Summary: Adventures they'll have and people they'll meet.

Spoilers: Up through BtVS:Chosen and AtS:NFA

Rating: Minor language, violence

Acknowledgment: I had a big problem with this chapter, as the lateness can attest to. I knew what I wanted to do and roughly how to get there, but I simply could not connect the dots in a way that wouldn't make me cringe. It was very discouraging. I even gave serious thought to breaking my promise about finishing anything I started.

Fortunately, there is Theo. This fifth chapter simply would not exist had it not been for his encouragement, enthusiasm, ideas, and beta skills. Though I did the actual typing, this is his as much as it is mine.

AN: I seem to have developed a natural chapter size of about ten thousand words. But once I got going, this chapter kept growing and growing until it was over fifteen thousand. And I couldn't find enough I was willing to cut! So I've split the chapter and will post the second half in a few weeks.

AN2: Close watching of "A Hole in the World" will reveal some variance between the show's depiction of The Deeper Well and mine. Let's just call it artistic license. I hope the differences aren't too much to spoil the story for you.


Part 5a: Of Love and Art

Each of them hesitated before stepping into the darkly folded shadows around the tree trunk and across the threshold into the Deeper Well, even Xander who knew what to expect. Cordelia nearly ran through in an effort to overcome her acquired dislike of anything to do with portals. She yipped nervously after nearly colliding with Zelinda, Carole and Xander as they were trying to clear out of the way.

When Cordelia turned to look back through the entrance she didn't see the forest anymore, only a featureless black void through which Giles suddenly emerged. Giles turned to look as well and stood momentarily transfixed by the sight. Xander reached over and gently pulled him out of the way of the emerging Fulani, soon followed by Tarian.

"Interesting." Giles nodded to himself but said no more, even after getting a questioning frown from Tarian.

Not understanding Giles' comment, Tarian was about to say something when she finally noticed the void behind her. "Hey! Where did the door go?" she shouted, swinging her hand-held torch behind her. The beam was completely absorbed by the blackness, nothing reflected back.

"You can relax, it's still there," Xander tossed over his shoulder as he began re-adjusting Giles' pack.

After first casting a sharp and suspicious look at Xander, Tarian stepped forward and slowly pushed her hand into the blackness, seeing her fingers and then her whole hand gradually disappear. When she shifted to face the group it appeared as if her entire arm was sheared off at the shoulder. She smiled wickedly. "It's just a flesh wound!" she quipped before quickly taking another step and disappearing completely, reappearing a moment later and grinning like a maniac

"Cool!"

Xander paused from his work on Giles' pack. "All done with the kiddie ride?"

Tarian wasn't embarrassed at all, instead returning a cheeky reply of "You got it, boss-man."

The bright glare from their headlamps and hand-held electric torches filled the space with oddly shifting shadows as they jostled about. Once Xander had stopped fooling with his pack, Giles stepped over to the rock wall and peered closely at the gray surface surrounding them. "This is not the native limestone of the Cotswolds," he declared after several moments of careful study. The Englishman looked over his shoulder at Xander. "Odd it wasn't mentioned in any of your accounts."

Xander shrugged. "It's rock. What's the big deal?"

"That, together with our method of entrance..." Giles turned to Xander. "I'm certain we're not anywhere near where we started. I'm not even sure we're still on an earthly plane. It doesn't occur to you that where we actually start could be as important as where we're going?"

"Well, I save the high-brow thinking for the real Watchers on campus. Gives you all something important to do." Before Giles could reprimand him Xander addressed Zelinda, "It's time to get going. There're a few sudden dips and rises, but not much else to look out for. Sometimes the passageway gets narrow and tight, but we're generally okay. Watch your footing, it's wet in a few places, some loose gravel here and there." Xander gently tapped Zelinda's helmet. "Okay, let's move out."

Zelinda nodded. She nudged Carole, who was still gaping at the entrance, and started down the tunnel, the rest following in the order originally set by Xander.

"Eyes and ears open," Xander cautioned one more time.

For awhile Zelinda or Carole would call back what they were seeing ahead of them, but since it was always the same they soon tired of the running tour-guide act and kept their silence. Except for a little chatter from the normally garrulous Carole and Tarian, and helpful hints from Zelinda, the only sound of their passage was the rough breathing and the echos of their soft footfalls bouncing off the gray rock. The pace had begun fairly easy for Cordelia, but the cool air had a chalky dryness that made her want to sneeze. She got used to it after awhile and just concentrated on her footing and avoiding the occasional outcropping.

