Title : My Enemy's Enemy

Author : Kelon

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners... none of which are me. I simply borrow them for my entertainment.

Summary: Xander leaves for his roadtrip after graduation (Season 3). When he crosses paths with a vampire archon in a small town in North Carolina, loyalties are tested, truths revealed and tough choices made. Is everything he believed to be true a lie? And is the enemy of your enemy a friend?

Warning : Multiple crossovers ahead.

Credits: Tenhawk's Journeyverse acted as a loose inspiration for the concept behind parts of the story. If anyone knows how to write crossovers, Tenhawk is it. I borrowed some of his theories in regard to the origin of Xander's fighting abilities.

Dedicated to Kenshiiro, Ryzel and the rest of the gang from Shadows of Yamabushi, the best guild there ever was or will be. Miss you guys. Onward to ownage! And to ADR for inspiring me to write in the first place and for just being who you are. It means the world to me.

Rating: PG-13 to R for cursing, violence, non-graphic romance and vampiric horror content.

Author's notes: Please be aware that several events/conversations/settings have been modified from their originally form as shown in the various TV shows, movies or books to better fit the story. This is my first attempt at fan fiction, and I appreciate all feedback. Please refrain from flames, though.

Interstate 17, North Carolina; August 16th, 1999, 10:12 PM

Alexander "Xander" Harris was content. For the first time in a long time he simply enjoyed the moment, without feeling like Armageddon loomed around the corner ready to strike. After graduating from high school (and blowing up the school in the process), Xander needed to get away from it all. Away from the demons and vampires. Away from his drunken parents that didn't care about him. Away from the person he loved so much but that did not love him back.

Buffy, Xander thought sadly. I wonder how she's doing.

The night of graduation Xander made the decision to see something new and leave his old life behind. At least for some time. In all of his 17 years he had never left the state of California. His parents weren't exactly the travelling type, and aside from going to Disneyland with his uncle Rori or going on smaller trips with Willow and her family, he didn't get to do it on his own. Until now. He'd packed two bags of clothes, thrown them in the trunk of his car and headed east.

Xander smiled as he reflected back on what he had seen. Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, the Mississippi, Chicago, Niagara Falls, New York.

I never thought my car would make it that far. Then again, I never really thought I could leave in the first place.

Even though he tried to get away from his past life, he wasn't stupid enough to be careless. He looked down at the stake that was lying in the passenger seat. He had to use it once since leaving Sunnydale. I knew New York was a crazy place, but that stupid bitch really thought that throwing on some designer clothes would be enough to not look suspiciously dead. Hello? When your hands are so cold that it feels like touching an ice block, then you are really stupid if you think people won't notice. Next time, wear some damn gloves! Oh right, there won't be a next time for that one, Xander thought with a smile on his face.

One thing about this incident was really disturbing to Xander, though. The stake had not killed her. She had a look of shock on her face when he had plunged it into her heart in that filthy back alley at Chelsea Piers. But then nothing happened. She simply froze in mid-movement, vamped out with her mouth open and her fangs showing. It was almost surreal.

Xander grinned. She might not have burst into a cloud of dust, but she didn't handle it too well when I set her clothes on fire. Within a minute her complete body had been consumed by the flames, and the slightly blackened stake surrounded by a pile of ash was all the evidence that was left of her.

I wonder if Giles has some answers for me already why she did not simply burst into a cloud of dust. The watcher had been very concerned when Xander called him and told him about it. In all the years in Sunnydale, that had never happened, and Buffy would be in for a big surprise and a lot of trouble if that changed. I should call him when I take a break to find out.

The sun had set two hours ago, and Xander was becoming tired and hungry. Time to get off the highway, get some grub, call Sunnydale and catch some sleep afterwards.

Xander saw a sign proclaiming the next exit to be Tree Hill, NC, 2 miles down the road. That'll do just fine. A couple of minutes later he saw the exit come up and he left the road.

Tree Hill, North Carolina; August 16th, 1999, 10:29 PM

Peyton was sitting in her car in front of a green traffic light waiting for it to turn red. Lucas ran over and stopped at the passenger's door.

"Why do you do this?" he asked her with a mixture of concern and annoyance apparent in his voice. When Peyton continued to stare ahead and didn't answer him, he jumped into the car and sat down.

"If I were you, I'd get back out now."

Lucas shook his head. "Not until you tell me what's going on."

The light turned red and Peyton stepped on the gas, running the light. Lucas felt a sense of panic rising in him, and his eyes flicked back and forth between Peyton and the street ahead of them. "Come on! Slow down Peyton!" His voice became louder and more agitated. "Come on! Slow the car down! Peyton? Slow the car down!"

