See part 1, 2, or 3; whichever you choose. They pretty much say the same thing anyway. Not mine!
***
Xander quickly unlocked the door to Angel's apartment. No, his apartment, he corrected himself. It was going to be hard to get used to living in his worst enemy's home. He slammed the door shut, locking it back. The place was so not him. He walked to the bed, then stepped to the side, to the drawers to get some of his old clothes. Tomorrow he and Buffy would have to go back to his old house to get the rest of his things. Buffy. It was so strange how he felt about her. Conflicting feelings weren't usually him. He was always straightforward and one minded about things. Not now. He hated that he hated Buffy. Yeah, he was thankful Spike didn't change him all the way, even though it still confused him. He was thankful he still loved Willow. Willow. He needed to call her. He needed to call everyone, but she was on his mind first. He glanced at the clock. 6:25 AM. She'd be awake by now. His hand moved towards the phone and automatically dialed the well- memorized number. Willow picked up after one ring.
"Hello?" Her voice was groggy, but not groggy enough to have been awaked by the phone.
"Hey, Will, it's me," Xander said, hoping she would want to talk. "Did I wake you up?"
"No, no, I was awake, just I haven't got out of bed yet."
"Oh, sorry. I just," he took a deep breath, or at least went through the motions. "I just needed to talk to you. Y'know, after last night and everything."
"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you, too," she was more awake now, Xander could tell. "You're really a, a..."
"Vampire, yeah," he said, knowing she couldn't get the word out. "It sucks, but, y'know, I didn't really have a choice."
"Who changed you?"
"Spike."
"I'm gonna kill him."
"Will, no, don't do that, not yet, anyway. He wants to kill Angel, and I'm kinda ready to help." He could hear her start to protest. "I know, he's a vicious killer and all that, but we do need all the help we can get. Will, I need you to call Buffy, or talk to her today. I don't know what exactly Spike's thinking, but it would be alot easier to get this done if she was in on it."
Willow sighed. "Okay, but, you gotta tell me something."
"Shoot."
"Why are you still talking to me? Buffy said," she choked up for a second. "Buffy said you, you were, feeding. On people. Like a normal vampire would. But you're still talking to me. Is it a trap?"
"No! Will, I don't really know how to explain it. I don't even know if I understand it. Spike said that he didn't totally change me. Believe me, I don't get it either. He said there was some ritual, Warex, or something. He said I was a hybrid. I don't get it, but I'm thankful."
She was silent for a long time. Finally, she spoke. "Look, I gotta get ready for school. I'll ask Giles about all this, and talk to Buffy. You already know what Giles is gonna say."
"Yeah, that there's no way that it could happen. Well, it did. Strange as it is, it did." He paused. "Have a good day, Will. Say hi to Cordy and Oz and everyone for me."
"Hi to Oz?" she asked. "Since when are you hi to Oz guy?"
"I don't know, but it's weird. You and him are the ones I care the most about."
Willow was silent again. "Bye."
"Bye, Will."
Xander hung up the phone and sighed resignedly. He pulled off his shirt and threw it to the ground in a heap. Slipping under the covers of the bed, he turned off the light, and fell asleep quickly.
* * *
Willow walked into school earlier than usual that morning. Everything was so freaky after last night. Oz was there early, too, and found her quickly. She was immensely glad that she had called him last night and told him about Xander. It was easier now that he knew. He smiled as he walked up to her. She spoke first.
"Xander says hi."
"Uh?"
"Xander said to tell you hi," she said, twisting her red hair in her fingers.
"You talked to Xander?" Oz asked, not knowing what to expect. "When?"
"This morning," she replied. "He called me. Oz, I don't know what to think of all this! He still seems like himself, but..."
"Maybe he is," he suggested. "Maybe something got screwed up in the whole vampire transfer thing. Maybe he still is himself."
"I hope," she mumbled, mostly to herself. "He really was still him. Or something close to him."
They entered the library, still talking, and noticed Giles trying to work the computer. Willow broke off her conversation and rushed to help him before he messed it up completely.
