Part 58: Here's the Spanner in the Works…

Buffy stood on the periphery of the mud fight with Giles and shouted encouragement while the girls giggled and tumbled with the last of the dirty creatures. She felt the high of a decisive victory where no one got killed. God she missed that feeling.

She was covered in dirt and grime, she could feel the bruises and scrapes, she was pretty sure she pulled something in her back, and not one whit of it mattered. Right here, right now, it was all good.

Plus, she called dibs on the first shower. Heh. Being a moldy oldie had its advantages and she damn well was going to use it.

"A most excellent job, I think," Giles nodded.

"I'm passing on the nonfat yogurt and going straight for a huge banana split," Buffy announced. "I think I could stand to have some extra-fattening goodness, especially if it comes with really gooey fudge."

"Perhaps we should hold off that oh-so-American tradition of over-consumption to mark this milestone and wait until our compatriots get to the surface?"

Something in Buffy deflated. "Don't you even dare suggest that…"

"Perish the thought." Giles seemed to be feeling as loopy as she was, if she could judge by his grin. "I best go check on the others to see how they are doing."

"No, I'll do it."

Giles placed a hand on her shoulder. "You've had a hard fight of it, so I do believe you should rest up a bit. Besides," Giles rolled his shoulders like a prize-fighter, "I still feel quite invigorated."

"Gonna take on some mud monsters?" Buffy asked.

"Not if I can help it." If anything, Giles's smile grew wider. "I'll be off. Stay here and enjoy your well-deserved bask in glory."

Buffy watched him disappear through the trees before turning her attention back to the still-wrestling girls. Watch me bask, world! I'm a basking Buffy to end all basking Buffies. You might say I'm a regular basking case.

Sadly, it didn't last.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

Buffy jerked around at the sound of Faith's echoing voice. She saw the other elder Slayer propping up an apparently wobbly Robin while Charlie stood behind her with a hand on Willow's shoulder. They all looked the worse for wear, worse than the mud-covered Slayers in fact.

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Faith probably would've been jumping up and down in fury if Robin weren't using her as a prop. "WE'RE GETTING OUR ASSES KICKED AND YOU'RE DOING MUD WRESTLING NIGHT AT HOOTERS? I OUGHTTA…"

On "asses kicked," Buffy was off and running to get to Faith. No, no, no, no…her mind circled even as her stomach sank.

"Yo! B! Not so close! Stay right the fuck where you are," Faith ordered.

Buffy stopped a few yards from the bedraggled group, but protested about it anyway. "You said…"

"Trust me. We got ourselves a situation. Let me get over there to explain," Faith said as she awkwardly set Robin on the ground, positioning him so he could sit upright against the crypt wall. Once she was sure Robin was steady, the dark-haired Slayer jogged over to Buffy's position.

She looks like she just crawled out of a blender, Buffy thought as she felt her chest squeeze tight. I should've gone with. I shouldn't've let them down there without me. "Where's everyone else?" she demanded.

Faith winced as she came to a stop; a move that caused every scrape, cut, and bruise to stand out in the dim light of her headlamp. "There's some wacky shit up with the Grail that Catherine's still gotta sort out, so they might be a bit. Plus, Xander and his Fantastic Four were making plans to off the Grail's guardian, so they're pretty much tied up."

Buffy's nerves started singing a warning. "You left them all by…"

"I had wounded to get out," Faith clipped.

Robin was definitely out of it and now that she was closer Buffy could see he was sporting a good-sized gash right over his left eye. Willow, on the other hand, seemed just fine even if she was acting like…like…

"Her eyes," Buffy breathed. "Oh, god. Faith? What happened?"

"That's the situation I was trying to tell you about." Faith's head snapped up and she hollered over Buffy's shoulder, "All of you stay the hell back or I will kick your asses! Got me?"

"Do as she says," Buffy ordered without bothering to look behind her.

Faith gave her a surprised look before quietly saying, "Thanks for the back-up, B."

"Willow's gone black-eyed, which means big badness," Buffy said tightly. "So spill. Everything. Right now."

