Title: Immortal Convergence Author: Kay Email: kaygrr@hotmail.com Feedback: Do you really want to see me beg? My happy dance is way more entertaining. Website: ssfdu.tripod.com/kay/journal.htm (Sandy rocks) Archive: Hey, just ask first Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Pairing: Xander/Wesley, Xander/Wesley/Spike, Duncan/Methos, Giles/Richie...etc. Rating: PG-13 Sequel: None Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the characters of the show don't belong to me in anyway whatsoever. Mutant Enemy, I live in envy of you. The same goes for Highlander and Rysher - they may be your toys, but I'm going to play with them. Niener. This story is written for enjoyment, not for profit. This whore only works for feedback. Litigation would be a waste of time, people. I'm a member of the Starving Student Sect. _Summery: A renegade immortal on the Hellmouth puts Sunnydale in danger, and it's up to the Scooby Gang and some visitors from Seacouver to put things right. Warnings: spoilers up to Graduation II...I think. Xander returned from his summer a month ago, but that's about it. No Anya, no Tara ( I *like* Tara). There is Riley, though. As for HL...say it with me people: Richie isn't dead! Let's just pretend that in the next to last season, Ahriman was vanquished without a certain never-to-be-mentioned incident occurring, K? And the final season of HL never happened, either. Hell, if I'm going to be messing about with the characters, why not mess around with time, too? Part Eleven/? Quicker than thought, Spike moved across the room. He tossed the witch and the werewolf aside with no more effort than a human would expend in tossing a pillow, and then he had Buffy by the throat. Snarling into gameface, he slammed her back against the wall, her feet dangling above the floor. While she gasped for air, Spike snapped a quick look over his shoulder. Wesley knocked Riley to the ground with a few vicious blows, then raised his hands and began to chant quickly. Flickers of light began to dance around his fingers, sharp glints of dark colors that swirled restlessly just above his skin. He ended the chat and glared around the room. "I can kill any of you with a word now," he said in a deadly quiet voice. "*Any* of you. No one moves." Spike turned his attention back to Buffy. She was clawing at his wrist in an attempt to break his hold, but it did her no good. Her face was turning a slowly darkening shade of red. "You stupid, stupid girl." He shook her a little, knocking her head back against wall. "He's a vampire? Xander's a vampire? Then why the fuck hasn't he turned to dust?" Her gaze moved past him to the body on the floor. He watched as her eyes widened and filled with tears. She shook her head a little and the barest whisper of denial escaped her. "No..." Behind him, he could hear Willow shriek from her place on the floor. "Oh my god. You killed Xander!" He resisted the urge to echo her with a cry of 'you bastard'. "Oh, yes, Slayer. Yes. That would be Xander's body on the floor. His *body*! Which means he isn't a vampire. Which means you just killed him." He loaded his words with contempt and loathing, wanting the full import of what she had done to strike her like a hammer blow. She had just killed one of her best friends because she wouldn't trust him, wouldn't take the time to listen to him. Xander had only been trying to protect Spike. She had to pay. He could rip her throat out so easily, kill her now when her self-doubt and despair had made her completely weak and vulnerable. The last emotions that she would ever experience would make her defeat total. He flexed his fingers, preparing to destroy her and take vengeance for what she had done to Xander. "No." Wesley's voice cut through his homicidal intentions. "Spike, don't kill her." Riley made a move to rise from the floor and Wesley gestured negligently toward him. A shower of sparks cascaded over Riley's skin and the soldier writhed in silent agony. That display of power quelled all movement from others as well. "She deserves it," Spike countered. "Xander doesn't want her dead." With that one sentence, Wesley won. Spike wasn't going to kill Buffy if it would upset Xander. With a disgusted sigh, he released her and stepped back, watching in satisfaction as she fell to the floor. She crawled over to Riley, carefully avoiding Xander's body. Giles cleared his throat gently. "Is Xander..." "Dead?" Wesley finished for him. "For the moment, yes." Spike could tell that Wesley wanted to go to his lover, but the spectacled man stood tall and dispassionate, concentrating on the people he faced. Spike was fighting the urge to pull the stake from Xander's chest. He wanted the other man to revive, wanted to hear him laugh and speak again, wanted to have a chance to welcome him back to life with a kiss and reassure himself that the dark-haired man really was all right. He held himself still, though, waiting to follow Wesley's lead. For now, he'd content himself with watching the other man's back. "For the moment?" Giles had removed