Chaos Theory – Re-keyed. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Neon Genesis Evangelion/Stargate SG-1/Star Wars/Star Trek/Halo/Lord of the Rings Crossover...
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Title: Chaos Theory: Re-keyed
Rating: PG - Language and Violence.
Genre: Crossover
Author: PitViper
Date (Part Six): 2007-12-29
Summary: This is a BtVS/NGE/SG-1/SW/ST/LotR/Halo crossover. Based on the Halloween costume episode. Very AU. The Key's spell goes both forwards and backwards in time… what happens when it interacts with Ethan's Halloween?
Disclaimer: I don't own it, wish I did. I'm not making any money off of it – so please don't sue me. BtVS is the property of Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox. Neon Genesis Evangelion is the product of Gainax and ADV Films. Star Wars is owned by George Lucas. Stargate SG-1 belongs to Double Secret Productions and Sci-Fi channel. Lord of the Rings is the property of J.R.R. Tolkien and his family. Halo is owned by Bungie. And Star Trek is the property of Paramount Pictures (Who obviously understand nothing about Gene's vision of the future)
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Chaos Theory: Re-Keyed
Part Six: "Transitions and Transgressions"
Jim shook his head, "What the hell?"
"Ouch…" Xander said, looking up, "McNeil?"
"Xander?" Jim asked, looking around him as he tried to identify his current location. "Well, safe to say this isn't California anymore." Jim stopped looking around to prop himself up on the green grass.
"What makes you say that?" Xander asked, looking around for landmarks and threats. Granted the landscape was far different from any nearby the school, but that was to be expected when one is teleported by a fickle sentient intelligence that is in charge of one of the most powerful homes of technology in the universe. As his eyes came back to rest on Jim, he realized that the young man had a silly grin on his face and a finger pointing upwards and behind him.
Xander followed the finger, his head swinging to allow him a better view of the blue-lavender sky. Just as he was about to crack a joke about Chicken Little, his mind came to a sudden halt. "What the fuck?"
"Not as elegant as I would have put it, however… it's fitting. I'd say at least two or three radii, probably a small one-hundred thousand star globular cluster, near by, relatively speaking of course."
"That's…" Xander just couldn't put it into words… The sun was setting, in the distance, the sky a multihued conflagration of color. However, in the opposite direction, in a sky mostly devoid of stars, was a giant pinwheel…
"I've seen it like this just once. The Barrier kept me from truly appreciating it, along with trying to get my ship back. But when we finally stopped and began to turn around. We saw it – the Milky Way in all its glory. The glow of over four billion stars, each one like Sol. It's humbling in a way, kind of like that first time you take a shuttle up and see the Earth and Luna; you realize just how small you are in the grand scheme of things."
"I never imagined…" Xander said. It was one thing to have the memories of someone who had seen and done the things that John 117 had done. It was quite another to experience them for yourself.
Another groan echoed from the slightly taller grass surrounding the two teenagers. With a look to each other, they both got to their feet.
Both Xander and McNeil moved cautiously to the place where they heard the sound. They peered through the deep bladed grass, and were surprised to find a young woman with wings there.
Xander was the first to say something, "Dawn?"
---
It had been two weeks since their arrival on this presumably distant planet far from their own. Other than the fact they had been alone, in the middle of what seemed to be prime fertile land, this world was essentially a paradise. Food and water, plenty of edible berries and fruits, and what seemed to be a temperate year-round climate – as was evidenced by the staggered cycles several of the local flora and fauna were in.
Jim chucked an apple into the air. 'Apples! This far from Earth!' Of course, neither Dawn nor Xander immediately understood the significance of that single revelation. But having the memories of a pioneer/explorer/space cowboy seemed to make him a walking encyclopedia of what should be or what was not. Xander and Dawn just didn't have the experiences, even with their possessions. In fact, Xander was more hung up on the concept that Cortana wasn't here, and neither was his armor. Xander said that his implants felt 'non-existent', for he knew they would still have to be there, but they were being suppressed for some reason.
"I'm still trying to figure out how the hell this is supposed to be a test." Xander grumbled.
"Tests aren't just practical examinations, Xander." Dawn said. "Sometimes they're psychological, sometimes they're physical. They can test anything from simple intelligence, to endurance, to genetic capability. Most of the tests my possession experienced weren't even ones she was aware of. Angelics had dozens of tests, always – for everything. They didn't trust anything unless they tested it, and retested it, then poked it a few more times before prodding it with even more tests." Dawn sighed for a moment, "It was built into their," She coughed for a second, "our genetics, you see. Their home world was orbiting a Population One star. Those stars were old – ancient in a way you can barely comprehend. Population one stars were radiation generators, they didn't have other elements in their composition to stabilize the fusion furnace – but because they weren't contaminated with the heavier elements, they could burn longer. The home system wouldn't have even had planets if it weren't for the fact that a couple of debris fields from population one stars that had died were captured by our star when it was very young. The Angelic home world was constantly bombarded by strange radiations and other stellar crap. So they developed a genetic 'stubbornness' – triple-helical genetic code that assured accurate recombination: Genes so tough that they could take the crap from their star, and still do the job. And being descended from insectiles, they had this almost paranoid aversion to mutations – granted it was well justified, but you get the point."
Jim frowned, "You said you remember being transported to a room, Dawn?"
Dawn nodded, "Yep. There was this room with this black table. Dunno what it was about, but it was familiar in a way. Then that Merlin dude appeared, and welcomed me to Avalon. He told me he was testing those who had a place at some sort of table, and that he brought me to the command center to talk with me. He said it was the first time he had a chance to have a conversation with an Angelic. All I could think about was being with Xander… and then I touched the table, looked up at Merl, who had turned as white as a ghost, and looked back down at the now white-glowing table. In a heartbeat the world vanished, and poof, I was falling through eternity and came to flop in the grass where you found me."
Jim nodded, "I felt the transport, there was darkness for a second, and then I was falling like you were. The only thing that I can think of is that we were transported by the Alteran Teleporter Grid to Avalon, then we were sent here. Although that felt like no transport I ever felt before."
Dawn sighed as she stretched her wings. "Well, in any case, I should get some air under me. Gotta do some scouting, see if this place is as far off the beaten path as it seems."
