The Warrior and the Witch
Homecoming 2
By Jeconais
Many years ago, before a chaos mage played with his life, the scene on Xander's couch would have been enough for many fantasies. Not that there was anything sexual about it - there wasn't. It was just that the idea of two drop dead gorgeous girls sitting together would have sent his teenage mind into a fantasy that could have lasted several days. Those thoughts didn't even cross his mind these days.
One of the women was his partner, his life, in a way that no one else could understand. When they were apart, he could feel her emotions, whether she was happy or sad, excited or scared. When they were together, he knew what she was thinking, could hear her thoughts as clearly as his own.
The other was his sister, the one who understood his upbringing, because she had been through it herself. He could see in her the excitement and passion that she put into everything she did. It was not enough for her to enter a room; she had to explode into it, making herself the centre of attention. Her self-destructive side had been curtailed, her gregarious side encouraged. The result was a proud woman who could kick ass like no one else.
Faith and Dawn.
Faith's eyes were laughing, her lips curved in to a smile. Dawn looked expressionless, but if you knew her, she was laughing as well. A slight hint of color in her eyes, the occasional quirk of a lip.
"Xander," Dawn whispered, for Faith's sake not his, "sit and talk to Faith. I'm going to start cooking." She paused for a second, and then continued, "No, I don't need any help."
Xander smiled faintly, a mere ghost of an expression. He took her place, as she walked into the small kitchen area.
"Can Dawn cook?" Faith looked a little surprised.
"Much better than I can. The witch was an accomplished cook, although we didn't realize till last year. We presumed she couldn't, so I cooked everything. The first time she did, was when I was away for a few days. When I came back, she took over the role, and I've never eaten better."
"Wow, Xan, a full sentence."
Xander's eyes laughed with her.
"Xander, what happened when you went away for a few days? I know you left, and when you came back you had money. It kinda worries me."
Faith suddenly felt the full force of Xander's personality and mental strength aimed at her for the first time. It was a disturbing experience for her, especially considering that she had faced demons and vampires without a qualm for the past five years. The little hints of Xander vanished from his face as the warrior aspect of his personality took complete control.
Dawn wandered back into the living room and dropped a light kiss on his cheek, and, without a word, went back to cooking.
When Faith looked at him again, he was back to normal, not a hint that anything had changed. "Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies," he whispered softly, with a slight look of apology echoing around his face.
"I'm worried about you and Dawn." The dark Slayer wasn't going to back down. "It would kill you both, if you were arrested."
Xander contemplated her for a brief moment. He thought about telling her about the friends in high places they had, the influence they had, the protection they could call on, should they ever need it.
"I did some work for the CIA," he said quietly. "That particular time, I was flown into Columbia, dropped off, had a little walk through the jungle, performed a small favor, wandered out and came home. Since then, we've been under contract to continue to do what we do."
"You're paid to fight?"
Xander nodded.
"Cool!"
"Dinner's ready," Dawn called, she had heard and felt the conversation, and decided that he had given her enough information.
They sat around the table. It was a little more formal than the dark Slayer was used to, but she didn’t feel uncomfortable.
"What do you think of the Potentials?" Dawn asked Faith.
"They’re good kids," she replied, ignoring the fact that she wasn’t much older than most of them. "But, it’s a little weird. During the day, they’re fine. At night, on patrol, they seem to follow Buffy around like little sheep, agreeing with anything and everything she says or does."
Dawn nodded slowly, as if something had just been confirmed in her mind.
Xander knew that she wasn’t ready to talk, so he smoothly changed the subject.
It had been simple for Molly and Vi to persuade Kennedy that she should spend the day with Willow. A little bit of applied flattery and reverse psychology had left the rest of the S.I.T's with a day off, and an order to stay at home. It was less than two minutes after Buffy, Willow and Kennedy had left before all of the Potentials were walking to Giles' place.
Faith and Giles were waiting for them outside, next to a rented people carrier. They offered no explanation of where it had come from, or who had paid for it, they merely told the girls to get in.
Giles drove them, a little too slowly for Faith's taste, to a warehouse in the business area of Sunnydale. The simple press of a button on the remote control in Faith's hand opened the rolling shutters, and they drove in, to find the interior in total darkness.
A sudden hum of electricity preceded halogen bulbs pumping light into the area, which was followed by a gasp.
Spread out in front of them was a military style training area. Fitness equipment was laid out around the corners of a large open padded area. At the front, the two people from the day before stood, completely stationary.
"Line up." The command came from the male, in a voice that should have been normal, but wasn't. It carried the weight of command and authority.
The girls formed a single line, shoulder to shoulder, a little intimidated, although they weren't quite sure why.
"Faith?" the tall, brunet man asked.
The girl beamed, as she realized what he wanted. "Any rules?" she purred.
"Keep the Slayer strength down, I'm not going to boost."
The trainee Slayers looked on in surprise, as their teacher prowled onto the mat in front of them, her eyes sparkling with excitement. It was exactly the same way she walked into a nest of Vampires - creatures that had no idea what they were facing.
The dark haired man was still expressionless, although Faith and Giles could see how amused he was. He shrugged off his jacket and handed it to the girl next to him. The girl reached up and touched his face for a second, before she took several steps back.
Xander undid his shirt, removing it and tossing it neatly to the girl.
Faith looked appreciatively at him. If he hadn't been her adopted brother, the sort of fighting they were about to engage in would have a very different outcome.
The S.I.T's exchanged wild glances. They hadn't expected the sun-tanned torso, and certainly hadn't expected so many muscles and scars. It was the scars that caused them to re-evaluate him instantly; they spoke of combat experience, of years of facing things that they were still nervous just thinking about.
Faith moved first. Without warning, she jumped forwards, her left foot kicking out, aimed at his chin.
Xander swayed back the bare two inches necessary to allow the foot to fly past his face unimpeded. He dropped to the floor, his left leg snapping out in a sweep kick at Faith's support leg, causing the girl to use her momentum from the kick to turn it into a back somersault.
Xander continued the flowing motion of the takedown, straightening up to come to a rest facing the girl, in the exact same position he had started in. He paused, in no hurry to rush in and attack.
Faith couldn't help herself. She knew she was playing to his strengths, that he was forcing her to do all the work, to attack him, but she simply didn't have the patience to play the same game he was. The Slayer took several quick steps forward, and launched a combination of short close-in punches at his torso.
Xander swayed, avoiding a few and blocking the others. He almost smiled. Faith had improved dramatically over the past year; he could recognize some of Angel's style superimposed over what he had taught her, and it seemed to be working surprisingly well. His musing was proved right a second later, as he fell for a faked punch to the midsection and received one to his jaw, instead.
He shook off the pain quickly, and used his height advantage to leap straight through her defenses and knee her solidly in her breastbone.
Faith gasped and flew backwards, curling up as she landed and rolled backwards, then pushed off with her hands and ended back on her feet.
Xander moved first this time, confident steps devouring the gap between them, followed by a blistering combination of punches, kicks and elbows that looked deadly and tested Faith's reflexes to the limit. He had forgotten just how much fun it was to fight a Slayer. He had asked her to tone down her strength, so that he could walk away from the fight without needing major surgery, but had said nothing about the Slayer speed and ability. It was one of the few chances he had to use every skill he possessed, to throw it all into a non-world-ending confrontation.
Faith jumped to one side, and launched a kick to his stomach; he blocked it, and jerked back hard to avoid the follow-up kick that would have remodeled his nose and moved it to the back of his head.
