"The Broken That is Lost Amidst Stardust" by Shadow Master
(BtVS/FSN Universes/Star Wars Universe/Possible Other)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this at any point in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my stories. Therefore please take no legal action against me. I am working part time and have nowhere near enough money to make such a venture worth it.
Note: I know I'm probably making some of you mad considering how many incomplete/in progress stories I've already posted but I just couldn't help myself. The interest was first aroused after watching the live action shows that've been popping up on Disney Plus that I liked a lot, finally getting around to watching the final season of 'Star Wars: the Clone Wars' and lastly listening to the song 'What Could have been' from the show 'Arcane'. With all of that going around inside my head I started wanting to write another crossover with Star Wars.
I know I could've just channelled this renewed interest into my existing crossover where Xander is a Jedi but I wanted to do something different. The crossovers I've read involving Xander and Star Wars usually have him becoming a Jedi, a soldier or a smuggler like Han Solo. However I wanted something different enough to set the story aside from the rest. Thinking on the new shows being released on Disney Plus I hit upon an idea and the more I thought on it the more I liked it.
From there it was just about conceiving a unique transition method as well as a way to keep Xander from being mistaken as one of the three expected roles listed above.
Now I will not claim that it was perfect and it is often the case that when creating a new path mistakes are made. I will only say that I hope you the readers find it unique, interesting and worth keeping tabs on.
Also fair warning: there will be major character deaths, some OOC behaviour from Xander due to the Halloween incident and perhaps a little too much lost/adrift behaviour. I never claimed to be perfect nor do I consider my works to be perfect but I always do my best to meet my own writing standards before posting something.
Note 2: As usual positive reviews will be appreciated, constructive criticism will be considered and venomous/bashing/negative reviews will either be ignored or burned as fuel to keep this idea going.
Note 3: I'm willing to take suggestions as to what events in Star Wars canon that you'd like to see Xander change or at least be present for.
The Broken That is Lost Amidst Stardust
May 21st, 2002
A Dirt Path on the Way to an End
Xander's POV
A blizzard of broken glass.
One step in front of the other as he continued to progress towards his destination with every millimetre of movement he made only causing the pain he was feeling to swell in intensity. Anyone else would've simply given up, found some secluded spot and simply curled up into a ball hoping against hope that the pain would go away sooner or later. Either the cause would burn itself out or their body's ability to feel pain would be obliterated by the constant uninterrupted bombardment. None of them would've tried to push on through the pain to do whatever it was they wanted to do especially if it'd only cause them more pain.
Too bad he was never all that smart and could prove more stubborn than the most immovable mountain when properly motivated.
He had only one goal at the moment: get to Willow at the top of the hill overlooking Sunnydale and stop her from ending the world.
He hadn't wanted to believe what he'd heard but at the same time he knew that as messed up as Willow was right now it wasn't impossible. With what'd happened at the Magic Shop the cold rage and desire for revenge that'd kept his yellow crayon pal from caring about anything else other than her own dark desires had been torn away. Now all that was left was the pain from Tara dying in her arms and the knowledge that all over the world other people were feeling the same thing about someone they'd loved. In Willow's current state of mind it only made sense to put an end to the pain by putting an end to the world.
Normally this job would be done by Buffy or G-Man but…neither of them were exactly in a state to do anything at the moment.
One was stuck in a hole in the ground with her little sister fighting off dirt monsters and the other had been drained of his magic possibly with his life force or whatever going along for the ride. Giles wasn't dead but when the ambulance had arrived the paramedics didn't look all that hopeful about his odds.
So it was basically all up to him and he'd accepted that.
If anyone stood a chance of stopping what Willow was planning to do it was him thanks to their lifetime of friendship.
Finally reaching the top of the hill it wasn't hard to spot Willow what with the whirlwind of ash circling her and the pulses of green energy being sent at a creepy white statue. Putting two and two together he figured that the key to Willow ending the world was putting energy into the statue so he did the only thing he could think of to prevent that.
He put himself in the path of the green energy pulses.
"Hey Black Eyed Girl." He said once he was sure that he had her attention, "Whatcha doin'?"
"Get outta here." She ordered clearly in no mood to talk.
"Oh no. You're not the only one with power here." He said putting a little bravado into his voice though it was hard, "You may be a hopped up uber-witch but this carpenter can drywall you into the next century."
"I'm not joking Xander." She said trying to intimidate him, "Get outta my way NOW."
As if to further emphasize this a blast of purple cloud mixed with lightning shot forth from her right hand to slam into his chest sending him into the air before he came crashing back down. It hurt and he almost lost his focus but the same stubbornness that helped him keep going through the pain proved enough to keep his focus firmly in his grasp. Unfortunately this retarded his recovery a bit so when he sat up he found that Willow'd gone back to channelling energy into the ugly statue again. Not even hesitating for a moment he stood up once more putting himself between Willow and the statue unpleasantly feeling some of the green energy hit his body.
"You can't stop this." She said sounding like she was more trying to convince herself than him.
"Yeah…I get that." He said shaking off the last of her previous blast, "It's just where else am I gonna go? You've been my best friend my whole life. World gonna end? Where else would I wanna be?"
"Is this the master plan? Ya gonna stop me by telling me you love me?" She asked mockingly with a condescending smile on her face.
"Well I was gonna walk you off the cliff over there and hand you an anvil but seemed kinda cartoony." He said using his usual humour to further mask his true intent.
"Still making jokes." She said not sounding too surprised.
"I'm not joking. I know you're in pain." He said knowing all too well what his best friend was feeling, "And I know you're about to do something apocalyptically evil and stupid but hey…still wanna hang. You're Willow."
"Don't call me that." She warned as though he was dangerously close to crossing a line.
"The first day of kindergarten you cried because you broke the yellow crayon and you're too afraid to tell anyone." He said bringing up the first day they'd met, "You've come pretty far, ending the world, not a TERRIFIC notion, but the thing is I LOVE YOU. I love crayon breakey Willow and I love scary veiny Willow. So if I'm going out it's here. If you wanna kill the world then start with me. I've earned that."
"You think I won't?" She asked no doubt thinking that he was bluffing.
Not unreasonable since most people wanted to live and it took a special sort of mental mess to change that.
"It doesn't matter." He replied stepping forward towards her, "I'll still love you."
"Shut up." She growled before performing a slashing claw attack with her hand.
Thing was even though she was nowhere near close enough he still felt the pain of three parallel cuts opening up on his cheek with blood flowing soon after.
But he knew what to do now.
"I love you." He said not backing down in the least.
Another slash this time cutting open his shirt but thankfully it wasn't bad enough to give a clear look at what lay beneath.
"I…I love you." He said not giving up the opening she'd provided him with.
"Shut up!" She yelled trying to blast him again only to have the lightning sputter out after a second.
It was working.
The power that made Willow so badass depended on the strength of her darker emotions and violent desires. The more he brought up the better parts of her and the more positive emotions the weaker the dark mojo became but he didn't let his guard down just yet. He needed to be sure that her grip on the magic she'd absorbed from the books was completely lost before he could safely label her neutralized.
