Two weeks earlier

Xander yawned, opened his eyes and rolled over. He knew it was too early to get up because his alarm hadn’t gone off yet. So why was he awake? Better yet why was he on the floor?

Xander stood up and stretched. He was still fully dressed just as he had been when he fell into bed last night. Patrol had been hard, two vamp nests and a coven of witches trying to open the hell-mouth.

As soon as the fact registered that he was in his bedroom, his completely empty bedroom, Xander began to worry. There was no way someone could have taken every last stick of furniture out of here while he was sleeping and not wake him. Something hell-mouthy was at work.

He left the bedroom only to find the rest of the apartment in the same shape - empty. It was as if he had never lived here. Even the paint was back to the same plain white that had been there before he signed the lease. He and Anya had the place painted in soft pastel tones. Her idea, but it did look good. With no phone and no electricity, Xander figured he’d have to walk over the magic shop to see if any of the others were experiencing weirdness.

The walk through Sunnydale was like something out of the ‘Twilight Zone’. He swore he saw faces from his graduating class. Faces of people he knew hadn’t survived the mayor’s ascension. Shrugging it off as more of the same weirdness that took all his furniture, he continued on to the shop.

Xander walked through the front door of the magic box and was pleasantly surprised to see Giles there.

“Hey G-man! When’d you get back from the mother country?”

The crossbow aimed at his chest and the small brunette girl with a stake were not expected. Xander swallowed hard and tried again.

“Uh? Giles? I know you hate the nick name but is this necessary?”

Giles slowly approached Xander and opened the door. The morning sunlight poured into the shop and surrounded Xander in its brightness. Giles frowned and then withdrew a cross from his pocket. He pressed it to the side of Xander’s neck. Nothing happened.

“Who are you?”

“What? I’m Xander. Who else would I be?”

Giles took several steps away from him and motioned for the brunette to come closer. Xander couldn’t hear what was being said but he knew it was about him. He waited with a growing sense of wrongness. This was all wrong. Giles thought he was a vampire? Why? And who was the slayer wannabe?

“Xander?”

“Yeah G-man? Uh sorry, habit.”

“What are you doing here?”

Xander sighed and motioned toward the research table.

“Can we sit? This might be kinda hard to believe but I don’t think I belong here.”

Giles nodded and the three of them took a seat.

“First off. I’m Xander. Do you know me?”

“Yes. You were one of Buffy’s closest friends.”

“Were? As in we aren’t friends anymore? Or as in, one of us ain’t breathing anymore?”

“You were turned. Last year as a matter of fact.”

“How? Who? Why?”

“Well the how is pretty obvious. The who? Angelus. As for why? I can only assume to hurt Buffy.”

“Which leads me to my next question. Where is the Buffster and who’s the brunette?”

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. The brunette shot Xander a hate-filled look.

“Buffy was killed. This is Deanna, the new slayer.”

Xander sighed and put his head on the table.

“Looks like I’m not in Kansas any more.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you remember. What’s the first thing you remember that seemed different?”

Xander began talking, he told him about waking up in his empty apartment on the floor and everything that had happened between then and the moment he walked through the front door.

“And you say that Mayor Wilkins ascended? Fascinating. Buffy and Faith killed him before graduation in this reality. I assume that’s why you recognized some of your former classmates. What else can you tell me about your reality?”

Xander and Giles talked for the next couple hours. Xander learned that in this reality Angelus had never been re-souled, as Willow had been vamped with Jesse in high school. Angelus had turned him, killed Buffy, and they had left town with Spike and Dru.

“What about the Initiative?”

“The what?”

“Riley Finn and his commando boys? Not ringing any bells?”

“Er, no actually. Please explain.”

Xander went on to tell him about the military operation that had based itself in Sunnydale, how they had chipped Spike and he had come to them for help. How he had become somewhat of a colleague and had fallen in love with Buffy. He then asked about Glory and Dawn.

Giles told him that while he wasn’t sure who this Glory person was, that Dawn had been killed by Drusilla. Xander assumed that because the key no longer existed, Glory had no reason to come to Sunnydale seeking it.