"Willow touched the Grail and it fried her noggin," Faith explained. She held up a hand the moment Buffy opened her mouth, "Lemme finish. Charlie thinks she's seeing stuff from the future."

"What?" Buffy choked out.

"Before you go getting any ideas, no one can make heads or tails what any of her weird ass mumbling means. Bonus, she hasn't lost none of her punch."

"Punch?"

Faith waved at her face. "I'm pretty sure I'm looking damaged. Hell, I can definitely feel the damage. Courtesy of a temper tantrum your good bud pitched against things that weren't there. She tossed all of us around like we weren't nothin'."

"Anyone hurt? Dawn?"

"Dawn was way safe and out of the way. Me 'n Xander took the brunt.

"Xander was hurt and you left him there!" Buffy's voice climbed the scale.

"Hey, yo, chill, he's got it all under..."

"Control?" Buffy could feel the rising panic. Dawn was in the hands of complete strangers. Xander was hurt and protected by nothing more than four newbies. And Faith.... "I can't believe you!" She snaked out a hand and snatched the light band off Faith's head and took off for the crypt.

"B! Buffy!"

Buffy paid no attention as she dove into the crypt's interior.

Faith moved to chase the other Slayer, but Charlie stepped in her way.

"You can't go," he said in a voice that brooked no argument.

"She's got no idea what's waiting for her down there," Faith protested.

"You're needed here." Charlie crossed his arms. "You have to keep the other girls away from Willow until I finish titrating her dose."

"Hunh?"

Charlie sighed. "I have to start with a small dose of sedatives and work my way to a larger dose..."

"Until she's knocked out. Got it." Faith looked over to the increasingly restless group of girls. "You gonna be okay if I turn my back on you for sec?"

"It's gotten so dark. So dark," Willow muttered as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I feel cold."

Charlie tossed the witch a worried glance. "The neural shut-down is still holding, but the best way to make sure it stays that way until we can get her back to your household is to put her under. We should be fine. If not, I'll let out the loudest scream you've heard this side of a blood vid."

"Blood vid?" Faith waved her hands to stop him from answering. "Forget it. Get going doc."

Charlie gave her a curt nod and immediately turned his attention to Willow. He was muttering something encouraging while Willow shivered. She was repeatedly apologizing in a weak voice and trying to fall into a crouch while the doc held her. The look on her face…

Tragedy. It looks like a fucking tragedy.

Faith stepped slowly away as her formerly fuzzy feelings finished evaporating. She'd reached her limit and hoped like hell that she wouldn't be hearing any more future talk from Willow. She slid over to Robin and did a quick check. He was still out of it and trying to close his eyes for that nap.

Shit.

Faith stood up and jogged over to the group of filthy girls. They were all focused on Willow and whispering amongst themselves. There was a definite "on edge" feeling. Terrific. Hell of time for them to remember just how witch-y Willow could be.

"Yo! I need one of you ladies to keep an eye on Robin here." Faith kept her voice as level and as business-like as she could. "He got whacked on the head and we need to keep him awake until we can get him to the hospital."

"What's wrong with Willow?"

"Andrea? Right?"

The girl nodded.

"Nothin' you have to worry about. She ran into some bad mojo and the doc's gotta get her home before he can fix her up right." Faith hoped she sounded reassuring. "Robin's the one who needs an eye. Andrea? Think you could do that for me?"

"But…"

"Don't make me issue an order. I got a lotta crap to cover before B gets back. I can't watch Robin and help everyone get their shit straightened out. Capece?"

Andrea looked around. "What do I need to do?"

"Keep him awake. Make sure he don't wander off. We'll get him off your hands as soon as we can get wheels to the hospital."

"Why not just call an ambulance?" Tammi asked.

Faith held up a finger, "One, we might have more wounded, and if we start calling a whole buncha ambulances to this cemetery, someone might start asking real uncomfy questions. Two, if there are more wounded, we'll have to spin the right lie to explain why so many people are bleeding. If we only got Robin to worry about, we need to come up with a mugging story before we can get him help. Three, we need time to get everyone not wounded out of here because…"

"We're all a little hard to explain," Tammi finished for her as she waved a hand around. "Have I mentioned that this sucks?"

