Chapter Text
A/N So I’m starting another story, a different take on Xander being the One Who Sees- with an idea that comes from Angel, instead of Buffy.
Story starts after Xander had stared down Jack in the boiler room over a bomb and will also include a different take on Faith joining the Mayor.
Cross post from fanfiction user name schumacherjennifer39.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer does not belong to me, it was created by Joss Wedon and Monster Inc and belongs to Disney since they bought the Fox network.
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It had been a pretty crappy month, all told. The Fluke, which made absolutely no sense, had been discovered and Willow, Buffy and Cordelia had all dumped the blame in his lap. Oz had forgiven Willow in a week and Buffy had used the opportunity to try to make him ‘fray adjacent’; her most recent way of pushing him out. First had been the public humiliation stunts and using him to make Angel jealous – did she or did she not know how Angel reacted when she did that? Having the back of his neck offered to a vampire had most definitely not been fun. And now they weren’t even informing him that there was an apocalypse happening.
He'd spent part of the day feeling sorry for himself and the rest trying to stop zombies from setting off a bomb under the Hellmouth that would have made the apocalypse they hadn’t told him about so much worse. Though now that he had stopped Jack and his little gang he was feeling pretty good, he realized he didn’t need Buffy’s permission or approval and he’d proved to himself he could handle problems just fine. Maybe he could learn to use more then just a crossbow and an ax -.
His thoughts were interrupted by a shout from the library where they were dealing with the apocalypse they hadn’t told him about and he instinctively ran toward it; as he reached the doors something burst though them – earlier it had been a tentacle from the Hellmouth Guardian – the blue scaly demons had managed to get it open and he’d narrowly missed being hit by it as he’d dealt with the zombies. This time it was something foul smelling that might have been a lougie hawked by the huge tentacled thing. Whatever it was it hit him in his eyes and started burning. A burn that quickly escalated into burning pain as the shouting died down and Giles’ voice could be heard.
“Now Willow, we must close it now!” Chanting and then the roaring from the beast stopped as the Hellmouth was closed up and the two Slayers and Angel – for once he’d come out of the shadows and was actually helping with an apocalypse instead of just watching – finished off the demons.
P
A silence that was now filled with Xander’s screaming as the pain in his eyes went beyond anything he’d ever felt before; a burning, tearing pain that ended as he passed out and the others responded to his cries and found him on the floor.
“What’s he doing here?” Buffy demanded. “He was supposed to stay out of this!” And then she saw the carnage down the hall. “What happened here?” She shoved a pop machine off a guy’s head and jerked back as she realized he was rotting in places. Giles crouched to check Xander.
“He was hit in the face by that stuff it was spitting!” Willow realized.
“We need to get him to the hospital.” Giles decided. “And ascertain what happened here. Buffy, if you would please pick him up and carry him to my car, I’ll drive him.”
P
“Is that a zombie?” Faith asked, wrinkling her nose at the stench. “Are there more of them?”
“Why didn’t he listen, Giles? I knew he was going to get hurt.” Buffy fumed as she carried him out.
“Just place him in the back.” Giles responded and sighed. Buffy had been adamant for a few weeks now that Xander needed to be ‘fray adjacent’ finally saying it to Xander himself and Giles wondered if that was why the boy had been dealing with zombies himself rather than bring it to the group. Then he remembered Xander trying to talk to him this afternoon about something and wondered if it was about the zombie. He’d been too busy preparing for the attack to listen and had dismissed him.
Buffy settled Xander in the back seat and scowled at him, she didn’t want him hurt, that’s why she’d tried to keep him out of it and he’d stuck his nose in anyway and gotten hurt. “He’ll be alright, won’t he, Giles?” She asked, a little anxiously, she might be mad at him over the Fluke thing but she really did just want him safe and since they had Angel to help now, they didn’t need Xander risking himself.
She watched Giles drive off and sighed, keeping Xander from risking his stupid neck with Slay business was harder than she’d thought, she’d have to talk to him, lay it all out, explain they didn’t need him and he could have a normal life.