"The Wolf and the Hound" by Shadow Master aka Ryley Breen
email: ryleyunderscorebreenathotmaildotcom
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material shown herein. They are the rightful property of their individual creators and associated companies. I make no money off of this whatsoever. I write for my own personal enjoyment and whatever enjoyment the readers experience reading my work.
Note: In the marvel timeline this will take place in the space between Rhane's last appearance in the X-Factor title and prior to her first appearance as an official member of Excaliber. This is mostly due to the fact that at this point in time she is officially unattached in terms of a boyfriend making it easier to slip Xander into the mix. As for what reason she'd be hanging about the X-Mansion at this point in the timeline…well…let's just say that she's there getting her bearings after being healed by the woman called Haven. As for the BtVS universe this takes place during Xander's road trip as it was plainly stated in Lucinda's drabble.
Note 2: This is a formal apology to any people from Scotland, living in Scotland or possess Scottish ancestors for my attempt at writing how a person from Scotland would speak. When I was writing this drabble/short/ficlet I knew I'd have to match the dialogue Rahne used here with the way she spoke in the Marvel comics. I did my best to read a few issues and even look up quote sites online to get an idea of how to do it. If I made a mistake in some way I am sorry.
The Wolf and the Hound
Two Months After the Events in Lucinda's Drabble
X-Mansion, Evening, Perspective of Rahne Sinclair aka Wolfsbane
"Och! Where is it!? Dinnae tell me I lost it!" Rahne exclaimed as she looked about her temporary room at the mansion at a frantic pace.
She was fairly certain that it was still in the room somewhere but, for the life of her, she couldn't remember quite where and it was slowly driving her mad. She'd already checked the usual locations, where she often left it before going to bed for example, but no matter which location she checked, she wound up finding everything except what she was looking for. Worst of, all time was running out and if she didn't find it soon, there'd be hell to pay when she met him at the front door of the mansion. It was their big night! It was officially the two month anniversary of the first step they'd taken down the road they were currently on and he'd decided that they'd celebrate it. Never mind that most people waited until a year was up before doing anything, sometimes five, because to him it seemed that every day they spent together was a blessing from the Almighty. Not that she could think of a reason to argue that point because, in truth, she was happier now than any time in recent memory. Freed of her infatuation with Havok, the relationship she had with Rictor gone and her connections to X-Factor withered to almost nothing, she had been both free and yet at the same time lonely.
Then he'd come into her life.
A little over two months ago, while she was staying at the X-Mansion in an effort to get her bearings and choose where she should go, he'd shown up at the front gate looking to take on the job of doing some grounds keeping work. She'd only seen him sporadically that first day, in the hall as Storm took him to see the Professor, but it had been the next morning that she'd gotten a real eye opener. She hadn't intended to, of course, she'd just been starting off on a morning run about the property in her wolf form, but whatever she'd intended, she'd come across him fixing one of the wooden fences. He'd been shirtless. She hadn't been completely new to the sight of a man without the shirt on, especially considering the swimwear some of the X-team members chose to wear, but somehow this had struck her as different. His back was covered in scars and blemishes. She could tell almost immediately that some of them had come from fighting of some kind but the others… the others she recognized all too well from her youth with Reverend Craig. Yet, unlike her, he didn't seem withdrawn or timid at all but rather happy and always trying to make others laugh. At least that was the impression she'd gotten from him both from how he'd talked with Storm and the way he was working now.
She found that to be impressive.
Over the days that followed his arrival, she found herself doing the odd kind thing for him when she could, out of politeness and courtesy she told herself, like bringing him a drink after a hard day's work. However, it was one day when she couldn't find him in the usual spots that she'd partially morphed into her wolf form and attempted to use her acute sense of smell to find him. Filtering out all of the scents of the more long-term mansion residents, it hadn't taken her long to find the one that was most likely his and follow it. It was an odd scent, a mix of normal human scent and a wildness she couldn't pin down, but its uniqueness only made it easier for her to follow it. She eventually found him working on a broken down fence on the far side of the property but, when she was about to say what she had come to say to him, she found herself unable to recall what it was. In the end she'd chosen to simply offer her help in fixing the fence and with a smile that warmed her heart he'd accepted the assistance. It was as she worked with him that she started to covertly try to analyze his scent to find out what exactly was so odd about it but, as she found out fifteen minutes later, she hadn't been as covert as she'd thought. Xander stated that he'd showered and, with typical smoothness, she'd said that she'd known that and thought he smelt good. She'd been ready for the Lord to take her right then out of sheer embarrassment. However it had been what happened next that had really thrown her for a loop: he'd asked her out on a date. Shocked she'd been momentarily speechless, not having expected that question in the slightest, and apparently this surprise embarrassed him enough that he turned back to the fence to work on it. Not wanting him to get the wrong idea, she'd quickly explained that her dating history was sparse indeed and that it was most likely her shapeshifting ability that scared the boys off.
