"Why do you seem to trust me more than any of the other Titans?"
"Because you understand more about the nature of Demons."
"But I am part demon."
"Half, but more importantly, you have a soul."
"So does the Joker."
"Can we just do this?"
"I'm just saying, I know about demons, but being with the Titans has taught me a lot about the world of humans."
"Now you're sounding like Starfire," Xander growled. He grabbed at his mask, a piece covering from just under his hair down over his cheeks, leaving his hair and his face from the nose down exposed. He grabbed it as one piece and yanked it off and looked up at her. "I'm begging you to just drop it."
"You wanted my help, it comes with my advice, which is maybe you should take some time to reconsider this Joker Issue…"
Xander opened his mouth, then closed it, "Fine, I'll give it some more thought, just not this second." He held up the mirror, "I'm actually kinda scared of what I'll find in here."
Raven sighed and took his hand with the mirror in it; the two of them were pulled inside…
"Noo," Xander groaned… He looked around and in his mindscape was Sunnydale high, looking much like it did before it was destroyed the first time, except also including the construction site he'd been working on before it was destroyed the second time, and beneath, a transparent ground showing the crater that Sunnydale became. He did a double take as he spotted a shadow looming inside the crater. He looked down and saw the outline of stairs form their way down towards it.
"What is this place?"
Xander put a hand to his forehead, "Every high school kid thinks their high school is hell, mine really was- sitting on top of it," he chuckled, "The Mouth of Hell anyway."
"Your high school was built on top of a Hellmouth," Raven stared in disbelief.
Xander nodded and started down the stairs that had now finished forming. At the bottom was a room mimicking the basement of the rebuilt high school. He looked around and saw three different versions of himself. The real Xander quirked an eyebrow as he examined them. One was sitting against the wall with a cold, brooding look of shame in a blue sweater. Xander opened his mouth to speak his disgust when he looked at the side of him in the corner-
"OH MY GOD!" he rushed over, "Are you alright?"
He was cowered in the corner, blood dripping from his missing eye onto the tasteless green and red Hawaiian shirt. He sniffled as if he'd just recently stopped crying, "I'm alright I guess, just-"
He looked around as if looking out for someone specific, he gasped spotting the Xander dressed in black leather with the vamped out face. "I just scared the pants off him, happens all the time in daylight, I have to stick around down here."
Xander shook his head in a mix of confusion and disgust, "No- but- I never!"
"Jessie man, he stirred the part of you that wanted to be me, oh sure, you've kept me well under control, but I'll always be here, waiting for you to weaken, I almost had it when Dracula had you in his Thrall"
Another Xander came in chuckling, dressed as he was shortly before transforming into a Demi-fiend. "You keep saying that, but it's not likely to happen in this world… Especially not with the newcomers…"
"Newcomers?"
"Your new 'Fiend' side… and-… and an older one, given new form…"
"Oh?"
"Yeah, but you don't want to meet him right now, it's his turn to-" Leader Xander suddenly hushed.
"Might as well tell him, no use hiding what he's already caught wind of," Brooding Xander muttered.
"You could have at least given me time to come up with a cover story!"
"Sorry," Bleeding Xander mumbled.
"Not you, gah…"
"I'm hiding something from myself-how does that work?"
"Part memory suppression, part denial," Vamp Xander rattled off a couple more reasons, ticking each one off with a finger and his other hand, "Part childhood trauma, part insanity, and lastly, part you never really knew what it meant anyway."
"What what meant?"
Vampire Xander chuckled, "You'll see… Eventually anyway, certainly not something that could be hidden forever anyway…"
"Okay, now you're pissin' me off," Xander growled.
"So stake me," he mocked.
"Don't tempt me," Xander spat.
"Let's keep looking," Raven took Xander's shoulder, "No good will come from fighting yourself at this stage…"
"If ya' see 'em, say hi to dog face and dog breath for me," Vamp Xander mused.
Xander sighed in annoyance, but moved back towards the stairs. "I hate vampires," he muttered under his breath.
"But clearly there are aspects of them you admire; his existence is proof of that."
Xander grumbled some more under his breath, Raven only caught some of what he was saying, "Brooding… … Whining… … Pedophilic... … Bastards…"
Raven quirked an eyebrow, but decided this wasn't the time to ask for clarification. "So where do you want to look next?"
"If I'm hiding something from myself, I could try a place I tend to avoid?" He sighed and started towards the school proper.
