~*~
Chapter 15
~*~

Spike and Gunn headed out the next day in the Wolfram & Hart self-driving Camaro, having picked up Mr. Corbin Fries earlier with the enticement of some new girls to pimp. The suburban neighborhood looked eerily the same as when Gunn and Spike had last seen it. Mr. Fries, conveniently unconscious, didn’t see a thing.

"Better make sure to get more than you think you might need, ‘cause I’m only doin this one time, Bubba!" Gunn looked more than a bit nervous. It was a measure of his trust in Spike that he had decided to go through with the heart donations at all.

"Right. You know you can always ask me for anything from here on out, Charlie. You’re helping me get Buffy back one way or another and I know what it’s costin’ you. You’ve got a blank check with this vamp."

"I’d do it for Fred, gotcha. Gotta tell you I didn’t sleep at all last night trying to decide if I was willing to go through with this. I just hope it turns out to do the trick. You get your ass dusted without getting everyone back and I’ll find a way to bring you back just so I can stake you myself, got that?! And, hey, Angel gets back here, I’m makin’ sure he knows I did this for you, not him. After that mind wipe crap, I sure don’t owe him my heart! Lost all my memories of me and Fred, finally got them back and she was gone. I don’t hate him, but wouldn’t do this just to save his ass."

"Thanks, Charlie. Don’t be too hard on the Poof, he’s just used to makin’ the decisions for everybody. Never gonna change, I ‘spect. Failing of his, even made the decisions for Darla usually and that’s goin’ some. Be nice for Connor having his dad around though, yeah?"

"Yup, the kid’s all right. I helped take care of him when he was first born. Won’t mind helping Connor out either. Okay, I guess we do this, huh? Let’s get in and out with your bag of beating hearts and go have a couple, what d’ya say? This suburban hell isn’t givin the warm fuzzies to this homeboy. I’m urban all the way."

***
It took far longer than either of them wanted. Spike nearly ended it several times only to remind himself that this was the one shot at having an acceptable ‘get out of the Aztec god dimension free’ card. If he hadn’t thought of Charles Gunn as a bloody hero before, he did now. Spike was going to make sure that Buffy had a chance to meet this man and thank him personally one day.

~~~

Giles and Xander had seen nothing of Spike since arriving in L.A. the day before. There had been a message left on their doors saying only that Spike would explain it all later that evening after he finished running an errand.

Spike returned just before sunrise with Willow’s magic bag filled with grisly bootie. Upon hearing how Spike and Gunn acquired the prize, neither Giles nor Xander was particularly surprised that Charles Gunn had chosen to take a few days out of town.

"Geez, how many times did he get his heart cut out? These lawyers are diabolical with their punishments, man. You really don’t want to screw with them!" Xander was horrified when it was all explained to him.

"Well, better barricade yourself, boy, ‘cause that’s just what we’re doin’. I don’t plan on leavin’ any of ‘em standin’ when we’re done to hand out any punishments though. Okay, we’ve got our exit passes, now to work on gainin’ entry. Got a definite on it yet, Watcher?"

"Actually, I think I have put it all together, yes. The ancient legends of the Aztec gods say that these gods entered our world from caves in the north. These legends also say that our particular god was turned into a tree, along with his brother. My guess is that the Cueva Grande caves in the Huapoca Canyon in northern Chihuahua are the most logical entry point to their realm. It is a hidden cave, hard to access, and tall trees surround the entrance. We’ll need to fly in to El Paso and cross over to Juarez then head south to Madera. They suggest using a four-wheel drive vehicle as the terrain is rather rugged."

"You guess! Please say this is more than a guess, G-man, ‘cause driving around a foreign country with a vampire and a bag of human hearts isn’t something I want to do on a guess."

"No more so than do I, Xander, and do stop calling me by that ridiculous nickname. With the information we have, this is the most likely way in. I have asked Willow to contact the coven to see if they can discern a dimensional portal in that area to confirm my research. We should hear from them later today. In the meantime, I suggest we study a bit on the methods of warfare of the ancient Aztecs. If we do have to battle our way in, we need to be prepared."

"I got lots of practice fightin’ an Old One with Illyria. Watcher’s right, takes the bash and smash to a whole new level. Blue knocked me six ways from Sunday more than once. If I wasn’t such a stubborn bastard, I’d’ve just laid there and bled instead of getting’ up over and over. Good practice though. Between Glory and Blue, I think we can take ‘em."

"Gee, I feel so secure. Giles guesses and Spike thinks…we’re doomed!"

"With that attitude, we will be. Xander, if you don’t want to go along with us, I’m sure we will both understand, won’t we, Spike?"

"He’s just talkin’. Never saw the boy run from a fight yet. Just normal nerves, right, Harris?"

"Yeah, but this had better lead us to Buffy pretty soon. If all I have to show for this adventure is getting Angel back into this dimension, I’ll shoot myself!"

