Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fan Fiction ❯ Payne To The Max ❯ Chapter 1

Payne To The Max

Title: Payne To The Max

Author: Greydon Creed (greydon_creed @ yahoo.com)

Rating: Mature/18 (some flirting, cursing, disturbing imagery, violence and heavy making out. You know, the good stuff.)

Summary: On that fateful Halloween night, Xander and Cordy dress as video game characters - star-crossed lovers with lots of gunplay.

Disclaimer: Neither the Max Payne 2 video game characters nor the BtVS TV show characters belong to me. No monetary profit will be made by the distribution of this story. The story concept alone belongs to me.

Note: The opening monologue is a condensed version of the one from the 'Previously' section on the X-Box video game Max Payne 2. The 'Things That I Want' monologue comes from the graphic novel portion of the game.



I am Max Payne.

My wife and daughter were murdered.It had something to do with the designer drug 'V', Valkyre.

I transferred from the NYPD to the DEA, went undercover to find their killers.

I got too close.I was framed for murder.

With nothing to lose, I went after the Mafia during the worst winter storm in a century.

I met Mona Sax in a Gothic nightclub, Ragnarock.She was a hired killer.We were after the same man, her sister's sadistic husband.I was drawn to her for all the wrong reasons.

While working for the D.A., my wife saw papers incriminating the maker of "V", a pharmaceutical manufacturer headed by Nicole Horne.Horne ordered my wife killed.

A powerful rival of Horne's promised to take care of the charges against me if I took Horne out.

The NYPD was trailing me by the trail of empty shell casings I left behind.The gunshots made me deaf to the sirens, but it could not drown the sobs of my dead wife.

Mona sided with me again Horne.She took a bullet for that.Her body disappeared behind closing elevator doors.

I killed Horne.

I gave myself up to the police.I had enough evidence to make sure Horne's rival would keep his word.

I lied to myself that it was over.

I was still alive.My loved ones were still dead.

It wasn't over. . .


Ethan's Costume Shop
Sunnydale, Calif.
4:45 PM Oct 30, 1997

Xander Harris gave a mental curse of disappointment as a grade school kid grabbed the last toy assault rifle from the discount bin. Since this was coming out of his school lunch allowance, he didn't have all that much money to spend for a costume. If it hadn't been for that troll Snyder dragooning him into the Halloween Trick-Or-Treat escort program, Buffy, Willow and he would have spent the only monster free night of the year vegging out at home. Instead, Xander had to now figure out how to do a costume on the cheap.

Looking over at his best buds, Xander's teeth set on edge as he watched the two girls fawn over a 18th century noblewoman's gown. It wasn't hard to figure out why Buffy was getting that dress. . . anything to catch Captain Forehead's attention.

Sighing, Xander looked around the shop one more time. If he didn't find something soon, he was going to steal Willow's idea out from under her and go the bed sheet route. Snyder wouldn't be very happy with it, but he was more than a little tempted to tell the Ferengi reject where to head in.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance, young man." Turning, Xander saw that the speaker was a older man, looking to be roughly his parents' age. What drew Xander's attention was the man's accent - excluding Giles, there weren't that many Brits in SoCal.

"I don't think you can help much, sir. A kid took off with my idea for a costume." Xander gestured toward the hyper boy being lead out of the store by his mom. "I had some army surplus fatigues I was going to wear but you don't have any more toy guns."

"Never say never, young sir. I do have some items I have not yet put on display." The older man walked behind the counter and picked up a large cardboard box, placing it on the counter. Reaching in, the man pulled out what looked to be a black leather jacket and a police badge on a neck chain before producing a toy pistol in a plastic holster and a spare magazine carrier. "These items were parts of a costume for a video game convention that were put into my shipment. I can't say I know much about the game itself, except for what was detailed in this pamphlet."

Xander looked from the toy pistol he was examining (which looked to be a replica Beretta service pistol) to the badge sitting on the jacket. Picking it up, he could tell it was a replica NYPD detective badge as well, although a fairly realistic one. Flipping around the badge, he saw that the back of the badge holder contained a ID card for the character, one that at a quick glance at the picture he saw resembled him a little. Taking the offered pamphlet from the store keeper, Xander saw on the front a drawing of a man and a woman embracing, each of them holding a handgun.

After quickly glancing through the booklet, Xander looked down at the last item on the counter and began to shake his head. "There's no way that I can afford a jacket like that, if I'm lucky I can afford the pistol and maybe the badge, but not that."

The storekeeper picked up the jacket and unfolded it, revealing it to be a hip length coat that more than resembled the one worn by a certain member of the undead. "How about you and I make a deal, young man? I won't be able to sell this jacket easily due to it's condition" - the jacket looked more than a little worn - "and it is part of this set. If you are willing to give me a bit of free advertising about this shop, I'm sure I can extend you a substantial discount."

"Advertising?" Xander took the coat and looked at it closer. The coat was worn in some places, but it certainly looked warm enough.

"Just let people know you bought your costume at this store. Word of mouth is by far the most effective method of advertisement." The man used British pronunciation on the last word, making Xander look up at him. "And of course you would be able to use the coat after tomorrow's holiday far more than your surplus uniform."

"All I have is twenty bucks, mister. You sure you want to do this?" Xander was more than halfway convinced.

"Let the Fates decide. Try the coat on." The man gestured at the coat, and Xander slowly put it on, more than a little surprised that it fit him perfectly.

"It looks as though you have your answer." Ethan Rayne smiled at Xander.

* * * * *

"Get out of my way, geek-boy."

Ethan looked up from the cash register to see a brunette teenager walking though the front door. In spite of the harsh words she had just used against the young man who was leaving the store, he would see that the young woman was rather attractive. However, the look on her face detracted from her classic beauty.

"How may I help you, miss?" Ethan quickly schooled his face to that of a pleasant storekeeper.

"The idiots at Partytown screwed up my order and didn't reserve my costume. They didn't have anything I would be caught dead in, so I was hoping to find something here." Given the emphasis the girl put on the word 'here', it was a certainly that she wanted to be anywhere but there.

"I am sorry to say that all the costumes have been hired out." Ethan watched as the teen scowled.

"I'm willing to pay good bucks for a decent costume. I don't want to look like a loser at Aura's party."

Remembering how harshly this young lady had treated the young man who had just bought the detective costume, Ethan mentally smiled to himself. "How about this, I can sell you the accessories to a costume, I'm sure you have the clothing to complete it. And I can assure you, no one will be dressed like you would be."

"Show me what you got," the girl ordered abruptly. Ethan nodded and pulled toward him the cardboard box still on the counter.

"These are the accessories to a video game character costume that was used at a convention. All you would have to do is to wear a shirt and jeans similar to the ones in these pictures. The coat is optional, of course." Ethan handed over a booklet to the young woman before digging out a shoulder holster and a large toy handgun from the box. "It would also help if you wore your hair in a ponytail as the character does as well."

The young woman looked intently at the pamphlet in her hand before looking at the holster and pistol on the counter. "How do you wear one of those things?