They traveled a long while in relative quiet. Xander was impressed by how little Cordelia was complaining when she peevishly asked, "What kind of Well is this? It just goes and goes forever. And I thought wells were supposed to go up and down."

"We're not really at the Well yet," answered Xander. "This is still just the entranceway."

"How much longer, Xander?" asked Giles a little breathlessly. The pace might have been fine for the slayers and his younger charges, but Giles didn't know how much longer he could keep it up.

Xander glanced down at his watch. "Another half hour or so."

A long half hour followed, increasingly filled with annoying "Are we there yet?" jokes, mostly from Tarian, who enjoyed seeing Xander's shoulders tense up every time she said it.

They rounded a few more bends when Carole finally announced, "I see light ahead!"

Xander, looking down at his watch, was not surprised. "Good, we're getting real close. Another minute or two."

Soon they were bathed by a shadowless sickly yellow glow from ahead, which quickly became bright enough they could turn off their lights. Their steps automatically slowed as they approached the opening. At first, they thought it was a trick of the light as the tunnel appeared to be getting wider and wider, but it quickly became apparent it was real. The passageway gradually widened before letting out onto a narrow open ledge.

Zelinda and Carole stopped at the opening, forcing the others to stop as well. From behind, Tarian and Fulani pushed forward and edged around the crowd to see what everyone was looking at. As a group they cautiously stepped out, eyes darting everywhere. Craning her neck and looking up and around, Cordelia saw that the rocky shelf they were standing on jutted out from the sheer face of a large vertical shaft, striated with shallow crevices. Ahead of them she noticed the ledge was mostly enclosed by a low stony parapet, except for where a narrow, rickety-looking wooden bridge crossed from their ledge to the far side of the shaft and another opening.

Xander pushed through between Zelinda and Carole and out onto the bridge. He continued to mid-span, turned and spread his arms wide before addressing his companions. "Ladies and Giles, I present to you...the Deeper Well," Xander announced quietly. Stomping his foot down several times, he said, "Don't worry, it's stronger than it looks."

One by one, the others joined him on the bridge. Although the dirty yellow light seemed to come from everywhere at once it was noticeably brighter from below the bridge than above. Unlike in the tunnel leading to this point, out in the middle of the Well there were no echos. They discovered that whenever they spoke it was as if their voices were sucked away, and even though they could hear each other clearly it made them feel very small and insignificant.

Zelinda briefly looked over the railing and quickly backed to the center of the bridge before edging her way off. Giles also looked and was frozen by the sight of infinity staring back at him. The Well, approximately ten meters across, almost perfectly circular, extended further than Giles could see. Unlike the portion of the shaft above them, with its relatively unblemished walls ending in a mist not far above their heads, the rough walls below the bridge were punctuated by an uncountable number of sarcophagi. Many seemed to be floating free in space with no obvious support while others were stuck into the rock walls, the ends protruding into the Well.

As Giles continued to stare down the Well, the view tugged at his mind, beginning to tear and rip at something essential that comprised who he was. A developing ache in his tense neck muscles nagged at him, reminding Giles he needed to look away before losing himself permanently. But he couldn't seem to will himself to break free.

Xander's harsh voice in his ear broke through into his daze and nudged him enough, getting his eyes to move and look at something else.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it, but don't look down for too long. It's like something reaches out and grabs your mind and refuses to let go. It can be really hard to break free."

Giles shuddered and with a last quick apprehensive glance back shook himself completely free. "Which way do we go from here?" he finally asked, with just the barest tremor in his voice, studiously not looking up or down.

"Down."

"Oh thank God," sighed Cordelia.

"Which just means at the end of the trip, when we're all good and tired, we'll have to walk back up." Xander gave her a hopeful look. "Not too late to go back now, Cordy. I could have one of the slayers escort you..."

Cordelia scowled and hated how Xander still seemed to think that was a perfectly acceptable idea. The resulting annoyance seemed to buoy and invigorate her and she firmly shook her head. "You'd have better luck getting Angel to laugh at your jokes." She smirked when the mention of the vampire's name caused Xander's face to contort as if he had suddenly tasted something incredibly bitter.

Xander wasn't really expecting any other answer but nevertheless his shoulders rose and fell with an unheard disappointed sigh. He turned away, muttering under his breath, "Fine. Your funeral."

Cordelia's point about just who would become the Keeper around here was a very valid one and it worried him. Who would it be? Himself? Giles? One of the slayers? Cordelia? Was that why she'd been brought back? And perhaps that was the most worrisome aspect of all to Xander.

