Sacrifices are necessary

Author: Michael Wilson <wyrdradio[at]yahoo.com>

Rating: R

Disclaimer: Joss, Mutant Enemy, and a lot of other people own the characters from Buffy and Angel. The characters from various books are owned by Robert Heinlein and his family. I get nothing by writing this except maybe some kind words of encouragement and a few cheers... at least I hope.

Spoilers: BUFFY: All seasons through mid to late season 6.

Summary: The pain he caused was too great to bear. Xander decided he could do only one thing to make things right... but would his sacrifice be worth it.

Author's Note: This is a Buffy/Multiple crossover story.

" … " is for speech while * … * is for thoughts. # … # is for alien languages.

Distribution: If you like it... please feel free to place it on your site... but please tell me first.


Chapter 1

He stared down at the frying pan on the filth-covered stove and snarled. She had been complaining to him, about himself, for over an hour. It was the same thing... the same complaints she always used, nothing new or original. When are you going to get promoted? When are you going to talk to your boss about vacation time? When, when, when... always when with her. Her voice was like nails on a blackboard to his tired mind. It ripped right through him and he just couldn't take it any longer. He had had enough.

"Shut up! Will you, for once, just shut up?! Just shut the hell up already, you fucking harpy!"

A shocked and angry gasp came from behind him as he picked up the frying pan and spun around, swinging it into a blond woman's head, knocking her to the floor. There was a loud cracking sound and she collapsed against the peeling flooring with a dull, sickening thud.... her head bouncing once hard. Her eyes were open, but she seemed to be staring off into space. They looked almost glazed as he stared down at her. A mixture of anger and rage flooded his brain... but slowly in creeped fear as he saw blood began to dribble from her nose and mouth. His eyes widened as what he had just done registered through the red haze of his rage. He dropped the frying pan and fell to his knees beside her motionless form.

"Baby?"

He reached out and nudged her shoulder... but nothing happened. He grabbed her wrist and felt for a pulse... but there wasn't one.

"Anya..."

Xander dropped her lifeless hand as his body began to tremble.

"Oh god... oh my god... no... I... Anya... ANYA!"

*****

Xander jerked awake with a scream of terror. His body was covered with sweat and his breathing was coming in great gulps. He looked around the motel room franticly; his mind trying to place where he was. Eyes wide with fear, he scanned the room then stopped on a formal suit draped across a nearby chair... his suit... his wedding suit, something he would now never use, lying in the corner. He took a deep breath and slowly shook his head as his mind caught up with his body.

*Oh God no... not again...*

He had been having these dreams... more like nightmares really... about what he had seen before the wedding for over a week now; ever since the day he ran away from the altar.

"I'm sorry Anya... I'm so sorry..."

He rubbed his red-rimmed eyes and grabbed an almost empty bottle of whiskey from the nightstand. Draining it in one swallow, Xander dropped the bottle and fell back into the bed. As the bottle hit the floor, it clanged against the many more that clustered around his bed.

*I don't know what to do. I hurt her so much, but what can I do? I can't take that pain away, no matter what I do. I've done something so bad...*

Xander opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. His mind replayed what the old man had shown him over and over. He saw his life with Anya. Things weren't too bad, at first, then he changed. He saw himself turn into the one thing he feared most. He saw himself become a man who was worse than his father. He witnessed the daily fights and the punches and kicked. Then he saw the worst part, he saw himself kill Anya... over and over again. It was tearing him apart - slowly driving him insane.

"I just want it to stop... please, please just make it all stop."

Xander glanced over at the table for a new bottle... but there was none. He had drunk it all - seven bottles - in the week he had been there. It seemed that if he wanted to get drunk enough to pass out again, he would have to get up and go get something.

*Shit... this is... shit!*

Xander rolled onto his side and slowly crawled out of bed. The room spun around him as he slipped on the empty bottles as he got to his feet. He grabbed his keys and stumbled to the door. He was drunk, a little, he could feel it.

*Driving... no... don't want to kill anyone else. Doesn't matter if I die but if I took someone with me...*

He shoved his keys into the pocket of the dress pants he was still wearing and then opened the door. He paused and cursed as his eyes adjusted to the streaming, blinding sunlight that bathed his filthy form.

"Shit that's bright..."

Xander blinked until he could see, then headed out into the sunlight...

*****

Soft music played over the store's speakers as Xander, out of place in his filthy dress pants and white tank top, wandered the aisles looking for something to drink himself asleep. He already had a few bottles in his arms, but they weren't working that well for him anymore. It looked like he would have to find something stronger.

"... and you should have seen it, I mean, they went nuts. It was fucking sweet."

Xander blinked a few times then glanced over at two guys the next aisle over and frowned. There was something about one of them that looked slightly familiar.

