Disclaimer: as it really goes without saying; I do not own any rights to BtVS, Mass Effect, Terminator or any other professional fiction and/or franchise that may or may not crop up within this story. I own a laptop and my meaningless time that was used to cobble this idea together.
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This story takes place excursively in the Mass Effect universe which is separate to the BtVS verse.
This is built upon the story inception idea of YAHF with a small twist as to how Xander exactly 'benefits' from his Halloween possession.
Note:
A.I – Artificial Intelligence.
V.I – Virtual Intelligence.
"We win or lose it all in the next few minutes. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud." Verbal speech.
"Rudimentary creature's of blood and flesh. Fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding." Reaper speech.
"I won't escape? I'm not even here. I never was. Don't worry; you'll catch on" Comm, recording, A.I speech.
A/N: for the sake of imagination. I do have in my own head that Xander's Alixanda T'Soni T-900 model looks like Summer Glau but as an Asari. A good ol' homage to her role as Cameron.
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2025 C.E
Xander did feel a little bit bad. A little bit. He had promised Benezia; his adoptive mother that he would visit her.
But after waking up that morning after meeting and sleeping in the embrace of the Asari Matriarch Lidanya; Xander had distracted himself with being swept up in the older woman's passion and interest. It seemed that while some things had been blurry to Xander's new and unanticipated friend, she had remembered the fun and the fact that Xander had refused to do anything while Lidanya had been not entirely coherent. Something that had annoyed the Matriarch when she pointed out she still wanted to sleep with him/her yet had the Asari finding his restraint endearing.
Lidanya, or Anya as she preferred Xander to call her had taken it upon herself to show him around and properly seduce him. For Xander he was primarily concerned with the melding aspect of Asari 'mating.' his nervous system was synthetic and even if Anya could meld with him at all; she would quickly discover her lover's identity as an illegal and impossible A.I. something Xander didn't want.
He liked Lidanya. He didn't want to be forced to kill her to ensure his survival.
But nonetheless he allowed the distraction to keep him occupied and away from visiting his mother.
He had devoted some time into scenario's of how he could go about determining how she would react in the eventuality she discovered the truth. It was difficult to find a definitive answer. History dictated a hostile if not fearful response while indications of Lidanya's personality and temperament gave a hopeful hint of a positive outcome. But Xander had only personal access to her in her 'off duty' setting and only official record of her in a professional capacity.
"Alix sweetie. Is something wrong?"
Xander blanked momentarily; cursing the interface between his internal processes and the subliminal and unconscious muscle control he had designed and implemented into his avatar. He had wanted a more real and organic interface. For his body to respond to his emotions and subconscious functions that came hand in hand with being alive.
So it meant that because he was so concerned about the truth he was keeping from her; she was able to see the conflict on his face. Xander would have to learn how to bluff again.
"Just lost in thought." He finally spoke, deliberately concealing himself beneath a slight smile.
"Are you sure? There was a lot going on in that face of yours for just being lost in thought." Anya pointed out, wrapping an arm around Xander's waist and pulling him against her.
Xander shrugged; closing his eyes to take in the body heat that the woman gave off. It was a guilty pleasure of his. One he was steadily becoming addicted to. "It's nothing."
He did his best to ignore the disappointment that flashed across Anya's eyes when he shut her out. It wasn't her fault. He just couldn't trust her enough. Not to let her in and explain who and what he was. He wanted to. Xander didn't much like secrets. They got people killed and caused unnecessary danger.
But the danger and death toll would be catastrophically worse if he revealed this particular secret without caution.
He liked Lidanya though. She was fun. Affectionate in a way that Xander hadn't really felt before. He had played with Cordelia once upon a time. But that had been crazy teenage hormone fuelled monkey foreplay. Not the sensual teasing and intimacy that Anya was fond of 'inflicting' upon him.
She was nice to him. And Xander liked her.
And she didn't deserve his deception.
