See first chapter for disclaimers.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Xander and Faith make two quick stops on the whirlwind tour of the multiverse and are becoming a bit put out at the errands they have to run. Thanks to Storyseeker for his help in reviewing this. As usual, if you have any comments or preferences, please don't be shy. RandR.

PREVIOUSLY: Men In Black

Special Delivery

"This is different," Xander muttered, looking around the small stone chamber. It was roughly 15 by 15 feet and empty save for a pedestal at the center of the room. Neither of them had risked touching the shiny trinket resting there yet.

The primary reason for this was that there was no way out of the room. It had clearly been constructed as a vault, but after a few minutes of searching the walls, they determined that there were no hidden doors or secret compartments. It was simply a stone room with no way in or out.

"Air's gonna be an issue soon," Faith reminded him after the third circuit. "I think we just need to pick up the shiny thing and risk an Indiana Jones moment."

Xander nodded. He had come to the same conclusion. "Okay. Here goes nothing." He took the two steps necessary to reach the waist-high stone pedestal and picked up the gold, jewel encrusted whatsit. He quickly stepped away from the pedestal, but nothing happened.

After a moment of watching the pedestal and the walls warily, they finally relaxed. Then, without any sort of fanfare or dramatics, a portal opened for them, letting them out of the room.

"That's it?" Faith snorted. "Pick up the shiny thingamajig and we go?"

"Hey, don't complain," Xander reminded her. "Nothing tried to kill us." Faith nodded, acknowledging the point as they walked through.

"Well, maybe something will try to kill us at the next stop," she offered cheerfully.

Xander scowled, but decided not to comment.

They stepped out onto a ship at sea. The transition from solid stone to the heaving deck made them both stumble.

"Well, this is definitely different," Faith muttered as she steadied herself on the railing. Xander motioned her to silence. After all, they knew nothing about the situation, and he doubted the crew would look kindly on stowaways. It was an old-style wooden sailing ship, but he was unable to place the specific type. The designs looked vaguely middle-eastern, but he couldn't be sure.

They cautiously began to explore, which didn't take long as it wasn't a big ship. The crew turned out to consist of three humans and a weird looking red thing with wings that was about the size of a chimpanzee and made noises like a monkey when it was excited.

They looked like a rough bunch, and all of them except the winged monkey thing were armed. The young blonde man, for some reason, carried a broken blade. They heard the older man with the odd-looking reverse ponytail that swung back and forth over his forehead cheerfully refer to himself as a pirate.

That didn't promise anything pleasant if they were caught. Fortunately, the crew had other concerns, although the woman kept frowning and looking around, as if she could feel them watching.

"Well, get on with it," the older man grumbled. "Where's the next jitat'n treasure?"

The younger man held up a necklace. "We'll have a direction in just a moment." A bright light stabbed out from the jewel in the necklace and struck Xander in the side. It shone straight through the cabin wall and did no harm, but it seemed fixed on his pocket for some reason.

"Bring us about," the blonde shouted. "The next treasure lies behind us." Both hunters looked about in panic for a place to hide, but that was made difficult by the spotlight following them around.

"I don't think so," a female voice called out. "The light doesn't extend past the stern of the ship."

"That doesn't make sense. Is it pointing at the other treasures?" The older man sounded confused and aggravated.

Xander reached into his pocket and pulled out the shiny thing. They had a whispered conference over whether or not to talk to the locals. Their success rate with that was about 50-50. They might be friendly or they might try to use those swords.

Fortunately, the decision was made for them when a portal opened just a few steps away. Xander set the shiny thing on top of a barrel just as the sound of wings came from above along with a startled cry of "Stowaways! Ook! Ook! Ah! They have the treasure!"

"Great," Xander muttered. "First we're monster slayers at large now were UPS!"

"Time to go," Faith called, deciding not to comment on her partner's words or mood. Xander tossed the treasure to the flying thing and jumped for the portal.