"Dude... then what happened?"

Xander looked over at them and squinted. He could swear the guy on the left looked like... his cousin Frankie.

"Well, after everything calmed down, out she came and man did she look hot. She was all freaking out over him walking out on her, but then her dad came to her and they left. Freaky guy though... his skin was all blue and he had horns. Hear he might be making a movie or something and hadn't had time to get the makeup removed..."

Xander's eyes widened.

*Blue skin with horns... D'Hoffran... so that means...*

It was then he recognized him. It was Frankie. He had been at his wedding... on his family's side... sitting with his Uncle Rory. Being around someone he knew, hearing about the wedding again. It was too much to take.

"Whoa... so who's wedding was it?"

Xander trembled as his memories overwhelmed him and he blocked out the rest of the conversation. He was too focused on what he had heard.

*D'Hoffran has Anya... or did. I... I can't believe this; he's going to try to make her one of his vengeance demons again... if he hasn't already. Anya didn't want that anymore... but I doubt if she's thinking that clearly right now. He... oh god..*

Xander had to find Anya. He had to stop her from going back to what she was. He had to stop her from ruining her life again. He had to stop her from making a terrible mistake. He set the bottles he was holding back on the shelf then ran out the doors. He didn't see his car... then remembered he hadn't taken it, not wanting to drink and drive, so he had to run the seven blocks back to the motel. When he got there, he was more than sober enough to drive... the fear having stripped all the haziness away.

"I have to hurry... I have no time to lose."

Xander grabbed his jacket and shirt, having not brought anything else, then hopped in his car. He was headed back into his life... back to Sunnydale... and he hoped he wasn't too late.

Chapter 2

There she was, just as beautiful as he remembered her.

*Anya...*

Xander had come back to Sunnydale only to find that the apartment was empty, except for a few boxes in the middle of the room that held his things. Anya had moved out and had taken most of... well, pretty much everything. It had taken him a few hours of searching every place he could think of before Xander had finally tracked her down. She had been talking to this woman in a green dress in Willy's bar for over and hour now, and Xander's knees were getting tired from crouching in the spot he had picked behind the beer crates in the corner. From where he was, he could just about hear what they were saying.

"... and he slept with my best friend."

Anya nodded, her eyes locked on the woman across from her.

"Yes, all men are lying cheating pigs. Do you ever wish that something bad would happen to them?"

Xander frowned.

*Wish... oh god no.. please no... not that...*

The woman nodded.

"Yeah... it feels like he ripped my heart out. I wish he knew what that felt like."

Xander paled.

*No! Anya please no!*

Anya grinned and her face went all veiny.

"Wish granted."

Then, with a flash of light, she was gone... leaving a stunned woman and a terrified Xander behind.

*Oh god... this can't be happening. This... this is all my fault.*

Xander swallowed hard and closed his eyes.

*I.. I have to do something. I have to change all of this; make things right again... but how?*

He wanted to talk to Anya... needed to talk to her, but he didn't know how to do it without her killing him. He wanted her to go back to being human. She hated being a vengeance demon; she had told him so numerous times when they were together. She loved being a human... with him. She was happy... or had been, until he went and ruined everything..

"... and I ruined it all."

Xander had to find a way to take it all back. He had to figure out a way to change things, make things better... and he could only think of one way. He had to make a wish.

*Not Anya though... or her friend Halfrek... or any of the others Anya mentied in the past. No, I need... oh god... I need him.*

Xander swallowed and got to his feet. He understood what he had to do now. He needed to see D'Hoffran... in person. He needed to make a wish... a special wish... and hope that the demon would grant it... and not just kill him on sight.

*He won't just do this for me though. I'm going to have to offer something... big... for this, but what?*

As Xander walked out back to his car, he ran over everything the demon had ever said in his mind. There was one thing he wanted more than anything... that Xander had never taken away his precious Anyanka. It was something he knew for sure.

*He hates me. He'd be thrilled if I was gone away somewhere... but another city or state wouldn't be good enough. Someone could easily find me. I could go to another country... but yet again, someone could find me.*

He got in his car and noticed a paperback novel in the passenger side floorboard. He had been reading it before the wedding and staring at it brought back memories.

*Too bad I can't just head off to one of the planetary stations in that book I could get passage on a ship... maybe even get my own... and no one would ever be able to find me there. Even if I didn't like the ships, I could easily work on a station. They always need people there...*

Xander frowned as he concentrated and an idea hit him. Why not? I mean, D'Hoffran had magic. Why couldn't he make say... a doorway or something... into the book. No one would think of looking for him there.

"It might work. It would get me out of his hair... forever.. and place me somewhere where no one could ever find me. His Anyanka would be safe. She'd be happy again..."

