Chapter 15

The energy of Cassandra's healing had taken away the worst of the pain but Willow still had to struggle to stay on her feet. Despite linking with Mayling the incantation to break the invisibility spell had taken a heavy toll on her body and her hands were still shaking. But she couldn't let on how weak she felt. She tried to inhale but it was rather inadequate, with the thin air up here. As Buffy, Angel and Spike was being levitated across the ravine she watched Buffy closely. She had harbored some hope that Angel could inject some life in her but the result was rather overwhelming. It seemed a little too good to be true. But as the three warriors landed safely on the other side Buffy met her adversary with her usual calm and focus. She quickly chopped off the horn before the Racholoc even had a chance to react, then did a graceful somersault and landed on his back, steadying herself on the sharp outcrops along its sides. Angel had watched her as closely as Willow did. Now he nonchalantly cut off the horn on the charging beast, then rammed his sword straight into its skull, right between the eyes, while barely taking his own eyes off Buffy. She had managed to get her sword inside its brain and as the Racholoc fell to the ground she elegantly leaped off it and landed on her feet.

"See, that wasn't so hard." she exclaimed cheerfully and Angel gave her a big smile. Willow breathed a little easier. The Slayer was back.

"Uh, maybe you could help him, a little." Kaya asked hesitantly and they all turned to see what she was looking at. As it turned out Spike had managed to get himself lodged under the dead beast.

"No, no don't worry about me, I'm fine...just fine. No worries." He pushed with all his strength but the corps wouldn't budge an inch. They all laughed, even Kaya, all though she seemed a little worried too. It took both Angel and Buffy pushing as hard as they could to get the thing off Spike but eventually he could brush off the dust, seemingly unharmed. When he saw Kaya looking at him with a concerned frown he smiled,

"I'm all right, just a little bruised. The bloody bastard caught me by surprise, that's all."

"Yeah, they were real brainiacs, these things." Buffy said sarcastically and he gave her a cold stare. As they went to retrieve their sword Spike suddenly through a fit when he noticed Angel pulling his out of the forehead of the Racholoc.

"Oh, bloody hell, why didn't you just say we could stab the bastards between the eyes! Get a kick out of watching us trying to ride these piglets, did you?" He was working himself into quite a frenzy but Angel just cleaned his sword calmly.

"I never said I had to do that, I just said you did."

"Meaning what? That I couldn't do that?" Spike spat angrily, picked up his sword, walked up to the dead beast and aimed his sword at the skull. He then stabbed it with all his might and with a loud 'klonk' it barely penetrated the skin. For a moment he just stood there and stared. Then he turned slowly and asked suspiciously,

"How did you get so strong?"

"I got an extra boost from the Wolf, Ram and Hart, before I took them out." Angel answered casually as if there was nothing to it. "Didn't I tell you?" he added with mocked seriousness and a sly smile.

"You got what from whom?" Spike said incredulously.

"When I was fighting that Hamilton guy, I bit him. He said he had the essence of Wolfram and Hart in his blood so I bit him and it kind of stayed with me. I thought it would wear off but it didn't."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Spike asked, clearly not sure what to believe.

"Didn't think it was any of your business. Besides, I didn't want to make you jealous." Angel added that last part with a tinge of a challenge in his voice and the two vampires were clearly sizing each other up for a fight. Willow feared the worst but Buffy just laughed then said in her sternest voice, while trying not to laugh again.

"Now boys, none of this! Behave yourselves or I'll just have to send you both to bed without dinner." Then she erupted in an infectious laughter again and this time Angel joined in, which was weird in itself. Willow hadn't seen him laugh in... well ever. At least not like that. Spike on the other hand just shook his head, then sat down on the dead Racholoc to light a cigarette and sulk.

Willow was the last one to levitate across the ravine. Kaya had been the most reluctant, and even Giles had turned rather pale. But now Willow stood in front of the dreaded gates, one step closer to Catherine. There was no telling what was inside, but she could imagine. Unfortunately that didn't make it any easier. She had to draw on every last bit of determination to make herself raise her hands and release the right level of energy-waves to open the gates. As they slowly glided open it took a few seconds before she realized that what she was looking at was actually worse than what she had imagined.

"What is that?" Xander asked suspiciously, staring into the black void in front of them. She clenched her jaw, steeling herself not to tremble.

