Travels to the Hellmouth

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from BtVS, Ranma ½, PoL, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Due South, Highlander, XFiles, CSI:NY, or Lara Croft … But I really wish I did... then they’d perform for us all.... *drools*

Travels to the Hellmouth

By the end of the week, Riley and Alex had the group trained to the point where they could survive in Sunnydale. When the final four arrived, Riley was glad that Ranma knew about the supernatural, but he refused to say anything with Riley and Alex in the room. They knew that the rest of the group had been informed, since Adam mentioned that Ranma’s experiences with the supernatural would help them understand some situations better, especially magic.

While both men were confused about the answer they got, the three ladies made it clear that they were to leave Ranma alone, and that they would harm anyone who went after him for any reason. Agreeing to the terms, Riley and Alex had left so that the eight could bond over the assignment; it would allow the team to work better once they arrived to protect their charges. Now, as they packed the three vans for travel, Riley could only pray that Buffy and the others would agree to the protections.

“So how should we approach them?” Alex’s voice was smooth and curious. While the government agent was highly recommended, Riley knew that he was also sent as a deterrent to prevent any misconceptions. He was possibly also there to report on the success or failure of the mission.

“I was going to call them once we were on the road. It takes about an hour from here to Sunnydale, and that gives them enough time to get together. When we get there, both of us could go in and mention that there are ten of us total, and see if they are ready to meet with us. One of us would go and get the other eight and the other would begin to explain what is going on.” Here Riley licked his lips.

“Buffy is most likely going to freak out over this. So I’ll have to make sure that if she attacks, we get one of the others to help hold her down if necessary.”

Alex nodded and started the car, giving Riley the time to dial the number to reach Rupert Giles.

“Hey Giles; it’s Riley. We’re about an hour out of town and are headed your way. Do me a favor and keep all weapons away from Buffy?” Alex saw the smirk form on Riley’s face.

“No worries Giles. No, it’s nothing bad. I just ask that you listen to us and wait until we explain everything to you in person.” He nodded to the words on the phone.

“Remember we need Joyce, Tara, Xander, Willow, Buffy and you to be there. If Joyce is still dating, then her boyfriend should be there too.” Riley winced.

“Sorry to hear that Giles, but we should be there shortly. Thanks man.” With that Riley hung up and leaned back in his seat.

“Do they have any idea what’s going to go on?” Ranma’s voice filtered through the speakers startling Riley.

“They will when we get down. If they get to meet all of you, it might also help with a few misconceptions. It’ll also protect you asses from the wrath of Buffy.”

“Yes, not being beaten to death by the Slayer is always a good thing to want.” Mr. John Smith’s voice filtered through the speakers, followed by a soft smack.

“Behave Husband. If we can get Mrs. Summers, Miss McClay and Mr. Harris to agree, then we just need to get one more to accept for it to work. I believe that they use majority voting when it comes to these matters.” Mrs. Jane Smith’s voice flowed and a soft chuckle was heard.

“I agree with you there, but we still must be respectful until that point in time. If not, I have a feeling that our main supporter will shun us out of spite.” Adam’s voice came and an assessing noise from Amanda came as well.

“And who will be our main supporter?” Lara Croft’s voice came through next.

“Why, Mr. Xander Harris of course. He knows and understands the need to protect the treasures of the group.” Adam’s voice came back with a smirk, and another smack was heard.

“Don’t taunt our fellow allies Old Man. I would hate to have to need another person so close to our meeting with our protectees.” Amanda’s voice came, followed by several chuckles of laughter.

“Fine, I’ll behave. Only because I know you’ll get the Boy Scout to come down to take my place.” The fondness was apparent, but it was spoken in a mocking tone.

“I would suggest we put on the amulets before we cross the city limits. They should protect us from any mystical backlash from broken or warped spells of the Hellmouth.” Fraser’s voice flowed easily, and the shuffling of fabric was heard.

“I’m quite glad that you got us these Benton, they should protect us until a further date when the magics are no longer harmful to us.” Lara’s voice flowed, making Riley smile. He could only hope that good things would come from this mission.

“It’s like you found a shaman to make these for you.” Dino’s voice was curious.

“Well, the Inuit tribes in the Territories taught those of us who believed and understood how to deal with the pool of darkness in the ice on one of the islands. The protections are simple to make, and by making it out of wood, it makes it easier to add more protections.” Benton went on with his explanation that the wood he used was perfect for protection; it could always soak up more magic and purify it with the right runes engraved into them.

