Xander Harris, Rogue Trader of the Multiverse

By Bubbajack

Betas: Diller, Grammarly, William Wiltrose

Disclaimer: I do not own BTVS, Warhammer 40K, or anything else that will show up in this fic.

Ch.2: With His Steps Comes Revolution! (Revised)

(…)

2100hrs 16 04 960 M41 Moon of Titan, Fortress Monastery of the Grey Knights Chapter

Newly minted Grey Knight Hyperion, Pyrokine of Interceptor Squad Castian of the 8th Brotherhood under the command of Justicar Galeo, was having an odd dream. In it, he was surrounded by thick mist. This wouldn't be so bad in and of itself, but the snarls and hidden claws that came from the mist scraping against his steel gray power armor put the battle brother on edge. While he knew that the psykically inclined were drawn closer to the Warp when they slept, Hyperion was a trained space marine. More than that, he was a Grey Knight, one who fought in a secret war against the denizens of the Warp.

Igniting his hands in psykic flame, he tossed ball after ball of fire at his unseen foes while screaming "I am the Hammer and the Sword of the Emperor! Fall to His wrath, daemon scum!"

Perhaps it was the heat given off by his flames, but soon the mist cleared, and the daemons were driven back, revealing that Hyperion stood on a golden path made in the shape of the Imperial Aquila. A feeling of reverential calm washed over him, and the Astartes no longer felt fear calmly walking forwards down the path set before him. A sense of power washed over him that made his own psychic power seem like nothing more than a lit match next to a raging inferno. He felt himself begin to slowly ascend uphill, and somehow he knew he would find the source of this comfortingly familiar psykic signature.

Upon cresting the hill, Hyperion found himself on a grassy plain under a clear blue sky the likes of which he had never seen before. A vast garden of flowers, streams of uncontaminated water, pure skies not clouded out by factories, it was truly a beautiful site the librarian had never seen. A subtle breeze stirred the grass around his booted feet, and he couldn't help but gaze in appreciation at the natural beauty around him for a moment. This was something he did not expect to find in the warp. Peace.

"It is quite something, is it not?" a deep kind voice said from the Astartes left, causing the Grey Knight to turn on his heel while simultaneously raising the Psycannon attached to his arm.

Hyperion's knees almost buckled when he found he had raised his Psycannon to none other than his progenitor the Emperor himself. Prostrating himself before his God-Emperor as much as he could in power armor, Hyperion said, "Hail the God-Emperor of Mankind! I am the Hammer, I am Your right hand, the instrument of Your will, the gauntlet about Your fist, the tip of Your spear, and the edge of Your sword."

"Rise and follow me Hyperion, for I have a task of great importance for you and others of your battalion," The Emperor demanded before turning on his heel and walking away.

Rising, Hyperion followed his Emperor to an ancient stone table around which sat several monolithic chairs, six in all, one of which was made of solid gold. The Emperor took the golden seat as his own, before bidding the Astartes to situate himself with a motion of his hand before saying "The rest should arrive here shortly."

True to his word, others soon came as well. The first was a woman wearing thick dark brown leather armor, adorned with bronze shoulder plates covering the skull and cross markings of the Imperium. She had a holstered bolter on her left hip, and held a power sword in her right hand, an imperial rosary in her left. Her pale blonde hair stuck out from under her top hat and flowed down her back, her right eye swept back and forth cautiously and her left was covered by a bronze metal plating. Upon seeing the Emperor, she fell to one knee, one fist on the ground the other against her chest.

For some reason Hyperion could not explain, this woman seemed familiar to him.

Next, came what could only be an assassin of the Officio Assassinorum. Clad in a skin-tight black suit and skull white visored mask while carrying a sniper rifle fit more for a battle-brother than himself as well as a holstered Exitus pistol strapped to his hip. The ghoulish man silently took stock of the situation, saluting the Emperor with his rifle by first placing it on one shoulder, then the other before standing at attention.

The Emperor then spoke saying "Rise Lilith Abfequarn, Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus. Stand at ease Kain Solicius, Vindicare Assassin. Both of you, please be seated."

Doing as the Emperor bid, Hyperion noted that one last place at the table had yet to be filled.

"Hmm, it seems our last guest is shy," The Emperor joked before calling out into the mists, "You needn't fear my judgment Fawkes Fieri now come forth!"

Slowly, hesitantly, a young Adeptus Mechanicus came forth from the fog. He looked to be barely in his twenties, with chestnut brown hair, his face was mostly free of bionics except for his eyes, which had been replaced with a red glowing visor of unknown function. He wore a robe embellished with the Imperial Aquila, itself surrounded by the cog of the Adeptus Mechanicus. From beneath his robe, four mechadendrites wiggled and writhed in response to their master's nervousness, each equipped with a tool or weapon of some kind.

Yet the Emperor just smiled kindly and beckoned the boy forwards motioning to the final available seat, which was directly across from him. Sitting down nervously in between the Inquisitor and the Vindicare Assassin, and offering the God-Emperor a nervous smile, which was returned before the Emperor addressed the assembly.

"I am sure you're all wondering why I brought you here," was the question raised by the God Emperor of the Imperium.

"Thought crossed my mind," Kain commented short and crisp, only to be smacked by the Inquisitor, who said coldly "Do not interrupt the Emperor, Vindicare."

Seconds later, Lilith found a Exitus pistol pointed in her face as the Vindicare all but growled, "Nobody touches me, nobody."

Before the situation could escalate, a mechadendrite tendril wrapped around the barrel of Kain's gun and forced it down as Fawkes stuttered out "N-N-Now, now you two, let the Emperor speak."

Both the Inquisitor and the Assassin looked nervously at their God-Emperor only to find him looking somewhere between annoyed and amused. He then turned to Fieri and nodded in thanks before continuing "As I was saying, I called you all here for a crucial reason. You are all the best at what you do, and not only that, but you are all aware of the forces of Chaos."

Lilith's head had snapped to the Mechanicus who shriveled under her glaring eyes before she hissed "Heretek!"

"Enough!" The Emperor barely raised his voice, but that was sufficient enough to cause thunder to boom from overhead.

"Yes, enough already of your temper tantrums already, 'God-Emperor.' It's ruining the weather with the lightning striking every time you yell," A regal female voice chastised.

Glancing to his left, the Emperor found Altria Pendragon in full battle dress, glaring at him with her pale green eyes.

"My apologies Altria, my old friend and student," The Emperor said humbly.

The King of Knights looked at the God-Emperor in confusion before asking, "Have we met?"

Adamus chuckled, "Oh yes, we have. In another time, in another life. You know, you know exactly who I am. Say my name."

Looking at him like he was mad, the King of Knights replied, "Nay, I haven't a clue who you are."

The Emperor of Mankind shook his head, "Yes, you do," He retorted. "It was I who warned of the risks of taking up Caliburn, and it was I who told ye, for a Miracle to happen, One must wait eternally, while the Other, the other must chase endlessly."

A look of surprise had crossed the blonde's features before she shook her head in denial, "No, you can't be…"

"That's right, now, say my name," Adamus demanded.

"Merlin?" Altria whispered, her voice sounding confused yet hopeful.

Smirking, he nodded, causing the King of Knights to sputter incomprehensibly at the thought that her perverted teacher Merlin could be this man of walking majesty, her shoulders shaking in rage before they slumped and she sighed before shaking her head in exasperation before approaching the table. A throne made of white marble appeared next to the Emperor's golden throne which she promptly took up. The servants of the Emperor, who had been silent during the exchange, waited silently for their Lord to explain.

Seeing introductions were in order the Emperor said "Everyone, may I introduce King Arthur Pendragon, former king of one of the nations of Terra, long before the Age of Strife."

Nods of respect were received and given in turn and then Altria cleared her throat and said: "I do believe you were about to tell them about our mutual friend, yes?"

