Summary: You know how awkward it can be walking around in shoes that aren't yours? Well try walking around in feet that aren't yours…or legs, torso, arms, and head for that matter. Chapter 2! Rater T for language and awkward situations.

I was just going to post this on during the weekend, but since I'll be busy and, hey, I already had it done, I thought I'd post it early. I hope you like it. [is praying fervently that you'll like it. Or at least find it amusing.

BE SURE TO READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER, AS IT IS IMPORTANT.

Disclaimer: I own my OC and the alternativeness of this plotline. Everything else belongs to Robert Jordan. No dishware was harmed in the making of this fic.

This fanfiction follows the end of book five and onwards (after Rand takes Caemlyn, basically.)

---flashback---

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CHAPTER TWO- Invasion of the Body Snatchers

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A figure groaned and pried open one eye, taking in the meager surroundings. It had rough wooden walls, a stone floor, and the small mattress upon which the eye's owner now rested. It was comfortably warm in the small room, and the figure's lazily followed the trail of a floating speck of dust on its path through the air.

Red coat being the first thing seen from the doorway, Rand entered the room, glaring slightly at the dazed patient on the bed. This strange person who had appeared out of nowhere in one of the palace storerooms had hardly been in the palace an hour and was already grating on the red-haired boy's nerves. He could not yet tell if the stranger was a darkfriend or not but one thing was certain: he was connected to saidin. However, something was terribly wrong. Unless the stranger was under protection of the Dark One, his flow of saidin should not have been as pure-feeling as it had felt when Rand first came into contact with him. Small chuckles rippled across his mind, and Rand glanced quickly around the room.

Damn it.

That was happening more frequently now. As was the influence he had on the Pattern and his pull on the One Power. Much like what had happened earlier with the odd boy they'd found in one of the palace storerooms. When he'd reached out to grab him, a complex weave of spirit involuntarily surged from the One Power, through him, and… He could not say it conducted into the boy; it seemed more like a source already inside him reacted, and for that one moment, Rand had felt saidin untainted, totally pure- he'd also felt saidar being channeled as well. After the boy had lost consciousness, the Dragon Reborn rounded on Aviendha, furious, but she stubbornly denied Channeling and a façade of shock was, for the first time, evident on her face as she stared slack-jawed at the strange figure. The body was promptly moved to an empty servant's quarters with two Maidens begrudgingly guarding the door that had no apparent connection to the wellbeing of the Car'a'carn.

Another presence bustled into the room and he caught the stern glance Amys threw at him as she knelt beside the prone body. He wasn't sure how she'd become involved with this incident in the first place, thought he was certain Aviendha must have told all the Wise Ones about the stranger. She peered at Rand sideways and 'hmmphed.' Apparently, Rand had found the one thing to ruffle the Wise One's feathers.

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"I understand the body is male," a red faced Amys retorted, "but the aura that is coming off that person is nothing but saidar."

Rand shook his head and gestured frantically to the unconscious form.

"I feel saidin. Coming from him. Him. Saidin," the white-haired woman crossed her arms and glowered at the Car'a'carn.

Asmodean had by then been sitting in a corner of the room, plucking away a cheeky tune, and had asked to speak to the Dragon Reborn alone. When they were out of earshot of the room, Asmodean's face was nowhere near amused.

"It has both," the forsaken looked as if he had swallowed one of Nyneave's herbs.

"You mean…it is possible for a man to channel saidar?" Asmodean shook his head.

"No, that's not what I mean," he paced and ran a hand through his hair. In his flustered movements, Rand could only make out him saying 'can't believe it works.' Rand finally caught his eye and gave him a questioning look.

"Well," Asmodean licked his lips nervously and was cut off as a maid entered the hallway.

"M'lord. The boy is awake," the young servant curtsied stiffly and scurried off in the other direction. The older man murmured that he would explain later as they reentered the small room.

