Title: Old Guard.
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: After SG1 meets the Asguard but before Danny Ascends in SG1. Sometime around mid series 5 of Buffy.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Do not own Buffy or SG1 or Highlander. I would buy them but I am broke.
Summary: When Thor comes to ask for help, Sam Carter must reveal a secret older than anyone in the SGC can possibly imagine. Things really get complex when Sam calls her Brother, Xander Harris, a resident of Sunnydale California and the best friend of the Slayer. The Old Guard come to fulfil promises while the current warriors gather for their friends.
"" denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought. denotes talk in Japanese.
AN: Glory never came to Sunnydale, she brain sucked a stoner named Jay and became totally incoherent and lost interest in going home. No one notice a change in Jay, not even Silent Bob. Anya never came back, Joyce never got sick and Riley got his head ripped off by a demon in the battle of the Initiative at the end of Series 4 and Xander didn't grow up with Willow. Also there is no Asguard called Heimdall, I have been informed that there is a Heimdall mentioned in the episode after Daniel Ascends, but for this fic, he is not Heimdall.
"General, from initial analysis the village appears to be Feudal Japanese in origin. There are several architectural and cultural indicators present in the video footage." Sam explained.
"Oh come on. You're acting like you knew this from a text book. You and I both recognise it because we were in Japan in feudal times." Xander said offhandedly. "What I'm more concerned about is the fact that the Samurai was shouting 'Oni'."
"Two questions. One, how do you know he was a Samurai and two, what does 'Oni' mean?" Jack asked.
"His hair and clothing were in the Samurai style. And 'Oni' means demon." Sam supplied.
"Now wether he means the Wyrms, um Goa'uld, or real Demons we won't know till we get there." Xander added.
"Real Demons?" Hammond asked.
Janet and Dr Jackson had filled General Hammond in on the Immortality issue before the briefing, having shown him the footage of the fight in the training room along with various other pieces of evidence she had collected over the years, just in case.
"Giles?" Xander said with a grin.
"He loves this part." Buffy added.
"This world is older than any of you know. Contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons demons walked the Earth. They made it their home, their... their Hell. But in time they lost their purchase on this reality. The way was made for mortal animals, for, for man. All that remains of the old ones are vestiges, certain magicks, certain creatures... And vampires. The books tell the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed, infected by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another, and so they walk the Earth, feeding... Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return. For as long as there have been vampires, there's been the Slayer. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One." Giles intoned.
"That'd be sis." Dawn said indicating to Buffy.
"Wow, he's as boring as Danny and his rocks." Jack said offhandedly.
"See, told you." Xander smirked.
"How come we never heard about these Demons?" General Hammond asked.
"How come the world doesn't know about the Bridge?" Xander retorted. "We got it covered. Janet, honey, can you nip down to the training room and grab my Scimitar?" Xander asked.
"Sure thing, Uncle Alex." Janet replied with a smirk.
"It's Xander, it's always been Xander. How many times do I have to tell you?" Xander called out after her.
"At least once more." Sam said with an identical smirk to Janet's.
"Oh, don't you start." Xander groaned.
"This is better than a movie. Anyone got popcorn?" Dawn said chirpily.
"Shall I retrieve your popcorn maker, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.
"No. I want to know how Xander knows Major Paulson, and why he called you Raven?" Jack said.
"I read Paulson's file. When he was a Captain he worked in a black opps group working around South America. Several reports mention an operative codenamed Raven, all other information about this Raven was expunged, however Major Paulson did recommend recruitment for Raven, but we could never find him. Looks like we should have asked Major Carter." General Hammond said.
"Hey, I didn't know Alexander was Raven. When I was working at the Pentagon they were trying to track down Raven. Half the brass wanted him dead and the other half wanted to give him presidential commendations. I guessed that Raven was probably an Immortal, but I had no proof. Immortal created identities make professional forgers work look like crayon drawings." Sam admitted. "Only other Immortals can ever identify an Immortal identity, that's if they are good, and sometimes even that's a chancy thing."
At that point, Janet re-entered with Xander's Scimitar. The Scooby Gang and SG1 had not noticed the first time, because they were more awed by the display, but it was a beautiful weapon. The long handle was calved out of ivory, accented by ebony inlays in a complex scene of a war between men on Arabian horses and twisted beast that the Scooby Gang recognised as demons, Giles even recognised several specific species. The long, curved blade was made of fine steel that was acid etched with stylised flames along the entire edge of the blade.
