously!" she hastily returned as she removed her lace thong and slid the hem of her dress up over her waist.
  
  Cordelia couldn't help but gasp at the sight of Xander, standing before her, nude with powerfully toned muscles bathed in the moonlight streaming from the window behind them and a rock-hard cock throbbing between his legs. Xander took the briefest moment to bask in Cordelia's beauty, her hourglass figure, her ample breasts, and her toned thighs, evoking memories of all her weak spots. Unable to resist any longer, he pounced on the girl, pulling down the top of her dress, and bunching it around her waist.
  
  Xander lavished attention on Cordelia's supple breasts, suckling each one as his hands massaged her ass, thighs, and back. Cordelia moaned in building pleasure as Xander rubbed his huge cock against her crotch. His mouth sucked and licked on each mound until her nipples were stiff, soaking her tits in his warm saliva.
  
  Xander then delved one hand down to her puffy pussy, eliciting moans and whimpers from Cordelia as he rubbed her tender vulva and sensitive clitoris. The sexy beauty was already dripping when he plunged two fingers into her sopping snatch.
  
  "MMnnnn! Yeesssssss," Cordelia moaned, arching her back as she ran her fingers through his hair.
  
  Cordelia was losing herself to the building ache in her loins, and just when she was about to ask for more, Xander descended between her soft thighs. She moaned when he began sucking on her dripping cunnie, his scratchy tongue slowly slithering inside her slippery sex. Xander could tell by her breathing that Cordelia's first climax was approaching, and quickly bid his magical ring to make his tongue vibrate as he stroked her sensitive walls.
  
  "Oh, my God! I'm almost! I'm almost! I'mmmmmm-" Cordelia yelled, shutting her eyes as she crossed the line of no return.
  
  Her head shot back and her spine arched as her entire body writhed and tossed. Cordelia's long legs extended and her toes curled as her pussy ejaculated. Xander lapped up her gushing honey, sucking greedily as she slowly came down from her first orgasm.
  
  Xander pulled back, saying, "Now that you're warmed up, it's time for the real fun."
  
  When moonlight reflecting off of golden strands of hair caught his eye, he used his peripheral vision to spy toward his window. To his disbelief, he saw the very tips of Faith and Buffy's head outside his window, hanging on the ledge, checking him out. Such a thing had never happened in previous loops, and it made him want to laugh. He wasn't sure what prompted them to jump to the second-floor window and spy on him, but it wasn't going to stop him from fucking Cordelia.
  
  Xander hooked Cordelia's legs over his shoulders and brought his rock-hard monster cock against her yawning cunt. He rubbed his fat head against her leaking slit, making the girl whimper with anticipation. Cordelia looked aroused and anxious at the same time, and he could feel her legs tremble against him before he stuffed her tight sex with his huge prick.
  
  "AAAHHHHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMM!" Cordelia moaned, closing her eyes in unbridled satisfaction as he filled her to the brim.
  
  Her sex expanded and pulsed as she squeezed his penetrating pole. Out of the corner of his eye, Xander could still see some fingers holding on and some of Faith's face watching. He pulled out of the sexy cheerleader and stuffed her to the brim again, sending a tsunami of pleasure up Cordelia's spine and into her brain. As he started pumping into her slurping snatch, Xander could tell Cordelia wouldn't last long. She clenched at the bedsheets for dear life and moaned freely as he built a steady rhythm.
  
  "YE-ES! ...FUCK! ...ME! ...XANDER! ...FUCK! ...ME! ...XANDER! ...FUCK! ...ME! ...XANDER! ...FUCK! ...ME! ...XANDER!" she repeated, tightening with every word.
  
  The stench of sex filled the room as rapid clapping and a creaking bed filled his ears. Xander humped the teenage girl until she suddenly clamped down around him. Cordelia's body detonated with an explosion of pleasure, engulfing her quivering form with wave after wave of pure ecstasy. As her body trembled vigorously, Cordelia pulled at the sheets hard enough to nearly rip them. Xander allowed her to settle down some-massaging her legs and hips-before making his cock vibrate inside her.
  
  "Wa-Wait, XandERRR!" she cried before she was hit with another mind-numbing orgasm. "OOOHHH GGAAAAWWWWDDDDDDD!"
  
  Along with the vibration, Xander stuffed himself to the hilt and unloaded his first nut of the night. Head shot back, Cordelia's glazed eyes were half-lidded, and the spent beauty could only shudder and twitch as he emptied the contents of his balls inside her warm love tunnel. After several minutes, Xander glanced over to his window and saw that the fingers were gone.
  
  ' Hope you enjoyed the show ,' he thought before he rolled Cordelia over.
  
  "Wait... Xander," a sweaty Cordelia gasped. "I need... a few minutes." Despite his ability and eagerness to keep going, Xander laid down beside her, and instead told her that he thought Buffy or Faith saw them. Mildly surprised, Cordelia replied, "Really?" At his nod, she asked, "Perverts much? ...Did they look jealous?"
  
  Xander snorted before admitting, "I didn't see their faces."
  
  With a confident smile, she claimed, "I bet they were, which only makes sense. I am Homecoming Queen after all."
  
  Holding her flush to him, Xander asked, "And where might your king be, my lady?"
  
  Cordelia's face saddened at the question and seriously answered, "According to you, he's somewhere out there, waiting for me to make everything in his life better." Xander was once again reminded how much love there was between them and he smiled at her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She straddled his waist before stating, "Until then, I'll just have to make do with you."
  
  "Oh, that's it," Xander called, rolling her over, to her delight. "Don't expect any mercy from me for the rest of the night."
  
  Xander was true to his word, torturing Cordelia with multiple mind-bending orgasms he maintained with his vibrating dick until early morning.
  
  -B-
  
  Walking home angrily, a flustered Buffy leveled at Faith, "I can't believe you made me see that!"
  
  Faith lifted Xander's sweater to her nose, inhaling deeply before lowering it and flashing Buffy a wide grin. She then replied sympathetically, "Come on, B! You can't tell me that wasn't the hottest thing you've ever seen."
  
  Whirling on the brunette, an upset Buffy retorted, "It wasn't! It was a total invasion of privacy, and weird, and wrong-"
  
  "You didn't have to jump up there if you didn't want to," Faith interjected, clearly not buying Buffy's indignation.
  
  "I was trying to stop you!" Buffy shot back.
  
  Faith shrugged, slyly pointing out, "But you stayed... and you watched... because you were curious." Shaking her head, strands of blonde hair swaying left and right, Buffy opened her mouth to disagree but Faith unhurriedly emphasized, "You wanted to know how he fucked -"
  
  "Faith!" Buffy cried, looking at the brunette in disbelief. She argued, "What I do or don 't want to know-heavy emphasis on the don't-doesn't matter! Xander's my best friend and I just violated his privacy!"
  
  Unfazed, Faith's cocksure grin didn't fade away as she confidently stated, "He saw us."
  
  The blonde groaned at the unbelievably awkward situation, covering her blushing face in embarrassment. "Ugh, he did, didn't he?"
  
  "Hell yeah, he did," she answered. Leaning closer to the troubled blonde, Faith whispered, "And guess what? He didn't care. He only fucked Cordelia harder." Stepping back, Faith cheerfully expounded, "He went wild on her the second he saw us watching him, because it's not a big deal, B! And why wouldn't he? That girl is stacked! "
  
  Lowering her hands at the unexpected admission, a curious Buffy asked, "Do you, uh... like girls?"
  
  "It depends on the girl, but yeah," Faith answered with a nod.
  
  "Oh," Buffy simply replied, her face an expression of reflection.
  
  Cautiously, Faith asked the silent blonde, "Does that bother you?"
  
  Shaking her head, Buffy hastily assured her, "No! No, of course not." Eager to accept without judgment, she clarified, "I just... since you've got your stud and all, I didn't think..."
  
  Faith nodded as she explained, "I lean more toward guys, but I go both ways."
  
  "Oh," Buffy simply replied, again processing the information. "That's cool," she added, then winced before asking, "Is it lame that I said that it's cool?"
  
  Faith snorted. "You're good, B."
  
  The pair began walking once again. They were near the bus stop when Buffy asked, "Are you going to see your stud tonight?"
  
  Shaking her head, Faith casually replied, "Nah, he's a bit busy with Cordelia right now."
  
  Eyes widening, a stunned Buffy stopped walking, nearly tripping. Her brain short-circuited as she tried to make sense of what Faith had just said. "Xander?!" she yelled. Buffy moved in front of the amused brunette and hollered, "Faith! You're lying! Xander?!"
  
  "Yup," Faith simply confirmed.
  
  Flabbergasted, Buffy cupped her mouth a moment before reiterating, "Your stud is Xander?!"
  
  "Yup."
  
  "Sweet Spot?"
  
  With a wider grin, she confirmed, "Oh yeah."
  
  As flashes of many conversations with Faith come forth in her mind, a flabbergasted Buffy absentmindedly commented, "Everything you told me he does... That was... Oh my God!"
  
  "I do say that a lot when I'm with him," Faith remarked in a teasing tone.
  
  Recalling what Xander was doing and with whom, Buffy's expression squinted in confusion before asking, "But... he's with Cordelia right now? Aren't you mad?"
  
  Faith hummed a moment in thought before shaking her head and replying, "Maybe I would be, if we were actually exclusive."
  
  "You're not?!" Buffy exclaimed in growing confusion.
  
  "He's asked me to be his girlfriend a couple of times, but I'm like, why? We're so Gucci. What's the point? So I said no," Faith responded. "That's why I can't really hold it against him if he's balls deep in another girl."
  
  "First, eww," a grossed-out Buffy responded. "And second, yes, of course, you can! If he wants to be with you, then why is he... d-doing stuff with other girls?"
  
  For the first time, Faith turned to Buffy, looking at her curiously before pointing out, "This isn't some bullshit Hollywood rom-com, B. I can't just keep rejecting him and expect him to not get his rocks off with other girls. That'd be completely unfair, and would totally make me a bitch."
  
  Buffy sighed, seemingly unable to argue that point, and instead, asked, "Well, then why haven't you said yes? You hang out with him more than anyone."
  
  Faith hesitated to reply, "I just... can't do that ." The Boston native had difficulty articulating her thoughts and hastily added, "Not with him, anyway. It'd feel too real-like too much oxygen, you know?"
  
  "Sorry, I don't," Buffy admitted. "Can you explain it? I'll take the Cliff Notes if that makes you more comfortable."
  
  Faith took a moment to gather her thoughts before answering, "It's just... he's the kind of guy a girl could marry and have a snot-nosed brat with."
  
  Tilting her head, as if envisioning it, Buffy nodded as she admitted, "I can see that. I'm sure he'd make a great dad someday."
  
  "Maybe," Faith anxiously replied. She grimaced before stipulating, "That'd be too... good for me."
  
  Unwilling to accept Faith's bleak assertion, Buffy contended, "No, Faith. You deserve a ton of good- No, scratch that. You deserve great things in your life. I don't know what's happened in your past, but I know you couldn't have done anything that deserves being punished for the rest of your life."
  
  With a small smile of gratitude, Faith admitted, "Thanks, but you don't know."
  
  "I'd like to," Buffy said with a hopeful tone in her voice. "When you're ready, I'd be happy to listen."
  
  Buffy couldn't ignore the distant look coming over Faith's eyes, a look that suggested she was recalling terrible memories. She could almost see the images of horrible experiences playing out in her mind, and it made Buffy uneasy to her core. Despite how worried she was, Buffy also felt a deep sense of protectiveness for her sister Slayer and vowed to be there for Faith anytime she needed it.
  
  Faith shook her head free of distressing thoughts and continued walking as she said, "Anyway, I can't be jealous of Cordelia cuz I know how she feels." Buffy walked in step beside her as the brunette added, "When she yelled, ' you ruined all boyfriends ,' and whatnot, I was like, ' I get it, girl .'"
  
  Buffy once again felt curious about Xander in a way she knew she shouldn't-especially after the mind-blowing revelation that her only male best friend was Faith's stud-but couldn't help asking, "Is... Xander really that good?"
  
  A wide grin eagerly spread on Faith's face as she eagerly looked at the blonde. She hummed inquisitively before teasingly asking, "Is someone getting curious?"
  
  "I'm not," Buffy quickly defended. However, she felt in her heart she wasn't being completely truthful and mumbled to herself, "I'm not?" At Faith's snicker, Buffy shook her head and argued, "It's just-with everything you told me, and Cordelia wanted to tell me before... I was wondering why some things couldn't be kept private?"
  
  Faith nodded before asking, "You've only been with Angel, right?" At Buffy's hesitant nod, she then asked, "How many times?"
  
  Confused by the question, Buffy returned, "What do you mean? It was just the one night."
  
  "Yeah, but how many times that night?" Faith specified, a hint of amusement on her face.
  
  "Oh... once."
  
  Rather bluntly, she then asked, "You came, right?"
  
  "Faith!" Buffy yelled, aghast.
  
  Looking around the dark and quiet street, Faith reminded the blushing girl, "It's just us, B."
  
  "That's none of your-" Buffy stopped herself when she recalled Xander's advice on always being honest. Though her cheeks and neck felt much warmer at the thought of her one night with Angel all those months ago, she hesitantly answered, "...y-yeah, I did."
  
  "Good," Faith asserted with a nod. As they walked through the neighborhood, Faith imparted her wisdom. "I've been with plenty of people, and I've known tons of girls who've been with twice as many. Trust me when I say that seventy percent of the lays out there are complete shit. Some of that is because the guy only cares about getting himself off. Some nut too fast, or are too inexperienced, or are too small-not to say a small package is bad. There are plenty of girls who like a small dick."
  
  Overwhelmed by the topic, but also interested in the taboo conversation, a blushing Buffy asked, "Uh... w-what's small?"
  
  "Anything between three and five inches," Faith casually answered. "Five to six inches is where most guys operate, and when they know what they're doing, they tend to be good. Six to seven inches can get away with less technique cause they can scratch that deeper itch, even in awkward positions. Seven to eight is the crème de la crème! I'm talking, the real sweet spot."
  
  Buffy's mind effortlessly linked Xander with, "Sweet Spot..."
  
  "Yup," Faith acknowledged with a knowing grin. "Those guys are big and long enough to do everything you can imagine. If they have technique, there's no way you're not gushing like a freight train! Eight to nine inches is also really good, but there are girls out there who don't like it that big. Nine and up-unless you're crazy experienced, like a porn star or a hooker-it can be too much for most girls to really enjoy."
  
  With a huff, Buffy could only think to reply, "Wow, that's, uh... more info than I thought I'd be learning tonight."
  
  "Oh, it doesn't end there," Faith returned, shoulder-bumping her sister Slayer. "I'd say twenty-nine percent of guys are good, solid lays; they last, and can get you off. There are levels to how good they are, but it's never really, like, perfectly mind-blowing. They never hit it just right, you know? Xander's part of that one percent that fucking blows them all out of the water! I'm talkin' hand-to-God the undisputed champ!"
  
  "R-Really?" Buffy skeptically replied, cautiously wondering what made him so good.
  
  Even though Buffy never thought of Xander in a sexual manner, she couldn't outright ignore that there was a certain allure to thinking about the taboo and forbidden. However, the idea of crossing that line made her feel anxious. She loved Xander as a friend and highly admired his combat capability, but the thought of him in a sexual context was unsettling.
  
  This inner conflict of wanting to know, yet feeling guilty about her curiosity, was a struggle for Buffy. She couldn't help but feel like she was violating his privacy and crossing a boundary that should never be crossed between friends. After all, she never wanted to risk losing him. Despite this, she couldn't help but be drawn to the illicit thoughts, and it left her feeling conflicted and uneasy.
  
  ' No! ' Buffy thought, replacing those unwanted images with Angel's face.
  
  "Oh, hell yeah," Faith gushed. "He's a one-percenter. But you'll see."
  
  Buffy's eyes bugged out before she whirled on her sister Slayer and stated, "Uh, no, I won't."
  
  "I'm not stupid," Faith returned, eying the blonde skeptically.
  
  Mildly offended by her friend's unwillingness to take her seriously, Buffy reiterated, "I won't, Faith."
  
  "I know why he sticks around Sunnydale, B," Faith replied, insinuating Buffy was the reason. "And you... well, you jumped to his windowsill to see, didn't you?"
  
  Bombarded with images of Xander and Cordelia, Buffy blushed and grimaced simultaneously before attempting to defend herself. "That was just-"
  
  "Deny it all you want," Faith interjected before genuinely stating, "No, really, I mean it. Take all the time you need-years, even-cuz the second you two end up together, me and Cordy are out-cut off. Bye-bye sweet cream fillings."
  
  "Oohh, come on!" a grossed-out Buffy called, overwhelmed by Faith's casual depravity and her misunderstanding of Buffy's relationship with Xander.
  
  -X-
  
  Xander allowed the marching band's drugged candy bars to play out as it always did. He knew no one would die, and burning down the warehouse wouldn't stop Ethan Rayne, who always had a backup plan. Additionally, this was the easiest way to kill the sewer snake demon. The one change Xander made was alerting his friends that he'd be in the hospital for a checkup beforehand. All he had to do was stop the vampires from stealing the babies and follow the survivors into the sewer, where he'd defeat the monster.
  
  As Xander waited patiently in the hospital lobby, he absentmindedly wondered if he would have to kill the snake demon by himself or if Buffy and Giles would be there as well. He hadn't been around to help them solve the adult's odd behaviors, but that didn't mean they couldn't figure it out. Giles and Willow were the think-tank of the gang, after all.
  
  Soon enough, many of the nurses, doctors, and other adults in the hospital began shirking their responsibilities, giving Xander the leeway to make his way to the access point of the neonatal care unit. No authority figure cared if a teenager with a large dagger in his hand entered restricted areas. It was the opposite of security. One doctor eyed Hellguard and simply asked where he bought it.
  
  An hour later, four vampires stormed into the hallway leading to the maternity ward, eager to complete their mission of kidnapping babies for the snake demon Lucronis to eat. They came to a halt, surprised to see a teenage boy, who had glowing golden brown eyes and dressed in a black tactical outfit, approaching them with a large Viking dagger in his hand. The lead vampire hissed, baring its lengthy fangs, but Xander remained steadfast as he calmly approached them.
  
  The leader lunged forward, cocking his fist back to punch the teenager, but the enhanced and experienced Xander was quick to react. Sidestepping the attack, Xander effortlessly plunged the dagger deep into the vampire's chest. It let out a bloodcurdling scream that Xander quickly clapped with his free hand.
  
  "Shhh! You'll wake the babies!" Xander warned, though the vampire soon disintegrated into dust.
  
  The three remaining vampires were momentarily taken aback, but quickly regained their composure and charged at the human with a fury. Xander was outnumbered, but hardly outmatched. They may have been stronger and faster, but Xander fought them back with aplomb. He moved with fluid grace, dodging or blocking their attacks, striking and cutting them at the same time, as though Xander's hands and feet could move independently to position for the best defense and offense.
  
  Even still, it was three against one, and with their speed and strength, the vampires slowly forced him to backstep toward the double doors of the maternity ward. With renewed determination, Hellguard sliced at the vampires, cutting into a limb with deadly precision whenever the opportunity presented itself. The fight was intense and brutal, with each strike and counter-strike sending shockwaves through the air, but Xander was tireless. His heart pounding in his chest with the thrill of battle, and he fought them with an inner fire that refused to be extinguished.
  
  When the perfect circumstance finally presented itself, Xander threw his blade into the chest of one vampire-turning it into dust-before leaping into a roundhouse kick that sent a second vampire several yards back. The third vampire tried to punch him, but Xander barely slipped the attack, summoned Hellguard to his hand, and sliced off the vampire's arm. It screamed in agony before running away with the other surviving vampire.
  
  Feeling as though the babies in the maternity ward were safe, Xander ran after them, intent on finishing the job. When he reached the downstairs lobby, he was distressed to witness two frantic parents that hadn't eaten the chocolate bars pleading with a laughing police officer to save their babies. Xander noted a stroller made for triplets on the floor and knew the vampires had taken them.
  
  ' Fucking loop ,' Xander cursed as he sighed.
  
  With renewed vigor, Xander rushed outside and straight to the open manhole cover, where he ran into Buffy, Faith, Giles, Joyce, and an irate-looking Jenny. Xander quickly explained what happened in the hospital and, without hesitation, the Scoobies jumped into the sewer. With Buffy and Faith there, and Xander leading the way, they effortlessly dusted vampires, killed Lucronis, and rescued the triplets.
  
  The next day, it was impossible not to notice Jenny giving Giles the cold shoulder. Xander assumed Giles and Joyce still met during Ethan's chocolate debacle, and pondered how much blame he should receive. Though Jenny was still alive to be able to be upset in the first place, technically anything bad that happened in the time braid was his fault, even if he wasn't in charge of other people's choices. It was a moral and ethical conundrum that often left him feeling sick to his stomach.
  
  To make up for it, Xander approached Jenny in her classroom, and after the students all left, he shared, "I don't know what happened between you guys, but if mind-altering magic was involved, I hope you can work it out."
  
  "Thank you, Xander, but this is between me and Giles," Jenny responded, grabbing a stack of papers and setting them in front of herself to grade.
  
  "I know," the teen agreed. "I just wouldn't want you to regret missing anything amazing. I think-given what we do-we all deserve any happiness we can get. But I also want you to know I support you either way."
  
  "I appreciate your concern," Jenny replied with a grateful smile. "It's touching how much you care, but right now, I just want to work."
  
  "Sure thing," Xander replied. "But if you ever want to just eat pizza and watch a movie, I have an open door policy for things like that."
  
  Jenny smiled gratefully and nodded before he left.
  
  When Gwendolyn Post appeared in Sunnydale and entered their lives, Xander warned the Scoobies he had an ominous feeling about her. With the knowledge of what was to come, he approached Giles and requested he reach out to the Watcher's Council to verify Post's credentials. Despite the Englishman's skepticism, he agreed and made the calls that afternoon. It was the following day when the council returned his calls, and the truth was revealed. Giles then informed the group that Gwendolyn had been ousted from their ranks for her questionable practices in the Dark Arts.
  
  Despite the group learning that they were dealing with a dangerous adversary-who sought the violent power of the glove of Myhnegon-Xander was unperturbed. He had already replaced the original glove with a replica the previous year, thus proposed a plan: play along with Post and observe her actions. Buffy, Faith, and Xander then split up, going to different locations to search for the dangerous gauntlet. As Xander knew the exact location, he was en route to the mausoleum when he spotted Angel walking in the distance.
  
  Enhancing his vision, Xander could see the vampire holding something in his hand-which he assumed was the replica glove-so he trailed him back to the mansion. After a while of trekking through the woods, Xander witnessed the debonair vampire encounter Buffy in the courtyard of Xander's mansion, where they shared an intimate kiss. He sighed at the sight of them before approaching them. They became aware of his presence only when he was within ten feet of them, prompting Buffy to step away from Angel.
  
  Xander could only voice what everyone was feeling at that moment. "Awkward."
  
  Buffy swallowed nervously, avoiding direct eye contact with either man. But Angel greeted him, his deep voice carrying across the courtyard. "Xander."
  
  Xander returned the greeting with a dry, "Angel. Welcome back."
  
  "Thanks," the vampire replied.
  
  Nodding to the object in his hand wrapped in a dark blue cloth, Xander inquired, "That the glove?"
  
  Stepping forward, Buffy explained their intention. "We were going to destroy it."
  
  But Xander shook his head, stating, "No need. It's a fake."
  
  Drawing her brows in confusion, Buffy asked, "What do you mean it's a fake?"
  
  Clearing his throat, he nervously confessed, "I found the original last year, melted it, then replaced it with a replica."
  
  Buffy was taken aback by his admission, and asked, "Why? And why didn't you say anything?"
  
  Kicking himself again for his inability to find the proper balance of transparency, he sighed before explaining, "In order to forge Dreadnought, Hellguard, and the other weapons, I knew I'd need special metals, whether they be from magical artifacts, cursed, or blessed somehow. So I went searching and found the glove. I didn't think anyone would mind. It was just a glove no one was using."
  
  Though accepting his explanation, Buffy further asked, "Then why make a replica if you didn't think anyone would want it?"
  
  "Just in case," Xander replied with a shrug. "You never know what kind of crazies out there are into the goth-gauntlet-lightning-shooting thingy."
  
  Making the connection, Buffy's surprise was palpable as she asked, "Is that why your weapons can shoot lightning?" He nodded before she skeptically wondered out loud, "So... does that mean we're done, then?"
  
  Xander's playful personality enabled him to conjure up a funny prank and suggested, "Weee could still give it to psycho Mary Poppins." A wicked grin spread his lips and his eyes had a glint of mischief to them as he added, "See what she does."
  
  Buffy matched his wicked grin, easily aligning with his mischievous train of thought, and replied, "Sounds like fun. Maybe we can make up an instructional guide. Something she'd have to say out loud."
  
  At the thought of the silliness they could theoretically make the pompous Englishwoman say, Xander smiled broadly before agreeing, "That would be pretty funny. You know what wouldn't be funny? The second coming of Angelus."
  
  All the humor and levity between the friends deflated in an instant, and an anxious Buffy argued, "Xander, it's not what you think."
  
  "Cuz you know what I think?" he easily rebuffed.
  
  "I know you think I'm making a mistake," she claimed. "But I promise you I'm not."
  
  "I guess I'll have to trust you," Xander proclaimed before extending his hand for the glove.
  
  Angel fixed his gaze on Xander, internally debating with himself, before finally placing the faux artifact in his hand. Xander took a moment to examine his old work before turning on his heel and walking away. Buffy watched him for a few moments and felt torn between following her friend's retreating figure and staying with her love.
  
  In the end, Angel said to Buffy, "It's okay. I'll be inside."
  
  With a quick hug, Buffy ran after Xander. The looper didn't have to wonder why when Buffy asked, "Please don't tell the others yet."
  
  "Why not?" Xander returned. "I get that it's not my secret to tell, but it's been weeks already, and you still haven't told Giles or Willow. They have a right to know."
  
  "I know," an uneasy Buffy agreed. "But it's not that easy."
  
  Turning to her, he asked, "What are you afraid of? That we're going to grab our pitchforks, mob the castle, and stake him?"
  
  "I just don't want you guys getting the wrong impression," she argued.
  
  "Like when I saw you guys kissing?" he sarcastically rebutted. "Those kinds of lovey-dovey impressions?"
  
  Exasperated, Buffy pressed her lips together and eyed him desperately, hoping for understanding. After a second of thought, Buffy changed tactics and argued, "If you and Cordelia already broke up, why are you still hooking up?"
  
  With a mildly cocky expression, Xander remarked, "I guess you really were watching us."
  
  Blushing at the accurate accusation, Buffy shook her head and demanded, "Why?"
  
  "I don't know why you were watching-"
  
  "Why are you still hooking up?!" the blushing girl desperately clarified, trying to stay on track
  
  Exhaling deeply, Xander admitted, "Sometimes, Cordy likes taking a break from being broken up."
  
  "Because you guys still love each other," Buffy alleged.
  
  "Yeah," Xander confirmed.
  
  "Can't you see it's the same thing with me and Angel?" Buffy asked. "Just because we can't be together, doesn't mean we automatically stop loving them. I promise you, Angelus won't come back. Neither of us will let it. Just, please, trust me."
  
  Without levity, he genuinely replied, "I do, Buffy."
  
  Eying him skeptically, she shared, "Well, you have a sad and mopey kind of way of showing it. You look... disappointed in me."
  
  With a sigh, Xander continued walking. Buffy kept up with him as he revealed, "I'm sad that love can't be easier. Boy meets girl. There's a little back and forth. Then they fall in love. No one's disappointed, and it's as magical as they want it to be. No jealousy, no stalking, or forcing of any kind. Like, where's the happy ending we were promised in all those damn Disney movies?"
  
  With mutual understanding, Buffy lamented, "I've been asking myself that question since my heart first started fluttering for cute boys." Turning to him, she asked, "What I don't get is why you and Cordelia can't just-you know- be together."
  
  Having asked himself that very question many times, his mind ran down the same answers. ' Because she becomes a Higher Being. Because she wants to leave Sunnydale. Because despite the amazing sex and having each other 's back, we don't have much else in common, and the terrible day when we realized that would be even more heartbreaking than ending it now. Take your pick .'
  
  Xander stopped walking and turned to Buffy, eying her with serious consternation, and shared, "Because Queen Cordelia isn't the type to ever allow herself to be a guy's number two girl."
  
  She drew her brows in confusion, wrinkling the skin between them before the curious girl inquired, "So... then, who's your number one?"
  
  Xander snorted, answering, "At this rate, Dreadnought is my one true love." Buffy huffed, shaking her head in amusement. However, with thoughts of Faith, Xander added, "But I still have hope it'll be a Slayer."
  
  Buffy didn't know how to respond. When he noted a bit of blush on her cheeks, he stood straighter and kept walking.
  
  Later that night, Gwendolyn Post entered the library and walked straight to the Glove of Myhnegon, which lay swathed in a bundle on the table. The Scoobies kept a fair distance away by the reception desk, subtly eying the blonde woman examining the well-crafted gauntlet. Beside the magical artifact was an old piece of parchment with writing on it, which vexed Post, until Giles explained it was the activation phrase.
  
  Looking over the slip of old parchment, Gwendolyn voiced with genuine doubt. "I was unaware an activation phrase needed to be spoken."
  
  "When I put it on, that was inside," Xander lied masterfully.
  
  Post turned to Xander in surprise, hesitating as she asked, "You... wore it?"
  
  "Yeah, but nothing happened," he replied. "And I definitely wasn't going to say the key phrase. What if something bad happened and I was cursed to be a gargoyle; stone by day and alive again by night? No way! I'll pass. I've been possessed enough times to know not to mess with that kind of stuff anymore."
  
  Xander could just see her accept his lie and they all watched her read the phrase to herself a few times before immediately sliding the gauntlet on. She leaped back, eying the group with sinister joy, before she thrusted the gauntlet to the sky and yelled with pure conviction, "BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL!" Xander's lips broke into a broad grin. "IIIIIII HAAAAAAAVE THE POWEEEERRRRRRRRRR!"
  
  Eyes filled with mirth, Xander clapped his hand over his mouth to keep from breaking into a wide grin. Willow, Oz, Faith, nor he, himself, could hold in their bubbling excitement for more than a few silent seconds, and they doubled over in bountiful fits of laughter. Cleaning his glasses, Giles smiled as Post looked from the laughing teenagers to the glove.
  
  After their laughs subsided, a mildly amused Cordelia told the group, "It sounds ridiculous, sure, but why couldn't it have been Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo?"
  
  Clearing the tears from her eyes, Faith reminded her, "She might look like she was born with a stick up her ass, but even she's got to have seen Cinderella."
  
  "Then she wouldn't have said it," Xander added, holding his gut. "But I guarantee you she's never even heard of He-Man, Master of the Universe."
  
  "Neither have I," Buffy bemoaned, pouting a bit, likely wishing she could laugh just as much.
  
  As Post watched them discuss pop culture references she was unaware of, she hastily examined the glove. She nearly yelled the phrase one more time, making the Scoobies hold their breath in anticipation. When she punched the table instead, the teenagers were disappointed.
  
  Walking over to the Englishwoman, Faith said, "Sucks to be you, Post. I already got my people, and you ain't it." Withholding her supernatural strength, Faith quickly jabbed the disgraced Watcher in the face, easily knocking her out. "Manipulative bitch."
  
  Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. I managed to put a Gargoyles and He-Man reference in there, so I'm happy.
  
  I've had some debates about Xander's aversion to killing humans. Basically, they believe it's bad tactics to leave assassins alive, no matter how maimed. I'm of the belief that it makes Xander less forgiving/empathetic/heroic... I can't find the right word, but a mixture of those three. I can see their point, but I feel there's a difference between what a hero/leader would do and what normal people would think to do. I don't know. It was an interesting thought experiment. Love to hear your thoughts on it.
  
  I will update next week and I'm looking forward to that one.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Dr Love
  Welcome to another Sunday, and another chapter!
  
  I'd just like to remind everyone that the loops are 12% longer than the time frame described. I say day-loop, week-loop, month and year loop, not because it's exactly those time frames, but because its easier than writing a day and several hours, a week and some days, a month and nearly a week, or a year and several weeks. Like I wrote several chapters ago, the end of the year-loop is January 26th. Again, just a reminder.
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Great group of guys right there.
  
  Warning: Foul language, sexual situations(Lemons), and violence.
  
  12.8K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Dr. Love
  
  Xander's SAT score was a total surprise to everyone but him. After taking the standardized test so many times, it felt like a routine rather than a challenge. He hadn't even read most of the questions. So he looked at his results-one of the highest in the school-with apathy. Along with Buffy's unexpectedly high score, Willow and Giles were thoroughly impressed with them. While Giles and Jenny were away at the Watcher's retreat together, they suggested the teenagers visit the nearby campus to get a feel of college life.
  
  With the stuffy Englishman out of sight, the library was finally theirs. Xander, Buffy, and Faith stayed late, sparring together on the blue training mats under the dim lights of the library lamps. Their magical weapons were laid out on the long table, ready for when they concluded the hand-to-hand portion of their training. Both girls were wearing black shorts, but Buffy wore a pink long sleeve top, while wore a black tank top. Xander wore his Armor Wear undershirt and grey sweats.
  
  With the scent of sweat and adrenaline in the air, Buffy and Faith sparred each other at high speeds, exchanging quick blows and stiff blocks. Xander was on the sidelines, circling as he observed their every move, waiting for the right moment to intervene. When one Slayer seemed to be getting the upper hand, he'd leap into action, attacking her from behind, and then backing off until she was on the defensive again. It was a challenging and exhilarating series of rotating two-on-one battles, each one pushing the teen warriors to their limit.
  
  Neither girl had trained like this before, but Xander could tell they felt a sense of satisfaction and enjoyed the excitement coursing through their veins. With every clean strike, every dodge, slip, and parry, he could see the confidence building in them. However, Xander noticed Faith reacted more when she fought, which made him worry her style of combat could be a problem if she didn't correct the behavior.
  
  Buffy's muscles tensed reflexively as Faith's series of punches came in quick succession. The blonde moved with graceful swiftness, slipping each strike before perfectly timing a waist grapple into a take-down. Faith attempted to punch back, but she was already falling back. Xander observed, impressed but not surprised when Buffy added a twist to the leg lock, forcing Faith to hit the mat face-first. Buffy immediately took her back, putting Faith in a rear-naked choke hold.
  
  Xander was about to declare Buffy the winner of the match when the double doors of the library suddenly opened, and a blond vampire in a black leather coat strode in, his eyes fixating on the two beauties on the mat. With a lewd look, an amused Spike remarked, "Well, well. Ain't that a stimulating sight for peckish eyes."
  
  Enhancing his skill set-strength, agility, and senses-Xander wasted no time summoning Hellguard to his hand before throwing it at the vampire's thigh with perfect accuracy. With lightning-fast reflexes, Spike caught the hilt of the blade before it could pierce his flesh, then marveled at the fact he was worthy of holding the magical weapon without immediately being anchored to the ground.
  
  Spinning the Viking blade in his grasp, the amused blond responded, "Will you look at that? Guess it don't work when you've got a bloody soul, now does it?"
  
  Unimpressed, Xander clenched his fist and electrocuted the blond vampire with a mild amount of electricity before calling his weapon back. Buffy and Faith walked up to the vampire as he struggled to call out, "W-wa-wait, wu-wait," he stammered. "I g-g-got yur f-friends!" Buffy and Faith froze, their eyes locked on the mildly twitching Spike. After an agonizing pause, Spike managed to get out, "I- I got little red and her wolf-boy."
  
  Confused, Faith asked, "I thought he couldn't do shit like that anymore."
  
  Xander stepped beside the Slayers as Buffy answered, "He has a conscience now, which should feel like psychological torture, but if he's never had one to begin with, then maybe it doesn't matter-"
  
  Raising his hand so they'd wait, Spike yelled, "I just want Dru!" The three halted, curious about what the vampire meant. Clapping his chest to indicate the soul underneath, he explained with a tone of disgust, "She won't have me like this! She can't even look at me!"
  
  "You want us to put a soul in her," Xander summarized.
  
  Spike's head hung low, heavy with the weight of his sorrow. The words that escaped his lips were filled with heart-wrenching agony, his British accent adding a layer of somberness to his confession. "I... I can't do it," he said, his eyes closing briefly as if in pain. "I can't kill her; can't kill for her." His misery was palpable, and he settled back, looking defeated as he admitted, "I can't go on living like this-not without her."
  
  "So, kill yourself," Buffy bluntly proposed-as if it was the most obvious next step in the world.
  
  Spike snorted, retorting, "You don't think I've tried?! But the thought of leaving my Dru all alone for decades- centuries -while the world continues changing without her... it's a fate worse than death, and I refuse to do that to her." Since Buffy and Faith hadn't raised their fists to pummel him, he continued to plead, "Look, I'm actually begging ya here. Just do this for me and I'll bugger off; out of your hair forever. You have my word."
  
  Buffy studied the vulnerable vampire a moment before answering, "Where's Willow and Oz?"
  
  Unwilling to capitulate without an agreement, Spike repeated, "We got a deal?"
  
  "You have to know how the curse is broken," Buffy pointed out. "Angelus must've told you."
  
  Slightly uncomfortable, Spike shrugged as he hesitantly answered, "...Yeah, I suppose he might've mentioned something."
  
  "So you want us to ensoul the woman you love, so you two can be together?" Buffy asked, focusing on the obvious. "That's like locking up a psychotic killer, then giving him the key. How do we know you won't just lose your souls the minute you two get it on?"
  
  Xander scrutinized Spike's love-sick behavior with a critical eye, pondering the probability of him losing his soul upon experiencing true happiness making love to Drusilla. Like many other critical choices he had this past year-each leading to their own repercussions-Xander contemplated the potential consequences of this decision. He dug deep into his vast wealth of experiences, drawing upon his knowledge of love and loss, determined to find an answer. It didn't take long for his heart to provide one, granting Xander a surprising sense of peace.
  
  "I'm thinking it'll be alright," he addressed, his voice laced with confidence.
  
  Taken aback, Buffy sarcastically quipped, "And I'm sure our definition of alright is completely different." With concern, she pointed out, "We don't know that they won't lose their souls the minute they're together."
  
  Spike quickly rose from the floor, incensed, and rebutted, "Oh, so my love for Dru can't be trusted, but yours and Angel's can? Don't think I haven't seen you two snoggin' something fierce in that pretty big house of yours. Have you picked out the drapes yet? Remember, window treatment can make or break the style of a room."
  
  Buffy stiffened in panic while a confused Faith asked her fellow Slayer, "What's he talkin' about?"
  
  To lighten the mood, Xander answered, "He means the perfect drapes should complement the room's aesthetics and serve a function-"
  
  "Not that!" Faith called out, eying him incredulously.
  
  Spike observed the behaviors between the girls and quickly understood the situation. With a smirk, he snidely enjoyed pointing out, "Ooooh, you didn't know her and dear old Angelus have been shacking up in a mansion on Crawford?"
  
  "Crawford?" Faith repeated. Turning to Xander, she said, "That's your place."
  
  Spike looked at Xander with surprise, and asked, "Is it now?" Eying Buffy up and down with a perverse gleam, Spike asked Xander, "Be honest, now... Are you and Angel tunnel buddies?"
  
  "Don't make me electrocute you again," Xander warned the vampire before turning to Faith and explaining, "I saw them during that whole 'Pete the Murderer' thing a few weeks back, and let Angel stay there to recuperate. I didn't tell you, or anyone, because it wasn't really my place to tell." Turning to a mildly guilty Buffy, he added, "I was hoping Buffy would eventually come around and tell everyone herself."
  
  Faith's annoyance was palpable as she asked, "And you trusted them not to bone when you knew what could happen?"
  
  "That's how trust works," Xander replied, his voice level.
  
  "No, that's how stupidity works," the exasperated girl corrected, looking at him in disbelief.
  
  Xander sighed, asking, "Can we do this later?"
  
  Glaring at the vampire, an irate Buffy extended her hand as she demanded, "Tell us where Willow and Oz are." Her magical weapon flew from the table to her grasp as she added, "Or I introduce you to Slaymore."
  
  Nervous that Buffy might unknowingly force Xander to loop back, the looper calmly said, "We know you're not going to hurt them, so you might as well tell us."
  
  Accepting the challenge with a smirk, the daring vampire asked, "You think I won't hurt 'em just cause I got this nifty little soul torturing my brain like a fat ol' tumor? I say bring it on, love. I'd suffer anything for my Dru."
  
  "And you think that means you love her?" Xander asked in a tone of disbelief. "What if you guys do get it on, and neither of you lose your soul?"
  
  Amused by the hypothetical, the cocky vampire shot back, "You think what we got is so weak I'd be scared to prove it's real?"
  
  Xander snorted and returned, "Spike, I think you've been evil for so long, you don't even know what real love is."
  
  Before Spike could reply, they were abruptly interrupted by the sound of a dozen sets of boots making their way toward them. Buffy, Xander, Faith, and Spike all turned to the double doors of the library, bursting open as a large group of vampires rushed in. At the sight of the enemy, Xander knew the battle would be four to one, but he saw no cause for panic. He'd been in worse scrapes and made it through. Plus, they all had their celestial weapons.
  
  Before any of the vampires could charge, a tall, sandy-haired vampire tilted his head and called out, "Spike?"
  
  Spike inspected the one who called him, and upon recognizing the lanky vampire, replied, "Tanner?"
  
  Tanner stepped forward, smiling despite his vicious fangs. "You remember me?"
  
  "'Course, I remember," Spike replied. "What kind of boss do you take me for? How's everyone, then?"
  
  "Oh, yeah, most of the old crew's good," Tanner answered, as if they were old workers catching up. "We all linked up with a new boss in town," he said with a nod.
  
  "And Curly?" Spike asked, adding, "He was always good for a chuckle."
  
  Tanner lamented to add, "Hate to be the bearer news, but Curly's true-dead." He looked between the Slayers, pointed at Faith, and remarked, "The brunette killed him last week."
  
  "Ah, shame that," Spike winced. "We lost a good one."
  
  "Are you done?" the lead vampire asked. "We're kinda here to kill them, ya know."
  
  "Right, sorry, Gradey," Tanner responded before waving bye at Spike.
  
  The leader, Gradey, glared at Spike, eying him up and down before saying, "William the Bloody... we've seen you around town a bit. Seems like you got some plans of your own," he said, his tone laced with suspicion.
  
  Xander didn't like the sound of that.
  
  Spike's eyes narrowed as he replied, "What's it to ya?"
  
  Gradey's lip curled into a sneer as he growled at the Scoobies, "We came to kill the three behind ya. Care to join? I'll put in a good word for ya with the boss."
  
  "Go ahead and do it, Spike," Buffy retorted. "But you can kiss any help from us goodbye."
  
  Spike's shoulders sagged in frustration as he cursed, "Bloody hell."
  
  Without warning, the leather-clad vampire lunged forward, his fist connecting with Gradey's face in a swift sucker punch. The lead vampire was knocked off his feet and landed with a heavy thud. The other vampires were taken aback by the surprise attack by a fellow vampire, and turned their attention from Gradey to Spike. With a screech of blood-thirsty anger, the vampires charged toward the group, determined to kill Spike and drain the humans of every ounce of blood. Blood/Lust flew into Faith's hands as the four spread out to battle the vicious-looking enemies.
  
  Due to Spike's assistance, each Scooby only fought against three vampires simultaneously, rather than four. However, fighting multiple assailants was still a complex challenge of position management. Xander could dodge a punch in either direction if he were facing a single opponent, but when he was practically surrounded, leaning to the left could give another vampire an opening.
  
  However, despite the odds, Xander's experience, careful footwork, and Hellguard allowed him to defend, slip, and counter-attack three enemy attacks simultaneously. Quick as a whip, he swiftly moved with the flow of their attacks, cutting limbs, counter-punching, or leg-sweeping, all while nimbly dodging. There was a balance Xander could see and feel as he fought, allowing him to react strategically in high-pressure situations.
  
  Although it was a challenge, the sage warrior kept track of each of his attackers and avoided being surrounded. He smoothly sliced limbs, counter-punched each of them, before decapitated one of the vampires. He followed the other two as they backed away, surprised by the human's combat capability. Slipping another powerful attack, Xander effortlessly moved in to stab the vampire in the chest. The final vampire ran, but Xander threw Hellguard with all his might, burying the Viking blade in its back. With an unconscious squeeze of his hand, the vampire was electrocuted into dust.
  
  Turning to the others, both Buffy and Faith showed off their impressive fighting skills, though Buffy was on her last vampire while Faith and Spike needed to kill two more. Xander noted how similar Spike's and Faith's styles of fighting were. They were brawlers and enjoyed the thrill of battle. It gave Xander a bad feeling and a chill down his spine. He suddenly feared a night when Spike and Faith accidentally met, and due to the euphoria of battle, they hook up. At the knee-jerk reaction of wanting to end Spike's life, Hellguard flew into Xander's hand without him realizing.
  
  Xander inhaled deeply, regaining his focus, and reminded himself, ' Relax, Dumb-Dumb. You 're good. Just be the you that you want to be. '
  
  In the end, the combined efforts and weapons of the group were too much for the vampires to handle, and what started off as a dozen foes, whittled down to two fleeing vampires-Tanner being one of them.
  
  Buffy and Faith were about to chase them down when Xander called out, "Wait!" The Slayers turned to him as he asked Spike, "They didn't follow you, did they?" Spike eyed him as if offended he would care about humans and simply shrugged. Xander's face twisted to one of fear and annoyance as he further asked, "Could they know where you're keeping Oz and Willow?"
  
  Realizing the potential danger, Spike cursed, "Fuck me," before running out of the library.
  
  Faith jumped into Spike's-likely stolen-car while the blonde Slayer hopped on the back of Xander's bike with him. Though Xander didn't like Faith and Spike in a car, all that mattered at the moment was rescuing Willow and Oz. Weaving through traffic as he followed Spike's reckless driving, Xander was in his element, running red lights and jumping small hills. Though he had to take it easy, as a nervous Buffy was squeezing the life out of him.
  
  As they arrived at the warehouse-which, from Xander's perspective, was surprisingly different than previous loops-the four were just in time to spot six fang-baring vampires dragging Willow and Oz toward a black van. Faith and Spike charged the vampires while Buffy and Xander rescued their friends. Faith was a blur of slashes, taking out two vamps in quick succession. Spike fought two as well, and the remaining two simply jumped in their van and sped away. A tearful Willow hugged Buffy and Xander, relieved to be free and safe.
  
  Charged with the adrenaline of battle, Spike clenched his fists as he enjoyed the thrill coursing through him. Likely for the first time since he'd been cursed with a soul, he was able to be as violent as he wanted without the burden of guilt weighing him down. With the dust of his enemies settled around him, Spike basked in the glory of his triumph. The enthusiastic vamp looked at the group, grinning widely.
  
  "Bloody hell, I missed that!" the buzzing blond exclaimed. He sobered up quickly when he noted how the Scoobies were looking at him: a mixture of anger, irritation, and pity. The vampire clapped his hands before briskly saying, "Right. Now that we've saved your friends, how about returning the favor?"
  
  An irate Buffy returned, "How about no, on account of you putting them in danger in the first place, and we just kill you?"
  
  "I second that!" the teary-eyed Willow heatedly affirmed, still trying to settle down from the ordeal she'd gone through.
  
  "Third," Faith said.
  
  "And go for your girlfriend," Oz stipulated, restraining his anger over what Willow had been through. "See how he likes it."
  
  Though empathetic to his friends' ire, the time braid forbade Xander from letting Spike die. Additionally, he still had a spare Orb of Thesulah at the mansion, so he maintained his initial stance. "I still think we should ensoul Drusilla," he said, shocking his friends.
  
  Oddly enough, they didn't argue with him. Instead, Buffy suggested they take a day to think about it, and the following morning, she discussed the situation with Giles at length over the phone-including Angel's return. Though Xander didn't hear the long conversation, his gut was telling him he wouldn't like the verdict.
  
  That night, the gang gathered at the library to decide on Drusilla's-and ultimately, Spike's-fate, though they were still waiting on Buffy. Willow, Oz, Cordelia, Xander, and Faith were seated at the long table, waiting in silence, while Spike leaned against the wall, cross-armed and bored. Xander imagined his friends were all contemplating the decision ahead, and he hoped they would fairly consider what he had to say.
  
  Annoyed by the silence, Spike turned to Xander and asked, "V-Twin or Inline 4? What're ya picking? And if it ain't Inline, then I know there's something wrong with you."
  
  Sighing in disbelief, Xander announced, "Now's not the time, Spike." Though, the audacity of such a claim forced Xander to shake his head until he couldn't help retorting, "And everyone knows V-Twins are better. More torque and instant power when rolling the throttle."
  
  "I knew you were off your rocker!" Spike spat. "Mate, Inlines are the best for a reason. It's the most versatile and reliable engine out there."
  
  Xander rolled his eyes heavily as he retorted, "Reliable? Are we talking about motorcycles or washing machines? You want reliability, ride a Honda."
  
  "You're missing the point," Spike argued. "It's about the best balance of performance and efficiency!"
  
  "Can you two please stop chumming it up!" Cordelia called, eying Xander incredulously. "This is, by far, the creepiest thing I've ever been forced to witness."
  
  Before any more could be said, the doors to the library creaked open, and Buffy entered with Angel trailing beside her. As the source of many of their nightmares slowly approached them, a chill fell over the room and Willow and Cordelia stiffened in their seats. The last time they'd seen him, he was Angelus, a sadistic murderer intent on terrorizing and killing them. Oz noticed the anxiety in his girlfriend and reached out to hold her hand, silently letting her know that he was there for her. Likewise, Xander placed a reassuring hand on Cordelia's shoulder, offering her some comfort.
  
  However, the vampire that stood before them wasn't the blood-thirsty demon from their nightmare. Angel appeared contrite and remorseful, clearly ashamed of what his darker self had done to them. Standing beside Angel, Buffy looked nervous and at a loss for words to alleviate their worries. With a sigh, Xander grabbed Hellguard from his bag, approached Angel, and extended his magical blade. The souled vampire took the weapon without hesitation, and held it with no issues, proving to everyone that he had his soul back.
  
  With that, Buffy took a deep breath and began explaining what happened the day she closed the Acathla vortex, why she left Sunnydale, and how Angel had returned. As she recounted the painful parts of the events, she became despondent and her voice even quivered a bit. Still, Buffy pushed on to explain why they had all gathered: to decide if they should ensoul Drusilla or not.
  
  Cordelia asked, "How's that even a question? The minute they get their ' happiness ' on, we're right back to dealing with monsters. Only this time, they'll have a vendetta against the people who ensouled them: us."
  
  Though Buffy nodded in agreement, she told the group, "We're discussing it because Xander thinks we should."
  
  "Really?" Cordelia called, eying her ex as if he were crazy. "Another one? Are we running a vampire clinic here?"
  
  Oz asked, "If they love each other, wouldn't they just cancel out the other's curse?"
  
  "That's not a bet I'd take," Faith spoke, shaking her head. "It's how you end up naked wrestling an alligator in Louisiana." They all turn to her with a mixture of concern and curiosity, but Faith stood her ground, making her point clear. "I'm just saying it's a bad bet."
  
  "I'm not sure the curse would even work on Dru," Angel offered, his tone doubtful of the idea. He tapped his head as he added, "She's not all there."
  
  "Wonder how that happened," Spike sarcastically remarked toward Angel, his voice thick with resentment.
  
  Angel clenched his jaw a moment in regret before elaborating, "What I mean is, her fractured mind has the potential to disregard the torture having a soul puts us through."
  
  "She'd still get her conscience back," Spike argued with the senior vampire, his voice rising in frustration. "But more importantly, she'll have me."
  
  Facing the younger vampire, Angel replied, "Her mind is as likely to think all those memories of murder and mayhem are funny dreams, or a different personality, or any number of other delusions. Point is, she could still kill."
  
  Confronting Angel's position with a threatening posture, Spike squared his shoulders and glared at the taller vampire as he responded, "I killed vampires just fine yesterday, mate, and didn't have a lick of remorse. Maybe it won't put me in a remorse-coma if I killed a vamp with a soul. What do 'ya think?"
  
  As the two vampires faced off, the air between them was thick with tension.
  
  Buffy shoved Spike away as she called, "Enough!" Spike sneered at the girl as she told the group, "Giles doesn't think it's a good idea and neither do I. It isn't worth the risk-"
  
  "Wait, wait, wait!" Spike implored, waving his hands in frustration. "You're the bloody good guys here. You can't just not help!" Focusing a leering eye on Buffy, he added, "Or is help only offered when the Slayer fancies one of us? Is shaggin' a Slayer the price of admission? Cuz I'm willing to pay if you'd like a taste, luv."
  
  As Buffy glared at Spike, the room fell silent until Xander slammed Hellguard on the table, drawing their attention. The raven-haired teen told the group, "Like Buffy said, I'm the one who thinks we should do it."
  
  "You can't be serious," Cordelia protested in disbelief.
  
  "There we go," Spike boasted, clapping Xander's back. "Knew I could count on a fellow motorhead."
  
  Momentarily glaring at Spike, Xander warned, " However , if he keeps on talking, I won't even hesitate to change my mind." With a tight smile, Spike backed away. Xander addressed the group, confidently stating, "One moment of true happiness-of contentment. One moment where the soul that was restored no longer plagues him, and that soul is taken from him."
  
  Buffy nodded heavily as she said, "Uh, yeah. Thanks for highlighting the very reason why we shouldn 't do this."
  
  "Except Spike and Drusilla are nothing like you and Angel-nowhere near it," Xander told her. Turning to Angel, he further explained, "Angel suffered alone for decades- decades -before meeting Buffy, and never thought to himself that someone with as terrible a past as his deserved someone as good as her." Turning to Buffy, he continued with a steady voice, "I bet you anything he couldn't believe his ever-living luck when it turned out you loved him just as much as he loved you. He was a vampire-the very thing you're sworn to kill-and yet you still found it in your heart to love him completely . I don't have to tell you that a love like that would erase all the torture in a man's soul. All of it."
  
  Xander's words hung heavy in the air, each one piercing through their preconceived notions like a knife. Angel's expression was pained. Buffy's gaze switched between Xander and Angel, her mind likely racing with a million thoughts about the depth of her love for Angel and how it changed her life. Xander's words seemed to have stirred something in the others as well, as they remained silent, carefully mulling over his words.
  
  Returning his attention to the blond vampire, Xander continued, "Spike and Drusilla aren't the same. He did all of his evil with Drusilla. It'd be impossible to look into her eyes and not think of the long history of blood, rape, torture, and mayhem between them. So, how could they possibly find a moment of true happiness when they've done all their evil together? I'd go so far as to say that putting a soul in her would almost guarantee they can never really love each other. They would just be two tortured vampires wondering why each other's love wasn't enough to break the curse. Shit, Spike, that might actually be worse."
  
  Spike's face twisted in anger, unable to bear any more of Xander's blasphemy, and retorted, "What would a fuckin' pillock like you know? Standing there, flapping your gums, doubting my love when you've barely sprouted your first pube." Smacking his chest, the vampire glared at Xander as he declared, "In all my seasons of walking this blue marble, I only know what love is because of her!"
  
  Xander didn't step back or blink. He glared right back, though with a hint of amusement as he easily returned, "It looks like you know what withdrawal is because of her." Shaking his head, Xander returned derisively, "I've seen what passes for love with men like you."
  
  "You know fuck all about me and even less about love," Spike hotly rebutted. "You're too green around the ears to know the greatest love can only come after the greatest struggles. Love hurts- Love kills! You'll fight, you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till you're sick to your stomach, but you'll never feel anything better for the rest of your life. You think we'd look into each other's eyes and only see pain and hurt? No, mate. It's actually the love of a lifetime that'll be there." He turned to the others, tapping his head as he preached, "Because love isn't brains, children. It's blood! Blood screaming inside you to work its will!"
  
  With a knowing smirk, Xander softly repeated, "You can't kill her, you can't kill for her, can't live without her, and my favorite, you didn't know what love was until you met her. Beautiful stuff, man. Shakespeare would gobble it up. Romance authors would churn out a few tortured romances for gullible teenage girls-"
  
  " Hey ," Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia all called. Faith looked at them with raised eyebrows, making them feel slight embarrassment.
  
  Willow tried to defend them by saying, "I just... it's not all bad."
  
  Xander understood so much because he'd lived so long on repeat. Before, it felt like every decision he made-every move he took-was doomed to failure. He had always been the comedic relief, the doormat, the sidekick... the one who was never quite good enough. But along with the time braid, it was precisely those painful experiences that had forced him to grow and learn. He confronted his limitations many times, acknowledged his flaws and weaknesses, and in doing so, discovered a strength in himself he never knew was there. Making so many mistakes had forced him to learn a hard-fought and battle-tested truth he could place his faith in and defend to his dying breath.
  
  Xander told Spike clearly, "All that love and smut... do you even know why it would never work?"
  
  "You and your sixteen years on this planet are an expert, are ya?"
  
  "Ninety-seven, technically, but yeah." At Spike's expression of confusion, Xander answered, "Magic. Don't worry about it."
  
  "Well, go on then. Enlighten me, Dr. Love," Spike challenged, sneering skeptically. "But don't think I haven't seen plenty of nice boys like you. The earth's polluted with you types; finishing last, trying to friendship your way into a girl's knickers. Hitting your good years in your thirties or forties when you finally get some trinkets-a house, car, money. But all that shite ain't what really matters to a woman; Passion ; Love . Give 'em a rush , and they'll never forget you... even if they end up living in someone else's big house."
  
  Xander felt a knot form in his stomach as he stared at Spike, his heart racing with anger and frustration. He hated how accurate Spike's assessment of him was-if not for the time braid. Future Xander hadn't amounted to anything more than a retired old man with an ex-wife, living alone in a big house. He was a man who was always a step behind, and all the women in that Xander's life eventually left him because he carried his demons with him, rather than overcoming them. The Xander that stood defiantly before Spike was nothing like Old Man Xander.
  
  He was cocky enough to scoff at Spike's assessment of him, and snidely respond, "While it's generally true the person who brings stability probably won't bring that burning rush of love-"
  
  "There's no probably about it, mate," Spike interjected, smirking wickedly. "You picked your lane. I picked mine. Just don't hate me when they choose me over you nine times out of ten."
  
  Feeling a surge of irritation, Xander exclaimed, "You're forgetting the other side, Lemon-head." Spike squinted his eyes as the teen simply explained, "Girls want happy endings . And the person who brings that passionate rush of love, sure as shit isn't going to bring stability. So, that happily ever after that so many beautiful girls want more than anything , isn't something a guy like you could ever give them."
  
  Xander's friends disappeared from his attention. As a swell of repressed truth bubbled to the surface, he focused on the vampire, nearly as if sending a message to all men like him, especially Nox.
  
  "I'm more than willing to give you your dues, Spike," Xander continued. "You're a perceptive guy, and passionate. You can look at a girl and know how to push their buttons to get a rise out of them; especially if she's gone through hell and is vulnerable. I know that because I learned the exact same thing," he sadly voiced, thinking of Casanova and Nox.
  
  In a lot of ways, Xander was talking more to his past self than Spike when he added, "Which is why I know you're not really in love. You're just selfish... and delusional. It's not about loving the other person for you. It's about how loving them makes you feel. You can 't kill her, you can 't kill for her, you can 't live without her, you didn 't know love until you met her-you, you, you. That's how I know you don't really love Drusilla, because if you did, you wouldn't be trying to force us to ensoul her so you two can be together. You'd ask us to do it because you knew it'd be in her best interest, whether you get together or not. The only thing you're doing right now is trying to take what you want by any means necessary because you don't know any better. And then you have the audacity to call that love?"
  
  " It is love! " Spike yelled, getting in Xander's face. "It's a burning passion, which you know nothing about! Love makes you do the craziest things! It's-"
  
  " Addiction! " Xander cut in, not breaking eye contact for a second. "That's all you're talking about, which is just more selfishness-"
  
  "So! And?! She knows the deepest part of me! And I, her! I want her more than anything! If that makes me love's bitch, at least I'm man enough to admit it. I'd do anything to have her! That so wrong!?"
  
  "Oh! Yeah, no, that makes it okay then," Xander sarcastically asserted. "Doesn't matter if you're right for her or if she even loves you back. As long as you want her more than anything , sure, take her by any means necessary. Do you fucking hear yourself? You sound like some crazy asshole who'd rape a girl because you're sure she loves you and just doesn't know it yet. To me, all this bullshit spewing out of your mouth sounds like you're incapable of putting her well-being ahead of your own obsession with her... And how the hell can you call that love?"
  
  Heart pounding in his chest, Xander only told Spike what he wanted to yell at himself. After his Nox days, there was no one to tell him he was wrong or blame him for his actions. It was a heavy shame to bear, one that he was forced to live with. However, yelling it all out, he felt a sense of relief wash over him.
  
  "I'm telling you, you're wrong, and you don't know shit about real love," Xander emphatically asserted, and for whatever reason, Spike stopped reacting defensively, seemingly taken by his words.
  
  Spike smirked with no humor behind it-the kind of smirk he'd show to someone he wanted to punch-then stepped back. "...Dr. Love indeed," the irritable vampire mocked.
  
  As Spike took out a flask to drink from, Xander voiced to the room, "I say we do it. And if it doesn't work with her brand of crazy, we dust her like the others."
  
  "I'm with Xander," Cordelia quickly agreed.
  
  "Same," Faith added with a side glance at her sister Slayer. Buffy, Willow, and Angel remained deep in thought.
  
  Oz then shared with the group, "I think I'm going to have to side with Xander on this one." As the chill teen typically voted in whatever direction Willow did, the redhead looked at him with some surprise. He explained to his girlfriend, "Not doing it kinda feels like supporting Spike's kind of ' love '... and I can't say I'm a fan."
  
  "So, it's tied?" Cordelia inquired.
  
  "I... I've changed my mind, too," Willow softly spoke. "Sorry, Buffy, but I think Xander's right."
  
  "Never thought I'd feel so pitiful to get what I want," Spike bemoaned. "Cheers."
  
  Buffy walked up to Xander, a worried look on her face, as she asked, "Can we talk?"
  
  Tilting his head in confusion, Xander asked, "Now?"
  
  Buffy nodded, her expression serious, and with his agreement, she led him into Giles' office. Once the door was closed behind them, he couldn't help but playfully ask, "Why's it feel like I'm getting called into the principal's office?"
  
  In her best Principal Snyder voice, Buffy roguishly asked, "You got something to hide, Mr. Harris?"
  
  Keeping up with the banter, he replied with a nervous front, "Not from you, ma'am. Honest!" The teens smiled, but as Buffy appeared to have something important to say, she became serious once again. He asked, "What's up?"
  
  "Giles doesn't think we should do this, and I was fine with that."
  
  Xander's expression turned quizzical as he asked, "Was?"
  
  Buffy nodded, looking uncomfortable as she answered, "You dropped some pretty heavy introspective bombs out there. Even Giles would sit and squirm."
  
  "Just calling it like I see it," Xander replied with a shrug.
  
  "Are you?" Buffy asked, her voice softening. Her expression turned even more troubled as she continued, "Or is it more than that?"
  
  Xander furrowed his brow in confusion before asking, "What do you mean?"
  
  Buffy shifted nervously, fidgeting with her nails uneasily as she tried to find the right words to express what she needed. Tilting her head away, she broke eye contact before clearing her throat and admitted, "I've been having dreams... about you." Her cheeks suddenly flushed a rosy hue as she panicked and quickly clarified, "Ah! Not, like, weird dreams, you know?" Upon further reflection, the uneasy girl then corrected, "Well, yeah, weird . But I mean weird as in Slayer-mode weird; not weird as in... ahem ... s-sexual."
  
  Mildly humored, Xander's eyes widened in mild amusement as he tried to make sense of what Buffy was trying to tell him. "So... weird dreams?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
  
  "Yeah," the flustered girl confirmed, feeling slightly self-conscious. "Weird."
  
  "About me?" he asked, seeking clarification.
  
  "Yeah," she answered, nodding.
  
  "Slayer dreams?" he pressed, trying to close in on the facts.
  
  "I think so."
  
  Tilting his head, Xander asked, "You're not sure?"
  
  "...No, I am," Buffy hesitated to answer, though sounded more certain in her response.
  
  Recognizing that his friend was struggling to articulate what she wanted him to know, Xander let out a long exhale and asked, "Okay, what happens in the dreams?"
  
  Buffy took a deep breath before answering, "Stuff that makes me wor- wonder about you when you say things like that to Spike."
  
  Still unable to grasp what Buffy was saying, he asked, "Anything more specific than that?"
  
