Mirror Image
Chapter: Prologue
Rating: R
Spoilers: Everything up to "Halloween" is fair game. AU after that.
Summary: The balance of light and darkness is disrupted and Xander finds himself trapped in a strange world. Caught in a struggle between all that is good in the land and an evil that looks frighteningly familiar, will Xander be able to survive what is to come or will he fall before the darkness.
Disclaimer: This is a fictional story. Joss & ME own the characters, I own nothing and make nothing from this story. In other words; Don't want them. Don't need them. Couldn't afforded them if I did.
Note - thoughts
~-~-~
Halloween
Sunnydale High's parking lot was teeming with activity as parents and teachers checked on all of the students. Several parents had cornered Snyder, demanding to know what had happened to their children tonight. The little man stated vehemently that he believed that someone given tainted candy out causing mass hallucinations and cautioned everyone to take their kid's candy to the hospital so it can be checked for drugs.
Xander Harris relaxed against Sunnydale High's front doors. He was finishing off a pack of twinkies as he waited until the last kid in his group was picked up by his parents.
All in all, Xander felt like the night was a success. The kids were safe and despite everyone being possessed by their costumes, no one that he knew of had been injured or died. He chuckled, remembering how upset the kids were over losing all the candy that they had gotten. That was when Xander had decided to take a detour on the way back to school. A detour that led them through the local supermarket where he bought several bags of mixed candy for his group. It wiped out what little money Xander had but he didn't care and the candy cheered the kids up considerably.
Now with all of the kids safe and on their way home, Xander decided it was time to head to his as well but he wanted to check on Willow first. He still couldn't believe what she was wearing earlier or how attractive she looked. In fact, that mental picture of his childhood friend had kept him so occupied that he walked past her house and two others before realizing where he was.
"Damn!" Xander cursed as he quickly ran back to Willow's home. He quietly went around to the back of the house and sighed in relief when he noticed that a light was on in Willow's room. He watched for a moment as shadows caused by Willow played across the closed shades of her window. Several minutes passed by before he decided not to disturb her.
Xander walked around the house and back onto the sidewalk. He wanted to talk to Willow about her interesting choice of costume but for now he was just glad see that she was home and safe. He was even half tempted to check on Buffy too but the last thing he wanted to see was a kiss-fest between her and Angel so he headed home.
Halfway there, Xander came to a complete stop as a memory from this night surfaced in his mind. I beat Larry? He stood there rooted to the spot, sporting an insane grin as he relived his, or rather his alter ego's, fight with Larry. I beat Larry! >
Xander stiffened suddenly as he heard a faint sound. What the.. Xander quickly scanned the area but there was no one around. Xander thought he could hear a voice over and over again; like someone was chanting. He looked around a second time but still found nothing. He didn't hear the voice anymore either so he dismissed it as just being tired and continued home.
Xander entered his house quietly, finding his dad watching TV and his mom cleaning in the kitchen. Neither noticed him as he walked up the stairs to his room. Just as Xander entered his bedroom, he was assaulted by a powerful wave of vertigo. It was like the whole room shifted to his right and then back while his body stayed where it was.
The sensation made Xander feel like throwing up but before he could, the room shifted again and then a third time leaving him lying on the floor. Using his bed for support, Xander slowly climbed to his knees and laid his head on the blankets. What's wrong with me?
Xander opened his eyes and noticed his phone, sitting on the bed next to his pillow. Slowly he climbed onto the bed and reached for the phone with a shaky hand but before Xander could call for help, he was hit with an even stronger wave of nausea. This time the room itself didn't shift, his body did. To Xander it felt like someone was tugging at his soul. It was sharp and it was painful, causing him to fall unconscious.
The last thing Xander saw was the picture of him, Willow and Buffy that was sitting on the table next to his bed.
~eee....~
~eeeeee........~
~eeeeeeeee............~
~eeeeeeeeeeee................~
~EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~
Xander shuffled over onto his side at the high pitched sound of his alarm clock. Absently he raised his hand and dropped it on top of the clock where the snooze button was but found nothing. He felt around but he couldn't find his clock, only what felt like grass. Xander's eyes shot open. GRASS!
Sitting up quickly, Xander was surprised to find himself in the middle of a forest, still dressed in the Army fatigues that he had worn for Halloween. Looking around, he realized that it was still night out and what little light he had came from the nearly full moon that could barely be seen through the dense treetops.
"What the -"
The screeching sound increased as a small white light weaved it's way through the trees. Xander tried to follow the erratic behavior of the light, losing track of it several times. The light suddenly appeared less than twenty feet away from Xander and made a direct bee line in his direction. Xander quickly ducked out of the way hoping to avoid the bright light.
