Disclaimer: Joss, WB, UPN et al. own Buffy. George Lucas, Lucasfilm, LucasArts and others own Star Wars. Michael A Stackpole owns the X-Wing and I, Jedi novels. I do not.
Title: Sunnydale Jedi: Chapter 4
Author: Paradigm Shifter
Rating: PG-13 again, people.
Pairing: Err… Xander/Buffy
Feedback: Please, I beg.
Thanks: All my reviewers. You know who you are. Also, everyone who made suggestions. They will probably appear somewhere along the line…
Continuity: General season 5 (Dawn)
Crossover: Buffy / Star Wars. Old Republic.
*
"Dawn, come on, we're gonna be late picking Giles up from the airport." Shouted Xander up the stairs. He was dressed in relatively subdued colours, with a pale blue being the lightest, and only real colour he was wearing. Dawn came down the stair wearing her usual jeans and t-shirt combination.
"OK, Xander. I'll just be a minute. Dawn was rummaging around the draw of the bureau for her hairbrush. It seemed to be in a new place every time she looked. Maybe that was just her imagination, though, or possibly forgetfulness.
Quickly running the brush through her brown hair, Dawn turned back to Xander and randomly flung the brush down on the couch. "OK! I'm ready!"
Xander smiled at Dawn's eagerness to see Giles again. "Right. Lets go then." The two headed out of the front door, Dawn heading for the car on the drive and Xander turning around to lock the house up.
A minute later they pulled off the drive and headed for the airport.
*
[British Airways flight BA206, from London, Heathrow, has landed. Passengers are advised to take all items of personal luggage with them as they leave the plane.] The cool mechanical voice of the computer cut into Giles pleasant dream about finding and cataloguing a new form of demon, and becoming a world renowned expert on demonology, rather than just a cleaner.
Unbuckling his belt, Giles stood and stretched, the trip far less strenuous than the return to Britain, mainly as he had flown first class, a luxury he had not allowed himself as he returned to Britain. If Xander was footing the bill, why the hell not? Reaching into the overhead luggage compartment, Giles grabbed his only luggage and headed for the exit. Nodding at the stewardess as he exited the plane, he was rewarded with a dazzling smile and a slight blush, showing that he wasn't completely out of time yet.
Giles shook the thought off as he climbed out of the plane, and looked around at the bright lights of California for the second time of his life. Nothing like good old Britain, where regardless of the season you had to carry an umbrella with you in case the weather decided to play tricks. No, in California, you could count on the weather being bright, sunny and altogether far too cheerful for any sane person as late as early December. Snow? What was that?
Ignoring the sign to baggage claim, as he hadn't brought any other luggage, Giles headed to the pick up point.
Looking about, he could see a lot of cabbies waiting for fares, and a few old people, waiting for their children and grandchildren to come for holidays. Over near the exit, he saw Dawn and Xander, with the two holding a sign, one holding each side, reading: "Stuffy Brit." In brackets, it had underneath, "(Rupert Giles)"
Giles smiled slightly, glad that even with the group disbanding like it had, that Xander hadn't lost his innate sense of humour. Of course, as soon as he neared them, his smile dropped and he roared, "Stuffy Brit, indeed! Don't you have any respect, Mr. Harris?"
Xander turned at the sound of Giles shout and shot him a grin. Dawn dropped her side of the notice, causing it to drop on Xander's foot, and launched herself at Giles, enveloping him in a bear hug.
As Giles pried the ecstatic teen off of him, he whispered to her, "Hello Dawn."
Xander approached more slowly. "Good to see you, G-Man." He stuck out his hand, which Giles gripped firmly and shook twice, before letting go to hug Dawn back. His grin turning lopsided, Xander answered Giles question. "You should know full well by now that I have absolutely no respect for authority. I'm disappointed that you forgot."
Giles just shook his head and motioned to the exit of the airport. "Shall we go?"
Xander nodded. "Yeah, sure. Will and Tara should be here in a few days."
*
As it transpired, when Xander, Dawn and Giles pulled into Revello Drive, Willow and Tara were already sitting outside their house.
With the gang all assembled again, the inevitable questions followed. How had everyone been? What were they doing now? And the whopper: what was Dawn planning to do?