Xander nodded to himself. It could work... but he would have to word his wish just so.

*I don't want any mistakes in this. One messed-up word and it would all be ruined. I'm going to have to write this out. If I get it all on paper, then he'd have to follow every word of it... with no loopholes.*

For that, Xander knew he needed a computer and he would need the other books in the series as well... so there was only one place to go, the library. Xander started his car and headed off...

*****

Xander typed the last words and smiled as he neared the end.

"... Subpart 56D... a credit card or monetary equivalent for the local currency system with an unlimited credit level so that I won't have to worry about money. Section H, Subsection 15, Subpart 57... full immunity to any and all forms of disease, past, present, or future. Aging will slow to the ratio of one year of time equally one month of aging."

He had wanted to be able to hear faster than Buffy, but decided against it.

*What if something went wrong? What if healing too fast made the locals think I was an evil demon or something. They'd kill me in a heartbeat. No... better just stick with slowing down my aging. If I get in trouble, I can always hide a few decades then come back as my own son.*

Xander nodded to himself and added one final thing.

"For all of this.. I, Alexander LaVelle Harris will promise to leave Earth forever, vowing never to return. I will remain in the world you will create for me from the list of books above and will vow to never leave said universe ever... given that seperate universes inside said universe count as being a part of the main universe as explained in the third book in the series. Signed - Alexander "Xander" LaVelle Harris."

Xander let out the breath he was holding and clicked on print. As the printer began to print the 15 pages of his wish, Xander picked up the books he had grabbed and sorted them into the right order. He had over a dozen books in all and knew that he could survive ok in that universe.

*If they don't like me, I can always ask to be dropped off somewhere else. I mean.. maybe convince the twins to take me to a different set of books. They could do it.*

The printer stopped with a series of beeps and Xander looked over at the pages. He put them in order then grabbed the bag of books and headed back to his car. Once there, he knew where he had to go next.

"Willow..."

Chapter 3

Xander stared at the house he had spent so much of his life in and smiled. He would miss it and those who lived in it so much... but what he was doing was for the best. He paused for a moment before he walked up the steps. The door was open and he could hear people talking inside.

"... and Stacy said that Amber said that Jason wasn't really dating Melissa, he was just studying History with her so that makes him free and clear for anyone who might be interested..."

Xander smirked and shook his head and he pushed the door open and walked inside. He watched Dawn look at him and smile as he closed the door. He waved and smiled.

"Hold on Megan, I got to do something..."

Dawn put Megan on hold and then ran over to Xander. She threw her arms around him and smiled.

"You ok?"

Xander nodded and smiled down at her. She had grown into a lovely young woman and the sudden fact that he would never get to watch her grow up hit him hard. He almost cried, but held it in and maintained his smile.

"Yeah... I'm fine. I'm going to be ok... I just need to talk to Willow right now."

Dawn nodded and titled her head to the side. There was something off about Xander, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

*Must be the stress of the wedding and everything.*

She smiled warmly at Xander and nodded.

"Ok... talk later?"

Xander nodded.

"Yeah... and if I don't see you later, well... I love you bunches Dawn Patrol."

Dawn grinned and hugged Xander.

"I love you too."

Dawn let him go and skipped back over to the phone. Xander stood there a moment longer and watched her start talking to her friend again. He sighed; he was going to miss this. He took in a breath and shook his head, glancing back at her as he moved away.

"Bye Dawn..."

He looked at the kitchen and decided to look there first. Inside he found Buffy eating what looked like leftover chicken. Her face had an almost innocent glow that made Xander's heart momentarily skip a beat. She was beautiful, even after so much pain in her life.

"Hey Buff... you seen Willow?"

Buffy looked up at Xander and smiled.

"Xander!"

She pulled him into a hug as he neared her and rested her head on his chest. The aroma of chicken and Buffy's perfume combined wafted up to his nose and Xander breathed in deep... memorizing her and this moment for the years to come.

"Where were you? We were worried."

Xander shrugged and sighed.

"In a motel. I'm sorry I worried you. I just needed time to think."

He brushed his fingers through her hair lovingly and asked her again.

"Willow... is where?"

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Upstairs, silly, and pretty mad at you too."

Xander nodded.

"I had better go see if I can calm her down then."

He moved toward the other room... then paused. He glanced back at her and smiled as she chewed on the chicken leg.

"Love you Buffy..."

He turned, then, and headed up the stairs. As he reached the top, he could hear Willow humming to herself off to the right. He knocked on the door and pushed it open.

"Come in..."

Xander peeked inside and smiled at his Willow.

"Hey Wills..."

Willow looked up and smiled... then glared at Xander.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

Xander winced and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Well, that's a long story...."

*****

About an hour later, Xander explained everything he had seen in the vision and his reasons for why he did what he did.

