DARK REFLECTION

by Nick Midian

nick_midian@mixmail.com

SPOILERS: For Buffy TVS: 3rd season, BUT no Xander/Willow kissing and no Lover's Walk (Welcome to the wonderful State of Denial, Land of 'Shippiness.)

For Highlander: None really, the characters of the TV series and films are only tangentially mentioned. You just need to know the basics of the Highlander-style immortality, BUT I've always thought that whole 'immortals have no parents and are found in a little basket' is a... um, the Spanish word for it is 'chorrada', so let's just ignore it, ok?

KEYWORDS: Action-adventure, Violence, Romance (C/X, B/A, W/O, G/J, Other/Other. Yeah, I'm a groupie :) ), Angst, Alternate Universe, Crossover (Highlander).

SUMMARY: In year 2002, a very changed Xander comes back to Sunnydale, and he's not alone. How will his old friends react? Which are the secrets that he keeps?

This Chapter: Xander pays his first visit to... Angel.

RATING: I'd say a general PG-13 with some R parts for violence and sexual innuendo.

LEGALISTIC DISCLAIMER: This story has been written with no intention of profit, merely for the pleasure of writing and sharing it.

The concept and characters of Buffy TVS (Buffy, Angel, Xander, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce Summers, Spike and the rest) are intellectual and legal property of Joss Whedon, Warner Brothers, Mutant Enemy, etc.

Also, the concept of Highlander and the characters here mentioned are the property of Rysher Entertaiment.

Michael Deveraux, Rachel Curran, Crystal Parker, Kyle White Owl, Henri Duprè, Robert Coltrane, Osborne and Elvis the Dog are of my own creation. Even when Gilles de Rais is not a fictional character, this view of him it is, so I guess it's also of my property... Or not... Or whatever.

All the lyrics used in the story are legal property of their respective rights owners.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Endless thanks to Mash, for the French, all the laughs, all your wonderful comments and the new (and better) ending. To Aslan and Krac (Goddesses of fic) for all their advices and (enormous) work with my English grammar. Without you this wouldn't have been possible. This is your work as much as mine.

NOTE: Please, understand that English is not my native language, so any grammatical or spelling errors are only my fault, not of any one of my wonderful beta-readers. This is also my first serious attempt at fanfic, so, if you're thinking in sending any flames, please be kind with me. I'm a grown up man, but I still can cry like a child, believe me.

For all of you that like to put real faces to the characters there will be a short cast list at the end of every chapter. Tell me what do you think of it! :)


DARK REFLECTION
by Nick Midian


CHAPTER ONE: Back Alleys And Frontal Face-Offs

November 14, 2002. 20:01 p.m.

Devil came to me,
And he said: 'I know what you need',
Devil came to me,
And he said: 'You belong to me'...

"Devil Came To Me", Dover

One could say that, not being able to go anywhere during the daytime, the least a vampire could do is to be ready to go out when the darkness arrived. But then, one could say a lot of things that are great in theory but are crumpled down by the weight of reality, like the communism, the free love or the trigonometry.

So, that dark but not unpleasantly cold night of November found the souled vampire known as Angel rushing through the dark alleys of Sunnydale in an almost desperate attempt to arrive on time to the date with his girlfriend. People didn't understand how complex and how much effort it required to keep his appearance as neat and cool as it usually was. Most of them thought that being a vampire guaranteed to have the looks and the style he had. If only they know the work that required to comb his hair...

Angel smiled a secret smile. Nothing was good enough for his Buffy. There was no mountain he didn't climb, no ocean he didn't swim, no monster he didn't engage and defeat...

[ Oh God, look at me, ] he thought with a bright smile lightening his usually haunted features, [ I'm a fool in love. ]

But there was no surprise about it, he couldn't recall a time in his life where he hadn't loved her. He was the light of his darkness, the sun of his nights, the...

[ Here I go again. Soon I'll be singing the whole Carpenters' repertory. ]

Of course, there always was that little cloud hanging over his head but, considering everything, he could say that he was reasonably happy. As happy as he could be without being completely happy.

[ Ooops, dark mood rising, watch your step little Angel, ] he said to himself using the nickname that Buffy had chosen for him in the latest months.

