Title: You Can’t Go Home Again
Author: Paradox761
Email: Paradox761@mail.com
Website: members.tripod.com/~Paradox761
Disclaimer: I don’t own Buffy or Profiler, and I don’t claim to. No copyright infringement is intended so please don’t sue. I don’t have any money anyway. Also, let me say that I know absolutely nothing about the Wicca religion. Everything in this story has either come from things I’ve observed on Buffy and other TV shows, or from my own mind (Yes, that’s right, I just made it up. Deal with it). No offense is intended.
Summary: Xander’s frustration about being the Zeppo finally comes to a head mid season 4, so he takes off intent on proving himself to those he feels don’t believe in him. He comes to some realizations on his own, and he makes some new friends in the FBI. But a series of murders in Sunnydale forces Xander to come home sooner then he would have liked. Can he use his newfound wisdom to patch things up with his old friends while keeping the secret truth about vampires from his new friends, all while trying to catch a killer?
(BtVS/Profiler, W/X)

“Goddess, am I glad to be home,” Willow said. She was dressed in a black business suit with a skirt, and she held a small attaché case. She set it down and gave Giles a hug.

Giles smiled. “You were only gone for a few days Willow,” Giles said.

“I know, but I hate New York. And I hate lawyers too, I wish I could put out a product without having to worry so much about legal repricussuions. I’m so glad to be back, I think I might hug Spike.” They all laughed a little at that. That was when Willow saw someone she didn’t know. “Hello,” she said.

“Hi,” Rachel said shaking her hand. “I’m Agent Rachel Burke, I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m a friend of…”

“She’s here investigating the murders,” Giles interrupted.

“I see,” Willow said. “And just what brings you to us?”

“Well…” Rachel trailed off. Willow followed her eyes and turned to look towards the door of the condo. She saw Buffy standing there and a man in a suit.

“Oh, hey Buff…y,” Willow’s thoughts dropped off when she made eye contact with the man. “Xander?” she said, the tears already starting to come. Xander stepped forward and Willow ran into his arms.

Xander held her tightly, and he could feel a tear of his own starting to slide down his cheek. This was the woman he loved. This was his best friend in the whole world. This was the moment he had been thinking about for the last five years. Even before logical thoughts entered either of their brains, they began to speak.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry…”

“No, it’s my fault…”

“I’ve missed you so much…”

“I shouldn’t have left…”

“Why didn’t you call us? Where have you been…”

They babbled on and on for two full minutes, still holding on to each other. Buffy found her way to Rachel, and they were both smiling as they looked on at their friends. “So that’s where he got that habit from,” Rachel said referring to the string of babble coming out of both of them.

Buffy laughed. “Yup,” she said. “They’ve known each other so long, they don’t even have to finish their sentences.”

“What are you doing here?” Willow asked Xander as they came apart.

“We’re here investigating the murders,” Xander said.

Willow turned and looked at Rachel when Xander said ‘we.’ “You mean, you…”

Xander pulled out his badge and pushed back his jacket to show her the glock on his hip. “Special Agent Xander Harris,” he said with a smile of pride.

“Oh, Xander. That’s great, I knew you could do it,” Willow said.

“Well, that makes one of us,” Xander said. “So, will you help us Will?”

“On one condition,” Willow said. “You don’t leave without saying goodbye this time.”

Her tone was soft, and Xander could see the pain in her eyes. He pulled her into another hug, resting his chin on top of her head. “It’s a deal Wills,” he said. “It’s a deal.”

*

The group sat gathered around Giles coffee table. Xander pulled out a file folder containing the police report and began thumbing through it. He pulled out a photograph of the symbol from on of the crime scenes and placed it on the table. “Do you know what this symbol is?” he asked them.

Willow glanced at it for half a second before she responded. “It’s an Aurora circle,” she said.

Xander smiled a little and turned to Rachel. “You see. I’ve been researching for nearly two straight days now, she takes one look and knows what it is immediately.”

Willow smiled at the compliment before explaining. “Well, there’s a reason for that,” she said.

“I sense a story coming,” Xander said.

Willow glanced at Amy, and she spoke up. “It’s named for Aurora Madison. She was burned at the stake in 1782 during the Sunnydale Witch Trials,” Amy said.

“Madison? Any relation Aims?” Xander asked.

“Yes actually, she’s an ancestor of mine. It’s one of the reasons my mother moved us here in the first place. She thought it would increase her power to be closer to the spirit of a powerful ancestor.”

“I’ve never heard of the Sunnydale Witch Trials,” Xander said.

“Well, it’s a bit of a misnomer really,” Amy continued. “Aurora was the only witch burned. It was shortly thereafter that the railroad came and everyone seemed to forget about such things.”

“There is one major difference from the Salem Witch Trials,” Willow piped up. “That being that the women burned in Salem weren’t witches, Aurora was.”