Xander'd said that her fur was cute!
He'd thought she was nice!
It was then that they'd agreed to their first date and, later that evening, he'd treated her to a movie in Salem Center followed by a meal at a restaurant that was a step or two above the fast food places. She'd tried that night to let him know he didn't need to go so far for just a first date but he'd said that the first dates were the most important and a person shouldn't be cheap with them.
Off and on from that day forward they'd gone on more dates until half their week was made up with them. The rest of the time, though, they simply spent time together at the mansion watching TV or having dinner with the rest of the residents. Always, though, she felt like she was on top of the world and the problems she usually had to deal with like being a mutant no longer seemed so troublesome. The past few weeks had been some of the most joyous in her entire life and, if she had her way, then they'd never EVER end so long as she had the power to preserve it. In order to do that, though, she had to find IT before the time that she'd agreed to meet with Xander at the front door or else there'd be consequences.
"C'mon ye wee thing! I dinnae ken where ye hid yuirself but ye'd best show yuirself now!" she muttered to herself as she continued to move everything movable to find the item she was looking for, "I cannae meet Xander wit'out ye!"
"Without what, Rahne?" asked a voice from the doorway to her room.
Jumping to her feet and spinning around she found Xander standing there, his trademark lopsided smile firmly in place, wearing what he'd called his semi-formal cool look. Mostly this was composed of a jacket he'd borrowed from Gambit's room, some crimson shades he'd found in Scott's room, pants that definitely came from Warren's dresser and a shirt that fortunately came from his own suitcase. She didn't know whether she should be amused that he'd borrowed parts of his outfit from the other residents or be worried. While most of the victims would be forgiving enough, there was bound to be at least one who would be somewhat angry at the act.
Ah well! Ye knew it was gonna be like this when after the time when the daft fool hung chocolate coins from Storm's plants. She thought with a rueful shake of her head recalling the aftermath of that incident, For now, though, 'tis best ye come up with an answer, girl.
"Um…tis just a flyer for a restaurant I thought ye might like." She replied, putting her best smile on while restraining herself from noticeably avoiding his eyes, "Twas an Italian place that I thought ye'd like but I cannae recall where I left the bloody thing."
"Oh. Well, don't worry. I'm sure we can find it later." He said with a shrug of acceptance, "Now let's get going. The movie starts in an hour and if the hype is to be believed, we need to get there a bit early if we're going to get decent seats."
"Ye're right! Let's go!" She said jumping (literally and metaphorically) at the chance to get his attention focused away from what was missing on her.
With that the two of them left for the movies while at the back of her mind, Rahne Sinclair questioned her memories over and over again trying to recall where she'd left Xander's first gift to her.
Where had she left that bloody silver heart locket necklace!?
&
Salem Center, After the Movie, Xander's P.O.V
"So where ta now, Xander?" Rahne asked as they walked down the sidewalk away from the theater.
"Wellll… I hope you don't mind but we're gonna swing by this antique place on main street and then head off to Mario's Restaurant for some food." He replied with a smile inwardly struggling to keep the cat in the bag, "I have some business to conclude there and the owner's heading out of town tomorrow, so I need to see him tonight. Is that okay?"
"Sure. I dinnae mind." Rahne replied with a consenting smile that indicated that she truly didn't mind.
Whew! I don't know what I would've said if she'd decided to argue with me! He thought as they began to head in the direction of the antique shop, At least this way I'll be able to get her present without pulling the 'I have to use the bathroom' line and sneaking out the door to run to the shop and then get back before she suspects anything.