  "I don't want to say- well, it's more like I can 't ," she confessed. "These dreams make even less sense than the ones I've had before. I just know they're about you, and death, and it all feels... imminent."
  
  Not a single Buffy in any of the previous time loops had ever mentioned him being the subject of her Slayer dream, which thoroughly surprised him. Even the Buffy he seriously dated in the previous long loop hadn't mentioned having Slayer dreams about him, and she'd often mentioned how she didn't want to lose him.
  
  ' Maybe she was having Slayer dreams, and that 's what she meant by not wanting to lose me? ' He focused on Buffy and asked, "Imminent?"
  
  "Kinda like a doomsday clock," she fearfully said.
  
  ' Could the loops be running out? ' he thought, contemplating how connected Buffy's Slayer dreams could be to the time braid. ' I mean, even Drusilla says some wacky stuff that could elude to that. ' If he was reaching the last few cycles, he expected to be crazier, so it was possible there was more to come. Xander made a point of talking to her more about her Slayer Dreams.
  
  Eager to cut to the chase, he asked, "What are you asking me, Buffy?"
  
  Buffy stared into his eyes and, with a serious expression, asked, "Are you telling us everything? Everything about what Old You remembers?" Xander had a plethora of replies stretching from the absolute truth to bald-faced lies, and he considered each of them as Buffy added, "You know you could tell me if something's wrong, right?"
  
  Xander was going to tell Buffy, Faith, and all of his friends, everything about the time braid, but he felt that withholding that truth until he got out was the best move. Telling them had never worked before, and Xander had a feeling that it wasn't supposed to matter. Just like he conquered his internal demons, the time braid seemed to be something he had to conquer on his own.
  
  With a long exhale, Xander gazed into her lovely greenish-blue eyes and asked, "Do you trust me?"
  
  With a nod, she didn't hesitate to answer, "I do."
  
  Xander smiled before pledging, "Then I promise you, I won't betray that trust."
  
  "That sounds like you won't tell me."
  
  "I will," he assured her. "When I know for certain that telling you or the others won't harm or kill anyone, because I can 't be responsible for that Buffy. I just can't."
  
  "...Okay," she agreed. She looked so hesitant, it seemed like she only had more concern. Instead, she moved on to ask, "Did you mean everything you said out there?"
  
  "Every word," he cheerfully answered.
  
  Nervously, Buffy proclaimed with a tone of uncertainty, "So... I guess we're doing this?"
  
  "Sweet," Xander acknowledged with a smile, uneasily adding, "you got Giles, right?"
  
  Her eyes widened in fear as she called out, "Uh, no! I'm not telling him! You're the one that convinced everyone!"
  
  Xander countered, "He likes you more!"
  
  "Which means he'll only be more disappointed in me!" she hotly reasoned.
  
  Eying her in disbelief, Xander proposed, "Like he's really going to believe I convinced everyone to do it- Wait, does that mean you changed your mind too? It wasn't just because the majority voted?"
  
  "If they cancel each other out, we'll deal with it," Buffy ultimately stated. "And if they don't, that's less we have to worry about."
  
  "Is that all it was for you?"
  
  Blushing a bit, Buffy unabashedly confessed, "I said you dropped bombs, didn't I? Consider me wrecked." Xander's eyebrows raised at her phrasing, and due to the way he was restraining his grin, Buffy cried, "Oh! Not like that! I swear, You and Faith spend too much time together."
  
  They left the office, and the gang hashed out the logistics of how ensouling Drusilla would go. They all decided to tell Giles when he returned, and depending on what he said, alter any details to the plan or scrap it all together. With Xander's permission, Spike stayed in the mansion along with Angel. However, Xander made certain they knew it would be temporary, and once he kicked them out, he'd be casting the Revoke Invitation spell.
  
  "In the meantime, I need some labor to help remodel," Xander told them, fully expecting their cooperation. "Consider it rent."
  
  That night, as Xander and Faith walked into his home, he was taken aback by the sudden and unexpected passion of her embrace. The moment he closed the door, Faith was on him, flush against his body and pressing her lips against him with a newfound tenderness that left him dumbfounded. Gone was the raw, animalistic desire that usually drove her to mind-blowing satisfaction. Instead, their tender kiss was something slower, sensual, as she explored the contours of his mouth with gentle, teasing strokes of her tongue.
  
  As they kissed, Xander's senses came alive unlike ever before: the feel of her soft lips against his, the scent of her hair filling his nostrils, and the warmth of her body pressed against his. Her hands roamed over his chest, her fingers tracing the lines of his muscles, spurring a rush of stimulating lust, and he responded in kind; exploring her fit, sensual body insistently but with a gentle touch. For Xander, it was a moment of pure, unadulterated bliss, and he surrendered to the overwhelming desire he felt for Faith.
  
  They made their way to his bed, the anticipation and excitement building with every step. Xander was deliberate as he slowly removed articles of her clothing, taking in the sight of her bare skin revealed inch by inch. The teasing nature of stripping her added an extra layer of stimulation, the anticipation building with each item of clothing removed. Xander couldn't help but take in every curve of Faith's ample beauty, savoring the feel of her skin beneath his fingertips. As he worked his way down to her panties, he could see the arousal glistening between her legs, and he took a moment to admire the sight.
  
  His fingers lingered on the soft material of her panties before sliding them off so slowly, it tickled her sensitive skin. Hearing Faith giggle was a treasured sound he never knew she could make. Even she was surprised that such a cute noise came out of her throat. To combat her embarrassment, Faith grabbed his head and forced his mouth to her beautiful breast. He took a nipple in his mouth and teased it with his tongue and teeth until it was stiff as a pebble. The ravishing girl moaned, driving him crazy for more, but no matter how much Xander's heart raced, or how painfully hard his cock throbbed, he remained focused on Faith, determined to make this experience unforgettable for her.
  
  Once her panties dropped, Xander laid her on the bed before joining her. He lowered his mouth to her glossy lips, and they kissed deeply, until they were breathless. As he caressed her scalp, he kissed and nibbled his way down her neck to her nipples, lapping and sucking them to hardness. His strong hands deftly massaged down the supple curves of her sexy body. Faith moaned as he gripped her ass and licked at her puffy pussy.
  
  Faith arched her back and spread her legs, giving him all the access he desired while he lapped her sensitive vagina. She shivered as he licked her inflamed sex, stroking her love petals with his warm, rough tongue and stroking her cherry clit. Faith grew remarkably wet, and Xander captured the slow-streaming honey with his tongue, making her whimper as the pleasure continued to build within her.
  
  While Xander swirled his tongue around her sensitive clit, he plunged two fingers inside Faith's tight snatch, her hot juices pouring from her throbbing cunt. His fingers continued to piston and curl inside of her, curling against her melting walls. As he had his ring make his fingers vibrate, Faith trembled and moaned with frequent regularity.
  
  "Oh, fuck!" Faith groaned, as she felt herself moments away from snapping. "F-Fuc- Xander!"
  
  Her muscles tensed as she arched her back continuously, as if trying to get away from the mounting pleasure, but she couldn't escape his vibrating digits. When Xander sucked on her clit and vibrated his tongue, the sheer intensity of pleasure shooting through her made her release in a long, heart-stopping explosion of ecstasy. As Faith quivered sporadically, Xander held firm as he slurped the love juices pouring out of her clenching sex.
  
  When she finally settled, she plopped back onto the bed, and Xander moved up to kiss her. However, at the feel of his raging hard-on pressed against her stomach, she pulled back.
  
  "Poor baby," she sweetly said. "Fuck me, Daddy. Give it to me."
  
  Xander smiled hungrily as he rubbed his knob up and down her drooling twat. Then he slowly pressed his dick inside the gasping girl, slowly filling her beyond any man she'd ever had. It wasn't just that Xander was well-endowed. It was how he gazed into her eyes; lovingly and with tremendous vulnerability. Faith couldn't quite handle it, and kissed him before wrapping her arms around his neck, ensuring they couldn't make eye contact.
  
  "Don't stop," she whispered in his ear, her husky voice always adding a touch of the illicit.
  
  However, Xander could feel her heartbeat-even without enhancing his senses-and it was pounding with such incredible strength. As Xander began humping between her splayed thighs, Faith moaned and arched her spine, rolling her pelvis in tandem with his sharp thrusts. He pounded between her open legs, driving his thick cock deeper into her tight snatch.
  
  Faith moaned and writhed under him, gripping him with her hands and clenching sex until he buried himself to the hilt and exploded inside her shuddering womb. Kissing his earlobe, Faith squeezed his thick member for every last drop, filling her to overflowing with his stringy seed. However, Xander wasn't done. No longer than a moment, he gripped her ass cheeks and began plowing deeply into her cock-pocket, making the flushed girl's tits roll under him.
  
  Her mouth wide open and eyes closed, she sobbed, "Oh, fuck!"
  
  Faith held onto Xander's neck, her breathing coming in harsh pants, her breast jingling against him as her orgasm was moments from unraveling her. She arched her spine as Xander humped her closer and closer to her glorious climax, her waist enthusiastically meeting his thrusts. The bed bucked beneath them, creaking from the force of Xander's thrusts until she wrapped her strong legs around his waist as her moaning reached a fevered pitch.
  
  With a final plunge, Xander buried his cock in her soaking tight core, filling her pussy completely, and wrecking the lovers with wave after wave of explosive bliss. Faith screamed, arching her back as her pussy exploded while Xander unloaded a torrent of hot cum into her womanhood. They orgasmed for what felt like a minute straight, until they fell limp on the bed, the perspiration cooling their feverish bodies.
  
  As they took a break to settle down, Xander wondered about her sudden desire to be intimate on an emotional level. She couldn't maintain eye contact for long, but for several moments, he saw a level of vulnerability he'd never seen before. He assumed it had to do with his speech to Spike.
  
  ' Maybe Buffy was right about dropping bombs ,' he thought.
  
  Holding the beautiful girl tightly against him, Xander could sense that their lovemaking brought up complex emotions within her that she struggled to manage. He saw the way her eyes would flicker with hints of fear and uncertainty, even when she clung to him with an almost desperate intensity. Xander longed for her to open up and confide in him the horrors of her past. But he understood she needed time-just like he did-to fully confront her demons. All he could do was wait and love her.
  
  However, he felt there was hope. He sensed it during their lovemaking. It was more than just physical satisfaction for her. It was a profound step forward toward trust and vulnerability, a way of opening herself up to him in a way that went beyond words or actions. And he knew with that trust came a great responsibility: to never take her love for granted. So he held her close, cherishing every moment of intimacy that they shared.
  
  After many moments of silence, Faith weakly said, "Sorry." Her voice was barely audible, and Xander could hear the tremble in it.
  
  Knitting his brows in curiosity, Xander asked, "For what?"
  
  The embarrassed girl turned away, laying on her side as she softly answered, "For spazzing out like that. That was... I'm sure no guy wants to deal with a girl's freakout."
  
  Xander felt a pang of concern in his chest, certain that Faith loathed feeling vulnerable and insecure. He knew how hard it was to let her guard down, so he spooned the naked beauty, holding her against him.
  
  "Faith, you never have to apologize for that," he assured her with conviction. "I'm here for you; and if you didn't know, I sure as shit want to deal with every part of you; even the parts that are a work in progress."
  
  Faith let out a snort, the sound muffled against the pillow. "That's putting it mildly."
  
  Xander grinned, glad to have lightened the mood a bit, and jested, "Well, I am a gentleman."
  
  "Gentleman, my ass!" she joked back, her voice a bit stronger, more like her usual self. "That's just post-nut clarity."
  
  They both laughed together, entwined in each other as the tension between them quickly dissolved like mist in the morning sun. Xander hadn't felt so content and alive as he had in that very moment. For all her flaws and insecurities, Faith was the most amazing person he had ever met, and in his heart, he knew he never wanted to let her go.
  
  Once the lovers settled comfortably in Xander's bed, she asked, "What'd Buffy want to talk to you about?"
  
  Xander hesitated for a moment, contemplating how to answer her question. Instead of responding, he turned to her and asked, "Have you had Slayer Dreams yet?"
  
  Old Man Xander had spent decades fighting alongside Buffy and Faith, watching them tackle paranormal mysteries together, so Xander understood they shared a strange and mysterious connection. Their bond went beyond friendship or being Slayers. He knew that their connection was so strong, they even shared prophetic dreams of dark events to come.
  
  Turning around with an expression of confusion on her face, Faith repeated, "Slayer Dreams?"
  
  "Yeah," he responded with a nod, suspecting it was likely too early for her. "Did Dormer ever tell you that Slayers have prophetic dreams? It's part of their abilities."
  
  After a moment of thought, Faith sucked in air before admitting, "I think she might've mentioned it... but she said a lot."
  
  "Well, you're still new to the game," he reasoned. He went on to explain, "On occasion, Slayers would experience dreams that are like messages of stuff that's coming, whether good or bad; right away or years down the line."
  
  Faith was silent for a moment, taking in all the new information. Shaking her head, she then replied, "That sounds pretty sweet, but isn't that basically your job now?"
  
  He snickered, saying, "I only know a version of some stuff that might happen. And by proxy of my knowing, I probably changed a lot of it. I'd bet my money on Slayer Dreams being the better source of Future News. Buffy's had a few so far. I bet you'll have some too."
  
  Nodding, looking deep in thought, Faith asked, "So, Buffy had a Slayer Dream about you?"
  
  Xander hesitated for a moment, seesawing his head left and right before tentatively answering, "Maybe? She couldn't really describe it well yet. She just knew it involved me."
  
  Faith couldn't help but let out a mischievous grin as she teased, "You sure it wasn't one of those dreams?" The insinuation was clear, and a small part of Xander enjoyed the idea of Buffy having sex dreams about him. He felt a familiar heat rush throughout his body as he briefly imagined it, then sighed as he inadvertently felt himself getting hard. Faith looked down and smirked before remarking, "Looks like someone still wants to play." She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips and pulled away, stating, "Too bad I gotta get back before Joyce gives me another talking to."
  
  As Faith quickly pulled on her clothes, Xander noted, "She's always giving you a talking to."
  
  She shot him a playful smile, quipping, "And whose fault is that?" With her shoes in hand, she gave him a kiss before leaving.
  
  -B-
  
  Buffy turned onto the street that led to her house, the waxing crescent moon casting an eerie glow on the silent neighborhood. The chill of the night was palpable, and she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep warm as she passed one streetlight after another. Her best shield against the cold; however, was her distracting thoughts.
  
  Angel's face kept popping up unbidden, his dark, brooding eyes gazing into hers lovingly. However, her thoughts now shared space with her many dreams of Xander. She didn't know what to make of the vivid dreams-the bad or the complicated ones-but they made her feel uneasy, restless, and oddly confused. Buffy had always loved Xander, but the thought of losing him terrified her, and she couldn't understand why.
  
  So lost in thought, Buffy barely registered Faith walking up beside her. Despite the frigid air, Faith seemed to radiate heat and vitality. Buffy noted how flushed her skin was and the bounce of her hair with each step. The beautiful brunette offered her a nodding smile, but Buffy could see the satisfied gleam in her eyes, as if she had just been served the best meal of her life. Buffy could easily guess who and what had put that sly grin on Faith's face, and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.
  
  "Coming back from Angel's?" Faith asked, her husky voice purring.
  
  Buffy nodded, her apprehension rising, before asking, "Coming back from Xander's?"
  
  Faith's grin widened broadly, and she practically vibrated with satisfaction, making Buffy sigh and shake her head in exasperation. After a full minute of walking in silence, the only sound being the soft taps of their shoes on the pavement, Faith asked, "What are you doing with him, B?" her tone curious but with an edge of concern.
  
  Still annoyed, Buffy just retorted, "What are you doing?"
  
  The brunette seemed delighted she'd asked, and turned to her fellow Slayer eagerly. "You want to know? I'd be happy to tell you every graphic detail of what we did-"
  
  "No, no!" Buffy quickly interjected, averse to hearing any more. "Never mind."
  
  Faith smiled, seemingly content to leave it at that. There was another moment of silence before Faith's tone turned serious, and she asked with genuine concern, "Is it getting any better?"
  
  Turning to her with a furrowed brow, the confused blonde asked, "Is what getting better?"
  
  "Being with a guy you know you won't ever have a future with," Faith replied in a soft voice.
  
  Buffy was taken aback by the direction of the conversation. She was unsure of what to say about Angel and their relationship, as her own thoughts were oddly unclear. Rather than answer, the stressed girl instead deflected, asking, "I could ask you why you're with Xander when you're totally refusing to take it somewhere."
  
  Faith took a moment to consider the question, her expression thoughtful. Finding the truth within herself, she slowly replied, "Normally, I'd say it doesn't need to go anywhere. But, all that love shit he was talking about today... I gotta admit. It sounded nice, you know? To have something like that."
  
  Buffy nodded in deep understanding, answering, "I do."
  
  "Yeah, I guess you do," Faith affirmed. "I got my doubts though, right in my gut," she said, tapping her toned stomach. "Like, I know I can't-" Buffy tried to interrupt and disagree, but Faith over-spoke her, clearly stating, "I'm made for devastation, B. For killing! Xander's made for building, and loving. There's no two ways about that."
  
  "Some people might say that's the perfect combination," Buffy said with a hopeful tone in her voice.
  
  Shaking her head, Faith returned, "Not for this Slayer."
  
  "You don't know that," Buffy tried to reassure her. "You deserve to fall in love, Faith, and to be loved. There's absolutely nothing saying that you can't. You're in control of your life-no one else."
  
  Feeling uncomfortable, Faith pointedly asked, "What about you?"
  
  "I have a boyfriend-"
  
  "No, you don't," Faith interjected. "You're seeing him and you're sucking face, but you know that's pretty much done."
  
  "It's not that simple-"
  
  "I've seen you looking at Xander," Faith bluntly said.
  
  Buffy rolled her eyes in exasperation. She looked at Faith, as if asking, ' Are you serious? ' before stating, "Oh, so now I can't even look at my friend without it having some deeper meaning?"
  
  "Don't try to bullshit me," Faith leveled with a laugh. "We spar all the time, and there's the look in your eye when you're studying him and a look when you're appreciating him; admiring him."
  
  Buffy sighed at the odd feeling of guilt in her chest before emphatically proclaiming, "That's because he's come such a long way in a single year!" Buffy took her hand, stopping them from walking as she tried to explain, "You don't understand. Last year, he could barely do his Snoopy dance without getting dizzy. Now, he's showing me katas even Giles doesn't know about. Before , he was my first male friend, and now... I just mean, how can I not ... appreciate hi- his progress ?"
  
  Smiling cockily, as if knowing a secret, Faith continued walking as she remarked, "I hear you're having dreams about him."
  
  Eyes widening in surprise, Buffy quickly followed beside her as she bellowed, "He told you?!"
  
  Snorting, Faith replied, "Guys'll tell you anything after you've squeezed them dry."
  
  "Eww, Faith! TMI!" she yelled at the clear visual.
  
  "Can you tell me about them? Your dreams?" Faith asked, her voice husky and curious. "Be as vulgar as you want."
  
  "It's not like that, but fine," Buffy objected, leveling her friend with a face of disbelief. "In my dream, or one of them, anyway, we're at the Bronze-you, me, Xander, Willow, and Cordelia-and we're having a good time; dancing. Oz is on stage with his band. It's typical fun with friends. Then I hear this ticking noise, like the clocks at school, only way louder. No one else hears them, though. Just me. Then Xander drops to the floor. He's hurting and in so much pain. His face is just... The way he looks is just..." Buffy trailed off, unable to find the words to describe the pain and fear she felt in the dream. Shaking her head, she continued, "Anyway, I go to him and the second I touch him, he's gone. Suddenly, I'm in another place."
  
  "Where?" Faith eagerly asked, clearly interested.
  
  "It's always a different spot," Buffy said, her brow furrowing in concentration. "Most of them I recognize. Some I don't."
  
  Faith looked at Buffy, trying to follow the story, but was clearly struggling. "I'm lost," she admitted.
  
  "Things repeat in the dream," Buffy elaborated, trying to make sense of the directionless visions. "I'm someplace with Xander and everyone, I hear the clock ticking, Xander is suddenly hurting-shot, stabbed, on fire, snakes choking him, monsters killing him, vampires biting him, or so many other horrible things-and the second I touch him to help-"
  
  "He disappears," Faith finished for her, nodding in understanding.
  
  "Yeah."
  
  "And then you're somewhere else," Faith continued.
  
  "Yeah," Buffy whispered, her eyes glassy as she envisioned the terrible dreams. "Nobody notices the ticking noise, the odd ways he can be dressed sometimes, some of the weird things he says or languages he speaks, or when he's in horrible pain. And it just repeats over and over and I don't know how to help him because every time I try to reach him, he disappears. It's like I'm being forced to just stand there and watch my friend suffer."
  
  "Maybe those are Slayer Dreams," Faith mused, deep in thought. Her expression seemed like one of recognition rather than just understanding.
  
  Buffy raised her eyebrows as she asked, "You think so? Cuz, I always think it's just my deepest fear: The Million and One Ways Xander Can Die Because of Me."
  
  Faith's expression turned somber as she spoke. "Then we must have the same fear, because I'm pretty sure I've had the same dream-kinda."
  
  Buffy's eyes widened in surprise as she leaned in and asked, "Really? You're having them too?"
  
  "I don't know if they're Slayer Dreams, but they sound similar," Faith said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
  
  With her interest piqued, Buffy asked, "What parts were the same?"
  
  Faith's brown eyes narrowed in concentration as she tried to recall the details of her dream. "The clock ticking... Xander getting killed a bunch... different outfits... and different places," she slowly said. "The part that was different was you." Nodding, she added, "Everyone around him sees how hurt or injured he is. You're the only one who doesn't notice."
  
  Shaking her head at the confusing detail, Buffy muttered, "Really? Why?"
  
  "I don't know," Faith said with a shrug. "This is the first Slayer Dream I've ever had. But it's not like it's unbelievable."
  
  Buffy let out a groan of disbelief as she defended, "Please don't make this about some repressed feelings I may have for him, because I doubt we're getting these dreams because Fate's trying to play matchmaker."
  
  Faith snorted, stating, "Whatever the case, I think we should keep an eye on him. The world would be a cold and dark place if we lost a dick like his-"
  
  "Oh, Faith! Really! Why?! Just, why?!" Buffy exclaimed, blushing furiously.
  
  Faith laughed and hugged the blushing blonde with one arm. "Relax, B. I just like pulling your pigtails. But I ain't kiddin'. We really do need to keep an eye on him."
  
  Though still embarrassed, Buffy nodded and replied, "I'll talk to Giles as soon as he gets back."
  
  -X-
  
  Xander's heart grew more anxious with each passing day of December. He felt the typical anxiety he always did the closer he got to the end of the year-loop. Xander tried to push his worries from his mind by immersing himself in work. He made many sets of chef knives for Pete to sell, and completed a full wardrobe of ArmorWear for himself, Faith, and Buffy to wear. Considering their desire to wear different outfits while patrolling, they asked him to embroider the celestial defensive runes on leggings and a tank top, and it amazed him they would rather be fashion conscious than fully protected.
  
  As Angel and Spike were living in his mansion rent-free, Xander required free superhuman labor from them, whether they liked it or not. He instructed them on what needed to be done around the mansion, and they worked day after day, with Xander overseeing their work. Despite the long hours, the trio removed rotting or broken walls and replaced them with new and sturdy materials. They fixed problematic plumbing, preventing leaks and water damage. They rewired the electrical system, ensuring that it was up to code. And they fixed many leaky areas, making the mansion more habitable. The renovations were still far from finished, but surprisingly, the three made good progress despite always annoying each other.
  
  Soon enough, Spike left to find Drusilla. Giles was initially hesitant to allow Willow to perform the re-ensouling curse. However, with Jenny's approval and guidance, he allowed it. Cursing Drusilla with a soul took a few minutes but left the redhead drained for a day-to the point where Xander lent her his ring to help her recuperate. Despite how exhausted she was, Willow was thrilled by the vast amount of power she could channel.
  
  In addition to working on the mansion, Xander took an hour out of each day to work on a second bike; a beat-up 95 Honda CB750 Night-Hawk he customized into a sleek, high-performance cafe racer. With Cordelia away in Aspen with her parents for winter break, Xander had ample time to devote to the project. He then gifted it to Faith on the condition she resumed her education in Sunnydale. With the promise of a motorcycle, Joyce's support, and Willow's help studying, it was impossible for Faith to reject returning to school. Even though Joyce didn't like the idea of Faith riding a motorcycle, she couldn't deny it was the primary draw for getting the brunette Slayer to agree.
  
  Joyce had the most frustrating time dealing with Faith's parents, as they either didn't care about transferring Faith to Sunnydale, or cared to a belligerently detrimental degree. Without Giles' permission, Willow used a spell to make them more agreeable. Typically, Faith hung out with either Buffy or Xander, but after Willow helped magically convince her parents to agree to the transfer on top of signing away temporary guardianship to Joyce, they began bonding more. Willow placed herself in charge of preparing Faith for the assessment tests that Joyce, Giles, and Jenny lobbied the school board into setting up.
  
  Eventually, the tension between Angel and Buffy mounted when the vampire was once again tormented by The First. Since the situation hardly involved Xander, he remained hands-off while Buffy dealt with the Harbingers of Death. Unlike in previous loops, Angel and Buffy officially renewed their relationship after the ordeal, which instantly raised concerns among their friends. Despite their promise to never let Angelus return, their coupling annoyed Faith. She had no qualms telling them how stubborn and brainless they were being before storming off.
  
  Xander caught up to her in the student parking lot by their bikes. He could tell she was inordinately bothered by Buffy and Angel and asked her why, in hopes of getting her to open up. However, she shook her head, which was the most he was getting, and he didn't push her more.
  
  "That's fine," he said. He tried lightening the mood by pointing out, "Giles and Jenny finally seem okay, Willow and Oz are going strong, and now Buffy and Angel... Are you sure someone's not feeling left out?" Faith gave him a deadpan expression as he offered, "Because we can fix that."
  
  For once, Faith's expression was hard for him to read. Xander was certain that whatever she was feeling was a complex mixture of past traumas, future desires, and insecurities. He knew about her troubled past, marked by abandonment, abuse, and neglect, and wondered if she saw a future for them beyond their friendship.
  
  Xander took her hand, and after a deep breath, softly asked, "How long are we going to keep playing, Faith? It's you and me. We might as well be a couple."
  
  As he waited for her response, he felt a wave of uncertainty wash over him. Gazing into her stone-faced expression, he thought, ' What if she doesn 't feel the same way? What if this ruins our friendship? ' He squeezed her hand gently, waiting for her to speak. Instead, she shook her head, removed her hand, and stood back.
  
  Faith said, "I'm not an idiot, Xander." At his confused expression, she elaborated, "I can see how you feel about her!"
  
  Xander sighed as his head slumped. ' Not this again ,' he thought before wondering aloud, "Why does everybody keep saying that?"
  
  "It ain't rocket science," she retorted. "Guys and girls can't be friends unless they've already fucked, and it didn't work out."
  
  Xander's frustration grew as he pointed out, "Willow and I have never-"
  
  "She wanted to and you know it," Faith threw back. "Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Ms. Jenny's sexy ass had a few wet dreams about you." Xander didn't think there was anything he could say that would dissuade her of that notion, thus remained silent. "But the difference between us and Buffy is that she's your hero. Tell me I'm lying."
  
  ' I already tried dating her, though! ' he yelled in his mind, growing more aggravated. ' It 's just that none of you remember! '
  
  Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Xander hated this and heatedly argued, "By that logic, I should be in love with Peter Parker, too." At Faith's sneer, he demanded to know, "Is it so impossible to love Buffy like family?!"
  
  "That's just the bullshit you want to tell yourself," Faith insisted, remaining unconvinced. "This is more than that, and instead of trying to win her over, you're just playing with your tools like nothing's ever going to change! Spike might've been wrong about his kind of love, but you can't say he doesn't go after what he wants. So quit being a chickenshit and using me as an excuse to not go after her!"
  
  She sped away on the bike he'd just gifted her, leaving him with his thoughts. Xander didn't see her for a few days until an awkward and chilly New Year's Eve at the Bronze when she showed up with some random guy. He looked like a typical clubber with slicked-back hair, half his chest showing, tanned skin, shiny dress shoes, and an expensive watch on. Xander couldn't help but feel jealous and angry at Faith and the entire situation.
  
  As the New Year's Eve countdown approached, Xander once again reflected on Faith's words and questioned if he was being too passive in his approach to their relationship. While he was adamant about not repeating past mistakes-especially as Nox-it was possible he was over-correcting and hindering his chances with Faith, or any girl. He once again reminded himself to be true to himself, no matter how complex, because being disingenuous always led to worse results.
  
  Thus, with great trepidation, Xander begrudgingly acknowledged he could not ignore the lingering emotions he had for Buffy. While his complex affection for her had evolved into something different, he could not deny that she still had a place in his heart. Watching Buffy dance happily with Angel, Xander couldn't understand this unbreakable connection to her. As much as he fought it, embraced it, or ignored it, he just couldn't sever it; not as long as he lived.
  
  If Xander were younger and immature, that level of honesty would've kept him tethered to the table his friends were using. He would keep watching his friends dancing within the festive crowd because, in his heart, he knew that any relationship with Faith needed to be built on a foundation of honesty and sincerity. He expected any acknowledgment of his feelings for both women would negatively impact any chance of a relationship with the brunette. However, that wasn't completely true.
  
  With his hard-earned wisdom, Xander now knew that this world was messy, and nothing was just right; thus, one didn't have to cancel the other. Faith deserved better than a half-measure of love. But she also deserved more than some random muscle-headed club-goer who probably didn't care that she was underage. With a steel resolve in his heart, Xander stood and fixed his gaze on the sexy brunette dancing with the douche, and began walking directly toward her.
  
  As the countdown to midnight began, Xander pushed his way through the dense crowd to reach Faith. He had no idea of what he was going to say or how it would affect the future, but he knew he couldn't see her kissing the clubber or any other guys. He couldn't lie to her, but he couldn't just stand idly by and watch this. As his friends and the rest of the club-goers were nearing one second to the new year, Xander grabbed the larger man's shoulder and pulled him away from her. With her senses, Faith already knew it was Xander pulling away the man she was about to kiss.
  
  His determination surprised her as everyone yelled, " One !" and he kissed her full on the lips and quickly plunged his tongue in her mouth. His desire for her was dominating and unyielding. The muscular clubber pulled Xander's shoulder, but Xander wouldn't allow himself to be moved. They shared a deeply satisfying kiss for a few seconds, but it may as well have been timeless, for the touch of her lips was the only thing that mattered.
  
  After their kissing ended, he simply gazed deeply into Faith's chocolate eyes and yelled just under the crowd's noise, "You're right! I do love Buffy! I don't know why I'm like this or if anyone can change that! But I love you more, Faith! I choose you! And God dammit, I know you love me too!"
  
  The clubber douche and his friend were trying to pull Xander away, but Buffy and Angel stepped in to stop them, effortlessly twisting their arms behind their backs, as Xander yelled to Faith, "So let's fucking be together!"
  
  Five long, agonizing seconds crawled by, with Xander's heart pounding and his mind racing with uncertainty as he waited for her response. He watched her carefully, trying to read her expression, hoping against hope that she felt the same for him. Suddenly, with fierce determination, Faith leaped into Xander's arms, wrapping her legs around his middle, and kissed him with an intensity that made the world around them fade away. It was just them, two souls connected, and nothing else mattered to Xander. It was exactly what he needed.
  
  The rest of the night was a whirlwind after that, but eventually, Faith and Xander ended up in bed, where they explored each other's bodies with an intensity that left them thoroughly satiated. They used some of the leather bondage toys that Xander had bought, pushing each other to new heights of pleasure and ecstasy. Finally, as the first light of dawn crept through the window, they lay in each other's arms, their bodies intertwined, basking in the afterglow of their intense lovemaking.
  
  Snuggled up against him, Faith finally whispered, "Fine. Let's be together. You, me, and Buffy."
  
  Eyes bulging like saucers, Xander gasped, "Wait- what?"
  
  Hope you all enjoyed the read. This was one of the chapters I was looking forward to posting. I hope Xander wasn't too preachy here. I just really think he needed to say all of that, especially in front of his friends.
  
  For those that don't know, TMI means Too Much Information.
  
  Also, the 97 years Xander mentioned was the 80 years of his costume plus the 17 years he's lived(before the loop).
  
  I am nodding off. Need sleep. Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Not sure if I'll update next week. If I don't I'll try for a double release the following week. Sorry about that, but these chapters have been on the larger side lately. It's hard to keep up.
  
  Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Always
  Welcome back!
  
  First, I'd like to apologize for missing last week's update. I was quite busy with real life stuff and just couldn't get much writing done. To make it up to you, I'll release an update today and on Sunday as well. So double release. Thank you for your patience and for coming back to my fic.
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Warning: Foul language and violence.
  
  8.4K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Always
  
  It was early morning on the first day of the New Year. Xander and Faith were in his cozy kitchen; the aroma of buttermilk pancakes filling the air. The sun was just over the horizon, casting a warm glow into the room. Faith sat at the table, playing Xander's harmonica while he cooked pancakes for breakfast, flipping them over with a practiced hand. After an intense night of lovemaking, the couple were starving, their ravenous appetites kept them up. But, despite his hunger, Xander wanted to talk.
  
  As the fluffy batter sizzled on the pan, his thoughts were racing. He couldn't shake the feeling of doom creeping up on him, and it was due to Faith's words. ' Fine! Let 's be together: You, me, and Buffy .' Xander was certain he would lose something important if he didn't act, but he was also scared of losing something if he did act.
  
  The frustrated boy turned to Faith, who was casually lost in learning the harmonica, and admitted, "I don't understand."
  
  Faith knew exactly what he was referring to, and casually replied, "You're the one who said you want me and Buffy."
  
  Xander felt a pang of confusing guilt in his chest. He had said those words, but he couldn't understand her response. It wasn't just about him and what he wanted. Her needs were equally as important. If he chose Faith over Buffy, why would Faith choose him and Buffy? On top of such an unknown and frightening twist, it made no sense. Xander turned back to the stove, flipping the pancakes a bit too aggressively. He knew he needed to figure things out, to make a decision that would be fair to everyone involved. He simply didn't know what that decision should be.
  
  "I... I mean, yeah, I said that," Xander nervously admitted. "But... I didn't mean a..." He turned to her and genuinely asked, "Is it three-ple? Throuple? Whatever! I didn't mean a relationship consisting of three people."
  
  Setting down the harmonica, Faith gave him a sympathetic look and said, "Look, you love her and I sort of have this ever-expanding crush on her." Xander's eyebrows raised in surprise to hear that as she finished, "So it all works out."
  
  He quickly asserted, "First, no, it all does not work out. And second, really?"
  
  Faith took a deep breath and hesitantly admitted, "Yeeaaaah." Xander got the impression that her feelings for Buffy might be more than a crush as she continued, "She's been making my lady parts tingle for a while now, and I've caught myself staring a few times. Why do you think I don't mind staying at her place?"
  
  Xander was dumbfounded, calling out, "Really?!" Faith pointed to the stovetop and he cursed, "Shit!" quickly flipping a burning pancake, but it was already overcooked.
  
  Faith was amused but also pensive as she continued, "It's not full-blown love like you, Stud, but I have regular fantasies about her," she confessed, almost breathlessly. "Especially after I accidentally walked in on her when she was getting out of the shower. Fuck me sideways, that girl's fit!"
  
  Nodding in understanding, Xander couldn't help but agree, saying, "She really is." Though, recalling that he hadn't had a physical relationship with her in this loop, he quickly added, "Not that I've seen her naked or anything."
  
  Faith looked curious and skeptical as she asked, "Really? Not even your future self?"
  
  "I don't want to talk about that idiot," Xander glumly returned, aggressively pouring a large amount of batter on the pan.
  
  "Shit, now I really want to know," she said with a smirk, but a look from him had her immediately surrendering. She rolled her eyes as she replied, "Fine. So, if anyone asks, we're not dating."
  
  Xander brought two steaming plates of pancakes to the table and placed one in front of her. He grabbed the Tupperware of strawberries, the whipped cream, and a bottle of maple syrup from the fridge and returned to the table. "Faith, I really didn't mean for you to take what I said like that," he reiterated, setting the items down on the table. "I was just trying to be honest."
  
  Faith eyed her fluffy cakes eagerly before grabbing the bottle of syrup. "I know, but it's still a good idea," she replied, pouring a generous helping of syrup on her stack. "Truth be told, being in a relationship-like a serious one-with emotional expectations, and rules, and obligations... it doesn't sit right with me. It actually scares the livin' shit out of me, if I'm being honest. I've never done that , let alone seen anyone do it right. The last thing I ever want to do is blow up what we got."
  
  Xander moved his chair closer to her, locking eyes with hers as he exclaimed, "I want to be with you, Faith! You! As long as you're you-the foul-mouth, leather-wearing badass Slayer-it's impossible for you to mess this up."
  
  Faith fidgeted with her fork nervously before confessing, "That's nice and all, but I still feel it." She stuffed a large bite of syrup-covered pancakes in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully for several moments. Xander waited patiently, until she finally explained, "Every time I think about completely opening up... and trusting that person to not fuck me over..." To Xander, it appeared like she couldn't quite catch her breath as she added with some difficulty, "Someone who also relies on me, like, emotionally... I get this feeling in my chest, like some big sumo-wrestling motherfucker is sitting on me, and I can't shake it."
  
  Recognizing the early signs of a panic attack, Xander took her hand and used a gentler tone as he acquiesced, "Okay. Hey, it's okay. That's fine. You don't have to say more. How about this: let's put a pin in it. Buffy's with Angel, right? So, let's you and me date for as long as they're together."
  
  "Do they break up?" she asked, raising her eyebrows hopefully.
  
  Xander snorted at her anticipation before answering, "Nothing's set in stone, but at some point, I assume so. In that timeline, Angel's supposed to move to LA, and she doesn't go with him."
  
  "And after they break up, we can bring Buffy in?" Faith asked, a buoyant grin spreading across her face.
  
  "How about we cross that bridge when we get there?" Xander replied, smiling back at her.
  
  They returned to their breakfast and she answered, "Okay, but I'm prepping her."
  
  Quickly growing nervous, he set down the bite he was about to take and turned to her, asking, "What does that mean?"
  
  "Nothing crazy; just mentioning stuff to her," Faith answered with a sly smile.
  
  "Stuff like what?" he asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
  
  "Don't know yet," she replied nonchalantly. "I have to be in the moment, but I just want to give her the impression that it's okay if she wants to hug you, kiss you, or anything else with you. And you better not pussy out with some pompous moral superiority highroad bullshit either. I may lean toward the D, but I like my V too."
  
  Shaking his head in disbelief, Xander remarked, "This is the most confusing start to a relationship I've ever been in. And I've dated Cordelia."
  
  "It's basically my first relationship, so I guarantee you're not as confused as I am," she replied with a smile.
  
  While they ate, he attempted to simplify the concept of a healthy romantic relationship, saying, "Typically in a relationship, the sole boyfriend and the sole girlfriend try to get to know each other, not just individually, but as a couple."
  
  "But I already know you." Faith pointed out, as if that were obvious.
  
  "Yeah, as a friend. Think more romantically," Xander said, trying to get his point across.
  
  "What's the difference?" she asked whilst chewing, genuinely curious.
  
  Xander paused for a moment, thinking of the best way to explain it. Despite a century of experience, he had only ever dated Cordelia; and most of the time, they'd hid their relationship. The one time he'd dated Buffy, he had always doubted her love for him because he couldn't be sure if she was dating him just to save his life or because her feelings were genuine. So, it wasn't as if Xander had a lot of experience being in an open and healthy relationship.
  
  "...I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. With a lazy shrug, he explained, "It's technically everything we already do except we hold hands, go on dates, and kiss in public. That way, people know we're exclusive."
  
  "Why would I care about that?" she asked with a quirked brow. "I know the only other person you hook up with is Cordelia."
  
  "I guess," he hesitantly agreed. Xander took a moment to try and explain the concept of a committed relationship better. "...Hmm, if I were to break it down in a way you'd understand... I guess it's like missing me and wanting to be with me, even when you're not horny."
  
  The confusion on her face vanished, and her eyes widened. Faith nodded as she replied, "Oh! Now that I understand." Xander snorted as she elaborated, "So, like, taking care of your morning wood because I want to, and not expecting anything in return?"
  
  "Yeah, but we can have that feeling even without the sex," he answered with a nod. "Deep down, dating is kinda like a promise that I'll think about you when I make decisions throughout the day, and you think about me. If I'm out buying ice cream, I'd wonder if you want some too. If I'm looking at a college to go to, I'd think about how that decision might make you feel. If I see a pretty girl, I don't flirt with her, because you're my girl, and I know you won't like that."
  
  Faith listened intently as Xander spoke, slowly beginning to grasp the concept of a romantic relationship. Though still unsure, she hesitantly replied, "...Okay. Okay, I'll try. But... be patient with me."
  
  "You got it," Xander said, giving her a reassuring smile.
  
  -
  
  Xander found himself swept up in the magic of his new official relationship with Faith. The way she smiled or laughed at his jokes, the way she moved in bed or combat, her no-nonsense attitude-everything about the beautiful Bostonian was intoxicating. He savored every minute they spent together, exploring all the fun activities that Sunnydale had to offer. Xander even heard of an indoor axe-throwing range from some of the guys at Wild Dinks, and couldn't wait to try it out with her.
  
  But, despite their wonderful time together, there were moments when Faith needed some space; not physically, but emotionally. It was in those moments that Xander's heart ached the most, his mind filled with doubt. Sex was easier for Faith than holding hands. Raunchy jokes or cursing were also easier than saying "I Love You" or other words of affirmation. Xander understood why it made her uneasy, so he tried not to let it bother him. He simply remained patient, hoping that his unwavering love and support would help her open up in her own time.
  
  "She's worth the wait," he told himself.
  
  Cordelia was less happy about his official relationship. However, fortunately for her, Faith was one-of-a-kind and gifted the cheerleader three coupons for a free hookup with Xander. However, after using one on his birthday, he learned how much of a blessing and a curse it was. He was now Faith's boyfriend, but Faith was seemingly fine with his and Cordelia's casual sex. Caught between the brunette beauties was an awkward position for Xander to be in, because doing anything with Cordelia felt like he was putting his loyalty to Faith into question, and he didn't like that.
  
  After explaining to Cordelia that he wanted to stop having casual sex, she seemed to understand, but in a way that only she could. "Okay, fine," she bemoaned. "...But I can still use the last two coupons, right?"
  
  Xander snorted, shaking his head in disbelief as he said, "Unbelievable."
  
  "What?!" Cordelia demanded. "It's not my fault she gave me three! And I used one for your birthday! Why should I have to be penalized just because you two suddenly want to be monogamous?"
  
  "You can't possibly think you were doing me a favor by sleeping with me!" he retorted, amazed they were arguing about this.
  
  "It's still pretty generous of me!" she sharply asserted.
  
  "Oh, yeah, I'm sure Gandhi would totally approve," Xander returned sarcastically.
  
  "I bet he wouldn't be so selfish and would honor the deal."
  
  Shaking his head, Xander snorted and hugged the beautiful cheerleader, whispering, "Never change, Cordy."
  
  She hugged him back, replying, "As if perfection needs to change."
  
  Xander held her tight, all the while worrying about January 26th, the end of the year-loop. It was only a few weeks away, and he felt the constant pressure of that impending deadline weighing heavily on him. Sensing anxiety in him, Cordelia asked if he was alright. He assured her he was fine, but he knew it was a lie. He was far from fine, and the end of the loop was drawing uncomfortably closer with each passing hour.
  
  "So is that a yes?" Cordelia warily asked, still hugging him.
  
  He chuckled, answering, "Fine. Two more times, and that's it."
  
  -
  
  Xander had been steeling himself for days, anticipating Buffy's Tento di Cruciamentum, the rite of passage Giles and the Watcher's Council set up for her 18th birthday. It was an ancient custom enacted to test Slayers, force them to face their fears and weaknesses, and prove that they could persevere even without their supernatural powers. Xander had already seen the event in two previous loops.
  
  So, for days, Xander fully expected Giles to inject Buffy with an organic compound of muscle relaxants and adrenaline suppressors, which would gradually weaken her powers until she had the physical capabilities of a common girl-not that Xander would allow that exercise in cruelty. However, to his surprise, Buffy's eighteenth birthday came and went without incident.
  
  Even on the days leading up to Buffy's festive birthday party, he saw nothing to indicate she was being drugged and weakened. They simply had a party at her house, and despite how anxious Xander and Buffy were, it was nothing more than a fun night. Buffy expected her yearly curse of terrible birthdays to continue and Xander was expecting the same barbaric practice that happened every loop that lasted this long. But nothing did, and Xander wasn't sure why.
  
  A few days later, it was the 24th of January. Xander had two days before looping back, and he oddly felt numb. His mind couldn't help comparing his final days at school with his friends to a death row inmate walking toward the chair. His stomach couldn't hold down any food, and with no real power to stop it, everything felt so final. Willow approached Xander, Buffy, and Faith that morning and eagerly explained a spell she'd found that would be of tremendous aid to them.
  
  "Giles is letting me cast a fairly intricate spell that'll allow you to know where the others are by their weapon," she excitedly told them. She asked if she could borrow their magical items, including Xander's ring.
  
  Though Xander felt uneasy without his trusty weapons and protective ring, he trusted Willow and wanted to support her advancement in magic. Thus, the fighters handed over their magical possessions without a second thought. Xander walked around school and work feeling so vulnerable, but at least he had his Armor Wear underneath his clothes.
  
  As the ominous day of January 26th drew nearer, Xander felt a growing sense of unease with every passing hour. The brooding presence of Jack O'Toole around school only heightened his anxiety, reminding him of Old Man Xander's adventure in his time, when he saved his friends from the homemade bomb, and kept it secret from them. Cordelia had given him the moniker of 'the Zeppo' during that time as well.
  
  That evening, at Buffy's house, Xander, Willow, and Buffy were by the driveway to see Joyce and Faith off. They were heading to take Faith's assessment tests to enter high school mid-way through the year. Xander tried to push the looming dread he felt to the back of his mind as he waved at the car driving away. With Willow leaving to study for the intricate spell she was casting, Buffy and Xander found themselves alone for the first time in a while. They looked at each other, and Xander quickly felt the tension between them heighten, which helped him forget his persistent unease.
  
  Standing by her front door, Xander watched her absentmindedly twirl a strand of blonde hair around her finger. He couldn't help but wonder if her Slayer Dreams were getting worse, and if the weight of them was starting to take a toll on her. Xander knew Buffy discussed them with Giles, but she hadn't brought it up to him. It made him wonder why she wouldn't share her worries with him.
  
  For whatever reason, Xander couldn't figure out what Buffy was thinking, and thus he was surprised when she asked, "Want a PB&J?"
  
  He smiled at the sudden drop of tension and replied, "How could I refuse such a delicacy of American cuisine?"
  
  With a smile, Buffy walked into her home as she remarked, "Faith seemed nervous."
  
  "Yeah, but she had Willow's help," Xander replied. He closed the door behind them as he added, "I'm sure she'll ace it."
  
  They were in the kitchen when Buffy asked, "How are you two doing?"
  
  Her question caught him slightly off guard, and he momentarily contemplated the complexity of his relationship with Faith. Though he loved her to death, he struggled to articulate the thoughts swirling around in his head. Xander couldn't help but feel like they were on different pages emotionally; not that he expected she'd need long to catch up to him. Xander imagined none of the girls around him would need nearly as much time as he had needed to mature. They weren't as dumb and damaged as he was.
  
  Buffy returned with the bread and peanut butter, noticing his hesitation.
  
  "We're... good. We're good," he answered. She retrieved the jelly from the fridge, and Xander took a seat at the kitchen island as he added, "She tends to need her space sometimes. It can feel like a lot to her, being in a committed relationship. But I think we're doing good."
  
  Buffy nodded, understanding clearly written all over her face. She knew all too well how challenging relationships could be, especially when two people were in different places. Xander couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy at the thought of Buffy and Angel. From an emotional standpoint, they seemed so in sync, and he wanted that for him and Faith.
  
  "What about you and Angel?" Xander asked, hoping to shift the focus away from his gloomy thoughts.
  
  "We're good, too," Buffy answered, her voice slightly hesitant. She stared at the plates in her hands, avoiding Xander's gaze. "Yeah... we- I mean, do I wish we could do more than kiss? Sure, sure... sure. But other than that, being with him is great."
  
  "Good. Great," he responded, trying to sound nonchalant. The silence that grew between them was awkward, and he could feel the tension building. He wanted to ask additional questions, but he knew that her relationship with Angel was her business, and until Buffy asked for advice, he shouldn't butt in. Instead, Xander changed the topic and asked, "Does Faith say a lot about us, or anything... weird ?"
  
  Setting the bottle of grape jelly down, Buffy chuckled, responding, "Uh, it's Faith. Sometimes, I feel like she shares way too much." With a knowing smile, she added, "I mean, you have to know girls talk, right?"
  
  "That they do," he warily agreed, wondering with trepidation what Faith had been saying. Before he stressed himself too much, he continued, "Moving on. Are you patrolling tonight?"
  
  Getting a knife to spread the peanut butter and jelly, Buffy nodded. "I'm meeting Giles for some training later. Angel should be out there right now, and I guess Faith will want to hit something when she gets back."
  
  Xander huffed in amusement. "Guess I can patrol for a bit." He hesitated a moment before asking Buffy, his tone serious, "Are you still having Slayer Dreams about me?"
  
  Buffy's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink as she set out the bread. She focused on her task as she answered, "Sometimes. But I don't know that they're important."
  
  "Oh," he weakly replied, feeling mildly disappointed.
  
  Setting down the jar of peanut butter, Buffy quickly reassured him, "Not to say you're not important. It's just that nothing's happened yet, so it feels like there's time."
  
  ' Except I don 't have time ,' he thought, once again recalling that he was slightly over two days away from looping back. His stomach turned so bad, he quickly lost his appetite. Slowly nodding, he asked, "Have you talked to Giles about them?"
  
  Grabbing the jar, Buffy tried to open it as she said, "A bit, but I want to ask him more tonight." She struggled to twist the red cap off as she said, "He's been... busy... lately... ...What the hell?"
  
  Buffy looked at the jar of peanut butter in disbelief. She was strong enough to bend a steel bar with ease, so it truly surprised her when the container refused to open. Xander smiled at the sight of her having trouble opening the jar of jam, and teasingly asked, "Having a bit of trouble there little la...dy..." The gears in his mind came to a halt as he finally realized what it meant. "Oh, shit!" he yelled, hopping off the stool.
  
  His sudden outburst caught her off guard, and a concerned Buffy asked, "What? What is it-" But she was cut off by his urgent tone.
  
  "We gotta go!" an alert Xander yelled, looking around the room and through windows, scanning for the slightest hint of impending danger.
  
  Buffy moved closer to him as she asked, "Wait, Xander. Why?"
  
  "Do you have- Shit!" he cursed. "Will's got our stuff."
  
  Buffy's confusion turned into growing alarm at the sight of the seriousness etched on his face. "What's going on?"
  
  "Grab a stake, or knife, or whatever, and let's go!"
  
  "Where do we need to go?" she demanded to know, her tone tinged with panic.
  
  He extended his hand, and answered, "Will's. I'll explain why on the way!"
  
  Buffy took it, and they ran toward the front door. They stopped at the coat closet and Buffy grabbed a stake and a squeeze-bottle of holy water from her jacket before stuffing it in her pocket. As soon as Xander and Buffy exited Buffy's house, two figures dressed in black emerged from the shadows, each wielding a dart gun. In a flash, the projectiles were fired, hitting Buffy and Xander square in their center of mass. However, Xander was wearing his Armor Wear and the dart with the hypodermic needle at the tip couldn't get through. It bounced off his chest with a mild thump and fell to the floor.
  
  Xander quickly realized what was happening. It was the Watcher's Council, trying to extract the Slayer for her rite of passage. Buffy's weakness and the non-lethal attempts of attacking them easily confirmed as much.
  
  "Xan...der?" Buffy weakly squeaked from beside him.
  
  The dart was in her hand, but had obviously already punctured her chest, because she was leaning over as if she were going to fall. Xander caught her and immediately felt a sting in his shoulder. If he'd had his ring, he likely would've heard the dart gun from many yards away and had the enhanced reflexes to catch it. Instead, he quickly ripped it out of his arm and looked at it a moment before throwing it away.
  
  Xander tried to pull Buffy toward his motorcycle in the driveway, but she had already lost her ability to walk. Seconds later, he was on his knees, which meant whatever chemical cocktail they filled the dart with was unique and powerful. Within a minute of watching Buffy first, and then himself drop to the floor, he couldn't move, and after two minutes, he was unconscious.
  
  Xander's sluggish mind struggled against the effects of the drug in his system. His heart pounded in his chest as he tried to bypass the anesthesia and willed himself to move. Fortunately, he'd taken out the dart relatively fast, and when he opened his eyes, he was on the couch in Buffy's living room, confirming he had lost consciousness. His body felt extremely lethargic and impossibly heavy, but he forced his head to turn and look at the clock. It had been twenty minutes already. Without his ring to do the heavy lifting, his mind would have to persevere on its own.
  
  Xander gritted his teeth and forced his limbs to move, but they felt numb and pressurized, like being dangerously deep in quicksand. He even exhausted himself simply extending his hands to summon his weapons-hoping to God he didn't hurt Willow because of it. After minutes without their appearance, he knew something was gravely wrong. Panic surged through him, but he was forced to ignore it. Buffy was in danger, and he needed to get to her before it was too late.
  
  The drowsy teen stood upright, but it was a herculean effort. His legs felt like rubber, and he stumbled when he took his first step toward the door. He felt like he was walking through molasses, and every movement was a struggle. Still, he refused to give up, and eventually he reached the door, where he gritted his teeth and slammed his forehead against the sturdy surface.
  
  The shock of the impact and the expanding bloom of pain momentarily cleared his mind and helped him focus. Xander rushed and stumbled outside. When he saw his bike in the driveway, he knew he had a dangerous decision to make. He didn't have good balance and felt very weak, but he hoped the effects would clear with time. Xander rushed as best he could to his bike, but getting on nearly toppled him over.
  
  ' Focus, focus, focus! ' his mind yelled at his body.
  
  Xander's heart pounded like a drum in his ears and he was sweating profusely, but he revved the engine of his bike and circled out of the driveway. Once on the road, he knew where he needed to go, and turned in the direction of the abandoned boarding house, Sunnydale Arms. The wind felt cold on his face and whipped through his hair as he navigated through the familiar streets of his town.
  
  The world around Xander became a blurry mess as he sped down the paved roads. His surroundings faded in and out of focus, making it even riskier for him to continue driving at such a breakneck pace. But with adrenaline coursing through his veins, he pressed on, daring himself to go faster. He weaved in and out of traffic, ignoring traffic signals as if they were mere suggestions. Whenever his concentration wavered, Xander would touch the searing hot muffler with his leg, and the sudden pain jolted him back to awareness, keeping him on task. It was a dangerous game he played, but he was willing to risk it all to get to Buffy in time.
  
  As he sped towards the abandoned boarding house, Xander's eyes widened in shock as he nearly collided with a van that clearly had the right of way. He felt bad for nearly injuring someone else with his reckless driving, but at the mildly blurry sight of three or four large humanoid demons inside the vehicle, he could only wonder why they looked familiar.
  
  ' The sisterhood of Jhe? ' he loosely thought, before his slow mind recalled the danger to Buffy's life.
  
  His mind was too garbled to think why the monstrous-looking demons were important. He simply pushed his bike to go faster and raced on to his destination. The abandoned boarding house loomed ahead of him, a foreboding sight with its darkened windows and crumbling façade. But Xander didn't hesitate as he skidded to a stop in front of the entrance, letting his motorcycle drop to its side.
  
  His heart pounding in his chest as he prepared to face whatever lay inside. Xander once again attempted to call his weapons to him but when nothing came, he removed the wooden dagger he stored in his bike, and clumsily rushed into the building.
  
  "BUFFY!" he yelled, his voice echoing down the dimly lit, dilapidated corridors. The acrid scent of mold and decay filled his nostrils as the sweaty and exhausted teen called her name out again. " BUUFFFYYY! " he yelled, desperation and fear lacing his voice.
  
  When he heard a crash, the uncoordinated boy ran toward the sound, his footsteps echoing against the decaying walls. The old building seemed to creak and groan with every step he took, adding to the tension and mounting sense of doom. Forgetting about his feebleness in that dire moment, he rammed through old double doors, shoulder-first, and felt the resistance of the old wood give way as he smashed through.
  
  The room was a dilapidated mess, with many cobwebs draping the corners and a thick layer of dust coating every surface. The only furniture in sight was an old wooden table draped with a worn white cloth and a few creaky chairs haphazardly scattered around it. But all of that was insignificant compared to the gruesome scene unfolding before Xander's eyes. Buffy was on the floor, battered and bruised, with a vampire looming over her, stuffing pills into its mouth before washing them down with water. The mess he made of the water spilling out the corners of his mouth and the sound of its throat gulping it all down turned Xander's stomach.
  
  Without hesitation, Xander rushed towards her, his eyes never leaving the long-haired vampire. The weakened Buffy crawled frantically towards him, her eyes locked on his for help. Tightening his grip on the wooden dagger, he reached her side and helped her up. Buffy winced in pain as she hopped on one leg, her left ankle clearly injured, likely twisted from her struggle with the vampire. As she couldn't stand properly, she leaned on Xander as he extended his wooden dagger out, ready to face the creature head-on.
  
  It advanced towards them, fangs bared and eyes flashing in rage. However, it suddenly began disintegrating into dust, and sooner than he expected, the vampire left nothing but a faint scent of ash behind. Instantly confused, Xander turned his gaze to the battered girl in his arm.
  
  Breathing heavily, Buffy gravely joked, "He really should've checked the label before drinking that holy water."
  
  "Must've been a bad year," he dryly quipped, but nothing about what happened next felt humorous.
  
  The room was suddenly filled with the sound of shuffling footsteps as three cloaked acolytes of the Watcher's Council and two burly men in street clothes stormed into the room. Xander and Buffy stood frozen, their eyes locked on the group of five menacing vampires that stared back at them with hungry, unblinking yellow eyes. Xander's mind raced as he scanned the room, his eyes darting from the main exit to the only other door behind them. However, before the teens could make a move, the vampires moved with deadly grace, their bodies coiled like taut springs as they surrounded Xander and Buffy immediately, cutting off any hope of escape.
  
  The lead vampire casually stepped forward, dressed like one of the acolytes. He inspected the scattered remains of his fallen kin with a grimace. "Looks like you killed my sire," the one in charge said. He then turned his attention to Xander and Buffy. The vampire's yellow eyes glittered with a dreadful darkness as he took a step closer, his gaze locked onto Buffy, and added, "But killing a Slayer on my second night as a vampire ought to more than make up for it."
  
  Xander tightened his grip on the wooden dagger, bracing himself for the imminent attack. However, upon hearing his friend's labored breathing, seeing how bruised and bloodied she was, and realizing her ankle would hinder her combat capabilities, Xander knew she needed the weapon more.
  
  Without hesitation, he extended the wooden dagger to her, his eyes flickering to all the vampires surrounding them. Buffy had her hand outstretched, not for the dagger, but to summon her magical weapon. However, just like Xander's weapons, Slaymore was either incredibly far away or being blocked somehow.
  
  "That won't work," the vampire in charge said with a sinister grin. "The Council went to extreme lengths to keep those weapons away. Dug a deep, deep hole, and put 'em in a foot-thick, magically enhanced chest. It's why those old windbags were so late throwing this party for you. So, try as you might, you won't be getting your weapons back; at least, not before we kill you."
  
  With more feeling, Xander could tell his connection with Dreadnought was still there, only it was having difficulty breaking through an obstruction to get to him.
  
  "Kill 'em," the leader ordered, and his goons eagerly complied.
  
  Five vampires against two weakened humans... Xander knew running or splitting up were not viable options, and neither were any other strategies since the vampires charged right away. Xander forced the dagger into her hand, grabbed the nearest old and dusty chair, and swung on the closest vampire. The chair didn't break like he'd hoped, but it knocked the blood-sucking demon back.
  
  Xander's instincts kicked in, and he let his body react without letting doubt hinder his movements. However, he was so weak he couldn't evade or slip punches, thus he put his guard up, and every punch to the head was like getting shoved hard. He kept his balance, but he felt like a ping-pong ball, bouncing around between three vampires, being batted left and right. His only saving grace was his Armor Wear dulled a lot of the strikes to his stomach.
  
  Xander attacked their footing, groins, and necks in a desperate attempt to stave them off while praying for a miracle. However, he was so slow and weak, his attacks seemed to be no more than a mild inconvenience to them. The first time he countered with an elbow to the face, the vampire slowly turned its furious yellow eyes on him. It returned a punch so hard Xander was knocked to the floor.
  
  Through it all, he heard Buffy's grunts as she was hit, and Xander was desperate to get to her-to save her-because he refused to give up. Despite the pain, he kept moving, using the numbness from the brutal blows to his advantage, striking back with greater force. But there were just too many vampires, and they were both too weak.
  
  With a swift kick to the chest, Xander flew back, hitting the floor and rolling with the momentum. He felt like his heart had stopped beating, but with practiced ease, he rolled onto his feet, ready to attack. Inescapably, vampires were on him before he could do anything else. They held him by the shoulders, and he managed a blurry glimpse of Buffy-bravely fighting off her two attackers with the wooden blade-before the vampires sank their fangs into his flesh.
  
  "AGGGGH!" Xander yelled in pain.
  
  "Xander!" Buffy's yell was cut short with a hard punch across the face, making her hair whip as her head spun.
  
  Xander's vision blurred as he fought to stay conscious despite the rapid blood loss. Fortunately, the vampire in charge ordered his men to stop, saving Xander, if only for the moment.
  
  With glee, the lead vampire said, "Let's make her watch while we kill her boyfriend!"
  
  The group of vampires chuckled approvingly and moved Buffy and Xander close together. The teens were on their knees, facing each other, and only inches apart. Nearly his entire vision was of Buffy's bloody and bruised, yet beautiful face. And he imagined it was the same for her. Each of their arms was firmly held by a vampire, ensuring escape was impossible. Xander could only think of summoning Dreadnought, because if he couldn't hold his weapon soon, he knew that night would be the last in the loop.
  
  One acolyte asked the leader with concern, "What about Travers?" He looked around the room as he slowly voiced, "We need to go before-"
  
  "Before what? They're all old men!" the acolyte in charge yelled. He turned his gaze to a corner of the room before yelling, "They can see us right now, and do you know what? He knows there's nothing he could do to stop us! Fuck you, Travers! And your disgusting Tomato Mint Teas!" he cursed, raising a stern middle finger.
  
  Xander's heart ached at the sight of Buffy's injuries. They were both battered and bruised, with sweat and blood dripping down their faces. Their limbs felt heavy, and their breaths came in ragged gasps. Buffy's beautiful face was a mess of cuts and bruises, her blonde hair was matted with blood, and Xander was certain her body ached just as much as his.
  
  Her half-lidded eyes met his, and for the briefest moment, the world around them faded away, leaving only the two of them suspended on the brink of death. Xander's eyes were filled with pain and regret, and he wished he could have done more to protect her and his friends-been a stronger shield. With a quivering bottom lip, Buffy's striking green eyes held a deep sadness, and Xander could see she felt guilty for dragging him into the perilous life of slaying.
  
  But amidst the pain and regret, there was also a deep love, a shared bond that had been forged through countless battles and hardships. They didn't need to say anything. Their eyes said it all: that no matter what the future held, they would face it together-as one-because they were bound by love and friendship.
  
  The second vampire acolyte confidently suggested, "Maybe we should go across the street next?"
  
  "Good idea," the leader said. Turning his glare to the top corner of the room, he yelled, "You hear that, ya miserable old bastard! If you're not gone by the time we get there... free buffet boys!"
  
  The vampires whooped in joy as Xander continued to summon Dreadnought, though he felt too weak to do anything but look into Buffy's greenish-blue eyes. Xander had nothing left, as his life force ebbed away. The pain in his head and body was nearly intolerable, and he struggled with every breath. As the world around him slowly faded into darkness, he was either looping back soon or, God willing, finally dying.
  
  Her eyes sparked with tears, but also with a fierce determination that he had always admired. Xander knew he was teetering on the edge of unconsciousness, so with all the strength he had left, he whispered the most honest words he could muster.
  
  "B-Bufffy," he stuttered.
  
  "Xand... er," she whispered.
  