---
Xander was skipping stones off of a small lake they had found. One very well stocked with fish. Luckily Jim had managed to snag quite a few, even though the formerly possessed boy was glaring at him for disturbing the lake the way he was. They were inside what appeared to be an old-growth red-wood forest. "It's been three weeks since you decided to lead us in the direction of the rising sun. So far nada."
Jim sighed, as he enjoyed his fish lunch. "First rule of business – survival. We were in a savannah area. Wide open and far away from anywhere. To the north were mountains, tall ones with snow-capped peaks, and to the south, probably jungle or similar tropical environments. Judging by the lack of change in the average daily temperature and the fact that most everything around here doesn't care about the cycles we know on Earth, odds are we'd want to stay in the temperate climate. That led us to either East or West. I could see heat shimmers from the West, which could indicate desert or similar terrain, not very nice for life. So I decided to let my feet lead me east." Jim smiled, "Besides, I wanted to see if there was anything worth hunting in these woods."
"I'm light years away from my Twinkies and you are thinking about hunting?"
"Well…" Jim started, but looked up when a quick shadow formed over head.
Dawn came down, bounding from tree-limb to tree-limb as she descended to the forest floor. Every once in a while, her feet and toes would touch a tree and stick for just a moment to bleed off momentum as she rapidly descended without the help from her wings. Letting herself fall the last ten meters to the ground, she absorbed the impact with a light bending of her knees. She crouched down, looking around quickly before straightening. She then sauntered over to the fire, "I found something."
Jim looked up, noticing the rabbit like creature that was in her left hand, obviously dead. "I assume that it's more than just a nice rabbit for dinner?"
Dawn smiled a bit, "Clean it and skin it, will you Jim?" Dawn asked sweetly.
Jim chuckled, "You didn't kill it using your special talents, did you?"
"It's clean, really." Dawn fidgeted, "Although the other two I ate were caught my way."
"Dawn, can I say, ewwww…" Xander noted. He remembered the first time he had run across Dawn after she had snuck out to do some hunting on her own. It was dark, and he was afraid that she'd run into something that would eat her alive. What he found was that Dawn was the true huntress on this world. She had evidently gotten too hungry, and the fruits and berries weren't enough to satisfy her. She had snuck out one night and found a bob-cat, or something very close to one, in the middle of the high grass. When he had caught up with her, his image of Dawn being a nice, happy little girl was shattered, as he saw her eagerly devouring the creature's guts. The creature was mostly bone by the time she was sated, although she did offer him a front leg.
It was after that encounter that Dawn revealed that she could eat just about anything. Even tree bark and dead wood could make for a tasty snack if the need arose. However, her constitution preferred animal proteins. A long talk erupted after that, one where Dawn did her very best to assure them that devouring sentient creatures was not something she was prepared to do. It was then decided to let Dawn hunt some meat for the little party. However, they found that Dawn's usual method of killing prey – namely injecting a biological enzyme into the creature's blood stream, disagreed with their stomachs a bit. It wasn't enough to make them sick, but it did leave a sour chlorine-like taste in their mouths.
Dawn sighed as she took Xander by the arm and a bit into the forest they were surrounded by. "Xander, I found a village. It's about twenty five miles north-north east of here. It looks and smells human."
Xander blinked. "Twenty five miles…. If we take our time, about three or four days, if the weather holds," he looked at her thinking about all the possibilities in his life. Then he sighed, "Although most everything seems to be extremely mild around here, I would like to see if we can get there."
Dawn nodded, "There's a couple roads too, probably stretching to other villages, maybe even a full town. I took myself up to a pretty high altitude, I was able to make out at least three more villages, and quite a few more roads, but nothing much more advanced than that. It appears to be agrarian, mostly. Nothing too fancy, I just hope that they're not vegetarians."
"So why didn't you tell Captain Perfect over there first?" Xander asked. "You usually give him the 411 before me." Xander wasn't truly happy. The only thing was he was upset that he missed his date with Cordelia. 'She'll never talk to me again,' he sighed internally.
Dawn looked hurt a bit, "Jim has experience on alien worlds. As long as it was just you, him, me and the countryside, he had the advantage. But I trust your instincts when it comes to people. Buffy may never admit it, but some of the darkest evil has come from humans with souls. You know how to deal with that. Mr. Boy Scout doesn't."
Xander nodded, "We're going to need to coordinate on this. As much as we need to get to the village, we also need to be cautious. Jim and I can work on an observation plan. You think you can watch us from the sky?"
"I'd feel a lot better with a communicator or something, but yeah, I'll be your eye in the sky. If they're as primitive as they look, then we're going to have to find some way of disguising me. I mean, hello, wings? I don't want some villagers falling down in worship or something just because I match their expectations of a god or goddess."
"Don't worry, Morning Light, I'm the only one who thinks you're an angel from heaven." Xander said with a quick wink.
Dawn for her part blushed slightly, a quick flush of color entering her wings for a moment before they returned to their normal pearlescent hue. But no less than a second later, she let out a quick giggle and a gentle slap to her friend's arm. "Come on. Let's get Mr. 'The Last Boy Scout' and see what that village is like."
---
Xander sighed as he hefted the shovel over his shoulder. He turned to look back over his work with an almost satisfied grin, even as the sweat worked its way down his face. He could feel the dust and dirt clinging to him as he looked at the just-planted sapling – one of about three dozen he had seeded on his little slice of Altheria. He could almost imagine Dawn's smile as she flew around their little cabin by the woods, a dozen miles away from the Village of Valentha.
He backed up, imagining what the tree would be like in a few years… If it was anything like the trees that they had already planted, it would be taller than him in about three. It was one of the strange things about the Altherian's culture – they believed in a symbiotic bond with nature. For everything you take, you replace three-fold. For the few old-growth trees they had taken to build their cabin, they had to plant three times as many so that Nature would be appeased. Considering how nice the trees were for shade, it wasn't something he'd readily argue about.
He took one more step back, and glanced around to see where he was going to put the next sapling, when he suddenly felt hands wrapping around him, pulling him back just a bit further. He smiled as he felt the soft tendrils of Dawn's wings begin to caress him. "Dawn, I'm dirty."
A soft giggle and a whisper entered his ear, "And oh so delectable, y'know?"