Suddenly everything was quiet. Xander slowly turned his head from side to side as he tried to see if that light was still around. It seemed to have vanished when the screeching stopped. Xander also noticed that he didn't hear any animals or insects either and for some reason that worried him.
Xander took a deep breath, knowing that he had to calm down. From his experience, Xander knew that getting too emotional and careless in an unknown situation would only result in him getting hurt or worse. Plus none of his friends were with him which meant he had to be extra careful since he had no backup.
As Xander slowly stood up, he heard a loud crunching sound emanate from the forest around him. A second crunch followed and then a third. Each one getting closer until a large body burst into the small clearing. Xander stared in shock at the being before him.
Xander guessed that the creature was over seven feet tall and had to be pushing more than five hundred pounds. It had a man's body but face resembled that of a wild boar with two large tusks that stuck out the sides of it's mouth. It's head swung from side to side, it's huge nostrils flaring as it apparently tried to find it's prey's scent.
When it's beady eyes focused on Xander, the large creature roared and took a step in his direction. Suddenly the small light from before, shot out from the darkness and circled the giant's head. The creature tried to catch the light in it's huge hands but missed. The tiny light easily evaded the creature's clumsy attempts and flew back into the night. Roaring loudly, the giant forgot all about Xander and ran after the light leaving behind a trail of broken branches and tree limbs.
Xander moved to the where the giant disappeared. He tried to get his heartbeat under control and listened intently for any indication that the creature might return.
"Is it gone?" a tiny voice said from directly behind him. Xander jumped in fright and whipped around only to find nothing. Turning around again, Xander still couldn't find who had spoken.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"Is it gone?" the tiny voice asked again.
Xander still couldn't locate the voice's owner so he decided to play along for now. "Yes it is. You can come out now."
"Really?"
Xander felt a soft breeze on the back of his neck and he watched as a small creature flew around the left side of his head and stop just a few inches from his face. Xander was struck dumb as he stared at what looked to be a small, dark-haired girl that was no taller than the length of his hand. She was just floating in the air before him wearing a filmy white gown as a pair of nearly transparent, butterfly wings lazily flapped in the air behind her.
A.. Fairy? Xander thought, remembering the description of the Fairy folk from one of Giles' books.
She looked around and turned back to Xander, asking. "Where did it go?"
"Uhh.. small light attack it.. flew off that way.. monster chase light.." Xander tried to answer. He even pointed in the direction that the creature ran, but his mind was still fuddled from everything that has happened to correctly form a complete sentence.
The small girl's eyes widened in comprehension. "Oh no, Joril!" She looked at where Xander pointed. "But that means that-" The girl stopped when she heard a scream off in the distance. Her golden eyes grew large with fear. "MISTRESS!!"
Xander watched as the little girl flew a few feet away before returning to him, stopping next to that hand that was still pointing to where the mammoth creature went. She gathered the finger in her tiny arms and tried to pull him with her. When Xander didn't budge, the little girl raced up his arm and grabbed his ear.
"Please kind sir," she pleaded. "Please help. My mistress is in danger and Joril isn't with her."
Xander winced as ten tiny finger nails bit into his ear but the fear and worry that radiated from the small creature struck a cord deep inside of Xander. He reached up and pulled the her from his shoulder. Xander looked down at the minature girl standing on his hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll help you."
The small girl's face lit up with happiness. A high shrill escaped as she jumped up and down in his hand. "Thank you. Thank you." Then she jumped off his hand and flew off into the night leaving Xander to follow.
As Xander weaved though the various trees and brush, he was struck by a memory.
( He was somewhere in a deep jungle tracking something or someone in the night. Suddenly he stopped moving and breathed shallowly. Sounds of breaking limbs and other plants reached his ears seconds before a large group of men passed in front of him just a few feet away. He watched silently as they moved away. )
"This way Sir."
The sound of that tiny voice snapped Xander from the images that he was witnessing. It took him a minute to clear his mind before telling the impatient Fairy to continue on. As he followed, Xander let his instincts to guide him through the underbrush while his mind was wrestling with questions like where he was, how he got here and how was he going to get home.
Before Xander realized what was happening, he crashed though a dense patch of shrubbery and into a scene straight out of a swords and sorcery movie. Dead bodies were strewn about a large campsite and in the center of the carnage was two people, a woman standing protectively over the form of a fallen man, surrounded by three large humanoid creatures like the one he saw earlier.
