"So, what's the plan?"

Xander was concerned because no one had said anything for the past couple of miles.

"What do you mean?" asked Giles.

"We know Buffy's underground because of the compass, but how do we get in there?"

"That's a very good question," Giles replied with a suddenly worried look. "Drizzt? Do you have any ideas?"

"Since there are orcs in the area, I suspect there are caverns as well. Orcs do not usually like being out in the open. Something must have happened to drive them out and onto the plains," the dark elf replied. "Although there could be plenty of other underground structures in the area. This was once part of Delzoun, an ancient Dwarven nation. In that case there could be an abandoned city nearby. Other nations of various other races have had cities in the area as well. Legends speak of the Netherese Empire having outposts in the area as well. It could be anything. My knowledge is limited because of my specialized education."

"That leaves us with far too many possibilities for my liking," grumbled Riley. He glanced around the area with binoculars before pointing to one side of the lake. "Though, I suspect part of the problem with the orcs is the flooded village up ahead."

"A village?" Riley handed over his binoculars to the watcher. "Interesting. I should like to investigate this when we are closer."

"What do you see?" Willow asked.

"Not much," Giles said as he handed the binoculars back to him. "I cannot see any caverns in the side of the mountains, though they seem to be sedimentary at higher elevations and metamorphic at lower levels. I can see several places where igneous rock has formed from fissures. I suspect this area is quite geologically active at some times. That, at least, will feel like southern California again."

"So, there are rocks," Xander said with a bit of disappointment. "We kinda knew that already."

"Yes, but the type of rock can determine many possibilities beyond 'there are rocks.' You should take a geology class, it is important to know," Giles recommended. "Some rocks are more likely to have natural caverns than others. However, this does not help us if the caverns were made by people, like Drizzt suggests."

"I suggest we start looking at a higher elevation. I don't see anything that suggests a recent disturbance, nor any place steep enough for a fall like Willow noticed," Graham commented, glancing at both Giles and Riley. "The entrance might be up there, an old sink hole or something. I've seen limestone boulders here and there seems to be matching stone higher in the mountains."

"You're right, that does sound like a good place to start," Riley said, he turned to Giles. "I suggest we start looking for a place to climb after we round the lake."

"I agree," Giles said. He glanced back at Willow and Xander. Both were quite tired at this point. Giles doubted that either had ever spent this much time on a hike. "We should get going before it gets too late."

"What do you mean you used to be a Slayer?" Buffy could barely believe her ears. Could this be one of the women Spike killed that made him a legend. She couldn't remember where they were from. "Are you the old one, or the one from the seventies?"

"Oh, you did your research like a good old Slayer," the voice taunted, getting closer than before.

"Nah, Giles always used to try, but it ended up being Willow and Xander who did most of the work," Buffy said with a chuckle. She was getting more confidant after her giant leap. "I was stake girl mostly."

"Oh, a slacker Slayer," the voice said again, even closer this time. "This will be entertaining."

"You never did answer my question," Buffy said. "That's kinda rude, you know."

"So you're more upset that I was rude than the fact that I am going to kill you," the former vampire slayer chuckled.

"Hey! People try to kill me all the time, only one succeeded," Buffy said with her arms resting indignantly on her hips. She cocked her head to listen to the numbers running up the stairs; there were at least seven. "At least they were honest about it."

"Even Angelus?"

"Hey, that's a low blow," Buffy called out as she stepped around the corner from the stairs.

"You know, he used to brag about you, about what he was going to do to you," her opponent said with a bit of glee.

"Yeah, yeah, heard it all," Buffy said, trying not to let the hurt show through her voice. "Threatened my friends, killed my teacher, tried to end the world. And that brings us up to date."

"That was a pretty bad recap if you ask me," the slayer-turned-vampire snarked.

"I didn't ask you, so it's all good," Buffy said, throwing her voice. She spun around the corner and dusted a vamp, skidding down the stairs she dusted two more. All three were orcs. "So, been eating orcs; how's that working for you?"

"Not bad, but it's an acquired taste," was the honest reply. "You're doing better than I expected."

"I live to surprise," said Buffy with a grin, as she knocked one vamp into the three behind it. She dusted all four in almost one motion. Two had been human, but didn't look like they were from Sunnydale. She quickly turned and ran as high as she could. Her vision was better this close to the opening without many deep shadows to keep her from spotting the vampires. She leapt over to the next tower, carefully rolling to keep herself from injuring her already tender feet.