The group chatted about their experiences with the supernatural as the three cars made their way through the afternoon. Alex and Riley simply smiled at how easily the eight got along, but he had a feeling that in these eight days, they all let out a few things that made them tick. Both men knew that the eight would have to trust each other more than them, and with them being only the informants, then they did not have the right to hear their secrets.

With everyone chatting, the ride did not take as long and soon the three cars were pulling out in front of the Magic Box. Xander was standing out front and stepped inside upon seeing the ten people and had given Riley a nod before sliding past the doors.

“Hey Giles, Riley’s here with the people he wanted us to talk to. There are ten of them, like he said.” Xander waited at the entrance to the room where the group stood and when the ten people entered the store, Xander waved for them to follow.

“Oh and Buffy, you can’t hurt them. No matter how much your spidey sense goes off.” Xander got a chuckle from everyone, and scowl from Buffy.

“Now now children; behave. We do have company and I have promised Riley that I would let him explain why these people wanted to meet with us.” Giles’ voice cut through the chatter and Joyce stepped in.

“Before we begin, would any of you like something to drink? We have tea, soda, juice, coffee and water. Also, please have a seat.” Joyce’s actions proved that she needed to be protected, and Xander instinctively knew it and it showed when he got up to help her with making of tea and bringing out some coffee.

Once every one had their drink of choice and was seated around the table, Xander sat down close to Tara and Joyce and began to assess the group. Riley looked to be a bit tired, but if the last email he had sent was correct, then he had surgery recently to correct what the drugs from the Initiative had done to his heart. Looking at the group, he saw the three elegant ladies, and knew instinctively that two were taken, and they were all deadly. The men were all exotic in Xander’s mind, and the young Asian man seemed to have the same triggers that he did.

“Before I explain why we are here, I think I should give you a few names for the faces.” Riley looked a bit sheepish at that, making Xander snicker softly at the look of ‘duh’ on Willow’s face, and the rising look of grumpiness on Buffy’s.

“Alex Krycek is here to help me explain everything to you. Once we are done with the explanations, he and I shall be leaving you with the eight that came in with us.” Riley raised a hand at Buffy’s opening mouth and shot her a glare.

“If you can wait for the introductions and explanations to be done, then you can ask questions, not before Buffy.” She shot him a glare and sulked when her own mother smacker her in the head.

“Please keep going Riley, and ignore my daughter, she’s been on her ‘I’m special’ kick for a few days now.” Xander nodded and shot a glare at the blonde girl as well, showing that he had been the main recipient of her attitude.

“Thank you Joyce. The man next to me is Dino Martini. He’s an ex-Navy Seal and has recently left the business of negotiating for kidnapping and ransom demands. His knowledge of modern weapons is second to none, and he is also a good tactician. He was impressed with the assault at graduation and on the base.” Xander had a startled look on his face, and the red headed man gave him a small smirk and nod.

“The couple beside him is Mr. John Smith and his wife Mrs. Jane Smith. They are a pair of assassins who assisted us by removing two main groups of terrorists by infiltration. They, like anyone else in the group, can tell you more about their exploits once Alex and I leave.” Xander chuckled.

“You don’t know much more about them, do you Riley?” Riley smirked and shook his head.

“You caught me on that Xander. But I can tell you that they have over five hundred kills to their name.” That got a whistle and a nod of respect from the young man to the couple. They smirked; Harris would be fun to teach.

“Beside Jane Smith is Ranma Saotome. He is the champion of Anything Goes martial arts. For the past four years, he has been undefeatable, and is skilled in offensive and defensive attacks. He is very skilled, and understands the issues that arise when one is on the Hellmouth.” At this point, Riley noticed that Xander understood what was going on and he began to take more detailed notes, making sure that neither Buffy nor Willow could see them.

“Next is Constable Benton Fraser. He is an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and knows about the Hellmouth from his stay near the one in the Territories. He worked with an Inuit tribe to keep that Hellmouth closed and sealed. His knowledge in magic is very good, and he can spot a user of black magic fairly quickly.” The wolf on the ground growled at Willow.

//Dark wench!// Xander looked confused at the voice, and looked around for it.

“Diefenbaker, sit down and let Captain Finn finish his explanations before you sit on the young miss for abusing the art of magic.”

//But she reeks of black magic!// Xander held back gasp of surprise that he could hear the wolf talking and looked at Joyce and Tara for some help, after giving them a note on what the wolf had said.

“We know that Willow is having issues with magic, when this is done, perhaps you can help us.” Joyce’s voice brought the attention back to their corner of the table.

“I do apologize, Diefenbaker shall not disturb-” Xander’s yelp cut him off as Diefenbaker put one paw on Xander’s lap.