He looked at his gold watch. He was late. Way late, in fact. Should he prepare an excuse? < My blood supplies were running low and I had to grab a late snack. > No, way too disgusting. He could hear de 'yieeeks' in Cordelia's voice. < A nasty vampire crossed my path and I had to slay him. > No, too used. Better stick to the truth. It always was the best policy, and Buffy had the annoying capacity of discovering him whenever he used a little gauze to cover the truth. What the heck, she always caught him red-handed when he lied. But he had a serious problem telling her girlfriend in front of all of their friends that he was late because he had to comb his hair without the help of a mirror. Sometimes it really sucked to be a vamp...

Someone was following him.

Angel gulped needlessly and stopped dead in his track. He could feel him in the back of his neck. A presence. Dark, vibrating, powerful... Something that he hadn't felt in years, since a night he would gladly forget. He closed his hand to the wooden stake that was hidden inside his jacket and spoke coldly without turning back.

"I'm not in the mood for this kind of games," he said to the darkness behind him. "So, why don't you take a step into the light and cut to the chase?"

"What's up, Deadboy?" said a voice he hadn't hear in three years, using a name for him that hadn't been pronounced in an equal amount of time. "Are you in a hurry? Late for this night's date?"

If there was possible, he would had said that the blood had turned ice inside his veins. Angel slowly turned around, facing a figure he thought he would not see again.

"Harris," said slowly with a suddenly dry mouth. "It's been a long time."

Xander took a step into the light, showing his bare hands. "It's good to know that your instincts hadn't rusted with time. How are you? And the family and the kids?"

Angel only needed a second to see the differences between the dark vampire that stood in front of him and the young man that he had once known. First of all were the clothes. Gone were the baggy pants and the god-awful shirts. Now all of his clothes were black, black jeans, black hiking boots, black silk shirt and a long black leather coat. His hair was longer than the last time he had seen him, almost as long as the first time he had known the boy. And there was a little gold hoop hanging from the lobe of his right ear.

"I see that your taste in clothes has improved," the older vampire observed.

"Yeah, it's a shame that I had to die to change my wardrobe," Xander said with a shrug. "But I'm not here to talk about male fashion."

Angel smiled slow and sadly. "I always knew that if you came back sometime I would be the first that you'd pay a visit."

Xander didn't return his smile and Angel saw something strange in the eyes of the younger vampire. Sadness, weariness, pain. "I haven't come to fight with you, Angel," he said slowly. "The reason why I'm here tonight is because I knew that you'd be the only one that wouldn't try to stake me on first sight or run away screaming at the top of his lungs. I just want to talk."

The older vampire looked at his opponent with caution. "Why should I believe you?"

"Truth to be told Angel, I don't give a damn about what you believe or not. I just want you to tell Buffy and Giles that I want a tête-a-tête with them. With their conditions. Wherever they want, whenever they want."

"You know, they're not going to bite a so obvious bait," Angel said.

Xander just shrugged and produced a white card from the pocket of his coat. "It's your call, you can call me to this number with the decision."

"A cell phone?" Angel said looking at the number.

"What can I say? We're on the 21st century."

"Can't you tell me what you do want to talk about with them?"

Xander looked at Angel through half closed eyes. "Believe it or not, Deadboy, but I'm not an enemy. I never was, not even when you tried to kill me three years ago."

"Well, you sure looked like one when you attacked Willow. I wasn't the one who tried to bite her in the neck."

"You should know better than anyone how is the first time, Angel." Xander angrily stated. "When you wake up alone, confused and blinded with that red-hot need clouding your eyes."

"So, we should have made an exception with you because you were our friend, didn't we?"

Xander's answer was ice-cold. "Why not? We did it with you."

The two vampires glared coldly at each other for a few moments. Then, Xander let go a long sigh and passed a hand over his face. "I should have known better than this. Look Angel, you just tell Buffy, okay? I'm not a threaten to anyone of you, I swear."

Angel assented silently with his head and looked at the boy, not very sure of what to say. Xander looked suddenly shy, like if he wanted to say something but didn't know how to put it into words. "Do you know something about my parents?" he said finally.

Angel looked at him surprised. "Your mother went out of town shortly after the funeral. I don't know where she is now. Your father... he died a few months after that, in a car accident."

"He was drunk." A statement, not a question.