"This is the Path of Rangal, or the Path of Horror, in ruff translation. It's a rite of passage of sorts, they used it in the Trink dimension. Catherine and I managed to abolish it from there a few years ago. She told me she had gotten rid of the tablets that hold it. Clearly she lied." The thought of all that time she had walked side by side with Catherine, learning from her, listening to her every word, made her want to scream. How could she have been so naiv?

"Rite of passage, uh. What exactly does it do?"

"It makes your fears come to life. There's a small trail on the floor that will lead you to the other side, but if you move to far from it you'll get lost in the dark and spend eternity trapped in there."

"I see. So we keep to the path then. How hard can that be, right?"

"Easier said then done when your worst fears are hunting you. Just remember, it's not real. Whatever you see in there, it's not real."

As soon as Willow stepped over the threshold a faint glow lit up the darkness. The light was emanating from the floor and a glowing pathway could be seen stretching into the black void. She tried to relax. If a young Trinkian could master this she shouldn't have any trouble. Of course most of them didn't. She threw an uneasy look over her shoulder. There probably weren't much Buffy and Angel were afraid of at this point, and Spike could take care of himself, but she worried about Xander. And Mayling was still so young. And... no she couldn't think like that! She had to keep her eye on the path and trust the others to handle themselves. A few words of warning might be in order though, maybe she could increase their odds.

"OK then." she said, turning to the others that had gathered at the beginning of the path, eyeing their pitch black surroundings warily. "As I said this trail will take us to the other end. But this is designed to test the courage of those who dares enter so you'll have to face your worst nightmares in here. Just keep repeating to yourself that it's not real and it will go away." She hesitated for a moment then added, "Maybe you should hold on to someone just in case."

They paired up remarkably quickly behind her. Buffy and Angel obviously clung to each other, taking the opportunity for some groping. Xander took a firm grip on Deanna, which made her giggle like a schoolgirl. Fridha and Giles gave each other a polite nod, and Cassandra and Tess were already standing next to each other. Spike and Kaya brought up the rear, with a composed Mayling in front of them. Willow nodded to herself. This was going to work out, they were going to be fine. Making sure they were all in line, she started walking. She set a quick pace, she didn't want to be here any longer than necessary. At first nothing happened. As far as she could see there was darkness, but the light on the floor went steadily forward. Trust the path, she told herself. Many had died simply because they doubted the path. She could hear the others behind her. Buffy and Angel were chatting casually about the weather in California versus New York. Giles had launched into a tirade on the Tian chronicles again. And vaguely in the distance she could here Spike and Kaya talking. It was comforting to hear her friends so calm. Suddenly it was quiet. She turned and found herself alone in the darkness. She sighed. Really! Was she suppose to believe this? She turned back to the path and kept walking. Soon she could here them again and she smiled to herself. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

They had walked for a while. It was hard to tell time in here, but it was getting a bit boring. Angel had suffered some delusions about Buffy dying but he had handled it well, laughed it off and never wavered from the path. Buffy saw something in the darkness but wouldn't say what. Giles was getting a little confused for a while but Fridha snapped him out of it. Willow was just starting to relax when she heard commotion behind her. Xander had stopped and was pointing at her and said in a loud, angry voice,

"How do we know she's not working with Catherine? How do we know she's not just wasting our time in here, so we won't stop her lover in time? Yeah, they're lovers! Willow and Catherine have been sucking face for ages!" She stared at him. Was this his worst nightmare? That he couldn't trust her. She couldn't breathe.

"Is it true?" Buffy asked accusingly and Willow flinched. This was bad. If they doubted her now they would all be lost! Giles gave her a stern look.

"Surely this can't be accurate. I have known you since you were a child. I've trusted you. You wouldn't betray me like that, would you?" Willow's heart sank as she saw the disappointment on his face.

"Look, we have to keep going!" she pleaded with them but they all stared at her with such anger and contempt that she was beginning to panic.

"Just tell me his wrong." Buffy said coolly, closing in on her. Willow stared at her in shock didn't know what to say. She wanted to deny it but for some reason she couldn't. And even if she did, would Buffy believe her?

"I know this looks bad but you have to trust me!" she begged, "We have to keep walking."

