The Long Night of Alexander Harris
By PitViper
Started: 9/23/2006
Completed: 10/31/2006
Rating M – Graphic Violence, Profanity, and Dark Themes. (This should not be read by children under the age of 18.)
Summary: The Powers that Be are more than willing to sacrifice a few pawns and champions to maintain the 'balance'… so what do they really think about Xander, a guy who is more than willing to do whatever it takes to win? – One Shot.
Author's Note: This is Dark. Keep that in mind as you read. A good writer can grab a reader and make them feel a spectrum of emotions, and that's what I'm going for here. I hope you enjoy it, and please tell me how it went. Crossover with Stargate SG-1. This story is not related to Chaos Theory.
Disclaimer: I don't own it. Any of it. Buffy belongs to Mutant Enemy and Twentieth Century Fox. Stargate SG-1 is owned by Double Secret Productions and the Sci-Fi channel.
---
(The Beginning)
Alexander 'Xander' Harris stumbled into the house. The only thing he wanted to do was find a relatively flat surface upon which to collapse and sleep for the next three days. Unfortunately things were not going to conspire to allow him to sleep.
"Xander?" Buffy said in a small, almost frightened voice.
"What's up Buff?" Xander replied tiredly. Closing his one good eye - the eye that hadn't been gouged out by an evil priest – he sighed.
"Well… you see…" Buffy started to stumble over the words. "We got a visit from Whistler. He… he said some things… and you have to move out."
This made Xander's eye widen, "Move out? Out of the house?"
Buffy looked almost bashful as she shook her head, "No… out of the city, actually. Preferably out of the country. Evidently, you're marked."
Xander blinked, "Marked?"
She nodded, "Whistler said that in twenty-four hours, you're going to be the prime target of every demon, witch, and slayer on Earth. If any of us meet up with you, we're going to feel an overwhelming urge to torture and then eventually kill you."
Xander choked, "Why?"
"Because, kid, you fucked up." Whistler said, coming out of a shadowy corner. "You weren't supposed to make it this far – live this long – or enjoy life this much." He turned with a glare at the Slayer, "And you weren't supposed to tell him."
"I just can't let him be killed in cold blood." Buffy yelled, "And you said that it would make us torture him for weeks, maybe even months, on end before we finally killed him."
"Listen here, Slayer. Your job is to obey the Powers. The sooner you learn that, the sooner everyone will be happy." Whistler sighed, "This is his punishment. He has to suffer."
"Why would the powers want me dead?" Xander asked. "I've had a shitty life… and the only thing I've ever wanted to do was help."
"Because kid you've helped too much. You're screwing with the balance. If the good guys win, that opens the door for the final battle. Earth won't last long – both sides will make sure of that. They kinda like the status quo – you know what I mean?" Whistler chuckled coldly, "And you're never going to find peace. The Powers have made it so you'll never see heaven – only the lowest levels of hell are good enough for you. Considering the number of demons you've helped put there… It's going to be a very warm reception. And once each demon has had its pound of flesh… you're going to be placed in your worst nightmare – Eight years old again, that day when your father beat you to within an inch of your life. And that is where you'll spend the rest of eternity."
Giles suddenly appeared out of nowhere, "It's done, you sodding bastard of a demon." Giles took note of Xander's presence and sighed. "Don't fight it Xander… I wish it could be some other way."
The balance demon nodded, "Remember kid, 24 hours. Be seeing ya." He tipped his hat and disappeared.
"What's done G-man?" Xander asked fearfully.
"The Powers have instructed us to… freeze any assets you may have and to… to make you a target of every law enforcement agency on the planet. I'm sorry Xander." He walked up to Xander and whispered in his ear, "If I were you, Xander, I'd go to Colorado Springs and look up Daniel Jackson. I've arranged things so that he can get you somewhere safe. The Powers only have control here on Earth…"
---
It had taken Xander three days to make it to Colorado Springs. Giles had used some of his mojo to erase the knowledge of the set-up from his own mind to ensure the Powers couldn't force him to divulge his whereabouts to his family. And he had also set up a scrying block on him – to ensure that he couldn't be tracked for at least a month.
Now he was sitting on a sofa in Daniel Jackson's apartment, staring wide-eyed at the man across from him.