"Where is the bottom?" asked Carole, quickly glancing over one last time.

He suddenly and harshly berated himself. Worry about it later. You've got a job to do first, he thought. Xander turned to Carole before answering her. "I haven't seen it. I'm not even sure it exists. When we first came through we thought about climbing down the Well directly. There are enough handholds in the rock, and we could repel from ropes off this bridge. But we don't need to." Xander gestured at the opening on the far end of the bridge. "That tunnel seems to wind back and forth and takes us through the various levels as it descends. You can't see it from here, but there are more bridges and ledges further down."

"Like an inspection tunnel?" mused Giles.

Xander nodded. "Yeah, you could say that."

"And how far is the marker you found?"

"Another hour at the pace we've been going. So we'll take a break here before we continue."

---

Xander called a halt as they came upon a tight cluster of sarcophagi sticking out of the rock at various angles. "This is it," he informed the group. Kneeling down, he pulled out a large hand-held flashlight and added its light to that of his headlight. He directed the beam into the dark crevices under the looming shapes, the spot veering erratically but with purpose. Xander frowned in concentration as he adjusted his position and continued scanning the rock. After another moment he grunted and looked up over his shoulder at Giles and pointed. "Here."

Giles crouched down beside Xander and added his own light to Xander's. He blinked as a distinctive metallic yellow glimmer winked back. Giles moved in closer, wiping at the spot with his hand. "This is it?" he asked in a somewhat incredulous tone.

"That's it," Xander responded dryly. The others huddled around them, trying to get a look for themselves.

Giles huffed as he stood up, his back unbending with a crack, and paused before he stood all the way up. "It's not much."

Xander pursed his lips in agreement. "Nope, it's not."

"And this is as far as you got?" Giles looked around at the other sarcophagi and then at the darkness into which they were heading.

Following Giles' gaze, Xander also looked toward the tunnel. "No. We got a few hundred yards further but didn't see anything else. Even this we only spotted by accident when I was checking the rock around that coffin."

"Sarcophagus," Giles said automatically, scratching his head under the helmet.

"Right."

Giles brow furrowed. "Well then, I guess that's that. There's nothing for it but to press on."

"Right again, Watcher guy." Xander gave Giles a disarming smile before he turned away.

With reformed order they trudged on, more slowly now. This time all of them used their hand-held electric torches, constantly angling the light into every crevice, looking for the tell-tale gleam.

They soon reached the first junction they had seen so far. One of the two branches seemed to climb and veer to the left while the other continued to descend and curve around to the right.

"We'll go faster if we split up," observed Tarian.

Xander hated the idea of splitting the team but agreed it would take too much time if they all stayed together at every tunnel branching. Even though this was the first branching they'd run into so far, Xander suspected it wouldn't be the last.

"Okay, me, Cordy, Linda and Carole will take this one," he pointed to the right, "You guys go that way. Don't go any more than a hundred yards--"

"Meters," corrected Giles.

Xander rolled his eye, but continued smoothly. "If you don't spot anything after a hundred meters then come back here and wait. If you run into another split don't go any further, just come back here and we'll figure it out. Give the usual signal if you run into any problems."

"What's the usual signal?" asked Cordelia.

"Lot's of screaming and yelling has always worked pretty well before," Xander answered with a wolfish smile. Fulani giggled.

After proceeding only a few tens of paces into their tunnel, Fulani thought she spotted a marker. Giles leaned in closer to inspect it and brushed away the dust as the others clustered around him. "Good job, Lani." He nodded to the slayers and they started back. They only waited a few minutes before Xander's group returned.

"No luck," Xander informed them. "You?"

"Yes, Lani spotted it just a short way in."

The process was repeated at the next junction, and again they discovered the telltale gleam only a few paces down one of the paths. Every junction and branching they encountered henceforth was the same. A new golden signpost was almost always found no more than a hundred meters in, and frequently closer. On a few occasions, however, the by-now-familiar marker wasn't found until much further down the path.

One branching had four possibilities. Xander dithered but wasn't willing to send anyone alone, even though Tarian claimed she could handle it. He decreed they take two at a time, ensuring there were always two slayers in a group at all times.

And no matter what route they took, they found the tangle of tunnels always led down, and always led back to the Well itself. Usually the tunnel just opened up onto a ledge which would skirt around the perimeter before petering out at a new opening to the next tunnel. Just as often there would be a bridge crossing over the Well, similar to the one they had first crossed upon entering the Well.