The woman looked tired as she held a sword in her hands. Her clothes were torn, dirty and covered in blood. Xander didn't know if the blood was hers or her companions but it was clear that the creatures were playing with her. They easily towered over her by a good two feet and when she swung her sword at the creature in front of her, another one of the creatures that was behind her at the time, gave her a not so gentle shove that sent her stumbling to the ground.
One of the main things Xander had learned in the year and a half of watching Buffy fight is that the best way to fight someone larger than yourself was to bring them down to your height. Without thinking, Xander grabbed a discarded sword and ran to creature closest to him. In one swift motion, Xander dragged the sword across the back of the creature's legs, severing the hamstrings.
A pain-filled roar rang out from the injured giant attracting the attention of the others. Xander used the distraction to attack his next target. Xander hopped up onto the fallen giant and jumped over the woman, swinging his sword down at the face of the giant across from him. The giant tried to block the strike with it's forearm but with all of Xander's weight behind the blow, the sword cut right through the muscle and bone of the arm and continued on to split the creature's head down the middle.
Xander was stunned at what he had just did. He just stood there staring blankly, not noticing the oversized fist that was rapidly descending towards his face. The force of the blow sent Xander sliding across the ground, scraping up his back in the process. Xander struggled to stand up as the remaining giant lumbered towards him.
The giant suddenly jerked in mid-stride and stopped, reaching up with one hand to feel the back of it's head. Slowly, it's eyes rolled upwards and the towering creature fell forward onto the ground. Xander stared at the fallen giant for a second before realizing that there was an arrow sticking out of the back of it's head. Looking around Xander noticed that several more men had arrived with swords and long bows drawn.
One of them was talking animately to the woman in a language that Xander didn't understand. Some of the others finished off the injured giant while others were checking out her fallen companions. Two of them grabbed Xander by the arms and pulled him up to his feet.
"Umm... What's going on here?"
The woman turned to him, giving Xander his first real look at her. She wore a long, flowing dress that was shredded in several places. She had blonde hair, most of which was tightly held in a braid that fell down to the middle of her back, and steel-gray eyes but what really caught Xander's attention was her ears.
Her pointed ears.
Where the hell am I?
Looking at the others, Xander realized that all of them, or at least the ones he could see, also had pointed ears.
"What are you people?" Xander demanded before one of the 'men' backhanded Xander across the face hard enough to knock him unconscious.
~-~-~
Chapter: Prologue
Rating: R
Spoilers: Everything up to "Halloween" is fair game. AU after that.
Summary: The balance of light and darkness is disrupted and Xander finds himself trapped in a strange world. Caught in a struggle between all that is good in the land and an evil that looks frighteningly familiar, will Xander be able to survive what is to come or will he fall before the darkness.
Disclaimer: This is a fictional story. Joss & ME own the characters, I own nothing and make nothing from this story. In other words; Don't want them. Don't need them. Couldn't afforded them if I did.
Note - thoughts
Halloween
Sunnydale High's parking lot was teeming with activity as parents and teachers checked on all of the students. Several parents had cornered Snyder, demanding to know what had happened to their children tonight. The little man stated vehemently that he believed that someone given tainted candy out causing mass hallucinations and cautioned everyone to take their kid's candy to the hospital so it can be checked for drugs.
Xander Harris relaxed against Sunnydale High's front doors. He was finishing off a pack of twinkies as he waited until the last kid in his group was picked up by his parents.
All in all, Xander felt like the night was a success. The kids were safe and despite everyone being possessed by their costumes, no one that he knew of had been injured or died. He chuckled, remembering how upset the kids were over losing all the candy that they had gotten. That was when Xander had decided to take a detour on the way back to school. A detour that led them through the local supermarket where he bought several bags of mixed candy for his group. It wiped out what little money Xander had but he didn't care and the candy cheered the kids up considerably.
Now with all of the kids safe and on their way home, Xander decided it was time to head to his as well but he wanted to check on Willow first. He still couldn't believe what she was wearing earlier or how attractive she looked. In fact, that mental picture of his childhood friend had kept him so occupied that he walked past her house and two others before realizing where he was.
"Damn!" Xander cursed as he quickly ran back to Willow's home. He quietly went around to the back of the house and sighed in relief when he noticed that a light was on in Willow's room. He watched for a moment as shadows caused by Willow played across the closed shades of her window. Several minutes passed by before he decided not to disturb her.