"Hit and run tactics. Clever," said the vampire. "But not clever enough."

Buffy ducked instinctively as a huge battle axe hit where her head was a moment before. She struck out with her hand, knocking the axe out of the vampire orc's grasp and staked him with Mr. Pointy with her other hand. She hefted the weapon in one hand. "Nice axe, and no, that wasn't a proposition."

"You are strong," the voice said with honest appreciation. "Even I would have to wield that with two hands."

"What can I say? They made me better, faster, stronger," Buffy taunted as she kicked an unlucky vamp off a ledge. "Faster than a speeding orc; able to decapitate two vampires in a single swing; leap from tall buildings in a single bound. You know, that kind of thing."

"You're mixing your pop culture references," chided the vampire. Buffy took out four more vampires and collected a few other of the huge axes. Pocketing Mr. Pointy for emergencies, she started swinging the two axes around so she could fight her way up the staircase. The former Slayer had anticipated her latest jump and sent a great number of the orcs up the staircase.

"And you're just sacrificing minions left and right," Buffy said as she spun around, taking out those closest to her.

"The mission's what matters."

"I think I found an entrance," one of the other Initiative agents reported. The rest of the rescue team scrambled up the slope towards the woman. She was a tall auburn-haired woman and had seen her share of the world, though she had yet not been in direct combat. She had been hiking and rock climbing for years and was one of the best in the Initiative for this kind of work. Agent Finn slipped in beside her. "It leads farther in. I think it is carved rather than natural. Though it's been weathered, it has the same basic proportions of a doorway."

"Good work, Agent Carmichael," Riley said with a smile. He looked down at the rest of the team. "We should rest here."

"Oh, thank god," Xander said, throwing himself down on a spare boulder. He was exhausted. "How can you people keep going like this?"

"Exercise, Xander," Forest said with a grin. "You should try it some time."

"And here, I thought that was what I was doing helping Buffy hunt vampires every night," the teen said with a bit too much drama.

"Different muscles are used when you hike," Graham said. "And this was a long hike without a trail. Even I'm feeling winded."

"Graham is right, this was a hard walk," Giles said, setting himself down next to Willow and Xander. "I haven't felt this good since I was living in the west of England. I would go hiking ever day."

"Was that part of your Ripper days?" Willow asked. Giles cringed.

"No, actually. It was both before and after I went as Ripper," Giles said, taking a long draught from his canteen. "It is near my family home. I would walk out in back of the house and climb the mountains. The mountain air is quite invigorating."

"May I ask? Ripper?" Graham asked as he also took a drink.

"Ah, a remnant from an ill-spent youth," Giles said.

"According to my folks, that's what I'm having right now," Graham commented. At their looks he shrugged. "My parents don't agree with my decision to join up. I think it has something to do with their experiences with Vietnam. Dad was a draft dodger and Mom's brothers were all killed. I did this to pay for college. It's not like I became a Republican or something."

"I think your mom's got reason to worry," Willow said.

"I think it's worse than that," Graham said. "My family doesn't live in Sunnydale. As far as they're concerned I'm dead."

"Oh," Willow shrank back a little. "I kinda know what you mean. My parents went off to Seattle to visit the Crane brothers, a couple of people they knew from school. I'll probably never see them again."

"You have my sympathies," Graham said honestly. "What does it look like Riley?"

"It goes in a good way," Riley said. "Farther than we could see with the flashlight. It definitely is made by people, not nature."

"That's good right, 'cuz Buffy's in there right?" Willow asked frantically. "I know she's alive because the compass keeps moving, but do we know if we're going in the right way?"

"I want to know why you guys trust a compass to point to a person and not north," Forest said with an honestly confused look.

"Magic is very real, Forest," Giles said before taking another sip of water. "There are a great many spellcasters in Sunnydale and on Earth. You yourself saw Lady Alustriel flying on a chariot of fire. The source of this item is clearly a powerful spellcaster, possibly a demon lord or similar creature."

Suddenly the creature in question was right directly in his face. She was standing on his knees, with her fists on her hips as she leaned in close to glare at the watcher. Drizzt, having been silent this entire time, felt the blood drain away from his face at the sight of the dark elf girl. There was a…perfection to her features that was utterly unnatural. She was a thing of beauty and nightmares all at the same time.

