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The Strength Behind An Enemy	By : caliadragon Category: BtVS Crossovers > Misc - Slash - Male/Male Views: 6879 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-The Strength Behind An Enemy
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 8-8
- 9-9
- 10-10
- 11-11
- 1
- 2
- 3
Alexx
chuckled and looked at the other women in the room; they had similar looks on
their faces and turned to look at Elliot where he was standing against the wall
watching the pair. Elliot looked over at her and nodded; he knew that he had an
uphill battle before him. Not only was Xander young and inexperienced, but he
was also a child of abuse. Elliot had no intention of ever hurting Xander if he
could help it.

Xander
made a soft sound in his throat and wrapped himself further around Willow,
before closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep. Willow smiled and looked
over at Giles. She didn�t feel jealousy in their link, which was a good thing
since she had no intention of ever giving up her closeness with Xander.

Not
that she expected them to be bedding down like this for much longer. She knew
that he would be okay the next day. Despite the trauma of his life, or perhaps
because of it, Xander had been able to find ways to cope outside normal
reactions to trauma. He would be ready to work on something tomorrow and would
probably be lost to his work in no time.

She
looked over at Tony and the others. �What did you think of the lab?� she asked,
changing the subject.

Speed
was the one to answer. �I think most of us have lab envy and I think we all
fell in love with some part of the lab. I have a feeling when Calleigh gets a
load of it we won�t be able to pull her out. Gil and I found a lot of really
great books and we brought some of them with us.�

�Which ones?� Willow asked curiously.

�Gil
brought some bug books and I brought the Dampening the Senses book. By
the way, who wrote that? It�s very insightful.� Speed said thinking about the
book.

�Oh,
Xander and I did. We used several articles that we found from various sources,
contacted a couple of professors and then questioned Buffy about what she knew
about vampires. We wrote that so we could have a book of comprehensive data
while we were working on the dampeners. Charlie had it bound for us as a gift.�
Willow answered with a smile. Speed blinked and looked at her in shock.

�Why
didn�t Xander say he helped write it?� Tony asked confused.

�That�s
just Xander for you,� Willow said with a grin.

�We�ll
leave the two of you to rest; we need to prepare for the council and our
guests.� Nick said with a smile for the teen. She nodded and all but Alexx,
Elliot, and Riddick left the room. Once they were gone, Willow turned her
attention to Elliot.

The
playful light faded from her eyes. �You�re going to go to Miami with him aren�t
you?� she asked suddenly.

�Yes,
I have no intention of letting him out of my sight.� Elliot answered swiftly.

�Tell
me about yourself, how did you become a vampire?� Willow asked.

Elliot
looked down and sighed. Alexx and Riddick looked interested as well. No one
really knew how Elliot came to be a vampire or Munch�s childe. They knew the
pair had worked together for several years, but nothing else. �John and I were
on a routine case, it was an investigation into charges levied by a woman
against her daughter�s boyfriend; she was claiming statutory rape. We really
didn�t think any charges would be pressed since they were both sixteen, but we
had to follow through, talk to the kid and his parents. When we got to the
building, we walked into the middle of a gang bangers� �disagreement�. I was
shot point blank in the chest; of course I wasn�t wearing my vest. I was dying;
there was no way an ambulance could get there in time. John gave me a choice:
permanent death or living. I chose to live. Unfortunately, before we could hide
my Turning, my partner and John�s arrived, and I died in front of them. I had
no choice but to start over.� Elliot said calmly. This was something he really
didn�t talk about often. Nick, Warrick and the rest of Sylum had taken him in,
created a new identity for him and even helped John find a way to explain the
loss of his body. He was no longer Elliot Stabler, but now went by the name
Elliot Allheart. A name that John had picked just to annoy Elliot and that he
had ended up being stuck with.

�Did
you leave behind family?� Willow asked gently.

�An
ex-wife, four kids and my friends on the force,� Elliot answered before looking
away. He hadn�t wanted to leave his kids, but he knew that they were protected
by Sylum and that he would be able to watch over the next generation of his
family.

�I�m
sorry, that must have been very painful.� Willow said in sympathy.

Elliot
nodded. �Almost as hard as finding out that a kid only a few years older than
my oldest daughter is my mate.�

Willow
gaped at him for a minute then chuckled. �So that�s why you were close, but not
too close to Xander all this time.� Elliot merely nodded.

~~~~~

The
council meeting had finally ended and Warrick and Nick were alone for the first
time all day. Warrick watched as his love got ready for bed, but he could see
that the older man�s mind was not on his task. �Nick?� Warrick called.

Nick
turned to look at him and smiled slightly. �It�s strange; I never really
thought that I would ever see Eli again. In the short time we were together as
a family he kept me sane so that I could avenge the deaths of my family. He
understood my need for justice even if he didn�t understand the violence that I
wanted to shed to get it.�

�He
must have been very special,� Warrick said thinking of the boy upstairs that
seemed so kind and compassionate.

�He
was, is. I can�t figure out why I didn�t see it before. Willow and Xander are
just like Eli and Ephiny were. They had a balance between them that no one else
could figure out. Ephiny always knew when Eli needed her and vice versa. When
Eli went with Ephiny the people sought her out as much as they sought out Eli.
What really boggles my mind though is that in the past few years we have had
three reborn souls of vampires join our clan; one
mated to Riddick, one Turned by him and one found by him with Jack and Spike.
It makes me wonder what�s coming next.�

Warrick
nodded. �Don�t you mean dread what�s
coming next?�

�That
too,� Nick agreed.

~~~~~

The
next morning came and with it the arrival of the twins, Daniel and Jack, more
members of Sanctuary and the various clans that had been called to deal with
the issue of Livia. Xander was working in one of the labs, constructing
something that no one exactly had a clue as to what it was. No one that is, but
Willow and she was so busy helping him that no one could ask any questions.

Daniel
and Jack went with Janet and Lara to look in on the new members of their clan
and were not really surprised to see that they were not alone. They arrived in
the lab just in time to witness Xander and Willow finishing their latest
zapper. Since Lara had liked the one that Xander had already finished so well,
he decided to build another and let her keep the first one. He had run off
several disks for disarming the zapper so that it could be programmed to the
individual user�s preferences.

Both
Willow and Xander looked up and caught sight of the people standing in the
door. They pushed up their goggles and looked at them curiously. �Hello,�
Willow called out while Xander looked at them warily.

�Hello,�
Daniel called with a smile and stepped out of the way as Janet and Lara stepped
into the room. The new group watched as Xander�s face lit in pleasure at the
sight of the two women.

�Lara,
I was just on my way to find you.� Xander said with a smile.

�Oh really? Well, I�m always pleased to be sought out by
beautiful young men,� Lara said with a smile, laughing slightly as Xander
blushed.

�We
built another zapper so you can keep the one you were looking at yesterday.�
Xander told her with a shy smile.

Lara
grinned manically when protests broke out from behind her.

�We
want one too,� Riddick and Blade called as they made their way past Daniel and
Jack.

�We
get one of those gizmos too,� Tony said for himself and Gibbs.

Willow
and Xander shared a look and shrugged. �Okay.� They said in unison.

�We
need more parts though, we only have enough to make two more and we thought Bauer
might want one.� Willow said with a smile.

Daniel
raised an eyebrow. �What is a zapper?�

�Ooo�I
want to tell him!� Tony said with a manic grin.

�Okay,�
Willow and Xander said in unison again.

�I
thought Jack and Kyra were the only ones to talk in unison?� Daniel asked with
a raised brow.

�Nope,
they do too.� Tony answered.

�Tell
us about the zapper already,� O�Neill said impatiently.

Tony
smirked. �It stops the electrical flow of any machine and wipes out the memory
of said machine. It can also be used on humans on the lowest setting and
doesn�t hurt like a tazer.�

�I
want one of those,� O�Neill said with a wide-eyed look. �We could blast snake
faces and take out ships. Oh can I have one please?�

Willow
looked at Xander who shrugged. �I don�t know. You work for the military and
Charlie told us we�re not allowed to give the military anything without
charging them for it or at least making them swear to name a country after us.�
O�Neill gaped at her and Willow grinned wickedly. Laughter came from those in
the room and O�Neill shook his head.

�You
can have one too, but only if Nick says so. We already asked if we could give
one to the others and we planned on giving one to Riddick.� Xander answered
softly, still somewhat shy of strangers.

�I,
too, would like one of those zappers and of course one of the cross-blades that
Angel has been showing off.� Ardeth said from his place inside the door.

Both
Xander and Willow turned to look at him, but it was Xander that showed
recognition. �Ardeth,� he said softly. �You can have one. I�ll have to make a
new cross-blade since I gave Dad my newest one.�

�Dad?� Shang asked as he looked at the two children whose deaths
had brought Livia back to their attention.

�Riddick
is my Sire,� Xander said shyly.

�Riddick?� Hamlet asked turning to look at the silver-eyed
man and his mate. Riddick smiled, enjoying the looks of horror and the shudders
that this pronouncement created.

�Well
things just went to hell. Are the twins here?� Sundance asked, looking around
for the two young women. Riddick and the twins protecting a new child: they�d
be lucky if anything was left standing once the three were finished.

�Yeah,
they�ll be here to meet their new little brother very soon,� Riddick said with
another of his insane grins.

�Looks
to be a fun time had by all,� Jack Sparrow said looking around the room with a
grin.

�I
always knew you were an insane person; what sane
person becomes a pirate?� Frank asked from behind Ardeth. Laughter filled the
room at that, while Willow and Xander merely looked at one another and
shrugged.

�The
B.R.A.D. � is it here?� Xander asked suddenly.

Tony
blinked. �Yes.�

�Horatio!� Willow and Xander said in unison.

�I
wonder if Horatio would let me build a small bomb to make sure the software is
working correctly?� Xander said looking at Willow.

�NO!�
Tony and Jethro said, making the pair turn to look at them in confusion.

�Okay,�
they agreed again.

�What
is a B.R.A.D.?� O�Neill asked.

�It�s
a Bomb Retrieval and Detonation unit. Xander and I designed them to be used to
stop the boom-booms without having to get too close to them. Horatio said he
would use one and test it out for us through the Miami PD.� Willow answered.

�You
built a bomb?� Daniel asked.

�Only
a little one,� Willow answered easily.

�When?� O�Neill asked.

�When
we were fourteen,� Xander answered for her, he turned his attention back to the
zapper and screwed the housing onto the case. He wanted to check out the
B.R.A.D. and then talk to Nick about who was allowed a zapper before coming
back into the lab and working with Willow.

The
adults that hadn�t heard the story before blinked in astonishment. �Where were
your parents?!� O�Neill asked, furious that anyone would allow a child that age
to build a bomb.

�I�m
going to go find Horatio,� Xander said abruptly and left out the side door of
the lab.

�Xander�s
parents are right here in me and Riddick. Don�t mention the wastes of space
that gave birth to him or supplied the sperm again.� Eric said before heading
after the younger boy.

�I�m
gonna go see if I can�t find Artemus and ask for more supplies,� Willow said
abruptly before following after Eric and Xander.

O�Neill
watched them go and frowned. �What�d I say?�

Janet
sighed and then told them what they knew about Willow and Xander�s lives before
they became a part of Sylum. When she finished, the newcomers looked murderous.
�They tortured their own child?� Ardeth asked in a cold, clipped voice.