Giles couldn’t believe some of the things he had heard. Faith being a rogue slayer, Dawn being a key that would destroy the barriers between worlds, Buffy dying and then being resurrected. Angel running a detective agency in LA with Cordelia Chase working for him. It was too much.

“And you say that Willow was a powerful witch in your reality? Fascinating.”

“What happened to Willow and Jesse? Are they still vampires or did Buffy dust them?”

“Er, Jesse is still a demon as far as I know but Willow was dusted by Drusilla. It seems that Spike took a special… interest in her and Dru got jealous.”

“Oh. What about Cordy? What about Anya?”

“Cordelia left after graduation. I believe she is modeling in New York. As for this Anya? I’m afraid I don’t know who she is.”

“Of course! If Willow was vamped, there would never have been any kissing and Cordy wouldn’t have made that wish and Anyanka would never have been here.”

Giles spluttered.

“Did - did you say Anyanka? As in the vengeance demon Anyanka? The patron saint of scorned women?”

“Yep. She owned half this store, we almost got married.”

Giles looked like he was about to faint.

“If it makes you feel better, she was human. You smashed her necklace and she lost her powers.”

“I see. I must say, your Sunnydale seems like a very odd place indeed.”

“Welcome to the hell mouth.”

“Hell mouth? What hell mouth?”

Xander groaned. It was going to be a very long day.

Present

It had turned out to be a long couple of weeks. This Giles was just as obsessive as the one he remembered. They had read through countless magical texts trying to find a way to send him home. They had discussed the differences between their worlds, the possibility of endless realities existing. Xander knew there were at least four. This one, his reality, the wish-verse that Anya created and apparently a world without shrimp.

It made sense that there would be more. His inner geek told him the possibilities were endless. Every time you made a decision you created a reality in which you chose to go left instead of right, but somewhere, there was a reality where you chose the opposite. It was a scary thought. With that many possibilities he might never get home.

Xander finished his shower and got dressed. He felt a bit dizzy for a moment and closed his eyes. As he headed back downstairs he heard voices in the kitchen. As he got closer he recognized one of them as Buffy’s. He grinned like an idiot and barged into the room.

Everyone fell silent and stared at him. He did the same. ’cause there at the table sat Giles, Buffy, Willow, Spike, Tara, Dawn and…. himself.

“Well this is going to be fun.”

I got up this morning and showered in one reality and then found myself in another by the time I was dressed. I’m not sure what is causing me to shift or how long I’ll stay in one place. It’s kinda scary.

The first place was bad, no Buffy, no Willow. Hell, I was a vampire! Thank God I didn’t meet myself. Apparently Angelus still reigns there and he turned me. The new slayer, Deanna, was okay. Nice kid, chip on her shoulder though. A bit like Faith. Speaking of Faith, she was doing the Slayer gig in Europe. Apparently a new hellmouth opened in France.

This place is better. Everyone is here and breathing. Except for Spike, but he’s undead, so not a problem. The wiggy thing is… I’m gay in this world. And Spike is my, his, this Xander’s lover. I never thought about Spike that way, even when I was considering my sexuality, I never thought about Spike. Gah! Could be worse I suppose, could be Angel! shudder

Giles has asked me to stay here - good thing too, cause Spike looked like he wanted to be the filling in a Xanderwich. Thank God my other self was not into that idea.

Anya is married to the G-man here. Strange, huh? I can see it though, they’d be kinda cute together. I’m just glad she’s happy in this reality, I hurt her so much in mine. If I ever get home, I’ll find a way to make it up to her. I’m sorry I hurt her. Oh my God! I wonder if she did this? Is she all vengeancy again? Is this my punishment? What if I never get home? I should talk to the Anya of this world, see what she thinks.

I just want to go home. I miss my friends, my job, my apartment. I miss scooby meetings, pizza night with Buffy and Dawn. I even miss playing pool and drinking beer at The Bronze with Spike. I must really be homesick.

Xander packed his journal into his backpack along with his extra set of clothes. He didn’t seem to have any warning when he would shift realities so he tended to keep his things with him at all times, especially his journal. If he ever got home, Giles would find it fascinating. If he decided to show it to him.