"Wow!" Buffy said in amazement as she studied the magnificent blade in Dr. Frasier's hands.
"Buffy, History lesson now, play with the shiny killing thing later." Xander said, as if to a child.
"But Xander!" Buffy pouted, to the amazement of the SGC personnel and the slight annoyance of the Sunnydale residents.
"No! But when we get home, I'll give you another shiny killing thing, maybe two if you are good, but not this one." Xander negotiated.
"OK." Buffy said, switching to perky and happy in a millisecond.
For a second Buffy even bounced on her toes.
"No weapons for you Dawn." Xander added without looking as the younger Summers daughter opened her mouth.
Dawn pouted but let it pass for the moment.
"No offence Giles, but I think this will be better coming from Dr. Jackson. If you will read the inscription at the base of the blade, please." Xander invited.
"Ok, it Arabic. It says 'May Allah praise the defender of all people. The Caliph.' Wow, is this genuine?" Daniel said in amazement.
"The Caliph?? As in leader of the of Islam?!? Bloody Hell." Giles said.
"Yep, helped him clear out a demonic army threatening Damascus. He gave me the sword as thanks then politely asked 'the infidel' to leave the city. Nice guy, considering the times." Xander said offhandedly.
(A/N: This is not a slight on any of the Islamic teaching or on Muslims. I have genuine respect for their beliefs, which have been tainted by a few extremists. This is not a political statement or anything of that nature, it is simply a plot device to further the story, and I apologise if anyone has been offended in any way.)
"Back to the original topic, are we going in or not?" Xander said, refocusing the conversation, as he carefully took the sword from Janet's hands, sheathed it and laid it on the table.
"Um, I don't know Japanese." Daniel said, slightly embarrassed.
"I'm sure Giles..." Willow began before being cut off.
"Very little I'm afraid." Giles admitted.
"Alex and I know it. I spent fifty years there. How long were you there?" Sam said, addressing the last part to Xander.
"I think it was two hundred. Oh, and you won't be able to wear street clothes or BDU's."
"Why the hell not?" Buffy demanded.
"Cultural reasons. Xander and I still have our armour and we have enough traditional clothing for SG1, Janet and Xander's friends." Sam explained.
"I want a sword."
"Oh, come on Buffy. You'll look great in a Kimono." Xander joked, getting giggles from Tara, Willow and Dawn.
Giles just cleaned his glasses. Dawn and Willow recognised the first stages of Buffy getting pissed, a deep growl, and started to move back, dragging Dr. Jackson and Dr. Frasier clear of the potential blast zone.
"We could lend her Kimiko's armour; they are about the same size." Sam said.
The name dragged Xander back through time into his memories.
Flashback - Feudal Japan
Xander ran through the Kata with his Katana, watching his best student out of the side of his eye. Despite his reputation as one of the best Samurai masters in Japan, not many Japanese tried to learn from Xander, due to the fact that he was not Japanese. Those few who did want to learn were never turned away, especially not women, who were shunned by all other Samurai masters.
Kimiko, his most promising student, worked the forms smoothly, her sword cutting graceful arcs through the air. Despite the fact that she was only fourteen, her skill was second only to Xander's in the group of twenty students that were practicing the Katana. Other scattered groups were practicing with different weapons. A second group worked a different Kata with the Katana in another grass field. On a gently sloping hillside two groups worked about thirty feet apart, one with the sweeping and twirling motions of the Naginata, while the other used the aerobic and wrist motion driven style used with the fighting fan. Kimiko had her long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and would occasionally flick her dark eyes, shining with pride, to the helmet resting on a nearby post, a small smile gracing her face. She was dressed in a plain, pale green set of beautifully crafted armour, which she had been given only three days prior by Xander as a mark of her progress.
Xander had come to this small village just over twenty years ago and they had welcomed him. When Kimiko's father had died in a skirmish only weeks before her birth, Xander had, like most men in the village, helped out in raising her. At an early age, Kimiko had found the strange pail man to be fascinating, and as soon as she could crawl, she had begun following him around her mother's house. By the age of two, she was following him all over the village, siting and watching as he taught others. One day Xander had noticed her practicing the moves with a stick off to the side, and had invited her to join them. To Kimiko, Xander became a father, mentor and best friend, someone she could go to with all her problems, and to Xander, Kimiko was the daughter he could never have, a reminder of a family long dead and a link to his younger sister who, last he heard, was somewhere in France doing Thor knows what.