"I love you." He said walking towards her while half bracing for another magic attack.
"STOP!" She yelled though whether it was her talking or the dark mojo that didn't want to let go of Willow yet he didn't know.
"I love you." He said as stepped close enough to wrap his arms around her.
This did it.
With his statements of love and the darkness receding from her soul Willow finally gave into her pain and grief. Cries of sadness, grief and pain came from her mouth as she rested her head on his shoulder accepting his hug of comfort for all that it was worth. As this happened he watched as his best friend's hair began to return to its normal red colour and the black veins faded from her skin. It was only when the last sign of the magic she'd absorbed from the books disappeared that he could safely say that she'd gone from Dark Willow back to being Normal Wicca Willow. With a bit of time and some help he was sure she'd be able to recover fully from the nightmare that bastard Warren had created in his megalomania.
Too bad it'd never happen.
"Time to go Willow." He said preparing to take that first step, "Don't worry I'll be with you every step of the way."
Seeing her raise her gaze he knew he had to act now or else she'd figure it out and things would get harder.
~Trace…on!~ He thought tapping into something he'd only tried to use once before being given a very painful reason never to do so again.
This time though he pushed through the pain and once he felt the familiar weight in his right hand he aimed the tip before shoving it home. He heard Willow's gasp of pain and surprise but ruthlessly suppressed the reaction most people would have after doing what he'd done. Instead he spoke a single word, one that had only existed in his memory up until now, triggering the special effect that would finish things for good.
With a burst of blue energy exiting out of her back there was only time enough for Willow to look him in the eyes for a second or so before the light of life left her eyes. It was a look of shock and unless he was mistaken it was possible that a small spark of comprehension had surfaced for a split second before vanishing along with everything else.
Gently lowering Willow's body to the ground he passed his hand over her eyes to close them.
Looking at the short sword in his hand, the Azoth sword, as it fell to pieces due to there not being enough magic to sustain it he only had a moment before the first sign of the cost manifested.
If the pain he'd fought through before had been like walking through a blizzard of glass shards this felt like someone had replaced his blood with high temperature flames. He couldn't even cry out thanks to the pain his body was experiencing and when it ended he simply collapsed beside the body of his best friend even as the damage he'd done to himself continued to manifest. The first time he'd tried to tap into the leftovers of his Halloween costume choice he'd stopped the second the first bit of mind numbing pain had surged through him. It'd taken a bit of guesswork once he'd recovered but in hindsight he should've known better.
Years ago during the Halloween where G-Man's old buddy Ethan had come to town for a bit of fun he'd been forced to change his original idea for a costume. Originally he'd decided to be a soldier using cheap military fatigues from the surplus store combined with a toy assault rifle from the costume shop's bargain bin. Too bad Larry had been there looking for an outfit and had been standing too close to the bargain bin for him to get the toy gun without being seen. With what'd happened in the student lounge earlier in the day he was in no hurry to get into another confrontation with the jock again. So with his idea busted he'd browsed through Ethan's shop to see if there was anything within his budget either immediately or after he tried to haggle down the price a bit more.
In the end though the only thing that came close was a red and black costume with a pair of short swords hanging from the belt. After surprising him and nearly giving him a heart attack Ethan explained that the costume had come from a Japanese company that he'd decided to sample from. However according to Ethan since not a lot of Japanese entertainment had made it overseas to America no one else had shown any interest in the costume.
Not unsurprising when you had so many more recognizable costumes to choose from.
In the end between Ethan reducing the price after so many passed it by and a bit of haggling between the two of them he'd managed to buy it along with a bit extra. That bit extra had been a pair of contact lenses, some white hair dye and some body paint to darken his skin to look a little bronzer. It'd taken a bit of doing but he'd managed to put the costume on right and use the accessories well enough that no one would laugh at him for making a mistake. When he'd arrived at Buffy's place everyone there had told him how good he looked in it with him returning the compliment even if he still hated the Slayer's reason for wearing the puffy dress.
Things had gone so normally for awhile after that and even though Giles had told them that Halloween was supposed to be dead for the usual Hellmouth stuff he should've known better.
Out of nowhere they'd been hit with a spell that caused everyone who bought something from Ethan's shop to be transformed into whoever or whatever they were pretending to be. Sure he'd found out later that there'd been a sort of power limit in place for those changed with their costume memories altered to explain it away but what was left was nothing to sneeze at. His memories of what'd happened while his costume personae had been in control had been and still was spotty after the spell ended but he knew enough.
He knew that for a few hours that Halloween night he'd been transformed into one Emiya Shirou but that wasn't all. Through some weird level of luck info had been dropped into his brain to let him know that the version of Emiya Shirou he'd turned into was the one who'd made a contract with the World. Normally this would be a bad thing given that it'd led to the hero obsessed young man being turned into a Counter Guardian slave but Lady Luck had been nice for once. Instead of turning into someone who'd been branded a schemer and executed soon after making the deal he'd turned into the Emiya Shirou who still thought he had a full life ahead of himself before dying and fulfilling his end of the bargain. This had been a miracle since it'd meant his body hadn't been transformed into a magical construct and thanks to where he was he was beyond that World's reach entirely.
After Halloween everything had more or less returned to normal with most people losing any lingering memories within a week or so.
But not him.
Somehow the memories and the knowledge of that version of Emiya Shirou remained in his mind and was strong enough that it'd take years of negligence to cause it to fade away. It'd been amazing to sift through the memories in his mind's eye and see a world so very different from the one he knew. It had been after a close call fighting the good fight alongside Buffy that he'd gained the motivation to see if he could put what he knew to good use. He'd figured that even if the rules of his world were different from the rules of Emiya's world the reality warping effects of the Hellmouth might give him some sort of wiggle room to work with. His first attempt had been something simple in that he'd just try to channel some magic through his body like Shirou did his magical circuits. It'd been intended as a way of confirming that he could do it so it could act as a foundation for moving onto other things.
The pain he'd felt quickly proved that while the Hellmouth was a strange place where normal rules didn't always apply his world was still too different for him to accomplish anything with his Halloween knowledge.
Whether it was due to the lack of actual magical circuits, the rules of local magic being too different or the years of being exposed to the Hellmouth interfering the end result was the same.
No special mojo for Xander unless he wanted to risk seriously hurting himself within seconds.
Life had gone on from there and while the bits of know how he'd gained from Emiya Shirou that didn't involve magic had been useful he'd been stuck in the support role. There'd been a few bumps and bruises along the way but the Scoobies still had managed to prevail more often then not but winning streaks only lasted so long before coming to an end. Even legendary athletes who managed to achieve historical winning streaks lost sooner or later and the Scoobies were no different.
The thing was it hadn't been some uber demon or some master of the dark mojo that'd finally managed to land a bloody blow to the Scoobies.
It'd been some egotistical nerd with delusions of becoming the next Lex Luthor and his nerdy minions. Warren, Andrew and Jonathan had joined forces with dreams of becoming the next big bads of Sunnydale with the scary thing being they might've just lucked into it if they'd had more time. Instead Buffy had managed to stop the trio from robbing an armoured car in her usual quipping style.