She was having as much as of a good time as he was, for the same reason. Xander was better than she was; he had been her primary teacher, molding both the natural talent possessed, and the Slayer talent with which she had been imbued, into a warrior that scared the opponents she fought. She wanted, needed, to prove to herself that she had improved, that she was getting nearer to him. The brunet warrior represented the level to which she aspired. There was a curious freedom given her, to know that she could use everything on him, and not have to worry about hurting him, because Dawn would always fix him up if either of the two made a mistake.
The fights continued for five minutes, till both of them were sweating, their bodies gleaming in the hard light as they battled. Eventually, they pulled apart. Faith bowed respectfully, as a student to a teacher, a gesture Xander returned with equal respect.
"You've improved," Xander said, his smile obvious to his opponent, if not to their audience.
"Thanks," she grinned, proud of herself.
Xander walked back to face the girls, who had sat down shortly after the fight had begun, and who had watched in awe as Faith, the girl they thought was the absolute best fighter possible, had fought a normal human, and hadn't put him in hospital.
"My name is Xander Harris. This is Dawn Summers."
He ignored the looks the girls gave each other as they recognized the surname. "Giles will tell your our history later, and will answer as many question as he can. Please, do not ask us anything related to the past, we will not respond. I have been training Faith for five years, and if she had used her full Slayer strength, her first punch would have ended the match. Slayer strength is extremely useful, but without technique and practice, it is as much a liability as it is a gift."
"Why?" Vi asked, looking a little confused.
"There is always something or someone stronger than you are. If all you have is strength, when you finally meet that person, you are in trouble. If you have the technique to back it up, there is always a way you can either win, or keep yourself alive long enough for back up to arrive, or for you to escape."
Faith lightly rubbed the sweat off her skin, and walked over to Dawn. "That's the longest speech I've ever seen him give," she confided in a low voice.
Dawn smiled in the way that only those close to her could see. "This isn't the first time he's given it," she said softly. "Change 'Slayer strength’ for 'guns’ and it's similar to the last one."
"When did he do that?" Giles asked, entering the conversation after watching the two spar, and marveling that neither one had been injured in any way..
"I can't tell you," the girl said simply, in such a way that it left the other two in no doubt that they would get no further in the conversation.
Giles and Faith looked at each other, both curious, then turned to watch as Xander began to put the SIT's through their places. He worked with them for several hours, testing them mercilessly to see what they could do.
"Xander's pleased," Dawn announced suddenly, to Faith and Giles. "He says that you've done a good job with them, and that they have a lot of potential to work together and be an effective fighting force."
Faith flushed with pleasure at the compliment.
"You can tell what Xander is thinking?" Giles asked, his insatiable scholar’s curiosity piqued at her unexpected statement.
"If I concentrate hard enough, and he does as well, we can talk anywhere up to around 30 meters; after that, it’s not possible. At the moment, he's starting to get hungry, so if you'll excuse me, I'll go and get some food for everyone." She didn't wait for their acknowledgement; she simply walked out the building, to their car.
The SIT's who watched her go with interest quickly regretted it, as Xander made them pay for their lack of attention.
"I am still not quite used to that," Giles confessed to Faith.
"Their ability to talk to each other, or the fact they don't give a shit about anyone's reaction but each other?"
"Both," Giles said with a sigh.
"You were never around them in the early days," the brunette said softly, her eyes on Xander. "It was almost painful to watch at times, they have a deep seated need to be in each other’s company. They carry with them not just their own scars, but the scars of their spirits and their previous lives, too. On top of that, they had the reactions of their friends and family who couldn’t understand the connection they had, or the pain they were feeling. They rely on each other to protect their sanity. The relationship they have isn't healthy by normal standards; it's obsessive and completely consuming, but it works for them. They are completely dependent on each other for everything they need.
"And the funny thing is, I envy them. They have complete and absolute trust in each other, in a way that only they can understand. When Dawn walked out, Xander shivered a little, as they disconnected from each other," she mentioned the almost unnoticeable movement she had caught. "But he knows she will be back soon.
"You know why they are so scary, why so many demons avoid them?" she asked her former watcher.
Giles shook his head, he wasn't even aware that the two had a reputation.
"Because they know that they have to kill both at once. If they only kill one, they know that they are signing their own death certificate, because the Devil himself would not be able to stop either of them from getting revenge. I've seen Xander get into that mood, exactly once, and this is more than enough for me. A year ago in L.A., Dawn was knocked out by a Voynok demon, you know, one of those blue demons with the horns, and Xander went insane. I think he felt the communication between the two of them stop, and thought she had died.
"He stopped for a second, and for the first time since I have known him, he showed what he was thinking. His eyes were blazing with rage and hate; he walked through the vampires he was fighting as if they didn't exist. You could almost feel the violence radiating off him. Angel pulled out of the fight; he realized that Xander was going to kill everything that stood in his way, friend or foe, living or dead.
"The Voynok taunted Xander, but he paid no attention. He finished off the vampires, then attacked the demon. It wasn't much of a fight, as Xander simply ignored the punishment he received, and beat the demon to a pulp, crippling it; he wanted it to live like that, as punishment.
"He walked over to Dawn, and dropped to his knees. A single tear dropped down his face, and I was getting ready to grab him, Angel was too, 'cause we thought he was going to do something stupid, when Dawn woke up. The smile on Xander's face was one of pure joy and relief. I'd never seen him look like that before, and I haven't since. They hugged endlessly, before Xander walked back over to the demon and killed it, putting it out of its misery.
"We found out later that it wasn't dead, it had nine lives, but it decided to never get anywhere near Xan again, and spread the word to the demon community."
Giles had a slightly surprised look on his face, as his keen intellect swallowed everything that had been said.
"I went back to school, last year," Faith explained dryly. She correctly interpreted his stunned silence at her concise explanation. "I've got enough credits to graduate next summer. I'm hoping that this thing will be over by the end of next week, so I don't miss any classes."
Giles blinked, and then offered her an apology. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to imply anything."
Faith shrugged lightly, not taking any offence. After all, she hadn’t really ever given the other Scoobies any reason to think she was interested in anything other than partying and good times.
Dawn returned with several crates full of food floating behind her. The sight was met with a mix of grateful relief and surprise by the SIT's. Relief that they could finally have a break, and surprise because while they knew she was a witch, knowing was very different to seeing.
"Ok, you've got an hour. This afternoon, we'll do some fitness work."
The girls groaned in unison, and quickly ran over to the food. They each filled their plates to the full, and went to sit around Faith and Giles.
Xander and Dawn lightly touched each other, reestablishing contact, picked up their own food, and walked out of the back, not really wanting to be around the upcoming discussion.
"Ok," Molly said, after she had demolished her first roll. "Who are they?"
Faith sighed, wishing that Xander hadn't dumped this on them. "They are known as the Warrior and the Witch," she started, hiding a smirk as Giles jumped slightly. Obviously, he had heard of them, he just hadn't realized who the two really were. "They've spent the last twenty months touring the country, putting out supernatural fires and generally saving the world. Xander is my brother, Dawn is Buffy's sister."
"How come we've never met them before?"
"Buffy and Willow hate them. They only came to help out because I asked them to."
"Why?"