Faith grinned. "Welcome to the big leagues. Anyone know where Kennedy is hiding? What about Jee— I mean Giles?"

"They're both probably with one of the other groups," Jeanne answered. "We're kind of scattered."

"Right. Someone needs to find both of them. Grab Giles and drag him back here so I can give him the lowdown. If Kennedy ain't tied up in a fight, get her here, too. I'd think she'd want to be with her girlfriend," Faith said.

While Jeanne took off and Andrea headed for Robin, Faith tiredly rubbed her face. B had no business charging belowground like she did. If anything that was her job. She should've just dumped the wounded and turned right back around to go help Catherine and Xander. The last thing she wanted to do was play drill sergeant and get everyone organized so the group could clear out of the cemetery without attracting the wrong kind of attention.

Faith took a deep breath in an effort to clear her head and said, "Right. You, you, and you. Know where everyone is? Good. Go get 'em and bring 'em here. And each of you should grab a partner just in case anyone is still fighting what-the-hell-ever it is you guys were fighting so you can lend a hand. You and you, make sure we've got all our weapons, even the broken ones. Last thing we need is someone tripping over a sword or an axe tomorrow morning. Once everyone's here, we do a headcount and find out if anyone else needs to chat with Charlie or head to the hospital with Robin."

"Finished," J'Nal announced as he wearily stepped back.

"Well, I definitely don't want to go near that thing. Then again, I saw what it did to Willow, so I'm not too sure if that's a good test," Dawn said.

"Any ideas?" Catherine asked.

Dawn grinned, stuck two fingers in her mouth, and let out a piercing whistle. "Andrew? Can you come over here? I need your help."

Andrew jogged over with a pleased grin on his face. "As my lady so orders, I will hack and slash…"

"No hacking and slashing required. I just need you to read something," Dawn interrupted with an eye roll.

"I was, of course, talking metaphorically." Andrew's hands waved in bird-nervous movements. "I've been talking with Ruda…"

Catherine groaned.

"Well, more like I've been bouncing ideas off her because, y'know, Ruda's bound by the Temporal Prime Directive and can't actually offer advice about…"

"I really wish someone would explain this 'temporal prime directive' to me," Tikri complained. "For a civilization that doesn't even have interstellar travel, I really don't see how anyone came up with a rule with that kind of title."

Andrew puffed up his chest. "Well the Great Bird of the Galaxy…"

"Andrew," Dawn warned.

"Great Bird of the Galaxy?" Tikri asked. She nudged Catherine, "Do you remember anything from ancient mythology about a…"

"Nudge me again like that and I'll remove your hand at the elbow," Catherine growled.

Tikri raised both hands in the air. "Touchy."

"Definitely grouchy," J'Nal agreed.

"I'll, unh, explain later then," Andrew said. "So, like, what do you need me to translate?"

Dawn indicated the Grail's pedestal with a wave of her hand. "It's on the other side and I can't read it, which means it's probably demonic. If you could…"

"But of course! Happy to serve the empire!"

"Whatever." Dawn gave him a painful smile. "Ummm, could you hurry? We're on a schedule."

"Right." Andrew walked past her, but the closer he got to J'Nal, the more his steps slowed. He was still out of arms' reach of the Grail when he stopped and began looking around the cavern. "Uuuunnnhhhhh, is it me, or do you have a feeling something's watching us?"

"Why, no," Catherine brightly replied. "But we'll keep an eye out, so don't worry. We really need the message translated."

"Unh-hunh," Andrew said absently. His head jerked around so that he was looking in another direction. "There's definitely something watching us. I think…"

"Andrew, there's nothing there," Dawn assured him.

Andrew began to slowly back away from the Grail's location. "My spider-sense tells me that there's a definite very bad thing around. Maybe I should get Ruda."

"Very impressive," Tikri said.

"Look, I'm not making it up!" Andrew shouted as he spun around, ran a few steps, and then tripped over his own feet, landing on the ground with a thud.

"Andrew, are you okay?" Dawn asked.

Andrew sputtered and sneezed. "Just some gravel up my…" He paused. "Hunh. The feeling we're being watched is presto-chango-gone-o."

