Find Your Way Home - Part 4
"Find Your Way Home"
A Sequel to "Even Standing"
Part 5/? - "Karma"

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters here, save for the Scepter of Zeus and the Archon of Zerod... oh, I also 'own' Harek and Sarek... please don't sue me, I don't intend to earn money from this unless I'm offered a contract by the Buffy people... then I can toss this disclaimer out the window anyway.
Rating (Series): PG-13 (a little language and violence... its like ES, not too heavy on either, but enough to warrant a rating)
Spoilers: Same as ES.
Author's Notes/Summary - Xander knows where the dig site is, but he doesn't tell the Slayerettes right away. When it comes out, some things are revealed which may change their lives forever. (At least until the next big thing comes along)
Note #2 - ES lives on in the sequel. Hopefully this is turning out enjoyable for you all. Feedback is the lifeblood of fic writers, and suggestions are our meat and potatoes. So, by all means, fill my plate up. :)

*FADE TO: Xander and Spike, boozing it up at Willy's bar. They're getting all sorts of looks from the patrons, but nobody wants to mess with them.*

Xander adjusted the brim of the fedora on his head. He was wearing it to hide the bandages on his head. The last thing he wanted was to attract an unfriendly crowd at Willy's. No, no, his number one priority was to drink himself stupid.
Spike tipped back a bottle and finished off its contents, slamming the empty bottle back on the bar. He gave Xander a look, silently wondering what was going on in the guy's mind.
Xander felt Spike's gaze, and looked at him from under the brim of his fedora, "Who's got next round?"
Spike laughed, "A man after my own heart." He searched through his pockets, "I believe we're behind a good hundred dollars on the last few..." He smirked at Willy, a gleam in his eyes that showed he could vamp out at will, "But I don't think Willy would have a problem spotting it to us, now would you?"
Willy shook his head emphatically, as he reached down to grab them a few more beers. Xander felt Spike eyeing him again, and growled, "Just ask me."
"Ask you what?" Spike was confused.
"Whatever it is you want to ask me."
"What is it I want to ask you?"
"How am *I* supposed to know, it's *your* mind."
Spike looked reluctant, as he tipped his bottle back to take a swig. He finally told himself it had to be asked, "How are you taking it?"
"Taking what?" Xander said dismissively.
"Don't bloody start that again. What the Slayer told you. About what she feels." Xander didn't answer, only gave him an angry look, "Hey, don't glare at me like that. We both know how she feels now. And I thought, combined with the fact you're mad-dog in love with her too... y'know, you'd go off and make little Slayer babies or something." Spike was surprised by his own words, "Uh, not that I've put much thought into the prospect of Slayer babies, mind you."
"There isn't much chance of that happening now, is there Spike? I mean, taking Buffy's words... I betrayed them all again."
Spike shook his head, showing his inebriation, "No, no... you only suspected, like, a few hours before that rainbow bloke confirmed it, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"SO!" Spike pronounced loudly, "So, you weren't really hiding it from them. You were still trying to figure it out."
"Yeah!" Xander declared in a drunken cheer, clanking bottles with Spike. He returned to frowning though, "Oh, shit... y'know how easy it's going to be to convince Buffy that?" Spike had a confused look on his face, "I'll have a better chance trying to stop a moving truck with my bare hand."
Spike grinned, "I tried that once before... blood delivery, y'know... not easy." He sobered up a bit, "Took me a bloody week to get my arm set back in place."
They were both quiet for a while, sipping their beers casually. They each had a gentle sway going, showing that they were intoxicated. Spike violently sat straight up, almost knocking them both off their barstools, before declaring, "Ooh, ooh! I know!"
"Know what?"
Spike glared, hiccuping, "I said don't start that again." He steadied himself against the bar, "I know how you can get back in the Slayer's good graces."
Xander looked skeptical, "Do tell, oh drunken bloodsucker."
Spike ignored his comment, "Convince the Watcher and the Witches first... they don't hold such hard grudges... you might be able to plead your case to them first... then get them to help you wrangle the Slayer."
Xander slipped off into a daze, "Mmmm... wrangling the Slayer..."
Spike smacked his arm, bringing him back, "I'm serious. Red's your grade-school friend, right? She should be your first stop. You've got a good case... you can get her help."
Xander suddenly looked fully confident in the plan. He hopped off the stool, "Right! I'll go there *right now* and convince her!"
Spike grabbed Xander's collar before he could run away, "Bad idea..."
"Why?"
"Drunken Xander isn't probably a good way to present the argument of Trustworthy Xander... why don't we let it wait 'til tomorrow sometime?"
Xander sat back down on his stool, nodding exaggeratedly, "Good idea. We should have a few more drinks and go over the plan again."
Spike frowned, "Why again?"
Xander went blank, "I think I just lost the last five minutes of my life... and I need you to refresh brain cells that haven't died yet."