It had been two days ago when he'd been trying to think of something he could get his girlfriend to commemorate their two month anniversary. He'd looked through catalogues at the mansion, gone online and even asked about the house when Rahne wasn't around to overhear the conversation. Nothing that was suggested or found seemed quite right to him and so with time running out and his stress levels rising, he'd continued his search. It wasn't until he'd spotted a commercial on TV that he'd hit the mother lode of ideas. It was a commercial about wedding rings and how they could be engraved with amazing detail and precision. NO he wasn't going to ask Rahne to marry him (not yet anyways. In the future? Maybe), but the commercial had given him an idea. He'd waited until yesterday and when Rahne had decided to go swimming with the others he'd declined on grounds that he had to go for supplies in town. With that white lie told he'd slipped into her room and picked up the silver heart locket necklace he'd bought her for their one month anniversary and left for Salem Center.
Once he was in town, he'd looked high and low for some kind of jewelry shop that did engravings but apparently none of them were equipped to do them like he'd wanted. They'd offered to send it out to one of the better-equipped places but that would've taken too long because he needed this to be ready by the next night at the latest. He had just about given up hope when he'd come across this old antique shop that had a sign in the window saying that it did engravings. He was a bit skeptical about whether or not the place could do what he'd wanted but, considering every other store had turned out to be a bust, he figured there wasn't any harm in giving this one a try. Entering into the place, he found the store to be like an Antiques Roadshow highlight reel with objects of every size and age lining the walls as well as sitting on tables. He'd browsed for a bit before he'd been approached by a forty-something man with graying black hair tied into a mini-pony tail and dressed in a black shirt, purple pants deal. He had the face of someone who had probably charmed a lot of ladies when he was younger and then skipped out of the bathroom window once the one night stand was over. Still, appearances could be deceiving, as he knew all toowell from Sunnydale, so he did his best not to let his first impression influence how he talked to the guy.
After the usual greetings and store lines had been spoken, he'd explained to the man what he'd wanted and for a moment it looked like the antique place would be another dead end. However, as the guy led him through the store, trying to get him interested in buying something else, something seemed to change the guys mind in a drastic way. It was a little weird but it seemed to happen when he'd walked by this old, beat up katana that was sitting on one of those sword racks. He guessed that it was meant to be some kind of historical piece for a collector because it sure as hell wasn't there for decoration with all the nicks and dings it had in the blade. It was definitely old but it also looked like it had been through a couple dozen wars and would take one miracle worker of a swordsmith to get it back into fighting trim. In any case, the store owner then began to say that he could easily do such an engraving, that it was mere child's play, but sounded like one of those used car salesmen trying to unload a lemon. However, despite his inner paranoid person, he decided he'd take the chance and hope that the guy didn't wind up destroying the locket in the end. He was really pressed for time and if worse came to worse he'd just swing by the very same jewelry place he'd bought the first necklace and get an exact double of it. Sure, it'd take a large chunk out of his traveling expenses as well as what money he had been paid to do maintenance work on the grounds, but Rahne was worth it.
It took about five minutes to arrive at the store and, surprisingly enough, it was still open at this hour. A little strange since all but two shops on the street were closed but he supposed the owner could use all the business he could get considering what he sold. Walking inside, he could see that the owner had precious few lights in the store and wondered why the guy didn't get more installed since doing so would show off the merchandise better at night. Still, while odd, wasn't something he was prepared to get into a discussion over since all he cared about was getting the locket necklace preferably with an excellently-completed engraving job on it. They only had to wait a minute before the owner emerged from the back room of the store and from the looks of the guy he'd been doing some serious work.
"Ah! Xander-san! Right on time!" Said the man who'd introduced himself before as Mr. Miroku Hachi, or Hachi Miroku if you went with how the Japanese put their last name first and their first name last, "You're in luck that I finished the engraving you asked me for not an hour ago and, if I do say so myself, it is one of my better works. Come, come, it is right in back here."
A bit surprised that the man would let them go in back where most stores had an 'employees only' sign hanging, he just shrugged and followed with Rahne hanging on his arm.