This had led to Warren losing his shit and barging into the backyard of Buffy's house with a loaded gun. Apparently the asshole was a bit of a misogynistic bastard who thought that all women should be beneath men both figuratively as well as literally. To have his ambitions so easily dashed by Buffy, Slayer or not, had dumped moonshine levels of fury into the asshole with a strong desire to kill Buffy. Thanks to him Buffy'd been spared a fatal shot and only gotten a bullet in the shoulder for her trouble.
Tara hadn't been so lucky.
A stray shot, an accident, had gone through the window to the room Willow and her girlfriend had been in going right through the blonde's heart.
Willow hadn't taken that well at all and had hopped on the red eye of revenge express determined to find Warren and kill him. His best bud had even gone so far so as to raid the magic books at the Magic Shop to juice herself up even further in order to get her vengeance. All throughout what'd followed they'd tried to talk the redhead turned raven haired girl down not wanting Willow to become a murderer but it hadn't worked.
She'd skinned Warren alive before incinerating his dead body a few seconds later.
It should've ended there but it did not.
With the dark mojo she'd absorbed serving to maintain the desire for vengeance within her Willow had chosen to go after Jonathan and Andrew even though they hadn't had anything to do with Tara's death. For Willow though it'd been guilt by association and perhaps guilt for not trying to stop Warren before things had gone that far. Naturally the still sane Scoobies had done all they could to keep their friend's crime of murder limited to Warren but their unwillingness to harm Willow hamstringed them. Even with the resources of the Magic Shop they'd only been able to slow her down but when Giles had arrived with some Dumbledore power under the hood they'd received a boost of hope. For a few exchanges it looked like the Brit's cooler head, new level of power and superior experience just might have made him the equal of Willow's dark might.
It lasted right until Willow had teleported behind Anya and rammed her hand right into his girlfriend's back.
Then…right before his eyes…he'd watched Anya shrivel up as her magic was drained out of her in order for Willow to gain the boost she needed to overpower Giles. G-Man hadn't gone down easily but in the end Willow had sucked out his magic too albeit not as bloodily as had been done to Anya nor with the mummy after effects. He'd been frozen under a torrent of emotions and didn't come out of it until Willow had shown signs of losing it even more and teleported out.
In the end it'd been Giles who'd let him know what Willow was up to and set him on his path to the hilltop.
No doubt Giles had been counting on him somehow getting in touch with Willow's humanity and talking her down. After that the Brit likely intended for all of them to recover from the entire ordeal and for the redhead to go through some sort of professional mojo detox program as well as some head shrinking. It was the best possible outcome and the one he was pretty sure that most of the Scoobies would prefer.
The part of him that was Xander Harris was okay with taking that route.
However the echo in his mind, the echo of the Emiya Shirou that he'd become Halloween night, pointed out that someone who'd tapped into dark magics didn't just 'get better'. Using that brand of magic scarred the soul and left many people prone to a relapse if the right emotional and psychological buttons were pushed. Given that Willow had murdered two people so far and intended to kill a great many more it begged the question: what if it happens again? What if she gives into the darkness again? Will the same tactic work a second time or would saying 'I love you' be a waste of breath?
He hadn't liked the possibilities that'd sprung to mind.
The Scoobies might've killed a lot of demons but they were monsters guilty of horrible crimes so there hadn't been any guilt in the act. However killing a human being carried a much greater weight due to the lack of differences and the abundance of similarities between killer and killed. Even if emotion and the irrational need for revenge could override the natural inhibitions towards killing another human being there were still mental consequences. Killing Warren and then killing Anya were things that could never be undone and Willow would know this during her recovery.
He expected quite a few nightmares and possibly a great fear of using her magic again.
As for the dark mojo leaving stain on her soul if it was anything like becoming an alcoholic or some other form of addict then every single day would be a struggle to resist a relapse. Perhaps in time the call of the darkness would be reduced to a whisper that could easily be ignored but for the first few years the wrong situation or trigger could cause the addiction to flare up.
Perhaps flare up too much for Willow to resist dipping into black magic again.
If that happened and no one caught it in time…if she had another 'I plan to end the world's pain by killing everyone' moment…the risk was too great and too many stood to lose their lives if they were too optimistic.
And maybe…maybe…there was a part of him that'd grasped the seed of hatred when Willow killed Anya. Even if Willow was his best friend she had taken the woman he loved from him in the most horrible way possible right before his eyes. That wasn't something that could be easily forgiven if at all. Even if the brotherly love he felt for her still burned bright the hate that'd been born upon Anya's death was enough to cause him to lean towards Archer's point of view.
As much as he wanted to embrace the sunnier outcome uncountable numbers of innocents would pay the price if they were wrong.
Thus there had only been one thing to do: eliminate the threat before it could try again.
With the pain of what he'd forced himself to do and the pain of trying something that his body couldn't handle he welcomed the end that approached.
The end beckoned forth by the gradually growing pool of his own blood.
~Not exactly the way I'd planned to go out.~ He thought as an eerie peace began to flow through him, ~Still…'saving the world'…could've been worse…~
And so did the black curtain fall.
The Hilltop
A Few Moments Later
A sad tableau lay about the area.
One friend dead by another friend's hand.
A young man forced to make the hardest of choices and willingly paying the price of tapping into a power certain to kill him seconds after he accomplished his goal.
To some this was simply the way of things and the preservation of the world being worth any price.
Worth any number of deaths.
However it was then that something disturbed the blood of the fallen in a way that few could've anticipated. As though the red liquid possessed a will of its own some of it trickled away from the main pool like strands of hair. First just one but then dozens with the blood of Xander flowing to the left even as the blood of Willow flowed to the right. When bloody hairs were six feet from the pools of red that they came from and pooled enough to fill a small cup…THAT is when things really took off.
Where before the hairs had been moving like gently poured honey now the blood shot up like strands of electricity coming together at the seven foot mark to form an archway. From within its borders a swirling darkness began to fill it up until only half an inch of empty air separated it from the blood. A few seconds later a form emerged from the swirling darkness bereft of drama but full of urgency clad a hooded robe with a small gap in the back.
"No…NO! It cannot end like this!" Came a woman's voice from the female lips visible from beneath the hood only lightly touched by red lipstick, "Not when there was finally hope!"
Without hesitation the figure rushed to the side of Xander Harris moving gloved hands over his body in a way similar to how a paramedic might when attempting to assess a victim of violence. As the speed increased and an almost frantic energy seeped into the movements it was clear that the prognosis was not positive or at least not as positive as the figure wanted it to be. Bereft of good news the figure slumped where they knelt sobs of sadness causing the shoulders to spasm every once in awhile.
Most would have the decency to respect the figure's need to grieve.
Sadly one had been ordered to make an appearance despite his personal wishes.
"Sorry it had to be this way." A man's Brooklyn accented voice said even as the air rippled to herald the arrival of guy in pimp clothes, "We'd have been happy if Harris had just talked her down but…guess he had more steel in'em than we thought."
The figure said nothing but continued to look down at the body of Xander Harris even as the last embers of life began to wink out within him taking the link between body and soul with them.
