Darkness Falls: Part Eight
by Willow Mallory
See parts 1, 2, or 3. Whichever you choose, they all more or less say the same thing.



***

Xander's intense feeling of loneliness was less now. After three months of solitary living, he had received a phone call from Willow. Buffy, she said, was more to her usual self. Xander knew that she had been in deep depression for the last few months. He had encountered her one night while he was feeding, and instead of killing him, as he was sure she would, she started crying and had run away. That had been a shock, but he figured she was a broken girl then. And he knew Willow had been giving all her energy to healing her best friend. And Xander of all people knew that having a Willow working with you, you could accomplish anything. He wondered if that were still true for him. Being in isolation for three months had increased his vampirism, he was sure. He couldn't tell exactly, but there were times he would catch himself doing or saying something that was not like him at all. The only human contact he had had were with his victims. Occasionally he would meet a vampire on the streets, but most of them were mindless, living only for killing.

He almost dreaded meeting up with Willow and his old friends again. He was afraid of what they were going to think. He was sure they would notice a much sharper difference than he could. But who was he to turn down an invitation? Willow wanted him at the library, at midnight. He wasn't questioning the time or purpose. He just wanted it over with.

* * *

When Xander walked into the library, he noticed a strange lack of activity...and people. The vampire searched the office, the stacks, calling Willow's name, until hearing a moaning coming from the bookcage. He rushed over to see Willow lying there, under a pile of books. Entering the bookcage, he knelt next to her and brushed books off of her.

"Willow, can you hear me?" he asked softly.

"Giles! Now!"

Xander startled at Willow's sudden consciousness and voice, and turned in time to see Giles slam the bookcage door shut. He glanced at Willow, who was now standing up, and to Giles and the approaching Buffy outside the bookcage.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice betraying his nervousness.

"We found a way to make you human again, Xander," Willow said, touching him lightly on the shoulder. In his paranoia, Xander shoved off her hand.

"What do you mean?"

"A spell...it'll make you human again. We weren't sure how far gone you were now, so we had to do it this way."

Xander looked around, paranoid, sure they were going to attack him. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up, and he couldn't shake a very bad feeling. "If they're doing the spell, then why are you in here?"

Willow's eyes clouded. "Because it takes the sacrifice of someone close to you."

"NO!! No, Willow, you're not..."

"I don't have to die, Xander," Willow said. "I have a Wiccan spell that will let me live, I'll just be in a coma for a while."

Xander looked into her eyes. She turned away.

Xander wrapped his fingers through the bookcage wiring and shook it. "Giles, no! Don't do this, she's lying! She's going to die if you do this, please!"

"He's more gone than we thought, Giles," Willow said, her voice calm. "He doesn't want to be human again, we've got to do this now."

"No, that's not true!" Xander cried, while a part inside him protested. He did like being a vampire, he did. He wasn't sure he wanted to be human again. It wasn't going to solve any problems, and he couldn't go back home. And he sure as hell wasn't going to live while Willow was dead. And she would die, he knew she would. It wasn't just paranoia, it resounded through his head like an alarm. "Damn it, Giles, she'll die!"

Giles shook his head and brought out some of the herbs and powders the spell required. "She won't die, Xander. This Wiccan spell is legitimate, I've read it myself. Don't you know we would take all precautions? I'd rather have Willow around than you."

Xander turned to face Willow. He tried his hardest to read her face. He had done this with his victims for quite some time. He could read them, if they were family men, housewives, innocents, or if they were of a darker breed. The innocents he wouldn't kill. The others, he would. He had become quite good at this, and could read Willow instantly.

"You changed the book, didn't you?" he asked. Willow didn't respond. "You want me back so badly you would kill yourself for it, wouldn't you?"

"That's not true."

"Yes it is, Willow. Why are you doing this? Tell them."

"I miss you, Xander."

"This isn't going to help any if you're dead Willow!"

"It doesn't matter."

