Buffy finished her Diet Coke and looked around.

"Whats wrong?" Willow asked before taking a small, sensible bite from her peanut butter and jelly sandwhich.

Buffy looked at Willow and asked "Where's Oz? I haven't seen him here all day." Buffy could see a small jerk in Willow's eyes at the mention of Oz's name but chose not to comment on it.

"Oz is still with the band in Los Angeles. He said he was probably going to be back by today but that they might not make by then," Willow said before taking another bite of her sandwhich and nervously turning her Dr. Pepper around in her hand.

Buffy decided to probe a little and said "What do you think is holding up Oz?" Buffy saw Willow's eyes jerk again for a brief second.

"Uh.....I don't know Buffy......I guess it must be the traffic..."

Buffy noted the hesitation in Willow's voice. It probaly wasn't something important, Willow was likely covering for Oz because he was ditching or something simliar. It wouldn't hurt to know for sure though. Buffy crushed her soda can and tossed it into a nearby recycle bin.

"Will, are you......" Buffy trailed off as Xander appeared at the table out of no where.

"So what's happening gang?" Xander said as he sat down and streched out.

Willow looked up and opened her mouth to say something but Buffy beat her to the punch.

"We were talking about where Oz is."

Xander nodded and said "Oh yes...I haven't seen him today. Where is the absentee werewolf?"

Willow tore a piece of crust left on her sandwhich off and said "Oz is in Los Angeles. He was going to be here today but I think he had some car trouble...or some trouble with cars."

Buffy could see a sweat breaking out on Willow who now looked as if she desprately needed someone to change the subject. Buffy decided to let up and let go of the subject.

Xander though seemed obsessed with this new topic of conversation and said "Car Trouble? Did he call you or anything?"

Willow's face became distraught and she said "NO...he didn't call me, it just seems like the logical thing. What else could he be doing?"

Xander opened his mouth to say something about how Oz could be seeing someone else but Buffy gave him a 'don't mess with me.' look and said "Maybe you should shave your face," in a stern tone.

Xander looked down at the table in a sign of submission.

Buffy crumpled up the paper bag that held her lunch and said "Well. Now that we have that matter settled let's move on to something else. So.............?"Buffy closed her mouth and looked down.

The three teenagers remained silent all through out the rest of lunch.

*****

The mayor set aside the comics page for later and picked up the main body of the paper. The banner headline said, "Heroic cop intercepts shipment of guns."

"Well gentlemen, I was certainly surprised to find this in front of me this morning." The mayor said as he stood up to tower over his trembling subordinates.

"Sir.....I'm sorry.....we were sure that they would get in safe enough."

"I would like to accept your plea for forgiveness but that wouldn't help me with the guns's owner. It is not the kind of........thing to tolerate this mishap."

"Sir...please I..."

The mayor cut off the clerk and said "Don't worry! I'm not going to have you killed for a mistake...not the first one anyway." The mayor sat back down into his chair and snaped his fingers.

"I'll tell you what. Why don't you assemble some vampires break into the storage yard for the guns and take them back? OH....and uh, kill that cop that lead the operation. We can't have a loose cannon on the force. I believe entering the police department can be arranged."

The man stood up and left the office in a uncomfortable hurry. The mayor picked the comics back up and giggled with delight at the latest "Family Circus."

Behind him stood a woman dressed in a blue t-shirt and jeans. As the mayor laughed a grin came to her face and she thought 'Yes, enjoy your simple humor. In a short while I too will be laughing.'

*****

Willow closed her eyes and yawned loudly. She had been online trying to find some refrence to Xander's murder for hours but the police department had absoultely no information on it at all. Willow slowly got out of her chair and streched out her muscles. Her body felt all crooked and out of place.

"Willow, have you found anything in the police computer yet?" Giles asked, as he walked out of his office holding a large red book in his hands.

Willow shook her head and said "No, there is nothing in there. It's like they didn't even know it happened."

Giles dropped his book onto the table in the center of the room and sighed. He was obviously dissappointed that nothing had been found. Willow could just pick those thoughts from Giles's face.

"I could brake into the actual police department and look around in there," Willow ventured. She hoped to make herself seem useful after spending so much time not getting anything done.

"No Willow, that won't be necessary. I don't want you to take unnecessary risks." Giles cautiously said to Willow who's hopeful face fell flat.

"But Giles, Xander has been murdered and we have to find out who it was. If we don't were going to be left wide open to all kinds of things. Things so terrible I have been forbidden to talk about them."