"Where?"
"Gym…"
A blue 57 Chevy Bel Aire pulled up with another Xander in the driver's seat, purple Hawaiian shirt, black suede jacket, oversized sunglasses and a silver cross on a thick but short chain. "If you're new, shouldn't you be wearing your mask?"
"I'm theXander, I'm exploring my mind."
Car-Guy Xander chuckled, "Welcome to your world…" With that he drove off.
Xander put a hand to his head in annoyance, "Useless…" he muttered. He turned back to the school and walked in. In the hallway he spotted another him and immediately groaned in annoyance. Little angels wings and a diaper looked bad on Xander, the bow and quiver with arrows helped a little, but Cupid Xander looked like a moron…
"Oh hi Raven," Cupid Xander said as he looked up, "You think you could hook me up with your green side? Pink side's probably a little too needy," he chuckled and knocked an arrow, aiming for Raven. Xander sighed and grabbed Cupid Xander's arm and lowered it.
"We're not here for that sort of thing…"
Cupid Xander shrugged and danced off singing a few overly detailed fantasies, leaving Xander even more embarrassed. Raven walked up and set a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, I've heard worse…"
"Come on, the Gym is this way…"
"Do you really think you'll find what they're hiding in the Gym?"
"Maybe, if not I ought to find something there- I have way too many bad memories of the Gym…"
As he came up to the door a dodgeball came flying out. Xander managed to catch it and sigh, he pushed open the door and gawked…
In the Gym Soldier Xander, dressed exactly as he was on Halloween was sparing with a hybrid humanoid Hyena Xander. On the court Dodgeballs were flying in all directions. Swim Team Xander, complete with scales got up out of the pool to grab a glass of lemonade…
Xander shut the door and turned away with a blank expression…
"What?"
"Just, never mind, I told you I have a lot of bad memories of the Gym…"
Xander started to walk away; Raven peeked in the window of the doors and shook off a puzzled look before following him. "Where to now?"
"Library."
"What's in the Library?"
"Everything," Xander picked up his pace a bit, realizing the truth in his own words.
He shoved open both doors dramatically. Inside at a bookcase was a Xander in a tweed suit looking at books, sitting at the table with his legs resting on it was Xander dressed in a vest and hat with Press on it, a camera set on the table in front of him, sitting across from him was Xander in a red shirted Star Fleet Uniform, most like the one worn by Kirk in the later movies, with the white rimmed, sweater-like collar, he was reading a comic, but sitting more respectfully.
"Where are they hiding," he asked the room in a demanding tone.
"Downstairs," the relaxed 'Zeppo' Xander answered. Turning and looking past the table was a gaping hole in the library floor, something like what Willow had described to him.
Stepping carefully, Xander slipped himself through the hole and into what now looked like the Master's lair, complete with the same puddle he'd found Buffy in years before. He looked over and saw himself, without the DemiHawk outfit, but complete with the glow-in-the-dark pattern on his skin. Arguing with him was another Xander, with white make-up and scars that mimicked the Joker's.
"Why don't you ever trust me alone in here?"
"Would you," Demon Xander countered…
"Okay Okay, but you know I wouldn't bother, it's no fun in here…"
"Just yesterday you took Zeppo Xander and strung him up by his film roll…"
Joker Xander chuckled, "That was fun, and the whole time he was just screaming, 'I'm not really Jimmy Olson'."
Xander stepped in. "Your job is officially over, no more hiding things…"
"Works for me," Joker Xander said as he made like he was heading for the door, as he knocked his shoulder against Xander's, "No, wait- I lied, that's not good enough," he shoved Xander back against a cavern wall.
Xander pushed him back away, then reached for his utility belt. Joker Xander grabbed Xander's wrist and pulled him off the wall, then threw him toward the other side. Xander moved to attack as well as Joker Xander. Demon Xander just stood watching, while Raven sighed and threw up a black wall between them both.
"What's hidden here," Raven asked.
"You really don't want to know," Joker Xander told him. "Last time you knew it really messed with you," he chuckled, "You stole Willow's Barbie."
"What," Xander was puzzled. "What did I find out?"
"You met your grandma," another voice said. "On your mother's side." The other Xander walked up to where the Master couldn't pass for ages. He opened a pair of dragonfly looking wings and set his hand at the threshold, and pushed passed it. "Remember now?"
"Oh god…"