A/N: Just to prove I could.
For Him (B/X)
"Cordy run," Xander kept his eyes on the figure approaching them from the mouth of the alley..
"I..I'm not leaving you," his girlfriend replied, her voice trembling with the very fear that held his stomach in its tight, unshakeable grip..
"GO!"
Satisfied by the sound of Cordy's retreating feet behind him he pulled his stake out and readied himself. "Come on Deadboy," he hated the tremble in his voice, "I've got wood for you. Being as you're an obviously Ann Rice vampire you'll probably like it."
Angelus grinned. "Oh Xander, I never guessed." Suddenly the master vampire lunged forward. Xander thrust his stake upwards but the vampire grabbed his wrist in an unmoveable grip and rocked him with a backhanded slap to the mouth. "Pathetic, boy really pathetic."
"Pathetic?" he butted the vampire in the face. "How's that for pathetic?"
"Better," Xander felt a rib crack as the vampire drove a knee up into his stomach, doubling him up in agony, "but not good enough." His head exploded in pain as the vampire slammed a fist into the back of his head, sending him plunging into unconsciousness.
* * *
Buffy stopped her kata at the sound of the library doors flying. Turning she saw a distraught Cordelia rushing towards her, tears streaking down the brunette's finely sculpted cheeks. Her heart missed a beat as she realised that Cordelia had been out on a date with Xander. She raced to meet the taller girl. "Cordy what's wron-, ow!"
The library reverberated to the sound of her friend's girlfriend's fist slamming into her mouth, staggering her. Eyes flaming she moved to strike back only to stop at Cordy's next words. "What wrong?" the brunette screamed. "What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong, your mass-murdering boyfriend decided to make our date a threesome and kidnaps my boy-friend, that's what wrong!"
Buffy felt her legs go shaky. "X..Xander," she whispered.
"Yeah Xander you stupid bitch. Remember him? The guy who brought you back to life when you died -."
"Cordelia that's enough!"
The brunette looked away from her to Giles. "No, it's not nearly enough," the brunette turned to leave, "my boyfriend's dead because she won't kill a soulless vampire. Remember when I ran this school? Well Queen C is back and I'm going to make every day at this school a living hell for you."
"Cordelia wait!"
After a second the brunette turned back towards the Englishman. "Yes Giles?" the cheerleader had tried for her usual superior tone but the effect was ruined by her tear-streaked face and shaking voice.
"We need to find out what we can about Angelus' movements."
"Why?" Cordelia noted. "So that she can catch up with her pet vamp and make doe eyes at him?"
"Cordelia you're not helping," her Watcher replied , his tone stern. "Buffy is Xander's only chance."
"Some chance," the brunette sighed, "so what do you want to know?"
"Did you see," Giles took a breath, "did you see Angelus kill Xander?"
"No, Angelus said he was going to take me and torture me for a few days before moving onto the next one of us. Xander told me to get help. Although from where I don't know," the cheerleader fixed her with one of her withering glares. "Apparently Angelus wants to see how many of us he could kill before she'd actually go after him."
Buffy dropped her eyes. "I'll find him," she whispered.
"And do what?" Cordelia sneered, her composure returning. "Ask him nicely if you can have Xander's," the cheerleader's voice shook slightly, "body back?" The cheerleader turned towards the door.
"I'll walk you home."
Cordelia snorted at her offer. "A Slayer who won't fight vampires. I feel safer already. Stay out of my way Summers, you're going to pay for this. I guarantee it."
* * *
Xander jerked to consciousness, the ice on his face awakening him. He bit back a curse as he realised it wasn't ice on his face but Dru's cold palm. "Hello kitten," cooed the insane vampiress.
He took a second to take in his surroundings. He was tied to a chair in a cold, dark cavern, his only company an insane vampiress who had a thing for him. He doubted he'd been in worse situations "Hi Dru," he forced a smile, "always a pleasure."
"Oh so charming," he managed not to flinch as the vampiress began to run a stone cold finger down his naked torso, "what a well-bred boy."
"Not hardly, you really want to meet my dad."
"Hush baby, don't talk about nasty Tony," Xander blinked before remembering Drusilla was psychic.