Ethan picked up the harness and walked around the counter. "If I may?" He gestured for her to hold her arms out and carefully slipped the rig onto her shoulders. Luckily, the harness did not need adjustment, so once the tie down straps were snapped shut, all that needed to be done was to place the replica Desert Eagle Magnum handgun in the holster.

While the girl was swinging her arms around to make sure she was comfortable, Ethan pulled out a spare pistol magazine carrier and a pair of black leather gloves from the box. "With these items, and the clothing you supply yourself, I'm sure you would look smashing tomorrow night." Seeing the girl nod her agreement, Ethan moved behind the register. "How will you be paying for this, Ms. . .?"

"Chase, Cordelia Chase. American Express, of course."


Summers Residence
1629 Revello Drive
Sunnydale, Calif.
5:30 PM October 31, 1997

Hearing the doorbell ring Joyce Summers quickly walked to the front door. She was trying to get ready for her own Halloween party at the gallery, while making sure that Dawn, Buffy and her friend Willow left on time to their own activities. Buffy had said that Xander was going to join them, so maybe that's who was at the door.

Opening the door, Joyce saw a tall dark-haired man standing partially in the shadows, dressed in a black leather coat, grey dress slacks and a white dress shirt with a pulled down tie. Joyce's heart skipped a beat when she saw the police badge hanging in front of his chest, and the deep voice that she heard speak. "I'm sorry to bother you ma'am, but is Buffy Summers home?"

"Oh my God, what has Buffy done now?" Joyce had visions of another school gym burning floating in her mind.

"Nothing that can be proven, actually." The voice suddenly was lighter as the man took a step forward and his face became visible. "Evening, Mrs. Summers.

"Xander! Oh God, I nearly had a heart attack. Don't do that to me!" Joyce stepped back as Xander walked thought the open door.

"You're too young and too pretty to be worrying about a heart attack, Mrs. S. Sorry about that." Xander grinned as he looked at Joyce, who blushed and was looking away when a voice floated down from the top of the stairs.

"XANDER!!! Stop flirting with my mother!!!" Buffy bounced down the stairs wearing the noblewoman's dress and a tall black wig.

"Buffy! Duchess of Buffonia! I completely renounce spandex!" Xander looked from one Summers woman to another. "I see where you get your beauty from." As both women blushed, Xander looked up to see Willow walking down the stairs in her ghost costume. "Mighty scary boo you got there, Wills. You're lucky I found this costume, I was going to steal yours."

"Why are you dressed up like Angel?" Buffy's question caused no visible reaction from Xander, who had been halfway expecting it. In fact, it had been one of the reasons he had been reluctant to buy the coat to begin with. But the deal offered, along with the fact that he would have a better coat for the winter than his flannel shirt, had prevailed in the end

He took hold of his badge and showed it to the currently brunette Slayer. "Unless Captain Hairgell got a day job as a detective, I'm not being him. I'm a character from a video game."

Buffy didn't look happy at Xander's nickname for her undead sweety, but she nodded her acknowledgement. Xander looked down at his wristwatch. "Time to deal with the hyper-sugared rug-rats, guys. Have a good night, Mrs. S."


Sunnydale, Calif.
6:15 PM October 31, 1997

Shaking his head violently to clear it, Max Payne staggered to his feet. The way his head was ringing, it was almost as though he has back in that basement with Frankie Niagara and the baseball bat. In fact, Max would have gladly taken the worst tequila hangover in history instead of having to go through that kind of headache again.

Looking around, Max was shocked to see that he was no longer in Hell's Kitchen; in fact, it looked as though he was in suburban New Jersey. A much warmer Jersey, in fact. The last he remembered, it was in the low 40's in the tri-state area, but now Max was starting to sweat under his leather coat.

Max could see that the street he was on was pretty much deserted. What looked to be little kids in Halloween costumes were running around, there were no adults in sight. Looking around to make sure that there was no one was close to him, Max's hand instinctively dropped on the 9mm Beretta pistol holstered on his hip, taking a firing grip on it but not drawing it yet.

Seeing that the area was clear, Max began to touch-check his gear. His Beretta and spare mags were in place, as were his badge and ID hanging around his neck, but his cuffs, his folding knife, his pager, his cell phone were all missing. It didn't make sense, if someone was going to steal his stuff, why would they leave him with his pistol and badge, arguably the gear a street punk would find the most valuable?

"Xander! Ohmygod Xander there you are!" Turning, Max saw a young red headed girl running toward him. Seeing people run toward him usually resulted in a bad reaction from him, but this girl didn't look to be much of a threat. Dressed in a midriff top, short skirt, and high boots, she look more like a streetwalker than anything. Max left his hand on his Beretta just in case.

"Xander! There's something going wrong here! I was trick-or-treating at this house when all of a sudden the kids turned into monsters and I couldn't breath and fell down and then I got up and everything is going crazy and we gotta find Buffy!!" Max was a little surprised that the redhead was able to get everything out in what seemed to be one breath.

"Look, I don't know who you think I am, but I'm Detective Max Payne, NYPD, and the last thing I know was that I was in Hell's Kitchen and now I'm here in Jersey." Max was eyeing the girl as he spoke and was surprised to see the girl turn pale.

"Xander, stop kidding around, we have to find Buffy, something Hellmouth-y is going on here." The girl reached out to grab his arm, but before Max could move his arm away her hand went *through* his arm, causing the sensation of extreme cold for a few moments.

"The hell!!!" Max took two steps back and drew his Beretta, aiming it right at the girl's face, which had turned even paler, if that was possible. "What the hell are you!!!"

"Xander, you were dressed as a video game character. Everyone turned into their costumes, you're not really Max Payne. You're Alexander Harris, you're a high school student. I'm Willow Rosenberg, your best friend, we go to Sunnydale High School together, we are not in New Jersey, we're in California." Hearing the click of the trigger starting to be pulled on his pistol, Willow put her hands up and started to step back. "Look, check your ID, you'll see what I mean."

"This confirms everything I've said." Max took hold of his badge and flipped it over, showing the girl the police ID card that had his name and picture on it.

"Your state ID. The ID you have in your wallet." Max looked at the redhead for a moment before he decided to do it. Waving his pistol at the girl to make sure she didn't move, Max switched his pistol to his left hand and while still pointing it at the girl used his right hand to pull his wallet out of his hip pocket. Immediately he could tell it was not his wallet; his was black leather and worn, while this one was green nylon and ragged. Flipping it open, instead of his New York drivers license and the picture of Michelle were a California drivers license for one Alexander L. Harris, age 16, and a picture of the redhead, the kid on the DL and a blonde girl.

Looking back up at the redhead, she had a kind of sad smile on her face. With her hands still up in the air, the girl motioned with her head toward a parked truck. "Now look at your reflection."

Moving so that his pistol was still aimed at her, Max stepped up to the over-sized mirror on the door of the truck. By this time, it wasn't a complete shock for Max to see that the face he had was not his own. Lowering his pistol, he turned to face the redhead, who was slowly lowering her arms.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Max could see the girl wince at his language, but otherwise not react for a moment.

"We're in Sunnydale, California. There is a mystical convergence here that's called the Hellmouth. It releases energies that attracts supernatural creatures. You and I are some of the people that fight those creatures."

"How the hell does that explain this?" Max waved his free hand at himself and at the girl as he holstered his pistol.

