Title: Sam Never... Leaped into a Dhampir
Author: Lucidscreamer
Fandoms: Quantum Leap & Vampire Hunter D
Pairing: None
Rating: K
Warning(s): One-shot
Disclaimer: Quantum Leap is the creation of Donald Bellasarius. Vampire Hunter D is the creation of Hideyuki Kikuchi.
Author's Note: This will be a collection of one-shots around the theme of "Leaps Sam Beckett never made." I had a few of these languishing on my hard-drive as the starts to stories that were never going to get written, so I decided to polish them up and post them as self-contained little ficlets. I didn't put a number in the title (such as "Five Leaps Sam Never Made") because I figured more ideas might occur to me somewhere down the road. Or not. At any rate, I hope you enjoy these little "Leaps that never happened."
The energy of the Leap released Sam. He lifted his head to take in his new surroundings, and had to squint against the blinding white sunlight reflecting off the seemingly endless sea of dunes stretching away in every direction. The only shade came from the wide brim of the hat he was wearing, but even that gave little relief from the relentless heat.
Something shifted beneath him. Looking down, Sam was astonished to find himself astride a jet black horse. The bits of the saddle he could see were worn, the leather rubbed smooth with use. The hand which loosely held the reins was slender and finely boned, the skin as pale as if it had never known sunlight. His arms and legs were encased in some sort of black armor, and a cape of the same color brushed against his thighs.
The desert landscape was empty and eerily quiet. The only sounds were the soft plodding of the horse's hooves on the sand, the creak of the saddle, and the gentle susurration of the playful breeze that tugged at his cape and teased long chestnut hair into his face. Switching hands on the reins, Sam brushed his hair back from his face.
"Ugh," grouched a voice from seemingly out of nowhere. "I wish you wouldn't do that. You know how I hate the taste of leather!"
Sam froze, his right hand still lifted to his ear. He twisted in the saddle, but there was no one else in sight. And, anyway, the voice had been disturbingly close. Almost as it had come from-
Slowly, he turned his left hand over and opened his fingers.
A grotesque face stared up at him from his palm.
Sam choked. The hand squinted in apparent surprise at his reaction. The world spun dizzily around him. His vision grayed out at the edges. He slid helplessly from the saddle, the broad-brimmed hat tumbling from his head as his feet left the stirrups.
As he hit the ground, he heard the gruff voice say, "Well, that's a first..."
Lying flat on his back, staring up at the bleached sky and clinging to consciousness only by his metaphorical fingernails, Sam heaved a trembling sigh. He had a feeling he'd bypassed Kansas and Oz, and ended up on the weirder side of Wonderland - a feeling that was confirmed when his left hand raised up of its own accord and smirked at him.
"You," it said in a gloating tone, "are a rather unexpected development. Want to tell me who you are and what you've done with D?"
Oh, boy, Sam thought. And let go.