Well done, Kimiko. Xander said as they finished the Kata.
Thank you, Sensei. she returned with a bow and a smile.
The second she rose from the bow, an arrow blossomed in the side of her throat and she sunk to the ground.
Kimiko! Xander screamed.
ATTACK!!! Someone yelled and the sounds of battle began to spring up around the village.
Xander cradled Kimiko in his arms as she lay bleeding.
I'm sorry, father. she breathed as she died.
Sensei! a Samurai called.
Drawing his Katana, Xander turned towards the attackers.
"May you pass naked through the Niflheim to the lands of Hel!!!" Xander shouted in his native language as he charged into battle.
(AN: in Norse Mythology, Niflheim is a land of fog and ice, and in several references, Hel, the land of the dead, is located here, not in Muspelheim, the land of Fire. Figured that would make a cool curse.)
Several hours later, total silence lay over the small village. The attackers had come to kill the foreign Samurai master and all who harboured him, and they had succeeded, or so they thought. With a gasping breath, Xander awoke from death. For hours he cried over the body of the girl her thought of as his daughter. When he finally left the village, a long row of graves graced the peaceful hillside, and he walked away, taking only the armour of the young girl who had a special place in his heart from the dead. Boarding a Dutch trading boat, Xander left the island country he had loved for the last two hundred years, with the memory of a child's smile and a heavy heart.
End Flashback
A single tear ran down Xander's cheek. Only Sam and Janet had recognised the deep memory experience of an Immortal.
"Fine, she can borrow the armour." Xander said, before turning to Buffy and hardening his voice to a growl. "You disrespect the armour, and I'll rip your arms off and stick them in a very uncomfortable place."
With that, Xander turned and walked out of the room.
"What was that about? Who's Kimiko?" Buffy asked, bewildered.
"Someone he considered a daughter. Someone he failed to protect." Sam said sadly, before running out to find her older brother.
TBC.
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: After SG1 meets the Asguard but before Danny Ascends in SG1. Sometime around mid series 5 of Buffy.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Do not own Buffy or SG1 or Highlander. I would buy them but I am broke.
Summary: When Thor comes to ask for help, Sam Carter must reveal a secret older than anyone in the SGC can possibly imagine. Things really get complex when Sam calls her Brother, Xander Harris, a resident of Sunnydale California and the best friend of the Slayer. The Old Guard come to fulfil promises while the current warriors gather for their friends.
"" denotes speech, ' ' denotes thought. denotes talk in Japanese.
AN: Glory never came to Sunnydale, she brain sucked a stoner named Jay and became totally incoherent and lost interest in going home. No one notice a change in Jay, not even Silent Bob. Anya never came back, Joyce never got sick and Riley got his head ripped off by a demon in the battle of the Initiative at the end of Series 4 and Xander didn't grow up with Willow. Also there is no Asguard called Heimdall, I have been informed that there is a Heimdall mentioned in the episode after Daniel Ascends, but for this fic, he is not Heimdall.
"General, from initial analysis the village appears to be Feudal Japanese in origin. There are several architectural and cultural indicators present in the video footage." Sam explained.
"Oh come on. You're acting like you knew this from a text book. You and I both recognise it because we were in Japan in feudal times." Xander said offhandedly. "What I'm more concerned about is the fact that the Samurai was shouting 'Oni'."
"Two questions. One, how do you know he was a Samurai and two, what does 'Oni' mean?" Jack asked.
"His hair and clothing were in the Samurai style. And 'Oni' means demon." Sam supplied.
"Now wether he means the Wyrms, um Goa'uld, or real Demons we won't know till we get there." Xander added.
"Real Demons?" Hammond asked.
Janet and Dr Jackson had filled General Hammond in on the Immortality issue before the briefing, having shown him the footage of the fight in the training room along with various other pieces of evidence she had collected over the years, just in case.
"Giles?" Xander said with a grin.
"He loves this part." Buffy added.