his glasses and now wiped his hand across his eyes. "Don't play word games with me, Wesley. Is there a chance..." His voice trailed away, filled with barely-there hope. Spike felt a moment's pity for the man. He knew the Watcher cared about the young people under his care, had heard the exasperation he used to hide the depth of his affection for Xander. Giles hadn't done anything wrong, besides failing to properly train his Slayer. Wesley sighed. "He will recover." He stared down at Buffy as she rubbed Riley's back, he gaze full of loathing. "No thanks to you. Did it feel good to slam that stake into his chest? To make the choice to ignore his friendship and loyalty and everything he has given up for you and just kill him?" Buffy turned her face away from him, pressing her face into Riley's shoulder. Spike cheered mentally when Wesley dropped into a crouch, speaking directly into Buffy's ear, his words sharp and cutting. "Look at him. Look!" After she turned her head so she could see Xander, he continued speaking. "He has made the choice that he was going to stay here and risk his life so he could try to keep you alive longer. He came back because he cared so much about all of you, your lives were more important to him than his own. And how do you thank him? How?" "I didn't know," she whispered. "You never gave him the chance to explain. You are arrogant, Buffy. You are the Slayer, not a god. You are not infallible and your refusal to admit that you can be mistaken has killed the best friend you will ever have." She turned away with a sob, burying her face in Riley's shirt, unable to look at Xander any longer. Wesley slowly rose, a sneer distorting the lines of his mouth as he stared down at her. "Please, Wesley," Giles said, voice hoarse with emotion. "Please explain what you said." "Please?" Willow echoed. "Wesley, you said 'for the moment'." "So I did." Wesley glanced down at his hands, still alight with magic. "Xander isn't exactly human," he said quietly. "He's like the man we're hunting. He's an Immortal." Spike knew the admission was difficult for Wesley to make. He knew the other man had to hate telling Xander's secrets, but the truth had to come out now. He noticed that Wesley wasn't looking at the other Immortals. Apparently, he wasn't going to out them just yet. "He can't be," Willow said, but Spike saw her sit up straighter as hope fired in her eyes. "I've known him since we were both little." "That doesn't matter. It's not something that you can see by merely looking at him. He himself didn't know until this summer. That's how he was able to give blood to Spike and recover from blood loss." Wesley looked up and met Giles' gaze. "He will recover once more. With time." Giles sagged a little in relief and the red-haired Immortal was immediately at his side, speaking quietly into his ear as he laid a hand on the Watcher's back. He was definitely going to have to keep an eye on those two...when he wasn't keeping an eye on *his* two. Spike turned his attention back to the Slayer, knowing that she had heard Wesley's revelation. She raised her head quickly, lashes wet with tears. "He's not dead?" A small smile appeared on her lips. "He's going to be all right?" Spike opened his mouth to yell at her, to destroy the relief his could hear in her voice. Giles beat him to it. "How can you think he's going to be all right?" he demanded. "Buffy, you just murdered him, stared into his eyes as you killed him. How can that possibly be all right?" "But he attacked me!" "He was only reacting to your attack on Spike. For god only knows what reason, Xander didn't want you to kill him for no reason. Xander was only trying to protect Spike who, for the first time in history, was actually innocent. And could you have truly believed you were in any danger from Xander? Did you forget about all of us here, ready to support you and guard your back?" Spike's first instinct was to object, but he didn't want to interrupt Giles as he was just hitting his stride. Buffy shook her head. "Giles-" "Buffy, there can be no excuses. No explanations. Tonight you have failed your calling as a protector of humankind. You killed a man who wanted nothing more than for you to listen to him for a few moments. I don't know that you've ever acted so rashly, so callously in all the time I've known you." Giles removed his glass and stared down at them, sighing deeply. "I had thought you more mature, finally. I had believed that you were comfortable in your role, that you were ready to ascend to a new level in your training and abilities." He met Buffy's gaze. "I was wrong." The Slayer's eyes filled with tears once more as she stared at Giles. Spike grinned viciously. Stupid bitch was only getting what she deserved, after all. He watched in irritation as her lower lip began to tremble. He recognized that move; Dru had always used that tremulous pout to try to guilt him into doing whatever she wanted. No way Buffy was going to make it work for her this time. He looked at Wesley and raised an eyebrow. Wesley nodded minutely, then