“Down!” Xander tried to convey with a look that they’ll talk later, getting a huff and the wolf sitting at his feet. Glaring at the wolf, he broke open a pack of Twinkies and gave one to the wolf and ate the other.

“Sorry, he wanted a Twinkie.” He gave an innocent look, and the others were amazed at how the two other girls and the older man simply shrugged it off. Only Joyce and Tara gave him a knowing look before Riley took over the introductions again.

“Beside the Constable, we have Miss Lara Croft. She is an archeologist and has gone on many digs. She is the best in her field for she goes after the rarer treasures for the museums. She is the best since Professor Indiana Jones, and can translate many of the old languages.” Giles hummed in appreciation.

“Beside Miss Croft is Adam Pierson. He has had many deals with the supernatural and is the owner of several corporations that deal in cutting technology. Adam is also a Master swordsman and has a grand knowledge of arcane weapons. He prides himself on his knowledge of swords, axes and crossbows.” Everyone looked at Adam, and the woman next to him chuckled at his disgruntled look.

“Last but not least, the young woman beside Mr. Pierson is Amanda Buckman. She was a student of Adam, and has agreed to assist him before she breaks off and takes on her own students. She isn’t as knowledgeable in weaponry, but she does know much about security. She enjoys the challenge of fixing the weaker areas in any building.” Joyce looked interested in her qualifications, and got a nod from her at her interest.

The two groups assessed each other and Xander simply looked at Riley with a little half grin. Alex gave Joyce and the others a few packets and let them look it over. Xander, Joyce and Tara were the only ones that skimmed it, making them nod in understanding. Once they were done, Riley took a few more sips of his now cold coffee and began to explain why they were here.

“After the issue with your graduation and the Initiative was disbanded, many of the world leaders got together to deal with the knowledge of demons. Seeing that your group and others were dealing with the threat, it was noticed that your group had the least amount of support.” He held his hand up at Buffy’s protests.

“Buffy, in most other places whole clans of people defend the other Hellmouths and there are hunters out who attack the violent and dangerous demons between the portals. When we looked at your group we saw that there were three people that were the core, and they needed to be protected.” He glared at her and made her back down.

“Your mother, Tara and Xander-” The laugh cut him off until the slap was heard.

“Y-yes X-Xander! I-if it w-wasn’t for him Buffy would be dead, and so would you!” Tara’s eyes were filled with a fire and Xander hugged her to calm her down.

“She’s right ladies, or do you forget the spell that placed Xander as the Heart, or the fact that he performed CPR to save Buffy’s life?” Seeing the slumping at the words, Riley nodded and kept going.

“Now, you have all been watched and it was a consensus that agreed that these eight ladies and gentlemen would protect Joyce, Tara and Xander from being killed. Joyce is the rock of the group.” Seeing the startled look in her eyes, Riley nodded, “Yes you are Joyce. If you died, no one would have someone to help them see the problems from the outside looking in. You give them a sounding board and let them talk about things that are pushing against their minds.” Looking at Tara next, Riley smiled.

“Tara is Willow’s anchor. If Tara was killed, Willow would destroy the world, and we believe that only Xander would be able to stop it.” Tara looked uncomfortable and Xander gave her another hug. “Also, Tara is a source of pure white magic. She knows the rules that go with the spells and potions, thus making the practicing of magic easier and safer. Besides, we know that she and Willow is no longer an item, we heard about the attempted mind rape.”

“I know that it is a strong weight to take on,” Alex said, “but there is hope to lessen your burden.” Tara gave Alex a small smile at his words and looked back at Riley.

“Also, Tara is a source of pure white magic. She knows the rules that go with the spells and potions, thus making the practicing of magic easier and safer. Besides, like we said earlier, we know that she and Willow is no longer an item, we heard about the attempted mind rape.” Riley glared at Willow, making her shrink down in her seat.

“Lastly, Xander is the reason you are all still alive. While he may not have any powers that you can physically see, he is your tactician and your moral compass. If you had listened to him back in high school about Angelus, then The Judge and the portal to Hell would have never been opened, and Buffy would have been killed when she had the flu. Also, if it hadn’t been for Xander, the bomb under the library would have gone off, and Graduation would have had more casualties.” Xander shifted in place and looked down in embarrassment, while the girls and Giles looked away guiltily.

“You seem to forget that he had to stake his best friend, and that motivation to prevent anyone else from having to deal with that sort of pain keeps him going. While he has gotten possessed, I’m surprised that Giles never noticed that Xander could become a shaman with the right training, since he is a Medium.” Giles spluttered and looked at Xander’s aurora and flushed in shame at missing that.