Thoughts about what else the raven-haired beauty was dredging from the confused depths of his mind were interrupted by the appearance of Spike in the doorway. "Alright whelp," crowed the Billy Idol lookalike.
"Alright Ironside," he taunted.
His blood froze at the mocking laugh that came from behind the wheel- chaired vampire. Angelus stepped in the doorway behind Spike, a grin on his face. "You messed up my plans tonight boy. I wanted to go Cordelia, Oz, you, Willow, Giles, and then Joyce before destroying Buffy. I had a nice order worked out, but," the vampire shook his head, "you had to get involved."
"I aim to please."
Angelus laughed again. "Always with the smart mouth, ah well," Angelus shrugged, "I somehow think I'm going to enjoy torturing you more than the others," Xander bit back a gasp as the master vampire pulled a dust cover off a previously unnoticed table to reveal a variety of torture instruments - garden shears, knives, blow torches, and baseball bats were just some of them.
"I'll bear that in mind," suddenly he couldn't think of anything clever to say. And soon he wasn't speaking at all, just screaming, his pain accompanied by the vampires' laughs.
* * *
"Any news?"
Buffy looked up to see Willow and Oz hovering over her, Cordelia close by, listening in while appearing not to be part of the conversation. She shook her head. "No sign Will, say do you," her voice trailed off as her friend walked off. After an apologetic smile Oz hurried after her. "Sit down," she muttered before staring listlessly down at her barely touched lasagne. Three days had passed since Angel-, Angelus had snatched Xander, three days where her friend had doubtless been hideously tortured. She'd torn every demon hang-out in town apart, stamped on every skull she could find. Nothing.
Her mom was asking why Xander and Willow hadn't been round to there's, she thought they'd had a fight - if only. None of her friends were talking to her, Giles only spoke to her during patrol and training, and she'd overheard a rumour, probably spread by Cordelia, that the reason Xander wasn't in school was because she'd given him a STD. But as bad as things were for her. "I'll save him," she whispered.
* * *
Xander bit back a scream as Angelus drove a stake through his left arm, sending blood gushing. "Oh daddy!" Drusilla jumped up and down on the spot, her face suddenly excited. "he has such lovely eyes. Can I have his eyes?"
"When he's dead dear," Angel slammed a fist into his gut. "When's he's dead, Daddy will give you a present."
"Oh!" the vampiress began to jump even higher. "Not long then!"
Xander let out a rattling gasp. If he could just hold on he knew, he just knew Buffy would come for him.
* * *
"I tell you that bastard the boss has got now, man he can scream!"
"Doesn't give in though does he?" the second vampire shot back. "Gotta give him that, the boss gets real pissed with him that's for bloody sure."
"Yeah," the first vampire admitted, "but he'll break they always do."
Buffy sprang from behind the pillar she'd been hiding behind, staking the first vampire before he had a chance to react. She tackled the second around the waist sending him crashing to the ground, pinned him to the ground, and slammed her fist repeatedly into her opponent's face. She'd come to Angel's mansion, hoping against hope to find some lead to where he might be hiding but to stumble across two of his minions was even better. "Where is he?" she demanded.
"I can't -, aww!" the vampire screamed as she pressed a gold chain against the vampire's face. Soon the stench of burning flesh filled the room, churning her stomach. But despite that, and the vampire's violent struggling, she held on, repeating her question until the vampire let out a piteous scream. "The catacombs! The Master's catacombs!"
Buffy nodded. "Thanks." After driving her stake through the vampire's heart she stood, her heart pounding furiously. She'd finally found him, but the Master's Tunnels? For a second she closed her eyes, the images of the night she'd died threatening to overwhelm her. She didn't know if she cou-, she shook her head. She could for him.
* * *
"Tell me you want to die!" Angelus slammed another foot into the boy's stomach. Normally the groan that followed his attack would have been enough to send him into a state of near-orgasm. Not this time. The boy was proving infuriatingly difficult to break.
"Not," the youth led on the ground took a long, tortured breath, "until I see Buffy standing over your ashes."