turned his attention to everyone else in the room. "Leave." "What? No," Willow protested. "I want to stay and make sure Xander is all right." "Why? So Buffy may take another crack at killing him? Not tonight. All of you are going to get out so that I can tend to him." He raised his hands when Willow began to protest again. "If I must remove you by force, I shall." Oz's hand on her shoulder, Willow nodded, but her eyes were mutinous. "I'm going to check on him later," she warned. "Because that worked out so well this time," Spike commented. He smirked at her glare and raised an eyebrow as if he couldn't understand the reason for her animosity. She didn't say anything else as Oz ushered her out the door, but her gaze remained pinned on Xander until the last moment. Joe and the Immortals left slowly, almost as though they were afraid to leave the apartment. Spike figured they were worried about having to reveal their own secrets. Although from what he remembered of Adam, the man was going to find a way to weasel out of telling anyone anything. He returned his attention to the three members of the Scooby Gang still remaining in the room. Buffy had pulled Riley into a sitting position and wrapped her arm around him protectively, while Giles stood just inside the doorway. "What part of get out didn't you three understand?" Riley clenched his jaw and spoke in an overly even voice. "I'd get up if I was certain Wesley wasn't going to zap me again." Wesley stared mildly down at him. "That depends entirely upon you. Are you planning on doing anything else foolish?" Riley exhaled sharply, but limited his response to, "No." "Then you may go." With Buffy's help, Riley slowly climbed to his feet. As the two of them passed Giles, Buffy reached out the older man. Giles shook his head. "Outside," he said shortly. Buffy let her hand fall and headed outside. Giles lingered, his eyes on Xander's motionless form. "You swear he will recover?" "From death? Yes." Wesley waited for the older man to meet his gaze before continuing. "From being killed by one of his friends? I don't know." Giles nodded. "Take care of him." He sighed and left, closing the door quietly behind himself. Spike relaxed, finally sure that no one was going to try to hurt Wesley or himself, or do any further damage to Xander. As he watched, the sparks of light flickered and died, disappearing from Wesley's hands. "What now?" "Now? Now we get him cleaned up and wait for him to revive." Wesley sounded grim as he knelt beside Xander. Spike sank down beside him, staring in wonder at the body. He watched as Wesley gently touched Xander's cheek as though the other man could feel it. "He's dead," he said softly, still hardly able to believe that Xander could just open his eyes and breathe once more. He knew the young man was an Immortal, but he was so still and quiet that he could barely trust in Xander's recovery. "Ooh, look who knows so much, eh? Well, it just so happens that your friend here is only *mostly* dead." A small smile touched Wesley's lips. "It's one of his favorite movies," he said quietly. "And one of mine, now." He reached out to wrap shaking fingers around the stake still embedded in Xander's chest. Spike placed his hand on top of Wesley's. "Let me, love." He gently removed Wesley's hand, not wanting him to have to tear the piece of wood from his lover's chest. Wesley stared at him for a moment, then nodded slowly, leaning back and leaving the task to Spike. The vampire grasped the stake firmly, steeling himself a bit. He wasn't squeamish, but this wasn't just any human. This was Xander, a man who had died twice for Spike, a man who Spike had come to respect and desire fiercely. Jaw tense, he pulled hard on the stake, pulling it loose from the resisting flesh. He tossed it easily into the trash, not wanting to look at it, not wanting Wesley to have to see it. He glanced back down at Xander, slightly disappointed not to see any change. "How long is this going to take?" "I don't know," Wesley admitted. "He hasn't died so often that I have much to compare it to." He brushed Xander's hair back from his forehead. Spike didn't like how quiet he was. "So what now? Another bath?" A bitter life escaped Wesley. "I don't know if a bath can fix this." How was Xander going to handle how he'd died? How was Wesley? Spike pushed his worries away with the ease of long practice, focusing on the present and what he could actually control. He slid his hands under Xander and pulled the lax body into his arms, standing as he did so. "Let's get the blood washed away, at least. Get him some fresh clothing." He watched the other man, waiting for his response. Slowly, Wesley stood. "Let's take care of Xander," he agreed. Spike smiled and leaned in to Wesley, rewarding him with a swift kiss. The rest, all the decisions, all the worry, it could wait. Right now, they just needed to focus on Xander. Cradling Xander as though the other man could feel him, he carried him back to the bathroom. ***** Such language I heard from some of you. Tsk, tsk. Kay