"Heading out?" Ryu asked, surprising the both of them as they exited from the underground base.

"I'm not big on goodbyes," Xander admitted, "and I plan on collecting a lot of Mana while I'm here before my next jump, so I've got to get traveling."

"I've given some thought to that," Ryu said. "The Rocky Mountains should give you all the Red you need, but for Black, cemeteries are your best bet, they are conveniently located if more spread out."

"Something I should have realized myself," Xander said, perking up. "I was planning on visiting Louisiana and Florida for Black, but every town has at least one cemetery."

"Good journeys," Ryu said with a smile before fading from sight.

"Thanks, not so old man," Xander said before creating a black Hummer and climbing in the passenger seat as the female T-800 got behind the wheel.

"What is our destination?" Cameron asked as she buckled her seat belt and started the SUV.

"North and a bit east," Xander said, "We're going to leisurely head towards the Rockys while stopping at most small towns along the way or at least one every twenty-five miles or so."

"Understood," she replied and shifted into gear, driving at a reasonable speed through the new forest.

"Headlights," Xander reminded her as he turned on the radio, since it was still an hour before sunrise.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Alright, so we have a deceased police officer being impersonated by what even his own mother would think was him, but how does that lead to here?" Scully asked, gesturing to a chain link fence with a locked gate.

"Because his motorcycle was discovered by a couple of kids near the fence about a quarter of a mile away," Mulder replied, "and the only thing in the area is a trailer registered to Ginger Ventura."

"You say that like I should know who that is," Scully said rolling her eyes. Normally she had a great deal more self-control, but Mulder's habit of revealing connecting details only when she asked tended to get on her nerves.

Her partner grinned. "Everything starts with the Sarah Conner killings in LA. The big guy who she claimed was a cyborg murdered his way down the list until he got to the Sarah Conner we are tracking. He tried to kill her at home, killing her roommate… Ginger Ventura."

"Which is the name Sarah Conner used to purchase this property," Scully guessed.

"It could be a different Ginger Ventura, but the odds are low," Mulder said.

"So, what do you expect to find here?" Scully asked as they got out of the car.

"I don't know," Mulder admitted as he used a master key to unlock the gate. "We might find Sarah Conner and her kid, we might find the remains of our dead police officer's doppelganger, since by all accounts Miss Conner is rather formidable and we know he's hunting her."

"Two dead guards and video footage that I refuse to believe is real despite there being no way to fake such footage," she said, shaking her head. "There has to be a rational explanation for how he passed through the bars and altered his appearance, but I'll be damned if I know what it is."

"I'm right there with you," Mulder said, "the Sarah Conner killer didn't display any similar traits. There has to be a connection, but as to what that is… I don't even have a theory at this point, we need more information." He opened the gate and gestured for her to drive through.

Scully waited for him to close the gate behind them and get back in before asking, "So what crazy half assed theory did you have floating around before adding in Mr. Walks Through Bars?"

"I thought it was possible someone had created a passable robot with rudimentary AI," Mulder replied. "A robot of that size, disguised as a human, would be able to ignore being shot a few dozen times if it was sufficiently armored and the additional mass would explain why it wasn't knocked down."

"A cyborg from the future?" she asked dryly.

"No," Mulder disagreed, "simply a lone genius who was off his rocker and managed to create something a bit ahead of the curve. Toss in a homeless schizophrenic and a tense situation and we are left with the only survivor of the entire mess believing wholeheartedly some really crazy shit."

Scully just stared at him for a few seconds.

"Yes, I do realize the irony of me saying this," Mulder said, "but just because something strange is going on doesn't mean it's something impossible."

"A lone genius making an… android that can pass for human and is battle capable is a bit insane," Scully said before sighing, "but not impossible," she conceded.

"Exactly," Mulder said smugly as she slowly drove forward. "What's impossible is the fact that satellite photos of this area showed it as nothing but sand and scrub three days ago."

"Mulder, these trees have got to be at least a decade old," Scully said.

"Quite the mystery," he agreed.

"And do you have a logical explanation?" she asked.