"He saved the world though. Pretty much guarantees him a spot in cloud and harps land. Maybe he'll even see his buddy Jesse there." The pimp said trying to get a response from the figure, "If Petey isn't too hard on her maybe Rosenberg will get in. Maybe."
Nothing but silence filled the air afterwards for several minutes.
"Look ya got my sympathies Janus but ya gotta go back to Roman Olympus." The pimp said with some insistence, "You know the rules. No deities in the mortal realm. EVER. My bosses might be willing to give you a little leeway 'cause of your connection to the kid but don't push it."
"'Connection'. A cold word and about what I'd expect from your 'bosses'." The figure said reaching up to remove the hood from her head, "They force their rules upon the pantheons, strive for balance with the darkness rather than fight against it and remove any who won't follow their orders."
With the hood gone there was nothing to hide the face of a matronly woman possessing many facial characteristics common to those whose family had lived in Italy for thousands of years. Possessing a mature beauty one might almost be distracted but when looking further something was revealed that made it clear the figure was NOT human.
A man's face on the back of the head opposite the woman's face with a full beard covering the male side's jaw.
Oddly enough it didn't look ugly or unnatural, the combination of faces, but rather it looked as though it was only to be expected.
"They rule with the authority of the 'Big Man' Janus." The pimp said indicating there was no one higher than the 'Big Man', "He trusts them with it so you should trust that they know what they're doin'."
"The Creator of All works in mysterious ways Whistler." Janus said the faces shifting so that it was the male one that faced forward, "Perhaps they're not meant to be an example to be followed but one to be avoided."
"Watch it. Even if you don't respect them personally respect their positions. They're the leaders of the side of light." Whistler warned with a bit of an edge to his warning, "Keep pushing and you won't be around to find out which it is."
"No…no I probably won't." Janus said with grim acceptance, "I guess there's just one thing to do then."
Whistler relaxed with his apparent victory and waited to see the Roman god walk back through the portal that'd brought the two faced one here.
Further proof that Whistler hadn't been hired for his brains.
With all the force of a pressurized water pipe cracking open to release a torrent of liquid power not felt on the mortal world since the days of the Roman Empire burst out of Janus. It knocked Whistler silly and would buy the Roman god a few seconds lead and so any action needed to be done quickly.
With gestures lines of power began to form around the barely living body of Xander Harris bending, twisting and swooping as they went. Had Ethan Rayne known of this he likely would've given everything he had just to witness his patron deity at work since that which was being drawn on the ground had been seen by only two mortals in all of history. While drawn with speed Janus seemed to take significant care not to make any mistakes as he/she worked. Not surprising since they were operating on borrowed time that was quickly running out and mistakes would only waste time.
As it was the Roman god had only just finished writing on the ground with divine power when Whistler finally got back to his feet.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Whistler exclaimed angrily, "If deities setting foot in the mortal world isn't allowed using your magic is grounds for eternal imprisonment and THAT'S if you're lucky! If you aren't then it's straight to the Abyss with you just like what happened to Thor!"
"Then I guess it's a good thing I won't be giving them the chance." Janus said even as they channelled ever greater amounts of magic into the drawn lines, "Even if I won't be around to see the results I know the my work will ensure that those fools taste nothing but frustration for decades to come!"
"If that's how you want to play it!" Whistler said before raising his right hand, "ENIVID ELBICURC!"
As if summoned by the words crimson glyphs manifested on Janus' skin like tattoos that'd been done with inflicting maximum pain being the goal rather than aesthetics. Both male and female faces of Janus grimaced from the pain but if Whistler's goal had been to stop whatever magic Janus was performing then the pimp wasn't having the success most would want. Whether due to poor execution or the strength of Janus' will the spell being cast proceeded uninterrupted with arcane lines beginning to manifest on Xander Harris' skin little by little.
"ENIVID ELBICURC LAIRT REX!" Whistler yelled causing the tattoos on Janus to light up with crimson energy staggering the Roman deity in the process.
Stagger but not stop.
In the end there would be no third attempt for Whistler though for with a final exclamation of effort Janus' spell reached its climax.
"Fiat quod semel erat iterum esse! Quod restitutum est, aeternum sit!" Janus yelled as loud as they could with an unearthly reverberation not heard in centuries, "Ex decreto domini Olympii hanc declarationem facio: coram me stat heres meus! Hereditet omne quod debet! Ita fiat fiat!"
With one final surge of light all had to look away be they god, messenger or those watching from afar. When the light had faded the scene looked pretty much the same as it had before save for one glaring exception: Xander Harris was nowhere to be found.
A pool of his blood was still soaking into the soil but the body from which the red liquid had come had vanished.
"Where is he? What did you do?!" Whistler asked looking in every direction both with his eyes as well as other senses available to him.
"Heheheheheh…let's just say I've thrown my favourite rock someplace neither you or your masters will ever find him." Janus replied as collapsed to one trembling knee, "I've healed up the cracks and given him some strength but he still needs a bit of polish. Good thing I know some people who do quality work."
"A place like that doesn't exist! I don't care if your divine domains give you an edge." Whistler declared with conviction, "We WILL find HIM!"
"Best get to it then." Janus said even as their skin began to turn into golden dust, "Times a wasting."
With those words Janus' body crumbled to dust leaving a pile of it on the ground with only the robe they'd been wearing to cover it.
With several curses in a demonic tongue even Rupert Giles would have a hard time translating Whistler vanished leaving a scene that would mystify many even if in the case of the surviving Scoobies it would only happen after they'd finished grieving.
However none would be able to predict what would come next.
Wild Space, Beyond the Outer Rim
Kamino, Tipoca City
Late 22 BBY
"Your repeated insistence on this matter is most vexing Tri Gar. The Ruling Council has made its decision."
"The Ruling Council is too afraid to entertain options you have not supported first." Tri Gar said with irritation in her voice, "With the primary donor for the Republic's army dead and his body too badly decayed to extract fresh samples we are limited in the number of clone troopers we can produce. With no way of knowing how long this war with the Separatists is going to last we need to plan for the possibility of the conflict outlasting our ability to produce Fett clones."
"Our clone troopers are the finest military force in the galaxy, trained by the best and equipped with the best weapons and armour. While I will admit that the war is not progressing as swiftly in the Republic's favour as we originally projected the superiority of our clones is indisputable when compared to the battle droids they are pitted against. I am confident that the war will end before our supply of Fett DNA has been exhausted."
"And if it isn't?"
"Then we will explain to Chancellor Palpatine that we will require a fresh supply of DNA from a suitable donor in order to continue providing him with soldiers."
"That could take weeks. Perhaps even months. Time enough for the Chancellor to explore different options. Less COSTLY options." Tri Gar pointed out pressing her point, "If the Ruling Council approves my project I can have alternative prototypes within the year. Should they meet with Chancellor Palpatine's approval a full battalion can be produced within months."
"Doing so would attract the attention of both the Jedi and the Republic. They would question why such a project was necessary. They might think that we are starting a new project because there is something wrong with the Fett clones. Something we have not told them about. If their faith in us wavers, if it fails, we stand to lose much."