"I'll answer that, if you don’t mind, Faith," Giles interrupted. "Five years ago, on Halloween, a chaos worshipper cast a spell on Sunnydale. He turned everyone who had purchased a costume from his store into the outfit they were wearing. Xander was dressed as a soldier, and Dawn as Wednesday Addams, a fictional witch. The spell didn't work quite as the caster expected. Those people were possessed not by characters, but by the spirits who had inspired the characters. After Dawn and Xander worked together to break the spell, they were offered a choice. They could return to normality, or they could merge with the spirits who had possessed them. They both chose to merge, so that they could help to fight against the darkness more effectively. As a side-effect of the spell, they had effectively spent years in limbo, learning to deal with their new powers and memories, and fell completely in love, while doing so.
"When they finally came out, it was obvious that they were no longer themselves, and Buffy and Willow didn't like it. In an instant they had essentially lost their best friend and their little sister. What was worse, from their thinking, was that as far as they could see, on the outside, Dawn was twelve and Xander seventeen.
"They went through hell together, dealing with all of our reactions, with Faith being the only person to accept it, till Dawn grew old enough for them to be able to be together. As soon as Dawn reached 16, they left town, and started fighting on their own.
"Xander is a warrior. A truly incredible fighter. He is highly skilled in many martial arts and most weapons, as well as tactics and leadership. Dawn is a witch, with forty years of practical experience, backed by a millennia’s worth of theory."
"Wow," was the general understated comment. "How come they always look blank?"
Faith smiled slightly, "That was the first question I asked them. They grabbed my hands, and showed me exactly how they were communicating; somehow, it gave me the ability to read them. The expressions are there, they're just completely hidden, if you don’t know what to look for." She paused, then asked, "What do you think of the training, so far?"
"Amazing," Vi replied, after exchanging looks with the others. "Not that you were doing a bad job, Faith, but Xander really knows what he is talking about."
Faith smiled with pride.
"Faith," Molly suddenly frowned. "At the start, when he asked you to not use full Slayer strength, he said something about a boost. What's that?"
"Well, Dawn can use her magic to boost Xander. It’s tiring on her, but it gives him Slayer-like speed and strength. You've all seen me in full flow, right?"
They all nodded eagerly.
"It's pretty awesome," Shannon said.
"Xander is beautiful to watch, every move is almost like ballet, the most graceful dance you've ever seen. I've seen him take on nests of Vampires that I'd think twice about going anywhere near, and win. When you combine the boost with his incredible technique and ability, you can see why he is called the Warrior."
Over in the kitchen area, Xander and Dawn were leaning against the counter; the smaller girl was resting against his chest. His hands were stroking up and down her back.
"They’ve been tampered with," Dawn whispered, or maybe she didn’t. When they were like this, neither of them were sure if they were talking verbally or mentally.
"They’re programmed to follow Buffy when on patrol, to do what ever she tells them, to pretty much revere her."
"Can you do anything about it?"
"Already have. I cancelled the spell. It’s not instantaneous, but by this evening, they should be able to regain some of their own personalities."
They stayed silent for a bit longer, communing in pure emotion.
Eventually, they moved back into the training area, where Xander called the SIT’s back for the afternoon session.
Throughout everything, Xander led from the front, doing everything they did. The few times Buffy had taught them anything, she had barked orders and expected them to understand and follow her instructions instantly, while sitting in a chair, watching them. The contrast between the two of them couldn't have been any bigger, as was the difference in the response that they received.
When they had finished, at last, Xander gave the Potentials a couple of cell phones. "These will only call our phone. Use them if you get in trouble."
Giles drove the tired, but excited, girls back to the Summers' residence. They were fortunate to arrive home before Buffy, Willow and Kennedy.
Meanwhile, Xander, Faith, and Dawn drove back to their condo. Dawn decided to start to teach the reluctant Faith how to cook, while Xander got in the shower.
After dinner, they sat around, Dawn reading from a large book, while Xander and Faith talked about what had happened over the past year.
It was around 8 pm when Xander's phone rang. He answered it, and at the same time, Dawn put her book down and pulled her boots on. She walked over to a closet and pulled out a suitcase.
"Err, sir, it's Molly," the voice at the other end of the phone said. "We're about to attack a warehouse and, uhm, we, uhm, think it's a trap. We're kinda scared, sir."
Xander smiled faintly, amused at being called 'sir’. "Where is the warehouse?" He listened as the girl told him, and when they expected they would arrive there.
"Don't worry," Xander said firmly. "We'll be there."
"Thank you, sir," Molly said, just before hanging up.
Dawn opened the suitcase, and Faith's jaw hit the floor when she saw the assortment of weapons it held.
Xander walked over, pulling out his favorite two favorite .45 Glock Model pistols. They disappeared under his jacket, quickly followed by several knives and a short sword. A smaller gun went into a holster around his ankle, a couple of hand grenades attached to his belt, and a couple of stakes followed.
Dawn pulled out a single .40 Glock Model 27 and put it under her jacket. A knife and two stakes followed it.
The tiny inflections that showed her what the two were thinking vanished, as they fully immersed themselves in their acquired personalities.
"Do you need anything?" Dawn asked, her voice eerily quiet.
Faith pulled herself together, and ran into her room. Her own weapons consisted off several stakes and a large knife. She was as curious as hell to know where they had got all the weapons, but knew it would be useless when the two of them were like this. She'd ask tomorrow.
Xander and Faith ran down the stairs at full speed, the elevator ignored as it would take too long. Dawn floated behind them, keeping up without seeming to move.
They exploded into the car park, Faith following Xander as he ignored the BMW and leapt into a battered old jeep. Faith jumped in the back and looked around for Dawn, only to find the girl already in the front passenger seat.
Xander gunned the engine, slammed the car into reverse and released the clutch. The powerful jeep jumped backwards, in a straight line, till Xander spun the wheel hard, nudged the brakes, sending the car into a spin. He applied opposite lock to the wheel, depressed the clutch and shifted to first. He jammed the accelerator to the floor, the car jumping out of the spin, continuing in the same direction, only now facing the correct way.
The brunet paid scant attention to the laws of the road as he drove as fast as he could. In the back, Faith was laughing loudly in pure exhilaration. Fast driving, with the promise of a good fight at the end, was the best thing in the world for her. The only thing that would make it better would be a partner to have fun with, afterwards.
At the warehouse, Buffy and Willow shot each other smiles of good luck. Caleb had told her that there were Harbingers inside, and that they should be able to take them out.
"Follow me," Buffy commanded, and took off.
Reluctantly, the SIT's followed.
Buffy smashed down the door and charged in, Willow right behind her. They found themselves in a large, empty warehouse, a solitary Bringer standing beneath a single bulb.
The attackers slowed to a halt, the SIT's glancing left and right nervously. They could tell it was a trap, and wanted to get out of there.
"Welcome, Slayer," the Bringer hissed.
Buffy shrugged, and started to walk forward, figuring that she could at least kill him. The Bringer smiled and pulled out a small remote control, pressed the button, and steel shutters dropped down over the door behind them. The entire warehouse was suddenly engulfed in light, as electricity flowed through every bulb. In front of Buffy and the Potentials were twenty Bringers, each armed with what looked like small machine guns. And every single one was pointed at them.
"Bye, bye," The Bringer said with a smirk. Around him, the guns started to fire.
Faith hung on for dear life as they took a corner on two wheels, entering the warehouse district.
Dawn closed her eyes and concentrated. "Twenty of them, with guns. Steel shutters at the entrance. There's a door on the left side, and no interior walls. The SIT's are in front of the shutters."
"How do you know where the SIT's are?" Faith shouted.
"I read their energy signatures earlier," Dawn whispered back. Despite the noise and wind, Faith heard her perfectly. Dawn's voice would not be interfered with by mere atmospheric conditions.
"How thick are the walls?" Xander asked.