�Yes.
Willow has made it clear that until they came to Sylum she was the only one
that he spoke to or allowed to touch him. He�s made a lot of progress, though
there are times when he is still nervous or unsure of the people around him. We
were afraid that being stabbed in the back and having to be Turned might have
been too much for him, but he was more upset about having a mate than he was
about being dead.� Tony said sadly.

�Because he doesn�t know how to act with another person?� Sundance asked.

�Yeah,
everyone�s agreed that his mate Elliot has a pretty hard courtship ahead of
him.� Janet said with a slight smile.

~~~~~

Xander
walked down the hallway with Eric at his side. As they approached the main
salon, Xander and Eric could hear Nick�s voice raised slightly in irritation.

�You
aren�t getting the point! Xander isn�t ready to bond with his mate yet.� Nick
said to the unseen person.

�What
does that matter? The bond makes up for what the mind does not account for. If
you press the issue, then they will bond. You are their clan leader.� the
person said.

�Yes
I am, but Xander has been through too much. He is afraid of the mating and of
intimacy, with good reason I might add. To try to force them to bond would be
foolish.� Nick answered.

�Elliot
wouldn�t go along with it anyway. We have more than enough hunters to protect
him and we won�t allow Livia the chance to take him and force a bond.� Warrick added.

�He
would be safer,� another voice said softly.

�He
would leave and any trust we�ve established with both he and Willow would be
lost.� Horatio said next.

Eric
and Xander shared a look and turned to leave, only to have their names called
from inside the room. The two shared another look, but made their way into the
room anyway. Xander looked around him nervously and noticed that the room held
many people, all of whom were very powerful in nature. As he looked around,
Xander was fascinated by the different people in the room, but he was also wary
of them, especially knowing that they wanted to force him to bond with Elliot.
While he looked at them, they were looking at him and each of them was struck
by the innocence and the aged wisdom in the young man�s eyes.

Eric
reached out carefully and placed a hand on Xander�s shoulder. They all noticed
that some of the tension bled out of the younger man: it was obvious that he
felt safer through the contact.

Horatio
smiled at the pair gently. �What can we do for you two?�

Xander
turned to look at him and shifted nervously; he was afraid to talk in front of
so many strangers. �It�s okay Xander.� Nick told him gently, while inside he
was cursing the fact that the boy had heard the conversation. He sincerely
hoped that it didn�t cause a setback in the relationship Xander was building
with the members of Sylum.

Xander
looked at his feet and spoke quietly. �I wanted to see if Horatio would like to
look at the B.R.A.D. and I need a list of people that I can make the zappers,
dampeners, and cross-blades for.�

Morgan
cocked her head to the side and studied the young boy in front of her; her
heart went out to the young man and while she agreed he would be safer for the
bonding, she could see why Nicholas refused to press the issue. Looking at the
boy you could see a damaged soul, someone who expected to be betrayed and hurt by those that should be protecting
him instead.

�What
are these things you are talking of?� she asked, hoping to get the boy to look
at her.

Xander
shifted nervously again, but looked up at the woman fearfully. He then darted a
look over to Nick, who smiled in encouragement. He looked back down at his
feet. �They�re weapons that Willow and I designed. The zapper acts like a tazer
or an electronic disrupter. The dampeners act as a white noise generator for
the senses, it even blocks body heat, the only thing it doesn�t block is
vision. The cross-blade is a long distance weapon that is fashioned like a
crossbow, but shoots elongated blades instead.� Xander spoke quietly and was
careful not to look in the direction of the women in the room as he spoke. It
was only the presence of the people he trusted and Eric�s hand on his shoulder
that made it possible for him to speak at all. He took a deep breath and
continued to explain. �B.R.A.D. stands for Bomb Retrieval and Detonation, and
it�s a device designed to make things safer for people who work on bomb squads
or in buildings where there has been a threat. It works by remote access.�

�And
you and your friend created these?� Methos asked, impressed by the weapons.

Xander
looked at him and nodded, but didn�t say anything else.

�Can
these weapons work in tandem with one another?� Harry asked the boy.

Xander
nodded. �Yes, the newest cross-blade has a dampener built into it. I gave it to
my Dad, but I�m going to build one for Ardeth and anyone else that Nick
approves. I�ve also given Will Turner the specs for the weapons.�

Draco
raised an eyebrow. �Would you be willing to share with Camelot and the Council
as well?�

�I
will share with anyone Nick deems worthy,� Xander answered truthfully.

�You
are loyal to Sylum,� Richard said with a smile.

�I
am loyal to Nick and those that I have met, everyone else will have to prove
they deserve it,� Xander countered somberly.

Smiles
came to the faces of those around the room and Alexander chuckled slightly. �At
least you are honest.� He said with a smile. Xander blushed and looked at his
feet before smiling shyly at the older vampire.

Warrick
hid a smirk as he watched Xander unwittingly charm the newcomers. He knew now
that they had met Xander that there would be no more talk of a forced bonding.
He still didn�t know how Xander�s parents could have knowingly harmed the sweet,
quiet boy. For that matter, he couldn�t understand how Willow�s parents could
have thrown away such a funny and charming young woman. Everyone that had met
the pair was enamored of them and was drawn to their company.

Where
Xander was shy and wary, Willow was outgoing and inquisitive. Their bond was
something that he hadn�t seen except in mates and siblings such as the Twins.
The sad thing was that they had had to develop that bond to protect Xander,
though from what he had heard from Speed, the bond had been formed through one
life after another for centuries.

Xander�s
bond to Elliot would be hard won; Warrick could see that Xander�s fears were
beyond what he had had before Nick
had finally Turned him to complete their bond. Also unlike his own Turning, Warrick had
already begun to accept his place in Nick�s life as well as having experienced
a range of lovers during his years as a pirate. He had also known his mother
loved him and that he was accepted by his family, something that Xander had
never known.

Willow
had been the only person in his life that had constantly shown any care or
adoration for the boy. Her Turning had changed their lives for the better � at
least that was what Warrick was hoping. Warrick suddenly had a horrid thought
and fought to control his facial features so that no one would see his alarm.
From the look he got from his mate, he knew that the older vampire had felt his
unease through their bond.

�It�s
okay you know,� Xander suddenly said.

Everyone
looked at him, but his attention was on Warrick.

�What?�
Warrick asked confused.

�Livia
won�t get Willow, so you don�t have to worry about her using Willow to force me
to bond with her.� Xander said with an intense look on his face.

Warrick
looked shocked; for that matter so did the others. �How do you know that?�
Warrick asked.

Xander
smiled. �I don�t see Giles letting her out of the Manor for quite some time,
besides, I don�t think Livia will make a move for a while,� Xander�s eyes lost
focus and he seemed to be looking beyond them.

�What
do you see?� Merlin asked softly.

�She
will come for me in Miami that�s all I know,� Xander said, blinking to refocus
his eyes and look at those around him.

He
then turned his attention back to Harry and Draco, who had come with their mate
and their clan leaders with the Council. They had been visiting Dumbledore and
Minerva when they had gotten word of Livia�s return. Since one of her children
was on their �dust-first-celebrate-later� list, they had wanted to be involved.

�You�re
Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, the people that they created the Harry Potter
books from,� he said with a questioning look.

�Yes
and no. We are nothing like the bloody books,� Draco said in a growl.

Xander
and Eric shared a grin, and Eric turned to look back at him. �We�re figuring
out that most of the stories told about vampires aren�t true. Heck, even the
stories told about Willow and Xander aren�t real and they just became
vampires.�

Xander
blushed again and Guinevere raised an eyebrow before chuckling, �Xander Harris
of Buffy�s little show?� she asked.

Xander
looked up at her and nodded shyly. �Well, if they can say I cheated on my mate
with a mortal Chosen I guess they can say anything,� she said with a shake of
her head. That part of their legend was still something that irritated her to
no end.

Xander
looked at her in question. �That is the real Guinevere; this is Arthur,
Alexander, Marc Antony, Dumbledore, Minerva, Harry and Draco, whom you guessed
at, Morgan, Merlin, Methos, Attila, Spartacus, Hector, Odysseus, Richard Sharpe
and his mate James Bond. The rest of the newcomers are around the Manor
catching up with old friends and will be introduced later.� Nick said with a
smile.

Xander
looked at the people in the room again and Eric grinned. �Being a vampire is so cool.� Xander laughed silently, while
the others chuckled. It was good to see innocent enthusiasm in the newest
generation of vampires.

Xander
was also thinking it was cool to be a vampire and wanted to ask many questions,
but he was too shy to do so and did not want to offend anyone by asking the
wrong thing. �I never thought I would be in the same room as the people that created
and lived so many of the myths and history that humans define themselves by.�
He said softly in an awed voice, blushing when he realized that he had spoken
aloud.

�Wait
until you meet Cleo, she loves to talk about history,� Alexander said with a
grin.

�Cleo?�
Eric asked.

�Cleopatra,�
Attila said with a smile.

�Oh
man,� Eric said with wide eyes. �And she�ll really answer questions?�

�Yes,�
Richard said with a smile.

�Great,
now I just have to make sure Speed isn�t around when I ask them. He keeps
threatening me, says I ask too many questions.� Eric finished when he noticed
their confused looks. This brought chuckles from the group.

�Before
he was Turned, Speed kept threatening to bite him and make it hurt,� Horatio
said with a laugh. Eric merely grinned; he couldn�t help it there was so much
to learn each day, he just wanted to learn as much as he could.

�Why
don�t we go take a look at the B.R.A.D.? We can find Speed and make him come
with us,� Horatio said with a smile for the pair. He looked over at Nick who
nodded and they watched as the three men walked from the room.

Once
she was sure that he was sufficiently out of earshot, Guinevere spoke, �What
happened to the boy? He was nervous of you men, but terrified of Minerva,
Morgan, and myself.�

Nick
sighed and looked sad for a moment, before anger took over as he thought of all
they had learned of Xander�s life. Nick had had questions asked and a detailed
investigation made of both Xander and Willow to make sure there would be no
other hidden dangers in their lives that the clan could not protect them from.

What
had been discovered had angered and sickened him.
�Xander�s parents abused him, but his mother tortured him and I do mean tortured. His fear of women is
justified, unfortunately. We knew from the examination that Alexx and Janet
gave him after he arrived that he was badly scarred and that he had taken a
beating from Buffy. However, what Willow didn�t say was that Xander had
received treatment for his wounds from a female doctor who was friends with
Xander�s mother. The woman took payoffs to keep the information from the
police. What made it even worse was that the money was from Xander�s earnings
from his inventions and work with Willow. When they filed emancipation papers,
they also managed to get Dr. Walsh�s medical license revoked. I�m sure she
would be on a torture and kill list somewhere if she hadn�t been killed by a
former patient for allowing his abuse to continue. The young man ended up in a
mental institution a year after Xander and Willow escaped their parents�
neglect.� Nick said in a cold, controlled voice.

The
assembled vampires shook their heads in disgust. It was sad, yet something all
of them had seen over and over in history. There were always people that abused
the precious gift of a child. Many of those in the room had adopted and cared
for many a mortal child over the centuries that had come from an abusive home.