"Thank you, Willow," Giles mumbled, backing away from the PC. "That dread thing."
Willow typed in a few things, and up popped exactly what Giles had been looking for. The Watcher shook his head in disgust and amazement. Willow pushed her chair away from the computer. "Xander says hi," she said.
"What?" Giles asked.
"Xander called me this morning, and he says hi," she turned to Buffy, who was sitting at the end of the table, once asleep, now alert. "And he says Spike is trying to kill Angel. He wants Xander's help, and Xander wants yours."
"He called you?" Giles asked. Willow nodded. "Willow, you must not talk to him, or believe he is still your friend. He's a demon. He's doing this to get close to you, to, to gain your trust so he can kill you."
"I don't think so, Giles," the hacker protested. "I think he's still himself, only, not."
"So do I," Buffy said, drawing surprise from Giles. "Giles, I spent an hour with him before we came here last night. Besides being a little bit more violent and not cracking jokes, he was still himself. And Willow would know if he was himself."
"But more violent," the Watcher intervened. "And what brought that about?"
"Principle Snyder was doing something to his mom, and..." she cut off, remembering the incident. "Snyder. Oh, god, I forgot about him."
"What?" Giles asked, stepping towards Buffy.
"Snyder did something to his mom. He made her forget about Xander. And everything to do with Xander. We went to his house, and Snyder was there, and then Xander's mom couldn't remember who he was."
"And Xander tried to hurt Principal Snyder?"
"Yeah, well, he did, a little. But that's totally what I would do! And Snyder. What are we gonna do about this?"
Willow was silent this long, but now she spoke up. "We have to prove he did something, somehow. Who knows how many other people he's done this too!"
"So our principal is brainwashing people?" Oz asked, making his way into the conversation as well. "So he knows about the whole vampire thing, then."
"Yes, yes, he must," Giles said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "But what can we do?"
"Giles, let Xander help us with this," Buffy said with determination. She saw Giles about to protest. "It's his mom! And this can be his chance to prove to us that he's him. C'mon, it'll work, and he's not going to betray us."
"I vote for it," Willow said, raising her hand.
"So do I," Oz agreed, moving behind Willow and rubbing her shoulders.
Buffy looked from the two to Giles and said, "Looks like you're outnumbered."
* * *
Willow leaned back from her computer monitor. Only she and Giles were in the library now. Buffy had to go to Geometry, or she would fail. Giles was, as always, looking through some ancient text.
"Giles, have you ever heard of something called Warex?"
Giles looked up from his book, and answered, "I believe I have come across it somewhere. It's a ritual, I do remember that, but what for I'm not quite sure. Why do you ask, Willow?"
"No reason," she answered. "Do you know what book it was in?"
The Watcher gave her a puzzled look. "I'm not positive which one exactly, but it should be in the Hanju Chronicles, somewhere."
"Thanks," Willow said, jumping up from her PC and almost leaping up the stairs to the stacks. Giles looked after her, his expression growing ever more confused.
* * *
Xander looked up from the book he was reading. He sighed. If he had stooped so low as to read a book by his own free will, he must be bored. He glanced at the clock for what must have been the twentieth time in the last ten minutes. And it read 4:17. A whole two minutes since he last checked. He had exhausted all avenues of entertainment; he had listened to every CD he owned, and had even tried to remember how to play his guitar. He used to be pretty good at it, but when Buffy came, there was no more time for practicing. It came back to him pretty easily, which surprised him.
He stood up and suddenly remembered what Spike told him the night before. He could go out during the day. And did he want to. But he was just a little bit leery of the light. He walked to the window and pulled the shades, being sure to stand clear of the stream of sunlight that shot in. It hurt his eyes, but he inched toward it, putting his hand out in front of him. Ready to pull back the second his flesh started burning, he stuck his arm in the sunlight. Nothing happened. A grin crept over Xander's face as he stepped fully into the sunlight. It hurt his eyes much more than it normally would, but he could deal with that. Now the question was, where would he go?