"You…you poophead! You don't get to call me a demon! I'm not a demon!" the girl practically screamed in Giles' face, forcing him to lean backwards. In some miraculous feat of agility, the girl actually managed to lean forward so she kept the same distance from his face, no matter how far he leaned back.

"I apologize for referring to you as a demon," Giles said diplomatically. "If you could tell us what you actually are, I am sure we could refer to you by the proper term."

She seemed oblivious to the guns pointed at her. She looked down her nose at Giles as she crossed her arms. She emanated an aura of superiority. She then just as abruptly turned and jumped in front of Willow.

"Give me Auntie," the girl said with an outstretched hand. Willow eeped and then reached into her backpack to pull out the skull. The girl grinned as she took the skull back. Turning to face Forest, she leapt up onto the tip of his gun. Forest stumbled back, but was surprised to not feel any weight. "You don't believe. I don't like people who don't believe. Auntie says it isn't good to lie, so I don't lie."

"Who's Auntie?" Forest said, turning so the gun was not in line with anyone else in the team. The girl brandished the white skull.

"This is Auntie."

"That's a skull."

"Yes. And Auntie talks to me."

"Kid, skulls don't talk."

"Stupid monkey."

"Hey!"

"Stupid, stupid monkey!"

"Now, let's not get into a name calling match," Xander said, motioning for the Initiative agents to put down their weapons. He turned to the girl, who was still perched on the end of Forest's gun. "Why are you here?"

"To get Auntie. I wasn't supposed to leave her behind."

"Then why don't you take her and go where you need to be."

"Because these idiots don't believe me and he called me a demon."

"I think we're in full belief now," said Riley tersely.

"Why are you playing with Sunnydale?" Giles asked. "Why is your family so focused on our town?"

"You represent the thing nearly every deity fears most."

"And what are the gods afraid of," Riley asked, he wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but he was bound and determined to find as much as possible before things went FUBAR.

"Change," she said with a dark grin and vanished. She vanished like the Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll stories: first the body, then the eyes, then the diabolical grin. Drizzt stared after her. Her actions were nothing like the dark elves he had grown up with. That kind of behavior would have been beaten out of her or she would have been killed. She was not then a true dark elf, Drizzt knew; she was something else that merely wore the form of one.

"Boss, this is some freaky shit," Forest said, lowering his gun.

"You don't know the half of it," Xander said. "Last night she and her brother appeared in the WAR room." The teen grinned at the response of the Initiative agents. "General Hennessey was not pleased."

"From her brother's words last night, I have the suspicion she is not supposed to be talking to us," Giles said. "She seems like a child, but at the same time something else entirely. I shall have to consult my books when we return."

"We have to find Buffy first," Willow said tersely.

"Yes, of course," said Giles, but he was partially lost in thought.

"We should get going if we want to get out before the batteries run out on our lights," Riley said, trying to keep himself together. The best way for him to function was to return to being a soldier.

"So, 'Once more unto the breach, dear friends,'" Giles said with a smile. "'Once more.'"

"I have no idea what you just said," replied Forest.

"We just shrug and keep going," said Xander. "We don't understand him and he doesn't understand us."

"Yeah, Giles doesn't even know what 'Spidey Sense' is," Willow put in helpfully.

"It's Shakespeare!" Giles exasperated. "It's one of the most famous quotes of Henry V!"

"I'm wondering why you don't attack me head-on. You don't seem to fight like Spike at all," Buffy said as she sliced through a bigger group. The axes made things much easier and seemed to resize themselves for her grip, through the blades stayed the same size. Her current tactic was to cut off the limbs of the armed vamps and then cut them down as normal. It was working well until her opponent sent in the big guns: vampire orcs with skills.

These were not like the others, simple cannon fodder. These vampires had power and skill to match it. She had been lazy before, blocking and striking while keeping up the banter. Now she was hard pressed even with her enhanced abilities. These were fighters who were experienced at killing even before they were vampires. She was hard pressed to block their axe strikes, and kept loosing ground to them. At least she was keeping the high ground.

It was like fighting Gabriel on steroids. The old man had skills she didn't even know about and in a duel he had fought her to a standstill. In a real fight she would have crushed him with her superior strength and speed, but he had her hands down when it came to skill. She was starting to realize how much that mattered. Giles had been careful to teach her as much as he could, but there were limits to what a middle aged man could teach a teenaged Slayer. She needed someone who knew how to fight against people like her. Someone with uncommon skill and speed.