Angel just nodded without saying a word. Xander looked surprisingly sad for somebody who supposedly hadn't a soul. "And the guys, what about them?"

"I'd rather not to talk about them," Angel said coldly.

"Not to talk about them or not talk about them with me?"

"I think you can figure it yourself."

Xander nodded and turned his back to Angel. In the last moment before vanishing again into the shadows of the night he said, without looking at the older vampire. "I know you are not going to believe me Deadboy, but I've missed you. All of you."

And then he was gone.

***

There are few things that you can do to have fun if you are young and live in Sunnydale. You can go to the mall or the beach, see a film in one of the three theatres of the town or spend the time hanging at the only night club of the town: the infamous Bronze.

Of course, if you are a proud member of the Scooby Gang you can always have a good time slaying vampires and endangering your own life fighting the evil creatures of the night, but that's a luxury that is reserved for a few lucky ones. Or a few unlucky ones, depending on your point of view.

So, the common choice for a night of R&R in Sunnydale was a dance and a drink at the Bronze. Like the small group of friends were doing that night. Or would be doing if their spiritual leader wouldn't be sat at their table with a dark and thick cloud forming over her blonde head.

The young red-headed woman that sat across the table looked at her with worry. "He will be okay," she said. "You know, he's a grown up boy. In fact he's the most grown up boy I've ever known."

"He better be, 'cause if he's not I'm gonna kill him," the blonde one answered without rising his eyes from the soft drink that her hands were holding. "I swear you, Will. I'll kick his undead butt."

The third girl that shared the table took a sip from her cappuccino and put a loose strand of her almost-perfectly combed dark brown hair behind her ear. "I can't understand you, Buffy. I mean, I can't recall a single time when Angel has arrived on time to a date with you. Why are you so worried?"

Buffy was about to answer her when Oz descended from the stage and sat beside Willow, quickly kissing her on the lips. "Hi girls," he saluted. "Where's big bad Angel?"

"He's late," Buffy told him a little bit harshly.

"Oh surprise," the young man said with a smile and taking his girlfriend's hand in his own. "Do you want to launch a rescue party?"

"It's seems is not going to be necessary," Willow announced pointing to the entrance of the local. "Here he comes."

"Right into his doom," Cordelia said with a smile.

The tall vampire neared them with a dark and guarded expression on his handsome face.

"I was going to yell and scream murder at you, Angel," Buffy said slowly rising from her seat. "But I've seen that face before. What gives?"

Angel took her hand and kissed her knuckles sweetly. Then he looked at the young people that had became his only family and friends with the course of time. And then he said the three words that all of them had feared to hear for the last three years.

"Xander is back."

***

Michael Deveraux licked his lips and looked carefully around him. He looked at the content of one of the many containers that were almost carelessly piled up around him and made a new mark on the notepad that he was holding. Then he moved to the next one and checked its content.

"You known what he is going to say when he saw this place, don't you?" he asked to the darkness that surrounded the little cone of yellow light produced by the electric lamp over him.

"Who?" a voice said from the darkness behind him.

"You know who."

"Oh, you mean him."

Michael left the notepad over the nearest vault and turned around. Xander slowly came out the darkness and stepped into the light. "He's going to scream bloody murder. He's going to be protesting for days."

"And that's supposed to be something new? He's always protesting. He was born with a protest in his British mouth." Xander examined some of the containers. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Kyle fex-ed all the non-compromising material. I imagine that he will bring the rest of the stuff with him." He saw Xander nodding absent-mindly and added, "I also expect him to bring the Knicks Cheerleaders and the Mets defensive line. They will make a great asset."

"Aha."

"Xander!" Michael said annoyed.

Xander sighed slowly and left the piece of hardware he was holding in the same place were he had picked it from. "I'm sorry," he said, "I'm a little... out of it."

"It's gone so bad?" his friend asked with a deep note of concern in his voice.

"Not very bad, on the way I expected it to go. It's just that..."

"What?"

"I didn't thought I was going to be so affected just by seeing him again. I mean, back in the old days Angel and I hadn't exactly the best of relationships."

"A love-hate one?" Michael ventured.

"Not exactly. I hated him and he ignored me. But now..."