Xander strolled down the street toward the fast food place. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm but not too warm. It felt good to just be alive and outside. When he got to the Doublemeat Palace, his twin was nowhere to be seen so he got his food and sat down in a booth to wait. He didn’t have to wait long. Within five minutes, Xander slid into the seat across from him. They both grinned when they saw that they had chosen the exact same meal.

“So, what did you want to see me about?”

“Ah, straight to the point. I like that.”

“No sense in playing dumb with you, is there?”

“No. You’re right. I have a few questions that I was hoping you wouldn’t mind me asking. They’re kind of personal.”

“In other words, you didn’t want to ask me in front of Spike?”

“Well, yeah. But the girls and Giles too.”

“Okay, shoot.”

Xander opened his burger and took the tomato and pickles off and discarded them. He watched as the other Xander did the same. He chuckled again. It really was too weird.

“I always forget to just order it without tomato and pickle.”

“Me too. And you’re stalling.”

“I know. It’s just…”

“You want to know how I ended up with Spike, right?”

“Yeah, that and… how come you’re gay?”

The Xander of this world took a long sip of his soda and ran a hand back through his hair.

“It would be easier to answer the gay issue first, then I’ll explain about Spike. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“It started on my fifteenth birthday. I didn’t have a party, mom was… okay mom was drunk as usual and dad could give a shit whether or not I had food to eat, let alone a party.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I guess you would. Anyway, Willow and Jesse threw me a secret party. It was out in Miller’s woods, in a clearing where we used to play. It was the place where Wills and I used to play doctor, only she never got it right.”

“She brought a little black bag with a stethoscope and a thermometer. I remember that.”

“Yeah, never had the heart to tell her.”

“Me neither.”

“Well, that night I stayed over at Jesse’s. His Mom baked a cake for me and everything. It was great; we stayed up late watching monster movies and then stumbled up to bed. We were laying down in bed and I was just drifting off to sleep, then…”

“He kissed me. You. I… it happened to me too. I pretended I was asleep and as soon as Jesse fell asleep I went downstairs and slept on the couch. He never did it again, and we pretended it hadn’t happened. Never even talked about it.”

“I didn’t. I kissed him back. We dated secretly for a while, no one knew, not even Willow. When Darla turned him I wanted to die. I was lost without him and I couldn’t even tell anyone why. I decided I would never hide who I was again. Life is way too short man, especially when you hang out with the slayer.”

Xander and Xander finished their lunches in silence. Xander had a lot to think about. He remembered the night Jesse kissed him. He had often wondered how differently his life might have been had he only admitted he liked it instead of running away from it. Now he knew. This Xander was happy, he was in love and he was confident. No zeppo in him at all.

As they were walking back to the construction site, Xander had to ask about Spike.

“Oh that. Well it’s kinda funny actually. I tied him to my barka lounger the first night he stayed in the basement with me. We had a nice little conversation about my bite-worthiness.”

“Moist and delicious?”

“Yep, a real nummy treat.”

Both Xanders chuckled at the remembrance of that conversation.

“Anyway, I started thinking about other places I could tie him up to. He knew exactly what I was thinking and called me on it. Eventually, we just gave in to it. Been together ever since. He’s more than you think he is. You know Spike: the ‘big bad’, Master vampire and all that crap. I know William. The person he really is behind all those fronts. It takes a special person to stay with an insane woman for a century, you know?”

“Loyal, I get that. He defended Dawn with his life during the Glory thing.”

“So, was there anything else you wanted to know? Size? Stamina? Technique?”

Xander spluttered and his double laughed.

“That wasn’t nice!”

“I know.”

“Actually I was wondering, if you’re gay… who summoned Anyanka?”

“Willow, who else?”

“Wills? Why?”

“Cordelia cheated on her with Harmony. She was pissed. Who summoned her in your world?”

“Cordy. She caught me and Willow kissing after Spike kidnapped us.”

The Xander of this world burst out laughing.

“You dated Cordelia Chase? Man and I thought you had class.”

“Hey!”

“Please, I bet you chased Buffy too, didn’t you?”

“Well…”

“Overcompensating much? You chased after the most unattainable women. Did you ever wonder why?”

“And on that note, I’m going back to the shop. I told Giles I’d give him a hand with inventory.”

“Chicken.”