Xander walked around the house and back onto the sidewalk. He wanted to talk to Willow about her interesting choice of costume but for now he was just glad see that she was home and safe. He was even half tempted to check on Buffy too but the last thing he wanted to see was a kiss-fest between her and Angel so he headed home.
Halfway there, Xander came to a complete stop as a memory from this night surfaced in his mind. I beat Larry? He stood there rooted to the spot, sporting an insane grin as he relived his, or rather his alter ego's, fight with Larry. I beat Larry! >
Xander stiffened suddenly as he heard a faint sound. What the.. Xander quickly scanned the area but there was no one around. Xander thought he could hear a voice over and over again; like someone was chanting. He looked around a second time but still found nothing. He didn't hear the voice anymore either so he dismissed it as just being tired and continued home.
Xander entered his house quietly, finding his dad watching TV and his mom cleaning in the kitchen. Neither noticed him as he walked up the stairs to his room. Just as Xander entered his bedroom, he was assaulted by a powerful wave of vertigo. It was like the whole room shifted to his right and then back while his body stayed where it was.
The sensation made Xander feel like throwing up but before he could, the room shifted again and then a third time leaving him lying on the floor. Using his bed for support, Xander slowly climbed to his knees and laid his head on the blankets. What's wrong with me?
Xander opened his eyes and noticed his phone, sitting on the bed next to his pillow. Slowly he climbed onto the bed and reached for the phone with a shaky hand but before Xander could call for help, he was hit with an even stronger wave of nausea. This time the room itself didn't shift, his body did. To Xander it felt like someone was tugging at his soul. It was sharp and it was painful, causing him to fall unconscious.
The last thing Xander saw was the picture of him, Willow and Buffy that was sitting on the table next to his bed.
~eee....~
~eeeeee........~
~eeeeeeeee............~
~eeeeeeeeeeee................~
~EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~
Xander shuffled over onto his side at the high pitched sound of his alarm clock. Absently he raised his hand and dropped it on top of the clock where the snooze button was but found nothing. He felt around but he couldn't find his clock, only what felt like grass. Xander's eyes shot open. GRASS!
Sitting up quickly, Xander was surprised to find himself in the middle of a forest, still dressed in the Army fatigues that he had worn for Halloween. Looking around, he realized that it was still night out and what little light he had came from the nearly full moon that could barely be seen through the dense treetops.
"What the -"
The screeching sound increased as a small white light weaved it's way through the trees. Xander tried to follow the erratic behavior of the light, losing track of it several times. The light suddenly appeared less than twenty feet away from Xander and made a direct bee line in his direction. Xander quickly ducked out of the way hoping to avoid the bright light.
Suddenly everything was quiet. Xander slowly turned his head from side to side as he tried to see if that light was still around. It seemed to have vanished when the screeching stopped. Xander also noticed that he didn't hear any animals or insects either and for some reason that worried him.
Xander took a deep breath, knowing that he had to calm down. From his experience, Xander knew that getting too emotional and careless in an unknown situation would only result in him getting hurt or worse. Plus none of his friends were with him which meant he had to be extra careful since he had no backup.
As Xander slowly stood up, he heard a loud crunching sound emanate from the forest around him. A second crunch followed and then a third. Each one getting closer until a large body burst into the small clearing. Xander stared in shock at the being before him.
Xander guessed that the creature was over seven feet tall and had to be pushing more than five hundred pounds. It had a man's body but face resembled that of a wild boar with two large tusks that stuck out the sides of it's mouth. It's head swung from side to side, it's huge nostrils flaring as it apparently tried to find it's prey's scent.
When it's beady eyes focused on Xander, the large creature roared and took a step in his direction. Suddenly the small light from before, shot out from the darkness and circled the giant's head. The creature tried to catch the light in it's huge hands but missed. The tiny light easily evaded the creature's clumsy attempts and flew back into the night. Roaring loudly, the giant forgot all about Xander and ran after the light leaving behind a trail of broken branches and tree limbs.
Xander moved to the where the giant disappeared. He tried to get his heartbeat under control and listened intently for any indication that the creature might return.
"Is it gone?" a tiny voice said from directly behind him. Xander jumped in fright and whipped around only to find nothing. Turning around again, Xander still couldn't find who had spoken.
"Where are you?" he asked.
"Is it gone?" the tiny voice asked again.
Xander still couldn't locate the voice's owner so he decided to play along for now. "Yes it is. You can come out now."
"Really?"
Xander felt a soft breeze on the back of his neck and he watched as a small creature flew around the left side of his head and stop just a few inches from his face. Xander was struck dumb as he stared at what looked to be a small, dark-haired girl that was no taller than the length of his hand. She was just floating in the air before him wearing a filmy white gown as a pair of nearly transparent, butterfly wings lazily flapped in the air behind her.