Peyton still kept going, her eyes looking straight ahead, but she started to speak in a soft voice. "She was driving to school to pick me up. She was late, so she ran a red light. It was one light at the wrong split second, and it ended it for her."

The car stopped, and Peyton turned to look at Lucas for the first time, pain and sadness all over her face and in her eyes. "My mom ran one red light. I run them all the time and nothing happens. It's not fair."

Lucas swallowed the lump in his throat. So this is it. This is what she's been hiding all the time. He felt bad for her, and wished he could find some words to give her comfort. But the words wouldn't come, and all he could think of to say was, "No, it's not."

Peyton averted her gaze and said, "You can get out now."

Lucas saw the change in her posture. He didn't want to push her, but he also needed her to know that he was there for her. "Or I could stay if you want."

She shook her head. "No. You can't." Her voice made it clear that she meant it. Lucas sighed and, with one last look at Peyton, got out of the car.

Xander had entered the town of Tree Hill a few minutes ago and was cruising for an open diner. The town, from what he had seen so far, was small and quiet, the kind of town where everybody knew everybody, and where nothing big happened.

He leaned forward and turned on the radio to get some distraction from his empty stomach.

"In today's top news story, police is still looking for the killers of Eric Draven and an unidentified woman believed to be Draven's fiancée, Shelly. Draven was a recent recruit to the THPD and only turned 23 last week. Sources close to the investigation and speaking on condition of anonymity revealed that both bodies were found in Draven's apartment on Jackson Street almost a week ago, and that the killers acted with extreme brutality.

The police commissioner was not available for comment, however, a representative denied any relation of the murders with the current unrest that has swept over the East Coast of the United States for the past couple of weeks, as large-scale drug organizations are seemingly fighting over control in the bloodiest outbreak of violence in many years, leaving dozens of law-enforcement officers and civilian bystanders dead in their wake.

The police department asks all citizens to keep their doors locked, windows shut and to report any suspicious activity at once."

"Shit, so much for nice and quiet." Xander cursed under his breath. Might not be the best idea to sleep in the car with some murderers on the lose. Then again, I don't have the money to afford anything else. Xander sighed.

He had heard about the outbreak of violence. It had all started in Atlanta a few weeks ago, and spread northeast from there. It was mainly concentrated in the larger cities, though, and Xander wasn't overly concerned for his own safety while travelling. After three years of fighting demons and vampires on top of the hell mouth in Sunnydale, he knew how to spot trouble, and how to avoid it if he had to.

And then there was the fact that he was far from the Zeppo his friends thought him to be. They all believed him to be the normal one, and needing protection. In a fight, Buffy considered him more of a liability than an asset, and she tried to only involve him when she had no other choice.

Maybe I was like that in the beginning, but I am not anymore. Xander mentally snorted. I haven't been for quite a while, to be exact, he thought to himself, as the memories came rushing back to him and his face briefly contorted with the horror of the experience.

After he got possessed with the soldier's spirit during Ethan Raines' spell on Halloween, he somehow kept the man's memories. From one day to the other, Xander suddenly knew how to fight hand-to-hand, use a wide arrangement of weapons and explosives and survive in hostile environment. Some skills only seemed to surface when he was under stress or in danger, almost like that part of his brain took over for him. Others he freely remembered. And some memories Xander just wished he was able to forget.

The nightmares had started a few days after Halloween. Xander saw himself on battlefields, crawling through the jungle or underground tunnels of the Vietcong. Death was all around him. Friends, enemies… It didn't matter. They died, either by his hand or their own actions. He saw people stepping on mines or burning to death after being hit with a flamethrower. He witnessed people die every night that closed his eyes, and he just couldn't take it.

But he fought his way through, because he was willing to pay that price in exchange for the ability to help Buffy and his friends. If this was what he had to endure to keep them safe, then he'd take it, with no regrets. Xander had never told anyone about the aftermath of the possession, and he was good enough to hide his insomnia. Neither his friends nor Giles had any idea of how Xander changed. There was no need for that, in his mind. He'd simply do his part in the fights that were sure to come, watching their backs and making sure the good guys walked away victorious.

But they wouldn't let him. They insisted that he stayed out of it, Buffy being the most vocal about it. He still could remember the conversation he overheard between Buffy and Willow.

Flashback

"So, Buffy, Scooby's going on patrol tonight?"

"Yeah, Willow, but don't tell Xand, okay?"

"Why not?", Willow protested. "He's part of the group, too, isn't he?"

"He is, he is.", Buffy hesitated slightly. "But he's just a normal guy, and I don't want him to get hurt. I can't lose him, Willow. And you know how he is in a fight." Buffy laughed lighty, which nearly broke Xander's heart. "I can't watch him and do my job, but I don't want to hurt his feelings either. I think it would be best if we just make sure he is safe, you know?"

