All standard disclaimers in place – we all know I don't own any of these guys.

This is part 4 of the Families series.

The six men were listening to a Marrach demon give a presentation on the mining projects on one of the worlds based in another dimension. They had been listening to him jabber for 20 minutes when Antonio looked at Daniel “Listening to him I believe we need to send a representative immediately to fix whatever problems they have created.”

Alexander Messer looked over at Antonio and raised an eyebrow. Roberto and Phillip smirked and nodded while Anthony nodded and grinned. Timothy walked in and looked at the guy giving the presentation and frowned “Is he still talking without saying anything?” The others nodded except for Alexander who chuckled. Timothy looked at Alexander “Grandfather do you want me to go investigate what is really going on?”

Alexander frowned “No Timothy, I think you should be around for the other games going on. Anthony I know you have just recently returned to the family but would you like to go find out what is going on?”

Anthony Sassone looked at Alexander “Of course Grandfather though I did plan on stopping by Sing Sing briefly to talk with Sonny, but that shouldn't take long at all.”

Alexander nodded “Take whichever security team you want with you. If you want a couple of advisors do so. Report back with your findings.”

The demon on the viewscreen was looking frightened with each word they said and was shaking his head in denial babbling about how well everything was going and how they were all on schedule.

All eyes switched to the side of the room as a portal opened and out stepped a young man. Xander smiled and nodded at everyone and then looked at the demon on the viewscreen and listened to him babble nodding his head. “I see, everything is working smoothly and there is no need for anyone to come check on things. And how many young hatched this year.”

Listening in Alexander scowled and the others frowned. “Xander.”

Xander waved at Alexander with a “not now” motion causing everyone to raise their eyebrows at the arrogance. “I see and everything is in your report. Your right Anthony doesn't need to come and check out your procedures since everything is exactly as reported.”

Xander nodded at the demon and the connection was cut. Tony Sassone looked at Xander “You had better have a very good reason for doing that or you wont like the consequences.”

Xander looked at him “There is no way in Hell your going there til after a few strike teams clears out the Charrallatc that have taken over the compound and have them enslaved.”

Roberto looked at Xander “You picked up from him that they were enslaved and that the report was false.”

Xander looked over “Yeah, there is about thirty of them there. They are holding the young separate and using everyone else for slave labor. They are clearing out the facility of everything they are producing and sending it to Havar.”

Alexander looked at Roberto then to Xander and laughed. Roberto started laughing as well looking at Xander “So you cause humans to gush and can read demons. I can see many future meetings that are going to be interesting.”

The others joined in the laughter. After a few minutes Alexander looked at Xander “And how did your visit to the Hellmouth go?”

Xander sighed “Well Spike and Dru are heading this way, Dru went on about wires in the head and stuff that is probably what that crazy Walsh was talking about and then she commented about kitten's claws being out, obviously her brains have been scrambled because that was just freaking strange listening to her, I mean you can see what shes seeing and see how its warped. FBI got Wills and I don't think they are too happy, or her parents either. Man talk about worried, she was trying to caste something on the way out but Chaos Boy had some protections up and it was no-go. Think it even fried her connection. The former mayor is having a bad day then again he may feel a little boxed in, or is that cubed in, either way he wont be doing whatever it was he was planning which looking at some of his stuff sounds like an ascension, and boy did I find some neat books that I am sending back. I have Jenna Kadrash aka Jenny Carpenter facing the fact that they were used and majorly. Reminding them of their own culture and the fact that girls weren't that honored, the entire culture is male based, there is no “Favorite Daughter” of the clan. I pointed out how they dealt with daughters today, and how they are used and bartered and if there was that position at one time wouldn't there still be, and she actually had to acknowledge that there is only the one and that is majorly weird. Deadboy is heading to South America and it wont be pretty but he'll learn or not don't really care and truthfully he isn't worth much as anything but eye candy if you like the dark and gloomy type. Though I begin to understand why people want to do bondage and S&M the more I'm around him. The necrophiliac is in denial that her boyfriend is a normal vamp instead of Prince Charming and how they are fated. Shes back on the “Poor Me” kick only no one to listen to her this time, oh well. Cordy is the same snarky self. G-Man and Chaos Boy are obviously doing the nasty and I so do not want to think of that.”

Antonio looked at Anthony “Does he come with a translation guide?”

Anthony chuckled “Think of Ruddy and you will understand.”