  Blood made his tongue slip as he added, "N-No matter wh-wahat... I'll al-alwayss l-love you. Alwayss-"
  
  Three pairs of fangs sank into his flesh and a tearful Buffy yelled, " XANDER! "
  
  The dying teenager barely heard her cry over the destruction of aged and decrepit walls bulldozed by his Dreadnought before his weapon slammed into his outstretched hand. Feeling the cooling sensation rushing through him like a second wind, Xander called upon lightning to rush along his blood and up their fangs into their brains. It hurt him like being cooked alive, but with all of his other injuries, his brain was so near to done, nothing mattered.
  
  When they all dropped, Xander barely noticed a second weapon exploded through the wall, but he didn't think he called Hellguard. The sword slid into Buffy's hand and, with three fluid circular swipes of her sharp blade, she sliced through the hand holding down her arm, the same vampire's neck, and finally the last vampire's head in a second.
  
  With renewed strength, Buffy scrambled over Xander's trembling body to reach the three groaning vampires before they could regain their mobility. She gripped Slaymore tightly and swiftly dusted the first two. As Buffy finished off the last vampire, a sweaty Giles burst into the room, clutching a leather pouch, Hellguard, and Blood/Lust. Buffy reached her injured friend as Giles slid across the floor, coming to a stop beside Xander.
  
  Despite gripping Dreadnought, Xander lay barely conscious, his heart beating erratically, and his breaths coming in ragged gasps. With steady hands, Giles quickly pulled Odin's ring from the pouch and slid it onto the injured boy's finger. Immediately, Xander felt more relief, but he couldn't fully open his eyes yet. His magic was helping him heal the most critical injuries first; concussions, blood loss, internal bleeding, and nerve damage.
  
  Placing a trembling hand on his chest, Buffy shook him as she yelled, "Xander, wake up! Please, wake up!"
  
  Giles placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, stating, "Buffy, he has his ring and Dreadnought."
  
  Slowly, Xander's breathing steadied, and his ragged gasps were replaced by deeper, calmer inhales. His skin, once a sickly white, slowly regained some healthy color. Buffy's eyes never left his face, watching as life slowly flooded back into his body, and she let out a sigh of relief. Without thinking, her hand grasped his, their fingers interlacing with an unspoken understanding: they'd made it through another close call together.
  
  The pair had been through so much together, fought side by side against the forces of darkness, and survived. In that moment, they knew they could always count on each other, no matter what horrors they faced. With a flicker of a smile, Xander squeezed Buffy's hand, acknowledging their bond. They were more than just friends. They were each other's safe harbor in a world made of chaotic storms.
  
  At that moment, the High Watcher, Quintin Travers, and his remaining acolytes walked into the room. The elderly Englishman walked over to the dusted remains of the vampires and lamented, "Such loss. Blair, Hobson, you will be missed."
  
  As the elder Watcher turned to Buffy, Giles stood and demanded they bring aid. "Xander is a civilian and in need of emergency medical attention."
  
  "A civilian he may be," Travers admitted with his gravelly voice, his eyes flickering with interest as he eyed the teenage boy. "But his creations are truly one of a kind; ' otherworldly ' is what our alchemists concluded. You've discovered quite a talent, Mr. Giles. He will aid us well in our war against the forces of evil."
  
  Giles clenched his jaw, eyes burning with anger as he hotly contested, " He is not yours."
  
  Travers simply arched an eyebrow, replying, "Not yet."
  
  "Not... everrr," Xander groaned, surprised he even had the energy to voice that.
  
  "Xander!" Buffy yelled, moving close to inspect him all over. "Take it easy. Just rest." She tried to help him up but found it incredibly difficult with her own injuries. Giles told her to let him rest longer.
  
  "Congratulations, Miss Summers," Travers complimented. "You passed. You exhibited extraordinary courage and clearheadedness in battle. The council is very pleased."
  
  Buffy narrowed her eyes at the man, still furious about the dangerous test he had subjected her and her friends to. "Do I get a gold star?" she asked sarcastically, eager to express her disdain for the Council's actions.
  
  Attempting to appease her, Travers nodded and replied, "I understand that you're upset-"
  
  "You understand nothing," she snarled back. "You set that monster loose, and he turned three of yours and two civilians before nearly killing us!"
  
  "You think the test was unfair, but evil is as evil does," Travers replied smoothly, unbothered by the collateral damage.
  
  Her anger palpable, Buffy threatened, "I think you better get out of town before I get my strength back."
  
  "We're not in the business of ' fair ,' Miss Summers," he said, trying to educate her. "We're fighting a war."
  
  " You 're waging a war," Giles corrected. " They are fighting it. There is a difference."
  
  Annoyed by the interruption, Travers said, "Mr. Giles, if you don't mind-"
  
  "The test is done," Giles interrupted. "We're finished."
  
  "Not quite," Travers gently asserted, as if his authority was beyond question. Nodding to Buffy, then Xander, he stated, "She passed. And he has left quite an impression." Looking at Giles, he finished, "You may not have."
  
  Neither Giles nor Buffy knew what to say, but Xander asked, "Whaaa's... that m-mean?"
  
  To Giles, the stoic and unyielding Travers explained, "The Slayer isn't the only one who must perform in this situation. You may have devised all the necessary precautions to ensure the viability of this test: employing a close friend of theirs to relinquish their enhanced weapons, scheduling Miss Lehane to be away, and neutralizing Miss Summers' allies. However, your frame of mind throughout this entire affair seemed rooted in a wholly emotional sentiment. I've recommended to the Council that you be relieved of your duties as a Watcher."
  
  Shocked, Giles retorted, "On what grounds?"
  
  "Your affection for your charge has compromised your ability for clear and impartial judgment," Travers coldly answered. "You have a father's love for her and that is useless to the cause."
  
  Giles couldn't quite meet Buffy's eyes, and he nervously repositioned his glasses. Buffy blinked when the truth of this registered in her mind, and subconsciously squeezed Xander's hand. A dazed Xander weakly whispered, "Aawwww."
  
  Travers continued, "You are relieved of duty until further notice. Pending the results of an inquiry, it would be best for you not to have further contact with the Slayer."
  
  "I'm not going anywhere," Giles declared, his voice thick with defiance.
  
  "No, well, I didn't expect you to adhere to that," Travers responded, his tone filled with derision. "However, if you interfere with the new Watcher or try to countermand his authority in any way until your fate has been determined, you will be dealt with. Are we clear?"
  
  "We're very clear," Giles replied, though his face was etched with a mix of betrayal and disappointment. Xander didn't approve of the way Giles had lost his job, but he knew the Watcher's Council wasn't a significant loss.
  
  Travers turned to Xander and said, "We'll be in touch."
  
  "Please don't touch me," Xander feebly replied. "I'm a minor."
  
  Travers shook his head, confused, opening his mouth to reply but finding no words to refute touching a minor. When he looked back at his acolytes, they slanted their gaze away and the leader ordered them to prepare for departure.
  
  Buffy smiled before telling Xander, "You're already eighteen, remember?"
  
  "Oh, yeah," he huffed, matching her smile. "That was a good birthday."
  
  To Buffy, Travers repeated, "Congratulations, again."
  
  "Bite me," she snapped back.
  
  Travers shook his head as he left the room, muttering under his breath, "What colorful children."
  
  -
  
  Giles drove Xander and Buffy to her home-where Joyce, Willow, and Faith were already waiting-and the Council was nice enough to transport Xander's bike there as well. They both stumbled into a bathroom to shower the blood, sweat, and grime off before their friends treated their wounds. Buffy and Xander sat on the living room couch, the adrenaline had long worn off, and they were both incredibly exhausted and sore.
  
  Faith insisted they sit next to each other to make it easier to treat their wounds, and the teens were too fatigued to put up much resistance. They slouched on the couch with blue ice bags on their throbbing heads as Faith treated Xander and Willow treated Buffy. They were pressed so close together, Xander could feel the rise and fall of Buffy's chest with each breath she took. Mrs. Summers prepared snacks for them, and the entire time, Xander and Buffy were explaining what had happened. Cordelia and Oz didn't arrive until midway through the story, but enjoyed the snacks as they listened.
  
  "I can't believe Giles would lie to me like that," Willow wailed, pacing back and forth, her expression a mix of anger and hurt. "To me!" the irate redhead exclaimed. "How could he? And to use the sanctity of magic to spin his web of lies! I feel violated!"
  
  "So, how did you manage to kill Kralik?" Oz asked.
  
  Having already heard the story, Joyce happily stated, "Oh, she was very clever." At a pleading look from Buffy, Joyce course-corrected. "You go ahead and tell it, dear. You tell it better," bringing a loving smile to Buffy's face.
  
  Willow continued to vent her frustrations, asking, "But when you say he was suspended, do you mean, like, fired indefinitely?"
  
  After a stiff yawn, Xander lazily asked, "You're not cruising past that concept anytime soon, are you?"
  
  "It's just- you both could've died!" Willow cried loudly, throwing her hands up. "And I was the one who took your weapons away! He made me complicit in your attempted murders!"
  
  "I'm sure he didn't want to, Will," Buffy softly said with certainty.
  
  "And he got our stuff back in the end," Xander added.
  
  Cordelia remarked, "He may be suspended, but it's not like he's going anywhere. He's still the librarian."
  
  Oz reached out for his girlfriend and Willow took his hand. She sat down by her boyfriend as she mumbled, "Okay, but I'm writing the Council an angry letter; such anger!"
  
  With an approving grin, Faith encouraged Willow. "You tell 'em, Red." And the redhead smiled, enjoying her nickname.
  
  Despite the seriousness of the night's events, Buffy injected a bit of humor, stating to all, "The important thing is..." Buffy yawned and finished, "I kept up my special birthday tradition of gut-wrenching misery and horror."
  
  Xander, already half-asleep, added, "There you go. A bright side to everything."
  
  After quickly explaining the rest, the exhaustion was too much to bear and Xander went into a deep sleep, with Buffy joining him seconds later.
  
  Hope you all enjoyed the read. You know, I'm on the fence about what Giles did. On the one hand, he'd been a Watcher for much longer than he'd been with Buffy, so I can understand falling in line with the organization. But on the other hand, that was really messed up. I'm surprised people weren't more pissed in canon.
  
  Just wanted to mention that even if Xander loves Buffy, that doesn't mean he wants to be with her romantically. In my mind, he means love as a person/friend/hero. Not so much a potential romantic partner.
  
  I only had Faith give Cordelia coupons because she struggles with full-on monogamous relationships, I'll explain more about that in a future chapter.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Remember, I'm updating again this Sunday.
  
  Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Enter the End Part I
  Welcome back to another Sunday, and another Chapter!
  
  So, this is the second update of the double release. As some of you might've noticed, it's a part 1 of 2. I'll just be honest, all the remaining chapters end in a cliffhanger. I'm tying everything all up, so it's bound to be that way. That being said, I don't think this one will be too bad of a cliffhanger. Let me know if it is.😁👍
  
  I will be updating next week.
  
  Please give it up for my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Warning: Foul language.
  
  11.5K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Enter the End - Part I
  
  Xander's eyes fluttered open, groggy and sore from a hard night of fighting. As he slowly came to his senses, he found himself in a cozy and inviting living room. The room was bathed in the soft, golden glow of the morning light, which filtered through the window and illuminated every corner. The softness of the comfortable couch was a welcome respite to the aches cascading throughout his body, and the unexpected warmth of Buffy lying peacefully on top of him only added to his sense of contentment.
  
  As he shifted slightly, he could not help but marvel at how perfectly she fit against him, and his slow mind didn't question their position or anything beyond that moment. Instead, he gazed at her, lost in admiration of her beauty. The way her golden blonde hair spilled around her face, the gentle curve of her jawline, the warmth of her skin against his-it all felt like a dream.
  
  Buffy stirred at the tender gesture of him brushing a strand of hair away from her angelic face, her own greenish-blue eyes meeting his in a moment of shared affection-of shared serenity. They both felt like they were living in a dream, suspended in time in the peaceful morning light.
  
  As if drawn by an unseen force, Xander leaned in to caress Buffy's pink lips with his, surprised by how soft and warm they felt as she kissed him back. The softness of her mouth was a sensation that sent shivers of pleasure through his body. He relished her gentle breath against his skin and opened wider to deepen the dizzying desire building. As she tilted her head, to move in deeper, the dream-like world around them faded, leaving only the sensation of their faces pressed together and the ecstasy that came from it. It was a moment of pure bliss, their own private universe of fantasy and longing.
  
  The teens were engrossed in a tender haze of comfort when a sudden CLICK and WHIRRRR sound shattered the illusion they were in. For a long moment, Buffy and Xander froze, trying to make sense of the reality that was slowly sinking in. Their sweet, tender kiss had not been a dream, but real life. Still lying comfortably on top of him, Buffy's eyes widened in disbelief as she realized the truth, and immediately, she jolted upright. Xander shifted away a little too quickly, causing a sharp pain to shoot through him and making him wince in agony.
  
  Instantly worried, Buffy asked, "Are you okay?"
  
  "Yeah... yeah," he replied, moving his neck from side to side. "I feel way more pain today than yesterday."
  
  "Oh..." Unsure, Buffy asked, "Wait, is that good?"
  
  Groaning at his aching muscles, Xander answered, "Means everything's healing."
  
  "Oh, good. Good," she responded, relaxing. After a long awkward silence, Buffy realized she was still on top of him."I should, uh..." Buffy trailed off, unsure of what to say.
  
  "Oh, right," Xander agreed casually, trying to ease the tension between them. They sat on the sofa, both feeling a little awkward and unsure of what to say next.
  
  "Hey, Buff-" Xander started, but Buffy quickly interrupted him, asking, "Are you hungry? I can make pancakes." At his fearful look of concern, Buffy amended her statement. "I can attempt to make pancakes."
  
  "Cereal's good... and safe," he teased. She gave him a withering look, shaking her pretty head. Once in the kitchen, Xander tried again. "Hey, Buffy-"
  
  "It blows that we have to go to school today," Buffy once again interrupted. It was clear she wanted to avoid speaking about last night as she added, "I mean, neither one of us is at a hundred percent yet. You're still hurting, and I'm seriously hoping I can open a stupid bag of cereal. After what we went through yesterday, I think we deserve a day off, right?"
  
  With the last day of the year-loop looming like a dark cloud, Xander spoke to the heart of her discomfort, and with a strong steady voice, confessed, "I'm not sorry I kissed you."
  
  Buffy stood frozen, her greenish-blue eyes staring at a fixed point on the wall, as if trying to avoid looking at him. "I wonder if Mom's up," she said, as if attempting to distance herself from the situation. "She's been taking her time in the mornings since starting this whole yoga kick. I tried it with her a couple of times, but it doesn't really do much for me. And, obviously, sleep is way higher on the to-do list."
  
  Xander couldn't take this moment for granted. After all, the following day, he'd be back in his smelly bed on Halloween 1997. Despite her deflection, he dauntlessly stated, "I'm not sorry I kissed you, and I'm not sorry about what I said last night." Buffy stood still once again, likely reliving his words of love in their near-death experience. With her silence, Xander nodded and said, "I'll let myself out."
  
  In a day, Xander will have reached the end of the year-loop. He wasn't sure if he was going to loop back, but for the first time, he knew he'd be proud of himself by the end. And that was good enough. Riding his powerful motorcycle to school, enjoying the sweet sound of its motor in his ears, Xander decided not to stress about anything and enjoy all the moments he had left with his friends.
  
  -B-
  
  Ever since Xander left her house, Buffy's mind was in a constant state of turmoil, and the weight of her thoughts felt like an anchor dragging her down. She had replayed every moment of the past twelve hours over and over in her head: from the way a bloody and beaten Xander's eyes sparkled when he looked at her-just before three vampires bit him-to the way his warm lips felt against hers when she thought she'd been dreaming.
  
  ' Mnn! ' a side of her mind illicitly thought. In panic, she gripped her head and thought, ' No! '
  
  Buffy was in History class, unable to focus on the lesson, as her mind kept wandering back to Xander. Staring blankly at the textbook in front of her, she kept recalling so many moments he'd surprised her this past year. Memories of him doing and saying things that surprised her, and made her feel a confusing myriad of emotions. One of the first memories, which quickly came to mind, was when he warned her about Ford, her former friend who turned into a vampire. Xander had done so without a trace of jealousy or possessiveness. He simply cared about her safety.
  
  ' I told you Ford was off and it wasn 't a jealousy thing. It was me watching your back because I love you, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you ,' she easily recalled, making her flustered.
  
  He wowed her when he revealed his smithing skills, and even more when he made Slaymore for her. She had been amazed at the sight of her magical sword; her single most treasured possession. The fact that Xander made it for her filled her with a sense of awe and gratitude.
  
  Not all the memories were touching. Buffy also remembered the dread she felt when Xander wanted to patrol alone. She fought him so hard because Xander and Willow were the brightest spots of her life, and she couldn't bear the thought of losing an important friend to the dangers of her life as the Slayer. She'd very nearly paid that price when Angelus kidnapped Xander and held her mother hostage, but he had survived and saved her mother.
  
  ' This kiss was even better than the last ,' that side of her thought.
  
  Shocked at herself, Buffy sat up straight in her seat, ignorant of the curious attention she caught from Willow and a few others. She shouldn't be thinking about kissing Xander, it most certainly shouldn't make her heart beat faster.
  
  ' You 're just nervous ,' the anxious girl tried to rationalize. ' You 're just stressed because... because... of the Slayer dreams. Xander could've died and, and, that didn't happen .' Rubbing her forehead in growing confusion, Buffy felt scared, because deep down, her feelings for him seemed more complicated than that, and she didn't know what to do.
  
  Mercifully, Xander left after History-citing the need for a quiet place to take a nap for lunch-and Buffy felt a wave of relief wash over her. Willow asked Buffy what was wrong, immediately prompting memories of her completely accidental kiss with Xander. Nervous that Willow could tell, Buffy blushed under her friend's curious gaze, but couldn't answer.
  
  Willow must've sensed her distress and took her hand before leading her to the library. As they entered the large room, they were surprised to see Faith and Cordelia seated across each other at the long center table. Cordelia had a textbook and notebook in front of her, while Faith was mentioning something about boys.
  
  "What are you two doing here?" Buffy asked.
  
  "Homework," Cordelia duly answered.
  
  "Waiting on Giles," Faith replied. "And teaching boys to keep their hands to themselves." Turning to Cordelia, she asked, "What was his name?"
  
  "Ugh, Guy Matthews, douche extraordinaire," Cordelia answered with a shudder.
  
  Faith let out a low whistle before asking, "Seriously? He didn't even have to get physical with you. With a name like Guy, I would've kicked his ass for that alone."
  
  Willow chimed in excitedly, "Oh, right. Giles said he'd make some calls to see if you got in." But then, her expression darkened when she recalled the previous night. An irate Willow spat, "He'd better! After what he made me do!"
  
  Buffy gave her friend a reassuring hug as an amused Faith replied with a smirk, "Heard you chewed him out this morning. Would've loved to have seen that."
  
  Shaking her head, Willow pushed her anger aside and returned her focus to Buffy. She led her to the table, and they settled next to the other two before the redhead asked, "What's going on Buffy? You've been completely spaz-city for three periods. And you wouldn't even look at Xander. Are you not feeling well?"
  
  Instantly feeling nervous, Buffy grabbed one of Cordelia's books and feigned interest as she asked the cheerleader, "What are you studying?" Randomly flipping through the pages, she lamely asked, "Calculus? My favorite."
  
  Willow's shoulders slumped, her concern clearly growing. She looked at Buffy with a mixture of sympathy and determination, and gently placed her hand on the book, moving it away from the Slayer's face. "Come on, Buffy. You know you can tell me anything."
  
  Buffy couldn't find the words. She didn't know how to respond and tried saying, "...It's- it's nothing."
  
  Casually, Faith curiously asked, "Are you freaking out about the kiss?"
  
  Buffy snapped upright, eying the Bostonian with surprise. " You know?! " Buffy called out as Willow and Cordelia asked the brunette slayer, "What kiss?"
  
  Faith casually grabbed her bag that was on the floor. "Here. I took a picture," Faith told them, as she looked for it.
  
  Standing up, the shocked Buffy yelled, "You took a picture!"
  
  "What kiss?" Willow asked her blonde friend.
  
  "I got it..." she mouthed, digging in her backpack. "Ah! Here it is," she exclaimed, holding up the Polaroid for everyone to see.
  
  Buffy immediately dashed for the picture, trying to snatch the evidence from Faith's hand. "Don't show them!" the blonde pleaded as she struggled to take the photo away, but Faith was too strong and could keep her away. As the blonde tried to grab the photo, she complained, "Why... do you... have to be... so... strong!"
  
  Faith grinned mischievously at how hard Buffy was trying, teasing, "I guess you don't have your full strength yet."
  
  With a final groan, Buffy relented and plopped back in her seat as Faith handed the photo to Willow and Cordelia, who quickly leaned over to see. Willow gasped in shock at the image of Buffy and Xander lying on the couch together-intimately. With wide eyes, Willow exclaimed, "You kissed Xander?"
  
  Buffy's cheeks flushed as the anxious girl desperately explained, "It was an accident! I didn't- look, we both passed out last night and woke up like that."
  
  Cordelia raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical, and asked, "With your lips stuck together?"
  
  Buffy's frustration only grew as she struggled to explain the misunderstanding to her friends. She knew how it sounded, but she had to make them see reason. "We'd just woken up. We weren't thinking!" she pleaded. "We didn't even realize until..." Turning to Faith, realization on her face, Buffy yelled, "Until we heard the click! Why would you take a picture, Faith?!"
  
  "You guys looked cute when you fell asleep last night," she said, a cheerful grin on her face. However, her response only added to the confusion, and further explained, "I wanted to get a picture before you woke up, but man, I was right on time for a different kind of action!"
  
  Taken aback by Faith's behavior, Willow couldn't help but question, "And you're okay with that? Xander's your boyfriend."
  
  "He sure is," Faith agreed, causing the redhead to blink in surprise and confusion. Faith elaborated her viewpoint by confessing, "Look, there are just too many rules to being a couple. Normal people are cool with it, and that's fine; whatever. To me, it feels unnatural, like being caged up. It makes me antsy and I don't like it."
  
  "But being a couple is fun and exciting," Willow passionately proclaimed, her eyes expressing deep conviction. "To know you can trust the person you love with your whole heart, and that person will also love and trust you right back... It's liberating , and makes every day so much more vibrant and beautiful."
  
  As Willow spoke, Faith crinkled her nose as if unaccustomed to the sweetness of those words, then replied, "Yeah? Let's just say that's not been my experience."
  
  To Buffy, it was yet another hint of a painful past, and, sensing a moment to share, asked, "Would you like to talk about it?"
  
  Shaking her head, Faith responded, "Nah, I'm good, B." Though the beautiful brunette nodded, seemingly grateful for her concern.
  
  Never one to shy away from speaking her mind, Cordelia asked Faith, "Is Xander better than all the guys you've been with?"
  
  "By miles!" Faith replied emphatically.
  
  " Right?! " Cordelia quickly agreed, leaning forward with a knowing smile.
  
  Willow's brows furrowed as she tried to wrap her head around the situation. She glanced at Buffy, who was equally perplexed, unable to fathom how Faith could be so composed about the kiss. Buffy understood that Faith was different from her in many ways, especially when it came to romantic relationships. The brunette Slayer was always so vocal about Xander's prowess, often making suggestive comments that made Buffy fearfully curious.
  
  Willow asked Faith, "And it doesn't bother you that the boy you think is better than other boys kissed Buffy? Like, at all?"
  
  Bobbing her head left and right in half acknowledgment, an unbothered Faith replied, "Look, it wasn't like some five-pronged plan on how they were going to sneak a kiss behind my back. I know they were half-asleep. Besides, Xander already told me he's in love with her."
  
  " He has?! " Buffy yelled, raising her eyebrows in stark surprise, the previous night still vividly fresh in her memories. Faith nodded and Buffy still couldn't fathom her nonchalant attitude, asking, "But- but you're still together?"
  
  Faith let out a chuckle, amused by her sister Slayer's bewilderment, and confessed, "I wouldn't have gotten with him if he lied about that, which was pretty ballsy of him if you think about it."
  
  Cordelia crossed her legs, smoothing the fabric of her skirt as she divulged her own experience to the stunned Willow and Buffy. "Why do you think Xander and I broke up? We could love each other all the live-long-day, but when it came right down to it, I was always going to be the number two girl in his heart, and this Queen is number two to no one."
  
  Leaning back casually in her chair, Faith interjected, "Yeah, I'm fine with that," her confidence unwavering.
  
  "I'm not," Cordelia stated firmly. "Clearly."
  
  "You still came by to use up those last two coupons," Faith remarked, a knowing smirk playing at the corner of her lips.
  
  "Like I can help it! The man's a freakin' sex savant!" Cordelia exclaimed, much to the chagrin of Willow and Buffy, who both let out a collective, "EEWWW!" Rolling her eyes, Cordelia continued regardless, proclaiming, "It's ridiculous how good he is."
  
  Faith gave a knowing nod, her brunette locks cascading over her shoulders as she replied. "No, no, I get it. Count your blessings; his current girlfriend is a sharer."
  
  Cordelia leaned in, her posture hopeful as she asked, "I've been meaning to talk to you about Valentine's Day-"
  
  "Sorry," Faith interjected sympathetically. "Girlfriend has priority on and around holidays."
  
  More concerned with the topic at hand, Willow asked the table, "Can we get back to Buffy kissing Xander?"
  
  Eying her best friend incredulously, Buffy exclaimed, " Can we not?! " wanting more than anything to escape this mortifying discussion.
  
  "It's fine, B," Faith reassured her sister Slayer with a casual wave of her hand. "So you kissed. It's happened before. It ain't the end of the world."
  
  Wide-eyed, Buffy stood upright, feeling her entire face blush in ever-increasing surprise as she bellowed, " He told you we kissed before?! "
  
  All three girls sat in stunned silence, their eyes locked on Buffy's panicked expression of disbelief. Willow's jaw dropped, and Cordelia's eyes widened in shock. The air was thick with tension, as if the room itself was holding its breath, waiting for someone to break the silence.
  
  Slowly, Faith clarified, "I meant you've kissed before, in general-as in, other guys."
  
  Buffy's face glowed bright red and became incredibly mortified, like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She slowly sank back into her seat, as an aghast Willow gasped, "You kissed Xander before this?"
  
  Astonished by the revelation, Cordelia demanded to know, "How many times has this happened? It better not have been when we were dating."
  
  Trying to push past the line of questioning, a frazzled Buffy grabbed the Calculus book and hugged it to her chest-like a protective blanket-as she pleaded, "Are you all forgetting about, uh, I don't know, my boyfriend? Angel is my boyfriend ."
  
  Unbothered, Cordelia replied, "If kissing Xander was just a simple mistake and didn't mean anything, then it shouldn't matter, right?"
  
  The silence that followed was deafening and suffocating, and Buffy buried her face in the Calculus textbook, wishing she could disappear into the pages. Guilt gnawed at her chest as she realized the impact of Cordelia's words. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in an attempt to steady her raw emotions.
  
  Beside her, Willow was thunderstruck, stunned by how many times she could be surprised in one lunch period. At her friend's silence, she exclaimed, " Buffy! "
  
  The only response from the Slayer was a groan in emotional turmoil, bracing herself for the next round of questions and judgment that would inevitably come her way.
  
  Faith asked Willow, her voice laced with curiosity, "Does this mean she has a crush on my boyfriend?"
  
  From behind her book, Buffy let out a groan-her heart racing with tortuous anxiety-and she yelled, "No!"
  
  Cordelia, however, was not convinced, stating, "I think it does." Turning to Faith, she teasingly challenged, "But you're a sharer, right?"
  
  Willow shot Cordelia a stern look, her eyes flashing with frustrated ire. She returned her attention to Faith, intently stating, "Don't listen to her. I can't believe I need to say this, but Faith, you don't have to share your boyfriend with other girls. Whatever Xander's feelings for Buffy-or Cordelia-may be, you don't have to let them be with him. He's your boyfriend, which means you 're his one and only."
  
  Faith and Cordelia turned at the sudden arrival of Xander, but as Willow's back was to him, she couldn't see him and continued with her heartfelt speech.
  
  "I mean, sharing is a good thing to do in life," she said with a nod, her voice firm. "But sharing your boyfriend is not . It could easily lead to a lot of jealousy and resentment, which break relationships and friendships apart!" Willow paused for a moment, her eyes searching for the right words. "I'm sure Buffy kissing Xander was nothing more than a, uh, mild... emotional... hiccup ?" Her voice trailed off as she turned to Buffy, curiosity getting the better of her, and asked, "Are you going to tell Angel- Oh! Ooooh , h-hey, Xander! Xander, you're- youuuu are back."
  
  Rotating away from him, Willow's face burned a bright shade of red in embarrassment. Buffy groaned from under her book, yelling, "Oh, come on!"
  
  -X-
  
  Xander strolled over to the long table, his eyes sweeping across each of the girls' faces. A hint of amusement played at the corners of his mouth as he noticed the grins on Faith and Cordelia's faces, the way Buffy's face was buried in a textbook, and the sight of Willow's bright red face-all signs that that had been talking about him and Buffy's kiss. Feigning ignorance, Xander played it cool, trying to spare Buffy any further embarrassment.
  
  "Yeah, I'm back," he nonchalantly said, though, on the inside, he was silently tickled by the situation.
  
  Cordelia drew in her brows as she asked with concern, "I thought you were going to rest."
  
  Xander shrugged his shoulders, answering, "I was." He may have been aching all over, but he wasn't going to rest on his last day of the best time loop ever. While they were in the library, he had lured Jack O'Toole to the school's basement, where he decapitated the undead boy with Hellguard. Even if Xander wouldn't be around when the delinquent raised his buddies from the dead to blow up the school the following night, he saw no reason not to nip that problem in the bud.
  
  Xander thumbed toward Giles' office as he explained, "But I forgot to tell Giles something about last night."
  
  Buffy raised her head out of the book and shot up to her feet. She rushed toward him, raising her palms, as she called out, "Wait!"
  
  Eying the flustered girl with a hint of amusement, he casually replied, "Uh, it's kinda important, Buff."
  
  Wincing, the nervous girl said, "It's not that important... Okay, yeah, maybe it is. I get that but-" Feeling anxious in front of the observant girls, Buffy grabbed Xander's hand and dragged him away towards a secluded corner. When she was certain they were out of earshot, Buffy leaned in, allowing Xander to inhale her sweet scent as she whispered, "Isn't that something that, like, should stay between us? I mean, why even mention it to Giles? He's kinda like our work dad, if you think about it. It's weird, you know?" Despite trying to be playful, she couldn't shake off her nervousness.
  
  Set even more at ease by the captivating scent of her, Xander looked at Buffy, committing every curvature of her delicate features to memory, as if it would be the last time he'd see this version of her. She stilled at his intimate gaze, and Xander smiled softly, reassuring her, "Buffy, I wasn't going to tell him about what I said to you. I was going to mention that the world might come to an end tomorrow."
  
  Although Xander wasn't worried about any danger from the Sisterhood of Jhe, he liked the idea of spending more time with the gang, researching in the library till all hours of the night. He'd love nothing more than to sit around the table with his friends-a few boxes of pizzas to pick at-sharing stories, laughing about anything and everything. Even when the world seemed to be falling apart around them, those moments of camaraderie and laughter provided a sense of comfort and normalcy that Xander couldn't find anywhere else.
  
  For Xander, nothing was more important than these bonds, for they sustained him through countless loops, battles, and failures. They kept him going every time he felt lost, which was why he smiled at Buffy with tremendous appreciation, because they kept him out of the darkness he so nearly fell through.
  
  "Oh," Buffy said, quickly relieved by his apocalyptic news. She smiled and said, "Okay, yeah. He'd definitely want to hear about that." Walking back to the table, she happily told the girls, "It's fine. Just some world-ending stuff to deal with."
  
  Shaking her head incredulously, Cordelia asked, "How is that fine?"
  
  Xander grabbed Giles by the arm and pulled him out of the office. With a glance around the room, Xander began explaining the dangerous and formidable threat known as the Sisterhood of Jhe.
  
  "They're an apocalyptic cult formed by an all-female race of demons," he began, his voice clear and firm. "They're crazy strong warriors whose victory dance includes-and get this- devouring the flesh of their foes after they've beaten them, and they won't even have the decency to cook you first; or add a little seasoning-"
  
  Taking off his glasses, Giles interrupted, "If memory serves, they exist solely to bring about the world's destruction."
  
  Giles hurriedly made his way over to a nearby bookshelf, his eyes scanning the spines of various tomes before finally selecting one. Taking great care not to damage the ancient pages as he opened it to a particular chapter, Giles went into greater detail, reading aloud about their significant strengths-super speed, power, and durability-and their known weaknesses, which were very few. As he spoke, Buffy grimaced with worry, while Willow and Cordelia exchanged concerned glances.
  
  Buffy was the first to break the silence, asking, "Any idea on how exactly they plan on ending the world?"
  
  Giles flipped through a few pages before shaking his head, stating, "Unfortunately, not. Considering how little time we may have, that'll require more research on all our parts."
  
  "I can tell you this much," Xander began. They all turned to him, listening intently as he continued, "They're probably gathering materials to perform a ritual of some kind. Since we were dealing with the Watcher's Council, I expect the Sisterhood to be ready to go tonight, or possibly tomorrow. Luckily, we know where."
  
  "We do?" Willow asked.
  
  "Where?" Buffy added.
  
  "Here," Xander easily answered.
  
  Intrigued, Giles asked, "How can you be certain?"
  
  "I remember, or, I should say, Old Me remembers that there was a pretty big fight right where we're standing," Xander informed them.
  
  Of everyone, Willow seemed the most concerned about this. Jumping to the worst-case scenario, she asked, her voice slightly trembling, "Does... does someone die? Is that why you- he remembers?"
  
  "Oh, no, no, nothing like that," he quickly reassured her, shaking his head. "It's a crazy tough fight, to be sure, and we can't let our guard down, but he doesn't remember because someone died." Xander huffed in amusement, embarrassed to admit, "Um... that's the night I- er, he lost his virginity. So, you know... You always remember your first."
  
  Slightly nervous, but also wildly curious, Cordelia asked, "To who?"
  
  Xander turned to Faith and winked at her, a sly smile on his lips. The gorgeous Bostonian snorted in laughter and smiled broadly, trying to imagine it.
  
  After school let out for the day, the Scooby Gang sat huddled around the long table in the library, poring over ancient texts about the Sisterhood; their strengths, history of destruction, and their multi-headed serpent demon lord, Lernaean. Despite the gravity of the situation, Xander found himself feeling grateful for the opportunity to spend one last day with his friends. His gaze drifted from the pages of the book to the faces of his companions, each lost in their own thoughts as they searched for information.
  
  Though it pained him to stay awake and pretend-read, Xander couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder at how seriously they were taking his warning about an apocalyptic cult none of them had even witnessed. Over a year ago, he would have needed concrete evidence to convince them of such a threat. And now, eleven or so hours away from the end, and they don't even hesitate to believe him.
  
  Xander wasn't sure if he would loop back or not, but he truly hoped he didn't because he couldn't imagine changing a thing. He would just relive these days over and over again, basking in the long-awaited sense of self-discovery, and how that realization had affected his relationships with his friends. For the first time in his life, Xander felt truly seen, truly appreciated, and truly loved for who he was.
  
  ' What would be the point of a time loop if I can 't get any better than this? ' he asked himself.
  
  Xander also caught Buffy staring at him a few times, making him feel a warmth spread throughout his chest. Smiling internally, he knew they needed to talk, as he didn't want to leave without voicing everything he had to say.
  
  With so many people researching, Xander suggested, "We should probably investigate the area I last saw them, too. Maybe their hideout is nearby, or someone saw something."
  
  Faith was quick to respond, her voice booming, "Best idea I've heard all day!" She closed her large book with a loud CLAP and all but jumped off the chair.
  
  Lost in his tome, Giles absentmindedly noted, "I suppose there could be a clue as to their whereabouts." He only raised his head when he realized the urgency of the situation, and warned, "But you mustn't be too long. If their destination truly is the library, we'll need everyone here to defend it with our very lives."
  
  "Yeah, yeah," Faith called out, strolling toward the door. "Let's go, B!"
  
  Closing her large book, Buffy happily agreed, "Don't have to tell me twice."
  
  As Xander, Buffy, and Faith stepped out into the crisp January air, they noted how little sunlight there was left. Xander felt the chill of the wind against his skin as they made their way to the pair of motorcycles in the student parking lot. Buffy moved to ride with Faith until the brunette put her hand up, halting the blonde. Faith pointed out how uncomfortable she was riding with another person.
  
  "Sorry. Still learning," she said apologetically to Buffy.
  
  Xander turned to Faith, eying her curiously as he knew full well she could ride with Buffy at her back-not that he'd expose her. Buffy turned to Xander, and he saw the anxiety etched on her face, her eyes darting nervously between him and the bike. Xander held out a hand to steady her as she got on the back of his bike. The engine roared to life, and Buffy wrapped her arms around his waist. Xander felt the warmth of her body against his back, sending shivers down his spine. He turned his head slightly and caught Faith's eye, her grin now a full-blown smile. Xander smirked back at her, amused by her schemes, and tried to just enjoy the feeling of Buffy holding onto him.
  
  Xander led them to the desolate side of Sunnydale, where he came across the female demonoids. It was the side of town that halted development due to more popular destinations emerging elsewhere. Businesses moved to follow the consumer, leaving behind many empty and boarded-up storefronts for monsters to hide in. The brick warehouses around them were silent, casting ominous shadows on the cracked pavement.
  
  When Faith suggested they split up and scour the area for any signs of the Sisterhood, Xander warned his girlfriend, "Remember, if there's more than one, don't take them on yourself. These things are bigger and just as strong as you."
  
  "Yeah, well, I'm no slouch," Faith asserted confidently before zooming away.
  
  Buffy and Xander cruised through the blighted area, their enhanced eyes scanning the weathered buildings and rusting train tracks for any sign of the monstrous demonoids. The area was a vision of neglect, the brick factories looming over them like dark sentinels.
  
  As they rode, Xander called out to the homeless inhabitants, his voice echoing through the seedy streets. Some cowered away from his calls, but others shuffled forward, their faces as weathered by hardship and desperation as the buildings. Despite each one shaking their head, unable to help, Xander kept on trying, passing out twenty-dollar bills to everyone, even if they had nothing to offer.
  
  Emerging from the dimly lit and musty warehouse, the friends eyed the setting sun, mentally tracking the time before nightfall. They were walking toward his scrambler when Buffy asked, "If they come to the library tonight, would you be willing to fight from the rear?"
  
  Xander slanted his head and furrowed his brow in confusion as he looked at Buffy, but answered, "Uh, I suppose? But we're going to need our strongest hitters at the front."
  
  Buffy nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing in concern as she spoke. "It's just that you're still recovering."
  
  "So are you," he returned.
  
  "I may not be back to Slayer Prime, but I'm still stronger," she said.
  
  "And I might be your run-of-the-mill human, but I'm not letting you fight alone," he maintained, eying her sternly.
  
  "I'll fight better-"
  
  "With me by your side," he finished for her. "Buffy, you're strong & fast, and I know you can handle yourself, but every time you go out there and fight for us, I always worry something's going to happen to you, too. Always."
  
  Buffy seemed shaken as she stood before him, her eyes widened as she struggled to find the right words. She shook her head to leave this state of mind and abruptly blurted out, "Angel!" Xander's gaze shifted from her to the sun slowly sinking below the horizon, casting long shadows, then back to her as he raised his brows curiously. "I-I think we should bring Angel in on this," she explained.
  
  "Oh. Yeah, we should," Xander readily agreed.
  
  She hesitated at his response, asking, "Really?"
  
  "Of course," Xander assured her. "We need all hands on deck, and he's one of our best. Don't tell him I said that."
  
  Buffy's voice was unsure as she replied, "Oh. Okay."
  
  Sensing her apprehension, Xander noted, "You sound disappointed."
  
  Buffy shook her head, quickly reassuring him, "No, no. I'm not. It's just... I wouldn't want it to be uncomfortable."
  
  Amused by the conflicted girl, Xander teased, "I think an impending apocalypse is uncomfortable enough for everyone."
  
  She remained silent, her eyes distant, as if she was lost in her conflicting thoughts. Xander assumed she was nervous about his declaration of love last night, their kiss the following morning, and the discussion he'd walked in on in the library. He stepped in front of her, his arms around her waist, and pulled her close. He could feel the heat of her alluring body against his, hear the sound of her rapid heartbeat as he held her.
  
  "Buffy, this isn't like some class assignment due at the end of the week," he sympathetically assured her. "You have time to think and feel whatever you want, whenever you want. So, don't stress about it."
  
  "That's just it," she softly voiced. "I'm with Angel. This shouldn't even be something to stress about in the first place. I'm with him, but I... keep..." Buffy trailed off, planting her face in her hands, as if trying to avoid seeing what was right in front of her.
  
  Xander knew Buffy well enough to recognize the turmoil. Her head rose and fell with his breathing, as he asked in gentle jest, "Do you want me to say mean things so you'd hate me?"
  
  Buffy shook her head, her hair brushing against his chest, and bemoaned, "That'll only make it worse."
  
  Sympathetic to the plight of her conflicted feelings, Xander asked, his tone in gentle jest, "Do you need me to say I don't love you?"
  
  Buffy lifted her face from her palms, and her greenish-blue eyes met his gaze. She whispered meekly, "...Yeah."
  
  Xander held her gaze for many silent moments, his expression warm and understanding. Then he smiled a broad grin, and said, "Okay. After."
  
  "After?" Buffy asked, confused. "After what?"
  
  "After we beat the crazy demon ladies and their snake boss," he answered, moving a strand of hair behind her ear. "So get your head in the game, slugger. There be monsters in need of slayage."
  
  Buffy smiled with a mixture of gratitude and amusement, appreciative of Xander's jovial nature. She nodded her head before they climbed onto his motorcycle. They met with Faith, and after learning neither party found anything, they rode to Angel's apartment to drop Buffy off.
  
  Rather than return to the library, Xander and Faith split up, each with their own mission. In preparation for a possible attack that night, Faith made her way to the Summers' home to gather Slaymore, Blood/Lust, and a change of clothes for herself and Buffy to wear. Meanwhile, Xander raced to a cell phone store, where he selected a couple of their best phones and a set of walkie-talkies before rushing home and gearing up. He returned to the library dressed in his stealth suit with Dreadnought at his back and Hellguard at his lower back.
  
  Not long after the sun sank below the horizon, Angel and Buffy arrived at the library. Xander wasn't certain if they'd talked, but it wasn't important. Faith handed her sister Slayer a duffle bag with a change of clothes, but before Buffy left to change, Xander called everyone to the center table where he had the radios set up and a map of Sunnydale.
  
  "Alright Scoobies, gather up," his voice rang out like a bugle call, commanding attention. The Scoobies gathered around him, their faces tense with anticipation, and said, "Here's the plan."
  
  Eying the ten walkies charging and the map, Cordelia skeptically asked, "And is this an actual plan or should we sit back and brace ourselves for an evening of disposal duty of monster guts?"
  
  "An actual plan," he responded. "There's even an important part for you."
  
  With a bright smile, her interest piqued, she asked, "Really?"
  
  His tone laced with sarcasm, he quipped, "Boosting morale for the entire group by remaining silent."
  
  Cordelia rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips.
  
  Buffy asked, "What's the plan?"
  
  "The start of any battle begins with information, so, in a nutshell, the plan is recon. We need to know what we don't know," he presented, looking at each of them. "The heavy hitters stay here in case the Sisterhood show up, but in the event they don't tonight, we need to spot them around town. That means going to all the places where we think they might go to gather whatever they need for the summoning ritual. If we can follow them back to their hideout, we can take the fight to them and stop 'em before they even get a chance to start."
  
  "Simple," Buffy remarked. "I like simple."
  
  "Faith and I will patrol the field," Xander continued. "We'll have phones so we can call if we spot them. You guys'll use the walkies to check in with each other here. Buffy and Angel cover the school. Willow, you cover them with your magic. Oz, you cover Willow. Giles, Jenny, keep researching for any weaknesses we might've missed or locations where they might go for ingredients. Cordelia, you're comms between everyone: really important. I need you to stay by the phone with a map. Faith and I are going to check in every fifteen minutes and you mark down all the places we've been. You'll be the one to call us if they turn up here and we'll race like hell to get back while Buffy, Angel, and Willow delay them. Sound good?"
  
  "What if you spot them?" a curious Buffy asked.
  
  "We call you guys while we tail them back to their nest."
  
  "I'm not sure I like this," Buffy hesitantly admitted. "We're spread thin."
  
  Xander reassured her, "With you, Willow, and Angel here, they don't stand a chance."
  
  Buffy eyed him with concern, restating, "I meant you... both! Spread thin for you both, out there. You'll have no backup if something happened," she quickly clarified, her eyes flickering to Angel. Xander could tell Buffy didn't want to worry her boyfriend.
  
  "We're not going to engage," Xander assured her. "It's strictly recon. We tail, we call, we hold for backup, and that's it. We'll be fine, Buff."
  
  When everyone agreed to the plan, Xander and Faith geared up with their weapons and jogged to their bikes. Roaring their bikes to life, they fixed the phone's wired earpieces securely to their ear and clothes. Faith was delighted as she remarked, "Did you see how worried she was about ' us ?'"
  
  Xander snorted before nodding and answering, "So let's make sure we come back to her."
  
  With a big grin, she replied, "I like the sound of that."
  
  "Faith?" he said, walking up to the beautiful brunette.
  
  Turning to him curiously, he loved the way her shiny chestnut brown hair swayed when she tilted her head. The way he gazed into her eyes lovingly, she was cautious when she asked, "...Yeah?"
  
  "I love you, too," he said with pure conviction.
  
  Faith could sense the seriousness in his tone, and though the emotion was palpable, she smiled and quipped, "Don't get all soft on me 'cause the world might come to an end, Sweet Spot."
  
  "I mean it," he fervently proclaimed, stepping closer. Their faces were inches away as he asserted, "No matter what you've been through, I'll still love you-even more if you ever want to let me in."
  
  Faith was silent for a few seconds, and as if angered by the emotions he brought out in her, she groaned before grabbing his collar and pulling him down for a deep and passionate kiss. Her lips were fierce against his, as if trying to fight off the emotion he stirred within her. Faith's tongue flicked against his, and Xander couldn't help but marvel at how much desire she had for him, and accepted how dominating she can be; opening for her, sucking her in, and massaging her tongue with his.
  
  Xander's hands moved to her back, pulling her in even closer, until their bodies were pressed tightly against each other. Faith's scent was intoxicating-a mix of sweat, leather, and some kind of spiciness that he couldn't identify. Their kiss grew more intense, more desperate as they slowed down, until they pulled away from each other, both panting. Xander looked into Faith's flushed face. He couldn't help brushing a strand of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear.
  
  After several moments of gathering herself, she tapped his chest with her fist and weakly ordered, "You better come back to me, too."
  
  Xander had less than seven hours before the end of the year loop, but he happily nodded and replied, "You're the boss."
  
  The pair mounted their bikes, their engines purring beneath them, and sped off into the night, heading in opposite directions. Xander's scrambler leapt over curbs and barreled down dirt roads at high speeds, while Faith's cafe racer hugged the road as she took winding paths through the city streets. Xander and Faith checked in with Cordelia every fifteen minutes, who relayed the information to the rest of the group.
  
  -B-
  
  After the latest update from Cordelia, Buffy heaved a sigh of relief as she heard reassuring news. She couldn't shake off the worry that had been gnawing at her since Xander and Faith had left, but at least she knew they were safe for the moment. Buffy leaned against the nearest locker, her thoughts consumed by Xander. Though she couldn't bring herself to admit it aloud, her heart was racing, and she couldn't understand why these intense emotions kept bubbling up inside of her. The sight of her reflection in the glass case in front of her didn't help settle the turmoil within.
  
  ' Why 'd she have to pick an outfit that looks just like Xander's? ' she mentally complained as she looked over her appearance.
  
  Buffy couldn't believe Faith had picked a change of clothes that looked like Xander's-tactical black slacks, a long-sleeve top under a black jacket with a hoodie, and a camouflage scarf. As she looked herself over in the glass case's reflection, frustration was building within her, but so was something else-a twinge of excitement... maybe even desire. Buffy couldn't understand these feelings or where they came from. All she knew was that they were growing stronger by the minute, and it was scaring her.
  
  As Buffy sensed a presence approaching, she turned around to see Angel walking toward her, his figure casting an imposing shadow in the dimly lit hallway. Confused by his unexpected appearance, as he should be in a different section of the school, Buffy asked, "What are you doing here? You should be covering your side."
  
  Angel stopped in front of her and thoughtfully replied, "If anything is going to happen, it'll be closer to midnight. All the worst rituals usually happen then."
  
  Buffy half nodded, agreeing, but also said, "Maybe, but you can never be too careful."
  
  "I wanted to check on you," he softly expressed, his voice was like a soothing balm on her frayed nerves. "You seem distracted; lost in thought."
  
  "Me?" she repeated nervously, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. "Lost? In your eyes maybe," she tried to joke, but the words came out strained and awkward. Angel's piercing gaze made her feel exposed.
  
  "Buffy, if something's bothering you, you know you can tell me," he conveyed, eying her with warmth.
  
  Buffy felt a knot form in her stomach as Angel's concerned gaze locked onto her. Her mind was clouded with thoughts and emotions she couldn't put into words, even to herself. She knew Angel was waiting for a response, but the words eluded her. She swallowed hard, hoping to quell the anxiety rising in her chest. "I'm-" she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm going to check on Willow. See if she needs help with her mist thingy."
  
  Buffy used the excuse to flee, her feet hastening down the hall before Angel could question her further. She could feel his eyes on her back as she ran, and a pang of guilt tugged at her heart. But she couldn't face whatever was brewing between them right now. Not when her own emotions were so raw and confusing.
  
  Buffy rushed down the dimly lit hallway. Her encounter with Angel had left her feeling vulnerable, something she wasn't used to, especially not with him, the greatest love of her life. As she turned the corner, she saw Willow placing a small pot on the floor. The way the spell had been explained, after Willow spoke the incantation, the entire hallway should fill with mist that would only hinder the enemy's visibility.
  
  " Willloooow !" Buffy yelled, running to her best friend-her one salvation.
  
  Willow whirled around, startled-fearing the worst-and gasped, "What? What is it?"
  
  "I need your help," the upset Buffy said, planting her hands on Willow's shoulders.
  
  Willow looked over Buffy's outfit and remarked, "Oh, you changed." Tilting her head, eying the beautiful blonde with a hint of recognition, she said, "You kinda look like-"
  
  "Willow! Please!" Buffy interrupted, desperate to avoid hearing how she was dressed like Xander.
  
  "Right," Willow quickly replied, eying her friend with growing concern. "What is it?"
  
  Buffy felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment, her heart racing in her ears as she hesitated to answer, "I have an amazing boyfriend, like, literally the love of my life, but I think I'm maybe, slightly, possibly, potentially fa-falling... for... Xander."
  
  "Oh," Willow gently said. However, when the magnitude of Buffy's confession hit her like a brick, Willow's lips parted and her eyes widened like saucers. "Oh! That's... that's, uh, a good string of synonyms," she stammered, attempting to make light of the situation.
  
  "Willow!" Buffy pleaded. She let out a sigh of frustration as she paced back and forth in the hallway, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
  
  "Right, sorry," Willow said, eying her pacing friend with concern. "I'm just... processing. That's pretty huge."
  
  "Huge, really?" Buffy anxiously questioned. "I was sorta leaning toward crazy."
  
  "Oh, yeah, that too," the redhead hastily conceded. "But maybe this isn't the best time, considering the fate of the world could be at stake and all."
  
  "I know. I know," Buffy bemoaned, moving around her to lean on a locker. She confessed, "Which is why I need to get this out of my system right now." She turned her head and her eyes fixated on a point in the distance as she added, "Angel's worried about me and wants to know what's wrong-because, duh , he's amazing-but I don't know what to tell him. The world's at stake if this goes down tonight, and I need to get my head in the game, but all I keep thinking about is whether Angel can tell or not!"
  
  Willow could see the turmoil in her friend's eyes, the conflict raging within her. She reached out to Buffy, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Alright, alright," she said softly, trying to reassure her. "Um, let's just figure out what to tell Angel for now. That should help you focus."
  
  "Okay. Good. Good," Buffy quickly replied, standing upright again. With hopeful expectations in her eyes, she asked, "What do I tell him?"
  
  "Oh, that's a lot of pressure," Willow nervously mumbled to herself, the weight of Buffy's expectations heavy on her shoulders. She thought for a moment, carefully contemplating her words, before asking, "Um, do you think he'd understand if you tell him the truth?"
  
  Buffy shook her head, replying in jest, "Call me crazy, but I can't imagine any boyfriend out there being over-the-moon to know their girlfriend was constantly thinking about another guy."
  
  "Maybe don't phrase it quite like that?" Willow suggested cautiously. "Just tell him you're confused and you need a little space to figure out why."
  
  "That's... brilliant," Buffy slowly realized, her eyes lighting up with relief. "And very, very true."
  
  Willow looked at Buffy with curiosity in her eyes, and couldn't help but ask, "Do you really have feelings for Xander?"
  
  "Ugh, I don't know," Buffy replied, letting out a sigh of frustration. "Which is already crazy enough... to not know! I should know! I should be able to answer that question like this!" She snapped her fingers to emphasize her point. "But the more I think about him, the more boxes he checks off. He's a box-checking machine right now."
  
  "Really?" Willow questioned. Buffy weakly nodded, and off the top of her head, Willow quizzed her as if she was reading from a teen girl magazine. "Uh, do you check yourself in the mirror to make sure you look your best in front of him?"
  
  Buffy let out a guilty laugh, answering, "Not full-blown just yet, but... I've caught myself fixing my hair," she confessed, as if it were a grave sin.
  
  Raising her eyebrows in surprise, Willow moved on to ask, "Are you super aware when someone mentions his name?"
  
  "Definitely," Buffy confirmed with a heavy nod.
  
  "Wow," Willow replied, taken aback. "Uh, how about trying to bump into him?"
  
  "This is still super fresh," she answered. Buffy felt the heat on her face before adding, "But when we rode on his bike, I held him pretty tight... a-and I didn't even have to... Ugh, God!"
  
  Willow waited a moment for Buffy to gather her emotional equilibrium before prodding further. "Do you daydream about him?"
  
  Buffy's eyes widened for emphasis as she nodded, answering, "Oh yeah. All day."
  
  "Any love songs stuck in your head?"
  
  Buffy hesitated for a moment before asking with skepticism, "Does, Always by Bon Jovi, count?"
  
  Willow half nodded in approval, answering, "It's a bit rock, but I'd say so. I mean, it's no Whitney Houston, I'll Always Love You."
  
  Buffy scrunched her nose at the thought, a playful smirk on her lips as she asked, "God, can you imagine?"
  
  Willow looked at her friend knowingly, as if drawing on personal experience when she answered, "I can, actually."
  
  Buffy stilled at that, suddenly remembering Willow's long-standing crush on Xander, and realized that she knew more than anyone else about the confusing and frustrating experience of falling for someone close to you. "Right," Buffy quickly said. "Sorry, Will."
  
  "It's fine," Willow reassured her with a smile.
  
  "Is this weird for you?" Buffy gently asked, not wanting to hurt her friend. "Wait. What am I saying? Of course, it is. Sorry. Stupid question," she quickly corrected herself.
  
  "I was pretty upset when he was dating Cordelia," Willow admitted. "I couldn't stop thinking about why I wasn't good enough."
  
  Buffy felt a pang in her heart, knowing that feeling all too well, and tried to reassure her, saying, "No, Will-"
  
  However, Willow shook her head gently, as if to say it was fine, before continuing. "I even tried to push things with Oz... to make myself feel better; feel attractive to someone," she sadly confessed. "But, he helped me realize I should do things for the right reasons, you know?"
  
  Buffy nodded, her gaze soft and attentive as she listened intently to her friend's words. She wanted nothing more than to offer Willow the same level of comfort and support that she had always received from her.
  
  "And after what Xander said to Spike," the pensive redhead continued, "I thought to myself, maybe I truly don't know what genuine love was. Maybe what I thought was romantic love for Xander was some other feeling inside of me that I didn't even know about yet. Eventually, I realized that I love Xander like family. He's my brother, father, mother, sister, just family, you know? And that felt perfect."
  
  "It kinda feels like the opposite for me," Buffy said, fondly thinking about the man who had been her friend for so long. "I was totally fine with being friends-hell, brother and sister would've been perfect-and now, I'm wondering if my heart is actually racing when he's around or am I just imagining this feeling because I have the emotional hiccups and I'm going crazy! I mean, when he was laying out the plan for everyone, I was just like... wow , you know?" Buffy's face flushed with embarrassment, and hid it behind her palms, hoping Willow wouldn't judge her. She pleaded, "Please, tell me you know, Will."
  
  " Oh , yeah , yeah," she quickly agreed, a small smile on her lips. "Totally. That was, uh, really wow."
  
  Buffy let out a sigh of relief, comforted by how caring of a friend Willow was. "Thanks," she said. "I guess that checks the checklist. I probably scored, like, a hundred," the blushing girl lamented.
  
  Willow took a moment to consider her words, wanting to offer her best friend some much-needed guidance. "Buffy... is this really about Xander and how liking him might hurt Angel, or could this be more about you?" she asked cautiously.
  
  Furrowing her brow in confusion, Buffy asked, "What do you mean?"
  
  Taking a deep breath, Willow looked deeply into her friend's eyes, and prefaced, "I don't know much about relationships-you know, with Oz being my first one-so I could be wrong here, but... you won't ever be able to express your love for Angel in that way. I mean, I know that sex isn't everything in a relationship, and I hate that this is the reality for you and Angel-it's completely unfair-but... it is ."
  
  Buffy's muscles tensed and she could barely contain her panic as she dared to ask, "What are you saying?"
  
  Willow's expression softened with concern as she asked, "Are you telling yourself you're fine with this no full-on intimacy relationship with Angel because it's Angel, and you think that's how you're supposed to feel, or are you fine with that kind of relationship because you actually feel that way in your heart of hearts? I mean, could you be subconsciously looking for a way out and maybe using Xander to do it?"
  
  Buffy felt her heart sink and struggled to find the right response, feeling as though her emotions were tangled and knotted. "...I," she started to reply, but her words fell short. Instead, she said, "I should get back to my post. Thanks, Will." Willow nodded, her eyes full of sympathy. Buffy absently lifted the walkie-talkie, stating, "Call if you see anything," before turning to leave.
  
  As Buffy patrolled her section of the school for the next hour, her thoughts were consumed by Willow's words. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was some truth to her friend's concerns. Was she really just using Xander as a way out of her no-intimacy relationship with Angel? Buffy's heart ached as she considered the possibility. Lost in thought, she was jolted back to reality by the sound of Cordelia's voice crackling through her walkie.
  
  "So, Xander called," Cordelia voiced. "He came across a group of them or something. Downtown, I think. He's following them and he'll let us know where their lair is," she finished, sending a chill down Buffy's spine.
  
  Her heart lurched as her mind replayed the situation currently unfolding. Xander was following a group of demons-very dangerous demons; demons tough enough to handle a Slayer. She was too far away to help him. He was on his own. She had to wait-whether five, ten, or thirty minutes-and Buffy wouldn't know what happened to Xander until it was too late. She was powerless to help him.
  
  As she stood there, her mind racing with worry, Buffy couldn't help but recall all of the times she had seen Xander's life end before her eyes in her visions. The thought of losing him, of never being able to see his goofy smile or hear his witty remarks again, was almost too much to bear. It was very possible Xander could die that night, and she'd be unable to reach him.
  
  After a long radio silence, Cordelia asked, "...Did everyone get that?"
  
  "You're supposed to say ' over ' when you're done," Willow reminded the cheerleader. "Over."
  
  "Oh, yeah," Cordelia radioed. "Over. Over."
  
  Buffy felt the heavy weight of a monumental decision on her shoulders and a sickening pull on her stomach, like suddenly falling. She stood there, contemplating what future she wanted to live in. Did she want to make certain Xander would be in her life, or did she want to stay in the library and wait for fate to decide? Willow's voice echoed in her head, asking, ' In your heart of hearts, what do you want? '
  
  Just then, Buffy heard the clock ticking on the wall of the hallway with crystal clarity, and her stomach twisted at the sound. It reminded her of the countless nightmares she had about Xander dying right after hearing that insufferable ticking noise.
  
  Buffy surprised herself when she squeezed the button of the radio and slowly brought it up before ordering, "Cordelia... c-call Faith for me right now."
  
  Her steps toward the library were slow at first, but the more she thought about how far she was from Xander, the faster she rushed through the halls. Her skepticism disturbed her mind, but her body was overwhelmed by a force of will. Buffy was racing through the hallways, wondering if she should even be attempting such a risky plan, when Cordelia radioed back, "You forgot to say, over; Over-"
  
  "Just do it!" Buffy commanded into the walkie as she ran.
  
  "Alright, jeez," Cordelia's voice crackled through the radio, sounding annoyed at Buffy's brusque tone.
  
  By the time she burst through the library's double doors, all doubts and fears were gone, her mind consumed by a single purpose. She barely registered her friends' gathering presence as she took the phone from Cordelia and asked Faith, "You heard? ...Okay, come pick me up."
  
  Her tone was sharp and urgent, and Buffy could feel everyone around her balk at her demand. Oz and Willow looked at each other as much as Jenny and Giles shared a glance. Angel simply stared at his girlfriend, his face unreadable. Buffy could feel their hesitation-could feel Angel looking-but she was no longer capable of backing down now.
  
  "I don't care," Buffy argued with the other Slayer. "Run the lights if you have to. Just come get me, or so help me, I'll throw away all your pudding pops... Fine, I'll be out front."
  
  The moment she hung up, Buffy began walking to the doors when Giles hastily called to his charge, "Buffy, perhaps we should wait to hear back from Xander first."
  
  "I'm going," is all the Slayer told them.
  
  Following her, Angel asserted, "I'm coming with you."
  
  By the doors, Buffy stopped and shook her head, stating, "You need to stay here, just in case."
  
  "All the more reason you should stay as well," Angel reasoned. "We'll know more when Xander calls."
  
  Buffy considered Angel's words, but looking at Willow, she felt a restlessness in her chest, a gnawing fear that made her want to run toward Xander before she lost him forever. She barely had any control over the words that came out of her mouth next, as they felt like a reflex. "I... can't. I just... can't, okay. Please, stay here. Tighten the perimeter and call if anything happens," she finished before exiting the room.
  
  Angel followed her out of the library, his steps matching hers as they walked through the halls of the school. The air was thick with tension, and Buffy's mind was racing with thoughts of what might happen to Xander if she didn't reach him in time. As they made it to the school's parking lot, Angel held the crook of Buffy's elbow and stepped in front of her, his dark eyes filled with worry.
  
  "Buffy, you're asking me to let you go to a nest of those things on your own," he argued.
  
  Buffy could feel her resolve wavering under his intense gaze, but she couldn't back down now. She took a deep breath before weakly reminding him, "I won't be on my own."
  
  Angel shook his head with growing frustration and replied, "You know what I mean. These demons are dangerous even for Slayers. I can't just sit here-"
  
  "We're not fighting them," Buffy interrupted, trying to reassure her concerned boyfriend. "But I can't let Xander go without backup."
  
  Angel quickly suggested, "Faith can back him up."
  
  She anxiously replied, "It might not be enough. You know how strong these things are-"
  
  " Buffy! " he began to interject. Realizing his own agitation, he calmed down to express, "You have to know it makes more sense for you to stay here , secure this position, and wait for his call."
  
  Buffy didn't hesitate to argue, "And if he does call and it takes thirty minutes to drive wherever the nest is? Who the hell knows what could happen in that time? I'd leave Faith here, but I can't drive a motorcycle... yet . I'm definitely convincing Mom after this."
  
  "Then let me go," Angel proposed, his voice firm. At Buffy's wincing expression, he continued, "You and Faith stay here and I'll back Xander up."
  
  Though she was grateful he would offer, she countered, "She'll never let you ride her bike. She loves that thing too much."
  
  The vampire's frustration boiled over as he exclaimed, "Buffy!" A still silence passed between them, staring at each other and feeling like they were standing right beside an enormous topic neither of them wanted to broach. However, Angel tentatively asked, "What is this? What aren't you telling me?"
  
  Buffy turned away, her mind in turmoil. She couldn't bear to say the words out loud; not if it risked hurting him. But she once again heard Willow's voice in her head, urging her to unburden herself with the truth. She turned back to Angel and confessed, "I... I've been having dreams about Xander."
  