---

"Yes, yes, cry baby. Quit moaning, you're fine, you're not even hurt anywhere," Rand was brought out of his thoughts by Amys pushing a tray into the boy's lap and shooing a liveried maid away. Hearing what she said, Rand quickly scanned the boy's upper torso, expecting to see the accidental cut Aviendha had given him with her dagger. There was not even a hint of a scratch on the boy's tan chest. Had Amys healed him? The boy dug into the meal with a fury that surprised both of the other occupants of the room, and gulped down the glass of chilled raspberry wine. The noise of silverware pinging against the porcelain dishware was enough to make both the other occupants of the room wince. A Maiden abruptly poked her head in and announced a maid had arrived to retrieve the finished meal. The servant girl wrinkled her nose in disgust as she viewed the patient's ravenous eating habits, and removed the platters from the room without answering the boy's mumbled 'thanks.' Asmodean once again plucked the cheeky tune from an hour ago. Rand wasted no further time in confronting the stranger.

"How did you get into the storeroom?" the boy shrugged then held up a finger as Rand started to protest to the apathetic reply. He swallowed the last of his roll before gesturing with his arms up, apologetically.

"I tried to tell you before, I-" the boy stopped, his face paling, "I- ahem-uh," he made a few more hacking sounds, his hand massaging his adam's apple, "is that- my voice!"

He jumped from the bed- the servants had obviously enough foresight to dress him in a pair of pants- and ran past Rand and Amys into the hall. As Rand, Asmodean, Amys, and the Far Dareis Mai sprinted down the hall after the frantic boy, a tendril of irrational fear crept unbidden into the back of the Car'a'carn mind. He almost tripped over himself when he realized that feeling wasn't coming from him directly. But then, who-

"A mirror, mirror…mirror!" The boy rushed to a plate of silver set upon the wall as a decorative piece and stared into it. A hand ran over extremely short hair of a brownish-rust color, a boyish tan face and brown eyes, and continued to pat all over his body as he seemed to be looking for something, but wasn't finding it, "This-this is all wrong," he whispered, a look of sheer horror engraved on his face.

Rand flinched away and began channeling, a voice in the back of his mind screaming at him, 'Destroy it! Kill it now!' He easily pushed the voice away, but was ready to kill the panic-stricken boy nonetheless.

"How do you mean," the Dragon Reborn interrogated. The boy continued staring at his reflection and shaking his head.

"This is isn't my face- my body. I- ah- I don't look like myself at all," at this point, the boy's speech was steadily increasing in speed, as was his breathing, "I- I'm not in my body," he chuckled, completely hysterical, "I don't even look like myself."

The boy suddenly gasped.

"My body's been snatched," he whispered, sounding grave and strangely calm. Asmodean raised a speculative eyebrow.

"You mean to say, your body has been…kidnapped?" The boy nodded with fervor, his face completely solemn.

"By the body snatchers," he said once again in a whisper, his eyes shifting back and forth as if searching for some unseen predator. The Far Dareis Mai also glanced around quickly, as if the boy's accusation held merit.

"The what?" Rand had once believed no one could possibly be more ignorant and prone to believe the ridiculous than when he had first met Moiraine in Two Rivers. He now knew it was indeed possible.

"Well, supposedly they're not real, but hey, I'm currently in a body that isn't mine- I'm willing to believe any possibility as to what is going on!" This ended in a shout and the boy stood with his hand curled in fists, red faced and shaking slightly.

"I understand completely," Rand glanced curiously at Asmodean, who gestured at him to let him have a moment, "You are in an unfamiliar place, with- if I may assume- no current memory of what may have happened to you. Besides that, you are not even in a familiar body."

"Y-yeah," sighed the boy, looking both relieved and like he was going to cry. Asmodean walked up and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. He jumped a little at the contact but stayed rooted to his spot.

"What's your name?" The Forsaken pushed on in a kindly tone. Rand, for one, was greatly impressed by the man's acting ability and made a note to ask for some tutoring in that area. Who knew; it just might come in handy. The boy muttered something and Asmodean had to repeat it for the others to hear.

"Loran?" The boy looked up almost as if to protest something but instead nodded.

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, Loran. Until we find out what's happened your real body, it would be best if you stay near Rand," replied Asmodean as he gestured for Rand to come over to them. He acts like this sort of thing happens everyday! Rand thought furiously as he stood beside the boy. Then again, this could very well be a trick of his. I best be cautious. The Forsaken glanced between the two briefly with a look that said he knew something, but at the same time was unsure of his knowledge. Rand glanced at his new companion. In all honesty, Loran seemed more…well, unhinged than he did, strange voices aside. Loran's hair was extremely short, but instead of lying flat, stuck up in all directions like an unseen wind was constantly blowing it out of place. The slender shape of his eyes and face gave him a feral air, and Rand had to stop himself from stepping a pace away from the figure. The urge to leave was too great. Needing an excuse to leave, Rand turned on his heal and strode down the hall with purposeful steps.

