Author: Cyclone
Feedback: Please be gentle.
Distribution: Gimme credit and a link.
Spoilers: Up to the end of both series.
Disclaimer: The characters depicted herein belong to other people. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Summary: Xander discovers he's not as normal as he thinks.
Author's Note: THIS is certainly a rare crossover. Credit goes to Yorath for his delightful input and some suggested scenes that will appear throughout this series.
Xander looked around.
Where the heck was he? It looked like some kind of... palace.
Then he looked up.
"Gotta be a dream," he murmured as he stared at the image of Saturn in the sky.
"You catch on quick, kid."
Xander spun.
"Whoa, calm down. Name's Whistler."
Xander took stock. Bowler hat... tacky leisure suit...
"Not impressed with your previous work," he said flatly.
"That was yer own damn fault, kid," the balance demon snorted. "If you'da just let 'er stay dead like she was supposed ta, Ratboy'd never've lost his so-ack!"
The "ack" obviously wasn't what Whistler had intended to say, but being grabbed by the shirt front and slammed against the wall tended to have that effect."
"So... you wanted her to die?"
Whistler swallowed and considered his next words very carefully. "Look... kid... what's past is past. I'm just here to keep an eye on things, 'cause yer a wild card, an' it looks like yer startin' ta remember. You worry da higher-ups."
"Good," Xander smiled humorlessly. "Remember what?"
"You'll see."
With that, Whistler vanished.
Xander shook his head and turned...
...and found himself on a balcony, looking up at the Earth in the sky above, and most importantly, not in control of his actions as he turned at the sound of footsteps behind him. He immediately recognized Hotaru, though her hair was longer and tied back in a simple ponytail.
"Hey, what are you still doing up, my little firefly?" he found himself asking her as he enfolded her in his arms.
She looked up at him and smiled. "I should be asking you that. Still worried about what's-her-name?" she asked as she buried her face in his chest.
"Beryl," he nodded distantly, his eyes unfocusing as the image of a creepy-looking redhead flashed across his vision. "I don't care what the queen says, I don't trust her."
"Well, you'd better not let her hear that," she said, looking up at him again. "I've got enough to deal with with her latest proclamation."
He looked down at her, "I love you, Saturn, not them."
"I know. But she will be expecting heirs."
Xander bolted upright.
"That..." he murmured, "...was one hell of a weird dream."
He shook it off and glanced at the clock. An hour early. He paused for a moment to debate the merits of just rolling over and pulling the covers back over his head, but he doubted he'd get any more sleep after a weird dream like that.
With a yawn, he climbed out of bed and headed for the shower in the corner of the cramped apartment he rented. In his eyes, the cover job he'd gotten was merely more evidence of how concerned Giles was about him.
Security for the British embassy.
Riiight.
Like anything would ever actually happen at the British embassy in Tokyo. It wasn't like there was a radical anti-British movement lurking around in Japan of all places, after all.
Somewhere, ominous thunder blinked in surprise as it checked the script.
Strange, it could've sworn it had a cue right there...
"I really appreciate this, Mamoru," the blond man spoke English with a clipped British accent.
"No problem, Edward-kun," Mamoru replied, also in English. "I know how it is. A bureaucrat makes a mistake on some paperwork, and you have to go in person to get anything done about it."
Xander's eyebrow shot up as the red sports coupe pulled in. Looked like an older design, but not one he recognized; probably European. Still, those were some niiice wheels.
Two men climbed out and headed for the embassy, but the dark-haired man seemed to stumble for a moment and kept staring at him. He was doing a lousy job of being discreet about it as the two approached.
Xander ignored the blond man as he passed through the security checkpoint and looked at the dark-haired man; he looked vaguely familiar. "Can I help you?" he asked in Japanese.
"Ah," the man started. "Um, no. I'm just waiting for my friend." He hesitated for a long moment, "Umm... if I may ask... your eye..."
Xander smiled. So that was it. "It's glass," he replied. "You've got sharp eyes. Not many people would've noticed. I lost it in an... accident a while back."
"Oh."
Xander nodded at the coupe, "That's a nice set of wheels you've got there. What is it?"
The man glanced back at his car, "It's a nineteen-ninety Zagato/Alfa Romeo SZ. Good car."
"You've been taking pretty good care of it, then," Xander commented. Over fifteen years old, and it still looked like it had just rolled out of the factory. His opinion of the dark-haired man just shot up a few points.
Mamoru found himself absorbed in the conversation. He was very glad the mention of the man's eye had deflected the man's suspicions, but it felt... a little surreal, actually.
If he hadn't seen him the night before, Mamoru would never have guessed that this man fought demons in his spare time.
By the time Edward was done, Mamoru had a lot to think about. At least he'd managed to pick up a name during the conversation.
Harris Alexander.
It was late afternoon as Minako wandered the streets of Tokyo. Unlike the other Senshi, she hadn't really found something to do with her life. Makoto was a chef now, Rei still ran the temple, Ami was in her residency...
She sighed. And where was she? Playing gopher and coffee-and-donut-girl at a local newspaper office.
Sometimes -- just sometimes -- she thought back to her teenage dream of becoming an idol singer. It was a childish dream, true, but one she'd attacked with such determination that the only ones who seemed to doubt she'd make it... were the very ones she needed to convince, the ones who dictated whether she'd even have a chance.
She never got that chance, and sometimes, she wondered what would have happened if she had.
Her gaze suddenly locked on to a man walking down the street. It took her a moment to recognize him without the eyepatch, but it was definitely the guy from last night.
Minako's mind went into overdrive as she analyzed him more carefully than she had had time to last night. His features were immediately run through her internal Hunk-O-Meter, and she smiled. It was the smile of a predator about to pounce.
Yes, he definitely qualified as a hunk. He was cu-... no. No, on second thought, "cute" was definitely not the right word for him. He was ruggedly handsome -- dangerously handsome in a way that made her heart race and set her blood on fire -- but not cute.
In another part of her mind, she noted the way he moved, as if he were on the very edge of a fight or flight response at any given moment. He seemed almost unnaturally aware of his surroundings, and her years of experience at covert boy-watching were tested to their limits as she followed him.
A part of her debated alerting the other Senshi... but no. He didn't know she was there, and calling in the others would only risk getting caught.
Xander felt the hackles on the back of his neck rise. Someone was following him; he could almost feel it.
Of course, he could also just be hyperparanoid. Before running into that fyarl last night, he'd been scouting out the abandoned warehouses along the docks, and one did not look anywhere near as abandoned as advertised once he'd gotten a peek through the boarded windows.
A few questions in a few bars had led to some interesting information involving a certain fishing trawler moored near that particular warehouse that always returned each evening with its nets empty. Widespread rumor had it that the ship was owned by the Yakuza and was smuggling in drugs.
Xander knew better.
One of the first things he'd done upon arriving in Tokyo was get a few lines in on the mortal underworld; after all, he didn't want to waste time dealing with human scum. It was amazing how cooperative the local Oyabun was once he'd made that clear.
No, this wasn't a Yakuza operation, and the Triads were still recovering from their last attempt to get a foothold in Tokyo three months ago. If it was the Triads, then they were getting help. Probably demonic help.
Xander hunkered down and waited. He didn't have much, but he had plenty enough to sink the trawler if he had to.
Minako ducked behind a row of empty crates, stalking her pre- err, watching the mysterious stranger that had helped them last night.
It looked like he was waiting for something.
Well, okay, she could wait too.
Author's Postscript:
Okay, so this took a bit longer than previous parts. Hope you enjoyed it.