Ducking another axe blade, she struck out, chopping off a leg. She finished the falling orc fighter off with one axe, but had to block with her other one almost immediately as the next vampire came up behind it. "So where'd you find the orcs?"

"Oh, here and there," the master vampire said with a grin. "You'd be surprised how many live in these hills."

"I'm kinda surprised you turned all these," Buffy said as she chopped another vamp down the chest. It wasn't a killing blow, but it set it off balance enough to kill it with her other axe. "Usually you guys just drink and run."

"I'm not your usual vampire," her opponent said with a grin Buffy could hear. "And I was not about to let you go after you killed Spike and Drusilla."

"What?" Buffy was so surprised by the comment, she almost had her head cut off by an axe. She retaliated by cutting the leg off her attacker and pushing him down the stairs, knocking her opponents down like dominos. "I didn't kill Spike or Drusilla. They're both still dead and kicking as far as I know. Angel and them left town a while ago."

"But! Spike wouldn't just leave me!"

"Actually, he did. Twice."

"No! You're wrong! Spike loves me!"

"Spike loves himself." Buffy grimaced as the vampires ran up the stairs again. She body checked them, knocking them down again. With a few careful chops she decapitated them before they could get back up. "And you never were a Slayer, were you?" Not waiting for an answer, Buffy threw an axe in the direction she had last heard the voice. She was rewarded with a surprised scream. Buffy leisurely picked up another discarded axe. "You don't really know what a Slayer is, do you?"

Taking a running jump, Buffy choose to instead land in the middle of a pack of vampires and spun around with her axes, destroying all with in reach. Suddenly the orc vampires realized the tables had turned. A moment later there was a lot more space around Buffy. Buffy had changed from the prey to the predator. It was an almost instinctual change, something they could sense, rather than a conscious thought. The neophyte vampires began to run. Buffy threw another axe, that simply spun round and round, dusting vampire after vampire until it clattered to the ground. Buffy walked slowly to where she had thrown the first axe. "How many vampires do you have left?"

She wrenched the axe from where it had embedded itself in the wall. She was relying on her Spidey Sense now, not sight. The vampires were like bright lights in the darkness that kept her oriented. It made her dangerous. She charged after the vampires, hacking and slashing her way through them. They fell one after another. She kept using the walls to her advantage. She would run up staircases and leap onto the escaping undead from above. She was winning and it felt invigorating. But she was in control. Buffy grinned as she slaughtered the vampires. They were afraid, she could taste it in the air.

At the front of the rescue team, Riley motioned everyone behind him to stop. Glancing back, he pointed at Graham and Forest to accompany him as he went forward. The passage was wide enough for five people to walk side by side easily, seven uncomfortably. When the orc charged them, they had plenty of room to open fire. The others covered their ears as the sound echoed down the long passage way. The orc got back up after being rifled by bullets and the experienced Initiative soldiers understood exactly what happened. Graham pulled out a wooden stake and with the other two distracting it, managed to drive the stake in, reducing it to dust.

"HSTs," Riley reported as the team fell back to the rest of the group.

"Oh, just call them vampires," Xander said derisively.

"It seems we have discovered where the vampires escaped to," Giles said with a grimace. The Initiative agents looked at him confused. "We noticed a severe decrease in the number of vampire attacks three weeks after Sunnydale arrived here."

"So this entire cavern could be filled with vamps?"

"I suppose so."

"Good thing we brought the incendiary grenades," Forest said with a grin. The team spread out and the group moved forward. They met three more vampires; the first two went down like the first, but the third almost got the drop on them; every single one was an orc.

The team moved forward, deeper into the tunnel, until they came to the huge cavern. From across the cavern, Buffy saw the light and started leaping from building to building in an attempt to get to the people before the vampires could. She landed right in front of the team and threw an axe at the oncoming vampire horde. The Agents almost fired at her sudden appearance.

"Hi, guys!" Buffy said. "The place is filled with vamps."

"We noticed," Riley said with a nod.

"Drizzt, want to help?" Buffy said with a questioning look. Drizzt looked at her for a long moment then grinned.

"Sure."