Feeling her grip tighten a bit, he looked down to see what was the matter and found her with a look that most people had when they were trying to figure out where they'd smelt or seen something/one before. This made him a bit worried since, even when she was in her fully human form, her sense of smell put other baseline humans to shame concerning what it could pick up. Nudging her a bit as they walked through the curtain hanging from the doorframe, he gave her a look when she looked up at him that clearly asked 'is there something wrong'. In response, the mutant werewolf-but-not-really merely took a moment to take a deep sniff of the air, as well as a moment to serious sift through what her nose was telling her, before shaking her head. Apparently while the former X-factor member known as Wolfsbane smelt something weird, she didn't think it was a threat to them or anything. Still, as they entered the back area that was a collection of antique oddities arrange around a large square table in the center, he chose to go to Defcon four.
Mr. Hachi seemed to be looking through his work table for the locket but, judging by his increasingly frantic pace, he was beginning to wonder if he was going to have to buy a replacement locket after all. This seemed to be the case still ten minutes later but both he and Rahne were prepared to wait at least another five minutes before they'd start making a fuss. At least that's what he'd garnered from Rahne's body language that he had quickly become skilled at understanding over the past two months. Leaning back on the table in the center of the room, he couldn't help but notice the odd lack of tools about the room they were in. He supposed that the machines were just in another room but it seemed odd to him to have two work rooms in a store especially when the building wasn't all that large to begin with. It was about then that he started getting a little concerned that the old Harris luck was going to raise its ugly head but, fortunately, Miroku's movements changed tempo from 'where is it' to 'this is definitely where it is'.
"Hold this, if you please." Mr. Hachi said before shoving the battered katana he'd seen in the store the day before into his hand but this time with a sheath around the blade.
Unwilling to interrupt the guy, since he seemed to be onto something and just plain surprised at having something shoved into his hand, he said nothing. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long though because if it did, then Rahne'd probably start feeling a little bored and bored was not of the good when you were on a date. Dates were supposed to be fun with the odd romance scene squeezed in at just the right time for maximum effect on both the boyfriend and the girlfriend. Not that he'd read about it in a 'Relationships for Dummies' book or anything. Nope! He wasn't that desperate for a girlfriend that he'd resort to something as pitiful as reading a book to make sure his dates turned out okay. He was a MAN. A manly MAN!
"Miss, if you wouldn't mind holding these? Thank you!" Mr Hachi said before putting a longbow in one of her hands while placing a quiver fully of finely crafted arrows in the other.
"Um… do ye need any help, sir?" Rahne asked while looking between the objects in her hands and the store owner.
"No, no, not at all! I just needed those moved aside and figured it'd be easier if you held them rather than lay them on the floor." Mr. Hachi replied, looking over his shoulder for a moment before resuming his search, "Plus, if you don't mind, of course, I plan on taking a quick picture of you and your item to show to other clients. The more I can show them in one picture, the better business will be."
He guessed that that made sense.
Still, he couldn't help but feel as though the old Harris luck was cooking up something extra nasty for him.
"Ah! Here it is!" Mr. Hachi said as he stood up straight with a familiar silver heart shaped locket in his hand.
"What…how…Xander?" Rahne asked, clearly floored by the fact that her locket somehow went from her bedroom to this antique shop.
"I wanted to do something special for you for this anniversary so I took the locket here to get engraved." He replied as he tucked the sword beneath his belt and took the locket from Mr. Hachi, "See? Right here on the inside of the locket's lid?"
He opened up the locket to reveal that one side had a picture of the two of them standing outside of the mansion holding hands. It was a picture that they'd gotten Ororo to take of them at the end of their first month of dating to commemorate the occasion. On the other, though, was the engraving he'd wanted and while it might be a bit geeky it really said all that he figured needed to be said.
Rahne and Xander.
Then below their names was a symbol for eternity.
"Och! Tis beautiful!" Rahne exclaimed in both surprise as well as overwhelming happiness as she held the locket in her hands, "Thank ye Xander!! I luv it!"
