[Fic] Leaping Through to freedom 1/? (Buffy)
Title: Leaping through to Freedom
Author: Kat/Ryan
Pairings: Xander/Mal, Wash/Zoe,
Warnings: Slash, Het, sex, slex (m/m), violence, angst, Language
Fandoms: BtVS, Firefly
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from BtVS or Firefly … But I really wish I did... then they’d perform for us all.... *drools*
Summary: Xander has to jump to close a portal. The results lead him to a place that would make any sane man weep.
~*~*A New Arrival*~*~
Time shifted and changed, letting a blackish blue portal open in a dark room onboard the ship Serenity. The crew had just returned from their leave on the Planet, and they were waiting for the last shipment to be loaded before takeoff.
Mal watched in surprise as the portal grew and waved in the back corner of his cargo hold. Only he and Zoe spotted it, and just after the others left the room, a body seemed to be spit out, and a small black bag as well. Motioning Zoe to cover him, Mal made his way over to the prone form, and pulled his gun at the groan.
“Why am I not surprised that I have to hit my head; Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick that hurt!” The, obviously, male voice stirred something in Mal and he stepped back to see what he would do.
Mal watched as the man stood and staggered into the lit up section of the cargo bay, and smirked at the flinch. The smirk fell away when he saw the wounds and scars that littered the man’s body. Motioning Zoe to remain hidden, Mal stepped forward.
Xander was shocked at so much metal in the room. He had landed before the Powers that Be, PTB, and was told that he was being rewarded for choosing to fight the good fight. Before he could argue the fact, Xander was ripped from their domain and slammed into a metal plated wall.
Groaning in pain, Xander picked up the small bag beside him and got up to look around. He flinched when he stepped into the lighted areas of the room. Taking in the scenery, he noticed that he was in a type of cargo room. Before he could see if he had any injuries from his recent battle, a voice that haunted his dreams spoke.
“Hello stranger, mind telling me how you got on my gorram boat?” Turning around slowly, Xander had to remind himself that Caleb was dead and that he had gotten his eye back for saving a Shaman’s daughter from sudden death at the hands of a Kraken Demon.
“I’m not really sure.” Xander tried to see if the man, who looked just like Caleb did, saw his arrival.
“How about you tell me about that gorram portal that you came out of, go’se?” Xander nodded, looking a bit confused at the Chinese and licked his lips.
“Well, umm, the group that I was with was fighting to close a portal that would open a hellgate. To close it, it needed a body that held an innocent soul to close. I knew that the girls wouldn’t be able to, and the shaman in Africa, who had seen to my tests during my time there, had explained to me that I was an innocent, so I jumped through.” Here Xander shuffled his feet.
“Umm, the Powers then met with me and told me that I was being sent to my reward. After that, I hit my head and here I am.” He bit his lip and tried not to freak at seeing someone that looked just like Caleb.
Mal listened to the story part in disbelief and part in awe. Before he motioned Zoe closer he stared at the young man and smirked.
“I’m Captain Malcolm Reynolds. This is my ship, Serenity. Now, before I show you to my crew, I need a name.”
Xander blushed at forgetting to give his name, but seeing that the man was good on his words at the moment, he extended his hand.
“I’m Xander Harris.” Just as he spoke his name, Zoe stepped out of the shadows.
“This is my second, Zoe, and she’ll enforce any and all rules on my boat.” Xander nodded and tried to shift away from her, his eyes showing a good dose of fear.
Xander was mentally freaking out that a reincarnation of Jasmine was here as well. He gave her a shaky smile, and before he moved, the Captain spoke.
“You look at the two of us as if we were shou’ge’zhe(1).” Xander blinked confused.
“Um, yeah,” Xander had to think back to the few Chinese words he knew. “It’s just that both of you look like people who have tried to kill me or my friends.” Mal and Zoe looked at Xander in shock.
Before anyone knew what was going on, the voice of a young girl floated throughout the room.
“Close the door to save the world, the One Who Sees did.” Xander blinked in confusion, before paling at the title that caused him to lose an eye. Spinning around he saw a seventeen year old girl walking around him.
