Thanks to Zeon, Gregdoreza, Majin Gojira, Aurora, Dracowar, JWolf, Ckk, Sepharih, HolyKnight, Dogbertcarroll, Smeghead, TopQuark, and YoraththeWolf for the reviews, the feedback is greatly appreciated. I think this is the only story I've written so far where I've had more reviews for the second posting that the first, so thanks again to everyone who reviewed!
Majin Gojira: No, Xander will most certainly not be turning into an unkillable uber-hero. I will do my best to avoid that.
Aurora: Thanks and read on, you'll see how I explained it.
Sepharih: I am not going to eliminate Xander but he will certainly be more than he was. Remember, he kept the memories and training of the soldier so he will do the same for MC.
HolyKnight: Read on and find out.
Davis: Nah I never really considered crossing Mechwarrior because it is too machine oriented. However if you have an idea you should write it, you can probably see an angle I can't.
YoraththeWolf: Thank you for the in depth review, I greatly appreciate that you took the time to write such a long one. Read on, your questions will be answered by the chapter.
A quick note, I know some of the history behind the MC but I haven't finished the book yet, so if I made any glaring mistakes let me know and I'll do my best to correct them. Well, that's all for now so on with the story!
Chapter 3
"Cortana?" Xander asked. He looked down at his armour, realizing that it felt different, hell, he felt different.
"Chief? Is that you?" Cortana asked, her voice hopeful.
"I'm Xander." He replied, resisting the odd urge to reply 'yes.' "What's going on?"
"Long story short everyone turned into their costumes." Cortana replied. ""Listen, you need to be very careful, this armour can be extremely dangerous."
"I don't understand." Xander replied. "This is just a costume, how can it even support your program?"
Xander began to turn in the direction of Buffy's house but Cortana shouted, "Stop! Look this may have been a costume when you bought it but it isn't anymore." Cortana said. "This is the real deal, MJOLNIR armour, and to be honest I'm surprised you can even stand."
"What's the big deal?" Xander asked, starting to feel panicked.
"Just cool it." Cortana said soothingly. "The suit is almost symbiotic. It acts like an integrated part of your nervous system. However, it also heightens your reaction times and reflexes to a speed that is actually dangerous. Every move oyu make had to be controlled, precise, and above all, slow. If you just move normally you risk actually killing yourself."
Xander took a deep breath and focused, trying to move at the same speed as the tai chi masters he had seen on TV. Even trying to move slowly, Xander found himself walking at a normal clip. He could feel the power of the suit as he moved. "So this is why Master Chief can flip over a Warthog."
"Master Chief is as much machine as man." Cortana replied. "He couldn't do a tenth of what he does without this suit, though to any normal human this suit is a deathtrap. He must have left you a few gifts."
"What do you mean, gifts?" Xander asked, approaching the door.
"Spartans were originally handpicked because they exhibited the best of what the human race had to offer in terms of strength, speed and mental ability at an early age." Cortana explained. "However they underwent a series of injections and operations which increased their bone density, vision, muscle mass and reflexes. Only a Spartan can survive in MJOLNIR armour."
"I see." Xander said, gasping as he opened the door and very nearly ripped it from its' hinges. "I really don't like this suit." He commented.
"The more accustomed you get to it the easier the suit becomes to use." Cortana replied. "Soon you won't use your body at all, it's almost like you're along for the ride."
"I have to get out of this suit." Xander said. "I'm terrified of moving too fast!"
At that moment, Buffy, Angel and Willow walked through the door. "Xander!" Willow called from behind her ghost sheet. "Are you okay?"
"I'm Xander, but I don't know if I'm okay." Xander replied.
"What's going on?" Angel asked.
"It looks like whatever power brought me here left your friend Xander with a few parting gifts." Cortana said. "I would be one of them."
"Cortana?" Willow asked, her mouth wide. "Then that means, ohmygodXanderthatmeansthatthearmourisrealyouarewearingmasterchiefsarmourandwowthatissocoolbutwasn'theacyborg-"
"Willow!" Xander called. "Calm down. Yes, the armour is real. On a side note I would like to add I have no idea how anyone could fight an army in this thing it's almost impossible to move normally in. So can we make the first priority getting me out of here before I pass out?"
"It's not hard to get out of." Cortana explained. "I'll deactivate the major systems for you, then just reach up and pull the helmet off when I tell you to."
An orangish yellow ring appeared just above Xander's head and moved quickly down his body, then vanished at his feet. "There, the shield is off, you can take then helmet off now, there's a small tab on either side you need to find."