"The most obvious one is that someone has hacked into the satellite and insured it only transmits old photos of the place," he replied, "and whoever is doing it has been at it for over a decade, possibly even 15 years or so."

"You think it's the same person who created the android," Scully said. "An android I am not convinced exists but will concede the possibility of."

"He could have been operating it remotely," Mulder offered.

"That is more likely than developing an AI, even a rudimentary one," Scully said.

"And we're here," Mulder noted as they spotted the doublewide trailer.

"Looks new," Scully noted.

"It probably is," Mulder agreed. "Miss Conner is resourceful as well as paranoid and apparently her paranoia is well founded."

"Except for the whole cyborgs from the future theory," Scully said dryly.

"Except for that," he agreed as he got out of the car and approached the trailer. He knocked and waited, Scully joining him at the door, but there was no response.

"I don't think anyone is home," Scully said as they listened, but heard nothing except the chirping of birds and the chittering of squirrels in the trees.

"If they were here they either stopped the thing impersonating the police officer or were killed by it," Mulder said, taking a set of lockpicks out of his pocket and kneeling down.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing, Scully?" he replied with a smirk.

"We don't have a warrant," she reminded him.

"If they're here we are in pursuit of a fugitive," he replied as there was a click and he opened the door.

"And if they're not?" she asked dryly.

"Then there are no witnesses to ask for a warrant," he replied, before stepping inside.

"Procedures exist for a reason," she grumbled halfheartedly, as she followed him inside.

"And if lives weren't on the line I'd follow them," he said as he scanned the empty living room. "I don't think anyone's ever been in here, it's too new."

Scully looked around and nodded as he stepped into the kitchen and checked the cabinets. "This could be a decoy."

"What, like a duck blind?" he asked, giving her a confused look.

"I meant like a trap, but essentially yes."

"So, they could be hiding out, using this to lure in the killer while watching from nearby," Mulder said thoughtfully.

"If so, there should be signs of them in the area," Scully said, stepping out the door and looking around, "and I just found one."

Mulder followed her, locking the door behind himself.

"The ground there," she said, pointing to a spot a dozen feet from a granite picnic table.

"How did we miss that?" Mulder asked as he examined the spot where the T-1000 had died, using a pen to dig a slug out of the ground. "Some pretty heavy calibers."

"I'm not seeing any blood," she noted.

"I'm not sure it had blood, but something was caught in one hell of a crossfire here," Mulder said.

"I'd expect to see some remains," Scully argued, "hydraulic fluid, battery acid, lots of metal."

"And if they cleaned that up, why leave the slugs in place?" he asked.

"Everything we find just leads to more questions," Scully complained.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Relax," Ryu assured Sarah and Joel, "I placed a veil on the entrance to the base, they could be standing right next to it and never see it."

Sarah watched the monitor intently. "Could they find the cameras?"

"No, we've placed seals on them as well," he assured her.

"We need to draw them off," Joel said with a frown, "make them lose interest in this site."

"The Terminators made to look like me and John could handle that," Sarah said.

"They would need to be spotted at different places to keep the attention on them," Uncle Bob suggested. "If they were seen on camera entering Mexico, local authorities would lose interest in this area."

"Send them out one of the back exists and have them speed past on the dirt bike Xander left behind?" Joel said thoughtfully.

"Canada would be a better choice," Ryu suggested. "Forestwalk would keep them from being caught and they would blend in much better."

"And would draw attention a bit further from here," Sarah said with a nod.

"I'll see to it," Uncle Bob said.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The two agents turned at the roar of an engine just in time to see a dirt bike blow past them with John and Sarah Conner on it, both dressed in some sort of outdoor gear.

The two agents rushed to the car and Scully started it up, before stopping and shutting off the engine.

Mulder turned to look at her in confusion for a second before sighing. "Trying to follow them in a rental car off-road would be stupid," he realized.

"We'll report in and let the police follow up," Scully said, "We still have several leads to follow and can interview them when they're caught."

"It's frustrating to get so close to the answers and have it ride off like that," Mulder said with a sigh.

"Pretty sure they still think they are being hunted by robots from the future," Scully said as she started the car, "so I doubt what they can tell us will be the answers we're looking for."