Giles put a hand on Willow's shoulder and opened his mouth to say something when she pulled back and shouted out "WAIT! I just put some thought on a memory and realized that you said something. How did you know about the two Xanders? HOW??? TELL ME NOW!!!"

Giles's face went bone white and after a minute of waiting he said "I think you should go to the police station. I think you should go now."

Willow was confused by Giles change of mind and tone of voice. She opened her mouth to say something but then shut it. She decided to take advantage of the situation and walked on towards the doors and made her way out of the libary.

When the library doors swung close behind Willow. A figure emerged from behind a bookcase. Giles turned his head and saw that the figure was a kid, around the age of 17. He wore blue jeans, a black shirt and had a backpack swung on his right shoulder.

"I'm impressed how you got out of that question by giving Willow what she wanted. She forgot all about how you know." the kid said. He made his way over to Giles who glared at the kid.

"I told you not to come around here. I'm aware I made a mistake but thats solved now." Giles said defiantly. The kid smiled and said "It appears so, but I also wanted to thank you for helping him."

*****

Buffy pressed her books up closer to her chest and said "You know Xander. You may be dead but that is no excuse to whine and pout about things that really are not that important. So what if you were murdered, at least you still have your health and goofy sense of humor."

Xander just kept his face down and looked at his feet as they took step after step. He didn't feel like talking to Buffy after the way she had treated him earlier today and last night.

A few moments passed before Buffy said "I take your silence to mean that you're still a little upset about what happened last night." Xander stoped and turned towards the slayer.

"A little upset? I'm a lot more than just a little upset. I am currently filled with a terrible anger and would very much like to express it in a physical violence sort of way."

Xander thought back to what had happened at Buffy's house.

*****

"Buffy!!! Your not going to believe this." Xander said as he walked in past the slayer.

"Not believe what?" Buffy said as she closed the door and turned to face Xander.

"You're not going to believe that I was killed."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was walking home from the Bronze when I notiched these police cars...well actually there was this guy in black...but forget him, the point is......"

Buffy put her hand on Xanders motorboat mouth and said "NO! I was asking what you meant by me not believing you."

Xander shook his head and began saying "Thats not important, what is is that there was this black tarp and I looked under it and...."

Buffy moved so fast that it took Xander a few moments to realize that he was face flat on the floor and Buffy had her foot on his back while pulling on his arms.

"I was asking you why you thought I wouldn't believe you cause I would and I do."

"But I haven't told you what...." Xander screamed in pain as Buffy kicked his head.

"I do believe you Xander. Maybe you should shut up."

Xander closed his mouth and waited for Buffy to say something.

"Good, you did it. You kept your big mouth shut, he said you wouldn't but you did. I won't have to hurt you now." Buffy finished her sentence by letting go of his arms then walked around in front of Xander and kneeled down before him. Buffy looked at Xander's face which was the very picture of confusion.

"Buffy....whats going on? Why are you acting like a total wacko."

Buffy sat down on the floor and smiled a smile that could never be described in human terms. Buffy took the tone of a teacher giving a lecture and began speaking. "Xander, you have been killed tonight but it is nothing like you thought it would be. Things are going to get out of hand and if you are going to live through this you will have to play it smart."

Buffy yawned and streched out before going on.

"There is one thing that you most not do. You must never tell anyone else that you saw that man dressed in black, otherwise you will suffer greatly."

Buffy's eyes then began glowing red.

*****

"Xander? Xander?? XANDER!" Xander looked up and saw Buffy with her hands on her hips and a impatiant look on her face. He must have been thinking about the previous night for a while because Buffy was looking at him like he was totaly out of it.

"Wha...What?"

"I was asking you if you were upset about last night."

"I don't know?"

"Well either way you have to realize that it is in your best intrest to not tell the others about what is happening here."

With that, Buffy's eyes began to glow red yet again and stayed that way for a long moment. Xander just stared at her without any expression on his face. Buffy laughed sarcastically at him and walked off.

*****

Xander reached out for the doorknob on the sidedoor and turned it. There was a loud click and the door opened as if by itself. Xander rushed on in, leaving the sidedoor to close on it's own. He walked into the living room where his mother sat in a recliner with her attention on a small mirror held near her face with her left hand. "Hello Mom." Xander said in soothing tones. His mother was probably a little unstable so soon after his death.

Xander's mother didn't respond to her son's words. She just sat there and stared into her mirror. "Mom, it's me......Xander.....I'm back from school."

Xander's mother smiled and lowered her mirror. "I can hear you son, there is no need to repeat yourself." She was wearing a green sweatsuit that had somekind of logo on it. "Maybe you want me to fix you dinner right now Xander?"