"Not thick enough," Dawn whispered dryly, fully aware of what he was planning.
Willow pulled all her magic together, and used it to form a shield in front of them. The bullets impacted, dropping to the floor harmlessly as they lost their kinetic energy.
The redheaded witch jerked each time a bullet hit, fully aware that she couldn't keep it up for long.
The Bringers poured on the fire, quickly changing clips when they ran out of bullets. They were aware of the witch’s power, and were quite prepared to simply drain it.
Faith ducked as she finally realized that Xander had no intention of stopping. There was a huge lurch as the thin brick wall tried to absorb the energy of the fast moving Jeep. It failed miserably and resigned itself to exploding in a spray of mortar and brick as the heavy duty army vehicle entered the building.
Vi and Molly suddenly relaxed, smiling at each other. They then casually walked back to the steel shutters covering the door and took a seat on the floor, prepared to enjoy the show. They were soon joined by the other SIT's, except for Kennedy.
Willow felt her power was almost drained, when the noise of the newcomers’ arrival distracted her.
Dawn floated out of the car before it had stopped, taking in the scene instantly. She saw the amount of power it had taken the redhead to maintain the shield and mentally rolled her eyes. Half the guns swung to face her. She held out her hands, as she hovered ten feet off the ground, and cast a spell. A second later, twenty small pins appeared in her hand.
The Bringers looked at their weapons in shock as they suddenly stopped firing, their firing pins removed.
Xander skidded the car to a stop, and almost grinned as Faith vaulted out of the back of the jeep, somersaulting over him and the windshield. The dark Slayer approached the first Bringer, her knife in hand, with an almost palpable eagerness that was her trademark.
Xander knew that he would never beat Dawn's dramatic rise or Faith's exciting gymnastics, so he simply opened his door and climbed out. He ran forwards, his Glocks appearing in his hands. The guns seemed to act independently as they barked repeatedly.
It took several seconds for Buffy and Willow to realize what had happened, and for Willow to drop the shield. "Get 'em," Buffy yelled, and took two steps before she realized that her army was sitting comfortably, backs against the wall, with smiles on their faces.
"What the hell are you doing?" she screamed, confusion on her face.
Molly pulled out a bag of Gummi Bears, took a handful, and passed them to the girl next to her. "Enjoying the show," she replied.
"Yep," Vi continued. "It's not as if they need our help."
Buffy, Willow and Kennedy turned, facing the chaos before them.
Dawn was still hovering, her gun in hand, and picking off Bringers carefully, each of her targets receiving a double tap between the eyes.
Faith was in full out attack mode, apparently having acquired another knife from one of the bodies that surrounded her, and she was using it to devastating effect.
Xander had replaced his guns, and was now using his short sword. His movements seemed almost balletic as he jumped from one victim to the next, leaving a trail of dismembered and disemboweled bodies in his wake.
The SIT's hardly had time to finish their snacks, as the last Bringer took off for the new exit created by Xander's driving, but was stopped by Xander's, Faith's, and Dawn's daggers hitting him from three different angles.
Faith laughed loudly as the henchman died. She had almost forgotten exactly how much fun it was to fight with Xander and Dawn.
"What the hell are you doing here? I told you we didn't need your help!" Buffy shouted.
Xander ignored her completely, walking over to Dawn first. He touched her face, the intimate gesture allowing him to check in the most complete way that she was unhurt. Reassured, he headed towards his ex-friends, no expression on his face, but giving off the impression of anger.
Dawn moved over to Faith, repeating Xander's gesture, checking that she wasn't hurt. Once she was assured that her sister was unhurt, she broadcasted it to Xander. She was the only one who was able to see the slight relief in the young man’s walk.
"What happened?" he asked.
"What?" Willow demanded.
Xander ignored her. "Molly, what happened?"
The SIT got to her feet. For some reason, she no longer held the blonde Slayer in such high regard. Memories of mistakes, mistakes that caused deaths and injuries, shot through her mind. She found herself getting angry at the waste, at herself for following her, at everyone, but most of all at Buffy, for betraying their trust in her ability to lead.
"General Disaster, over there, got a message about this warehouse and ordered us to attack it. We got here, and she charged straight in, without any kind of plan, at all. There was just one Bringer in the light that we could see; she went to attack, and that’s when he dropped the shutter behind us. Then the lights turned on, and all the Bringers we couldn’t see before then started firing at us. Willow threw up a shield. That’s pretty much where you came in."
Xander nodded his thanks.
"What?" Willow demanded, looking at Dawn. The redhead could tell that the expressionless witch was looking at her with contempt. "I saved everybody! If it hadn't been for my shield, we'd all be dead."
"You think, because you have power, you have wisdom," Dawn whispered, her voice echoing around the warehouse. She held out her hand and let the firing pins from the guns drop to the floor.
Willow flushed bright red, part from anger, part from embarrassment.
"I asked what you are doing here," Buffy demanded, getting into Xander's face.
"Rescuing you," Xander replied quietly. He turned on his heel, walking towards the jeep.
The SIT's, looked at each other quickly, and ran after him. "We're coming with you," Molly announced.
"WHAT!?" Willow and Buffy demanded in unison.
Xander turned to one side and pulled out his cell phone, called Giles and arranged for him to bring the people carrier around.
"We're going with Xander and Dawn. We're here to learn how to be Slayers, not to get killed by an idiot," Molly shouted back, aware that she was now the spokesperson for their group.
"You will stay with me! I'm the Slayer!" Buffy ordered imperiously.
"So is Faith," Molly retorted. "And you don't see her walking around with her head up her ass. She called for help and tried to make sure we weren't killed. What was it you said? Oh yeah, that our friends have died because they were stupid. We wouldn't trust you lead a parade; you've treated us like kids, refused to help us get better and blamed us for your own incompetence. Screw you, Buffy. We spent the day learning how to fight, with a professional who knew what the hell he was talking about. We want to learn more, so that even if we don't become Slayers, we can help to fight."
"I ordered you not to go!"
Molly rolled her eyes.
"Buffy!" a new voice interrupted, running towards them.
"Xander," Dawn hissed, her voice still filling the large warehouse. "It has no soul."
Xander smoothly palmed his gun and swung to face the incoming being. There was no hesitation in his actions; it was as natural as taking another step. He automatically targeted on the beast’s heart.
"No," Buffy cried, jumping in front of the gun.
"Move," Xander growled, trying to be as intimidating as possible.
The result was impressive, because the Slayer paled dramatically and took several steps backwards. "That's Caleb, my boyfriend," she said quickly.
"He has no soul," Xander repeated Dawn's words. "He needs to die."
"He's good!" Buffy screamed defiantly. "He's helped us for years."
"He has no soul.
"And he's our friend," Willow said, moving with Kennedy in front of the vampire.
"The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil," Dawn whispered. She touched Xander lightly, and he nodded.
"Get in the car," Xander whispered to the Potentials, as Giles pulled up outside. "Tell him to take you to the training area. We'll meet you there." He passed Molly an electronic keycard. "Use this to enter."
"Yes, Sir," the girl replied respectfully. The SIT's walked out, half hoping that they would never see the Slayer and Witch again.
Xander, Dawn, and Faith walked over to the jeep, started it up, and left the four remaining 'guardians’ where they were, not giving them a backwards glance.
"Don't worry about it, honey," Caleb spoke first. "You can prove them wrong , tomorrow. All of you."
"How?"