Xander reached up and felt the sides of the helmet, then found a tab on each side just big enough to be pressed by his armoured hands. He pressed in on both simultaneously and heard the hiss of air escaping from the pressurized suit. He pulled up and slid the helmet over his head, then placed it on the table and took several gulps of fresh, unfiltered air. Immediately Xander felt the rest of the suit go slack.
"Now just twist each arm a little at the top, they'll slide off too." The helmet, which contained Cortana instructed. Xander complied and slid the arms off the suit, then slid the armoured vest that made up the torso over his head and dropped it to the floor.
"It's not so easy to get out of the legs." Cortana explained. "Get your friends to give you a hand." Buffy and Angel moved to either side and lifted Xander, who slid his legs out of the bottom half of the suit, which remained standing, albeit slumped, of its' own accord. As soon as they set him down, Xander dropped to his knees. His gym shirt and shorts were soaked with sweat.
"Wow Xander have you been working out?" Buffy asked.
"Huh?" Was Xander's reply. He then looked down and saw that his normally baggy shirt was tight across his chest. He could see the outline of muscles that had definitely not been there before, and his arms were noticeably bigger.
"Wow Xander you look incredible!" Willow said, eyeing Xander up. She stopped smiling however when she saw the look on his face, one of total fear.
"What's happening to me?" Xander asked meekly.
"So the spell made you a little bigger, is that a bad thing?" Buffy asked.
"That's not all it did." Xander said, shaking his head. "It's like I'm back, but I have all this stuff in my head I didn't even know before. I have all this knowledge in my head, memories that aren't mine. I didn't just play Halo I was there. I was in the thick of it. It's like I'm still me but I'm something else too, I'm not even sure what I am anymore, am I even human?" Xander looked himself over again. "I don't even know who I am anymore. It's like I'm Xander, but I'm also Master Chief."
"Xander I felt the same way when I found out I was the Slayer." Buffy said, giving him a reassuring look. "I wondered who I was, what I was. But in the end it's what's inside that counts, so try not to worry, it will be okay."
"Sorry to interrupt but what exactly is going on here?" Cortana asked. "Can someone tell me where, and more importantly, when we are?"
"I've been meaning to ask this for a while now, but why is the helmet talking?" Angel asked.
"It's not the helmet it's Cortana." Willow explained. "She's a sentient computer program, right now she's just inside the helmet. Anyways Cortana, it's 1997. We're in a small town called Sunnydale California."
"Hmm strange I've never heard of that town." Cortana replied. "Can we get me into a computer, where I can access more information?"
Willow paled. "You want to get into the Internet?"
"Did I say something wrong?" Cortana asked.
"Nothing personal Cortana it's just that last year a demon managed to get into the Internet and it tried to kill Willow." Buffy explained.
"A demon, right." Cortana replied wryly. "What like some kind of sentient virus?"
"Cortana things work a little differently here." Xander said. "We don't fight grunts and elites, we fight demons and vampires."
"What is this place?" Cortana asked.
"I don't think it's just the past, I think Cortana is from a different reality or something." Willow said. "After all, Halo is a video game here."
"What?" Cortana asked.
Xander nodded. "And a pretty damned accurate one too, from what I can remember anyway. We should get the library, maybe G-man knows something about this."
----------
Buffy, Willow, Angel and Xander had all made their way to the library after stopping quickly at Xander's house so he could change out of his gym clothes, though his clothes fit him a little tighter than before. They brought the armour along as well, thinking that Giles might want the chance to examine it. They walked through the doors of the library to see Giles drinking a cup of tea.
When he saw the armour and Xander's new muscles, he very nearly sprayed them all with a mouthful of tea. "Good lord Xander, what happened to you?"
"Was hoping you might be able to tell us, G-man." Xander replied. "The spell ended but for some reason I didn't change back all the way."
"Excuse me, but could someone move me to that computer over there?" The helmet Buffy was carrying asked.
"That would be Cortana." Xander explained to Giles. "She stayed here too."
Buffy carried the helmet and set it beside the computer. A yellow beam flew from the helmet to the back of the computer and a moment later an image Cortana appeared on screen. "Wow, this stuff is ancient." Cortana commented. "If I were a megalomaniac, which I'm not by the way, I would have no trouble basically taking over the Internet in about a minute."
"Are you sure we can trust her?" Giles asked.
"I'm programmed to serve the human race." Cortana replied. "Well, specifically UNSC but Xander is the closest thing to that here, so trust me. Even if I wanted to hurt you, the worst I could do is be of no help."