And whether Xander and his people looked up or down, it was the same soul-sucking infinity they had seen before. And the Well was always filled with more coffins.

---

"Okay, that's it. This just goes on forever!" complained Cordelia during another break, gulping down water. The others had spread out a little ways to poke around and see if there was anything interesting.

Xander grinned. "Most likely."

"And what are you going to do about it?" she demanded, too tired to really snap at him.

"Nothing, actually. This was my nefarious plan all along. Get you down here--with me--where it's kinda dark and cramped. Just like the good old days." Xander waggled his eyebrows and chuckled lightly.

"Pfft! Like that'll ever happen again," she retorted in mock indignation, glad for the uplift from Xander's lighthearted jesting. But then her mood darkened. Cordelia pulled off her helmet and ran her fingers over her mussed up hair and made brushing motions at her clothes. "I'm tired and I'm hot. And look at me! I never dress this way!" She picked at her clothing as if she was trying to keep the coarse offending stuff away from her skin.

Xander did look at her, from her helmet-hair which had loosened up and partially fallen out of its pony-tail, wisps sticking out every which way, to the cotton tee-shirt now damp at the armpits and under the breasts, to her long legs showing through loose brown shorts and ending in feet shod with heavy hiking boots. He watched with casual interest as his one-time girlfriend wiggled her shoulders to adjust the load and change where the straps cut into her.

With a sympathetic smile Xander reached over to brush a damp strand of hair out of her eyes. "Would you believe me if I said the outdoorsy look works for you?"

"No!" Cordelia tried to make it a snappish response but was too tired to put much oomph into it. "Besides, we're indoors!" she said, waving at the rock around them. Xander followed the motion with his eye and nodded silently, thinking about their current relationship as she worked on straightening her hair again.

They'd had their big cathartic moment, but Xander suddenly wasn't sure what that meant in concrete terms. Was he trying to read more into it than was actually there? Sure, aside from the issue of her coming along, they had gotten along nearly as well as they ever had, with moments of humorous jesting and teasing and little, if any, of the viciousness that once permeated their relationship, even when they were dating.

But was it a real and enduring change between them, or just the result of two adults working as colleagues on a common endeavor? Or did his earlier concerns have some validity, that this was merely a temporary situation brought about by circumstances beyond their wildest imaginings?

Watching her, Xander marveled at the changes wrought in his ex over the last five years and was suddenly, painfully jealous of Angel. During high-school he'd caught infrequent glimpses of how wonderful Cordelia could be, usually when they were in private, without external images to maintain, more rarely also publicly if somewhat self-consciously.

Without a doubt Angel and his Fang Gang got to see the best of her, had seen Cordelia blossom into the person Xander wished he could have seen more of then. Was he only jealous because of her past friendship with Angel? Or was it simply because Angel was a vampire, or because of his own history with Angel?

Xander honestly didn't know. But fundamentally, what did it really matter? He was here to do a job. Not to contemplate what-ifs about a woman who was growing more desirable to him the longer she was near. And again the possible purpose for her return gnawed at him. What would he do if Cordelia was to be the new Keeper, if this miraculous time together was only fleeting? His emotions churned uselessly as he tried to avoid thinking the worst.

Angry with himself, he suddenly turned and shouted back, "Let's get going! We don't want to stay down here forever!" He stalked off, Cordelia looking after him curiously.

---

They eventually arrived at the first three-way branching they had encountered to this point. Xander motioned Zelinda and Giles to join him and they quickly discussed their options. Xander was loath to split up into any group with less than two slayers, but if this happened a lot it could take too much time, and Xander was starting to get impatient. Giles stood deferentially while he waited for Xander to decide.

Xander stared down at the ground and came to an answer. "Okay, here's what we'll do. You," he indicated Giles, "and Carole go down that tunnel. I'll go with Teri down this one; Cordy, Lani and Linda will take the third. Good enough?"

Cordelia, who had been hovering on the periphery of the conversation, easily overheard his plan. Remembering her promise to Giles, Cordelia began to protest as soon as she realized she would be apart from Xander, and loudly demanded she go with him.

Xander's expression took on a strained look of patience while he heard her out. "Wait a minute, guys," he told the others before grabbing Cordelia's arm and almost literally hauling her back around the last bend, out of sight if not out of earshot. He abruptly let go and took a quick pace away from her before spinning and leaning in, imposing his greater height, breath whistling harshly through his nose as he glared at her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!"