A.. Fairy? Xander thought, remembering the description of the Fairy folk from one of Giles' books.
She looked around and turned back to Xander, asking. "Where did it go?"
"Uhh.. small light attack it.. flew off that way.. monster chase light.." Xander tried to answer. He even pointed in the direction that the creature ran, but his mind was still fuddled from everything that has happened to correctly form a complete sentence.
The small girl's eyes widened in comprehension. "Oh no, Joril!" She looked at where Xander pointed. "But that means that-" The girl stopped when she heard a scream off in the distance. Her golden eyes grew large with fear. "MISTRESS!!"
Xander watched as the little girl flew a few feet away before returning to him, stopping next to that hand that was still pointing to where the mammoth creature went. She gathered the finger in her tiny arms and tried to pull him with her. When Xander didn't budge, the little girl raced up his arm and grabbed his ear.
"Please kind sir," she pleaded. "Please help. My mistress is in danger and Joril isn't with her."
Xander winced as ten tiny finger nails bit into his ear but the fear and worry that radiated from the small creature struck a cord deep inside of Xander. He reached up and pulled the her from his shoulder. Xander looked down at the minature girl standing on his hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll help you."
The small girl's face lit up with happiness. A high shrill escaped as she jumped up and down in his hand. "Thank you. Thank you." Then she jumped off his hand and flew off into the night leaving Xander to follow.
As Xander weaved though the various trees and brush, he was struck by a memory.
"This way Sir."
The sound of that tiny voice snapped Xander from the images that he was witnessing. It took him a minute to clear his mind before telling the impatient Fairy to continue on. As he followed, Xander let his instincts to guide him through the underbrush while his mind was wrestling with questions like where he was, how he got here and how was he going to get home.
Before Xander realized what was happening, he crashed though a dense patch of shrubbery and into a scene straight out of a swords and sorcery movie. Dead bodies were strewn about a large campsite and in the center of the carnage was two people, a woman standing protectively over the form of a fallen man, surrounded by three large humanoid creatures like the one he saw earlier.
The woman looked tired as she held a sword in her hands. Her clothes were torn, dirty and covered in blood. Xander didn't know if the blood was hers or her companions but it was clear that the creatures were playing with her. They easily towered over her by a good two feet and when she swung her sword at the creature in front of her, another one of the creatures that was behind her at the time, gave her a not so gentle shove that sent her stumbling to the ground.
One of the main things Xander had learned in the year and a half of watching Buffy fight is that the best way to fight someone larger than yourself was to bring them down to your height. Without thinking, Xander grabbed a discarded sword and ran to creature closest to him. In one swift motion, Xander dragged the sword across the back of the creature's legs, severing the hamstrings.
A pain-filled roar rang out from the injured giant attracting the attention of the others. Xander used the distraction to attack his next target. Xander hopped up onto the fallen giant and jumped over the woman, swinging his sword down at the face of the giant across from him. The giant tried to block the strike with it's forearm but with all of Xander's weight behind the blow, the sword cut right through the muscle and bone of the arm and continued on to split the creature's head down the middle.
Xander was stunned at what he had just did. He just stood there staring blankly, not noticing the oversized fist that was rapidly descending towards his face. The force of the blow sent Xander sliding across the ground, scraping up his back in the process. Xander struggled to stand up as the remaining giant lumbered towards him.
The giant suddenly jerked in mid-stride and stopped, reaching up with one hand to feel the back of it's head. Slowly, it's eyes rolled upwards and the towering creature fell forward onto the ground. Xander stared at the fallen giant for a second before realizing that there was an arrow sticking out of the back of it's head. Looking around Xander noticed that several more men had arrived with swords and long bows drawn.
One of them was talking animately to the woman in a language that Xander didn't understand. Some of the others finished off the injured giant while others were checking out her fallen companions. Two of them grabbed Xander by the arms and pulled him up to his feet.
"Umm... What's going on here?"
The woman turned to him, giving Xander his first real look at her. She wore a long, flowing dress that was shredded in several places. She had blonde hair, most of which was tightly held in a braid that fell down to the middle of her back, and steel-gray eyes but what really caught Xander's attention was her ears.
Her pointed ears.
Where the hell am I?
Looking at the others, Xander realized that all of them, or at least the ones he could see, also had pointed ears.
"What are you people?" Xander demanded before one of the 'men' backhanded Xander across the face hard enough to knock him unconscious.