"You just have to view their testimony through the lens of their insanity," Mulder replied. "While what they say may only be subjectively true, objectively it may provide clues as to what is going on."

"That does explain your interrogation style," Scully said dryly, "and makes a great deal of sense," she reluctantly added.

"So, what leads do you think we should follow up on that you've noticed?" he asked, pleased that she was beginning to get the hang of the type of investigation that was needed for the cases they were tasked with.

"Whoever altered the satellite photos should have left traces of their tampering behind and if we cross reference photo imagery from the satellite you used with one that hasn't been tampered with, we may find other areas of interest to our investigation," she explained, making Mulder grin in excitement.

"There are three satellites that officially overlook the US, and I took the time to check with all three of them, but I know of at least two others that unofficially cover the same territory," Mulder said. "I have some friends who can get us access… How good's your Russian?"

~Probably better than yours,~ she replied in fluent Russian as she turned the car around.

~I wouldn't count on it,~ he replied easily, with a wide grin in the same language.

One Week Later

"Sailor Moon," Scully repeated.

"I know," Mulder said, forcing himself not to laugh as he drove, his partner being too upset to be trusted behind the wheel.

"I saw the test results," Scully said, forcing herself to calm down, "all those children had cancer, a legitimate incurable medical condition."

"It was a hospice specifically for children with incurable cancer," Mulder agreed.

"They are all in perfect health now after a visit by a cartoon character," Scully said, rubbing her temples.

"Or at least someone who disguised themselves as one," Mulder corrected her.

"We have a whole string of towns with reports of unusual plant growth and miraculous healings," Scully said, "all of it verifiable. How does this tie in with cyborg killers from the future?"

"I don't know," Mulder admitted as they passed a black SUV with California dealer tags in the back window. "Everything seems to have started at that one spot where the Conners were hiding out, but none of it makes any sense. For all I know Cyborgs from the future actually are hunting Sarah Conner who became a magic girl and is destined to give birth to the savior of Earth."

Scully looked over at him. "The Conners crossed over into Canada two days ago and their trail doesn't crossover with the one we're following."

"Maybe they can teleport," he said a shrug. "This is stranger than any of the cases we've worked on, if just because we've got solid irrefutable evidence of unnatural events."

"Even if they seem completely unrelated," the red head said with a frown.

"Maybe they are," Mulder said thoughtfully.

"Pardon?"

"Maybe they are unrelated," Mulder replied. "Maybe whatever happened to Sarah Conner is unrelated to an underage girl in a short skirt healing people and causing the grass to grow. Maybe whatever fight Sarah had with that liquid shape changer simply woke up whatever it is we're tracking." He slowed down to thirty as they entered Kerkland, a good sized town that mainly made its money from mining, which created its own health hazards and made it a prime target for 'Sailor Moon' should she travel through the area.

"No-Tell Motel," Scully noted as they drove past a seedy motel advertising reasonable rates and a hot tub in each room, "lovely."

"I didn't think those existed outside seduction novels and crime dramas," Mulder remarked, amused.

"Neither did I," Scully said, "but I suppose it was inevitable someone would make a hotel based on a story."

"At least they have a sense of humor," Mulder said as they pulled into the hospital's parking lot.

"Okay," Scully said, opening up her laptop and going over the data they'd collected, "the first couple of days the route was almost a straight line, following the interstate before Lefton, where… Sailor Moon ran into a hospital that specialized in the treatment of child burn victims, after that her course deviated going from hospital to hospital where they treated incurable cases. There are only three possibilities from their last confirmed stop and since the effect demonstrated doesn't fix genetic abnormalities and the other hospital concentrates on adult onset diabetes, the children's ward here, which is widely known to handle health issues caused by environmental damage, is our best bet. We stake out the ward until she either shows up or we get a report she's visited another hospital on her way east."

"And we can finally get some answers," Mulder said.

"Hopefully ones that make sense," Scully said.

The black Hummer they'd passed a few miles ago pulled into the parking spot next to them and a young couple got out.

Scully sighed, having gotten her hopes up for a moment.