  Angel's eyes narrowed with concern before he tentatively questioned, "Precognitive dreams?"
  
  She couldn't quite look him in the eyes when she answered, "Yeah. I think."
  
  "Okay," he cautiously confirmed. "What happens in your dream?"
  
  "Dream s ," she corrected, her mind flashing back to the countless nightmares that had plagued her in the past weeks. "A lot of the details change every time."
  
  Angel frowned, trying to make sense of it all, and asked, "If details change, how can you be sure it's a Slayer Dream?"
  
  "Faith had a few, too," Buffy replied. "Giles told us to focus on the things that don't change."
  
  "Which is Xander."
  
  "Which is Xander dying ," she rashly corrected. "Him dying in more ways than I can count. And I can never stop it."
  
  "So you think..." he trailed off, before he pulled her into a tight embrace. She was sure Angel could feel how tense with worry she was as he reassured her, "Buffy, from what I've seen this past year, it's pretty clear Xander knows how to take care of himself. With his weapons, he could give me a run for my money. You don't have to worry this much about him."
  
  "He's still weak from yesterday," Buffy reminded him, her voice filled with unease.
  
  "So are you," he reminded her.
  
  "Not by much," she hotly contested, her eyes unwavering. "And I'm getting stronger by the second."
  
  "Buffy, he said it himself," Angel continued to press. "He's only doing reconnaissance, which means he'll retreat at the first sign of trouble. I know how much you care about your friends, but if the library really is the Sisterhood's target, we can 't leave it short-handed. Xander will be fine. Trust me."
  
  Buffy felt backed into a corner by her emotions and what she objectively knew to be the smart decision. Her hands shook as frustration poured out of her and she vented, "If anything happens to him, I'll never be able to forgive myself."
  
  Angel countered, his voice heavy with disbelief, "And Giles? Willow? What if something happens to them because you weren't here? You're making an emotional decision right now," he accused, giving Buffy pause. Slowly, he added, "That's not like you."
  
  Her greenish-blue eyes stared sternly into his as she reminded him, "I made the same decision when I didn 't kill Angelus."
  
  "That's not the same," Angel hotly disputed. "I'm not saying you don't love Xander, but it's not the same."
  
  She stood her ground and didn't say anything to that, but articulated, "If the sisterhood comes here, hold them off for as long as you can, then get everyone out. We'll deal with anything that comes out after."
  
  " Buffy, this is Xander! " Angel implored, eying his girlfriend as if he barely recognized her. "He'll understand if you don't go to him."
  
  " But I won 't! " she cried out, her frustration boiled over.
  
  Her outburst hung in the air, as Angel leaned back, confusion etched on his face as he slowly asked, "What does that mean?"
  
  He regarded her warily, waiting for her to elaborate, and regret flooded through Buffy. She needed to leave, to find Xander, to make sure he was safe, but she also hated the idea of hurting Angel. Buffy couldn't quell the turmoil within her, and in hopes of postponing the conversation for another day, she took a calming breath and stated, "Angel, I can't explain it right now, okay? I just have a really bad feeling and I have to go. That's it."
  
  Angel watched her, his dark eyes studying her face, and seemed lost trying to decipher her confusing behavior. As they stood in silence, the distant sound of police sirens caught their attention, and they both turned to look in the direction of the noise. A few minutes later, the roar of a motorcycle echoed in the distance, growing louder by the second. Buffy's body tensed with anticipation, and she exchanged a glance with Angel.
  
  When Faith screeched to a halt in front of them, she shouted, "Come on! We gotta go!"
  
  Angel stepped up to the brunette Slayer, his hand resting on the handlebar, and requested, "Faith, let me borrow your bike."
  
  Her brows furrowed, as if offended. She smacked his hand off her precious bike and retorted, "The fuck I will."
  
  Undeterred, the handsome vampire leaned in as he asserted, "I promise not to-"
  
  "We don't have time for this," Faith hotly interrupted as the sirens grew louder. Turning to the blonde Slayer, she cried out, "Buffy, let's go. Xander without backup is gonna make me puke!"
  
  As she hopped on the running motorcycle, Buffy told her frustrated boyfriend, "Watch out for the others. We'll call if there's anything," she promised, before the motorcycle roared to life and took off, leaving Angel alone on the sidewalk.
  
  See, that wasn't a bad ending, right?
  
  Next week's chapter will be action-packed.
  
  For anyone who thought Angel should've smelled Xander on Buffy, I say, she showered, changed multiple times, and she rode with him on his bike, so I don't think it's that strange for his scent to be on her. I bring this up because 2 of my betas were like, "Wouldn't he smell Xander on her?" Also, there's more on this in the next chapter.
  
  One last thing I wanted to mention. When Xander mentioned him not being able to do better if he looped again, he's referring more to himself as a person. He knows who he is now, and without knew experiences and stimuli, can't really do better within himself. Obviously, he could do other things better if he looped back.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Enter the End Part II
  It's Sunday! I present to you another Chapter!
  
  So, this is part 2 of the previous week's chapter. The following is a visual aid to some houses that you'll read about later. Each 0 is the location of a house in a No Outlet street.
  
  Big forever thanks to my beta team: Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! They have full lives and still manage to find time to help with this. So, thank you.
  
  Warning: Bloody Violence, Foul language.
  
  You may want to listen to some upbeat music with this one.
  
  12.6K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Enter the End - Part II
  
  Xander communicated his location to Cordelia every five minutes, who would relay that to Faith. He was surprised when she informed him that Buffy had joined Faith, but remained focused on the task at hand. After thirty minutes, the demons finally parked their car beside an old two-story house on the outskirts of town. The house was at the end of a short No Outlet street with a pair of equally old, two-story houses on either side.
  
  Xander turned off his bike's lights, and with his camouflage gear, he blended effectively well in the darkness of the night. Enhancing his eyes to see at night, Xander observed the old, abandoned homes for any sign of sentries. The area was eerily quiet and devoid of any street lampposts; his only source of light came from the moon above. Xander didn't like the feeling of the abandoned home at the end of the short street, and the empty houses on either side of him felt like they were staring at him.
  
  He remained vigilant, however, and focused on gathering intel before his backup arrived, so that they could attack as soon as possible. Xander knew the demons inside the church were far stronger than him, but he was confident he could remain undiscovered.
  
  Rather than enter the cul-de-sac, Xander rolled his motorcycle past the cluster of houses and parked half-a-klick away. As he ran back, he quickly called Cordelia and Faith to relay the final location, hoping they wouldn't have a difficult time finding the secluded patch of old houses in a wooded field of nothing.
  
  As Xander approached, he noticed the dim light peeking through the dust-covered windows of the house at the end, giving the otherwise dilapidated building a haunting glow. As he slowly walked forward, dark clouds obscured the moon's light, and the only sound was that of crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl. The stillness of the night felt deceptive, and Xander questioned where the sentries were, if there were any.
  
  The two houses on the left side of the street appeared to be just as abandoned as the two on the opposite side. The grass was overgrown and weeds had crept up the sides of the withered homes. His enhanced senses allowed him to hear even the slightest noise and see everything in sharp detail, but Xander wondered how many demons were in each house.
  
  With an invisible Dreadnought and Hellguard in his hand, Xander stayed in the shadows as he snuck past the two houses on his right toward the two-story home that stood at the end of the short street. As he approached the car parked on the grass beside the weathered house, he quickly picked up the horrendous smell of sulfur, sewage, and decaying flesh in the area. Xander would've hurled at the stench if he hadn't lowered his olfactory sensitivity.
  
  Upon closer inspection of the garaged home, Xander couldn't help but notice its unique architecture. From a distance, it looked like a typical two-story house, much like the other four on the street. However, upon closer inspection, he observed that it had been converted into a church. The front of the house was residential, but the back of the house stretched out further than any normal three-bedroom home would. Additionally, the structure was much plainer. It little more than a simple rectangular addition to the house, with a flat roof and tall, darkened windows on the walls.
  
  Xander could hear the motor of the car he was crouched by clicking as it cooled down, making him wonder if this was a cell of their coven or their nest. The tire tracks on the grass suggested that there were at least two other cars that regularly parked there, plus, possibly more in the garage of the building.
  
  Xander tested the garage door, and when it clicked open, he quietly walked into the garage. The dimly lit space was cluttered with tools, spare tires, and old boxes, but he spotted an additional sedan parked inside, which suggested to him this was likely the nest. As he tiptoed around the car toward the door leading into the rest of the house, the smell of gasoline, engine oil, herbs, sulfur, and decaying flesh filled his nostrils no matter how much he dampened his sense of smell.
  
  Xander touched the door knob when he heard many faint sounds vibrating through the wall, alerting him of movement deeper within the house; like many heavy objects pressing down on creaky floors. As he slowly opened the door, his phone vibrated, and he quickly answered. Faith's tinny voice told him they were fifteen to twenty minutes away.
  
  Peeking his head around the corner of the dark hallway, Xander whispered, "This might be the nest. Two cars; possible third somewhere. Going in for visual confirmation." He then hung up and snuck deeper into the house.
  
  Xander crept silently across the hallway, his footsteps barely making a sound as he made his way to the living room, careful not to disturb anything. The pungent odor was the first thing he noticed; like getting smacked in the face with a strong spray of onions, chives, garlic, peppers, chlorine, tobacco, and, again, decaying flesh. It made his eyes prickle and water instantly.
  
  The living room was dimly lit, the only source of light coming from a flickering candle on a nearby table. Shadows from the strange and unusual objects scattered about danced across the walls, giving the impression of something lurking just out of sight. Xander's eyes fell on a bookshelf, filled with ancient tomes and grimoires, and he was certain Giles, Willow, and Jenny would love to read them. The room also had strange symbols etched into the walls. He couldn't decipher their meaning, but he couldn't imagine they spelled anything good.
  
  Suddenly, he heard a low growling noise coming from the next room. He froze, straining to listen for any other sounds. A faint rustling caught his attention, and he turned to see an enormous rat scurrying across the floor. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued, making his way toward the source of the growling.
  
  As he entered the next room, the walls were covered in a thick layer of grime, dried blood was splattered across every surface, and the floor was littered with bones and bits of rotting flesh. He held his breath and steeled his nerves. The demons were close, and all he needed was visual confirmation. Buffy and Faith were likely ten minutes out, and they could form the plan while waiting for the rest of the gang to arrive.
  
  Xander quietly made his way toward the home's connecting structure and peered through the broken circular windows of the double doors. The carpenter side of his brain noticed the worship area-with its old and dusty pews pushed to the side-was not well built. He was fairly certain a strong enough force could bring the ceiling down on the dozens of eight-foot-tall female demons within.
  
  He watched the teams of demonoids work over tall drums of green liquid. Xander couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between the dilapidated state of the church and the meticulousness with which the demons worked. The green liquid they were mixing bubbled and hissed, emitting a noxious odor that made Xander's eyes water and his stomach churn. The demons worked with an almost mechanical efficiency, their large, clawed hands moving swiftly and precisely as they mixed different concoctions in the drums.
  
  Xander couldn't see their demonic faces clearly, but the glimpses he caught were enough to make him curl his lips in repulsion. Their hair was long and greasy. Their skin was a sickly whitish-gray, covered in dark veins that seemed to pulse and writhe as they worked. Their long, sharp, black teeth were especially horrifying, and he knew he'd seen enough. Before his luck ran out, Xander slowly backed away from the double doors, eager not to stir the hornet's nest.
  
  As he made his way down the hallway, the sound of heavy, shuffling footsteps echoed through the house, alerting him to the presence of more demons nearby. He pressed himself against the wall, holding his breath and straining to hear their movements. After a few tense moments, he heard the footsteps receding and proceeded to the exit.
  
  Outside, Xander sprinted towards his bike, but before he could even pass the first house, an ear-splitting screech pierced the chilly night air. Looking to his left and right, he saw two towering demons, each at least seven feet tall, leaping out of the second-story windows of the houses on either side of the cul-de-sac. They landed on the pavement with a resounding thud, blocking his path and cutting off his escape. They appeared to be the lookouts and judging from the rustling sounds building behind him, the entire nest had now been alerted.
  
  Xander knew he needed to act fast, and rather than escape to the sides-taking a longer route to his bike-he preferred to injure the lookouts and run straight to his motorcycle. Xander called on his ring to greatly enhance all of his physical capabilities so he felt as strong as a Super Soldier. Without hesitation, he charged at the two demons blocking his way-sprinting fast-and they rushed toward him as well. His muscles surged with otherworldly strength, and as he closed in on the first demon, he drew back his arm and flung his invisible Hellguard with all his supernatural might.
  
  At the last second, the large demonoid must've sensed the lethal blade and swerved to the side. Hellguard missed the creature's heart and plunged into its shoulder instead, making it screech in terrible agony. To Xander's great fortune, the demon's large body quickly dropped to the floor, as if yanked down by an invisible hand. It would appear that the Sisterhood of Jhe were unworthy of holding his magical weapons.
  
  Xander pivoted on his heel, focusing on the second demon, as they were nearly on each other. The gray-skinned creature swung its massive arm in an attempt to bat the teen to the pavement. Xander reacted quickly, dodging the attack-feeling the rush of wind over his ear-and countered with a swift strike from his invisible Dreadnought. Craning its head up, the demon grunted loudly as Xander tucked into a roll away.
  
  Like the first evil sister, the second dropped to the street, as well, but there was no time to celebrate his victory. The demons from within the house-church had already spilled out onto the streets and were hot on his heels. Xander kept running toward his ride half-a-klick away, and with a squeeze of his hand, electrocuted the two demonoids behind him for good measure. But just as he was about to make his escape, a van screeched to a halt in front of him. Five Jhe demons leaped out, blocking his path and fixing their eyes on him like he was dinner.
  
  "Fuck me," Xander cursed as he abruptly juked to his right, sprinting toward the abandoned-looking house.
  
  Sensing some movement from the two demons he had injured, he electrocuted the writhing monsters once more before summoning his weapons. Dreadnought and Hellguard were visible now, and they hummed as they flew into his grasp.
  
  As Xander escaped into the house on the right, he felt the horde of demons pounding the path behind him. Kicking the door open, a plume of dust billowed around him, and clawed hands nearly reached him. However, they bumped into each other, bottlenecking at the door frame.
  
  It didn't last.
  
  The screeching Sisterhood easily broke through the old wood and continued to give chase. With lightning-fast reflexes, Xander swung his weapons in a deadly arc, striking the first demon with the Dreadnought and a second with Hellguard. The air crackled with the sound of electricity as he zapped the monsters, sending them crashing to the ground. Sweat dripped down his face as he fought off the relentless demons, swinging his weapons with deadly precision as the musty air of the abandoned home filled his lungs. The air crackled with the sound of electric shocks as he zapped the monsters one by one, buying himself precious seconds to escape upstairs.
  
  Reaching the top of the stairs, Xander quickly surveyed his surroundings. The hallway was dark and narrow, with only a few slivers of moonlight streaming through the cracked window at the end. Dust and debris littered the floor, and cobwebs clung to the corners of the ceiling. Without hesitation, Xander charged down the hallway toward the window, the demons hot on his trail. Though it felt horrifying to have so many hands with long sharp nails trying to grab him, he kept his cool and periodically fought them back with wide swings from his weapon.
  
  As he fought, Xander could feel his adrenaline surging, his heart beating faster and faster. His eyes were wide and focused, his senses heightened by the intensity of the battle. Every muscle in his body was taut and ready for action, as he fought for his life against this sisterhood of evil. However, there were more of them and they were stronger than him. Xander knew he couldn't hold them off forever.
  
  He buried his weapons into the drywall and amped up the lightning to slow down his pursuers who tried to pass them. With fierce determination, he dashed towards the window, his sole salvation. Bidding his magical ring to further enhance his already surging leg muscles, Xander spaced his steps and jumped through the window as if shot out of a cannon. From the second-floor window, the cold air rushed past Xander as he leaped to the next house.
  
  While he soared through the air, a cacophony of snarling alerted him to a haunting vision of all the scurrying demons below him. Their black eyes were fixed on him and their clawed hands reached out, hungry for his flesh. The monsters made the ground under him look like a pool of eels squirming over one another as he flew through the air.
  
  Xander hit and caught the second-story windowsill of the next house with a heavy THUD. He was about to hoist himself inside when he saw a Jhe demon already entering the dusty old room, as well as hearing a demon behind him following his example.
  
  "Fuuuuck," he groaned in growing annoyance.
  
  With his enhanced strength, Xander pulled himself up and delivered a fierce donkey-kick to the demon hurtling through the air behind him. He used the sudden boost of momentum to launch himself through the window and into the room. Glass shattered around him, cutting into his face, but he ignored the sting to tuck his knees in and roll onto his feet.
  
  In a blur of movement, before he could react, the Jhe demon knocked him to the side with a powerful swipe. Xander hit the wall hard, but ricocheted and quickly regained his footing before unleashing a devastating kick to the monster's midsection, sending it reeling backward.
  
  The young warrior only had enough time to thank God his gear's magical protection prevented the monster's claws from ripping through his flesh, because it was on him in less than a second. As the creature's claws and fangs gleamed in the dim moonlight of the room, Xander heard more pounding on the stairs approaching fast and knew it wouldn't be long until he was surrounded.
  
  Sensing a second demon entering through the window, Xander summoned his weapons as he charged the first one head-on. Dodging the wide, powerful swing of the first demon, Xander's arsenal rushed through the wall, his battleaxe getting stuck in the spine of the second demon as it entered through the window. He then moved with lightning-fast speed, his body a blur of motion as he lunged forward and plunged Hellguard into the calf of the next Jhe sister to come through the door.
  
  Dodging a second swipe from the first demon, Xander immediately leaped into the air, spinning on one foot and launching a powerful roundhouse kick at the demon's chin. The loud impact of his heel colliding against its chin was like a thunderclap, knocking the monster back several feet. Though panting, Xander wasted no time zapping anything touching his weapons with thousands of volts of electricity, causing them to writhe and spasm where they lay.
  
  The room was filled with the acrid smell of burning flesh as a new demon was climbing through the demolished hole that was previously a well-framed window. Summoning Dreadnought to his hand, and with a swift motion, brought the blade down, chopping off most of the demon's fingers before delivering a powerful kick that sent it back to the ground below. Unfortunately, as it fell, its bloody nubs grasped at Xander's foot, holding on with a fierce grip that pulled him down with it.
  
  Xander was yanked out to fall toward the swath of demons waiting below, but he desperately grabbed for the wood frame. The tension of so much weight nearly yanked his lacerated fingers off. However, the demon couldn't hold onto him and dropped to the group below. With a fierce grip, he clung to the wood, his eyes scanning the chaotic scene below-monsters screeching for his blood-as he remained calm and allowed himself to react fluidly and find the best route to survival.
  
  With more demons leaping toward him from the first house, as well as those entering the room in front of him, it seemed like there were more and more of them coming at him from all directions. Without hesitating, Xander buried his battleaxe into the outside wall four feet from the window, providing a solid anchor for him to use as a foothold to launch himself to the roof's edge above. His fingers just clasped the edge, and he pulled himself up with all his magically enhanced strength.
  
  Breathing heavily, a sweating Xander took a moment to catch his breath, his eyes scanning the desolate landscape around. The dilapidated roads-overtaken by wilderness-stretched out before him, and was shrouded in darkness. He couldn't help but wonder where Faith and Buffy were. Much too soon, he could hear chaotic sounds of clawing and screeching echoing through the night air, reminding him of the danger that still hunted him.
  
  As Xander sprinted across the decrepit roof, the sound of his pounding footsteps was drowned out by the snarls and roars of the demons nipping at his heels. The demons were closing in fast, their clawed hands reaching out to snatch him up and drag him down to the ground below. However, Xander summoned Dreadnought. It ripped through the brittle wood and rotting shingles, shoving and slicing many demons out of the way to reach his hand.
  
  At the other end of the old roof, Xander stopped to survey the ground below. To his dread, it was littered with hungry demons, their black eyes fixed on him with carnivorous intent. With more Jhe demons coming from behind, Xander leapt down, hurtling towards the ground below. For a moment, it felt as though Xander was doomed to certain death, as he was only eighteen feet up and eleven away from their sharp claws. However, at the last minute, he just managed to maneuver his feet onto the handle and the head of his battleaxe.
  
  Letting go of his magical weapon, he summoned it back to his hand, but using his feet to keep the axe away propelled him high into the air. Xander soared above the demons, the wind rushing in his ears, and let his hand touch the handle when he was high enough. The height and trajectory were just accurate enough for Xander to land on the roof of the church-house.
  
  "GRRHH!" he grunted upon the hard impact.
  
  Though the weak, slanted roof provided a sense of relief, Xander scrambled to find a secure footing on the slippery surface. Every step on the old, weather beaten, paper thin plywood felt like walking on thin ice toward the edge of the roof. Hurriedly, Xander plunged Dreadnought into the crumbling shingles to keep himself from falling.
  
  With a long exhale, Xander pulled himself up and turned to make his way toward the car parked by the side of the church house. His sprint came to an abrupt halt as his foot crashed through the fragile roof. He struggled to regain his balance, but it was too late. Xander plummeted through the crumbling frame, dust, splinters, and asbestos enveloping him as he fell into the room below. The sudden rush of air, and the overwhelming sensation of free-fall, all came to a sudden bone-jarring stop.
  
  Xander hit the floor hard, planks of withered wood collapsed all around him, and though his body ached all over, his ankle flared with sharp pain. Despite the dizziness clouding his vision, he compartmentalized the pain away and willed himself to stand up. The injured warrior gritted his teeth and summoned Hellguard to his empty hand as he rushed into the hallway through the darkened doorway of the bedroom he'd landed in.
  
  He limped down the hallway, his eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of danger. Spotting the stairs, any hope of escape was dashed away when he heard two demons stomping up them. Without hesitation, he hurled Dreadnought and Hellguard at them, but the blade didn't cut more than a few inches through their tough, leathery skin. Instead, it only enraged them, and they let out a blood-curdling scream as their unworthy bodies dropped to the steps of the staircase.
  
  Xander was about to jump over them to the first floor, but the stairwell was quickly filling up with more demons. Their grotesque faces contorted in fury as they lunged at the teen, swiping at him with their long claws. Xander electrocuted the two on the stairs in hopes of slowing the others down. He then veered away and ran back to the room at the end of the hall, but to his dread, the screeching only grew louder behind him.
  
  In the next room down the hall, Hellguard flew into his hand as he made his way to the window, knowing full well that he would have to jump. Fortunately, it wasn't a long fall to the roof of the long sanctuary room built at the back of the house. The loud screeching sounded right by his ear, and with a deep breath, he jumped. No sooner was he in the air that he heard several of the monsters crash against the wooden frame of the opening, clawed hands reaching for their leaping prey.
  
  With a quick rush of wind, he plummeted to the roof below and landed hard, adding more sharp pain to his throbbing ankle. Xander gritted his teeth, asked his magical items to heal him faster, and pushed himself to his feet, determined to escape this horde of demons.
  
  As he made his way toward the right side of the roof, he noticed two demons climbing over the edge of the roof. Turning around, he noted more pairs of horrific hands gripping the edge of the roof. With few other options, Xander ran down the length of the long roof while the demons closed in on him. Peering over the edge of the end, he wasn't surprised to see Jhe demons waiting for him on the ground as well. The wind whipped through his raven-colored hair, and the sounds of demons howling filled his ears, telling him he was surrounded.
  
  "Fuck me," a heaving Xander cursed as he summoned Dreadnought. It whistled through the air, slicing into the flesh of a demon, sending it reeling off the roof before it went straight into his grasp.
  
  His breaths came out in labored gasps, and the cold sweat on his skin mixed with the grime and blood caking his body as he backstepped. Seven wounded and seething demons stalked toward him from the front, another five tracked him on the grass behind him, and Xander was only four hours away from the year-loop ending.
  
  "Come on, sisters," he tried to jest, to give himself more time, his eyes darting between advancing demons. "I know you're hungry for new members, but, really, would Jesus approve of these recruiting tactics?" he asked, though his words fell on deaf ears as the demons closed in, their monstrous forms towering over his battered body. Xander was tired, aching everywhere, and didn't see a way out but to fight.
  
  Xander's ears perked up as the familiar sound of a motor he had built cut through the screeching clamor of the Jhe demons. His heart leapt with hope, but he also knew that their escape might mean fighting their way out. With a fierce determination, he called on every ounce of strength, speed, and combat training he had to face the seven bloodthirsty demons in front of him whilst also conscious of the other five on the ground below. Xander refused to be their next meal.
  
  With a mighty throw, Dreadnought sliced through the air and split the foot of the first demon in front of him as the blade pierced down to the wood of the roof-sending a spray of dark blood in the air. The demon howled in agony as Xander charged towards the group of Jhe demons, his feet pounding the rooftop like thunder. With an involuntary squeeze of his hand, a burst of lightning erupted from his battleaxe, stunning three of the nearest demons momentarily and charring the wood of the roof, coaxing a small fire.
  
  With the demons distracted, Xander leaped high into the air and doubled-heeled kicked the first demon, knocking it into the second demon as he hit the floor. Throwing Hellguard with deadly accuracy, it embedded itself in the center mass of the fourth demon, though not as deep as he would've liked. Xander electrocuted the demon as he grabbed his battleaxe and engaged the other three in a fierce battle.
  
  They were faster and stronger than him, but absent technique or strategy, they were little more than large animals. As he fought, his mind raced, calculating every move and countermove. His heart was pounding with adrenaline and his body was alive with the thrill of the fight. Sadly, there were simply too many of them, but he refused to go down without a fight.
  
  Xander was now outnumbered three to one, surrounded as they closed in on him. With quick and suppressive swings of his axe, he managed to keep them at bay for a few seconds. But one of the demons charged at him recklessly, its black eyes burning with rage and thirst for blood. Xander braced himself for impact, and as the suicidal demon took the brunt of his axe, it wrapped its powerful arms around his waist, bringing them down. The other two demons jumped in, and before he knew it, Xander and the three monsters went straight through the old and charred roof into the sermon room below.
  
  The impact knocked the wind out of Xander, leaving him feeling dizzy and numb. Although he wasn't in excruciating pain, his right ankle, left wrist, and left knee felt hot and swollen. As Xander tried to gather his bearings, he coughed out the dust that filled his mouth and lungs. The ringing in his ears eventually died down, and he could hear the sound of approaching footsteps. With a deep breath, Xander called upon the power of Odin's ring, drawing on his last reserves of strength as he struggled to his feet, his hands shaking as he summoned his weapons.
  
  Two of the Jhe sisters were already up and two more had burst into the room from the double doors of the church's entrance. The four charged at him, their dark eyes blazing with fury, and Xander didn't feel anywhere near ready to take them on at the same time. He braced himself for serious damage when a darkish figure dropped from the hole in the ceiling, golden blonde hair flowing, and buried the entire length of Slaymore's blade into the skull of one of the demons rushing him.
  
  As they fell, she rolled with the momentum, slicing through the leg of the demon on the right before throwing her blade at the third one. The third demon dodged it, but Buffy summoned her blade back and it embedded itself in the tough muscle of the demon's neck, dark blood gushing out of the open wound.
  
  "Buffy!" Xander called before passing Dreadnought to her. The agile girl easily caught the battleaxe as she dodged the many swipes of the final Jhe demon. With a low dodge and foot pivot, she swung Dreadnought and buried the razor edge in the stomach of the tough creature. Buffy immediately summoned Slaymore and cleanly sliced through the screeching monster's tough neck.
  
  After Buffy wrenched Dreadnought from the dead demon's open gut with a stiff kick, the blonde Slayer turned to her weary and panting friend. She rushed to him and placed his magical weapon in his tired hand before pulling him into a fierce embrace.
  
  Xander basked in the warmth of her body and inhaled her familiar scent, and for a moment, he forgot all about the horrors of the battle. Dropping his weapons, he held onto her with equal intensity, feeling her heartbeat against his chest and her soft breath on his neck, finding solace in her touch. The distant sounds of demons snarling and clawing seemed to fade away as they held each other tightly, both grateful for the other's presence in this deadly fight.
  
  Between ragged breaths, Xander panted, "Oh, boy... am I happy... to see you..."
  
  Buffy's grip on him was tight, and against his shoulder, she scolded him with relief in her voice. "Xander! Gah, you idiot!"
  
  "Sorry, Buff. Sorry," he apologized, adding a little sway to their embrace.
  
  Their moment was short-lived, as Faith burst through one of the blackened windows, Blood and Lust in either hand, and was already bleeding from a wound on her forehead. Faith back-stepped to their side as the remaining seven Jhe demons rushed into the room and surrounded them.
  
  As the demons loomed closer, Faith quipped, "Does anyone else see the irony of demons in church?"
  
  "The Big Guy... really does accept all," Xander huffed, feeling a hint of gallows humor in the face of danger.
  
  The demons began screeching loudly in the church. One demon's screech seemed to incite the others, causing a chain reaction of screeching that filled the room, sending shivers down the spines of the three warriors as they prepared for the impending battle. Buffy and Faith stood back to back to back with Xander, their weapons at the ready.
  
  Buffy noted, "That doesn't sound good."
  
  With concern in her voice, Faith asked, "Sweet Spot, how're you feeling?"
  
  "I'm just glad you guys are here," Xander said, finally feeling marginally better. "And way ready to return the hospitality."
  
  The Jhe demons attacked with ferocity. Half charged forward with reckless abandon, while the others hung back to strike when the opportunity arrived. Xander, Buffy, and Faith fought back-to-back-to-back, a whirlwind of steel and fury as they parried, dodged, and attacked. As Xander's wounds slowed him down, the demons targeted him, but he used their aggression to his advantage, leading them into the path of Buffy's or Faith's weapons.
  
  The fight was intense and grueling for Xander, who struggled to keep up with the demons. Faith and Buffy took the brunt of the attacks, but all three were slammed into pews, vats of liquid, or thrown to the ground. However, the Slayers were just as strong, and the three were better trained. The teenage warriors refused to stay down, rising again and again, fueled by their unrelenting determination to survive.
  
  With each passing second, the demons began to falter, their movements becoming less coordinated, less precise. Xander saw his opening and took it, unleashing a flurry of blows that sent one demon crashing to the ground. Buffy and Faith followed suit, their blades slicing through the remaining demons with ease. When it was all over, the room was in shambles. Dust and debris filled the air, black blood stained the floor, and the sound of heavy breathing filled the room. Xander, Buffy, and Faith were at the center of the carnage, battered, bruised, and bleeding, but-with a sense of satisfaction and pride-they stood victorious.
  
  After the adrenaline-fueled fight, Faith pulled out her phone and dialed Cordelia's number while Xander sat on the stage to catch his breath. Faith sat on his right, her clothes torn and her hair disheveled, and Buffy sat on his left, resting her head on his left shoulder, her golden hair spilling over him like a soft blanket.
  
  As the magic of his weapons and ring healed its way through his body, Xander felt both invigorated and drained, as the healing process took a toll on him. But he couldn't help but feel a sense of comfort and safety with the Slayers resting on either side of him, their warmth and scent soothing him.
  
  After she hung up with Cordelia, Faith relayed the news, "Giles and the gang are on the way."
  
  Xander nodded in understanding, his hands behind him, propping him up.
  
  Resting against his shoulder, Buffy quipped, "I bet they're going to have so much fun going through all of this."
  
  "What's left of it anyway," Faith remarked, surveying the destruction, and lingering on the crumpled forms of the dead demons.
  
  Worry laced Buffy's voice as she asked a very sleepy Xander, "Are you sure you're okay? One night in the hospital isn't going to kill you."
  
  Taking a deep breath, Xander pushed aside his fatigue and answered, "Yeah, no, I'm good. I just want to stay with you two for as long as possible."
  
  "We're not going anywhere," Faith said, adding with derision, "even if it is in a weird church."
  
  "How's your bike?" Xander asked her.
  
  Instantly, Faith's face winced. "Sorry," she apologized, her tone filled with remorse. "I kinda used it like a battering ram. It probably still runs, though."
  
  "It's fine," he replied kindly, reassuring her with a smile. "I can fix it for you."
  
  Buffy asked, "Would you teach me? How to ride, I mean. When you're better."
  
  Xander felt a wave of emotions wash over him. He wasn't sure if he would see this Buffy again, nor was he sure if he would be able to fix Faith's motorcycle for her, and the thought of never seeing this version of them again made him feel emotional enough for her to notice.
  
  "Xander, what is it?" Buffy pleaded, certain that he was withholding something. "And don't say you're fine. Something about this, the way you look at me... my dreams... I feel like there's something I'm missing."
  
  Xander shook his head, trying to convey ' no ' as much as clearing the emotion from his thoughts. "It's fine, Buffy. You're not wrong, but it doesn't matter."
  
  Sitting straighter, she shook her head and returned, "It matters to me. I came here because I knew I had to."
  
  "Why?" Faith questioned. At Buffy's curious expression, the beautiful brunette explained, "Don't get me wrong. I, for one, am glad you forced me to pick you up-using my pudding pops was low, though-but I get it. It would've been a hairier fight without you, no doubt, but I still don't think it was more than Xander and I could've handled. And honestly, I probably would've gotten here faster if I hadn't picked you up."
  
  Buffy eyed Faith apprehensively and asked, "What are you trying to say?"
  
  With eyes hinting at an underlying truth, Faith replied, "I'm saying there's only one real reason you'd leave the library."
  
  Buffy was silent, her beautiful face etched with a mixture of sadness and confusion as she cast her gaze downward, likely feeling the one reason Faith was alluding to. Xander watched Buffy, his heart heavy with appreciation, that there could be such a conflicting feeling for him in her heart, despite her deep love for Angel. He looked around the dimly lit room, taking in the dusty or bloody pews and blackened windows, and couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. This might very well be the last few things he could share with them before meeting the end of this loop.
  
  "It really takes a lifetime to learn simple things like who you are, what matters, and what doesn't," he calmly spoke. "There's a lot I can tell you both, but the only thing that matters is you guys are my light. No matter how dark it gets, I can always pull through because you guys are with me." Feeling overwhelmed, Xander released Dreadnought and wrapped his arms around Buffy and Faith. His embrace was tight, filled with all the loving gratitude he felt for them. "It's why I'll love you, forever, and on repeat," he whispered.
  
  The girls were both taken by his words, but felt the heartfelt weight behind them and hugged him with just as much warmth and love. Their embrace was so warm, comforting, and genuine that after several silent moments, Faith had to pull away. The vulnerable girl hastily stood, cleared her throat, and told them she was going to get his bike. Xander and Buffy remained wrapped in their embrace, holding on to each other tightly as they watched her go.
  
  They were silent for a few moments before Buffy asked, "What is it you're not telling me?" Her voice was soft, but her eyes were sharp with concern.
  
  Xander hesitated, his mind racing. He didn't want to worry Buffy any more than she already was, but he also wasn't certain if revealing the time braid would send him back in the hour or so time he had left. Xander simply promised to reveal everything once he was out, and finally answered, "Minor and irrelevant stuff, for the most part."
  
  Buffy's face twisted in frustration before she asked, "Will you ever tell me?"
  
  "I want to tell you everything," he honestly told her. "There's just not enough time."
  
  "There is," she assured him as she took his hand in her. "We have plenty of time. I'll make sure of it."
  
  Xander smiled weakly. He knew Buffy was just trying to comfort him and appreciated the gesture. "How?" he asked.
  
  "By always..." Buffy trailed off, her voice catching in her throat. After several silent moments, Xander looked at her with a raised eyebrow, wondering what she was going to say. She simply finished, "B-by always being there when you need me."
  
  Xander thought that odd, but was too weak to give it much thought, and replied, "Oh. Well, I'll always be there for you, too. Forever and ever, and ever; all the evers."
  
  Buffy leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek before whispering, "Shhh, just rest."
  
  Xander closed his eyes, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips. Faith's footsteps echoed as she returned to them, and soon enough, the others arrived, the sound of three cars pulling up outside echoing through the empty space. Willow and Cordelia hurried to Xander, their eyes wide with worry as they embraced him and assessed his injuries. Fortunately, his Armor Wear prevented any of the sharp claws from reaching his flesh, even if his skin had many red lines of irritation from the clawing. They bandaged his cuts as Xander suggested they split up, causing some concern on their faces.
  
  "One group stays here to figure out the ritual, along with some protection," he suggested. "The other group goes to the library to make sure no one shows up. I should've thought of that earlier, but honestly, I was wiped."
  
  "And don't forget, one person goes home to rest ," Buffy pointedly told Xander.
  
  Xander tried to say, "I can rest at the library-"
  
  " NO! " Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, and Faith all yell in unison.
  
  "Angel and I got the library. The rest stay here," Buffy conveyed to the gang. She turned to Xander and directed, "And you! We're taking you to my house; where you'll stay, you hear me?"
  
  Faith had to stay so she could load her bike in Oz's van and protect everyone while they investigated the bloody scene for any new information. The scene was gruesome-blood smeared across the walls and the smell of death hanging heavily in the air-but if there was anything to learn about the Sisterhood of Jhe and the dragon demon they worshiped, the brains of the gang were sure to find it.
  
  -
  
  Xander rode his bike with Angel following closely behind in Giles' car, and Buffy sitting in the passenger seat. The trio made their way through the quiet and dark streets of Sunnydale, but rather than drive to Buffy's home, Xander rode straight to Sunnydale High School. He parked his bike near the side entrance closest to the library, and was just about to enter the familiar sanctuary when Buffy finally caught up to him, her brows drawn in confusion.
  
  In front of him, she planted her hand firmly on his chest, and demanded to know, "What are you doing? You need to rest!"
  
  Xander limped around her and entered the, thankfully, silent and undisturbed, library. The room was still and peaceful, the shelves of books towering high above him like sentinels. He took a deep inhale of the warm and comforting space before telling her, "I can rest here. Nothing puts me to sleep faster than books."
  
  "Xander..." Buffy weakly protested as she watched him walk over to the center table.
  
  "Buffy..." he cheerfully mimicked. Sitting on the table's edge, he replied, "Come on. We're already here. I just need a few hours and I'll be as fit as a fiddle."
  
  Buffy hesitated for a moment before reluctantly nodding. She watched Xander lay down across the length of the table before making her way to Giles' office. Xander could hear her call Faith and inform her of the change in plans, as well as hear any updates. Though the table was a hard surface, Xander was so tired, it felt incredibly comfortable, and closed his eyes.
  
  While Buffy was on the phone in Giles' office, Angel quietly walked up to the table and asked Xander, "How are you feeling?"
  
  Feeling jolted out of his peaceful rest, Xander warily admitted, "More and more annoyed with that question."
  
  "You didn't seem to mind when the girls were asking," he dryly replied.
  
  Xander snorted, answering, "Who would?"
  
  "Fair enough," he responded.
  
  Angel was silent for several heavy seconds, lost in thought. Xander could almost feel how much Angel wanted to say something, making him roll his eyes and respond, "Your brooding is suffocating. What?"
  
  Angel hesitated before stating, "Buffy compromised this location to get to you."
  
  Xander's eyebrows furrowed as he replied, "Kinda needed the backup."
  
  "We didn't know that at the time," Angel astutely pointed out. "You'd only just found them."
  
  Xander felt confused, unsure where Angel was going with this, and simply nodded before replying, "Okay..."
  
  "I guess I'm just wondering why she would do that," Angel said, the tone in his voice pensive.
  
  Xander took a guess and answered, "Slayer intuition? I suppose you'd have to ask her."
  
  "I'm asking you," Angel responded firmly.
  
  Xander huffed in amused laughter before pointing out, "You and I both know how much Buffy cares; more than anyone. She'd do the same for you. She did do the same for you."
  
  "That I get," an annoyed Angel asserted. "But she left Willow and Giles with less protection-"
  
  "Because I trusted you to protect them," Buffy hotly interjected, her voice sharp as she entered the room. Without moving his body, Xander craned his head over his chest and observed an irate Buffy staring at Angel in disbelief. She looked like someone vomited on her favorite stuffed rabbit, and Xander almost felt bad for the vampire when she hotly asked Angel, "Can we talk outside?"
  
  Angel looked at Xander-who raised his eyebrows-then followed Buffy out of the room. Xander watched the couple leave before setting his head back down. As the double doors closed, Xander resisted the urge to enhance his hearing in favor of some shut-eye and healing before peacefully entering the end.
  
  -B-
  
  Buffy realized talking in the silent halls in the dead of night would be easy for Xander to hear, and walked toward the nearest exit. It was an exit-only door, but it didn't matter. Stepping outside into the cool night air did wonders for her unexpected irritation. The moon cast an eerie glow over the school's empty parking lot, and the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze provided the only sound. They walked farther than needed, but only because Buffy was so frustrated with her conflicting feelings.
  
  When she felt they'd walked too far, Buffy took a deep breath to calm herself and turned to face Angel. Her eyes scanned his handsome face, taking in the sight of him standing tall and imposing against the darkened sky. Buffy shivered. She didn't want to feel angry at Angel because she couldn't understand why she'd even feel angry toward the love of her life in the first place.
  
  Buffy tucked several strands of her golden hair behind her ear before crossing her arms and asking, "Why are you grilling him when you know he needs to rest?"
  
  Angel took a few seconds to gather his thoughts, his dark eyes flickering with emotion. His voice was low and measured as he replied, "Two nights ago, everything felt right between us; in our separate lives as much as when we were together. And then last night-"
  
  "I was poisoned," Buffy interjected, a hint of frustration in her tone, though she couldn't tell if it was directed at him or herself. For emphasis, she reminded him, "Taken hostage and made to fight a psychotic vampire by the very organization I work for."
  
  "I know," Angel softly said. "I know. And after your call letting me know you were okay, I came by your house to check on you... to be supportive." Buffy paled as Angel continued to confess, "But you weren't in your room." Her throat felt incredibly dry as he sadly added, "You were in the living room. I saw you through the window, sleeping on the couch-comfortably-with him."
  
  "...They poisoned him too," she managed to get out, though her voice felt incredibly strained. She felt like something was slipping away, and to avoid losing it, needed to explain, "We were tired- like, really tired, especially after fighting off those vampires. We just... fell asleep that way."
  
  Angel persisted cautiously, "The next time I see you, the only thing you'd tell me about was the Sisterhood of Jhe. The rest, you're quiet." Pointing behind him toward the school, he continued, "And then you leave the library when it doesn't make sense to do so, because, as you put it, ' you 'd never be able to forgive yourself if something happened to him .'" Buffy was quiet because anything she said threatened to take something meaningful away from her. "Help me understand, Buffy. That's all I'm asking."
  
  Buffy's heart sank into her stomach and her knees felt paper thin. The thing she had been trying to avoid all day; the thing she'd been trying to rationalize away, finally hit her hard in her chest, daring her to continue lying. In front of her love, she felt like she had run out of excuses-like time had run out. Her eyes welled up with hot tears, threatening to spill.
  
  With a heavy heart, Buffy met his gaze, and, though hesitant, the despondent girl softly answered, "...Even I don't understand."
  
  "...How you feel about him?" Slowly, nearly painfully, Buffy nodded. "...Because it's more than friendship?" The tears fell, spilling over her cheeks as she hesitantly nodded once again. Angel took a step back, as though he'd just been struck in the chest and momentarily lost his balance.
  
  He looked just as upside down and lost as Buffy felt, then he turned to leave. She chased after him, crying out, "Wait, Angel!" Buffy followed him down the sidewalk, moving further away from the school, as she tried to explain, "You have to know, I didn't intend for this to happen."
  
  "That's how it usually happens," he hotly voiced as he kept walking around her. "He has a girlfriend!"
  
  " I know! I'm not trying to... Listen! " Buffy sadly exclaimed, planting her hands on his chest to keep him from going any farther. Her voice cracked as she implored, "Xander and I are j-just friends. If anything, I have a small, minuscule, manageable c-crush... on him-" Angel tried to move, again and she stopped him as she asserted, " But! But, he had a crush on me first. So, so, it's kinda like chicken pox, you know? Someone else will get it next and I'll never catch it again. Have you gotten your shots? It could be you," she tried to jest.
  
  Angel looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and heartbreak. With dark eyes, his next question cut to the heart of her. "Have you kissed him?" he gravely asked.
  
  Buffy stopped breathing, and instantly hated how impossible it was for her face to mask her emotions. With widening eyes, her alluring facial muscles instantly announced her guilt over kissing Xander, and immediately Angel started walking away again.
  
  Buffy continued to stay in front of him as she frantically explained, "It was an accident! We were half asleep! I wasn't even thinking! Neither of us were!"
  
  "You were just reacting?"
  
  "Yes- No! Not like that! " she exclaimed, shaking her head frantically, getting mixed up with her own meaning. "The second we realized it was real life, we pulled away."
  
  "So, you were kissing him in your dream?"
  
  With a frustrated groan, Buffy stopped his walking once again and implored her boyfriend, "...Angel, please. He saved my life last night! I was just glad he didn't die because of it. Faith understood, and she forgave him."
  
  Angel seemed to respond to her plea and settled enough for Buffy to remove her hands. "...Fine," he sadly said. "Was that the only time?" Again, Buffy's muscles tensed and she hated her inability to remain straight-faced. "Buffy?"
  
  She took a deep breath and raised a peaceful palm before pleading, "Listen... you were Angelus at the time- Wait!" Angel moved around her to keep walking away and Buffy followed, explaining to him, "You have to admit, when you were Angelus, it was even worse than being broken up! You were actively trying to torment and kill me. It wasn't like the moment you stopped being Angel, I was finally free to cut loose and go wild! No! We kissed because of totally reasonable circumstances."
  
  "I'm not blaming you for anything you did, Buffy," Angel spoke, his voice strained with pain. "I just need some space."
  
  "Wait, Angel," she pleaded. "We're still together. You're the one I love!"
  
  He whirled on her, frustration in his voice as he yelled, "Well, maybe you shouldn't!"
  
  The force of his words hit Buffy like a punch to the gut. She looked at him in surprise, her concern and confusion etched on her face.
  
  "...Angel," she softly said, her voice trembling.
  
  -X-
  
  With a little over twenty minutes before the year loop ended, Xander was alone in his second home, and thought back on how much he enjoyed the year. Eyes closed, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia for the past year, which had been one of the best of his life. He had never felt so comfortable with himself than he had in this loop, and it meant everything to him. Xander was hoping Buffy would return soon, so he'd get to see her one last time, but it wasn't as if he was out of the time braid. He was going to repeat this very same loop for all of eternity, and Xander was content with that.
  
  Suddenly, Xander's ears perked up as he heard the faint sound of the library's atmosphere being shoved to the side by a heavy, fast-moving mass descending toward him. Without hesitation, his body instantly rotated off the table just as a large female demon of Jhe slammed through the hardwood.
  
  Xander dodged a second demon that had jumped off of the balcony, and he rolled toward the entrance, his body moving with a fluid grace that spoke of decades of training. As he rose to his feet, he extended his hands as he immediately accessed the threat.
  
  " Buffy! " Xander cried out, his voice ringing with urgency as Dreadnought and Hellguard slapped into his grasp.
  
  The young warrior counted five demonesses in total and three of them quickly gathered around the splintered table to place five urns in a symbolic arrangement and paint the floor in a greenish liquid. The acrid smell of the paint quickly reached Xander's nostrils, reminding him of the same scents from their church nest. They lit the urns before beginning their screeching chant while the other two launched themselves at the teen.
  
  Xander smiled as they neared. He knew he had to stop them at all costs, but the idea of going out fighting felt much better than sleeping into the end. Calling for all the power magic could possibly draw out of his beaten body, Xander charged the large demons. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself to the limit, drawing on all the strength and magic he could muster.
  
  Xander initially only attempted to disrupt the chorused droning, but the two Jhe demons were fast and agile, and were protecting the ritual taking place behind them. As he threw his weapons, he noticed that the two would throw themselves in the path of his flying weapons, sacrificing their tough bodies for their ultimate goal. This made Xander even more determined to defeat them before they could complete their mission.
  
  He used that strategy to kill one and then kill the other, but by then, the chanting was done. With wide eyes, he watched all five demonesses get sucked to the symbol painted on the floor and burst into blue flames. Each burning body then transformed into the five snarling heads of a dragon, each head trying to push its way through a portal that seemed too small for its massive form. As the heads rose high above Xander, the heat from their growling, fiery breath filled the room, causing the air to shimmer and dance. The wooden bookshelves and ancient tomes nearest the demon began to smolder, the pages of the books curling in the intense heat.
  
  Hurt, out of breath, and bleeding down his face and neck, a smile spread across Xander's face.
  
  In his Old Man memories of this very moment, Xander had always wondered what he missed when everyone but him fought this demon dragon. Eying the long necks of the five-headed dragon struggling to pull itself out of the portal, now he knew, and thought it was hilarious that he still wanted to be there. Xander was going to keep fighting for fifteen minutes straight. His arms were going to keep hacking until he was back in his bed and it was Halloween again.
  
  Xander charged towards the dragon, his weapons glinting in the flickering light from the lamps and wall fixtures. The dragon's heads lashed out at him with blinding speed, its razor-sharp teeth glistening as it tried to chomp down on Xander. He ducked and weaved, his reflexes honed by decades of fighting, and swung his weapons with all his might, biting into the dragon's tough scales.
  
  It felt like he was trying to cut through steel, but he knew his weapons could. The dragon head thrashed and twisted, hitting Xander like he was struck by a car, and he flew across the room, hitting the wall with a bone-jarring impact. Pain shot through his body, but his Armor Wear protected him from much worse. Nothing felt broken and he could still move.
  
  He stood up once again and walked over to the entrance to face it head-on. As he did, he bid his magical axe to heat up to the temperature of lightning without the lightning. His battleaxe began to glow from a steel gray to an auburn, to a bright red, yellow, and finally, blazing white. It was incredibly hot to be near, but as a master weaponsmith, he was used to the heat. Glaring at the five hypnotically moving snake-like dragons, Xander didn't hesitate to lunge forward once more.
  
  Xander tossed Hellguard at one of the heads. The fast creature used its head to swat it away, but the ultra-sharp dagger stuck in its scale. Xander jumped in the air, raising his axe to bring down on the exposed neck, but before he could, one of the other heads struck out to bite him whole. With a thought, initiated an explosion of electricity from Hellguard that traveled through all five heads.
  
  The snake-like dragon heads all screeched and trembled violently, but they did not die. Xander only needed that moment to bring his super-heated Dreadnought down on one of the heads, slicing through the log-thick neck. It took a second swing to completely sever it from the body, and that moment cost him another hard hit to the torso, sending him flying across the room.
  
  Xander's vision blurred and danced, but he stood up, and walked forward, his gruff voice grunting, "Four more."
  
  -B-
  
  Buffy's eyes widened in disbelief as Angel's words sunk in. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she asked, "What do you mean I shouldn't? I can love whoever I want!"
  
  Angel's eyes were soft and filled with love as he looked at her. He took a step closer, his hand reaching out to touch her face. Buffy wanted to lean into his touch-she would have a few months ago-but she couldn't shake the feeling of confusion that swirled inside her.
  
  "Buffy, I love you more than my own existence," he confessed. "You are my soul in human form... but that doesn't change the fact that I can't give you the life I know in my heart you deserve... the life he can."
  
  "I don't want a life that doesn't have you in it," she heatedly proclaimed.
  
  "Why?" he questioned, his expression growing serious. "Because that's what being in love demands you say? Because if you don't say that, it must mean you don't love me as much as you think you do? Or are you saying that because you really mean it?"
  
  Buffy was taken aback, that question sounding a lot like the one Willow had asked her-the one she couldn't answer then-and Buffy actually wondered for a second what the most accurate answer was. That second seemed too long for Angel and he continued walking.
  
  "Angel! Wait!" she begged, following after him, even farther away from the school.
  
  -X-
  
  After another five minutes of intense battle, Xander couldn't take a deep breath anymore and his lungs burned from the heat radiating off the Lernaean. The four-headed demon dragon was relentless, but despite his exhaustion, he continued to use his quick reflexes and precise footwork to dodge the heads and strike back with his weapons. As often as he could, he stayed close to the base of the long necks, as it was harder for it to strike him. He'd be dead five times over if not for his Armor Wear and Odin's Ring.
  
  The snake-like heads ran into each other often when he was near the base, and with his enhanced strength, he'd fight their chomping teeth with Dreadnought while he stabbed Hellguard into any part of their body. He used the blunt end of his battleaxe to pound the Viking dagger deep into the demon's flesh before unleashing a tsunami of electricity that jolted throughout its body.
  
  In their sluggish movement afterward, Xander had just enough time to activate Dreadnought's scorching, white-hot temperature again-his skin baking from the intense heat emanating from it-and cut off a second head, spurting black demon blood everywhere. The other heads immediately retaliated, attacking Xander with a ferocity that made his heart race. He barely dodged two swiping heads before the third one slammed into him, shooting him across the room.
  
  Xander's exhausted body landed languidly on the reception desk before tumbling to the floor behind it. The dragon's screeching could've been a lullaby, Xander was so tired. Blood dripped from his many wounds, but raising his shaking left hand, he summoned Hellguard. The hilt slammed into his palm, spewing demon blood everywhere from the rotation's sudden stop. His left forearm hooked the reception desk as his right hand called on Dreadnought.
  
  He leaped on the desk, heaving shallow breaths, and gazed at the decapitated demon heads before refocusing on the raging demon dragon. Though struggling to catch his breath, he gripped his weapons tightly, and whispered to himself, "Three... m-more."
  
  -B-
  
  "Wait," Buffy called, getting in front of him again, her desperation written all over her face. Her heart racing, she pleaded, "I can't take a second to think?"
  
  Angel took a step toward her, and with understanding, asked, "You've been thinking all day, haven't you? I can just imagine how surprised and confused you must be about this, because you love me. I know you love me, but, for a while now, I've been confused about something too; been thinking about this extensively. Am I really the right person for you?"
  
  "Of course-" Buffy began, eager to protest.
  
  " Stop ," Angel cut in, begging with his eyes. "Buffy, it's simple. Really, it is. You love me, you don't want to lose me, and I'm certain if you had it your way, we'd always be together, without all the complications ... but does any of that mean that you don't love him?"
  
  Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but she didn't want to lie. Any lie would only serve to be an indirect way of telling the truth, and her stomach twisted in knots at the thought. She had been struggling with her true feelings for Xander ever since... she couldn't even say when. She loved Angel with all her heart, but now, there was someone else in her heart. Someone who had always been there for her, even when Angel wasn't.
  
  "Does it?" Angel repeated, his voice slightly above a whisper.
  
  -X-
  
  It took another five strenuous minutes. His tough military gear was covered in black demon blood, but fortunately, the steel-like scales crashing into him hadn't shredded his only protection. Xander was bleeding profusely from his forehead, little cuts littered his hands and forearms, his left eye was swelling, he couldn't take a deep breath without agony blossoming from his chest, and he was so impossibly tired he didn't know how he was still standing. Even still, his ring and weapons kept him in the fight, his mind wouldn't quit, and his mouth kept grinning.
  
  Xander threw Dreadnought with his strained, but enhanced, strength, electrifying it so the remaining heads avoided it, then he called it back. He'd repeat the attack as many times as it took for one head to swerve close enough for him to attack with Hellguard and stab it with his dagger.
  
  The Lernaean head recoiled violently, and with his grip, took Xander high into the air. He held on, his fingers scraping the scales for purchase, until it switched directions. The sudden momentum switch launched him toward the second-floor balcony. Again, his armor took the brunt of the shock as he smashed through the wooden railing and into a bookcase with a sickening crunch.
  
  Dazed and disoriented, Xander shook his head to clear the stars from his vision. Despite his pain and exhaustion, Xander gathered his bearings and rushed the monster. He summoned Dreadnought to his hands as he kicked off the railing, raising his battleaxe over his head. With Hellguard still on the beast, he unleashed a surge of lightning that would fry a whale to a crisp, sizzling the air.
  
  The demon lord convulsed long enough for Xander to come down with his white-hot Dreadnought, slicing through the monster's log-thick neck with a shower of sparks. The wound hissed and steamed, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. But as always, the remaining heads were jolted by the sudden agony, and landed a brutal hit the moment Xander cut through the third head.
  
  Xander gritted his teeth as he was launched back into the hard bookcases, knocking them over, and burying him in books. His chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath, his muscles screaming with fatigue. But even as he lay there, battered and bleeding, he knew he had to keep going. With a grunt of effort, he pushed the heavy shelf off him and staggered to his feet, his eyes blazing with determination.
  
  With the third head in a thin pool of its own purplish blood, Xander could barely whisper, "Two."
  
  -B-
  
  "It's not that simple," Buffy tried to reason, feeling her eyes stinging with tears. She felt as if she were fighting for their relationship, as if the future she'd always envisioned depended on it.
  
  "It is," Angel asserted, his voice firm. "When Xander told Spike off-after the disbelief those words came out of his mouth-I found myself agreeing with him. Then, I came to learn Spike and Drusilla still have their souls despite making love."
  
  "They do?" Buffy gasped, taken aback by the news, and couldn't help thinking that Xander was right.
  
  After a moment of tense silence, Angel articulated, "His view on love isn't perfect, or romantic, and I can imagine the drawbacks, but I can't deny how pure, how genuine, how healthy that love is."
  
  The silence between them stretched for several moments, the weight of his words hung heavily in the air between them. Buffy struggled to find the right words to say, to convince Angel that their love could still be everything they wanted, so long as they fought for it.
  
  "This isn't selfish, Buffy," Angel said. "I don't want to hold you back-"
  
  "You're not!" she loudly interrupted, desperation creeping into her voice. "Angel, you're not. I'm never stronger, better, or happier than when I'm with you because you're the only one for me! It's you and me!"
  
  "Buffy, let's be honest here," Angel said, his voice full of anguish. "You've never asked Xander about what happens to us in the future because you don't want to know, do you? You don't want to know as much as I don't want to know."
  
  Her red-rimmed eyes widened and her heart felt constricted in her chest. The truth they both wanted to avoid and ignore was clear and present for both of them. Neither wanted to know that in this world, Buffy and Angel could never truly be together. It was a demoralizing and antagonistic thought that Buffy simply didn't want to confirm with Xander. It would feel too much like evil won.
  
  "We can't even be intimate; not completely," he continued. "What kind of life is that? Always holding back for fear someone might die if we go too far... At some point, we have to ask ourselves, are we just delaying the inevitable? Maybe you're already asking."
  
  The silence stretched between them, heavy with unspoken words and unfulfilled dreams. Buffy knew that she had to make a choice. Either she could continue to cling to their love, hoping against hope that they would find a way to be together, or she would have to let their impossible love go.
  
  The tears streamed down her face.
  
  -X-
  
  Xander's heart pounded as he focused on dodging the ferocious heads of the dragon demon. With their deaths, the portal will have no anchor into the human world and close once again. The beast relentlessly pursued him, its eyes burning with a fiery rage, and Xander knew he had to stay sharp if he wanted to survive. He darted left and right, his body moving with the precision of a seasoned warrior, always staying one step ahead of the dragon's snapping jaws.
  
  Xander jumped to avoid both heads and realized his mistake the moment one flexed its neck up. Xander placed the flat of Dreadnought against his chest before the scaly neck slammed him into the ceiling with a powerful thrust of its neck. Xander grunted in pain as he felt his bones creaking under the pressure, but even then, the thought of giving up never crossed his mind.
  
  The other head was coming up to bite Xander while he was falling. With few other options, Xander reached around his back, placing his palm against his spine, and summoned Dreadnought just as the dragon was about to sink his teeth into his torso. The whiplash put him face to face with sharp teeth, the stench of which was gag-inducing.
  
  Xander summoned Hellguard as the head shoved him out of the way. As it opened its mouth to bite him again, he threw his Viking dagger into its mouth and quickly blasted it with an unholy amount of electricity. He landed on the ground as best he could, tweaking his ankle as he forced himself to roll to his feet.
  
  While the beasts were sizzling in the burst of electrical energy, he rushed to the nearest neck with a white-hot Dreadnought cocked back, and swung his battleaxe with all his might, cutting through another neck of the dragon. Faster than Xander could see, he was struck in the chest harder than any other hit, launching him through the double doors of the library, breaking them off their hinges.
  
  Xander slid on the cold tile to a stop. After a moment, he struggled to get to his feet. The library was behind him, and ahead of him was the path to salvation-to his hero. The dark hallway ahead beckoned him, tempting him to flee and seek help from Buffy and Angel... but Xander refused. He stood up and turned his back to such safety. This was his fight, his moment, and he had to give it everything he had. With fierce determination, he walked back into the library, summoning his faithful weapons to his hands, ready for the final round.
  
  Unable to speak, Xander looked at the last blurry head, and sluggishly thought to himself, ' one .'
  
  -B-
  
  "If you believe in Xander's selfless sort of love," Angel began to ask. "Do you believe I'd be hurt if you found someone you could love more than me? Someone who I felt could give you the life you deserve?"
  
  Buffy's red-rimmed eyes overflowed with tears streaming down her delicate face, and her heart clenched in her chest as she looked up at him. She struggled to keep her voice steady as she responded, "I can't love him more than I love you."
  
  Angel's expression softened, but his eyes betrayed his uncertainty. "You know what I mean," Angel softly said. Buffy remained quiet as she felt the answer in her heart. After some time, he gently insisted, "It's a simple question, Buffy. Are you in love with him? Yes or no?"
  
  The question hung in the air between them, heavy with unspoken fears and doubts. Buffy took a deep breath, feeling the weight of Angel's gaze upon her. She closed her eyes, searching her heart for the answer-for the truth.
  
  -X-
  
  The last head was relentless, snapping its jaws and lashing its long neck at him like a battering ram. Xander dodged its fierce attacks as his eyes darted around the room for anything he could use as a weapon. He knew enough geometry and setting traps to capture the elusive dragon in a guillotine-style snare.
  
  It avoided Dreadnought when Xander threw his battleaxe. It avoided Hellguard as well, and just as it was about to strike the weaponless teen, Xander lifted a long piece of the table his friends often sat at, and drove it like a lance into the dragon's open maw. With the demon lord distracted, Xander dashed forward, summoning his dagger and jamming Hellguard at the base of its neck. He electrocuted the demon with all the power he could muster.
  
  As it flung its head back, Xander called Dreadnought to his grip, and in its distraction, the teen warrior jumped high before bringing the razor-sharp blade down, cleanly cutting straight through the last dragon head. Fearing the loss of his dagger, he quickly summoned Hellguard to him as blinding bright light began emanating from the portal. The limp necks still attached to the rest of the body were dragged back into the dimension from whence it came, taking the searing heat with it.
  
  The last minute before the end of the year-loop instantly became unbearably cold. Other than his short gasps of irregular breaths, not a sound could be heard in the stillness of the destroyed library.
  
  Despite his magical assistance, Xander could now feel the agony he'd been holding back in battle. His body was suffering from catastrophic failures; battered and bruised, broken bones, damaged organs, heavy bleeding, and swelling all over his feverish body. The floor was flooded with thick demon blood, and he struggled to move through it. With each step, he felt like he was dragging his broken body through molasses, and could feel himself losing consciousness.
  
  However, he limped to the small staircase and fell onto the stairs, feeling some measure of relief as the hard steps felt as comfortable as a bed. He turned to look up at the ceiling, smiling weakly despite the pain that wracked his body. He knew that even if the next ceiling he saw was that of his dirty room, he would be back here again.
  
  -B-
  
  Angel stood across from Buffy, his expression pained as he searched her tear-filled eyes for an answer. "Rather than being kind, just be honest with me, as you always have," Angel begged, his voice scratchy. "Are... you... in love... with him?"
  
  Buffy's tear-filled eyes looked deeply into Angel's, the weight of his question heavy on her heart. She took a deep breath and her lips trembled before she answered.
  
  -X-
  
  Xander lay still on the stairs, his chest heaving with the strenuous effort of breathing. His face was contorted in pain, and sweat beaded on his forehead. His clothes were singed and stained with dirt, blood, and sweat from the tremendous battle. His heart thumped painfully and irregularly in his chest, and he wondered if he was going to die. However, as he lay there, he felt the magic from his arsenal work its way through his body, knitting together his broken bones, keeping the swelling in his brain down, and his organs from shutting down, but there were many injuries.
  
  Despite the agony he felt, Xander couldn't care too much. After all, he was seconds away from the end of the year-loop. He only cared to think about his friends-his family. Oz, Kendra, Jenny, Giles, Cordelia, Willow, Buffy, and Faith-especially Faith. He recalled all the fun times and closed his eyes, along with the mental chapter of the most amazing loop.
  
  My boy Xander is a G!
  
  I hope that little diagram at the top helped. One of my betas thought it might be confusing. I hope not.
  
  In case some don't understand why Xander is getting internal injuries despite his ArmorWear, it's the shock of the impact. The armor minimizes that as well, but not all of it. So, his bones and organs can still feel a small percentage of the shock.
  