“It seems that someone saw Aurora and the rest of her coven in the woods one night, performing a ritual of some sort. Aurora was the only one identified, so she was the only one killed. This circle was created for a protection spell that Aurora constructed to protect the rest of her coven. It protected them from harm, and in the event of death, it ensured their spirit safe passage to the next realm. It also protects the body from any demon infestation.”

“You mean…” Xander trailed off.

“Yes,” Willow said. “We’ve used it once or twice. Draw it on top of a grave of a…” Willow stopped as she glanced at Rachel who seemed confused. “That is…”

Xander, seeing her reluctance, spoke up. “Just say what you need to say Wills, I’ll figure out a way to explain it later.”

“The symbol will prevent a vampire from rising.”

“Well, that does seem to correspond to what we have so far. The killer is reluctant to commit these acts, going so far as to cast a protection spell to prevent them from being turned, and yet she continues to kill.”

“She?” Buffy asked.

“Yes,” Xander said. “The forensic evidence and the profile points to a woman.”

“Are we sure it’s a human?” Tara asked.

“The first victim put up quite a struggle. If it was a vampire or any other kind of demon, I don’t think they would have had so much trouble. Also, the symbol would indicate an involvement in Wicca.”

“Now that I have a hard time believing,” Willow said. “Wicca is about embracing nature, individualism, magic. It’s about accepting that we all have an impact on the world in our daily lives, and it’s about taking responsibility for that. It’s not about violence or murder.”

“Granted,” Xander agreed. “But this would hardly be the first time someone has utilized it for evil purposes.”

“That’s certainly true,” Amy said. “I haven’t finished the story. You see, after Aurora was burned, the puritan leaders of the town sought out the five remaining members of the coven. More specifically, they enlisted the help of a warlock, a particularly devious one at that. Without knowing the identities of the women, he placed a curse on them and all their descendants. Bad fortune would surround them and all they love. And the only way to break the curse was to reunite all five of them again in Sunnydale, and kill them.”

“Hell of a choice,” Xander said. “Be cursed or be killed.”

“As I’m sure you can imagine, they chose the former. They left Sunnydale, and disappeared.” Amy let out a deep sigh and clenched her fists in frustration. “I mean, can you believe it! They used dangerous black magic to punish innocent practitioners of white magic, whose only crime was practicing their own religion. How asinine is that!”

“All right Amy, it’s okay, just relax,” Tara said laying her hand on Amy’s arm. “She tends to get a little wound up about this,” she said.

“I don’t blame you Aims, people in this country never were very open minded when it came to other religions,” Xander said. “The worst part is that things haven’t changed very much. What about the weapon? According to the autopsy report, it was a triangular blade about six inches long. Does that mean anything to anyone?”

“Nothing I can think of,” Willow said. The others shook their heads as well.

“These murders may be reluctant but they’re also important,” Rachel said, still a little unsure about the direction the conversation had turned it, but confident enough in her own abilities to speak up. “The knife would probably be a family heirloom, something with some personal significance. The symbol would also indicate a feeling of remorse.”

“That makes sense,” Xander said. “She’s committing these murders because she feels she has to. We just have to figure out why.”

“Why would a Wiccan commit a series of murders?” Buffy mused out loud. “Well, I guess we can assume that because she feels bad about these crimes, that whatever the reason she believes it to be a good one. Maybe she’s trying to stop something even worse from happening.”

“Like a prophecy?” Tara said.

“Maybe,” Xander said thoughtfully. “Giles, could you see what you can dig up about any ancient prophecies that might be coming our way. Willow, Amy, Tara, could you do me a favor and try to think of anyone you might know who’s been acting strange lately. Someone with good intentions, but who doesn’t always end up doing the right thing.” Giles and the girls nodded.

“Riley, Spike and I will step up the patrols too,” Buffy said. “It might help now that we know what we’re looking for.”

“Good,” Xander said. “And we’ll use this information to refine the profile a little bit and keep trying to track down this woman through more conventional means. Come on Rach, we’d better head back before Bailey wonders what the hell happened to us.” Xander and Rachel both stood to leave.

“You’re leaving already?” Willow asked, nearly panicking.

“Just for a little while Wills,” Xander said. “We’ve all got some things to take care of. I’ll tell you what, I’ll come back later and we can all have dinner together.”

“Okay,” Willow said with a smile.

“Xander, if you return after nightfall, be sure you take…precautions,” Giles said.

Xander smiled. “I haven’t been gone that long G-man, I’m prepared,” he said patting his hip.

“Yes, but a gun won’t do you very much good against the undead,” Giles said.

“You might be surprised,” Xander said. He pulled the glock from his holster and dropped the clip into his hand. “I had a friend of mine at the FBI gun lab make these up for me. They’re hollow points filled with holy water.” He smiled and slammed the clip back into the gun. He pulled back the slide to make sure there was a round in the chamber, then re-holstered it. “That ought to sting them a little.”