Giles would kill him if he went to the library, but that was most likely where everyone would be. But walking into the library would be proof of his hybridness. Maybe, he decided, it would be best to wait. They had had enough surprises to deal with. He decided to just go out for a simple walk.
* * *
Willow almost jumped from her chair when she finally found the Warex ritual. It had taken almost all day, but here it was. Not a figment of a vampire's lies, but written down in one of Giles' books. She breathed a sigh of relief. That was one less thing to worry about.
Reading it, she found it fit what would have been done to Xander. It was actually a very simple ritual, requiring only one person, or vampire, in this case, and no special implements, just the chanting of the spell. Spike could easily have gotten hold of this and used it. It was proof enough for her, but would it be for Giles? Her chance to find out came, as Giles entered the library. She stood up and shoved the book in front of his face.
"W-what is this?"
"It's the Warex ritual," Willow told him. "Xander told me this is what Spike did to him."
Giles was reading with interest until Willow told him that. He snapped the book shut. "Willow, I told you..."
"Giles! You don't know if he's lying or not. And this completely fits what I think he is."
"I am sorry, Willow," Giles said. "But you can't make up things to put your mind at ease. Xander is very much gone." He started to walk towards his office.
"Giles, I did not make this up! If you would just read it..."
Then she was looking at the closed door of the librarian's office.
* * *
She found Buffy next to her locker.
Buffy took one look at Willow's red eyes, and asked, "Will, what's wrong?"
Willow placed the not-so-ancient book into Buffy's arms. "There's a ritual in there, and I think Spike used it one Xander to make him a hybrid."
"Then we have proof!" Buffy said. "So why were you crying?"
"I wasn't crying," Willow said, "it's just that, Giles won't even look at it. He thinks I'm making it up. Even if Xander is Xander, he'll never believe it."
Buffy nodded. Giles was extremely stubborn. The two girls walked outside. The school campus was bustling with students eager to get home for the weekend. But Xander was the only one that got their attention.
"Xander!" Willow yelled, and he turned to where he heard her voice. He quickly made his way through the moving maze and reached her in no time.
"How are you here?" Buffy asked. "It's..."
"Yeah, I can tolerate sunlight," Xander said. "Hurts my eyes like crap, but..." He shrugged. Willow grabbed his arm and started walking back to the school. Xander cringed. "Willow, where are we going?"
"To the library," she told him. "If Giles sees you, he'll have to believe you're a hybrid."
"Whoa, whoa," he said, stopping and pulling Willow to a stop with him. "If Giles sees me, I'll have to believe I'm dust. He'll kill me!"
"I won't let him," Buffy said, grabbing his other arm to help Willow resume pulling. "C'mon, it'll be fine."
* * *
"Get out of here right now, or I will kill you."
"See? I told you," Xander said to Willow, just loud enough for Giles to hear. Giles made as if to rush the vampire, and Xander took a step back, putting out a hand. Buffy stepped between the two.
"Giles, c'mon, think! How could he be here if he wasn't a hybrid? The sun hasn't set yet."
"He could have come in from underground..."
"Look, then!" Buffy grabbed Xander and pushed him up the stairs to the stacks. She shoved him into the sunlight that was coming from the window. A befuddled look passed over Giles' face, but he was not to be beaten.
"He could have some kind of, of, thing that lets him survive sunlight..."
"Giles, admit it!" Buffy said. "You're just looking for any excuse for not believing him! You can't deny it, he's obviously only half vampire."
The room was silent for a couple of minutes, with Giles looking from Buffy, to Xander, to Willow, back to Buffy in that order.
"I still don't trust him," he finally mumbled.
"But you agree that he could be, right?" Willow asked. Giles didn't answer, only retreating to his office. Willow looked at Buffy. "Do you ever remember Giles acting like such a baby?"
"Yeah, when he though Miss Calendar's ghost was haunting the school," Buffy said. "It's not often that he's more immature than us, but it does happen."