"We will deal with this situation later," he called over his shoulder, " I have business to attend to. Natael, have a servant make up a room for Loran."

"Most of the servants have probably run away by now, you know," The Forsaken muttered to the receding figure. He quickly stopped a servant carrying out what looked like her life's possessions and relayed his orders, glancing back at Loran once more before following the Far Dareis Mai after Rand. The servant glared at Asmodean, but after a moment of thought sighed dejectedly and hauled her belongings in the direction from which she'd just come. This left Loran and Amys alone. An awkward silence settled over the hallway. The Wise One stared openly at the rust-haired boy with a gaze that was painfully reminiscent of a butcher sizing up a fattened cow. Loran shifted his weight and pretended to find his nails increasingly interesting.

Still more silence. I wonder if she was an interrogator in another life. Loran thought absently. It had barely been five minutes, but he was already willing to say anything, to tell her anything, if she would just stop staring. Geeze, what is she, part owl? She hasn't even blinked yet. Loran started as Amys abruptly turned and began walking away. Without looking back, she waved a hand, beckoning Loran to follow.

"Come, young one. There are some things that I want to discuss with you." Loran swallowed nervously and scurried after the brown and white clad woman, though his mind currently wanted him to sprint off in the opposite direction. An absent thought made him stop and cross his arms over his bare chest.

"Uh, can I get a shirt?"

--

Rand had dismissed his followers long before they'd reached the throne room, and he now watched Amsodean sitting with Aviendha and Mat in the gardens below. A bowl of soup sat on a tray near him, still warm. Enaila and Somara had brought it to him, the former muttering about unreliable servants and 'no sense of duty.' He had tried to eat but couldn't bring himself to finish it. It reminded him too much of Lamelle, of Pevin, of all the people that died in the taking of Caemlyn. It had been a cost that, if he had known, he would have never risked. Someone shifted beside him and he was brought back into the present. The Saldean, Davram Bashere, had come in several minutes earlier, expecting to talk with Queen Morgase. It was then that Rand realized that the cost of his fallen comrades would be in vain in he did not continue. He had made it clear to the Marshal-General that he was willing to conquer the entirety of the world to maintain the peace and accomplish what his friends today had died for. Bashere finally broke the silence.

"I suspect, that if you do pursue this endeavor, the Borderlands will opt to ally with you." Rand nodded ponderously.

"I…I myself will offer myself and my army." So this is it. Thought Rand numbly. I'm going to conquer my own home. At that moment, the irony of his thoughts did not seem at all funny.

--

"Cabinets. All these cabinets look the same and you can't even tell which one is the bloody pantry," muttered Asmodean as he searched for a bottle of wine. He finally opened one of the taller cabinets and grinned, "Aha." Suddenly, something made him turn his head. He froze and the color faded from his face.

"You? No!"

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READ ME, I AM IMPORTANT FOR YOUR SANITY

I just have one thing to say before people go off on me about the whole 'Loren can use both saidar and saidin' thing. THIS WILL NOT BE A MARY SUE! I hate them, personally, and I have a reason for this to happen which will be needed later on in the future (because I've actually planned that far ahead -.-;; .) I think it to be quite a clever thing I have planned up, and I hope it's something others will enjoy as well (I hope I hope I hope I hope…)

Also, this is NOT SLASH, nor will there be any type of romance except for what is already canon. (I don't do romance very well anyway :D .)

Eh, I kinda botched the depiction of Loran's hair though…when I see him in my mind's eye, his hair is kind of like Balthier's from Final Fantasy 12…only a bit less tamer?

I had to add Rand and Bashere…but I don't have book five with me so please be nice if I botched the conversation just a little (and I probably did.) I added Asmodean's 'death' too, just to get us out of the fifth book. I kind of liked that part though…I had fun, however brief the fun, making Asmodean talk about pantries. [giggles

Read and Review Please!