| Timely Salvation by Michelle |
| Xander Harris was not a happy person. In fact, he was down right furious. He hated that he was now out of the loop because he didn�t go to college. Just because it wasn�t his thing somehow meant he was no longer one of the gang. Sure, bodily he was still a Slayerette, but he couldn�t consider himself one mentally. Buffy, Willow, even Giles didn�t treat him like he was a contributing fighter of evil and Anya just treated him like a sex toy. He was fed up. That was why he was on his way to Giles�s apartment to have a talk with everyone. While the part of him conditioned for self-protection said they would laugh in his face, the part loyal to his friends said they didn�t mean what they did. Xander was inclined to listen to the loyal side. It was less depressing and kept him away from country music. �The party can now start,� he declared as he opened up the apartment door. He was greeted by silence. Brown eyes took in scattered books as he closed the door. He noticed a note on top of a stack of books on the coffee table. It was in Willow�s handwriting, and scribbled hastily. |
| SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA 1999 |
| Xan, Demon/hellmouth thing came up. Don�t wait around, it could take a while. Willow |
| He couldn�t believe it, although that one side of his brain was asking him how he could have expected anything else. It was that one day in high school all over again, when the Hellmouth had opened a second time. They had �protected� him by not including him. They still didn�t know he had saved their sorry butts from getting blown to pieces by zombies. Crumpling the note and tossing it away, Xander angrily hit at the pile of books. The tombs went flying, making a satisfying noise as they crashed into various things. He couldn�t hurt them, but he could still take out his anger. Against his will guilt set in. Giles would kill him if anything happened to those books. He could already hear the Englishman � <<Those books are worth more than your life, Xander. You must be careful with them.>> <<Who am I kidding?>> Xander thought as he bent to pick them up. He couldn�t stand up to his friends when they weren�t there. How could he do it when he was surrounded by them? Picking up one book that had opened during its brief flight, he glanced down at what was written. It was in a fancy script that reached out and demanded he read the words. Blindly he sat down on the couch. It was impossible to really tell what the book was for. The passage was ridiculous and childish at best, which made him think he was reading one of Giles�s lore books. A collection of forgotten nursery rhymes, perhaps. �Flightless wings and blinded eyes, tunnels without end and colorless skies,� Xander read out loud, seized by a burst of fancy. �Living words and vicious hands, opened scars and ignorant lands. From welcomed wounds to knowing arms, find refuge far from harm.� Suddenly the couch disappeared, it must have, because Xander was falling backwards. Yet he didn�t hit the floor a few seconds later as he anticipated. Instead, he fell for what seemed like forever until he landed on the dirt ground. The force of his landing sent his body backwards, slamming his head against what felt like brick. The darkness of unconsciousness rushed up to swallow him. In Giles�s apartment, the book landed on the wooden floor with a solid thud. The words on the page shimmered before vanishing, as if they had never existed at all. |
| When Xander was thrust back into the world of the conscious, he was greeted by agonizing pain. His head felt like it had been smashed up against a building, which he supposed was all right since it *had* been smashed against a building. Considering some of the alternatives, he welcomed the headache. He opened his eyes, with no small amount of difficulty, and looked around. Dingy brick walls faced him and, he assumed, supported his body. The air smelled of rancid meat and rotting garbage, while the ground beneath his fingers felt slimy and very non-concrete. It didn�t take a genius to figure out he wasn�t in Sunnydale. Gathering his strength Xander managed to stand and take a few experimental steps away from the wall. From his new position he could see the stretch of buildings lead to a dead-end on his left; on his right was an entrance to a street. By the faint light he could see he figured it was past sunset. He wasn�t quite sure what to do. The alley was depressing, the smells were inviting his lunch to make an appearance, and it was not a safe place to be at night. On the other hand, he had no idea where he was, so the street could be more dangerous than the alley. Also, maybe he needed to stay in the same place for the gang to bring him back. <<Like they even know you�re gone>>, his brain chided. Xander had no way of knowing how long he had been unconscious or if time passed differently where he currently was. What seemed like hours there could be seconds back home. Even if time was the same, when the gang returned from slaying the latest demon they might not discover his disappearance for days. Deciding the street was definitely the better place to be, Xander walked cautiously out of the street. Things he had never seen in his years on the earth greeted him. Horse-drawn carriages stood idle on a few corners. Men and women wearing what looked like Victorian style clothing strolled down the gas-lit street. What he could only guess were prostitutes in short shirts and tight bodices decorated lampposts. One of them latched onto his sleeve as he passed by. �Fancy a tumble, luv?� she asked, her voice thick with a cockney accent. �Um, no, thank you,� he mumbled, trying in vain to pull his arm free. �Oh, come now, a �andsome gent such as yerself should �ave a lady on �is arm,� she prodded, plastering herself against him. Blushing, he tried again to free himself. The second time he succeeded. �No, really, that�s okay. My arm is fine being lady-free.� Xander quickly abandoned the false safety of the street for the disgusting protection of another alley. He was confused enough about his apparent time travel. A prostitute and another case of syphilis were the last things he needed. What he needed to do was find someone who could help him get back. <<The Watcher�s Council>>, he thought as he mindlessly walked down the alley. They could help him. Or dissect and study him. Either way, they were his best shot at the moment. All he had to do was figure out where he was, where they were, how to get to them, and how to convince them he wasn�t insane. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn�t notice the figure standing before him. Xander collided with it, sending himself crashing to the ground for the second time that day. The figure remained standing, and moved to tower over him as he struggled to sit up. �Well, well, look what we have here,� said an Irish yet familiar male voice. A ball of fear, despair, and shock settled heavily in his stomach. Slowly, Xander raised his head to meet a pair of evil chocolate eyes. The recognition was instant. �Angelus,� Xander breathed. |