A purple light flared behind the image of Cortana. "Okay, let's see." She commented. "History seems pretty much the same here, with a few small exceptions. Hehe, Red vs. Blue. Chief would get a kick out of that. The occult has a much larger following here than it does in my reality."
"That's because it's more than just myth here." Giles explained.
"There seems to be a connection between this town and something called a Hellmouth. Is that what it sounds like?" Cortana asked.
"Exactly what it sounds like." Giles said. "We're standing on a doorway to Hell, or a hell dimension anyway."
"Some of these demons are pretty tough looking. How do you guys fight them?" Cortana pressed.
"Search for the word Slayer." Buffy supplied.
"Slayer, eh? Let's see here. In every generation there is a chosen one-"
"She alone possesses the strength and skill blah blah blah." Buffy said. "That's me."
"This is just too weird." Cortana said. "Half the programs that were normally the beginnings of interplanetary travel don't exist, even though they should. And at the same time, my entire reality has been compressed down into a video game."
"I'm sorry." Willow said. "It must be weird to be ripped out of your world like that. I don't think any of us even considered how you might feel."
"You'd be surprised how much that happens even in my own reality." Cortana replied wryly. "Don't worry about it, I'll be okay."
"Giles, do you have any idea why Cortana is still here?" Buffy asked.
Giles began cleaning his glasses. "Well, perhaps. It seems that the events earlier tonight were caused by an old… acquaintance of mine." Giles said, trying to control his anger. "In order to stop the spell I had to smash a statue, but he mentioned something about a door being opened, perhaps it was a door to an alternate dimension."
"A dimension where Halo is real?" Xander asked skeptically.
"Actually it's theorized that there are an infinite number of dimensions, and therefore an infinite number of possibilities." Cortana pointed out.
"But why would only you be pulled here?" Xander asked.
"Well, every other costume was based on something from this reality, right?" Willow said. "Maybe in order to work the spell had to pull Cortana and Master Chief from this alternate reality, or at least copy them."
"But still, why didn't she get sent back?" Xander asked. "All the grunts and the elite changed back."
The room fell silent as everyone thought about it. "I have a couple of theories." Cortana said finally. "My first is that since in this reality, Master Chief and I are the focal point, the most iconic and central characters, we are just the first to stay. As time goes on, less important characters or objects will make their way through."
"I certainly hope not." Giles said. "That would be catastrophic."
"What's your other theory?" Willow asked.
"Well, we might not have got sent back because of… me." Cortana said sheepishly. "Think about it. When it was all over, everyone resumed control of their own bodies, including Xander. But I didn't possess anyone; I came into this reality as an independent entity."
"So what?" Buffy said. "When the spell ended, everything should have gone back to normal."
"Perhaps the spell wasn't designed to take any form of life." Giles said.
"Right, which I guess I qualify as." Cortana agreed. "But for me to survive, or at least reamin in this reality, the suit has to remain real, because the costume has no computer systems."
"And for Xander to survive in the suit, he would have to be a Spartan." Willow added. "Of course, it's all just a chain reaction."
"That doesn't mean that my other theory isn't true too." Cortana said.
"I will have to consult my books." Giles said. "This certainly is a peculiar situation, even for us."
"I'm going to head home." Xander said, checking his watch and seeing that it was already after midnight. "Cortana you want to go back in the armour?"
"No I'm good." Cortana said. "I think I'll stay here for now."
"Are you sure?" Willow asked. "What if you get caught or something?"
Cortana laughed. "Caught? Puh-leeze. In this time, all the hackers in the world couldn't track me down. I'll see all of you tomorrow." She said with a smile, then disappeared.
"Yes well, perhaps we should all get some sleep." Giles said. "If the three of you want to drop by tomorrow sometime I'll bring you up to speed."
Willow, Xander and Buffy collected the heavy MJOLNIR armour (with Buffy doing the majority of the lifting) and headed out of the library back to their houses. Meanwhile, at a robotics lab in Silicon Valley, several robots seemed to be constructing something of their own accord.
----------
As Xander was leaving his house for school, a delivery truck pulled up. The driver hopped out holding a small box. "Are you Xander Harris?" He asked.
"Yeah." Xander replied, puzzled as to who would be sending him a package, especially one that was arriving so early.
"Sign here." The guy said, handing Xander a clipboard. Xander signed, then the driver handed him the box and hopped in the truck. Xander opened it and saw that inside were four wristwatches with a flat, blank face.
"Huh." Xander said simply, putting one of them one. He looked it over. There were three small numbered buttons surrounding one much larger button. He pushed the big button, and to his surprise a small hologram of Cortana appeared. "Hey Shorty." she greeted.