“So, we have eight people to give you backup and to help keep an eye out for your core. I can tell you right now, that if you do not wish for the protections, we will let you all be. The eight will remain in town, but they will not be as close as if they were truly watching over you.” Riley sat down and Buffy stood to speak when Xander spoke first.

“I can get behind your plan Riley. A stronger force is always a good thing, and it would be nice to have a group of people who understand what we do, and allow us to lean on them when we need it.” Joyce and Tara nodded, they believed in Xander’s hunches, and understood why he believed in it.

“I don’t care Xander. You might be able to trust them on a flip of a coin, but I don’t.” Buffy smirked at Xander, but then got worried at the smirk he sent back.

“Like how you trusted Angel right away and Riley the first time? Yes, I can see how you don’t trust people. You can trust them when they don’t have honorable intentions; but, when they do, you try to push them away. Really smart of you Buffy, and to think you were my hero at one point in time.” Xander sat back and went back to his notes, missing the shocked and pained look on Buffy’s face.

“Xander is correct Buffy. You do not have the best of luck when it comes to trusting people. Also, Xander always seems to know when a person is about to cause harm, it’s the person he never likes.” Giles looked at Riley, “We agree to the protection. I’ll make sure that Buffy stays in line.”

Riley nodded and stood with Alex. “Thank you for agreeing. There are two vans at your disposal, and if you need more help, Dino has the information to reach us at.”

With that Riley and Alex left, leaving the two groups to integrate themselves. Riley only hoped that Buffy would get over herself soon, or the team would leave her out to dry.

As the eight moved to talk to Giles and the three they needed to protect, Buffy looked like she was getting jumpy. Xander was putting some final touches on his plans when Giles spoke.

“Buffy, attacking would not be in your best interests. We have agreed to the protection, and you will accept it.” Giles’s voice made Joyce look at her daughter. The girl looked as if she was going to lung for a sword and fight back.

Buffy leaped up to attack anyways when her mother stood up and smacked her in the head again. “Buffy Anne Summers! What has gotten into you?! You have been offered help so that you can focus better and you try to pick a fight! I raised you better than this young lady!” Xander stared at Joyce in awe as she dressed Buffy down, in a way that would make Cordelia jealous, and she then turned to look at Xander.

“Sweetie, please show our new guests your plans that you begun while Riley was talking.” Xander gave her a shy smile and moved to sit beside Dino.

“I took notes on what Riley said you could do. Constable, since you are familiar with magic on a Hellmouth, could you set up the protections around our homes?”

“I believe that we should all be closer together. A few houses side by side would do wonders for us. Most clans would use three to four homes if they were about our size, but I can see us with four or five. Once that is set up, it is easy to carve the runes into the wood of the home to purify the magics and make it protective.” Xander nodded.

“Ok, Joyce, are there four homes around yours for sale?”

“There are the five homes around me for sale. If we can get all of them, we could ensure a better web of protection, can’t we?” She smiled at the nod from the Constable that got a blinding smile from Xander.

“Perfect then; should we keep my apartment just in case or no?” Dino shook his head.

“No, we’ll stick together, if someone needs to head out, we could use the lawn between the houses to do it. Also, it gives us a chance to see who makes what, and who will need an allowance.” That got a nod from Xander and he went back to his plans.

“Ms. Buckman, since you are good with finding spots we’ll miss, can you make sure that the six lots will be as close to impenetrable without permission as possible? I know we’ll have to wait for the spells to be cast, but I think we can get a good web and fence placed as wards.”

“Call me Amanda, and yes I can do that.” Xander gave her a shy smile.

“Wicked; next Tara and Joyce will need to know more self-defense, Saotome-san could you teach them please?” He got a nod and he looked at the other five.

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith, could you both work with Mr. Martini in making sure that we have enough protective weaponry if possible? I know that you are more used to guns than swords, so would it be possible to do so?” They nodded.

“Lady Croft and Mr. Pierson, could you go over all of our swords, axes and crossbows? I’ll need to know what needs to be sharpened and what can be used for training. I know that my battle-axe needs to be sharpened, but that’s about it.” Both agreed, and Xander shifted at the scrutiny of the majority of the other group.

//Pup, I’m please you know what to do.// The wolf’s voice made him yelp and glare at the wolf.

“Not cool. I don’t like being startled like that, just like I’m sure you don’t like it when someone steps on your tail.” The Constable moved to speak when the wolf spoke first.