Without waiting for her to say another word, he picked up the necklace and, with a little work that put the two of them closer together, he placed it around her neck. Taking a few steps back he took in the sight before him and couldn't help smiling like a sap even with the quiver and longbow messing up the picture. He truly was a lucky man to have Rahne as a girlfriend and, while the whisper that he'd have to head back to Sunnydale eventually bothered him, he was sure he could figure out a way to make it work. After all, Rahne was one half shy girl that was cute and, at the same time, one half fiery redhead that would bite your head off if you made her angry. It was a combination that he found perfect for him and, while some might say he could've had that with Willow, he just couldn't shake the image of his bestest bud being one of the guys…er gals…er whatever.
"Alright, now, if you'd stand in front of that table there we can get this picture taken and you can be on your way." Mr Hachi said as he picked up what looked to be a ten year old camera with one of those really nasty flash bulb things on it.
With a shrug, he and Rahne stood up in front of the table reasonably close to one another and smiled for the picture.
"Good! Perfect! Now keep that smile and when you get back please try to remember that this was NOT my idea!" Mr. Hachi said in a way that implied he expected to get pounded by someone.
"Wha--?" was all he was able to get out before the flash bulb went off temporarily blinding both him and Rahne.
Next thing they knew, someone had pushed them backwards onto the table but, instead of landing on hard wood, it felt as though they were falling into a well of some kind. By the time that his eyes started working right again he was falling through some sort of starry environment away from a square shaped hole with the ceiling of the antique shop on the other side. He tried to grab onto something to stop his descent but all his hands grasped was empty air or whatever this place was. Looking over, he could see that Rahne was attempting to do the same but was not having any better luck despite the fact that she had shifted partially to her wolf form in order to make use of her claws. As the last sign of the antique shop, a place he was definitely going to try to get back to if only to smack the owner around a bit, he tried to move closer to Rahne so that they couldn't get separated but then things took a turn for the weird.
All of a sudden, two spheres of light appeared, no bigger than your average bowling balls, and immediately moved him and his girlfriend apart. He tried to fight against the sphere that was pressing up against his chest but whatever it was it clearly had greater strength then he did. Looking over to Rahne, he could clearly see that she wasn't having any better luck even though she had changed even further towards her wolf state. However just when he was about to start talking with her so that they could think up a course of action to free themselves the spheres pressing again their bodies floated back a bit and then charged shape. Standing before him now was a teenager not much older than himself in appearance but he was wearing these odd Japanese clothes, had long white hair, claws, fangs and, unless he was very much mistaken, had two dog ears on the top of his head. It was an image he was allowed to view for only five more seconds before the ghost/hologram smiled an arrogant smirk and then dove into his body. For a moment he felt nothing but sadly things didn't stay that way because just as he was beginning to think that nothing had happened he felt his heart begin to beat faster and faster. At first it was merely odd but then, as the beats hit a certain tempo, each pulse that occurred began to cause him greater and greater levels of pain.
I-if this…is…w-what a heart attack…feels like… he thought as he tried to calm his heart, …T-then I'm definitely g-gonna cut back o-on the artery…clogging f-food!
Grabbing his chest in pain he felt his efforts to slow his heart being less than great he tried to will his body to respond but all he received for his efforts was a black darkness sweeping over his vision.
Then he knew nothing but the limbo of unconsciousness.
&
The Old Antique Shop of Mr. Miroku Hachi, One Minute Later
Mr. Hachi's P.O.V
"Do you think he'll be mad when he comes back?" asked the aged man known as Mr. Miroku Hachi as he peered down the now normal looking well.
"Of course not! You remember how understanding he was the last time we saw him four hundred years ago." Replied a spot on the man's shoulder, "Once he was shown why we needed him and his girlfriend back then, he was completely sympathetic and understanding. You worry too much, Hachi."
With a puff of smoke the Asian man was no more and standing in his place was a creature that looked like a cross between a dog and a raccoon. It stood on its hind legs and wore a mismatch of outdated Japanese clothing and things you'd usually see on geeks and Anime freaks. While it was impossible to say what age he was the gray hair one could see here and there it would imply that the raccoon dog was definitely passed his prime. He turned his head and looked like he was looking at something on his shoulder but, if one looked really close, you could see what looked like a tiny human with four arms and two feet with a pointy snout for a mouth. Also, while difficult to tell on looks alone, if one took in her speech patterns and her clothes the odds of the creature being female was high.
