Work Text:
Pride of Xander
Trigger warning for harassment
DISCLAIMER: I don't own BTVS or Cats
Chapter 1
"Why are we meeting in the gym today?" Buffy asked.
"I don't really know," Willow replied. "The P.A. announced it a few minutes before you got here. All Juniors and Seniors have to report to the gym for a message from Principal Snyder."
"Maybe it's because Halloween is tomorrow?" Xander guessed.
Buffy sighed, "I hope not. Giles told me the undead stay in on Halloween and I was planning to stay home and veg. Mom's going to an art convention today and won't be back until Sunday night."
Xander would have said something about vampires staying home on Halloween but by then they were in the gym and he would have been heard by too many people.
Snyder walked up to the podium with a snarl and a microphone, "Good morning you pack of delinquents. The school board and the chamber of commerce have, in their infinite wisdom, decided that tomorrow is the perfect day to give you little freaks some culture. If you've already bought a Halloween costume then I'm sorry but you'll have to save it for next year. All members of the Junior and Senior class are hereby volunteered to escort Junior High students while trick or treating tomorrow night from 6 to 8." He ignored the comments and mutters and continued in a louder voice, "You will show up here no later than 5:30 unless you want detention until Christmas. You will wear a costume from a recent Broadway play."
He was handed a folder by his assistant and continued, "Since I doubt any of you have ever seen a play ever, much less recently I have a list of plays and the students who will use costumes from that play. When you show up tomorrow you better have an appropriate costume on."
As he paused to pull something out of the folder one of the seniors asked, "By appropriate you mean not showing any skin?"
Snyder looked up and frowned, "Given the morals of theater people and teenagers, in general, that seems like a lost cause. Just make sure it's from the right play. Oh, and come back with as many kids as you leave with too. For some reason, the School Board insists on that." His gaze traveled over the group, "Now if you're finished with your pointless questions I will tell you what plays you've been assigned to."
Xander was hoping to be in a group with Willow and Buffy but just his luck he got the play 'Cats' and got stuck with Cordelia, Harmony, and Aura as the rest of his group. Willow and Buffy were in two different groups as well.
At lunch, they were talking about whether it was luck or whether Snyder split them up on purpose when Cordelia walked over to their table and sat down.
"Okay loser boy," she started. "We can't have you pulling us down and I know you don't have two nickels to rub together so I'm buying you a costume. We're all meeting at my house by four-thirty. Be there and go with the flow and this will all go smoothly. Mess us up and I make your life hell. You get me?"
"I get you," Xander replied.
"Good," she replied and left.
"You shouldn't take that Xander," Willow said.
"Didn't see you jumping in to object," he replied. Then he shrugged, "Nothing she said was that bad anyway. I'll save my hard earned money and get a ride in. How bad could it be?"
Buffy shook her head, "You should know better than to say that here."
He sighed, "Crap, you're right. Quick, distract Murphy by changing the subject. What plays did you two get? I was too busy being miserable to pay attention."
"I got 'Dancing at Lughnasa'," Willow said. "It's an easy one, we just have to dress up as five spinsters."
"Spinsters?" Xander said.
"I will check online tonight but if I remember right, it's about five unmarried women living together and raising a little boy," Willow said.
"So how do you know they aren't polyamorous lesbians rather than old maids?" Xander asked.
Willow blushed, then scowled, "Don't say that around my parents or they'll have a fit!"
"Relax Will," Buffy said. "They're not even in town until next week."
Willow nodded, "Yeah, well it's a good thing we're an all-female group, and not for any pervy reasons either!"
Buffy said, "I got 'Master Class'. It's about people training to sing opera. Not sure I even need a costume for it."
"Well, I'm glad you two got something nice," Xander said. "I just hope nobody takes pictures of whatever costume they stick me in."
"Hey, look on the bright side," Buffy said. "It's free and wherever they shop is unlikely to have anything ugly or they wouldn't shop there."
Xander shrugged, "Yeah, maybe."
~
When Xander got to the house he knocked on the front door, "Hello? I was supposed to meet Cordelia here for costuming?"
The butler nodded, "Yes sir, you are expected. Please go around back to the pool house. You can't miss it as it is directly behind the pool. The others are waiting for you there."
"Thanks," Xander said. He found the pool house without incident and knocked on that door.
The door opened and four hands dragged him inside then closed and locked the door behind him.
"Hey!" he said and quickly looked around to make sure it wasn't a demon attack. He saw Aura and Harmony on either side of him and Cordelia sitting nearby but no one else.
Cordelia smirked at him, "It's not an attack dweeb. Just a little sexual harassment."
"What?" he asked, then he felt the other two girls start removing his clothes. Aura took off his jacket while Harmony was removing his belt.
