Chapter 5: Death-Adjacent Experience

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Bleach (I Hope Tomorrow's a Better Day)
Chapter Summary: Xander rejoins the world of the living.
Word Count: 630
Rating: Gen
Notes: I might've fudged the year for The Mummy a little.

          Despite how long it takes, Giles eventually finds an ancient Egyptian scroll with a close enough spell.  Riley and Buffy have already fallen asleep (on each other’s shoulders, how cute) and Spike is yawning himself although that might just be boredom.  Willow’s still driven in a way that’s only meant magic, recently, though Xander would like to think it’s more to do with the fact that she’d rather him not be dead.  Apparently, creatures related to Ahemait Soul-Eater liked to wander around, pull people’s souls out of their bodies, and, to everyone’s great surprise considering the name, eat them, but Osiris could be called upon to put the soul back rather than go through Judgement.  Xander doesn’t like to think about that, as it’s just kind of vaguely terrifying.
          “As long as I don’t have to end up looking like Imhotep, I’m cool,” he states nervously, knowing that no one but Spike’s going to be able to hear him and, oh yeah, he probably shouldn’t be voicing his doubts and fears to an evil vampire anyway.
          Xander does notice the anticipation turns to disappointment when Willow isn’t given much of a role, but she’s still fidgeting.  Honestly, he should probably be paying more attention, himself, but even his weirdness meter is overloaded by this point.
          He’s shivering, suddenly.  It feels like he’s just going to keep shivering, like he’s never going to be warm again.
          He’s falling.  It feels like he’s falling, anyway.  And coughing, because he suddenly needs to breathe and that’s air and—
          And Willow’s pulling him to his feet.  He’s still moving slowly, sluggishly, like the body’s not quite his own, but that’s ridiculous, because it seriously is his body.  It takes him a few moments to get his mouth to work, at which point all the words just start pouring out.  “You can understand me, right?  I mean, I’m speaking English?  Because if I’m not you’re gonna have to learn Japanese and I’m going to have to learn English all over again and Ms. Miller’ll put on her disappointed face again, but—”
          “It’s mostly English,” Willow reassures him before smacking his shoulder hard.  The pain actually is nice, because it tells him that he’s actually alive.  “You’re not allowed to do that again, mister.  You scared me and I thought you were going to die, too, and it’s really nice having Buffy around too, but you’re my Xander friend and I can’t lose my Xander friend…”
          “I was just walking home from the store.  Which reminds me, my snacks are probably toast,” he frowns, before he sees the bright side of that.  “…On the other hand, I am not toast, which is all of the good.  This shirt is ruined, though, which sucks because it was one of my favorites, but between a shirt and my life I’d pick my life…”
          “I understand why some parents wrap their kids in bubble wrap because they don’t want to see them hurt and also maybe vampires and demons might follow Ghostbusters rules and not mess with you if they actually think you’re one hundred percent insane…”
          They’re both stuck in babble mode, and neither of them is probably going to stop anytime soon.
          “Welcome back,” Giles states quietly, actually looking a little relieved himself, and a little exhausted as well.
          Buffy wakes with a start, elbows Riley awake, and pulls Xander into a near bone-crushing hug, ignoring him and Willow yammering on about anything and everything.
          Oddly, Spike just seems…empty?  Expressionless, but there’s something there.  There’s no need to worry about it now, though.  He barely has enough brain-power to make sure he can walk home and collapse in his lovely home sweet basement, accompanied by the others.  To make sure he doesn’t get jumped again, probably.