The red-headed girl took a deep breath. "Sometimes people cast spells here, and the Hellmouth affects them. Most of the time the Hellmouth energy increases the power or the intensity of the spell, but a lot of the time the energy warps the spell, causing side effects. All I know now is everyone wearing a costume for Halloween got turned into what they dressed up as. You dressed up like a video game character and now you think you're Max Payne, whoever that it."

Max felt a little insulted. Granted, apparently he didn't exist here, but that was no reason to be rude. "And who were you dressed up as?" Max eyeballed the flat stomach exposed by the shirt and the long legs under the short skirt. He was amused to see the redhead start to blush.

"I was dressed up as a ghost, mister." Red put her hands up on her hips and glared at him.

"Ghost of what? One of Vinnie Gognitti's girls?" Max could see the confusion appear on Red's face.

"Who's Vinnie Gognitti? Sounds like some kind of gangster."

"He is. Likes to beat up underaged prostitutes and runaways. A couple of them didn't survive." Max saw both disgust and embarrassment on Red's face.

"Look, you said that someone cast the spell that did this, do you know if we can find them?" The redhead began to shake her head.

"I don't know that much about magic, but Giles, the school librarian, does. We need to go tell him what's happening."

"The school librarian? What the hell is the coursework at this school? Math, English, black magics?"

"You'd be surprised. Look, follow me, we gotta find Buffy and go to Giles. . ." What ever else the girl was going to say was interrupted by the sound of a woman screaming. Max's instincts kicked in as he turned and ran toward the sound. Max could hear the redhead yelling at him but he kept running anyway.

Coming around the corner, Max could see a woman in an old-fashioned dress standing on the far side of a police car parked in the middle of the street. She was backing away from the car screaming her head off, and automatically Max's Beretta appeared in his hand. He was dreading what he would find on the other side of the car, and as soon as he saw what was on the other side he saw that his fears were right. What he was not prepared for was the amount of blood surrounding the fallen police officer.

Kneeling down, Max put his free hand on the officer's shoulder and pushed slightly, rolling the man onto his back and revealing the accusing eyes of the recently dead. Max started to put his fingers to the throat to see if there was a heartbeat when he saw the gaping wound; it looked as though something had taken a massive bite out of the neck, opening up the jugular and carotid vessels and the windpipe. There was no way that kind of wound was survivable.

Cursing under his breath, Max stood and turned toward the two women. The redhead was trying to calm the other woman down but was not succeeding. Holstering his pistol and taking three long steps Max grabbed the woman's arm and wheeled her toward him. The short dark haired woman looked about to start screaming again, but Max moved his face close to hers and gave her his best dead-eye stare. That stopped her incipient scream instantly.

"Did you see this happen?" Max held on to the woman's arm in case she panicked again.

"No! I was walking down this road looking for my retainers when I saw that strange carriage with the flashing lights." The woman spoke with an upper class English accent. "I had just found that unfortunate man when you and that harlot," she motioned toward the redhead, "came upon me."

"Harlot?" Max tried to restrain his smirk even as the redhead began to look angry.

"Yes. I was riding in my father's carriage on my way to our family home when I found myself suddenly on this empty road. No was else was with me when I looked around so I began to walk. Please help me sir, for I am defenseless. My father will pay handsomely for my safe return."

Max looked over at the redhead with a question on his face. Red seemed to understand what he was asking. "She's Buffy Summers, our friend. It looks like she got turned into her costume too."

"What was she dressed up as?" Max released the woman's arm and turned toward the redhead.

"An eighteenth century noblewoman."

"You're kidding." Max looked over at the woman, who was looking around with a frightened expression on her face. "Don't tell me she's one of those fighters you were talking about."

"Actually, she's the main fighter. She's the Vampire Slayer." The redhead shrugged her shoulders.

"I certainly do not slay anything! That is men's work. I am perfectly content to learn embroidery and house keeping at the abbey until my father arranges a suitable marriage for me." Both Max and the redhead blinked upon hearing that come from the presumably modern girl.

"Oh kay. Look, stay here for a minute, I need to do something." Leaving the girl standing there, Max walked up to the dead police officer, the redhead reluctantly trailing behind him.

"You sure this friend of yours is a, what did you call it, a Vampire Slayer? She sounds like a total airhead to me." Max crouched down and picked up the pistol lying on the ground in front of the officer. It looked to be unfired.

"Totally sure. And don't let the costume fool you, she's really a blonde California girl. . . if they were ten times stronger and four times faster than regular people." The redhead looked back and forth between Max and the noblewoman.

"That is supposed to encourage me?" Max gestured toward the gaping wound. "What would do that kind of damage?"

"Sloppy vampire, some kinds of demons. They normally don't go around attacking out in the open." Red crossed her arms and hunched her shoulders.

"What about those costumed people? Could they do something like that?" Max examined the pistol he picked up. It was a Beretta similar to his own.

"I. . . guess. If they were dressed up as some kind of monster. Ohmygod! A lot of people are dressed as monsters, it's Halloween! If they all turned into their costumes, we have a lot of monsters here that don't act the way the real ones do. We have to get out of here fast and get to Giles!"

"How far away is this Giles guy?" Max shoved the Beretta under his belt and while cursing under his breath again began to pull gear from the dead officer's belt.

"He's at the school library, that's a twenty minute walk from here."

"Look, I don't think Lady Buffy over there is up to a twenty minute walk through the Twilight Zone. Is there someplace safe we can stash her?"

"Buffy's house is five minutes from here. That should be safe enough." Red watched as Max began to load his pockets with the gear he had gotten from the fallen officer: spare pistol magazines, an expandable baton, a tactical flashlight, and a folding knife. Turning around Max walked back toward the frightened noblewoman.

"My lady, we are not safe here on this road. This young woman knows of a place were we can seek refuge until morning. We can wait for reinforcements there and then we can return you to your father." Max figured that the noblewoman would be less likely to panic again if he spoke to her in a way that was familiar. Mimicking the way the characters spoke on that idiot TV show 'Lords and Ladies' would probably do the trick.

"Thank you kind sir. I have no doubt you will be rewarded for your courage." The fear on the noblewoman's face changed to a ghost of a smile. "Surely you are a brave master-at-arms to be out on a night like this." Her eyes were on the pistol that was shoved into his waistband.

"I am no master, my lady. I'm just one of the sheriff's men. But you must come quickly, before we are attacked." Seeing the redhead roll her eyes at his language, he motioned at her. "Come on Red, lead the way.


1629 Revello Drive
Sunnydale, Calif.
6:25 PM October 31, 1997

Max thought they were going to make it to the house unscathed. After watching Lady Buffy almost scream at the sight of a passing car, he was able to convince her that she needed to be silent so as to not draw attention to them. This had the added benefit of keeping the confused noblewoman from complaining about their guide, whom she called a harlot, a tavern wench, and some other things he was sure were not complementary. It was kind of amusing to see the redhead's ears start to match her hair before Max was able to quiet her.

"Ohmygod." Hearing the redhead's gasp up ahead, Max hurried up to where she was standing behind a bush.

"What's up, Red?" Max could see that she was looking at a house a couple of lots ahead.