"Willow, it wouldn't solve any problems! My parents don't know who I am, Buffy and Giles aren't in any mood to have me around. They're doing this for you, Willow, can't you see that? And you're not going to be around for it."

Willow leaned back on a shelf, staring out into the library. "You'll be yourself again, that's all that matters," she said, her voice hushed.

"No, Willow, you matter. I'm never gonna be myself again, not after everything I've experienced! You have a chance! You can't do this!"

"Willow?"

The occupants of the bookcage looked to Giles.

"Are you ready?"

Willow sighed. "Yes. Buffy, get Xander."

Giles unlocked the bookcage, and as soon as the door was open, Xander made a mad dash for the spot in the middle of the room where the herbs and other things were laid out, hoping to destroy them so that the ritual couldn't be performed. Buffy, however, grabbed him before he could get there, holding him tight. Willow and Giles knelt down on their knees in the middle of the room, across from each other, as Xander struggled against Buffy's grip further away. Willow and Giles began a chant, and Xander squirmed all the more.

"Buffy, please, there is no Wiccan spell, Willow made it up, she's gonna die! Please, you can't let them do this!"

"Xander, shut up." Buffy said simply.

"Damn it, Buffy! Willow!! Please, don't do this!" Xander cried, sensing the ritual was at it's middle, and sensing his friend beginning to die. Willow didn't look up, she was completely consumed in her spell.

"Willow!!"

The ritual was at it's peak, and Xander suddenly felt a surge of strength run through him. It was his last chance, he knew it. He pitted all he had against Buffy's grip, and broke free.

Buffy stood, not attempting to get him back. She honestly didn't care if Xander was dead or alive, vampire or human. And she almost didn't care if Willow wanted him human again, either. Surely not enough for her to waste her strength on it.

Xander ran to the middle of the room, stopping as he saw a yellow cloud rise around Willow.

"No!!!!" he screamed, pushing her from the cloud. Willow skidded to the floor, a good three feet from where she was kneeling before. Xander hunched over as he felt an invisible force hit him straight on. He fell to the ground, pain enveloping his entire body.

Willow and Giles stood, their faces etched with horror.

"No..." Willow breathed.

They watched as Xander stood, slowly, gathering in his surroundings. He saw Willow, Giles and Buffy, standing, staring at him.

"Finally," he said quietly. "I've been waiting for this."

Buffy rushed him, and he turned, knowing she was coming. His fist flew into her stomach, and as she hunched over, he picked her up and threw her against the bookcage. She groaned, and the vampire turned to Giles and Willow, laughing.

"Xander sure was a loyal guy, you know?" the vampire said. "Had to save his friend, wouldn't let her give herself so that he could be human." He laughed, features twisted. "He should have. You wouldn't have me to deal with now."

Buffy attacked him once again, and the two fought furiously. Willow looked to Giles.

"When he interrupted the ritual, it must've reversed the effect..." Willow whispered.

Giles sighed heavily. "Willow, there was no Wiccan spell, was there?"

Willow looked at the Watcher, turning away quickly.

"You would have died, wouldn't you have?"

Willow shut her eyes tightly, tears threatening to come through. Xander, or what had been him, threw Buffy into them, knocking all three to the floor.

"Guess I'll save this fight for another day, huh?" the vampire laughed. "Wouldn't want to kill you all now, what would I do in the future? Thank you to you all." He bowed mockingly. "Wouldn't want to be stuck with that Xander guy still. He had some crazy will power, you know that?" He laughed again. "Not anymore, though."

The vampire exited the library, pausing at the door to wave good-bye. Willow let the sobs come forth.

"What now?" she whispered between sobs.

"It appears we have another Angel on our hands," Giles said, looking carefully at Buffy. "He's not a fledgling."

"It was inevitable," Buffy said. "This is the way it was going to be from the beginning."

The three began picking up the pieces of the ritual, their last chance of helping their one- time friend. Gone were those days, ushered out by the newest enemy the Hellmouth had picked for them.



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