Hello, everyone, and welcome to my first foray into Buffy-dom. Not much to say here, except that this is only a prologue to get your mouth watering. I have a very busy schedule, as well as two other fanfics on this site, so I can't promise regular updates, but please, put me on your alerts just in case.

I would like to warn you that I haven't seen Buffy in years, and even then, I wasn't a Buffy-buff, and more of a casual Watcher. I am, however researching via Wiki and the Dialogue DataBase, to make sure nothing flubs. However, one can never be too careful with things of this import, so if anyone wants, I really wouldn't mind having a beta to make sure the continuity remains.

This story, as you will undoubtedly notice, begins in the gap between the end of season three and season four. It is quite AU, as the incident depicted here will change Xander's role in the Scooby Gang extensively.

Another warning I feel I owe you people is that this will be Buffy/Xander. No Buffy/Spike, no Buffy/Angel, no emphasis on any Buffy/Riley, and absolutely no arguments. Hopefully, that is as clear as it has to be.

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy. Nor do I own Xander, or Willow, or anyone and anything from the BuffyVerse. Shame, that.

Xander Displaced

By: Daniel Goldberg

Prologue: Leaving Sunnydale

Alexander "Xander" Harris shut the door of his car as he sat himself inside it and turned the ignition. Well, technically, it's uncle Rory's car, but that's beside the point. The point being that he was now going off on his own, on a cross-country trip to find himself. That he was finally getting away from the creepies and crawlies in Sunnydale, if only for a few short months, was simply a bonus.

He had been sure, for a long, long time, that he was destined to never leave Sunnydale – that his well below average GPA and debatable 'non-uniqueness' meant he'd never leave his Hellmouth-Holding Hometown, But not anymore.'Harris, comma, Xander' is leaving Sunnydale at long last. Sure, I'll be back before October, but it's still a lot of quality 'Me time'.

He shifted into gear and slowly edged the gas pedal down. This car was old; Well-preserved, but old. No need to hasten its demise with overzealous… zealousness. Not if I want to make it past Oxnard, at least. Slowly, cautiously (but not wimpily), he accelerated, and drove in silence for a while, until he reached the edge of the town. As he accelerated more and more, he smirked when his eyes caught the large sign posted at the exit.

'You are now leaving Sunnydale,

Come back soon.'

"I'll be back soon enough, oh place-that-is-my-home," He thought aloud, "But, for the next couple of months, it's 'Goodbye, Sunnydale,' and 'Hello, U.S of-'"

He didn't manage to finish the sentence, as, out of nowhere, a swirling blue vortex appeared on the road. He pushed his foot down on the breaks so hard he was sure he was going to burst through the floor, but to no avail – he and his car were swallowed within it. Not taking even a second to look at his surroundings, he shoved the car into reverse and pushed the pedal down as far as it would go. Looking back he could see the road he'd been driving on, only the portal was clearly closing itself up. He gunned it, but it became all too clear that there was no hope, when the portal closed entirely, just as he was about to reach it.

But this was not the worst of it; so focused was Xander on the vortex, that he failed to notice that he was, in fact, backing off towards the edge of a cliff. And as he went hurtling over the edge, he could only think one thing.

Well, He though, as he was swiftly sailing through the slightly blue-tinted air, at least I'm not in Oxnard.

Well, that's it for my first foray into the BuffyVerse. If there are any suggestions you'd like to make, feel free to make them. As for what to expect later on, I can't promise anything. I can only say that, whatever the outcome may be, it will most definitely be interesting. Oh, and that, eventually there will be a lot of Xander/Buffy fluff, and maybe even some smut, if we make it that far.

Here's hoping, anyway.

Next Chapter: The year of Buffy's fourth season goes by. Glimpses of The Scoobies, sans-Xander, and of Xander, wherever the Hell (And I do mean that literally) he ended up.

See you soon,

Daniel Goldberg