//I understand pup// Diefenbaker let out a small wolfish laugh. //It’ll be nice to talk to someone other than Benton now and then.//

Xander nodded and looked at the Constable. “Can you teach me? This is the first time I could talk to something other than human or demon and understand what they are telling me.”

“I shall teach you, but it is not a simple process.” Xander gave him a small, sad smile.

“Nothing with magic is simple, you cast a spell and it always has a consequence. Even if you just cast a spell to see how someone is doing, there is a price to pay, and it’s not always a good thing.” Benton smiled at the wisdom from Xander and caught Willow’s wince and scowl.

As they had been speaking, Adam called the local home retailing office and got the five houses needed. Hanging up the phone, he gazed at Dino; he was watching the boy with a paternal look of pride and chuckled once Benton was done speaking.

“I just got off the phone with the retailers. The five houses are ours and the keys will be dropped off in an hour. Now, I believe that we should check out the homes, for we will need supplies.” Adam frowned and Joyce spoke up.

“I can feed everyone tonight while you set up the delivery schedule for furniture and appliances. Tara, dear, could you help me shop for supper tonight? Xander can show them the way back to our place and Giles can give a lift to the girls. I hope that there will be no problems with this?” Xander glared at Diefenbaker as he chuckled at the quick assertion from the girls.

“That goes for you to dog.” That cut off his laughter and he whined.

//I’m a wolf, not a dog! And I always behave!// Xander chuckled and the Constable snorted.

“Unless you want to eat spinach, I suggest you do listen to Mrs. Summers, Diefenbaker.” With that said, the groups split and moved to the cars on the street.

Xander sat in the van with Dino, Adam, Amanda and Lara, leaving John, Jane, Benton, Diefenbaker and Ranma in the other car to follow. The directions were simple to follow, and made them quite glad to have been in a small town. Adam slipped out to meet with the real-estate agent for the keys to the five other homes and quickly caught up with the others. He entered as Xander began to talk about their new homes.

“You’re all quite lucky. There only has to be a few minor repairs in the houses. If you want I can go through each and tell you what you’ll need to repair each one. I know one of them has an issue with the tub, and another has a hole in one of the upper floors, but that’s easy to fix.” Laura spoke first.

“You know construction?” He nodded.

“Yeah, I’m the foreman of the local construction crew. I’ve been doing construction for two years now.” The group smiled.

“Excellent. We’ll pay you for your time-” Xander cut Adam off quickly.

“Whoa! I don’t charge friends man. Besides that, I’ll be crashing at one of your places anyways.” He shrugged and blinked at the hand clapping his shoulder.

“Very well; now, Benton, could you begin to carve the runes on this house? It’ll be the focal point for all the other homes.” A nod was given as Xander was dragged out of the house.

“Now, we’ll do the estimations now, this way we can get everything bought by tomorrow.” Dino shook his head at Adam’s enthusiasm.

Dino lead Xander through each house and was told what types of wood to buy and the length of each needed. He explained that while cheaper is ok for the base floors, for the upper floors you wanted a good solid wood. Those were a bit more expensive, but worth it in the long run, especially to prevent the floor from falling out from under you if you have loud kinky sex.

The list for each house was small, and they found that a group of vampires wanted to use one of the houses as a nest. Keeping the stolen goods, Xander explained that they didn’t always have the luxury of buying good weapons. The majority of the time, Xander raided nests to get money and weapons for Giles to use when his broke.

Dino approved of the method, and offered to join him in his next raid with a few of the others. They would want in on the plan, just to see how to react and deal with the vampire population.

“Hey Xander, after Giles, Buffy and Willow leave for the night, the eight of us would like to talk to you, Tara and Joyce about our supernatural attachments.” Dino looked over and got a smile in return.

“Sure thing Dino, I just hope that you don’t meet Spike tonight. He’s a vampire with a government chip in his head thanks to the Initiative. They were a bunch of torturing bastards. Took any kind of demon and tortured it to see what it did. They didn’t care if they were harmless or not. A good example would be Spike now. Because of the chip they put in his brain, he can’t hunt unless it’s other demons, and he needs to buy blood.” Dino shook his head at that.

“Even though he did tell us that he was a part of the Initiative, I can see why you wouldn’t have trusted Riley to protect you three. Buffy might like it, but I’m actually quite happy that he’s gone too, the kid didn’t want to be here either, and that sort of mentality can get the people around you killed quite easily.”