"I don't get it," Xander said. "He accepted Angel without too much trouble, so why won't he accept me? Do I really annoy him that much?"
"I don't know, Xander," Buffy mumbled.
* * *
Giles sat in silence in his office, listening to the teenagers outside debate over what was going on in his head. He shook his head in frustration. He did want to believe that Xander was a hybrid, he really did, but he was a Watcher, a job which required him to be untrusting. He thought about that silly sci-fi show that Xander was addicted to, The X- Files, and the motto that went with it. Trust no one. It applied quite well to being a Watcher. It would take weeks, perhaps even months, before he would trust Xander. He wasn't going to let the situation they found themselves in with Angel repeat itself. He wasn't going to let that happen to Buffy.
He heard the swinging doors to the library shut, and knew that the kids he had watched after for more than a year had left. Kids that had been forced to grow up much too fast. It seemed that Xander had been the only one that had kept his kidiness despite what was going on around him, and now that was ruined too.
* * *
Cordelia couldn't believe it. So the whole Xander-vampire thing *had* been a nightmare. She walked up to him, and said, "I had the weirdest nightmare last night, see, you were a vampire..."
"Cordy, I am a vampire."
"...and there was this big fight in the library, and, what?"
"It wasn't a dream, Cordy," Buffy said. "Xander's a vamp. Only, he's a hybrid."
"Hybrid?"
"It's like being only half-vampire," Willow explained. "So he can come out during the day and stuff."
"Oh, okay," she said. "Whatever. Are you going to be at the Bronze tonight?"
Xander fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Probably."
"Good. See you there, then." And Cordelia Chase walked away.
"Do you think she has any idea what's going on?" Willow asked,
"No," Xander answered. "She couldn't possibly. She's Cordelia, I mean, what do you expect from her? It's not like she's a bad person, she just has no heart."
"So that explains it," Buffy said.
Xander smiled, then grew immediately somber when he noticed Principal Snyder making his way down the hall, occasionally reprimanding kids for various breaks of school constitution. Buffy noticed his staring, and looked to where he was looking. She looked back to Xander, and noticed his deep brown eyes slowly becoming gold. She pushed him back into a corner, Willow following. Startled, Xander looked at Buffy, and his eyes quickly became brown again.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Did you even notice how close you were to changing?" Buffy asked angrily. Xander gave her a 'huh?' look. "Your eyes were turning yellow, Xander."
"They were?"
"Xander, you've got to learn how to control this thing! You can't just change in the middle of school!"
"Sorry," he said sarcastically.
"I'm serious. After that, I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to confront Snyder with me..."
"What? Buffy, I..."
"Listen, Xander, if your eyes change when you just *see* him, you shouldn't be anywhere close to him."
"Buffy..."
"I'm gonna take care of this right now, and you're going to stay *here*."
"Buffy, c'mon! Don't, ugg..." Xander groaned as Buffy turned on her heel and left to run down Snyder. He turned to Willow. "Why does she do this?"
"Well, Xander, you did almost get a game face a minute ago in the hall," Willow replied. "I don't think it's exactly smart for you to be around Snyder, either. And you do need to learn how to control yourself."
"I don't know how..."
"You could learn, though. At least *try* next time."
"Okay, I'll try, but it's not easy. I mean, I get mad, and I just can't help it, and hey, there's Oz."
Oz was standing in the middle of the crowded hall, staring at Xander and Willow standing in the corner. Willow motioned for him to come over, and he did so.
"Okay, see, now I'm confused," he said, "I thought vampires couldn't come out in the day."
"But, Xander can," Willow said enthusiastically. "Cause, he's really a hybrid, and so he's still part human..."
"Oh, see, now I understand."
"Hey, you guys want to help me move my stuff into my new home-sweet-home?" Xander asked, jumping at the chance of getting out of Buffy helping him.
"Sure," Willow said. "But, where are you living now?"
"I'm not really *living* anywhere, Will. But I'm *staying* in Angel's old apartment."
"*Angel's* apartment?"
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