"You two need to get a room!" A voice shouted in the distance. Xander turned with a smile, as did Dawn.
Another man came walking up the rough dirt path to Xander's homestead. He was wearing rugged clothes that looked more like plaid flannel, but were far more comfortable than that. He wore an easy smile on his face, and an improvised backpack.
"So find another rock to climb, Jim?" Xander asked; his face alight and ready to hear of the adventures of Jim McNeil.
Jim smiled as he thought about his journey. The planet's balanced seasons and the general temperate climate allowing for people to travel with ease. "Went up the road to Alemetha, talked with a few of the people, traded some stories. Then I decided to take a little walk to Traius."
"Traius? According to Mage Herbron that's another hundred miles north!" Dawn said succinctly, "No wonder you were gone six months!"
"Yeah, but it was worth it." Jim said with a smile. He pulled off his pack, and laid it down, pulling out two gold and silver devices. He tossed them to the two who were standing there, "Here you go."
"What the heck?" Xander muttered looking at the thing. It was covered with several symbols in the local language, but the subset was nothing he had seen in the local's books.
"They're communication devices. Like the one Herbron uses, only a bit more advanced." Jim smiled, "Plus they're configured into the local transportation network. It seems we're on an Alteran Colony World outside the Milky Way proper. I looked in Traius' databases in the public archives, but I didn't see any references to Earth or methods to get there, but then Traius is only a small city. According to the Librarian who assisted me, Altherian City, where the first colony was established, is the only one connected to the other worlds. That's on the central continent of Althair, but the good news is that once we're in a mid-sized city with a transportation grid, we can just beam there in about three seconds."
Xander looked at the gold and silver device for a moment. His mind was at war as to whether to keep it or not. He glanced over at Dawn, who was looking at him with almost pleading eyes. Xander smiled. It had been five years since they had found themselves on this planet. In that time, Valentha had become… home. Dawn had grown up, and he was mature enough to know that what existed between them wasn't just some romantic puppy love – despite the fact they still slept in separate rooms and Dawn, much to her consternation, had every bit of her virtue intact. Still, Xander wanted to wait a few more years, go see Mage Herbron and get the wedding done right. "Sorry, Jim. We have all the adventure we need."
Jim held up his hand just as Xander was going to toss the commlink back, "Keep it, Xander. It's a way for us to stay in touch, even if I'm going to be the only one doing the leg work." He smiled warmly, "You know, I would have called you a fool if you would have dropped everything to come with. You put all this effort into building a home here. I didn't expect you'd leave."
Xander smiled almost sadly, "It's the first real peace I've ever known, Jim. I don't expect it to last forever, but… while it does…"
Jim thought back into Kirk's memories. 'It is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done. A far better rest I go to, than I have ever known,' He thought to himself – thinking of the gift that Spock had left him on his birthday. A Tale of Two Cities, a story that many learn of in school. But it was still the message that Spock had left him – that all that matters in life is what we do, how we live, and how we face our death. . "While it does, you plan on enjoying it as much as you can." That was something Jim McNeil could understand. But the Jim Kirk in him needed to see that next horizon, climb the next mountain, and see the next star: and, if he was honest with himself, Jim McNeil needed to do those things too. "Never take for granted this life Xander. I'll talk to you when I talk to you."
Xander watched as the man known as Jim McNeil walked down the path that lead to his home. Dawn pulled him into a hug. "I don't think we've seen the last of him."
Dawn smiled, "Our roads our intertwined. Some people forget that while we may walk with others for a while, eventually our paths diverge. But there is nothing to say that we won't meet again: For life is a Journey, not a destination." She reached up a bit and kissed Xander on the cheek. "Come on in, we should get dinner started, and you cleaned up."
Xander smiled, "Yes Ma'am."
---
Alemetha had grown into a 'proper' Alteran City in the four years that had followed Jim's departure for places and, most likely, worlds unknown. Valentha had itself become a bustling little town of seven thousand in the interim. For one thing, Xander had neighbors now, and his and Dawn's little home had expanded slightly to include some comforts, including electricity and indoor plumbing.
Jim was out of range of the Communicators, but a message had been sent anyways into the Alteran Communication system announcing their wedding plans. Dawn Summers and Xander Harris. Xander smiled as he thought about it, having lived eight years with the young woman. The girl had finally told him, in no uncertain terms, that she wanted him as a husband, and if he wasn't going to perform the act WITHOUT a marriage, then by the Gods and Goddesses she would be married.
When Xander approached Herbron with his predicament, the elder Mage just laughed his ass off.
"Child, you must have Knight Blood within you, only they are so stubborn and damn honorable to have not tended to your companion's needs before a wedding!" Herbron had announced, with a room full of postulates and others joining in on the Mage's good humor. "Eight years!"
Xander thought it couldn't get any worse when an older lady came up and smacked him on the back of the head, "Eight years, Pah! You should have satisfied that child years ago! Where are your manners? One as beautiful and graceful as she should have always been your first priority, she's not sexless, you know!"
Xander was about to run, but before he could send the signal to his feet, Herbron grasped his shoulder in an iron grip, "Now now, young Alexander. When the Wyre Wyrms attacked you had lead the charge yourself, with a pitch fork none-the-less. I had not known that you were so backwards as to not even possess a Plasma Staff for self defense, but I can hardly fault your ignorance in the face of what you did. Such bravery I have not seen since the battle of Gladeus so many years ago. I would hardly be your friend and a Mage if I allowed your courage to fail now!" The man said with a chuckle, "Time to plan your wedding, young Alexander."
Time was a fleeting thing that seemed to take great joy in teaching others that it always passes quickly. Xander discovered that nothing quite devoured time as planning for nuptials. The sad part was that no news had returned of Jim's efforts, and that no-one could seem to figure out a way of contacting him.
Finally the day had arrived, and Xander was quite nervous. Not because he was about to marry Dawn, but because something was disturbing Mage Herbron's happiness and calm. After the incidents with the Wyre Wyrms, Xander had become a most crucial part of the village's defense and Militia. He had taken great pains to learn about the technologies and techniques that Alteran Warriors had used to defend their people. Even Dawn had joined in on the training, although she was not a warrior herself, she had significant skills in strategy and planning that amazed the Villagers. Valentha still sat on the edges of the wild lands, and scouts were frequently dispatched in an orderly pattern to seek out hostiles – whether they are Wyrms or other hostiles native to the world.