Xander straightened his backpack and walked away. Just as he turned the corner he felt that dizzy sensation again.

Xander closed his journal and slipped it into his backpack. He put the backpack on and prepared to head back to Xander’s place. It was nice spending the day alone in the park, but it was starting to get dark and he really didn’t want to die in some strange world where Buffy was the bad guy and Faith saved the day.

As he stood up, that eerie dizzy sensation hit him again. He held onto the bench and closed his eyes until it passed. He fell over as soon as the dizziness stopped. He opened his eyes to see why he had fallen. The question was easily answered when he saw that there was no bench in front of him. Actually there was no park, either. He looked at his surroundings and bit his tongue to keep from screaming.

There was a huge pile of rotting corpses in front of him. Some were human, most weren’t. He turned around and ran as fast as he could.

I don’t know where I am or what I’m going to do. This world is not a friendly place. When I opened my eyes after the dizziness passed… God. The sight, the smell… All those bodies. I will never forget it as long as I live. Which may not be long judging from this place. It looks like a war zone.

I haven’t seen any people. Then again, I haven’t seen any demons either. Other than those bodies. I don’t know what to make of it yet. I found a crypt to hole up in. Hopefully I won’t be here long. I don’t think I want to know how things are different here. I imagine hell looks a lot like this place does.

I don’t want to die here, where no one will even know who I was. I want to go home. I want to see my Willow again, have her slap my arm and tell me I’m being silly. I want to have Buffy kick my ass while she trains; I don’t care if I bruise for a month. I want to take Dawnie to the mall and buy her everything she smiles at. I want to watch Giles polish the lenses off his glasses as he explains why the world is going to end this week. I want to have an argument with Spike; one where we call each other creative names and smile at the inventiveness of the other. I want to tell Anya I’m sorry, that I never meant to hurt her.

Xander closed his book and waited for the sun to set. He only hoped that no one found him. He had a gut feeling that there was no slayer at all in this version of Sunnydale. No scoobies either. Hell, he’d be happy to see Spike, as long as he was chipped.

Xander must have drifted off, for the next thing he knew he was being dragged from the crypt by two of the ugliest demons he had ever seen - and he’d been up close and personal with Chaos demons, so he knew ugly.

These guys were big, nine - maybe ten - feet tall. They were the sickliest color of green, and had dripping pustules all over their bodies. They smelled bad too. Really, really bad. Xander couldn’t help but retch as one of them leaned over and exhaled in his face. The big… thing… didn’t like that too much and displayed his anger by hitting Xander hard enough to knock him unconscious.

When Xander next awoke, he was in a cell. It was filled to capacity with other people, some of them in really bad shape. He didn’t see anyone he recognized at first; then he saw a small shape huddled in the corner. If it weren’t for the shock of red hair he wouldn’t have even seen her.

“Willow?”

Xander quickly pushed his way through the other people and crouched down beside his longtime friend. He tilted her face up to get a look at her and gasped at what he saw. His Wills, his beautiful Willow was covered in scars; she was filthy and missing an eye. He pulled her into his arms and held her as he cried.

Xander realized that something was wrong when she didn’t respond. He looked around at the others and wondered why it was that they just sat there, seeming to accept the fact that they were prisoners. Why did no one care?

“What the hell is wrong with her?!”

Xander was angry. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. He needed to know how things had turned out so wrong on this world and if there was any way to change it. One man sitting nearby looked at Xander and shrugged his shoulders.

“She don’t speak. She don’t cry. She don’t fight. She’s broken.”

The simple speech turned his stomach. Broken. Willow was broken. And why did the man talk like that? Like he didn’t know how to form sentences?

“Why? Why is she broken? Why do you speak like that?”

“We don’t talk. Only when told to. Acathla don’t like us to talk.”

Xander’s gut clenched at the name. Acathla was released here. Angelus had been successful. Hell on earth was reality here. He was going to die - he knew it. This was like a farm or something; sooner or later he would be killed for food. He wanted to throw up. Again. So he did.

Just then the door opened and two of those green things came in again. They grabbed a young man from one of the benches and dragged him out. The man didn’t even put up a fight. What the hell was wrong with these people?

“What the hell is wrong with you people!?”