*CUT TO: Xander, walking into Giles' courtyard. He's wearing his fedora, a pair of generic sunglasses, and has a book under his arm.*

He made his way to the door on wobbly legs. He waited before knocking on the door, shaking his head to rid himself of the tidal wave headache that was rumbling in his head. He had been led to Giles' apartment by a note left on the door of Willow and Tara's place, indicating that Willow was going to be here today.
He steeled himself, and knocked on the door, just loud enough that someone could hear it. He looked at the ground, waiting for someone to answer. The door swung open, and a pair of relaxed brown slacks and sensible loafers greeted him.
His gaze quickly shifted up to look Giles in the eyes. He looked indescribably surprised to see Xander standing in front of him, "Xander..."
Xander pulled his sunglasses off, wincing at the bright light, to give a weak version of his trademark smile, "That's my name..." He lost the smile, "Look, Giles... I really need to talk to Willow... and I suppose it would be best if I got it out of the way with you too."
"Y-yes..." Giles stepped out of the way when his voice failed him. Xander quickly slipped in, and Giles closed the door.
"Xander!" Willow said, in her usual chipperness. A fraction of a second later, she remembered she was supposed to be mad at him and settled into a half-frown.
"Hey, Wills... there's something I wanted to clear up with you guys..." Giles hovered nearby, and Xander turned to him, "Would it be too much trouble if I asked for a cup of tea? I've got a killer headache." Giles thought about it for a moment. His slightly surprised expression didn't change as he moved into the kitchen to pour a Xander a cup.
When he returned, he set the cup in front of the haggard looking young man, who gave him a quick thank you. Giles took a seat in his reading chair, and quietly urged him to speak, "You were saying...?"
Xander finished taking a sip of the tea and put it back down. He didn't mind that there were no additives at all. He kind of felt like he didn't deserve any sweetness anyway, "Yeah... I wanted to clear something up with you guys."
"I assume this has to do with the location of the Scepter?"
Xander nodded, "What that vampire said was half-true... I *did* have an idea where it was. But the half-untruth of it is, I didn't *know.* It was only a vague idea I had from one of my early missions. I wanted to verify it before I brought it up to you guys... I didn't want to get your hopes up."
"Well..." Giles began. Willow was deep in thought.
"I'm sorry, Giles... I'm not done." He sipped more tea, "My intentions change nothing of the fact that I hid it from you guys. I kept a secret, no matter what my reasoning. And I know, in the end, I probably don't deserve your forgiveness. All I want, right now, is your help in convincing Buffy that we need to work together. To beat these Old Ones."
Willow was in arms reach of him, and laid a gentle hand on his arm, "Xander... everybody deserves forgiveness... in some form or another..."
Giles nodded weakly in agreement, "Yes... it may have been wrong for you to keep your knowledge from us... but your intentions were pure. That merits something..."
Xander smiled, both outwardly and inwardly, before sighing, "I'm sure it's going to be an adventure proving that to Buffy... but this whole thing... we have to tell her it's not just about her... it's not just about me... or us... it's about the whole world."
"Yes, quite." Giles gave a glance at the book Xander had in his lap, "Returning the Archon?"
"Yeah... although, it *does* mention where the site is... it didn't occur to me until that vampire confirmed it."
Giles was immediately up on his feet, and moving near Xander... well, as fast as Giles would be able to, anyway. Xander opened the book to a page he had marked, scanning down the lines, "Here... and here. It makes mention of a 'center.' There's a few other mentions as well... I didn't mark them." He handed the book over to Giles, "But with that vampire and the wording in the Archon... it just confirmed the connection to my mission."
"Where is it?"
"The approximate center of the continent... in a town called Salina, Kansas."