Xander snorted. “While he wasn’t that bad, I don’t trust people who become addicted to vampire bites. We had to get him to see that he was slowly getting himself killed and becoming more of a liability for the times that we did have to stake vampires, which was about one to three a night. It didn’t help that he was also getting a heart condition; I don’t blame him for that, from the serum that Dr. Walsh used. But the fact that he willingly went to the creatures that he helped torture and then he got off on them drinking from him? That singular mess of his just made me regret having to work with him. He’s doing better now, yeah, but only after we got Graham on his case about his best friend letting “hostiles” drink from him.”

Dino looked at Xander. “If you had to work with him, on this mission, would you?”

“Yeah, I would. But he wouldn’t be my first choice. His past with us would make it harder for me to trust his judgment, even though he was the one that turned on Walsh first. Also, he’d have to prove it to me that he would not endanger us in anyway. The instant he would, I’d kill him myself.”

Dino nodded at the wisdom in the words spoken, and he was secretly pleased that the young man would go so far to protect his family. He was also worried that he’d be willing to go so far. Bad things could happen to a man once they started to kill people, he was the truth of that. Dino snapped out of his musing upon seeing that Tara and Joyce were in the house with the other seven members of his team. Dino motioned Xander to sit down and took over the rest of the introductions for the three.

“Well, you got our basic backgrounds from Riley and Alex. While the eight of us were with both of them this week, that was to make sure that we understood the area that we were going to be in and to, potentially, give us a crash course in the supernatural beings that roam around here in Sunnydale.” He smiled when Joyce handed out the drinks she had made.

“Thanks Joyce. We’ve all encountered the supernatural in different ways. I met several demon clans during my tours and in my SEAL days. Sometimes they were the reasons we died, many times they were the reasons we lived. I have no issues with the peaceful side of the supernatural equation; I just don’t like the ones that try to take over the world.” Adam stood and patted him on the shoulder.

“I know of the few demons that saved Dino, and they are quite kind. My tale with the supernatural is the same as Amanda’s. The only difference in our tales is when we died.” He smiled sadly at Xander’s confused and tense expression.

“We are not vampires, but we are Immortals. We are forever locked in a battle called The Game, and I can only hope that it is in the far future if it does come to past.”

“Can you prove it?” Xander’s voice was neutral and Adam nodded as he pulled out a knife and slit his hand. As the blood began to bead out, small sparks of blue lightening sealed the wound shut.

“The only way to kill us is by decapitation. My name now is Adam Pierson, but long ago I was called Methos.” Tara gasped.

“Death” He nodded sadly.

“Yes, three of my brothers were also with me and five thousand years ago, I was Death to the four horsemen.” Xander blinked and looked him over.

Adam never thought that he would ever want to fidget under a gaze, but Xander’s eyes held him still and stripped him to his soul. A smile slowly grew on Xander’s face and he nodded to Adam.

“That was Five thousand years ago, I believe that you’ve changed. Self-hatred is something that those who repent use to try and fix their mistakes.” Joyce laughed.

“Wise words Xander.” She looked at Adam who was surprised. “You came out to tell us now, and we can tell that your actions are honorable.” Adam smiled and Amanda stood next.

“I may not be as old as Methos here, but I am a thousand years old.” Here she smirked. “I’m also the best damn thief you’ll ever meet.”

Xander blinked, while Joyce and Tara gaped at the woman.

“You age well for being a thousand.” Xander slapped a hand over his mouth and his eyes widened in fear.

“Thank you darling.” Amanda chuckled at Xander’s reaction and sat down next to Adam as John and Jane stood.

“John and I, as assassins, used contracts to do our dealings; some of our contractors were demons, and some of our contractees were demons. We always refused to go after the harmless demons, or to go against another of their kind. It was the main reason that we were found out as being married.” Jane leaned back into her husband’s embrace.

“The Watcher’s Council was not happy when we told them that we do not hunt demons for humans, since no one in the Watcher’s council was demon to call for the eradication of a peaceful tribe of Brachen demons, they tried to have us killed.” John smirked at his wife. “We did say try. The Watcher’s leave us alone now, we got a bit explosive.”

Xander looked at the pair in awe, and Ranma stood up next. Walking into the kitchen, he came out with the kettle, and plugged it in for hot water, and had a pitcher of cool water.

“My relations with the supernatural are dealing with many demons, and the curse that follows me. In Japan and China there are many demons and youaki. I will explain the difference in a moment. Demons are what inhabit around several power points in the Asian countries, and they are a blood thirsty lot. The youaki are different because they are similar to your peaceful demons.” He scowled.