"... and I didn't want to ever kill her, so I left. I figured it was for the best."

Willow sighed and shook her head.

"Xander... what am I going to do with you?"

Xander smirked at her.

"Give up women, move to Hawaii with me, live on the beach surfing all day and love me forever?"

Willow laughed and smiled.

"Already do love you, you silly goof, but give up women... never!"

Xander laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, figured that would be your answer."

Xander sighed then took a deep breath."

"Hey... um, you know that amulet thingy that D'Hoffran gave you back when you were all magically depressed?"

Willow eyed Xander and nodded slowly.

*Where did that come from?*

"Yes... what about it?"

Xander swallowed. He had been readying this lie for the last three hours.

"Well.. Anya lost a lot of her things a while back before the wedding that not was... and you know how D'Hoffran was like a dad to her, sort of, and I thought it might make her feel better to have something of his... since you're not going to ever use it, right?"

Willow nodded.

"Yes Xander, I'm not going to ever use it. But why..."

Xander smirked and interupted her.

"Besides... it would give me an excuse to talk to her without worrying about her getting mad at me over it."

Willow nodded, understanding some now, and smiled.

"That's... thoughtful of you Xander. Hang on, I'll get it for you."

Willow got to her feet and moved to the closet. She dug through a box then pulled out a blue-silver amulet.

"Here it is. You be careful with this thing and no wishing around it... you got me mister?!"

Xander nodded.

"I understand."

He placed the amulet in his pocket and smiled.

"Thanks Wills."

Xander walked toward the hall and stopped.

"Love you."

Willow smiled.

"Love you too... now go, and good luck."

Xander nodded.

"Thanks."

He then turned and walked back down the stairs and outside...

*****

Xander walked back to his car and grabbed the bag of books. He then looked back at the house and headed off down the street. Once he was sure he was far enough away, Xander pulled into an empty parking lot and shut off the engine. It was now or never. He took out the amulet and stared at it.

"D'Hoffran, wherever you are, if you can hear me... I would like to make a wish... to you... personally. I offer you something you will want in exchange..."

Wind began to swirl around Xander as the sky grew darker. As he got out of his car, swirling mist appeared in front of Xander and slowly formed into the blue-skinned demon that he had been looking for.

"WHO DARES SUMMON THE ALL POWERFUL AND MIGHTY... Oh... it's you, Mr. Harris. What do you want?!"

Xander trembled slightly and took a deep breath.

"I want to make a wish..."

Chapter 4

D'Hoffran raised a solitary hairy eyebrow and stared in shock at the man before him.

"You want to what?"

Xander sighed softly.

"I'd like to make a wish."

D'Hoffran glared at Xander and leaned forward some.

"Now why would I ever want to grant any wish you would make? You who has hurt my Anyanka more than any other mortal in history."

Xander swallowed. He had prepared himself for this moment and it was time to do or die.

"If you grant me my wish, you can change things to take her pain away..."

Xander paused and looked up to lock eyes with the demon.

"... and in exchange, I promise to leave the state... the country... the continent... the entire planet, never to return."

D'hoffran's eyes widened as he heard that last part.

*Leave the planet... now this is interesting.*

"The planet... do tell Mr. Harris..."

He glanced around and smiled.

"... but not here."

D'Hoffran waved his right hand and with a flash of light they were gone...

*****

"... and so by doing this, you can take away every memory of me from every person on the planet. Anyanka would never have known me so I would never have hurt her. All of the happy memories she has can belong to some other guy whose history you can make up... but say he died or something but everyone has had time to accept it and move on and are all ok about it. This way, she can still have had her happiness but without having me around to remind her how I hurt her every day of her life."

Xander took a sip of his coffee and smiled.

"The same goes with my friends. I did things that changed the world... things that if they had never happened, well... the world would suck."

D'Hoffran nodded and smiled at the young waitress next to him who kept trying to speak to him in French.

"Yes, I know all about your feats, Mr. Harris. You changed millennia old Slayer line by saving Miss Summers... something that is not as good a thing as you think it is. You see, she was supposed to die. The next slayer, Kendra, was to become a powerful Slayer. She would have been aided by Angel, only with no romantic problems. He would remain like he did before until graduation, but it would have been a better this time for you were to go with him and then move on toward becoming half-human/half-demon in a year and seven months. This would allow you to later venture to a parallel world where you rescue a brilliant young woman named Winifred who you would then marry two years later. The two of you would have three children... one becomes a doctor who discovers a cure for cancer, AIDS, and countless other problems; another becomes a Slayer and becomes the oldest living Slayer in history; and the third becomes President... the first female President actually... and in her two terms of office, she manages to establish world peace."

D'Hoffran paused as Xander stared on in horror.