"There's people in front of the house." Max could see a half dozen figures milling around in front of a house.

"Monsters?" The figures were short, but their misshapen faces were clearly visible.

"Kinda. We need to get past them to get into the house."

"Shouldn't be a problem." Max drew his and the dead officer's Berettas and checked to make sure the safeties were off.

"NO! You can't shoot them! They're little kids in costume!" Red's wide-eyed face got close to his. "They don't know what they are doing, you can't kill them!"

"They'll be more than happy to kill us, Red. Remember that dead cop back there?" The redhead blinked but didn't back down.

"They're little kids." Max could see the resolve form on her face.

Sighing, Max holstered his pistols. "What do you want us to do then? You got another place for us to hide?"

The redhead suddenly looked unsure. "No, not really. My house is in the other direction."

"Could I at least knock them out?" Red looked up at him in surprise.

"There's six of them, you can knock them all out?"

"Yeah, if I move fast enough. That brings up something else, how are we going to get in the house?" Seeing the blank look appear on the redhead's face, he continued. "The doors are locked, right? You have keys to the place?"

"No. Even if I did. . ." Red swiped her hand though the bush, moving none of the leaves or branches.

"Who would have keys? Are there some stashed outside?" Red appeared to think for a moment, before turning to look at the pale noblewoman standing next to them.

Her face twisting for a moment, Red asked the noblewoman, "My lady, do you have any pockets in your gown? Any keys perhaps?"

"Certainly not! The groundskeeper and the guards of my father's house have the keys, I would have no reason to. . ." As she spoke, Lady Buffy absently touched the skirt of her gown, her voice trailing off as she felt something. Reaching into a pocket she pulled out a key ring with a miniature stake attached to it.

Max took the key ring from Lady Buffy and showed it to Red. "Which keys open the doors?" After she pointed them out, Max dropped the key ring into his jacket pocket. Turning toward the wide-eyed noblewoman, he said, "My lady, when I give the signal, you must follow this young woman into the house she shows you." Seeing the reluctance form on her face, Max pressed on. "My lady, you must listen to what she tells as though it was me. It is the only way to get you out of harm's way." Seeing the noblewoman nod, Max turned toward Red. "When I give you the signal, lead Lady Buffy up to the house. I'll have the doors open and we can call your librarian friend from there." The redhead nodded as well.

Max turned and moved toward the edge of the bush concealing them, drawing something from under his jacket. Looking back to see that the two women were standing ready, Max took a deep breath and began to walk quickly toward the group of peewee monsters. He got within ten yards before they saw him.

When they all turned toward him, Max began to move. . .

. . .fast.

(Max POV)

This is something I could never talk to anyone about. Certainly not to my superiors at the DEA or the NYPD.

I had always had fast reflexes, some of the fastest ever recorded during the medical exams taken before entering the Academy.

But this was something I couldn't talk about because it had to do with Valkyre.

While working undercover, I had a couple of vials of V break in my pants pocket during a fight with some dealers. Luckily I got away before the convulsions hit. The broken vials cut into my leg and the V got into my bloodstream.

I'm not sure how much of the drug I absorbed, but it was enough that some junkies thought I had overdosed. They hauled me into an alley and left me behind a dumpster. I think they were going to roll me but something scared them off.

After the hallucinations passed, I went to a quack that the lowlifes used for medical care. He pulled four pieces of green stained glass from my leg, slapped me on the back, and wheezed that I must have an angel looking out for me, that I should have died.

After that, I noticed that I could move faster than I had before. It wasn't for very long, but it was almost as though time slowed down, that the world was stuck in molasses while I was still moving at normal speed.

It wasn't until Nicole Horne and her goons shot me up with a triple dose of V to OD me that it really happened.

The previous exposure must have built up my tolerance, because I didn't die. But now I could move *fast*. Other people looked like they were barely moving. I could see *bullets* flying in slow motion when people fired at me.

I know some people would think it was just an illusion. My brain running so fast that it looked like things slow down. But two things showed otherwise. The first was obvious; if I saw people firing at me, I could usually shotdodge fast enough that the bullets would miss me.

The other I found out when I finally broke the V case. Valkyre was originally developed to be used by solders in battle. It had effects that were usually only found in crystal meth, ecstasy, and PCP. Soldiers could be stronger and faster, but anything over one dose at a time would result in rages and hallucinations, uncontrollable bursts of violence.

I was in the lucky one percent that didn't lose complete control when I was on V.

But I felt no temptation to use V. Because when I was in that green fever dream, I was usually running though endless hallways, hearing the sobs and cries of my wife and daughter. And no matter how fast or strong I was, I could never get to them before hearing the gunshots that ended their lives.

I had heard the junkies that killed my family ranting how they had tasted the flesh of fallen angels while high on V.

In reality, you became one of the Fallen. No absolution, no chance of redemption.

Moving toward the monsters, I clicked into what I called Bullet Time. The world turned amber, people slowed down, and all I could hear was my heart slowly pounding.

Twirling the expandable baton, it clicked into place as I reached the first transformed child. Swinging sideways the baton hit across it's stomach, driving the air from it's lungs. I slipped the baton behind the knees and yanked, flipping the kid backwards onto the sidewalk.

The second kid took a tap on the side of his head from my fist. He folded like a cheap lawn chair.

The third, forth, and fifth were more gut shots. They wound up curled up on the ground trying to catch their breath.

The last kid almost got to me. Instead I spun him around and put him in a strangle using the baton across the side of his neck. It didn't crush his windpipe but it temporarily cut blood flow to the brain. After a few moments he slumped unconscious.

Lucky for me that is when it ended. As far as I can tell I can Bullet Time lasts for about fifteen seconds in real time. It feels like a full minute to me. Sometimes when I'm worked up it could last longer, but I had to be sure that I had done what I wanted before I ran out. Otherwise I could run out of time in the middle of an awkward situation.

Standing among the gasping, moaning monsters, I motioned toward the two hiding behind the bushes. Seeing them run up toward me, I pulled the keys from my pocket and moved to open the door. By the time I got the locks undone, the noblewoman was pressed up against me, trying to get as far as possible from the monsters on the sidewalk. The redhead just walked *through* the wall next to the door. Luckily the lady didn't see it; I didn't need to deal with another screaming fit.

Once we got in I slammed the door shut and locked it. Looking around, the redhead lead the noblewoman toward the center of the room. I looked around to make sure that everything was secure before I turned back toward them, collapsing and putting away the baton as I spoke.

"Can you call your librarian now?" The two women were staring at me, but it was Red that spoke first.

"How were you moving so fast? I've only seen Angel move that fast, you haven't turned into a vampire have you?" Red looked like she was about to start hyperventilating.

"Not now. I'll explain later. Call your librarian."

Red made a move to pick up the phone but her hand went through it. Looking at me, she shrugged helplessly.

Walking over to the phone I picked it up and put it to my ear, but I didn't hear a dial tone. Looking over at Red I simply said, "It's not working."

"Check the wall phone in the kitchen." We both walked over and tried that one, but that was dead too.

"Look, we have to get word to your librarian friend. You're a ghost, the monsters out there can't hurt you. Can you run over and talk to him in person?"