"I'm not short!" Xander replied indignantly.
"You are for a Spartan." Cortana replied. "How do you like my present?"
"Are you kidding?" Xander asked, putting the three remaining devices in the knee pocket of his cargo pants and dropping the box in the garbage. "I've wanted a communicator since I first saw Star Trek. This is awesome."
"Glad you like it." Cortana replied with a smile. "I got one for each of you. You can contact each other with the small buttons or call me with the big one."
"How do they work?" Xander asked.
"It complicated, let's just leave it at they work." Cortana replied. "Give them to the others when you see them."
"Okay." Xander nodded.
"Oh, and tonight we should start your training." Cortana said.
"Training?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, you're a Spartan you should know how to use the MJOLNIR armour properly." Cortana said.
"No. Nononono. No way." Xander said. "I'm freaked out enough without having to wear that deathtrap."
"Xander, you're being ridiculous." Cortana said sternly. "It looks like this is a pretty damn dangerous place to live, what happens if your friends need a Spartan? Are you going to let them down?"
Xander was taken aback. Though he hated the claustrophobic feeling of the armour, his hero complex was laying on the guilt. "We'll talk about it later." He promised. "I have to go to class, I'll call you when I go to see Giles."
----------
Xander walked into the library to see that Willow and Buffy were already there.
"Hey Xander." Buffy greeted. "What's with the baggy clothes?"
"Trying to hide the fact that I'm suddenly a little bigger. " Xander replied, looking down at his cargo pants and oversize hoody. He then reached down into one of the pockets of his cargo pants and pulled out the three communicators. "Compliments of Cortana." Xander said, putting them on the table.
"Ooh, shiny." Buffy said, picking one up. "What are they?"
"Communicators." Xander replied. "Here, look." He pressed the button on his and Cortana appeared.
"Hi everyone." She greeted. "I thought it might be a good idea for us all to be able to keep in contact."
"How did you make these?" Willow asked.
"I uh, liberated some robots at a computer chip facility for a few hours." Cortana said.
"You know, we have a word for liberating stuff." Buffy said. "We call it stealing."
"Well technically I didn't steal anything except for a few dollars worth of raw materials." Cortana replied.
"Still, it's wrong." Buffy insisted. "We can't decide that since we're special we're above the law."
"Buffy, it's only a few dollars." Xander said. He turned to Cortana. "Just don't do it again. Buffy is right, we can't act as though we're above the law."
"Okay I see your point." Cortana admitted.
"Giles any new information?" Buffy asked.
"Erm, I'm afraid not." Giles replied. "Though there are several texts containing sections about alternate dimensions, none seem to indicate any type of situation like this."
"I think this is more of a freak accident than anything else." Cortana commented.
"That is most likely the case." Giles replied. "However, there are a couple of passages that mention that dimensional barriers can be weakened through different spells."
"Which means we might very likely be seeing more Halo related things?" Xander asked.
"Yes, though it appears the degradation will not get any worse, so at least we don't have to worry about the dimensions overlapping." Giles stated. "In the meantime I suggest you make the best out of the situation."
"Maybe even start training in the armour." Cortana added.
"Don't push it." Xander replied in a very serious voice, not unlike Master Chief.
"She may be right, Xander." Giles said. "At the very least it would be a good idea for you to take some basic hand to hand training to gauge your new abilities. Perhaps you can show up after school with Buffy and sit in on our training session."
"Do I have to?" Xander whined.
"Relax Xander, we'll go easy on you." Buffy said with a look of amusement. "Maybe we'll even spar a couple rounds."
"It's a date then." Xander said sarcastically. "I can't wait to get beat up by the Slayer."
-----------
Giles watched in amazement as Xander and Buffy moved around the floor sparring. Xander couldn't quite match Buffy's strength, and his fighting was rather sloppy and done mostly on instinct. However, he was nearly as fast and wasn't doing too badly. He had actually managed to land a couple of blows on the Slayer.
"Not too bad." Cortana commented from her vantage point on the table. "Looks like some of the Chief's training is seeping through." She added as she watched Xander roll his shoulder back to avoid a punch and counter with a quick jab to the kidney. Though Buffy blocked the jab, she seemed genuinely surprised by the move, and her second of hesitation allowed Xander to go on the offensive. He moved in throwing several attacks, which pushed Buffy's limits of speed. She managed to block them all though and then dropped down and knocked Xander's feet out from under him with a sweep kick.
Xander fell flat on his back and lay there, catching his breath. Buffy helped him to his feet and gave him an appraising smile. "Not bad at all Xander."