"However... none of this will happen because you had to save the stupid blonde Slayer and now, because of her existence, she will send the world into a new hell on earth."

Xander shook his head.

"What?! What about the others?"

D'Hoffran smiled.

"The others... yes... Miss Rosenberg would become a valuable member of society creating the first working Artificial Intelligence. She would also discover a way for creating planetary bases on Mars, Venus, the Moon, and various moons of Saturn and Jupiter. Miss Chase would have become a famous actress who later creates a movement that ends world hunger. Mr. Osborne gains full control of his inner wolf and sets up an academy for other weres. His works later on find a cure for his affliction. Mrs. Summers moves away after the death of her daughter and falls in love with a brilliant man in Delaware who just so happened to be a doctor. He discovers that nasty little thing in her brain, removes it, and then they get married. She has three more children with him and lives to be 96. Her children become great people for society..."

Xander shook his had in disbelief.

"I can't believe I hurt so much by saving Buffy. My God... what have I done?"

He looked up at D'Hoffran and was about to speak, when the demon shook his head.

"No... you cannot."

Xander blinked.

"Huh?"

D'Hoffran sighed.

"You cannot wish to change it all to the way is should be. I've tried it already. There is a block on that wish set up by powers greater than my own."

Xander frowned, disappointed, then nodded.

"I see... but my wish... the one I showed you on paper... it will work and make things semi-better?"

D'Hoffran glanced down at the many, many pages of paper in his hands and nodded.

"It doesn't change everything, but it will make things better. There will be a subtle ripple effect that will make a few noticeable changes here and there... for the good, mind you, so I am pleased enough to agree to the wish."

Xander smiled.

"Everything?"

D'Hoffran nodded.

"Yes, Mr. Harris, everything."

He laughed.

"I must say, I commend you on being so through with your wish. You have detailed everything out so as to eliminate any and all loopholes that I or my staff could have found. Very well done."

D'Hoffran got to his feet and smiled.

"Well then, shall we get started?"

Xander nodded and stood.

"Here or somewhere else?"

D'Hoffran nodded.

"Not here.... no, that would draw too much attention... plus you cannot be on Earth as the changes occur. No, we will move this to my domain."

As the waitress walked back toward their table, a gust of wind swept across the French cafe. Light formed around Xander and D'Hoffran... and then they were gone. The waitress stared then growled angrily as she realized that they had left without paying.

"Stupid Americans!"

*****

Light swirled in a dark and mist-filled place then formed into Xander and D'Hoffran.

"Now, Mr. Harris, we shall start with Part 14, Subsection 20 through 35..."

Xander nodded and closed his eyes. This was the part of his wish that altered his body. He had a feeling this would hurt, so he decided to prepare himself.

"This is going to hurt like hell, Mr. Harris."

Xander shivered as he heard those words... then screamed as the spell hit him. It was like all of his molecules were ripped apart in under a second. The pain was beyond anything he had ever felt before... and yet, he was unable to scream for in that instant, he failed to exist.... only to reappear a second later in one piece. However... much was different.

"Oh God..."

Xander moaned in pain as he fell to the ground. He managed to get to his hand and knees before he proceeded to vomit everything he had eaten recently. Waves of pain rolled though his body as every cell in him shifted to do new jobs. The reesidual pain wasn't as bad as before, but it still made it hard to breath or think clearly. When it had calmed enough for him to function and he was able to get back up, Xander glared up at D'Hoffran.

"Hey now, Mr. Harris, I told you it would hurt."

Xander nodded and took in a shuddering breath.

"That... take... care of it?"

D'Hoffran nodded.

"Yes, your energy signature has been quantumly shifted forward by a few levels in frequency. You will be undetectable by anything magical. You have nothing to fear from Miss. Rosenberg now."

Xander nodded.

"And the rest?"

D'Hoffran nodded.

"Yes... that too. You are immune to all forms of disease... past, present or future... and your aging has been slowed as requested. Your strength and agility have been modified as well. Strange to ask for that in the way you did. Where did you come up with that idea?"

Xander smirked.

"The heavy gravity implant? I read it in a story years ago... only I can't remember the name of the guy who wrote it. He's a damn fine author though and I hope he got many more books published."

D'Hoffran nodded.

"Yes... well, your body has been adjusted to a gravity that of 3.2 times that of Earth. This has increased your strength and speed exactly as you predicted on chart 4.7 of your wish."

Xander nodded. He stared at his hand as he flexed his muscles. He could feel a sense of power there he had never felt before.

"What about the rest?"

D'Hoffran smiled.

"I took care of that while you were in the ether. You will find in your right pants pocket a small card made of an unbreakable, unmeltable plastic. Just place it against any computer terminal to set up an unending bank account with said bank. If they do not have computers, show the card to the person in charge and they will be taken under a slight spell inside the card and will give you the account themselves."