"Wait here, this will only take a minute," the young man said before there was a flash of light and suddenly Sailor Moon was standing in his place.

Mulder and Scully got out of their car as the anime character leapt across the parking lot to the front door, completely ignoring the laws of physics, and vanished inside.

Mulder approached the dark-haired young woman who stood eerily still, turning her head to look at them dispassionately. "I don't suppose you know anything about a liquid shape changer?" he asked.

"Affirmative," she agreed.

"What can you tell us about him?" Scully quickly asked.

"The T-1000 is a Terminator composed of Mimetic Polyalloy capable of rapid shape shifting, near perfect mimicry, and recovery from damage," she listed off its base capabilities.

"And one of them is hunting Sarah and John Conners?" Mulder asked.

"Negative, it has been terminated," she replied.

"Are you a T-1000?" he asked.

"Negative," she replied and fell silent.

"What are you?" Mulder asked.

"I am an enhanced T-800," she replied.

"And what is a T-800?" Mulder asked.

"A cybernetic organism composed of living tissue covering a hyperalloy endoskeleton," she answered.

"I don't suppose you can prove that?" Mulder asked.

The young woman turned around and knelt down before lifting the front of the Hummer to waist level before lowering it smoothly back to the pavement.

"And are you trying to kill Sarah and John Conner?" Mulder questioned cautiously as Scully just leaned against the car in shock.

"Negative, my mission is to assist in the prevention of Skynet's creation to prevent Judgment Day and the destruction of the human race," she replied.

"And telling us this helps that?" Mulder asked intently, recalling all the details he'd dismissed as paranoid rantings from Sarah Conner's file.

"Affirmative," she replied as the young man turned anime character returned with a big smile on her face.

"Why Sailor Moon?" Scully asked.

"It's her abilities I'm copying and I would completely lose my man cred if I did it as myself," Sailor Moon replied before instantly turning back into a dark haired young man.

"Fox Mulder," he quickly introduced himself, offering a hand to make sure the other man was real.

"Xander Harris," he replied with a grin while shaking his hand. "So, this must be Dana Scully?"

"You know us?" the red-haired agent asked.

"I know both of you," Xander replied.

"So, are you a time traveling cyborg from the future too?' she asked in agitation.

"No," Xander said, "I'm from way outside this timeline. I dropped in on accident and decided to help out."

"From outside the timeline," Mulder repeated intently. "How does that work?"

"And can you prove it?" Scully asked.

"Not sure how I can prove it," Xander replied, "all I can prove is I have supernatural powers."

"I am confused," Scully said, "can you please give me an explanation for… everything?!"

"Sure," Xander said, "and it'll even make sense."

"Thank you," Scully said.

"Cyberdyne Systems created Skynet for the military, a self-aware AI that was to give the US an advantage if they ever went to war. Now, they had no idea it was going to become self-aware and so when it did they immediately tried to shut it down," Xander explained.

"And it defended itself… Judgment Day," Mulder said.

"Yes, now it failed to wipe out the human race and General John Conner, the leader of the resistance, lead mankind to destroy it. In an effort to prevent that it sent a T-800 back in time to kill Sarah Conner so John wouldn't be born, but since records were patchy from that time period, the T-800 killed every Sarah Conner in LA except the one it was aiming for because John sent Kyle Reece back in time to help her. Kyle Reece knocked up Sarah giving birth to John, who knew it was going to happen since his mother had told him."

"That barely makes sense," Scully complained.

"It gets worse," Xander replied. "Cyberdyne Systems only invents the neural-net processor because they recovered the remains of the T-800 that Sarah destroyed," Xander explained.

"An endless loop creating itself," Mulder said, shaking his head. "A snake swallowing its own tail."

"You have a weird reality," Xander agreed. "Anyway, so since its attempts to kill John before his birth failed, it sent a T-1000 back, a model it doesn't normally employ because it has a limited lifespan and can break its programming and evolve beyond the bonds placed on it, making it difficult to predict. John however managed to send a T-800 back, reprogrammed to protect John."

"Her?" Mulder asked, gesturing towards the female T-800.