"I still lost." Xander said, removing his foam sparring helmet and wiping the sweat away with the back of his glove.
"Yes but it took Buffy over a minute to finish the fight." Giles added. "That is certainly longer than you would have lasted before now."
"Yeah don't be so hard on yourself Xan." Buffy said.
"I think it would be beneficial for everyone if you kept coming to train with Buffy and I." Giles said.
"Okay." Xander said.
"And Xander, I know you don't want to hear it but you need to train on the MJOLNIR armour." Cortana added. "If an Elite or Hunter suddenly appears we are going to need a Spartan."
Xander's expression grew grim.
"Jeez is it really that bad?" Buffy asked.
"Every move you make has to be so slow. According to Cortana if I do so much as windmill my arms for balance I could break them. I feel so restricted, and nervous."
"That feeling will go away." Cortana assured him. "It just takes time."
"We'll see." Xander said. "We'll try it tomorrow, but I can't make any promises. If it doesn't get any better I'm not doing it anymore."
---------
Xander took a deep breath and lowered the helmet onto the suit. He felt it latch and the suit immediately tightened. Xander fought the urge to panic.
"Okay." Cortana said into his ear. "Just stay calm. Remember when you were fighting Buffy earlier today?"
"Yes." Xander replied, controlling his breathing.
"You were using UNSC combat styles." Cortana said. "That means that the Chief's memories about how to fight and how to use the suit are there, you just have to access them."
"I was just acting on instinct." Xander replied.
"I know." Cortana said. "Giles!" She called through the speakers. Giles emerged from the weapons room carrying a baseball bat. "Giles is going to try and hit you." Cortana explained. "Block it."
Giles swung at Xander. He moved very slowly and purposefully but it was too slow, and the bat smacked the top of his helmet.
"Don't think just react!" Cortana commanded. "Again!" She called.
Giles swung again, and Xander again was too slow. "Come on Shorty!" Cortana taunted. "My programmer could beat you down!"
Xander gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the obnoxious AI. Giles swung again and this time Xander managed to get his arm up fast enough to deflect the blow somewhat without doing any damage to himself.
"Not good enough!" Cortana shouted in his ear. "What if that was an elite? He would have beat you to a pulp by now. START MOVING!"
"I'm doing my best!" Xander yelled back. "Get of my case!" This time, when Giles swung at him, Xander grabbed the bat in midair and wrenched it out of the Watcher's hands, then snapped it over his knee. "There!" He shouted. "Are you freaking happy now?!" He then stopped and realized that the suit didn't feel quite as on edge in the suit.
"Yes." Cortana replied calmly. "Sorry, I was just trying to get your adrenaline level up, it makes it easier not to think."
"Well it's annoying!" Xander said angrily. "Now I'm in a bad mood."
"Yeah but you're moving a lot better." Cortana replied. "Thanks for the help Giles."
Giles was staring back at Xander in surprise.
"What?" Xander asked.
"That was an aluminum bat." Giles said.
"Oh." Xander said, looking at the two metal halves. "Sorry."
"Maybe we should go back to your house, Xander." Cortana said. "Jog there in the suit, try and get more comfortable with it.
"Make sure to stay off the main streets." Giles added. "I would prefer it if we kept this to ourselves."
"No problem G-man." Xander said, walking towards the door of the library. "See you tomorrow." He walked out of the deserted halls and out into the night air.
"How's the suit feeling?" Cortana asked.
"Better." Xander replied. "It feels a little more natural. Still weird though."
"I'd have thought you'd be used to weird by now, living in a town like this." Cortana commented.
"True." Xander said. "But it's different when suddenly it's not what's around you that's weird, but your own body. I'm gonna try breaking into a run, by the way." Xander stepped up the pace until he was moving at what felt like a natural running speed. If there had been any cars around he would have noticed that he was moving almost as fast as they were.
"I think I know what you mean." Cortana replied.
The two of them jogged in silence until they got to Xander's street, where he removed the armour before going inside. Xander crept to his room, then stashed the armour in his closet and transferred Cortana back to his communicator.
"Xander, I gotta admit I'm a little freaked out." Cortana said. "This world is just so different from mine."
"I know." Xander replied. "I'm freaked out too. I'll make you a deal, you help me get through it and I'll do the same for you."
Cortana chuckled. "Okay Shorty. Goodnight."
"Same to you." Xander said, dropping into bed and turning out the lights.
End chap 3
Hope you liked the chapter, it was the longest one I have ever written. If you guys want I'll try to keep this length up or go even longer if I can. Thanks for reading and please leave a review!