"Indeed," The Emperor replied. After taking a breath, he tried once more "You are all the best at what you do, and not only that, but you are all aware of the forces of Chaos. But Chaos is not the only threat to the Imperium, just the most numerous, the most dangerous. There are, of course, various others, the Xeno races being one such peril, and destruction from within would be the other major obstacle to the Imperium's prosperity. You have been called here because it is your job to combat threats to the Imperium, both foreign and domestic. I have gathered you all here because one is coming who will bring about significant change. Change not only to the Imperium but to the entire galaxy and beyond."

The Emperor closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. He then said, "This person, he recognizes that for all your hard work, the Imperium is dying. Rotting from within due to corruption, chaos cults, and the Lords of Terra being unable to change and adapt. Ironic considering humanity was made to adjust to any turmoil that came their way to survive on primitive Terra," He mused.

He then fell silent for a moment before he continued "I started the Great Crusade to bring humanity back from the darkest of dark ages. Humanity was on the brink of destruction with Terra herself declaring us her enemy. There were many enemies at our home doorstep that required me to take measures I regret to this day. To change Humanity from savages and warlords that had forgotten what it meant to be human but into an Empire that they could be proud of. One where they would not have to wonder if they will live to see tomorrow."

Sighing in regret, the Emperor told them, "Yet, that dream died before it truly began, and in the end, I hammered all the nails into the coffin myself. Through my own actions," The Emperor admitted, ironically, Xander's words about his failure as a father, eating away at him as he remembered his sons and how some looked broken at having to betray their father. Adammus remembered the look of horror on Horus' face when he was struck down.

"The first blow came when the Primarchs, my sons, had been taken from me by the Lords of Chaos and spread across the galaxy. The second came when I ordered the city of Monarchia burned to the ground by the Ultramarines. It was in the ashes of this Hive city that I began to lose my son, Lorgar to Chaos. In the end, he took his Legion and went on pilgrimage, eventually finding the Chaos Gods who lured him with false promises and sickly sweet words. My next failure came when I put Horus in charge of the Great Crusade, without explaining why. This left him full of doubt, which in turn left him susceptible to the manipulations of Chaos."

A weary pained look came over the Emperor's face as he continued "Lorgar returned with his legion, all of them now secretly worshippers of Chaos. Through careful plotting and manipulation, Horus himself was turned. Magnus the Red tried to warn me, and in return I had Leman Russ, and her Space Wolves burn Prospero to the ground, Magnus turning to Chaos just to save his home. Truly that tragedy could have been prevented if I only opened my eyes and listened to my wayward daughter's warning. And thus did the Horus Heresy come about, and thus, did I kill Horus and did he mortally wound me, causing me to be interred on the Golden Throne. Thus was the final nail driven into the coffin of my dream, and thus did the Imperium begin to decay and die without my direct hand to guide it properly as pest and parasites started to grow fat as my Imperium decayed."

The chosen five could feel the anguish in the God-Emperor's voice. As most of them were psykers, they could also feel his pain on an emotional level. They were moved, they wanted to do something to ease their Emperor's sorrow. Inquisitor Lilith did notice something in the Emperor's retelling of the fall of the Imperium.

"Pardon the question my Emperor but did you correctly state that some of the Primarch's, your direct children, were both men and women? I was always told that the Primarch's were all men cloned from your very cells?"

The Emperor took a deep calming breath. When he let it out, the look of suffering and pain faded from his face, replaced by a hopeful smile as he was happy to answer her question, "My nature is more mystical then it first appears. It has come to my knowledge recently that my origins are more abstract then even I knew. Also my friend Altria here can vouch for me when I say that my genes are almost as mutable as the warp is to master psykers. My children were varied in sex and some were daughtes while others were sons. I do not know why the High Lords of Terra would hide the fact my children were not all the same sex as me but they were. But on to the main reason I have brought you all here, It is time for a scouring, a change, and a rebirth. The change will come at the hands of one Alexander Lavelle Harris. He shall lead the Imperium into a new golden age. Your job is to first go to Mars and pick up an Oberon-class ship, for you shall need it for your future endeavors. Then, you shall need to head to the Helican subsector, to the Hive World of Petropolis on Eustis Majoris. Find Alexander. Train him if he wants it. Guide him where he feels he needs to go. Assist him in whatever task he attempts to perform, regardless of how you feel about it. Advise him if he needs it, but do not think to dictate right and wrong to him, for you will regret it one way or another, " The Emperor warned.

"Could you tell us more about this boy we are searching for, Oh God-Emperor?" The Inquisitor asked reverently as she was awed at learning history most of the Imperium did not know.

A spark of mischief and guile passed through the Emperor's eyes as he thought 'This could help Alexander in the future, and I haven't had fun like this since that whole 'let them eat cake fiasco' in France.'

"He is someone paramount to the future of the Imperium. He is the last scion of the House of Sigillus."

"House of Sigillus…you don't mean?" Hyperion began only for the Emperor to confirm with a resolute nod "Yes, he is a descendant of Malcador, my most trusted advisor and friend. Truly his line runs true in Alexander. He has fought many daemons on his home planet and scarred them so badly that they could not reform even in the warp."

Malcador the Sigillite Founder of the Grey Knights. Malcador the Sigillite, Founder of the Officato Assassinatorium and its first Grand Master. Malcador the Sigillite Founder of the Inquisition. For there to be a descendant of such a man, who was a psyker of the highest caliber second only to the Emperor himself…

"My Lord, if this Alexander is the Scion of Sigilius, then why is his last name, Harris?" Hyperion asked while the other members of the table stayed quiet and listened with open ears.

"That is because he did not know of his proper parentage. Malcador possessed wisdom I lacked. He was aware that if word were to get out about his child, the Forces of the Ruinous Powers would stop at nothing to corrupt him and bend him to their will just as they did my own children. So in secret, he hatched a cunning plan. He kept an eye on the boy from afar, and as soon as he did something noteworthy he had him transferred to Malcador's Chosen, his personal guard. Once there, he personally oversaw his son's training. However, during a fierce battle against an Ork horde, he was savagely wounded near to the point of death by a Warboss with a crude chain weapon. We managed to save him using some very high-end bionics at the time."

The Emperor then faked his best intense look and kept going, "That incident also revealed the actual depth of the boy's psyker power. The resulting pain and agony that he felt from having his limbs torn off, and most of his organs removed caused him to unleash a psychic blast that made a crater of the battlefield he and his father were fighting in. The ork warboss was blown to smithereens and the ork warband was scattered to the four winds of the planet as dust. His power was beyond human comprehension. He was not on the same level as myself, not without some serious training anyways but the fact was evident enough. Alexander was an Alpha-Plus psyker."

Looks of shock and grim realization set in on all faces that weren't wearing a power armor helmet. Lilith looked like she swallowed a lemon. The eyes of Fawkes seemed to dim as if he short circuited at the news. Kain was having a coughing fit almost as if he was choking on his on spit at the news of who he would be following.

Seeing their looks, the Emperor nodded, "I see you all grasp the gravity of the situation. Such a powerful psyker could not be allowed to roam within the Imperium, and yet, I could not bring myself to have my closest friends' son slain. I had not yet shed my compassion and did not want to take my friends pride and joy away from him due to simple paranoia. Knowing of my predicament, Malcador came up with a solution. Once the boy had healed and gained sufficient use of his bionics, he was to be sent away. Granted a Warrant of Trade which I personally signed with my own blood to let all know who see it that he has authority above all other Rogue Traders."

A pause before the Emperor continued, "This particular Warrant, gives him absolute authority to do whatever he feels is necessary to protect the best interests of the Imperium. Such was the power granted by his Warrant that he needed only ever answer to two people…his father and myself if the time was dire enough to call upon his services."

"And you're both dead…No offense my lord," The Vindicare Assassin concluded before he realized what he said aloud.