"Maybe, but just to be safe I'm going to do what your father Myoga usually did in situations like this and find someplace else to be." Hachi said as he immediately grabbed a bag that had been hidden on the other side of the well and made for the door.
For a moment, the only thing the female youkai flea did was stand on the edge of the well looking supremely confident that there was nothing to worry about. She was certain that when Alexander Harris, the reincarnation of her father's master InuYasha, returned everything would be fine and she'd get to follow in her poppa's footsteps. However, after about five minutes, teeny tiny beads of sweat began to form on her head and the signs of confidence in her position began to crumble.
"On the other hand, maybe it might be prudent to… give my future master some time to reacquaint himself with the present. Yes!" She said as she hopped off the wood edge of the well, "And… and I can prepare a proper welcoming feast for him at the restaurant down the road! After all, if I'm going to be interrupting his date with his girl, then the least I can do is try to salvage his dinner plans!"
With that she fled the room intent on visiting a nearby eating establishment that was run by a certain kitsune youkai she knew. The fox girl owed the daughter of Myoga a few favors revolving around a few shipments of contraband materials that managed to get through thanks to her. By the time that Xander and his girlfriend got back, they'd have a feast fit for a prince.
&
Three Hundred and Seventy One Years in the Past, Location Unkown
Rahne's P.O.V
Och! I dinnae ken wha' that was all aboot, but dinnae think I want to go through it again. Rahne thought as she woke up from the unconsciousness caused by that ghost girl that dove inside of her, I wonder if…XANDER!!
Sitting upright as though someone had lit her hair on fire, she looked about the immediate area for any sign of the young man who'd claimed her heart almost from the first moment they'd met. It didn't take long for her to find the dust-clad coat that Xander had borrowed from Gambit but there was something off about his hair. It looked like someone had taken hair dye to it or shoved him head first into a pile of flour until his hair changed color. Shaking her head, she moved over to him and immediately began to shake him in an effort to wake him up so they could work together to figure out what the hell they'd gotten themselves. It happened virtually at the same time, her boyfriend shot up into a sitting position and a smell wafted past her nose, and both were enough to send a vibration of shock through her body. His SCENT! It wasn't human any more! Not entirely, anyway. She could smell bits and pieces of it but there was something else mixed in with it that she didn't recognize very well. This odd scent was complemented by the sight of white ears twitching on the top of his head, amber eyes replacing the brown that had been there before and claws replacing nails both on the fingers as well as the toes. How did she know there were claws now on his toes? Well, suffice it to say that sometime between the antique shop and now Xander's shoes had some messy modifications made turning them into the equivalent of sandals.
"Huh…wha…how?" Xander asked as his mind regain the coherency lost from his time unconscious.
"Xander? Are ye alright?" she asked as she placed a steadying hand on his shoulder to calm him and help him recover his senses quicker.
"I think so. How about you?" He asked getting to his feet and looked about the bottom of the well they'd woken up in.
"I'm alright but I dinnae ken where we are." She replied before taking a deep sniff of the air, "Smells like a forest t'me. Cleanest air I've e'er smelled."
"Well let's get outta here and take a look around. We're going to need more info if we're going to get home." Xander said as he looked up to where the clear blue sky above them.
"You dinnae think we're still in Salem Center?" she asked even though her thoughts were along the same lines.
"You said yourself that the air is the cleanest you've ever smelled, right?" Xander asked her rhetorically as he began to use the stones in the well walls as handholds, "No place in America should have air that clean and, given our method of travel, we could be anywhere or anywhen right now. We need to get an idea of the where and the when so we can plan our way back home."
"Right." She said as she followed his example to get out of the well while also putting her mind in a mission state of mind.
A minute later, they were out of the well and found themselves in a dense forest that stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. There were no signs of civilization that they could see, not even a wooden bench, and nothing to indicate that the well had been recently used. That did not bode well for getting an idea of where they were since any direction they chose to go in could very well lead them deeper into the wild rather than closer to a town or city. Shifting halfway into her wolf form, she began to take sniffs of the air in every direction in an effort to find even the slightest clue as to which direction they should head in. If she could pick up anything, smoke from a fire or cooked meat, they'd have something to go on.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Xander exclaimed, immediately causing her to whirl in his direction to see what had affected him so.