Xander stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out the card. It was a shimmering silver color and depending on how he looked at it, it seemed to shift from silver to blue to pink to purple then back to silver.

"Thank you."

He shoved the card back in his pocket and smiled.

"Have you done the spell yet on the books?"

D'Hoffran smiled and nodded.

"Yes, when we are finished here, you will vanish and reappear in a small meadow in the English countryside. There, you will have a five-minute wait where a small dog will come and play with you and make you smile while you wait for a small blue ship in orbit to discover your existence. You see, the planet will have no life on it whatsoever. With you being there, this will draw their attention. They will take you and the dog and then you can take it from there."

Xander nodded.

"Who's flying the plane? The colonel or the twins or someone else?"

D'Hoffran smiled evilly.

"The twins, of course, and they're just about ready for..."

He paused.

"No... I think I'll let it be a surprise."

Xander frowned then nodded.

*Ready? Ready for what? I guess I'll just have to wait and see.*

"Ok... I'm ready then. So you'll do the mind spell and then send me on and we're done?"

D'Hoffran nodded.

"Exactly."

Xander sighed and took a deep breath.

"I hope everything works out for Anya."

He looked into D'Hoffran's eyes.

"I do love her... you know."

D'Hoffran nodded and cast the spell. On Earth, a small dot of light appeared in the living room of Buffy Summers... then exploded outward to encompass the globe. One by one, the memory of Alexander LaVelle Harris was taken from every person on Earth. For those he touched, a new memory of a young man named Alan was placed in exchange - a young man who was loved by many before he died at the age of 18 during Graduation... saving his entire class by setting off the bomb that killed the mayor.

"It is done."

Xander nodded and was gone in a flash of light. D'Hoffran sighed and looked off into the distance.

"Thank you, Xander, for what you have done... for the sacrifice you have made. You are one in a billion and I hope your new life works out for you."

*****

Meanwhile, as a small blue ship high in orbit reacted to several alarms, a young man ran and played with a happy, brown Great Dane puppy...

Chapter 5

Light filled his eyes, blinding him momentarily, only to have everything clear itself moments later. Xander blinked and took in his new location. He was standing on a small green hill above a good-sized forest. There was a warm breeze blowing from the south, causing his hair to blow in the wind, The sun was high above in a cloudless blue sky. The sound of birds in the distance and water trickling behind him was all he could hear as he stood there and took in the world around him.

*Wow... this is nice, but where am I?*

To his right, he heard the sound of rustling leaves. Xander jerked to the east and smiled as a small brown puppy bounded out of a meadow of heather. It spotted Xander and ran toward him, barking happily. As it got closer, he could make out that it was a Great Dane and appeared to be only a few months old... if that much.

"Hey boy... hey there... hi.."

The puppy scampered up to Xander and pranced around him, barking out its puppy happiness at finally having someone to play with. Xander laughed and bent down to let it sniff his hand. The puppy took a good long sniff then began to lick Xander's hand earnestly and eagerly, showing his affection for the young man.

"I'm glad you like me. I like you too."

Xander ran his hand along the back of the puppy's head and smiled. He scratched it behind its ears and it rolled over onto its back.

"Yup... you're a boy..."

Xander laughed and rubbed the puppy's tummy for a second before reached back up to play with his ears.

"What should I call you?"

Xander pondered it for a moment then grinned.

"I know just the thing. I'd call you after my friends, but I don't think you'd like being called Buffy or Willow or Dawn... so how about..."

Xander patted the puppy on the head gently and smiled.

"I name you... G-Man."

G-Man barked and tried his best to lick Xander's hand again before giving up to only then start to run around and around Xander's legs.

"You want to play, huh? Ok... sounds good to me."

Xander laughed and took off down the hill, a happy G-Man chasing behind him...

*****

The long expanse of stars stretched out before her as she took her shift at the controls. She had been pilot for the last three hours and was already bored enough to scream. She really wished that she had had someone else come to pick her up, but beggars can't be choosers.

*At least it's just us girls for once. Maybe I can finally get some peace and quiet for a little while.*

The sounds of laughter echoed behind her as she rolled her eyes.

*Guess not.*

She looked down at the controls and checked to see what was coming up in this area of space.

*Dead world... dead world... another dead world, strange pattern here... interdicted world... huh?*

She checked the records for the last world and found it had been evacuated a while back and was set for destruction. Apparently it was in the way of some new transit path between the major mining planets.

*Strange to destroy a planet just because you want a shorter trip from Mining Colony A to Mining Colony B... but I guess if you're rich enough, you can do anything.*

They were very close to said planet and she noticed a reminder that explosive charges had been placed in the planetary core... set to go off...