"I just heard a rumor that the First has a weapon that can defeat him, and he's going to be bringing it to the Hellmouth tomorrow, so he can destroy it. It's called the Scythe," he explained
Buffy instantly perked up. She smiled happily and leaned across to kiss her boyfriend. "Let’s go home, so we can plan on how to get hold of it."
"Xander, who does this place belong to?" Faith asked. When they had arrived at the warehouse, they found two full barracks and a kitchen in the area the two of them had wandered off to earlier.
"A friend," Xander said calmly. "Get the girls to take one of the dorms, and then get something to eat. You're in charge."
"Where are you going?"
"To get backup."
Xander and Dawn walked into the cool night air. She wrapped her arms around him, and rested her head on his chest, listening to the reassuring thump of his heart.
Xander wrapped one of his hands in her long hair, playing with it gently. With his free hand, he pulled out his cell and dialed the third speed dial number.
The only sound on the other end was a clicking noise, normally associated with answer phones.
"Alpha tango tango, six one three four two oh. Harris, Alexander L. Authorization: Omicron Persei eight. Extension four oh three."
"Voice print recognized, authorization code accepted, connecting to extension."
Xander waited a second or two.
"Xander, my boy, how are you?"
"I need backup."
"That bad?" the voice asked.
"The Hellmouth is no longer safe. The Slayer is under the influence of a soulless vampire. We have a non-corporeal entity causing havoc, and the bad guys are using semi-automatic's"
"Is there any good news?"
"I've started to train a new group who could turn out to be extremely effective."
"Excellent. What do you need?"
"The corn-bred cowboys."
"They hate being called that."
The silence from Xander's end indicated the amount he cared about that.
"They'll be in Sunnydale in the morning. Where do you want them to report to?"
Warehouse six-seven-four-nine."
"Good luck, Mr. Harris."
Xander folded up the phone and kissed Dawn's hair. "Ready to go back and be Mom to a bunch of teenagers?" Xander asked, as at the same time, he sent his love through their bond.
"You know, some of them are the same age I am, even older."
"Biologically, maybe," Xander agreed.
"I'll go in, you go and get us three some clean clothes for tomorrow. We'll give the girls some money to go shopping tomorrow."
Xander nodded and kissed her, before going to do as she asked.
Dawn walked back into the building, part of her mind strengthening the connection to Xander, so that she could keep an eye on him, and vice versa. She paused outside the kitchen, as voices reached her.
"Did you see how cool she was?" one of the Potentials said.
"Faith?" a voice Dawn recognized as Molly's asked
"No, Dawn," the other one said. "Willow might be this uber-powerful bad-ass, but Dawn just flew out of the car and disabled all their guns. So what does that make Dawn, if she had to rescue Willow and Buffy? She was totally awesome."
"What about Xander?" Molly replied. "I could watch him fight all day; it's a pity he's taken, 'cause he's really cute."
"Thank you," Dawn said quietly as she walked in to the kitchen. "He's also my fiancé," she continued, deliberately putting a small smile on her face.
Xander was taking the SIT's through a new set of training moves the next morning; Faith had joined in, while Dawn and Giles talked in a corner.
They were interrupted by the doors opening, and six well built young men entered. They were each carrying two large canvas duffle bags.
The brunet warrior walked over to face them, stopping at parade rest. Dawn was next to him a second later, with no one quite sure if they had seen her move or not.
Faith didn't like the look of this, and moved behind them as backup instantly, the SIT's joining them barely a moment later.
The lead man dropped his bags, which made a distinctive metal clinking sound. He walked up to Xander, his expression as blank as the man he was approaching.
The other men copied his movements.
There was silence for a second, before the newcomer snapped to attention, and said, "Colonel Finn, and the 1st ADC, reporting for duty, sir."
"It's good to see you again, Riley," Xander said quietly, holding out his hand.
"It's damn good to see you again, Xan," Riley replied, ignoring the hand and hugging Xander. He released him, and then turned to Dawn. "Ma'am," he nodded his head to her, his tone respectful.
A tiny smile appeared on the girl’s face, and she reached up and kissed him gently on the cheek.
Riley's eyes widened, as the effect of the kiss and the contact rocked through him, leaving him with a goofy grin on his face.
He was suddenly pushed to one side as a giant of a man brushed past him and lifted Xander high in the air, before giving him a huge bear hug.
"It's good to see you too, Ox," Xander allowed a full smile to reach his face.
Ox, or Michael Torland as his birth certificate called him, placed the man down, and turned shyly to Dawn. "Ma'am," his tone was the same as Riley's.
Dawn laughed softly, and pulled him down so she could kiss his cheek as well. Ox blushed like a thirteen year old, and backed away.
The greetings were repeated for each of the members.
Giles walked over and held out his hand. "Hello, Riley."
Riley smiled and shook the watchers hand. "It's good to see you, too, Giles."
"Ok, people, listen up." Xander's voice didn't change in volume, but he attracted everyone’s attention anyway. "Girls, this is Riley Finn and his team from the ADC. I've asked them here for backup while we take down the first. They are the best fighting unit in the Army, charged with the jobs that would make the Marines run in fear."
"You would say that," Riley joked. "You trained us."
Xander allowed another faint smile to flicker over his face. "Thank you, Mr. Finn. They have been fighting the night for the past three years, with one of those years based here on the Hellmouth. They have saved the world many times, showing sometimes suicidal bravery."
"Hey," Ox grinned. "We resent that; we were following you at the time."
"Anyway," Xander moved on quickly. "Boys, these young ladies are potential Slayers; I'll leave it to Giles to explain the implications involved with that. I've been training them for two days and their potential is as high as yours."
The newcomers nodded, knowing that when Xander made statements, he always backed them up.
"Now, what did you bring with you?"
Riley grinned, "Sam, you wanna tell him?"
Sam moved over to the first bag and pulled it open. He grinned at the boxes that fell out. "An arsenal, Xander. An arsenal."
"So," Molly said with a grin, as she relaxed, stretched out on the floor. She was using her sweatshirt as a make shift pillow, and was enjoying the whole not-moving business as much as was physically possible. The morning, once the soldiers had arrived, had been spent in an intense physical fitness workout, which, to the girl’s disappointment, the guys didn't find that hard at all. "How do you guys know Dawn and Xander?"
Instinctively, the soldiers looked to Riley. The sandy haired colonel smiled faintly. "Ok children, gather round and Uncle Riley will tell you a story."
"Goody," Ox grinned childishly. He folded his long legs and sat by Riley's feet, looking up at him with an expression of innocence — which fooled no one.
"A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far from here," Riley started, only to be interrupted by someone's shirt hitting him in the face. "Ok, ok," he capitulated.
Xander was patrolling the west side of Sunnydale. It was nearly 2am, and he was alone. He sighed imperceptibly. Dawn was probably lying in bed worrying about him. She understood the need he had, the desire inside him, to fight, to patrol, to make a difference. She understood it as much as she understood that no matter how powerful she was, her mother wasn't going to let her spend the night in a graveyard with a guy five years older. And, considering how Buffy and Willow had originally reacted to the revelation that the two of them had chosen to bond with the Halloween spirits that had possessed them, patrolling with either of them was completely out of the question.
Accordingly, Xander took his frustrations with the situation out on any vampire unlucky enough to get near him. He might not be able to match them in strength, but was more than able to do so in technique.
His normal method of taking them down was to shoot them in the knee caps, and then stake them. It wasn't exactly a fair fight, but, then again, he really didn't care. Demonic parasites hardly deserved the effort.