"Don't jump ahead," Xander said. "Now, I was lost in the space between realities and saw the crack where the T-800 came through and followed. I assisted him in rescuing John and Sarah and terminating the T-1000."

"So where does she come into it and what's with the sudden forests and mass healings?" Mulder asked.

"I am enormously powerful and able to alter reality in a variety of ways and since I came from outside the timeline, every change I make makes it harder for Skynet to influence the timeline as the future it's from will no longer be this one," Xander finished.

"Can you prove any of this?" Scully asked.

"Sure," Xander replied, "Cameron is proof that Terminators exist, a simple X-ray will reveal what she is, and if you like I can enhance your physiology to the point where you could sweep the Olympics. Who wants to start?"

"I was thinking something smaller, but I always did want to win a gold medal in figure skating," Mulder joked.

"You'll still need to learn the skills," Xander said as he stepped up to Mulder and licked his thumbs before swiping them on either side of his neck before he could respond.

Mulder's form swelled as he gained in muscles and height. "Argh, squishing the boys here," he groaned reaching down and ripping the crotch of his pants open to reveal simple black boxers.

Scully barely stopped herself from reaching for her gun as she took in what had happened. "Mulder are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

"I feel… strong," Mulder said as he examined himself.

"Is that enough proof?" Xander asked.

"It's proof of something," Scully agreed.

"It's hard to prove something that's outside your frame of reference because-" Xander began.

"-because it's outside your frame of reference," Scully finished with a nod.

"How long does this last?" Mulder asked.

"It's permanent," Xander replied, "this is your new normal."

Mulder stepped over to the front of their car and knelt down before easily lifting it. "Whoa." He carefully lowered the car back down.

"I have no idea what to do with this information," Scully admitted.

"Close out one of our case files?" Mulder suggested with amusement.

"Even with concrete evidence I think they'd bury the case and us," Scully said. "This is…"

"Skinner has enough power to keep us from being buried," Mulder replied, "though the case will definitely end up classified."

"What are you going to do?" Scully asked Xander. "I mean, you have all this power and once it becomes known…"

"It's about time for me to hop realities," Xander said. "I'm kinda lost and trying to find my way home and while being able to help out has been great fun, I probably need to get going."

"What are my orders?" Cameron asked.

"You can help these two," Xander told her, "they can use all the help they can get."

"Acknowledged," Cameron replied. "I would like to request a full enhancement for both of them."

"This isn't full?" Mulder asked in shock.

"It's all the basic physical, but we've still got regeneration and forestry to add on," he replied with a grin as he created an emerald ring and started on a necklace.

"Forestry?" Mulder asked cautiously.

"Any time you are in a wooded area you'll instinctively know the way to go and how to move," Xander said.

"How does regeneration function?" Scully asked.

"Once a day you can heal from any damage in an instant," Xander replied.

"Wouldn't cellular acceleration shorten our lifespan?"

"No," Xander replied, "it's magic not science, it'd actually lengthen it."

"I'd need a lot of tests done before I was comfortable accepting something like that," Scully said.

"Scully," Mulder said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "sometimes you have to believe and take a leap of faith, you aren't going to get a second chance at this."

Scully looked into her partner's eyes and saw the same childlike excitement they always held when examining a new case. "Alright," she agreed.

Xander stepped forward and empowered Scully, her clothes tightening, but not nearly to the degree Mulder's had.

"Why the licking?" Mulder asked.

"Body fluids work best to transfer the energy," Xander replied, before finishing empowering Mulder, "and saliva seems the least wigsome."

"You are the most reasonable eldritch entity I've ever met," Mulder said, making Xander laugh.

"Good one," he said. "The necklace and ring fuel the regeneration, so don't let them get destroyed. Anything else before I go?"

"A million dollars in small, unmarked bills?" Mulder joked with a shrug.

Xander created a pair of small wooden chests. "Have a bunch of gold, I don't want to be arrested for counterfeiting."

"I was kidding about the money," Mulder said as he accepted the chests, wide eyed.

"I know, but this was funnier," Xander said. "Okay, let me psych myself up, cause this is scary."

