"Couldn't we go from the elbow? That's what the Red Cross people advise..."

The demoness chuckled as she rested the cold point of the sword against his chest, "No, I think *this* works better." At the word 'this,' she presses the sword deep into his chest and Xander cries out in agony.

**********************************************************************

The demoness stands, holding the sword loosely at her side. She is staring at something off-screen and looking satisfied with herself. Raising the sword, she drops a finger to run along the oddly dark blood staining the blade. She raises her blood-soaked finger to her lips and smiles as the scene pans to reveal Xander hanging from a wooden wheel over the Seal of Danzathar, black blood leaking in a slow stream from his chest. His head hangs limply and he is clearly not conscious.

A groan as he stirs and his head rises slightly, staring uncomprehendingly at the dark oily ichor leaking from what should be a fatal wound. He sees the demoness, still appearing as the attractive young woman from this evenings fateful date, her lips now stained black, apparently with his blood. "What, what have you done to me?"

The demoness chuckles and prowls malevolently around him as he bleeds onto the Seal and the blood slowly, like black syrup, fills in the various sigils and glyphs atop its surface, "Stabbed you in the chest. I kinda thought even you would have figured that out, stud."

His voice still weak, Xander bravely tries to respond with like sarcasm, "I got that honey, I was wondering about that black stuff you put in me." looking bewildered, "Was it in the food?"

Laughing out loud now, "You don't even know, do you? That's your *blood,* sport. Maybe it was red once, but *human* blood isn't what we need here." Xander hisses, "I *am* human. 100%! Farm-fresh." "Oh, yes," she retorts, caressing his shoulder as he attempts to flinch away, but ends up wincing in pain, "quite fresh, but not quite human, not any more..."

He shakes his head, denying her words, but she cuts him off with a finger to his lips as she looks down at his bleeding chest, "After all, a *human* would have died when I ran a sword through his heart." she raises her sword in her other hand, and he can clearly see black blood stains at least 6 inches up the blade. "No," he whispers as she steps away, "I'm human..."

"Technically, yes, you are right now, but," she stops to face him and adds brightly, with finger raised, "assuming you weren't going to die in a few minutes, of course, you wouldn't have been much longer anyway. Your heart is already gone, and probably most of your lungs." She looks thoughtful, "Now would probably have been a good time to start with the smoking and the fatty foods. I don't think it would have mattered much."

Xander looks down at the black stream, still flowing unabated from his chest and whispers, "Darkness..."

In the distance a voice calls out, "Xander! Spike?" It is Buffy's voice and Xander at first seems relieved, then suddenly apprehensive.

The demon rolls her eyes, "Oh, whatEVER. Can't a girl get any work done around here?" She flourishes her sword and walks out of the room, stopping to add, again with a false cheer, "Oh, you *can* just finish up here without me, can't you?" as he feebly nods in response to her sarcasm, she finishes walking out, "Thanks, you're a swell date, Xander. Look me up when you get to Hell. We'll do lunch." The second she is clear of the room, he calls out, "BUFFY! OVER HERE!" and just outside the room the demoness mutters to herself, "I hate it when a date talks about other girls..."

Xanders head lolls forward on his chest and he blacks out for just a second.

*********************************************************************

Xander comes to and Principal Wood is helping him to the ground. He looks around groggily, as Wood presses his abandoned shirt to his chest, "Keep this over the wound," and looks instead at the Seal, which Xander notes with alarm is trembling, having absorbed most of the blood and seems to be splitting open... "Um, Buffy???" Wood calls out, and the sound of swordplay in the next room suddenly rings clear, and ends. "Busy!" comes the return voice, and Xander and Wood both look at each other and get down on their hands and knees and try to hold the Seal closed. It is stronger than they are, and it continues to inexorably open.

"We can't wait Buffy!" Xander calls out and she suddenly appears in the room as a vampiric claw rises from the Seal and grabs Xanders wrist. He squawks just as she grabs the edge of torture wheel and flips neatly onto the Seal, landing hard on it. It slams shut with a clang and the hand on Xanders wrist is severed. It falls to the ground as Xander stumbles back in alarm and after thrashing about for a few seconds slowly dissolves into ash.

Xander sees Buffy turning towards him and quickly scrambles forward on all fours to retrieve his shirt, pressing against his chest to conceal the wound. "My god! Are you okay? Let me see..." she reaches for the shirt but Xander backs away, "No, it's good, a scratch and I should keep pressure on it." he mutters unconvincingly, but to no need as Spike has appeared in the doorway, barely standing, and Buffy quickly crosses to help him. Wood looks at the Seal, face unreadable, and then at Xander, who meets his gaze, and then turns away.