Xander shook his head and said "No thanks, I'm not hungry right now." Xander made his way to the staircase and went up the first step when his mother started crying. Xander turned around and looked at his mother who had her head in her hands. She was crying so hard that it seemed she had trouble breathing.

"Mom?" Xander walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Xander's mother lifted her head and looked at Xander with a face that expressed nothing but anger.

"Don't you ever speak that way to me again!" She hissed out at Xander. Xander took a step back and waited to see what his mother was so angry over.

"I work myself to the bone so you can have everything you want and never once do you thank me!!"

"I'm sorry mom......I..." Xander's apology was interupted when his father burst through the front door and stormed into the living room. He had a gas mask over his face so Xander only recognize him after he spoke.

"What have you been doing to your poor mother!?" His father demanded.

"Nothing....I only said I didn't feel like eating dinner."

Xander's father took off his gas mask and revealed a face that was literally red with anger. "Your mother spent all day cooking dinner and all you can do is think about yourself!"Xander looked down at his father's clothing which cosisted of some long johns and overalls.

"Don't look down around me ever! Your going to have to go to your room and you will stay in there until tomorrow morning." His father snorted some air into his nose and exhaled it a moment later. Xander looked down and saw that his father's fists were clentched.

Xander trudged off to the stair and slowly walked up to the second floor. He found his room in the same state of untidiness that he had left it in. Xander droped his backpack down onto the floor and let himself fall backwards onto his bed. Slowly his feet worked off his shoes and he was wraped up in several blankets. His eyes automaticly closed shut and his mind sliped away.....

*****

Xander looked around the room he was standing in, taking in his surroundings. He was in a square shaped room about the size of the library at school. Grey paint covered the entire room. There was nothing within the room except a group of people standing near a coffin in one corner of the room and a door near the opposite corner.

Xander slowly walked to the people surrounding the coffin. In unison the group turned to face Xander. The closest to him was a heavyset man dressed in a tan robe. He had a large jolly face and thick brown hair. To the left of this man was Xander's mother and father. Both were dressed in what they had been wearing when he arrived home and had their heads hung low. To the right of the man was Xander's mother and father again. Only his mother was wearing a thick cotton sweater and a pair of jeans, they to had their heads hung low . His father was dressed in a buisness suit made of newspaper.

The man with the robe wore a wide smile and said "It is most good to see you make it here. I was afraid that you may not be able to attend and that would be such a sad thing wouldn't it?" The large man slowly made his way over to Xander. He reached out a hand and placed it on Xander's shoulder. "Xander....you are going to wake up soon and when you do, you will have so much to do." The robed man's smile faded a bit and he turned his back to Xander.

Xander's father wearing the overalls looked up at Xander and said "You are such a big failure I choose not to speak on it anymore." He then lowered his head and at the same time Xander's father who wore the suit made out of newspapers raised his head and said "Don't listen to me son. I'm proud of you and all that you've been able to do." Xander's father then lowered his head down.

The robed man grabed onto Xander's arm and pulled him over to the coffin. The top lid was lifted up. Within the coffin there was nothing but the silk covering of the interior. "I'm sorry that we couldn't get the body but there are certain problems around it right now that prevent it."

Xander sighed and said "Hey, I don't care about your funeral alright. I just want to find out who killed me. Now can you tell me?" The robed man smiled.

"I don't know, Can I?

*****

Xander opened his eyes. His shirt was damp and sweat was driping on his face from his forehead. He looked out the window at the cloud covered sky. The clock said it was 8:55 P.M. Xander realized he must have dozed off and he knew he had a dream while asleep but couldn't rember it.

"Willow?" Xander said out loud as if someone had asked about her.

Xander felt his mind racing forward leaving him behind. He knew that there was something with what was going on but he couldn't place his finger on it. It was like everything was about a foot to the left of reality. He could just feel a weird sensation in his stomach.

Xander pushed himself off the bed and moved over to the telephone. He picked up the receiver and dialed Willow's phone number. The phone rang and rang and rang. Xander put the receiver back on the phone and sat down on the floor.

"Willow...where are you?...."

*****

Willow closed the door behind her slowly. Getting into the police department was easy enough and this part of the building was pretty much empty at this time of the day. Making yourself sound like a racket inside though would bring people's attentions on you though so you had to be cautious.

A sign in the hallway stated that the morgue was in the direction of an arrow pointing to the right. Willow went off in that direction and a short walking distance later she was in front of the door to the morgue. The lights were off and the door was locked. "So far so good." Willow muttered to herself. A simple little magic spell opened the lock with ease.