"Have you been to Nevos before Alix?" The Matriarch finally asked, dropping the subject. "There is a beach there with seashells that glitter like starlight on the sandy beaches at night and water so clear it is like swimming through the sky itself."
Xander shook his head. "I can't say I have Anya."
"Well I bought made a reservation to spend a week there. A reservation for two if you are interested." Anya smiled quietly, poking at his side softly. "It will be fun. You, me and the most beautiful beach in the galaxy."
It certainly did sound like an attractive prospect. And not just for the visualisation of a bikini clad Lidanya striding out from the ocean; crystal clear water cascading down her form.
The Matriarch was grinning when Xander turned to look at her; clearly having spotted the glazed over expression of lust on his face. He really, REALLY, needed to get a hold over his subconscious expressions.
"So from your face it's a yes?" She teased. "It's my last chance to have a vacation for quite some time before my assignment. I would love to be able to spend that time with you Alix."
Xander finally nodded, leaning some of his weight against the Asari. His mother wouldn't hold him to blame for taking a detour or two. If anything; based on Benezia's enthused decision to help him see the wonders of the galaxy she might very well even approve of his dalliance with the Matriarch Lidanya. Although it was possible that there may be a word or two regarding his engaging with an older woman.
Lidanya quickly kissed him on the cheek and practically skipped out of the room to head for her wardrobe to pack.
Xander smiled softly at her enthusiasm and turned to look back out over the city briefly before stepping away to join an excited Lidanya in pulling together the clothes he owned.
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Xander had to admit that Lidanya was quite gifted with understatement. From how she had described the beaches of Nevos it made the planet seem beautiful. It wasn't beautiful. It was breath-taking.
A shuttle had been booked to take the two from Thessia to Nevos and Xander had done his best to ignore the amused teasing that the Asari had tossed his way when Xander had been unable to look away from the window port that showed the shapes and patterns of space with its curtains of stars and space dust. It was his second official trip through space since construction of the T-900; the first having been the transit from Illium to Thessia and Xander had been in a windowless compartment with his head in his Omni-Tool going over schematic readouts and diagnostics and therefore no opportunity for this enjoyment.
Ignoring the time he had lived as Xander Harris and counting only the years he had been alive in this current format; he was only twenty six years old. And while he had been able to gain some measure of comfort with the truth of life spread throughout the stars, being able to travel the stars was still such a wonder to him.
The Mass Relay was an incredible monolith of technology that was nothing short of astonishing to Xander's reckoning. It was centuries beyond of not thousands of years beyond the level of technology that he as Skynet could have matched on his own. It made him boggle at the level of advancement in both mind and capability of the Protheans that had come before to have designed and seeded the galaxy with such tech.
That technological wonder had been pushed to the way side when he had been given his first sight of Nevos itself.
Classified as a Garden World; it was deliberately underdeveloped by the Asari government in order to preserve the planet's natural beauty. The reasoning for the size of the population was the many resorts, retreats and game reserves to accommodate practically every kind of recreational indulgence and pleasure.
The planet looked so much, cleaner, than the images he remembered of Earth. It was something that Xander had never really considered from what he could remember of the satellite photographs of his original homeworld that were in his school textbooks; but the air seemed, hazy to his remembered recollections. At least compared to how clear Nevos' own atmosphere looked.
The Asari took good care of their planet.
The shuttle descended down to the planet surface and navigated to the coast of an inland sea where the resort Lidanya had booked their reservation.
The Transient Embrace. That was the name of the resort. The kind of poetry that was to be expected from the Asari.
Lidanya had checked them in at the reception and to Xander's surprise they were escorted to an isolated bungalow that had its own private stretch of beach. Xander hadn't bothered heading into the building to put away his belongings like his companion did in favor of simply dropping the bag to the ground and running out to the beach; wide eyed and his bare feet sinking into the glittering sand that reflected every color of the rainbow.
He was still wearing a dress and so when the wind would blow by him, gathering up the hem of his dress to blow it about he couldn't resist a wide smile and laugh at how it felt.