"Buffy? Kill me? Why? For you?" Angelus laughed. "She doesn't even notice you're alive boy." He smiled as he sensed a Slayer's presence near- by. Time to get some taunts in, once he'd killed her in front of Xander, the boy would break. "There you were forcing cowardly little Angel into the tunnels to save her. Who did she run to after you gave her the kiss of life? Me, that's who. And then there was the night you stopped me from taking her in the hospital, did she show any gratitude," he emphasised his words with a kick, "not an iota. I own her!"
"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Buffy stepped into the cavern mouth, sword in hand and set expression on her face.
"Ah Buffy," he drew his sword, "fashionably late as always. How do you like my work?" He smirked as the Slayer blanched, humans with their weak stomachs and their consciences, that was their Achilles heels.
"Not much!" The Slayer lunged forward, forcing him back with a thrust of her wood-tipped blade at his heart. She tried for a decapitating slash, but he leaned away from it before delivering a lightning riposte that ripped a blood furrow across the blonde's sword arm.
Such a wound should have caused her drop her weapon or at least draw back but the Slayer barely seemed to notice the injury. Instead she leapt into the air, launching herself into a crescent kick that connected squarely with his jaw, staggering him backwards. Wincing at the pain, he lashed wildly at the blonde who slid smoothly under his attack, coming up within his defences with a slash at his head that he only just managed to block, his arm jarring with the impact, wincing as he felt her greater strength.
Back-pedaling furiously, he slashed at the advancing blonde's throat only for her to sway almost beneath from his attack, his blade catching her above her right eye, opening a slight tear, and retaliate with a stab that tore a bloody furrow across the bicep of his sword-arm sending a lancing pain up it. Grimacing at the agony he decided to play dirty and thrust the thumb of his free hand deep into her eye, momentarily blinding her. A grin on his face, the vampire sent a thrust at the Slayer's unprotected heart. Buffy's sword flickered instinctively upwards, parrying his attack and locking their swords together into a warrior's embrace. Immediately he drove his head into her nose, shattering it, and sending her stumbling in retreat. Angelus opened his mouth to deliver a taunt only for his world explode in pain when the Slayer drove a foot hard into his groin. Doubling up under the attack, he was helpless to prevent the Slayer's blade cut into his neck.
* * *
The instant Angelus burst into ash, Buffy rushed over to Xander's side. As she knelt down she gasped at her friend's battered condition. From the cavern's doorway he'd looked bad but now she could see there didn't seem to be an inch of his body that wasn't bleeding, bruised, or burnt. For a second she was caught in a quandary, she should ring for an ambulance but that would take too long and if she did that they might not come being Sunnydale, night and underground. "Xander," she whispered and smiled as her friend's eyes fluttered open, "it's me I'm going to have to pick you up and carry you to the hospital."
"Knew you'd come," her friend muttered.
"You killed daddy!"
Buffy's heart fell as she looked up to see Drusilla and Spike in the doorway. With her injuries she couldn't hope to survive another fight, she'd failed him. She started to stand. Her eyes widened as the wheel- chaired Spike miraculously rose from behind Drusilla, grabbed her head and slammed it into the wall, catching her as she fell. "You did me a right good turn today Slayer," drawled Spike as he cradled the vampires in his arms, "killing the poofter so I'm going to do you one now. Me and Dru are going to piss off, unless you've objections." Buffy glanced down at Xander's body, she couldn't risk it, and finally she shook her head. Spike nodded, turned, then turned back. "Hey love, here's a tip. You might want to look after that lad. He wouldn't deny you."
"Deny me?"
"No matter what the poof did to him he wouldn't say that you wouldn't come for him. That you didn't care about him, that you were scared of the poof. He believed in you girl. Drove the poof bloody mad he did."
* * *
Buffy glanced down at the sleeping body, the hushed silence of the hospital room only broken by the beeping of his life support machine. His list of injuries were extensive, four broken fingers, a severe concussion, five broken ribs, two dislocated shoulders, internal bleeding, several infected wounds, burns, and scalds all over his body. But she was going to look after him. "Whatever it takes Xander," she whispered, "I'll protect you." He'd never lost his trust in her, she'd always be there for him, she owed him that.