~~~

Giles had gone out to pick up some supplies for the anticipated trip through the wilds of northern Mexico, leaving Spike to sleep and Xander to brood.

Most of the gear would be purchased once they arrived in El Paso, but some things were more easily found in L.A. At least that’s what Giles told himself as he laid out his Visa card to pay for the GPS at the local electronics super center. All the Watcher could picture when he thought of El Paso was that country and western song about a cowboy and a senorita in the badlands of New Mexico. It didn’t hold much promise of high tech purchases, even though Giles knew the city was quite modern and fairly large.

He saw the paper underneath the windshield wiper from across the parking garage. The handwriting was unfamiliar, but Giles was nearly certain it would turn out to match the postcard Xander had been given in Greece. There were two words this time, ‘Tonatiuh’ and ‘tochtli’. "Oh for the love of …why don’t you simply come forward and say what you want to say instead of all these cryptic notes." Giles spoke aloud, not certain in the least that the note passer was in hearing distance.

"At least I can recognize that these words are in the language of the Aztecs. Perhaps it will make more sense when we get there." He spoke a bit louder, just in case the mystery woman was nearby. "I suppose this means that we are on the right track? It might help if you’d slip a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ note along those lines before we fly out of here."

It came as no surprise that there was no reply given.

However, when Giles returned to the Hyperion, he was startled speechless when he saw, painted in large red letters upon the front door, the word, ‘YES".

"Well, I suppose one should simply ask the right questions", he mused.

~~~

It had been all Spike could do to keep Dawn from booking the next flight to Texas once she heard that a portal was actually identified. She had gotten the idea that since the files on her had been labeled "The Key", she might still have residual abilities to open the way between dimensions. Nothing they had found in the file thus far seemed to indicate that was the case, but Dawn was grasping at any straw that might give a good reason for her to join in the action stateside.

The coven had verified the existence of a portal in the area Giles had guessed it would be. They were not able to pinpoint the exact entry point, however. It was enough that they had the correct destination identified. The team felt as prepared as they could be, not knowing anything more specific about what they were likely to encounter.

Charles returned to the Hyperion in time to see the group off. "Man, you are one brave dude, I gotta tell you. It’s a genuine honor, and I know Buffy will be headed your way to thank you herself as soon as we rescue her." Xander was sincerely impressed with the young lawyer. In the back of his mind, he found himself remembering how Spike had compared him to this brave man and felt humbled. Wow, if Spike really meant it that way, he had a lot to live up to.

~~~
The Jeep Cherokee they had rented in Madera had given up the ghost at the Huapoca suspension bridge. Xander was rather glad it did, because the bridge looked too
rickety to support the weight of the vehicle, their gear and the three of them. They waited in the Jeep for the sun to set in deference to Spike’s needs.

As they waited, Xander entertained his companions with stories of his slayer searches in Africa as well as the string of jilted women left in the wake of The Immortal. The boy had come a long way from delivering pizzas and selling ice cream bars.