"This world is older than any of you know. Contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons demons walked the Earth. They made it their home, their... their Hell. But in time they lost their purchase on this reality. The way was made for mortal animals, for, for man. All that remains of the old ones are vestiges, certain magicks, certain creatures... And vampires. The books tell the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed, infected by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another, and so they walk the Earth, feeding... Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return. For as long as there have been vampires, there's been the Slayer. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One." Giles intoned.
"That'd be sis." Dawn said indicating to Buffy.
"Wow, he's as boring as Danny and his rocks." Jack said offhandedly.
"See, told you." Xander smirked.
"How come we never heard about these Demons?" General Hammond asked.
"How come the world doesn't know about the Bridge?" Xander retorted. "We got it covered. Janet, honey, can you nip down to the training room and grab my Scimitar?" Xander asked.
"Sure thing, Uncle Alex." Janet replied with a smirk.
"It's Xander, it's always been Xander. How many times do I have to tell you?" Xander called out after her.
"At least once more." Sam said with an identical smirk to Janet's.
"Oh, don't you start." Xander groaned.
"This is better than a movie. Anyone got popcorn?" Dawn said chirpily.
"Shall I retrieve your popcorn maker, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.
"No. I want to know how Xander knows Major Paulson, and why he called you Raven?" Jack said.
"I read Paulson's file. When he was a Captain he worked in a black opps group working around South America. Several reports mention an operative codenamed Raven, all other information about this Raven was expunged, however Major Paulson did recommend recruitment for Raven, but we could never find him. Looks like we should have asked Major Carter." General Hammond said.
"Hey, I didn't know Alexander was Raven. When I was working at the Pentagon they were trying to track down Raven. Half the brass wanted him dead and the other half wanted to give him presidential commendations. I guessed that Raven was probably an Immortal, but I had no proof. Immortal created identities make professional forgers work look like crayon drawings." Sam admitted. "Only other Immortals can ever identify an Immortal identity, that's if they are good, and sometimes even that's a chancy thing."
At that point, Janet re-entered with Xander's Scimitar. The Scooby Gang and SG1 had not noticed the first time, because they were more awed by the display, but it was a beautiful weapon. The long handle was calved out of ivory, accented by ebony inlays in a complex scene of a war between men on Arabian horses and twisted beast that the Scooby Gang recognised as demons, Giles even recognised several specific species. The long, curved blade was made of fine steel that was acid etched with stylised flames along the entire edge of the blade.
"Wow!" Buffy said in amazement as she studied the magnificent blade in Dr. Frasier's hands.
"Buffy, History lesson now, play with the shiny killing thing later." Xander said, as if to a child.
"But Xander!" Buffy pouted, to the amazement of the SGC personnel and the slight annoyance of the Sunnydale residents.
"No! But when we get home, I'll give you another shiny killing thing, maybe two if you are good, but not this one." Xander negotiated.
"OK." Buffy said, switching to perky and happy in a millisecond.
For a second Buffy even bounced on her toes.
"No weapons for you Dawn." Xander added without looking as the younger Summers daughter opened her mouth.
Dawn pouted but let it pass for the moment.
"No offence Giles, but I think this will be better coming from Dr. Jackson. If you will read the inscription at the base of the blade, please." Xander invited.
"Ok, it Arabic. It says 'May Allah praise the defender of all people. The Caliph.' Wow, is this genuine?" Daniel said in amazement.
"The Caliph?? As in leader of the of Islam?!? Bloody Hell." Giles said.
"Yep, helped him clear out a demonic army threatening Damascus. He gave me the sword as thanks then politely asked 'the infidel' to leave the city. Nice guy, considering the times." Xander said offhandedly.
(A/N: This is not a slight on any of the Islamic teaching or on Muslims. I have genuine respect for their beliefs, which have been tainted by a few extremists. This is not a political statement or anything of that nature, it is simply a plot device to further the story, and I apologise if anyone has been offended in any way.)
"Back to the original topic, are we going in or not?" Xander said, refocusing the conversation, as he carefully took the sword from Janet's hands, sheathed it and laid it on the table.
"Um, I don't know Japanese." Daniel said, slightly embarrassed.
"I'm sure Giles..." Willow began before being cut off.
"Very little I'm afraid." Giles admitted.
"Alex and I know it. I spent fifty years there. How long were you there?" Sam said, addressing the last part to Xander.
"I think it was two hundred. Oh, and you won't be able to wear street clothes or BDU's."