"Not if a lab is prepared for me in Timira City." Tri Gar said sounding certain of her words, "As far as the Republic knows the entire cloning effort for their Grand Army exists here in Tipoca City and nowhere else. They will have no reason to look at Timira City until we give them one. While the Republic is our primary client at the moment any movement of resources can be explained away as us fulfilling a minor contract."
"Even if I were willing to entertain the possibility you would need multiple suitable sources with which to begin your project. Given that Jango Fett was brought to us rather than someone we located and evaluated ourselves I am skeptical of your chances of finding what you need with the necessary discretion."
Tri Gar was about to speak when the air over the room's sole table began to distort in a way neither Kaminoan had ever seen before. Almost immediately warning klaxons began to sound as the city's internal sensors detected something anomalous no doubt causing a squad of clone troopers assigned to provide security for the city to head their way. However as the distortion grew in size and became more violent neither of the natives of Kamino believed they would arrive in time to prevent what was about to happen.
They were right.
Like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon a form emerged from the distortion slowly yet steadily before there was more out of the distortion than in it. At that point the natural gravity of Kamino ensnared the new arrival causing it to fall onto the table with a hard thump. Both Kaminoans identified the form as an injured human male wearing damaged primitive clothing that appeared to have still wet blood soaked into the fabric. It was an odd sight to say the least and when the two Kaminoans raised their eyes back to the distortion they were in time to see it shrink before disappearing entirely. It was almost as though the distortion's only purpose was to transport the human to them and nothing more.
But why? For what purpose?
"If I were the religious sort I would say that the Force has chosen to lend aid to my project." Tri Gar said only half mockingly as she performed a visual evaluation of the stranger.
"It would be overly optimistic to presume that this human can be of any use to your project."
"Perhaps." Tri Gar conceded even as the clone trooper squad arrived, "Take him to the med-bay. Have any wounds he has suffered seen to by the medical droids and alert us the moment he regains consciousness."
"Yes m'am." The lead trooper said before gesturing for his team to pick up the unknown human.
Once the clone troopers had left the room and the door had closed the discussion resumed.
"Should the human be of sound health and consent to aid you in your work I would be willing to use my authority to provide you with a lab and modest resources. If you produce sufficient results within a six month period additional resources may be allocated."
"I shall do my best not to disappoint you Prime Minister Lama Su." Tri Gar said bowing in gratitude for the opportunity presented before her.
Neither Kaminoan knew what they had set in motion with this bargain.
Or the effects it would have on the galaxy itself.
Tipoca City
Infirmary
Xander's POV
The unknown.
That was the first thing that he picked up on during his ascent to full consciousness because with the registering of his senses of touch and hearing he couldn't identify what he was being told. The sounds were muffled, distorted, but not like they'd be if some sort of artificial soundproofing was responsible but more like…something else…the label being right at the edge of his tongue. As for his sense of touch he could feel something over his face but more importantly he was being told that he was engulfed in the sensation of something not water but not slime either. The qualities his sense of touch was conveying to him defied classification but he could safely say that he didn't want to make a habit of experience things like this.
Wanting to get back to a state of comfort his spirit hastened his rise towards consciousness and moments later he opened his eyes to view something truly strange.
The first thing to register was that he seemed to have something akin to diving goggles over his eyes and a moment later he confirmed some sort of mouthpiece providing air. A good thing he judged since he very much doubted the slightly cloudy substance he was apparently submerged in could be breathed in and out any more than water could. However it was what he saw through the goggles and the not-slimy liquid he was submerged in that gained and locked his attention.
His first inclination was that he was looking at demons. Really thin demons with seriously long necks. However it was when he took in the room that they were in that he shifted to the definition of aliens because the walls and a few other places looked distinctly techie. He couldn't make out what he presumed were letters and numbers on the screen with the images not giving him much more than indicating it all might be HIS life signs or whatever. Instinctively he tried to think about how he'd come to be here and why he was stuck in a pool of gunk since that was what any normal person would do.
In this case it was the WRONG thing to do for him at this moment.
Why?
Because it was then that he remembered IT ALL. Warren storming into the backyard of Buffy's house gun shooting everywhere, Willow going on a black revenge trip, Anya…Anya dying in front of him and the most recent recollection of killing his best friend. At these recollections he could feel the emotions each incident had birthed within him and unlike what some might think it wasn't any easier the second time around. Fear, desperation, worry, grief mixed with pain and a level of suffering that could only be ended by death. However with the absence of something with which to kill himself with quickly enough he chose to go with the next best thing which was the futility of trying to run from his memories. Desperately looking about for a way out of the slime he spotted that the top seemed to be open so he tried to swim up to it so he could grasp the sides and pull himself out.
Too bad the universe seemed to want him to suffer more.
The substance was definitely the middle ground between being water and slime but thanks to this fact he wasn't moving anywhere near fast enough for his liking. It wasn't until something was lowered into the tank he was in and grasped his shoulders that he suddenly found himself pulled upwards and out of the tank. With that problem solved he wasted no time pulling the mask off of his face as well as the mouthpiece feeding him oxygen. His breathing was deep and quickly but only evaded being labelled hyperventilating by a minimal margin allowing him to notice when he was set down on some sort of examination table.
"Please relax. It is understandable that waking in a bacta tank would be disorienting and possibly alarming." A calm and almost emotionless voice said from his right, "However it was necessary in order to properly treat your injuries. That being said your body seems unusually accepting of bacta given how quickly you healed."
Turning his head to face the source while his body slowly began to calm down into normal rate of breathing he found the speaker to be one of the aliens that'd seen through the goggles. Honestly he couldn't say he'd ever seen any aliens like the one he was seeing with the closest match being the ones featured in 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. However that was a bit of a stretch since whatever branch of evolution that'd created these aliens had halved the length of their limbs when compared to the fictional one and lengthened the neck. He wasn't going to even try to assign gender since the voice had contained qualities that could belong to either. Instead he decided to focus on the more practical things as a way of distracting himself from the emotions prowling about his mind waiting for an opening.
"Wh-where am…I?" He asked his throat feeling hoarse and dry.
"You are in a medical facility in the city of Tipoca on the planet Kamino." The alien replied keeping her polite yet near emotionless tone constant.
None of the names meant anything to him but the fact that he'd been told that he was on a planet rather than some spaceship in Earth's solar system implied much time had passed. Every depiction of spaceship speed in fiction implied that it took time to travel from one planetary system to another barring a few exceptions sped up for plot reasons. While he doubted that any government with satellites looking for life outside of the solar system would reveal what they found to the public he had a feeling that 'Kamino' was not anywhere near Earth. If so then it was understandable that they'd have to dunk him in that gunk since the damage he'd done to his body by using Emiya's magecraft would've only gotten worse if left untreated for awhile.
Looking down at his body to see if there were any lingering scarring from his veins popping and his nervous system getting overloaded he received quite the surprise.