~~~~~

Horatio
led them to where the B.R.A.D. was being stored, along with several different
weapons Tony had told them to send to Sylum. When they reached the storage
facility they found several people already there, looking at the equipment and
weapons. Tony was holding Xander�s prized axe, the first one he had ever made,
and one of the men was running a finger over it. �Hey Xander, do you have
anymore of these?� Tony asked as he stepped into the room.

The
others turned to look at him and he shook his head. �It�s a one of a kind. I
can make others, but this is the first weapon I ever made.� Xander said shyly.

Will
Thatcher and Will Turner shared a look. �This was your
first weapon?� Turner asked.

�Yeah,
I finished it just before my fifteenth birthday. I wanted to see if I could
make one. Buffy preferred swords, but I liked the look of double headed axes
and wanted to see if I could make at least one.� Xander answered with a shrug.

Tony
grinned at him. �You do realize that this is on the level of people who have
making weapons for years?� he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Xander
blushed and shrugged. �I scrapped the others.�

Horatio
and Eric grinned at him and walked over to where the B.R.A.D. was sitting.
Xander followed them and opened up the paneling, pulled out a small handheld
device and keyed in the password to bring the machine alive. The main unit rose
off the ground and scanned the room, before coming to a standing rest in front
of Horatio. Xander handed the device to the older man and smiled. �I still
think we need to build a small bomb to test it. It would only take me a few
minutes to build a small one.� Xander said as he reached into the panel to pull
out the manual.

Horatio
looked at the younger man sharply. �No Xander. We�ll take it back to Miami and
have the bomb squad try it out. I want you to promise me that you won�t build
any more bombs unless one of us specifically asks you to.�

Xander
looked up at him and after a moment he nodded. �I promise. Are you mad?� he
asked hesitantly.

�No
I just worry that you could be hurt. Even experts make mistakes when working
with explosives.� Horatio answered gently.

�Okay,�
Xander said. He would not break his promise to Horatio unless there was no
other way.

�What
is this?� Blade asked, turning Xander�s attention to a small stick in his
hands.

�Oh
shit! Put it down carefully,� Xander
squeaked. Blade did as he was ordered and everyone else backed away.

Xander
stepped forward and gently lifted the stick; he let out a breath and giggled
nervously. �How did that get here? Did they send the stuff from the green
cabinet here?� he asked as he cradled the stick in his hands and stood, turning
to face them.

�No
it was lying out in the fourth lab,� Tony said, having recognized the item in his
hands.

Xander
frowned. �I must have forgotten about it after Buffy attacked me. I was working
on it when she came in. No one touched the end did they? Or got stuck by it?�
he asked anxiously.

�No,�
Blade said with a frown.

�What
is that thing? Does it explode?� Horatio asked.

�No,
it�s venomous. See, I studied the way that a scorpion acts and then studied the
toxicity of their venom; I then combined that with rattlesnake venom and the
venom of a black mamba. I�m not finished with it yet, it�s just in the first
stages of production.� Xander told him. �I need to find a safe container to
store this in until I can get it back into the lab.�

They
were all looking at him shock. �Why would you combine those venoms?� Eric asked
confused.

Xander
shifted nervously and looked at the unknown vampires. �When I was helping
Buffy, she explained to me what she knew of vampire nervous systems. While the
venom wouldn�t kill a vampire, it would force them to go into a healing coma,
making them more vulnerable to a human attacking.�

�You
worked with Buffy?� One of the men growled out, stepping forward angrily.

Xander
dropped the weapon and immediately backed away like he was about to run from
the room, but Eric caught him and growled at the other man. Tony pulled the man
backwards and snarled at him. �Buffy lied to him since he was thirteen
convincing him that we were evil and needed to be destroyed. You will hold a
civil tongue in your head when you talk to him or to Willow who is also here.
Do I make myself clear, Seth?� Tony snarled.

Seth
raised an eyebrow, but turned to look at the terrified boy and frowned. �I wasn�t
going to do anything. I just really hate that bitch.�

Xander
was staring at him wide-eyed, but he nodded slightly. Before he could say anything,
Willow burst into the room with Giles and Artemus on her heels. �Who do I have
to kill?� she demanded glaring at everyone in the room.

Xander
picked up the stick and turned to look at her shaking his head.

�Well
alright if you�re sure I can�t kill anyone, Artemus has gotten us the supplies
we need so we can start building more of the zappers, dampeners, and
cross-blades as soon as Nick gives us the go ahead.� Xander nodded again,
watched Willow glare at everyone in the room and skip out with Giles and
Artemus after her.

Blade
chuckled, �I like that girl.�

�I
have a question,� Bond asked calmly. Xander turned to look at him. �Where are
your parents, are they going to show up looking for you?� he asked, then
frowned when Xander paled again and looked away.

�Riddick
and I are his parents, with Alexx, Lady Heather, and Janet acting as Mom.� Eric
answered with an arch look. A look that said, do not ask any more questions. Bond nodded slightly and began to ask
Xander about the devices that he and Willow were working on.

Xander
looked to Tony for permission before beginning to explain the weapons to the
assembled group. As he finished Bond was looking at him in astonishment and
then chuckled slightly. �You have your own Q,� he said to Tony who grinned
again.

�Yeah,
but ours are cooler, they get their ideas from old movies. You should see the
security system the two of them came up with. They created it after watching a
marathon of spy movies.� Jethro said from his place near Horatio.

�You
get ideas from movies?� Thatcher asked with a raised eyebrow.

�That
and lots of sugar,� Xander said with a shy grin, though they could see mischief
in his eyes. Laughter filled the room and several members of the group left to
talk to their clan leaders. They wanted to see if they would negotiate terms
with Nick to get some of the weaponry and security devices that Willow and
Xander had designed.

~~~~~~

Xander
changed his mind halfway towards going back to the lab and changed direction,
going outside instead. He knew that he shouldn�t be upset by the question about
his parents, but the truth was just the thought of them made him nauseous. As
he had been leaving, he had heard what Eric said about him and Riddick being
the only parents that he needed. It confused and touched him that so many
people wanted him to be a part of their lives.

People
that wanted him because who he was, not for what he could do for them � it was
overwhelming. For so long he had been alone with just Willow to care for him.
He looked over as Eric came to his side and the two walked quietly side by side
for a long time. Finally Xander and Eric sat on a small bench that they found
in the garden and just sat enjoying the sunshine.

�How
did you find out about vampires?� Xander asked after a while.

Eric
grinned. �Speed rose up off of Alexx�s table after being shot to death, or at
least what we thought was death. It shocked the hell out of us.�

�Did
you regret learning about them, us?� Xander asked curiously.

�Nah,
I got my friend back and a whole new family besides. What about you? Do you
regret learning about vampires?�

Xander
shook his head, �No I�m just sorry that I helped Buffy kill for so long. She
really had us convinced that it was the vampires that led to Dawn�s death. She
said that Angel tricked her family into believing he was a good person and then
did nothing to save them.�

�You
were a kid missing your friend and she exploited that. That�s not your fault.�
Riddick said as he came up to the pair. They both jumped slightly and turned to
face him. Eric and Xander both smiled in greeting and Xander looked beyond them
to see two identical young women making their way over towards them, with a
small child in one of the women�s arms.

Riddick
smirked, �See them? They�re what Buffy wants to be.�

Xander
cocked his head to the side, looking at them in wonder. The twins gave off a
feeling of danger, protection, and welcome. What was such a wonder to him was
that they both shared the same soul. Xander had never seen anyone with the same
soul before.

�See
something interesting?� The twin on the left asked.

Xander
blushed, but nodded. �I�ve never seen anyone with the same soul before.�

�You
can see their soul?� A big man asked from their left. Xander turned to look at
him and nodded. He looked between the twin on the right, Riddick, and the man
to his left and then back to himself. He blinked slightly.

�It�s
like a Gorgon Knot, it is seeking their mate.� Xander said faintly as he looked
around him.

Jack
and Kyra smiled at one another. �We�re Jack and Kyra, your sisters. Welcome to
the family, this is Alessandro, he�s ours.� Kyra said.

�I�m
Jayne, your older brother, you have any problems you tell me and I�ll kill the
person causing them.� Jayne said with a crazed grin.

�Not
if we get there first,� Jack said with a smirk.

Xander
blinked and looked at Eric, who shrugged, �They�re affectionate.� He said,
making Riddick laugh. Xander looked back at his new brother and sisters and
smiled.

�Thank
you,� he said shyly. He then turned to look at Alessandro and smiled brightly
at the little boy. He was very cute and had the most open and trusting eyes
that Xander had ever seen. �Hello,� he said softly.

�He
only speaks Spanish.� Kyra told him. �Alessandro esto es su
T�o Xander.�

�Hola Alessandro, es un placer de encontrarle. �C�mo
usted es?� Xander asked gently.

�T�o de Hola, yo
soy bueno, la Mam� y la Madre
nos tomaron en un avi�n y nosotros
vinimos aqu�. �Por qu� es llamado usted
Xander?� Alessandro said with a warm smile.

Xander
chuckled and looked at the others, who were smiling. �Prefiero
ser llamado Xander en vez
de Alessandro, mi Sauce de amigo me dio el nombre cuando �ramos
muy j�venes.� He
answered with a smile.

�Tenemos el mismo nombre,� Alessandro said with wide eyes.

��Hacemos nosotros
no nosotros? Es un placer de encontrar
otro con un nombre tan digno,� Xander said with an easy smile.

Alessandro
giggled and the others smiled.

�Encima usted
le puede hacer habla espa�ol tambi�n. �Qu� otros idiomas
habla usted?� Eric
asked with a grin, staying in the language so that Alessandro could understand
them.

�Sauce
y yo tienen un concurso que
va a ver cu�ntos idiomas que podemos aprender
en los pr�ximos dos a�os. Hasta ahora
ella es
adelante por uno. Hablan Ga�lico,
Espa�ol, Ruso, Franc�s, Italiano, Catonese, Alem�n, Holand�s, Portugese, Chino, y Griego. Yo no he tenido una ocasi�n de terminar aprender Japon�s, pero el Sauce terminaron una semana antes ella
fue girada.� Xander said
with a shrug.

~~~~~~~~

Translation:

�He
only speaks Spanish.� Kyra told him. �Alessandro, this is your Uncle Xander.�

�Hello
Alessandro, it�s a pleasure to meet you. How you are?� Xander asked gently.

�Hello
Uncle, I am good. Momma and Mommy took us on an airplane and we came here. Why
are you called Xander?� Alessandro said with a warm smile.

Xander
chuckled and looked at the others, who were smiling. �I prefer to be called
Xander instead of Alessandro; my friend Willow gave me the name when we were
very young.� Xander answered with to smile.

�We
have the same name,� Alessandro said with wide eyes.

�We
do, do we not? It is a pleasure to find another with a so worthy a name,�
Xander said with an easy smile.

Alessandro
giggled and the others smiled.

�On
top of everything else you can do you can also speak Spanish. What other
languages do you speak?� Eric asked with a grin, staying in the language so
that Alessandro could understand them.

�Willow
and I have an ongoing contest to see how many languages that we can learn in
the next two years. Up to now she is ahead by one. We speak Gaelic, Spanish,
Russian, French, Italian, Cantonese, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese, and
Greek. I haven�t had a chance to finish learning Japanese, but Willow finished
a week before she was Turned.� Xander said with a
shrug.