"He's an important part of your past, mon ami. It's perfectly normal to be affected by it. Besides, now you can see him in a new light, so to speak."

Xander sighed again and passed a hand through his dark hair. "I have to cool down or I won't be of any help."

"I know you, Xand, you'll do it good."

Xander smiled crookedly to his dear friend and took off his coat, leaving it over one of the boxes. "Where's my stuff?" he asked.

"Over there," answered Michael pointing with his chin to a dark bulk formed by some bags. "By the mattresses."

"The mattresses?"

"Yeah, I haven't had enough time to buy appropriate furniture. Those will have to work until I had everything set up."

"Are these things comfortable at least?" Xander said looking doubtfully at the hard-looking mattresses.

Michael just rose his brow and grinned lopsidedly. "Nope."

"I think I'll try them anyway," Xander said falling down on the nearest one while he rolled up his left shirt sleeve. "We've been in worst places."

"I know," Michael said with a smile, "I remember Cleveland."

"God," the young vampire said rummaging inside one of his dark bags. "That was a real first-class rat-hole."

Xander took a black leather case out of the bag and zipped it open. Inside the case were a little injector gun and some colorless serum flasks. The dark haired boy shook up one of the flasks and loaded it on the injector.

"How much this time?" Michael asked with a worried expression.

"20 milligrams."

"That's bording on the limit, are you sure you want to do it?" Michael observed, sitting beside his friend.

"I have no other option." Xander looked carefully at the intricate tattoo that, with the shape of a Chinese green dragon, begun in his left wrist and ascended turning around his arm until it disappeared inside his rolled-up shirt sleeve. He flexed his hand, opening and closing his fist until a vein popped up in his forearm.

"You know that's not true." Xander just looked at him and said nothing. "Do you want me to hold you?"

Xander smiled and nodded. "Just don't make anything personal out of it, okay?"

"Who, moi?" Michael sat behind his friend and hugged him, wrapping his arms around his chest, one under Xander's left arm and the other over his right shoulder. "I'm ready if you are."

Xander put a boxing teeth protector inside his mouth and bit it angrily. "Here we go," he announced with his voice muffled because of the protector. Then he injected himself with the gun. The flask quickly got empty and the serum kicked in almost immediately. Michael's arms tightened around his chest as he held his friend with all the strength he had.

Xander's eyes rolled up and his mouth hung open while the convulsions begun to take over his body. The young vampire trembled with uncontrollable tremors and sweat broke out his skin. His whole face got completely covered with perspiration and Michael felt it drenching his shirt. The growl was born in the mouth of Xander's stomach and worked its way to his throat, becoming a roar that could not be denied. His body stretched out and stilled in Michael's arms with his back so arched up that it looked like it was going to break any moment. His face, totally vamped out, looked up the dark ceiling of the warehouse and he let go a roar that was a mix of pure pleasure and unbearable pain.

Michael hung onto his friend for dear life, praying for not having to fight with Xander's incomparable vampire strength. "Hang on, mon frère," he said almost in a whisper. "Just hang on."

Then, Xander just collapsed into is arms and laid still, slowly but heavily breathing. Michel hugged him, rocking the young man like he would do with a little child. He slowly caressed his forehead and soft brown hair.

"Whoa," Xander finally said with a weak voice after spitting the teeth protector, "this has been a good one."

Michael was unable to hold a chuckle, never stopping his rocking movements. "You've got me really scared out there for a moment," he said. "You have to stop doing this, Xander. You're going to fry your brain one of these days."

The young vampire extricated from his hug and let his head rest on the make-shift pillow that was made with one of his bags. "Can we talk about this any other moment, please? I need to catch a few hours of sleep."

Michael nodded and let his friend rest. "Ok, sleep well, mon ami. I'll hold the fort while you rest." Xander just mumbled something unintelligible and let himself slip into Morpheus' arms. So, he couldn't see his friend taking again the notepad and looking at him sadly. "Tout ira bien, mon ami. Everything is going to be alright."


End of Chapter One


The Cast for this Chapter:
Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
David Boreanaz as Angel
Seth Green as Oz
Matthew Perry as Michael Deveraux

You liked it? :) You hated it? :( Anyway drop me a line, I'll love to hear everything you have to say.

Stay Tuned for the next chapter: 'I could had loved you so easy'