Author's Notes: Holy shit, it's been a busy week. I feel swamped all the time, and I can only get any writing done after sunset. I think better in the darkness, as I may have already told some of my regular readers. But even still, I'm trying my damndest to break down a massive block forming, and the more pressure that gets put on me to write, the worse it gets. I need to get out and let things happen to me, but I don't have the funds to do that right now. I'm going to hit my relatives up for a little cash during break in March and pay them back over the summer when I have a job.

In the meantime, I'm going to see if I can get a job giving tours of campus to prospective families and future students. But this is all neither here not there...

To Hell and Back

Chapter 2- Into the Horizon

Seigfried woke up around noon the next day. His sleep schedule was horribly off-balance, but he had over half a year to fix it. Speaking of fixing things, he looked around his bedroom and realized how badly everything around him had fallen apart. The hamper by the door hadn't been used in god knows how long, and instead all of his clothes lay scattered haphazardly all over the floor, none of them actually clean. The computer on his desk hadn't been turned on in weeks, and the blinds over the windows were starting to cake with dust from disuse.

Seigfried heaved a sigh and slowly dragged his hand down over his face as if to pull all of the sleep out and wipe it aside. He slowly stretched out and got to his feet, staggering toward the bathroom, eager for another shower that would restore a feeling of life to his muscles like yesterday. That and some time at the sink to sort his thoughts out. When he had lived in a suite at college, his roommates were grateful for the fact that there were two bathrooms, otherwise they'd have to schedule who got it when. Although Seigfried was often done showering within five to ten minutes, he could take over half an hour at the sink. Some of them joked that his long hair was turning him into a woman, but he didn't care. It was the one time of the day where he could just stand by and think with nothing else to distract him. He had been known to spend over fifteen minutes shaving on occasion, just slowly dragging the razor along his jaw and staring at his reflection in deep thought until his face was as smooth as polished marble. That's the kind of relaxation most people wished they could find.

Today in particular took Seigfried longer than usual. He spent over an hour in the bathroom this time. By the time he stepped out, clad only in his black boxers, the clock on the wall read 1:24. He took a moment to survey his apartment with a somewhat cynical frown. The place was a goddamn sty! Amazing how being completely shitfaced for weeks could dull your sense of perspective. He grabbed what looked like the cleanest pair of jeans in the whole apartment off the back of the sofa and slipped them on, trying to decide where to start with the clean-up.

Seigfried was pulled out of his thoughts by the doorbell ringing. He furrowed his brows in confusion. Who the hell would be visiting him? He crossed over to the door as a boisterous voice floated through. "Hello? Anybody home?"

Seigfried peered through the peephole in the door to see two young guys about his age, perhaps a little older, standing outside. He didn't recognize either of them. One was dressed in khakis and a red shirt and had shaggy brown hair. The other was olive-skinned, slightly taller, and wore white. He kind of looked like a pimp. Who the hell were these people? May as well find out...

Seigfried opened the door to the limit of the flimsy chain lock and peered out into the hall. "Who the hell are you?" he asked bluntly.

The two men exchanged a brief glance. "My name is Kilik," the first one said. "This is Maxi. You're Seigfried Schtauffen, right?"

"That'd be me," Seigfried drawled in reply.

"We're part of the expedition, too," Kilik explained. "Just thought we'd stop by and say hi. If you're not busy, that is."

Seigfried arched a brow slightly. "How the hell did you know where I live?"

"Taki gave us your address," Maxi replied. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Seigfried ran a hand back through his damp hair and opened the lock so that the two could get in. "Just give me some warning next time." He moved back toward the living room to try and resume cleaning the apartment. "Just so you know, the place is a mess. You caught me trying to clean it up."

The two walked in and Maxi just waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, don't worry about it," he said nonchalantly. "Everyone always says that when they've got compan- holy shit!" His tone had abruptly gone from casual to shocked in mid-sentence.