Finally, Xander could no longer stand the Mage's silence. "What is it, Herbron?"
Herbron seemed to come out of his dark musings and spared a genuine smile for Xander, "It is nothing young Alexander. It is a problem best saved for another day."
"Problems are best solved by more than one head. I could use the distraction, Herbron."
"Not this one, young warrior." Herbron sighed.
Xander glared at him, "Is it not best I be the judge of that? Small Problems now mean large problems later. Dawn and I would like to be able to enjoy our honeymoon, not worry about friends who refuse to let others handle some of the burden."
Herbron measured the man before him. After some minutes, he came to a decision, and spoke. "Thera has fallen." The mage broke out sadly.
"Thera? Is that a city?" Xander asked, having not heard the name before. The way Herbron said it, it sounded as though it had fallen in battle. Wars were unheard of, so he hoped that it was just some isolated town somewhere far away.
Herbron blinked, "How can you not know of Thera? Did you not receive any teaching before you came here?"
Xander looked down sadly, "You know Dawn and I are not from around here. We… we come from very far away. And how we got here… I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."
"Thera was the first world colonized by the Alterans in this cluster. It had stood for ten thousand years as a symbol of Alteran Society. It was perhaps the most defended world in the cluster. And it has fallen. Without it, we are cut off from the rest of the Alteran worlds, as it holds the master gate for this cluster. Using the primary gates, the Oriterians can prevent us from using our network to contact Alteria or Terra Atlantis."
Xander blinked, "Terra… Earth?" He said in his own language. "But, Dawn, Jim and I, we're from Earth!" He said in the Alteran language. All this time, they were near a person who knew of Earth!
"I know not of Earth, young Xander, but Terra Atlantis is the cornerstone of the Alteran Defense Forces. When the Oriterians were overthrown several decades ago, the Orders of Altera arose to combat the threat. We didn't believe we'd be affected out here. Alas we were mistaken. I fear that we are going to be in for a very long war. One we may not win."
Suddenly it clicked in his mind. Terra Atlantis, Earth… This was the past. He and Dawn were in the past… "Oh god…." He muttered, which caused Herbron to blink more than usual.
Suddenly Herbron lightened, "Do not concern yourself with this, young Alexander. The Ori will not consider Altheria to be a threat. There will still be happy years here, I'm sure. Today is for you and for Dawn. You are both the honored ones today, and this should be your day to enjoy that." Herbron did not add that theirs might be a very short marriage indeed.
---
Blood. It choked the streets and the gutters of the small town, as Xander wheezed before the Fallen Knight. He had been beaten to a pulp, humiliated and defiled, as the monster that once called itself a man continued to mock him. Xander and Dawn had tried so very hard to defend their home, but farmers and villagers made for poor soldiers when facing an army of tens of thousands.
Mage Herbron did not even get a chance to complete their bonding ceremony before the world shook and Alemetha vanished from the face of the world in a blinding flash of light. An Oriterian warship had decided to make an example of the city, thinking to cause the quick capitulation of the populace.
Valentha resisted. The first wave of warriors to attempt to subdue the village numbered a thousand. Xander stood with the town militia and using techniques from his memories and his not so inconsiderable Jedi powers, managed to lay waste to the Ori assault force.
The invaders didn't step foot into the town proper. Their corpses were rotting ten miles down the main road towards Sinith. The militia lost only ten of the hundred and ten men who went to face the soldiers of the Oriterians. The hundred remaining began to call him Sir Harris.
A force of five thousand marched from Traius. Once again, Xander went with the militia to face them far from the town. Another hundred strong-willed men joined the surviving hundred from the first attack. Herbron joined them, as a mystic he could cast some combat spells. Despite his great age, he was still more than a match for most mystics, especially the few that the Oriterians tended to use. Five thousand twenty two men lay scattered for the carrion eaters on the field of battle. At this point, Xander realized, that the village would be attacked en-masse – not because they were a threat, but simply because they were stubborn, and the person-to-person slaughter and violation of those in the village would stand as an example to any of the others who might resist.
So the people of the town, under Dawn's guidance, fled into the Wyre Wyrm Forest, while Xander and his one hundred and seventy eight men laid in wait within the city. A force of Ten Thousand approached the town, and Xander held his fist high. Within the buildings and homes of Valentha, the Oriterian forces would be limited in movement and mobility. The men lay scattered on rooftops and within upper floors of buildings, waiting for the signal.
As the last of the Ori warriors entered the city, a man riding a hover skiff came in as well. The man was dressed in black cloaks and had a symbol of fire on his chest. His bald head swiveled as milky white eyes scanned the surrounding areas. He held a katana-like sword at his side, and had tattoos running down his exposed neck.
"Cyrvus," Herbron hissed, his voice filled with bloody vengeance, "A fallen Knight Mystic, he is one of the leaders of the Oriterian forces. He betrayed his fellow warriors and chose to join them along with Tash, a mystic spell caster and technician. Note the runes on his face and neck, the milky white of his eyes and the pallor of his face. A pitiful enhancement, using illegal drugs and even more illegal soul-bindings, he will be more powerful than the average warrior by far. We should withdrawal. None of our warriors are able to resist a Knight – even a fallen one."
"And go where, Herbron? The forest? The place where the village's children huddle even now? Where men and women pray that we will be able to delay this force just long enough so that their younglings won't have to see their mothers used as sex toys and their fathers disemboweled before their innocent eyes? I'll take this Cyrvus myself; the others will teach these bastards a lesson in guerilla warfare, while I spend my life to find a way to make sure those children get their fathers back." Alexander Harris, Husband of Dawn, warrior of Valentha, allowed his fist to drop. His second shot a single plasma flare into the sky, its blue-white hue bathing the small town in its glow as the sun disappeared over the horizon.
Xander leaped into the air, and landed on Cyrvus' Skiff, and within seconds the two warriors were locked in battle. As thousands of Ori soldiers died, Xander fought with the overpowering and deadly Fallen Knight. The knight delighted in pummeling the upstart before him, but much to Cyrvus' consternation, the pup would not fall.