Interlude

For
the next hour, the small family sat together getting to know each other and
learning more about their newest member. Most of what they �heard� was between
the lines. Xander spoke of his time with Willow, their work, and of the love he
bore her. What he didn�t talk about, but that they could sense, was the
loneliness that he had suffered. The pain and fear that had plagued him for so
long was also there to see, by the way he held himself and by the way he never
spoke of his family other than an Uncle who had
disappeared when Xander was very young. The older man had basically been told
he was not welcome in their lives. That visit was the last time that Xander had
seen his uncle; he had been eight. After a while Alessandro asked for something
to eat and Xander realized that he needed to get back into the lab with Willow.
The group stood as one and made their way back into the Manor to go to where
they were needed or to take care of business.

When Xander reached the lab, Willow grinned up at
him and Eric, who had come with him. There were people standing in the lab and
Xander was pleased to see the Scorpion stick in a glass tube; when he got upset
he had completely forgotten about it again.

�You�re just in time! I finished the last of the
software for the first cross-blade and Nick provided a list. Did you know they
sent most of your materials to the Manor?� Willow asked with a grin.

Xander shook his head and then looked at what was
lying on the tabletop. He then looked at Willow who cackled, causing everyone
to look at her in confusion. Xander shook his head.

�Oh yes my sweetling, they sent it. We must do evil Xander, it is for the good
of all vampire kind, or at the very least it�ll be fun.�

Xander bit his lip and shook his head hesitantly.

�Oh yes, come on Xander just think it won�t hurt
her, she�ll just be a rainbow for a couple of weeks.�

Xander snorted at this and shook his head again,
though it was obvious his heart wasn�t in it.

�Yes, we must, it is our duty as her *friends*,
after all friends share,� Willow said again with a truly evil smile.

Xander laughed and nodded. Willow squealed and
jumped up and down, she grabbed Giles and kissed him
before dancing around the table and grabbing Xander. �Hey, maybe we can find
someone to bug her house and take pictures!� Willow said with another cackle.

Xander had to grab the edge of the table as he
began to laugh so hard he nearly fell. He shook a finger at her weekly, but
continued to laugh.

�Of course I�m evil, but you love me anyway.�
Xander nodded and then sprang around the table. They pulled out a small blue
safe and began to work in tandem.

The watching group shared a look; it was Tony
that asked what everyone else was wondering. �What are you two up to?�

Willow and Xander looked up at him innocently.
Tony groaned, Eric sighed wistfully. �I wish I could pull that look off, no one
ever believes it coming from me.� Willow and Xander laughed again, and then
returned to what they were doing.

�Seriously, what are you making?� Speed asked
once he stopped laughing at Eric.

�We�re sending Buffy a present.� Willow said
innocently.

�Why would you send that bitch a present?� Draco
asked with a raised brow.

�Because it will turn her colors and make her
stay that way for a couple of weeks?� Willow asked innocently.

�Can I have them?� Seth asked looking over at
Tony.

�No, they�re ours.� Lara answered before anyone
else could. Xander smiled sweetly at her and blushed when she blew him a kiss.

�Why the sudden need to turn Buffy colors, not
that I have a problem with it per say, I�m just wondering?� Angel asked.

�It will make me feel better and somehow Xander�s
thief dye got put in with the rest of our supplies. We really need to make sure
that stuff is put up Xan, I would really hate it if someone we liked got turned
into a walking rainbow,� Willow said conversationally.

Xander nodded in agreement and continued to work
on the small inlayed box. Willow handed him a small cartridge and watched as he
carefully inserted it into the box. Once it was installed, Xander closed the
lid and placed one last screw into the box. He then handed it off to Willow who
came up with a small shipping box, much to Xander�s amusement. She placed it
inside then turned to look at the older members of Sylum. �Can we send it
please?� Willow looked hopeful, while Xander looked shyly amused.

�Send what?� Nick asked as he, Warrick, Alexx,
Riddick, and Methos walked into the lab.

Xander turned wide eyes on Willow, who smiled
innocently. �It�s a gift.�

Snickers filled the room and Riddick raised an eyebrow at the pair and looked over at his very amused
mate. �What kind of gift?� he asked.

�A colorful one,� Willow said cheerfully. Xander
bit his lip and looked up at the ceiling, amusement wafting off of him.

�Uh huh, what does it do to the person you�re
sending it to?� Warrick asked amused by the pair.

�Turns her into a walking rainbow,� Willow said
with a wicked cackle.

Nick�s eyes widened and Warrick grinned, �Buffy?�
he asked.

�Oh yeah,� Willow said with relish.

�I say send it,� Nick said unable to keep the
image of a rainbow Buffy from his head, he grinned widely. It would work until
they could deal with her for good. Who knows? Maybe if they set their
pranksters off on Buffy it would finally send her over the deep end. �Maybe we
should start a prank war on Buffy, just until we can deal with her for good.�
He offered.

�I want in,� Came from all over the room. Willow�s
laughter was rich and full as it filled the lab.

�Oh this is going to be so much fun!� Tony said
rubbing his hands together.

Author�s Note: PLEASE DO NOT KILL ME! I REALLY DID NOT PLAN THIS! BUT IT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE AND IT FIT. SORRY.

Sunnydale�Buffy Summers� Townhouse

Buffy paced back and forth glaring at the picture
on her mantel as though it were responsible for all of her troubles; the truth
was that she indeed blamed the man in the photo for all of her problems. The
picture held the image of one man, Angel, her obsession, her former crush, her enemy. He was responsible for all of her problems, he had
betrayed her and in doing so cost her her family.

If only he had kept faith with his promises to
her family. He had sworn to protect them as they had protected him over the
centuries. However, he hadn�t protected them. Instead he had blindly looked
away as his Sire murdered her family and left her alive to tell them who was responsible. It had taken Buffy a month to heal from her
injuries and after she had recovered, she had waited for Angel to come to her.
When he had, he had sworn to kill Darla for her and the loss of a Chosen
family.

Giles of Sylum had been with him and sworn to
protect her, but after she had tried to kill both of them, they had declared
her an Exile from Sylum and no longer under the clans�
protection. They had turned on her and left her to fend for herself, just as
Willow and Xander had now done.

It was after her family�s deaths that she had put
Dawn�s friendship with Xander and Willow to her own uses. She had continued to
keep in touch with the geeky pair until she felt that they could be utilized to
her benefit. Coming in wounded from a fight with a vampire and begging for
their help had been a well thought out plan. That year they begun doing
research for her; a year later they were building her weapons.

Buffy loathed all vampires; it didn�t matter to
her that Willow and that freak Xander had been helping her over the years. The
moment that Willow became a vampire she was the enemy.
Buffy should have known that Xander would become evil too, after all hadn�t he
tried to keep her from finding Willow? Buffy had had to punish him, had to make
him tell her where Willow was. Of course he had lied, but that didn�t matter.
She would get them both sooner or later; they were weak and dependent on her
for protection.

She had nearly lost them when she helped put
together the television show and had changed their personalities for her
purposes, but she had managed to convince them that part of it was the
producer. She had thought it amusing to make Giles a vampire hunter. Willow had
protested only slightly about the way that she was treated, but she had been
really angry about the way that Xander had been portrayed. Buffy had calmed her
down, but she could see the way that Xander had begun to hold back the better
weapons.

She still had a few, but couldn�t get into the
lab to get more and now the lab and everything in it was gone. Sylum had come
and taken everything away, they had taken away her people, her property.
It was the vampires� fault that she had lost everyone. Someone had turned
Willow, and then made Xander lie and betray her. He was always wary of her
anyway, but then again, he was a freak. Now though, he chose the vampires over
her, the person he owed everything to. If it weren�t for her he would still be
some obscure little genius that no one knew anything about or cared anything
for.

Buffy ignored the fact that it was only through
Willow and Xander�s weapons that she had survived as long as she had, most
especially the last battle between herself and the two clans. If she had not
had the cross-blade or the dampener Riddick and Blade both would have had her
in a heartbeat. She knew that both vampires had sworn to kill her on sight.

The normal rule of protecting innocents did not
apply to her since she actively hunted and killed vampires. Buffy didn�t care
about that. All she cared about was the destruction of the vampires, and she
would do whatever it took to achieve that goal, even if it meant killing
Xander, a human.

Buffy was drawn from her thoughts by the arrival
of her maid. The girl curtsied and handed Buffy three packages. Not paying
attention to where they were from, still too intent upon her revenge, Buffy
opened the first package. It was a small, ornate silver box. Buffy loved it and
placed it to the side, wondering when she had ordered the box, or if her
so-called boyfriend had sent it to her.

She then moved on to the next package, what was
in it made her alternately pale and blush in turn. It was a kit for a
do-yourself-vibrator and mount kit. She slammed the lid back down on the box
and shuddered, she then turned to the next box. Rage glittered in her eyes as
she saw the wide variety of porn magazines, some of which made her shudder,
while some of them she was privately thinking of keeping.

�Yvette!� She yelled for the maid that had
retreated, first removing the magazines she was interested in and hiding them.

The older woman returned. �Send these two back to
whoever mailed them, I don�t want to see them again, anything that comes from
this company you send back.� Buffy snarled. The maid nodded and picked up the
two boxes, her eyes nearly bulging at the contents.

Yvette had just left the room when a shriek of
pure rage filled the drawing room, �WILLOW!�

Yvette dropped the boxes and hurried back into
the drawing room; what she saw shocked her, but also had her fighting back
laughter. Her mistress, someone she had known since before the young woman was
a teen, was the color of a rainbow. �Yvette clean this
up!� Buffy snarled as she stormed past the woman and up to her room. Buffy knew
better than to try to clean the dye off, after all she knew just what it was.
Willow would pay for this and so would Xander.

As Yvette watched Buffy go she sighed sadly, it
was just another sign of how much her mistress had changed since the horrible
murder of her family. Buffy used to be the most mischievous child that Yvette
had ever known. She and Dawn had to be supervised constantly to keep them from
playing pranks on people. Before her family�s death Buffy would have been
laughing and planning the perfect revenge. Now Yvette was fairly certain that
the mad child was planning physical violence.

Yvette didn�t like the changes that had overtaken
her young charge, but she could not bring herself to leave the young woman. Even
though the rest of the servants had left after Buffy had tried to murder Giles
and Angel. Yvette had seen Buffy after she had found out that Willow had been Turned. The woman had alternately cried, screamed and raged
all night long.

Yvette had slipped one of Buffy�s tranquilizers
into a glass of soda so that the girl would finally sleep. Something that the
older woman was noticing she had to do more often of late. Buffy was beginning
to become more unstable as the days passed and Yvette feared what would happen
to the young woman.

Darla had broken Buffy�s mind as sure as she had
broken the girl�s body. Being forced to watch as her family was tortured and
murdered, and then to be left alive, had destroyed the child that Yvette had
known. Yvette knew that the doctors had not wanted to release Buffy, had in
fact wanted to put her in a psychiatric ward for her own protection, but since
she was of age no one could force her to stay in the hospital. With Buffy
having gotten herself exiled from clan protection there was no one to see how
far Buffy was falling into madness. Yvette feared that the loss of Willow and
Xander, whom Buffy often spoke of with true affection when she was having a
good day, was the blow that would finally destroy Buffy�s mind.