Waving away the Assassin's apology the God-Emperor of Mankind continued weaving his tale of the Scion of Sigilius, "However, not long after his leaving he was trapped in a warp storm and hadn't been seen since. He was thought lost to the Imperium as another cruel tragedy brought forth by the Warp. Yet, after my interment on the Golden Throne, I found he was, in fact, alive adrift in the Warp. I took great care to keep him uncorrupted by the denizens of the Warp…that is, until recently. When his ship was assaulted by one of the Traitor Legions, allowing it to be attacked by daemons."

Seeing the nervous look on Lilith's face he told her, "Worry not Abfequarn, he has not been corrupted by Chaos. I managed to teleport him out of the clutches of the Chaos Gods before that could happen. Hence, why he now resides on Petropolis…and why you need to find him, he could be just the thing the Imperium needs right now. With his Warrant of Trade, nothing and no one can stop him. He can save my rotting Empire."

"Now are there any more questions?" When no one spoke up, the Emperor adjourned the meeting by saying, "Good, now go. I will be with you in spirit, always."

The five had nodded before they stood. As they walked away, the Inquisitor asked, "Where exactly can I find the lot of you?"

"I'm currently on Holy Terra waiting for an assignment," Kain said coolly.

"You'll find me at the Grey Knights Homeworld Inquisitor," Hyperion replied.

Lilith Abfequarn gave the Heretek a questioning glance raising a pencil thin eyebrow before saying coolly "I'm not going to kill you if you tell me where you are Heretek."

Fawkes was relieved until he heard her say in a frigid tone "However, do not doubt that I will be keeping a very close eye on you. It is only the fact that the Emperor himself spares you from His Judgment that stays my hand. Now, where are you located?"

"R-Right." Fawkes stammered out in fear before continuing "Well Lady Inquisitor, the f-funny thing is, I-I'm already on Eustis Majoris, in Petropolis even."

"Oh?" Lilith said, eyebrows raised disappearing into her bangs as she asked: "And just what are you doing on a Hive World?"

"W-Would you believe me if I told you I was being held captive by a drug kingpin and being forced to make weapons for him?" Fieri asked hopefully.

The Inquisitor stopped and stared at the Heretek for a moment, using her high Gamma-level psyker abilities, she could tell he was telling the truth. She pursed her lips and scrunching her brow in thought for a moment. Then, she said, "I shall pick up the others and then we shall rescue you before we begin the search for this 'Protector of Man.'"

Little did the Inquisitor know, by the time she managed to get to Petropolis; not only would Fawkes Fieri not need saving, but neither would they have to look for their target. They would also not have to go recruiting for a while…

(…)

With the Emperor and Altria

"I see you are still playing your games and spinning your webs Merlin. I also see that for all your criticisms of my kingship you yourself took on some of my attributes, or did the fall of Camelot and you being temporarily trapped in Avalon?" questioned Altria to one of her closest confidants, friends, and teacher.

"Many things have happened on Terra before and after you passed away my little king. You would not believe the lengths I was willing to go to save humanity from themselves. I had multiple empires to my name besides the Imperium. I fought death in the east with a mighty empire uniting all the warring kingdoms where my kingdom lasted for a couple decades. After my dynasty was fought I was poisoned by one of my own wise men in trying to give me "Immortality". I survived the attempt and decided to move west as I thought the east was too disorderly a start and should try uniting the so-called "savages" of the west. After a couple centuries I came upon Britain and your Father Uther. I decided to slow my pace and allow a different person to rule in my stead."

Arturia was fascinated at her companions' tale but something intrigued her, " That didn't answer my question. How did you escape Avalon and what did you do after I passed?"

The grim visage on her companion's face let Artoria know that whatever happened after her that Merlin or Adamus as he was called now.

"I thought if order would not unite humanity with the ideal being a Utopia I tried to go the path of force and unite my countrymen of the east together to form a grand Empire once again. I was known as the great khan and with my many soldiers I led a wave of change to conquer. Alas when I tried to let the empire run without my direct intervention it collapsed upon itself like a castle made of sand. I decided then that humanity should try to grow without my intervention for a time. I did not expect the horrors I saw when I awakened from my slumber to check on humanity."

The visage of despair and gloom on Merlin's face made Artoria nervous what could have caused such an emotion when even the fall of Camelot did not touch him so. "What did you see?" was the only question Artoria could ask.

"I saw the greatest threat to humanity wasn't themselves but those among the stars," was the ominous answer Merlin gave Artoria.

Segmentum: Obscurus/ Planet: Eustis Majoris/ Location: Capital Hive City of Petropolis, Underhive Sector/ Time: 0600 hrs/ Date: 16-04-960-M41

The first thing Xander noted was the smell. It reeked. It was as if he had stepped into the worst gas station bathroom ever as his nose picked up a mix of smog, rotting flesh and human filth. Thankfully one of Jensen's implants kicked in and filtered out the toxins in the air, making it breathable and stopping him from throwing up all over the floor. Now that he had his gag reflex under control, Xander was able to look around and notice that he had no idea where he was. But if he had to guess, he would say downtown Detroit with what he was able to observe around him.

From what he could see, the area around him was covered in all manner of filth. A river of bracken water that smelled of human excrement flowed from a massive pipe. The walls were covered in graffiti which he could only assume denoted gang affiliation. Off to his left, he could see shacks made out of whatever sturdy bits and pieces of scrap people could find and take advantage of. The sky was overcast, and only the barest shafts of pale light managed to make it down from the thick gray clouds. Looking up to see if it was about to rain, however, Xander was shocked to see he was wrong.

It wasn't clouded overhead, but smoke and smog covering the skyline from innumerable smokestacks from on high, completely obscuring the real sky. Xander couldn't help but shake his head in disgust and despair at it all. This seemed like a dystopia or the end of the world as Xander read in the zombie or sci fi comics he had stored at his house.

'No one should have to live like this,' He thought to himself. He was abruptly brought out of his thoughts when he was jumped by someone from behind. Reacting quickly due to more than a year of fighting vampires, he grabbed his opponent's arm and then flipped his assailant over his shoulder, and onto their back, dazing them. To his surprise, he found a decrepit beggar wearing naught but rags. He was bald, missing most of his teeth, those that weren't missing were a mossy green in color to show the rot, and he was skeletally thin if the bones showing on the arm he was holding was any indication. But the strangest thing was the man's eyes, they were wild, frantic, and borderline feral, like that of a wild animal. Those eyes reminded Xander more of a hungry vamp or a member of the pack than any human.

Now wondering how someone could end up in such a state and why he attacked him, Xander loosened his grip slightly so as not to hurt the man but still kept a firm hold so as to ask him the reason for his assault.

Yet, instead of answering, the old man hooked his foot with his own and twisted his body, unbalancing and flipping Xander onto his stomach, which caused him to lose his breath for a moment. What the man didn't expect was for Xander's grip to hold true and drag the man into the air when he was flipped and slamming him into the ground with Xander. When both men regained their breath , Xander decided to ask, "You were an Imperial Guard? Special Forces of some sort? I can't guess what regiment though?" he asked.

"Catachan 2nd regiment," The man replied gruffly while holding his chance in pain from the slam.

Blinking in surprise Xander asked, "You were a Jungle Devil? What the hell are you doing here on what I presume is a Hive World."

In response, the man looked at Xander queerly before saying slightly astonished, "You dunno where you are, do you, sonny?"

Seeing the boy shake his head the older man replied, "You're on the Trade World of Eustis Majoris, in da Underhive of da Capitol Hive City of Petropolis."

"Segmentum?" the boy, in the soldier's eyes, asked.

"Obscurus," The Catachan replied.

'So I'm near the Eye of Terror then. That is kind of disturbing but also…interesting,' Xander had thought before he asked, "Time?"

"Ehh…round six in the mornin' I reckon," spoke the military jungle fighter as he looked at the sky and was able to tell with what little light he could see.

An awkward silence fell between the two, briefly before Xander reiterated "So, what is a Catachan doing in an urbanized world like this one? You seem well out of place."