Giles smiled slightly. “Just be careful Xander,” he said.

“Ah, G-man. I didn’t know you cared,” he said flashing a typical Xander grin. He gave Buffy a hug goodbye, and Willow and extra-long hug goodbye and he and Rachel headed out the door.

They were barely out of the courtyard on the way back to the car when Rachel stopped him. “All right, time to explain,” she said.

“Oh, right,” Xander said as though it at just occurred to him. “I almost forgot. Okay, you know all that stuff you’ve read about vampires and witches and werewolves and demons and magic and all that other stuff that you thought was just make-believe?” he asked in a very casual tone.

“Yeah,” Rachel responded.

“Well, it’s all real.” He flashed another grin and then continued to the car as though that were the only explanation necessary. Rachel stood a moment, confused by his seemingly casual tone, and then ran to catch up to him.

*

Xander drove as they headed back to the Police Department to tell Bailey what they found. He told Rachel everything. Well, an abridged version of everything. He told her how when he was a sophomore in high school, he had met Buffy Summers and was introduced to the world as it exists in Sunnydale, CA. He told her that Buffy was the slayer and that Giles was her watcher. He told her that Willow, Tara and Amy were witches. He told her a little bit about the Master, The Anointed One, Spike and Dru, the Mayor, Faith, Oz, and anything else he could think of. Rachel was silent the whole time, trying to absorb everything. Xander could tell that she was torn. On one hand, Xander was her friend and she wanted to believe him, but on the other hand, these were things that her mind would not let her believe. In the end, Xander just offered her a reassuring smile and said, “I know you don’t believe me, I wouldn’t either if I was in your position. But the time will come when you’ll see it for yourself. I just want you to be prepared.”

Rachel nodded. “What are we going to tell Bailey and the others?”

“We’ll tell them exactly what Willow and Amy told us. Whether they believe in it or not isn’t important, all that matters is that the killer believes it.” Rachel nodded in agreement but Xander could tell that she was still unsure. “Tell you what, just let me do the talking.”

*

“It’s called an Aurora circle, and it’s a protection spell,” Xander explained to the assembled members of the VCTF as they all stood around in the Sunnydale PD’s squad room.

“I don’t think it worked,” John said.

“It was probably cast after they were already dead,” Xander continued. “It also serves as a blessing of sorts for the dead. It ensures their soul safe passage to the next realm, and protects their body from demon infestation.”

“So what does this mean?” John asked.

Rachel sighed. “The killings are violent, but calculated. The killer is angry, but not at the victims. She has sympathy for them, and is killing them because she feels she has to for some reason. She’s managed to channel the negative feelings she’s having into the killings, but that isn’t where they originate. But whatever the reason she’s angry, she feels that these murders are the solution.”

“Do you have any theories as to what she could be so angry about?” Bailey asked. “What would force someone to commit murders that they don’t want to?”

“Well, even though violence and murder go against nearly every edict of the Wicca religion, I think these killings have something to do with it,” Xander said. “Perhaps she feels she has to do this to right some great wrong, or to prevent one. I’m researching any mystical prophecies that might call for a human sacrifice.”

“This also suggests that the victims chosen would have some significance. They don’t appear to have any physical similarities, George, have you found anything that would link these women?” Rachel asked.

“Nothing so far,” George answered. “One was from Sunnydale, one from Los Angeles, one from San Diego. No one knows why the latter two were in Sunnydale. They were staying at separate motels, and nothing in their personal effects clued us as to why they were here. I’m still checking phone records and cross-referencing their names in every database I can think of. There is one thing though. Xander asked me to check if the victims had any connections to the occult. The first victim had an extensive collection of occult books and crystals in her apartment, and the second victim was a student at UCLA. Her friends there mentioned that she had an interest in witchcraft and things like that. Still nothing on the third victim though.”

“Well, it can’t be a coincidence,” Xander said.

“Agreed,” Bailey said. “Xander, I want you to continue your research. Something tells me that we won’t catch this woman until we can understand her better. You and Rachel should work together on the profile.” Rachel and Xander both nodded. “The rest of us will just have to rely on old fashioned police work. Canvassing the area, poring over witness reports, continue to try to link the victims. All right people, let’s get to work.”

The team went about their separate tasks. Xander pulled Rachel aside. “Rachel, I think you and I both know that this killer isn’t going to be caught by good old fashioned police work. The only chance we have lies with us and my friends. Now, this might not be exactly procedure, so I want to know if I can count on you to trust me.”

Rachel paused for a moment, searching Xander’s eyes. “I trust you Xander, you haven’t given me any reason not to. I just hope your friends know what they’re doing.”

Xander smiled. “Believe me, they know what they’re doing.”




Next Chapter