They exit.

*********************************************************************

Anya is hiding in the kitchen, avoiding the Slayers in Training, who are the biggest collection of whiny brats in need of dire punishment that she has seen in centuries. She idly dries a dish that was dry minutes ago while checking off possible curses that would shut them up, or at least result in them making sounds that are amusing, such as death rattles or farm animal sounds...

She is whirled around and drops the plate with a crash as an arm on her shoulder pins her to the fridge, Xander is standing against her, face twisted in rage, "What have you done to me!"

"Xander! You're alive!" Anya starts, looking relieved, confused, and then, pissed off, "And your hurting me." she yanks her arm from his grasp and rubs it. "What is wrong with you?" He glares at her, "Since you did it, I'd expect you to know." She looks non-plussed, "I haven't done anything to you. Your mood swings are your own problem."

Yanking up his shirt to reveal a swirling black vortex in the middle of his chest, and looking up with solid black eyes, "I'll ask one more time, What. Have. You. Done. With. My. HEART!"

********************************************************************

Anya and Xander are now in the basement, and she is sitting on Spikes cot staring at her hands. Xander is standing over her, almost menacingly. "Honestly Xander, I have no idea what this is. I didn't do it, I didn't take vengeance on you or curse you or 'rip your heart out and replace it with darkness' or anything like that." She says the last in an affected 'quoting' voice, making it clear that she is repeating what Xander has just accused her of in-between scenes.

"You didn't curse me because you love me soooo much." Xander says mockingly.

"Yes!" Anya says defensively, but on seeing the warning look in Xanders eyes, amends, "Well, also your friends wouldn't help. I tried to get them to curse you, but they wouldn't wish anything bad to happen to you. Stupid friends." she mutters darkly, before adding suddenly, "But see, *I* didn't do this! You can ask them, Willow, Buffy, Dawn, none of them would wish vengeance on you for me. They all liked you more than me anyway." she adds bitterly.

"Gee, feeling the love. You tried to kill me," "I would have settled for disfigurement" Anya interrupts with an attempt at chirpiness, but even she appears unconvinced as he makes a face, "Oh, that's comforting... So you tried to kill, or disfigure, me, but my 'stupid friends' wouldn't play along. Charming." He puts special emphasis on 'disfigure,' looking to her as if to acknowledge her little 'correction' there.

Anya gets up and Xander starts back, but she ignores this and puts her hand on his chest. "I want to know what happened. Tell me everything this demon said." He looks at her, seeming to decide and finally sighs and sits down on the cot, leaving her standing over him.

**********************************************************************

Scene of Xander apparently finishing his story to Anya, from the perspective of Dawn, who sits unnoticed on the stairs.

Anya offers, "So whatever this darkness is, it sounds like it is growing. It's already replaced your heart and lungs, but you still breathe and have a pulse." she looks up, "You *do* still breathe and have a pulse, right?" as she places her hand on his wrist and looks at her other wrist, in the manner of a nurse, even though she has no watch on and is clearly just aping what she has seen on television. Pulling his wrist away with a flash of irritation, to which she looks somewhat distressed, even if he doesn't seem to notice it, "Yes, yes, I still have a pulse. I checked that." "And the breathing?" she adds, noticing his omission. "Not so much. I *can* breathe, but I can also stop breathing, if I want. I guess now *is* a good time to take up smoking..."

Anya suddenly starts, a fresh realization hitting her. "It was Willow."

"What?" Xander says, looking more annoyed than seems reasonable for him, almost angry that she would blame everything on his friend. Slowly he seems to acknowledge the hurt and surprised look on Anyas face, "I'm changing. It isn't just my body." He suddenly gets up and heads towards the stairs, where Dawn is trapped trying to get up and sneak away. He just laughs bitterly and ungently pushes past her in his rush up the stairs.

Dawn looks shaken at Xanders revelation, and his attitude and she says to a somewhat owlish looking Anya, "We need to talk to Willow then, before we lose him." Anya looks up, as if from a million miles away and just whispers, "Yes."

