I do not own any of the rights to either 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' or 'The Dresden Files'. I am making no money from this story.

Dimensional Shift

Chapter One

"There's a proper way to patrol?" Xander had asked when he'd been roped into training new slayers on the proper way to patrol. He had also tried pulling the 'I only have one eye' card. Giles had cleaned his glasses; Xander still had to go on patrol with the baby slayers until they were ready to be 'full' slayers, with just meant that they probably weren't going to get themselves killed if left to their own devices.

Tonight Xander was patroling the back alleys of Cleveland with a girl Willow had found in Maine. Her name was Kathy and she didn't particularly like Xander all that much.

"We're out here every night," She said in an annoyed voice as she flipped her stake up in the air. "Nothing ever happens. I've staked one vamp in the whole night. Can't we patrol somewhere else or you know just go back to the house?"

"The reason you've only staked one vampire is because we patrol this area. We've got other girls on the rest of the city. Tonight it's our job to patrol this part. And remember, you can never let your guard down. Just because things seem quiet doesn't mean that some big bad isn't waiting right around the corner to rip your face off," Xander said with complete seriousness, tightening his grip on the handle of the battle ax he'd brought with him for the night. It was one of his smaller ones, but it still packed quite a punch.

Kathy heaved a sigh, "You always say that and nothing ever happ-"

She was cut off by a loud scream coming from an alley off to their side. They both took off toward the screaming.

"This is why we don't complain when things are quiet!" Xander said as he ran. Kathy outstripped him to reach the source of the screaming and Xander lost sight of her around a corner. The screaming woman ran past him a few seconds later. She didn't look any worse for wear. Well, except for the screaming.

"Run, oh my God you need to run. Demons run!" She managed to gasp out as she ran past not slowing down in the least to make sure that he took advice. It was a smart move because he didn't take her advice and continued running in the direction she had come from. Xander rounded the last corner to see Kathy already engaged in battling several vaguely human looking demons in grey suits. He could see more of them spilling from what looked like a hole ripped out of thin air.

"Damn it Kathy," Xander growled. He hadn't been able to quell the slayer's urge to leap into a fight without looking. That was something he knew could and would get her killed. He pulled out his cell phone a quickly as he could; they needed backup now.

Everyone in the council, watchers and slayers were required to carry cell phones at all times. Xander had thought it was a great idea, now that they actually had some money to afford them. He loved the idea of the cell phones but apparently they didn't like the idea of him. He had gone through almost twice as many phones as any of the angry hormonal slayers. It wasn't his fault he always just seemed to get duds that fizzled out at the most inopportune times. Like right now.

"Crap," Xander said as he looked down at the black screen of his phone. He'd just charged it. He shoved it back into his pocket hoping maybe there was enough for someone to be able to track it, not that anyone would be looking for them. They weren't scheduled for a check in for a few more hours. They didn't have hours; they didn't really have many minutes either if the growing number of grey suited demons was any indicator.

"Kathy, do you have your phone?" Xander shouted as he hefted his favorite ax and advance toward the fighting, cutting the head off the first demon he reached. It dissolved into some kind of clear liquid that seemed to be evaporating when it hit the ground. Weird.

"I'm kind of busy now Xander. I can't exactly reach for it!" Kathy yelled, never pausing in her slashing and kicks, "Where's your's?"

"Dead," Xander grunted as a suit got a punch in on his side before he managed to slash it across the chest.

"Again?"

"Normally I'm all for the banter,"Xander said pushing a suit back with the handle of the ax,"But we really need backup. A phone call would be of the good!"

"Yeah, well I'm telling you, it's not going to happen right now!" Kathy yelled angrily as she slashed out with her short sword.

Xander didn't even try to reply, he was too busy trying not to get over run by the strange demons. He really needed to get that portal closed if they were going to have any chance at getting out of this alive. He glanced over at the hole in the air and noticed first the first time that there was a man standing near beside it. He, or she Xander's inner Willow added, was wearing a dark red cloak with a hood that completely obscured his, or her, face, but he was holding a staff that Xander could see was glowing slightly. He turned briefly toward Kathy and yelled, "I don't think these are real demons!"

"They sure feel like real demons!" Kathy yelled back in aggravation.

"They're summonings! We need to take out the sorcerer," Xander said trying to make his way to the sorcerer that was hopefully the one causing the portal, but with the horde of grey suits between them Xander didn't see that happening.

"Looks like you could use some help!" came Faith's voice. Xander grinned, but didn't turn to look at her. He could hear the clash of more fighting as Faith and her group of trainees joined in. The horde in front of him spread out to take on the new threats. It gave Xander enough space to cut his way to the sorcerer who, Xander grinned when he realized, had set up the portal against a wall with no doors or windows. The grey suits and slayers were blocking his only exit. The sorcerer was trapped.

"Hey, buddy," Xander said when he reached the red cloaked sorcerer, "I think it's time to shut this thing down." Xander jerked his head toward the portal, his ax still held before him.

"Why would I want to do that?" Came a voice that sounded like it belonged to a teenage boy," I have an endless supply of creatures who only what to help me"

"Because if you don't those girls fighting? They're going to finish cutting through your helpful friends and come after you. And trust me you don't want to get on the wrong side of a slayer and there's a lot more than one fighting."

Xander couldn't see the kids face, but he could see his shoulders stiffen up. The kid was probably scared out of his mind of course that didn't stop him from doing the stupid thing and swinging the glowing staff right at Xander's head. Xander brought up his ax and cut the staff cleanly in half. The kid went down with the extra momentum just as one of the suits reached Xander's blind spot to hit his side, causing the one-eyed watcher to stumble forward, trip over the cloaked boy on the ground and fall head first through the portal that already seemed to be getting smaller, even as he moved closer to it.