"We can't do this with, like, normal boys," Harmony said. "They'd talk even if they didn't take advantage."
"But nobody will believe you if you say you were molested by Cordettes," Aura said with a smirk of her own. "And you're not the skinny geek you once were."
"All that running around with Buffy has helped you," Cordelia said. "You're still a geek we'd never date but we wanted to see how yummy you're getting so we're taking this opportunity to find out and get in some free gropes as well as settle some personal bets."
"And this is, like, the closest you'll get to sex all year so you won't complain," Harmony said. She had his pants and shoes off while Aura had removed his shirt leaving him in boxers and socks.
"Pay up," Cordelia said. "He does wear boxers" Aura pouted but paid Cordelia.
Harmony smirked and got close enough to him that he could feel her chest flatten against his. He couldn't help realizing how beautiful she was despite the nasty personality he knew was inside the pretty package. Once she was close enough to kiss she grabbed the waistband of his boxers and slid them down to his ankles. She stayed squatting and grinned up at him, "I bet I know what you want to happen next."
He put his hands in front of his groin to try and hide his erection as she licked her lips. She laughed and lifted his legs out of the boxers then tossed them aside, "I'm done. He can keep his grody socks on for all I care."
"Not bad Harris," Aura said and Cordelia nodded. All three girls were smiling in a predatory way.
"Give Harm the tape measure," Cordelia said. "We have another bet to settle."
Xander sighed, he could have run but running from cheerleaders would make him feel worse than being saved from Larry by Buffy. What he needed was to try and get control, "Hey, I don't mind Harmony handling it, she's obviously experienced, but I don't want to intimidate anyone."
Harmony snorted, "Oh, please! I've seen bigger ones." She took the tape measure and batted at his hands, "Are you ashamed of it? If it's as great as you say, show it off proudly."
Xander reluctantly pulled his hands away then forced a smirk to his lips and said, "Be careful, it might go off in your face."
Cordelia and Aura snickered. Aura said, "Wouldn't be the first time that's happened to her."
Cordelia said, "She must be used to it by now."
He saw Harmony frown but she didn't say anything and she didn't stop. She stroked him a few times then measured his length. Cordelia looked surprised but paid Harmony who was now the one smiling.
Cordelia pulled a costume out of a box and tossed it at him, "Okay, the bathroom is that way. Put on your costume there and stay there until we call you. If you come out while we're changing I'll ruin you. Clear?"
He nodded, "Yes." He was thinking it might be worth it to see them all naked though.
"If you do anything else in there," she said and glanced down at his erection, "just don't be loud enough for us to hear it." Then she smirked, "We'll do your makeup when you come out."
Xander thought about threatening to let the next vampire have them but doubted they would believe him. So instead he turned to Harmony and pumped his hips a few times, "Are you sure you won't take care of this for me? You seemed to like handling it."
She sneered, "You're not popular enough to get a blowjob from a cheerleader. Ask Rosenberg, I bet she'd be happy to do it. Once you show her how."
"Probably safer for my health if you don't," he said. "Who knows what you've picked up."
"Lame comeback from a lame loser," she said. "Go change."
Once he came out Aura drew whiskers on him with eyeliner, "Not a pro job but it should be good enough for tonight." She also rubbed a hand over his crotch, "I see you took care of business. Which one of us were you thinking of when you did it?"
He smirked back and lied, "None of you. I was thinking of Buffy. She's hotter than all of you." He had been thinking of Cordelia.
"What!" Cordelia objected. "In what universe is she hotter than I am?"
"This one," he replied. "It's getting late though so are we going to school or getting detention?"
Cordelia scowled, "Fine. Let's go make nice for the kidlets and our troll of a principal."
Cordelia drove them all to the school where they were met by Snyder.
He looked disappointed, "Well, I guess you met the requirements so no detention for any of you." He turned and shouted, "Next batch!"
The biology teacher herded a group of about two dozen children forward, "These older kids will watch out for you tonight. Please stay with them and be safe." She would have said more but Snyder interrupted.
"Just go," he said and waved them off.
Xander led the kids outside and said, "Now that we're away from the troll we can start having fun! Don't worry I know all the houses with the best candy. Follow me!" He started off with the children following him and the Cordettes lagging behind rolling their eyes.
~
Rum Tum Tugger looked about, "Where am I?"
Bombalurina said from behind him, "You mean, where are we?"
He turned and saw her, Cassandra, and Victoria huddled together. He walked over to them, ignoring the small humans and other things running around, "What are we going to do?"
"Hide somewhere safe until all this is over," Bombalurina said.
He nodded, "Sensible, maybe one of these buildings nearby?" He grinned, "One with a large bed?"
