Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters at all. Ratchet and Clank are owned by Insomniac, Buffy and co are owned by Joss, and Star Wars is owned by George Lucas. Those lucky guys.
Chapter 2
As Xander and Clank looked at the small hotel room they had rented, Xander reflected on what he had done and his new life. He didn't want to go back to Sunnydale till he learned how to use his weapons properly then he might return to help them.
"Xander, you shouldn't have left like that, I saw them looking for you. They are worried about you and now we are here in this small hotel, where are we going anyways? Clank said.
"I don't know, okay, I mean this is the farthest I have ever been from Sunnyhell, so I don't know too much about this town, but what I do know thanks to my new knowledge I have great deal of skill with machines, maybe I can be a mechanic?" Xander said.
"Mechanic!!? Xander, the Lombaxes were some of the greatest engineers where I came from. I mean with the skills you have you could turn a toaster into a hyper dimensional gateway device, but I know you have enough common sense not to do that, right?" Clank said.
"What did you say Clank? I wasn't really listening; I heard the words hyper dimensional gateway device and decided to try to make it. What parts do I need?" Xander said.
"Well we are gonna need some of these parts but I don't think they have them in stock at the hardware store and I might add making a hyper dimensional gateway device is risky at best Xander, I mean why do you even want to build one?" Clank said.
"Well I wanna go to the universe where Gadgetron is and maybe with help I can get real training with these weapons." Xander replied.
"But why do you need this training? I mean you have the training already from Ratchet's memories."
"Well Clank Memories of training are nothing compared to real training." Xander said.
"But is there another reason why you want to go to Gadgetron?" Clank said.
"To return some of the more dangerous weapons, really." Xander said.
"But why?" Clank asked.
"Lets see: I have weapons that could turn the Enterprise into scrap metal in minutes and I really don't like this Suck cannon I mean, who makes a weapon called the Suck cannon?!"
Clank responded, "Well the Suck cannon has its uses, it has proven to be quite effective, I mean who would ever suspect a super vacuum cleaner?"
"You got me there Clank, these weapons may look kinda silly at times but that makes them even more powerful, cause the engineers at Gadgetron used technology that only the insane could consider making into a weapon: like the Rift inducer and other numerous weapons."
"But Xander, wormhole devices are dangerous I mean the dimensionater proved that." Clank said.
"Yeah well Tachyon was a moron Clank. I am not." Xander said with a bit of smugness in his voice.
That smugness worried Clank it was just like when Ratchet had an idea and usually those ideas worked, but when they didn't, well Clank just knew this one, if it didn't work, it would be a doozie.
As Xander and Clank were working on their new device things were going wrong in Sunnydale. Giles had taken up searching for the boy and Willow had cried herself to sleep cause her best friend had went missing, Angel and Buffy were torn about the others falling into depression and had tried their best to keep everyone minds off where Xander could have gone though, it didn't often work as they were worried too.
Where could he be? The Scoobies wondered it had been two months since he had disappeared and as Buffy was patrolling that night she felt something was different in the air, the demons and vampires felt it too. There was a charge in the air, something was coming or leaving, she saw a figure head into the library she followed it and gasped as she realized who it was.
"Xander!!! Your back, please come with me. Mom and Willow and Giles miss you." Buffy said with happiness in her voice.
"I am sorry Buffy, I can't go back with you yet, I have to do something first." Xander said.
"What do you have to do?" Buffy asked.
"I want to return these weapons to their original dimension and if I can I won't be dangerous to anyone here anymore and you guys will be safe from my weapons." Xander said happily.
"But why can't you just destroy the weapons?" Buffy asked.
"Because young lady, if he did that the weapons could create a chain reaction that would destroy the world." the tiny robot thing on his back said.
"Are responsible for him thinking he has to leave this universe?" Buffy asked her anger and worry rising in her voice.