"I don't trust her." Xander said flatly. "I think she's leading us in circles with this light-show. I think there's a way out just a few steps to the left, or maybe to the right." Angel suddenly nodded.

"Yeah, I think he's right." Angel suddenly said. "I mean, if Willow really has been... doing Catherine, she's compromised. We can't trust her. It's time we found our own way out."

"NO!" Willow screamed, her voice cracking, every inch of her was shaking. This couldn't be! They were her friends. Tears poured down her cheeks and the pain ripping through her heart was unbearable. She watched them all disappear into the darkness and she was left alone, weeping helplessly on the floor.

She couldn't tell how long she had been lying there. It felt like forever. She was alone. They had abandoned her. She had lied to them and they left her. How could she blame them? Could she even trust herself? Slowly she made herself get off the floor. She may be alone but she wasn't going to give up that easily. Catherine was responsible for this. It was her fault that her friends would die in here! So she started walking, putting one foot in front of the other, trying not to think, not to feel. Frogs by the thousands began to fall from above but she ignored it. The stories she had heard about this place was clearly exaggerated. After what must have been hours, she finally saw a vague mist up ahead. It became more dense and soon it was all white, then she saw a wall, red with painted dragons. She stumbled through the last remnants of the mist and fell to the floor, exhausted. She had made it! But at what cost? How was she suppose to go on alone? Suddenly she heard a noise behind her. Buffy and Angel appeared out of the mist. When they saw her on the floor Buffy kneeled down beside her and asked, full of concern,

"Are you OK, Will?" Willow just stared at her in shock. It had all been a trick! And she hadn't seen through it. She had actually believed her friends would turn against her! She grabbed on to Buffy and held her as hard as she could.

"Hey, it's OK. We're all right." Buffy soothed her calmly. Willow was actually shaking. She struggled to breathe as the fear of the last few hours crashed in on her. When the worst of it had faded Buffy looked at her with a great deal of concern.

"What happened to you in there? It was like you couldn't see us." Willow straightened her back and took out the water bottle from her backpack. She needed to buy herself some time to think. She didn't want to lie to her oldest friend but admitting to her own weakness and distrust might make them all more vulnerable.

As Willow took a few sips of her water Xander stumbled through the mist with Deanna clutching to him with absolute horror written on her face. Xander looked like he had seen a ghost but was holding up reasonably well. Deanna on the other hand could barely stand.

"No points for fun on that ride." Xander said in an attempt at casual, but no one laughed. Right then Giles and Fridha walked out of the mist, both staring straight ahead in an extremely focused manner. When they realized they had made it through, they both relaxed almost simultaneously, creating a rather amusing mirror effect. Giles started cleaning his glasses immediately and Fridha began rummaging through her pouch with herbs as usual. Buffy sighed a little as she seemed to accept that Willow wasn't going to tell her anything. Instead she rose and gave Giles a questioning look.

"How are you holding up then?" she asked, as she nestled snugly into Angel's arms. Giles gave her a startled look, then cleared his throat.

"An interesting experience, no doubt, and one I could have done without. Still, a rare cerebral challenge certainly, clearly designed to inflict the maximum level of psychological distress. I found the usage of deceptive visions particularly intriguing. Especially since its obvious design was to make perception of the consequent fallacies seem even more credible. I'm sure it will make quite a chapter in my watchers diary." Buffy sighed faintly.

"You couldn't just have said 'fine'?"

Throughout Giles's harangue Willow's heart was beginning to race again. Mayling should have been right behind Giles and Fridha but no one came through. Seconds past and Willow began to fear the worst. If Mayling got lost in there she would never forgive herself. She should have paired with her, kept her safe... Suddenly shapes were seen through the mist and then Kaya came out, calm if perhaps a little pale. Spike came out right behind her with a thrashing and screaming Mayling over his shoulder. He put her down on the floor and she immediately launched at him, hitting, scratching and screaming. He pulled back and gave her an amused smile.

"She's got a lot of spunk for someone that small. I guess I should be glad she didn't turn me into a toad."

"She doesn't have enough power for that." Willow mumbled as she put her arms around the terrified girl. "Shh, it's all right now." she whispered, patting her hair, soothing her until the girl quietly wept against her chest. At that moment Willow had never felt more determined in her life. She was going to bring Catherine down!