Phillip smirked “Ruddy at least spoke English instead of whatever dialect of slang of some English variant that was.”

Alexander looked at Anthony “It seems that there was some issues with education.”

Xander looked at Alexander “School is of the major bad and it is non-mixy with Xander's. Then again the Science sub who was the Praying Mantis who wanted me to fertilize her eggs because I was a virg did make me want to rush out and find someone to no longer be available for that. And Ampata was nice even though she was suppose to be a he but she was actually a mummy that her seal was broken and came back to life, she liked me and didn't kill me when she could like she did the others but it showed that museums are not the place for students. And the Hyena is still very much an alpha in there and that shows that field trips to the zoo are bad for the principal and I am so glad that I was caged when the rest of the pack ate the principal but I do still crave pork from the mascot we ate. And let me tell you thinking about eating live pork is one of the things I try not to think about. Cooked is good but no more raw.”

All the adults were looking at Xander with raised eyebrows. Antonio looked at Anthony then Alexander “School will need to be vetted closely then. As well as making sure they can teach him. Anything you can think of that will help Anthony?”

“What about a demon school” Timothy offered.

Everyone looked at him Timothy went on “They have more practical education, more project driven versus lecture and they are used to scaling for the student.”

Xander looked surprised and interested “I take it there is snacking policy at the school or would we be twinkies while there?”

Alexander looked at Xander then flipped the call to his secretary “Mary I need a bottle of aspirin and someone who can teach Xander English, his speech is driving me insane.”

After Alexander clicked off the intercom he looked at Xander then smirked “I am sure you will put your best effort into learning to communicate properly.” He raised an eyebrow while smirking waiting for a response.

Xander looked at Alexander “So do they teach the eyebrow thingy while they teach speech and by English do you mean like G-Man does or what because I so am not a Brit and really don't understand why cookies are biscuits and all the other words that don't make sense that they think do. I mean I really don't see me wearing tweed and if you look you don't wear tweed so why are you wanting me to wear tweed and drink tea. I like my caffeine in the soda variety not in the boiled leaf way and can we say why would we boil leaves I mean we can go anywhere and find leaves and why would someone decide to boil them. Did they wake up some day and say 'I'm going to go boil these leaves and drink them' or did they do it on a dare?”

Mary was looking at Xander as she had come in with the aspirin bottle. She looked at the bottle “Let me send someone down to the pharmacy for a larger supply. I don't think this will make it through many more conversations. I only understood a small portion of that. The original person I got for English probably would not be the best now that I have a better understanding of the problem. Let me find someone else.” She took two tablets from the bottle then set the bottle on the table and left going to change who they needed. She had thought they meant someone to bring more polish to his speech, not someone who would be teaching him the entire English language. Downing the two aspirin and a drink of coffee she then called someone else before Xander caused anymore headaches.

Alexander stared at Xander with a frustrated look on his face, looking around he saw confusion on Antonio, Roberto's, Phillip's, and Timothy's faces. He saw Anthony was holding back laughter and looked again at Xander and saw the smirk creeping into his eyes. Shaking his head he took the bottle of aspirin and shook out four, then handed the bottle to Roberto to pass around to the others.

Xander looked at Antonio “So where are we going to be living?”

Antonio looked up after downing his asprin “DC area. So we will need to find a good school around there. And I need to call Gibbs and see whats up there. I'm sure he's feeling a little chewed on at the moment.” A grin started to spread across Antonio's face “Can't wait for you and Abby to meet.”

Alexander looked over “Take over the Brighton house. It hasn't been used in a decade and may need some work but should be centrally enough located for both his school and your work. We already have a portal into it so Xander can come back after classes for additional training or classes.”

Roberto looked over at Xander, smiled and then hit the speakerphone “Rudolph could you please come to Alexander's office. I think you and Xander need to speak.”

Two hours later Ruddy was smiling and Xander was smirking and the bottle of aspirin was empty. The conversation had no bearing that anyone could tell but a lot of words that flowed between both. Ruddy looked over at Alexander “He knows the basics and his distraction technique is good, information exchange was superior. However, can see a problem deciphering his slang. Took me a while to get a gist of it and know I'm missing a lot still.”

Antonio looked at Ruddy “That made sense? You lost me while talking about why a mullet means someone is a vampire and how sexy leather is.”