For Giles, Willow and Tara, the answers were pretty standard. Giles had found a job, and a girlfriend, news that caused Xander to choke on his Twinkie when he thought of the possibility of little Giles' running around. It turned out that Giles girlfriend, Catherine, was none to pleased at his sudden 'business trip' to America. But he was doing pretty well for himself.
Willow and Tara had likewise been doing well, although the other side of the Atlantic. They had been living in New York, and as such, had lost the 'small town' side effects of Sunnydale. Willow had almost got over her magic addiction, but Tara was still strict about its usage, something she had learned to become, otherwise Willow would just spiral out of control for a second time. The two had had some success in the 'dot com' business world, and had pulled out before their company nose-dived, as, inevitably, all dot com's did. The result was having several million in the bank, and being able to live in comfort without having to work.
When it came to Dawn and Xander's turn, Dawn moved away from snuggling into his shoulder and joined Giles, Willow and Tara on their side of the room. It caused Giles to raise an eyebrow in question, but Xander shook his head.
"I haven't told Dawn about what happened, and I have no intention of not telling her. I just wanted to wait until you all arrived so I didn't have to repeat myself."
Xander sighed heavily.
"Go on, Dawn. Ask."
Dawn looked at the other three. "I think we had better tell them what happened here first."
Xander nodded. "That makes sense. Sorry. Didn't think."
Dawn started. "I was spending a lot of time researching dimensional portals, and well, I found one which liked Xander a little too much. He got sucked in. It was pretty cool, actually. He looked kind of like Superman with the portal sucking him in feet first."
"Yeah, thank you for that, Dawn. That is one thing I never, ever want to go through again." Xander sounded part amused and part hurt.
Dawn continued after pulling a face at Xander's interruption. "Less than a minute later, the portal reopened and Xander fell out, dressed in weird clothes and burned all over. Very badly burned. It looked like radiation burns, but they faded very quickly. He also looked older."
Giles Willow and Tara all looked curiously at Xander. Xander grinned back at them disarmingly. "Yeah, noticed that did you? Wanna know how we've been apart like, four months, and I've got over a years hair growth? Sit, and be amazed…"
Xander stood up, and started pacing the room. "Well, where do I start? The beginning sounds like a good place… When the dimensional portal closed, with me on the wrong side, I was dumped on the wrong side of a nightmare. Aliens? They are real. At least, they were where I was sent. But that doesn't matter. Not really anyway…"
Willow felt the need to cut in. "Xander, you're babbling."
Xander looked at he gratefully. "Yeah, I know, but I don't know how to explain this. It will probably be a little easier if someone asks questions, cause I don't know where to start."
Dawn looked up. "Xander, when you came back through, you spent some time saying you'd been gone a year. How is that possible?"
"That's because, as far as I was concerned, Dawn, I was gone a year. A year in which I did a hell of a lot, including becoming a Jedi, and building two light-sabers."
Giles looked confused. "What's a Jedi? As far as I knew, they were a Hindu sect. From what you have said, I presume that I am wrong…"
Willow asked, "What's a light-saber?"
Xander looked at the two. "Will, I'll answer your question first, since it's easier." Xander brought a silver rod out of his jacket, which he was still wearing. "This," he said, gesturing at the rod, "is a light-saber." He pulled out another one, identical in all respects. "So is this." Xander tossed one to Giles, and the other to Willow and Tara.
"Don't I get one?" Dawn pouted.
"Extraordinary…" Breathed Giles.
Willow and Tara just looked at each other. "Wow…"
Giles looked up. "You say you built this?"
Xander nodded. "Yeah."
"You can't have," Giles denied vehemently, "the technology in this is beyond anything I have ever seen. Did you get this off a demon? I must get this to the Council! This find is unprecedented!"
Xander's look turned dangerous. "You will not, now or ever again, even think of giving the council either of these blades. I made them; they are mine! Like I will not give Dawn to the council, I will not give these to the council! They are not ready for such knowledge!"
Giles started to rise, and slipped the light-saber in his pocket. "You don't know what this will mean, Xander! I will get my job back, and become a power in the Coun…"
Xander motioned at the blade Willow and Tara were examining, and it leapt out of their hands, as if by magic, and ignited as it landed in Xander's grasp. The only sound in the suddenly quiet room was the hiss and crackle of the light-saber as it neared Giles throat. It was so close, the unshaven hairs on his neck smoked as the beam of light caught them.