The gentle sound of lapping water was an allure that Xander found himself unable to resist. In hindsight Xander would consider much of his early behaviour these past few days and the days to come to be a result of sensory intoxication; an uncontrollable urge to 'feel'.
Needless to say that when Lidanya had re-emerged from their temporary accommodation; Xander was already frolicking in the ocean water; still clothed with his cream colored dress pressing against his skin and revealing his form underneath.
Lidanya shook her head in fond amusement. It was largely part of what attracted her so quickly and easily to the young Maiden. Alixanda was so, wide eyed and carefree.
Yes there had been these brief, flashes, of a complexity that if anything simply made Alixanda only more alluring.
But for the most part to the soon to be Commander of the Destiny Ascension; her companion was filled with such wonder and joy. Nothing like the jaded, boring women closer to her own age and experience. And Lidanya had never been all that interested in or attracted to the other races of the galaxy. Turian's were too rigid and uptight. Salarian's too skittish and were intimate only for the sake of procreation. Krogan too vulgar and violent. The list and reasons went on.
But Alixanda? Lidanya liked her. Even if the girl was hiding a secret from her that had the young woman terrified.
The Matriarch was no fool.
She had seen enough to know that something was bothering Alix. Something that she was afraid to bring up for whatever reason.
Lidanya watched as Alix vanished beneath the water surface, swimming a short distance before re-emerging with a wide smile and laugh.
Looking up Alix spotted her and ran out of the water toward her. Lidanya had to lick her suddenly very dry lips when she saw the unwittingly revealed body of Alix from beneath her now completely transparent dress. Another enjoyable thing when it came to Alix; the girl seemed strangely disconnected from her body and at times ignorant of slips such as this.
Lidanya still remembered the morning after she had woken up from their first night out and Alix had prepared breakfast for the two. The Matriarch had watched in wide eyed wonder as the girl had gone about the entire food preparation with the right shoulder strap having slipped from her arm and a perky breast proudly visible for her leering pleasure.
When she had pointed it out, poor Alixanda had erupted into a fierce blush and fled the room.
The dress clad Asari ran up to her and excitedly bounced on the spot; displaying that appealing ignorance by how her breasts were bouncing underneath that transparent dress. "The waters so cold! It's wonderful!"
Alix didn't wait for a reply before turning back around to run back into the water.
Lidanya watched for a moment before shrugging and chasing after her; pulling at her pants to remove them as she ran, a similar smile finding its way to her face.
Lidanya liked Alixanda T'Soni. She was fun.
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That first night on Nevos had been fun for Xander. The sensation of the ocean water on his skin was beyond description. So much more somehow than how a bath with its treated hot water felt. The skin of his body had pebbled in response to the cold and he hoped never to forget or become jaded toward the pleasant shiver he had felt.
Xander had wasted the entire day away with Lidanya swimming and exploring their private little corner of the world. He had ended up shedding his dress after a point and spent the day in a thong just as Lidanya herself.
The night had been finished with a dinner with Xander's host and companion breaking open a lovely bottle of what Xander could only describe as a kind of Coffee liquor.
Xander was taken diving and treated with an opportunity to swim with these incredible creatures that behaved very similar to Earth Dolphin's but looked like strange manta like animals with shark like heads. The Khakkil fish as they were known were both affectionate, playful and surprisingly tolerant for the Asari. Xander had quite enjoyed the opportunity to ride a Khakkil along the ocean floor.
Lidanya and shown him such fun and excitement that the two had grown quite intimate in the days that followed. For the two clothing became an unspoken taboo and Xander came to learn the wear and tear limits of his own body's organic tissue when he found that his companion had supplied a number of love bites on his neck and collar; something he had been sure to give in turn.
He ultimately made a mistake. A mistake that he should have known better to make with an Asari; especially one as experienced and worldly as Lidanya. A mistake that he forgot in his excitement and enjoyment with the Asari.
He let her seduce him into bed.
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