Willow screamed in panic as she saw her best and oldest friend fall and be carried off by the demons. The battle ended soon after that but the demons and Xander was gone. Willow and Buffy were standing alone on the battlefield. They turned to each other looking lost and frantic, both thinking the same thing. What do they want with Xander? Both girls were well aware that Xander was the weakest of the scoobies, with no supernatural boost what so ever Xander seemed to get by mostly on luck and courage. The demons seemed to know this too and consequently attacked Xander every chance they got. It scared both Buffy and Willow and lately they had been trying to keep him out of harms way. They knew it hurt him when they pushed him away, and Willow almost cried ever time she saw the look in his eyes when he caught her in a lie. But it was for the best. It was to keep him safe. And now the demons had him anyway, despite the pain they had gone through to keep him out of the fight. It was unacceptable!

"Come on Buffy. We have work to do." Willow said determinedly. "I'm going to cast a spell that will keep Xander safe. For ever."

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

Xander woke slowly, he was cold and in pain and at first had a problem figuring out what had happened. As his memory returned he turned his attention to his current situation and how to get out of it. He was laying in a corner with his face in a sticky puddle of blood. He could see demons around him, some chanting around an altar, some attending to their defences and some flat out drunk laying around. 'Looks like I'm about to be sacrificed again.' He moved carefully and bit back a scream as pain shot through him. 'OK I'm about to be sacrificed and I have a few broken bones. Better hope the girls show up in time to rescue me.'

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

Willow gathered the ingredients she would need for the spell. It was going to be complicated and Giles was going to be upset that she used his stuff, but this was important. She was sure he'd understand when she explained. Now for the actual spell, she wanted Xander safe, protected from all harm, permanently. A small pendant gave off a glimmer of power just as she turned and she added it to her supplies, one can never have too much power after all.

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

Just as Xander was beginning to worry about the large knife positioned right above his heart he was enveloped in the familiar feeling of Willow's magic and disappeared in a flash of brilliant light.

**********

Xander blinked surprised to find himself, not in the magic box or Willow's bedroom where he'd expected the spell to take him, but in a bright place with marble columns and that curiously dead feeling places get when they are abandoned for a long time. It wasn't hot or cold, the air had that odd temperature where it doesn't feel like anything at all. The exact temperature of his own body. Xander wished it would be a bit warmer and the temperature immediately changed. 'Huh that's odd. Looks like Willow sent me someplace weird. Wonder what she was trying to do?' Quickly deciding that while there seemed to be no enemies or immediate threats nearby it was best to proceed with caution, Xander set out to explore his odd surroundings.

Wandering around the oddly palatial place he had found himself he began to feel a pull, not strong, not forceful, just a gentle invitation. Xander frowned, but followed none the less  after all he had to find the way out of here sooner or later or he'd starve to death. No sooner had he finished the thought then a bowl of apples appeared.

"Alright so whatever is going on here is reading my mind and waiting on me, which is a bit creepy." Passing on the apples, he continued on more set than ever on getting out of wherever he was.

Eventually his steps led him to a large open space with pedestals at regular intervals from each other. On each pedestal was an item, there was a lightning bolt, several sets of bows and arrows, a sword, a shield, a statue of a lion, a pair of winged sandals, one of the pedestals seemed to be surrounded by mist or smoke, there were several statues of animals and flowers, but the one that drew Xander had an eye, a perfectly clear crystal orb with a dark brown iris. Xander looked at it for a while, before reaching out and taking it. As soon as he touched it knowledge and memories started flooding his mind, while power flowed into and over him until he felt he would burst if just one more drop was added. He squirmed in discomfort as he was changed and the new God of Oracles was born.

---

Xander looked down on himself, his clothes were dirty and bloodstained, his hair was matted with dirt and blood, much of it his own, his body was bruised and his skin was cut and abraded. This would not do, a small application of power and he was much more suitably attired, his hair was clean and neat and his body was in pristine condition. Now he needed to figure out what happened. He had felt Willows magic before he had ended up here, it was logical to assume she had goofed an attempt to protect him. That did not answer the question of how a completely ordinary carpenter was now the God of Oracles. Unless it went on the "he had need of a new eye" method of picking new Gods. And he KNEW it didn't. After a few moments of caregul thinking he decided to go back home and see if the scooby gang had any answers for him.