In response, the Death Worlder reached into his tattered cloak and threw a couple of medals to the ground. The first was in the shape of three connected skulls. The second was a star-wrought of gold. Xander immediately understood. The triple skull was a medal only given out to survivors of a regiment that had lost more than sixty percent of their troops, but still managed to finish their mission. The Star of Terra was the highest military honor a Guardsman could receive in his lifetime.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice. Was overruled by an Inquisitor or sum' such sonuvabitch. So ah led my boys into the heart of ah heretic cult. We were blown away by fire an' lightning and things that no psyker I seen do. Then things came at us, things that weren't no Xeno, lemme tell ya. But I rallied ma' boys, and we kept shootin' till there was nuttin' left ta' shoot. By the time it was over, only me an' a dozen others had survived…Ya know what we got for going into that hell, lad…do you," the man asked, his voice becoming lower and colder as he continued telling his tale and reliving the mission that haunted his nightmares.

"They attempted to execute you…" Xander said, well aware of how the Inquisition did things. Xander had to comment on something though, "But you're still alive, that goes against their usual modus operandi."

The old man huffed in disgust before saying "Apparently, the Inquisitor found my leadership qualities' 'exceptional.' So she had me life spared and made some cover story while giving me these medals which came along with a nice pension and an unspoken promise ta' keep quiet 'bout what happened to ma' boys. I coulda' gone anywhere an' been hailed a hero."

The man spat in disgust before saying "Fuck that. I don't want to be called a hero for being a coward an' acceptin' blood money for the death of all my brothers against some shit scum that I can't even talk about."

Xander nodded in agreement before he let the man go and took a couple of steps back as he got up. The aging man stood, gathered his medals and hid them in his cloak before straightening and saying "Names Major 'Grimm' Reaper. I'm an ex-Major now I suppose."

"You still didn't answer why you attacked me," Xander reminded him as he patted his jacket to shake off the grime and other things that got on him.

"And you didn't introduce yourself," The soldier shot back with a grimace looking at the boy in a new light. He noticed the implants he had on his arms and around his eyes.

Nodding at the older man's point Xander said, "Alexander Lavelle Harris, Rogue Trader."

Grimm's eyes widened at that before he narrowed them and asked: "You got a Warrant of Trade to prove that trader?"

In response, Xander slowly reached into his jacket and pulled out a roll of paper. Unfurling it, he revealed his Warrant of Trade and personal heraldry. His heraldry was that of a heavily modified Imperial Aquila. The wings, heads, and legs of the Aquila were ablaze making it appear as a flaming red and gold phoenix. Its torso was replaced with a stylized cross depicting a half open eye in its center. It was the sigil of Malcador the Hero and surrounding the mythical bird was the black Cog of the Mechanicus. Written on the Cog in holy silver was the phrase "Fidei Veritas et Veritas in Fide!" written in High Gothic.

Beneath it, presumably, the same phrase was written in Low Gothic, saying, "Faith in Truth, Truth in Faith!"

Grimm blanched before hitting his knees and muttering fearfully at the high lord he just tried to mug, "I'm sorry milord. I thought you were one of those things that attacked my boys seeing' as yew appeared in a ball of fire and all."

Chuckling at his mistake, Xander said, "No, no I am not one of those monsters that attacked your men; just a really powerful psyker-captain that lost his ship on its maiden voyage to a Warpstorm. I managed to escape, but my ship and crew were lost to the Immaterium," He said, his voice full of regret.

And it was true for the most part. Xander had lost his friends to warp magic in a roundabout way. As whatever spell that had turned his costume from hard plastic and faux leather to actual Augments, magical metal, and genuine leather was chaos aligned as far as he knew.

"You're a Psyker?" Grimm asked warily.

Realizing his faux-pas Xander scratched the back of his head sheepishly saying "Yeah, I suppose I should've kept that a secret, huh? But honestly, I'm not the best liar, so you probably would've found out at some point. Better to tell you now then let you think I am deceiving you or trying to pull one over on you."

Grimm was silent for a moment weighing the boy's words. He sensed no deception in what he said to him. If it were dangerous, Grimm felt his 'sixth sense' , that innate sense all Catachans who wish to see adulthood must hone to a razor's edge would have gone off. Slowly he nodded and said calmly while reaching into his tattered cloak, "Let's say I believe yew fer a mo'ment. What level of psyker are you?"

"I'm technically an Alpha-plus level. But, as I don't feel comfortable enough using that much power at the moment, at least not without more training, I'd put myself at high Gamma-level," Xander replied neutrally while on guard of what the Catachan might do next.

Grimm was about to say something when a scream was heard. Both men looked at each other briefly before nodding and heading off towards the cry. As they ran, Xander pulled his bolter from his underarm holster and tossed it to Grimm saying "Still remember how to use one of these?"

Catching the weapon and giving it a once over before snorting and saying "Milord, you apparently don't know just who you're talking to. I could hit a green-skin from fifty meters with nuttin' but a bolter like this beauty."

"Careful, we may just have to put that aim of yours to the test," Xander muttered as they neared an alleyway where the screams were coming from. He took up the right wall while Grimm took the left.

Xander noted on his HUD that two red triangles were surrounding a yellow one. He could only assume that meant two hostiles surrounding a neutral third party. Just to be sure, he activated Smart Vision and indeed saw the heat signatures of two males ganging up on a third, female. Xander also noted the men were carrying what looked like lasguns.

Now that they were so close, they could actually hear what was being said. A young woman was yelling "I gave you your credits, now give me my flect!"

"Ah, but Kat we don't want your money," One gruff greasy sounding male voice said.

"Yeah, yeah, we got sumthin'…sumthin' else in mind for payment if you catch our drift? Do ya, do ya?" an even greasier sounding voice that sounded hopped up on caffeine finished before chuckling perversely.

"Fuck you!" the girl spat at them for not giving her the fix she needed.

"Funny you should say that," The gruff sounding voice said perversely.

'Oh hell to the no,' Xander thought at the scene of depravity playing out before turning to the Catachan and saying, "Old man, Grimm?"

"Yeah?" Grimm asked while scowling at being called 'old.'

Looking at the man with his remaining eye he said, "Do you trust me because I have a plan. But for it to work, you need to believe in me."

"I don't know you well enough to trust you, lad…But you say you have a plan. So I guess I have no choice," The older of the two conceded.

"Good, just hang back in case things go pear-shaped, ok?" Xander had replied before he disappeared in a blur of motion beyond the perception of human sight.

"Wait here he says. What do I look like, a private?" Grimm muttered, slapping the gun into the palm of his free hand. Suddenly, he looked down at said gun before smiling wickedly and saying, "I do think it's time for some recon."

Grimm then calmly walked into the alley before he hollered "Oi, keep it down! How's a retired veteran supposed to get a guud night's sleep wen all he hears is yelling in the wee hours of the morning? Take your shit somewhere else and let me sleep!"

The men immediately turned one of them grabbing the girl, a thin, willowy thing with dirty wavy red hair and emerald green eyes that were currently filled with fear. She was wearing a top and jeans so covered in filth, he doubted the original colors would ever be seen again.

The one who wasn't holding the girl was a big, broad-shouldered brute. Built as sturdy as a plascrete house with a bionic left arm with the hand in the shape of a three-pronged claw. He pulled out his laspistol and pointed it at Grimm, saying gruffly, "Piss off ole' timer. This ain't concerning you none."

"Yeah man, yeah! The girlie owes us see, and she's gonna pay up. Ain't that right sweetheart? Ain't that right?" the other one, a tiny weasel-faced looking thing with a blonde Mohawk and a bionic left eye said in a high pitched jittery tone as if he were high on some type of chem.

"Well, naw fella's yew kinda made it ma business when yew woke me up from me bea'uty sleep ya see?" Grimm said a faux cordial tone before he playfully spun his newly acquired bolter pistol around his finger by its trigger guard.

