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. Respective Authors own their respective Star Wars novels. I do not.

Title: Sunnydale Jedi: Chapter 6

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 sat in the middle of the room, which had been cleared of everything by manual work rather than Xander's Force abilities. Willow seemed to be surprised that Xander did not use the Force for every little job, like she had done with magic. Xander spent several minutes, and a lot of effort before he succeeded in explaining this to her.

"Will, I love you dearly, but you got addicted to magic, remember? You are still struggling with the after effects of near constant use. It got to the point where you were using magic to turn lights on and off because you were too lazy to get up and do it. Magic wasn't designed for use like that. Only the purest of intentions can stop magic from eating away at your soul. Even with the very best of intentions, it still does it, but far more slowly." Shaking his head, Xander continued, "Constant use of power is dangerous, not least of all because it reaches a point where your usual magic no longer works to your satisfaction, and you go looking for more power. In a witch, this can make a Wiccan, one who is effectively a 'nature mage' into a Hecatian or even worse, a Black mage. As you know," Xander cut a piercing look at her, "black magic is very dangerous."

Willow made a face at Xander's insistence of running over the past and sighed. "I know all that, Xander."

Xander nodded slowly at the red headed girl standing in front of him with a 'humour-the-lunatic' expression on her face. "Yes, you know all that," he put the same condescending inflection that Willow had on the words, "and yet, you still don't seem to realise it, even after all this time…"

Willow snapped her head up, a look of outrage on her face, at what she took as betrayal from her closest childhood friend. "I don't have to take this!" She began mumbling a spell, one that Tara, who was still moving stuff out of the room recognised from a book they had found a few weeks ago, and feared. Her eyes widened at the sound of the final syllable slipping Willow's lips, and cringed as the spell shot at Xander.

Xander just held his hand up, and the spell dissipated in front of him like it had never been anything more than a trick done by a party magician. "See, Will?" he asked gently. He sighed heavily, the weight of the world suddenly on his shoulders, and continued. "Now imagine if that had been me. That spell you cast will probably mean that you're a bit tired, or maybe you might need some sugar or something to get your energy reserves back up to full. I managed to stop it without even trying. What if I had tried that? The power of the Jedi is much more than that of witches, because Jedi draw power from every living thing at once. The more things alive, the more power a Jedi has. It is far harder to sever a Jedi's connection with the Force than it is to bind a witch's power. If I used the Force for every little whim, I would inevitably burn out my ability to touch the light side, and I would be forced to start using the dark. That is something I promised Yoda I would never do. The dark side is far too dangerous for any person to survive using it for long, it eats you whole, feeding on your soul, and eventually corrupting your body as well…… but, to me, it isn't that that is the only reason; I promised… I promised Master Yoda that I would not fall to the Dark side. I will honour that promise."

Xander trailed off and turned, picking up a box as he went. With one last glance around the room, and a "We have to move the carpet…" he left the room and headed up the stairs.

Willow turned to Tara. "What did I do?" she asked in a small, pitiful voice, face full of regret.

Tara moved over to hug her lover. "You did exactly what Xander wanted you to do, I think."

Willow buried her face in Tara's shoulder. "What?" she mumbled in shock.

Tara gently peeled Willow off her, and cupped her chin with one hand. "Xander single-handedly showed you what would happen if you got out of control again," Tara hugged Willow tight again, "after we get back to New York, neither of us are going to use magic ever again, OK?"

Willow looked shocked, but just nodded.

Tara stood, Willow in her arms, thinking to herself. That was foolish, Xander Harris! What if you had not been strong enough? I know that spell, and you would not have had enough flesh left to fill a thimble…

*

As Xander let the box he was carrying drop to the ground, Giles stepped up next to him, and put his own box on the floor.

"That was very dangerous, Xander." Giles said reprovingly.

Xander nodded. "I know, Giles, but Willow needed to be shown what could happen if she gets out of control again."

Crystal moved up to the other side of Xander, before putting her box on top of Xander's. "And what if she had been to powerful? You would have died, and I'd have to explain it to my watcher."

"Yeah, Crys, I know," Xander turned to Giles, "Say, G-Man," Xander's trademark grin crept back, and the nickname hinted that Xander had begun to forgive Giles for his Council related zealousness, "you wouldn't do me the favour of looking in on Tara and Wills from time to time, would you? You know, make sure that they both stick to their promises?"

Giles looked shocked. "Won't you be able to do it?"

Xander shook his head. "I don't fit in here anymore, Giles." His tone was sad, but sure. "I want Buffy back, and then I'm getting the hell out of dodge. Life is too fast around here for me now. I want to find somewhere quiet, and go hide. The Force is too strong for this planet yet."

Giles looked away, and Crystal looked sadly at Xander. In the few days they had known each other, Crystal had got to look up to him greatly. Xander snapped out of the introspective mood, and smiled again. "Come on, we need to move the carpet, and I'm glad I've got a Slayer to help!"

Crystal laughed, caught up in the sudden change of attitude that Xander had, and Giles merely nodded, the implications of Xander leaving hitting him hard.

In the corridor, Dawn thought over the snippets of conversation she heard, and fought back tears.

*

Dawn sat in the middle of the completely cleared room. Willow and Tara stood either side of her, facing where Dawn had said she wanted the portal to appear. Crystal stood off to the side, with Giles, and Xander stood by himself, ready to do anything necessary if anything went wrong. That included jumping in to save the others, killing anything other than Buffy that fell out, and generally acting the hero.

A large tome rested on Dawn's knees, open approximately in the middle. Willow stood with her eyes shut, and Tara glanced nervously over at Xander.

Dawn started the incantation, and a chill swept through the room, making everyone shiver. Dawn ignored the cold, and kept chanting. Willow opened her eyes, and looked at Dawn. Tara was already looking at the girl.

As Willow and Tara fed Dawn the power she needed, both felt the floodgate open, and power flowed out in a rush. The portal formed in the air, and the chill in the room instantly left; replaced by a hellish heat from the portal mouth.

Dawn called over to Crystal. "Crystal! Come over here! Hold my hand!" Crystal did as was asked, and Dawn felt the power of the Slayer flow into her as well.

"Buffy!" Dawn cried out loud. "Use this as a beacon!"

A green bipedal monster fell through the portal, and Xander stepped forward, neatly decapitating it, then stepping back to watch fascinated as the body dissolved and was sucked back into the portal.

"Buffy! Use this as a beacon!" Dawn cried again, and the portal moaned.

All the assembled people stared at the portal, willing this to work. HOPING this would work.

Seconds later, a second body fell through the portal. Bruised, bloody, and beaten, with long hair matted down over its head, and a wild, feral look in its eyes.

Xander was raising the blade to strike again, when Dawn called out; "NO, Xander! Its Buffy!"

She was home…

*