"Safety first Tugger," she said. They checked out doors until they found an unlocked one so they could get in without breaking anything then locked it behind them and piled furniture behind it.
Cassandra said, "Let's go check for a back door." When they found it they blocked it too.
Tugger grinned at them, "Can we look for a bed now?"
"You old tom cat," Victoria said. Then shrugged and looked at the other two.
Bombalurina said, "Well we have to check upstairs anyway. So we can make sure there are no open windows." She grinned, "If there aren't and there is a nice bed, a nice one mind you, then I agree."
So the four of them went upstairs and found no open windows and a California King bed with silk sheets. The girls all purred as they felt the silk.
"Looks like your lucky day Tugger!" Bombalurina said.
Meanwhile four primal spirits of the lion had been summoned and temporarily bound to the costumes of four out of five kids costumed as Voltron. The fifth had a costume bought from a different costume store.
Once the spell was ended by Giles they were evicted from the costumes and went looking for hosts. The four made up as cats and sleeping in a big kitty pile didn't even notice the four primal lion spirits entering them.
~
The next morning they woke up in a big naked pile that stunk of sex.
They all climbed groggily to their feet and stretched.
As she headed for the shower Cordelia said, "Don't tell anyone about this! Or else!"
"I'm more worried about what Snyder will say about us not returning with any kids," Xander said.
"My dad's a lawyer," Harmony said. "A real shark and we each have a parent on the school board so we're fine there."
Aura nodded, "And I guess you get a free pass because you were with us." She grinned, "Anytime you want more teasing just let us know. We've got a lot of things that no guy has let us do yet that we want to try."
"Uh, no thanks," Xander said. "In fact I think I'll just dress and shower at home." He got dressed but actually went to Willow's house. His dad would have a lot to say about him coming home dressed as a cat and none of it would be good.
After showering and dressing in the clothes he left at Willow's for emergencies Xander made his way to the library to see if anyone else had a weird night.
It turned out they had. Buffy could now cook at a professional level. Willow had spent the night as a witch and remembered spells that according to Giles were real. She would help getting started but he assured her that he felt she could cast her first spell by New Year's. Giles also told them he had stopped the spell but not that it was caused by a man he had once called friend. Ethan had called him up at Midnight and gloated about all the chaos he was causing and dared Giles to do something about it. Xander mentioned waking up with three girls but not the sex or the harassment.
"Ew," Willow said. "You should get a blood test Xander. To make sure you're not infected with something."
"Hey," he said. "I told you nothing happened."
"Nothing you remember," she replied. "They might have taken advantage of you in your sleep."
Buffy rolled her eyes, "I don't think so Willow. I don't think popular girls like them would want our Xander shaped friend that way." She looked at Xander then added, "No offense."
He smiled back even though he wanted to sigh, "None taken Buffy."
It took a few weeks before the primal spirit started making itself known. It detected traces of another in Xander. A spirit that had been forcefully ejected. Not wanting the same treatment the spirits spent the time becoming truly part of their host. Only once they were bonded so fully that their expulsion would kill or maim the host did they begin to exert their influence.
It started at lunch. Xander started complaining about the meat in the cafeteria being too well done. He became better at dealing with fledgelings and his senses got sharper.
Buffy and Willow considered possession but he wasn't laughing like he had with the hyena and his personality hadn't changed, or at least not much. He became more confident but that could be explained by doing better at staking new fledges. His frame started filling out with muscle and he had more stamina but he was eating better and running around Sunnydale at night, even if just to get donuts. Which surely counted as a workout.
When they noticed Cordelia and the others also acting strangely they finally went to Giles.
"Giles!" Buffy shouted as she ran into the library with Willow right behind her.
"What is it Buffy?" Giles said looking up. He pulled a crossbow out of his desk, "Are you being chased? It is too bright outside for vampires but there are demons who can operate in the daytime."
"No," she said as Willow panted for breath beside her. "Xander stopped eating Twinkies!"
He put the crossbow down, "Oh, for heaven's sake Buffy! I thought something was actually wrong. Xander has been eating healthier lately and obviously exercising too so it's natural that he would stop eating junk food."
Willow shook her head and said, "But it's affecting Cordelia too! She came up to our table and gave Xander a rare Filet Mignon. Like barely cooked! He thanked her and she rubbed her cheek on his then walked away. It was freaky!"
"And he's been seeing better at night," Buffy said. "Last night he ran down a fledge. Normal humans shouldn't do that."
"I wish you had led off with that fact Buffy," Giles said. "If you can get him here after classes I will have a spell ready to check for possession. Try and convince Cordelia as well."
Buffy nodded, "Okay! I'm going back to the cafeteria and see who else is acting freaky!" She took off running.