"Longest drinking binge I've ever been on," Seigfried remarked as he began gathering up clutter. He glanced up to see the stunned expressions on Kilik and Maxi's faces and smirked. "Yeah, I know. The place looks like a war zone. So anyway, why did Miss Alexandra call you guys in for this expedition?"

Kilik recovered first and shook his head lightly to clear it. "Well, I specialize in Asian history, and we'll be spending some time in China and India among other places. The Sword of Salvation really got around, it seems. Maxi here is a linguist and has naval training. You?"

"Wilderness survival skills and an archeology degree," Seigfried answered as he slipped on a (relatively) clean Judas Priest T-shirt and stuffed the rest of the clutter into the hamper and the laundry basket he kept under his bed. Since when did he own this many clothes? He glanced out into the living room to see Maxi poking at the sofa with the TV remote. "Dude, will you relax? It just needs a little cleaning."

Maxi looked up, his eyebrows climbing toward his hairline. "Dude, please don't call me dude. Also, this couch is pretty far-gone. It's stained with things I don't want named and smells like cheap whiskey. I'd give it a funeral pyre, but with all the alcohol and god-knows-what-else trapped in there, the flames would be visible from orbit."

Kilik shot Maxi a warning look and rolled his eyes. "Don't take anything he says personally, Seigfried. He likes to bust people's balls."

Seigfried just shrugged casually. "Eh. I don't really care." He strode off to the kitchen to assess the damage, knowing it would be far worse than how he remembered it yesterday when he was still slightly hungover. "Besides," he added with a smirk, "he's the one who just picked a bad day to wear white."

Maxi apparently chose to ignore the comment as he stood up and followed Seigfried into the kitchen. Though Seigfried did note with some amusement how Maxi tried very hard not to brush up against anything in the room, which was a complete wreck. "Anyway, man, you want to go out into town with Kilik and me? Stir up some trouble?"

Seigfried opened the fridge, recoiling slightly at the smell, and fished out the box of pizza he had ordered last night. He pulled out a cold slice and bit into it, talking around his mouthful of food. "Sure. As long as you guys'll pick up the tab, I could use some real food."

Kilik walked into the room at that moment and arched a brow at the disarray the room was in. "I'm guessing you're low on cash?"

"That's one way of putting it," Seigfried answered. "Another is that I'm flat busted."

"We'll just say you owe us one," Maxi smirked.

Seigfried chuckled in return. This was going to be a very interesting experience to say the least.

-x-

Seigfried spent the next few months getting his life back on track. He did a little temp work to pay his bills and started going to the gym regularly to get back into shape. He soon had his old athletic figure back and a healthy tan instead of looking deathly pale. He also took time to bond with the others. They were a rather motley crew to say the least, but they were all very intelligent and competent researchers in their chosen fields. All of them would have a part to play in tracking down the Sword of Salvation. That is, if it did in fact exist. Though he tried, Seigfried still had some nagging doubts in the back of his mind. Of course, the chance to get back into the world and get paid doing it was difficult to pass up.

Regardless, time went on as it always does. Before Seigfried knew it, he was sitting at the terminal at the airport on a chilly February morning and waiting for the plane to arrive. The team was split up amongst the seats, several of them off getting food or a book to read along the way. Seigfried and Maxi sat across from one another passing the time by watching passersby, specifically the females. Perhaps the greatest common ground the two of them had found was their mutual appreciation for beautiful women.

"Mmm, not bad," Maxi murmured appreciatively as a tall blonde with hair down to her (very nice) butt walked by in heels. "What do you think, man? She's Aryan, she should be right up your alley."

Seigfried chuckled at Maxi's stereotyping, knowing very well he wasn't serious. "She's pretty hot, but I still have a thing for Asian chicks."

Maxi's face split into a Cheshire smile and he raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Like say... Miss Nanasawa, eh?"