Sylum�Same day

Xander was wondering through the halls of Sylum
thinking about the pranks that he and the others had pulled on Buffy. He
thought they were amusing and had talked everyone into being careful that the
pranks would be nothing that would actually do more than embarrass Buffy or
keep her trapped indoors. Xander, despite everything Buffy had done, still
cared for the older woman. Buffy had always made him uncomfortable, but it was
always from what he sensed from her. It was as though she were constantly in a
battle with herself.

The more time he spent at Sylum and watching the
vampires that she had vilified and romanticized, the more he realized that
Buffy was fighting herself. It was
only now that he was removed from the woman�s company that he realized that
Buffy was at war with herself. On the show she made Giles, a vampire that she
had tried to kill, a warrior of good, a teacher, a mentor, and a father-figure.
However, the duality of her mind also added on that he was a reformed bad boy
who had done horrid things in his youth.

Angel was done in much the same way; he was her
protector, someone she loved, but ultimately he had been turned evil as well. The
same with the way Spike and how his nature had evolved on the show. Buffy had
tried to say that she had nothing to do with the way that the relationships had
developed on the show, but since leaving Sunnydale Willow and Xander had done a
little digging and found out that Buffy talked to the producers for the show on
a regular basis, and that she was still involved with the show.

Some of the changes on the show came not long
after different run-ins with vampires. After Spike had inadvertently saved her
life two years earlier his character had changed as well. Now he was trying to
do good for mankind and love of Dawn and Buffy. Spike had told him that when
Willow had brought up the changes on the show, and how they matched different
times that Buffy had fought or escaped vampires.

Xander was convinced that Buffy was going mad, or
perhaps already was. When she had attacked him he had seen it in her eyes, but
more than that she had been screaming about the vampires always taking what was
hers. How they wanted to destroy her. Not long after the screaming had stopped
Xander lost consciousness, but he could swear that he had heard Buffy crying.

Distraught and upset that someone he had slowly
begun to trust had betrayed him so greatly, Xander had
pushed her to the back of his mind until the prank war started. Later that
night as he was sitting in the garden, Xander began to truly think of Buffy and
wonder what really happened to her and to Dawn. It had taken him two days to
work up the courage to go and talk to Angel, which was where he was heading now.

~~~~~~

When Xander found Angel he could see that the
older man was not alone. Vachon, Giles and a vampire that Xander didn�t know
were sitting together and talking. They all looked up at Xander and he smiled
shyly. �I�m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if I could talk to you
about Buffy,� he said shyly looking towards Angel.

Vachon smiled. �Planning more pranks?� he asked.

Xander shook his head, �No trying to understand
what created Buffy.� He said softly.

Angel frowned, �What do you mean?�

�I�ve been thinking about Buffy the last few days
and I realized that there is something seriously wrong with her. I sometimes
sense that she is at war with herself. I want to know what really happened to
her and to Dawn.� Xander answered quietly.

Angel grimaced, but nodded. �Come, sit.� He told
the younger man.

Xander did as he was bid and waited while Angel
seemed to draw strength from the hand that Vachon laid
on his leg. �As you know Buffy was your age when Dawn and her parents were
murdered. What you probably didn�t know was that Buffy and her family were
Chosen for both Sylum and Sanctuary. Her mother was from Sylum and her father
from Sanctuary. At the time of their deaths, Darla was moving against both
clans. Darla is my Sire.� Angel said waiting while Xander nodded. He cleared
his throat and spoke again. �Buffy and Dawn were among my favorites of the
children of our Chosen. They were bright, sweet, and mischievous. I was there
at both of their births and Dawn was even my Goddaughter. It was why her family
was attacked by Darla. When we questioned Buffy about that time she told us
everything. Darla took four days to kill the other three. She made sure it was
the most painful way possible and she even assaulted Buffy in a manner I will
not go into. By the time that Darla was through with her, the Buffy I knew was
dead.

The first day that she was physically well enough
to leave the hospital Giles and I went to see her. She ambushed us and tried to
kill us. If it weren�t for the fact that we�re vampires we would have been
dead. As much as it pained me to do so I declared her Exile. Sylum did the
same. Many thought we should have killed her then, but she was one of my
children and I couldn�t bring myself to do it.

The worst thing out of all of this is that Buffy�s
mate is a member of another clan. However, as damaged as she is there is no way
that she would accept the bonding and there is a good chance that she would try
to kill her mate instead.� Angel told him sadly.

Xander closed his eyes and felt tears try to
fall. �She�s insane.� He said softly, opening his eyes. They could see the
sadness and the pain there and marveled at the fact that the boy could be sad
for someone who had used him and had nearly killed him.

�Yes,� Angel answered.

�Can�t you do anything to help her?� Xander asked
confused.

�She is Exile,� Giles pointed out.

�But she needs help, don�t you understand, she�s
alone! She�s in pain, surly there is someone who could help her. I know that
she has done bad things, but she�s ill. You said it yourself she is one of your
children! Please, you can�t just leave her alone.� Xander said fear and pain in
his eyes.

�Xander she hurt you badly,� Nick said from behind him. �How can you want to help her?�

Xander turned to look at him and he saw that
Riddick, Blade, and Lara were with the older man. �I�ve had worse.� Xander said
with a shrug. His voice was mater-of-fact and they were all horrified by that
simple statement.

�Giles said you don�t kill or hurt innocents.
Buffy is an innocent,� Xander insisted.

�She�s killed a lot of people and hurt others,
she�s not innocent.� The unknown vampire said.

Xander turned to look at him, �But don�t you see,
she is. How would you react if everyone you loved,
everything that meant anything to you was tortured and murdered in front of
you? She can�t get to Darla, I know because she was nearly killed the last time
she tried, so with her mind as ill and broken as it is she goes after other
vampires. Her mind is fighting itself. All you have to do is look at the show
to see that. In it, Giles is the mentor, the father-figure, yet a part of her
had to make him do evil, even if it is in a small way. Angel is her protector,
yet at the same time he is a monster, someone who betrayed her. Spike saved her
life, by accident yes, but she turned him into a good guy on the show. Buffy
deserves a chance to be healed, to be loved and to have a life without pain and
loneliness. Please, can�t you help her?� Xander asked his eyes dark with pain
and fear.

They were shaken by the fact that that pain and
fear was for Buffy. Someone he had no reason to stand up for, someone he had no
reason to even want alive. Yet that was exactly what he wanted.

�I don�t understand you,� Blade said with a grim
smile.

Xander smiled sweetly. �That�s okay, most people
don�t.� Blade chuckled.

�Alex, do you think you could help her?� Angel
asked as he turned to look at the Council�s psychologist.

Dr. Alex Cross frowned slightly and looked at the
hopeful boy. �I will try, but we have to figure out how to get her without
harming her and without any of us getting killed.�

�We�ll think of something,� Nick said with a
sigh. It looked like they were going to save Buffy instead of kill her. Blade
and Riddick pouted slightly.

~~~~~~

Angel stood at the window looking out at the
garden and thought back to the conversation from earlier. He was thankful to
Xander for giving him a reason to do what he had always wanted to. Now he could
save his child, and she was his much the same way that Dawn had been. He turned
a bit when he sensed a presence behind him and smiled
slightly. �You heard?� he asked the man behind him.

Will nodded. �It�s true? We�re going to save my
Goddaughter?� he asked hopefully.

�Yes, we hope that with Alex�s help that she can
be healed. Nick, Vachon, and the Council have put out a proclamation that she
is to be captured, not killed, and brought to me, Speed, or Nick. We all feel that she will be going where she
can get Xander and Willow back.� Angel said looking at the younger vampire.

The decision to Exile Buffy had affected him more
than any of them. The one time he and Buffy had come up against one another,
she had escaped. Though later everyone had realized that while Buffy had been
aiming at everyone else she had not tried to kill Will or Sparrow. Angel had
silently thought it was because she still loved her Godfather. Angel had often
wondered if he had allowed Will to be the one to go with Giles to talk to Buffy
that day whether she would have returned to the clan instead of trying to kill
both him and Giles.

The clan had mourned the loss of their
mischievous child, more so than her parents and Dawn, because they were dead
and their bodies were gone as well. However, the Buffy they knew was dead, and
the madness controlled her body. None of them could reach out to her; none of
them could ease her pain, because she would kill them before allowing that to
happen.

�I want to help find her and bring her to Alex,�
Will spoke, bringing Angel�s attention back to him. Angel looked at him for
several minutes before nodding. Will smiled, then turned and left. As soon as
Will was gone, Angel went to the phone and called Buffy�s mate. It was time to
tell the other man what they planned to do.

~~~~~~

He watched her walk down the street; she was
coolly elegant and very beautiful. She was his mate. He could sense her vicious
nature and knew that this time she would not turn away from him. At her side
was the man she called husband in this life. He was not worthy of her beautiful
dark nature. He would have to be dealt with, the man smiled and straightened
away from the wall, following the couple to their car and then to their home.

~~~~~~

Calleigh grimaced and looked at the phone, she
really didn�t want to make this call, but really she had no choice. The clan
needed to know what had happened and that the dead man had a connection to the
newest member of their clan. She smiled slightly as she thought of Xander and
Willow. Alexx had told her everything that had been happening with the clan and
Calleigh looked forward to meeting Xander when he came to live in Miami. She
had already been to the lab and had fallen in love with it. She went in every
other day to water the plants and took time to look over the setup of each lab as
she did. Though she had made sure not to open the green cabinet � the movers
had warned her about it with a grin. Tony and Riddick had warned them they
could end up injured or Technicolored if they opened it. While she was curious,
she would wait and hopefully Xander would show her the interior of the cabinet.
Taking a deep breath, Calleigh sighed again and dialed Horatio�s cell phone.

~~~~~~

Horatio pulled his phone out and looked at the
number with concern. �Calleigh?� he asked worried.

�We have a problem Horatio,� she told him
bluntly.

�What?� Horatio asked a frown crossing his face.
Speed, Nick, and Warrick turned to look at him, worried that something had
happened to their friend and Chosen.

�Ryan and I went to a scene today. It was a
brutal murder, the FBI is taking over and Interpol is sending in agents. The suspect
is a serial killer wanted both here and in Europe.� Calleigh took a deep breath;
remembering the violence of the scene shook her. �We were able to identify the
victim, but his wife is missing. The Feds are presuming that she is dead, but I
don�t think she was there and Tripp agrees with me. The weird thing about it
was the couple had a room dedicated to their son. There were pictures, awards,
newspaper clippings. For the last few years the pictures were taken from a
distance. They had even had sex in the room. The woman was undergoing fertility
treatments; it�s why they were in Miami. This was scary Horatio, even with
everything we�ve seen, this was scary.� She stopped speaking, thinking of some
of the pictures in that room.

�Calleigh, what is it?� Horatio asked gently, he
could sense her upset and hear the small gasping breaths she was taking.

�It was�the pictures were of Xander,� she
whispered.

Horatio surged to his feet. �Are you sure?� he
asked urgently.

�Alexx told me that he looked like the kid who
plays Xander on the show, except for his green eyes. Trust me; it�s Xander in
these photos. Ryan and I were nearly sick from having to process the room. It
was hard to empathize with the victims after looking in that room. Tripp is
hoping that she�s alive just so that he can arrest her and Ryan mentioned
something about shooting her.� Calleigh told him harshly.

�Alright, I�ll tell Xander, he�ll need to know,
though I don�t know how I�ll tell him.� Horatio said grimly. He and Calleigh
spoke for a few more minutes before Horatio hung up.

Horatio opened his mouth to say something when
Artemus and Giles burst into the room. �Nick we have a problem,� Giles said
sharply.

�What is it?� Nick asked.

�This just came directed to Willow and Xander;
she gave it to me to open since she didn�t recognize the handwriting or the
address.� Giles said as he handed the letter to Nick.

Nick read it grim faced and passed it on to
Warrick, who read it and passed it on to the others. When Horatio read it he
cursed slightly. �This goes in hand with what Calleigh just told me.� Horatio
said coldly.

�What was that?� he asked.

�She, Ryan, and Tripp responded to a case, a dead
man, the Feds are taking over and they�re sending in someone from Interpol; apparently
a serial killer killed Xander�s father and they can�t find his mother. Since
she�s been Turned by one of Livia�s childer I don�t think they will.� he
answered grimly.

The others looked at him in confusion. �How would
she know they were Xander�s parents?� Speed asked.

�They had a room dedicated to Xander,� Horatio
said grimly. �There were pictures on the walls of Xander; the newest were taken
from a distance. Calleigh said that Mrs. Harris was trying to get pregnant,
that�s why they were in Miami.�

�Pictures?� Nick asked.

�Pictures, they were bad enough that Tripp wants
her found just so she can be arrested and Ryan wants to shoot her.� Horatio
said grimly.

�Damn, how are we going to tell Xander?� Warrick
asked, speaking for the first time.

�We tell Riddick and Eric and they talk to him.�
Speed said.

The others nodded and Speed went to find Riddick
and tell him what had happened.