"Last chance old man, back off," The taller of the two said.

"How about you both drop dead instead," A voice from above called down.

Both men looked up just in time for both their lives to be simultaneously ended by matte black Nano-ceramic blades sprouting backward from Xander's forearms seemingly coming out of his elbows. Both men fell to the ground lifeless when they were impaled through their foreheads, like puppets who'd just had their strings cut.

Standing from his kneeling position, Xander flicked the blood and gray matter off his blades before sheathing them in his arms once again. He then looked at the girl who had crawled back towards the wall of the alley in fright. Kneeling down, he gently held a hand out to her saying "It's ok now miss, those men can't hurt you now. My friend and I took care of them."

Seeing that it wasn't working as she was shivering and looking at him like he was some kind of warp monstrosity. He tried a different tact "My name's Xander, what's yours?"

Looking at him curiously she asked confused, "What kinda name is Xander?"

Chuckling, but happy she was talking to him, he replied "It's short for Alexander. A friend I had when I was little thought it was too difficult to remember so she nicknamed me Xander."

This caused the girl to smile a little, ease up a little, stop shaking, and say "I see, I'd have just called you Alex myself. My name's Kathrine but most people call me Kat."

Smiling kindly at her he said, "Well Kat if you're willing, I could use your help."

"My help?" she queried.

"Yeah, see I'm kinda lost, and I don't know where I am or anywhere safe I could stay for a while to get my bearings. Do you know somewhere safe where I could stay?" he asked.

Hesitantly, Kat nodded "Yeah, I know a place. Just lemme get what those stiffs owe me then I'll take you and your friend there."

Kathrine then stood up shakily before going over to the cooling corpse of the larger of the two before rooting around in his pockets. Her search became more frantic when she couldn't find what she was looking for.

"Looking for your next fix of 'Fletch girl?" Grimm drawled coolly, causing her to glare at the older man who was tossing a small burlap sack up and down in his hand, its contents tinkling with the motion.

"Gimmie that! I paid for it fair and square!" Kat snapped at the Catachan.

"Yeah, and me an' Lord Alexander' killed em. So anything on their corpses belongs to us. Spoils of victory," The grizzled man replied as if it were common knowledge.

Xander, who had been silently watching the exchange between the two, started when Kat whirled on him and asked "Lord Alexander, why would he call you that?"

"Cause, he's a Rogue Trader girl. Has a Warrant of Trade with heraldry and everything. So you best be respectful, you hear?" stated the grizzled old man started to look over the scene and make sure there were no more reinforcements coming.

"You're a Rogue Trader?" Kat asked, her voice filled with both fear and awe.

"Yeah, a Rogue Trader without a crew or a ship at the moment," He replied before turning to Grimm and asking, "What's 'Flect?" It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"It's a new kinda' drug, showed up'round he-aw 'bout fifty years ago. All it really is is Warp-tainted glass. Folks look inta' it an' then they get a kinda psychic high," Grimm explained.

"I see…Las me," Xander demanded knowing exactly what Chaos God gained strength from using it .

Grimm tossed him a las-pistol and then Xander said: "Pull!"

The Catachan tossed the bag up in the air. Xander trained the sights of the las-gun on the bag. When the bag stopped at the top of the throw, and gravity began to reassert itself, he pulled the trigger, sending a single bolt of red light flying into the bag. A miniature storm erupted when the bag was hit by the las-bolt, warp lightning flew every which way, accompanied by what sounded like the cries of the damned, moans of pleasure, and if Xander guessed pleas for mercy.

When it ceased, Xander slowly lowered his gun and said: "There, that's taken care of."

Kat proceeded to slap him, which didn't faze him, while yelling "Why the hell did you do that for? What did I ever do to you huh? You got a problem with someone wanting to escape the fact that they've been shafted their entire lives for a little bit or something? Or do you just enjoy denying someone who has been kicked and beaten their entire lives the one thing that makes life bearable? Maybe you get off on seeing people like me suffer is that it? You act all nice then stomp on our happiness just when we can reach out and grab it? Huh, HUH?!" she screamed, by the time she was finished she had tears streaming down her face, and her strikes and lessened into nothing but small patters against Xander.

Silently Xander placed his cybernetic arms comfortingly around the girl, allowing her to cry into his chest as he said, "You said that doing drugs was the only thing that made life worth living. Well if that's the case, then this isn't a life worth living. Especially what those drugs are doing to you."

"What should I do then, just lay down and die?" she asked, looking up into his good eye and glaring at him.

Shaking his head, Xander replied "No, I got a better idea. You said no one's ever given you a fair shake, a chance to prove yourself? Well, I'm a Rogue Trader in need of a crew. I'm willing to give you, Grimm over there and others in this hellhole the chance you've wanted," He told her, thinking of himself and all the times he wished someone would be able to come in and offer him salvation from the hell that was his life.

Kat looked at him stunned into silence for a moment before saying "You're serious? No pulling my leg?"

Shaking his head, the Rogue Trader replied "Nope, no pulling of the leg. I need a crew. Crew, mind you, not a group of drug addicts," He told her seriously, as his thoughts drifted towards his father and how he treated him due to his alcohol abuse after he lost his job from being intoxicated while working. It seemed drugs only caused a vicious cycle of pain in his life and many others.

Kat looked down at that, chewing her bottom lip in thought before she asked: "So if we get clean, you'd be willing to take on people from the Underhive?"

"Sure, I don't see why not," Xander told her with an honest smile. He would rather have people with work ethic than some hoighty toighty lord.

Xander had always wished someone from his dad's old job had given him a helping hand. Or given him one himself so now that he was in the position to, he wasn't going to turn down people in need of a chance to prove themselves. He needed to be better not only for himself but the Imperium as a whole.

He watched as a spark of hope ignited in the redhead's emerald green eyes, something that probably hadn't been there for a very long time. A smile graced her lips, and she said: "If you're serious about this, I know somewhere you can go to recruit…"

When she left her sentence hanging, Xander prompted "But?"

Rubbing her arm, Kathleen said "The proprietor is me, Mam. Last time I was there we had this big fight over my 'Flect addiction' and then I stormed out…she told me if I left to never come back."

Putting a comforting hand on her shoulder Xander said, "I doubt she really meant what she said. People often say what they don't mean when they're angry. I'll bet she misses you terribly."

"You think?" Kat asked, apparently sounding unconvinced. Doubt and guilt ate at her and Kat was willing to admit those very emotions are what drove her to get even deeper into her Flect addiction.

Smirking, Xander said, "I'll bet you all the credits on those guys that I'm right. How much did they have on them, Grimm?"

Letting out a shrill whistle the ex-Catachan Major replied "Nearly ten thousand creds Milord. Ah, think these boys were lookin' ta' make sum quick cash on the side a'fore turning in Salvadon's collection money fer the month."

"Salvadon?" Xander inquired.

"Ricardo Salvadon the 3rd is a crime kingpin, sir. He runs thins' here in the Underhive. These he-aw are two a' 'is boy's from the Salvadon's Slayers Syndicate or Triple S."

"Triple S huh? Well, I hope Sal has a casket picked out cause his days are now numbered in the single digits. Cause if there's one thing I can't stand beside vampires, it's drug dealers."

"Vampires sir?" Grimm asked, perturbed wondering what monstrosity got on the bad side of a rogue trader.

"Don't ask," He said before saying to Kat "I think it's time you had a heart to heart with your Mom, don't you?"

"Yeah, follow me. She owns a bar called Zael's. It's supposed to be named after my long dead uncle, Zael Effernatti," mentioned Kat as she led the two men forward.

As Xander followed Kat, he couldn't help but wonder what Buffy and Willow were up to at the moment.

'Hopefully, they are more in their element than I am,' He thought.