"You are a strong willed one, little pup!" The knight shouted in his native tongue. "I might as well keep you as a pet, do you not think?" He asked the brutalized body that was struggling to stand. "I think you'd come to enjoy watching as my men had their way with the women of the town, and perhaps you'd like to see that old Mystic that lives here, oh yes I do know Herbron, chained to tree with spikes." Cyrvus smiled, "Do you have a female, pup? If she's half as spirited as you, I might keep her as a pet as well!"
Harris spit out a wad of blood and broken teeth. "Fuck you," He breathed in his own tongue, while the Knight laughed, having sensed the insult even if he didn't understand it. Xander struggled to breathe, several of his ribs shattered, and his left arm broken. He knew he would not live, but at the very least, he could give the villagers time to escape. He summoned all his energy, in a vain attempt to stand once more. His hand closed around the grip of an improvised piece of wood.
Cyrvus gaped as he watched the young man stand once more, drawing upon what seemed to be an almost unlimited potential to suffer pain. "Boy! You should have stayed down." He grumbled. He would have to kill the upstart, unfortunately. Someone with that level of willpower simply could not be tolerated in the Ori rule. He held his weapon at the ready, having refused to use it since Harris had no competing weapon. The boy had earned a quick death at the edge of his blade. "It has been an enjoyable battle, but time has come at last. So which would you prefer: Head, or heart?" He chuckled loudly as the boy struggled to stand straight to face him eye to eye. "Ah, never mind. I don't think you have more than the energy necessary to stand straight, let alone tell me how you'd wish to die."
Cyrvus charged, his blade began to glow with ethereal energy. Within a heartbeat the knight was in range of the boy, and his blade began to seek the child's heart. In that heartbeat, the boy looked up with a gruesome smile on his face.
Xander dodged slightly to the side, the blade of the weapon slicing through his shoulder and pectoral muscle, coming to rest in his left lung. The weapon was buried to the hilt, and it would take a touch of effort to remove easily. However, Cyrvus was occupied by another thing…. A piece of wood, sharpened to a point, sticking out of his right eye socket.
As Xander felt his lung fill with blood, he finally succumbed to the pain and the crushing pressure. As Cyrvus' dying body slowly fell backwards, Alexander Harris fell to his knees. But before he could completely black out, a yellow-white light claimed him, and he disappeared from the battlefield.
---
Dawn paced the small hallway outside the ship's sickbay. Her worry was evident on her face, but she dare not intrude while they worked on her husband. Jim watched her as she moved like a trapped tiger, back and forth.
"He's strong, he'll be alright." Jim said, trying to make her calm down just a bit. It had been three days since Xander was placed in his ship's med bay. Three days his medical officer had worked on the young man, and three days he had to deal with dodging the various hotspots and wars that had broken out in the cluster, and making sure that his illegal cloaking device kept them hidden from the Ori taskforces that were looking to get revenge for the injuries done to a man named Cyrvus.
Jim McNeil had a ship. It wasn't much, just a small privateer by Alteran standards. Only four hundred meters long, and equipped for research and science and a bit of cargo hauling. It had eight modular holds that attached to the spine. In its holds however were three hundred survivors from the Valentha massacre, mostly the scared and scarred children of those who had died in the town and the forest. He beamed them up with Dawn and Harris, and was going to begin to get the rest of the survivors in the area when an Ori Warship fired its main beam at Valentha. Within moments, everything around the town was immolated – including the six thousand refugees who were fleeing the town through the forest.
"I should have been there. I could have done something. Those pricks think they're the baddest mother-fuckers around, I could show them a thing or two about 'bad'." Dawn hissed, "I want to see their flesh ripped from their bones. I want my talons to sink into their skin and shred their organs. I want to feast upon the shriveled remnants of their hearts and drink their blood like a fine wine!" With that Dawn directed her fist towards the nearest bulkhead, making a dent in the Trinium re-enforced metal. "Three hundred, Jim. Three hundred!" With that she collapsed to the deck and began crying, "Those bastards killed almost everyone. All those children. All those children, most of whom will never know their parents, who lost siblings as well… Three hundred." She sobbed. "Why couldn't we save more?"
"I don't know." He replied to Dawn. "I wonder if this was the Test that Merlin spoke of, though."
"We must have failed then, for I certainly don't feel as though I've passed." Dawn noted, before composing herself, standing and resuming her pacing.
A few more minutes passed in relative silence, before the Med-tech and staff came out. Dawn was immediately before the doctor. "Is he alive?"
The doctor nodded, "Although I couldn't tell you how, or even why. He had an Eta class weapon buried in his chest. Cypheis checked it out, seems that its AI or AE had been artificially suppressed. Thing's been purified, but its in bad shape. As for the warrior, well… he's a tough one. We managed to regenerate the damaged tissues and keep his consciousness stable. But right now he's in a light coma. He should be alright when he comes out of it. The trick of it was this boy's completely un-enhanced. Like you, Captain." He stared at Jim for a moment seeing the younger man shrug.
"Our burden, our secret, Doc," Jim replied calmly.
The doctor nodded, "Well I gave him the standard boosts and such; he should recover once his body adapts and starts healing on its own. Cyph says she has never seen patterning like that boy's gene code… except with you."
"So how long until he's up and about?" Dawn asked, "I'm his wife."
"I noticed." The Doctor barked out, "The fact that there are three dents in the passage and a wear spot in the carpet told me you two were close. I'd say two, maybe three days. Lots of trauma there," The man said. He glanced over at Jim, "You said signing on would be an adventure. You were sure right about that one, Jim."
Commander Elana came walking down the corridor, "Captain," she said professionally, "the science crew wants to know what we're going to do. We were chartered for a science and research run, not combat. Now we're being hunted. They're starting to get a bit tense, most of them have families around Cesta and Persephone, and they want to know if they can get back."
Jim nodded, "They're good kids, they should focus on their jobs though – it will help them get through this until we can get them home. And it's when we get back, not if. Make sure they're aware of that." He looked at Dawn for a moment, then back at his first officer, "Elana, set a course of the Typhus Cluster, and get Brock on the line. Tell him we're going to need some specialty items, and that I'm calling in one of my markers."