Several people turned to look at him when he yelled but then just as quickly went back to what they had been doing. Which as far as Xander could see, was nothing but staring off into space. Xander eased Willow out of his arms and leaned her up against the wall. He turned to the older man who had spoken to him before, the only one who seemed to speak, and asked him what happened to the people who were taken out of this room.

“They fight. They live? Maybe they come back. They die? They’re food.”

Xander’s mind was spinning. Fight? Fight whom? What? And food? Oh hell no! He was NOT gonna be meat for those monsters. He just had to hold out until the next shift. He wished there were a way to take Willow with him.

“Who do they fight? Demons?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes humans. Don’t matter. It’s all just sport to them.”

“Like throwing the Christians to the lions? That’s… That’s… Barbaric! Why don’t you fight back?”

“No point. Where you from son? Everyone knows demons rule the world. No point in fighting it.”

Xander shook his head sadly and went back to the still form of his friend.

This place is worse than I thought. Acathla was set free here; I guess Angelus wasn’t stopped in time. I found Willow. Gods… she isn’t there, ya know? I was captured, taken prisoner. I don’t know what’s gonna happen to me. From what I’ve learned, humans are kept for entertainment and food. The entertainment comes in two forms, fighting - against demons or other humans - and sex. I’ll die first.

If I thought it was oogy knowing that my alternate was doing the naked mambo with Spike, you can imagine how I feel about this. At least Spike looks human. He’s not so bad once you get to know him, and from what Xan says, he’s a totally different person with him. The Big Bad thing is just his cover. These guys? They’re disgusting. I’ve only seen a couple different types, nothing I recognize, but eewww! I’d shag Spike willingly compared to them. Hells, I’d shag Angel! Blech!

I’m in a holding pen of some sort. I’ve been separated from Wills and the others that I was with. I’m not sure why, but I know it can’t be good. A man was just taken from the room a few minutes ago, and he wasn’t going to fight - if you get my drift.

This place is a nightmare. I want to go home. I swear the first thing I’m going to do when I get home is drive to L.A. and punch Angel in the face. Damn stupid vampire! What the FUCK was he thinking? I knew there was a reason for my hating him.

I can’t help but wonder where Buffy was when Angelus was opening the portal. I mean, she should have stopped him right? She did back home, so what happened here? Did Spike double-cross her? Did Angelus kill her? So many damn possibilities, and no way to know for sure. I’m afraid to find out what other possible nastiness awaits me. There have been so many close calls, so many apocalypses… apocalypti? Whichever.

Xander closed his journal and slipped it back into his pants. He had just given himself something to think about there. What if the next place he went was worse? What if he died before getting home? He could end up anywhere. A world where the Master rules, or a place where they didn’t stop Glory in time. What about ADAM or the First Evil?

It was suddenly too much for Xander and he gave in to his emotions. He hung his head in his hands and allowed the tears to fall.

Xander tucked his journal away just as one of the large orange-and-purple demons stepped into the room. This was not a good sign. He had already been taken out earlier to fight, and the time for fighting was long past. There could only be one reason for this visit and Xander would die before he allowed that to happen to him.

As soon as the door on his little cage-like cell had been opened, Xander charged. The demon had not expected the attack and therefore Xander caught him off-guard. As his shoulder plowed heavily into the demon’s midsection, the demon let out a burst of foul breath and doubled over. Xander took the opportunity to make a run for the door.

Outside in the hallway, Xander paused for a quick look around. He knew the way to the pit but other than that he was completely lost. He turned in the opposite direction of the pit and ran like hell. He could hear the demon following close behind him. He ran faster, but he was quickly tiring. Weeks of being underfed and forced to fight for his very life had drained his energy, so it was not very surprising that he was soon caught.

The demon didn’t seem to be all that put out by the chase, in fact it seems downright happy about it. Xander figured that the demons of this world didn’t get to hunt their prey very often, judging by the calm acceptance he had seen from the humans around him. The thought sickened him. He would never surrender to this willingly.

He continued to struggle against the large arms that held him. He kicked out with his legs; he clawed and bit. It did nothing except further excite his captor. When he realized that he had been dragged into a darkened room by the thing, he screamed.