Tonight, he'd been a little less direct. There was something enjoyable about fighting something that didn't collapse in tears when you destroyed its shoulder, rendering it completely useless. The last vampire he had come across had started to wish he'd never became a vampire - a few minutes of agony later, the question was moot, as he was no longer was.
Xander wandered out of the graveyard, heading towards the next one on his list, one he knew Buffy hadn’t checked, yet. He stuck to the shadows, moving silently and smoothly as to blend in with the background.
The brunet paused, remaining hidden. He blinked, once, twice, and then decided that what he was seeing was not an illusion. In front of him, a bunch of soldiers were fighting a couple of vampires, using what looked like a glorified taser. They weren't doing a very good job, as the weapons seemed to take an age to recharge.
He sighed, a little irritated, and jogged over to the fight. The first vampire was staked through the back before he even knew Xander had arrived. The second turned, and was kicked hard in the stomach for his troubles, bouncing off a tree before collapsing to the ground. Xander bought the stake down on to his back, dusting him in an instant.
"Who the hell are you?" one of the soldiers snarled, obviously annoyed.
"Name and Rank, solider," Xander barked. His face was covered in camouflage paint, hiding his age.
"Finn, Riley, Captain," the soldier replied automatically, before his brain could kick in.
"What is your mission, Mr. Finn?" The way Xander didn't use his title gave Riley the impression that Xander was a superior officer.
"That's classified, Sir," Riley said. He was being polite just in case this stranger, who had taken out a couple of vampires with surprising ease, was a superior.
"Great," Xander mumbled. "A black ops outfit on my territory."
He glared at Riley for a second, and then said, "I'd suggest returning to base tonight, and preparing for an inspection." He then turned on his heel, and marched off.
"What do we do now, sir?" Graham asked Riley.
"We return to base and tell Walsh what happened," Riley decided after a seconds thought.
Xander stormed back to his apartment. It wasn't much - a small one bedroom place with a combined kitchen/living room, but it was all he could afford. He picked up the phone, and pulled out a number from his acquired memories.
The only sound on the other end was a clicking noise, normally associated with answer phones.
"Alpha tango delta, one nine eight five oh. McCorrick, Michael J. Authorization: Sirius Capricorn four. Extension four oh three."
"Voice print not recognized, voice override authorization code accepted, connecting to extension."
Xander waited a second or two.
"Michael McCorrick has been dead for years," a voice stated.
"He got better," Xander replied dryly.
There seemed to be a sigh from the other end of the phone. "People don't normally get better from a shot to the back of the head, and if they do, the blocks mean they can't remember the codes."
"I have a pulse," Xander informed him, a vague hint of a smile on his face.
"Would you care to give me an explanation?"
"A form of possession," Xander said slowly, the soldier’s memories stating that he could trust this guy. "I was dead, I was given an opportunity to come back and help out someone who needed it, and I took it."
This time the voice sighed audibly. "What's the problem?"
"Why is there an army black-ops unit in Sunnydale, California?"
"There shouldn't be, that’s outside of the Army's mission."
"There is, and they were under the command of Riley Finn. They were facing V's with a glorified taser. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were trying to capture them."
The voice swore audibly. "I'll phone you back shortly, Mr. Harris," the voice said calmly, having already traced Xander's number and gotten his name from the telephone company registries. The voice hung up, and then spent a few minutes staring into space.
He had no doubt that Xander/Michael was telling the truth. All employees working for him had a magical block in place that stopped any demon that possessed them from accessing the secret codes.
Eventually, he smiled. His number one agent was back in town, and according to Harris' driving license, was eighteen years old again. It was about time some of this supernatural crap worked for him instead of against him, for a change.
"Nancy," he said into his intercom, "I want everything on an army black-ops outfit in Sunnydale California dealing with the Supernatural, and on a Riley Finn, ostensibly with the U.S. Army. It's top priority."
"Yes sir," his personal assistant replied instantly.
Four hours later, Xander was disturbed from his sleep by his phone ringing.
"Yeah?" he asked groggily.
"You were right. Can you meet someone today at midday, at Sunnydale army barracks?"
"Sure," Xander replied.
"You wouldn't know anything about a rocket launcher going missing from the local base last year, by any chance? Or about a school principal hit with a bullet, which ballistics tells me was fired from the edge of a Glock's range?"
"A little," Xander admitted.
"Excellent," the voice sounded cheerful. "You are coming back to work for me?"
"Not yet," Xander said slowly. "There are other circumstances that are in the way."
"Your relationship with Dawn Summers?"
"Exactly." He wasn't surprised that the voice knew, the voice always knew, it was his job.
"We'll talk again when she's older," the voice said, as he hung up.
Xander turned over and went back to sleep.
He woke at eleven, took a quick shower and drove to the military base. He still had his uncle Rory's car, and loved the feeling of the wind in his hair. He pulled up at the gates, as an armed guard walked over to him.
"You're expected in that building over there," the guard pointed. The note on his clipboard had described Xander, and his car, perfectly, and given him firm instructions on what to do.
Xander nodded and drove over to the building. He climbed out of his car and walked through the door, and immediately ducked to dodge a fist flying towards his head. He reacted automatically and kicked out, catching his assailant in the stomach, before bringing his knee up hard against the nose of the soldier, who had bent over invitingly, while gasping for breath.
As the soldier's head flew up, he grabbed him by the chest and used him as a shield as he entered the building.
The soldier had an accomplice, so Xander threw the body at him. He moved after it, and quickly disabled the second guard with ease, leaving him on the floor, his arm broken.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Harris," a man in a two star generals uniform said, moving into the light. "I was told to make sure that you hadn't lost any of your skills."
Xander shrugged, putting the broken nose and arm he'd just inflicted out of his mind. "What can you tell me?"
The general motioned him over to the table, where a man in a suit was going over some paperwork. "This is Steve Anderson, and I'm Thomas York."
Xander looked down at the table.
"Your black-ops group is called the Initiative. Its purpose is the capture and study of preternatural creatures, and it is under the command of a Dr Margaret Walsh."
"A civilian?" Xander asked, a little surprised, although it didn't show in his face.
"Indeed," Anderson continued. "Apart from the fact it's totally outside the Army's mission parameters, there are a few other things that have come up that are strange enough for us to be interested. A lot of the Army's top behavior modification people are involved, and we're not sure why."
"Super soldiers?" the general asked.
"Possibly," Anderson replied.
"What are you going to do about it?" Xander asked.
York and Anderson exchanged a long look. "Our orders are to shut it down. The general who authorized it is meeting with the boss at the moment. He was pulled out of bed at five AM and flown to Washington. His support for the project has, I'm sure, been rescinded by now."
Xander nodded. "It might be nice to have a group here; you do know it's a Hellmouth?"
Anderson nodded, "What are you suggesting?"
"We eliminate the project, but keep the soldiers on; I'll train them to fight properly."
"General?" Anderson asked.
York looked thoughtful. "You think you can make them effective?"
Xander nodded, once.
"All right, then, do it," the general said, wishing he could smoke.
This morning he'd been relaxing, on leave at his home, just outside Memphis, Tennessee, with thoughts of spending the evening watching the Volunteers. He'd then received a phone call from someone so high up the chain of command that he got a nosebleed even thinking about him. The Initiative had been explained quickly, and he had been ordered to ensure it was not there, and never had been there, as quickly as possible. The army had been extremely embarrassed to find out that another agency had found it playing in areas it shouldn't be, and was determined to clean things up as smoothly as was possible.