Elana smiled, "He's going to hate you, you know. Anything special?"
"A type two habitat pod, a type three high density crew pod, two Drone pods, and the two carrier pods he managed to cobble back together from the scrapheap. Plus I want the spinal mounts and primary arrays restored to military condition. Better tell him that I want a complete stock of Gamma class weapons and nano-armor, specifically for assault and boarding." Jim thought about it for a moment, "And get together with the permanent department heads, make your wish-list and forward it on to me. If necessary I'll call in another marker to make it happen." He glanced over at the Doctor, "Anything you want, doc?"
"If you're going to be at it, tell that weasel to use that gate of his to get me some of those 209 and 309 military grade nano-systems and the mil-boost packs that the Order was starting to work on. This crew is good enough to take most of them, so we might as well get everyone up to mil-spec. plus the usual combat med packs and field kits. Lots of them, because I don't need to be psychic to know that my sickbay's going to be busier than normal."
Elana nodded at the doc, then looked at Jim, "Figured you'd want to make these assholes hurt a bit, and I think research is going to be a bit light over the next few years until we kick these bastards out of the cluster. Of course, the crew is behind you, hell… I'll even donate some of my credits to help outfit the lady."
Jim grinned, "I've been a bad influence on you."
"You better believe it, Captain." Elana winked before walking away.
"I better get back to my patient." The doctor sighed.
Jim sat down tiredly as the med bay door closed, "Another bunch of kids."
"That's not what's worrying you, though." Dawn said, finally beginning to relax. "You're worried about all this, you're going to war, and taking them with you." She looked at him, staring into his eyes, "Markers, already? It's only been what, four years?"
Jim smiled a bit, "The one thing Jim Kirk never learned in the Fleet was how to truly gather favors. He did things his way, he was a cowboy. Born on a farm in Iowa, always finding a way to get in trouble… Despite everything, a simple sort of man who took life, stared it down, and made things go his way. He had the benefit of being right and doing the right thing – and in a society that supports doing the right thing, that's all the spare change you need."
McNeil paused for a moment, "Out here… the Alterans have been around longer than some of these worlds have had life. They're a society that is fractured, only its not poverty that's the dividing line; it's science, religion, and military. They're each in their own little clique, and the average Alteran that doesn't fit into any of those three finds themselves relatively cast out. There's little room for the farmer, or the builder, or the artist that doesn't fall under one of the three disciplines. That means… there's a black market for things. Nothing too nasty, nothing too awful, but it's there; and being a privateer on the edge of known space – well, there's ways and means, and the most lucrative coin is trust and honor.
"I saved Brock's hide more times than he can count, and while he'll make a show of it, he'll happily outfit us. It's a coin Captain James Tiberius Kirk could have had and never needed, but one that Captain Jim McNeil has in abundance."
---
Pain seemed to be one of those words that just failed to meet up with what he was experiencing at the moment; however, his mind was too addled with the misfiring nerves and re-stitched organs to be able to think of anything more appropriate.
Alexander Lavelle Harris, known as Xander to his friends, had his ass handed to him on a silver platter. All the training and instincts he had cultivated from his experiences as the Master Chief and Anakin were for naught. The Force, while his ally, didn't have what it took to defeat the power and strength of a true knight. And that was something he'd have to face.
He just couldn't protect anything. He was worthless…. A failure. Was this what Merlin had deigned to show him? That he couldn't possibly hack it? That when put in the position of having to defend what he loved most, that he'd be an insignificant bug on someone's windshield?
A low and dark chuckle began to make its way up his throat. 'Yeah, that must have been it,' he realized. After all, here he was, a teenager trying to be a hero. His years here, all the things he'd done and faced. Well… at least he had the excuse that he hadn't asked for it. He didn't want to be the super hero. He wasn't Jim Kirk or Jean Luc Picard. He wasn't Sulu or Spock or even really Anakin Skywalker. He was just Xander Harris, universal whipping boy…
"Now you stop that this instant, Xander Harris." A sharp female voice rang out. "Wasn't anything you could do and you know it."
"Dawn?" He choked out.
"Who else, Harris? I don't believe I'm even talking with you, considering what you did. Leaving me to worry about you for a week! I don't believe you did that." Dawn said with a flair all her own.
"Sorry…"
"Sorry doesn't even begin to cover it. You should have run, retreated, kept your sorry hide intact…"
"Had to fight him… bad guy would have come after you."
"I'm no wilting flower, Xander." Dawn lectured, her anger getting the best of her, "I've got more than my share of strength and surprises. I'm not telling you not to fight; lord knows I won't be that much of a hypocrite, but you gotta know when to pull back. We're a team, Xander. Husband and Wife, I'm your backup. Did you even think what you dying would do to me?"
"Not dead." Xander grunted out, his mind shutting down for more rest.
"I noticed. Just get well you big lug, ok?"
"K…" Xander whispered before falling back into unconsciousness.
---
He'd actually done it. He'd won.
"So why does it feel like I've lost?" He asked the smoke ridden air. Xander Harris sat heavily in his armor on the steps leading to the Astra Portia. "Everything we've done, the last twenty years of war, and for what?"
"For the billions of people in this cluster, for all those who couldn't stand up to the Ori," He paused, "For Dawn?" Jim sighed as he stepped down from the now secured control room of the Alteran City Ship. He spared a glance at the decapitated form of Cyrvus, and resisted the urge to kick his fallen body a few times. "Xander, this, none of this, was your fault."
Cyrvus' head stared blankly into the sky, the scar from Xander's makeshift weapon still present. Xander had taken great joy in the knowledge that ever since their encounter, Cyrvus had a constant twitch in his right side of his face, and his left hand would occasionally seize up – psychological trauma from having a spike of wood imbedded in your head.
Still, now that the deed was done, he was apathetic. What did it matter that he had defeated Cyrvus, he was just one evil in an entire invasion force full of foul and twisted things. "You think I don't know that, Jim. But I lost her. How will I explain it to Buffy, or Joyce? I married her, and lost her in battle. We never even had a chance to be husband and wife." Xander lamented, "I was happy, god damn it! Happy to be just a worker out in the middle of the wilderness. Dawn, me and the cabin. Why this!" Xander slammed his armored fist into the steps of the Gate, watching with satisfaction as the material cracked slightly. Seconds later, however, the crack sealed as the City's self repair systems kicked in and repaired the damage. Already the signs of energy weapons discharges and energized blade marks were fading from the walls. In another day, there would be no sign of the pitched battle fought here. No sign that people had given their lives to retake this simple room. It seemed to be an insult to the memories of the dead.