"No," Clank said, "He walked into this decision on his own; I have been trying to talk him out of it. I am not even sure how he got the parts for the hyper dimension gateway device, they shouldn't even exist in this universe." said Clank.
Xander was oblivious to what they were talking about; he went on working on the coordinates for his device as if he was in a trance. Finally the device was activated, he would be going soon.
"Clank, I am almost done, we have to get ready," He said with satisfaction in his voice. "It's counting down; we have thirty seconds til the wormhole opens up."
"Xander, I beg you to reconsider, we don't have a way to get home if you do this. Please listen to me; I think you're being manipulated."
"No Clank, I am dangerous, I can't be here right now." he said in a monotone voice.
"Xander, listen to your little friend," Buffy said "this isn't you the Xander I know and love like a brother you wouldn't do this to me or Willow, we can help you with what ever is wrong with you."
As the device was about to activate the door to the library burst open with Angel and Whistler running in and screaming for Xander to stop and that he was being led astray.
"What's wrong Angel?" Buffy asked.
"Xander is being played by the powers that be," Angel said with malice in his voice, "they have hated him since he saved your life and defeated one of their prophecies. They were just waiting for a chance to do something like this to get rid of him."
"Its true slayer" Whistler said with the disgust in his voice evident, "they played your friend like a piano. I only became aware of the plan a couple of months ago when your boy left the hell mouth, I tried to stop them but they kinda fired me and made me human for my defiance, but I was able to reach his robot friend and we both tried to stop him from doing this."
"WHAT!!!" screamed Buffy, "Why did they do this, I thought they were the good guys?"
"They are. But now they are more concerned with making sure the balance stays because it affects their power. If the scales tip one side or the other and so they often remove threats to that balance. It's a disgusting way for them to do it, I know but I managed to get a message to the higher ups before my dismissal from the Power's services, so they will do something. I think."
The device had finally counted down and opened up the portal to a new universe, Xander's eyes had glazed over as he walked to the portal. Clank jumped onto his back and begged him to turn back.
"Slayer don't let him enter, If he does the powers fixed the machine so that the universe he was going to will be sealed behind them and nothing from that universe will be able to come back to this Universe." Whistler screamed.
Buffy reached out for Xander to pull him back but she was buffeted by the winds that the wormhole was blasting out and was pushed back. Before she could stop, him she saw him entering the wormhole ,as he entered the portal was collapsing she heard the little robot scream "Don't worry Miss Summers, I made sure that the machine wouldn't send him to the universe that the powers wanted him in, I assure you we will be back."
At that moment the powers looked very pleased with themselves.
Until they heard a booming voice, "What have you done!!? Xander was a good man and now he has been exiled from all that he knew and loved because of your pettiness. Now you must pay the price for your behaviour, consider yourselves on probation until he gets back to this universe and he will get back, trust me."
Xander woke up on a desert, he saw two suns in the sky and nothing but sand around him. He felt Clank stir on his back.
"You're up Xander? That's good; we seem to be in another universe. Your little machine worked." The little robot said with sadness in his voice.
"Wait, back up, what machine was that?" Xander had asked.
Clank explained everything that had happened for the two months of Xander's memory loss.
Xander began to sob uncontrollably as he heard the story, unaware that his sobs were heard by something in the desert.
Shmi Skywalker-Lars was walking to one of the moisture vaporators and she heard sobbing. She followed the sounds to a young man with a droid model she had never seen before trying to console him, her heart went out to the young man. She put her hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright, do you need help?" She asked with gentle concern in her voice.
Xander felt the touch and heard alien words; he looked into the concerned woman's eyes and whispered, "Mama Joyce?" Before he fainted away.
Clank was concerned when he saw the woman walk back to a nearby house that he didn't see before as it was hidden behind a dune that the wind had just blown away. She soon came out with a younger man and a girl who looked to be around Xanders age, the young man picked up Xander while the woman beckoned him to come with them. Clank wondered what new adventures awaited them in this new universe.
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