  This is one of my favorite chapters. More action than any of the other chapters. Some of you noticed that the year-loop ends right before the beginning of the Zeppo episode. I did that on purpose because that was one of my favorite episodes, but it also highlights how far away from the storylines that matter. That episode showcases other ways that Xander is helpful, which is good, but how little he matters to his friends when the fate of the world is on the line. If there weren't undead idiots trying to blow up the school, Xander would be doing nothing but reading comic books because his friends don't need him.
  
  Angel saw them sleeping on the couch! Sucks for him, but I can't care too much.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Feel better Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  See Me
  Man, I did not think we were going to make this deadline. Real life got in the way for me and my betas, so this came right down to the wire. Nevertheless, Welcome readers to another Sunday and another Chapter.
  
  Big thanks to my beta team who managed to pull it out despite being so busy. Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar, thank you.
  
  Warning: Lemons, Violence, Foul language.
  
  12.1K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  See Me
  
  It was October 31st, 1997 and Xander awoke in his room. His eyes were closed, but he could smell the stained and grimy walls, unclean carpet, and the choking sheets of his musty bedsheets. Worst of all, the chill in the air permeated every corner of the room, leaving him feeling cold and alone-always alone. However, being back in his cramped room was the last thing on his mind.
  
  Xander lay there, his body feeling weak and sluggish, but he didn't care about his physical state, either. It was the all-consuming grief that held him captive. He was too traumatized by the grand totality of his loss. The young, yet old, teen felt like he had built something great, amazing... to have lost the best work and progress he had ever accomplished in the blink of an eye, made his entire body shake and shudder in the cold.
  
  The trembling wracking of Xander's body made him sway in his uncomfortable bed from side to side. The stench of charred meat and the tang of blood lingered in his nostrils, suffocating him like a thick fog. The swaying continued and now, Xander was hurting, like a thousand knives piercing every inch of his body. As more and more pain registered, his mind began to panic. This hadn't ever happened before and he couldn't think of a single reason why.
  
  As he opened his one good eye, he observed that he wasn't in the dirty, dreary space he expected to be in. Instead, it was a hazy, dark world that swayed with the movement of his bed. His vision was blurry and unfocused, but gradually, his eye adjusted to the dim light. Xander saw that he was still in the library-surrounded by decapitated dragon heads and debris-and at the bottom of his line of sight, a blur of golden color caught his attention.
  
  The girl with golden blonde hair was kneeling beside him, pressing a sword against his chest and shaking him with urgency. As she leaned over him, her bright hair swayed in his vision. Her voice seemed urgent as she spoke, but her words were muffled, as if he were hearing them from deep underwater. She reminded him of Buffy, and after a spell of time, his exhausted mind realized it actually was Buffy.
  
  She had Slaymore pressed to his chest as she repeated, "Heal him. Please heal him. Don't let him die. Don't go, Xander! Please, don't go!"
  
  His body battered and broken, Xander couldn't move to reassure her for what felt like hours. He was deadweight and couldn't lift a pinky. But what concerned him more was why he was still in the loop. It didn't make sense. The clock had struck the tenth minute of the third hour in the morning, so it should be Halloween again. He should be in his dirty room-weak, unhealthy-with Mighty Max on the television, and hungover parents in the house, but he wasn't. He was growing more confused by the second, as he was tired, but he had to know the truth.
  
  Xander needed answers, and willed his ring and weapons to heal him as fast as Wolverine. He didn't expect the magical items to know the Marvel character, but the pain was unbearable and he was desperate for answers. After a few minutes, Xander felt a twinge of relief and thought he could speak, but all that escaped his mouth were unintelligible sounds. Buffy turned her head, shifting her hair out of the way, and that was when he noticed the tears streaming down her beautiful face.
  
  "Xander! Oh my God! Stay with me! Can you hear me?" she cried, her voice laced with panic and fear. She cleared her eyes of the water leaking from them before begging, "You have to stay with me, okay?"
  
  He couldn't voice it, but in his mind, he answered, ' always .' Though he felt himself lose consciousness, he felt a sense of calm wash over him as his eyes closed. He trusted Buffy to take care of him, and as he drifted off into the darkness, he felt a sense of peace, knowing that he wasn't alone.
  
  Xander didn't feel like he'd been asleep for long. When Xander awoke again, he didn't think about how long he'd been out or what date it was. All he knew was that his body ached everywhere-even his eyelids felt heavy and sore. Slowly, he opened his eyes and as they adjusted to the light in the dimly lit room, he focused on his surroundings.
  
  He was lying on a soft Queen-sized bed. The walls were a soft muted tan color, and the smell of lavender hung in the air. He was in a familiar bedroom, but more importantly, two familiar faces were sitting in chairs on either side of him. Looking at Buffy on his right and Faith on his left, Xander couldn't believe it. He hadn't woken up alone.
  
  ' Am I ... dreaming? ' he thought.
  
  When it seemed like he wouldn't disappear, Xander's body tensed with anticipation. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, his breaths coming in short gasps, and before he could question what was wrong with him, an unexpected tsunami of emotions shook him to his core. The strong torrent of feelings was so overwhelming, he lost the capacity to think. To know he wasn't alone, to know it was a brand new day, to know he could keep going, and be remembered, was both a comfort and a wounding reminder of the horrors he'd endured. The tears started to flow-slowly at first, but as reality sunk in, crying felt like an unstoppable torrent pouring down his face. His features twisted with the intensity of his sobs, and he felt as if his body was shaking apart.
  
  His hands let go of his magical weapons, his lifeline through his severe injuries, to cover his face, as if to hide from the overwhelming feelings. Instantly, his head, arms, and torso felt as if they were on fire, his lungs constricting with each ragged breath. The tears streamed down his face and dripped off of his chin. His nose turned red and stuffy, his breaths coming in short, sharp gasps that echoed through the room. With each cough, his throat felt as if it were being ripped apart, sending waves of pain through his body. The sound woke the girls from their slumber, their eyes widening in alarm at the sight of Xander in the throes of his emotions.
  
  " Xander! " they both called as they moved to him.
  
  With tears streaming down his face, Xander outstretched his arms, eager to embrace them. The moment their bodies collided, he was struck by an overwhelming sense of reality that sent shivers down his spine. He could feel the warmth emanating from their bodies, and it was as if he had been transported to another dimension entirely. As he embraced them, tears streamed down his face, mixing with the salty tears that cascaded down Buffy's cheeks. Faith was hesitant at first, as if unsure of whether to trust the feeling, but she eventually succumbed to Xander's embrace.
  
  The embrace was a symphony of emotions, with each member of the trio contributing to their own unique melody. Buffy's sobs were deep and guttural, while Faith's sniffles were delicate and restrained. Xander could feel their hearts beating in unison, and the sensation only served to heighten his sense of being, his sense of freedom.
  
  ' I made it! ' he mentally cried. ' I made it! I made it! I ... made... it .'
  
  One must've slipped past his lips because Faith replied, "Hell yeah, you fucking made it."
  
  Though Xander was reluctant to let them go, the agony of his broken body was becoming unbearable. As Buffy, Willow, and Faith pulled away, he could see the glistening tears in their eyes and feel their warmth on his skin, a clear indication that he had truly returned to the world of the living. Grabbing his weapons, he instantly felt more relief flood his recuperating system.
  
  Slowly, Xander tried to sit up, his aching body protesting with every movement. The Slayers quickly came to his aid, helping him prop himself up against the headboard. As Faith seemed to make to leave, Xander impulsively reached out, gripping her hand tightly despite the searing pain that shot up his arm.
  
  Faith's smile was reassuring as she told him, "I'm not going anywhere." She settled onto the bed beside him, her back resting against the padded headboard. Meanwhile, Xander held tightly to Buffy's hand, not wanting her to leave either.
  
  Taking a deep breath, Xander's croaking voice asked, "Wha- what happened?"
  
  Though he was asking about the time braid, Faith answered, "Looks like there was another group of Jhe sisters. They went to the library and performed the ritual. Judging by the five severed Lernaean heads on the floor, they managed it. That's what we know," she finished. He was proud of her calm demeanor as she delivered the news, but her anger quickly flared up. "What we don 't know is why you had to battle a goddamn multi-headed dragon by yourself in the first fucking place!"
  
  Xander thought he was the recipient of her ire, but he was surprised to see her glaring at Buffy. The guilt on the blonde Slayer's face made Xander ask in his cracking voice, "Oookay. I've got questions."
  
  "I'm so sorry, Xander," Buffy said, her voice heavy with remorse.
  
  "It's okay," he tried to reassure her, but Buffy cut him off.
  
  "No, it's not okay," Buffy sobbed. "We're nowhere near okay. You nearly... Because I wasn't..." Buffy's voice trailed off as she hugged Xander's midsection and cried silently. Though her grip was tight and uncomfortable, Xander didn't push her away. Faith remained quiet during the emotional exchange, and the room fell silent except for Buffy's quiet sobs.
  
  Xander rubbed Buffy's back as he softly spoke. "How about we start with something simple? Why am I in your mom's room?"
  
  "To keep the peace," Faith huffed, her arms folded across her chest. "I wanted you in my room, Buffy wanted you in hers, and Slayers can be stubborn about what they want."
  
  "Plus, mom wanted to take care of you the way you took care of her last summer... which was... really really sweet." She hugged him more snugly and Xander smiled at how cute emotional-Buffy was being.
  
  "Is everybody else okay?" Xander asked, clearing his scratchy throat.
  
  "Everyone's fine," Faith gravely answered.
  
  "The library?" he questioned.
  
  "Trashed," Faith replied.
  
  "How long have I been out?" Xander next asked.
  
  "Three straight days," Faith answered. "We took you to the hospital, and they took care of the big stuff-internal bleeding, broken bones. They said your insides were like if you got hit by a car, like, five straight times. We smuggled you out as soon as we could, and Red made everyone forget a guy with an axe stuck to his hand ever came into the emergency room."
  
  The only question that remained in Xander's mind was why the time braid didn't reset, but he wasn't certain about the best way to learn that. The Sherlock within would tally everything different in this loop versus the previous year-loops and go from there-putting the puzzle together piece by piece. However, he knew he had to be cautious. He didn't want to risk his life by testing anything too lethally. With any luck, he was out, and he didn't want to die quite so quickly.
  
  A bittersweet feeling washed over Xander as he thought about death. It was a thought that wouldn't have sent shivers down his spine before, but now he almost found solace in it. The constant living after death in a loop made him forget what it felt like to fear death. Now, lying in bed, recuperating, the idea of mortality brought a strange sense of normalcy. He could almost feel himself becoming human again. He couldn't help the small smile of gratitude.
  
  Faith interrupted his thoughts to inquire, "If you have any other questions, like-I don't know-where the fuck your backup was while you were battling a monster demon from hell by yourself, I can't help you there. None of us can since Buffy and Angel haven't said jackshit!"
  
  Concerned for Buffy, Xander gently asked, "How's Angel?"
  
  She hugged him tighter, her tears dampening his shirt. Xander felt a pang of sympathy for his friend, knowing how much Buffy loved him. Turning to Faith, he could see the barely contained anger etched on her gorgeous face. Xander shook his head gently, hoping to convey that something bad must've happened between Buffy and Angel. Faith's gaze shifted to Buffy, her expression softening slightly before she leaned against the padded headboard. As Buffy cried, the silence in the room was only broken by the soft sound of their breathing. Soon, the exhaustion from the emotional turmoil overtook them, and they drifted off to sleep, with a Slayer on either side of Xander.
  
  The three woke up in the morning. None wanted to get up, but Joyce peeled the girls from his side and told them to get ready for school. Buffy protested that they were just sleeping, but Joyce remained firm. After a night of accelerated healing, Xander felt strong enough to join them. As they rode in Joyce's car, Xander found himself eager to be traveling with Faith to Sunnydale high. It was a completely new experience, and the novelty of it was exhilarating. He felt a surge of lively energy coursing through him, making him feel like a bundle of buzzing joy. The air outside was crisp, and the warm sun painted the town in bright light, casting long shadows from the trees onto the street. The sound of birds chirping in the distance filled the air, and the scent of fresh-cut grass tickled Xander's nose as they arrived at the school.
  
  Xander was exceedingly happy.
  
  His heart swelled with joy as he walked the school hallways, and he immediately noticed how popular Faith was. Her punk leather style and magnetic presence turned heads wherever they went. Even the boys who didn't dare approach her couldn't help but gawk at the confident beauty intimately beside him. Though she wasn't keen on holding hands, they walked together and didn't deny it when others asked if they were a couple.
  
  As they passed popular cliques, the most confident boys approached her, from jocks to playboys, and even charming nice guys, but she would tell them all to get lost, which only increased her popularity. Feeling alive and invigorated, Xander was intoxicated by the newness of it all. Every step was like a fresh start, as if life was bursting with possibility, and he couldn't wait to see what the future held for him and Faith.
  
  Lovable, adorable Willow was in tears as soon as she saw Xander, and ran towards him as fast as she could. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, holding him so long that they were almost late for class. The hug was warm and comforting, like a ray of sunshine on a chilly day. Xander couldn't help but smile as he felt the love and affection radiating from his childhood friend. Cordelia, Oz, Giles, and Jenny were also there, all equally delighted to see him up and about. Their smiles were infectious, and Xander trembled at how loved he felt in that moment. He didn't think he could handle such raw emotion, and offhandedly wondered if that was how Faith felt sometimes.
  
  Giles was not only impressed that Xander had defeated a Lernaean demon on his own, but he was also curious if Xander could utilize the tough, scaly hide in his forging. He looked at the scales of the beast, and he couldn't help but admire the intricate patterns that seemed to shift and shimmer in the light. Xander had a few ideas, but they felt too dangerous-too risky-even for him. The idea of mixing his powerful runes with the scales of the demon felt like crossing a slippery boundary he wasn't comfortable with, like entering the dark magic side of weapon smithing. If anything, he hypothesized he'd be able to make a weapon that Spike and Angel could wield better than any human.
  
  After another night of rest and a weekend of recuperation, Xander steadily recovered enough to feel strength surge through his veins. He was eager to get started on fixing Faith's motorcycle, which had been sitting in the garage waiting for his touch. With a newfound sense of energy, he grabbed his tools and set to fixing her damaged bike.
  
  As the day wore on, Xander grew stronger and more agile, until he was able to spar rather well against Faith. Xander was a little sluggish and stiff at first, but Faith was patient with him and helped him to loosen up. By the time they finished, the sun was setting-casting an orange glow across the sky-and he felt rejuvenated.
  
  They decided to go on patrol that night, with Xander feeling more confident and capable than ever before. As they roamed the streets of Sunnydale-the gentle rumble of the engine and the wind in his hair providing him with a sense of peace-he was struck by how easy it was to dust the vampires they came across. His movements were fluid and precise, and for the first time in a long while, Xander felt like he had surpassed his potential as a fighter.
  
  Sharing his bike back home, they barely made it inside his house before they were all over each other. Xander didn't understand the hurry as Faith yanked off his clothing, and when he tried to slow the girl's passions down, Faith backed away. Her eyes were dark pools of wanton desire, easily communicating that she wanted it hard and fast. Though Xander wanted to connect with her on an emotional level, he pushed it to the back of his mind and did it her way.
  
  They were in his room when the last of their clothing was tossed aside. He gripped her waist and drew her in for a deep kiss. She moaned into his mouth when he stroked her tongue with his while her hand stroked his hard cock. Xander once again tried to slow down her wild desire, but Faith pulled back and dropped to her knees, gripping the base of his thick shaft with her slender fingers.
  
  Xander moaned sharply when Faith ran her tongue up and down his veined pole, making it glisten with her saliva before she licked the sensitive tip of his member. It wasn't long before the sexy Slayer took his eight-inch erection in her warm mouth and started sucking on it.
  
  "Ffffuuuccck!" Xander groaned at her soul-sucking suction. He clenched her bobbing head and shuddered while Faith sucked his cock, her head bobbing energetically and making her brunette tresses sway around her flushed face.
  
  Faith raised her eyes and watched Xander as she devoured his swollen prick. His face was one of pure joy as he massaged her sensitive scalp. When he smiled lovingly at her, she dropped her eyes and pressed her face into Xander's crotch, taking his entire length into her tight throat, almost gagging as her tongue lathered the throbbing pole with her saliva. When Xander felt close and his thick shaft swelled upon his impending release, Faith pulled away, a string of saliva trailing from her shapely crown and her pink lips.
  
  "In me," she demanded. "I want it inside!"
  
  Xander quickly threw her on the bed, making her moan erotically. He massaged her toned legs as he positioned himself between them, all the while she eyed him hungrily. It was as though she'd gone weeks without eating and couldn't stand another second without nourishment. Xander pressed his dick at the slick entrance and rubbed his knob up and down her dripping sex, coating him in her juices.
  
  They both moaned in ecstasy as he finally drove his cock into the sexy girl's tight pussy. Eyes closed, they relished in the close warmth of their union. It had been just as long for Xander, and even though he wanted a more heart-felt experience, he always enjoyed fucking her just as hard as she needed.
  
  Faith tilted her head back when she felt his thick erection push up through her slippery vulva, shoving ever deeper into her tight vagina until his veined shaft filled her. Xander slowly pulled out, dragging his pronounced crown across her sensitive folds. The beautiful girl whimpered, clutching at the sheets with her powerful hands before he buried himself within her again.
  
  "Auummm!" she moaned.
  
  Soon, Xander's thick prick speared through Faith's yawning pussy over and over. The bed bucked and vibrated from the force of his thrusts. His cock filled her repeatedly, the petals of her labia lathering the veined sides of his prick with generous amounts of her sex nectar. The sound of meaty clapping filled the room as he pounded into her. Her breaths came in harsh pants, and her breasts jiggled as she felt her orgasm build within her body.
  
  Xander could feel he wouldn't last long-it had been too long and the sexy beauty was gripping him just right. Xander was nearing the edge and just when he was close, he began vibrating his cock as he stroked her G-spot vigorously. Her eyes snapped open and when Xander impaled his cock in the brunette one last time, the lovers climaxed together. Faith screamed as she arched her back and her pussy clamped down on his manhood. Xander released load after load of hot cum into her womb until they became limp. The perspiration cooled their bodies as they lay close, sharing each other's heat.
  
  For nearly two hours, their bodies gravitated toward each other several times, culminating in long-awaited orgasms. They went again and again until Faith had to leave, or risk a stern lecture from Joyce.
  
  Xander drove Faith through the deserted streets of Sunnydale, the clean purring of his motorcycle in their ears. As he pulled up to Buffy's house, they noticed Angel walking away from the residence, his movements tense and guarded. The vampire walked toward them as Faith leaned in and kissed Xander's cheek before shoulder-checking Angel as she passed him, clearly as angry with him as she was with Buffy. Angel took the high road and said nothing as he walked up to Xander.
  
  "Xander," he said, his tone a bit icy.
  
  "Angel," Xander evenly returned.
  
  "I heard you were better," the tall vampire continued. "It's good to see."
  
  "Thanks." The silence between them grew awkward, making Xander just want to leave, so he said, "I'll see you around."
  
  However, before he could, Angel halted him with a question. "From the memories you inherited... did you know Buffy and I wouldn't be together in the future?"
  
  Xander surveyed the dark, empty street around them, before asking with a hint of disbelief, "You want to do this now?"
  
  "Please," Angel insisted, his voice tight with emotion.
  
  Hearing that word from Angel told Xander how serious the vampire was. After a moment of consideration, he answered, "... Buffy more or less stays single all the way to the end. That's how I knew you two wouldn't, you know... last."
  
  "And you kept this to yourself?" Angel remarked with no actual heat behind it.
  
  "Would you have stopped if I told you?" Angel didn't answer and Xander continued asserting, "Just because I know some things about the future, doesn't mean I'm in charge of other people's decisions-especially when it comes to their love life. I did what I could."
  
  "Well, you were wrong," Angel growled, his ire barely contained.
  
  "I'm not sure there was a way to get it right," Xander replied, unbothered by the vampire's irritation.
  
  "Maybe," Angel glumly replied. Moving on, he informed the teen, "I was planning on leaving. Can you think of any reason I should stick around?"
  
  With a quirked brow, Xander curiously asked, "You mean besides Buffy?" Angel's silence was very telling, but Xander didn't care to involve himself with Buffy and Angel's love life. He simply answered, "Uh, now that I think about it, graduation is supposed to be hell. I should probably start investigating what that's about. Hopefully, save some lives."
  
  Nodding, Angel replied, "Understood. I'll stick around 'til then."
  
  "...Kay."
  
  Before the teen could leave, Angel called, "Xander?"
  
  "Yeah," he replied, looking at the vampire as if to say, ' what now? '
  
  "...Sorry I wasn't there," he genuinely stated, taking Xander aback. "We may have our differences, but you didn't deserve to be forced to fight a thing like that on your own."
  
  Xander was touched by Angel's words-knowing that the vampire didn't often show such vulnerability-and replied, "I appreciate you saying that. I can only imagine how much it hurt to admit."
  
  "And if you ever hurt Buffy, I wouldn't even feel an ounce of remorse killing you," Angel warned, his words hanging in the air like a sharp blade, threatening and deadly.
  
  With a sarcastic grin and an unbothered tone, Xander replied, "There's the gratitude-to-homicide ratio I was looking for. It all evens out."
  
  "I'm hoping you understand how serious I am," Angel asserted, dark eyes fixed on the teen and his voice low and menacing. "Don't hurt her."
  
  "You mean, like, as a friend?" he asked with a confused expression. "Because, you know, I'm not her boyfriend, Mr. Boyfriend."
  
  Without another word, Angel turned and walked away, his long coat billowing behind him. Xander watched him go, feeling a mix of irritation and appreciation for the powerful vampire. As Xander left the house, he couldn't help but glance back one last time and spotted a glint of golden blonde hair suddenly hiding from view. He simply smiled and drove away.
  
  -
  
  The following day, Xander navigated the crowded halls of school, his eyes scanning the throngs of students for any sign of Faith. He spotted her long, dark hair swaying as she hurried through the crowd, keeping her distance from anyone who might try to engage her in conversation. He followed her with his gaze until she disappeared from sight, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease settle in the pit of his stomach.
  
  At lunchtime, Xander made his way to the courtyard, hoping to find Faith and talk to her. As he stepped outside, the bright sunlight hit him like a wave, momentarily blinding him. Blinking rapidly, he looked around and spotted Faith sitting alone under a tree. Her black leather jacket was slung over her shoulder, revealing a tight-fitting tank top that hugged her curves. Her arms were crossed defensively over her chest, and her eyes were focused on the ground in front of her.
  
  Xander sat down beside Faith, their shoulders touching, but she didn't acknowledge his presence. She seemed far away, lost in thought, which made him worry even more. He gently asked, "You okay?"
  
  "Five-by-five," she replied in a monotone voice.
  
  Xander could feel something was wrong and replied, "Feels more like two-by-two, if I'm being honest."
  
  Faith turned to him, her brows furrowed as she asked, "What?"
  
  "You say 'five-by-five' often enough, and I'm not going to lie to you..." He leaned in, his voice lowering conspiratorially, "...for the longest time, I had no idea what that meant. I'd just nod my head and smile like I knew, but I didn't." At the sight of the small smile on her beautiful face, he felt a flicker of hope and continued. "So, I looked it up. Turns out, in the early days of two-way radio, operators would rate the signal strength by using a scale from one to five. ' I read you five-by-five ' means hearing a voice at full strength and clarity. So, when you say five-by-five, I now know you mean everything's good."
  
  Faith nodded, a hint of a smile still lingering on her face, remarking, "Look at you making an effort."
  
  "How can I not with a girl like you?" Xander replied with a smile.
  
  Faith looked down, and her voice became serious as she shared, "My old man was a radio operator like his pops before him. He used to say that to me all the time... when times were good, anyway."
  
  His heart tightened to hear another tidbit of her terrible past. Cautiously, he asked, "So... is everything five-by-five? Or are we getting interference?"
  
  "...I'm just thinking," she admitted with a sigh.
  
  "Hopefully not about leaving me," he said, half-jokingly.
  
  Her gaze ahead, she said, "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
  
  "I couldn't agree more," he teased, and she playfully punched his shoulder.
  
  She became serious again when she admitted, "But I don't think I'm the best person for someone as good as you."
  
  Xander's heart clenched to hear her say that, but he assured her, "I'm not letting you break up with me. I love you to pieces and I'm not letting you go."
  
  "Buffy is, like, tailor-made for you-"
  
  "Our relationship has nothing to do with anyone else, Faith," he replied firmly.
  
  "You almost died, Xander! And I nearly lost it!" she practically yelled.
  
  Xander tried to ease her worry, arguing, "Stuff like that is hard for anybody. Don't beat yourself up-"
  
  "You know what I did after that night?" she interrupted. Her voice shook as she recounted her actions. "I dressed up to attract attention. I'm talking real sexy-tight little dress with all but a neon sign saying what I wanted. I went to a club and found the guy that fit the bill. I let him grab my ass, grind his cock against me, even kiss me, all so he'd take me to his den of vampires. I tossed them a bag of weapons because I wanted to slaughter them, and I didn't want it to be quick. I didn't even use Blood/Lust. I beat them bloody with my fists... all so I can avoid feeling so... goddamn scared... of losing you."
  
  Xander could feel his heart racing as he listened to her confession. He wanted to comfort her, but when he reached out, she slapped his hand away.
  
  " You 're human, you asshole! " she yelled. " Human ! And I... I could've lost..." Faith trailed off, choking back a sob. It hurt Xander to see her so vulnerable, but he knew how hard a real emotional connection was for Faith. She roughly rubbed her tears away with her fist before asserting, "The others, Buffy, Willow, Cordelia, acted normally. They cried and prayed you'd be okay; that you'd make it through. Me? I slaughter a den of blood-sucking vamp assholes. Who do you think had the proper response in that situation?"
  
  Xander shifted, rotating to his left so he could face her. He spoke softly, but with a hint of Nox in his voice. "There's only one reason-just one reason-why we would ever break up, and that's because you don't love me anymore." She turned to him, her eyes and nose red from the overwhelming emotion. He continued, "You had a different reaction from them. So the fuck what, Faith? You're not the first to be different and you won't be the last. I've done a ton of stupid shit; trust me. Buffy's done stupid shit. Willow, Giles, maybe not Oz-the man was born too cool for that-but the rest of us? It's happened or it will happen. Best thing you can do is try not to slaughter alone next time-cuz there's always going to be a next time-and move on with the people you love, who love you."
  
  "...You talk like an old man sometimes," she grumbled, her lips curving into a light smirk.
  
  He smirked before teasing, "Daddy is Daddy for a reason, baby girl,"
  
  With more sex appeal in her husky voice, she replied, "I get so excited when Daddy teaches me things." Her eyes were half-lidded, and she looked incredibly sexy.
  
  "Oh, Daddy knows and approves," he hastily agreed, making her smile broaden. "So? Here's the big question... the one thing that matters: Do you love me?"
  
  She rolled her eyes at the L word. "God, why do you have to be so sappy?" They smiled before she answered, "If that's the one thing that matters... I think it's safe to say we're five-by-five."
  
  Regardless of the students milling about and the bell about to ring, Xander pulled her in for a passionate kiss under the sprawling oak tree. Their bodies intertwined, and his hands firmly held her waist, drawing her close as they breathed in sync. The warm sun beat down on their faces, making them glow with sweat as their tongues tangled in a dance of passion. The sweet scent of blooming flowers and freshly cut grass mingled in the air, adding to the intoxicating atmosphere. Finally, the sound of the bell broke through their haze, and they slowly pulled away, panting and smiling at each other.
  
  -
  
  After school, Xander took a scale of the Lernaean to Wild Dinks. It was about the size of a book, and his mind played with many interesting ideas and applications. Xander didn't like the idea of weapons made from the sinister material, but he imagined alarms, armor, and accessories-each made from the mysterious scale-were another story. There were plenty of things he could create. He was an engineer, after all.
  
  That night, Xander and Faith were leaving the cemetery, their steps crunching on the gravel path. To their surprise, they ran into Buffy, who seemed lost in thought.
  
  "B?" Faith called.
  
  "...Hey," Buffy slowly stated, surprised to see them.
  
  The blonde Slayer had been quiet and reserved since the previous week and was confused when Faith pointed out, "I thought we were covering Shady Hill."
  
  Genuinely confused, Buffy asked, "Really?"
  
  "Yeah. You said you'd take Restfield."
  
  "Oh, I thought... Nevermind. Okay," she said, turning to leave.
  
  Faith turned to Xander and told him, "Give her a lift. I got a shit ton of homework to do, anyway. Ugh! Fucking homework!"
  
  "Alright," he said before kissing Faith goodbye. Xander walked up beside the blonde Slayer and indicated toward his motorcycle with both hands, saying, "Buffy Anne Summers, your chariot awaits."
  
  Buffy smiled at that, and they left. Once they reached Restfield, Xander joined her in patrolling. The air was cool and damp, with a faint scent of decaying leaves in the air. The moon cast eerie shadows on the gravestones as they walked past.
  
  "You don't have to patrol with me," Buffy offered.
  
  "I want to," Xander replied, his voice gentle.
  
  Twenty minutes passed in silence as they walked, Xander content to let Buffy open up of her own volition. It wasn't uncomfortable, but he could sense that something was bothering her. He felt like a lighthouse, shining a beam of light to guide her through the darkness. Xander didn't think he could be uncomfortable anymore. He'd passed a year loop and might even be out of the time braid altogether. Though he didn't know how it happened, he'd been too content with everything to truly bother him.
  
  "I guess you and Faith are good," Buffy said, breaking the silence. Eying him as they walked, she relayed, "Heard you two went smooch-city during lunch."
  
  Xander chuckled a bit before answering, "Yeah, I would've preferred if there wasn't an audience, but we had a moment."
  
  "I'm a sucker for moments," she replied wistfully.
  
  "They really hit me in the feels," Xander agreed. As the wind picked up, he asked with a serious tone, "How are you? I feel like we haven't talked since last week."
  
  "We talk," Buffy claimed. "We talk every day."
  
  "Yeah, about minor things," Xander pointed out. "Nothing significant."
  
  Looking away, Buffy mumbled, "There's nothing really significant to say."
  
  "Really?" Xander pressed, eying her closely.
  
  Under his gaze, she hesitated to answer, "Y-yeah."
  
  Continuing to prod, he gently asked, "Didn't you have questions you wanted me to answer? Are you still having Slayer Dreams? Are you and Angel okay? Are you and Faith okay? Those are pretty significant, I think. Unless the definitions of significant and insignificant switched places without me knowing."
  
  Buffy sighed before asking, "Can we just... not talk?"
  
  Xander could sense her distress and felt her pull away, as if trying to distance herself from a painful truth. Like anyone, when it was something she didn't want to talk about, she would deflect or put up walls to keep herself safe from overwhelming emotions. He sadly recalled many instances of this behavior in previous loops, especially when he was Nox. Fortunately, Xander knew better now.
  
  "We can," he slowly answered her. Then, rather dramatically, he asserted, "But if we can't talk, then we must dance!"
  
  "What?" Buffy asked, looking at him incredulously.
  
  With a grin, Xander maintained, "If we're not talking, then we're dancing. It's a law... somewhere. Maybe Uruguay."
  
  "I'm not dancing," she argued, but with a hint of a smile. "Just because we're in a cemetery doesn't mean this is a Thriller music video."
  
  "Come on! For me, Buffy, please?" he begged, taking hold of her hand. "Let's slay the group of vampires I'm sensing forty yards at my one o'clock, then go Bronzin'." She was quiet and hesitant, so, with puppy-dog eyes, Xander begged further, "Please, please, please. I haven't been to the Bronze since I got out of the hospital... from my horrible injuries... that almost killed me-"
  
  "Alright, fine! Way to twist my emotional arm," she said, letting a gleeful Xander pull her toward the waiting vampires.
  
  Unhooking Dreadnought from his back as Buffy unsheathed Slaymore, the pair snuck up to the group of vampires plundering a large mausoleum. There were seven vampires, their eyes glinting menacingly as they focused on their task of watching out for anyone. Thus, they heard before they saw Dreadnought get thrown to the floor in front of them. Xander quickly triggered a large amount of electricity to stun the vampires near it.
  
  In perfect synchronization, Buffy and Xander ambushed the stunned vampires, their movements quick and fluid as they battled through them. Their weapons were an extension of themselves, and they used them with incredible efficiency, dispatching their foes with ease. As they fought, their movements were almost choreographed, each anticipating the other's moves. Buffy would draw the vampires' attention with a feint, and Xander would strike from the side, landing a lethal blow. They worked together seamlessly, their movements almost graceful as they dispatched their foes.
  
  Buffy sensed a vampire just before it exited the mausoleum. With a sword in each hand-one long and the other short-the vampire bared its fangs at them before attacking Buffy. The dual swordsman was quick, his blades flashing through the air as he attacked them with ferocity. But Buffy was faster, her Slaymore slicing through the air as she parried his blows with ease. Xander watched in awe as Buffy fought, her movements like a dance, fluid and precise.
  
  In a sudden moment of opportunity, Buffy parried its attack to the side as she lunged forward and sliced off the vampire's arms, causing it to howl in pain before fleeing. However, the vampire didn't make it forty yards before the point of Hellguard found its mark, piercing his shoulder blade and sending him to the ground. Buffy quickly followed up with a final blow, dusting the vampire before they returned to the mausoleum.
  
  When they discovered that the swords the vampires were attempting to steal were gone, Xander was disappointed, bemoaning, "Those looked like some damn fine pointy killers."
  
  Xander and Buffy arrived at the Bronze on his motorcycle, parking it on the curb before entering the club. The last hour of the dance-fest was in full swing, with fast-paced music and strobing lights filling the dimly lit space. The air was electric and pulsing with energy, but Buffy was still struggling with her thoughts. Sensing her unease, Xander removed his stealth jacket, revealing his fitted tee, and took her hand, leading her to the dance floor.
  
  As the music filled their ears, Xander twirled Buffy around, waving their hands in the air like they just didn't care. He moved to the music with such joy and abandon, hopping and skipping, jiving and shuffling, and all the while, wearing a wide smile on his face. Slowly, Buffy let go of her troubles and began to enjoy herself in the moment.
  
  For the next hour, they danced together, their bodies vibrating with the loud music. But it was the last ten minutes that had them inseparably glued together. Buffy didn't mind pressing her supple backside against Xander, letting him hold her close by the waist, caressing his strong chest, and feeling his muscular arms around her. At that moment, she let herself go completely, and Xander remembered how good her body felt against his.
  
  When the lights came on, signaling the end of the night, everyone booed and hollered for more fun. But Xander and Buffy slowly separated, their eyes locked in a moment of silent understanding. They left the club without speaking, still feeling the electricity of their dance and the closeness of their bodies.
  
  Xander drove Buffy back home through the quiet streets, the hum of the engine and the occasional whoosh of wind the only sounds to break the silence. When they arrived at her house, Xander turned off the engine and turned to her. "Are you feeling better?" he asked, his voice soft with worry.
  
  Buffy looked up at him, her eyes bright with gratitude. With a hint of startled amazement, she answered, "Yeah, actually. It was just what the doctor ordered."
  
  "Happy to help," Xander said with a small smile.
  
  When they hugged, both felt a strange electricity between them, a buzz of excitement that was impossible to ignore. The moment of bright & hopeful possibilities was so palpable, neither wanted to let the other go. They moved away just enough to look into each other's eyes and Xander couldn't help emitting a little luminance to his brown eyes, making them appear like embers from a cackling fire. Pressed against each other, his hand caressed her cheek and she leaned into his warm palm.
  
  Though the moment between them begged for a kiss, Xander closed his eyes before saying, "I should probably go before I do something-"
  
  Xander hadn't realized he was leaning down until their lips touched. But for the warmth of her body heat and her face against his, it seemed as though the world around them disappeared. It was so electric, so enchanting, they both forgot themselves, as if they'd been denying something so primal for too long. Xander only knew time passed when they needed to stop making out to breathe. That respite afforded them a moment of clarity and Buffy stepped back, suddenly realizing what they had done. Without a moment's delay, the stunned girl rushed into her home.
  
  As an amused Xander watched Buffy speed into her house, he was already preparing to unpin a conversation he had with Faith some time ago and wondered how it would go. As with everything else after escaping the year-loop, he couldn't help but feel excited at the prospect of exploring their newfound connection.
  
  The next day, Buffy was overly cordial with Xander, and exuded an unusually friendly demeanor toward Faith. They all met up in the library, where they found Wesley Wyndam-Pryce standing beside Giles, deeply engrossed in a conversation about demons. Wesley was a slim man with sharp features, dressed in a well-tailored tweed suit that complemented his form. His hair was immaculately combed, and he wore thin-rimmed glasses that gave him a scholarly appearance. He had an air of expertise and exuded confidence in his knowledge of the demonic world.
  
  With a quirked brow, Buffy asked Giles, "New Watcher?"
  
  Giles confirmed, "New Watcher," with a nod.
  
  Without hesitation, Buffy flatly asked, "Is he evil?"
  
  Offended, Wesley replied, "I beg your pardon?"
  
  "The last one was evil," she easily conveyed.
  
  "Ah, yes. I'd heard about that," Wesley stated, understanding her concern. "Rest assured, there's nothing to fear. Rupert had me thoroughly vetted."
  
  Despite Faith's aversion to the man, they all introduced themselves.
  
  "Mr. Harris," Wesley began, turning to Xander. "I've read a number of rather sensationalized reports about you."
  
  Furrowing his brow in confusion, he asked, "Reports? There are reports? Of course, there are reports."
  
  "I do look forward to ascertaining the true extent of your capabilities," the prim man said.
  
  "Uh, okay?" Xander replied, unsure.
  
  Wesley made sure they understood that while Giles was under review, anything and everything Slayer-related must be reported directly to him. While the uptight man was laying down the new law of the land, Xander was trying to recall the clean-cut Brit from his Old Man memories. He couldn't even remember his name, only that he replaced Giles when he was kicked out of the council, which meant the man either left the slaying business or must've died fairly young.
  
  With a sharp gaze, Wesley said to the Slayers, "Well, as I'm sure none of us are anxious to waste time on pleasantries, why don't you report on everything about last night's patrol."
  
  "Vampires," Faith answered with a shrug of her shoulders, her leather jacket creaking as she moved.
  
  Leaning forward as if expecting more, Wesley raised an eyebrow as he slowly asked, "...And?"
  
  "Killed them," Buffy answered matter-of-factly.
  
  A look from Giles prompted Buffy to mention the swords, and Xander chimed in with a detailed description of the weapons.
  
  "You were there?" Wesley asked in surprise.
  
  Giles informed the new Watcher, "Xander often joins the Slayers on their patrols."
  
  "Right," Wesley said with a concentrated expression, his thin-rimmed glasses glinting in the light. "To observe, I imagine."
  
  Xander rolled his eyes at the implication he couldn't possibly help the Slayers dust vampires. As the conversation turned to the swords, Wesley impressed them all by identifying them as belonging to the Eliminati, a cult of swordsman vampires led by a powerful demon named Balthazar. The stuffy Brit then ordered Buffy to retrieve the amulet that once belonged to Balthazar from the Gleaves family crypt, while Faith continued patrolling.
  
  "And Mr. Harris," Wesley continued, turning to Xander. "Since you have unique knowledge of the future, you will write down everything you know will come to pass, as well as any individuals of import that you can recall, and hand it in by the end of the week."
  
  Turning to Giles in disbelief, Xander asked, "How much did you report?"
  
  Giles shook his head as Wesley spoke with an air of entitlement. "Fear not, Mr. Harris. Only three Watchers know this detail about you. Myself, Rupert, and the head of our Council."
  
  "Screw this," Faith replied before she attempted to leave.
  
  Xander held her hand and implored with his eyes as much as his voice when he said, "Faith."
  
  Confused by their reaction to his orders, Wesley asked, "Are you not used to being given orders?"
  
  "Giles always says 'please' when he sends us on missions," Xander told him.
  
  "And he gives us cookies," Buffy cutely chimed in.
  
  "I'll keep that in mind," Wesley replied, unbothered by their reservations. The three left and Faith instantly asserted how much she didn't like the uptight and arrogant watcher. Buffy wasn't a fan either and snickered when Xander called him the annoying version of Giles. The beautiful blonde quickly stopped laughing when she realized she shouldn't laugh at his jokes, then left the pair for her chemistry test.
  
  Xander led Faith to the oak tree they often sat under for lunch. The tree's sprawling branches offered ample shade while the warm sunlight spilled onto the grass around them. They sat down side by side and unpacked their lunches-a BLT for him and a Philly cheese steak sub for her. After a few moments of silent eating, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, Xander cleared his throat and spoke up.
  
  "So, um, I kissed Buffy last night," he said, quickly taking a big bite of his sandwich.
  
  Faith's eyes lit up with excitement, and she leaned forward as she replied, "Wicked! How was it?"
  
  "Uh, damn good," he cautiously answered. "You heard what I said, though, right?"
  
  Faith nodded, a sly grin on her lips. "I knew she's been diggin' you for a while," she said. "You already told me you love her, and I want in her pants, so, other than trying to convince Buffy to go for this, I don't see a problem here."
  
  Growing nervous at the uncharted territory, the confused boy asked, "But... don't you feel, like, jealous or something? Like, isn't this messed up for you?"
  
  "No," she simply answered, shaking her head. "Why? Does it do nothing for you?"
  
  "I think it does too much for me," he admitted.
  
  "I wouldn't stress about it," she assuaged, patting his thigh to comfort him.
  
  "I sorta have to stress," he informed her. "Guys aren't this lucky, and the last thing I ever want to do is lose you because I was being a greedy horndog."
  
  "I think you need to understand something about me," she sternly began. "I ain't like most girls. I do what I want and kick ass. Being in a committed relationship isn't the norm for me. This is way more touchy-feely emotions than I've ever gone through, but here I am. More to the point, I swing both ways and I miss the 'tang. The possibility of bringing Buffy into this sounds like I won the freakin' lottery, in my opinion. So chill. I'll let you know if I don't like something."
  
  "Okay," he quickly replied. However, when her words fully sunk in and it felt like she meant them, he repeated, "Okay," with more conviction. Moving on, he asked, "How do you know Buffy leans that way too?"
  
  "Uh, instinct," she casually answered with a hint of uncertainty. As she studied Xander's face, she saw the flicker of recognition and asked, "The question is: why's it sound like you know she does?"
  
  Xander stilled mid-bite, unsure of what to say, then nervously answered, "I don't think I should say-"
  
  Faith's eyes widened as she realized the truth, and quickly blurted, "Future memories!" Scooting closer to him, she quickly asked, "She does something, doesn't she?"
  
  Xander shifted away, and tried to move the discussion along by saying, "Anyway, I think you should talk to her. She's been avoiding me."
  
  "Right. I guess we can talk while we do that ponce's bidding," Faith said with some aggravation. "I don't know why we even listen to Watchers. We're Slayers. We're the ones handling business while they sit in their stuffy little room, rubbing one out to ancient texts." With her right hand, Faith mimicked a Watcher masturbating as she moaned in an English accent, "' Mnn! Oh yeah! This prophecy for Armageddon is so vague! It could happen tomorrow! Spurt, spurt, spuuuurt! '"
  
  "Uh, gross. So, so very gross," he said in disgust, putting his sandwich down. "I get what you're saying, and you're not wrong, especially out in the field. When Old Me was commanding teams and a field decision needed to be made, it's the Slayer's call in his book, which I agree with. But, everyone in the field needs a strategist in the back. It allows them to focus on what's in front of them while someone else-someone they trust-is keeping an eye on everything else going on. Also, watchers have a different perspective and skillset to fighting evil that often catches stuff you might not think about. Like, how long would it have taken you to figure out those swords belonged to the Eliminati cult?"
  
  "...I guess," Faith reluctantly agreed. "Maybe I just don't like his attitude... the fucking ponce."
  
  With a smirk, Xander remarked, "You're really digging that word."
  
  "I've never met someone who fits it so perfectly," Faith proclaimed. "It's honestly his only saving grace at this point."
  
  -
  
  As Buffy and Faith dealt with the Balthazar situation, Xander made his way toward City Hall to meet Angel. The night air was cool and the streets of Sunnydale were quiet except for the occasional rustling of leaves in the trees. The moon shone high in the sky, casting a pale glow on everything around them. Xander had a sense of unease as he walked, unsure of what to expect from his meeting with the vampire. Angel had reached out to him and offered to help with the investigation, but given their tumultuous past, Xander couldn't shake off his irritation for the tall vampire.
  
  As it was important they not be seen, the two figures stealthily made their way to buildings near City Hall. Their clothes were dark, blending in with the shadows of the night. Once they reached their destination, they split up and carefully made their way to opposite roofs. They coordinated their positions through the walkie-talkies to stay in contact and to cover both the back and front of City Hall.
  
  He heard Angel's voice crackle over the walkie-talkie, breaking him out of his reverie. "Are you certain you don't remember what the battle was about?"
  
  Lifting the radio to his mouth as he surveyed the quiet building in front of him, he relayed, "I remember a huge fight. The entire graduating class versus a giant snake demon that I think was summoned by the mayor-not sure how that came about, though."
  
  They made plans to follow the Mayor on Xander's bike, should Wilkins leave work to go home. However, Xander wasn't comfortable with a vampire at his back-close to his neck-and the pair bickered about it for a few minutes.
  
  Annoyed, Xander changed the subject and asked, "Have you heard from Spike?"
  
  "We're not exactly pen pals," an equally irate Angel replied.
  
  Curious about the outcome, Xander asked, "And Drusilla?"
  
  "They tried. It didn't take," Angel somberly answered his unvoiced query. "She's... surviving, all things considered."
  
  As they continued to keep a watchful eye on the Mayor, Angel pointed out several vampires openly coming and going from City Hall. Xander couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. The Mayor was definitely up to no good.
  
  -B-
  
  Buffy and Faith chased a sizable group of vampires into the dimly lit and putrid sewers, the stench of human waste permeating their nostrils. The vampires, with their swords unsheathed, proved to be highly skilled and incredibly formidable. However, Buffy and Faith had Slaymore and Blood/Lust. They were quick on their feet, dodging and parrying the vampires' deadly strikes, but not without getting cut themselves. Blood trickled down their arms, staining their clothes.
  
  Despite their injuries, they continued to press on and managed to take out five of the eight armed vampires, including the one with the amulet. It was a grueling fight for them to escape with the magical artifact. Buffy knew they had to retreat before more sword-wielding vampires arrived. Though Faith hated running, she followed Buffy's lead. They fought their way to Faith's bike and managed to escape, racing home with the amulet in their possession.
  
  Buffy and Faith were in the warmly lit bathroom, disinfecting each other's lacerations with antiseptic. Faith was seated on the counter and both girls had their shirts off, revealing their mostly healed cuts and bruises. If not for their weapons, their cuts would have certainly taken longer to heal.
  
  Gently dabbing the cotton ball of alcohol on the brunette, Buffy hadn't expected Faith to break the silence, saying, "I heard you kissed Xander, like, lately. Not the other-" Faith winced when Buffy pressed the cotton ball a little too hard on her cut.
  
  "Sorry!" Buffy quickly apologized, though stunned by Faith's statement. "Sorry. I- uh, you heard?"
  
  Getting off the counter, Faith nodded as she answered, "Yup. He told me you guys kissed last night."
  
  Buffy was momentarily speechless, her mind racing before stating, "Faith, I didn't mean to- I mean, I know he's your boyfriend- And I should've told you-"
  
  Faith chuckled, cutting her off with a wave of her hand as she assured her, "Girl, don't freak out. It's cool."
  
  "It- it is?" Buffy asked, eying the brunette with furrowed brows, as if lost. She quickly shook her head and asserted, "No, Faith, it isn't!"
  
  With a smirk on her face, Faith eyed Buffy confidently as she asked, "You think I'd let Xander and Cordelia knock boots every once in a while if I wasn't cool with sharing?"
  
  Buffy blinked in surprise, but with one look in her pounding heart, she knew her feelings for Xander weren't anywhere near a casual fling. It ran much, much deeper. Her palms grew sweaty as she cautiously admitted, "I... I think this might be a little different."
  
  Faith eyed Buffy closely for a moment before arguing, "He told me how he felt about you from the get-go, B. So, you're sorta in this relationship too, if that makes any sense."
  
  With wide eyes of disbelief, Buffy replied with befuddlement, "I can't express to you how much that really, really doesn't."
  
  Faith cleared her throat before hesitantly but brashly confessing, "I'm- I'm not right for Xander."
  
  Buffy tried to refute, "That's not-"
  
  However, Faith interrupted her. "Stop," she firmly said. "Don't be sweet like him. He looks at me and sees someone I'm not. You know how worked up I get in a fight, like I got a death wish... and I love it. And then he talks to me like I'm the shit, like a stupid hero in one of his comic books... and I can't take that sometimes," the beautiful brunette sadly admitted. "He should be with you... not that I want to lose him, either. I know exactly what I'd be without him. One evil bitch."
  
  Faith's voice broke as she spoke and her expression was a mix of pain and shame, communicating to Buffy just how much her sister Slayer believed that about herself. Buffy couldn't accept that and vehemently refuted, "Faith, you're not."
  
  Shaking her head to the delusion, Faith asked, "Why do you think he came to get me? He specifically reached out to me-in Boston-not because he knew I'd be the Slayer, but because he knew I'd eventually go bad. I got that in me. I know I do. I could break any day, get so reckless, so caught up that I get someone killed, and I don't want to but I can feel it." Buffy hugged Faith but the brunette continued, "I wouldn't be thinking like this if it wasn't for him, but I'd die if he left cuz he saw the real me."
  
  Buffy hugged Faith, feeling tears prick at the corners of her eyes, before emphatically reassuring the saddened girl, "You're not going to lose him. And you're not going to lose me either."
  
  Faith pulled back and told Buffy, "Go out with him."
  
  Buffy scrunched her face at the absurdity of the request, asking, "What?"
  
  "Just date him," Faith implored. "Take some of the pressure off me. I'd feel better knowing he's with you when I can't sometimes."
  
  "I- No. Faith, that doesn't make any sense," Buffy insisted. "I'm not dating Xander."
  
  "Why not?" Faith argued. "I know you love him. He loves you right back. What's the problem?"
  
  "Uh, his girlfriend, for one!" Buffy sarcastically rebuked.
  
  "Uh, his girlfriend is the one telling you it's okay to be his girlfriend!" Faith returned, matching the same sarcastic tone.
  
  "Well, his girlfriend clearly doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word," Buffy staunchly replied. "It's singular , as in only one."
  
  With an unimpressed expression, Faith retorted, "There's supposed to be one Slayer, too, but one guess who changed that."
  
  Suddenly feeling exhausted, Buffy sighed, feeling as if she was losing this absurd argument. "Faith, I get you're scared of what could happen, but you can't let maybes wreck your life," Buffy said. "We all have dark sides and pushing me toward Xander isn't going to help you face yours."
  
  Faith tried to say, "If something happens-"
  
  However, Buffy interrupted, assuring her sister Slayer, "It won't. I won't let it."
  
  Faith didn't say anything else and Buffy knew she hadn't convinced her.
  
  -
  
  The following day, in the warmly lit library, Wesley sat at his desk, surrounded by stacks of books and papers. Faith plopped the amulet on his desk while Buffy looked around for Giles. Wesley pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up his nose and took the amulet, examining it closely. He muttered, "Good work," as he began scribbling notes in a leather-bound book, muttering to himself. The Slayers exchanged a hopeful glance that Wesley hadn't noticed. Sadly, the girls left the office without the chunky chocolate chip cookies they wanted.
  
  Later that night, Buffy and Faith were at the Bronze, sitting on a couch as they surveilled the dancing crowd. They were fishing for a vampire that had been killing girls it picked up. When Faith suggested they hit the dance floor, Angel showed up. As Faith was still annoyed with him, she went to the dance floor on her own while Angel warned Buffy that Balthazar was still alive.
  
  "I've been investigating something else on the side when I came across some information," Angel explained. "I've heard he's at a packing warehouse on Devereau, and looking for-"
  
  "His amulet," Buffy finished. "I know. It's supposed to restore his strength. Don't worry, we got it."
  
  "Good," Angel said, his voice low and despondent. "I have to..."
  
  "Wait," Buffy called out. He turned to her and they gazed into each other's eyes, communicating their emotions, their love for one another, but it was different now. Buffy could feel it. Her love for Angel felt in the past. He seemed to understand that as well, breaking their eye contact.
  
  Shaking her head, Buffy abruptly said, "Faith and I'll do some recon on Balthazar."
  
  The handsome vampire simply nodded and left. It saddened Buffy that they were in such a state. However, she hoped that, in time, they could be friends once again. Buffy grabbed Faith, and the pair exited the club. Upon staking out Balthazar's lair, a large group of vampires left the warehouse. Buffy and Faith tracked a group straight to Wesley, walking the streets of Sunnydale.
  
  For some inane reason, he was walking around with the amulet in his pocket. Buffy and Faith stopped their novice watcher from being killed and he promptly ran away from the fight.
  
  -X-
  
  Angel had left to gather any intel on the vampires coming and going from the Mayor's office and hadn't returned. Xander continued watching from the dimly lit alley behind the office building across from City Hall, leaning against the brick wall, and scanning the area for any suspicious signs. Suddenly, a man in a business suit holding a briefcase stepped out of the building, flanked by vampire security. Xander's brows furrowed as he wondered what could be inside the briefcase that would require a security escort.
  
  Without a second thought, Xander followed the man, keeping a safe distance behind. The sound of his footsteps was nonexistent, even in the emptiness of the streets, as he crept closer to the group. He couldn't help but wonder how he should play the scenario before him. He wanted that briefcase, but he didn't want to tip off the Mayor just yet.
  
  To Xander's surprise, the man and his vampire security stumbled on a fight between Buffy, Faith, and a group of vampires. Buffy and Faith were outnumbered by three-to-one against vampires with blades, which made it a brutal battle. Xander assumed they were Balthazar's men, but couldn't be certain. No matter the case, Xander rushed toward the fight, unsheathing Hellguard from his lower back.
  
  When Xander arrived, the three he was following were absorbed into the battle. Faith was delivering a deadly blow to a vampire, and as she turned to slice at a body in her blindside, Xander could tell she didn't realize he was human. Faith accidentally slashed the human man across his chest with her axe. The blade would've reached his heart if Xander hadn't dashed forward in time to pull the ignorant man away from the fatality of the deadly strike. The blow still cut deep into the muscle, sternum, ribs, and possibly the left lung, causing blood to spill freely.
  
  Xander immediately began treating the man's severe injuries-blood was pouring out of the deep gash-and he didn't have the time to pay attention to a distraught Faith. As the Slayers finished off the few remaining vampires, Xander put his Odin's ring on the man-who was in crippling shock-and yelled for him to think about healing as he put pressure on the long gash. After Buffy and Faith dusted the last vampire, they watched in awe as Xander calmly and efficiently tended to the man's injuries.
  
  "Someone call 911!" Xander yelled, following the procedure he still remembered from his doctor costume.
  
  His fingers were stained with warm blood as he reached for the man's neck, checking for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. It was touch and go, and Xander could only react. When it appeared the man stopped breathing, he would administer CPR. When it appeared his heart appeared to be arrhythmic, Xander shocked him with Hellguard. When the ambulance finally came, Xander went with them to the hospital. The man held on through surgery, and before Xander left the hospital, he retrieved his ring.
  
  After retrieving his motorcycle from where he left it, he rushed to Buffy's house, but Faith wasn't there. Buffy and Angel saved Wesley and Giles from the demon Balthazar while Xander searched everywhere for Faith. He had searched everywhere for her, but she was nowhere to be found. With no other option, he went to the room she first stayed in at the Motor Inn motel and found her bike parked outside of her room.
  
  Rushing up to the door, he enhanced his senses and could detect trace amounts of her scent. He could hear pacing inside and some pained groans, and knew it was her. Banging on the door, he called out, "Faith! It's me. Let me in." After no movement from her, he tried again. "I'm not going anywhere until you let me in." However, she wouldn't open the door. Instead, he yelled, "He survived, Faith! You didn't kill anyone. And nothing you say is going to change the fact that it was an accident. That's it. We don't have to say anything else." After five silent seconds, he asked, "Can I come in?"
  
  Xander heard the clear sound of Faith's footsteps approaching the door, but after several moments, the footsteps retreated, and he heard her sit on the bed with a heavy sigh. He couldn't deny that it hurt she wouldn't open up for him, but he knew she was suffering just as much, and more importantly, he'd relayed what she needed to hear.
  
  Restlessly, Xander sat on his motorcycle next to Faith's bike, gazing out into the darkened motel parking lot. He couldn't bring himself to leave without her, and he felt an unease in his gut at the thought of going home alone. The minutes ticked by slowly, each one heavier than the last, until an hour had passed. The shrill ring of his phone broke the silence, and Xander answered to hear Buffy's anxious voice on the other end.
  
  After explaining everything that had happened and where he found Faith, he hung up and resumed his vigil, eyes flickering up each time a car drove by. Thirty minutes later, Buffy arrived and began pounding on Faith's motel room door, demanding to be let in. Though he wanted very much to be as stubborn, Xander knew Faith wouldn't hear what he had to say. Refusing to take no for an answer, Buffy banged on the door until Faith finally relented and opened the door, revealing a disheveled and tear-streaked face.
  
  Faith let Buffy in and closed the door behind her. Though he didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation, the walls of the shabby motel were thin, and he could overhear their conversation fairly well even without enhancing his hearing.
  
  Xander heard Buffy say, "He's waiting out there, you know."
  
  Shaking her head, and moving away from Buffy, Faith returned, "If he wasn't there... that guy... that guy would've died. I would've... I'd be a murderer."
  
  "But he didn't," Buffy quickly argued. "He lived. And you're not a murderer-"
  
  "I told you!" Faith heatedly warned her. "This is exactly what I deserve!"
  
  "No, Faith, you don't! This is-" Buffy stopped and walked to the door. Xander was momentarily stunned when the blonde opened it and pulled him inside.
  
  "What are you-" Faith called, but cut herself off to restate, "I don't want him to see me!" when Xander came inside.
  
  "Whoever said words don't hurt had a heart made of stone," Xander tried to joke, but Faith only moved away from him to the other side of the room. Buffy grabbed Faith and pulled her over, the three of them standing in the middle of the room.
  
  Buffy asked Xander, "Tell us. In the future, is Faith good or bad?"
  
  Faith looked away, pained to even hear what would likely feel like a final verdict on the grand totality of her life. Xander had already learned long ago not to bullshit her, and thus answered, "Good." Faith dared to look at him, skeptical, but Xander's eyes were serious. He added, "She did bad stuff-hurt and killed people. But, that was because she didn't have anyone on her side-no friends or family to help her when she needed it. After some time though-and perspective-she eventually wanted to redeem herself, and did a lot of good. You worked with Giles and Angel, and saved a ton of lives, including ours."
  
  "There!" Buffy hurled at a stone-faced Faith. "It's a bit of a cheat, but if some higher power didn't want us to know, he shouldn't have sent us the best cheat sheet on the planet." Moving closer to look into Faith's pain-filled eyes, Buffy continued, "I know you think you deserve this, that you're somehow too dark to have anything good of your own, but that's not true. It just isn't. Even when you go bad, you can't hide from the good that's definitely inside you, because ultimately, you're a good person, and you deserve better. The things you need most in your life, especially right now, are standing right in front of you."
  
  "And we're not going anywhere," Xander asserted, stepping closer to his love.
  
  Looking at each of them, eyes red-rimmed, threatening to spill with an overflow of tears, she harshly voiced in a whisper, "You... don't know... what I've done."
  
  "It doesn't matter!" Buffy sternly advocated.
  
  "We're always going to love you, Faith," Xander assured Faith. "No matter the hell you've gone through, or the hell yet to come. I know you. And even if you think it's cheesy, I love you to death-always."
  
  Faith was speechless. As she looked at Xander and then at Buffy, she didn't know how to respond to their genuine care for her, their conviction of being there for her, and whatever walls she had up, had broken. She started to cry, tears streaming down her face. Buffy and Xander were right there, holding her tightly, comforting her, so she didn't feel like she would fall apart as she wept.
  
  "It's okay," they whispered, their voices soothing. "We got you," and, "it's not your fault." They spoke comforting words as many times as she needed to hear them, until she eventually fell asleep. Xander gently tucked her into the bed, and Buffy called her mother to let her know they were staying the night. The room was filled with the soft breathing of three people, their bodies entwined, offering comfort and support to one another.
  
  Lots of new experiences for our characters in this chapter. I loved writing Xander's scene in the beginning. I hope everyone felt his joy to finally escaping. Did I fool you with that 1st paragraph? April Fools! 😁✌️🎉 Xander is definitely out and enjoying everything.
  
  Faith had some growth here as well. She really does struggle with vulnerability. I should be able to give more of her backstory about that in a future chapter(I hope).
  
  A couple of you have said it, and I completely agree: Xander may not be a Slayer... but he's definitely a Dragon Slayer.
  
  Oh, Wesley. You really were a ponce in the beginning.
  
  Just a few mysteries left, guys. I'm not sure I'll be updating next week. I'll be a busy one for me and my team of amazing betas. Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! Hopefully, I'll be able to update.
  
  Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
  P.S. I had some time to revise a few chapters of my first fanfic, From Ruin. I'll be revising a chapter here and there so I can prepare to add another chapter on that one and one for The Last Prayer. Take care ✌️😁
  
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  Faith & Family
  It's been a while. Sorry about that. Life does what it does. Just to briefly explain my absence... For two weeks, I got into reading again. I was looking at disaster/apocalyptic fantasy novels. So, for 2 weeks I got hooked on Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemisin. I thought I'd come back to writing but then my father had a bad accident. He had to have multiple surgeries, but he's now on the mend. It was a little difficult to write and took some time to slowly get back into it. Sorry for the delay. I should be able to update going forward,
  
  Big thanks to my beta team, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar, who were so considerate of my situation. Thank you.
  
  Warning: Lemons, Foul language.
  
  9.4K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Faith & Family
  
  -F-
  
  In the motel room of the Motor Inn, the rising sun spilled its golden light into the small and cramped space. Despite the peeling wallpaper and the musty smell that permeated everything, the morning sun seemed to transform the room into a warm and comforting cocoon. Faith lay awake between Buffy and Xander, the soft sheets and warm bodies enveloping her in a sense of safety and belonging. Buffy and Xander were holding her close, their arms wrapped around her in such a way she felt protected against all the pain and darkness that had plagued her for years.
  
  ' Ever since Mr. Bronson ,' she mused. At the thought of her drunk parents, she amended her thought, adding, ' No. Bronson wouldn 't have gotten his hooks in me if my parents hadn't fucked up first .'
  
  Before she could feel the typical shame and anger over a long stretch of her entire life, she felt her friends' warmth, shielding her from the negative thoughts. In their company, she could trust that they wouldn't betray her as Bronson had-and, once again, hot tears fell at such a monumental revelation. Faith never believed she could fully trust another person again, let alone love and trust two. She tried to wipe her tears away as quickly as she could, but Buffy and Xander held her tighter, signaling to her that they had woken up.
  
  As they held her through another session of tears, the emotion in the room was palpable. However, Faith kicked off the sheets, saying, "We oughta get back." Though she wanted to maintain her aloof demeanor, her puffy eyes and runny nose didn't help.
  
  In the parking lot, Faith swung her leg over her motorcycle, the leather of her jacket creaking as she settled into place. While Buffy climbed on behind her, Xander revved the engine of his own bike-the sound rumbling through the air-and soon, they made their way through the streets of Sunnydale, enjoying the morning light. Soon, they pulled up outside Buffy's house, and Mrs. Summers appeared at the door, a concerned look on her face. Faith felt a pang of guilt at the worry she must have caused the caring mother, and she hung her head as they approached.
  
  "Buffy, Faith, are you okay?" Mrs. Summers asked, concern etched on her face.
  
  With her voice low, Faith replied, "Sorry, Mrs. S. I stayed out."
  
  With her motherly intuition, Mrs. Summers could easily see that Faith had a hard night, and she shook off her concerns. "It's okay, dear," she said, wrapping her arms around Faith's shoulders. "Come inside and I'll make you pancakes. Xander, stay for breakfast, please."
  
  "Sure thing Mrs. S," Xander called, staying back with Buffy.
  
  -X-
  
  As Joyce led Faith inside, Xander took Buffy's hand and pulled her into a grateful embrace. "Thanks for being there," he said, his voice filled with gratitude.
  
  "Of course," Buffy replied, hugging him back just as tightly as the side of her face pressed comfortably against his chest.
  
  "It felt like anything I said would've only pushed her away," he confessed, enjoying the warmth and feel of her small, firm body.
  