(…)

0300hrs 1-11-1998 Sunnydale California Ethan's Costume Shop

Buffy and Willow awoke with slight headaches. Looking around, they found themselves laying on the floor of Ethan's Costume Shop. Then, it all came back to them. Being possessed by the spirits of Jeanne D'arc and Red Sonja respectively, fighting, Xander leading them to Ethan's, and Xander making the ultimate sacrifice…

They both looked around frantically for any sign of their Xander-shaped friend, only to find no trace of him.

"Willow, do you see Xander anywhere?" Buffy asked, an angry edge to her voice. She wasn't mad at Xander per se, more herself and Angel. Herself for not remembering what Giles taught her about vampire physiology, and Angel for letting her think it was him, not Xander who saved her a few months prior in the Master's lair.

"No, no I don't. Where is he, where's Xander?!" Willow said becoming more and more frantic with each second that passed and she couldn't find her Xander-shaped friend.

["Calm yourself girl. If you require answers about the Warrior-Fool, I would suggest you ask the Vampire,"] The stern voice of Red Sonja chastised Willow from within her own head.

"Angel was here with us, right? He should know where Xander is," Willow said to the blonde Slayer.

Upon hearing the ensouled vampire's name, the blonde Slayer jumped to her feet and yelled, "Angel, where are you and what do you know about what happened with Xander?!"

"That's what I'd like to know," A familiar snooty voice replied.

"Cordelia?" Buffy called out uncertainly into the dark.

Seconds later, Cordelia Chase appeared wearing a cat girl outfit and dragging a protesting Angel by his ear. "Duh Summers, me and pale, dark, and broody here were just having a nice little chat about what happened to Xander. Weren't we, Sir Broods a lot?"

"Let go of my damn ear woman!" Angel protested as he felt if she pulled any harder his ear would be ripped off.

Shaking her head in amazement Buffy said, "Only you Cordy, only you would be brave enough to pull a Master Vampire around by his ear."

"Duh," Cordelia said again with a roll of her eyes as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.

Narrowing her eyes hostilely Willow asked, "Why do you care about what happened to Xander?"

In response, Cordelia let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes once again, as if to say 'If you have to ask, you'll never know.'

The Slayer decided to get answers the way she was best accustomed, through violence. Picking the ensouled Champion up by his jacket she asked, "What happened to Xander?"

"I don't know. His body was here one moment, gone the next in a burst of flames. What's with the third degree Buffy?" Angel asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Wrong answer," Buffy then tossed him across the room, where he impacted against the wall, leaving a vampire-sized hole in it.

She then stomped over to the Master Vampire and pulling his face close to hers asked him again "That was Strike One. You really don't want to see what happens when you get to three," She warned him before asking "Did you revive me in the Master's Cave last year?"

"…No," Angel replied after a moment's hesitation. Angel was many things but an idiot was not one of them. He had an idea where this was going.

Buffy shook him once before asking, "Then why did you let me think you did?"

Sighing in annoyance, Angel replied "Because then I would've had to admit to being forced to come and help you. Forced, not by a Slayer or a Watcher, or even a seasoned Hunter or a Witch, but by some scrawny know-nothing kid who had naught but sheer determination and a cross on his side to threaten me with."

The Slayer was now shaking with rage, as all her preconceived notions about both Angel and Xander were shattered simultaneously "You mean to tell me; that you had to be forced to come and help me? You didn't even come willingly?"

"Oh, ouch that's gotta hurt," Cordelia had said before she was silenced by a withering glare from the Slayer and Willow.

"Honestly?" Angel said with a shrug, "I didn't see much point. I knew of the prophecy, and it said you would die. And if there's one thing I know about prophecies, it's that they're like curses, unavoidable burdens that always come to be."

"Oh really? Well, I guess Xander didn't get the memo because I'm still here. No thanks to you," She told the vamp harshly.

"Buffy, the prophecy wasn't avoided. You did die-" Angel tried to explain only to be cut off by the irate Slayer who said "I know! I know I died Angel. But the difference is, Xander tried to help me anyway, and you didn't. That's why…that's why you have twenty-four hours to get out of town. If you're still here, this time, tomorrow, your dust, got it?" she informed him before she pushed him away.

"Buffy, don't do this," The ensouled vampire all but pleaded, hoping to stay in the slayer's good graces.

Stone faced, Buffy replied, "Go before I change my mind and stake you right here Angel."

"You need me! You would already be dead if it weren't for Me," he snapped at her, becoming angry at her refusal to see reason.

Angel found himself punched in the face, not by the Slayer but by an angry Willow who snapped at him "Buffy doesn't need you, Angel, she never has, she's had us, her friends covering her back, and she would've been dead if it wasn't for Xander. You saw no point in going before he forced you, remember? Now get out of here before I do Buffy a favor and stake you myself!"

The Master Vampire opened his mouth to argue some more only for Cordelia and Buffy to flank the redhead, and for Cordy to say, "You should get going, you're wasting moonlight."

Angel snapped his mouth shut before huffing in annoyance and turning on his heel before stalking out of the shop, but he didn't leave without turning back and issuing one final warning, "You're making a mistake, and by the time you come to see that, it'll be too late."

Three simultaneous eye rolls were given, and Buffy said: "We'll take our chances, thanks."

With a grimace on his face, Angel stalked into the night. Only after he was gone did Willow allow herself to start freaking out about Xander's disappearance and possible death "Ohmygosh Ohmygosh! Xander's missing and possibly dead! What are we gonna do? How are we going to break this to his par-Ok, never mind that part, but seriously, what are we gonna do?"

Buffy put both her hands on the redhead's shoulders and said "Willow, the first thing we need to do is calm down ok? We aren't going to be able to think clearly if we're acting crazy."

"Blondie's right, you know? Cordelia said before flipping her brown locks out of her face and continuing "Freaking out and having a total meltdown isn't going to help us find Xander any faster."

"Us?" The Slayer and newly Chosen wielder of the Witchblade asked at the same time.

Putting her hands on her hips and glaring at the two as if they weren't now the two most powerful beings in this city, "Duh, us. As in the three of us."

"See, that's the part where we're getting confused Cordelia, why would you want to help us find Xander? You hate him," Buffy asked, a bit of anger coming back to her tone.

"And what makes you think we want or need your help?" Willow added, sounding hostile.

Queen Bee of Sunnydale had donned an affronted look before she ticked off on her fingers "Ok first off, I don't hate Xander."

"Bulls-crap!" Will said, correcting herself at the last second. "You've never liked Xander or me, it's been like that since kindergarten."

Giving the redhead look that said 'seriously?' the brunette replied: "Ya know Willow, for someone who is supposedly so smart, you really are dumb sometimes."

Anger had flashed in the Witchblade wielder's eyes before she asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sighing, Cordelia asked, "Tell me, Willow, your parents are psychologists when boys and girls are young, how do they usually act when they like each other?"

"Pff-simple they-" A light went off in Willow's eyes as she said, "They pick on each other…Cordelia, are you saying that you..?"

"Yes-" Cordelia said slowly as if talking to a small child. "I like Xander, I always have liked Xander. After tonight though I don't think I would like him romantically but I definitely would have wanted to be his friend at the very least."

"But-but then, why were you always so mean to me, knowing I was his best friend," Willow asked perplexed.

Cordelia groaned as if in pain before she smacked herself on the head and said "Willow, it's because you were his best friend that I was mean to you. You were a threat, competition to my feelings at the time! Hell Xander was at least cordial to me when you weren't around! The man didn't have a bone in his body to hate women!"

Blinking in surprise, Willow asked, "You, you were trying to drive me away…because you were intimidated by me of all people?"

"Duh, it was evident to anyone but Xan that you had and still have a thing for him. So I wanted you out of the picture. But there's one thing I'd forgotten…" Cordelia trailed off.

"Xander's protective streak that is a mile wide and only got larger as time went on," Willow deduced.