"Put the light-saber on the table Giles, and sit down. I don't care about your job, and after that display, I don't much care for you, but I want Buffy back…" Xander motioned at the second blade as Giles placed it on the table with a gentle click, and it flew into his other hand and ignited, "and I am prepared to do nearly anything to get her back."
Giles nodded very carefully, mindful of the beam of light under his chin, and sat back. Xander nodded and said "passport please."
Giles eyes widened, but he reached out and handed Xander his passport. "You'll get this back when we have Buffy back. Until then, I want to make sure you wont go running to the Council." Xander thumbed off his light-saber and re-hid both.
Dawn, Willow and Tara just watched the exchange with wide eyes, not entirely sure of what had happened. Giles looked as if he would blow a gasket with the loss of his escape route back to Britain, and Xander was desperately trying to calm down.
Anger leads to hate… Hate leads to the dark side…"No…" he whispered.
Dawn, realising she had to rescue a very fragile situation, leapt up. "Who wants a drink?"
*
The dark side…Xander's mind was showing him what the Dark-sider had promised.
…power beyond all comprehension…
…the death of his enemies…
…fear…
…revulsion…
…terror incarnate…
The light side……the pain of losing friends through evil…
…calm…
…peace…
…utter damnation as the dark fuel used him for its own ends…
…
…
…Buffy…
*
Xander sat up from his slumped position as Dawn walked in with the drinks she had made.
"We haven't got time to screw about. Lets get this over with. We don't need the Slayer."
Dawn shook her head. "We do, Xander. Put your worries of Giles aside. He is more scared of you now than he is of the council. He wont do anything."
Xander looked at Giles, who was sitting in his chair, obviously terrified. "I'm sorry Giles. I shouldn't have snapped like that. I have brought myself closer than I ever wanted to go to the dark side of the Force."
Giles nodded weakly. "I… apologise for my actions as well. They were ill thought out, and I feel embarrassed that I would have ever acted like that."
Willow looked over. "The Force? What's the Force?"
Tara did likewise, "What's the dark side?"
Xander sighed, and realised in the flood of anger at Giles he hadn't finished explaining. "In the dimension I spent a year, there is this… Force… That is the only way to explain it. It is created by all living things. It is created here as well, but to not quite such the same degree, as it comes from one planet, not thousands. There are effectively… two sides to the Force. The light, and the dark. The light side is fuelled by benevolent emotions, while malevolent ones fuel the dark side. For the Jedi, a fellowship, although that isn't quite the right word, of Force sensitive people, they use the light side as their power source. As a Jedi, the worse thing you can ever do is to touch the dark side, even in defence. I spent seven months training with the greatest light side master that has ever been born, Yoda. He's kind of like a little green gremlin, while just goes to show, appearances can be deceptive. I made those light-sabers when he thought I was ready."
Dawn sounded wistful as she spoke. "Sounds like magic."
Willow and Tara nodded. "Yeah."
Xander inclined his head, thinking. "I suppose, to those who could not use the Force, it would be magical."
Tara spoke up. "Does it feel like magic when you use it?"
Xander shook his head in wonder. "I don't know. I've never used magic. But the Force… well… its hard to describe. If you use the light, it feels wonderful, like you touch every living thing at once, and feel its pleasure at being alive. It's an indescribable feeling of well-being… like everything is right in the world. It's incredible. The dark… well… I've touched it, and lets just say… if I never touch it again, it will be too soon…"
"Ouch." Said Willow.
"Yeah." Xander shook himself free of the unpleasant memories. "Well, I'm sure Giles is tired from the flight, and you and Tara, Wills, must be knackered after coming on the trans-continental train. I'll let Dawn show you to your rooms, and talk to you about the ritual to get Buffy back."
Dawn could tell Xander was hiding something. "What are you gonna do, Xand?"
Xander looked innocently down at the sitting Dawn. "Me? I'm gonna go visit Willy, see if I can scare us up one Slayer…"
*
This seems to be getting longer as I write it. It was originally intended to be another 10 parter, but wants to be longer. Might go up to 16-20 parts. I know I was nasty to Giles, but something like that would have probably made him desperate to get back in the Council's good books. So I made him a bit of a git. Sorry Giles lovers. I'll write something to make it up to you if you ask nicely, but I've got a lot of other stuff I want to finish first.