  Xander's heart was racing as he held the blonde beauty close, feeling the warmth of her fit so snugly against him. There was electricity between them that felt like a magnetic pull he was powerless to resist. Xander couldn't shake the desire to feel her supple lips on his, but he also knew it wasn't right. With all their history, he knew well enough not to push needlessly, thus he let go of her, and they joined the others for breakfast.
  
  They all sat down to eat, the scent of fresh pancakes, maple syrup, and strawberries filling the air. Over breakfast, Buffy tried to convince Joyce that she needed her own mode of transportation to travel around town faster, whether on a motorcycle or in a car.
  
  "Or else I'm going to be walking everywhere!" Buffy argued with a slight pout.
  
  "I'm sorry, sweetie, but you have supernaturally strong legs," the protective mother pointed out with a smile. "I have no doubt you can run for long periods of time."
  
  "Come on, Mom!" Buffy bemoaned cutely. "How many jeans will I have to throw away because I developed thunder thighs running everywhere? Are you really prepared to buy me a new wardrobe? Because a car would be cheaper."
  
  Faith snickered softly, and Xander felt like adding some levity. "From what I've been hearing, the thick-thigh-life is seeing a resurgence with the male population."
  
  "See!" Buffy exclaimed, pointing at Xander as he backed up her point. "Is that what you want? Perverts everywhere ogling at my body because I'm forced to run all over town?"
  
  Nodding evenly, Xander exaggerated, "A car would keep her legs skinny and unappealing to all."
  
  Making a face like she chewed on a lemon, Buffy turned to Xander at the unexpected possibility and asked with trepidation, "Really? Like, how unappealing?"
  
  "Buff," Xander said with raised brows, trying to steer her back to the topic.
  
  "Right," Buffy replied, returning her attention to her mother.
  
  Setting down her fork, Joyce eyed Buffy with understanding as she gently said, "Sweetie, you're my daughter. I'm sure they'll ogle you no matter what shape you have."
  
  "She has a point," Xander relayed, nodding to the blonde Slayer, and also making Faith snort a bit.
  
  Feigning irritation, Buffy hotly told him, "You're not helping."
  
  "I'll keep my help strictly mechanical then," Xander offered before turning to Joyce and suggesting, "how about we buy a cheap car? Like a thousand-dollar junker at an auction. My uncle Rory knows a few dealers, so we can get a good deal. Then I can fix it up for Buffy."
  
  At the sight of her eighteen-year-old daughter pleading with large puppy dog eyes, Joyce sighed before suggesting, "How about a minivan?"
  
  "A van?" Buffy groaned in disbelief. "Do you really want me thinking about filling it with kids at such a young age?"
  
  "Though I'd love the idea of recreating the Mystery Van, I was thinking more like a truck," Xander proposed.
  
  Buffy looked aghast as she rebuffed, "Oh, yeah, because me and my stuffed animals are totally truck country. Why aren't either of you asking what kind of car I want? I'm the one who's going to be driving it."
  
  "Because you're not paying for it," Joyce easily answered.
  
  "Or spending weeks of labor fixing it up," he added.
  
  Buffy whined in her ultra-cute way before trudging over to her sister Slayer. "Uoooh, Faith, make them stop," she weakly said as she hugged the brunette from behind.
  
  Xander's heart swelled with joy at the sight of Faith's small but genuine smile. The brunette Slayer's tough attitude had always acted as a shield, protecting her from the vulnerability that came with connecting with others. However, the warmth of the kitchen-filled with good food and people who truly cared about her-must've struck her with a sense of belonging, as if she was finally finding a place she could call home.
  
  With a quick inhale, Faith held onto Buffy tightly, and Xander sensed that the sudden feeling of family may have been too much for her. The beautiful Bostonian began to cry silently, the tears streaming down her face like crystal raindrops on a delicate rose. Buffy held her close, her arms a sanctuary of comfort as they rocked back and forth. Xander felt a lump form in his throat, his eyes beginning to heat up at the beautiful, raw moment between Slayers. After several silent minutes, Faith settled down enough to apologize.
  
  "You have nothing to apologize for, Faith," Joyce reassured her, handing her a box of tissues.
  
  "God, I'm turning into such a blubbering basket-case," Faith bemoaned, her red eyes welling up with tears. She angrily pointed a stern finger at Xander as she asserted, "What did you do to me, Harris?!"
  
  Smiling in the face of her hostility, he merrily answered, "It's called love ."
  
  "Well, keep it away from me, you hear?!" she hotly warned, sniffing and wiping her eyes. "Ugh, I've never cried so much in my life!"
  
  Joyce patted Faith's hand comfortingly and assured her, "We'll keep your secret, dear."
  
  -
  
  Later that day, Xander and the Slayers met the Watchers in the school library. At the center table, with the afternoon sun illuminating the newly repaired space, Xander recounted to Faith, Buffy, Giles, and Wesley what he and Angel had been doing. He explained that he had been surveilling the mayor, because his Old Man memories a huge fight between the graduating class and a demon possibly summoned by the mayor on graduation day. Wesley looked as though he swallowed something unpleasant and Giles furrowed his brow, deep in thought. Faith's face twisted in melancholy when he mentioned the Mayor's aid, while Buffy focused on the vampire.
  
  "You and Angel? Working together?" Buffy asked in disbelief.
  
  Faith gasped in realization, "That's why you were there..."
  
  "Yeah," Xander gently answered his girlfriend before adding, "following the Mayor's aide. He had vampire security guards and everything." To Buffy, he replied, "And yeah. After that Lernaean thing, Angel wanted to make it up to me, so he was helping me investigate this."
  
  With a sobering thought, Faith exhaled before asking her boyfriend, "So... so he was a bad guy?"
  
  Growing curious at Faith's shocked behavior, Giles asked, "Excuse me, but who is he ?"
  
  Xander and Buffy turned to Faith and nodded to show their support. Nervously, and with a deep breath, Faith admitted, "I... uh, nearly k-killed a guy-like, of the regular human variety. The Mayor's aide, apparently. We were in the middle of a fight and he got in the way... no, no. It was... I wasn't paying attention. I was just reacting. And if Xander wasn't there, he'd definitely be dead right now. I would've killed someone."
  
  "But you didn't," Buffy pointed out, her tone comforting.
  
  "And that guy is fine... ish ," Xander added with a grin, trying to lighten the mood.
  
  Rather callously, Wesley advised, "If this aide to the Mayor was truly an agent of evil, he's nothing to concern yourself with."
  
  Giles turned to Wesley, his disbelief written all over his face. He then turned to Faith, his voice softening as he spoke. "The accidental killing of normal humans has happened before, Faith; especially in the heat of battle," he explained. "While I'm certain we can work on things to make better decisions in the future, I want you to know that we, as Watchers, will do everything in our power to help guide you through your life as a Slayer. And as a friend-if I may count myself among them-it is my desire for you to know that even if at times you may feel alone, the truth is: you never are."
  
  Exhaling deeply, like a balloon with a leak, Faith looked pained for a moment before she shook her head. "Ah, crap," she bemoaned, her voice choked with emotion. Her eyes began welling up with tears and her nose reddened as she abruptly turned to dash out of the library.
  
  To help lighten the mood, Xander called out to the fleeing Slayer, "Distance means so little when someone means so much!"
  
  "Shuuuuut uuup!" Faith yelled back, nearing another bout of crying.
  
  Buffy restrained a smile, shaking her head at him before the amused blonde followed the tearful Slayer. After a few minutes, the girls returned to the library, accompanied by Willow, Cordelia, and Oz. Faith gave Xander a death glare, but with her red nose and puffy eyes, she only looked adorable to him. She playfully jabbed his shoulder before standing next to him, ready to continue the investigation.
  
  Xander explained to the gang what had happened before then telling everyone, "We should probably get on investigating the mayor. I bet you my mansion he's the big bad."
  
  Curious, Wesley asked, "Do you live in a mansion?"
  
  "No," Xander casually answered.
  
  Giles asked, "How did we stop him before?"
  
  Tilting his head, Xander hummed a moment before replying, "I'm almost positive we blew the snake up."
  
  "I am so in favor of this," Faith declared, ready for more butch activities.
  
  Giles leaned forward, his hands clasped together in front of him as he suggested, "Before any talk of explosives, we should learn more of the Mayor's plans, then proceed cautiously from there."
  
  "Rupert, please recall yourself," Wesley ordered the man. "Your presence here is merely a formality. You are no longer in any position of authority. Only I command them."
  
  Buffy's eyes narrowed, and Faith's lips curled in a snarl at the arrogant Watcher's words. But being the respectful man that he was, Giles didn't argue with Wesley's position, especially in front of the children.
  
  Xander, however, drew Wesley's attention when he asserted, "No, you don't. In fact, I'd go so far as to say you're an utter failure as a commander."
  
  "I beg your pardon," the offended Wesley returned, disbelief in his eyes.
  
  Giles tried to stop Xander, but he continued, "As much knowledge as you have, the most important part of getting anything done with any measure of success is relationships. You could very well be in command, but whatever you have in mind will be next to impossible to get done without the cooperation of the people standing in front of you. So, the second you understand that Giles here is our guy, and you putting him in a box like an abandoned puppy is kinda pissing us off, the smoother this'll go for everyone. Got it?"
  
  Wesley nearly sneered as he asked in mocking, "And you would know this from your vast eighteen years of experience?"
  
  "Eighteen plus eighty, but yeah," Xander confidently answered.
  
  "I'm in charge here, Mr. Harris," Wesley retorted. "And you are a civilian. You shouldn't be involved in the first place."
  
  Balling her fists in frustration, Faith called out, "Nope. Screw this."
  
  "Faith," Buffy tried.
  
  "No," Faith told her. "I ain't working for this pompous asshole!"
  
  Xander grabbed Faith's hand before she left and continued telling Wesley, "Do you know why the Watchers Council doesn't pay Slayers, even though you guys make stupid amounts of money?"
  
  "The fuck?!" Faith yelled. "They're raking it in and we don't get a dime? How's that fair!"
  
  Wesley replied to both Xander and Faith, "Material wealth has always been linked to depression, immoral values, and a disregard for the sanctity of human life. The Slayer's calling to such a noble position would only be tainted by such base desires."
  
  "I'm not talking about spinning rims, gold chains, or the latest Gucci bag," Xander clarified. "You guys don't even give them pocket money, let alone make sure they have a place to sleep. The reason you don't pay them is because a Slayer and a Watcher need to be a symbiotic relationship-You're the knowledge, and she's the muscle. One without the other, and people die. But if a Slayer ever needed to separate or fight the council, it would be easier to do since they're not your employees. Simply put, you don't command them without their willingness to follow."
  
  "Fine, if you're so intent on debating this, I'll humor you," Wesley lamely said, seemingly dismissive of the teenager. "Why would a Slayer in her right mind ever need to rise against a respectable governing institution like the Watchers Council? We fight evil. The Slayer is the instrument with which we fight. The Council remains. The Slayers... change . It's been that way since the beginning."
  
  "For those inevitable times when you guys aren't so respectable-like Gwendolyn Post, for example. Or when you let the power of your positions and titles get to your heads. Or when you guys are so full of yourselves and say dumb things like, ' I 'm in charge, so do what I say ,' without even earning it. Or when the Council murder Slayers on their eighteenth birthday because they took their strength away and forced them to fight a vampire. Yeah, I ain't ever letting that happen to Faith."
  
  "Oh, I fucking dare you," Faith growled, glaring at Wesley, who swallowed nervously under the intensity.
  
  Xander continued, "We're all here to stop the evil, so we work together because that's how we save the most lives. Whether Giles has authority given to him by the Council or not, it would help you to get us to cooperate more when you get it through your thick skull: He. Is. Our . Guy."
  
  Xander stood tall, his eyes blazing with conviction as he stared down Wesley. The young Watcher noted the rest of the Scooby Gang standing behind him, united in their fierce agreement. Faith's fists were clenched at her sides, and her jaw was set in a determined line. Buffy had a look of quiet determination on her face, her greenish-blue eyes shining with conviction. Willow stood with her arms crossed, a fierce scowl etched on her face, while Cordelia looked at Wesley rather sadly.
  
  Wesley's face was a mask of confusion as he looked at each of the Scoobies in turn. He seemed to have expected support for his point of view, not this display of fierce loyalty for Giles. He cleared his throat nervously, but didn't speak.
  
  "Why don't we all take some time a-and allow cooler heads to prevail?" Giles suggested, his tone light and appreciative.
  
  -B-
  
  While Xander left to immerse himself in his crafting at Wild Dink's, the Slayers returned home. The afternoon air was crisp and hot as they entered the two-story house, talking about simple things like the car Buffy might get, or teasing Faith over all the Valentine's Day requests she had been getting despite her devil-may-care attitude. Faith rolled her eyes at all the boys that seemed to have a thing for her, but seemed to secretly enjoy the attention.
  
  Sitting down at the dinner table, they both pulled out their homework as Faith remarked, "I'm guessing they thought me and Xander were a joke or that I monkey-branch from guy to guy, which, yeah, I sorta did back in Boston, but they don't know that. I've been on a strict Xander diet since I got here."
  
  "That's half sweet and half eww," Buffy admitted, her face screwed up in a weird mixture of a grimace with soft eyes.
  
  Faith continued, "Turns out that a few saw me crying in the hallway and thought he cheated on me! Couple of 'em even offered to beat him up." Faith laughed uproariously before adding, "Ah man, can you believe that? I almost wanted to let them just to see Sweet Spot kick their asses."
  
  "It wasn't that long ago I was the one saving Xander from bullies," Buffy reminisced fondly. "Now, it's impossible to picture him getting pummeled by regular people after seeing him slay vampires, demons, and actual dragons."
  
  "Looking good doing it, too," Faith boasted with an amorous grin. As they settled in for some studying, the sunlight streamed through the windows, casting a warm glow over the kitchen, creating a cozy atmosphere. Faith felt comfortable enough to open up with her sister Slayer. She tentatively said, "Hey, B?"
  
  "Yeah," the blonde replied, looking up from her math textbook.
  
  Nervously, Faith said, "What I said before... about you dating Xander-"
  
  "Forget about it," Buffy easily cut in, dismissing the worry with a gentle wave of her hand. "Trust me, I know how overwhelming being in love can be sometimes-figured it was just new to you. I know you didn't mean it."
  
  "Uh, yeah, I did," Faith flatly replied. "I still do."
  
  Buffy's eyes widened in surprise before exclaiming, "Faith, you can't be serious! You and Xander are perfect together."
  
  "No. You, me, and Xander are perfect together," she returned. "There are things he's great at, especially in the bedroom- my God in the bedroom-"
  
  "Okay!" a blushing Buffy quickly interjected.
  
  Undeterred, Faith continued. "And there are some things he's not. Same with me. Same with you."
  
  "Yeah, that's like all of human experience," Buffy asserted, still embarrassed by the direction of the conversation. "It doesn't mean one guy gets two girlfriends."
  
  "Buffy, you took charge last night," Faith reminded the beautiful blonde, her tone growing more heartfelt. "In my head, I was already putting Sunnydale and Xander in my rear view. I was gone and didn't think I was coming back. I'm sure he knew there was nothing he could've done or said that would've changed my mind. But you did. You dragged him into that room and forced me to see what's what. You both helped me."
  
  Buffy could feel how sincere Faith was being, and answered just as sincerely, "Yeah, because we care about you, Faith."
  
  "And I care about you both just as much, if not more," Faith interjected, eyeing her with a caring expression.
  
  Buffy felt warm feelings spread throughout her body as Faith's words sank in. Ever since Xander had first mentioned Faith months back, Buffy had always hoped that the two of them would become closer, but hearing the brunette express her feelings in such an honest way was a moment she hadn't expected to treasure so much. Buffy couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in the small but tightly-knit group of friends she had managed to create since coming to Sunnydale. It wasn't always easy being a Slayer, but having friends who understood the challenges she faced made it all bearable.
  
  An errant thought popped into her mind, ' Xander was the first to find out, too. He was the spark for all of this. '
  
  Her mind had been consumed with thoughts of Xander-especially after breaking up with Angel-but adding Faith to their little family had brought her a higher sense of peace and belonging. Faith had always been so fiercely independent, but in that moment, Buffy saw a vulnerability in her that she had never noticed before. The sudden surge of affection made the blonde realize that they were more alike than they were different.
  
  "I don't want to break up with him," Faith continued. "But I also don't want to be the one to get between you two. You think I'm perfect for Xander, but I can say the same thing about you."
  
  As Faith's words rang in her ears, Buffy was pensive. Xander, the cause of all her emotional anxiety lately. ' No ,' a voice inside her that sounded like Willow argued. The voice said, ' You only need to be honest, the same way you were honest with Angel .'
  
  For the millionth time since that night, Buffy couldn't believe she had answered Angel's question with a soft yes. Angel asked her if she loved Xander, and regardless of how crazy it was or how much she would lose, in her heart of hearts, Buffy recalled feeling incapable of lying, and said yes. Angel, the love of her life, learned that night that she truly loved another man. Buffy's chaotic emotions made her stomach sink as her admission snapped the last thread connecting her with Angel. She said yes.
  
  Buffy couldn't believe it, not until she returned to the library and saw Xander laying on the floor, broken and half-dead. The only thing that mattered to her then was doing everything in her power to keep him in her life forever, even if that meant begging some higher power. Xander had given Buffy so much, she couldn't go on without him. She couldn't be Buffy... because he truly was her heart.
  
  It was surprising when Faith continued, saying, "It's painfully obvious that you guys are that Happily-Ever-After nonsense. You'd have to be a bonehead to miss out on that just because you let other people's rules get in the way... unless you want to be a ninety-year-old spinster."
  
  Buffy scrunched her nose as if smelling something bad and shook her head, defending herself. "I'm not going to be a ninety-year-old spinster."
  
  Faith's eyes glinted with mischief as she reminded her, "There's an easy cheat-sheet we could always check."
  
  "No," Buffy quickly protested, her eyes widening with apprehension. "...I don't think I'm ready to hear that answer."
  
  "Come on, Buffy. Be real with me," Faith pressed. "Tell me you didn't want to drag him into an aisle and swap spit when he told that ponce off!"
  
  At the memory of Xander defending Giles just like she wanted to, Buffy's cheeks grew warm as she slowly admitted, "...It was pretty hot to see him stand up for Giles like that."
  
  " So fucking hot ," Faith agreed, a sly grin spreading across her face.
  
  "But that doesn't mean-"
  
  " Yes , it does mean that," Faith interrupted, her expression serious. "I get what you're saying, but seriously, we're Slayers. Nothing about our lives will ever be normal. Even school is a waste of time. Maybe that's why you never really looked Xander's way until he became a total badass."
  
  "I... Maybe ," Buffy voiced with uncertainty in her higher-pitched voice. "What about you? Do you still think you'd get together if he wasn't Sir Xander, the Dragon Slayer?" she couldn't help but ask with a small smile.
  
  "Nah! Not with a guy that goody-goody," Faith honestly replied. Though, with a thoughtful nod, she added, "We would've hooked up a few times, for sure."
  
  "Ugh, jeez," Buffy gasped, shaking her head.
  
  "What? He's cute," Faith defended. "And there were bound to be nights where I'm raring to go after a good fight. But I doubt we'd be anything more than that."
  
  "He really has changed," Buffy lamented, recalling his growth for the past year.
  
  The blonde Slayer couldn't help but recall all the times she'd witnessed Xander fight. She'd never seen anyone fight like him. He was like an effortlessly graceful dancer when he took down demons, and she was always drawn to the fluidity of his movements. His style of combat was so unlike anything she'd ever seen. She couldn't help feeling mesmerized by him-the way his muscles rippled under his shirt as he fought with precision and force; the glistening of sweat on his forehead; the panting breaths after a hard-fought victory. Buffy couldn't deny that there was something undeniably attractive about his combat ability, something that stirred a longing deep within her.
  
  Absent-mindedly, Buffy mumbled, "The way he fights..."
  
  "Utter beauty," Faith wholeheartedly agreed.
  
  "Hypnotic," Buffy added with a smile, happy to see Faith agree.
  
  Nodding with a grin, she asserted, "That's a lap dance for Slayers right there."
  
  "And his attitude too," Buffy comfortably began to gush. "I mean, he's the same Xander I met two years ago, but more , you know?"
  
  "Can't say," Faith admitted with a shrug.
  
  Buffy took a moment to gather her thoughts before saying, "Underneath that stuff is what I hadn't expected."
  
  "Like?"
  
  "He changed the people around him," Buffy explained with a measure of disbelief. "Me, for sure. I mean, when I tell you I never imagined loving anyone more than Angel, you'd think it was the eleventh commandment. Giles has a way better opinion of him-he relies on Xander. Willow is tons more confident in herself. Even Cordelia. I mean, I had no idea she could care so much about someone other than herself."
  
  Under Faith's watchful gaze, Buffy fidgeted with her fingers, feeling her heart race as she contemplated her feelings for Xander. The weight of her emotions felt unrelenting, threatening to spill out of her at any moment. Buffy glanced up at Faith, whose piercing eyes seemed to see right through her, and Buffy felt she was on the verge of voicing what was in her heart because it was Faith-and it was Xander-and somehow, Buffy felt brave enough to speak her feelings. She'd learned that from Xander this past year and had already done so with Angel.
  
  "Ugh, how is this even happening right now?" Buffy bemoaned, feeling hot and nervous. "What I f-feel for Xander now... it's scary how amazing it could be if... if I just... if I just let myself..."
  
  Faith's reaction caught Buffy off guard. The brunette Slayer rolled her eyes and slapped the counter before yelling, "Jesus Christ, girl! Just let yourself!"
  
  Dumbfounded by Faith's ability to accept something so atypical, Buffy replied, "Faith, this could go so horribly wrong, so I need you to stop saying stuff like we're perfect together and you want me to date him, because I don't have it in me to say no forever."
  
  Undeterred, Faith leaned over the table and eyed the blonde with a serious stare as she stated, "Buffy, go get that boy."
  
  "What did I just say?!" the flabbergasted blonde returned in disbelief.
  
  "Go get him, B," Faith maintained, just as seriously. "You love him, and I... I l-love you both. It's that simple."
  
  Buffy blinked in surprise, not quite sure how to react, but thoroughly taken aback by Faith's heartfelt admission. It wasn't often that the other slayer showed her soft side, and the sincerity in her voice touched Buffy deeply. It reminded her of a conversation she had with Angel, just before their relationship had ended.
  
  For a moment, Buffy sat in silence, mulling over Faith's words. The weight of her emotions was almost suffocating, but she knew she couldn't ignore them any longer. It was time to take a leap of faith and see where her heart would take her.
  
  "While we're young, please," Faith groaned impatiently, bringing Buffy out of her thoughts.
  
  Wide-eyed in surprise, Buffy asked incredulously, "Now?"
  
  "Go!" Faith heatedly urged, pointing to the door.
  
  Frazzled, Buffy felt her cheeks heat up and her pounding heart as she tried to come up with more reasons to stall. "But- but he's working," she protested.
  
  Rolling her eyes, Faith reminded her, "He technically doesn't have to work, so he won't care."
  
  "My hair's a mess!" Buffy exclaimed, combing her hair with her fingers.
  
  "A sexy mess," Faith corrected with a suggestive grin.
  
  "I don't have anything to wear!"
  
  "You can wear a trash bag and he'd still dig it," Faith quickly claimed.
  
  "Faith!"
  
  "Buffy!"
  
  After a moment of silence, Buffy, moments from capitulating, weakly pointed out, "...He's your boyfriend."
  
  Faith smiled genuinely before confidently stating, "And he's yours, too."
  
  Fearful of every way this could go wrong, Buffy softly asked, "But what if this all just blows up in our faces? ...And we end up hating each other?"
  
  "Xander's kind of love won't let that happen," Faith assured her, doing wonders to calm Buffy's fears. "The second he sees-or we feel-it isn't working out, he'll pump the brakes. I know him. He's sappy like that."
  
  Though Buffy still had serious reservations, she knew one thing was for certain: their three-way relationship wouldn't lack love and honesty. Buffy felt a deep affection for Faith, who reciprocated her feelings, and she knew that Xander loved them both. All that was left was to take a chance on them and follow through with a leap of faith.
  
  "Now, get your pretty little ass over there and jump that sexy meatstick- shit, I mean go do love stuff," Faith happily ordered.
  
  Buffy snorted in amusement, shaking her head at the brunette's antics. "You're crazy, Faith! You're so crazy!"
  
  "Crazy for both of you," she cheerfully replied. "Now go. And tell him I said we're five-by-five."
  
  -
  
  After calling Xander, Faith told Buffy where to find him. Buffy took a long bus ride to the bus stop nearest Xander's house and then walked the rest of the way. She felt so incredibly nervous throughout the journey. Her mind was racing with thoughts of the monumental, life-altering thing she was about to do. Buffy considered getting off the bus at every stop, but each time she took a deep breath and reminded herself that fear was the only thing holding her back.
  
  As she walked through Xander's neighborhood, she couldn't help noticing the run-down homes around her-the 70s style houses all being two stories, skinny, with faded paint. There wasn't a flower in sight and only a handful of trees. Despite the bright sun on a cloudless blue sky, Xander's neighborhood was drab, faded, and dreary. Oddly enough, the slum-like area Xander lived in brought a sense of solace to her turbulent emotions.
  
  "Has his neighborhood always been like this?" she asked herself, wondering why she never noticed.
  
  Suddenly, a loud honk made Buffy jump, pulling her out of her thoughts. Cordelia had pulled up beside her in a red Mazda Miata, confusing Buffy, who was accustomed to seeing the cheerleader in her expensive BMW. The car even looked pre-owned, and its conservative style contrasted with Cordelia's usual flamboyance. Cordelia leaned over and asked if Buffy was heading to Xander's place. At Buffy's nod, she offered her a ride the rest of the way.
  
  During the drive, Cordelia was curious about Buffy's thoughts on Wesley, but the blonde could barely respond. Not only did Buffy wonder what happened to Cordelia's BMW, but the realization that the beautiful cheerleader was going to Xander's house made her stomach twist horribly. She was kicking herself for suddenly recalling that Cordelia and Xander had occasionally hooked up, and she didn't want to be anywhere near that again; especially when she was there to confess her feelings for him.
  
  ' They 're not going to have sex, are they?! ' she asked herself. Buffy's heart was pounding wildly in her chest as she asked herself, ' What am I doing?! '
  
  Despite Buffy's inability to engage in small talk, Cordelia didn't seem to mind and talked enough for the both of them. When the pair reached Xander's house, Buffy's nerves skyrocketed. Recalling Xander and Cordelia's sex together made Buffy's heart hammer in her ribcage and her stomach turn. Buffy wanted to walk away, but Xander came out of his house and greeted them.
  
  Awkwardly, Buffy raised the jacket of his unnecessarily high, and said, "I- I just came to return your jacket, so, I'll- I'll just... go."
  
  Xander nodded easily, taking his jacket back as if he didn't know how much she was panicking about her newly-formed love for him.
  
  He kindly offered, "Well, if you're not in a rush, I can give you a ride back." He then turned to Cordelia and asked, "How many did you bring?" Buffy's curiosity grew as she observed Cordelia casually take out a small plastic bag filled with gold rings. Xander hummed introspectively before stating, "Shouldn't take me long." He told them both, "Come on in."
  
  Curiosity got the better of the nervous blonde, so she followed them. It was then that Buffy noticed how much Xander's house stood out from every other one in the neighborhood. He must've painted it at some point because it was the best-looking house on the block, by far. The bright blue color made it impossible to miss.
  
  Walking inside, Buffy heard Xander telling Cordelia over his shoulder, "You should really learn how to do this on your own. I'm not always going to be able to, you know."
  
  Grumbling in her laziness, Cordelia cutely bemoaned, "But you make them into those cute little bars and even stamp the weight on each."
  
  Buffy's heart sank at the thought of Xander and Cordelia going upstairs to his bed. She dreaded it until Xander unexpectedly continued to his garage while Cordelia sat in the charming living room. She picked up the magazine on the coffee table and flipped through her magazine as if she were waiting her turn at a hair salon. Unsure of what was happening between them, Buffy couldn't help but feel like a stranger in a familiar place and kept silent.
  
  The living room was decorated with warm, earthy colors and had comfortable furniture that looked well-worn but maintained. Buffy's eyes drifted to the bookshelf that lined one wall, noting the eclectic mix of fantasy novels, comic books, and sci-fi memorabilia. Buffy then spotted a framed photo of Xander as an infant on the mantle, and couldn't help cooing at the plump baby. Cordelia looked up at the noise and Buffy apologized.
  
  "Sorry," she said. She pointed at the framed photo and explained, "I was just looking at baby Xander with his plump little cheeks."
  
  "Oh, yeah," Cordelia said with a small grin. "Shame it's like the only good photo."
  
  Frowning her brows in curiosity, Buffy asked, "What do you mean?"
  
  Without even looking up from her magazine, she answered, "The donors he calls mom and dad weren't exactly model parents and didn't bother taking a lot of pictures of him. There are a few other pictures in an album somewhere, but that's the best one."
  
  "Oh," was all Buffy could think to say.
  
  She never realized how little she knew about Xander's home life before she arrived. And what was more surprising was that Cordelia knew details about him that she didn't. It was odd for Buffy to ask Cordelia about her best friend, but she did anyway, because she had a growing need to know everything about him.
  
  "Does he miss his parents since they left?" she asked.
  
  "Ha! I'm sure he misses the plague more than those drunks."
  
  ' Just like Faith ,' Buffy thought before deciding to go upstairs.
  
  Along the way, she noted there wasn't a single family photo on the walls, a stark contrast to her own home, where family photos were displayed proudly. It only continued to highlight the differences between her life as a popular valley girl with a caring mother, and Xander, Faith, and even Cordelia's lives with their decidedly more broken families.
  
  Upon entering Xander's room, Buffy was taken aback by how pristine and well-organized the living space was. It was still very much Xander, with posters of his favorite movies and comics adorning the walls, but it was cleaner and more put-together than she had ever seen. His bed was made, everything was neat, and there was no clutter. She breathed in the pleasant smell of freshly laundered sheets and his own unique scent, and felt relieved.
  
  As she surveyed the room, her eyes noted the absence of any family photos once again. It made her heart sink, realizing that Xander's parents were not people he cherished or even talked about. Instead, framed photos of himself with his closest friends were displayed prominently on his desk and shelves. Buffy saw Willow, Oz, Cordelia, Giles, Jenny, Faith, and herself in the photos, all smiling and happy. It was clear that Xander saw them as his family more than his own blood, and it made her feel both grateful and sad at the same time.
  
  Feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion, Buffy sat on Xander's bed to ponder how much she really knew about her supposed best friend. The warmth of the room had her close her eyes for just a moment as she plopped back and inhaled the scent of him in his sheets, letting herself relax. It was a surprise when Xander shook her awake, and Buffy jumped up and off the bed, embarrassed. She had only meant to rest for a few minutes, but looking at the clock, she had slept for nearly thirty.
  
  "Sorry," she quickly said. "I must've dozed off."
  
  Xander shook his head, unbothered, before asking, "Did you want to sleep a little longer?"
  
  "No, no. It's fine," she assured him with a smile. Eager to move on, she asked, "What were you doing for Cordelia?"
  
  Sitting more relaxed on his bed, he began explaining, "Uh, when we were going out, I made her a special ring for Valentine's."
  
  "What's special about it?"
  
  "It duplicates," he casually answered. "Every nine days, it drips three gold rings. When she fills a bag, she comes by and I melt them into little gold bars for her to sell."
  
  Shocked by the lucrative enterprise, Buffy's eyes widened as she asked, "Uh, where the hell is my gold ring?"
  
  Xander snorted before answering, "I didn't think you needed one."
  
  "I like gold bars too! You'd be hard-pressed to find a girl out there who doesn't like gold bars," Buffy assured him with a humorously stern expression. "And Cordelia's already rich."
  
  Xander winced, and after seesawing his head from side to side, explained, "Well, to tell you the truth, I made that ring for her because I knew her family was going to have money problems-as in, the mega-rich Chase household was going to lose it all."
  
  That took Buffy by surprise. With wide eyes, she realized, "Wait... Is that why she's not driving her BMW?"
  
  "Yeah," he answered with slow nodding. "The mother of all Hellmouths, also known as the IRS, repossessed a lot. She won't show it, but she's been having a tough time lately."
  
  "Oh," was all Buffy could think to reply, a surge of sympathy welling up for the other girl. "I didn't know."
  
  "That's kinda how she likes it," he said.
  
  "Show no weakness kinda thing?"
  
  As Xander flashed a heartwarming smile, he spoke in a soft, affectionate tone, "I can make you a ring, if you want."
  
  Buffy's heart skipped a beat at his words, and her mind began to race with images of Xander slipping a ring on her finger and sweeping her off her feet.
  
  "...Okay," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes locking onto his gaze, brimming with anticipation and excitement.
  
  Standing up, he asked, "Let me see your hand."
  
  Eyeing him with growing anticipation, Buffy slowly extended her left hand. When Xander took her hand in his, Buffy could feel the electric current running up her arm as he traced the contours of her delicate fingers with a gentle touch. She could sense the love and admiration he held for her.
  
  As their eyes met, they felt a magnetic force drawing them closer together. Feeling Xander's warm hands on her waist, Buffy couldn't help but lean into him, their bodies pressing together, creating an intimate connection. She could feel his breath on her neck, sending shivers down her spine, and she knew it was only the beginning of the powerful sensations he would make her feel.
  
  "...Buffy?" he softly called, his hand slowly tracing up her arms, causing a wave of heat to wash over her.
  
  "...Yeah?" she asked, her eyes locked on his, feeling the powerful attraction drawing them closer.
  
  Relishing the warmth of her sexy body, he muzzily responded, "I think we're supposed to say stuff."
  
  "Uh-huh," she murmured as their heads-their lips-drew closer together.
  
  They quickly kissed once. It was a peck on the lips, but upon pulling away, the teenagers only realized they didn't want to do anything else but kiss. Their lips snapped together like magnets, but maintained fluidity as they breathed in each other's scent. No matter how they tilted their head for maximum access, their open mouths were coupled together hungrily.
  
  Pulling him in close-impatient for more of him-Buffy didn't know why she thought he'd be a weak kisser. A good and funny guy shouldn't be so good at this, but Xander's lips, his tongue, and his arm's strong embrace showed her a side of him she hadn't expected. Xander was confidently dominating her, and she was quickly losing any restraint to stop.
  
  As they heavily made out, the air around them was electric, and their desire for this was rowing at a frightening rate. Xander's hands roamed over Buffy's lithe body, and due to his experience, she melted into his touch. He knew how to massage her in just the right way to make her moan in unexpected pleasure, which would drive him wild. Buffy couldn't believe how skilled he was at turning her on more than she's ever felt in her life, but she barely had the thought process to question it. It was as if he had a Master's degree in turning her on and graduated with honors.
  
  Despite the fog of pleasure clouding her buzzed brain, Buffy quickly understood what the hardness pressing against her stomach was and was happy about it. Xander was hard as a rock, and to be able to excite a man to primal passion made Buffy feel sexy. The throbbing evidence in his strained pants made her feel powerful. It became inconceivable for her to stop this amazing wave of desire. As they kissed passionately-hands caressing each other-they moved together in a sensual dance, lost in the heat of the moment. Buffy had never felt so alive, and she knew that this was just the beginning of something special.
  
  They pulled apart when they both absolutely needed air, and a gasping Xander asked, "Buffy... what are we doing?"
  
  Her answer was to kiss him again.
  
  Soon, Xander descended her elegant jaw, sucking on her neck. He knew her spot there and the blonde beauty moaned to feel her sensitive skin sucked on with just the perfect amount of pressure. Xander forgot his question and only desired to hear her moan and whimper. Pressed against each other, gyrating their pelvises together, they quickly became annoyed by their clothes, and article by article, they pulled them off until they were only in their underwear.
  
  Back-stepping toward the bed as they made out, their heavy session ended when Buffy's calves abruptly met the bed frame and she plopped her bum on the bed. It gave the horny teenagers a chance to admire the other's flustered body. There was also another chance to stop and think about what they were doing. However, Xander didn't feel words were enough. He braved the next step by removing his boxer-briefs and standing with his thick, throbbing erection in front of her face.
  
  Buffy's greenish-blue eyes widened at the sight. She had only ever seen one other penis in her life, and it couldn't compare. Xander's length could cover her face-from chin to forehead-and the girth didn't seem like she could close her hand around. Pointing straight up and throbbing, she could feel the warmth from his cock on her face, making her swallow audibly as saliva built up in her mouth. With half-lidded and glazed eyes, Buffy leaned forward, licking her lips before suddenly recalling herself and leaning back, her face growing bright red.
  
  The way she covered her face with her hands made Xander smile, as he assumed she was quite nervous. After all, despite how eager he was to bury himself fully inside her hot, tight pussy, this was still only her second experience with a man. Thus, Xander lowered to his knees and reached for the waistband of her pink panties. Xander's blood was boiling, and he was nearly mindless with desire, but he controlled himself enough to slowly-teasingly-remove her panties.
  
  Buffy lifted herself when she realized what he was doing and watched him as he removed the thin barrier to her leaking womanhood. Her chest rose and dropped quickly, and her legs trembled in anticipation. Once her underwear was tossed aside, Xander eyed the blushing blonde as he opened her strong legs to the exquisiteness of her pristine womanhood. Alabaster skin, with a thin red line from which her sweet nectar leaked out of her pussy, was a thing of beauty.
  
  The gorgeous way her legs spread open for him, Xander massaged her inner thighs as he leaned in-tongue out-and devoured her soaking sex. Buffy's head shot back as she grunted in surprise and her hands gripped the bed sheets. Using his knowledge from previous loops, Xander knew exactly how to devour her hot mound and massage her flexing muscles. He read her tremors and moans, and reacted masterfully as he tongued her soapy innards.
  
  "AAHhh!" Buffy moaned, eyes shut. "Wai- MMnnnn... Mnnn... Xand-" she gasped.
  
  Her cute mewls of pleasure only served to excite Xander into a frenzy. His mouth latched onto her clitoris as he plunged two fingers into her soaking snatch. All throughout her moans and squirming, Xander's powerful tongue lapped up her pleasure pearl. His other hand traced her taut stomach and pert breasts. Accurately attacking so many of her erogenous zones simultaneously, he could feel her shiver against him as her climax neared.
  
  "Xander! Xan- I'm almost... Hah, mmmnnnn. I'm almost-" Buffy cried out, shaking her head from side to side as the pleasure he was stimulating within her boiled to a fevered pitch.
  
  Xander knew perfectly well what he was doing, and just as she reached the edge of a pleasure high, he began vibrating his fingers right over her G-spot. Her eyes snapped open and she screamed in her throat as her spine arched.
  
  " MMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNGGGGGGGG! "
  
  Buffy's entire body snapped up in an arch as her pussy exploded in ecstasy. Rivers of her sweet honey drenched Xander's face as his tongue lapped up her delicious juices. After dozens of seconds, Buffy plopped down onto the bed, panting heavily as her body recovered from such an intense orgasm. She barely even noticed that Xander positioned her on the bed so they were comfortable across the length.
  
  Focus slowly returned to her dilated eyes as Xander said, "Buff... if we go any further... I don't know what's going to happen."
  
  With a smile, the flustered Buffy gasped, "Join the club."
  
  She then leaned up and kissed him passionately, gratefully, happily. Her lips were warm and inviting, and as he pressed his weight on her naked form, the feel of her hard nipples against his chest made his cock twitch. The superior feeling of skin-on-skin contact made Xander hook the length of his stiff erection between her legs. As he rocked her body rhythmically, his hands massaged her sensitive regions; her scalp, neck, back, waist, breasts, and bubble-butt. The hot wetness coating his cock as he rocked against her trembling pussy had him nearly mindless with the urge to bury his cock in her to the hilt.
  
  Their bodies were feverish and sweaty. Buffy had her arms wrapped around his neck as they made out feverishly-entwining their hot tongues-but when it became too much, she pulled away and begged, "Xander... Do it... Please."
  
  Without delay, Xander rested his bulbous head against her red labia. Already coated in her juices, Xander slid his cock into Buffy's tight cunt, spreading the velvety walls. Buffy groaned loudly, her body trembling as she held Xander dearly, focusing on the massive insertion just below her belly.
  
  "Are you okay?" he asked, a hint of worry in his tone.
  
  "Yeah... hah ... It's just... y-you're... big," she gasped, then blushed furiously, making him smile.
  
  "We'll wait a bit," he reassured her before licking and nipping at her neck as she slowly adjusted to his large girth.
  
  When she nodded her head, Xander pulled out slowly before burying himself deeper than before. Incessant tingling ran up and down Xander's cock at how tremendously amazing her hot wet sex clung to him as he fully buried his meat stick to the root. Pulling out and pumping in, once Xander had his rhythm, he fucked her at a faster rate and the bed bucked underneath them, shifting from the force of Xander's thrusts.
  
  As Buffy held onto him, she moaned consistently every time he stuffed her to the brim, lathering his pole with copious amounts of her juices. Buffy held onto him dearly as his chiseled head rubbed her G-Spot repeatedly. Buffy couldn't think. The way he fucked her was so perfect, pangs of pure pleasure exploded within her with his every stroke. Rocking under him, Buffy didn't know sex could feel so exhilarating. Her mind was mush and her hot body demanded more. She needed him to fuck her; to get her off harder than she's ever felt before-and Xander knew that.
  
  Beads of sweat on her flush forehead, Buffy moaned, "I'm gonna cum! MMN! You're! MMhhn! You're going to! I'm gonna! Xander!"
  
  Smiling, the time looper couldn't stop his hips from pumping into her, but his technique was precise and ravenous. When Xander began vibrating the entire length of his thick cock in her sensitive sex, Buffy's eyes rolled back as she lost her mind to the endless bliss of a raging orgasm. She clamped on his dick as she climaxed harder than she's ever felt. Her back arched and her entire body erupted into a quivering mess, not unlike a giant bell that was hit with the biggest hammer.
  
  Gripping her hips, Xander buried himself to the hilt and unloaded his spunk into her quivering sex. He closed his eyes as he relished the unending waves of pleasure ripping through him. After nearly a minute, the sweaty teens were coherent enough to gaze into each other's eyes, but they were no less horny, and Xander knew why.
  
  Of all three Slayers he had slept with, Buffy was the wildest in bed-she wanted it. With Faith, she had the potential to start and end a session with wild sex, but more often than not, the badass girl reacted more through slow lovemaking than hard dick-riding. The Buffy of previous loops always began meekly, but when her switch was flipped, Buffy loved it rough. Thus, Xander wasn't surprised to see the hunger in her eyes, even when he grabbed her throat tightly, so she would know he could give her everything she could want.
  
  She only wanted him more.
  
  Xander hadn't softened after one shot, and he pulled out-causing a long moan from the beauty under him. He then rolled her onto her stomach before lifting her ass to his pelvis. He kneaded her sweet cheeks before spreading them and immediately burying his entire length in her sweet snatch.
  
  "OOOHHHHHHHH!" Buffy moaned loudly, her head swinging as her body trembled.
  
  Xander leaned forward to grip her breasts before pulling out and stuffing her once again. Activating his vibrating dick, he humped the beautiful girl-her moans and their crotch slapping echoing in his room with a growing tempo. A trail of saliva streaming down her chin, the sweaty blonde she moaned unyieldingly. Buffy's hips shivered helplessly, and her pussy overflowing with her sweet juices.
  
  CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!
  
  Xander's cock jabbed into her tight, slick vagina as his hands massaged her breasts, back, waist, and ass. Buffy moaned louder with every passing minute as the pleasure built within her. When he lowered a hand down her stomach and to her clitoris, she knew she would last another minute. Her core tightened like a thick coil of pleasure. When Xander grasped her neck and turned her head so his mouth met hers-his tongue slithering between her submissive lips-the tight coil at her core finally snapped.
  
  Xander packed all eight inches of his thick cock into Buffy's belly one last time as her dripping sex clamped down on him like a vise. She moaned loudly, her entire body began quaking violently as she was wracked with wave after wave of electric bliss. A long, heart-stopping explosion of ecstasy detonated in her cunt and spread throughout her body. Her toes curled as she squeezed his cock. But Xander wasn't done.
  
  The experienced boy vibrated his dick harder in her fluttering sex while his hands massaged all of her erogenous zones, sending her reeling into multiple orgasms. Soon enough, Xander couldn't take it, and with a grunt, he shot streams of his hot seed inside her. It was a joy to linger inside of her until they finally collapsed in a sweaty heap, panting as the waves of delicious ecstasy cascaded up and down her body.
  
  Xander held her close, massaging her back as they regained their strength, and soon enough, they had to fuck again. Buffy became that wild girl from previous loops-the one that needed to be dominated-and she seemed thrilled to realize that Xander wouldn't disappoint. In various positions on the bed or against the wall, in various rooms or the hallway, the horny teenagers fucked like mindless animals. Xander had Buffy cumming repeatedly, making her quiver sporadically until they were both spent and went straight to sleep.
  
  So, I'm just going to release the last chapters as we finish them.
  
  I felt rusty when I got back to writing. I hope the reading quality didn't suffer too much.
  
  Not much else to say at the moment. I appreciate you guys for your well wishes and reaching out, wondering if I'm alive or not(lol).
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Atta Girl
  Man, I was really trying to update yesterday but came across technical difficulties. Anyway, I'm happy to post again
  
  Big thanks to my beta team, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar. Thank you.
  
  Warning: Light Lemons, Foul language.
  
  7.5K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Atta Girl
  
  Every passing day since Xander had escaped the confinements of the year-loop, he would wake up with a sense of triumph, and a victorious smile as his eyes fluttered open. His bedroom always enveloped him in a comforting warmth, cocooning him in its familiar embrace. Sunlight filtered through the window, casting vibrant hues of orange across the walls and ceiling, adding a touch of the beauty from a Hallmark card to the space he made his own.
  
  Typically, his room held a symphony of delightful aromas, a carefully curated blend of sweet citrus, soothing lavender, tantalizing spices, or the refreshing scent of pine. Each scent had been meticulously chosen for its ability to zap the stress right out of him, like a sensory invitation to start the day on a blissful note. However, on this particular evening, a lingering fragrance hung in the air-a heady blend, a mingling of intimately intertwined bodies, an olfactory testament to the passionate encounter that had unfolded within these walls.
  
  Xander's room reeked of sex, and he couldn't wipe the smile etched on his face even if he wanted to. As the raven-haired teen stretched languidly, his mind full of his and Buffy's repeated rounds of lovemaking. The rhythmic dance of intertwined limbs, the symphony of moans and whispers, and the cascade of shared bliss echoed throughout his body. In the wake of their vigorous union, soothing waves of bliss lingered within every fiber of their beings.
  
  As Xander's awareness returned to the present and the familiar warmth nestled against his side-a toasty heat radiating from the girl cuddled up against him. Tilting his gaze downward, he beheld a head of silky blonde hair-disheveled from hours of sex-resting on his chest. Their arms and legs were entwined-his body buzzing with lingering pleasure-and he couldn't fathom a more perfect world. However, he was eager to find out.
  
  Locking his sights with the mesmerizing greenish-blue eyes of the girl he loved, hated, and everything in-between, Xander found himself immersed in a sea of emotions. Despite the complexity of their long journey together, a profound sense of certainty enveloped him. It was a powerful realization that washed away any lingering doubts or insecurities. In Buffy's eyes, he felt a sanctuary where worries ceased to exist, where their words or actions seemed incapable of fracturing the bond they shared. Xander had shed the weight of his past hurt and fears, and with unwavering confidence, he just wanted to live with her, fight with her, and be happy with her.
  
  "Wow," Buffy gasped, her face quickly blushing, as if recalling the copious amount of sex. "Just... wow . I don't- well, that -what we did-was just, wow ... wasn't it?"
  
  Nodding with a boyish grin, he replied, "Top-tier wow , no doubt."
  
  Buffy's eyes seemed distant, as if remembering, while she remarked, "I'd always assumed Faith and Cordelia were exaggerating, but... wow ."
  
  "It's why I do it: the prestige," he joked with a sarcastic expression, making her giggle. He continued, "Seriously though, there's only one reason we totally wowed right now." She fixed her gaze on his to hear his answer, but already felt it in the warmth of his chocolate-brown eyes. "I love you, Buffy Anne Summers. I've loved you since the very moment I saw you. And nothing and no amount of time will ever change that."
  
  "... Wow ," Buffy gasped before leaning toward him.
  
  Xander and Buffy's lips met in a gentle kiss, yet within that tender exchange, they conveyed a profound depth of emotion that surpassed words. Their mouths melded together with a delicate grace, their warmth intermingling as if seeking solace from one another. In that fleeting moment, their love transcended mere physicality and touched the very essence of their souls.
  
  Buffy pulled away before confessing with bated breath, "I love you too." She leaned up, supporting herself on one elbow, and admitted, "It took me a little longer than ' at first sight .' And the Faith part of all this is a whole other bag of crazy that I haven't even begun to unpack, but I can't stop feeling this way anymore."
  
  Xander was all smiles and couldn't restrain his curiosity as he asked, "Sorry, but I gotta ask; when did you know? I mean, when did love- that kind of love-for me, Xander Harris, geek extraordinaire, start entering the picture for you?"
  
  Buffy rolled her eyes at his mirth but also grinned as she weakly answered, "I don't know. It sort of snuck up on me." Her smile went away as her mind provided vivid answers, and she expressed, "I mean, I've always loved you-admittedly as a friend-but the night you nearly died... it really struck home then. Angel and I just... we came to our senses, I guess. He asked me if I love you... and I couldn't lie anymore; to him or myself. Then I came back. I saw it all, you lying there, hurt and bleeding... my heart stopped. I couldn't breathe. I thought you were dead! I was sure of it-"
  
  Sensing her growing distress, Xander sat up and embraced the upset girl, kissing her forehead to remind her of the much more beautiful present.
  
  Holding him gratefully, Buffy whispered, "Nothing else mattered until you were fine. You had to live, Xander. You had to stay with me, and I wasn't going to let anything take you away."
  
  She chuckled softly when he gasped, "Wow."
  
  Xander's mind whirled with many theories, pondering if Buffy's love for him was the reason he hadn't looped that night like he was supposed to. The Sherlock within him yearned for more evidence-more data to analyze and dissect-but couldn't dispute that was the likely cause for the change, since Buffy had never loved Xander more than Angel. The time braid was always an internal mechanism, and it meant that the love Xander and Buffy shared had to be real, or he wouldn't have escaped the loop.
  
  Bringing him back to the present, Buffy cautiously asked, "Can I ask you something?"
  
  "Anything," Xander replied, and truly meant it. He'd even tell her about the time braid if needed.
  
  After a deep breath, she asked with a hint of nervousness, "In your Old Man memories, do we-uh, you and I-get together? Like, later on?"
  
  Squinting his eyes as he was approaching dangerous territory, Xander slowly asked, "How much do you want to know?"
  
  Growing more nervous, Buffy answered, "The truth?"
  
  "Alright, but this might be a bit shocking," he consented. "In our early to mid-twenties you thought you liked me romantically. You confessed to me in a rose garden in a monastery in Tibet-it was very romantic-but by that point, I doubted you really meant it. So, we didn't actually date."
  
  "Really? Why?" the perplexed blonde asked, tilting her head.
  
  Shaking his head ruefully in a moment of deep thought, Xander prefaced, "Um, well, let's remove Giles and Willow from this next part because one is our work pops and the other is our sistah from anotha mistah." After a brief smirk from Buffy, he recounted, "Putting them aside, I was the only other person who's been with you the longest, through thick and thin. And you had been through so many, shall we say, romantic dalliances, that I didn't actually believe it when you said you liked me. Not really."
  
  Squinting her eyes with a hint of fear, Buffy asked, "When you say so many , we're not talking, like, mega-slut status, right? I mean, I'm not that girl, am I?"
  
  "No, no, nothing like that; it's a very conservative number," he assured her with a shake of his head. " But you have been with guys, vampires-"
  
  "Vampires?" Buffy quickly interrupted, her tone a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. "With an S ? As in more than one?"
  
  Xander nodded, a playful smirk dancing on his lips when he added, "And girls-"
  
  "Girls!" Buffy hollered in surprise. From her shocked expression, such a revelation clearly opened a door to a world she had never imagined-a world that defied societal expectations and ventured into uncharted territory.
  
  Xander nodded, merrily citing, "I believe you said, and I quote, ' it 's a phase! I'm allowed to have a phase! ' But that phase popped up, like, once a decade."
  
  "Wow," Buffy gasped, taking a moment to take in such radical information. She pressed her lips into a line as she processed the magnitude of the information unveiled before her. Then she asked, "And none of them... Don't I ever get married?" Xander shook his head, and with horror in her eyes, Buffy sadly bemoaned, "I really do end up an old spinster."
  
  "But, like a really hot old spinster," he tried to uplift. She turned to him, upset by his reply, and he hastily explained, "I mean, once Slayers make it past twenty-seven, twenty-eight, they age incredibly slow. So, you're still really strong and look great even when you're sixty."
  
  Buffy was not uplifted and lamented, "But I don't wanna be an old spinster!"
  
  "Oh hey, it's not all on you, Buff," he tried to clarify, moving closer and taking her hands to comfort her. She eyed him with heavy skepticism, but he assured her, "No, really, it isn't. To be with someone as amazing, beautiful, and lovable as you; even if that guy was handsome, smart, caring, and funny, he would also need to be incredibly strong, work in the sadly booming business of Slaying, able to walk in sunlight, and most importantly, not die. There were so many people both of us dated who just didn't make it home one night. Those qualifications take out, like, ninety-nine percent of all potential life-partners."
  
  "...Really?" she asked, eyeing him with a mixture of fear and hope.
  
  "Really, really," he doubly answered.
  
  With a huff, she smiled and nodded before weakly remarking, "I still find it so weird that you have these memories."
  
  "Tell me about it," he scoffed. "I always have this fear that telling you guys things here and there will only make everything worse. The Old Me's future was already pretty bad, to begin with. I mean, like, just utter garbage."
  
  After a moment of thought, Buffy asked, "Who was the other vampire? You said vampires."
  
  "And here comes a lot of the reason why that future sucked," Xander commented before slowly asking her, with real gravitas in his voice, "...Do you really want to know?"
  
  "...Well, that's not ominous," she remarked hesitantly. "Was it really that bad?"
  
  "Like anybody else, you have sides of yourself that even you don't know about-dark sides," Xander explained. "Life is not kind to the Slayer, and this Nameless One could see those darker sides of you. When you were at your lowest, and felt like even your friends couldn't understand what you were going through, you and him started this twisted love affair that would make for a good trashy romance novel."
  
  As Xander's words escaped his lips, he couldn't deny the twinge of resentment that was always within him, a bitter cocktail of jealousy and disapproval. Yet, he knew he couldn't dismiss the reality that Spike had carved a place in Buffy's heart.
  
  "This vampire was a bad guy-like, really bad... at first," Xander continued, his voice tinged with a hint of reluctant acceptance. "But through this ' relationship ' with you, you saw the good in him when no one else did, including him. And in the end, he did have good in him; a lot, in fact. He did a lot of really heroic things because he loved you." Pondering the lengths some men will go to for her-himself included-Xander noted, "I guess you bring that out in people."
  
  Buffy's cheeks flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and affectionate annoyance. With a teasing smile, she playfully shoved Xander's shoulder, attempting to diffuse the weight of his words. "Stop," she half-heartedly protested, her smile betraying her true emotions.
  
  "I'm serious," he insisted with a smile, his voice laced with sincerity.
  
  A moment of silence hung between them as they gazed into each other's eyes, pregnant with unspoken admiration and gratitude for a shared history. Breaking the stillness, Buffy's voice rose inquisitively as she asked, "So, what happened with... what's his name?"
  
  Xander cruised past her attempt to learn the vampire's identity and answered, "The same problem you had with Angel reared its ugly head with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named."
  
  Surprised by the unusual moniker, Buffy pointed out, "Wait a minute. Willow gave me that book to read. That's from Harry Potter."
  
  "They make some fantastic movies later," Xander cheerfully revealed. "Don't worry, I won't spoil it for you."
  
  "You better not," she teased. "What's this ugly head you speak of?"
  
  Taking a moment to compose himself, Xander glanced out the window, where the twilight painted the sky with hues of fiery orange and dusky purple. It was a scene that mirrored the complexities of the upcoming conversation. He knew he needed to choose his words carefully, crafting them in a way that would help Buffy grasp the weight of the unfortunate circumstances she hadn't directly experienced.
  
  "You fight the dark, Buffy," Xander began, his voice gentle yet filled with conviction. "Demons, vampires, apocalypses, curses-the dark list goes on and on. So, it makes sense you'd have an attraction to someone from that world-even fall for them-because it's a large part of your life. It's kind of like a work-husband. They just understand the battles you have to face every night because they're from that world, too."
  
  In that moment, Xander's gaze softened, his eyes tracing the lines on Buffy's beautiful face as he contemplated the complexities of love and the imperfections that come with it. Life, he realized, was a tapestry woven with both light and shadow, and the people we cherished were no exception. It was in accepting and embracing their flaws that true love truly thrived, and though Xander had his opinions of Buffy's love life, he had grown to understand and accept them.
  
  Xander continued, his voice filled with reassurance and admiration, "You're destined to face the darkness, but you also have a place in the light. Your moments of rest, of fun, of family, and friends. Your home is in the sun."
  
  Caught off guard by the depth of his understanding, Buffy whispered, her voice carrying a mix of vulnerability and surprise, "Yeah... Angel was a love like I'd always dreamed of. Tall, handsome, strong, sweet, and kind. And for him to accept all of me was more than I could've ever hoped for in a guy. So, I never really thought past that."
  
  Her gaze shifted, her eyes momentarily lost in the distant memories of love and pain. Xander's voice grounded her when he asked, "And now?"
  
  She refocused her gaze and replied with a slight tremor in her voice, "And now I've been hurt... worse than I ever thought I could be. The world isn't what it was anymore. It's changed. I've changed. But I think I'm better; or maybe stronger for it."
  
  As she spoke, the soft evening light filtered through the window, casting a warm glow upon her face. The fading rays of the sun mirrored the fading innocence of her heart, yet in their gentle touch, there was a glimmer of hope and resilience. As his fingers caressed the side of her face, Buffy's eyes met his gaze, revealing a mix of determination and newfound strength.
  
  "I think that's going to happen a lot; the world changing," he mused. "Things can always get tougher, and for your love to really stand the test of time, you need someone who's a part of both worlds-who can change with you... and won 't die, because again, I can't stress how important that part is."
  
  A mischievous glimmer danced in Buffy's eyes as she let out a playful giggle. She leaned in closer, her voice a teasing whisper. "Someone like you?"
  
  A gentle smile spread across his face as he replied, "If you'd have me, I'd be honored."
  
  Buffy's eyes widened a moment before questioning with a hint of uncertainty, "And Faith? This is way outside my wheelhouse. I haven't the slightest idea how to do something like this."
  
  Xander hesitated a moment, then suggested, "Yeah, uh, let's just ask her. She's pretty direct about what she wants, likes, and doesn't. We'll toss the ball in her court and see what she does with it."
  
  Reluctantly parting from the warmth of their tangled embrace, the lovers found themselves caught in a bittersweet struggle. The allure of the outside world tugged at their senses, but their hearts yearned for just a few more stolen moments of blissful togetherness.
  
  Washing off the scent and smut of sex under the cascading water of the shower, their hormonal desire for each other flared anew. The teens were insatiable and each droplet that caressed their skin seemed to carry with it an electrifying spark, igniting their shared fire once more. Their arousal refused to be contained within the steam-filled enclosure and their bodies magnetically entwined not long into their shower.
  
  Xander spun Buffy around and pressed her front against the tiled wall, the shower head above her, spraying them both but unable to cool her growing lust. The gorgeous blonde stuck her ass out eagerly, spreading her legs for him, and he happily obliged. Buffy moaned deeply as Xander's thick cock slid into her pink hole, slowly stuffing her sex to the brim.
  
  "AHHHHHHMMMMMMM... Yessss," Buffy moaned happily as Xander relished the hot, velvety walls of her tight pussy.
  
  Under the shower, the teens fornicated like animals, their naked bodies hot and wet. Buffy's face was pressed against the white tile, her eyes closed and lips open as she moaned. Xander's cock filled her pussy repeatedly, lathering his veined member with generous amounts of her sweet nectar. She was squeezing him tighter as he kept pounding into her. Her legs weakened and began to shake, her moaning filling the shower. Xander gripped her shapely hips tighter, keeping her in place, and the moment she felt ready, he began vibrating his pounding cock.
  
  Buffy screamed as she climaxed together, her back arching as her pussy clamped down on his vibrating member. Xander buried himself to the hilt one last time as her entire body quivered and lost all strength as pure ecstasy flooded her entire being from head to toe. Feeling his own pleasure explode, Xander unleashed a torrent of hot cum into her pulsing womb. The lovers remained joined as one, enjoying the lingering bliss of their passion before finally washing properly and exiting the shower.
  
  However, even against the front door, their desire for one another ignited like a fervent flame, and Buffy's back was against the door, with Xander pounding deep inside her as the lovers kissed. After another earth-shattering orgasm, the couple tore themselves away and exited his home, hand-in-hand.
  
  The entire drive to Buffy's house, the blonde Slayer was glowing with intense satisfaction-vibrating deliciously as she glided on air-while at the same time incredibly nervous, dreading their conversation with Faith.
  
  -
  
  Walking into Buffy's home and through the living room, Xander and Buffy came upon Willow and Faith at the dining table. It was night out and the room felt cozy with its warm lighting. Willow was tutoring Faith, and their textbooks and notebooks were scattered on the table in front of them.
  
  "Someone's home late," Faith's playful voice called out at the sight of them.
  
  Upon seeing Buffy's flushed cheeks, a telltale sign of her recent tryst, and wet-ish hair, a mischievous spark ignited in Faith's eyes. It was as if a giant neon sign illuminated the room, silently conveying the unspoken details of their intimate encounter. Buffy's blushing face told Faith everything she needed to know.
  
  " Xander, you 're patrolling tonight! " Faith exclaimed, catching everyone by surprise. She stood up and added, "And can you get us ice cream, please?! Pudding pops for me."
  
  Xander, wanting to address what was on his mind, started to speak, "Faith, I think we should probably talk-"
  
  However, Faith cut him off, stating with playful urgency, "Later, later! Now, hurry up! I don't want to start without my pop!"
  
  Without delay, Faith dragged Buffy and Willow upstairs as the redhead called out, "But- but studying!"
  
  Figuring what they were going to talk about, Xander called Cordelia, since he didn't want her feeling left out-even if he was going to be the topic of discussion. Though she claimed to be busy, Cordelia made her way over. Xander wasted no time. He swiftly fetched three flavors of ice cream-chocolate, strawberry, and cookies and cream-Faith's chocolate pudding pops, and delectable pink lemonade cupcakes. Xander talked with Joyce for a little while about Buffy's car and then left to patrol.
  
  -
  
  Dressed in his Nox stealth gear, Xander parked his sleek black motorcycle in the desolate school parking lot. The engine's purr gradually faded as he dismounted, and with a practiced hand, he unclipped Dreadnought from the bike and secured it to the latch at his back. The moon cast an ethereal glow on the silent surroundings as he ventured toward the entrance of the empty school.
  
  Stepping into the vacant halls, his mind was consumed by thoughts of his recent afternoon with Buffy. Xander's footsteps echoed softly as he made his way toward the library-his mind replayed those hours like a vivid scene from a movie. He could still feel her weight and warmth on him, but he also had a nagging worry about leaving Buffy to negotiate this odd relationship alone with Faith. Deep down, he trusted there wouldn't be any issues since no one was being dishonest in their feelings.
  
  Xander's eyes widened in surprise as he entered the library and saw a bleach-blond vampire seated at the long table. Spike lounged nonchalantly in a chair, leaning back with his feet casually propped up on the table. Xander's hand twitched reflexively for his battleaxe, a subconscious response honed from countless battles and confrontations, but the serene composure of Wesley, Giles, and Angel indicated that there was no immediate danger.
  
  Confusion clouded Xander's features as he was certain the meeting was about strategizing their surveillance on the Mayor. His gaze flickered between the assembled men and he struggled to comprehend Spike's unexpected presence. A cascade of questions danced on the tip of Xander's tongue, curiosity mingling with caution. The puzzle pieces didn't quite fit, leaving him uncertain about Spike's role as he approached the group.
  
  Wesley was the first to raise a concern. Lines of worry etched on the Watcher's forehead as he glanced toward the library doors, his eyes searching for the absent Slayers. With a furrowed brow, he asked Xander, "Where are the Slayers? They're supposed to be here?"
  