Nodding Cordy replied "Yep, the moment I started picking on you, his friend, I became an enemy in his eyes. Then that whole 'We Hate Cordelia Club' thing happened, hurtful by the way, and I knew he'd never like me the same way I liked him. So I stopped trying to get him to like me and settled for him hating me instead. At least that way he still talked to me, even if it was just to trade insults," She finished with a shrug.

"Cordelia-I didn't-I didn't know," Willow said, becoming apologetic.

Holding up a hand, the brunette replied "Don't-don't be sorry. It's all my fault it happened the way it did. You have nothing to be sorry for. It is much too late for me to try gaining his affection now. I am pretty sure any path with us would only lead to ruin."

"I like him too," was a whispered answer from the only other living girl in the room.

This caused both the redhead and brunette's heads to snap to the blonde who was staring at the ground guiltily, as Willow asked, "Buffy did you just say what I think you just said?"

This caused the Slayer to look up, with guilt in her green eyes as tears trailed down her face, she nodded "I told you, I like him too. I thought he was cute in an awkward kinda way, it was funny the way he tripped over himself when we first met. And then, when he found out about my 'job' as the Slayer he didn't run away or call me crazy, but he tried to help. I found this both endearing and aggravating. Endearing because being a Slayer is a lonely job with a low life expectancy. Aggravating because he involved himself when he didn't have to. He didn't have a personal stake in this at the time, or destiny but he and Jessie helped anyway…and it got Jessie turned."

Buffy quickly added when she saw Willow opening her mouth to argue, "I don't blame him, or Jessie for what happened. I blame myself. If I had just been a better, more capable Slayer, Jessie might still be here with you and Xan. Then maybe you both wouldn't be involved in all this and Xander would be…wouldn't be…"

Buffy couldn't bring herself to finish as she sniffled so she said instead, "But the worst part was … when …, after that he still pined for me. I brought him nothing but ruin in his life," The blonde shook her head, "No, it was more than that, he looked at me like I was some kind of hero or something. How? I lead to the death of his brother in all but blood? How could I be his hero?" She asked Willow desperately, "How could he admire me so much when it's my fault someone who was like a brother to you and he is dead because of my inability to keep him safe?"

"Oh Elizabeth it wasn't your fault," were the comforting whispers of the saint hidden away in her soul.

In response to this pent-up confession of love and guilt, all Willow could do was hug her first friend who was a girl. While hugging her, she said, "It's not your fault Buffy, it's not your fault. I don't blame you, Xander's not mad at you, and I know Jessie wouldn't blame you either. Why didn't you tell me you were feeling like this?"

"About Xander or Jessie?" Buffy asked honestly as the tears continued to fall.

"Both," Willow replied not with the hostility the Slayer expected, but with concerned curiosity while holding her at arms-length and locking eyes with her.

Unable or unwilling to look away, Buffy said, "I didn't say anything about Jessie because I didn't want to bring up bad memories."

"And about Xander?" Willow pressed "Why didn't you tell me you liked him too?"

Sighing, the Slayer replied "Because Will, I didn't want to be 'that girl' anymore. I wanted to be somebody else. That's what I told myself coming to Sunnydale. I didn't want to be the alpha bitch queen. I just wanted to be Buffy."

Seeing the redhead's confused look Buffy elaborated "Before, in my old school I was basically a carbon copy of Cordelia. Shallow, vindictive, cheerleader who didn't have any real friends and wouldn't think twice about 'poaching' a girlfriend's boyfriend just because I wanted them for myself for a bit."

Uh, I'm standing right here ya know?" Cordelia reminded them before adding, "And I've never stolen anyone's boyfriend, they came to me."

"The point is," Buffy said ignoring the affronted brunette, "That once I found out you liked Xander, I didn't want to make a move on him and risk losing you as a friend. Even knowing how much Xander wanted me and also knowing you'd be hurt if I did."

"Oh, Buffy," Willow had said before she threw her arms around the blonde.

The two Best Female Friend's squeezed each other tightly, only for Willow to draw back and give the Slayer an odd look when Buffy burst into laughter.

""Buffy, are you ok? Willow asked hesitantly.

"I think Summers has finally lost it, Rosenberg," Cordelia quipped, throwing in her two cents.

"No, no, it's not that," Buffy said through laughter "It's just so sad that it's funny."

"What Buffy?"

"That you and I admit we like the same guy only moments after his heroic death to save the town. I mean really, is this some kind of cosmic joke on our part to punish us for not telling him?" the Slayer asked her companions.

Both Willow and Cordelia looked at each other before looking back to Buffy and slowly they giggled, then giggles became laughter. Laughter soon gave way to tears, which turned into wrenching sobs that had the three young women in a group hug on the floor of the derelict costume shop. Soon, their sobbing ceased and the trio, emotionally and mentally spent, drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

(…)

0645hrs 016 04 960 M41, Hive City of Petropolis, Underhive, Zael's Bar

It took all of thirty minutes to get to Zael's Bar. Yet, Xander and Grimm had spent the last fifteen minutes trying to convince Kat to go and talk to her mother. The girl had caught cold feet upon coming within sight of the bar. Coming to the end of his patience Xander said to the girl "Look, Kat, this can go one of two ways. You can go in there, or I can go in there and get her. But either way, you're talking to her."

With a look of desperation and fear on her face, Kathrine said, "But-but what if she's still angry? What if she really doesn't want me back? What if-"

"What if she's wondering when you're going to come in from the cold and talk?" An older voice, sounding tired and world-weary replied in front of the group of three.

Looking towards the entrance, Xander found an older woman who looked remarkably like Joyce Summers, albeit with dark-brown hair. Yet she lacked something Joyce always inherently radiated, an aura of kindness and compassion as well as a look of motherly warmth in her eyes. This woman, by contrast, gave off an air of being downtrodden and mistrustful, the look in her eyes not exactly bitter, but worn out and nowhere near as trusting as the Summers matriarchs'. If Xander had to put it she seemed to have lost hope.

He was about to motion to Grimm to follow him a ways away so the two could hash things out privately when for the first time he experienced a massive burst of insight, he was hit by a vision.

~What passed for daylight here in the Underhive rose and fell five times in rapid succession. On the coming of the sixth day, they came. Like fire ants swarming from their hill, hundreds if not thousands of thugs armed with everything from flamers, to bolters ,to laspistols descended upon the bar. From the back, a tall, broad-shouldered man with a blonde Mohawk stood. He was wearing crude power armor, and his lower jaw looked like it had been replaced by a bear trap. He roared out from a vox implanted into his throat, his left arm replaced by an augment that was currently in the shape of an autocannon, "A thousand 'Flects to the merc who brings me the head of the Rogue Trader!"~

He was brought back to reality by Grimm shaking his arm and asking "Sir, is everything' al'right?"

Nodding he said distractedly, "Yeah Grimm, let's go over here while the ladies get reacquainted. Apologies' miss?"

"Jehanne Effernatti surah and you have my thanks and my hospitality for bringing my daughter home. Isn't that right dear?" She said before nudging her daughter forwards.

"Yeah, thanks," Kathrine muttered out embarrassedly by her mother. Secretly she just happy her mom was happy to see her though.

Smiling Xander replied "Don't worry about it, ma'am. I'm just happy she got home safe. If you'll excuse me, I need to go talk with my friend here about something, right Grimm?"

The Catachan gave him an odd look but nodded, following him off a ways before he asked again, "Sir, is everything' al'right?"

Shaking his head, Xander replied "No Mr. Grimm, everything is not alright. I just had a vision of the future. In it, five days from now, an army of thugs is going to descend on this bar burning it, and everyone in it to the ground. Some tall guy with a lower jaw like a bear trap, He actually looked like he wanted me dead too."

"This big fella have a metallic left arm and a Mohawk?" Grimm questioned.

Xander nodded slowly, "Yeah, it was currently in the form of an autocannon."