For Him (B/X)
"Cordy run," Xander kept his eyes on the figure approaching them from the mouth of the alley..
"I..I'm not leaving you," his girlfriend replied, her voice trembling with the very fear that held his stomach in its tight, unshakeable grip..
"GO!"
Satisfied by the sound of Cordy's retreating feet behind him he pulled his stake out and readied himself. "Come on Deadboy," he hated the tremble in his voice, "I've got wood for you. Being as you're an obviously Ann Rice vampire you'll probably like it."
Angelus grinned. "Oh Xander, I never guessed." Suddenly the master vampire lunged forward. Xander thrust his stake upwards but the vampire grabbed his wrist in an unmoveable grip and rocked him with a backhanded slap to the mouth. "Pathetic, boy really pathetic."
"Pathetic?" he butted the vampire in the face. "How's that for pathetic?"
"Better," Xander felt a rib crack as the vampire drove a knee up into his stomach, doubling him up in agony, "but not good enough." His head exploded in pain as the vampire slammed a fist into the back of his head, sending him plunging into unconsciousness.
* * *
Buffy stopped her kata at the sound of the library doors flying. Turning she saw a distraught Cordelia rushing towards her, tears streaking down the brunette's finely sculpted cheeks. Her heart missed a beat as she realised that Cordelia had been out on a date with Xander. She raced to meet the taller girl. "Cordy what's wron-, ow!"
The library reverberated to the sound of her friend's girlfriend's fist slamming into her mouth, staggering her. Eyes flaming she moved to strike back only to stop at Cordy's next words. "What wrong?" the brunette screamed. "What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong, your mass-murdering boyfriend decided to make our date a threesome and kidnaps my boy-friend, that's what wrong!"
Buffy felt her legs go shaky. "X..Xander," she whispered.
"Yeah Xander you stupid bitch. Remember him? The guy who brought you back to life when you died -."
"Cordelia that's enough!"
The brunette looked away from her to Giles. "No, it's not nearly enough," the brunette turned to leave, "my boyfriend's dead because she won't kill a soulless vampire. Remember when I ran this school? Well Queen C is back and I'm going to make every day at this school a living hell for you."
"Cordelia wait!"
After a second the brunette turned back towards the Englishman. "Yes Giles?" the cheerleader had tried for her usual superior tone but the effect was ruined by her tear-streaked face and shaking voice.
"We need to find out what we can about Angelus' movements."
"Why?" Cordelia noted. "So that she can catch up with her pet vamp and make doe eyes at him?"
"Cordelia you're not helping," her Watcher replied , his tone stern. "Buffy is Xander's only chance."
"Some chance," the brunette sighed, "so what do you want to know?"
"Did you see," Giles took a breath, "did you see Angelus kill Xander?"
"No, Angelus said he was going to take me and torture me for a few days before moving onto the next one of us. Xander told me to get help. Although from where I don't know," the cheerleader fixed her with one of her withering glares. "Apparently Angelus wants to see how many of us he could kill before she'd actually go after him."
Buffy dropped her eyes. "I'll find him," she whispered.
"And do what?" Cordelia sneered, her composure returning. "Ask him nicely if you can have Xander's," the cheerleader's voice shook slightly, "body back?" The cheerleader turned towards the door.
"I'll walk you home."
Cordelia snorted at her offer. "A Slayer who won't fight vampires. I feel safer already. Stay out of my way Summers, you're going to pay for this. I guarantee it."
* * *
Xander jerked to consciousness, the ice on his face awakening him. He bit back a curse as he realised it wasn't ice on his face but Dru's cold palm. "Hello kitten," cooed the insane vampiress.
He took a second to take in his surroundings. He was tied to a chair in a cold, dark cavern, his only company an insane vampiress who had a thing for him. He doubted he'd been in worse situations "Hi Dru," he forced a smile, "always a pleasure."
"Oh so charming," he managed not to flinch as the vampiress began to run a stone cold finger down his naked torso, "what a well-bred boy."
"Not hardly, you really want to meet my dad."
"Hush baby, don't talk about nasty Tony," Xander blinked before remembering Drusilla was psychic.