  Xander's sights fixated on the enigmatic vampire seated at the table as he only cared to ask, "What the hell is Spike doing here?"
  
  Setting down his weathered book, Giles informed him, "Angel devised a plan that has promise. He extended an invitation to Spike."
  
  An air of suspicion hung in the room as Angel, his eyes narrowing with intensity, couldn't help but question Xander's presence. His voice carried an edge of accusation as he demanded to know, "Why do you smell like Buffy?"
  
  Xander's brown eyes widened in surprise-caught completely off guard-and he played terribly dumb as he asked, "Hmm? Say what now? Buffy? She's not here," he added, looking around the library.
  
  The other men watched on, their curiosity rising as Angel took determined strides toward the raven-haired teen. A deep growl rumbled in Angel's throat, his anger simmering as he stated, "I can smell her all over you."
  
  Xander's attempts to deceive failed as he tried to divert suspicion but replying, "Hmm? Really? Oh, she, um, spilled her... perfume on me."
  
  The tension in the room quickly thickened as Angel's shoulders tensed, his anger on the brink of exploding. He closed the distance between them, his fists clenched in frustration. "That's not perfume," he seethed, his voice a low warning.
  
  "Oh, no!" Spike erupted in immediate laughter, his amusement reverberating through the room. Each man present, to varying degrees, began to comprehend the implications of what had transpired. Confusion flickered across Wesley's face as he thought Xander and Buffy had merely shared a hug. Giles, ever the patient observer, quietly hoped it was just a kiss. However, understanding that it was full-on parting the Pink Sea, Spike's laughter only grew, his understanding of the situation leading to a boisterous outburst. Pointing at Angel, Spike howled, "No! Say it ain't so! Don't tell me he's feeding your ex the baby gravy?! Mate! Uh, gods! I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard!"
  
  Avoiding direct eye contact with Angel, Xander cleared his throat to break the tension. Turning to Giles, he asked, "How about I go patrol solo tonight? You can tell me the plan later."
  
  Grateful for the suggestion, Giles nodded fervently as he agreed. "I think- I think- yes, thank you, Xander."
  
  Spike, seizing the opportunity for some action, happily offered, "I may as well tag along. A good fight to go with that crack-on sounds perfect."
  
  "You can't," an irate Angel nearly growled. "Part of the plan means you can't be seen chumming it up with us, especially him ."
  
  "Yeah, alright," Spike reluctantly acquiesced, his tone slightly disappointed.
  
  Without further ado, Xander shrugged off the tension in the room and made his way out of the library. However, Wesley caught up with him, feeling the need to address the situation. He approached the axe-wielding teen and earnestly stated, "Giles explained to me what it might be like for you, to have the memories of an entire life, much of it dedicated to the eradication of evil in all its forms and I find myself in a precarious position. What you said, while sensible, should have been expressed in private. You made me look incompetent in front of my slayers. Moving forward, I trust you will air any disagreements you have with me in private."
  
  Unaffected by Wesley's words, Xander bluntly responded, "Wesley, I hope you grow up quickly, or you're not going to make it," before leaving.
  
  -B-
  
  As Cordelia stepped into Buffy's cozy bedroom, she brought with her bags of tantalizing treats-the cold cartons of ice cream, the pudding pops, and the strawberry lemonade cupcakes. Buffy and Willow were seated on the plush comfort of the bed, their attire reflecting the sudden pajama party-Buffy in a tank top and shorts, while Willow borrowed her friend's long-sleeved, baggier sleeping wear. Faith wore tattered black shorts with a black tank top.
  
  Despite her apprehension about the impending conversation, Buffy's face softened with genuine gratitude at Cordelia's presence. After what Xander had revealed about the Chase household, Buffy didn't want the radiant cheerleader to feel left out.
  
  With desserts in hand, the girls gathered around. However, Buffy didn't feel her appetite, her thoughts preoccupied by the weight of the impending discussion. Sensing the tension in her best friend, a concerned Willow once again asked Faith what this was all about. Faith locked eyes with Buffy, her lips curving into a mischievous smile, causing the blonde to blush under her hot gaze.
  
  With a playful tilt of her head, Faith redirected Willow's inquiry, teasingly asking, "Yeah, Buffy. What's this all about?"
  
  Growing increasingly irritated by the brunette, Buffy cutely clapped back, "You're the one who dragged us up here! We're supposed to be meeting Giles, not hanging out in my room."
  
  Buffy saw the mischief dancing in Faith's eyes and sensed that the girl cared nothing for Slayer business. She simply asked, "How was he?"
  
  Buffy's face and neck quickly flushed a deep shade of red, her embarrassment palpable as she instinctively leaned away from their penetrating gazes, desperately attempting to hide her secret. She was all too aware of Faith's straightforward nature and chose to resist answering her probing question.
  
  Having seen Buffy earlier that day, Cordelia's eyes widened when she connected the dots and yelled, "Oh my God! You had sex with Xander!"
  
  Alarmed, Buffy quickly hushed Cordelia-placing a finger to her lips-as her eyes darted towards the closed bedroom door. "Shhhhh! My mom's here!"
  
  Caught off guard by the revelation, Willow eyed her best friend and couldn't help but express her dismay. Her tone tinged with a hint of hurt as she tentatively asked, "You... had sex with Xander, too?"
  
  Sensitive to her friend's feelings, Buffy's expression softened with concern as she reached out to comfort Willow. Her voice carried a reassuring undertone as she tentatively spoke, "Will..."
  
  Upset, Willow's eyes searched the room, her frustration evident as she demanded to know, "Am I the only one who hasn't had sex with Xander?"
  
  "You have Oz and he's a great guy," Buffy said, hoping to uplift her friend's spirits by reminding the redhead of her amazing boyfriend.
  
  Calming down, Willow quickly assured everyone, her words carrying a mix of self-assurance and a hint of lingering disappointment. "I know... I know, really, I do... but still! Who likes feeling left out? I sure don't! And I had the biggest crush on him before any of you!"
  
  Cordelia casually chimed in, "He just loves you too much to horndog all over you."
  
  A warm smile brightened Willow's face as she found solace in Cordelia's words. "Aww... that's actually sweet," she cooed with a smile.
  
  Never one to hold back, Faith declared with supreme conviction, "I'll take the horn any day."
  
  "Faith!" Buffy yelled, taken aback by her bluntness.
  
  Unfazed, the Bostonian Slayer playfully locked eyes with Buffy, her grin widening as she asked, "But was I right, or was I right?"
  
  At the thought of sex with Xander-the many orgasms that wrecked her entire body-Buffy blushed furiously and cupped her cheeks with her hands. Her legs twitched and tightened at the lingering phantom feeling of him thrusting inside her.
  
  Smiling at the racy girl talk, a very curious Willow slowly asked, "Was he really that good?"
  
  Buffy couldn't speak, but with a deep blush, she nodded fervently.
  
  Eager for more details, Faith quickly followed up with, "Did he do the vibrating thing?"
  
  Willow asked Faith, "Vibrating thing? What vibrating thing?" With a grin, Faith quickly explained what Xander's appendages were capable of doing due to his magical ring, and the redhead turned beet red herself. The intrigued girl smiled and asked her best friend, "Did he?"
  
  Grabbing her pillow and burying her face in the plush comfort, Buffy bemoaned, "Ugggh, why does everyone need to know every detail every time I have sex?"
  
  "Drama queen much?" Cordelia sarcastically asked. "It's only been Angel and Xander," she pointed out.
  
  Faith eagerly asked her sister Slayer, "Who's better?"
  
  Bringing down the pillow, Buffy instantly asserted, "I'm not answering that!"
  
  A smug Faith mumbled to herself with certainty, "There's no way Angel has a vibrating dick."
  
  "Crap!" Cordelia cursed. She eyed everyone as she asked, "Does this mean I'm out?"
  
  Faith winced at the cheerleader's plight, replying, "Sorry, Cor. I was cool with you two smashing cheeks every once in a while, but I'm sure Buffy ain't."
  
  Turning to the blushing blonde, an upset Cordelia asserted, "You couldn't have warned me first? Now I have to quit cold turkey?"
  
  "Sorry, but I'm already wigging out about this whole thing," Buffy dreadfully confessed. "Adding another person is well beyond the threshold of my sanity."
  
  "Well, this night officially sucks worse than the creation of fanny packs," Cordelia bemoaned before stuffing a spoon full of chocolate ice cream in her mouth.
  
  Intrigued by Buffy's comment, Willow leaned forward, her eyes filled with curiosity as she asked, "Are you scared this might change your friendship with Xander?"
  
  Shaking her head, Buffy hastened to say, "No. I mean, I was in the beginning, but now I'm actually pretty excited about what's next. I mean, it's Xander, but in a way I never really saw him before-like seeing him in a new light. The more I think about him, the more I want to know. How could I not feel excited?" Her voice brimmed with happiness as she confessed her feelings. However, a hint of worry creased her brow as she continued, "The sole source of my wig-fest is none other than Faith. Because neither Xander nor I know how to do this."
  
  "Do what?" Willow asked, still unsure of the problem.
  
  "I'm still his girlfriend," Faith cheerily revealed.
  
  Furrowing her brow in confusion, Willow stuttered to affirm, "Wait, what? But I thought you were..."
  
  "There you are. Welcome to Crazy Town-population: one," Buffy commiserated, her tone a mixture of incredulity and satire. "Because, somehow, I'm also his girlfriend. That or the mistress?"
  
  With a stern finger, Faith playfully asserted, "Hey! If anyone here is the mistress, it's me, dammit."
  
  Willow's eyes widened in disbelief as she locked her gaze on Faith, her voice filled with concern. "Faith, are you really okay with this? No, wait-why am I asking you?" Recognizing Faith's unorthodox personality, the redhead turned to her best friend instead and pleaded to know, "Are you really okay with this? Dating a boy who already has a girlfriend?"
  
  Exasperated, Buffy smacked her face with her pillow and groaned before letting out a, "I don't know!" Lowering her pillow, strands of her golden hair curling over her nose and mouth, she continued, "As unfamiliar territory goes, I'm on Mars right now." A moment of silence hung in the air as the girls waited for Buffy's anxious thoughts to find clarity. "The only thing I know for sure is that it's Xander and Faith. If it were anyone else, that would be the sternest, ' Nope! Never gonna happen! '"
  
  With a slight shake of her head, Faith asked her sister Slayer, "What are you stressing about? Do you think I knew how to be monogamous when I started dating Xander? I'd long since given up on that before I even met you guys. But he told me all I had to do was think about the person I love when I made decisions throughout my day. And I did that when I decided to leave."
  
  Raising a brow curiously, Cordelia asked Faith, "You're leaving?"
  
  "No, not anymore," Faith answered, a small smile tugging at her lips. "You guys are stuck with me now."
  
  "Good," a relieved Willow gratefully asserted.
  
  Faith's smile widened as she continued, her eyes sparkling with confidence. "I thought about you and him, and it only made sense that you two be together. I just don't see any reason why I have to break up with him."
  
  Though thoroughly apprehensive, Willow gathered her courage to point out the obvious and ask, "But what if you're really looking forward to seeing him but he's having fun with Buffy instead? Wouldn't you be devastated or feel left out? That can build resentment."
  
  Faith shrugged nonchalantly, her carefree demeanor shining through as she replied, "I'd either join them or catch him the next night." Willow didn't seem satisfied with that answer, leaving Faith to continue, "Look: right now, I'm good with having fun, fighting, and fucking. I'll worry about all that emotional crap later... when I'm a little more prepared for it."
  
  Sensing Faith's brief moment of vulnerability, Buffy reached out and took her hand in a comforting gesture. Faith raised their joined hands and exclaimed, "See! This is what I'm talking about. She cared about how I was feeling and just took my hand; to comfort me. I'll do the same for them, and Xander does the same for us. I'm telling you, we're already there. You two just need to stop being babies with your make-believe boundaries and accept it."
  
  The room fell silent. Although still feeling a bit confused, Buffy couldn't find a valid counterpoint to Faith's words. She couldn't help but wonder if she was right. After all, it wasn't as if the three of them didn't love each other. Buffy wanted to be with Xander without losing Faith, and she suspected it was the same with Faith. It seemed like an impossible possibility-a delicate balance of desires and selfishness between three different people-but in her heart of hearts, Buffy couldn't shake the feeling that such an unconventional relationship was possible for them. A small hesitant part of her even felt it might be perfect.
  
  Taking a deep breath, Buffy resolved herself to embrace the uncharted territory ahead, determined to navigate the complexities of their intertwined hearts. It wouldn't be easy, but dating Angel wasn't easy, either. The prospect of a love that defied norms and expectations wasn't new to her. In fact, it fueled her determination.
  
  Seated with her legs crossed, Cordelia appeared lost in thought as she savored her chocolate ice cream, contemplating the complex dynamics at play. Willow seemed hesitant to fully accept the Slayer's lifestyle choice decisions, but the redhead changed the topic, redirecting her burning curiosity to another subject.
  
  Eying each of the girls in a mixture of frustration and acceptance, Willow pleaded, "...Can someone please explain to me why Xander is some sort of sex wizard?"
  
  Eager to enlighten her friend, Cordelia smiled broadly as she answered, "I would love to."
  
  The girls continued their conversation, delving deeply into discussions about Xander's sexual prowess and charm, all while indulging in their snacks. Cordelia and Faith shared detailed anecdotes and provided the less experienced Buffy and Willow with more context, explaining why Xander stood apart from nearly all men. Laughter and conversation filled the room as the clock struck midnight, turning their gathering into an impromptu slumber party, where they would continue to bond and enjoy each other's company.
  
  -
  
  At a slight tapping sound at Buffy's window, the Slayers exchanged knowing glances and saw a familiar figure in the darkness. They smiled and gestured to the other room beside Buffy's, and Xander met the girls in Faith's room, mindful not to disturb the sleeping Willow and Cordelia.
  
  Under the ethereal glow of the moon, Xander joined the girls at the windowsill. The night was cool, and the moonlight bathed them in a silvery sheen. Buffy noted how pristine he was, meaning if he'd fought any vampires, they'd offered him no challenge. Buffy spotted Xander's gaze lingering on their form-fitting nightwear-a carnal gleam in his eyes-and she suppressed a smile at his gaze. Buffy felt a sudden spring in her step, savoring the burning chemistry that was crackling between them.
  
  Rather than entering the room, Xander leaned against the windowsill, signaling that this would be more of a chat than anything else. The trio were close within the window frame, their breath mingling in the cool night air. It felt as if time stood still, their connection intensified by the shared proximity.
  
  With a mischievous grin adorning his face, Xander asked in a lighthearted tone, "Fun night?"
  
  "Not as fun as your afternoon, Stud," Faith teased with a wide grin, a twinkle in her mischievous eyes.
  
  The implication was clear: Faith knew he had sex with Buffy. As the blonde Slayer leveled a ' really? ' eye at Faith, Xander's nerves crept to the surface as he tried to state, "Uh, right, a-about that-"
  
  "Don't worry about it," Faith interrupted, shaking her head dismissively. Her nonchalant demeanor suggested a sense of acceptance, as if she already knew the details and was more than fine with it.
  
  Perplexed, Xander looked from Faith to Buffy, seeking confirmation. His voice carried a hint of uncertainty as he asked, "Really? Buffy?"
  
  Confronted with the complexities of their unconventional relationship, Buffy grew nervous once again, but determination glimmered in her greenish-blue eyes as she mustered the courage to respond, "...I'm still nervous about all of this, but... if we take this slow-and this is the biggest if in the world. If we take this slow, I'm willing to try."
  
  Her words hung in the air, filled with a mix of vulnerability and hope, as she sought to navigate the uncharted territory of their interconnected hearts. Xander released an audible breath, his half-smile a reflection of relief mingled with uncertainty. He wasn't certain how to react, but it appeared as if he wouldn't be losing either girl, and that was enough solace for him.
  
  Delivering a playful punch to his shoulder, Faith happily jested, "Two hot-ass Slayers for girlfriends; you're the luckiest guy on the planet, Harris."
  
  "You won't hear any argument from me-like, literally forever," Xander replied, completely taken aback by such a situation, struggling to fully comprehend the extraordinary situation he found himself in.
  
  Nodding toward Buffy, Faith directed Xander, "Then kiss her first."
  
  Thrown for a loop, a bewildered Buffy choked, "W-What?!"
  
  Xander amended his earlier statement, hesitantly restating, "Okay, maybe a small amount of argument."
  
  Curiosity overflowing within her, Buffy sought to ask Faith, "Why me?"
  
  With gentle reassurance, Faith replied, "He's definitely going to kiss me goodnight and I don't want you to feel left out or think you matter less cuz he kissed me first."
  
  Buffy's brows furrowed, grappling with the conflicting emotions swirling within her. At the thought of it, the blonde Slayer blushed and weakly pointed out, "But... you're looking."
  
  Rolling her eyes playfully, Faith let out a small chuckle, her resolve unwavering, and asserted, "Fine, I'll go first."
  
  In that transformative moment, Xander and Buffy exchanged glances filled with a blend of uncertainty, apprehension, and desire. The anticipation of such a serious step forward made the air around them crackle with nervous energy. Then Faith and Xander leaned towards each other, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss that held a hint of possessiveness.
  
  Faith's usual ferocity was unmistakable, likely relishing the sensation of Buffy watching them make out. It was a peculiar sight for Buffy, witnessing her boyfriend's lips locked in a passionate embrace with another woman right before her eyes. The conflicting emotions within threatened to overwhelm her until she was reminded why it was okay in this scenario.
  
  For an agonizing moment, Buffy questioned whether she could handle this unconventional dynamic, feeling as though they were reaching a boundary that was generally a deal-breaker within a relationship. However, after several moments of intensity, Xander slowed Faith's fervor down to something slower, languid, with an undeniable depth of emotion. Buffy could see the love and couldn't deny how hot it looked. The way Xander melted down Faith's walls through their kiss stirred something new within Buffy, and she felt herself get aroused by it.
  
  When Faith felt the enormity of how much Xander loved her, she pulled away from their kiss, making Buffy sympathize with her sister Slayer. A softness seemed to envelop Faith, unveiling a vulnerability that both intrigued and frightened Buffy. It was in that vulnerable state that Buffy's instinct to comfort and provide solace emerged, an unspoken desire to reassure Faith that she was not alone.
  
  Xander's hand reached out, finding Faith's, and Buffy instinctively mirrored the gesture, enveloping the troubled girl's hand in a comforting grasp. The warmth of their touch seemed to provide a fleeting solace to Faith's turbulent emotions. Faith nodded when she seemed to be feeling better, then pulled each of their hands, signaling that it was their turn. Xander's gaze shifted towards Buffy, his eyes brimming with a complex mix of longing and nostalgia. Their connection, forged by years of shared experiences and deep affection, pulled them inexorably closer.
  
  As their eyes locked, a surge of emotions drew their lips together with an irresistible force. When the soft flesh of their lips met, the chemistry between them was explosive, sparking like an electrical current. Their kiss was initially tender, a delicate exploration of the love they shared as friends and lovers. Time seemed to stand still as their lips moved in perfect harmony-their bodies gravitating toward each other-and every touch laced with a longing that could not be denied.
  
  As the seconds ticked by, their kiss transformed into something more urgent, fueled by a passionate hunger that had been dormant for too long. Their locked lips became a battlefield of desires, a frenzy of unspoken yearning and rekindled passion. Each touch ignited a fire within them, consuming any remnants of doubt or hesitation, leaving behind nothing but pleasure. Buffy felt her own desires surging, tempting her to succumb to the intoxicating pull of lust and whisk Xander away to her comfy bed. Her cheeks flushed with a mix of desire and embarrassment as she reluctantly broke the kiss, aware of the thin line they were treading.
  
  Watching her calm down a bit, Faith remarked, "Atta girl, B."
  
  Simple chapter, I know, but we're nearing the end. 2 chapters left.
  
  I truly believe that Buffy needs a guy that can be a part of both worlds. I don't like how the show and some fans push Spike like he's the best guy for her, but he can't even be in the sun. Not all of Buffy's fights take place at night! What's Spike going to do then? Seriously, all the show needed to do was to man-up Xander, then he would've been the best guy for Buffy. Sadly, they didn't have the creative juice to pull that off. Oh well, that's why fanfiction exist. Wait until we can create fan fics with AI generated images of the characters that you can see in a VR headset. That'll be next level.
  
  Anyway, thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Epilogue Part I
  This is part 1 of 2.
  
  Hey everyone! Welcome back. I really wanted to post this on a Sunday, like I used to, but summer has been busy. This epilogue was very large, thus I split it up. The second part will be posted later today.
  
  Big thanks to my beta team, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar. Thank you.
  
  Warnings: Language and Lemons!
  
  10.7 K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Epilogue Part I
  
  Ever since the night that Xander and the Slayers shared a kiss by the moonlit windowsill, their lives had taken on an extraordinary direction. A three-way bond was a relationship that defied the social norm. It was common for a boy and a girl to be in a relationship, for a boy to cheat on his girlfriend, or for a girl to date a good-looking guy with his life together. What wasn't common was a three-way relationship in which the girls dating the boy were fully aware of each other and consented to share him. Additionally, Xander, Buffy, and Faith went to school together, trained together, ate dinner together, and, if possible, patrolled together. Their relationship was so unique, and so much was on the line, that they couldn't help being cautious.
  
  The first time the three discussed how to navigate this relationship, Buffy asked, "We're not telling people, right? Not to be a Debbie-Downer or anything, but I mean, we're talking about the one place in America that thrives on ruthlessly judging others for any little thing and slut-shaming them to the end of their days-high school."
  
  "First, it's none of their business, so they don't need to know," Faith asserted unapologetically. "If they're itching to run their mouths about shit that ain't got nothing to do with them, I'd be happy to wipe the floor with them and their shitty opinions."
  
  "As sexy as I find assault and battery charges," Xander interjected. "Let's try for options that avoid getting you suspended in your first month here. We still have janitor's closets to defile."
  
  "Oh, right, the closets," Faith recalled, nodding.
  
  Aghast by their insinuation, Buffy asked, "Wait, you guys... In school?!"
  
  "I love doing it outside," Faith answered with a grin.
  
  Buffy appeared lost in her thoughts-almost anxious-and Xander could see she was measuring or comparing herself to Faith. Xander recognized the dangerous path her mind was treading, the comparison only serving to fuel doubts about her worth and the depth of Xander's feelings for her. With a knowing smile, he couldn't help but find amusement in the situation. After all, he had shared just as many intimate moments with Buffy in the confines of their bedroom as he had with Faith. The irony of Buffy feeling left out when they had indulged in many nights of passion together was not lost on him.
  
  "Buffy, I love you both in different ways," Xander gently shared. "There are things that you like doing that Faith doesn't."
  
  "Like holding hands in public or walking around school with a huge bouquet of flowers," Faith offered.
  
  Playfully hesitant, Xander replied, "Call me crazy, but I'm getting the subtle impression that you'd rather I not buy you roses for Valentine's Day."
  
  "You're so smart," the brunette teased, pinching his cheek.
  
  Xander snorted before continuing, "Buffster, I, for one, love holding hands and sending flowers. Because if there's anything I can do to show you two how much I love you, I'm doing it."
  
  Tentatively, Buffy asked, "So... you'd be okay with, like... I mean, you wouldn't wonder why I wasn't, for example, reserving the cleaning closet on the second floor by math class?"
  
  "Oof!" Faith groaned, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "That one doesn't get interruptions, but the smell is a serious buzz-kill."
  
  "You've done it there already?" Buffy exclaimed, her eyes wide as she goggled at them.
  
  With a noncommittal shrug, Faith replied, "So many rooms, so little time."
  
  "To answer your question, of course, we don't need to pick out a room or do any public play you're not up for," Xander answered his blonde girlfriend. "Whether we do hardcore or vanilla stuff, trust me when I say I want to do it all with you. I can't even begin to explain to you how much every second with both of you means to me. So, if you want to hold hands or anything, I'm more than down." Turning to Faith, he added, "And if you want to be a saucy minx and get the toy chest out, you know I'm down." Taking both of their hands, he concluded, "Neither of you ever have to worry about not being enough, or doing enough, because I love you both for who you are-the very essence of you-not simply for what we do or don't do."
  
  Buffy couldn't help leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. Though Xander appreciated the affection, he was taken aback, so Buffy sweetly told him, "I don't trust myself to do any more than that."
  
  "I don't mind watching," Faith purred, winking at a blushing Buffy.
  
  Xander chuckled before stating, "As far as what we tell others, the only people I think deserve to know the truth are the ones who actually care about us: Giles and your mom."
  
  "Telling Mom I'm the Slayer is a cakewalk by comparison," Buffy said, her voice shaky with fear.
  
  "Come on," Faith dismissed, flicking her hand with an air of casual certainty. "I know she's been secretly rooting for you and Xander to get together. She'll be thrilled."
  
  "Somehow, I highly doubt that," Buffy remarked.
  
  "What we're doing isn't typical, so I get if they're not jumping for joy right away," Xander interjected. "But as long as they see how committed we are to each other-how happy I want to make the both of you-I think they'll come around."
  
  "And school?" Buffy asked.
  
  Smiling, Xander asked, "How about we do a little role-playing?" At Faith's saucy smile, he added, "Not that kind of role-playing." Focusing on Buffy, he continued, "Pretend to be any student asking about the rumors of us or if they happen to see us kissing you in the hallway-which will happen."
  
  Turning to Faith, Buffy asked, "Are you sure you're not going to mind if people see me and Xander holding hands or kissing? Everyone knows you're his girlfriend."
  
  Faith snorted, waving her concern away. "Please. I'd only care that I missed it... or if you weren't using tongue."
  
  Wide-eyed, Buffy inhaled sharply at Faith's odd kink. Nodding in acceptance, Buffy turned to Xander and acted as a bubbly valley girl when she asked, "' Oh, Buffy! Hi! That 's a cute top! So, like, I don't know if you've heard, but curious minds are dying to know ... Is it true that you kissed Xander Harris even though he's dating Faith? '"
  
  With a straight face, Xander answered, "' You know what? I heard the same rumor -weird .' And then you literally walk away."
  
  "And if they actually saw us?" Buffy asked.
  
  Xander replied, "Then tell them, ' I 'm so glad you're here, Harmony. I've been meaning to talk to you about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. '"
  
  With a weary sigh, Buffy dropped her gaze and murmured, "Xander..."
  
  "What?" he demanded, a protective edge creeping into his voice. "I just don't see why we need to confirm or deny what isn't even their business to begin with."
  
  Slumping her shoulders, Buffy responded, " You might be able to just block it out, but..."
  
  "But... But what?" Leaning closer, curiosity softening his voice, Xander asked his next question. His voice was low and sincere, each word filled with an earnest eagerness to understand. "Tell me. I genuinely want to know if I'm missing something."
  
  "It's in the eyes," Faith informed him, her voice barely above a whisper. Buffy faced her sister Slayer and there was a clear understanding shared between them. The brunette continued, "Girls... and some guys, but mostly girls... they'll look at you and it'll be different. You can just feel their judgment on you, like grime on your skin. They won't even need to say a damn thing, but you'll still know you've automatically been excluded by your own gender. They'll look and treat you differently for no other reason than they don't understand you. And they sure as shit won't approve of you. It's isolating in a hallway full of people; and not just once, but every day."
  
  Her voice carried the weight of her own troubled past, revealing glimpses of the dark experiences she had endured. When Buffy and Xander reached out to comfort her, Faith pulled her hands away and simply smiled in gratitude, shaking her head, as if saying she appreciated their attempt to comfort her, but it wasn't necessary. Buffy and Xander both nodded, not the least bit offended.
  
  After a moment of silence, Xander stated, his voice filled with empathy, "I believe you. Cordelia went through the same thing, when everyone heard she was dating the school's biggest geek. She didn't have it easy-she lost a lot. Hell, she broke up with me. So, I can imagine you guys won't have it any better."
  
  "What about you?" Buffy asked him. "Won't this bother you? How guys will look..." At Xander's raised eyebrows, Buffy suddenly recalled how different men and women are. "Nevermind," she said. "I'm guessing your only problem will be swollen hands from all the high-fives you'll be getting."
  
  "Even without the high-fives, I can't even tell you how little I care about their opinion," he easily claimed. "Our friends, Giles, and Joyce. That's about it for me. But if school gets too hard-for either of you-you'll always have me. Or you can talk to Cordy. I'm sure she can help... though, it's generally unintentional help, but help nonetheless."
  
  Buffy smiled at his jest before nodding. "Guess we're talking to my mom tonight?"
  
  Suddenly panicked, Xander quickly informed them, "I forgot to mention that the shop needs me all night. So, I won't be able to make it to dinner."
  
  Faith hastened to add, "I have a lot of homework to catch up on. I think I'm going to be stuck at the library 'til super late."
  
  Buffy eyed both of them with contempt-though without seriously meaning it-and stated, "Cowards."
  
  -
  
  The following night, nervous anticipation hung in the air as Xander opened his door to find Joyce standing there. He couldn't deny the slight tremor that ran down his spine. Of all the people in Sunnydale, Joyce was the only one with the power to halt their unconventional relationship. Xander invited her inside, his heart pounding in his chest. After brewing a comforting cup of tea, they settled down in the kitchen. Joyce wore a sharp, scrutinizing gaze, and Xander knew he had to tread carefully. He respected her enough to give her the time she needed to express her thoughts.
  
  Eventually, she asked, "Do you love my daughter?"
  
  Xander didn't hesitate in his response, his voice filled with unwavering sincerity. "With my whole heart."
  
  "And Faith?"
  
  "I love her, too."
  
  "How?" she quickly asked. "How's it possible you can feel equal love for both of them?"
  
  Xander didn't hesitate to answer, "If I had to sum it up, I'd say perspective." Joyce paid close attention as Xander elaborated, "You already know I've got a lifetime of my memories because of magic. It's because of those that I have a good understanding of myself-my strengths, my weaknesses, and, specifically, my faults. So, ever since Halloween, all that time ago, I've been trying to be better- do better-because I know that if I don't, people get hurt. That means I now expect more from myself than I ever did before Halloween. And I think that's had an effect on those around me."
  
  Joyce listened intently, her eyes reflecting a mix of curiosity and understanding. She took a long, deep sip of her tea, gathering her thoughts, before asking, "Are you trying to say that this thing -you, Buffy, and Faith- somehow manifested this ' relationship ' because you made the decision to take more accountability in your own life?"
  
  Half-nodding, Xander answered, "Yes, but also because I've loved Buffy since the moment I laid eyes on her. Sadly, she only saw me as a friend, which I respected. Then I met Faith, and we hit it off. She also happens to be a sharer, for whatever that's worth. Now that I think about it, Mrs. S... I have to be honest with you and confess... Faith is the mastermind behind this entire thing. So, if you need to lay down some heavy-duty Mom law, she's your actual target."
  
  A soft snort escaped Joyce's lips, a mix of amusement and exasperation, and she shook her head at his playful remark. But beneath it, she realized a deeper understanding, and to Xander's surprise, asked a question that held no judgment. "So... Faith... She's a little more... open with whom she loves?"
  
  Nodding, Xander answered, "She, uh, doesn't discriminate. 'Love' is 'love' for her. An adventurous notion for an adventurous gal."
  
  Joyce nodded in understanding and Xander got the impression she didn't care in the slightest that Faith was bisexual. She sighed with some level of defeat before saying, "I can try and forbid Buffy from being in a relationship like this." She rubbed her forehead hard enough to cause lines as she added, "She'd hate me, of course, and still do it, anyway. I don't suppose I can implore you to end this with her?"
  
  "Sorry, Mrs. S," he said, shaking his head. "As much as I don't want to disappoint you, I don't have it in me to do that."
  
  "I just don't understand why one can't be enough, Xander?"
  
  "One would definitely be more than enough," he assured her. "The three of us are just... better together. Whether right or wrong, we fight better, we work better, we love better. The gaps we fill in each other make us more whole than any one person could. We can take on anything together, now and for the long haul."
  
  "I... don't support this. I'm not sure that I can," she admitted. "But... I won't get in the way. I love you-the three of you, I should say-and Buffy's old enough to make her own decisions; not that she'd listen to me."
  
  "She'll always listen to you, Mrs. S... then promptly figure out a loophole."
  
  "It should go without saying, but if you hurt her- either of them -I'll talk with Mr. Giles, and you better believe we'll devise the most heinous punishment imaginable. Do I make myself clear?"
  
  "Crystal," Xander replied. "Do you want to talk about her car?"
  
  With a curt nod, Joyce was informed more about the car Xander was purchasing, along with all the parts that may be needed to fully restore it. Outside, the gentle patter of rain against the window added a soothing rhythm to their conversation. As Xander spoke, his enthusiasm for the vehicle he'd be working on filled the air. Joyce took in the details, her mind forming vivid images of what he was planning, and their conversation delved into the intricacies of the car's restoration.
  
  -
  
  As Valentine's Day neared, a sense of excitement filled the air. Though Xander had two girlfriends, he wasn't worried. He simply knew them too well-their likes, dislikes, how much to push, pull, and play with them-and planned the day to perfection. For the special day, Xander had a large bouquet of long-stemmed red roses sent to Buffy and Faith during their first period, which he knew would delight Buffy, and both annoy and secretly charm Faith.
  
  Flowers weren't Faith's style-as she had repeatedly warned him-but Xander felt that the gesture was fine every once in a while. He also enjoyed watching his girlfriends walk through the crowded halls with such an eye-catching bouquet of red roses in their arms. Many asked Buffy who sent her bouquet and if she had a boyfriend. She declined to answer, smiling all the while. Faith glared at anyone complimenting her bouquet, but Xander felt that was mostly for her image, since she never threw them away.
  
  Not limiting his gestures to his romantic partners, Xander also extended his thoughtfulness to Willow, Cordelia, Joyce, and Jenny. Each of them received a bouquet, distinct from the vibrant red roses, consisting of elegant white blooms. It was a subtle acknowledgment of the unique bonds he shared with these important individuals in his life.
  
  After school, Xander began his Valentine's date with Faith by taking her to the theater to watch a horror movie-specifically, "The Blair Witch Project"-which made her laugh. Xander had always wanted to see it, and he was so engrossed in the film, he was actually terrified. They had to switch seats when he accidentally crushed the armrest of his chair, and rushed out at the end of the movie.
  
  Faith teased Xander as they exited the theater and when they arrived at the biker bar that Pete had told him about. The rough-looking bar had a row of hogs lined up outside, with country rock blaring inside. When Xander and Faith walked in, Xander was the only one not wearing black leather, but the place had an indoor axe-throwing range he knew Faith would love.
  
  Within minutes, the teenage couple got into three separate fights with three large men. Since Faith's leather-clad sexiness attracted quite a bit of hyper-masculine attention, Xander was forced to demonstrate that he was her boyfriend for a reason. When Xander and Faith effortlessly knocked out the young-but muscular-men with hard counter shots to the chin, they earned the bar's respect, especially for their bikes. Xander answered a lot of questions about his and Faith's bikes as they dominated the axe-throwing. The couple handily won several hundred dollars from the bets placed.
  
  After a long kiss, Faith left for the first shift of patrol while Xander quickly got ready and met Buffy for their dinner at the most expensive and elegant restaurant in town. She wore a red satin halter-neck cocktail dress that perfectly showed off her sexy figure and toned legs. To her surprise, they walked past the line of couples waiting to get in and were seated right away. Unbeknownst to the beauty, Xander had broken into the fine-dining restaurant the night before, erased the only name he didn't care about-Principal Snyder-and had written his name on the reservation list. It was an extra thrill to witness Snyder argue with the maître'd about his missing reservation. Every bite of their three-course meal-including the special Valentine's dessert: heart-shaped Turkish Delight-was sublime. The pair went to the Bronze afterward and danced for over an hour before heading back to his house for ice cream and a movie.
  
  Being teenagers, alone in a house, snuggled together on the comfortable couch, the pair stopped paying attention to the movie within the first five minutes. Her scent was right under his nose, her warmth against his front. Xander couldn't keep his wandering hands to himself, and very soon, they were making out on the couch. What was intended to be gentle and tender lovemaking quickly devolved into desperate desire.
  
  Her cocktail dress quickly came off before Buffy laid back down on the couch, Xander on top of her, their lips locked. As his tongue danced in her mouth, Buffy ripped off his dress shirt, sending buttons everywhere. Their tongues intertwined in a storm of passion through their yawning lips as Xander quickened to release his raging erection. The aroused teens were thoughtless, consumed by a pure desire to be one, to have his cock stuffed to the furthest depth of her essence and ride the high of ecstasy. Thus, Buffy simply slid her lace panties to the side just before Xander finally buried his pulsing member into her soaking sex.
  
  "HHHHMMMMMMMMNNNNNNN," they both moaned as the supreme feeling of pleasure mounted. Goosebumps broke out up and down Xander's arms and Buffy's legs trembled slightly, as if having miniature orgasms.
  
  " Oh! Fuck, you 're tight! " Xander moaned as he happily waited for her to become accustomed to his girth.
  
  Xander cupped Buffy's pert breasts and massaged them intensely, rubbing her pink erect nipple between his fingers. He leaned down and kissed the gorgeous blonde as her pussy slowly acclimated to his long shaft. Xander squeezed and kneaded her soft tits in a way that made her toes curl, and Buffy moaned into his mouth when he sheathed his full length into her tightly yawning twat.
  
  Buffy was so wet and hot as she rolled her hips, relishing in the fullness of his cock inside her. Her golden hair lay spread on the couch as Xander pulled out and pushed back inside of her tight pussy, making her moan with her eyes shut.
  
  "OHH! GOdd, yesss!" she blurted.
  
  Xander groaned, milking her tits as he pulled in and out of her with more force and urgency, building a steady rhythm. Buffy bucked up and down, her pretty nipples swaying as he stuffed her repeatedly. Clenching her thighs around Xander's lean waist, Buffy worked her dripping snatch along the length of his ramming rod. Her swollen labia enfolded his veiny member as her hot hole swallowed every pounding inch of his thick dick.
  
  The couch was shuffling with Xander's every thrust. Buffy held onto it to stay put as her legs wrapped around his waist. Their glistening bodies, formidable structures holding immense power, were buckling under the tremendous pleasure building within them. With his every thrust, waves of pleasure shot through them, ever close to blissful collapse. His hands gripped her firm ass as he fucked her closer to climax. Her trembling cunnie and her loud moaning urged him to keep impaling himself deep into soaking sex, hitting her G-spot every time.
  
  "X-Xander! Hahh! MMNnn! I'mmm almost! MMnn! AHHHH! You're almost there! Oh my God!"
  
  Sensing her slippery walls trembling against him, her panting quickening, her moans silenced, Xander began vibrating his pistoning dick, and her eyes snapped open. Buffy's spine arched, her legs wrapped around his ass tightening as Xander buried his penetrating pole to the hilt. Buffy's pleasure coil snapped, giving way to a colossal rush of bliss bursting through every nerve in her entire body. She embraced him-his whole weight pinned her to the couch-as wave after wave of pure, mind-altering ecstasy ruptured from the tip of her golden head to her curling toes.
  
  Xander kneaded Buffy's shivering asscheeks as he shot load after load into the Slayer's shuddering stomach. For minutes, the amorous teens quivered as waves of ecstasy rushed through them until they finally collapsed on the couch. When Xander felt his energy return, he raised himself a bit, though his cock was still sheathed inside her. The sweaty Slayer only had a few minutes before she needed to leave for her patrol, but her sex wouldn't let go of his member, so they went for another round. Fortunately, Xander knew all her buttons and had her quaking through another orgasm in a few minutes.
  
  "Happy Valentine's Day," he whispered in her ear, and a large, weak smile graced her lips.
  
  Xander drove Buffy to begin her patrol, and when he returned home, he found Faith's bike in his driveway. He found her in his bedroom, wearing lingerie and holding handcuffs. Her playfully lecherous eyes-as she swayed seductively from side to side-made Xander grin from ear to ear.
  
  "You know I've never been big on these shitty Hallmark holidays, and Valentine's has got to be the cringiest," Faith commented.
  
  "It's not all that bad," Xander replied. "We get to break out the special lube."
  
  Faith snorted, saying, "As if I need a holiday to break out the special lube."
  
  Walking forward, Xander slowly removed his shirt. The way his toned muscles rippled and dark hair rustled from the garment made Faith grin in anticipation. Her eyes grew seductive and aroused as he removed his pants. Wearing nothing but boxer briefs, Xander maintained eye contact as he positioned her in the center of the king-sized bed and handcuffed her to the bed frame.
  
  Xander went into the closet and brought out the Treasure Chest. In it, he housed his collection of sex toys. When he'd dated Cordelia, the box had been smaller. Dating Faith had increased his wares-nipple, vaginal, and anal vibrators, beads, plugs, rope, oils, lube, chokers, and a bondage set. Faith eyed him hungrily as he patiently laid out the vibrating anal beads, lube, paddle, and blindfold on the nightstand.
  
  "Before we get to the meat and potatoes," Xander began to say as he grabbed the blindfold, "I don't think the mood has been properly set."
  
  "What d'you have in mind, Sweet Spot?" Faith purred in her deep husky voice, oozing sex appeal.
  
  Ignoring the bulge growing in his boxer briefs, Xander replied, "Well, I just feel like the room's Feng Shui is lacking that ' let 's fuck like dirty animals ' feel to it."
  
  He gently placed the blindfold over her eyes and fastened it to make certain she couldn't see as she answered, "I can set the damn mood in the middle of Sunday Mass if I wanted. Let's just get it on already. I want to be walking funny for a week."
  
  Rather than answer, Xander leaned in and kissed the girl. She opened her mouth for him and he eagerly acquiesced, diving his tongue in and massaging hers as he kissed her with every ounce of love he felt for the girl. Through the sounds of heavy inhaling, an aggressive Faith must've felt the immensity of his love. Slowing down, she pulled away, which he expected. Except for their heavy breathing, she stilled, understanding just how emotion would be included in their lovemaking.
  
  Faith's breathing quickened as Xander spread her legs and tied each ankle to the footboard bedposts bottom corners of the large bed. He thoroughly lubed up the anal beads, and as he began kissing her neck, breasts, and nipples, his practiced hands were lubing up Faith's brown ring. His slick fingers were stuffing as much lubricant into her anal passage as possible. Though they'd already had anal sex, Xander still fingered her rear fuck hole with half the tube for safety. Faith moaned and twisted her sexy body every time he packed more in.
  
  "MMMN!" she moaned when Xander stuffed the first of the five beads in her.
  
  Her back arched and her swollen red lips parted. Her nipples hardened, and she bit her lower lip as he inserted the larger second bead, followed by the even larger third bead. Her sexy toned legs jerked, the straps around her ankles straining, as he inserted the fourth.
  
  "Relax," Xander whispered in her ear.
  
  He kissed her deeply for several moments, giving her ample time to loosen enough for him to insert the final bead. "There's my baby girl," he whispered before turning on the vibrating function of the beads.
  
  "MMN! Fuck me!" she moaned, twisting at the waist as she felt the deep tissue vibration shoot a delicious mix of pain and pleasure up her brain. Her pelvis flexed and rolled instinctively, and her toes curled. Though she could've easily wrecked the bed frame by ripping off her restraints, she didn't. Faith enjoyed allowing Xander to control the state of play.
  
  As the minutes passed, Xander lit dozens of scented candles around the room, happy to hear the sound of the wood of his bed frame creaking and Faith grunting. It told him she'd climaxed, and she was ready for more. He turned off the lights and set up sparkling apple cider, chocolate-covered strawberries, and two cigars on the other nightstand.
  
  Fully nude, Xander hopped onto the spacious bed and sighed happily as his fingers felt how wet her puffy cunt was. Faith was dripping, allowing him to easily slip in two fingers and coaxing a deep moan from the sweaty brunette. His other hand deftly massaged her breasts as sucked and kissed her neck. Her labia caressed his drenched digits as he fingered her deeper, pressing her twitching tissue against the vibration of the beads.
  
  "OOOOhhhhhhhhfffffffuck!" Faith moaned as her body stretched and contorted as much as her restraints would allow.
  
  After her second orgasm, the vibrating anal beads was its own intense force of pleasure to suffer under. However, Xander's hands and mouth played with all of her pleasure spots like a symphony. His tongue licked her nipple as his mouth sucked her brown areola. For several minutes, their sweat built a sheen over their skin as she moaned and trembled under his deliberate care.
  
  "Mnn! Yeah, I'm.... MNnn! I'm going to- Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! MMMNNnnnn!"
  
  The sexy girl pulled at the handcuffs as her heels dug into the mattress. Her back arched and her pussy clamped down on his fingers as another orgasm ripped through her body. The bed frame creaked, as if nearly breaking, while the sexy girl quivered from head to toe, coating his fingers in her sticky essence. After several moments, the panting beauty finally settled down from her intense orgasm.
  
  Xander grabbed a chocolate-covered strawberry and fed it to the blindfolded girl, enjoying the sight of the juice traveling down her chin. She moaned before he said, "Now, you said something about walking funny for a week, right?"
  
  As he positioned himself between her spread legs, Faith touted, "W-Wait! I need- Xander! I need another minute! FFFFFUUUCKKKK! MMMNNnnn!" she moaned as Xander finally drove his cock into her tight pussy.
  
  "FFuuuuuuck, yeah!" Xander groaned, relishing in her hot, wet love tunnel.
  
  Between her legs, Xander's hands freely caressed her breasts, stomach, and hips. Her eyes shut, Faith's breathy moan was loud as Xander rolled his pelvis back and forth, burying himself in her tight wetness inch by inch until he was fully sheathed in her sex. Very soon, he pulled out, garnering another groan before filling her to the brim once again.
  
  Xander was pumping between her spread eagle legs, his thick meat sliding deeply into her as his balls slapped against her vibrating ass. He leaned down and sucked on her pert nipple, relishing every thrust into the brunette's dripping sex as she squeezed him for all he was worth. Faith's sexy body bounced with his every thrust. Her moans only grew in volume as he pounded her over and over, the juices from her vagina lathering his thick length.
  
  "Uhg! AH! AH! MM! W-Wait! Xa-Xander! MMN!"
  
  She moaned sharply when he began vibrating his cock. After her second orgasm and the anal bead vibrating in her ass, Faith's mind melted. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head as her entire body felt like one strong, pulsating, erogenous zone. She quickly reached her peak once again and clamped down on his thick cock as she climaxed. Her whole body quivered under him, and he gave into the sublime pleasure shooting from his balls up his spine. Faith felt his cock swell within her, and when he began shooting wad after wad of his thick man milk into her shuddering core, another explosive wave of bliss spread up and down her body.
  
  Given the fact that Faith was a Slayer, she didn't need long to recover. After ten minutes, he freed her legs, flipped her over, and fucked her ass. Faith bucked under Xander as he fucked her furiously against the bed's headboard. Her tits bounced with his every thrust, plowing his long, veined pole in her lubed-up anus until they both orgasmed together once again.
  
  "Happy Valentine's Day," he whispered in her ear before they went to sleep.
  
  By morning Faith had already left, likely to avoid getting in trouble with Joyce, and he said a little prayer in gratitude for an amazing day. With the holiday of love having ended, Xander soon had a junkyard car in his mansion's large garage, ready to be worked on.
  
  Discussions on what it would be varied. Buffy had argued in favor of a cute, red & black sports car. Xander thought laboring on a truck would be fun, and Joyce wanted to pay for a very practical minivan. In the end, it was agreed upon by everyone that a Jeep would be the best for a teenage girl who also happens to fight demons in graveyards at night.
  
  With the help of his uncle Rory, Xander found a salvage '97 Jeep Wrangler that had been in an atypical accident, judging by the damage to the undercarriage. It also had a bad engine and tranny, but the body and frame were perfectly intact. Xander had only paid six hundred dollars for the wrecked vehicle and the tow to his mansion, which had much more room to work. At the sight of the damaged and dust-covered jeep, Buffy, Joyce, and Faith were doubtful it would ever be as impressive as a new car, but Xander reassured them it would be even better than anything a dealership could offer.
  
  Despite having two girlfriends, not much changed for Xander in the months that followed. There was plenty to keep them all busy. They still had the last half of school to get through while slaying at night. Anya became a nightmarish problem they solved when Giles destroyed her amulet, making her human. With vague direction from Xander's Old Man memories, Giles and Angel implemented a plan that embedded Spike into the mayor's operation as a mole. That was how the Scoobies eventually uncovered Wilkins' ascension.
  
  For months before their graduation, an undercover Spike assaulted the Scooby Gang on a weekly basis to fool the Mayor into thinking he was a loyal servant, while at the same time the blond vampire would leak intelligence to either Giles or Angel. The Watcher and vampire learned everything they needed to and relayed that information to the gang as needed.
  
  -
  
  After fighting two white, mouthless demons, Buffy was afflicted with the ability to read minds. Through this ability, she learned that Cordelia spoke her mind without any filter, Wesley had romantic thoughts about Cordelia, Willow had been feeling left out of the group, and that Oz was quite a philosophical thinker. Buffy was shocked to find out that Giles had slept with her mother, and was concerned to learn how much Xander worried about loving his girlfriends equally-how he might hurt Faith if he wasn't careful. However, nothing could compare to when she discovered how often Faith fantasized about having hot sex with Buffy.
  
  Buffy was absolutely flabbergasted. Though soon, they learned that the mind-reading ability would kill her if they didn't cure her. After Angel figured out how to cure her of the migraine-inducing power, she had awakened in her room to a tapping sound at her window. Looking over, she saw Angel. The sluggish girl opened her window to have a very awkward, yet short, conversation with her ex.
  
  "It's good to see you," he said. "Up and about, I mean," he quickly added.
  
  "Thanks," she said, smiling with appreciation. "For saving my life," she added, mildly teasing him.
  
  They shared a wistful smile, recalling past happiness, and Buffy took a step back.
  
  Angel seemed to feel hurt all over again, and begrudgingly asked, "So, you and Xander."
  
  "Uh, yeah," was all Buffy could think to say.
  
  "I've seen him with Faith," Angel pointed out, trying to remain as composed as possible.
  
  "Yeah, uh, they're still together," Buffy slowly admitted. She cocked her head as she added, "We're sorta both dating him."
  
  Angel shook his head, as if English was suddenly incomprehensible. It took a moment to sink in, after which he asked, "And you're happy with that?"
  
  Buffy took a deep breath, looking around her room for a moment before admitting, "The Faith stuff still throws me off." She then smiled happily as she added, "But he makes me happy... and I love him."
  
  Angel nodded. He couldn't say more-or hold it in any longer-and left.
  
  Buffy thought about him and her relationship for the entire night.
  
  -
  
  The following night, Buffy met Xander at his mansion. He wouldn't allow her to see the state of the Jeep, so they had hot cocoa in the kitchen. Despite how caked in grease he was, she didn't seem to care. He had noticed how quiet and reserved she'd been at school, and even now, she continued to be deep in thought.
  
  "If you're angling for a sneak peek at your sweet ride, you better think again," Xander teased. "I won't break... unless you do nearly anything sexy." Shaking his head with a broad grin, he joked, "What did I say about doing anything sexy?!"
  
  Buffy lightly laughed before stating, "It's fine. I'll wait for the grand unveiling."
  
  "Cool," he replied. "So, what's up?"
  
  Her facial expression returned to one of deep consternation. To Xander's surprise, Buffy blushed and swallowed nervously before hesitating to ask, "Did I really... You had mentioned that I... experimented in the future?"
  
  Quirking his brow in confusion, he slowly responded, "...Yeah."
  
  Buffy brought her mug of hot cocoa to her lips and avoided eye contact as she asked, "Did I... enjoy it?"
  
  Still confused, he leisurely replied, "I... guess."
  
  "...Like, a lot?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.
  
  "Ummmm, a good amount, I imagine."
  
  Seemingly fed up with the trickle of information, Buffy told him, "Xander, I'm fishing for info here, so let's skip to the part where you tell me more."
  
  "Right," he said with a stiff nod. "Uh, it's not like you were a full-on lesbian or anything. Um, if the girl was special to you in some way, and you were attracted to her, then you went for it."
  
  "Really? Me? " Buffy asked in complete surprise. Xander nodded, and she looked off into the distance as she confessed, "I just... that still doesn't feel real, you know? That I can lean that way ."
  
  "Well, of course it doesn't, Buff," he readily agreed. "Your love life now is completely different from the one Old Me remembers. You seriously went through the wringer by the time you started experimenting. If the girl was special and made you feel special, you went for it. End of story."
  
  Half nodding, she asked, "How many girls?"
  
  "Two that I know of," he answered. "We don't exactly keep track of the flings." Buffy remained silent, deep in thought, and Xander couldn't help but ask, "Mind telling me what this is about?"
  
  "Right..." she coughed. She held her breath for a long pause before quickly asking, "You remember how I was reading minds?"
  
  "I remember how you said you didn 't read our minds," Xander returned, gathering where she was going.
  
  "Yeah, well... th-the truth is a funny thing-"
  
  "You read our minds," he finished, eying her with a mildly exhausted expression.
  
  "Yeah, just a little," she quickly stated, raising her index and thumb to show a small amount. "I know, bad Buffy! Bad. I'm sorry."
  
  "I take it you heard Faith's thoughts?"
  
  "Yeah," she said, nodding. "Wait, how do you know I'm asking because of Faith?" He tilted his head with a deadpan stare and she realized with fright, "You know! You know how she feels about me! How long?"
  
  "Oh, jeez! A while! " he bluntly boasted. "One of our favorite games is called, ' The Hot Thing Buffy Did Today. ' Way better than, ' I Spy With My Little Eye .'"
  
  Taken aback to hear about how closely observed she was, Buffy gasped, "Ooohh, wooow, words... words fail me."
  
  Chuckling, Xander assured her, "She's not going to force you or even bring it up, you know. She doesn't want to scare you away."
  
  Buffy paused for a moment to hear that, thinking about Faith. She said, "I know. I'm just thinking."
  
  He nodded before cautiously asking, "Just out of curiosity, how did you feel when you heard her thoughts about you?"
  
  "Shocked, more than anything," she wailed. "I mean, she's always been affectionate with me, but I always thought it was because we're Slayers."
  
  "I'm sure that's part of it," Xander affirmed. "Did you feel anything else?"
  
  "...I guess, flattered," Buffy slowly admitted. "She was thinking about the stuff she wanted to... do to me, with me. It was like a very detailed audio smut book."
  
  "Did it excite you?"
  
  "...I guess," she tried, then clarified, "I mean, I wasn't repulsed or anything. I'm very middle ground about this. But I've never thought about being with a girl. Even after you told me about the stuff I do in that future, I thought, ' whaaa? Me? Like, how? ' and just totally repressed it."
  
  "Well, we can always try," he cautiously pointed out. She looked at him with knowing eyes and he tried to hide his grin as he explained, "I mean, it's called experimenting for a reason."
  
  Buffy looked away, taking a moment to think. After a minute of silence, Buffy asked, "Not to say we will, but what if we do... experiment and I don't like it? I don't want to hurt her feelings."
  
  Xander walked over to Buffy and sat next to her. He took the mug out of her hands and had her face him so that she could feel how sincere he was when he said, "This thing we've been doing? I think it's working because we're going slow and being honest. No one's asking anything more than the other is willing to give, and we just seem to fit. We can do this slowly, too."
  
  Buffy took a deep breath and asked, "Panic mode notwithstanding, how?"
  
  -
  
  Of the precious few moments when the throuple could be alone together, sparring in the library while Giles was either studying or with Jenny was one such time. It was late in the afternoon, and after Faith handily dominated each of them on the mat, it was clear that Buffy and Xander weren't focused.
  
  After slamming Xander on his back, Faith demanded to know, "Alright! What's going on? You guys are way too distracted."
  
  Panting and sweating, Xander sat up and eyed Buffy. She immediately blushed but nodded, so he patted the floor and asked Faith, "Um, would ya mind sitting for a sec? I wanted to run something by you."
  
  Though she was confused, Faith sat in front of him, and Buffy sat close to both of them. The way Buffy's cheeks blushed made Faith increasingly curious. She stared at him with cautious eyes before slowly voicing, "Okaaaay."
  
  With a quick exhale, Xander asked, "Would you be open to letting Buffy watch us having sex?"
  
  Faith looked at the blushing Buffy and back to Xander before asking, "Is that it?" Cautiously, Xander nodded, then Faith laughed. "Hell yeah, I would! Shit, we can go right now! Hell yeah!"
  
  Xander only snorted, as he wasn't surprised at all by her response, and Buffy gasped and blushed simultaneously. Sadly, the three couldn't engage that night in debauchery. Spike had alerted the Scoobies to a box the Mayor was expecting called the Box of Gavrok. That night, they had to contend with fighting Spike for the box at an airfield. Though they were successful in stealing the artifact, Mr. Trick managed to kidnap Oz and demand a trade-Oz for the box. Wesley was the only one willing to let Oz die, so the group ignored him. They traded Oz for the box of Gavrok. However, Oz managed to steal pages from the Mayor's Book of Ascension. Wesley was incensed with the cost their actions had incurred, but the Scoobies didn't care. All that mattered was that Oz was safe.
  
  "Now we have no way of stopping the Ascension!" Wesley yelled at them.
  
  "Of course we do," Xander told him. The Scoobies eyed him as he casually explained, "Big lizard still goes boom."
  
  Thus, the group made plans to prepare for a big boom. Since they knew Mayor Wilkins would be turning into an enormous snake, they soon found out it would be an Olvikan demon. Until his ascension, he would be impervious to any and all physical attacks, forcing the Scoobies to wait until he ascended to launch their attack. Fortunately, they also knew it would be during their graduation ceremony. Not long after they settled on a plan of attack, the throuple had some time to themselves.
  
  The three were in the master bedroom of Xander's house. Buffy was seated in an armchair at the foot of the king-sized bed, watching Xander fuck the ever-living shit out of Faith-blushing profusely throughout. Knowing that Buffy was watching her made Faith extremely sensitive, but Xander wouldn't stop whispering in her ear how much Buffy loved looking at her gushing sex and purposely fucked her in the most vulnerable positions. Buffy herself was masturbating to the intense sight, and by the end, Buffy came when Faith orgasmed. Afterward, Xander made Buffy suck his cock clean and she was turned on by it in a way she never believed she could have been.
  
  The experience left her wanting more; however, Tucker Wells and his vendetta against Prom became the next issue they had to contend with. Faith took it upon herself to deal with the Hellhounds so that Buffy, Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia could have their prom night.
  
  "I still get to have prom next year," she assured her friends. "Let me do this for you." Buffy hugged Faith in gratitude, but at the recollection of her romp with Xander, Buffy held on a little longer, alarmed by how hot and curious for more she felt.
  
  Giles, Wesley, Angel, and Faith dealt with Tucker and the Hellhounds while the rest of the Scoobies attended prom. Buffy was awarded the Class Protector award while Xander and Cordelia were crowned Prom King and Queen. Xander danced with Cordelia first, then Buffy, and then Willow. Though they remained alert for anything unusual, they had a lot of fun that night.
  
  That night, Buffy watched Xander pound Faith's innards to repeated orgasms before a horny Xander asked the blonde to kiss him as Faith sucked him off. Buffy asked if Faith could show her how to blow their boyfriend off, and the sight of Buffy and Faith licking, sucking, and massaging his cock and balls was the most magical visual he'd ever experienced in the world. He had his ring make as much baby batter to drench them with as possible. Faith swallowed as much as she could, but several globules of cum stained their faces. Buffy had to remove her shirt and not long after that, in the throes of pleasure, the three progressed to their first threesome.
  
  Buffy wasn't comfortable doing everything together, but in the haze of mind-numbing bliss, she did kiss Faith while Xander was fucking the brunette. And Faith returned the favor when Xander was fucking her, massaging her breasts as she did. Afterward, the Slayers talked while Xander slept soundly between them. Faith respected Buffy's reluctance to go too far too fast.
  
  "I want you to be happy, Faith," Buffy whispered. "Maybe in the future, I'll be comfortable doing more, but this is all I can do right now."
  
  "It's cool, B," Faith returned. "This was already a million times better than I expected."
  
  "I wasn't sure I'd like it," Buffy sheepishly admitted. "But it felt really good. To be totally transparent: it felt good because it was you. I want so many good things to happen to you, and if I can help with that, I will."
  
  "Wicked," Faith exulted. "We may have to give Sweet Spot some time between, though," she said, looking at the passed-out boy. "Thick, long, and strong he may be, but two Slayers at the same time might be pushing it."
  
  "I think you're right," she agreed with a broad grin. "Night, Faith."
  
  "Night, B."
  
  "I love you," Buffy confessed with a hopeful grin.
  
  Faith's breath hitched, and she hesitated to reply, "...l-love you too."
  
  -
  
  Throughout the months of February, March, April, and May-around all the battles and drama-Xander embarked on rebuilding the Jeep Wrangler for Buffy. Though a Jeep's construction was easier to navigate than many cars, Xander was still unaccustomed to this field of engineering, and it took him months of trial, inquiries, and errors to finish. Xander wanted to give Buffy's car more power, so his uncle helped him find a Chevy 350 HO with 333 hp and 400 pounds of torque to replace the damaged engine. To replace the damaged transmission, he ordered a high-performance 5-speed tranny that could handle the engine's power output. Only then did he proceed to strip the entire car.
  
  He used body filler for dents, then sprayed the interior with a black bed-liner material before getting the body professionally painted. Xander understood Buffy was a fan of cute aesthetics and went with a blood-orange and black theme throughout the interior and exterior. Xander liked some of the custom builds that would eventually come out in a few decades and wanted Buffy's Jeep to look just as impactful. He customized it with meaner fenders, a snarling hood scoop, and intimidating bumpers, with a winch & blood-orange d-ring.
  
  He sent out the axles and had them stuff a set of 456 gears to handle the larger, all-terrain tires without losing too much power. He ordered a big brake kit for more stopping force, upgraded suspension & shocks for a smoother ride on and off the road, and welded-on brackets for the lift kit. After all that work, Xander moved on to the exhaust and muffler system, then ran all new brake lines, installed a slip yoke eliminator, and a new rear drive shaft. After the weeks it took to complete that, Xander moved on to the wiring, which was a lot, since he wanted extra lighting on the roof, as well as newer head & tail lights.
  
  For the interior, Xander re-carpeted the floor in black, purchased comfortable seats with vinyl, blood-orange and black leather, put in barricaded floor mats for mud, guts, or blood, added power windows and locks to the doors, installed an improved sound system, a CB radio for communication when Slaying, and a rack system for easy storage and access to her weapons. After test-driving it multiple times for any final calibrations, the blood-orange, mean-looking Jeep Wrangler was ready to go. Considering Buffy still didn't know how to drive a manual transmission, he kept it in the mansion for after graduation.
  
  -
  
  Days before the graduation ceremony-on orders of the Mayor-Spike hit Angel with what was supposed to be a poisoned arrow, but since they were so near to graduation, it was enough if Angel pretended to be critically ill. Once the graduation ceremony began, Wilkins spoke to the graduating class with some semblance of optimism for a bright future. However, it quickly morphed into an optimistic future for himself, because he would be devouring all of them.
  
  After Wilkins transformed into a sixty-foot tall green snake with large, sharp teeth, Xander whipped out an M14 rifle he prepared-hidden under his robes-and unloaded volley after volley on the thick-skinned demon serpent while everyone else fought the Mayor's minions. Xander and Buffy annoyed the giant serpent enough to lead it to the library, which was rigged to blow as soon as it slithered into the kill box. The explosion was massive and demolished the library and the connecting classrooms.
  
  Once the battle was over, Giles presented Buffy with her singed high school diploma and Xander presented her with her very first car. Gathered at Buffy's house, everyone was awestruck by how incredible the customized Jeep Wrangler looked. It was so unique compared to anything Joyce could've found at any car dealership, and the beautiful mother was even more astonished when he told her how little it all cost.
  
  It wasn't nearly as expensive as the car looked. The beast of a Jeep cost less than ten thousand dollars, and Xander made certain she knew he didn't need her to pay him since he was a millionaire. His reward for the long hours of labor and effort was in just how thrilled they were with the outcome and how much fun they would have driving it. How much they loved it made it all worth it. Joyce wanted to pay him five thousand for all the labor he put into it, but Xander wouldn't accept it. However, he gratefully accepted dinners at their house.
  
  -
  
  Summer at the Summers household was great, other than the few heartfelt farewells. Sadly for Xander, Cordelia moved to LA, and just as sadly for Buffy, Angel left as well. It was hard for Xander to let Cordelia leave. He'd grown accustomed to always having her by his side. After all, no other person had been so constant in helping him, loving him, pushing him, motivating him. More than anyone, Cordelia had saved his life, and he was going to miss her more than words could possibly convey. Still, he thanked her, even if she couldn't comprehend the full scope of his gratitude.
  