Dawn winced and held out a hand to him. "Sorry about that. We had to test the repel spell and since I watched J'Nal do it I wasn't a really good candidate."

Andrew blinked at her with hurt, watery eyes. The look was quickly replaced with gormless good cheer. "Oh, of course! No point in doing a Jedi mind trick unless you know it works."

"And how," Catherine agreed. "Put it on a little heavy, didn't you?"

"Better too heavy than too light," J'Nal sniffed.

"There wasn't a message, was there?" Andrew asked

"I really am sorry, Andrew," Dawn said as she helped him to his feet. "If there was anyone else, you know I would've used them."

"It's okay," Andrew patted her arm. "Glad I could help."

"Well, now that we know, we have to get going," Catherine ordered. "Let's everyone stick together. The sooner we reach the surface, the better I'll feel."

As everyone began making their way to the cavern exit, Catherine paused and touched J'Nal on the arm. When the witch turned to look at her, Catherine asked, "How are you holding up?"

"Tired," J'Nal responded with a wan smile. "You're right. I may have overdone it and put more energy into the spell than was strictly necessary."

"Can't blame you." Catherine shivered. "Will you be able to work with Charlie?"

"As long as I hold off casting any spells until we get back to the household, I'm sure it won't be a problem," J'Nal nodded. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's taking longer for me to recharge after spell casting than I like. I'm not used to working with the energy on this planet."

"If it makes you feel any better, I think even the natives sometimes have a problem dealing with the energy on this planet," Catherine chuckled as she took the Grail and turned to follow Dawn, Andrew and Tikri.

Xander clambered over the rocky, uneven surface. He was scurrying as fast as he dared, but he had the sinking feeling that it wasn't fast enough. Their scaly friend was lightening fast despite its size. Besides, it managed to wriggle its way out of one trap, what's to say that it didn't have some massive monster mojo that allowed it to get out of tight spaces?

He tripped for what felt like the millionth time and let out a yelp as his knee came in contact with a hard, jagged surface.

Jesus, how long had he been running?

He rubbed his knee with a wince, grateful that he didn't pitch headfirst into the ground. If he landed just right and cracked his head....

Stop thinking about it.

He turned and looked behind him, wondering how far he'd gotten into the tunnel. He could still hear echoes of the fighting, so he couldn't have gotten far.

Hunh. I don't even see the cave entrance.

Oh, shit.

Vi wouldn't.

Would she?

That pinball smile...

Shit. She most definitely would.

He felt that familiar sense of rising panic that he got when things were about to go spectacularly wrong, or even more wrong in this particular case. Vi was going to take on that monster alone and he was willing to bet good money that she didn't have to try that hard to talk the other three into going along with it.

"Goddamn it!" He growled as he turned around to head back the way he came. "What is it? Is thinking they can kill any scaly ugly a macho Slayer thing? Jesus! That snake is going to eat them alive!"

He tripped and tumbled in his haste, doing his best to ignore the bumps and bruises along the way. He had to get there before...

"YAOW!"

He pitched forward, feeling his ankle twist and a sharp pain shooting up his left leg. Out of reflex he brought up his arms fast enough that his forearms absorbed the jarring impact, but not enough to spare him from feeling the bulk of the (thankfully) unloaded crossbow jabbing into his side. When he landed, his teeth sharply clicked together as the nearly empty quiver of bolts slammed into his back.

As he lay stunned on the ground and trying to draw breath for a few minutes, his brain registered little more than "ow." When he finally attempted to haul himself upright he realized that his situation had rocketed from I-am-a-clumsy-idiot all the way up to I-am-so-very-screwed.

His foot had managed to get wedged in between the rocks. It didn't help that he was trapped in a face-down position, so if he wanted to free himself he'd have to do it by touch since no one thought to give him eyes in the back of his head to replace the eye he lost in front of it. He might—just might—be able to get into a kneeling position and then do a little contortion number that would probably involve bending over backwards, adding four inches to his arms, and developing a third joint in his fingers.

Suuuuuure. This'll be eaaaaasy.

"Well," he muttered, "looks like I'm not going anywhere any time soon."

TBC…