He'd been given a dossier, on his direct flight here, about the man he was meeting, and it defied belief. The man had been dead and now, had evidently come back in a new body. Even though the general knew a little about the supernatural, this was a little much. He'd arranged the surprise at the front door; to see if it was true, because there was no way an 18yr old would be able to take out two of the base's top fighters.
Xander's offer was interesting. While a black-ops group like the Initiative was not allowed; the general could see the benefits that having such a group trained could offer.
The army had found out about supernaturals a few years earlier, and the information was still extremely classified. The people in the know were content to take their time, making sure their response was right the first time, and that there would be no messy mistakes - something the Initiative would certainly have been. With a specially trained group of hunters, they could offer them to other groups, as a kind of apology and regain lost pride.
York stared at Xander, and then nodded, "That would be appreciated."
Anderson shrugged lightly, and moved on, "The Initiative's main base is under a campus at Sunnydale University. We don't expect any major trouble."
"We need to keep this as low profile as possible," York continued.
"Ok," Xander nodded. "Just the four of us, we won't get any real attention. A general and his aide visiting a nephew wouldn't be out of place."
"Four?" Anderson asked.
Xander simply nodded again.
"Four it is," York said simply, a look to Anderson saying he would explain later.
Xander picked up a map, and looked at the address. "Four thirty?" he asked.
The two others nodded, as Xander placed the map back down, and walked out.
"Who the hell is he, Tom?"
"A ghost, Steve," the general sighed. "To be honest, I'm not quite sure. He's been involved with this sort of shit for more years than we've known it even existed. He works directly for the boss, and only through the boss. I was told that he was shot, in the back, some years ago. The colonel who did it was relocated to the Arctic base - without any clothes. He died of frostbite a few weeks later."
Steve winced.
"Exactly," Tom continued. "According to the parts of the record I could see, he was in most of the major conflicts before being recruited.
"Now, he's back, in a body that's not his own, and from what I heard, the boss was so happy, he smiled.
Steve shuddered. "Why did he say four?"
Tom grabbed a chair and sat down. "He's going to be bringing a," he flipped through a report, "Dawn Summers with him." He looked up, meeting the spook's eyes.
"What ever you see between them, ignore. All we know is that she has something to do with his return, and that she is a genuine witch. She’s thirteen."
"That's a little young."
"No shit," General Anderson agreed. "However, the boss informed me personally that their relationship was supernatural, and not to make any comments. And as I like these stars on my collar, I'm going to follow that exactly."
Xander waited for Dawn outside her school. She climbed into his car, and they drove off without a word, not even exchanging a look. He drove competently through Sunnydale, heading towards the university campus, before they stopped in a quiet area and finally embraced.
"Hey," Dawn whispered softly. Her voice was heading back towards normal now. The tinges of insanity and eternity were fading each day as she learned to control it. "What’s happened?"
Xander explained as concisely as he could about the Initiative, and how he had used the Soldier's memories to get what he wanted. When he had finished, he looked at Dawn, to find her looking proudly at him.
She reached out her hand, and softly stroked his cheek, the only truly intimate physical contact they allowed each other.
The effect on Xander was obvious to her, hidden lines of worry disappeared from his face, and he seemed to relax.
Dawn sighed softly, hating the stupid body she was trapped in. She desperately wanted to comfort him more, but knew that he was still a little freaked by that fact she was still going through puberty, and was underage. She reluctantly agreed that it was right, if only because a part of her was still thirteen, despite the other memories she had.
Xander moved the car back into gear and they drove off, their hands lightly touching occasionally.
They arrived exactly on time. General York and Mr. Anderson *A/N: smirk* pulled up at the same time.
The first sign that Anderson and York had that they were right to follow the advice regarding Dawn was when the girl stepped out of the car, and glided next to Xander. She was wearing a long skirt that completely hid her legs, but it was obvious to the two trained observers that her movement was too smooth for her to be using them.
Xander nodded, almost imperceptibly, at the general and the spook, and took the lead.
As they approached the door, Dawn held up her hand and made a slight pushing motion. The heavy door swung open, the security lock disabled.
Anderson's eyes went wide, before he swallowed reflexively. He was more of a desk jockey than a field agent, and until now, his knowledge of the supernatural was limited to theoretical examples.
He'd never seen a witch before. His mind quickly pulled out scenarios of what she could do against them, and if he should recommend that she be captured.
The last thought was quickly squashed, as he felt her turn and stare at him for a second. He fought to keep his face expressionless, under that strange gaze. The girl was as expressionless as the boy, but gave the impression there was an inferno hidden behind the green eyes.
He immediately decided not to recommended capturing her, remembering exactly who was backing Xander, and felt the gaze move from him. He sighed, almost imperceptibly, with relief.
Xander entered the building first, not carrying any obvious weapons. He looked around, a hidden smirk on his face, as shocked soldiers, posing as students, jumped to their feet.
"Where's Finn," Xander commanded, falling into his 'officer’ persona with ease.
Agent Forrest took one look at Xander's expressionless face, then at the angry face of the two star general behind him, and gulped.
"In the shower, Sir," he replied, not even attempting to pretend he wasn't a soldier.
"I would suggest you get him, now," Xander hissed icily.
"Sir, yes, sir," Forrest half-shouted, before running up the stairs.
"Gentlemen," the general said to the others. "Consider yourselves reassigned to Mr. Harris here, effective immediately." He nodded to Anderson, who handed one of them official transfer papers.
"Yes sir," Graham said. A quick glance at the paper showed the orders were signed by someone who was so high they couldn't normally be seen without a telescope.
"We'll talk later," Xander told him quietly. "How many people are downstairs?"
"Don't answer," Riley snapped as he tore downstairs. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, his hair still dripping with water.
"I beg your pardon?" The general snapped.
Riley blinked, not having noticed him in his hurry.
"Sorry sir. That information is classified."
The general sighed audibly. "First off all, soldier, you have been reassigned. Second, we all have top secret clearance and above." Technically, Dawn didn't, but the general assumed that Xander was not going anywhere without her, and after seeing her open the door, he was happier with her around as well.
Anderson passed another piece of paper to Riley.
Riley looked at it, and blanched. "Sir, Sorry, Sir."
"How many people are downstairs?" Xander asked again, his face showing no sign of acceptance of the apology, or if he had been insulted in the first place.
"Eight scientists, twelve guards, and Professor Walsh."
"How many prisoners?"
"Six, sir. Five vampires and one currently unidentified demon."
Xander nodded, and looked at Dawn. She pointed to a corner, and a second later the hidden door opened, revealing an elevator. "Mr. Finn," Xander announced, his use of those words were all the confirmation needed for Riley. This was the guy from the previous night — even though he only looked to be around 19-20.
"You will accompany us downstairs, while the others will wait here. Patrols are cancelled for now."
Graham had passed Riley the paperwork, putting them under Xander's control, so he nodded, while wondering what the hell was going on.
The five of them took the elevator down to the subterranean base.
"The cells first," Xander told Riley, who nodded.
The general and spook looked around with shock at the hidden complex, wondering exactly how much money had been siphoned off into this project.
They stopped at the first full cell; it contained a blond female vampire, tied down to an operating table. "Xander Harris, what the hell are you doing here?" it asked, in a voice that could only be described as extremely annoying.
"Open it," Xander told the nearest scientist calmly.
"Er, I can't do that without Walsh's authorization."
"Walsh is no longer in charge here," York told him.
"I meant her physical authorization, sir. She's the only that knows the out-of-hours access codes."
Xander lightly touched Dawn's shoulder.
The girl concentrated hard, and a second later the electric lock sparked, opening the door.