"Why the hell not?" Buffy demanded.
"Cultural reasons. Xander and I still have our armour and we have enough traditional clothing for SG1, Janet and Xander's friends." Sam explained.
"I want a sword."
"Oh, come on Buffy. You'll look great in a Kimono." Xander joked, getting giggles from Tara, Willow and Dawn.
Giles just cleaned his glasses. Dawn and Willow recognised the first stages of Buffy getting pissed, a deep growl, and started to move back, dragging Dr. Jackson and Dr. Frasier clear of the potential blast zone.
"We could lend her Kimiko's armour; they are about the same size." Sam said.
The name dragged Xander back through time into his memories.
Flashback - Feudal Japan
Xander ran through the Kata with his Katana, watching his best student out of the side of his eye. Despite his reputation as one of the best Samurai masters in Japan, not many Japanese tried to learn from Xander, due to the fact that he was not Japanese. Those few who did want to learn were never turned away, especially not women, who were shunned by all other Samurai masters.
Kimiko, his most promising student, worked the forms smoothly, her sword cutting graceful arcs through the air. Despite the fact that she was only fourteen, her skill was second only to Xander's in the group of twenty students that were practicing the Katana. Other scattered groups were practicing with different weapons. A second group worked a different Kata with the Katana in another grass field. On a gently sloping hillside two groups worked about thirty feet apart, one with the sweeping and twirling motions of the Naginata, while the other used the aerobic and wrist motion driven style used with the fighting fan. Kimiko had her long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and would occasionally flick her dark eyes, shining with pride, to the helmet resting on a nearby post, a small smile gracing her face. She was dressed in a plain, pale green set of beautifully crafted armour, which she had been given only three days prior by Xander as a mark of her progress.
Xander had come to this small village just over twenty years ago and they had welcomed him. When Kimiko's father had died in a skirmish only weeks before her birth, Xander had, like most men in the village, helped out in raising her. At an early age, Kimiko had found the strange pail man to be fascinating, and as soon as she could crawl, she had begun following him around her mother's house. By the age of two, she was following him all over the village, siting and watching as he taught others. One day Xander had noticed her practicing the moves with a stick off to the side, and had invited her to join them. To Kimiko, Xander became a father, mentor and best friend, someone she could go to with all her problems, and to Xander, Kimiko was the daughter he could never have, a reminder of a family long dead and a link to his younger sister who, last he heard, was somewhere in France doing Thor knows what.
Well done, Kimiko. Xander said as they finished the Kata.
Thank you, Sensei. she returned with a bow and a smile.
The second she rose from the bow, an arrow blossomed in the side of her throat and she sunk to the ground.
Kimiko! Xander screamed.
ATTACK!!! Someone yelled and the sounds of battle began to spring up around the village.
Xander cradled Kimiko in his arms as she lay bleeding.
I'm sorry, father. she breathed as she died.
Sensei! a Samurai called.
Drawing his Katana, Xander turned towards the attackers.
"May you pass naked through the Niflheim to the lands of Hel!!!" Xander shouted in his native language as he charged into battle.
(AN: in Norse Mythology, Niflheim is a land of fog and ice, and in several references, Hel, the land of the dead, is located here, not in Muspelheim, the land of Fire. Figured that would make a cool curse.)
Several hours later, total silence lay over the small village. The attackers had come to kill the foreign Samurai master and all who harboured him, and they had succeeded, or so they thought. With a gasping breath, Xander awoke from death. For hours he cried over the body of the girl her thought of as his daughter. When he finally left the village, a long row of graves graced the peaceful hillside, and he walked away, taking only the armour of the young girl who had a special place in his heart from the dead. Boarding a Dutch trading boat, Xander left the island country he had loved for the last two hundred years, with the memory of a child's smile and a heavy heart.
End Flashback
A single tear ran down Xander's cheek. Only Sam and Janet had recognised the deep memory experience of an Immortal.
"Fine, she can borrow the armour." Xander said, before turning to Buffy and hardening his voice to a growl. "You disrespect the armour, and I'll rip your arms off and stick them in a very uncomfortable place."
With that, Xander turned and walked out of the room.
"What was that about? Who's Kimiko?" Buffy asked, bewildered.
"Someone he considered a daughter. Someone he failed to protect." Sam said sadly, before running out to find her older brother.
TBC.