"Today?! Ok.. change of plans here.."

As she began to alter their flight plan, she accidentally bumped the planetary scanners. It was nothing out of the ordinary. She had hit them many times before, seeing as the button for it was right next to the button that shuts off autopilot. It was only when the alarms went off that she took notice.

"What the...?!"

The scanner was detecting a human sign of life on the planet. She flipped a switch on the comm and turned the ship toward the planet.

"Girls, we have a problem. I need you in here now."

Moments later the doors opened and in walked two identical young women.

"What's going on?"

The woman in the pilot's seat motioned toward the scanner as she pulled the ship into orbit.

"The planet is scheduled to be destroyed in less than an hour and the scanners show a sign of human life down there."

The twins looked at each other and took their seats.

"I'll take over..."

The older woman nodded and switched places with one of the twins. She then watched as they carefully and quickly brought the ship down through the atmosphere... just as the first of the explosions went off...

*****

Xander rolled around on the ground with G-Man and laughed. He had been having a blast, so much so that he had forgotten all about the time. He only stopped playing when suddenly there was a loud rumbling below him. Xander grabbed G-Man in his arms and got to his feet. It was then that all hell broke loose. The ground erupted all around him. Xander was thrown into the air as the ground beneath his feet suddenly shot up in a jagged spike. He arched through the air then fell back to earth, landing at an angle that wasn't good. His head smashed sharply against an outcropping of rock and a loud cracking sound echoed in his ears seconds before things went black. The last thing Xander saw was a scared G-Man in his arms as he peed all over his shirt in fear, whimpering against his chest...

*****

"Hold tight!"

The ship bucked to the side as it soared down through the massive clouds that appeared out of nowhere. Rain railed against the side of the ship and lightning crashed all around them as they finally broke through to see a hellish wasteland beneath them.

"There... to the right, on that outcropping of rock."

The ship turned sharply to the right and came closer.

"We can't land. The ground's too unstable."

One twin looked at the other, then nodded and got to her feet. She ran into the back and pulled on a harness attached to a winch. The woman followed her and understood what she was going to do.

"Lower me down. I'll grab whoever is down there, then you can pull me back up."

The woman nodded and braced herself as the airlock opened. Wind roared into the small room as one of the twins jumped out into the open air... the line trailing behind her. The woman activated the winch and lowered her down toward what looked like a young man holding a puppy.

*How did you get here? Who are you?*

The twin reached the young man and pulled him and the puppy into her arms. She looked up and nodded. The woman activated the controls and the winch began to pull them back up. As they reached the airlock, she helped the twin maneuver the young man inside then closed the airlock.

"Get us out of here. I'll check him out."

The twin nodded and ran back up front. She watched her go then looked down at the young man before her. He had black hair that was stained red from the blood seeping quickly out of a nasty looking wound on the back of his head.

"Hold on sweetie... I'm going to take care of you."

She grabbed the medical kit and cursed under her breath.

"Wish I had let Ishtar come along..."

She moved quickly and managed to stop the bleeding. Not having enough proper medical equipment, she couldn't do much more. It would have to wait until they got home to some proper help.

"Is he ok?"

She looked up at the other twin and shrugged.

"I stopped the bleeding from the head wound here, but I can't tell what else might be wrong in there."

The twin nodded.

"What are we going to do, Maureen?"

Maureen sighed.

"Take him home and hope that he lives long enough for us to get him to some help... then hope that he can tell us who he is and how he got down there. That's all we can do."

The twin nodded and looked down at the puppy that was hiding in the corner.

"What about him?"

Maureen smiled at the puppy and extended her hand.

"It's ok fella... I'm not going to hurt your boy. Come here."

G-Man slowly crawled out from where he was hiding and moved to sniff her hand. He could smell Xander's blood on her fingers and began to whimper. Maureen wiped her fingers clean and began to pet him.

"Shh... it's going to be ok, little one. It's all going to be ok."

She glanced over at the unconscious young man and brushed a strand of hair out of his closed eyes and hoped that she was right...

Chapter 6

#Careful with him...#

Xander looked up at the sound and looked around the dark place he had suddenly appeared in what seemed like an eternity ago.

"Hello... is someone there?"

Nothing... just silence.

#... more units of blood, quickly now...#

Xander jumped and spun around.

"Where are you?! I know someone's here."

Still no answer.

#... stabilize his life signs...#

Xander's eyes widened.

"What's going on? I can't understand you."

He looked around himself and could swear he could see swirls of light in the far distance that would flash into being then vanish once more, only to reappear somewhere else.

"Where the hell am I?"

Xander wrapped his arms around himself and shivered in fear and confusion.

#... is he and how did he get there?#

Xander looked up and frowned.