"You should let the dead rest, Xander. Lord knows I've had to put to rest my share of friends as well. Elana and Dawn died nineteen years ago. We have to let them go. It's time to do that."
"Lord Harris, Lord McNeil, the gate computer system is back up." One of the Knight technicians said from the control room. "We've established a subspace connection with Avalon. They're requesting that the senior warriors report for a debriefing. Should I activate the portal?"
Xander almost said no. But then he looked up into the eyes of the Tech, and then into Jim's eyes. "There's nothing left for us here now, is there Jim?"
"Only ghosts of the past." Jim acknowledged softly, then shouted over his shoulder, "Dial it up, Sy!"
"Of course, Lord McNeil." The man said. "Configuring and entering the coordinates for Avalon now."
As the wormhole established and the blue gateway shimmered for them, Xander Harris and Jim McNeil looked at each other. They had been through the gate a thousand times to the various worlds in the cluster. Had learned of the ways of the Alterans and of the Order. Had fought and won… yet lost so much in the process.
"After you." Jim said, nodding towards the blue event horizon.
Xander clenched his jaw, and returned his blade to his sheath. Cyrvus' former weapon, an Eta class Katana, had decided to bond with him. He never did actually speak with the intelligence contained within, but he knew it was there. He had taken to calling it Cortana, in honor of his missing companion. "Ok, Jim… Just this once."
He walked up to the portal, stepped through, and fell from existence once more.
---
As he regained his bearings, he realized that he was in a world devoid of just about everything. He looked around, and at himself. While there was light upon him, the world beyond was black as night. Even blacker perhaps. No sign of Avalon. No sign that he was anywhere at all.
"Knight Lord Alexander Lavelle Harris, Descendent of Lord Arthur Pendragon, Last of the Order." A deep voice boomed from behind him.
Xander turned to face the voice, and blinked several times. Before him was an African American man, perhaps sixty or so years of age. His hair was cropped short and was sprinkled with grey. His face was slightly lined, and his eyes held a twinkling of mirth and an endless depth of wisdom. His short goatee beard was more than spotted with strands of grey and his teeth an almost iridescent white. He wore a white suit and jacket, and a light grey shirt with a subtle tie. He carried what appeared to be a mahogany cane carved with intricate runes. He twirled the cane once, a subtle demonstration that he didn't actually need it to walk, and leaned on it slightly to support his weight. Xander growled internally, it would seem that he'd finally be able to meet the being responsible for his torment. Still, he kept his body's responses non-committal, after all it wouldn't do to attack a potential friend and ally. "I know you're not Morgan Freeman, so who are you?" Xander asked, completely confused by the presence of this man.
The man let out a deep chuckle, "I can see we have some work to go through here." The man said with a friendly smile. "First things first, I suppose. Call me Merlin."
Xander blinked, "You're Merlin?"
"The one and only, at least on this planet." The man said with a smile.
"You don't look anything like I thought you'd look. Heck, that hologram you appeared with…"
"Still remember that, eh?" The man said, "Alexander, you should know that appearances aren't important. I can literally appear as anyone I choose to be. But this was my real form when I was alive. When I introduced myself to Arthur, Britons had never seen anyone descended from the hotter latitudes. Dark skin was unknown, especially in the colder northern regions. He wouldn't have understood me; I would have been too different for him to be comfortable around. So I took the form of a white European man, older, but none-the-less capable. Long white beards and wild hair were the norm of the times, many men went grey by the age of thirty, and were lucky to have seen those years. And robes were always a good thing. You could hide lots of stuff in robes, so most people just assumed that robed people were magicians since they were constantly using slight of hand to pull things out of them. So I wore robes, since I didn't want people to get close enough to me to find out I was just a projection: they were too afraid of what I was carrying under all that cloth to try."
Xander nodded, his anger rising beneath his calm façade, "So what is this, the test?"
"The test was what you just experienced…" Merlin started, but was interrupted by the shape of Xander Harris flying through his projection. The snarl on the man's face had made him remember how frightening it was to have a Knight angry with him.
"You let her die!" He growled out as he began to charge again. However he froze in mid stride, every muscle in his body locked in position. He struggled against whatever it was that had frozen him, but he couldn't even twitch a muscle. Even his eyes were locked in focus, glaring at the specter before him.
Merlin lowered his cane from where he had pointed it at Xander. "No one died, Alexander. No one." Merlin said forcefully, looking at the young man. With a wave of his hand he allowed Xander to speak once more.
"How can you say that?" Xander hissed, "Dawn died you bastard!"
"It was all a simulation, Alex, from start to finish. Everything you just experienced was all in your mind and the minds of your friends who were with you. The events you experienced happened a hundred thousand years earlier. The Battle of the Aretimus Cluster, as it was known, was the most brutal and bloody campaign instigated by the Ori before the fall. The cluster had been captured intact; the Ori had the master gate and locked out re-enforcement from Terra Atlantis. It had taken centuries to beat the Ori back, and billions of lives were spent on both sides of the lines. Finally, after three hundred years, the Ori were driven off – back to their own galaxy. Those that remained were killed off, and the survivors retreated back through the master gate to Terra Atlantis."
"That's not the way it went for us." Xander said angrily, "It only took us twenty years to drive those bastards out…"
"As I said, Alex, it was a simulation. The combat parameters were the same as the original invasion. The difference was that you and your friends, Ms. Summers and Mr. McNeil, were there. Your strategies and ideas changed the outcome, shortened the war, and saved countless billions of lives that would have otherwise fallen." Merlin looked at the young man as his rage started to dissipate. "Had you been there for real, the outcome of the Ori-Alteran war would have been far different."
"It felt real…. So real." Xander muttered. "Why did you do this to us?"