"Well... yeah," Seigfried stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Have you looked at her lately? Silky dark hair, almond-shaped eyes, cute little mouth. She's got probably the sexiest legs I've ever seen and a great ass. Nice hourglass figure, breasts to die for, and..." It was then he noticed Maxi was looking over Seigfried's shoulder instead of straight at him, and that grin took on a whole new meaning. "And she's right behind me, isn't she?"

"You're a pig, Schtauffen." Jesus, you could freeze the Atlantic with her voice.

Seigfried craned his neck backward and saw an upside-down vision of Taki standing behind him in blue jeans and a red sweater that actually hugged her figure nicely. In one hand she held a steaming cup of coffee and the other gripped the strap of her laptop case. "Morning, dear." He knew at this point he was asking for it, but there was something irresistible about pushing her buttons.

Taki fixed him with an eerily composed glare. "If you want to wear this coffee, by all means keep talking."

Okay, either she wasn't a morning person, she was in a bad mood, or it was just that time of the month again, because she normally wouldn't threaten him. Regardless, he had gotten to her pretty quick this time. Better call it quits before she made good on that threat. Without a word, Seigfried pulled his head back to its normal position as Maxi burst into a fit of laughter. "Thanks a friggin' lot, buddy," Seigfried droned. He watched from the corner of his eye as Taki went and sat with Sophitia by the window, the two of them talking about... whatever it is women talk about. Seigfried silently mused over the strange behavior of women, specifically their tendency to halt a conversation the instant men came within earshot. Why did they feel the need to be secretive about it? He was jarred back to reality by the arrival of two of his other new friends.

"If it weren't for the violent threats," Kilik beamed as he and Xianghua walked up with paper bags in hand, "I'd think you two were an engaged."

Xianghua giggled, Maxi boisterously laughed, and Seigfried frowned and rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. She's not my kind of woman. She could be running a fever and she'd still be so cold she'd freeze the mercury in the thermometer."

"That was a stretch," Maxi remarked.

"Oh, give him a break," Xianghua gently scolded. "I never understood why guys always feel the need to rib each other over everything."

Seigfried couldn't help a light smile. Xianghua was fresh out of college, but still had a very girlish coyness to her. With her optimism, sunny disposition, and bubbly personality she had become a sort of "little sister" to the group. Even now she was unconsciously playing up the part with the little blue hair band keeping her brown locks out of her eyes and her Hello Kitty T-shirt.

In fact, now that he thought about it, Seigfried noticed how each of the team had a distinctive personal style they had cultivated. Maxi always wore at least a little white and swaggered everywhere. Kilik typically wore red and had an introspective detachment. And the others... They were all so different. But they each clearly walked to a different song. It was the first time in his life Seigfried had ever seen such a gathering before. It made him feel just a little self-conscious. Here he was, the son of two German immigrants, with an archeology degree and an Indiana Jones complex. All he needed was a fedora and bullwhip. And of course, being German he just had to be a recovering alcoholic. Could he possibly be any more stereotypical? Heaving a sigh, he slouched further into his seat, pulling his coat and duffle bag closer unconsciously.

"Hey," Maxi piped up, "I've been meaning to ask. Where'd you get that coat from, Seigfried? I don't think I've ever seen one like it before."

Seigfried glanced down at the heavy black wool coat beside him. "A friend made it for me a couple years ago. He's a tailor in New York City these days. Anyway, I got the idea from a book series."

"Wait a minute," Xianghua mumbled. Her eyebrows suddenly went up and she grinned like a little girl having a revelation. "Did you get the idea from The Wheel of Time?"

"Yeah," Seigfried nodded. "It's an Asha'man coat. You read those books, too?"

"Only religiously," she answered animatedly. "I thought that coat looked familiar but I couldn't figure it out until now."

"You both lost me," Maxi chuckled, "but that thing is pretty sweet. Your friend still do custom work?"

"I haven't contacted him in a couple months, but I can give you his card." Seigfried pulled out his wallet and fished through it a moment, knowing he kept one of Clive's business cards in there somewhere. He handed it over to Maxi with a smile. "Let him know you're a friend of mine and he'll take any request."