"Yeah, it will take a while to get there and back, though."

"Run as fast as you can. I don't think you need to breathe much." Red looked at me in surprise, but then nodded.

As Red was turning to leave, I heard the sound of screaming outside the front door. Moving toward the front, we heard the sound of gunshots, heavy caliber stuff.

Running up to the window beside the door, I looked outside and saw a group of figures surrounding two people, one lying on the ground and one standing with a gun in their hand. Immediately, I drew my pistol and moved toward the door.

"You two, stay here! Don't come outside for anything!" Red and Lady Buffy nodded, frightened looks on their faces. I opened the door and immediately slammed it shut behind me as I went through it.

Moving quickly toward the two people, I could see that the group surrounding them had reduced in number dramatically. There were two figures left and as I watched, the shooter hit one in the chest with what sounded like a Magnum handgun and knocked them down and out.

Drawing the tac light, I went into a Harries stance, illuminating and moving toward the last figure. That is how I was sure I really did see what I did.

The yellow eyes, brow ridges, and extended fangs. . .

The Magnum pistol pointed right at the monster's face. . .

The boom of what I now recognized as a Israeli Desert Eagle .44 Magnum. . .

The monster's head blowing apart. . .

And the monster's body turning to dust and disintegrating.

I came to a dead halt, my pistol and light still up. All I could see was someone that looked female facing away from me, her dark hair in a pony tail, wearing a red leather jacket over black jeans.

Suddenly, the woman turned, the Desert Eagle now pointed at me. But for once I didn't focus on the gun. I focused on the woman's familiar face.

"Max. We got to stop meeting like this."

The Beretta and light slowly dropped down, pointing away from her. Her Desert Eagle did the same.

The face was slightly off from what I remember. But the smirk on her face, the smoky voice that had haunted my dreams, I recognized instantly.

"Mona?"


1629 Revello Drive
Sunnydale, Calif.
6:32 PM October 31, 1997

(Max POV)

In a town where the dead walked the streets, I should not have been surprised to see her.

Mona Sax, twin sister to the late Lisa Punchinello, freelance hired killer, last seen bleeding to death in a elevator in the Aesir Corporate Tower, was now standing in front of me.

Even though her appearance now did not mesh with what I remembered of her from a couple of years ago, I knew it was her. The dark hair worn pulled back, the dark brown eyes, the smirk on her face, the steady hand holding the massive Magnum handgun, it was all Mona.

But even so, I could see some major differences in the woman in front of me. Where Mona had been 5'4" and almost petite before, now she was standing at least 5'9" in low heeled boots, with a more voluptuous body to match barely concealed under her leather jacket and tight jeans.

"How is it you're not dead? I saw you take a bullet to the head." Not the most polite question I could have asked, especially since she took that bullet pushing me out of the line of fire.

"Maybe it's still there. Keeps me focused." Mona took a quick look around before she holstered her pistol and bent down to grab the unconscious girl at her feet. "You have a place we can hide out, I don't want to have company find us out here in the open again."

"Yeah, this way." I grabbed the girl's other arm and with Mona's help carried her over to the house. Once we got through the door and locked it, we placed the girl on the couch. With Mona standing there, I did a quick check and saw that except for a bump on the dark haired girl's forehead and a minor cut, there was nothing else wrong with the unconscious twelve year old.

"How did you come across Sleeping Beauty here?" I was being somewhat ironic - the girl was dressed in a black leotard with cat ears and a tail, with whiskers painted on her face. Meanwhile, I pulled off my tie and tucked it and my badge into my jacket pockets.

"She ran up to me screaming that her fellow trick-or-treaters had turned into real monsters and that she needed to get home to her family. We were just about there when we go jumped outside this house. What the hell is going on here, Max, I did see monsters out there, and when I shot them in the head they burned up instantly. I wasn't using incendiary ammo!" Mona wasn't panicking, but her voice was rising none the less as she saw me in full lighting. "And how is it you look like a sixteen year old?"

I was about to try and explain what was going on when Red and Lady Buffy stepped up close to us. Red took one look at the unconscious girl on the couch and gasped. Dropping to her knees, she tried to touch the girl but her hand went through her arm. Except for a shiver the girl did not react.

"Dawnie, ohmygod, Dawnie, is she ok?" Red looked up at me, shock and worry etched on her pale face.

"It looks like she took a bump to her head, she should be ok. Do you know who this girl is?" I asked.

"It's Dawn Summers, Buffy's sister. She went trick-or-treating with a friend's family." Red looked from me to Mona and her eyes widened. "Cordelia, are you ok? Are you still you?"

Mona gave an unladylike snort. "My name is Mona Sax, and except for a splitting headache earlier, I'm just peachy."

Red stood up and made to move toward Mona, but with a glare the ghost stayed put. "Ohmygod Cordelia you were wearing a costume, you're not you anymore, you turned into your costume like we all did."

Mona looked from Red to me. "What the hell is she babbling about? Turned into our costume? And where the hell are we, last I remember I was in New York."

I scratched my head, trying to figure out how I was going to do this, when Red did the little speech she had done with me earlier. It took Mona looking at herself in the hall mirror, but finally she began to accept it.

Mona was still looking at herself in disbelief when Red asked an awkward question that snapped her out of it. "Say that again?"

"What were you dressed up as? Buffy was dressed up as a noblewoman, Xander was dressed up as a video game cop, I was dressed up as a ghost, what were you dressed as?"

Mona and I looked at each other, wondering what to say. Even if we were fictional characters, most people did not react well to hearing that you were a professional killer.

"You were a ghost? Ghost of what?" Mona's look and question back to Red caused her to start to sputter, giving us a couple of moments to think of something. Finally Mona responded when Red calmed down somewhat. "You could say that I am a corporate troubleshooter. People have problems with other people, I get called in to deal with it."

"Wouldn't you have to be dressed better for that? I didn't think you could work in the corporate world dressed like that." Red was looking at Mona's jacket and jeans in some confusion.

"Not really. It's not a bad job - I get to set my own hours and the money isn't too bad. Benefits suck, though." Mona flashed a quick smirk toward me.

"Yeah, I heard that a lot of part-timers lost benefits in downsizing." Red turned toward me and was about to ask me something when we heard a voice from the kitchen doorway. "It's getting insane out there Buffy, you don't know. . ."

That was as far the tall dark haired man got before he saw that there were three handguns pointed at his head. Mona and I might have fired if it had not been for Red jumping in between us, her hands out as thought to ward off the bullets. "Don't shoot, don't shoot, Angel's a good guy!!!"

"Good guys are not *that* quiet." Mona kept her pistol pointed at the stranger steadily. He seemed to be fixated on her Desert Eagle instead of my two Berettas, not that I blamed him. I've stood in front of Desert Eagles pointed at me, and the barrels looked big enough to crawl into.

"He's a friend, he helps us out with the vampires, put the guns *down*!" Red really was not in a position to order us around, but we slowly lowered our pistols. "Look, I have to go tell Giles what is happening, Angel can help protect you and Buffy." Red would have said more, but the girl on the couch started to groan and wake up.