Willow was beginning to worry, she had cast the spell as well as she knew how but there was no sign of Xander. She couldn't have been to late, she'd worked as quickly as she could, she would not accept that she had been too late to save him. No, Xander was fine, he was just, misplaced, at the moment. She would find him and check on the spell and everything would be fine. She knew it would be. And she was a very powerful witch and if the world didn't make it OK from the start she would find a spell to make it.



Xander walked in to the magic box, he had made with the neat teleporty skills to get to Sunnydale but he didn't really want to scare anyone into attacking him so he walked into the Magic box.

"Hi guys."

"Xander!" Willow flew from her seat where Giles had been yelling at her and put his arms around him. "I'm so glad you're OK. I cast a spell to get you safe but when you didn't show up I was worried." She stopped hugging him for a moment and slapped him on the arm. "That's for worrying me mister. Where were you? What happened?"

Xander smiled, there was nothing else in the world quite like Willowbabble and it did answer the question of what weird thing had happened to him quite nicely, willow had indeed goofed.

"I love you too Willow. I'm not entirely sure what happened, or where I was, but it did heal me quite nicely and apart from figuring out how to get back I didn't have any problems. What did you do exactly Willow?"

Willow blushed a light pink. "Why? It did what it was supposed to right?"

"Because, Willow, the next customer will buy a set of purple candles instead of the red she was supposed to get for her spell. The next one will look around and leave without anything. Buffy's date tonight will be terrible and require a fully stocked fridge with chocolate icecream. Do you want me to go on?"

"Oh, I didn't mean to do that."

"Which is why we need to know exactly what you did Willow." Giles said in a put upon voice that said he had been trying to get that message through for some time now. "And what you used, not everything in here is suitable for casting with."

"Fine." Willow sighed. "It's at my house."



In Willow's room at the Rosenberg house they found an ornate dagger, a pendant, two blue stones and a wide assortment of bowls and herbs and candles. There were also a lot of books, but since they hadn't been part of the spell they left them alone for now though Giles look told them he would be yelling later.

"What was the spell you used Willow?"

"To protect the weakest friend
let me now to safety send
to keep him safe and guarded always
to never let him suffer needless
bring him home to shelter true
where evil never enter can
where only he is in command"

"That still doesn't explain the sudden precognitive abilities. What herbs did you use?"

"Bayleaf, angelica, aloe, star anise, basil, calendula, caraway, cayenne, dill, lemongrass, oregano and parsley for protection, Hyssop also for protection and also for cleansing, rosemary, ginseng and horhound to protect him from evil. Garlic for protection from evil and illness, marjoram for protection against negativity and evil intent, coriander for safety in the home, chamomile for protection from spells and curses."


"These bayleafs are fresh which encourage clairvoyance. Hyssop incense is used to gain powers. Rosemary will also aid in memory and learning. Marjoram is also used for psychic enhancement. Coriander is also supposed to give immortality and to help you find things in common with others. Anise will also help with spiritual and psychic development. Calendula is also used for prophetic dreams and psychic development. Lemongrass helps in spiritual growth, psychic powers and divination. oregano will promote prophetic dreams. Parsley helps you communicate with other planes, and also with divination."

"What is the rest?"

"Lapis lazuli for protection."

"This is Lapis lazuli and dumortierite which combined enhance psychic powers." Giles was beginning to sound rather tired.

"I used the dagger to trace the seals with, I know it's OK because I borrowed it from you spell things."

"This dagger was used when Ethan and I summoned demons in our youth, it is completely unsuitable for this. And what is that pendant?"

"I'm not really sure, it just felt like a really good idea to keep it with me when I did this."

"And this did not in any way make you suspicious or apprehensive about it?"

"Umm no."

"Oh Dear."

"So G-man what happened here?"

"Well in her effort to make a protection spell, Willow made a spell to give you powers and mental abilities specifically precognition. She also used a dagger used for summoning things from other planes, along with the parsley for communication. And she powered the whole thing with a chaos pendant. Also she tried to send you home to shelter true where evil never enter can. Which precludes most of the places on this plane apart form some monasteries and such. And with the line of where only he is in command we have to rule those out too. Can you tell me where you were?"

"This really quiet place with a lot of marble."

"That fit in on many of the higher realms."