No it wasn't the fact that as near as he could tell he didn't have a single sign of injury on him nor was it the fact that he was clad only in a pair of boxer briefs. Both he could attribute to alien science and medicine easily enough since some of the shows as well as movies had shown amazing ways of healing serious injuries in minutes. No the thing that surprised him was the body that now lacked any visible injuries at all was NOT the body he remembered having prior to what should've been his death. The years of fighting alongside Buffy to protect Sunnydale and by nice coincidence the world itself had done much to get him in shape. He wouldn't liken it to the sort of body you'd get from dedicating yourself to sports or deliberate muscle sculpting exercises though. More like the amount of activity he put himself through while awake helped keep his Twinkie addiction from becoming visible via noticeable love handles.
However looking at the body he was now sporting he thought it was conservative to say that it looked more like it belonged to someone who competed in sports professionally. Not an ounce of fat to be seen and muscles that honestly probably would've had every popular girl back in Sunnydale High School drooling so long as no one told them they belonged to him. More than that though his skin had taken on a light bronze tinge that didn't quite match what you'd get from someone who maintained a good tan. Neither did it precisely match someone of any specific ethnicity either.
Was it a side effect of whatever they'd used to heal him? Depending on what the process did he could see it burning off all the fat he'd had in order to fuel the healing process but that wouldn't explain the change to his musculature or skin colour.
~Why do I get the feeling that somewhere there's a certain red eyed old man out there having WAY too much fun at my expense?~ He asked even as he turned his attention back to the alien.
It was with that thought that a possibility occurred to him with regards to his physical appearance but he suppressed it since such a scenario was best considered in private.
"How did I get here?" He asked figuring getting that piece of information might give him a way to get home.
Sure the…Kaminoans?…hadn't harmed him and had in fact put him back in perfect health but popular fiction had a few stories of aliens doing that only to turn around and turn the human into a lab rat. It was as he thought this though that he realized that going home…what was the point? Willow was dead. Anya was dead. He was pretty sure that even if Buffy, Dawn and Giles were still alive the sin he'd committed for the sake of the world would seriously damage the bonds between him and them. Dawn and Buffy would likely look at him like he was a monster unable to understand how he could've killed Willow or why he'd felt the need to since he'd succeeded in talking her down from her world ending. Giles might be more comprehending of the why but the truth was that Willow had been something of a protege for the Brit given the amount of time the two had been the core of the Scooby gang's research team. Even if the former Watcher understood the reason why it had to be done the relationship between the two of them would be…strained at best.
So maybe it'd be best if he just stayed wherever in the galaxy he was at the moment.
"I do not know. Only Doctor Tri Gar and Prime Minister Lama Su were present at the time of your arrival." The alien replied honestly, "I notified both of them of your regaining consciousness prior to removing you from the bacta tank. They should be here momentarily."
Odd.
How hard was it to say 'you arrived on one of our ships a few days ago'? Was the nature of his abduction and relocation classified or something? If it was then he'd have to navigate things carefully if he didn't want to be classified as a loose end that needed tying off. Classified projects of the human variety usually involved sensitive information or items that the attached government wanted to control the awareness of. If they thought he could be trusted to keep things quiet OR agreed to stay at a specific location without protest they might let him live but anything that carried the risk of info spreading would probably be rejected.
Out of the corner of his field of vision he detected movement and turned to see two more Kaminoans approaching that he presumed were the duo that had been notified that he'd woken up. He couldn't really see anything that set them apart from the others whether in terms of clothing or some sort of special accessory denoting rank or position. Still the way the first alien moved to the side in a clear action of bowing to someone of higher rank confirmed that one of them was the prime minister. This was only further reinforced when the rest of the aliens in the room walked out the door reducing the number present to four.
~Definitely classified.~ He thought since he could think of no other reason for the rank and file exiting the room like this.
"It is good to see you faring so well." The taller of the two newcomers said, "Given the numerous unique attributes your body possesses I wasn't certain how it would react to bacta."
"What do you mean?" He asked not liking what his imagination was coming up with for 'unique attributes'.
"Humans are fairly common throughout the Republic but you lack many of the physiological identifiers that they do. Whether it is due to the planets their ancestors spent a few generations on or some artificial variable introduced into their bodies the identifiers are there." The shorter of the two newcomers replied sounding like a scientist, "However over ninety percent of the identifiers catalogued since the beginning of recorded history are absent in you. Add to that the presence of unique anomalies and it is not unfeasible that exposure to bacta might not have been beneficial."
"And yet you dunked me in it for who knows how long anyway." He pointed out feeling that that was not the smartest of movies.
"A preliminary analysis of blood and tissue samples combined with exposing them to bacta didn't indicate any problems so it was felt to be worth the risk." The shorter newcomer said as though all the right boxes had been check marked.
"And what's the price tag for this healing?" He asked knowing that the number of places of healing that did things free of charge were few indeed.
"Normally it would be quite a sum of credits however given the unique manner of your arrival I believe answering some questions will suffice as well as considering a proposal." The taller of the two newcomers replied politely, "Could you perhaps tell us anything about the spatial anomaly that deposited you in one of our meeting rooms? It like yourself was quite unique."
'Spatial anomaly' had a wide variety of descriptions in sci-fi and fantasy so he couldn't be sure but it sounded like someone or something had magicked him to Kamino. It was probably also connected to the changes that'd been done to his body so he didn't think it was done by some random hellmouth craziness burp. Changing his body and sending him someplace where he could get fixed up could only be done by someone with a mind and will of their own. Had someone been watching him or watching Willow's attempt to end the world? If so what was their reason for changing him and sending him here?
More questions without answers.
"Wish I could tell you but the last thing I remembered before waking up here was dying." He replied managing to keep his voice even in spite of the emotions yanking on the mental leash.
"Then perhaps you could tell us about your home world." The taller newcomer alien suggested not showing signs of being disappointed by the previous answer, "I'm sure you would like to return there. Provided it isn't in Separatist controlled space it would be simple enough to arrange some transport there."
"I doubt it." He said with a negative shake of his head, "My home world's nowhere near as advanced as Kamino and we haven't even figured out a way to get people to the edge of our system and back alive. Unless some explorers found it by accident I doubt you'll be able to find Earth. That's what we call our world."
Figuring out alien facial expressions was impossible with so little experience was impossible but he thought it safe to say that both newcomers were somewhat surprised by this news.
"This is odd indeed. That would imply that your home world lies either in the outer rim or the unknown regions." The taller newcomer said sounding mystified, "Most other systems have long since been discovered and explored. It is something of a mystery then how your unknown benefactor found your world and was able to send you here in such a manner."
"Well the galaxy is full of surprises." He said since if the Hellmouth had taught him anything it was that there was no such thing as impossible.
"Indeed. Given your lack of assets and identity as far as the Republic is concerned you are welcome to live here on Kamino until you feel comfortable enough to do otherwise." The taller alien said in an official manner, "If you wish I can assign a teacher so instruct you on the essential knowledge you will need if you wish to leave Kamino at some point."
"Or you can avail yourself of a more expedient option." The shorter newcomer said somewhat forcefully, "Being taught in the traditional manner would require several years to bring you up to the same level as your average Republic citizen. However if you avail yourself of our flash training technology that time could be shortened to as little as a year if not less."
"How does it work?" He asked finding himself much preferring a quicker method of learning.