Cordelia was surprised by Xander's outburst. "Come back down to Earth, Napoleon!" She poked him in the chest. She didn't understand Xander's condescending attitude and was getting pissed off in reaction. "You need someone to watch your back."

"I've got Teri. And whether or not I need you--or anyone else--to watch my back is not the issue here," Xander said, jabbing a finger at the ground. He took a deep breath, settled back, and pinched the bridge of his nose. In a calmer, more conciliatory manner he continued, "Look, I'm perfectly willing to listen to suggestions, Cordy. I don't have the answer to everything. I know that. But," his arm fell away and he looked Cordelia straight in the eye, features set in a hard expression, speaking with a calm icy firmness, "when I decide something in a mission situation like this... you don't ever, EVER! question me in front of the others like that! Am I understood?"

Cordelia didn't answer as her surprise turned to shock.

He swung his hand forward, causing her to jump when his palm slapped into the rock near her ear. Cordelia made a conscious effort not to recoil. She couldn't ever remember seeing Xander Harris this genuinely furious, and certainly never when it was directed at her. What the hell had gotten up his butt anyway?

"Do you understand me, Cordy?" he repeated.

Her eyes had widened at his commanding tone and she didn't respond for several seconds. Then she locked gazes with him, neither flinching or looking away.

"I understand just fine, Generalissimo Harris. And you understand this: I am not one of your little slayers you can order around. So take your 'tude and stuff it into that hollow space between your ears!" Cordelia started to stalk off then rounded back on him. "And it's Cordelia!" she said bitterly. She rejoined Zelinda and Fulani and they headed down their assigned tunnel, the slayers hurrying to keep up with her.

He cursed quietly to himself as he made his way back. He hated being such an ass. But dammit, she needed to understand! They couldn't afford to sit and debate every issue that came up. Decisions had to be made fast, and obeyed even faster. Someone had to make choices, even unpleasant ones if necessary.

His face flushed when he suddenly recalled what he'd done to undermine Buffy's leadership. He still knew it was the right decision to not return to the winery, but now, after walking the proverbial mile in Buffy's shoes, he also understood they'd handled it in the worst way possible. You just don't do that to your leader. And you especially don't do that to your friend.

Ashamed, Xander grimaced when Giles gave him a sympathetic look. "None of your business!" he snapped at the Watcher and started down the second tunnel. "I'm waiting, Teri," he called back, causing Tarian to race after.

Giles shook his head and motioned for Carole to join him to check the third tunnel.

Not ten minutes later Giles and Carole reported they had found the marker. After they reformed and started on again, Xander was surprised to find Cordelia still stayed near him, though now she refused to speak to him. He mentally shrugged and figured he'd just never ever be able to understand the woman.

---

Zelinda raised up her hand in warning and stopped abruptly. Xander saw her cocking her head around, sniffing the air. He came up beside her and looked around as well.

"What is it, Linda?"

"You don't smell it? The odor?"

"Smell wh--" He broke off when a thick sickly sulfurous odor made his nose crinkle. It reminded him of the smell of diesel fuel and hydraulic fluid from the heavy machinery at construction sites. It had a more astringent component and soon his eye began to water.

He turned back and gestured emphatically. "Everybody stay back!"

The fireball appeared without warning, a hundred yards away, completely blocking their path. It seemed to be rolling, swirling, filling up the entire tunnel and moving toward them at great speed.

"Great balls o' fire!" whispered Xander. "Did someone order up an Indiana Jones movie? 'Cause this is so not the time. I didn't even bring my whip!"

At first the shock of the sight of a fireball bearing down on them prevented any of the group from moving at all. Carole was the first to break out of her shock and that acted as a catalyst for everyone else. They started to run and scramble back as fast as they could, but the fireball still gained on them.

Feeling the sudden increasing heat singing the hairs on the back of his neck, Xander realized they couldn't out-run it. Not knowing what else to do, he desperately yelled out "Flatten! Get down!" and pushed Zelinda down behind a small outcropping from the tunnel floor. He did the same to Carole and Cordelia when he reached them. Giles, further away, had already taken the same action and Xander saw Tarian and Fulani copying their actions.

The heat increased in intensity, seemingly drawing all the air out of the tunnel and replacing it with molten lead for them to breath. Xander gasped in pain but soon the air grew much cooler and his breathing eased. He looked up to the see the sphere bounding harmlessly away, already fading in strength as it disappeared around the last bend.

Everyone stood.

"Heh! That wasn't so bad." Xander smiled broadly.