Xander walked in and palmed a stake from his pocket. A second later, Harmony Kendall's body was a small pile of dust on the table. He hadn't said a work, merely executed the vampire.
"Sir," one of the scientists complained, "you've just destroyed millions of dollars worth of time and experiments."
Xander turned to face him, not a single expression on his face.
The scientist suddenly decided that it would be better for his life if he didn't complain in the future.
Together, the warrior and the witch walked and floated down the corridor, the scientists and the guards following them, and eliminated all the vampires. The demon didn't die when Xander staked it, so he drew a short sword from his coat and chopped its head off, ignoring its plea's for mercy.
"Walsh's office?" Xander asked Riley, who, a little disturbed by the executions, took him straight to the boss' office.
"Welcome," Maggie Walsh said sourly, having watched them on the close circuit TV. She had tried to frantically call her boss, only to find that he was no longer available, and that she should expect her new superiors shortly. "Can I ask why you have just destroyed years of expensive research?"
"What were you planning to do here?" Xander asked, ignoring her question.
"We were working on ways to modify the behavior of HSTs, so that they couldn't hurt humans."
"Why?"
Maggie looked blank, "What?"
"Why?" Xander repeated calmly.
"So we could use them," she shrugged carelessly.
"And that's it?"
"Yes," the professor said firmly.
"She's lying," Dawn announced flatly, speaking for the first time since she had arrived, her voice echoing around the room, as she consciously tried to make it sound as eerie as possible.
Maggie blinked, "She's an HST, grab her," the command was instinctive. Anything not normal was, to her, by definition, an HST. The excitement of having one that looked so human made her forget for a second exactly who was in her office.
One of the guards reacted to the command, and took a step towards Dawn, reaching for his gun.
Dawn didn’t move, or blink. She didn’t even feel sorry for what she knew was about to happen.
Riley's mouth dropped open, not quite sure he could believe it as he watched Xander move so fast he could hardly keep track of him.
The young man growled, the first sign of emotion Riley had seen, and grabbed the arm heading towards the gun. He bent it in a way it was not meant to go, causing an audible snapping noise, before throwing the guard across the room and into the wall.
Riley Finn decided to never even think about threatening the girl; it was obvious that the idea enraged the young man here, who was changing everything they had taken for granted about this operation.
"Margaret Walsh," the general said formally, not really wanting any more personnel injured for following idiotic orders. "I hereby relieve you of the command of this facility, and revoke any authorization you have over the personnel of this base."
The other guards, hearing this, and seeing their fallen colleagues, made the wise decision to agree with the general.
"Dawn?" Xander asked softly.
The two looked at each other, giving the distinct impression that they were communicating.
Dawn took a step back, and focused on Walsh.
Walsh gulped; the blank face suddenly seemed to be the most frightening thing she had ever seen, a fear that intensified when she thought she saw a hint of sadistic humor in the girl’s eyes.
"Great goddess,
Hear my plea!
I need the truth,
So mote it be!"
"What were you planning?" Xander asked the professor again.
"To take over," Walsh said, her eyes looking shocked as she realized she couldn't control her mouth. "We were going to build the perfect soldier, part demon, part vampire, part human. He would be mine, and do what I say. We'd build more, an army, and nothing would stand in my way."
"What about the troops?"
"My first victims. I have been drugging them, making them totally reliant on me for their strength and skills, preparing them for eventual modification. When they were ready, and totally addicted to the drug, I was going to use their brains to make my super soldiers."
Riley looked incensed.
"You betrayed us," he spat.
"And it was easy to do," Walsh almost smiled. "Small time country boy, out of his depth, you never questioned anything, you just followed orders like a good little boy."
To Xander's hidden amusement, Riley took several quick steps forwards and punched his ex-boss as hard as he could.
Xander looked down at the now unconscious woman, contemplating what to do with her.
Dawn placed her hand on his shoulder, and waited.
Reluctantly, he nodded.
The young girl knelt daintily, and placed her hand on the woman’s forehead.
A deep silence filled the room, that didn't seem quite natural, followed by a strange pressure, as if they were sinking into the earth, till they all felt a crack.
Dawn stood, and watched.
Maggie opened her eyes, and giggled to herself.
"Lots of men in pretty uniforms," she said gleefully as she looked at the guards. She crawled over to a bin, and found a ribbon that had been used as a wrap around an official document.
"Pretty," she announced as she started to play with it.
A flicker went through Dawn's eyes, before she collapsed.
Xander caught her instantly, lifting her against his chest, one arm under her knees, the other around her shoulders.
"What happened?" the general asked, "Is she alright?"
"She wiped Walsh's mind," Xander explained. "Dawn regressed her to around the age of six, and she'll stay like that for the rest of her life."
The others exchanged shocked looks, and gulped. The punishment seemed extremely harsh to some of the guards and scientists, but they knew better than to try and argue.
To Riley Finn, it was simply justice. No one messed with his team.
The blond field unit commander still wasn't sure what was going on. He'd never expected the Initiative to be cancelled so dramatically after only a month’s existence. He'd told Walsh about Xander, the strange soldier they had met, but she had dismissed him, sure in her place in the chain of command.
There was obviously a lot more going on in the Army, regarding HST's, than he knew about, and the way that Xander had arranged for the dismantling of the whole operation in less than sixteen hours spoke of extremely powerful friends who trusted him.
Now that he knew his ex-superior had been drugging him, his opinion of her had changed dramatically, from a visionary to one of a crazy lunatic.
He also made a quick mental note that he owed Dawn a favor. It was a pity he couldn't ever tell anyone about it, because it would certainly get the word out not to mess with his boys.
"Dawn's used too much power; she's not used to a small body," Xander continued after a pause. He didn't explain the cryptic comment.
He turned to the general and the spook. "Can you get rid of all the equipment from down here? Leave the cells, they may come in handy."
The general nodded, "It will be done tomorrow."
"I’ll need some doctors to look at the people here, see what damage has been done by these drugs."
"You’ll have the best. Give me a few days, and I’ll arrange for a complete physical at the base."
"Riley," Xander turned. "I need somewhere to let Dawn sleep this off."
"Yes, sir," Riley said, making a mental note to try and find out exactly who this kid was, and why a two-star general was obeying him. "She can sleep in my room."
Xander nodded a farewell to the other two, and followed Riley back up the elevator, and up the stairs to the soldier’s room. It was as tidy as a dormitory, the bed fully made.
Riley turned back the covers, allowing Xander to place the girl down, remove her shoes, and then tuck her in. Xander placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
They walked back into the living room, silently, where every member of the initiative was now gathered, wary expressions on their faces.
"What's going on, Riley?" Forrest asked.
Their leader looked to Xander, who nodded his permission. "Take a seat guys, this may take a little time."
When he had finished explaining about Walsh, and the drugs, they looked horrified.
"Who are you, Sir?" Graham asked, his curiosity overriding his inbuilt sense of decorum.
"Xander Harris," he replied emotionlessly, giving the impression that he wouldn't be explaining any more.
"What are we going to do now?"
"The same as you have been doing, only instead of capturing the monsters; I'm going to teach you to kill them, before they kill you."
He was surprised at the sudden cheer he received.
"We've lost five people in four weeks, trying to capture them," Riley explained. "I'm sure everyone here wants some payback."
"Breaks over," Xander interrupted Riley. "Back to work, people."
In the final part of the Warrior and the Witch: Homecoming.:
The First comes for a chat with Xander and Dawn
Betrayal
Boost problems
Poor Willow,
Poor Buffy