Ruddy looked at Alexander “Lex remember when we were young. Think of what our fathers used to say about our language and remember how we used it. He's doing the same thing except we have no one that speaks the same slang. If his friend Jesse was still around he would probably understand him as well as you and Bear do me. While I understand the need to improve his English since his grammar usage is way below his level we need to find him contemporaries like Tim, Tony, Danny and Dino are.”

Timothy looked over “And that may be a slight issue. With the issue and the game in play none of the rest of us have settled down. There are a couple kids I could think of but they are outside this world and I am not sure they could survive in it.”

Antonio nodded “Other than Xander I haven't thought of having another child, and the ones I could think of I don't know well enough and they are outside the world.”

Xander looked at them “If Wills went back to being Wills instead of Harmony 2 she could...” Xander cut off as he saw Anthony shake his head

“Xander, Willow has been your friend for years can you truthfully say that she is strong enough mentally to be happy with herself and not look for approval or notice? You hid and distracted interest in yourself away, everything she did was seeking approval or notice, something to stand out. From her schoolwork on she was always wanting to be noticed a large part of that is the abandonment from her parents but I could see her easily slipping further down not being strong enough to recognize hidden power in others. You took the understanding that demons does not automatically mean evil without problems. Could Willow? She was still going on how a soul makes a person good even after we tried showing it didn't because her friend said it did.”

They could see the sorrowful look on Xander's face as he shook his head. Raising his eyes he looked at Anthony “I doubt she even realized yet that I never needed to stake Jesse. What Giles told us under the watchers control was wrong and it was still Jesse in there and he could of survived and lived without killing people.”

Alexander nodded his head “If Giles had the ability to truthfully tell you what you needed to do or you had felt comfortable and knew to talk to the adults you may not of had to stake him. However, in Giles defense the slayer is a tool the watchers created to kill first and never ask questions. I am surprised she allowed Angelus to live but considering he did the “Mystery Guy” routine and that won the ego and infatuation of the slayer. From what was reported it seems your Cordy is actually more thoughtful and understanding of people than Buffy ever was when Buffy held that position at her old school.”

Xander got a disgusted look on his face “if Cordy is more thoughtful... then she must of really been a ... but now what is the full plan since the moving to DC is the first step, there is obviously more planned.”

Alexander nodded “Further plans will depend on what we learn going onward. And how you react with others and they with you. With your being bound to a Hellmouth and your ability with Demons that will change some of the original plans. We will not need to slowly bring you around to the idea of Demons being real and can instead start planning training on the different types we deal with and more majick training...”

Alexander stopped talking as the intercom buzzed reaching over “Yes, Mary.”

“Stevens from Strike Team Alpha is calling in with an update do you want it forwarded?”

“Yes forward it in here.”

A few seconds later the viewscreen came to life with a tall Hispanic man looking out “Mr. Messer, we have arrived at the camp and freed the children from the Charrallatc. There were a few minor skirmishes but nothing major and everything is well now.”

Xander, Roberto and Ruddy were all frowning as they looked at the screen. The others saw the looks while Alexander kept his face neutral and focused on the screen. Ruddy nodded to Xander.

“Hey Stevens, Did you find Marrachy while there and grab some extra guava?”

Stevens looked over at Xander “Naw didn't see her and no other vendors had any. Though saw Marrion and thought to grab some beads for my granddaughter.”

Xander smiled “Making nice with the granddaughters is always of the good.”

“Yeah hate it when they are angry at their Grandfather. They usually team up against me.”

Alexander nodded “So Stevens should I send out an auditor team?”

“Yeah, probably should send Tony or Timmy out. Looks like the books are a mess. Wouldn't believe the mess the Charrallatc created here.”

Alexander nodded and Stevens nodded then cut the connection. Xander looked at Roberto “Who is Blackthorn and why are they after Grandfather?”

“Blackthorn is a group that has dealings in many worlds and dimensions. They are more in the business of making money and favors and like to control others.”

“So bad guys.”

“Yes, one of their businesses in this dimension is a law firm known as Wolfram & Hart. Their unofficial motto is 'Hell's Lawyer's'.”

“So Blackthorn financed the Charrallatc to get back at Grandfather for something and the Marrach are just caught in the game.”

Ruddy nodded “Yep, and to say there are a lot of games going on. We make Las Vegas look like a slumber party with all the games we are playing at any one time.”

“What exactly is the family role in all this? That has never really been explained.”