She found him looking down at his clawed hands and he didn't look like he was coping with his new features all that well. Not that she could blame him considering what her own reaction when her mutant powers when they'd first manifested themselves. Many teenage mutants freaked when their x-gene abilities, terrified at what they'd become, but it was made easier if they had someone to help them through it. Walking up to him, she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder to let him know that she was there for him.
"Easy now! When I woke up, ye were like this." She said trying to calm him down and keep him from losing it, "I dinnae ken how it happened but it does nae seem to hurt ye none."
"N-no, I suppose not." Xander said as he flexed his fingers to come to grips with what he now had, "Do you have a mirror on you?"
"Sure." She said taking out a small compact mirror she'd brought on the date in case her make up needed fixing.
Handing it to him she watched as he opened it up and got his first real look at himself and was treated to yet another shock. She watched as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped from what he saw but there was a quality of recognition there that puzzled her. It was almost like he recognized what he'd been turned into.
"O-kay! Either the Fates thought it'd be nice to treat me to a cosplay holiday or it's like Halloween all over again." Xander said sounding like he'd been hit with rueful bit of nostalgia, "Though why someone chose to give me an InuYasha makeover I have no idea!"
"InuYasha? Cosplay?"
"Cosplay is basically where people dress up as their favorite characters from TV shows, movies and games." He replied before unsheathing the sword tucked beneath his belt, "As for InuYasha, it's a show about a half demon fighting to avenge a wrong and stop a great evil."
Half-demon? From the looks of his features the demon half was of the demon dog variety and that made her wonder. What made… whatever happened to them… turn Xander into a half dog demon? In the end it didn't really matter but she somehow found it nice that she who could turn into a wolf now had a boyfriend who was part canine, even if it was a demonic canine. Taking the quiver and strapping it to her back, she tested the bow to see what kind of quality went into the workmanship and was pleased to see that it was of a high caliber. She didn't have as much experience with bows and arrows as Dani but she'd learned the basics from the former New Mutant. It wouldn't be enough to win her a national championship or anything but it might be enough to acquit herself in a state competition. Looking at Xander's weapon, though, it was clear that he wasn't satisfied with it and, seeing as how it was pretty banged up, she couldn't blame him. It wouldn't be much better than a baseball bat for him in a fight but, given their current circumstances, they couldn't afford to be too picky.
"Then it sounds like ye and I have what we need ta get out of this situation." She said doing her best to sound optimistic about their current situation.
"Guess so. Let's get going." He said with his trademarked lopsided smile even if it did show that he had fangs.
"Aye. Lets!" she said and with that they were off into the woods looking for a way home.
&
Many Months Later, In What Xander and Rahne Would Consider the Present
New York City, Central Park, The Final Battle Against Onslaught
The battle was not going well at all.
The being known as Onslaught was taking everything the combined power of the X-Men, The Avengers and the Fantastic Four could throw at it and endured. Each time that they thought that they had pierced his armor, thought that they had delivered a decisive blow, the monster showed that they had vastly underestimated it. Nevertheless, like true heroes, they pressed onward determined to fight this great evil to whatever fate the future had in store for them. However, it was as Onslaught was about to deliver what looked to be his most potent attack yet that a cry came out of the battlefield of New York City.
"KAZE NO KIZU!!" cried out a voice that the residents of the X-mansion hadn't heard from in over a year.
They had no time to search their memories to pin a name to the voice because, with all the subtlety of a fifty foot wave, an energy attack tore up the ground before it slammed into Onslaught. To many people this was a substantial surprise because the blow actually caused significant damage to his armor as well as forced the monster to abort his assault. Looking back along the path that the attack came from, they saw two people exit the shadows that mixed with the flames that blanketed the city. One was male, about six feet tall, clad in red clothes straight out of a Warring States Era Anime and carrying a large sword that was now resting on his shoulder. The other was a woman about four inches or so shorter than the man clad in clothes usually worn by a miko priestess from Japan. She had a quiver of arrows strapped to her back and a longbow in her hand but, unlike the usually pristine, virtuous priestess, this one was feral in nature making her unique. In the end they could only identify the duo when they closed to under a hundred yards and it caused the X-mansion residents to go saucer eyes and slack jawed.