Xander had waited for Willow, his best friend since kindergarten, to stand up for him. To say that Buffy was wrong.

"I think you are right, Buffy. I'll meet you and Giles in the library at 7 then."

End of Flashback

That was part of the reason why he left Sunnydale. Had he not led the students' attack on Mayor Wilkins? Who had organized and set up the explosives needed to blow him and the whole school to hell and back? He had saved them more times than they'd ever know. He had even saved Buffy without ever telling her. The night Angelus came to the hospital to kill her. It was him who stopped the bastard. But no matter what he did, no matter how much he tried to help and be there for her, she never even considered him as more than a Xander-shaped friend. And it hurt more than he wanted to admit.

After the mayor had been defeated, Buffy was running after Angel. She didn't come to him, she didn't even ask how he was doing. Dead boy was once again the center of the universe. That was the final straw for Xander. He felt like Sunnydale and everything in it suffocated him, and all he could do was leave.

Xander spotted a well-lit sign down the street past the next intersection reading Jeff's Diner, and the prospect of a burger with frites pushed his darker thoughts aside for the moment.

"And now to local sports. The Ravens basketball team continued with their winning streak on Friday by defeating the Eastbrook Tigers 72-56. The Scott brothers dominated both on the offense, as well as, the defense, scoring a combined 54 points, with 14 assists, 5 steals and 8 blocks…"

As Xander approached the intersection, the lights turned green, and he sped up his car, searching for the entrance to the diner's parking lot.

Peyton gave Lucas one last look before staring straight ahead at the traffic light. Lucas watched her from the sidewalk, with a mixture of concern and compassion displaying on his face as he saw Peyton gripping the stirring wheel tightly and playing with the gas.

He looked down the deserted road and wondered if getting out of the car was the right thing to do. She's in no condition to drive, maybe if I get back into the car she'll stop and… His thoughts were abruptly interrupted as the traffic lights turned red and Peyton sped off.

Through the tears she wouldn't allow Lucas to see, she didn't even notice the car coming from her right at full speed, or how the driver stepped on the break while swerving out of her way, crashing into a parked car at the side of the road. She simply kept going, crying at the pain and loneliness she was feeling inside.

"Oh shit!" Lucas cursed as he ran toward the wrecked car.

The car pretty much came out of nowhere and cut him directly off.

"What the.." was all Xander cut mutter as his eyes grew wide and he stepped on the breaks, trying desperately to get out of harm's way. He narrowly missed the black car and almost felt relieved, when his car crashed straight into a parked SUV.

The impact caused the airbag to explode, and Xander's head crushed into it while his brain registered the loud noise of the crash. His car had come to an instant stop, and he was leaning on the inflated balloon for a second in the eerie silence that followed.

"FUCK?!" Xander screamed. He looked up, and caught a glimpse of the blonde haired woman, who was speeding away without caring for the mess she had caused.

"Hey man, are you okay?" a blonde guy in a gray sweater, with a basketball tucked under his arm, asked as he approached the wrecked car.

Xander opened the door and climbed out, a little shaken up from the crash. "I'm not hurt, I think. But my car's pretty messed up." He paused for a second, looking down the road where the car that cut him off had disappeared.

"At least it's only the car. You wouldn't want to get hurt around here, Tree Hill isn't exactly famous for its' hospital. Then again, we aren't really famous for anything." the guy said with a grin.

"I'm Xander."

The guy shook the offered hand and said, "Hi, I'm Lucas. Listen, my uncle owns a garage here in town, if you want to, I can get the truck and we can bring your car there."

"Unless you can help me find the girl that cut me off, I simply can't afford to pay for the repair." Xander said, walking around the car to look at the damage more closely.

Lucas looked at Xander, unsure how to answer him. He knew it was Peyton's fault, he even had seen the whole thing. But she had her own problems right now, and he also wasn't sure where this thing that seemed to happen between them was going. Sure, it would be the right thing to admit what he had seen, but he also did not want her to be mad at him when she found out about it and possibly ruin a relationship with her.

And then there was the fact that he did not try harder to stop her. Didn't that mean he was partially to blame, as well? I have to work this out without bringing Peyton in. Not until I talk to her, at least.

"I tell you what. I'll talk to my uncle in the morning. Keith is a good guy, if I explain to him what happened he might be able to give you a break.

"Thanks, Lucas, I appreciate that."

"Anytime, man. I'll be back with the truck in 5 minutes, it isn't far from here."

"Alright, I'm not going anywhere."

While Lucas was running off to get the truck, Xander walked around the SUV and looked at the license plate reading 'Dan the Man'. I guess Dan whoever you are won't be happy about this, either.