"Don't worry about it G-man. I think I have it pretty much covered." Xander smirked and disappeared in a shower of pretty sparkles.

"Oh dear." said Giles and started polishing his glasses.

Once back on Olympus Xander sat down and considered his options. He was a God, which was pretty cool, even if he was just a minor deity like oracles, but it came with a lot of responsibility. He had a bunch of people he was now responsible for. All the oracles, seers and prophets were his and needed his guidance and occasionally his protection. Then there was the little matter of all the other powersymbols, they really should be embodied in someone. Xander sighed, this whole God thing was going to be a lot of work.

Xander reached his awareness out for those who belonged to him, nothing much stood out, there were a few people in trouble and a few others who were abusing their powers, but nothing urgent. A flair of familiarity caught his attention, she was not yet awakened but the potential was there. Since she was close to one who was already his he simply sent a message to protect her and left it at that, he had other work to do for now. Later he would make sure all those who had a seer's gift and thus belonged to him were appropriately protected and properly behaved. The world didn't need some prophecies and some of them had to be removed from the people who thought hiding them would keep them from coming true.

Stepping into the halls of time, Xander began the search for suitable people to become the other Gods. Some were easy, others much more complicated. For some there were only a few candidates for others there were many, and apart from all the other concerns he wanted to make sure the people he would spend the next several millennia with were people he actually liked. Thinking it over a bit he decided to start with those godhoods there were only a few candidates for, that should make it easier to make the proper selections for the rest. He would save the King for last so he could make most of the choices.

The first to be selected was Nemesis, the punishing justice, the power item representing this godhood was a single drop of blood. There were supposed to be several candidates for each godhood but Xander could see straight away that only one of the available choices would work. It worried him quite a bit. After all the idea of a serial killer God is a disturbing one. But disturbing or not Dexter Morgan was the only viable choice for the position.

---

"Dexter Morgan?" asked the young man who had appeared in a soft golden shimmer in Dexter's living room.

"Yes."

"Hold out your hand."

Dexter did as he was asked, slightly bemused. And watched the stranger place a single drop of blood on his palm. He felt a sudden wave of almost umbearable heat, quickly followed by a sense of elation that was very close to what he felt when he killed.

Xander was rather amazed by the ease with which Dexter accepted the magic and his Godhood. It took only a few minutes before Dexter was Nemesis, the punishing justice.

Dexter could feel himself change, but not in a bad way, on the contrary, he was becoming more and more himself, losing the ardously imposed imitations of human feelings, leaving him free to feel his own feelings.

---

Xander stepped into the palace of fear, wondering how it was possible that these magical upstarts could have found it, much less turned it into a prison. He carefully set the small gold lion on the floor and watched as it took off for the God of Fear, following calmly with an eye out to see if any in here needed his intervention, he saw a few who were falsely imprisoned but they were not his so he wouldn't touch them. He did pass on the information to the seer in the MoM. Soon he found the cell where the lion had stopped, at first glance it seemed to be holding a dog.

"Change." he commanded softly.

The dog got up and turned into a man, with wild ragged hair and beard and desperate black eyes. The lion entered through the bars and leaped straight into the man.

"I am Xander, God of Oracles. I came here to give you your power and take you home. The world needs it's Gods. The power will tell you most of what you need to know, if you don't know what to do ask me. If you can't find me just talk to any oracle or seer as they are mine. Oh and some of the people in here are innocent, order the foberos away from them."

"Uh, what?"

Xander sighed of course he would need a bit more careful explanation than that after a decade of being in prison and denied human contact.

"Hi I'm Xander, the God of Oracles and you new brother. Who are you?"

"I'm sirius." The prisoner rasped.

"Correction, you are Sirius the God of Fear, and I'm thinking probably of those falsely imprisoned too. Try using your power to fix you throat."

"I'm what?" Sirius voice was no longer a painfull rasp.

"Good now clean youself up and fix your clothes, your power will try to make it a toga but just focus on what you want it to be."

Sirius hair straightened, his beard vanished and his clothes became a bright red robe.

"See? As long as you know what you want you should have no problems with handling the power, but if you do just ask me. Home is olympus and I think you should spend at least some time there for now. And you need to order the foberos away from the falsely accused."

"What are foberos?" But even as he asked the power was answering the questions in hs mind. "Dementors? I can order the Dementors?"