*CUT TO: A tight shot of Buffy's shocked/surprised face*

"We're supposed to *what*?" She cried in disbelief.
"...Trust him, Buffy. He is currently our only hope of stopping this." Giles repeated, for what seemed like the hundredth time.
Buffy put a hand across her forehead, trying to reduce the headache she felt growing, "That is NOT what you just said, Giles. It can't be." She grabbed his face, trying not to break his cheeks with her Slayer strength, and pointed his eyes in the direction of Xander, "He betrayed us. He's the enemy. He's what I'm employed to defend against."
Even after her hand left his face, Giles continued to look at the young man. He was crouched in the corner, by himself. He was trying to look at everything but the two of them. He suddenly struck Giles as incredibly alone.
Giles turned back to Buffy, and decided to use a secret... well, it wasn't so secret anymore... a secret weapon, "Buffy... the revelations of the past few days have been immeasurable. Daring to point out one of your own, you yourself said you love him. If that love is true, you have the capacity to forgive anything."
Buffy's scowl made him flinch, but she made no movement to hit him. She cast quick glances in Xander's direction, but he was still doing anything to avoid looking back at her. She sighed, "Giles... I just don't know. I mean, can I possibly forgive him for what he's done? I don't even know if this love is true." 'Hah!' Her mind laughed, 'You know it's true... nothing in your life has ever been more *true*'
Giles resisted his urge to pull off his glasses and pinch his nose. It was a habit he was trying to fight. He looked at Buffy with pleading eyes, "I'm not asking you to forgive him, if you can't. I'm simply asking you, for the sake of the world... work with him to save the lives we've worked so hard on. And the lives others have worked on."
Buffy frowned, but was obviously in thought. She was mentally weighing the options, which she knew was stupid. She already knew what her decision was. It was the only decision she *could* make. Still, she put things on each side of the scale, and as suspected. A rather large, heart-shaped weight tipped it largely in favor of putting differences aside.
"Fine... I'll do it. I won't like it... but I'll do it." She straightened out the seams of her clothing, "How are we going to get there?"
"I'm paying for the tickets... I've got a little leftover cash." Xander said, from the other side of the room. He was apparently a very good listener. On one side of the room, Anya had perked up in her seat at the mention of cash, but Riley had quickly latched an arm around her, until she sat back down.
Buffy looked apprehensive. She didn't know if she could *really* trust him... and at the same time, she did. It was all so confusing, so she simply nodded. Now was time to pack.

*CUT TO: Buffy sitting in an airplane seat. It's quiet, and nighttime outside her window. Sleeping peacefully next to her was Giles.*

Buffy had to admit she was impressed. She had no idea where Xander could get the money for it, but he managed to afford *three* first class tickets. Round-trip, no less.
She almost had to pry the last glass of complimentary champagne out of Giles hand to give back to the attendant. He certainly was living it up, at the expense of Xander.
She was finding it hard to stay mad at him, despite her impression of what he'd done. She shook her head, dismissing that train of thought immediately. They had important things coming up. World saving had to be done.
She looked across the plane at Xander, who was sleeping just like Giles. He'd opted to get a seat across the plane, so she couldn't berate him the whole trip. He seemed to fear her killing him. She couldn't contain a small smile that rose from the idea she held a certain power over him. It was a small step on the way to making up for the tremendous cloud that he'd been unwittingly dangling above her head all these months.
Giles turned in his chair, a limp arm swinging her direction. It fell in her lap, leaving her wide-eyed. She deflected it quickly, which was an abrupt wake-up call for Giles.
"Wha...uh..." Giles shifted in his chair, as if trying to avoid an attack.
"Relax, Giles. The food tray isn't out to kill you."
"Buffy..." Giles was groggy, and if she didn't know better, she'd say he was a little tipsy, "Where are we?"
"Airplane. Kansas. Imminent doom. Y'know, all in a days work."
"Ahh... yes..." Giles was still coming around. He glanced out the window, seeing it was nighttime, "I'm awake right now for a reason, I suppose?"
Buffy nodded non-chalantly, "You were getting fresh with me in your sleep." She got serious, looking out at the twinkling lights on the ground below, "Besides... we'll probably be landing in a few minutes anyway."
As if on cue, the pilot came on over the speakers, "If you would like to return your seats and tray tables to their full, upright positions... we'll be landing in just a few minutes."
Buffy made a small, 'I told you so' motion, before stating quietly, "See? Slayer sense."
"Right." Giles nodded, not really grasping what she said. They both turned, in an odd simultaneous movement, to look at Xander. He was ruffling around much the same way Giles had shortly before. He had a slight case of bed-hair.
"We're supposed to trust him." Buffy said, sadly.
Giles was finally waking up mentally, "Yes, Buffy. It is imperative that we cooperate with him. The world is a stake."
Buffy seemed surprised, "Imperative and cooperate are awfully big words for someone who just woke up."
"Yes... well..." Giles adjusted his glasses. Moments later, the plane angled gently forward, as they made their final approach.