"Dawnie, you're awake, are you OK???" Red rushed over to the couch, but this time kept herself from reaching toward the girl.

"I have a splitting headache, what happened Willow? I was trick-or-treating with Stacy and her family when they turned into butterflies and bees and flew off! Then a bunch of Ewoks started chasing me waving their spears and if it hadn't been for this scary lady I would have been barbeque right now. She was taking me home when another group of monsters rushed us and something hit my head and next thing I know. . ." Dawn looked over at Mona and me, who were standing off to the side trying to look inconspicuous but failing miserably. "That's the lady who helped me, the one with the giant gun! Who are you?!?!"

Mona tried to smile reassuringly, but failed to keep the smile from becoming her normal smirk. "I saw you were being chased, so I decided to help out. You're feeling better now, right?" Dawn nodded jerkily.

"What's happening, Willow?" The dark haired man asked. While Red gave him and Dawn a quick rundown (with minimal mentions of magic I noticed), both Mona and I gave the guy a quick once over. He looked to be a little taller and wider than me, dressed in a black leather jacket and dark shirt and pants. He was good looking in a slick kind of way, but for some reason the hackles were rising on the back of my neck.

After Red finished explaining the situation, Angel and Dawn were shooting looks at Lady Buffy, who was sitting off to the side looking quite ill at ease. Red moved toward the door, waved goodbye and quickly passed thorough the door.

The four of us were staring at each other for a few moments in silence before Dawn broke the ice. Or more accurately tossed a lit M-80 onto the frozen skating rink of conversation. Looking toward Mona, she said "So. . . hired killer, huh? How's that working out for you?"

I shot a quick look at Mona, who had not quite kept her mouth closed from the shock. After a moment, she responded weakly, "I told you, I'm a corporate troubleshooter."

Dawn snorted. "Yeah right. I'm not a bleached blonde like my sister or naïve like Willow. I've seen Grosse Point Blank and The Professional, I can tell you're a professional killer. I don't think corporate troubleshooters literally shoot the problems with a giant gun like that." Dawn nodded at the Desert Eagle Mona still had in her hand.

Mona looked over at me, a question on her face. I shrugged and nodded, holstering my own Berettas. After Mona replaced her hand cannon in her shoulder holster, she turned back to the young girl and gave a shrug of her own. "Like I said before, the pay's OK, but the benefits suck. No medical either."

Dawn turned toward me. "You a hired killer too?"

I inwardly winced. More than a few people saw me as a mad dog after I went after the Mafia and Aesir. I didn't know how many people Mona had killed in her line of work - I didn't *want* to know - but I was pretty sure I had her beat hands down.

After looking at Dawn for a few moments, to the point were she began to look uncomfortable, I quietly answered, "No. I was DEA undercover for three years, got transferred back to NYPD Homicide a year ago."

"Cool." Dawn bounced around and looked at Lady Buffy, who was now ghosting around the room, looking at the various pictures and knickknacks. Looking back at us, she lowered her voice and asked, "Do you think you can teach me some stuff?"

"What?!?!" Angel, Mona, and I all exclaimed at the same time.

"Look, I know there are weird things that happen in this town, and that Buffy and you guys are in the thick of it. Mom doesn't know, but I don't want to wind up kitty chow for something that goes bump in the night around here."

"Your Mom doesn't know what's happening?" This question came from Mona, who tried to not sound incredulous.

"Duh. Buffy tried to tell her back when we were in LA and she wound up in the psych ward for a week before she took it back and the shrinks told Mom and Dad that it was just a story so they wouldn't get divorced." Dawn looked down at her hands for a moment before looking up again. "That and I've seen Buffy squirting holy water on Mom's car with a spray bottle so the monsters don't attack her on the way home. Or that Buffy always watches Mom when she gets home when she walks from her car to the front door at night."

Mona and I looked at each other in disbelief. With our time in the underworld, Mona and I learned to be cautious and to be aware of our surroundings at all times. But to hear a twelve year old tell us that she and her sixteen year old sister had to permanently operate on a war footing every night? Looking over at Angel, we could tell that he was shocked as well.

Just then, we heard a loud bang at the front door. Angel and I ran up to the door as more banging was heard. Looking out the side window, we could see a group of small monsters throwing themselves at the front door trying to break it down, apparently the same group from earlier. Quickly Angel and I upended a table and braced it against the door to reinforce it.

Just then, we heard a crash from the back door and the sound of wood and glass hitting the floor. Looking at Angel he nodded and ran toward the kitchen to seal that breach while I held the front door. Meanwhile, Mona had her Desert Eagle out while standing in front of Lady Buffy and Dawn, who was holding her in place in spite of her protests.

Suddenly, I heard a series of loud crashes coming from the kitchen before I heard Mona yell out the most feared phrase in the shooter's lexicon before she was drowned out by gunfire.

"Max! Breakthrough! BREAKTHROUGH!!!"

The girls were being overrun by hostiles.


1629 Revello Drive
Sunnydale, Calif.
6:40 PM October 31, 1997

(Mona POV)

Things had gone to Hell in a heartbeat. Apparently on the Hellmouth that was not unusual.

I had been working out in my apartment at the abandoned Address Unknown funhouse on Coney Island when I had been struck by a blinding migraine headache. I used to get them while I was recovering from my head injury, but they had not occurred anymore in the last six months. However, when I was able to shake it off in an impossibly short amount of time, I saw that I was no longer in my apartment. I was now fully dressed and standing on a suburban street, watching all Hell break loose. Little kids were running around screaming, chased by what looked like monsters, complete with glowing eyes and claws.

I was getting out of the way of a careening car on the street when I heard screaming nearby. A little girl in a cat costume was surrounded by Ewoks, who were poking her with stone-tipped spears. I could have shot them, but I had a soft spot for the furry little creatures since seeing the movie, so I restricted myself to kicking and punching them until they broke and ran away. I asked the girl what was going on, but she didn't know much more than I did. She asked me to walk her home and I agreed - hopefully I could find an adult to explain what the Hell was going on. That's when things got worse.

We had almost arrived at the girl's house when we were jumped by monsters. But these were different; they are adult-sized, with glowing yellow eyes, ridged brows and fangs. I had barely enough time to draw my Desert Eagle when they were upon us.

The little girl was knocked to the ground in the struggle, and I had to use the Desert Eagle to beat the monsters back before I could fire. But that was when things got really got weird. When I shot one in the chest, it would jump back up in a moment or two, but when I shot them in the head they turned to dust instantly.

I had almost killed all of them when my White Knight showed up. I was aiming at the last creature when we were suddenly lit up with what I recognized as a gun light. Dropping the last monster, I spun and aimed at the new person when I suddenly halted myself.

Max Payne. . .

Undercover cop, avenging angel, grieving husband and father. . .

Was now sixteen years old???

After he got me and the girl into the house and his little redheaded friend explained what was going on, I began to understand the situation we were in. I didn't want to believe it, but it was hard not to when the proof is staring back at you in the mirror.

The redhead had left and we were talking to the smarter-than-she-looked little girl when the house was suddenly under attack. Max and that Angel guy tried to reinforce the front door when someone succeeded in breaking down the kitchen door. Angel went running to try and contain the breech, but it only took a moment before the monsters got past him.

