Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion Chapter 18

[madimpossibledreamer]

Main Points:
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU
Chapter Summary: Xander wakes up and realizes, depending on the point of view, Fitz has 'rescued' or 'kidnapped' him.
Word Count: 1448
Rating: K
Note: HERE THERE PROBABLY BE BUFFY/JJBA SPOILERS.  READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

 

            Xander begins to stir, and finally opens his eyes.  Honestly, he feels a little bit groggy.  So, who was the Big Bad this time?

            Okay, he's more tired than he thought, because nothing's coming.  He's just about to close his eyes and seek his answers in his dreams-or at least more clarity when he wakes up after-when he sees the face looming above his own.  It's not Dawn, or Willow, or Buffy, or even maybe Giles.  It's...

            Right, that Fitz guy.  The Big Bad had supposedly been him, that scene where they pull off the rubber vampire mask and it just happens to be a Xander underneath.  Weird image, but his brain's not properly working, and they've established this, let's move on.  Trial, mask, dreams...bookstore.  Rescue?

            It's not a hallucination, because the guy's wearing different clothes—a denim jacket, jeans, and a button up shirt.  It should be casual, but it sort of isn't.  Somehow, he seems more formal than he had at the bookstore.

            Xander sits up quickly enough that his head swims and backs up until his head bangs into the headboard, which doesn't help the headache.

            "Mr. Joestar?"  The guy looks somewhat shocked that someone was a little leery about being around an absolute lunatic.

            Everything he's seen or read suggests that he should just go along with it for now, especially if the guy turns out to be violent.  Unfortunately, his brain isn't always fast enough to communicate with his mouth, because all too quickly the "That's not my name" comes from his lips before he has a chance to snatch back the words.  But then he finishes processing what happened, and he lurches back at the man, just the way he came, in a desperate attempt to get to the door, because Buffy Willow Giles I saw them fall I don't even know where I am but I have to get to them, I have to make sure they're okay, I have to—

            He's tackled, his breath rushing out in an emphatic whoomph.  His captor turns him over and pins his struggling hands, still leaning heavily on him.  The man begins speaking slowly, uncertainly.  He's patient, but this reaction, Xander guesses, was not exactly one of the ones he'd anticipated.  "I'm not going to hurt you.  My family has been friends with yours for generations..."

            "Yeah?  Tell that to my friends.  You killed them!"  He doesn't realize he's screaming at first, barely able to see through the tears in his eyes and the fog in his mind, because this?  This is all a bad dream.  This can't be happening.  It isn't real.

            The man winces and quickly shakes his head.  "I didn't kill them!  I just knocked them out!  I...I thought you needed a rescue.  They didn't seem like your friends...didn't seem very friendly..."  He's reduced to muttering, which doesn't bode well for his captive's survival.

            "You're just a random crazy stalker," Xander hisses.  His brain seems to have gotten stuck on angry mode, and is ignoring all signals saying 'don't tick off the potential crazy kidnapper'.

            "I was trying to help!" the man yells back.  The tears in his eyes and the sincerity in his voice almost make Xander guilty.  Almost.  "And I promise I didn't kill them.  On...on my mother's soul, all right?  It was just a rescue, not a slaughter.  You're a Joestar.  I thought I had to step in."

            "What are you talking about?  I told you, my name..." he begins, but doesn't get to finish.  Fitz regains his certainty and plunges forward.

            "I know what you told me, but you don't have to lie to me.  You are a Joestar.  You have the birthmark."

            "Birthmark?  What birthmark?  I don't have a birthma..."  Xander trails off, staring at the hand mirror Fitz is holding up.  There's a star on his shoulder that he's never seen before.  "What did you do to me?"  He's prodding at his shoulder, thinking that maybe it's a tattoo or ink or something, but it's staying stubbornly put, and there's no pain.  He's been told tattoos are painful right after, but that wasn't going to deter Jesse.  He, on the other hand, took both that and the wisdom that they look cool right now but eventually will look stupid when gravity gets the upper hand and lost all interest.

            "I didn't do anything.  You...you don't know?"  The hopeful glance is beginning to get to Xander.  This man practically worships the Joestars, but...he's crazy, isn't he?  Sure, maybe Jessica Harris had some secrets, but she wasn't anything special.  If she had been, she would've had the strength to stand up to his dad, and he would've been more capable than just some normal guy getting mixed up in all this craziness.  "Maybe I can refresh your memory," he decided, which instantly had warning shivers running up Xander's spine.

            "I...no, thanks, I'll be fine, I don't...." Xander tried to say, but Fitz isn't listening.

            "Lotus Juice!" Fitz calls, then waits expectantly, as if waiting for Xander to come to an epiphany.  "Well?"  The only thing Xander's realized is that this guy is insane.

            "I should go make sure my friends are..." he begins, but again, he's interrupted.

            "It's not safe!" the guy exclaims, wide-eyed and...worried?  "...I'll make you stay here until it's safe," he decides.

            Xander really, really doesn't like the sound of that.  He's still a crazy-magnet, he decides, and even if this guy had killed his friends, he might not necessarily know about it, which should have his pity even though a burst of white hot anger builds in his chest.  And he thinks he sees something shadowy move out of the corner of his eye.  It's not big enough to be human, and the weird shape reminds him somewhat of one of the smaller demons they've fought.  He turns his head to look, but...

            Water hits him in the face.  He blinks to see the guy holding a cup.  And then he blinks some more, as unnatural exhaustion suddenly seeps into his bones.  No, he can't...he can't let this...are his friends...

            He falls, reaching out a hand for reality, but the trapdoor snaps shut, and he's left in the dark

            And then suddenly, he's in that peaceful garden again, bare feet in the grass.  The sakura trees have stopped blooming, it means something even if he doesn't know what

            He's facing the door, and a voice echoes, pleasant, welcoming, but it's also sheathed steel.

            Walk forward into the future, walk forward without hesitation, open the door.  But if you do, you cannot look back.

            He knows the voice.  It's vaguely familiar, and he thinks he's heard it before, a lifetime ago, but he can't place it, even though he feels like he knows it as well as Buffy's or Willow's.

            And even though it doesn't state it full out, he knows what it means.  If he takes these steps, if he opens this door, looking back will only bring him sorrow.  It will only bring regrets, acidic, eating at his soul.  Because as strange as it seems, this door is important, and opening it is a decision that is not to be taken lightly.  If he opens the door, it will change everything, even if he doesn't understand how, or why it's so important, or any of it.

            He pauses for one short eternal second, just to let the weight of the decision sink in.  He already knows what his answer is.

            His friends are in danger, even if Fitz hadn't killed them.  He doesn't know how he knows this, but he feels it deeply, instinctively, below the level of thought.  The same instinct tells him that he has the power to stop that, to save them.  He just needs to reach deep inside for that power.

            He breathes deeply and walks forward those few steps, suddenly echoing in a way that doesn't make sense for a Japanese garden, and suddenly he's standing in front of a mansion, footfalls echoing on the stone.  It's as familiar as the garden, and yet he's never seen it before in his life, either.

            He walks up to one of the great wooden doors, gently rubs his hand over a few of the panels he can reach.  He doesn't understand why he suddenly feels sad, but doesn't pause to examine the feeling.  There's no time for it now.  These are the same doors, even though they look nothing alike.  He takes another deep breath and turns the knob, opening the door.

            He doesn't get too much of a glimpse of what's behind it, only a burst of light that blinds him for a moment...

            His eye springs open.