"Xander? Rahne? How?" Storm asked as she tried to come to grips with the return of two who had gone missing over a year ago.
"Long story, Storm, and I think it's one best told after we take down pug ugly here." Xander replied with overflowing confidence as he gripped his sword with both hands, "So I figure you'll all have to wait about twenty minutes before you can get your answers."
"IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE ARROGANCE OF LEADERSHIP IS NOT RESTRICTED TO JUST XAVIER AND MAGNETO!" Onslaught said as its armor repaired itself and the monster looked stronger than ever, "YOU, LIKE THE OTHERS, LIKE ALL MANKIND WILL FEEL THE TOUCH OF DEATH AT MY HANDS!!"
"I've heard that from a lot of bastards whose memories I keep alive by dancing on their tombstones!" Xander said as energy began to flow through the blade, turning it crimson, "So hit me with your best shot, Onslaught, because I promise you won't get another!!"
"FINE, FOOL! TAKE MY POWER AND DIE LIKE THE MONGREL DOG YOU ARE!!" Onslaught yelled before firing a blast of energy that all felt certain would obliterate the newly returned warriors.
"Not this time, NOT EVER!" Xander cried as he charged the blast head on with sword raised high, "Bakuryūha!"
With those words, Xander delivered a devastating downward slash that cut through the center of Onslaught's attack. It was a cut that took longer than one might have thought due to the sheer conflict between the two forces but, in the end, Xander found the strength to complete the downward horizontal slash. With this move the two forces of energy struggled against each other like bloodthirsty beasts but, in the end, not only did the attack from Xander's sword prove victorious but it did something more. It somehow turned the energy of Onslaught's own assault back towards the monster, causing the abomination to be forced to face not only its own attack but Xander's at the same time.
"Dinnae think the shows over just yet, ye id'jit!" Rahne said with bow raised and arrow notched ready to be fired, "Here's my contribution, ye spawn of HELL!"
A glow came over the arrow and with a twang of a taut string being released it streaked across the open air to join with Xander's assault to become stronger than it was before by several orders of magnitude. The sight of it hitting Onslaught was nothing short of awe inspiring for instead of a fifty foot wave slamming into the monster it was more like a tsunami. Bright enough to make it hard to look everyone could see Onslaught trying to fight against the attack, to prove that it could endure even this, but its trembling limbs said otherwise. It was then, as some began to wonder if this assault would fail, that the conclusion was decided as the ground beneath the amalgamation of Xavier and Magneto gave way removing the monster's ability to push against the attack. It swept over the abomination as though it was a force of nature unto itself making it so that none could see how Onslaught fared. The attack continued onwards, past its intended target, digging a trench in the ground for at least the rest of the length of the park and five blocks past that. Smoke and dust filled the air in the aftermath of the attack and all the gathered heroes waited to see what effect if any the attack had on their collective foe.
They didn't have to wait long before they got their answer.
Onslaught stood slumped in the trench that had been dug by the combined assault and over half its armor had been blown off with the rest of the metal filled with cracks aplenty. The monster wasn't defeated just yet but it was clear that the combined attack from Xander and Rahne had been a serious blow to the beast. Psionic energy arced back and forth between the remaining bits of cracked armor belonging to Onslaught and as the fiend raised its eyes to look at the cause of the damage it did the unpredictable.
It began to laugh!
"Well, this isn't good." Xander said with an angry look of frustration.
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Note: To all you fans who are probably asking yourselves 'what the hell was this guy smoking when he wrote this' the answer is 'I am not all that sure myself'. It started out as nothing more than an expansion on the drabble shown in the 'X-Xander and…' drabble collection. However when I tried to figure out how to expand that I was at a loss as to how aside from the usual relationship romance stuff. Then I remembered how I mixed my expansion of the Stepford Cuckoos with my in progress fanfic 'The Family You Never Knew You Had'. So I decided to follow that pattern and see how it turned out. In the end it will ultimately be up to you readers and reviewers to determine whether it was a good idea or a bad one.
Note 2: As for how the InuYasha fits into it all timeline-wise and everything…well…you can make up your own theory or you can simply say that the InuYasha elements in this is a combo of the Anime series and a Marvel Universe slant.