Before anyone could stop them, the Slayer and the Hunter leapt from the perch into the fray. The moment they landed, Drizzt called out Guen and the trio went to work. Guen's claws did little major damage, but she could trap them while Drizzt or Buffy finished them off. From above them, the other humans gaped as three beings mowed through the neophyte vampire hordes. There weren't many left after the next ten minutes. Only two escaped up the ramp, but the Initiative team made short work of them: shooting them first with blasters and then staking them through the heart. Soon any that remained were on the run completely. It would take time to clear them all out, but that could be done some other day. There was only one left that really needed to be hunted down.

When the battle appeared to be over, the "rescue" team joined them in what appeared to be a courtyard. Buffy kept looking around them, making sure nothing else showed up. "There is one more. She claimed to be Spike's kid."

"That is quite disturbing," Giles said honestly. "Even a weak vampire trained by Spike could be a threat."

"She is. She made all of these," Buffy said, gesturing to the dust on the floor. "She also claimed to be a Slayer."

"I seriously doubt that, Buffy," Giles said. He glanced her over to see what kind of shape she was in. her shirt was barely decent and her pants her in shreds, though still keeping a basically pants-shape. He watched as wounds closed right before his eyes. "Spike was only attributed to two Slayer deaths and both of them were ensured true peace."

"What does 'true peace' mean," Xander asked.

"Their heads were removed and placed upside down in their caskets," Giles stated bluntly. "I can only assume it was an elaborate trick by Spike."

"She's smart. She could tell what I was going to do most of the time. If it's a trick it seemed to work," Buffy said. "For a while at least. Drizzt, how are you doing?"

"I feel pretty good actually," the dark elf said with a grin. It was strange how Buffy could always bring him out of his brooding. "I have received more exercise in the past two days than the past two months."

"Same here," Buffy went over and dragged Willow and Xander into a big hug. "Thanks for coming to get me guys."

"Buffster, we couldn't leave you to see the whole world on your own," Xander said with his trademarked grin.

"Yeah, and we really need you back in Sunnydale," said Willow.

"Hey! We helped too!" protested Forest with mock indignation. Buffy just gave him a look. Forest's momentary silence sent the other Initiative Agents into spurts of laughter.

"So what did you find here," Carmichael asked flashing her light around the cavern. "Is this a city?"

"It looks like it," Buffy said. "It has about nine stories in the middle and three on the edge. Buildings go from floor to ceiling. We're under a huge dome, I think."

"You think?"

"It's been kinda dark 'til you guys got here," Buffy said with a laugh. "I'm mostly guessing."

"How big are the buildings?"

"Human sized. They look like a couple apartments to a level. It's a big place," Buffy said. "I wouldn't trust it now. There are plenty of places for vamps to hide. I don't want to come back here until I'm fully armed."

"And what are those," Xander asked, pointing at the axes still in her hands.

"Oh these are just what I had available," She said, hefting them up. They were not particularly attractive weaponry specimens. "They did the job though." She looked back up at the crowd and her stomach growled louder than even Guen usually did. "Does anyone have any food?"

To the south east of Sunnydale, the Sunnydale Self Defense Force scouted out the caverns where the last few demons had escaped to. They had scouted seven others so far that day and this was to be the last. Every single cave had led far into the ground. As a precautionary measure, using Drizzt's advice, the investigation teams had set charges and collapsed the tunnels to prevent another occurrence of the same from happening anytime soon. The soldiers of the SSDF were highly trained and most of them were quite experienced. Unfortunately, they were not trained to deal with supernatural threats.

When they came across a group of injured people cowering in a corner of the eighth cavern, their first instinct was to help.

"Team 13 to base," the team leader said.

"Go ahead, Team 13."

"We have just found five human women and a man, probably an elf," the team leader reported. "They are injured and unarmed. Two of the women and the man are unconscious."

"See to their wounds," the base said. "We're sending a medivac to your location."

"Understood, base. Team 13 out," the team leader said. "Okay, get them bandaged up. We've got a team coming in to bring them to the hospital." He leaned down and touched one of the women on the shoulder and spoke in a calm voice. "We are going to help you." Carefully, he and the other members of his team bandaged the wounds as the other teams took care of their primary mission. Soon the helicopter arrived and took the wounded people back without anyone knowing the truth. Kannyr Vhok grinned silently as he was airlifted into Sunnydale with Aiisza and four succubae. It was time for him to play the long game.