"We trust Lyra and the Nox. They normally don't want anything to do with us, but they told us specifically to send you across as soon as you came. These Powers are evidently like the Mafia of the upper dimensions. Part enforcers, part businessmen, part gambling authority. It's the last one that has you in trouble, Xander." Daniel paused, "And has us at the SGC pissed. Evidently SG-1 is in nearly the same boat as you – but since we do most of our work off-world, the Powers that Be have no authority to come after us."
"But why me?" Xander asked – it's the only question that he wanted the answer to.
"Because, you messed up the betting pool." Daniel said with a sigh. "Evidently the demons and the higher powers place bets with the Powers that Be. Only instead of money – they invest their own energies. Mystical fields, powers, captured souls; you name it they throw it in the pot. It all gets reduced down to basic energy. If darkness wins, they get the pot. If light wins, they get the pot. If neither wins, the pot goes to the Powers that Be. Because of your interference, some of the celestial powers actually won a game or two they were supposed to lose. And the Powers didn't get all the power they wanted.
"We're not happy about it." Daniel said solemnly, "believe me; we don't like the idea of Ancients and demons and other powers betting on us. That's why we're willing to smuggle you to the Nox. They're quite eager to meet you. And, they don't take part in this betting. Despite the fact that they aren't pure energy, the thought of gambling with life-force energy using other living beings repulses them.
"It seems that the only reason any of us are still alive is that humanity has 'Free Will'. We can choose to do things – unfortunately, when a human accepts help from the Powers or the Ancients or any of the other planar beings they are giving up their free will. That's what allows the Powers and the other races to control their people. That's why they were able to turn your friends against you."
As Xander was mulling over what he'd heard, there was a knock at the door. Daniel moved to go answer it.
In the threshold there was a young brunette woman, looking up at him with doe-eyes. "Is Xander here?"
Daniel furroughed his brow, "Xander?"
The girl sighed, "It's ok. I'm Dawn. Buffy's sister."
Daniel looked back into his living room noticing that Xander had moved – probably to one of the other rooms. "Look, Dawn… I don't know this Xander…"
Dawn sighed again, and pushed her way effortlessly into the room. "Come on out Xander, I'm not here to hurt you. Despite everything, you know the Powers that Pee have no pull over me."
"Look miss…" Daniel started moving to turn her back out the door, but was pushed back a few inches by a burst of psychokinetic energy.
"Please, Doctor Jackson, don't interfere – I mean no harm for now." Dawn said. "But if you try to keep me from him…"
"So how did you find me, Dawnie?" Xander asked, coming out of the kitchen area.
"Easy, actually. The magic that made me is immune to the spells that Giles cast to hide you. Don't worry; I'm not here tonight to lead them to you, or to hurt you in any way. I just… I just can't stay there anymore."
"Why not?" Xander asked, warily. He was holding a kitchen steak knife.
Dawn looked into his eyes, "The Powers are pissed that you're not captured yet. They're changing their champions as punishment. The empowered slayers and witches are… they're turning evil. Corrupt.
"Yesterday Willow cast a torture spell on an innocent who they thought might know you're whereabouts. She… she skinned him alive, Xander. She tortured him… and enjoyed it. Her powers are growing darker by the day. And Buffy… she's stopped patrolling. In fact, she as much said that the slayer within wants to kill innocents more than vamps."
"No… Can't be. Not Buffy." Xander gasped. "Has she? Killed anyone yet?"
Dawn shook her head. "No… but… unless you… you turn yourself into them. The Powers are pissed Xan. Really pissed. They said that if you turn yourself in immediately, they'll only torture you for two years. Maybe three, before sending you to hell."
"Who did they kill?" Daniel asked aghast.
"Some military guy, worked out of the pentagon. A Captain Markson? The powers had given Cordelia a vision that he had knowledge that could lead to Xander." Dawn said, "And right after that they sent her a vision that blew a hole in the back of her skull – because she had resisted telling the others."
"Captain Markson works with Paul Davis – he's the liaison between the Pentagon and the SGC." Daniel mused.
"What happens if I don't turn myself in?" Xander asked.
Dawn swallowed, "If you don't turn yourself in soon… the Powers will have the slayers and witches kill a thousand innocents a day for the next two weeks. After that… open season on everyone whether you come back or not, although they'll be willing to stop once they have their pound of flesh."
"So why are you here Dawn, if not to hurt me?" Xander asked, frightened of what he was hearing.
"The Powers are going to bring about a new dark age for humanity – whether or not you turn yourself in. There's nothing you can do to stop it. They're going to punish humanity for this, and use my family to do it with. I want to go away with you, Xander. I want to go wherever it is you're going."