~~~~~~

Xander was mumbling to himself when they found
him and Willow, she was cursing something on the computer and threw a wrench
over her shoulder. Eric and Riddick watched in amusement as Ichabod and Abby
backed away from the pair. Xander neatly caught the wrench and went back to
working on the weapon in front of him. Willow squealed a few seconds later and
Xander turned, catching her chair before it could fall over with her in it.
Once he was sure that it was going to stay he turned back to what he was doing.

Abby grinned at the pair, but frowned when she
saw the look on Eric�s face. �Hey guys,� she called.

Both Willow and Xander looked up and smiled at
the pair. Xander turned off his small torch and lifted his goggles when he saw
the looks on their faces. �Has something happened?� Willow asked worried.

�Yeah, we need to talk to Xander,� Eric said
calmly.

�Willow can hear it, she�ll sense it anyway,�
Xander told them softly.

�We�ll go harass Gibbs,� Abby said, dragging
Ichabod from the room.

�What is it?� Willow asked grimly.

Eric calmly, gently told the pair what Speed had
told them. Riddick looked at his child and waited for his reaction. To their
surprise he didn�t get upset, instead he became extremely quiet. Willow however
had begun to pace in agitation. �She has to be stopped. Jessica was crazy as a
human, as a vampire there is no telling what she could do,� Willow said
angrily.

�The pictures, what are they going to do with
them?� Xander asked suddenly.

�They will be saved to be used against Jessica if
she is ever found, no one but those related to the case will ever see them.� Riddick
answered before Eric could.

�Is it wrong of me to be glad he�s dead? He never
hurt me the way that she did, but he let it happen.� Xander said looking up at
them with troubled eyes.

�No, it�s not wrong. Personally I can�t wait to
dust your bitch of a mother.� Riddick told him with a manic smile.

Xander smiled. �She was never my mother; she was
just an egg donor. The closest I came to having a mother
before I came here was Willow.� Willow smiled at him and walked over hugging
him close.

Eric was pleased to see that Xander wasn�t upset
over their deaths. They didn�t deserve to be mourned by anyone, but most
especially by Xander.

A Day Earlier�

Jessica hummed softly, completely at ease in her
mate�s arms. She was where she belonged now. She had finally found the perfect
match for her own desires and needs. She had met her new family and had looked
on in loving joy as her mate killed the man she had been stupid enough to marry
when she was human.

Her lady had even told her she would get to spend
time showing her beloved son how much he meant to her. Patrick had promised to
take her hunting and to teach her to kill and to teach her to keep a victim
alive for weeks if necessary while they were being tortured to death.

Patrick looked down at the naked, blood-splattered
woman in his arms and smiled in pleasure. Her darkness truly matched his and
they had had such fun killing her husband. He had Turned Jessica first, and
then sat her down and told her what was going to happen next. His sire and his
brothers were there and they were all pleased by her acceptance of the bond. They
had then sat back and watched as the newly bonded duo tortured and killed Tony
Harris. They had then descended upon one another in an
orgy of blood and sex.

They would need to leave soon, but Patrick was
pleased with his mate and their first kill together.

Three Days Later�

Xander
was leaving with the others and heading back to Miami. Both Willow and Xander
were tearful as this would be the first time that they had lived in different
cities since they had met at the age of five. Neither could have suspected that
a trip to San Francisco would have led to this. The pair was holding hands and
leaning against each other, forehead to forehead, silently communicating. Willow
laughed slightly and stretched up, pressing a kiss to his cheek, before
stepping back into the welcoming arms of her mate.

�Ready?�
Eric asked gently.

Xander
smiled at him and allowed Eric to lead him away. When he reached the car he
noticed that there were several people already loaded into different vehicles. Xander
looked over at Eric in question and was surprised by the irritated look on his
new father�s face. �Speed? Did any of you talk to
Xander about the visitors?�

Riddick
turned to look at his mate and child and then to Speed who looked sheepish. �I
forgot,� Speed answered. Riddick growled and Eric rolled his eyes.

Xander
looked at them in confusion. �Xander the building that Artemus got for you is really
large. It used to be owned by a now defunct private college. It had everything
you needed, plus lots of rooms. We have several hunters from the other Clans
and the Council that are traveling with us. Sparrow and Turner are also coming
with us and Turner wanted to look at more of your weapons specs. Because you
have so much room, we were hoping that they could stay in the building with
you. You and Elliot have your own private chambers and you don�t have to worry
about being bothered there and only people that you want can come into the lab.�
Horatio told him gently. Though if Xander in anyway was uncomfortable with
people staying around him, then they would find somewhere to house the people
in question.

�Elliot?�
Xander squeaked, his eyes wide.

Eric
grimaced and the others realized Xander hadn�t known that Elliot would be
living with him. They knew that Xander had been avoiding being anywhere alone
with Elliot and had gone out of his way to avoid the older man. Elliot was hurt
by the boy�s attitude, but at the same time he could understand it.

One
of the reasons they had delayed leaving was that Spike was coming with them to
Miami. Remarkably, he had found his mate when the man came to see Elliot about
a case that they had been working on. Achilles Broussard was a policeman as
well as a Chosen. He had known about vampires his whole life and was partnered
with Elliot for just that reason.

Now
though, the man was on his way to Miami as the Spike�s mate. Vachon had merely
grinned thinking of the fact that the two scary/crazy hunters of his and Nick�s
clans had finally found their mates. He really hoped that that meant that Spike
would be settling down.

�Xander,
nothing will happen that you don�t want, but you need to give him a chance to
get to know you.� Horatio said gently. If anything that made Xander pale and
look more devastated.

�It�s
going to be okay, I promise.� Eric told him. Xander merely shrugged. In his
mind he knew that once Elliot really got to know him he wouldn�t want anything
to do with him.

�They
can stay if they want.� Xander murmured before looking out the window. The
others shared a look, but said nothing.

�It�s
going to be okay,� Lara said to Elliot who was sitting in the car behind Xander�s.

�He�s
terrified of me and he wants nothing to do with me. How is that going to be
okay?� Elliot asked painfully.

Janet
sighed. �Elliot he has only been with us for a little under two weeks. It is
going to take time for him to adjust and get used to you. I think Xander�s main
problem is that he thinks you won�t want him once you get to know everything
about him. You worked in Special Victims; I know you�ve seen this before.�

�Yeah,
but at the time I was an outsider to the healing process. I don�t know how to
convince him that I�m not going to turn away from him. I mean, damnit, how do you woo a nineteen year old boy who has
spent the last three years of his life with little to no human contact?� Elliot
asked frustrated.

�What
do you mean?� Alex Cross asked from the back seat.

�Elliot
is Xander�s mate. Did Nick tell you anything about him?� Janet asked from the
front passenger seat. Lara was in the driver�s seat and looked in the rearview
mirror.

�No
I just know that he wants to help Buffy,� Alex answered.

�Nick
told us some of his history. He mentioned that Xander�s mother tortured him.�
Harry said from his place at Alex and Draco�s side.

�Yes,
she did, but I suspect that she did more than that. Xander�s reactions to women
and the fact that he nearly had a panic attack when I asked him to take off his
clothes so that I could examine him when he first arrived make me think that
there was more done to him than he or Willow would tell us.� Janet said in a
low voice.

�You
suspect more abuse than torture, perhaps sexual abuse?� Cross asked.

Janet
nodded. �Yes. Horatio thinks so too. There is just something about his behavior
and his fear of intimacy that screams sexual abuse to me.�

�What
about the girl? He seems extremely close to her. Didn�t Nick say that she was
the one to help him after he was Turned?� Draco asked.

�They�ve
known each other since they were five. I think Willow knows what happened to
him. I also think that�s why when they turned sixteen,
she pushed for emancipation from their parents.� Janet said with a sigh.

�Willow
thinks that he believes that he did something to deserve the treatment that he
received.� Lara said quietly.

Alex
frowned. �Perhaps I should take time to get to know the young man? Maybe I can
do something to help the situation.�

�I
don�t know; trying to get him to talk may make matters worse, though you will
have more of an insight than I do about the extent of Xander�s abuse since the
FBI is bringing you in on the case.� Janet said worriedly.

Elliot
sighed. �I think we need to be careful where and when we talk about this. I don�t
think Xander would appreciate us discussing something he won�t even admit to.�

�Elliot�s
right, I know I wouldn�t appreciate it if it was me people were discussing.�
Indy said speaking for the first time.