*************************************************************************

Willows bedroom. Willow and Kennedy sit on her bed, Kennedy is wearing headphones and reading a novel, while Willow is apparently studying from the assemblage of textbooks, notebooks and multicolored highlighters arrayed around her. She has a pen in her hand, which she idly chews, while a second one sits forgotten behind one ear. The bedroom door opens with a bang and papers and pencils fly as she starts. Kennedy looks startled as well and puts down her book and takes down her headphones.

"Xander, um, hi, come in why don't you." Willow stammers as he closes the door behind him and crosses to her.

"We have a problem Will, and you're the only one..." he stops, as if noticing Kennedy for the first time, "Piss off." Kennedy looks 'whoah' and Willow, "Hey! Calm down, we're all friends here." Xander looks at her impatiently, "No, actually, I don't know Kennedy from a hole in the wall, and it looks like I'm not going to have time to meet her, thanks to you." Willows eyes get large and Kennedy stammers, "I can go, let you two have a moment..." but Willow interrupts, "No, you'll stay, and he'll deal with it." she stops and looks at his flaring nostrils and reddening face and her own face settles into resolve, "Or, better yet, he'll 'piss off' until *he* calms down, 'cause this is *my* room, buster!"

A tense moment, Kennedy seems frozen in between leaving and staying as Xander and Willow glare at each other. It passes as Xander sits down heavily on the bed, a book thumps to the floor as he does, but is unnoticed save by Kennedy, who winces at the loud thump.

"I'm dying Will." he says flatly, not looking up from his own hands in his lap, knotted around each other as if he is trying to strangle something. Her face falls and she seems almost ready to faint, "What? No, you're... fine, and... What?" she flounders.

"And you have to kill me." At this, she is completely lost and if it weren't for Kennedy pushing a chair behind her, she'd be sitting on the floor as her knees give out.

************************************************************************

"This, isn't possible." Willow says to the motley assembly now in her bedroom. Xander is now standing in a corner, pointedly avoiding contact, arms folded across his chest, body-language screaming 'go away' as he stares at the floor. Kennedy is behind her, trying to look both supportive and invisible, Dawn and Anya have joined them and are sitting on the bed, both facing kinda towards, kinda away from Xander.

"A human body can't hold the sort of magic you threw at him. I'm surprised you didn't kill him outright," Anya begins, but Willow is already shaking her head, "That's BS, I held all sorts of 'that sort of magic' and, hey, still alive." she raises her hands and looks down at herself, as if displaying evidence. "You are a trained powerful witch. Xander is a," Anya flounders for a second, "carpenter. You're not supposed to build high schools, he's not supposed to be pumped full of dark evil magic." Anya finishes with a raised eyebrow, "And it wasn't exactly good for your complexion either, as I recall," she trails off, looking at Xander, "or your mood." Xander looks at her coldly as she says this last, almost as if daring her to continue.

"Well, I can just mojo it out of him, no dying, nothing like that, just trap it in some sort of..." but Anya cuts her off, "It's too late, the magic has eaten away his heart and lungs." now pedantically, as if to a child, "He can't live without those, believe me, I know, I've eviscerated enough men..." Xander grunts, but has no comment at that. He has returned to looking at the floor.

"Um," says Dawn and freezes as everyone looks at her, "Can we find some sort of, y'know, organ donor?" They look at her, desperate consideration from Willow, obvious contempt from Anya. "Hey, good idea," says Anya, sarcastically, then raising her voice, "HEY ANDREW! GET UP HERE, WE FOUND A USE FOR YOU!" Xander actually chuckles a little at this, and everyone looks a little disturbed at the dark turn his mind has taken.

Xander finally looks up, as if sensing that everyone is staring at him. His eyes are black pools as he says, "Looks like having a hole cut in my chest has accelerated the process," and his face twists into a leer.

"Morphae" mutters Willow and Xander seems to sway a bit, before steadying himself on the wall and pushing off towards her, literally tossing Kennedy out of his way one-handed as she tries to intercept him as he moves towards Willow. In the background, Dawn squeaks and falls off the bed. "MORPHAE!" Willow repeats, standing her ground with her hand finally touching Xanders forehead, he has gotten so close to her. He stands in front of her, seemingly paralyzed with rage, which visibly drains away. His eyes clear and he mutters confusedly, "Willow?" before his eyes roll up and he drops to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Kennedy has gotten to her feet and is staring at the unconscious Xander as the others gather around, save for Dawn, who is apparently tangled in a blanket. No one notices and all that is seen are her legs thrashing about to the sound of some muffled squeaks.