Willow looked at her and sat down, "Can I have a note to miss next period? I want to see you prepare the spell."
Giles nodded, "Very well."
~
After school that day Xander came in with Cordelia, "Hey Giles? We think something freaky is happening."
"With us and two of my minions," Cordelia said.
"Then Xander noticed the circle of runes Giles had painted on the floor,"Uh Giles, please tell me you drew that and it didn't just appear above the hellmouth."
"I drew it," Giles said. "Buffy told me you chased down a fledge last night so we were a little worried about you."
"I just figured he was slow," Xander said. "I mean, some of them have to be slower than others right?"
"This is to check and see what might be happening," Buffy said. "If it's getting her too then you should both be checked."
"If we have to get naked then I want Buffy and Willow to leave," Cordelia said.
"But you never care who sees you in the gym locker room," Willow said. Then she blushed when Buffy gave her a look.
Cordelia snorted, "I still don't care about you looking at me. I just don't want you drooling over," she paused, swallowed, continued, "doofus here." Then she looked at Giles, "And that's one thing that's wrong. I'm suddenly caring who sees him and who he's looking at."
Giles said, "Well if you will step into the runic circle one at a time I can check you for spells, compulsions, or possessions but you will have to get naked first."
Cordelia scowled then said, "I'll go first. Willow can get her ogle in at me but she has to leave before Xander strips or else." She sent Willow such a nasty look that Buffy stepped between them.
"We can just leave now," Buffy said as Cordelia started undressing. "We'll go find the other two and bring them in for testing."
Willow looked like she was going to protest then she blushed, and nodded, "Yeah, we'll go get the other two girls so they can get naked. I mean tested."
Buffy gave Willow another questioning look then shrugged and left. Willow followed behind, sneaking looks at Cordelia as she left.
After they had all been tested Giles said, "You have become merged with primal spirits. Unlike the hyena spirits that affected Xander and four other students, these seem to have laid low, as it were, until they were absorbed and became part of your life force. If we attempted to remove them now it would kill you."
"Oh great," Cordelia said. "So what do we do and what should we expect?"
Giles nodded, "Well if I report this then the council may help. They have a protocol and a discretionary fund to assist non-threatening primals in remaining well integrated with society. They even have a counselor they send sometimes."
"Really?" Buffy asked.
"Yes," Giles nodded. "They even offer employment to some."
"Because of the physical enhancement?" Buffy asked.
"That and the fact that they are already aware of the supernatural," Giles said.
"So they get more help than the Slayer?" Buffy frowned.
Giles sighed, "There is a faction trying to change that but council policies on the Slayer are thousands of years old. The Primal Protocol as it's called is only a few hundred and was created during the Renaissance, so it's more progressive." He continued, "The other option is to keep it in house, as it were. Not tell the council and do our best to assist you personally. The benefits are you get to remain anonymous. At least as long as you don't do anything like what happened to our previous principal." He winced briefly, "The minuses that you'd be bearing all cost yourselves and have less help adjusting."
The four huddled and discussed it quietly then Cordelia said, "Well as the alpha who isn't being silly about money I am pleased to tell you that we are all finally agreed on the first option, including the King of Cretins here."
"Can I hear it from all of you for the record?" Giles asked.
Xander nodded, "Yeah, I agree. Apparently, the girls are going to take care of me regardless of what I say so I want to go with the option that places the least burden on them and might lead us all to lucrative employment."
Harmony sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I can't see my parents being on board with everything I want to do with my alpha so someone who can either convince them it's normal or show us how to get around them is vital."
"Yeah," Aura agreed. "It's not like we can just hide him in Cordy's pool house while we bring him food and sex. So yeah, bring on the expert."
Giles said, "Very well then, I'll go make that report."
~
When the expert came he showed them how to live with their instincts and control them enough to avoid standing out, at least in Sunnydale. He showed them how to get the most out of their enhancements and also paid them for a record of their experiences to go in the Watcher Archives. Their case was unusual enough that it hadn't happened since they had started the Primal Protocol. Spirits that merged that completely had happened, lion spirits had too but four lion spirits that merged that well into a group were considered very unusual. When their liaison learned they were helping the Slayer he also started paying them bounties on vampires and demons killed. This greatly annoyed Buffy as he wouldn't hear of paying her, saying that for her it was "a sacred duty".
The council's money and contacts also helped when Cordelia's father got caught for tax evasion. They exerted pressure to get her to keep all of her stuff including her car and kept her from having trouble with the Treasury Department when her parents fled the country.
Buffy griped about them being paid but not about having four helpers almost as strong and fast as she was. The Pride all stayed in Sunnydale and helped out until the town was destroyed.