�We�ll
get a chance to know him a little better and maybe he will feel comfortable
enough to talk to Alex about what has happened to him,� Severus said quietly. The
others agreed and silently hoped things went well for the two men. None of
those bonded could imagine having your bondmate
afraid of you or unwilling to bond.

~~~~~~

�So
where is it that we are all staying again?� Sharpe asked from his seat.

�With
Xander in his lab,� Bond said calmly.

�Cool.
Blade says he has the best toys. I got approved for one of those cross-blades.�
Seth said with a smirk.

�Turner
got the designs from Xander, though I think he and the boy worked something out
so that Turner could work in his lab with him.� Spike said from his mate�s
side.

Achilles
smiled at the older man and thought of the boy that he had met briefly and knew
was going to be mated to his friend Elliot. �Do you think Xander would show me
some of his swords?�

�I
think if we asked Riddick first he probably would.� Spike said with a grin.

�Why not Eric?� Sharpe asked.

�There
is no way I am going near Riddick�s mate without that man knowing it first.�
Spike said with a shake of his head. He and Riddick were friends, but that didn�t
mean he was stupid enough to get too near Eric without Riddick okaying it first. �Besides the she-demons might kill me if I
get too close to their new daddy,� Spike added as an aside. The men shuddered,
even Achilles who had known and worked with the twins not too long ago. Those
two were terrifying.

Of
course Spike was just as bad with Achilles as Riddick was with Eric. Both men
had been forced to watch as their mates were murdered before them. Spike had
gone insane with rage and grief over losing his mate so close to their bonding.
The only thing that saved him was that they had just begun the bonding process.

�What
do you think the lab will look like now?� Blade asked after he had gotten
through silently laughing at the hunters behind him. He was driving them all to
the airport; he would go to Miami for a short while, but then he and Danny
would be heading back to New York. Danny was riding with Alexx and her family
at the woman�s insistence. Blade was not
going to argue with her.

�Artemus
told Speed that the complex was bigger than the one that Xander had before, but
that the lab was set up the way it had been before the move. He also said that
he ordered rooms set up in the complex, so I am assuming it will be in a style
befitting visitors.� Bond said, remembering the conversation that Artemus and
Speed had had before they left.

�Sounds
cool, I wish I had gotten to see the first lab.� Seth said with a wistful sigh,
thinking of all of the weapons that he could have gotten his hands on.

Blade
snickered, knowing exactly what the other hunter had wanted.

~~~~~~

On
the plane to Miami Xander was slightly nervous, but no more so than usual,
considering the fact that Elliot was seated beside him. Elliot hadn�t tried to
touch him or talk to him yet, but he had smiled at Xander slightly before
letting Achilles engage him in conversation. Xander wanted to open up to
Elliot, he knew part of it was the bond, but the other part was that Xander
could see that Elliot was a good man. However, experience had taught him that
when you told people about yourself they turned their back on you or made your
suffering worse.

Dr.
Walsh had told his mother about the things that Xander had told her when he was
eight. From that moment on, Xander had never spoken to anyone but Willow about
what was happening to him. Even then he had only told her because she would
have known anyway. It was Willow that came up with the plan to free him from
his parents and to protect him from their greed and abuse.

Willow�s
parents weren�t really neglectful, but they weren�t prepared to deal with
someone with Willow�s personality and intelligence. Willow had been a late-life
birth for the Rosenbergs. Sheila Rosenberg was in her
early fifties when Willow was born and had been unprepared for motherhood at
such a late stage in her life. She and Willow had been more like girlfriends
than mother and daughter. When Willow proposed the emancipation, both of her
parents had consented, as long as Willow agreed to call on Sundays and to visit
them every now and again. Willow had agreed, but sadly her parents had been killed
in an auto accident right after the emancipation had taken place. Willow had
been devastated, but Xander had been there to get her past her parents� deaths.
The emancipation had ended up protecting Willow�s assets and her inheritance
from grasping relatives who would have tried to control Willow and her money
for their own gain. Xander knew that without Willow�s plan he would have been
dead within a year, more than likely at his own hand. He had been getting to
the point where he could no longer take the life he was living, but he could
see no other way out.

Looking
sideways at Elliot, Xander felt a sense of shame for the way that he was
treating the other man, but at the same time he knew that Elliot would not want
to bond with him when he learned the truth about who and what Xander was.

As
if sensing his unease Alexx called out to him. �Xander baby, come here a
minute.�

Xander
stood and made his way over to the woman he was beginning to love deeply,
something that still silently shocked him. When he reached her she smiled up at
him and patted the chair beside her. As he sat she turned to look at the man
sitting across from her. �This is Danny. He is a newly Turned vampire as well.�
She said gently, smiling at both young men.

Xander
smiled shyly at Danny and Danny grinned in response. �So Alexx tells me you
were the one that came up with the new mass spec our lab was in an uproar about
when it arrived. Do you have any other ideas for CSI equipment?� Danny asked.
Xander grinned and nodded, and he and Danny spent the remainder of the flight
talking about what could be used and what could be upgraded.

~~~~~~

Xander
stared, he blinked and stared some more. �Xander?�
Eric called lightly. The younger man hadn�t moved in the last few minutes, they
had walked into the lab and Xander had frozen looking around him.

�Wow,
I got more room to play.� Xander said with such glee that Speed and the others
eyed him in shock. Suddenly Xander broke away from them and took off running to
the back of the lab. He skidded to a stop in front of the green cabinet and
carefully opened it, humming in pleasure as he began to remove a myriad of
objects. Once he had gathered what he wanted from the cabinet he closed it and
rushed to the red cabinet, carefully removing several more objects.

Speed
and Eric shared a look then followed Xander into the central lab. Riddick and
Blade followed as well. �What are you making?� Eric asked curiously. While the
rest of their group trailed in behind them.

Xander
looked up in surprise, then blushed as he realized he
had people still in the lab. �I�I�m making a�actually I don�t know what to call
it. It can be used to emit a gas that will knock someone out for several hours.
I�ve made it so that it�s strong enough to be used on vampires, but I was
thinking maybe I should reverse its use and make it so it would repel poison
and hallucinogenic gases.� Xander said earnestly.

They
all blinked at him. �Why not have it do both?� Sharpe asked thinking of his
years as a spy.

Xander�s
face lit up in pleasure. �Okay!� he agreed and began to work on the wand that
he was transferring the gas into.

�Xander?� Horatio called.

�Hmmm?� Xander asked, looking up in distraction.

�Do
you want to lock this back into your cabinet?� Horatio asked holding up the
container that held the poison wand.

Xander
blinked and nodded. �Yeah, I need to lock that up. I need to get some more
venom before I can finish.�

�I
think it has enough,� Horatio said, thinking of what he had told them in the
lab. Xander blinked again.

�Okay.�
He cocked his head to the side. �Who do you think I should give it to?� he
asked curiously.

�You
think I should choose?� Horatio asked
surprise.

�Of course. I trust you,� Xander said surprised that Horatio
would ask. Horatio smiled and looked at the different people in the room.

�How
about Blade?� he asked.

�Okay,
Blade can have it.� Xander said before turning back to his work. Blade smirked
at the irritated looks that came over several people�s faces.

�Why Blade?� Speed asked his lover as they all left Xander to
his work.

�He
still has Sonny to deal with and he was the one that was nearly paralyzed with
the venom back at Sylum.� Horatio answered.

�Good
point,� Speed said with a grin of his own as Horatio handed the hunter the poisoned
weapon.

�You
don�t suppose we could get him to make more of those do you?� Maximus asked
quietly, eyeing the weapon the other man was holding. Bond had told him about
the incident and the effects of the weapon.

�Maybe,
right now I think he�s too busy making another toy,� Riddick said with a smirk
of his own, thinking that with the right words he could get Xander to build him
the next one.

Author�s
Note 2: Before anyone reads this I want to warn you: you are about to be
exposed to some of the horrors of Xander�s childhood and the reasons behind his
acceptance of pain. You should know that I have taken Xander�s manner in this
section from the reactions of a couple of people that I know, though they were
not abused to the lengths that Xander was. I realize that Xander may seem blas�
about his abuse and the behavior it has instilled in him may not seem credible,
but this is a real, valid reaction.
For someone who has not lived what he has lived, it is perhaps contrived. Also
you are going to see some of the scars that made both Alexx and Janet so angry.

The only reason that I am including this here is
to show why Xander is the way he is and why he is so reluctant to bond and why
once he does he will still be afraid and not truly
accepting of his bond with Elliot.

This section will also show you just how depraved
Jessica Harris truly is and why Patrick was drawn her.

Elliot stood in the front room of his new house
and looked around him in wonder. Four years ago if someone had told him he
would be living with a teenage boy and trying to get him to bond with him,
Elliot would have beaten the person telling him into a coma. It wasn�t that he
had a problem with homosexuality; he had a problem with the teenage boy part.
Of course four years ago his marriage was falling apart, his job was slowly
driving him insane and he had been alive. There had been days where he was
worried he was just going to snap and kill the next pervert that he had to deal
with.

When Elliot envisioned his death it was not from being
in the wrong place at the wrong time, it was from taking out another serial
rapist turned killer. However, once his �death� had happened, Munch and Sylum
had stepped up and saved his sanity. When he transferred to the New Orleans
police department, it was to Missing Persons. This was at John�s insistence. His
Sire had seen how close to the edge Elliot was and moved him from Special
Victims, but had not completely removed him from the area that he excelled at.

Being partnered with Achilles had turned out to
be a godsend as well. The other man was a life-long resident of Louisiana and a
saint in the eyes of many of the voodoo community. His wife, a voodoo priestess,
had been murdered by a serial killer two years before and the man had been
demoted from captain to detective since he killed the man who killed her. It
was ruled a righteous shoot, but as Achilles wasn�t supposed to be anywhere
near the killer, he was punished.

Both he and Achilles spent many an hour mourning
those that they had lost, but also healing together. They had been lovers for a
short while, but after six months had decided that they were better friends
than they were lovers. The affair had helped to cement their friendship and
helped both men get over their losses. They became as close as Elliot and
Olivia had been before they had their falling out and he was murdered.

Elliot was pulled from his thoughts by the
ringing of the phone. Knowing that Xander wouldn�t answer it, he did. �Hello?�
he asked calmly.

�Hey Elliot, how is life in Miami treating you?
Nearly gotten killed by Riddick or the Twins yet?�

�Hello John and no, no one has tried to kill me
yet,� Elliot answered smiling in amusement.

�That�s good, so do you want to hear what
happened to Olivia and why I have to work at avoiding her for the next week, or
do you want to hear about what Fin did to the latest scumbag?� John asked as he kicked
back in his apartment. John had headed back to New York a few days before
Elliot had finally left New Orleans.

Elliot laughed and settled himself down on the
couch. �What could you have done to piss off Olivia?�

�Well we were chasing a perp and she managed to
lose her shirt, and get covered in mud I just happened to mention what a lovely
look it was for her.� John
said with a chuckle. He and Olivia were currently at war. Of course they had
been since Elliot�s death. Something that Elliot did not know and would never
know if John had his way. Elliot didn�t need to know that Olivia had been in
love with him and blamed Munch for her partner�s death.

Elliot chuckled, �One of these days you�re going
to smart off and she�s going to shoot you.� Elliot�s voice lightened with
amusement. He figured this was the same sort of rivalry that Munch inspired in
most of the people that met him. Fin was one of the few people that could stand
up to John�s sarcasm.

�I�m not worried � Fin will protect me. So you
want to hear what he did to our latest perv?� John asked pleased to hear
the amusement in Elliot�s voice. Despite appearances, John worried about his
childe. He knew, the same way that Elliot knew, that courting Xander was going
to be hard and more than likely painful.

Elliot laughed and agreed. For the next twenty
minutes they talked about their friends at work and the cases that the team was
working on. John then began to tell Elliot about how his kids were doing and
Elliot listened with pleasure. John even promised to send pictures from his
oldest daughter�s prom. By the time the conversation ended, Elliot was in a
better frame of mind and ready to go talk to Xander, or at least go and see
what Xander was doing.

~~~~~~

When Elliot found Xander it was not in the lab as
he had expected, instead Xander was sitting on the beach staring out at the
ocean. Several people were walking over to where the young man was sitting. As
they got closer they realized that he smelled of smoke and chemicals. Harry and
Danny shared a look, wondering what had happened.