“The One Who Sees, the White Knight, had to leave to bring back the innocence, then keep the balance. Left Earth-that-Was and the demons of old behind; help us he will, the One Who Sees will never leave a fight.” She made her way over to Xander and patted his hand.
“You came from Earth-that-Was?” Zoe’s voice was awe filled and Xander swallowed.
“Um, yeah,” Xander was mentally screaming at the terms and he looked at the pair with worried eyes. “But it isn’t always sun and roses. We had to stop the fight, umm... what day is it? Last I remember was that it is April 10, 2008.” The gasps were heard, making him more worried.
“Sou’you shi neng bain cuo’wu(2)! It’s April 15 512 AE. No one has been on Earth-that-Was in over 500 years.” Mal’s voice rang in Xander’s ears as he looked up at the three.
“Over five hundred years.” Xander looked around the room like a lost boy, and Mal’s heart went out to him.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Xander stared into space as Mal and Zoe tried to think of something that would take the sadness out of the brown eyes. Neither could hope to understand what it would be like to be ripped from your home and tossed into a place that held nothing to you. Mal knew that Xander would drift, and while he didn’t want to toss him off the ship, there were slim pickings as it was. Making up his mind Mal turned back to Xander.
“What jobs could you do?” Zoe spoke before Mal had a chance.
“I am a carpenter, a weapons smith and I can fix engines. Why?”
“If you work on Serenity, then I’ll give you a bunk to stay in. If not, then we’ll give you free passage until we get to the next planet and help you settle in, dong ma?” Xander nodded and smiled at Mal’s words.
“Thank you Captain.”
“Good and it’s Mal. Now follow me, and I’ll get you a bunk to sleep in. We’ll decide what to do with you after we eat.” Xander shuffled after Mal, nervous about how he would be treated on the ship.
He knew no one, and, while the Captain had promised that he would be given a chance, he couldn’t help but feel that if he didn’t pull his weight or made an effort to try and adapt to his new lifestyle, he would be left behind to fend for himself.
Nodding at Xander, Mal led the way through the ship to the crew bunks. As they walked, Mal looked over Xander from the corner of his eye. The young man had the body and mannerisms that fit his story. He could tell that the young man was used to labour, and wouldn’t shirk his duties. While he didn’t trust Xander fully, Mal knew it would only be a matter of time before he fully accepted him on board the ship. He also didn’t mind that the young man was easy on the eyes.
Stopping at the guest quarters the furthest away from the rest of the crew, and yet still close to his own. Smirking at the confused look on the lad’s face, Mal opened the door with a touch to the pad.
“This is where you will be sleeping. My bunk is across from yours and Zoe is next to mine.”
Leading the boy down to where his bunk was Xander was quickly shown how to get his bunk out. While Mal was showing Xander how to pull out his bunk, Zoe went and got some blankets and a pillow from storage. Once Zoe got to the room from storage, Xander dropped off his small pack, after seeing that it held some clothes, a card that held an account number and his few remaining weapons. Following the Captain once he was done, Xander tried to think of something else other than the fact that, for not being evil, the Captain was a very good looking man.
The sight of the dining room reminded Xander of home, and the first wave of homesickness hit him. The rickety table looked worn and well used, just like the one in Cleveland where he trained his girls; the worn carpet on the floor showed that the area was well traveled in and each small touch in the room made it look more like a home. While he tried not to think about it, Xander knew that he wouldn’t be seeing his girls ever again. Before he could let the sadness overwhelm him, the girl that had spoken in the cargo bay earlier grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the table to sit him beside her. Mal looked like he was about to protest, but the seating kept the boy close to him as well.
“So who’s the perty boy?” An ape of a man asked, and Xander glared at him.
“He’s a new hand to help out on board. He’ll be helping me with a few things before I turn him to Kaylee to help her out in the engine room.” Mal wondered if he should tell the crew that Xander arrived via a portal, but other that Zoe, who saw the portal, he wasn’t sure if they would believe him. He was lucky that they just took off as well; who knows what would have happened if he had arrived while they were in space.
(1) shou’ge’zhe - Reapers
(2) Sou’you shi neng bain cuo’wu - Of all the things that could go wrong