"Scary?" Scully said.

"Jumping realities is scary," Xander replied, "I don't know where I'm going to end up and the Blind Eternities is overwhelming." He took a deep breath and vanished.

"And that just happened," Mulder said. "Man, this has been one hell of a day."

"You're telling me," Scully said, "I've just had my entire view of reality overturned. Let's go back to the hotel we saw coming in and get a room… and some alcohol, a lot of alcohol."

"Scully?" he questioned, thinking this was out of character.

"I need to feel in control of something," she explained.

"And alcohol will help with that?"

"I plan on getting you drunk and taking advantage of you," she replied.

"That would put you in control," Mulder admitted. "I'll drive."

"I'll stand guard," Cameron said, before getting in the Hummer so she could follow them.

"I may tie you down," Scully said as she buckled up.

"I'm okay with that," Mulder said, trying not to grin.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Everything washed over Xander at once, shattering his concentration as he scrambled for a link back to something familiar, trying to feel for the small amount of land he'd claimed that wasn't in the world he'd just left behind.

He caught a glimpse of a familiar face in eternity and leapt towards it, reality rippling into being around him.

He blinked as his mind adjusted to the quiet, before looking around. He was in an alley between two wooden buildings and from the look of people walking by he was in… the wild west or at least a frontier settlement.

He hadn't been expecting something like this, but then he hadn't really been expecting much of anything.

"If this is anything like the last world I'll end up running into Doc Brown," Xander said aloud trying to remember the details of the Back to the Future series so he could arrange such an event because Doc Brown was a summon he wouldn't mind having, the time traveling flying train had been awesome!

Xander summoned a pallet with the appropriate gear on it to fit in, strapping on a pair of pearl handled six shooters and a brown leather duster, both with a nicely worn look to them since he'd scanned them in a pawn shop. He pocketed a couple of rolls of gold coins and stepped out into the street, moving with the flow of people as he took in the sights.

There was a roar in the distance and a spacecraft lifted off, visible above the town as it departed, gleaming metal and four pairs of duel thrusters sending it soaring across the sky.

'I did not expect that,' Xander thought to himself as he forced himself to keep walking and pretended not to stare as it vanished from sight. 'I wonder if I should create another Cameron to help me figure this place out, a couple is usually less suspicious than a single guy walking around.'

He was still considering the idea as he noted the small bits of advanced tech he'd overlooked around him. There was a flicker of a TV visible in a bar as he passed and a few interesting devices he couldn't identify in the window display of a store. It looked like an ideal place to bring out a Cameron, she could ask obvious questions and he could claim she was a cousin who was a bit touched in the head.

Something hard poked him in the side and a deep man's voice said, "Pretend nothing's wrong and come with us."

"Alright," Xander said, "money's in my coat pocket, I could just pass it to you and pretend we never met."

"That sounds-" he began.

"No," a female voice interrupted, "he was thinking about creating girls like me, so he goes to the captain."

"And you swear you'll never melt me with your brain, ever?" the male said hopefully.

"I swear," she agreed.

"Well alright then," he said, "let's go see the Captain. Now, don't try anything funny, hear?"

"I hear and obey," Xander promised as he walked with the two, taking the time to glance at their faces since they were walking beside him.

"You made a girl like me called Cameron?" she asked as she glared at him.

"Several," Xander agreed, "but only one was named Cameron."

"Calm down, River," the man said. "We'll let the Captain sort things out, alright?"

"Alright," she agreed as they steered the man around a corner into an open field where an honest to god spaceship sat.

The gun was holstered or at least no longer poking his side as the man said, "We're going on board, you don't fight and you won't get shot or stabbed or anything."

"And how about mind melted?" Xander asked distractedly as he stared, fascinated at the ship.

"Won't be none of that either," the big man promised.

"Works for me," Xander said, hastening towards the ship eager to get a good look at it.

"You're the most co-operative person I ever kidnapped," the man said cheerfully.

"Strangely enough that's not the first time I've been told that," Xander replied with a grin.

Typing By: Abyssal Angel

TN: Well… That's one way to get Xander slotted into the canon of Firefly… XD