“The name Messer was an translation of the original title we have had since before Anglo's ever found America. We were the Guardians of Humanity in the area from the various dimensions and even from other humans. As the area got more populated we changed and had to hide more especially during periods that the Anglo church was heavy. It has only been a little over a century that we have taken the name Messer. We are a group that have formed into families. Those that can handle the family business stay in the group. Those that don't never earn their names and leave to form their own families. Usually they end up in the Mafia because the structure is something they are used to.”

“So we are the originators of the Protection Racket?”

Everyone started laughing. Roberto snickered before adding “I wish, that would be a lot easier and if we got paid by the people we were protecting we would be richer than Bill Gates.”

Xander nodded “So like the slayer we have a duty and we do it but unlike the slayer we have backing with other families and in case something happens we have backup.”

“Its more than just that. We make sure nothing too bad happens. How easy do you think it would be to bring a plague to New York. It would be around the world in a matter of hours. We try to stay out of the little stuff and let the normal law enforcement work, if we need to step in its a case were they cannot do anything be it due to corruption or unequipped.”

“And whats the plan for Blackthorn and rescuing Stevens and his people as well as freeing the Marrach?”

Alexander smirked “Blackthorn is about to learn why we are called Messer.”

Alexander clicked a few buttons and the viewscreen came to life. On the screen was a demon that looked like every horror demon rolled into one. It saw Alexander and nodded then looked at the others in the room staring at Xander “The Hellmouth bound child, most interesting.” He then looked back at Alexander and stared.

Alexander nodded “Blackthorn contracted with the Charrallatc to try and cause me problems. I am thinking they need to understand that they are not the leaders of all the other realms.”

The being nodded his head and then looked “We wish the Hellmouth bound child to come learn with our children for a few days while we do this. It would be good for them to see the energy and he will learn more. He was helping the tool wasn't he? His signature has that in it, however, he sees and hears more than most think. Yes, while we are explaining to Blackthorn have the child come learn with us. It will be educational both ways.”

Xander looked at him and then at Alexander, then nodding his head at Alexander. Alexander looked at the viewscreen “When would be a good time for him to come learn from you?”

The beings mouth split into many sharp teeth “Now works. Blackthorn has angered a few and many are wanting to get even with them.”

A portal opened in the side of the room and Xander walked forward into the portal, within seconds he was next to the being at the other end of the portal and smirked at Alexander. “Guess English is delayed.”

Alexander groaned and the being laughed as the connection was cut.

Antonio looked at Alexander “We trust them with Xander?”

Roberto looked at Antonio “I would be more worried about them than Xander. What I read from them – they know the deals he just did yesterday. They consider him a young one like they do their own. And considering they are feared in more than a few dimensions and for very good reason, for him to be asked to come learn with them is something that has never happened before.” Roberto looked over at Alexander “What do you make of it?”

Alexander folded his hands with a thoughtful look on his face. “If they consider him a young one, then more probably do as well, or they consider him a major threat. Self defense just joined English as musts as soon as he is back. Anthony, you and Jeromy find out what is common knowledge about him. That was unexpected and I have a feeling its just starting. Antonio get with Harris and make sure the security around the Brighton house is as close to impenetrable as we can get. And make sure all shields include majick as well as any form of teleportation imaginable. Roberto, Rudolph what else did you pick up?”

Ruddy looked over “He was excited to see Xander. And when Xander went over there he was ecstatic. There is more to the Hellmouth Bond than we know, and whatever it is will be major.”

Roberto nodded “He is wanting Xander to meet some of his young and form friendships. I could only pick up pieces since they aren't human but they wont harm Xander. Actually it's in everyone's best interest that no one does. From what little I was able to pick up Xander is considered one of all the clans. I expect you will be getting a lot of requests for him to go train with others or them to come train with him.”

Daniel piped up “So his peer group may be more demonic than human?”

Timothy nodded “I can see that, he isn't in a main family, though he will be in the family business. If we can send him to a demon school as well I expect that school will have an influx of students trying to see if they could make friends or at least acquaintance with him. The bonding him with the Hellmouth may actually be one of the best things for Humans on Earth.”

Daniel nodded “They see him as Human but not, and they will be more open and less standoffish because of him.”

Antonio groaned “Somehow I can see trying to explain to Gibbs that the being in the living room is a classmate of my son and not sitting in a Halloween costume. Abby is going to be thrilled.”