“The youaki can fight off the demons, but if they get to close to the power points, it raises their survival instincts. This is bad, for youaki are stronger than normal demons, a hundred to one. The reason I can defeat many is because of my father’s training with the “Anything Goes Martial Arts”. It was during this training that my curse came upon me.” He sighed and dumped the cool water on his head, making Xander squeak in surprise as Ranma turned from a young man to a young woman.

“This is from the Cursed Springs in China. Several ponds are all cursed due to a creature or person drowning in it. I landed in the “Pond of drowned Girl” while my father landed in “Pond of drowned Panda”. All we know of this curse is that cold water turns us into our curse, while hot water brings us back.” Ranma poured the hit water from the kettle onto him, returning to his male form.

“Well shit, I guess you can’t have long showers then. By the end of it, if the water gets too cold, then you’re stuck as a girl.” Tara smacked Xander for talking like that and made him blush at the implications of his thoughts, but Ranma just laughed.

“That is true. I have done that once, and needed to get a friend to pour the hot water from the kettle on me. Some days it is very difficult to carry this curse.” Lara patted his hand and stood, before the group.

“As an archaeologist, I run into many different types of languages. Most digs that I went on had demonic text inscribed into the walls, and many of the artifacts that I found I had to drain of magic before giving them to the museums. Many times I had to fight off demons left as guards and many times I had to remove artifacts completely due to their dangerous nature. I am sensitive to magic, and I can tell if any artifact is holding black magic, white magic, is made of magic or is needed to raise more magic.” She sighed.

“Many beautiful pieces of art had to be destroyed because they were made to raise more magic. In a few cases, I don’t mind them, but these were for major power hording. They were the type of hording that leads to ascensions.” She nodded at the shocked expressions on the faces of the three.

“So I know a fair share of mystical artifacts and how to dispose of them. I wouldn’t want to see someone try and destroy a black magic artifact and then be killed from the backlash.” She sat down with that, letting Benton take the floor.

“My tale is about how I was raised near an Inuit tribe that protected the North from their Hellmouth. The Shaman of the lands taught me how to use protective runes to channel the Hellmouth energies into pure white magic, and use the said new magics to power the protections on one’s home.” Benton sighed and shifted in place a bit.

“The tribe was devout in their ways to keep the Hellmouth protected, and the RCMP officers who were stationed there were normally of the population. Since I was raised in the Northwest Territories, it was easy for me to be posted near the Hellmouth to help the natives with other disputes. We had many different types of demons, and the peaceful ones were protected by having protective runes carved into necklaces and bracelets that they wore.

“The shaman of the tribe also took care of any potential slayer that was born near the Hellmouth, and they helped to protect it. Only one potential had been activated near the Northern Hellmouth, and she was sent to fight over the one in Cleveland before it became dormant.” The group gaped.

“It has been a while since we have seen the Watcher’s Council in the Territories, and no Canadian organization would encourage a group to take these special children from their homes. Instead, we have the mentor program, and our fellow Canadians teach the girls what to do. Many don’t like that the head office is in London, but we make sure that the girls in our areas are safe.” He patted Diefenbaker who nudged his leg.

“I met Diefenbaker in the Territories upon my assignment. He saved my life, and has been a good companion for the long nights. I was taught how to speak with Spirit Guides from my Shaman, and I know it has been useful when I was up North.” Benton sat down.

The eleven people sat in silence as to let the information sink into the minds of the three. Each person had their own reasons, and if they kept piling too much, too fast, then a lot of the chances for trust would be lost. Dino looked at each as they processed. Joyce seemed shocked, but accepting; she hadn’t been in the supernatural world very long. Tara had a pensive look on her face, and was looking at Lara and Benton with curious glances; she looked as if she was thinking about asking for more magical teachings. Xander had a calculating look on his face. He knew that they were going to ask for something, and he had a sympathetic pang for the young man. That look only came from betrayal and personal experience. Dino knew if he let it drag out too long, Xander would lock up, so he spoke up.

“Now that you know about our dealings with the supernatural, you could tell us about yours. The information we got was all second hand, and that was only from watching. We have a feeling that a lot of information about why you are fighting is missing.” Xander looked at Dino with a blank expression, and he tried to explain that they just needed to know what was going on.

“Well, I’ll go first.” Joyce sat up a bit straighter and sighed. “My daughter is the Slayer, and has been since she was fifteen. I’ve only known about this for about eighteen months now, since my girl had to blow up her high school at graduation. While I did not like the secrecy that my daughter had to use, I am proud that she is doing a good job. I can only hope that all of you can help her though. She’s in a rough patch, after her boyfriend ended up being a Secret operative and commando, and I’m worried that it’s going to break her too easily.”