Two wolf men ran into the living room and immediately split up and attacked. Dawn, the little girl, immediately showed her guts by busting a lamp over the first wolf man's head. The second wolf man drove at me and I was barely able to get out of the way before he crashed into the wall behind me.

I shouted "Breakthrough!" to warn Max of the intruders as I maneuvered to get a clean shot at the wolf men. I had just started firing at the wolf man closest to me when Max ran into the room and it's like the world suddenly came to a halt, because he started to move *really* fast - so fast he actually blurred.

Just as I fired my fourth round at the wolf man, Max's Berettas appeared in his hands and went full-automatic. Or at least it sounded that way, he was firing so fast. In the time it took for me to fire two rounds from my Desert Eagle, Max had emptied the magazines into his wolf man's head, dropping him to the floor. Still moving in a blur, Max spun and twisted, dropping his empty pistol magazines and slamming in full ones in what looked to be one smooth motion. Once he finished spinning, Max came to a stop in front of me.

"You OK?" I blinked for a moment, trying to wrap my mind around the idea that Max had been doing a pretty good imitation of a Tasmanian Devil before I answered his question.

"I'm fine. What about you?" My own inane question didn't even faze Max as he stood there and watched me reload my Desert Eagle.

"I'm fine," Max answered absently as he looked at the two bodies lying at our feet slowly turning into muck. As we watched, the slime seemed to evaporate, leaving little trace on the floor. Suddenly, Max looked up and around quickly. "Where are the girls?"

Cursing up a blue streak, we looked around the living room before running into the kitchen. There we found Angel groggily picking himself up off the floor.

"Where the Hell are Buffy and Dawn!" Max demanded of Angel, who was now leaning up against the counter.

Angel shook his head, trying to clear it as he answered. "I was fighting a vampire when Buffy ran in here, screamed, and ran out the door. Dawn took off after her." Even though he wasn't looking at us, I got the feeling that Angel wasn't telling us the full truth.

Apparently, Max got the same feeling as I did, as he raised a Beretta, aimed it between Angel's suddenly wide eyes and cocked the hammer. "Is that the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" Max asked softly, the tone of his voice belied by the suddenly empty look in his dark eyes. I had seen that look on other people, just before they killed someone.

Angel must have recognized that look too, as he swallowed nervously. "It's the truth," he said simply. At this point, I couldn't tell if he was withholding something or if he was just scared witless. "Buffy saw me and the vamp fighting and took off."

Max stared at Angel for what seemed to be an eternity before he finally blinked. Lowering the Beretta, he uncocked it and held it loosely in his hand pointed at the floor. "We have to go look for the girls. For your sake, I hope we find them unharmed." He gestured toward the door. "You first."

Angel nodded shakily and walked out the door. Max and I followed and watched as Angel paused for a moment to take a deep breath of air. "I think they went this way," Angel said to us over his shoulder. Max nodded and we followed him as he started to jog down the street.


Alleyway, Warehouse District,
Sunnydale, Calif.
6:55 PM October 31, 1997

We had been jogging along for a few minutes when Angel suddenly came to a stop in the middle of the alleyway. Max and I halted as well, staying behind the man and watched as his head turned back and forth, as though he was listening for something.

"Anything?" Max asked softly. He wasn't overtly threatening, but the Beretta in his hand was a constant reminder to the other man of his potential.

"I thought I heard someone crying." Angel was looking back at Max, deliberately not looking at the handgun he was holding.

"You really think Lady Buffy would run back here?" Max's question was accompanied by the slight tightening of his hand on the Beretta; he was probably thinking Angel was leading us on a wild goose chase, or worse.

"I'm telling you, I heard something back. . ." Angel's response was cut off by a shriek and an angry young female voice yelling "Let her go you dumb ass!"

All three of us broke into a sprint toward the sounds, coming upon Lady Buffy struggling against a hulking pirate. Dawn was busy trying to whack him over the head with a two-by-four. I couldn't help but be impressed by the little girl; she had more courage and guts than some shooters I knew.

Angel barreled into the pirate, breaking his grip on the noblewoman and knocking her to the ground. She took one look at us, screamed again, and took off running. Dawn ran after her, yelling "God damn it Buffy, stop running!" Angel ran after the two girls as well.

I turned to see how Max was doing, and what I saw caused a chill to go through me. Max was going hand-to-hand with the oversized pirate. . . and was winning.

Max dodged a swipe from the pirate's cutlass and lashed out with a collapsible baton, smashing his knuckles and causing him to drop his sword. Max then swept the pirate's knee, causing the guy to fall backward to the pavement. With one swift kick, Max broke the pirate's jaw and knocked him out cold.

For a long moment, Max stood there breathing heavily, before he looked from the pirate to me. With a look of embarrassment, Max muttered, "For some reason, that was really satisfying."


Alleyway, Warehouse District,
Sunnydale, Calif.
6:59 PM October 31, 1997

(Max POV)

"For some reason, that was really satisfying."

I couldn't believe I had actually said that.

I had hurt and killed people before, but I had never gotten any real pleasure from it. The closest I had come was when I dropped that antenna tower on Nicole Horne's helicopter. But that fleeting satisfaction was quickly overtaken by the familiar cold grief for my wife and daughter.

Looking down at the unconscious pirate, I could see that he was not permanently injured. But something about his face, some faint memory, made me feel that satisfaction.

Mona snorted softly and started walking away, going in the same direction that the two girls and Angel had run off in. I put away my baton, made sure my pistols were properly holstered, and jogged after her.

"Wait!" I reached out and grabbed her arm, causing her to halt, but her muscles were tense under her jacket, as thought she was only a heartbeat away from unloading on me. "Wait just a minute! Talk to me!"

"What do you want from me?" Mona turned and was standing in front of me, her face slightly tilted upwards as she looked into my eyes.

*The things that I want, by Max Payne,* I thought to himself.

My hand slid up from Mona's arm to her face, cupping it slightly.

*A smoke.*

Mona's eyes widened slightly then closed as my lips touched hers

*A whiskey.*

Her hands slid under my jacket to wrap around my waist as she pressed up against me.

*For the sun to shine.*

We stumbled backwards until we hit a wall, Mona's back against it. My tongue was in her mouth, exploring briefly before she returned the favor.

*I want to sleep, to forget.*

My hands went under Mona's jacket, sliding it off her shoulders and letting it fall to the ground, exposing her hand cannon in shoulder leather.

*To change the past.*

Placing my hands on her waist, I lifted her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around my waist, her lips still pressed hard against mine.

*My wife and baby girl back.*

She threw her head back, gasping as I explored her neck just below her ear, tasting her, her hips grinding against my stomach.

*Unlimited ammo and a license to kill.*

With Mona's back braced against the wall, I slid my hands up from her waist, pushing her shirt and bra up with it. My head dropped down and took the hardened peak of one breast into my mouth, touching the other with my other hand, hearing her gasp and moan above my head.

*Right then, more than anything, I wanted her.*

Of course, right then was when a familiar female scream pierced the night.


