A New Course 
by Mihreia

He woke up in a park.

A suspiciously silent park.

Xander came to his feet slowly, ready to attack anything that came at 
him. Dark eyes scanned the area with keen interest. There were no 
immediate threats nearby, so he relaxed his body. Then he looked down 
at himself and frowned. 
"Okay, I look like I've stood to close to a slayer in action." He 
started dusting off his leather jacket in a leisurely fashion. 
Satisfied that his wardrobe had survived the trip from hell, he 
turned his attention fully on the current problem. 

Xander surveyed his surroundings curiously. He knew something was 
wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was that made him 
feel that way. It was a beautiful night, but then most nights in 
Sunnydale were. Clear sky, stars and moon illuminating everything he 
saw perfectly. The young man briefly wondered if that was why 
vampires continued to come to California despite the high degree of 
sunshine every day. Not a bad idea really. He shrugged. Or it could 
just be the Hellmouth. It was not his problem one way or the other.

Back to what really is your problem, Alex. He was currently standing 
in Wellery Park. Not one of his usual haunts, but after a lifetime of 
wandering through town trying to avoid his parents he knew pretty 
much every place one could go. All the playground toys were in the 
exact same spot they had always stood. Silent, moonlit, deserted, 
what the hell was wrong with this picture? 

There was nobody in sight. He scanned the area again. Nope, not a 
thing moved. And, yeah, okay, mortal people were loony if they 
stepped outside in Sunnydale at night. Nothing weird about that. No, 
it was the lack of non-humans frolicking about that got to Xander.

This was... strange. He wasn't sure yet if it was a good or a bad,
but 
it was at the very least interesting. Xander wondered where all the 
demons were? It was worth investigating further. And it was not like 
he had anything else fun to do now that Willow had left him hanging 
for the blond ditz. Anything he did alone was not half as much fun as 
when he had Willow at his side. Xander truly hated being neglected. 
He'd had enough of that to last him for all time. Xander had just 
never thought Willow would become one of those people he hated for 
doing that to him.

Nope, he was not going back to her this time, not even if she begged 
on her knees. Three strikes and she's out. The brunette knew he was 
pretty much indulgent guy when it came to Willow, but this time she 
had gone too far. She and the smiling bimbo in the mini-skirt could 
go fall on a stake for all he cared. It was time he started being his 
own person. Determined on his new course, Xander started to walk 
towards what he knew to be the more populated parts of town. There 
was sure to be something interesting going on somewhere. After all, 
this was Sunnydale.

Xander grinned evilly, and disappeared into the shadows.