  When Xander saw Buffy after their exes had left, he could see in her eyes she felt the same way he did. The pair spent a quiet night together-cooking, watching a movie, and sleeping together-without speaking much. It was enough just being together. Even Faith understood that they needed some time to console each other.
  
  During the slow-slaying summer, the Scooby Gang spent some much-needed time together. They went to the beach, amusement parks, movies, dance clubs, learned how to drive a motorcycle or a manual transmission car, and anything else that sounded like fun. They still slayed at night, but thankfully, the summers were slow. For the most part, Xander dated Buffy and Faith separately. However, at least twice a month, the three would do everything together, including nighttime fun.
  
  In a strange twist of fate, Xander found himself helping Spike that summer as well. The blond vampire wanted a motorcycle, but when Xander brought up the possibility of being stuck out with the sun rising, Spike bought a mini school bus that they could customize to not allow any sunlight in and to carry his motorcycle in. When Xander asked how he planned on paying for it all-including labor-he'd not expected Spike to bring him a diamond.
  
  "We rarely care about shiny trinkets like that," the bleached blond explained. "If anything, it's how we catch our lunch for the month or so. Lots of poor, desperate people out there looking for a quick buck."
  
  Fortunately, the short school bus didn't require a lot of repair work, saving them a loads of time. They purchased everything they needed, and with the extra space in the back of the bus, Spike managed to find a Triumph 1200 that they also customized into a scrambler. Xander found hanging out with Spike-as he had in his Old Man Xander memories-incredibly strange, because when he focused on the work, he actually found Spike's company enjoyable.
  
  -
  
  Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Oz were accepted into UC Sunnydale, while Faith still had her senior year of high school to attend. Of the four, Willow earned a full scholarship. After Buffy learned how expensive her schooling would be, she couldn't stop herself from asking Xander if it would help her future. Additionally, since Willow was becoming more engrossed in learning magic, she was also curious about how necessary a degree would be in her future. Xander had a frank conversation with them.
  
  He explained, with as little detail as possible, "Going to school would be a good idea for ' slaying ' purposes, not ' bettering yourself through education ' purposes. So, I recommend a bachelor's degree in whatever already comes naturally to you."
  
  His friends took his advice and, somehow, Willow picked anthropology, Oz chose philosophy, and Buffy landed on health sciences with an emphasis on physical training. Xander selected their engineering program.
  
  In the first few days of campus life, Buffy's beauty and bubbly personality attracted a lot of attention, and oddly enough, she still met Riley Finn in Intro to Psychology. Buffy took a liking to the charming man, which didn't bother Xander, because she introduced Xander to Riley as her boyfriend. As long as Riley knew Buffy was his girlfriend, Xander hoped they could be friends once again.
  
  Riley joined the Scoobies a few times during lunches, parties, or events. However, when Riley discovered what Buffy could do as the Slayer, he actively tried to gain her trust to recruit her into the Initiative. Riley explained to Buffy and her friends that she wouldn't be required to join the rank and file, but could be an asset, or specialist, that aided the Initiative when they needed it. After conferring with the Scoobies, Buffy expressed to the undercover soldier that she didn't mind sharing missions and information. When Riley learned that Faith was also a Slayer, he offered her the same option; however, the brunette quickly turned it down.
  
  Faith didn't care for the military unit or Riley, and when Xander asked her why, the Bostonian explained that she didn't trust how nice Riley was toward Buffy. Xander assured her that he was a stand-up kind of guy-the way he treated everyone with respect and defended anyone who needed it, regardless of their background. He explained how Riley was someone who wanted to do good in the world. However, that straight-laced image was only until Riley discovered Faith was also Xander's girlfriend. Riley looked between Xander, Buffy, and Faith like he didn't understand English.
  
  "What do you..." Riley laughed, as if he assumed they were joking. When the throuple didn't laugh with him, he asked, "Are you serious?"
  
  The three nodded in unison, and Riley left the party. After that night, the patriotic soldier clearly did not agree with their lifestyle and actively tried to force Buffy to see reason. When Buffy told him she loved Xander and didn't have to explain herself to him, he momentarily conceded on trying to convince her. Riley then moved on to proving Xander unworthy of Buffy's love.
  
  As Riley was the leader of the Initiative's strike unit, his brothers-in-arms also helped him denigrate Xander in an effort to fold Buffy into their ranks. For weeks, Xander was forced to deal with a lot of unnecessary harassment because of Riley and the Initiative.
  
  They first tried intimidating him. Six of their largest soldiers stopped him on the way out of class and sugar-coated their ultimatum for him. In essence, they told him to either break up with Buffy or experience unimaginable pain for the rest of the school year. Xander eyed each of them before breaking out into gut-busting laughter. The idea that they were going to intimidate him-as if he hadn't fought a five-headed dragon by himself-was the funniest predicament he'd experienced in a long time.
  
  Laughing at them angered them to the point of nearly pummeling him; however, Xander put his hand up as he tried to calm down. After several moments, he suggested they do it in the matted area in the Athletics Department so none of them would get into trouble with the faculty.
  
  On the way there, Xander called Faith and asked if she wanted to see something funny. She rode her motorbike right over-skipping her last period-and within the ten minutes that they waited, Buffy-as well as several other students-showed up to watch. The soldiers pretending to be students explained to the crowd-Buffy, Faith, Willow, and Oz among them-that this was simply an initiation of a new freshman, so most of the students thought the boxing match was nothing more than typical hazing.
  
  To the soldiers' confusion, Faith laughed as hard as Xander had, and Buffy asked him not to hurt them too badly. With the first of the seniors, Xander quickly learned that these men were physically enhanced. They were tougher, stronger, and faster than a normal human, but they weren't as well trained as him. Xander didn't even need Odin's ring to enhance his strength and speed when fighting the juiced boys. His confidence, footwork, distancing, and creativity gave him all the edge he needed to knock all five of them out cold with perfectly timed counterpunches to the jaw, liver, or kidney. He barely broke a sweat before kissing Buffy and Faith in victory.
  
  The Initiative tried again and again to expose Xander, nearly getting him expelled on one occasion, and nearly killing him on another. It was frustrating, to say the least, but it also showed Riley how corrupt the Initiative truly was. By the end of the year, Riley left the organization in favor of joining the Scooby Gang.
  
  Xander sold his house for a very nice profit and lived in the mansion along with Spike and Anya. And, due to Dawn's appearance, Faith moved in with him as well. The implanted memories were a little different considering Faith's place in the Summers household; however, she was still the same lovable Dawnie. Not willing to share a room with the youngest Summers child, Xander offered Faith a room in his mansion. Since Faith graduated high school, Joyce only agreed to her moving out under the condition that she came by no less than once a week for dinner, laundry, or support of any kind.
  
  Living at the mansion was more than nice for a time. The enormous and well-furnished home was a hub of fun, drama, and unexpected activity. Anya and Spike casually hooking up was a strange reality for Xander. His thoughts on Anya were a little turbulent at first. Old Man Xander remembered loving her very much in that timeline. However, it wasn't the same in this altered reality. In this reality, it was more like Xander felt the potential to be bothered by Anya and Spike, but his heart was far enough removed that he didn't feel any jealousy. In the end, Xander didn't feel as much for the quirky girl, but was happy for another friend.
  
  Buffy spent nearly as much time in Xander's mansion as Faith. Buffy would spend the nights in Xander's master bedroom, and Faith would often join them.
  
  Willow, Oz, Tara, and Riley would come by during the days and they would all do many activities together, from studying in the library to training in the large dojo Xander and Spike built. Between Xander, Buffy, Faith, Riley, Spike, and the girls that fought with magic-Tara and Willow-they started pocket tournaments to see who was the best strategist, strongest fighter, fastest fighter, or the best of the best. Giles would referee and Dawn would cheer from the side, along with Jenny.
  
  The top spot was often a tough battle between Buffy and Faith, but there were times when Xander would come in first. More often than not, Xander's main opponent was Spike, and they would usually fight for second or third place. Willow did well with her magic, as did Tara. With a personal stake in the mystical practice, Jenny specifically took them under her wing and helped them research a lot of offensive magic. Willow would even be the strongest if she ever got serious. Though Xander could tell Riley didn't like coming in second or third to last, the tournaments were still relatively light. Everyone had great fun during those days.
  
  Somehow, someway, despite regular doctor appointments, all the right medication, regular exercise, and the proper nutrition-all at Buffy's insistence-the lovely and beautiful Joyce Summers, sadly, still passed away. It wasn't as abrupt as before. The mother had more time with her three daughters, but somehow, her end still felt far too soon. Xander found it terribly unfair. Despite knowing about her condition years in advance, she still passed away.
  
  In the hospital, Buffy promised her mother that she would watch out for Faith and Dawn, and Xander promised he'd watch out for all three. All her loved ones were in the private room at the moment of her passing; Buffy, Dawn, Faith, Willow, Tara, Oz, Giles, Jenny, Anya, and Xander. However, the only one to see what happened next was Xander.
  
  Just a few things...
  
  I have an After-Action report after chapter 73. It'll be it's own chapter, but it's just some of my thoughts about this entire experience. It won't be overly long, but it'll dive into what I liked, didn't like, expected, and not.
  
  The reason why I still had Joyce pass will be explained in the next chapter.
  
  I didn't write out a threesome because I'd already written two sex scenes and I thought a third one would've been too much.
  
  That's all I got for now. The next chapter, ch73, should be up today as well. Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar!
  
  Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
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  Epilogue Part II
  Welcome back. This is part 2 of 2.
  
  Big thanks to my beta team, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar. Thanks guys.
  
  Warnings: Language and light lemon!
  
  9.3 K words.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  Epilogue Part II
  
  Time froze. In the private hospital room, saddened and tearful friends and family gathered around Joyce Summers' death bed-Buffy, Dawn, Faith, Willow, Tara, Giles, and Jenny-their grief hanging heavy in the air. Xander panicked because he was the only one who could move or make a sound. It was like everyone in the room was locked in time.
  
  Instinctively, he assumed he was looping back. The panic was visceral, and his stomach was already sinking and twisting painfully. His heart began pounding terribly in his chest as he looked at each of his frozen friends. His mind was running a mile a minute, recalling everything Sherlock had told him about the possibility of a three-year loop, when-from the center of the hospital bed-beams of bright white began emanating.
  
  Xander's mind stilled in confusion as he stared at the beautiful mother. Sharp rays of pure light emerged from Joyce, expanding in brilliance with each passing moment. The intensity of the light grew to the point where Xander had to shield his eyes or risk being blinded. However, even his hands covering his eyelids didn't seem capable of restricting such intense light. Xander felt no heat or discomfort, but it was some time before the light finally lowered in intensity.
  
  As Xander's eyes adjusted, they fell upon a wondrous sight. Through a cautious squint, he saw Joyce floating above her corpse, casting a mournful gaze upon her three daughters she was leaving behind. A tender and bittersweet smile graced her ethereal features, a farewell etched into its delicate contours. Her angelic gaze shifted to a thoroughly confused Xander, drifting closer toward him. He stepped away in fear, but her smile, oddly enough, quelled his rapidly beating heart, a silent reassurance washing over him.
  
  "It's okay," she said, her voice carrying a soothing warmth. With a graceful movement, she soared past Xander, her ethereal form gliding through the air as she said, "Come on. If I stay here too long, I'm going to cry."
  
  Xander stood there, rooted in place, as he watched her fly through the wall. It wasn't until she extended her hand through it, her finger gesturing for him to follow her, that he snapped out of his daze and back to this quasi-reality. Shaking off his bewilderment, Xander robotically rushed out of the room, only to come across an unexpected sight-a frozen Spike, leaning against the wall near the doorway, his expression trapped in a state of melancholic contemplation.
  
  Hovering in front of the blond vampire, Joyce observed him with her sharp eyes. "He's already in love with Buffy," she remarked, her voice carrying a mixture of empathy and understanding. Xander's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he turned to the forlorn vampire. Joyce speculated, "Every time she goes to your mansion, spends the night, or beats him in your little tournaments... little by little, he fell for her."
  
  Eying the vampire with renewed curiosity, Xander found enough of his voice to articulate, "I- I thought he and Anya... I mean, I hear them often enough."
  
  "Those two are quite similar and find comfort in each other," Joyce revealed. "But what they share isn't more than that. Just like Anya thinks of you when she's with Spike, Spike thinks of Buffy. It's rather sad when you think about it," she pointedly expressed, before moving down the hall.
  
  Casting a last glance at the desolate Spike, Xander silently acknowledged the heavy weight of unrequited love that burdened the vampire, before rushing to join Joyce, keeping pace with her ethereal presence as they moved down the hall. Finally finding his voice, Xander couldn't help but inquire, "Where are we going? Please don't tell me... Did I die, too?"
  
  A gentle chuckle escaped Joyce as she reassured him, "Oh, heavens no. Of course not. This very small window of time exists solely for the apology I owe you."
  
  Walking around a frozen nurse, Xander's voice trembled as he repeated, "Apology? What? No, Mrs S. You don't owe me anything. I should be the one apologizing to you. If I'd have told you sooner, maybe you could've-"
  
  "I couldn't, dear," she interjected, her voice carrying a mix of tenderness and acceptance. "For reasons and factors you are not aware of, this was and will always happen. There was nothing more you could've done. In truth, giving my girls this opportunity to say goodbye was the greatest gift you could've given me."
  
  With everything frozen, they took the stairs down as Xander woefully expressed, "I'm sorry."
  
  A sad smile played on Joyce's lips as she turned to face him, her eyes brimming with unspoken emotions. "No, Xander," she said. "I am."
  
  Confusion and disbelief written on his face, Xander asked, "Why?"
  
  Her gaze fixed on a distant memory, Joyce confessed, "It was my selfish request that initiated your century of hardship, the impermanence, and the solitude you were forced to endure."
  
  Xander's world momentarily shifted beneath him, his mind reeling as his hand gripped the railing. His voice laced with a blend of shock and vulnerability, he stammered, "I- I don't- ...I don't understand."
  
  With a touch of sorrow, Joyce revealed the truth with gentle ease. "The Time Braid, dear," she whispered, her words carrying the weight of revelation. "You went through the Time Braid because of me."
  
  Stunned by Joyce's revelation, Xander lost his footing and nearly fell, causing him to come to an abrupt stop on the staircase. Understanding the weight of her words, Joyce allowed him a moment to process before continuing her descent. As he watched her graceful figure float further away, Xander felt a mix of urgency and disbelief, propelling the flustered boy to rush down the remaining flight of stairs. Finally reaching the bottom, he bolted outside, his breath slightly labored.
  
  Looking around, Xander spotted Joyce standing by the entrance of the hospital, standing serenely in front of a bronze-haired man. Xander immediately recognized him. It was Riley-unshaven and slightly unkempt-and he was looking up, gazing at the hospital room where the departed Joyce had resided. In Riley's conflicted expression, Xander recognized the internal struggle between wanting to be in that room and remaining rooted to the spot.
  
  Observing the turmoil in Riley's eyes, Xander couldn't help but empathize with the man. After leaving the Initiative, Riley had lost a brotherhood-had lost stability-and finding his place among the Scoobies had proven challenging; especially when even Tara was capable of beating him when using magic to boost herself, since he no longer had his Super Soldier serum. Having been in Riley's shoes, Xander intimately understood the man's feelings of inadequacy and being overshadowed. In fact, when Riley had learned about the Odin Ring he wore, in a desperate desire for power and purpose, he pleaded for Xander to make him a similar ring. The situation soured when Xander firmly refused, recognizing the danger in fulfilling such desperate desires.
  
  As Xander approached Joyce's side, a mixture of sympathy and regret washed over him, intertwining with the complexity of his own emotions.
  
  The ethereal Joyce commented, "He does love Buffy very much." Floating around the man, she inspected him slowly before adding, "But he doesn't love himself. Not yet, anyway. He needs to accept all of what he is before he can truly love another."
  
  Xander's concern for Riley was insignificant compared to the revelation of what she'd confessed about his own plight. His voice trembled as he repeated, "You... y-you said-"
  
  "Yes," she answered with a heavy weight to her voice. Her gaze was a mixture of sorrow and remorse as she floated away from the motionless Riley. "What I asked for was very simple, yet it caused you more pain than I would've agreed to had I known. The realization that you would even harm yourself to get out fills me with such shame."
  
  Xander's mind was a turbulent whirlwind of overwhelming emotions, but a desperate need to make sense of the chaos forced him to ask, "I- Mrs S... please, I don't understand."
  
  They continued their movement, making their way toward the nearby parking structure. As they walked, Joyce began to reveal the truth. "At a point after my passing, I arrived at a place called null-time. There is a force of the universe called the Powers That Be, and then there is a force beyond that I thought of as the Power Above. The best way I can explain it is like this: think of a point in which everything possible, impossible, and imaginable is conceived." She giggled a little as she remarked, "Even that explanation completely fails to encompass the Power Above."
  
  Xander's mind struggled to grasp the profound concept she presented, his thoughts swirling with a mix of confusion and curiosity. He managed to stammer, "I- O-Okay. Why were you there?"
  
  "Buffy," Joyce answered, her voice filled with purpose. "Becoming a Higher Being means being bestowed with knowledge of the past, present, and future."
  
  "L-Like Cordelia?" Xander asked, drawing a parallel to his friend's ascension.
  
  "Precisely," Joyce affirmed. "So, when I arrived in null-time, I knew, without even being told, that I was there to fight for my daughter. I was there to ask the Power Above to favor Buffy."
  
  Setting aside the monumental revelation of a Power Above the Powers That Be, Xander's voice quivered as he asked, "...Y-you did? Why?"
  
  As they neared the parking garage, Joyce's expression grew pained as she recounted the recurring torment inflicted upon her daughter by the malevolent forces of destiny. Her voice resonated with determination and a mother's love as she answered, "After everything the mad scientists that designed her life put her through, as her mother, I demanded they give her a better life-a happier life-filled with more joy than sadness. It was too upsetting to not only know but accept that she endures multitudes more pain and suffering than she does actual joy and happiness."
  
  Her head shook in disbelief, unable to accept the predetermined path that had been laid out for her daughter. Xander's eyes widened, the weight of her words sinking in, but Joyce had more to reveal, surprising him once again. "For saving the totality of souls on a collapsing dimension by sacrificing her life-yet, again-I felt the Power Above was indebted to her. I was her mother, and if she couldn't fight for herself, then I would fight for her."
  
  Xander's mind was reeling, and with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation, he managed to utter, "Co-Collapsing... dimension?"
  
  "Of course, they refused," Joyce continued, ignoring his befuddlement. "Not in so many words, mind you. No one actually speaks to the Powers That Be, let alone in null-time with the Power Above. And so nothing changed for Buffy. She was just pushed from one battle to the next, all the while losing friends and allies to the point where she accepted a childless, loveless end to her life. So, rather than asking them to give her a better life that wasn't absolutely brimming with death, blood, and violence, I asked them to rectify an error on their part-a delusion of theirs, if you will."
  
  Xander's voice was barely above a whisper as he asked, "What?"
  
  "Companionship," she softly responded. They had entered the cavernous expanse of the large parking garage, their footsteps echoing against the concrete walls as they ascended the stairs. Joyce continued her explanation. "I thought, surely it wouldn't be too much trouble for her to have a companion; a partner to wander the ruins of a collapsed dimension together-"
  
  "You keep saying collapsed dimension," Xander interjected, his voice tinged with urgency and apprehension. "What exactly are you talking about?"
  
  "Of course, you wouldn't be aware it happened," Joyce acknowledged with a sigh. "This plane of existence, with its intricate web of souls and life, is part of a larger stack of interconnected planes. Think of a multi-layered cake where the very top is perfection-basically, heaven-and the very bottom is quite literally hell. Oftentimes, one of the layers in between becomes too heavy with malice, loss, hatred, and death, and it combines with the plane below it, which is always worse. In order to save everyone on the collapsing plane of existence, one heroic soul must stay behind to cast the rest off. And within your lifespan, Buffy was that soul. Now my little girl is destined for a life worse than death. She'll be trapped in a dimension overrun with the most vile and heinous creatures and spirits imaginable all trying to consume her."
  
  "But- But," Xander began, his eyes widened with disbelief as he struggled to reconcile this new information with his understanding. "In my Old Man memories, I thought she just-"
  
  "Died peacefully in her sleep?" Joyce finished. "Those were memories planted into anyone that would question her death," Joyce sadly explained. "Upon ascending to the plane above, not a single person would know how my baby girl was sacrificed for the greatest good a single soul could possibly do." They walked out of the garage's staircase as she told him, "I begged the Power Above to at least allow her companionship in life and beyond. Anyone willing to go through hell with her was fine. I simply wanted my precious daughter to have someone who would love her unconditionally, from beginning to end."
  
  Xander and the ethereal form of Joyce walked towards a tall figure dressed in a black ensemble with his back turned to them. Xander couldn't see the face of the man since he was staring ahead, looking at the hospital building across the street from the parking garage.
  
  "And yet, they did not answer me," she continued. "In null-time, time is irrelevant, and I came to discover what I was missing. I promised them that my death could continue as it always had been."
  
  Eyes widened in surprise, Xander gasped, "You- You promised?"
  
  With a smile, she nodded before explaining, "She's my baby girl. How could I not? I didn't think the Power Above would answer, but It did," Joyce disclosed, a hint of surprise in her tone. "This reality-altering force consented to allow one soul to join Buffy's in the collapsed dimension for all of eternity."
  
  Upon reaching the tall man, Xander realized it was Angel. The handsome vampire was looking into the window of Joyce's room and the grieving family and friends within.
  
  "I thought they would've chosen Angel," Joyce admitted with a small smile. "He's been to hell before and embodied a love for Buffy I'm not sure any other man could measure up to. But he also found another after her, didn't he? I really believe he and Cordelia would've been happy if she hadn't become a Higher Being. She's doing amazingly well, by the way. That girl is such a go-getter."
  
  With a wave of Joyce's hand, they were inexplicably present in three locations at once, and three men stood in line side-by-side: Angel watching from across the hospital, Spike standing by the hospital room door, and Riley looking up at the room from below.
  
  "I waited to see who they would choose for her," Joyce continued, floating around the men before stopping in front of the ex-Initiative soldier. "Of the three, I liked Riley the best," she confessed with a small smile. "He was charming, and genuinely nice, which I know aren't the most attractive traits a young woman looks for, but I like that. The ability to step out into the sun without turning to ash was also a plus."
  
  Xander managed a small smile, but his humor failed him at this revelation.
  
  Joyce gracefully glided past Riley, her ethereal presence now circling the brunet vampire as she continued to say, "If not Riley, then Angel-in human form-would've been a dream. I thought the Power Above might have blessed him with the Shanshu prophecy and rewarded his many good deeds with a human body to go with his gentle soul. He'd be significantly weaker, but his love for Buffy and the happiness he would bring was all that mattered to me."
  
  Her gaze then shifted to the blond vampire, her expression a myriad of emotions that made her look conflicted. "Spike would not be a choice any mother would accept for their child," she confessed. "However, I am grateful he abandoned his evil ways and became such a force for good. Even after Buffy passes, he still fights evil in her name, and I find that to be quite beautiful. Sadly, he is still a vampire and only able to engage in one side of her life." Eying each man, she remarked, "Ultimately, none of them were a perfect fit."
  
  As the realization dawned upon him, Xander's voice quivered with incredulity as he asked, "They... they chose me?"
  
  Joyce nodded, and with conviction, affirmed, "Setting Willow and Mr. Giles aside, you've been Buffy's longest companion. You'd follow her anywhere if you could, and the areas in which you were lacking could easily be remedied with some guidance and self-discovery. Most importantly, you've loved Buffy your entire life, even when you loved and married Dawn. Once the Time Braid had begun and I realized that they'd chosen you, I thought to myself, ' How could I have missed something so obvious? '"
  
  Feeling his tone heighten with every word, Xander pleaded to know, "And they couldn 't just tell me this?! A vision, an email, a freakin ' post-it note! Anything! "
  
  Her expression was one of remorse and understanding as she tried to explain, "I swear, Xander, I hadn't expected them to pick you, let alone put you in a Time Braid."
  
  Vividly recalling all of his deaths, betrayals, growing pains, and suicidal thoughts, he nearly wept as he yelled, " I was trapped in that fucking thing for over a century! Repeating everything over and over again, like nothing I did mattered! Like I didn't matter!" His throat was thick with angry words he wanted to let out, but didn't. It felt like a hot ball was gagging him.
  
  "I know," Joyce whispered in clear empathy. "Truly, Xander, I know. But once the looping started, it couldn't be stopped-or I would have, I promise you."
  
  Xander rubbed his weary face in frustration as he confessed, "I was terrified no one would ever remember me." Thoughts of Buffy in a dimension full of demons, completely forgotten by her friends, he couldn't help whispering, "Like Buffy." With a mixed expression of rage and acceptance, he admitted, "It's not like I wouldn't go to Hell and fight right beside her."
  
  "I know," Joyce responded.
  
  Xander's gaze shifted between Angel, Riley, and Spike, eying them with discernment before admitting, "But so would they."
  
  "Yes, I believe so," she acknowledged with a nod. "But I asked for a companion from beginning to end. If Angel or Spike were made human to accompany Buffy throughout her life, they would not have accomplished nearly as many heroic acts as they would as vampires."
  
  "And Riley?" he asked.
  
  "While I don't believe you two are similar," she started, making Xander anxious to hear the rest. "I will say your faults very much are: Insecurity issues and a lack of self-confidence."
  
  "Two peas in an insecure pod, we are," Xander quipped, trying to lighten the mood.
  
  Joyce's voice softened as she conveyed, "He hides it well, but running from his limitations is what drives him to be a role model others would aspire to, even if he doesn't quite believe it himself. As you would say, ' fake it, till you make it .' You both share that inclination to run rather than confront."
  
  "Insecurity really helps your forty-time," Xander replied sarcastically, recalling his past struggles.
  
  "In the end, I feel they chose you because you've been by Buffy's side the longest," she said. "You could exist in both aspects of her world, and you had more flexibility when it came to learning."
  
  "The Janus curse," he interjected.
  
  "Precisely," she said with a smile. "You've used that quite well. And, of course, your love for Buffy is unlike the other three."
  
  "In a good way?" Xander asked, eager to hear her assessment of him.
  
  "Oh, yes, very much so," she assured him with her characteristic motherly charm. "Angel had a very romantic and poetic love-honestly, the stuff of amazing ballads. Spike's love for Buffy, while real, was rooted in chaos in a way they'd never be able to escape. As much as he could love one woman to the greatest lengths, anything less felt insufficient, which is why they needed the excitement of fighting an enemy. Otherwise, they would simply fight each other. Riley's love for Buffy had the most potential, but sadly, that's all it was: idle potential."
  
  "My turn," he said with a wry grin.
  
  Joyce smiled at his anticipation before stating, "You've already learned the root of your love for Buffy, young man."
  
  Feeling swindled of some good validation, Xander playfully asked, "Are you seriously going to make me hear about their love for her but not say mine? Come on, I want to hear you say how awesome I am."
  
  Indulging him like only a loving mother could, Joyce smiled as she casually said, "You're very awesome, Xander."
  
  He stared at her with squinted eyes, leveling a suspicious gaze at the angelic mother before remarking, "When you say it in that mom voice, it sounds like you're just humoring me."
  
  "No, no, I'm not," she assured him, her smile genuine. "Despite being less of a fighter, you were always willing to enter the fray, especially when it came to defending your friends. You were much braver than Riley in that regard."
  
  "...I guess that's awesome," he lamely affirmed, recalling how Willow, Oz, and Cordelia did the exact same thing. Moving past it, Xander told her the root of his love for Buffy and how it differed from the others. "Unselfish love."
  
  "Exactly," Joyce affirmed. "Though each of them loved Buffy dearly, one saw her as a way to atone for the sins of his past, one used her to satisfy his own base desires, and one used her to hide from his own inadequacies. While I do not begrudge these men for their understandable circumstances, you were uniquely different, Xander. Buffy was your hero. Your love for her never changed, never lessened, even when you were with other women. You were always there for her, and would always be there for her. It's a love undaunted by time, and I believe that unselfish love made you the Chosen One."
  
  Trying to hide his grin, he casually jested, "I knew I was amazing."
  
  Joyce couldn't help but giggle, her ethereal presence emanating warmth and affection. She continued, "When you change, so too does the world, Xander. So, the thing the Time Braid needed to alter was everything else about you. You needed to love yourself just as much as you loved Buffy. All that you are to be loved-with all that she is to be loved-needed balance. Becoming a capable fighter of evil alongside her was a tremendous boon-since she'd worry less-but what was most important was loving yourself as much as her. The original you wouldn't have avoided so many opportunities to be with Buffy if you'd possessed the confidence to accept your own greatness."
  
  Again, with squinting suspicious eyes, Xander asked, "Are you telling me I took the longest way possible of getting out of the Time Braid?" Though Joyce's smile remained gentle and understanding, her eyes didn't focus on him. "Really?!" he exclaimed.
  
  She placed a glowing hand on his shoulder as she conveyed, "If it's any consolation, you were faster than many."
  
  Furrowing his brow, the curious teen asked, "How many times has this happened?"
  
  Tilting her head in ponderous thought, she replied, "Across all the dimensions of planes of existence of multiple realities? A handful of times. This is a very rare event that even the Higher Beings don't know much about. The thing that's most important here is that you did it," she added, her voice filled with admiration.
  
  Curiosity burning within him, Xander couldn't help but ask, "What about Faith?"
  
  Joyce took a moment to consider her response before attesting, "While I typically don't approve of this type of union, I'm well aware that in this specific instance, it will work out-not without work, of course."
  
  Surprised by her statement-especially considering how much she knew-Xander asked, "Really?"
  
  A mischievous smile graced Joyce's face as she replied, "Maybe. Who's to say?"
  
  Perplexed, he answered, "You are."
  
  "True," Joyce replied, and didn't elaborate for him. "Sadly, that's about all the time we have."
  
  "Really?" he asked, saddened to be reaching the end. When she nodded, he asked, "Can I hug you?"
  
  "Of course," she warmly agreed. Joyce and Xander embraced tightly, their connection being one of love and cherished memories. She whispered, "Please take care of my girls."
  
  "I will," he earnestly promised.
  
  "And if you even think of adding Dawn to your little harem, so help me-"
  
  Joyce's playful threat was interrupted by Xander's quick assurances. "I won't! I won't. Promise."
  
  They reluctantly broke apart, and Joyce imparted her final pearls of wisdom. Her voice filled with a mixture of tenderness and urgency, she advised, "Keep trying to be better, Xander. Every day. Fight sleep, fight procrastination, fight laziness, fight death. Fight it all to be the very best you can be."
  
  "Because that's what Buffy deserves."
  
  Shaking her head gently, she corrected, "Because that's what we all deserve."
  
  "I love you, Mrs S. You'll be missed like crazy," Xander whispered, his dry throat tight.
  
  Joyce silently mouthed the words ' Thank you, son ' as her ethereal form faded away, leaving Xander alone with a renewed sense of purpose and determination.
  
  Xander found himself once again in the somber hospital room. The air was heavy with grief as Buffy and Dawn wept unabashedly over their mother's beautiful-but sadly lifeless-body. Xander embraced Faith, offering her solace, while Buffy and Dawn sought comfort in each other's arms. Recognizing their need for support, Xander gently shifted Faith's position, making room for them to console the grieving sisters. Eventually, Willow joined the embrace, their collective sorrow merging into a shared connection of love and unity, reminiscent of the bond Joyce Summers had fostered in all of them.
  
  In the days and weeks that followed, Buffy valiantly suppressed her grief, determined to care for her distraught younger sister. But Xander saw through her facade and offered a different perspective. "You don't have to be strong for them right now," he advised her, his tone filled with empathy. "Just show them you're feeling the same things they are, and I'll take care of everything else."
  
  As time passed, the Scoobies slowly resumed their lives, though the wounds of loss remained fresh. Faith returned to the Summers household and took up residence in Buffy's room, while Buffy herself moved into her mother's now-empty room, seeking solace in the familiar surroundings. Xander made the decision to sell his mansion-at a price lower than the market-and instead renovated Buffy's basement into a living space for himself. It was a practical choice, allowing him to remain close to his chosen family and provide support in whatever manner they needed.
  
  -
  
  Since Xander's best celestial weapons were made for Gods, it meant that Faith's Blood/Lust, Buffy's Slaymore, Kendra's Ordermír, and Xander's Dreadnought & Hellguard could hurt-and eventually kill-Glorificus without needing Buffy to make the ultimate sacrifice. Sadly, it also killed Glory's vessel, Ben Wilkinson.
  
  In a cruel twist of fate, Warren Mears still accidentally shot Tara like he had in the original timeline. However, this time, Xander's quick intervention and medical know-how saved her from losing her life. To everyone's sorrow, Tara lay in a hospital bed, on life support and, even with magical support, her fragile existence was hanging by a thread. It was a tense and somber atmosphere in the sterile hospital room, filled with the beeping of monitors and the hushed whispers of worried loved ones.
  
  Meanwhile, Willow, consumed by a maelstrom of grief and vengeance, accepted the darkest side of her soul. The lines between right and wrong, sanity and madness, had blurred as her desire for retribution took hold. With a potent mixture of dark magic and uncontrollable rage, she unleashed a horrifying act of violence upon Warren. The gruesome scene unfolded as she tore away his very flesh, a chilling testament to the depths of her despair. The dark magic that fueled her actions threatened to consume her entirely. But Xander's unwavering loyalty and love for her managed to break through Willow's dark grief before her powers could destroy the entire state of California.
  
  For the following six months, Willow and Tara left to England to recover together under Giles' guidance and care.
  
  -
  
  The three-way relationship between Xander, Buffy, and Faith had their ups and downs. When Kendra came to Sunnydale to fight an impending calamity, Faith and Buffy discovered from the Jamaican that she had slept with Xander years ago, and their initial shock and disbelief led to a period of cold distancing. The girls froze Xander out. Buffy needed space to ponder why he never said told her, and as Faith later explained to him, she tagged along to make sure Buffy wasn't thinking too hard about breaking up with him.
  
  Considering he'd met Higher Being Joyce, Xander knew that the Time Braid was truly over-that there wasn't a three-year loop. He'd been wondering when he should tell them and, despite how disappointed the girls were in him, he felt this was the best time to come clean. Xander asked them to join him at Wild Dink's. He had been spending a lot of nights at the shop making Giles' rapier, thus there was no one else in the building. Xander led them to the employee lounge, where they sat comfortably on the plush couches.
  
  Before a single word could be uttered, Xander took a deep breath, feeling the gravity of the moment settle upon his shoulders. With a mix of apprehension and determination in his eyes, he began to speak, fully aware of the impact his words would have on both Buffy and Faith.
  
  "This," he started, his voice wavering slightly, "is going to be the hardest thing I've ever had to say to either of you." His gaze shifted between them, his heart pounding in his chest.
  
  Buffy couldn't help but interject, her voice filled with a hint of worry. "Please don't tell me you slept with another girl."
  
  On the other end of the brown couch, Faith snorted, amused by the direction of the conversation. "Shiii, I was more shocked you slept with all three Slayers in existence than you sleeping with Kendra," she remarked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But that's probably because I don't really know her."
  
  "Why, Xander?" Buffy asked, her curiosity piqued, and searching his eyes for reassurance. "I'm not mad. I mean, we weren't even together at the time, so how can I be? But don't you think having slept with Kendra is something I'd want to know before I saw her again?"
  
  "There's actually a lot that I think you should know," he replied, meeting their gazes with an expression of sincerity. "Both of you."
  
  "Fuck me, it is more girls!" Faith exclaimed, eying him in disbelief. Using her fingers to count, she recounts, "Me, B, Cordy, and Kendra. Who else?"
  
  "Please tell me it's not someone else I know," Buffy begged, her voice laced with a touch of desperation.
  
  With a newfound calmness that belied the weight of his words, Xander mustered the courage to confess, his voice filled with sincerity, "I've slept with loads of women for a very long time." The shocked girls blinked with wide eyes to hear such a claim, but before they could respond, he added, "But there's a lot more to the story. Something happened to me that no one knows about. It's going to sound absolutely unbelievable, but I guarantee you it's the truth."
  
  Witnessing the unwavering conviction in Xander's serious demeanor, Faith couldn't help but feel the weight of his words. With a muttered "Okay," she prepared herself to listen further.
  
  Mirroring Faith's concern, Buffy leaned forward on the couch and asked with a furrowed brow, "Okay, what is it?"
  
  Xander took a deep breath, feeling nervous but determined to unveil the truth. After clearing his throat, he began. "The reason I think you were both having Slayer dreams about me," he said. "The reason I slept with Kendra, you, Cordy, and a bunch of other girls. The reason I'm so good at making magical weapons and building bikes. The reason I can fight the way I do... There's a singular source to all of this. I was trapped in a time loop for over a hundred years."
  
  As his words sank in, the girls didn't show any expression toward what they had just heard. They couldn't comprehend the full scope of his words, so they simply stared at him in confusion.
  
  "I don't understand," Buffy said, sitting closer to the edge of the couch. "What does that mean?"
  
  For the next half hour, Xander painstakingly explained the levels of looping and how everything would reset every time he failed to surpass the loop or let a key person die. He delved into his utilization of the Janus curse in his quest to escape and how it allowed him to learn a great many things. He recounted how often he had died, how often he'd felt like giving up, how much his friends helped or hurt him-how dark he had gotten-and they let him speak his piece. They listened intently, engrossed in his words, and rarely had a question for him.
  
  Occasionally, they remarked on certain points of his confession, such as, " That 's why I had all those visions about you!" or, "That's why you know how to make me cum like a freight train." Or, a key question like, "Why didn't you tell us? Why go through all of that by yourself when we could've helped you?"
  
  "I couldn't be sure telling you would actually let me out or ensure I always looped back," he confessed, his gaze filled with remorse. "I hated lying to you guys-every day, I did-but I needed to get out. I had to get out! Or I... I'd become the very thing you guys slay on a nightly basis. I'd destroy entire countries just to feel something, because nothing I did would matter."
  
  Allowing Xander's words to sink in, Buffy and Faith decided to take some time to process the monumental revelation. It weighed heavily on their minds as they contemplated the implications. The following day, they gathered in Buffy's room for more clarity.
  
  With a glimmer of hope, Faith asked, "Are you out?"
  
  "Yeah," he answered with relief.
  
  With obvious concern on her face, Buffy asked, "How do you know?"
  
  "Your Mom told me," he replied softly with a small smile. Xander proceeded to relay everything Higher Being Joyce had said, and why the Time Braid had happened to him. When Buffy learned about the hell dimension-where she would likely end up-they postponed their conversation once again. Xander knew this information would weigh heaviest on her; to know her mother would fight for her even beyond the grave due to the unfairness of her destiny... Buffy needed several days to herself before the three gathered again to continue talking.
  
  When Buffy heard of the three men considered to be with her in the hell dimension, she recoiled in disgust and gasped, "Spike?!" She dry-heaved at the prospect of her and Spike together, and Xander was fine with that reaction. "Riley I can understand, but Spike?! How? Why? In what bizarro-universe?!"
  
  "You haven't noticed how much he looks at you?" Faith asked her sister Slayer.
  
  Buffy's expression twisted with a mixture of sickness and sadness as she responded, "I mean, maybe , but still! Why would I give him -the guy who tried to kill us multiple times-the time of day?!"
  
  "Because you were stuck in your own hell," Xander solemnly answered. He delved into the complex dynamics of Buffy's relationship with Spike in the original timeline. He revealed the circumstances of Buffy's sacrifice to save Dawn and subsequent resurrection, as well as the depression she experienced-feeling less than human. "Spike was pretty much the only guy who could make you forget how depressed you were," Xander was loath to admit. "Trust me, I get it... The depressed part-not the sleeping with Spike part."
  
  Throughout the story, Buffy appeared sickened and saddened by the revelations. She remained silent, processing the information and grappling with the emotions that flooded her. Xander couldn't help but wonder how much she truly comprehended on an intuitive level, even if it was only peripherally.
  
  By the end of the toxic tale, Faith couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and asked, "Would you follow her to that hell dimension Mrs S mentioned?" The tone of her voice told him that she genuinely wanted to understand Xander's unwavering dedication.
  
  Without a moment's hesitation, Xander saw the answer in his heart and smiled before asking her, "Wouldn't you?"
  
  Faith's gaze shifted to Buffy, eying her thoughtfully. After a brief moment of contemplation, a warm smile graced her lips. Buffy smiled as well-a smile of shared bonds and unspoken dedication. All three of them knew the answer. They understood the depth of their connection and the lengths they would go to protect and support each other. Faith wouldn't let Buffy go down there alone just as much as Xander wouldn't. That realization touched Buffy-to be loved to such an extent-and made her unfair destiny feel more tolerable. Though no one said as much, somehow, they all felt more confident in their choice to be together, even if their relationship wasn't typical.
  
  As such, Faith playfully attempted to introduce the idea of a foursome with Kendra to Buffy, but it was met with a quick refusal. Xander was fine with that decision, because despite being attracted to Kendra, he would never risk anything with Buffy and Faith for something so casual.
  
  -
  
  Though things in his relationship with his Slayers were in a strange place, Xander hadn't expected to one day walk in on Buffy and Spike having sex. He nearly lost it. The sight of them in bed together struck him like a blow to the chest, and drove head-first into one of his greatest fears: losing Buffy to Spike. He'd always had a deep-seated fear that Buffy simply preferred vampires over humans, and that he had simply deluded himself into believing she could ever love him.
  
  Overwhelmed by the surge of emotions, Xander's instinct was to run away, just as Joyce had mentioned. But a newfound determination welled up within him, urging him to confront the situation head-on, to fight for Buffy and seek an explanation, no matter how terrifying it seemed. He found her once again and the second she smiled at him-as if all was right with the world-Xander understood that something wasn't right.
  
  Tentatively, he asked, "How's Spike doing?"
  
  Buffy looked at him in confusion before asking, "What are you talking about?"
  
  In an instant, Xander understood what had happened; Spike still had Warren make a robotic replica of Buffy in this timeline and orchestrated the entire encounter. Xander, Faith, and Buffy confronted Spike and lightly tortured the truth out of him. Apparently, the vampire had planned for Xander to angrily break up with Buffy after seeing her having sex with him. His plan was for Xander to doubt Buffy's claims that she hadn't cheated and Spike would swoop in and console her, exploiting her vulnerability.
  
  However, Spike hadn't counted on the depth of Xander's love for Buffy. With a piercing gaze into her beautiful greenish-blue eyes, Xander knew that it wasn't his girlfriend. The event certainly touched on a fear of Xander's but not enough to doubt Buffy. They soon uncovered Buffy's robot lookalike that Spike used to trick Xander. After getting his head nearly punched off of his shoulders by Faith, the vulnerable vampire proclaimed to Buffy he did it all because he was in love with her. Buffy reminded him that he hadn't learned anything significant about love yet, and that she couldn't possibly fall in love with someone like that.
  
  For some odd reason, this changed Buffy's mind about having one foursome with Kendra. Xander nearly died that night from pushing his body to its very limits, satisfying three vigorous Slayers. Achilles, Sherlock, Casanova, and even Nox told him the battle would be impossible to win without an equalizer, so Xander used all his skill, knowledge, magic, and toys to thoroughly satisfy the carnal beauties.
  
  -
  
  It was a pure blessing for the Scooby Gang to learn that Faith was pregnant. The spirited Slayer blamed Xander for the sheer volume of cum he unloaded inside his girlfriends, but he was far too happy to feel her tepid ire. Buffy and the rest of the gang were also thrilled. It was the happiest occasion they've had in a long time.
  
  That was why it was a collective punch to the gut when Caleb, a formidable adversary, brutally attacked Faith, leaving her hospitalized and no longer pregnant. Xander lost his eye attacking Caleb on his own, but with Willow's magical talent and Odin's ring, it grew back. Xander was feverish with anguish, but Faith was so distraught, she had to leave them after they killed Caleb.
  
  Buffy and Xander endured an entire year without seeing Faith, never fully feeling whole the entire time. When she finally returned, the reunion was more bitter than sweet, but after a lot of close calls in battles with high stakes, Faith eventually recalled her joy and love for them and the three got back together. After the three found their way back to each other, years of happiness followed.
  
  The world would eventually learn about the existence of supernatural threats-if not in the same way as Xander's original timeline-and the Slayer Organization was the front line to protect humankind. Due to social media, the Scooby Gang quickly rose to fame on a global scale. Buffy, Xander, Willow, Andrew, Giles, Dawn, and occasionally Faith became household names, appearing on television, delivering public emergency announcements, giving worldwide addresses, and publishing many books on slaying and their autobiographies. Even the catchphrase "five-by-five" gained more popularity than the term "cool."
  
  Whenever someone recorded their fights, they were immediately uploaded on YouTube and garnered hundreds of millions of views. They became sought-after figures, with global leaders and celebrities clamoring for pictures and associations with them, eager to demonstrate their support. The Scoobies were showered with so many gifts, they needed to create a department in the Slayer Organization to receive and redistribute the gifts and gratuity to others who were more in need of them.
  
  In the midst of their ever-growing fame and recognition, Xander, Buffy, and Faith took a significant step in their relationship. Although their union wasn't recognized by many who had preconceived notions of a relationship, it didn't diminish their commitment to each other and they got married. It wasn't lawfully approved by the government, but they didn't care. They exchanged specially crafted promise rings Xander made and held an intimate ceremony surrounded by their closest friends and family. Willow and Dawn were the Maids of Honor, Giles gave Buffy and Faith away, Oz was Xander's best man, and Tara officiated the ceremony. Before their loved ones, both living and those who had passed, the three vowed their eternal love and devotion to one another.
  
  The after-party was filled with joy and celebration as the newlyweds basked in the love and support of their friends and family. Laughter and music filled the air, and the venue was adorned with colorful decorations. Buffy, Xander, and Faith, dressed in elegant attire, couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment and fulfillment.
  
  However, the festive atmosphere took a turn when a drunk Spike stumbled into the party. Sensing Spike's inner turmoil and the rising tension, Xander forced the vampire away from Buffy and into a private room. Inside the dimly lit space, Xander tossed him on a couch and revealed to him Old Man Xander's memories of his relationship with Buffy. Xander wanted Spike to understand that he needed to be good for his own sake, not for someone else. Not even for Buffy.
  
  Soon after their honeymoon, Faith and Buffy were pregnant at the same time. The anticipation and excitement grew as the due dates drew near, until they gave birth to boys, only days apart. The parents settled on Alex Jr. and Rupert. Years later, Buffy welcomed a second child into the world, a beautiful baby girl they named Joy.
  
  For many months, it was hard for them to take risks when they thought of everything they would lose upon their death, but they pulled out the courage to do so anyway, because the hard truth was, if they didn't, far more people would die. They were determined to protect their children and instill in them the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the harsh reality of demons, curses, and the ever-present threat of vampires. Xander, Buffy, and Faith were aware of the challenges that awaited their children, and they were committed to ensuring they were prepared to face whatever dangers lay ahead.
  
  -
  
  In the spacious penthouse suite of the Slayer Organization's living quarters, a loving family prepared for bedtime. The living space exuded warmth and comfort, with soft lighting casting a gentle glow on the plush furnishings. The walls were adorned with framed pictures of friends, family, or pop-culture references, reminders of the family's remarkable journey. Their home was large for an apartment and well-guarded, since they were the most important family in the world.
  
  In his daughter's room, seated in a cozy rocking chair, Xander had his youngest seated on his lap. Her pajamas, adorned with adorable cookie patterns, brought a touch of whimsy to the scene. As Xander read her bedtime story, a sense of tranquility filled the air.
  
  Midway through the story, Joy hesitantly interrupted, her innocent voice barely a whisper, "Daddy, do- do I make you sad?"
  
  Xander's brow furrowed in genuine confusion. He lowered the storybook, ensuring his undivided attention was on his precious daughter. "Sad? Absolutely not," he reassured her with a soft smile. "There's no way you could ever make me sad. Why would you think that?"
  
  The little girl's eyes met her father's, filled with uncertainty. Young as she was, she'd mouth the words before stating, "Be-Because... I'm not strong like-like Momma and Mommy."
  
  Xander's heart ached at her words, realizing the weight of her self-doubt. Setting the storybook aside, their eyes locked in a tender gaze as he replied, "Oh, monkey. You can be just as strong as they are."
  
  "But I try... I really try," the cute girl stressed, her voice tinged with frustration. "I can't open tha butter jar, or, or, bring mommy her sword, or run fast like Al and Ruppy."
  
  Xander nodded, understanding her longing to measure up to her older siblings, and softly asked, "Do you think doing all those things makes you strong?"
  
  Lowering her gaze, Joy quietly nodded, her little fingers fidgeting in her lap, and mumbled, "...Yeah."
  
  "Mmm, I see," Xander commiserated. He paused for a moment before asking his daughter, "Can I tell you a secret?" She nodded eagerly, her golden head of silky hair waving before he continued. "I can't do half the things your mommies can. Do you think that makes me weak?"
  
  Wide-eyed, Joy vehemently shook her head, exclaiming, "No! M-Monsters are scared of you and mommas."
  
  Delighted to hear his daughter's high estimation of him-the admiration clearly in her voice-Xander couldn't help hugging her as he called out, "Oh, you're just the sweetest little Monkey!" She giggled in his warm embrace, and after they settled down, Xander explained, "Do you want to hear a different story before bedtime?"
  
  Joy's eyes sparkled with excitement, her trust in her father unwavering. "Yeah!" she joyfully called.
  
  Xander sensed a gentle warmth at the entrance of the room, and it only added to the comfort he felt from the presence behind him. He continued his story, the soft glow of a bedside lamp casting a warm and cozy atmosphere.
  
  "When I was a bit older than you are now, I met your mother," he began, a sense of nostalgia in his voice
  
  "Which mommy?" she asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.
  
  "The blonde one," he specified, adoring how she considered Faith as much her mother as Buffy. "And let me tell you, I fell in love with her right away! My eyes were glued to her, but I soon learned that she was the Slayer and was very, very strong. I also learned that she fought other incredibly powerful things, so the rest of us would be safe."
  
  Excitement lit up Joy's face as she proclaimed, "She's chosen!"
  
  "That's right," Xander affirmed, smiling at her enthusiasm. "Some people in this world are born that way; chosen. Whether they're prettier, stronger, faster, or smarter, some people are chosen in one way or another."
  
  "And you, Daddy?" she asked, an expression of wonderment.
  
  "No, sweety, not me," he thoughtfully answered. "I wasn't one of the Chosen. I couldn't do a lot of those things myself. I felt a lot like you do right now."
  
  The little girl was stunned to hear her father wasn't always strong, asking in such surprise, "R-Really? You felt like me?"
  
  "I sure did," he assured her. "I actually felt that way all the time; because your auntie Willow was so smart, your mommas were so strong and brave, and your grandpa Giles was so wise."
  
  "And Uncle Spike?" she asked, her eyes bright with curiosity.
  
  Instantly feeling disgruntled by her affection toward the notorious vampire, Xander reluctantly admitted, "Yeah, I guess he was there, too. The point is, I felt like I wasn't good enough."
  
  "Bu-But you're so strong, Daddy!" she proclaimed, her youthful voice brimming with conviction. "I-I watch alllll your vi-videos on YouTube."
  
  Eying her sternly, Xander asked, "Joy, what did I say about watching those?" His tone was firm but filled with love.
  
  Feeling remorseful, Joy's shoulders slumped as she replied glumly, "Not until I'm older."
  
  Shaking his head, Xander clarified, "No, the other thing."
  
  "Oh! Like, comment, and share all your videos," she easily recited.
  
  "That's my girl," he praised, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Here's the thing you don't see in any of those videos. Do you want to know what it is?" With her nodding head, he answered, "It took me a lot of years to get strong enough to fight all those monsters. It took me a long time to learn the truth."
  
  "What truth?" the curious girl asked.
  
  Xander's gaze softened as he answered, "The truth that even if I wasn't chosen like other people are, I was still good enough-that I was actually a lot stronger than I knew," he genuinely told her. "It's why I know that you're actually a loooooot stronger than you think you are."
  
  "Really?" she asked, her eyes wide with a mixture of surprise and hope.
  
  "Really, really," he teased with a smile. "All you have to do is try. Try every minute of every day to be the best version of yourself you can be."
  
  Confusion clouded Joy's face as she asked, "Of me?"
  
  Xander nodded, his voice gentle and reassuring as he said, "Yes, of you. You see, the reason why mommas are so strong, why I'm strong now, or your aunties Dawn, Tara, and Willow, and grandpa Giles are so strong-"
  
  "And Uncle Spike?" she interjected, her curiosity shining through.
  
  Xander inhaled deeply, trying to hide any hint of unhappiness regarding Spike from his little girl. Slowly, he nodded and replied, "Uh-huh, and Uncle Spike... The reason why we're strong is because we try every day to be the best version of ourselves. You have a strength inside of you that you don't know about. It's like a secret. This strength is dying to get out and be amazing, but it can't do it alone. You have to try to reach for it every day. It won't be easy. Some days you'll do really well, and other days you won't, but eventually-when enough time has passed-you'll be the strongest version of Joy Lehane Harris you can be and the world will be so much better and happier because of it."
  
  From behind them, a sweet voice says, "I was wondering why Daddy was taking so long." Faith entered the room, her presence bringing a sense of warmth and love. The bubbly blonde child turned her attention to her mother, her eyes lighting up with joy.
  
  "Mommy!" she called out, reaching her arms toward Faith. With a tender smile, Faith lifted her daughter into her arms and carried her towards the bed as Joy exclaimed, "Daddy told me he wasn't as strong as you when you met." As Faith was laying her down, she continued, "But-But now he is, and I want to be too, so I can be amazing, like you!"
  
  Faith's smile widened, and she lovingly caressed her daughter's cheek as she said, "Oh, Monkey, you will be; one day. I just know it."
  
  Buffy walked into the room and moved beside the bed as she remarked, "Wait till Faith starts training you."
  
  Faith smiled proudly as she boasted, "Can't help it if I know how to train some tough girls."
  
  Buffy wrapped her arms around Faith from behind, embracing her, and addressed their daughter, "If you really want to be strong, then you're going to need your sleep to grow big and strong. Why do you think your mommas and daddy like to sleep so much? Cuz it makes us strong."
  
  "Or we just don't get enough of it," Xander jested with a yawn. Meetings during the days, training and hunting at night, and if they were lucky, they got to be with their children for a few hours every day.
  
  While the mothers bid their daughter good night, Xander watched from the door frame, happy to know he'd have several more decades of this, so long as he kept fighting. The inevitable night would come when the world ended, but even then, he would keep fighting-for himself and his family.
  
  Faith playfully patted his ass, teasingly remarking, "Come on, let's go lose some more sleep trying to give her a sister."
  
  Xander smiled and followed his loves to the riches that await those who never stop trying.
  
  I like what I had written as is, but in my head, I did have the Power Above the Powers That Be approve of Joyce's first request of giving Buffy a better life, so at the end, Xander and Buffy didn't have to stay in the collapsed dimension to fight demons until they died. They created a world that didn't have so much malice in it, thus the layers didn't collapse and everyone remained safe. Thank you for reading.
  
  I wonder if I should've had this explanation of the Time Braid in the middle of this story. I don't know if it would add tension because we're wondering if he'll get out, or if it'll take tension away because I answered why this was all happening to begin with. Clearly, I still have a lot to learn about storytelling. I appreciate everyone who liked and commented. It helped calibrate my writing skills to try and think about the audience, and how to best entertain you all. Anyway, I have the After-Action Report next. You don't have to read it. It's just my thoughts on all of this. Thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy my other stories.
  
  Thanks again to my awesome betas, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar! You guys have been such a big help. AI will never be as good as the human touch so I appreciate you guys for sticking with this fic.
  
  Have a great one!
  
  -Grae
  
  previous chapterchapter list
  After Action Report
  After Action Report
  
  Wow, it's been a journey of learning and growing. I thought I'd leave my final Author's Note as a separate chapter rather than at the bottom of the final chapter since I have a feeling it'll be long.
  
  I'd like to remind everyone that I wrote a detailed outline for this entire story well before I even published the first chapter. Because of that, I had no idea what fans would like, what they wouldn't like, or even if this story would be enjoyable. I came up with this story simply because I felt the show majorly dropped the ball with the character of Xander. Also, because I'm a part of the Buffy subreddit and many fans of the show on that sub hate him more than actual murderers and rapists-which is just ridiculous.
  
  I don't remember who it was, but a famous author stated, "In the world of fiction, being annoying is more repulsive than being evil." I feel like that's what happened to Xander and that always annoyed me(to put it mildly). I have a soft spot for characters nobody thinks anything of, who then turn out to be heroes. Naruto, Harry Potter, Peter Parker, and Xander, to name a few, which is why I enjoy writing these characters.
  
  Now that Chain of Ascension is complete, I thought I'd share where I believe I did well, where I did poorly, and a few general thoughts about the entire experience.
  
  MY MISTAKES
  
  (Of which there are many)
  
  Mistake #1: At the top of the list, I think it has to be Buffy. I completely botched her character-not that I needed everyone to love her. But damn did she catch some hate. I get it. It's not like the readers were wrong, but the main villain in this story was Xander's internal inadequacies and how he was holding himself back. The external villains were the demons and Buffy's friendzone affection for him. I think that's what made it hard for readers to accept her more toxic behaviors in Xander's life. My whole thing was that she wasn't toxic. She was just making bad decisions because of her feelings for the wrong guy, namely Angel. Buffy simply loved him too much, and she couldn't ever see herself being with anyone. When she lost him, she was so distraught, she would even sleep with a murderer like Spike.
  
  Side note: I don't hate how Spike and Buffy got together in the show. It was understandable given everything she went through. She didn't even feel human anymore. What I absolutely can't stand though, is this lingering desire by the show runners to continuously cram that relationship down our throats when it was so obvious those two would never work. That's why I like the beginning of season 7, because it had nothing to do with Spike, and Buffy looked happy. Then Spike came along and brought more vomit-inducing shippers of them along with him. I get into so many arguments in the Buffy subreddit over this point.
  
  Anyway, I feel I could've shortened the story down by removing either the parts where Buffy is using Spike to cope with her loss of Angel, or when she kisses Angel when he comes back from hell-both of which hurt Xander tremendously. However, I felt they were both important and should be in the story because Spike helps Xander get angry enough to stop simping over Buffy. And when Buffy chooses Angel over Xander, it adds more weight and meaning when she chooses Xander over Angel at the end. I'm sure I could've done this better, and maybe I would've if I had more time.
  
  Mistake #2: The length of time Xander was in the loop. I picked a hundred years because that's how long I thought it would take him to master everything the Ethan's Halloween costumes taught him(Sherlock, Achilles, Casanova, and Eitri). Please keep in mind, I DID NOT want Xander to automatically learn every skill the costumes had, as if he downloaded all that practical knowledge into his brain like in The Matrix. I would see that as cheating; kinda like he didn't take the initiative to learn that stuff on his own. With the way I wrote it, at least no one can say he didn't take the time to learn it on his own.
  
  Mistake #3: Cordelia. I truly did not expect fans to like her to the degree it appears they did. I mean, I love her and writing her was always fun, but maybe I should've made her less awesome. Due to the story ending the way it does, it wouldn't make sense for Cordelia to be Xander's girl at the end. It would make the reason why the Time Braid happened completely irrelevant. I should've shown more scenes where Xander and her have genuine arguments. Because I truly do believe that they would only be good together for 3 to 5 years. Differences in the beginning stages of a relationship can be cute, but after several years, that cute phase is gone, and you could break up for those very reasons. I once had a girlfriend who smacked while she ate(and she liked crunchy juicy stuff too). That wasn't a big deal in the beginning. But after several months together, I couldn't even eat around her THX-Surround-Sound eating. Xander and Cordelia had a lot of these little things, and I'm all but certain those things would've built up over years and likely ended the relationship.
  
  Mistake #4: The length. This story is entirely too long. I don't know how it is I can fit so many words in a story. I'm really trying to write simply, but it's so difficult for me. I feel like I should've cut a lot, but I can't even see where. This is something I definitely need to work on.
  
  MY WINS
  
  1) I completed a long-form story. It was not easy and took a lot of time. I feel great for finishing something.
  
  2) I think this is some of my best dialogue and character building. I think I did a good job putting Xander through the wringer. Maybe it went on a little too long, but I feel it's evident he grew and became better, which is what I wanted. I mean, he faced a damn demon dragon by himself and won. The Xander at the beginning(or in canon) would NEVER have been able to do that.
  
  3) Meeting and talking to awesome Beta readers. They really helped me narrow down what I'm trying to say when I don't know how to word it. So, thank you CrazyBubbles1693, JaresB, Oxnate, Deiticlast, and Chelanxar. I count working with you all as a big win.
  
  WHY I WROTE THIS
  
  I wanted to get this out because I absolutely hate what the showrunners of BtVS did. I felt like they cucked the audience/Xander fans. In the hero's journey, a main character typically starts off one way, and through a series of trials and tribulations, they level up and become something more. Like Rocky says, "Nothing hits harder than life." So, when a character becomes tougher than anything life can throw, it's amazing for viewers to see. Now, I'm not saying that Xander was the main character of the show. Clearly Buffy is and should be. But there was an unsaid promise at the beginning of any story that the characters you see will evolve and become better. We saw that with Willow, obviously Buffy, Giles, Cordelia, definitely Spike, and Angel. We NEVER saw that change with Xander. Xander had the potential to be Buffy's most suitable romantic partner if he leveled up and became competent. But he never did. We saw glimpses, sure, but then they always put him back in his "Comedic/Dumb Guy" box. I fully expected Xander to be Buffy's guy at the end, and I was excited to see that journey.
  
  What happened instead?
  
  Dumb Showrunners: "Let's fix this villain's natural propensity to kill and be evil, and put him in a toxic and sexual relationship with Buffy instead."
  
  If you were a fan of Xander, watching Season 6 felt like getting cucked on a weekly basis. Spike was literally fucking (an invisible)Buffy in front of Xander. Like, what the fuck?! This violation of storytelling stuck with me for many years(clearly). I'll add this. If the showrunners were telling me that Spike was going to be the guy for Buffy from the beginning, fine. I definitely would've stopped watching the show, but at least I know the direction. But what they did felt like the rug was pulled from under me. That Spuffy shit came out of nowhere! All the while I'm hoping season 6 will stop, but it never did. Then in season 7, Buffy and Spike are treated as if they just had a minor breakup, and they truly loved each other. Again, what the actual fuck?
  
  Since I couldn't meet a showrunner of BtVS and tell them how horribly they hurt my storytelling soul with their inane story decisions, I came up with this fic as a bit of therapy. I want to close the book on those toxic feelings. Not that I still don't see it in media today: Rey and Kylo Ren(Star Wars), Gwen Stacy and Norman Osbourne(Spider-Man Comics), Lana and Lex(Smallville), Clark and Bellamy(The 100). Never seen Vampire Diaries, but my sister would add Elena and Damon. And to be clear, there's a difference between a story that shows how a bad guy/girl and a good guy/girl get together from the beginning. I'm fine with those. They are clearly demonstrating who the players on the board are, and how they might get together. But in BtVS, Spuffy is like if Belle got together with Gaston at the end of Beauty and the Beast instead of the Beast. Or Hermione got together with Draco at the end of Harry Potter. Or Princess Peach with Bowser. If you say no to all those examples, then you should understand why I vehemently oppose Spuffy.
  
  But removing Spuffy from the equation, I still hate how the showrunners did NOTHING with Xander. I hate it. Buffy was my favorite show in high school. It's the thing I loved to watch on TV because we were poor and couldn't afford cable. Xander saved Buffy's life in the first season. Something Angel couldn't even do. And I seriously thought Xander was going to level up after the Zeppo episode. But the fourth season came and went with minor changes. Same with the 5th season. With the 6th season, it feels like he went backward. And in the 7th season, he was either a glorified extra or a security blanket. If Xander was a side character, that level of interaction would be acceptable. But he's been a principal character since the first episode. He should've had as much-if not MORE-character development as Spike. In my opinion, this is the biggest sin of the show: squandering the potential of a main character. The show runners told the actor that they weren't going to do anything more with him after the 3rd season. They even told the actor to stop working out so that he didn't outstage the other romantic potentials. It's wrong, and if I ever meet a showrunner for BtVS who supported this idiotic decision, I'd happily tell them the show was canceled because they're horrible storytellers.
  
  For those who'd like to toss a coin to your writer...
  
  Cash App: $GraeFoxx
  
  Anyway, that's all I got. Thank you all for taking this journey with me, for giving my fic a chance, for sticking with it even if there were aspects you didn't like or couldn't stand. Have a great one,
  
  -Grae
   PS. On to The Last Prayer.
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