"Are you talking to me? If you are, can you switch to English?"

Xander looked down at himself and watched as drop after drop of redness appeared on his shirt. He reached a hand up to his head and felt something wet and sticky. When he brought it back in front of his eyes, he was shocked to see blood.

"I've been hurt... what's going on?"

Xander wiped the blood on his pants and looked around for anything that might be a sign of a way out.

#... appears to be Alexander Harris...#

Xander rolled his eyes at the hissing and cracking sound that was mixed with something that sounded similar to Klingon, then jerked when he heard a word he recognized.

"...hsllrftXANDER hgnrst..."

Xander looked up and scanned the sky for a sign of light.

"Hey! I'm Xander! Are you looking for a Xander, cause that's me!"

There was nothing for a few minutes until a flash of light appeared again, closer this time, and with it came more alien speech.

#... seems to be stabilizing. Get a dose of translation microbes and inject them into him.#

Xander stared at the light for a moment then ran toward it.

#...here we go, this should make it so...#

As he ran, the alien speech suddenly started to make sense.

"... that he can understand us if and when he awakens."

Xander came to a stumbling halt and looked around in awe.

"Hey... I understood that."

He jumped up and down and waved his arms.

"Hey! Over here! I'm over here!"

Xander looked at the ribbon of light and saw that it was still there. Not knowing what else to so, Xander took off for it again and when he reached it, jumped through and into whiteness...

*****

Maureen stared down at the young man, Xander as she now knew his name to be, and hoped he would be alright.

"Can you try to wake him soon, Ishtar?"

The woman next to her nodded and checked some measurements on a machine next to her.

"Yes, soon. I just need to monitor him a little longer.... just to be..."

She was interrupted when a voice came from nowhere.

"I can watch him. I have his life signs locked onto a secure channel and have one of my monitoring subprograms trained on him."

Maureen smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, Athena. I appreciate that."

She reached out and brushed the hair back from Xander's forehead and smiled down at him.

"I hope you're ok in there. I'd hate to lose you without getting a chance to get to know you first."

Maureen smirked and leaned in closer.

"Plus there are about a dozen young women here who all stared and drooled over you when we carried you in here. I have no doubt that they too would be worried."

Ishtar laughed and nodded.

"She's got that right. Why, the twins alone were arguing over who got first dibs at you... so you get better and wake up for me in a bit, ok?"

Xander slept on as the two women moved off to the side to check his condition.

*****

Xander screamed in pain as the light engulfed him. It was like being burned alive... for half a second... then dunked into liquid nitrogen... for yet another half second... then nothingness. He went from being where he was into a realm of light and pain... pain in his head.

"Where am I and what the hell was that?"

Xander blinked and tried to get his vision to focus. As it slowly did, he could see that the red spots on his shirt were gone and his head was starting to stop hurting. As the pain receded, he heard the voices again and laughed when he heard about the dozen women waiting for him.

"For me... ha ha, very funny. I don't think that will be a problem. After a few minutes I'm sure they will place me in the category that all women place me into... the Xander-shaped friend. They're move on and forget about me."

Xander looked around as he waited and noticed that the light was fading and in its place he could make out fuzzy colors all around him.

*I must be waking up or something...*

Xander took a breath and willed himself to wake up...

*****

Ishtar placed the monitor against Xander's skin and pressed a button, sending a flood of chemicals into his bloodstream. Within seconds, Xander's eyes began to flutter and then open slowly. At first they were glazed and slightly crossed but then they cleared and focused on directly in front of him... on Ishtar.

"Are you an angel?"

Ishtar blushed as Maureen giggled slightly at Xander's comment.

"Awake a second and already a charmer... well, he'll certainly be entertaining."

Xander blinked in shock and looked all around for the sound of the voice.

"Um... who said that?"

A screen directly across from him lit up and showed the face of a young woman with strawberry blond hair who looked to be about 19 with sky blue eyes and a pleasant smile.

"I did. I'm Athena. The giggling one is Mama Maureen and the one doing an impression of a tomato is Doctor Ishtar."

Xander blinked a few times and smiled.

"Pleased to meet you."

He looked at the ladies and then grinned.

"Are you sure I'm not dead, cause you two must be angels."

As both women blushed, Athena laughed.

"Oooh.. I like you. You are going to be trouble. Wait till the girls meet you."

Xander grinned.

"The girls?"

Athena nodded and the screen changed to show the bathing rooms where the girls were currently bathing... all of them... nude. Xander's eyes widened in shock, then rolled back in his head as he passed out from shock.

"Oh.. I think I broke him."

Ishtar looked at Maureen and they both broke down laughing as they tried to imagine what must be going on in the young man's head.

"This certainly will be interesting..."

TBC…