Thoughts about what else the raven-haired beauty was dredging from the confused depths of his mind were interrupted by the appearance of Spike in the doorway. "Alright whelp," crowed the Billy Idol lookalike.
"Alright Ironside," he taunted.
His blood froze at the mocking laugh that came from behind the wheel- chaired vampire. Angelus stepped in the doorway behind Spike, a grin on his face. "You messed up my plans tonight boy. I wanted to go Cordelia, Oz, you, Willow, Giles, and then Joyce before destroying Buffy. I had a nice order worked out, but," the vampire shook his head, "you had to get involved."
"I aim to please."
Angelus laughed again. "Always with the smart mouth, ah well," Angelus shrugged, "I somehow think I'm going to enjoy torturing you more than the others," Xander bit back a gasp as the master vampire pulled a dust cover off a previously unnoticed table to reveal a variety of torture instruments - garden shears, knives, blow torches, and baseball bats were just some of them.
"I'll bear that in mind," suddenly he couldn't think of anything clever to say. And soon he wasn't speaking at all, just screaming, his pain accompanied by the vampires' laughs.
* * *
"Any news?"
Buffy looked up to see Willow and Oz hovering over her, Cordelia close by, listening in while appearing not to be part of the conversation. She shook her head. "No sign Will, say do you," her voice trailed off as her friend walked off. After an apologetic smile Oz hurried after her. "Sit down," she muttered before staring listlessly down at her barely touched lasagne. Three days had passed since Angel-, Angelus had snatched Xander, three days where her friend had doubtless been hideously tortured. She'd torn every demon hang-out in town apart, stamped on every skull she could find. Nothing.
Her mom was asking why Xander and Willow hadn't been round to there's, she thought they'd had a fight - if only. None of her friends were talking to her, Giles only spoke to her during patrol and training, and she'd overheard a rumour, probably spread by Cordelia, that the reason Xander wasn't in school was because she'd given him a STD. But as bad as things were for her. "I'll save him," she whispered.
* * *
Xander bit back a scream as Angelus drove a stake through his left arm, sending blood gushing. "Oh daddy!" Drusilla jumped up and down on the spot, her face suddenly excited. "he has such lovely eyes. Can I have his eyes?"
"When he's dead dear," Angel slammed a fist into his gut. "When's he's dead, Daddy will give you a present."
"Oh!" the vampiress began to jump even higher. "Not long then!"
Xander let out a rattling gasp. If he could just hold on he knew, he just knew Buffy would come for him.
* * *
"I tell you that bastard the boss has got now, man he can scream!"
"Doesn't give in though does he?" the second vampire shot back. "Gotta give him that, the boss gets real pissed with him that's for bloody sure."
"Yeah," the first vampire admitted, "but he'll break they always do."
Buffy sprang from behind the pillar she'd been hiding behind, staking the first vampire before he had a chance to react. She tackled the second around the waist sending him crashing to the ground, pinned him to the ground, and slammed her fist repeatedly into her opponent's face. She'd come to Angel's mansion, hoping against hope to find some lead to where he might be hiding but to stumble across two of his minions was even better. "Where is he?" she demanded.
"I can't -, aww!" the vampire screamed as she pressed a gold chain against the vampire's face. Soon the stench of burning flesh filled the room, churning her stomach. But despite that, and the vampire's violent struggling, she held on, repeating her question until the vampire let out a piteous scream. "The catacombs! The Master's catacombs!"
Buffy nodded. "Thanks." After driving her stake through the vampire's heart she stood, her heart pounding furiously. She'd finally found him, but the Master's Tunnels? For a second she closed her eyes, the images of the night she'd died threatening to overwhelm her. She didn't know if she cou-, she shook her head. She could for him.
* * *
"Tell me you want to die!" Angelus slammed another foot into the boy's stomach. Normally the groan that followed his attack would have been enough to send him into a state of near-orgasm. Not this time. The boy was proving infuriatingly difficult to break.
"Not," the youth led on the ground took a long, tortured breath, "until I see Buffy standing over your ashes."