*CUT TO: An SUV pulling up to the side of a large hill (could be mistaken for a mountain, really). It's pitch black out, except for a small light on the side of the hill. The doors of the SUV open up, and a lantern lights a small area.*

"This is it?" Buffy wasn't convinced.
"It's probably more imposing in the daytime... right Xander?" Riley commented, actually trying to take his side.
"Yeah, sure." He sat down on his haunches an observed the surroundings. He pointed himself away from the lantern Riley was carrying, so his eyes could adjust to the darkness. He took the observation time as an opportunity to slip on the Gem of Amara. He didn't need anything happening like at the cemetery. Stitches were not his friend.
"Why the hell am I here, Harris?" Spike spoke up, falling to one knee beside him.
Xander glared at him in the darkness to tell him to be quiet. He then spoke quietly himself, "Because, Spike... you've been an asset these last few weeks. We might need your fighting skills if things get rough."
Spike smirked slightly, "Right... that's why you stuck me and the ex-soldier boy in coach, is it?" He laughed, making sure to be quiet, "What's the real reason?"
"Spike!" Xander exclaimed, almost yelling, "That *is* the real reason." Spike continued to look unconvinced, "Well... that and I've only got three filter-masks left over from my missions... and, well, you don't breathe."
"I knew it." He stood up and shrugged, "Whatever... when do we get to the ass-kicking?"
Buffy was about to open her mouth to comment on Spike's presence, when Xander interrupted her, "I'm hoping we can avoid confrontation at all. The entrance is guarded, we can knock them out from a good distance away..."
"So getting in is easy... what about inside?" Riley asked.
"Well... the slave demons, from what I've read up on them... they don't like conflict. It's a last resort, even if they perceive a threat. The master demons, they're trigger-happy. But Quinn had a human appearance... all we need to do is tell them we work for him... and we should be fine."
"That's your brilliant plan? Just tell them we work for Quinn?" Buffy growled, "What if they don't buy it?"
Xander glared at her, "This is your 'cooperative'?" He shook his head, "Nevermind, we have to get a move on. By now the door guards have seen the lantern out here, and they're getting a little curious."
Riley nodded. He unshouldered the Initiative blaster on his arm, and aimed in the direction of the entrance, "You're sure this won't go tripping the alarms?"
Xander shook his head, "No... if anything, it'll short out their entire alarm system... just get to it already." Everybody crossed his or her fingers, as Riley made sure his aim was right, and pulled the trigger.