Daniel frowned at this, "Dawn, we can't take you through… the people we're sending Xander to…"
"Have no power over me." Dawn said firmly. "Besides, I love Xander. He's the only family I've got left, and I'm not going to leave him to face this alone."
---
(Two weeks later)
On the television the reporter is talking calmly while chaos erupts around the city, "…And according to eye witnesses, thousands around the world are being killed in horrific ways – just fifteen minutes ago, a single blonde-haired woman entered the Highland mall outside Cleveland and literally started tearing apart men, women, and children. Two hundred eighty four people, including six police officers, were mauled by the outrageously strong female. Eighty-seven of the victims were children under the age of eight. The mastermind behind all this world-wide carnage is believed to be one Alexander Harris formerly of Sunnydale… its believed that he created some potion or retro-virus to allow these super-strong women to exist…"
Daniel shut off the TV with fury. "As you can see, these 'Powers that Be' are still going off on their warpath. In all honesty, if this keeps up, they'll probably open these hellmouths in the next few days."
"That's it then," Colonel O'Neill said. "We got to get this Harris kid back from the Nox."
"You mean to tell me Jack, that you're willing to let a kid – a honest, hard working, defended the earth from destruction and apocalypse a dozen times, kid, be sacrificed to these 'Powers'?"
"Give me an alternative?" O'Neill said sadly. He didn't want to, he really didn't want to – but if saving the world meant that he had to put a bullet in Charlie's, his own son's, head to save billions of lives… "We can't let this go, Daniel. Like it or not, this kid has the death of almost two hundred thousand people on his hands." O'Neill felt his ire rise, "And you knew this would happen, but didn't tell us."
"Jack, it was the right thing…"
"Bullshit!" Jack slammed his hands onto the table. "We're not angels damn it. We have a moral and ethical responsibility to those people out there. Its simple math: One innocent for six billion. My conscience might not be able to live with it, but I sure as hell will sleep better knowing there aren't people dying out there so this kid can lounge around with the Nox…"
Suddenly a bright flash filled the room, and Thor suddenly appeared. "Greetings Colonel O'Neill."
"Thor… buddy… what's up?" O'Neill said, shaken by the arrival. He had contacted the Asgard about six days earlier to go and retrieve Alexander Harris from the Nox. Given the situation, he had not expected his grey friend to return so soon.
Thor looked distressed. "I'm afraid I must report that the Nox have been eliminated." The collective jaws in the room simply dropped. Thor continued sadly, "Their homeworld was swallowed by a massive spatial distortion. When we arrived, there was a young woman holding a human male in suspended animation – She was floating in deep space in a pressurized energy sphere - She told us to bring her and the male here, to the SGC." Thor touched a button on his command chair.
Dawn and Xander appeared in a flash of light. Dawn was smiling brightly, while Xander's body was contorted in what appeared to be excruciating agony. He was surrounded by a green energy field that appeared to be torturing the young man. Major Carter winced in sympathy as the field distorted and the sound of his forearm breaking cracked through the air. A scream obviously left the boy's mouth, but only silence was heard. Dawn stepped forward with a smile, "Thank you, Asgard. You may leave us. Do not ever return to this world after you've accomplished your task."
"Thor?" O'Neill asked, but was put off by the abrupt apology from the Asgard.
"I am sorry, O'Neill. I had truly hoped to get to know your species better. However, even destruction at the hands of the replicators is a better fate than awaits your people." Thor hit a sequence of buttons. "We will be removing all advanced technology from your planet in the next ten days, and your world will no longer be on the protected planets treaty. I am sorry." With that, Thor disappeared in a flash, and with him so did the Stargate.
Klaxons sounded throughout the base, "The gate has disappeared!" Walther Harriman's voice echoed.
Colonel O'Neill's eyes fell on the young lady who was now giggling. "What the hell…"
"Oh, Colonel, I must thank you. We had been looking for a way to kill those thrice damned Nox for some time now. They alone were preventing us from having a monopoly on the higher planes. Now that they are gone, we can see to it that you Terran humans fall solely under our Jurisdiction. By using your free-will, Colonel, in allowing me to accompany Alexander here, you've destroyed any chance of defeating or resisting our rule.