| LONDON, ENGLAND 1785 |
| SUNNYDALE, CALIFORNIA 1999 |
| �Somebody needs to send a memo to would-be world dominators,� Buffy Summers announced as she, Willow Rosenburg, and Rupert Giles entered Giles�s apartment. �And what would this memo say?� Giles asked, against his better judgement. �It would tell them not to try anything in Sunnydale, because the Slayer will kill them,� Buffy said. �It would save everyone time and energy. Especially me.� Willow laughed. �I�m sure the demons would be touched by your concern.� �God, I�m actually looking forward to class,� Buffy told her best friend. �I can catch up on some much needed sleep.� �Or you could try learning something,� Giles suggested. �I know it�s a radical notion, but you might be surprised by how effective it is.� Buffy rolled her eyes. �Ha ha, Giles, very funny.� Before she could respond with something more, the frown on Willow�s face caught her eye. �What�s wrong, Will?� �I was hoping Xander would be here,� the witch explained. �I felt bad leaving without him.� �We needed to get it done before class,� Buffy reasoned, trying to tamp down on her own guilt. �He would have understood; he always does.� Willow nodded. �I guess you�re right.� The sad look did not leave her eyes, however. �Come on, Buffy, we need to go. Professor Schultz is going to tell us what�s on the final. We don�t want to be late.� �You�re right.� The girls picked up their bookbags and headed out the door. �Bye, Giles!� Buffy called as the door closed. The Englishman breathed a sigh of relief when they left. His tolerance of teenagers could only withstand so much. Sometimes it was nice to be alone with his thoughts. Even if he was stuck putting the weapons away. As he walked past the couch, he noticed two things: a crumpled piece of paper and an open book on the floor. He stopped and first picked up the paper. Opening it up he saw it was the note Willow had left for Xander. It appeared the boy had been to the apartment, after all. Shoving down his own guilt, Giles picked up the book next. He started at the blank page for several moments. Confused, he partially closed the book to look at the cover. He could feel the now cold blood run out of his face as he read the words on the cover � Time Spells for all Occasions. �Bloody hell,� he whispered. |
| LONDON, ENGLAND 1785 |
| Xander knew he was facing Angelus, but the brunette before him looked nothing like the Angelus he knew and despised. Gone were the leather pants and silk shirts. Instead, Angelus was wearing pants the color of rust and a tight-fitting coat to match. A vest of the same color embroidered with gold peeked out from the coat. Frothy white lace cascaded down his chest into his vest from a white cotton collar. His hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail. "I see me reputation precedes me," Angelus said, his lips curved into a smug smile and his arms crossed in front of him. Quickly, Xander scrambled to his feet and away from Angelus. "Don't come near me, you sadistic bastard." If there was one thing Xander was good at, it was goading the things that could kill him. Angelus, however, was not phased. "Flattery will get you everywhere, m'lad. But it makes me wonder how someone such as yerself has come ta know someone such as me." "I'd know someone who hurt the people I care about." As slowly as possibly, the teen reached behind him to the cross in his waistband. Angelus smirked. "I've hurt a lot of people. But I think I'd be rememberin' one who got away." He stared at Xander for a moment, as if trying to place him. "Ah well, no matter. The situation can easily be rectified." Before the vampire could take two steps, Xander had the cross in front of him. He couldn't help but smile at the look of surprise on Angelus's face. "I know who you are, Deadboy. That also means I know *what* you are," Xander said. Angelus stopped moving, surprise replaced by appreciation in his eyes. "Well now, this certainly makes things interestin'. Ye wouldna be tryin' to avenge them, would ye?" "Nothing would make me happier," Xander declared. "In fact, killing you would create a new level of bliss. But right now I just want to go home." The immortal studied Xander with a new interest, one the teen would have been tempted to call predatory. He didn't like it at all, but as he was trying to figure out how to get away another person joined to conversation. next |
| �What do you mean, he went back in time?� Buffy questioned. The Slayer stood next to the couch from which she had jumped off from after Giles had broken the news. �I mean that he�s become the Queen of England. Really, Buffy,� Giles said, taking his glasses off and rubbing the bridge of his nose. �For some reason he used a spell from this book and is now somewhere in the past.� Willow, who was still sitting on the couch, whimpered. �This is not good. This is so not good.� �How do we get him back?� Buffy asked, crossing her arms. Giles sighed. �I don�t know.� �You don�t know? You don�t know!? We need to bring him back!� she declared. �Don�t you think I know that!� Giles replied. �But I don�t know which spell he used. It seems that the book is triggered to erase the spell once it is activated. It will take some time to determine which one is missing. Only then can we go about performing the correct retrieval spell.� Willow looked up, worried. �What about the timeline? The longer he�s trapped in the past means the more opportunities he will have to change history.� The Englishman sighed and looked even more distraught, if possible. �I�m not proficient in time travel theory, Willow. It is quite possible he will end up changing our reality. Then again, his sojourn back in time could be what creates our present time. There�s even a theory that states that another alternate reality could be created, leaving our reality alone." �It doesn�t matter what alternate future Xander creates,� Buffy said. �We need to get him back before he ends up dead.� �I understand that, Buffy, and you will be of more use helping with research than stating the overly obvious,� Giles said, picking up a book. �Start with this volume.� Willow whimpered again before picking up a book for herself. <<I hope you�re safe, Xander,>> she thought. <<Wherever � whenever � you are.>> |
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