Sunnydale had the largest morgue per capita than any other town in the country. Willow went over to a clip board on the wall. After a brief scaning she found Xander's name and the number of the box he was stored in. Willow walked down by the metal boxes in the wall till she found Xander's. Her hand reached out and pulled the handle.

The cart rolled out with a figure under a white sheet. Willow took a breath and lifted the sheet off the figure's face. There was the colorless face of Xander. "Oh......Xander......"

*****

Xander sat in the corner of his room with his hands covering his eyes. The room was dark with little light coming in from the window. "Please call me Willow....I need you so much......"

The phone rang. Xander scrambled over to it and picked up the receiver. "Willow??..." Xander begged the caller to be. "NO." A sharp, annoyed voice said. "It's Cordelia, I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out somewhere but now you can forget it. If you want Willow keep her."

"No wait!" Xander forced out of his mouth. "I would like to go out sometime. Just say when and where and I'm ready." Xander picked up the phone and made his way to his bed to rest his legs.

"Well Xander...I was sort of thinking we could go out tonight."

Xander had a bit of warmth spring up into his chest. "Yeah...that would be fine with me."

Cordelia took a small breath and said "Great, I'll pick you up in half an hour."

Xander quickly put on a change of clothes and rushed downstairs to his front door.

*****

Willow pushed the scalpel against Xander's chest. The blade just went into his body with no resistance. Willow yanked the scalpel away quickly. A thick black liquid began to come out of the body. It was thick like fudge batter. The stuff came out of Xander's body faster then one would think. It was now pouring onto the ground near Willow's shoes. Willow took a couple of cautious steps away from it.

"What's going on?" she muttered to herself. It seemed like something wasn't quite fitting in. Not so much the substance coming forth from Xander's body as the feel of the situation. It was like.....

The sound of the door to the morgue opening broke Willow's train of thought and she turned to be yelled at by some suited up cop. Instead she found an old man wearing brown trenchcoated closing the door and locking it in a panic. He turned his head around scaning the room. His eyes fixed on Willow and in an urgent tone he yelled out "Miss, come over here and help me hold this door. A gang is out there trying to kill me."

Willow stood motionless. Her mind seemed to have a hard time convincing her body to move. "NOW!" That single word spoken so forcefuly sprang Willow's previously unmoving body forward and she reached the door just in time to see a group of six vamps gather out in the hallway. They came up to the door and started pounding on it.

"That isn't a gang, those are vampires." Willow said as she pressed her weight up against the door. The old man looked at Willow not with an expression of shock but of surprised admiration. "You know vampires exist?" Willow nodded. The door shook and the vampires out in the hall had their game faces on in anticipation of an easy meal from a helpless old man and young woman.

"Come on out little girl and I'll give you a cookie." one of the vamps said before kicking the door so hard that it seemed it would fall down. The vampires screamed and snarled like dogs as they battered the door without stop. It seemed the entire wall would fall under they're relentless anger.

Then a blured shape moved into sight. A sharp flash was seen by Willow and moments later the vamps were showered with dust. Willow could now see the figure behind the vamps and let out an excited cry of joy. "Angel!" The vampire was standing in a fighting stance with a stake in his right hand. While the vamps were still dazed Angel struck quickly, dusting the vamp to his right and then plunging the stake into the vamp advancing on his left.

Willow moved to help Angel, unlocking and opening the door. She pulled a stake to dust the vamp nearest her but was passed by the elderyman who grabed the bloodsucker and pushed him to the floor. Willow was so amazed by this sight that she just stood still while the fighting raged on. Angel had one vamp on the ground and was beating the other into submission. A spray of sand covered both of them. Willow swung her head over to see the old man with a stake in his hand and dust over his trenchcoat.

The two remaining vamps stumbled away before making a full dash down the hallway and through the nearest exit. Willow's heart was beating like crazy and her legs gave way. She found herself down on the floor. Angel quickly came to her aid. "Willow are you alright?" Angel asked with concern.

Willow looked up at him with a blank stare on her face. Something about the fight had sparked her mind. It was like waking out of a dream. "Angel....I..." Willow reached her hand out to touch his cheek. Her hand brushed briefly across his skin before he took hold of he and lifted her up.

"Are you alright miss?" The elderly man asked. Willow nodded then slowly draged herself into the morgue. She looked in and tears slowly streamed down her face.

Angel wraped his arms around Willow and in a sootheing voice said "Willow....I'm sorry. I know Xander was good friend and I understand what you..."

Willow shook her head violently and said "No that isn't it......look..Xander is gone." Angel and the old man looked inside the morgue and saw a tray where a body might have been but now only had a sheet on it.