"I've got to admit, we were thinking it would take us centuries of manipulation to reach this point – where we could take over. But thanks to you and Buffy, we're now in the perfect position. You're cut off from heaven. Hell is but a finger-snap away. And escaping to other worlds through that damned gate of yours is now no longer possible." Dawn smiled darkly. "And Alexander here… the perfect innocent. A good person who has never known true happiness – and thanks to you and everyone else here, never will. All his sacrifices in vein, all his wishes, hopes and dreams – up in smoke, fire, and brimstone. Lots and lots of brimstone." A cheerful giggle followed the last statement, one that pointed to the concept that Dawn was not quite in complete possession of all her marbles.
Daniel's eyes narrowed. The girl had been so innocent, kind and sweet for the few hours he had spent with her. "Why are you doing this?"
"Oh, because I can. Believe me; the Powers have no control over me. But they were able to awaken my knowledge of the universe and my past. Let's just say that I wasn't a particularly nice supernatural force, and leave it at that." Dawn's smile became thin. "Normally, I'd just let you all make whatever peace you could with your gods and kill you before you had a chance to finish your prayers… But the Powers have a special kind of hell awaiting you.
With an air of indifference, though, she continued speaking: "I should hurry, but want to tell a bit of a story first…" Dawn giggled at this, "You know, I'm surprised that Alex here was able to keep me from harming the Nox as long as he did. But it didn't matter in the end. He got to see me kill every single last one of them – right down to the last Nox baby he thought he had hidden so well… I enjoyed every second… ripping her tiny fingers from her hands… ripping her hands from her arms… her arms from her body… then her toes… feet… legs… and finally squashing her tiny little head, using my powers to keep her alive through every second. It was all very thrilling. Something I'd never done before. And that fun had lasted a whole day while Alex watched! Then I gathered all the broken Nox souls and sent them and their world into the worst hell dimension I could think of." The sweet smile on Dawn's face told everyone else that she was truly demented. She had wiped out an entire race, tortured and mamed countless millions, and sent their souls undeservingly to hell. All this by her own choice. Her final words convinced them that she was evil incarnate, "It was fun."
"As I said…" Suddenly the mountain started shaking around them. "I'm just going to collapse all the entrances and such, and take all your toys with me. And your food. You can watch and listen to the TV and such. Its going to be so much fun, watching you guys slowly starve to death. I wonder when the cannibalism will set in; I've marked most of your marines with the trait." Dawn's smile became brighter as the shaking got worse, "Oh well. Have fun!" With that, she and Xander vanished in a portal.
---
(Three years later)
The world was in ruins. There were barely six million people left alive, and there were demons and evil pervading every corner of the Earth.
"Daniel?" Jack asked, his gun pointed at the ground as he looked at the hole he had put in the young woman's forehead. Her blonde hair was now streaked with red and bits of white bone. He kicked the body to be sure it was dead.
"Still with you, Jack." Daniel said his scarred face and grey hair whispering in the wind. There was a mark visible on his chest where a Wraith had tried to suck his life force away. The tattered t-shirt barely covered anything."He should be down in the basement. If he's still alive."
"He better be." Jack growled. "I've not had my words with him. Let's go before the Ori and Goa'uld get here."
---
Xander's good eye opened as the two made their way down the steps. He glanced at Dawn, who was using a dagger to clean blood out from under her fingernails.
Dawn was so absorbed in the act, that she never noticed the two men approach. Fortunately it was over in a second. Jack O'Neill had quickly grabbed her head and twisted it with a sharp yank. Dawn's delicate neck snapped with a sickening sound.
Xander tried to speak, but his jaw had been broken in too many places and not healed properly. As he looked into the eyes of his rescuers, however, he saw no compassion hidden there.
"Well, here we are, Mr. Harris." O'Neill started, "I hope you're happy. Six billion…" He looked over at Dawn's cooling corpse, "And one, dead. The rest might as well be. I hope you're proud of yourself."
'This is it,' Thought Xander, 'I get to die, finally. I may be going to hell, but I was already there, so at least it will be a change in scenery.'
Xander closed his eye, but was suddenly brought back to attention when a vicious slap came across his face. "No, no you don't! You don't get to fucking die. You don't have that luxury. At least not the fuck yet. You've had it good here… got the shit kicked out of you, granted… but you had it good compared to what the world had to suffer. We searched for years to find this piece of ancient tech, and now we're going to use it."