"It involves using holographic flashes to imprint knowledge directly into the brain via the optic nerve. While common here the process is a bit complicated for those not versed in the technology." The shorter Kaminoan replied keeping things short and to the point, "It would require further instruction in order for you to become scientifically educated enough to fully comprehend it."
"Putting stuff directly into the brain sounds risky." He said feeling a bit wary, "Like someone could shove orders into my head I wouldn't be able to stop."
"Nonsense. Most organic brains have a natural resistance to foreign input rendering it possible to reject any flash instruction imprinted commands." The shorter Kaminoan stated with a dismissive shake of her head, "Without implementing certain measures to neutralize this natural resistance implanting effective commands would be most unreliable."
Translation: as long as he didn't let them do anything to him beforehand he could shrug off any commands they tried to force-feed him.
Still he only had their word on this.
"I'll think about it. Just give me some time." He said not rejecting the flash instruction but not diving feet first into it.
"Of course. On the matter of the proposal it is I who would seek your aid." The shorter Kaminoan said sounding personally invested in the matter.
"Not just yet Doctor Tri Gar." The taller Kaminoan warned firmly, "It would be wrong to deliver your proposal before our guest has had a chance to be properly educated on the context he will be making his decision on. I believe your proposal can wait until later."
"Yes…Prime Minister Lama Su." Doctor Tri Gar said reluctantly with a bow of her head.
Well at least they weren't trying to take advantage of him. If they were the unscrupulous sort they would've tried to rush things while at the same time making it sound like a good idea to do what they asked of him. By giving him time to at least get his legs under himself they'd earned a measure of respect from him and perhaps a speck of trust.
Time would tell if the level of trust went up or down.
A Short While Later
"Is this truly necessary?" Tri Gar asked sounding less than pleased at how the meeting had ended, "You've seen the same test results that I have. In plain terms he meets if not exceeds the physical fitness parameters of Jango Fett and the anomalies could prove equally beneficial once I have determined their purpose."
"I agree that his physical fitness would ensure that any clones made from him would not be inferior to the Fett clones however it is precisely those anomalies I am concerned with." Prime Minister Lama Su said with firmness, "While they are rare there are some traits that prove problematic when attempting to duplicate them. If these anomalies are the same then they could also interfere with the rest. Once you've finished your analysis and provided a satisfactory explanation only then will I permit cloning to begin."
This did not sit any better with Doctor Tri Gar than being forced to wait before delivering her proposal to the young man.
"And the other samples?" Doctor Tri Gar asked no doubt hoping for a measure of success, "While somewhat compromised much of what we were able to harvest is viable."
"Any anomalies?" Prime Minister Lama Su asked with measured tones.
"None of the ones we found in the young man." Doctor Tri Gar replied with certainty, "Aside from some lingering energy traces it is consistent with human norms."
Prime Minister Lama Su entered a period of contemplation for several minutes before reaching a decision.
"Since it will take some time before the young man can make an informed decision on the matter of your proposal you may use the lab in Timira City that I have arranged for." Prime Minister Lama Su declared with certainty, "Make use of the other samples as you will but be sure to relocate any sensitive materials elsewhere should the young man agree to your proposal. Depending on who the blood belonged to he might not take well to it being utilized in the usual manner."
"Of course. I will ensure that any materials of that sort are relocated to a safe location for storage until such time as they can be safely worked on again." Doctor Tri Gar said nodding her head in understanding.
"Then we have an understanding." Prime Minister Lama Su said and with that the two Kaminoans left to attend to their respective responsibilities.
Neither realized the paths that'd opened up with the arrival of Xander Harris.
Nor the consequences whose reach beyond the planet of Kamino.
One Month later
Residential Living Quarters
Xander's POV
"Nnnhhh…enh…no…please…NO!" He exclaimed as he was forced into wakefulness by the nightmare that'd been tormenting him.
The terrible imagery hadn't bombarded him in his sleep for the first week of his time on Kamino and he supposed that had to do with all the new things he was learning and seeing. However once the novelty of things wore off and started to become routine his mind evidently had become less preoccupied allowing other things to rise to the surface.
Things like memories, choices and consequences.
Memories of Tony and Jessica Harris' abusive parenting while he was growing up forcing him to seek happiness in the homes of his friends Jesse and Willow. The choices he'd made after Halloween when he began to admit that Archer Emiya's way of thinking wasn't all wrong causing him to take actions the others wouldn't agree with. Most powerfully though were the dreams centred on the consequences of some of the choices he'd made and the actions he'd taken that hadn't ended well. First and foremost predictably being the last moments of his best friend where he'd expected to follow her into death in short order. The particulars varied from night to night but in almost all cases it had either Willow or the rest of the Scoobies yelling at him, calling him a monster and either they'd try to kill him or renounce him forevermore.
Given that this was all being dreamt up by his own mind the nightmare versions of his friends knew just what to say to hurt him the most.
He hadn't been surprised really since after all the shit he'd been through especially that last bit he had more than enough reason to have nightmares. It'd been a bit of a side note when he'd realized that he'd die permanently stopping Willow that at least he wouldn't have to worry about the nightmares and trauma that usually followed acts like that. He'd done his best to shove the night terrors aside and still get enough sleep to actually learn something the next day but it was hit or miss. Sometimes he'd manage to get back to sleep and not get hit with another nightmare but other times the second he nodded off they came back with a vengeance. He'd managed to convince his Kaminoan instructor that it was just random reaction to their food since it was unlike anything he'd ever had before on Earth.
If it kept going for too much longer though and his excuses wouldn't fly with anyone anymore.
Would they push to find out what was going on with him? Probably not. He could be wrong but the Kaminoans didn't strike him as being all that emotive. They weren't emotionless but rather he thought that it would take quite a bit to get them to raise their voice to someone or actually do something violent. So long as his sleeping problems didn't give way to anything dramatic he was pretty sure they'd just leave him be. In all honesty aside from following through on their promise to help him get acclimated to being in another galaxy (and possibly dimension though he couldn't be sure) he wasn't all that interesting to them. Then again if humans were everywhere in this galaxy then he wasn't anything special and so wasn't worth paying attention to unless he did something out of the ordinary.
Getting up out of his bed he went to the bathroom to go about his normal morning routine even though the perpetually stormy weather on Kamino made it difficult to tell what time of day it was. Looking over at the clock built into the wall he had to think for a moment in order to translate the symbols into the numbers he was familiar with but he figured out that it was just a little before 'sunrise' on Kamino. According to the schedule he'd fallen into it'd still be another two hours before his next lesson with the instructor so he figured doubling his exercise routine for the day would be a good way to kill some time.
Now that he had a positively ripped body he wasn't about to let it become something less.
Recalling from memory the exercises that Emiya performed as part of his daily routine he found an open space in his new home and got started. He'd been doing this ever since the fourth or fifth day on Kamino when he'd concluded that all this wasn't some lame afterlife be it a heaven or a hell. It'd been hard for the first week since 'remembering' how to do the various exercises and executing them the right way were too very different things. He had a few spills and got a few bruises but nothing he couldn't cover up in time for his lessons. As of today he was confident he could do them without any worry of a screwup. He wouldn't be able to go through the whole routine in the time he had but he figured he could do most of it and still get back in time to clean up for class.