"Buffy? Kill me? Why? For you?" Angelus laughed. "She doesn't even notice you're alive boy." He smiled as he sensed a Slayer's presence near- by. Time to get some taunts in, once he'd killed her in front of Xander, the boy would break. "There you were forcing cowardly little Angel into the tunnels to save her. Who did she run to after you gave her the kiss of life? Me, that's who. And then there was the night you stopped me from taking her in the hospital, did she show any gratitude," he emphasised his words with a kick, "not an iota. I own her!"
"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Buffy stepped into the cavern mouth, sword in hand and set expression on her face.
"Ah Buffy," he drew his sword, "fashionably late as always. How do you like my work?" He smirked as the Slayer blanched, humans with their weak stomachs and their consciences, that was their Achilles heels.
"Not much!" The Slayer lunged forward, forcing him back with a thrust of her wood-tipped blade at his heart. She tried for a decapitating slash, but he leaned away from it before delivering a lightning riposte that ripped a blood furrow across the blonde's sword arm.
Such a wound should have caused her drop her weapon or at least draw back but the Slayer barely seemed to notice the injury. Instead she leapt into the air, launching herself into a crescent kick that connected squarely with his jaw, staggering him backwards. Wincing at the pain, he lashed wildly at the blonde who slid smoothly under his attack, coming up within his defences with a slash at his head that he only just managed to block, his arm jarring with the impact, wincing as he felt her greater strength.
Back-pedaling furiously, he slashed at the advancing blonde's throat only for her to sway almost beneath from his attack, his blade catching her above her right eye, opening a slight tear, and retaliate with a stab that tore a bloody furrow across the bicep of his sword-arm sending a lancing pain up it. Grimacing at the agony he decided to play dirty and thrust the thumb of his free hand deep into her eye, momentarily blinding her. A grin on his face, the vampire sent a thrust at the Slayer's unprotected heart. Buffy's sword flickered instinctively upwards, parrying his attack and locking their swords together into a warrior's embrace. Immediately he drove his head into her nose, shattering it, and sending her stumbling in retreat. Angelus opened his mouth to deliver a taunt only for his world explode in pain when the Slayer drove a foot hard into his groin. Doubling up under the attack, he was helpless to prevent the Slayer's blade cut into his neck.
* * *
The instant Angelus burst into ash, Buffy rushed over to Xander's side. As she knelt down she gasped at her friend's battered condition. From the cavern's doorway he'd looked bad but now she could see there didn't seem to be an inch of his body that wasn't bleeding, bruised, or burnt. For a second she was caught in a quandary, she should ring for an ambulance but that would take too long and if she did that they might not come being Sunnydale, night and underground. "Xander," she whispered and smiled as her friend's eyes fluttered open, "it's me I'm going to have to pick you up and carry you to the hospital."
"Knew you'd come," her friend muttered.
"You killed daddy!"
Buffy's heart fell as she looked up to see Drusilla and Spike in the doorway. With her injuries she couldn't hope to survive another fight, she'd failed him. She started to stand. Her eyes widened as the wheel- chaired Spike miraculously rose from behind Drusilla, grabbed her head and slammed it into the wall, catching her as she fell. "You did me a right good turn today Slayer," drawled Spike as he cradled the vampires in his arms, "killing the poofter so I'm going to do you one now. Me and Dru are going to piss off, unless you've objections." Buffy glanced down at Xander's body, she couldn't risk it, and finally she shook her head. Spike nodded, turned, then turned back. "Hey love, here's a tip. You might want to look after that lad. He wouldn't deny you."
"Deny me?"
"No matter what the poof did to him he wouldn't say that you wouldn't come for him. That you didn't care about him, that you were scared of the poof. He believed in you girl. Drove the poof bloody mad he did."
* * *
Buffy glanced down at the sleeping body, the hushed silence of the hospital room only broken by the beeping of his life support machine. His list of injuries were extensive, four broken fingers, a severe concussion, five broken ribs, two dislocated shoulders, internal bleeding, several infected wounds, burns, and scalds all over his body. But she was going to look after him. "Whatever it takes Xander," she whispered, "I'll protect you." He'd never lost his trust in her, she'd always be there for him, she owed him that.