"It will send your consciousness back in time and into your body. At that point, you commit suicide," Daniel instructed, noting the unbelieving stare coming from the young man. Of course, he hardly cared anymore. He'd seen and experienced such horrors over the last three years... His heart had grown cold a long time ago. So he continued, "and everybody lives happily ever after, because this timeline won't exist." Daniel said matter-of-factly. "Unfortunately, you'll still end up in hell. But the rest of us won't." Despite the 'Unfortunately', something in Daniel's tone made Xander think that this man would gladly eat popcorn while watching him suffer in hell.
"Or you can fuck us all over, and not change a thing. We won't know." Jack said viciously. "You just have to decide what's more important, your soul or the Human race. You know, I watched a group of feral, starving marines eat my Second in Command, Major Carter while she was still alive. They ate her in front of me while I was tied to a chair. I loved her, you know? Like I said, you can fuck us over if you want."
He attached the ancient device and used his will to activate it. "Either way, you know the score now. I know you're a good kid, lord knows I wish I could change what has to be. But…" Jack stopped, "It's either you or the rest of the world and, no offense, I would rather have the rest of the world than you. Just remember, if you choose not to do what we told you, we'll be having this conversation again… and again… and again…" With that, the device activated and Alexander Harris went back in time.
---
(Three years, Two weeks, and two days earlier…)
"I can't believe he's gone." Buffy said, looking at the grave. It was unmarked. Whistler said that it had to be unmarked. Whistler had said that the Powers would not allow his bones to be consecrated, or his soul to find rest. His memory had to be tarnished and that there would be a spell to turn their memories from ones of love into memories of hate. She was fighting it, but could feel the inexorable force of the spell twisting her memories of her former friend.
"He committed suicide, Buffy." Giles spoke harshly. "It's a deadly sin. He is going to be condemned for all eternity." He spat on the grave, "He should be condemned for all eternity. Basically, he's just undid every last bit of good he's ever done. I knew we shouldn't have kept him in our group. And to think I wanted to think of him as a son – even after the way he buggered us all…" The stuffy British man sniffed. "Come now, let's forget about him and go have a nice cup of tea." Obviously the memories Giles possessed were being tainted faster than Buffy's.
Buffy shivered uncontrollably – she wanted to pay her final respects to Xander, but couldn't. The spell the Powers created to drive Harris from their minds was working its magic, replacing Xander's love with a deep, empty hatred of him. She knew that Willow, too, would visit his gravesite. But the spell was unstoppable… and eventually she'd cave in too and start hating Alexander Harris.
In time all that would be left of the life of Alexander Harris would be hate-filled memories replacing those of the love and heart he brought to the team. And the worst of it – they would never remember it being otherwise.
---
Whistler smiled from a distance, and looked up to the sky. "Well, it seems like the betting is about to resume. Too bad I can't get in on it. Without Harris, Buffy doesn't stand a chance. I'd give it two weeks, but you never can be sure."
"Alexander Harris was an anomaly. Hopefully there won't be too many like him in the future. After a few more centuries of apathy these people will be primed to be ours," said a glowing being as he watched the balance demon next to him. "We would have had it all if O'Neill hadn't interfered. How he found that time-mind insertion device is beyond me. Fortunately we were able to sufficiently affect him to ensure that Harris eliminated himself. The underworld can handle only one O'Neill after all."
"Yes, quite right. So how is Harris, anyways?"
"Oh, I'm having fun with him. Eventually the big cheese will realize what we've done and yank him up to heaven – or at least limbo. Nice with that not giving him last rites and consecrating the grounds, that should keep the big G off our tails for at least a dozen years. And tell the Powers that spell is great. Even if he does make it to that big pie in the sky; nobody there's going to give a rat's ass about him. Imagine the look on God's face when he finds a lynch mob going after Harris in heaven? So for the next few centuries I'll have some entertainment. How about you? Are you happy to know that your ribcage won't be used as a hat after the Slayer is gone?"
"Ecstatic." Whistler smiled, "And you Lucy? Happy to have your new toy?"
"Never happier. After all, how many truly innocent souls does one get the chance to torture?" He said, looking into the distance. "Put me down for five low-level souls on the slayer. I think she still has some kick left in her."
"Gotcha." Whistler said. "Well, got to get going. Peace-out."
The glowing being laughed, "Later, Gator."
---
Author's Notes: Just a quick, dark fic. I think it reflects a lot about the world around us, and about how sometimes, no matter how hard we try, there is no way to win or to make things better. I hope I captured that frustration here. We are, all of us, slaves to circumstance – and sometimes the cost for trying to escape this fate is far too high to pay. Please review.
I hope you enjoyed it,
P.V.