He didn't really feel much as he passed through, but he did feel the face full of snow he got as he landed. Thankful that at least he had landed in something soft. Xander was already rolling to his feet as he landed and turned back around just in time to see the portal wink out of existence.

"Great," Xander said staring off past where the portal had been to see a field of snow and a tree line that was completely void of leaves. There was still more snow falling, but he didn't see any of the grey suits that had been coming through, "I'm stuck in a hell dimension. A hell dimension with snow," Xander shivered to himself as scritching noise came from behind him. Whipping around to see giant spiders making their way from the leafless forest where Xander could now see vast white webs in the branches, "and giant spiders. It feels just like home."

"Halt man-thing," A spider in the front of the group said. They were each about the size of a pony, with smooth bodies and sharp edges. They were nothing like the hairy imitations that had appeared in the Harry Potter movies; these were real and Xander had no doubt that any one of them would be able to reach him in no time with their long agile looking legs. But what was most disturbing to see was that between two fanged mandibles dripping with a milky colored venom lay a human like mouth.

"Yeah, I'm halting… giant talking spider. I think I took a wrong turn somewhere. The snow's a little distracting," Xander said trying not to offend the group of giant spiders as he backed away. There was no way he'd be able to get past all of them.

"Halt, intruder of the Winter Queen's forests," the spider said, "Halt, he whose blood shall feed us."

"Whoa, hey no need for that!" Xander said, "No feeding on my blood, how about you just point me to the way out of your queen's forest and we won't have to resort to violence." Xander hefted up his axe and tried his best to look as menacing as he possibly could against nearly a dozen pony sized human mouthed spiders.

The air was filled with the strange clicking once again. Xander did his best not to shudder at the sound.

"Man-thing, carries such small weapon," one of the spiders twittered.

"I've taken down bigger things than you with less," Xander said loudly.

"Man-things speak often with a false tongue. A boast," the spider said as it lunged toward him. Xander barely had time to swing out with his axe, severing two of the great spider's legs. It screeched in pain as it fell to the ground, green-white fire springing up from its wounds.

"Man-thing has brought the bane," One spider hissed.

"Even if he has the bane, mortal has warm blood to fill our bellies," another said further into Xander's blind side. They were surrounding him. He hadn't even heard them moving. Xander silently cursed Caleb once more for taking his eye and leaving him unable to fully see his surroundings.

He could only assume that 'the bane' that they kept mentioning had something to do with the green-white fire his axe had seemed to leave behind. Xander twisted around to his left already swinging his ax as he sensed some kind of movement far into his blind spot. The ax struck something before he had even finished turning to see what. The axe that Xander had swung blindly was buried fairly deep below the spider's multiple eyes and at the beginning its very large set of fangs. Fangs that missed piercing Xander by only a few inches. He would have thought himself lucky if he didn't know that there were at least five other spiders surrounding that wanted to eat him. He yanked the ax from where it was buried in the spider's now smoldering face and turned back to the other spiders, there were six Xander mentally corrected himself, who were making the clicking noises again. He braced himself as several of the spiders bent their legs ready to leap toward him. He wasn't going to get out of this, two of the spiders were already in the air when Xander heard a shout from somewhere behind him.

"Forzare!" and the two leaping spiders were thrown aside as if by an invisible force sending them forcibly into tree trunks with a sickening crunch. Neither of the spiders got back up from the blow they just lay heaped on the ground, their legs twitching.

Xander turned to face what had taken out the spiders.

"Wizard," a spider hissed to the tall, close to seven feet if Xander had to guess, man wearing a leather duster and carrying a big stick. Staff, stick, same thing. The staff looked like it might be taller than Xander too.

"Wizards of the White Council have been granted permission to walk these paths!," The man said his voice filled with menace.

"The man-thing is no wizard, mortal. He is an intruder"

"He has brought cold iron!"

"Whoa, hey that wasn't on purpose. Not that I'd rather not have my nifty ax, but I didn't mean to come here. There was much tripping and confusion involved and then snow, I'm not dressed for snow!" Xander said jerking his chin down to his now dirty t-shirt.

"He's with me," the Wizard said, "I am not an intruder, and he is my guest"

"The man-thing lies," A spider hissed

"Careful," the Wizard growled "I've already had to deal with you once, I don't think Mab would approve you harassing members the White Council."

The spiders chittered for a minute before, "Let the wizard and his guest pass," The remaining spiders started dragging their fallen back into the tree. It looked like they were going to get a warm meal after all. The man, wizard apparently, watched the spiders retreated completely into the wood before turning his gaze to Xander.

"Bringing iron into Faerie?" The man said, "Not the brightest move you could have made, patches."

"Faerie?" Xander asked lowering his ax to his side, "Is that where I am?"

The man's eyes widened with surprise before looking to the woods again and then turning away.

"We should start moving before something else come along," He said before walking off with long legged strides. When given the choice between a man that might end up killing him and spiders that certainly would, Xander immediately started following after the wizard. He had to jog a little to catch up.

"So, do I get a name, designation, something to call you?" Xander asked. The man gave him a sidelong glance as they continued to walk through the snow.

"Harry Dresden."

"Xander Harris," Xander replied with a grin. Neither of them let go of their weapons to shake hands; caution was everyman's friend and trust needed to be earned. Xander was really hoping that this Harry Dresden earned it because caution only went so far before you needed a friend at your back. The cold settled in as he realized that this was the first time he wouldn't be able to call to his friends for help. All he had was an ax, a wizard named Harry (really?), and snow. Lots of snow.

He really wished he'd worn a coat.

AN: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' has been mentioned several times through out the Dresden Files. In this story the series doesn't exist so there will be no references in the story about Buffy being a TV show. Also, this story is based on the Dresden BOOKS not the terrible TV show (sorry, to those who liked the show).