"Excellent," Maxi said with a grin as he took the card and read over it before pocketing it. "I need a new suit for when I go gambling over the holidays."

The boarding call was made and everyone proceeded onto the plane slowly. Their first flight was from Boston to London. One member of the expedition, Ivy Valentine, owned property up there that was linked to the Sword of Salvation, and she had agreed to help them all out. Apparently, she was going to meet them at Heathrow Airport.

Seigfried checked his boarding pass for his seat number, and looked up to realize to his dismay that he was sitting right beside Taki. Their eyes met and she was obviously still pissed at him for earlier. "This is a little too convenient," Seigfried deadpanned. "You get the feeling that this was planned by a third party?"

Taki said nothing. She merely pulled out a book from her backpack and began reading.

Seigfried sighed in frustration and stuffed his coat in the overhead compartment. He took a copy of The DiVinci Code and his CD player out of his duffle bag before stuffing that in with his coat. He finally too his seat and proceeded to try and make himself comfortable. At least Sophitia had gotten them first-class arrangements. He glanced over at Taki as he settled in, finding the negative vibe coming off her a little disconcerting. "Whatcha reading?" he asked conversationally.

Taki didn't even glance at him. Her eyes just continued mechanically moving back and forth across the pages.

"Forget I asked," Seigfried grumbled. He had met some pretty stuck up women in the past, but this was just ridiculous. She only acknowledged his existence to talk down to him. Whatever bug had crawled up her ass must have created a whole colony by now. Hmm... he'd have to remember that one.

He spared a sweeping glance out across the aisle, noticing that right across from him Kilik and Xianghua were seated together and talking animatedly. Lucky bastards.

Seigfried sighed once through his nose and put in his headphones. He had the album Holy Diver loaded in right now, one of his favorites. As the rip-roaring intro to Stand Up and Shout came on, he felt himself slip away again. This sort of music always helped. At times, Seigfried wondered if he was born too late and should have been a knight or something during the Renaissance, fighting the good fight against evildoers. It was a thought he would quickly dismiss as puerile fantasizing, but it was never gone for long. And it wasn't going away now.

The plane began to taxi onto the runway as the song ended, and Seigfried was instructed to turn off all electronic devices. Which meant he would be without his music for a few minutes. Which was where the book came in. Sophitia had recommended it to him the day before the trip, so he went out and bought a copy. It certainly seemed like it was going to come in handy, seeing as he wouldn't be having much conversation during this part of the trip.

As the plane lifted off, Seigfried got that familiar feeling again. One he always got when traveling. He left the ground, and felt like he was soaring off into a new horizon. A smile crept along his lips as he realized that it was finally happening. He was on an adventure once again.

-x-

Author's Notes: I decided to keep this one short. Next chapter, we meet Rock and Ivy. Things will start to heat up between Seigfried and Taki, and we get our first glance at Kilik and Xianghua's budding relationship.

You'll have to be patient, though. I'm going on a brief hiatus soon to recharge my batteries.

anonymous: There will be plenty of spotlight time given to Kilik next chapter. Next time, though, could you name yourself? I don't want to sound rude, but I feel weird responding to someone I can't place some kind of name to.

Ashishu: Thanks for the understanding. Writing in particular is a surprisingly exhausting process. That's why I'm taking a break before I burn myself out.

Ben Stylin: Don't let me stop you. If you want to write something, write it.

...K: (sigh) Look, I know you probably didn't mean anything by that, but it still bugs me a little when I hear people say that. If something's going slow, that doesn't mean I'm not serious about it. I have a life outside of this site, and a ton of work that goes with it. Not all of my writing projects are going to be these fics. I have two screenplays I'm working on right now, both of which I plan to make money off of. And take a look at how many unfinished fics I still have to work on when I can find the time. When people tell me to update more often, I'd like to give them an answer, but then I'd just sound like a broken record because my answer every time would be, "I wish I could."