Alleyway, Warehouse District,
Sunnydale, Calif.
7:02 PM October 31, 1997

(Normal POV)

Max and Mona came running around the corner full-tilt, which if they had done with normal humans could have gotten them killed. As it was, it dropped them into a crowd of vampires.

Max took the scene in at a glance; Angel struggling against two vampires who were holding him, Dawn in the hands of another vamp, Red the Friendly Ghost dancing around not able to do anything, and Lady Buffy in the hands of a Billy Idol look-a-like. Some other vamps were trying to grab Max and Mona, but she lashed out with a crescent kick to the face that send teeth flying and produced the loud crack of a neck breaking, while Max grabbed the other charging vamp's arm, spun and hurled him into Angel and his vamps, knocking them all down.

Instinctively, Mona and Max drew their weapons, their eyes flicking over toward Red. She instantly realized what they wanted and gave it to them, shouting out, "These ones you can shoot!!!"

Mona targeted the vamp holding Dawn with a head shot that instantly dusted it, then switched over to the vamps on Angel. She managed to get one shot off from her Desert Eagle before Max suddenly blurred again, his Berettas roaring as the two vamps he targeted dusted under his fusillade of fire.

Mona watched as Max spun and reloaded, dropping one empty gun before pointing the other fully loaded pistol at the suddenly scared vamp holding Lady Buffy. Just as Max was about to fire, there was a bright flash and a blinding pain that blasted through Mona's head.

Cordelia Chase watched as Buffy Summers easily yanked herself away from Spike, her black wig falling from her head as she fell backwards. As soon as the Slayer was clear Xander Harris pulled the trigger.

The Beretta roared as ten rounds were fired in under three seconds. Five rounds hit the target before it disintegrated. The other five rounds flew through the falling dust cloud that used to be the head of William the Bloody, also known as Spike.

In the sudden silence that followed, the crunch of breaking plastic as Xander stepped on his dropped replica pistol was almost as loud as the gunfire previously. They all watched as Xander looked around carefully before he holstered the Beretta he had recovered from the dead police officer earlier that night, a satisfied look flitting across his face.


Sunnydale High School
Sunnydale, Calif.
3:20 PM November 1, 1997

Xander Harris moved slowly as he walked up to the solitary figure sitting on the bench. While the other students were streaming out to the bike racks and the parking lot, one girl stayed sitting in the quad, her shoulders hunched as thought from cold, her eyes fixed on something only she could see.

Xander sat down next to her, watching the girl for a few moments and waiting for a reaction before finally speaking up. "Dollar for your thoughts?"

"I thought that was 'A penny for your thoughts'?" Cordelia Chase replied, still looking off into the distance.

"Well, I thought with inflation, and your dislike for the inexpensive, I would have to offer more than that to get your attention." Xander responded, watching as the dark haired girl slowly turned to look at him. He flinched internally as he saw the memories almost visibly crossing in front of her eyes, memories that were usually held only by the serious damaged of society. "How much do you remember?"

"All of it. Every time she tried to save her twin sister from herself, every contract she took, every person she killed." The dark fire of memories were burning brighter in her eyes. "Did you know that the only way she was able to escape from Punchinello's thugs at his house was to let them almost rape her, that she ran up to her sister's room with their blood on her hands only to find Lisa beaten to death on her bed?"

Slowly Xander put his arm around Cordelia and pulled her against him. She began shaking against him, not making any noise as she silently wept against his shoulder. Xander held her there, not saying anything until Cordelia finally stilled and looked up at him.

"I talked to Giles about what happened last night." Seeing her eyes widen, Xander continued speaking. "Just about the chaos magic that affected us. He said that there are two ways that this could go. The first was is that you gradually lose the memories of what happened, you get to become yourself again. Buffy is already losing her language skills that she had from being Lady Buffy."

"What is the second way?" Cordelia asked quietly. She already knew what Xander was leading up to.

"Some people, those what were heavily enspelled, or have an unusual affinity for magic, retain the skills and memories permanently." Xander hesitated for a moment, watching how Cordelia was reacting. "Gradually, they integrate the new memories and skills and regain most of their own personality."

"I guess we know what is going to happen to us, then." Cordelia looked away from Xander's face and down at their clothes. Cordy was wearing a black leather jacket and tight jeans with a red tank top, while Xander was wearing his coat from the evening before over a open sport shirt, t-shirt and blue jeans.

("What else did you get from last night, Cordy?") Xander asked in Italian, playing a hunch.

("I can understand and speak a few languages, this one, Spanish, and Russian,") Cordelia replied in faintly accented Italian. ("I am also familiar with most firearms, and am an expert in sniping, armed and unarmed close quarters combat, and have some computer hacking skills.") Cordelia paused as a sad smile crossed her face before switching back to English. "Just your normal well-rounded hired killer."

Xander smiled back at her faintly. "How much do you remember about Max's life?"

Cordelia's eyes widened slightly as she thought about Max Payne, the loss of his family to V junkies, his long dark night as he was undercover for DEA, his darkest hour when the Mafia, the police, and Aesir were all after him that howling winter night.

Seeing the expression on her face, Xander nodded slightly. "Yeah, I have the memories too." He looked off into the distance as he continued speaking. "There's a couple of things I have to square away with you. We have to talk about what we did in that alley."

Looking back, Xander saw Cordelia's face flush as she began to get angry. Holding up a hand, he said "Just let me say this, then you can swing on me if you want." Cordelia nodded, tight-lipped. "It wasn't me who kissed you in that alley, that was all Max and Mona. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, God know I did, but it's something I would have never done on my own. If you don't ever want to talk about it, we won't. It will be buried for all time. That brings up the other thing we need to talk about. What are you going to do now?" Cordelia frowned at him, not understanding the question.

Xander turned on the bench so he was fully facing Cordelia. "You have a choice now, Cordy. You can go back to being the Queen of Sunnydale High and stay out of this thing of ours." Xander stopped speaking for a moment and he and Cordy both smiled at the phrase; 'This Thing of Ours' was one of the ways the Mafia referred to itself. "You bury what happened last night, you can be head cheerleader, fashion maven, leader of the Cordettes, and live your life again." Xander stopped speaking, but Cordelia realized what he was going to say.

"Or I can join you guys, fighting monsters." Cordelia watched as Xander nodded.

"With the skills you have now, once you start training, you will be a serious asset for us. With what you and I know about the underworld now, we'll be able to get modern weapons and take the fight to the vamps." Xander looked down at his hands on his lap. "This is a painful, bloody war, and you have to decide on your own if you want to be a part of it. You alone have to make the choice, and it is the scariest, most gut wrenching thing you may ever decide to do. But you know what, I made that choice and I haven't ever regretted it."

Xander stood up and faced Cordelia. "You know where to find us. And if you ever need any help, let me know." He smiled, the familiar lop-sided grin that was so unique to him. "May the wind always be at your back, Cordelia Chase."

Walking toward the library, Xander didn't hear or feel anything until a hand took hold of his arm, bringing him to a halt. Turning to see Cordelia beside him, he raised an eyebrow as a silent question. She gave a short nod and simply said, "I've made my choice."

To his surprise, he felt her arm slide under his jacket and around his waist. With Cordelia leaning against Xander, they walked toward the library, no more words needing to be said.

end