*CUT TO: Xander, Buffy, Riley, and Spike approaching the 'main office.'*

"You're seriously going to walk right in there and ask where the scepter is?" Buffy near-yelled.
"Yes... it's the easiest thing to do. A lot easier than travelling to the bottom of the cave just to see if they've dug it up or not."
They stood at the door, idly fiddling with their surroundings. Riley spoke up, "Uh, what do we do now?"
Xander smirked, "The bleach really *did* sink past the scalp, didn't it?" He reached up his hand, "We knock, like anybody else would."
He knocked firmly, and within seconds the door flipped open, "What do you want?"
"We work for Quinn. We came for a progress report." Xander stated confidently.
The demon, incredibly ugly, looked at them with distrust, "You *all* work for Quinn? Two humans, a vampire, and a slayer?"
Xander held his confidence up with his self-esteem, "He sure knows how to pick 'em, doesn't he? I'm Xander Harris."
The demon let out a hoarse laugh, "Aha... the puppet." Xander tried not to get angry, "The foreman is in the back, he'll tell you whatever you need to know."
They all entered the small building, and walked single-file to the back room. Another knock, and they were told to enter. They were greeted by, despite all laws of physics to the contrary, an even uglier demon. He was almost as wide as the room, and made the desk he was sitting behind look like a child's playset.
"What do you want?" He growled.
Xander tried to look official, "We work for Quinn. He wants a progress report."
The foreman demon didn't look like he believed them, but he also didn't want the wrath of Quinn brought down on him. He made a sound resembling coughing up phlegm, as he reached towards the tiny desk and pulled out a couple of file folders, "Which report? The artifact dig, or the gold vein dig?"
"Looks like he had a plan B... too bad he couldn't take it with him." Xander mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing... we're just here for the artifact. He said he'd check on the gold mine himself." He had a file folder thrown at him unceremoniously. He opened it and skimmed the pages, before cursing, "Dammit... it's already been dug up..." He noticed he said that a little loudly, "Uh, I mean... good, it's already been excavated. Where can we pick it up to take to him?"
"Take it to him? It's already been sent out for delivery." The demon was getting more and more suspicious by the second.
Xander tried to look surprised, and it wasn't that difficult, "He didn't tell us he was having it delivered!" He looked slightly angry, "He sent us all they way here and... oh well, I guess the leader has every right to misinform his employees. Keeps the whole thing fun." He took a small bow, handing back the file, "We thank you greatly for your help, on behalf of our leader Quinn."
He quickly exited the room, followed by Buffy and the rest.

*CUT TO: Back outside the foreman's building. As soon as the door closes, Buffy begins berating him.*

"Well that's just great, Mr. Trust-Me! The stupid scepter is already gone! We're right back where we started." She slapped him across the arm, "And you couldn't even be bothered to find out where it's being delivered? I can't believe Giles made me..."
"Buffy, shut it." Xander said forcefully, stopping just past the bottom of the stairs. Several miners passed them by. "I looked through the file... it wasn't in there. What else do you want me to do? Ask him where it was? He was already at his limit with his suspicion. Asking him that would have had laser rifles up our ass faster than you could sneeze."
The same miners from before passed again, from the opposite direction, "So now what are we supposed to do? Go back to Sunnydale and read more books? You screwed up, Xander!"
Xander got right up to her and looked down at her a little, "Dammit, Buffy... stop blaming me for everything! We need to be happy they didn't shoot us on sight! We need to be thankful that we aren't being strung up for intruding. We..." He suddenly noticed that the pack of miners that had passed twice before, were now standing fairly close to him, sniffing lightly, "Excuse me, is there something I can help you with?"
They all, simultaneously, took a large breath. Seconds later, their eyes turned blood red, as one called out, "The assassin!"
Xander paled, "Oh crap..." He boney claw quickly wrapped around his throat.

*CUT TO: Moments later, a firefight has erupted between the slave demons and the master demons. Xander and the crew are caught in the middle of it.*

The slave that had grabbed Xander by the throat had quickly been taken care of. Buffy had almost instantaneously kicked it off, jumping into the air and delivering an arcing kick to its face. Briefly afterwards, a laser blast had rendered him unconscious, or dead. They didn't care to find out.
A laser blaster crossfire had quickly begun. The slaves had somehow modified their digging tools into laser blasters of their own, and were fighting for their freedom.
Buffy, Xander, Riley, and Spike were now crouched on the ground. Buffy smacked him again, "What the hell did you do to piss them off?"
Xander was crawling his way under the laser fire, "I, uh, was here a few months back... I... I kinda killed the leader of the slave revolt... Quinn was obviously trying to save his ass... butt-monkey Xander was right for the job." The others followed him in the crawl, "The leader sniffed me and said I wasn't one of them before he died... I guess the slave demons memorized my scent... one of the few times I'm *not* happy to be memorized."
Buffy was about to make a nasty comment, because she was still mad, but Riley did his best imitation of a Buffy slap to keep her quiet, "How are we going to get out of this?" He asked.

End Part 5