Spike shared an edited version of his history with Eduardo de’Medici. " Then there was that time in the 50s in Madrid. Bloody bastard set a mob on me and Dru. Worst part was we hadn’t even settled in yet, so the vamp that did take out the monastery had nothin’ to do with us! I managed to hide Dru, but the crowd left me for dust. Just lucky I was able to crawl under a bridge or it would have all been over then. I finally get to the hotel where I’d stashed Dru, only to find that bugger in bed with her!"

"Wow, man, you’ve had some serious bad luck with women! Sad thing when the only woman to be faithful to you, and admit she’s with you, is Harmony. Dude, you must have some baaaaad Karma."

Spike glared at Xander but realized he had no real reply to what the boy had said. Suddenly he wished he had thought to buy a bottle of Jack in Juarez when they got their supplies for the trip. "Yeah and you two have such a great track record with the birds yourselves", he muttered.

"And that was the last you saw of him until the current situation?" Giles was trying to change the focus of the story back to The Immortal, instead of Spike’s lamentable love life.

"Well, no. He managed to get me arrested for tax evasion in France a few years later. Had to prove I didn’t owe any bleedin’ taxes and that wasn’t easy, bein’ dead and all. Got a taste of prison for a few hours before I ate a couple of guards and made it out."

"Yes, well, perhaps we can begin our hike to the caves. This Jeep is rather claustrophobic all of a sudden", said Giles.

~~~
The cave’s entrance was hidden behind a waterfall, just as they had been told to expect. It proved to be a false lead, however, as it was nothing but an ordinary cave with no portal to be found! Giles was beginning to wish the mystery woman would show up and give them better directions than the painted "yes" she had left on the Hyperion door.

Spike leaned against the tree and lit a cigarette while they tried to decide the most likely location to cross the barrier between dimensions. Giles came over to the vampire to discuss their options. Just as Giles started to go over the two or three alternative areas he had in mind, he noticed a pictograph on the tree. They were drawings of an eagle and a rabbit. "Of course! ‘The eagle who soars’ and the ‘rabbit’…that’s what she meant!"

"Not sure I follow you, Rupes. What’re you talkin’ about?"

"The two words on that last clue we received. The ‘eagle that soars’ is the sun god Tonatiuh and the word ‘tochtli’ means rabbit. The entrance must be near this tree. Look! See the drawings here just above your head." Giles pointed to the two pictures that had been carved in the old tree. From the look of them, they weren’t all that old either. "I wonder if our mystery woman is responsible for these carvings as well?"

"Talented little minx. Too bad her talents don’t seem to include talkin’. Make things a lot simpler to just tell us what we need to know." Spike was getting more than tired of all the piecemeal help. He’d always been straightforward and had little patience with those who were not.

"When we finally discover who she is, we’ll have to ask her why she’s chosen this method. I’m just grateful for the help we’ve received. For six months Buffy was gone without a trace and now it looks like we are at least on the trail. I can’t really complain." Giles sighed deeply then set about trying to find some indication of the entrance.

"Maybe we need to say some magic words like ‘open sesame’ or something", Xander offered.

"Not bloody likely. I’m thinkin’ … these particular gods seemed to be as interested in blood as a vamp. Wonder if blood’s the answer; it usually is with these things."

Spike hadn’t even finished speaking before Giles took a pocket knife and made a deep slice in the palm of his hand. He put his bleeding palm on the carving of the Eagle and they all felt the ground give a shake.

When no portal opened, Xander cut his palm and placed it on the carved Rabbit. The air shimmered in a rainbow of colors waving as if it were liquid and the portal revealed itself. ‘I don’t know if I should take it being a rabbit as a bad omen. I know Anya would have said to run the other direction’, he thought to himself.

"Well gentlemen, it would appear we’ve a battle to engage", Giles said and passed through the portal. Xander and Spike followed closly behind, carrying the rest of the weapons and the essential bag with Charles Gunn’s donated hearts.