�Xander?� Eric asked worried. He
could have sworn he heard an explosion earlier.

Xander turned to look at them and they all gasped
in shock. Xander had cuts and burns on his face and neck. �What happened?�
Elliot asked as he stepped forward. Riddick came down to the beach, feeling
Eric�s shock and alarm. Horatio and Speed were behind him.

�Xander what happened?� Eric asked when Xander
just blinked up at them in confusion.

�Ah...my experiment blew up. I have to wait for
the fumes to clear in the lab before I can unseal it and go back in.� Xander
answered confused by the alarmed expressions on their face. Suddenly his face
cleared. �I didn�t build a bomb! I swear!� he said anxiously looking at
Horatio with something akin to fear.

�I believe you,� Horatio said gently.

�Oh. Well then, why is everyone upset?� Xander
asked curiously. They all gaped at him in astonishment.

�Xander, you�re burned and cut up,� Danny said
looking at Riddick�s childe in confusion, his own sire, Blade, joining the
group of people looking at Xander in worry.

Xander blinked in confusion. �It�s nothing.�

�Nothing? Some of those look
like third degree burns!� Harry exclaimed, shocked by the boy�s attitude. �Surely
they hurt.�

�No, they�re only second degree, I can tell. They
only hurt a little, nothing to worry about.� Xander reassured him.

�I still think you need to come inside and have
them looked at and have some blood.� Riddick said, eyeing his childe in
concern.

�Okay,� Xander agreed easily.

He stood smoothly and began to walk towards the
main house. As he walked Eric happened to glance down and gasped in horror. �Xander
your feet!� he said anxiously.

Xander glanced down hazily. �The chemicals mainly
landed on my feet. They burned my shoes off. It�s okay.� Xander said blandly
and kept walking.

�Bloody hell,� Harry said in shock. Xander�s feet
were covered in blisters and they could see the sides of his feet were raw as
well. How in the hell was the boy walking?

The men shared a look, but continued into the
main house. As they walked through the main doors, Danny hurried ahead to get
Alexx and to get the first aid kit. Eric quickly got Xander settled on a sofa.
Xander was a little unnerved by the horrified looks on the faces of the people
around him and he couldn�t understand why they looked that way.

When Danny returned Alexx was at his side and he
had the first aid kit in his hands. Danny had already told one of the Chosen
that they needed blood brought into the living room. Alexx gasped at the sight
before her. �Oh my God! Baby what happened?� she asked
alarmed.

�One of my experiments exploded.� Xander said
quietly.

�Are you burned anywhere besides your face?� She
asked as she sat down in front of him.

�His feet,� Eric said before Xander could answer.

Xander nodded. �My chest.�
He added.

�Take off your shirt honey,� she told him gently.
Xander looked at her for several minutes before looking down and nodding. Xander
slowly removed his shirt. Several shocked sounds filled the room and Xander
looked confused.

Riddick began to growl. The scars that covered
Xander were some of the worst he had ever seen. He had burn scars, but they
were old enough that there was no way that they were from a similar explosion.
He also had scars that Riddick knew could only come from someone carving Xander
up with a knife or similar sharp object. His wrists had deep scars ringing
them, the same sort of scars someone would get if they were trying to escape
bindings. Elliot felt sick as he looked at Xander�s scarred back. Someone had
alternately beaten and burned Xander. Some of the scars were so old that they
were a pale silvery white. In some places the scars were so deep that it was
obvious they had gone nearly to the bone.

On Xander�s chest there were the same sorts of
scars, as well as scars from human teeth marks � marks that could only have
come from an adult mouth. Alexx gently and carefully began to tend to Xander�s
wounds. Once she was through with his face, neck and chest, she moved sideways
and had Xander prop his feet on the table. It was then that Harry and the
others saw why Xander was able to walk. The bottom of his feet was nothing more
than scar tissue. Speed cringed; he knew that those scars had to have come from
having the bottoms of his feet whipped off. They were the same silvery white as
the scars on the rest of his body, meaning he had gone through the ordeal that
caused those scars when he was very young.

�Xander, where did you get those scars, were they
from an explosion in your lab?� Danny asked, though he feared that he knew the
answer would be negative.

Xander looked at Danny warily, but shook his
head. �Are you through?� he asked Alexx softly. When she nodded he stood and
grabbed his shirt.

�Where are you going?� Elliot asked gently.

�To check and see if I can start cleaning the
lab. I also have to call Willow and tell her not to do what I did.� Xander
answered warily, everyone was acting strange.

�Xander you need to rest and feed,� Alexx
protested.

Xander looked at her in confusion. �But it�s just
a few burns and cuts, I�m fine.�

�Xander,� Eric began only to be cut off by a very
angry Alexx.

�Baby if you were human you would be in the
hospital!� Alexx protested.

�Why? It�s nothing; I�ve had worse as a human.�
Xander said matter-of-factly, confused by their reactions to a few small
injuries.

�Oh my God, I think I�m gonna be sick.� Danny
whispered. He wasn�t the only one looking shocked and appalled.

�Xander, how about we make a deal with you?�
Horatio asked, realizing that the boy was not going to understand why they were
so upset by his blas� behavior toward his wounds. Silently though, Horatio was
thinking of just what he wanted to do to Jessica Harris. Xander turned to look
at the older man questioningly. �How about you feed, then rest and tell us what
needs to be done to clean up the explosion. Once we�re finished, you can call
Willow.�

Xander thought about it for a minute, and then
nodded in agreement. He still couldn�t understand the emotions coming from the
people around him, but he trusted Horatio to be careful in the lab and he was a
bit hungry. �Okay,� he said shyly, unsure about what was going on.

�Great. Speed, Eric, Danny, why don�t you come
with us; Alexx do you want to come as well?� Horatio asked. Alexx nodded, and
then turned to look at the young Chosen that had come in with Xander�s blood. �Drink
this first Xander.� Horatio said as he noticed the boy�s arrival.

Xander took the blood from the other boy and
thanked him shyly. He was still unused to having so many people around him. He
quickly drank the glass and sighed as it took away the sharp edge of his hunger.

�Xander you are going to need to feed more often
than you do,� Riddick advised.

�I forget to eat. There�s no alarm in the lab. I
can�t find my portable; we must have left it in the hotel.� Xander told him
shamefully.

�We�ll get you one honey,� Alexx told him gently.
Then she turned to look at the other boy. �Could you bring another glass of
blood to the lab?� Alexx asked gently of the young Chosen.

�Someone will have to come out Se�ora, we are not allowed in the lab.� The boy said
softly.

�Oh, I hadn�t thought of that.� Alexx said
looking over at Horatio and Xander.

�You can come in, but you have to stay in the
main portion of the lab. It�s not safe to go beyond that point.� Xander told
the other boy. His face was a bit anxious; he didn�t want anyone to get hurt
because of him. In the three days since they had arrived in Miami, Xander had
mostly stayed in the lab with Riddick, Eric, and the Twins coming to pull him
out.

Xander knew that the Twins would be bringing Sandro over soon and he wanted the mess to be cleaned up so
that he could call Willow and have the new game he and Willow had made for Sandro ready. Xander hoped that Sandro
liked it. It was designed to be played in Spanish and in English and had a
function that would teach the small child English. He wanted to show it to Kyra
and Jack and make sure it was okay with them if Sandro
had the small match and play game. Horatio and Alexx guided Xander away from
the sitting area and back out the doors to his lab. Eric, Speed, and Danny followed
behind them, still stunned by what they had learned about Xander.

Harry sank into a chair, enraged and sickened by
what he had learned. He looked up as both of his mates came into the room with
several others behind them. Severus and Draco immediately went to his side and
looked around them furiously. �Harry love, what�s happened?� Draco asked.

Harry told them about finding Xander on the beach
and what had transpired afterwards. �Dragon, I have seen wounds like those
before. They were from torture. I know that Janet told us that had happened,
but I honestly didn�t think it would be to such a degree. The scars have gone
silver. He was just a baby when it happened! He was matter-of-fact about
what had happened!� Harry said, furious that an infant would have gone
through such pain and survived.

�Jessica will pay for what she has done,� Riddick
said with cold certainty.

�What you are describing goes with the pictures
that were in the Harris house.� Cross said from where he was sitting. He had
stayed quiet watching the interaction between the boy and his caretakers. Alex
had seen similar responses in people who had been conditioned during a
kidnapping. After a while many of the victims came to expect, even feel they deserved the painful torments that they
had lived through. With Xander being so young, and with him being empathic,
this would have doubly affected him. Alex wanted to help the boy, but he had a
feeling that Xander would not completely believe what he said. Alex figured it
would take someone who had lived through similar experiences to help him get
through what he had survived.

�What can we do to help him?� Elliot asked
turning to look at the doctor.

�Just be there, try to show him that you won�t
hurt or leave him. I would try to help him, but to be honest I don�t think it
would work. I think he trusts me enough to help Buffy, but I don�t think he is
completely comfortable around me.� Alex said as he stood. �Take your time
Elliot, and be prepared for him to still be wary and afraid once you bond. Sadly,
this is not a problem that is going to be eased by your bond. It will take time
and I have a feeling that you may have to work slowly to undo his parents�
conditioning.� Alex said calmly, though with compassion. Elliot had a long
process he was going to have to go through to get Xander to not only trust that
he wouldn�t turn away from him, but also to trust that Elliot would not hurt
him. Elliot nodded, and then left, he wanted to be with Xander, even if it was
only on the edge of things.

�I�m going to take my time killing that bitch,�
Riddick growled, a cold deadly smile on his face. Those in the room smiled;
many were looking forward to the justice that Riddick and his children would
mete out on the woman who should have protected Xander the most.

~~~~~~

Angel was unaware of what was happening in the �Meeting
Hall�, as they had taken to calling the main building. He was thinking back to
the conversation that had taken place just days before. Basher had been stunned
by their plans to capture and aid Buffy, but he had also been pleased. Basher
had met Buffy once when she was a child and, like Angel, he knew instantly that
she was his mate. Instead of staying though, Basher had left, hoping to give
his mate a chance to grow up and to keep Stendhal away from her. Unfortunately
Angel�s sire stepped in and destroyed the girl before Basher could return to
her. By then it was too late for them to even begin to try to start a
relationship. Buffy had lashed out at Basher when she lashed out at the others
the one time that they had been near one another. She hadn�t killed him,
actually she had done to him what she had done to Turner and Sparrow, and she
had nominally wounded him in the hopes of keeping him away from her.

Perhaps on some level, Buffy was aware of who and
what Basher was, but for the most part there was no way that the two could bond
with Buffy in her current deranged state. Even with Alex�s help there was a
good chance that Basher would still be unable to bond with Buffy in this lifetime.
The vampire would be forced to watch as his mate lived, but not with him. Angel
hoped for both of their sakes that that was not the case.

Basher had informed him that he was on his way
back to Miami; he wanted to be there when they captured Buffy and to be a part
of the healing process that Alex had planned for the traumatized woman. Angel
had told Riddick, thankful that the other vampire had put away the resentment
he had carried for Basher for so many years.

Speed and Horatio had just sighed and went about
making sure that any evidence linking Basher to the robbery he had been a part
of disappeared so that they wouldn�t have to worry about arresting the vampire
when he arrived in the city.

TBC�..
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The Strength Behind An Enemy