"At first, it was just to be just you and Mr. McNeil together. Dawn, however, touched an ancient device in the central command and control room – a computer that had existed for millions of years before the first awakening of the Alteran society. It was an advanced computer system, monitoring and holographic coordination device. Integrated with my systems in the city, it allowed us to streamline operations. Her touching it activated a protocol buried deep within the device. It overrode my control and inserted her into the simulation. The simulation had no choice but to integrate her. But, I don't know how much she will actually remember of all of this. It will likely be simply a dream to her."
"Where are we?" Xander asked. "I assume that since what I experienced wasn't real that somehow I'm still on Earth? Where is Cortana?"
"You are in Avalon, Alexander. You were beamed here and placed in a device we call a Teacher. They were developed shortly before the fall of the Orders. The teachers are a tool that allows us to train and prepare a Knight for duty in minutes and hours, rather than years. They can modify you and give you the implants and technologies necessary, as well as enhancing your genome and giving you the powers that the Knights of Alteran were known for. They can also train you in the use of the Orders' technology and weapons. They are the greatest achievement of the Orders, allowing us to ensure that our Knights know everything they should know, and that they are as prepared as possible to face any situation for which they may be called upon to solve."
Merlin then moved to the other part of the question, "As for Cortana… She is still at your side, Alexander." He nodded at the blade attached to Xander's armor, "For the first seven years of the simulation, I had to make sure that she would not be limited by the crudeness of her creation. I had to make her realize that she wasn't as limited as she appeared to be. It took quite a while, but Cortana eventually realized that she was more than just a Construct. That, combined with a terrifying desire to be at your side, allowed her to overcome her limitations. Once you had retrieved Cyrvus' weapon, I allowed her to experience your existence through the blade. In order to maintain the illusion that the simulation was real, she wasn't able to communicate directly with you – however, she was there when you needed her, and I would like to think she understood why it had to be so."
He wanted to be angry. It was a terrible violation of just about everything he held dear. His mind, his body, even his feelings had been compromised in the simulation. He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't. The part of him that was the Master Chief understood: you don't just give a kid a gun and let him run around. You have to make sure that he understands the gun, is responsible, and won't kill himself or others by accident. He so wanted to be angry, but he saw now that as a test of character and intent, the simulation was the easiest way to measure his soul. Xander sagged, "I see. I still have to ask, why? Why put us through this hell?"
Merlin's expression darkened as he began to speak once more, "What you see as hell is nothing compared to the battles and wars that were fought over the past billions of years. Beings of such great power, both light and dark, vied for control of the heavens themselves. In their wake was left the charred and scattered remnants of thousands of civilizations. Across the universe millions of worlds were extinguished with as little regard as the snuffing of a candle. The Alterans weren't the first to have galaxy spanning wars. Many have come before them, and I'm sure that many more will come after.
"You can't imagine the power that the Orders of Alteran commanded." Merlin finally allowed Xander to relax, for the fight was out of the boy by now, "Countless millions of warriors, enhanced to the point of having god-like power. Individual Knights able to vanquish entire armies. Ships that could lay waste to entire star systems in seconds battled each other in titanic struggles that had vaporized whole worlds. Only those of the most noble of hearts, the most pure souls, and the most honorable dispositions can ever be considered to be leaders of the Order. It is what separates the Order from the Ori. It is the line that separates good from evil, Alexander." The man walked forward, "It's what separates you from the others of your family who would have abused this power."
"I'm not the person you want… I didn't want any of this." Xander practically pleaded.
"I wish I could say that you could have the peace you sought, Alex. I really wish I could. But the world and the universe is a dangerous place, and everything you've experienced to this point has placed you in the unenviable position of leader. Can you really walk away, Alexander?" Merlin asked him, "Can you walk away from this responsibility?"
Xander had tears in his eyes, "No… I can't walk away you son of a bitch."
Merlin nodded, "I've been called worse, Alexander. I'll let you in on a little secret though: Great Leaders don't choose to lead… they're chosen. They're chosen by the fact they choose to not walk away. They choose not to let evil win. They choose to take responsibility for every action both in success and in failure. They never ask for their power. Instead they use everything that they are, everything that they can find; they fight tooth and nail just to make sure that the people they are responsible for live to see another day."
As Merlin faded away his voice said, "That's what you are, Alexander Lavelle Harris: A hero, a leader, a Knight Lord of the Orders."
---
Author's Notes:
Well, here's another small part of the story. Sorry it took so long for me to get it out. I've been working on background, history, and other things to make sure that I keep everything straight. (I may start including the history and back story as a series of interludes or end-chapter notes if things go well) The next part we'll find out exactly what happened right before, and then right after this, and hopefully answer a few more questions.
I had a tough time figuring out how to make it so that the characters would be ready to face events that would be occurring. Sith lords, for example, would have no problem using a country and their population to build star destroyers, AT-ATs and other weapons… even if the populations were too primitive to be able to use the technologies wisely. The good-guys, even though they have access to a vast tech-base, would be forced to proceed at a much slower pace. And lets not forget the weasels in Government, who would be trying every trick in the book to not only make sure that our heroes couldn't succeed in building their plans, but would do everything in their power to gain more technology for themselves. Even my most optimistic estimates of getting the guys up and running with new tech would be unrealistic. In the end, it would take years to prepare for, adapt and introduce the technologies that would make Earth an interplanetary power – not to mention the conflicts that would be constantly occurring to delay the characters from actually achieving anything worthwhile.
So to give the guys a boost, I decided to start telling the Alteran's storyline earlier than I had planned. The technology that the Alterans possessed was staggering. They occupied at least two galaxies, and had the ability to travel between the intergalactic void. The fact that not much is known about the Alteran society allowed me to come up with an alternate history that not only mates things between the different non-Halloween (Buffy and SG-1) related crossovers better, but allows me to give the group a short-term boost. For those who think this is a rip-off of other fan-fics, I'd remind the reader that the Arthurian Legend features prominently in Stargate SG-1, along with the concept of Knights and the Grail. I don't plan on using the Grail, (at least not as it was used in SG-1), but I'm adapting some of SG-1's concepts to fit the AU I've created.
To those who are afraid that I plan on making the characters too powerful… well… We'll see. The things that the characters will be facing will have as much of an advantage as them. As far as the thing between Xander and Dawn… well… all I have to say is that the future is as of yet unwritten and that no relationship is really set in stone.
Later,
P.V.