The door opens and everyone turns suddenly, all keyed up for a threat. Andrew visibly flinches back at this reaction and says meekly, "You called?" Anya finally says, with an attempt at her normal tone, "Yes, we need a heart and some lungs. Xander seems to have misplaced his, and you're the most expendable person here."

Andrew visibly pales and steps back...

*********************************************************************

Xander lies on Willows bed, his wrists and ankles bound with colorful silk scarves and womens belts (Buffy might have an assortment of bondage gear in her room, but Willow does not). Candles burn on almost every surface available and the room is crowded, with Dawn, Buffy, Willow, Anya, Andrew, Giles and all of the Slayers in Training sitting or standing in various positions.

Buffy, "So how does this go again?" Willow calmly explains, "It's just like the meditation thing we were doing to help me regrow that skin, only in this case, it's a lot more, um, stuff, that's missing, so it's going to take a lot out of anyone who participates."

"Define, 'a lot.'" Buffy says, as some of the SiTs begin muttering. "Well, the more donors, the easier for everyone, but if it was just one of us, even you" she adds, when Buffy starts to get that 'I'll do it, I'm the one with Slayer-healing' look, "It will kill them."

"I'll do it" Anya and Dawn say simultaneously. Andrew has raised his hand in the background, but no one seems to have noticed. Buffy looks like she is going to take exception, but Giles speaks, "Obviously, I'll assist as well, show me the ritual and I'll get started passing out the necessary materials to anyone who wishes to help." he looks around pointedly at the assorted Slayers in Training and the two who were muttering earlier about it being a risk lower their heads and don't speak. Kennedy looks to Willow, "You're doing this right." "I have to, it isn't even a question." "Then I'm doing it too, show me what to do."

Willow looks reassured and Giles can be seen passing out candles to Dawn and Anya. He notices Andrew with his hand up, having made an amazing array of impatient facial expressions while waiting, "You don't have to raise your hand Andrew, this isn't school." "Sorry, um, can I help? 'Cause the 'kinda risky' thing sounds a lot better than the 'we're gonna rip out your heart and give it to Xander' thing." Giles looks non-plussed and Anya pipes up, "Hey, we were just considering the options..." With a pained expression, Giles hands a candle to Andrew, who flips it around like a stake and begins to make staking motions. Giles grabs his wrist and just looks at him, "Sorry. I'll be good." he says as stands with exagerrated gravitas, trying to look serious.

Anya asides to Andrew, "If you screw this up, Willow's going to make you into a coat."

Andrew moves away from Anya.

Dawn chooses this moment to ask, "Um, would Spike want to help?" But Giles says, "He has no living cells, no life-force. He actually would be harmful if added to the spell as his essence is vampiric. It would draw off the energy we are trying to give to Xander, as it would blood." Anya adds, "Plus he hates Xander, so probably not." Buffy looks put-out at this oversimplification but clearly doesn't want to get into it with Anya. Dawn, "I just thought he might like to be in on the rescuING for a change and not always be the rescuEE."

At the end, every one of the Slayers in Training, Buffy, Willow, Dawn and Anya are standing with a candle in their hand and Willow says, "Ready?" Hearing no dissent, she begins a slow chant and each of the others take it up at measured intervals in a circle around Xander. The 'inner ring' of Buffy, Willow, Giles, Anya and Dawn go clockwise, and the outer ring of SiTs and Andrew start up counter-clockwise, until everyone is chanting, but at completely different pacing, leading it to blend into a drone, like a strange chorus of row-row-row-your-boat. The lights increase on Xander and a glow surrounds his chest.

**************************************************************************

"Well that sucked" Anya mutters. Everyone is sitting around the living room, bruised and battered like they've had their own personal Turok-Han encounters. Half of them are asleep across various items of furniture or on the floor. Buffy is the only one who seems to be awake and mobile and she is crossing from person to person getting drinks or tucking in blankets. "When are we going to get Slayer-healing, 'cause I really need it now," Rhona grouses as she pulls a blanket over her head.

Upstairs Giles and Willow are watching Xander tiredly, both also worn and beaten. Giles is holding a crystal sphere holding a swirling darkness, and he sets it carefully in a box before sealing it. "One less bit of evil magic to worry about." Willow looks at it and runs her hand over the box, almost wistfully. "I had so much of that in me, and look what such a tiny bit did to Xander..." He is still asleep, no longer restrained, and looking far more flush and healthy than anyone else in the house.

"He's spent so long being our heart, and now he has a new one, one made from all of us."