"Shit! Whelp, I dunno how to tell ya this Milord, but you done pissed off Ricardo Salvadon the 3rd enough to come down an end you himself," was Grimm's only answer to the man Xander described to him in his vision.

Frowning Xander said, "So some two-bit drug lord wants a piece of me huh? Bring it on."

"Milord, with all due respect-"Grimm began only to be cut off by Xander, who finished his sentence for him, "You don't know shit about me, Grimm. I've fought so much worse than some puffed up drug lord. So here's what we're gonna do. You're gonna ask around, find out whatever you can about this guy. The most important thing is, find out where he's getting his weapons from. No drug lord should have access to military-grade hardware that he does. So he has to have a source. Find it for me, Grimm, something I know you can do with your Catachan training, and I'll handle the rest."

Inspired by the young Rogue Trader's charisma and faith in his abilities, a fire lit in Grimm's eyes. It was the fire that hadn't been there for a good long time. For no one had needed the Catachan veteran for many a year. But now, he was being called back to duty. A lord of the empire saw greatness in him. And he shall answer in kind.

Snapping to attention, he said, "Aye, your will be done, Milord. Just gimme some creds ta collect some vitals and I'll be off. We're on a tight schedule though I've had tighter. Definitely under more dire circumstances."

Xander was about to protest, saying he could have one night with a full belly and in a warm bed. But, upon seeing the resolute look in the man's eyes, he nodded and reached into the pouch which held their pilfered credits. Handing him a handful saying "Will this be enough?"

Looking at the credits that the Rogue Trader handed over, the Catachan replied: "Yeah, five-hundred is more an' enough."

'I need to figure out how to tell Thrones apart,' Xander thought to himself before saying "Then goodwill hunting."

"Ta you too Milord," Grimm had said before he headed towards Jehanne to pay for his supplies.

As he did that, the Rogue stood, decided he needed to make some friends and made his way inside.

The moment he entered, all noise in the place stopped, sans a radio that was going in an out, spewing some kind of gothic gospel hymns. It was then that Xander knew how the cowboy's in those corny old flicks felt when they entered a saloon full of toughs. He ignored the glares he was receiving and took in the bar itself. To call the place a dive would've been an insult to dives. The floor was covered with a fine layer of dirt, rickety chairs, and wobbly tables were strewn haphazardly about the place, and the air was filled with the acrid stench of cigarettes and…burning wood?

Following his nose, he found the center of the room was scorched, charred more like the tables and chairs around were naught but ash and cinders…save one. Sitting there, at a lone table, was a woman garbed in leather and a crimson tabard, a set of goggles on her brow. Her face was soft and gentle looking, with a smattering of freckles across her face, and she had strands of fiery red hair going down to her shoulder blades. However despite her appearance, Xander could feel power all but rolling off her, like heat from the forge.

Activating his warp-sight, Xander gazed upon the woman again, and was nearly blinded! This woman, whoever she was, radiated flame. Nay, it was as if she was the center of a sun. As he stared, words written in cursive began to take shape in tongues of plasma as many creatures of flame showed themselves in the shadows of this woman. Passion, Freedom, Chaos, and Impulse.

He was wary upon seeing the word chaos describe this comely woman yet, he didn't feel she was an agent of the Ruinous Powers. So instead he looked away briefly to turn off his warp-sight before approaching and asking, "This seat taken?"

She looked him over then, judging him with a glance before shrugging and saying, "Nah, go ahead and sit down kid."

Huffing at being called a child, he said, "Thanks. Names Xander by the way, Miss…?

Smirking at him cheekily she replied, "Nalaar, Chandra Nalaar…Xander?

He shrugged, "It's short for Alexander, Alexander Harris. So, what brings you to this place, Miss Nalaar?"

"Just call me Chandra Xander, as for what brings me here, I was waiting for someone." She said cryptically.

The Rogue didn't press her, it wasn't his place to press her about her personal business. Instead, he said, "How about a drink and some company while you wait then?"

"Sure, that's mighty kind of you. Treating a lady like me to a good time eh," She said, fluttering her eyes at him.

Chuckling awkwardly he replied, "No problem," He then got up and went over to the bar, helping himself to a beer and a bottle full of caff which he hoped was a pop, leaving a couple of Thrones on the counter in recompense. Handing the beer to the Pyrokine, he said, "I hope the beer is ok."

She nodded before blowing a tongue of flame out of her mouth, melting the cap off the neck of her bottle before she took a look at his drink and asked, "What, not big on alcohol?"

He shook his head, "No, drinking isn't exactly my thing."

Chandra shrugged before taking a swig of her drink. She then took a moment to give her guest a once over. He was young, yet roguishly handsome. She noted he stared at her for a bit before introducing himself, he was either checking her out, trying to gauge how dangerous she was or both. But as she did her own looking now, she couldn't help but feel drawn to him for reasons unknown. It was as if something wanted her to be around him. Honestly he felt like a warm hearth that put her at ease.

Closing her eyes she checked herself for compulsion magic, finding none, she next gently, for her, reached out and touched Xander with her own magical senses, hoping to get a feel for him. She was no blue mana user, she couldn't read minds, but she could for lack of a better term, get a feel for people or more accurately their emotions using her innate connection to red mana. She did so now, sending out a tendril of mana towards the young man. The moment it made contact, she was bombarded by sound! The roaring of a dragon intermixed with the shrill warning cries of Phoenix song.

'Dragons and Phoenixes? Creatures of fire…So that explains it! He has a powerful connection to red mana himself! Interesting…is this the guy the old man wanted us to look out for?' she wondered to herself feeling her body get nice and tingly in reply to the red mana that she now felt leaking out of his body in droves.

"Chandra?" Xander asked, in a way that said he'd been trying to get her attention.

"Yeah?" she replied, focusing her attention back on him.

"You ok, you kinda spaced out there," He asked her concernedly, looking at her with his remaining eye. She seemed fine but her breathing deepened and she started panting a little when her eyes glazed over looking at him.

She waved him off before taking another drink of her beer. If there was one thing Chandra Naalar disliked about being so proficient in fire magic it was that she always felt parched, and she could never get drunk. Her body burned through the alcohol long before she could do so much as catch a buzz. Setting her drink aside for the moment, she said, "I'm alright, you were saying?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're a really powerful Pyrokine, correct?" he asked.

She'd been around long enough to know that a Pyrokine was native for red mana users in this dimension, so she nodded wanting to see what he had to say.

Xander took a moment to collect his thoughts and offer a silent prayer that Altria's charisma really did enhance his own before leaning forwards and speaking in a low, conspiratorial tone, "I had a sort of vision I guess. In it, five days' from now, this tavern will be besieged by hordes of thugs. I would like your help in fending them off."

Without hesitation, the Pyromancer nodded, "Sure, what can I do to help?"

'Impulsive indeed,' Xander had thought before he started laying out the inklings of a plan he had in mind…

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Word Count: 1,094 Number of Pages: 30 Date Completed: 6/21/2022

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AN: Hello all and Welcome to Chapter Two of Rogue Trader. We're putting these out rather quick as Snow and I are just revising the plot on the old chapters but adding bits and pieces that will have effect later on. You'll see what I mean eventually. Now here's the man of the hour, Snowy.

Snowy: Sweet Jesus Almighty folks. I am burning the midnight oil to revise this story and add parts to it that satisfy not only me but bubba as well. As some of you may notice we change some things slightly in this chapter. Be on the lookout some of those changes have long term consequences. Also I am proud to say I have sliced the harem to bits. It is now a lot more manageable for me and bubba. Yes, praise me all you want. I am truly doing the emperor's work.

Indeed you are Snowy, indeed you are. Good job… Now get back to work before you get a bolter to the head. You're a part of the Penal Legion, you don't get to stop! So says Commisar Bubbacus Maximus.

Snowy: SIR YES SIR

To the rest of you unwashed masses… REVIEW! In the Emperor's name or be granted His Mercy! That is all. Go in peace.

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