The demon began pawing him and snuffling at his neck. Xander was almost violently ill as he felt the vile tongue of the demon taste his skin. He couldn’t ever remember being more repulsed than he was at this moment. The demon ripped his shirt from his chest and Xander felt hot salty tears run down his cheeks. For all his earlier bravado, he knew he wouldn’t die first. He would endure this and live through it. He felt the demon’s clawed hands at the fastenings of his pants; he closed his eyes and wept with relief as the dizziness overtook him.

Xander opened his eyes to see that he was standing in a classroom. It was nighttime and the room was dark, but he recognized it as being his fourth grade classroom at Sunnydale Elementary School. Was this really the same place he had been kept prisoner all this time? As a child he had often felt like a prisoner at school. Life was just full of bitter ironies.

Being careful to make no noise, Xander left the classroom and headed for the front door of the school. He didn’t care if he set off the alarms; he was not staying here one more moment. He needed to find out if this world was friendly or not, and he needed to find a place to clean up. A couple of weeks under a hot shower might erase the feel of those clawed hands on his skin, that slimy tongue on his neck; the scent was still lingering on him.

Out the door and into the night he went. At first impression, this place wasn’t overrun by demons, but you could never be too careful. Xander kept to the shadows as he moved towards Giles’ apartment complex. So far, he had been the one constant in every shift except the last one. He figured if he was going to find help, there would be the place to look.

Xander stopped outside the door and listened. He could hear voices inside but he wasn’t sure whom they belonged to. He hesitated for a minute but finally got up the courage to knock. It couldn’t be worse than where he had just been.

The door opened and a very shocked-looking Giles stood there and stared at him. He was sure he looked frightful - half dressed, filthy, covered in demon gore and blood - but he hoped that he would be welcomed inside.

“Xander? Is that really you?”

“Yeah, G-man. It’s me. Can I come in?”

Giles did not ask him to enter but he did step aside, allowing Xander entrance to his home if he was able to cross the barrier. Xander, of course, did.

In the living room, five sets of eyes turned to look at him. Willow, Tara, Buffy, Riley… and Spike. Xander couldn’t quite fathom what was wrong with this picture but something was definitely off. He heard Giles talking and spun around to look at him.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I said, what brings you to Sunnydale and are the others with you?”

“Uh, no others Giles. Just me. Can we… Can we talk in private for a minute?”

“Of course. Would you like to clean up first? You look like you’ve spent a week in a hell dimension.”

“Two actually, but that’s another story. Do you maybe have some clothes I could borrow? I think these need to be…”

“Burned?”

“Yeah, that or exorcised.”

Xander followed Giles upstairs to the bathroom and was handed a clean t-shirt, socks, and a pair of soft grey sweatpants. He smiled in thanks and then closed the door before stripping out of his soiled clothes and setting his journal on the counter. It was now the only thing he owned.

The hot water was a balm to his soul. He scrubbed himself raw with his fingernails and the soap. Every place the demon’s hands had touched received extra scrubbing. He washed his hair until the water ran cold and he had to turn it off. He dried himself slowly, luxuriating in the feel of the soft towel against his newly sensitive skin.

Once he was dressed and feeling a bit more human, he rummaged in the medicine cabinet until he found a spare toothbrush. He thoroughly cleaned his mouth and then drank about five glasses of water. Knowing that he couldn’t put it off any longer he picked up his journal, tucked it into the back of his pants and left the bathroom. He knew that Giles would have questions; Giles always had questions.

Riley owns Spike. Riley owns Spike, and no one here seems to be bothered by that fact. Buffy, who dated a vampire, is now dating a man who owns a vampire. Giles, a man who has many times threatened to stake Spike but never will as long as he remains harmless, who I know watched Passions with Spike - faithfully I might add - is not bothered by the fact that Spike is essentially a slave. Willow and Tara - two of the kindest, most soft-hearted people I know - are not bothered by this? Willow? A Jewish Wicca is okay with the owning of a sentient being?

Okay. I wrote it down, I read and re-read it and it still doesn’t make sense. These are not the people I know. My friends would not stand for this. Okay Spike is… well he’s Spike - a demon, an evil soulless thing. Yeah. An evil soulless thing that risked his life to save a frightened young girl from a hell God, that endured hours of torture from said hell God for the same young girl. An evil fiend that has saved my ass on more than one occasion when he could have let me die. How evil is that? How evil is a guy who laughs at Monty Python and watches Saturday morning cartoons?