One by one he performed an exercise meant to work a specific group of muscles or ensure a degree of flexibility. The latter was still a work in progress since he'd never been all that flexible despite what…despite what Anya might've blabbed to people. Still if he was in a galaxy with hundreds of alien races some of which might be dangerous so making sure he was physically in a condition to live through the potential encounters was a must. It was roughly half an hour later that he finished with the exercises and after getting into what he'd used as workout clothes left his new home for a jog 'around the block'. It'd been something to see when he'd first gotten a look at what the Kaminoans considered buildings that made up a city because while not so alien his brain couldn't process anything the carpenter in him had trouble figuring it all out. Also while 'around the block' back on Earth might not amount to much in terms of distance jogged that was not the case in a city like Tipoca. Everything from the 'streets' to the buildings were designed differently enough that this job was probably going to take a full hour to finish and that was assuming nothing came up to slow him down.
Looking about as he jogged he took in what his eyes could see on this one morning where there were dark clouds in the sky but no rain coming down. It was such a rarity that he just had to see what there was to see without rain getting in the way or any flashes of lightning. The first thing that caught his eye were small ships that looked similar to the shuttlecraft often featured in 'Star Trek' going up into space or coming down from orbit. While he didn't know what Kamino's primary export or import was the level of shuttle traffic he was seeing implied that they were quite busy. He also spotted more guys in white armour either at stationary positions or walking along what he presumed were patrol routes. He'd seen quite a few of them since getting out of the bacta tank but he'd yet to get a peek at any of them without their helmets on. The one thing he had been able to determine was that they had to be using some sort of voice synthesizer in their helmets to speak.
Why?
Because it sounded like they all had the same voice. Not similar not kinda like but EXACTLY the same voice. Considering the fact that there were far too many of them to be identical twins/triplets/etc it was the only logical conclusion. As for why this'd been done he supposed it was possible that they were all members of an alien race that didn't have the physiology to talk like humans and so interpreter tech was built into their helmets. If so then the one who came up with the tech just hadn't seen the point of giving so many people their own unique one-of-a-kind voice and had just used the same one for every unit.
They were also very well trained if Emiya's memories were anything to go by with precise movements and proper gun handling protocol.
Made him wonder what Kamino did that required this level of security.
He got a few nods from some of the armoured guards but nothing more than that which was good from a professional point of view. Guards who chatted up everyone they came across or spent to much time talking when they should be doing their duty could get in serious trouble if their boss found out. While he didn't really know any of them well enough to say he cared about what'd happen to any of them he didn't want to get dragged into a mess that could be avoided.
A few Kaminoans were out but while it had been a month since he'd arrived he still had problems telling them apart or even getting their gender right. Usually he had to wait until they talked since once he heard their voice he could guess fairly accurately whether they were male or female. Some took notice of him while others did not but all in all he passed them by without incident.
The jogging route he'd chosen was carefully mapped out so as to have as few interruption points where he'd have to wait before continuing as possible and some difficulty as well. After all there was no point in jogging if it was all too easy to do and while the amount of time spent jogging could yield results he didn't have that kind of time with his lessons to keep in mind. He wanted maximum results taking the minimum time needed without injuring himself in the process.
Everything went like it had on other jogs…
…right up until he turned the corner and a landing pad came into view. The pad itself was nothing unique and was designed much like all the other ones were. The difference was that walking away from a landed shuttle was a new type of alien that was definitely not Kaminoan and wasn't clad in armour like the guards. With striped horns extending a good two or so feet above the head while going the same length down in front the red skinned alien was dressed in brown robes and looked to be a person of some importance given her entourage. Coming to a stop he tried to get a feel for who he was looking at and why they might be here if for no other reason than curiosity.
Two Kaminoans were with the group but from how far they were from the newcomer he'd guess that they were hosts meant to greet and guide more than anything else. The presence of four of the guards was a little harder to figure out but in the end he presumed that they were some sort of honour guard. They weren't treating the newcomer like she was a prisoner and in all the time he'd been on Kamino nothing had happened that made him think a threat was looming. Was he wrong? Was there something going on that the Kaminoans weren't telling him?
No. He was just being paranoid and he wasn't going to let the baggage he'd gained from Emiya turn him into a mental copy of the man.
Turning away from the new arrival he was about to resume his jogging when all of a sudden a sensation and a smell stopped him in his tracks. Both stimulus triggered something in the shadow of Emiya that existed in him and it was only by his quick acting that he stopped himself from trying to trace some weapons into existence. Instead he focused on the input he'd just received and what it could mean. The first, the sensation, reminded him of the times after Halloween when someone had been performing magic either on him or close by. The…aroma…was different though and not in the sense of different kinds of spells being cast but rather that the essence of what he was feeling was different.
The smell he remembered all too well came from Emiya since the man's way of detecting magic was interpreting it as a smell. He didn't think that what he had was as sharp or as strong as the person he dressed up as for Halloween, not even close, but between his own experiences with magic and his 'inheritance' this ability to smell magic would be an advantage. What he smelled just now? It smelled like air passing through a meadow of tall grass that was completely untouched by man.
Looking around he tried to find the source of both or more specifically see if there was anyone or anything paying more attention to him than was normal. While he guessed there'd be someone capable of using magic on him without giving away any visible tells he hoped that that wouldn't be the case here. It wasn't until he was looking back at the new arrival that he noticed the VIP was looking at him and not in a casual glance sort of way.
No he'd bet good money that whatever had changed in him had been noticed by the new arrival and was attention worthy.
Deciding it was better NOT to make things worse by sticking around he resumed jogging but made an alteration to his normal route to get him out of the new arrival's line of sight sooner. Sure he might've already been spotted but by getting out of there he cut down on the amount of info the VIP could get and hopefully it'd be too little to track him down.
If not…well he'd just milk the dumb teenager routine for all it was worth until it was made clear that he wasn't worth spending any time on.
He might not exactly be a blonde like Buffy but he was pretty sure the same routine would work…right?
End Note 1: If you're wondering what magic Janus used at the end just use google's latin to English translator sentence by sentence. It's not a perfect use of latin since I just typed in English what I wanted to say and then copied the latin that popped up in the other box into the story. Still it should give you some good hints. Or if you want to be kept in the dark until I reveal the consequences of the Roman deity's actions you can do that too.
End Note 2: As for Xander's last moments in the BtVS universe…well…I did mention that the Arcane song 'What Could Have Been' was one of the things that inspired this story. In my head I was picturing that song playing throughout Xander's scene, in the background when they're talking but louder when no one was talking, ending when Xander loses consciousness. I even considered having Xander and Willow sing the song as a sort of duet with the former singing the verses that most apply to him and the latter singing the verses that most applied to her. Then of course they'd both sing the parts that would be a good fit for both of them. No I don't plan on someone turning out to be like Jinx or Vi. It'd take a pretty convincing argument that tickled my muse's fancy for me to even consider that possibility.
Sure this is a bit a stretch as far inspiration to write goes but it's all I've got.