"Yes. You are the God of Fear they are yours."

Sirius focused his power for a moment and felt the Dementors respond, those who were in here through no fault of there own would no longer suffer by the Dementors.

"Good, come along now and I'll show you our new home." Xander took Sirius by the hand and moved them both to the Olympus.

---

Sirius looked around him, all the shining brightness a shock to someone who had lived in a dark damp cell for so long.

"Come on." Xander said. "We're going to the halls of time. You need to pick a high priest and possibly a few lesser ones, but you need to hold off on those until all the high priests are selected. And I'm guessing yopu want to check up on people too."

Sirius hurried follow, he did have people he needed to check on. His godson and Remus, not to mention a certain traitorous little rat.

Xander and Sirius stepped into the halls of time.

"OK first things first. A high priest of fear. Focus your power and see which humans are more suitable."

Sirius focused and his powers flowed easily finding several good candidates, the deatheaters were discarded immediately, so were the homocidal maniacs. There were a few Vampires and Werewolves left, and then he felt it, a familiarity, a connection, Remus. Sirius looked up at Xander and smiled.

"I found him."

"Good pop down there and let him know, then get started on your job. It should be mostly instinctual."



Xander smiled as the new God of Fear disappeared to go tell his new high priest of his calling, this choice for Fear had impacted Thunder more than normal and there was only one choice left, he was a bit young but Thunder Gods usually had more in common with teenagers than mature adults. Smirking he popped away to let the boy know of his destiny.

Harry sat on a bench in the park, he could be undisturbed since a thunderstorm was raging and no one else would be out. He was sitting under an overhang but was still soaked. Then a man appeared in front of him, smiled and threw a lightningbolt straight at him. Harry tried to dodge but the bolt hit him straight in the head at exactly the same spot as his scar. There was a burning and painful feeling for a moment before he felt better, lighter than he had in years.

"Hello Harry, I'm Xander the God of Oracles, and you just became the God of Thunder. Get dry and better dressed."

Harry blinked before automatically getting dry and finding himself wearing a rather gaudy gold toga. "Huh, well, this is different."

"You can change that toga into whatever you want, your power is just used to it's wielder wanting to wear a toga. Also when the big bad comes for you, you beeing a God is the power he knows not. And if you feel like it you can come with me to Olympus and visit your Godfather. He's the God of Fear and false imprisonment. Oh and you'll need to pick a high priest."

"I have a Godfather?"

"Yes and he really wants to see you. Come on."

When Xander noticed how the Thunder God Harry impacted the available choices he realized this was going to be even more complicated than he thought. But regardless of that the Godess of knowledge and heroic acts was too young to take up her Godhood yet. She would have to wait.

Seeing his choice had also impacted mischief, espionage and homemaking he resolved to be more careful of who he picked. Sirius Black may be God of fear, but that choice had impacted no less than five other Godhoods and he didn't know where it would stop yet.

Dexter calmly slipped the knife in between Lila's ribs and into her heart, killing her instantly. After she died he removed the tiny spark of life from her womb, his child, a tiny spark only alive by it's demigod status. He smiled at it, a minor fire deity, how typical of Lila, to birth the God of pyromaniac fires.


Xander looked up when he felt Halfrek reach for him through one of his seers. He knew she posed no threat to him anymore and so decided to see what she wanted.

"What is it Hallie?" he asked.

"My lord Xander," she began respectfully. "I know you're picking the new Gods."

"Yes, so?"

"I want to be the Godess of children, of raising and having them. That way I can make my current job obsolete."

"Nice plan. I'll think about it."


Willow, Willow got a raw deal. We needed a strong witch on the hellmouth. There were tons of essential spells that needed to be cast, and Willow stepped up to the plate and pulled it off, time and time again. But what everyone conveniently forgot was that Willow was a young girl when all this started, she was nowhere near mature enough for all that responsibility, not to mention the degrading effects of excessive amounts of magic on a developing mind. So Willow is damaged and needs help but no one really wants to acknowledge this since that means having no strong witch on the hellmouth. Much easier then to just yell at her for messing up.

Dexter stood proudly in front of the cameras, calmly explaining who and what he was. As a representative of justice and law he had found himself unable to lie in court.

"I am Nemesis, the punishing justice. I am a divine force and I only punish the guilty.