Spike may be a demon, he may be soulless and evil, but I’ve seen him do things for the people he loves that souled beings wouldn’t risk. He fought through a mob for Dru, knights on horseback and a hell God for Buffy and Dawn. He’s saved Willow and Tara from countless beasties. He befriended Anya when she needed someone to talk to. Someone who would understand all that she had lost by becoming human. Spike is evil, but he’s my friend. I won’t leave him to this fate.

Xander closed his journal and tucked it under the pillow. He wasn’t lying when he told Giles he was beat. He needed sleep in the worst way. He would figure out a plan tomorrow. Unfortunately, he knew it would involve calling L.A. and talking to Angel.

Xander woke to the sound of voices downstairs. He wondered how long he had slept- He opened one eye and peered at the clock beside the bed. It was after 11 A.M.; that meant he had slept at least ten hours. He wondered who was downstairs with Giles.

“Only one way to find out.”

Xander pulled on the socks and t-shirt, having slept in the pants, and after once more tucking his journal into the back of his pants, left the room. He made a quick stop-off at the bathroom to freshen up, wishing he could jump in the shower and scrub himself raw. Again.

The first thing he noticed as he started down the stairs was that Spike was sitting on the sofa and Riley and Buffy were arguing with Giles in the kitchen. He studied the blond vampire for a minute. He looked like Spike, except he seemed… broken.

“Hey, Spike.”

The vampire swung around to look at him, wariness written on his face. He didn’t speak, but he didn’t look away either. Xander figured it was the best he was gonna get and took a chance.

“Look, I don’t know how long I have until they come back in here, so listen up. I’m not from here; this isn’t my dimension. In my world, we’re… friends. I don’t like Riley and I think what he is doing to you is wrong. I’m going to try and get you away from here.”

Spike still looked skeptical but nodded at him. Then with a move that was pure Spike, cocked one eyebrow and tilted his head.

“Why?”

“I told you. In my world, we’re friends. Hell, we were roomies for a while after you got chipped. Just try to trust me okay?”

Whatever Spike might have said to that, Xander would never know because in that instant, Riley walked through the door and Spike went back to what he was doing before he had spoken - nothing. Xander tried to look innocent and shrugged at Riley.

“Hey, how do you keep him quiet? The Spike on my world never shuts up.”

Xander really didn’t like the feral grin that Riley gave him as an answer. Nor did he like the way Spike flinched away when Riley strode toward him. It was all Xander could do not to throw up when Riley tipped Spike’s head back and wrenched his mouth open. There were holes where there should have been teeth. Teeth that would grow into fangs when his face changed.

“It learned not to disobey me. It wasn’t easy at first but eventually the training took. It doesn’t do anything without my permission, including speak.”

Xander swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat and tried once again to act casual.

“Hmm, so how many vampires do you own, or is this a one-of-a-kind?”

“This one is mine. It’s a prototype. I’m working the bugs out, so to speak. We believe that with the chips and the right training, demons could be taught to serve humanity; free labor if you will.”

“Like undead houseboys?”

Xander gave the patented goofy-Xander grin and Riley actually laughed. He slapped Xander on the shoulder and headed back to the kitchen. Xander shook off the feeling of revulsion he had after being touched by him.

“I’d rather have that demon’s hands on me again than his.”

Spike snorted.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

Xander swung around to look at Spike. He hadn’t expected him to talk to him again, not after the way he had just acted with Riley. The look in Spike’s eye told Xander that there was more to this ‘training’ than beatings and fang-removal. He almost didn’t want to know.

“Does he… hurt you?”

“What do you think. Look, you serious about helping me?”

“Yeah, very.”

“Then call my Sire.”

“Dru?”

“Angelus! Dru couldn’t help herself out of a corner with a map and a flashlight. Please, call my Sire. Tell him…”

“I will. I promise.”

Spike nodded and went back to ignoring everything around him. Xander slowly let out a breath and tried to put on a goofy face as he walked into the kitchen to meet the others.