Tara patted Joyce’s hand, and Xander hugged her tight. The obvious affection for the woman proved that anything that hurt her would be dealt with quickly. Benton saw Tara casting a spell on herself, and noticed it was for more confidence.

“I was born a witch, and my mother taught me the ways of her coven in the South. I left home after my father divorced her and married my step mother, and came to school here in Sunnydale. I joined the coven at the school, and have been helping with the potion making and researching for each demon and apocalypse that came our way.” She blushed as she spoke in a soft voice.

“While I did not fight in the front lines, I would cast healing spells from a safe distance and also set up shields. Casting on the go isn’t my strong point. I’m much better at ritualistic magics than quick castings.” Xander gave her hand a squeeze, and looked at the group.

“I started fighting when Buffy got here when I was fifteen. When I had overheard her talking about vampires, she tried to cover it up. We, Willow Jesse and I, followed her when she patrolled that night. We were ambushed and Willow and Jesse were taken. We managed to save Willow that night, but they had taken Jesse to their lair. She wanted to wait until morning to go get him, but it was too late. By the time we found Jesse that morning, he was already turned into a vampire. We escaped the trap laid by the vampires and escaped. A few nights later, it was the Harvest, and I had to stake Jesse to save another.” Xander swallowed and took a sip of his drink.

“From that point on I worked with Buffy. Later that year I was possessed by an Alpha Hyena on the trip to the zoo. A crazy warlock wanted the powers of the hyena to take over the town, but five of us from school were possessed instead. That day I almost did many things I would have regretted. They never really finished exorcising the Alpha spirit from me, and I know she’s merging with me now.” He drank a bit more juice, and smiled at Joyce when she got him some more.

“The following year, I was possessed by my Halloween costume, a soldier. While I was a private at that time, I got all of his memories from his Black Ops days. Halloween’s possession came from a chaos sorcerer named Ethan Rayne. He charmed specific items to ensure that people would turn into their costumes. While that was cool from the experience I got, I really didn’t like his nightmares. Piggy backing on Halloween, I had to use my new skills to steal a rocket launcher to destroy the Judge. I was glad that I remembered that technology no longer was made in a forge, but it took some creative reasoning to get that Rocket launcher for Buffy’s sweet sixteenth.” He drank some more juice and mentally sighed at the looks he was getting from the group.

“Before summer let out, I had to trick Buffy into sending her lover into Hell. Angel, who had become Angelus at the time, was going on a killing spree for slipping his soul. Since Buffy kept refusing to do her duty, when he opened a portal to Hell, I gave her the incentive she needed to get rid of him. I hate that I had to hurt her so much with a lie, but it was for the good of the world. I really didn’t want to see Hell at any point in time, especially if she could stop it.” Xander drank some more juice and began to pace.

“The year of graduation was horrible. I was being pushed out of the group because I was the “normal one” and was the only one who was able to stop O’Toole from blowing up the school, and the seal on the Hellmouth. I was also used to go undercover to see what was wrong with the swim team, and found that the coach was tainting the team with fish DNA. Not like the sweet little gold fish, it was sharks, dolphins, whales, mermaids, and the like. He wasn’t pleased when his team swam away in the ocean after one too many doses. I was in a fray-adjacent to the girls and Giles until just before grad.

“Since my soldier memories never really left, I checked over Giles’ plan for graduation, I had to redo it because he had forgotten all about the spectators. That and they didn’t know how to kill the demon anyways. So, I got the school rallied together to fight off the vampires that would attack during the eclipse, and made the bombs that were going to be needed. The plan worked, and only four people died, one was our troll of a principal. We got out alive, and at that point in time, it was all we cared about.” He scrubbed his face.

“With College for the girls, the next big bad that came were the Initiative, but you have those files, and I really don’t want to talk about remembering the First Slayer spell.” Tara shuddered and hugged Xander as he looked at the group again. “That’s all I can tell you. When our last battle doesn’t feel like a gaping wound, I’ll let you know about that situation.”

The group nodded and looked at the three, and knew that even if Xander was the best at planning people’s positions best, he was going to need a mentor. Dino saw the strain in Xander’s eyes, and it was the same strain that he had seen in Buffy’s; the strain of constant fighting. He only difference was, Xander was asking for help, Buffy wasn’t.

Dino would be talking to Xander tomorrow about his post traumatic stress, and if he could get Xander to see the need for help, maybe the others could get him to open up more. With Benton helping Xander with his Spirit Talking, this would give the others time to come to terms with which house was going to whom and where each person was going to sleep. Trusting those in close quarters to you was always a good thing; hopefully Xander knew who could go where.

TBC.....