Fulani nudged him and pointed back to the direction they were heading.

The passage, for as far as they could see, was filled with a hissing crackling fire, the sound growing louder and louder, soon becoming a roar. Flames were shooting out from cracks and crevices in the walls and top of the tunnel, though the floor itself seemed to be relatively clear. Silently they approached as close as possible before being stopped by the waves of heat pouring back at them.

"All those in favor of turning back, finding the nearest pub and hoisting a pint please raise your hand," Xander asked cheerfully.

Tarian just looked at Xander. "Y'know Xander, that's the smartest thing you've said all day." Her hand joined his.

"There must be some way through," said Giles thoughtfully, ignoring their banter. "The Via Aurum is meant to be difficult, arduous, and yes, even dangerous. But not completely impossible to traverse." Giles suddenly smiled. "And we've come such a long way already."

Xander turned to face Giles and the others, noting how their faces glowed in the reflected light from the flames. The mere action of turning his face into shadow caused the skin on his forehead and cheeks to cool and relax from a hot and parched tightness. He and Giles regarded each other for long moments before he looked to each of the others.

Zelinda was impassive, waiting for whatever Xander said. He could count on her. Despite Tarian's comment she still looked eager. Xander had to smile. Tarian was nothing if not gutsy. Crazy as a loon sometimes, and always irritating, but gutsy. Both Fulani and Carole looked apprehensive but seemed steady enough. Giles was unreadable, but from years of experience Xander knew he would do whatever was necessary, no matter how dangerous.

Cordelia was perhaps the most surprising of all to him. She looked to him with determined confidence, seemingly certain in his ability, certain of her own.

"Okay then, instead of hoisting a pint, how about we douse ourselves in it, then run like hell through that? Or better yet we'll just go to the nearest clothing store and see if asbestos suits have made the fashion comeback I always thought they would." Xander grinned at his own joke, but it quickly faded when he saw Giles' expression change to a thoughtful frown. "Uh oh. You just got an idea, didn't you?"

"Hmmm, perhaps we can't find asbestos suits...but we might be able to make do with something almost as good."

"And it's one that involves going through that?" Xander pointed at the flaming tunnel of death.

"Yes, it does. Good thinking, Xander."

Xander ruefully shook his head. "I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut."

"Teri was wrong," said Cordelia. "That's the smartest thing you've said all day. All year, I'd bet." Xander's glare only made her smile get bigger.

Giles idea was a type of warding spell to deflect matter unbreathable to humans.

"It's something Willow came up with while we were working with her at Devon after, uh... the, uh, the incident." He eyes flicked down, as did Xander's, but he quickly plowed on. "Although her original idea was a way to breath underwater, by setting up a barrier that would only pass oxygen molecules. But with slight modification I believe it will work here."

Giles dropped his pack and upturned it to dump the contents. He examined and sorted through various items until he had the materials he needed, then thumbed through a dog-eared notebook until he reached the right page. He read through an entry and then sought out more materials from the other packs.

"Right. This should work to deflect the flames and most of the radiant heat, but there are still difficulties. The oxygen that filters through will retain much of it's heat and the surrounding rock will too, including the floor. So my advice is to hold a big breath of air and, well, run like hell. Because if you breath any of the ambient air it will feel like you're in hell."

Fulani jumped up excitedly. "Water! Back there!" She pointed back the way they had come.

"Lani, there's not possibly enough water to douse the fire," Giles explained patiently.

Carole interrupted. "No, we found a small pool in that last branch we checked, the one we didn't take. I think she means we should go back and get ourselves wet."

"An excellent idea! It's not perfect, but that should help a lot."

They trooped back to the site of Fulani's discovery, jumped in and splashed through the small shallow pool until they were as soaked as possible, and quickly sloshed back. The air in the caves was still surprisingly cool and Cordelia complained about freezing, while Giles worked to set up the incantation.

"In a moment that really won't be a problem," said Xander, watching as Giles bent to cast the spell. "How long will it work?"

"At least five minutes. Maybe ten," answered Giles after some delay. "Depends on how much salt is in these." Giles waved the sticks of beef jerky he'd collected.

"Alright, Linda and me first. If we get through successfully then you and Cordy, and then the rest of you."

"Why not two slayers first, just like before?" protested Tarian.

"Because three slayers can do cleanup detail better than two, if one of us falls down in there."

Tarian didn't like it, and it showed, but she kept her peace and formed up with Carole and Fulani, ready to go right after Cordelia and Giles.

"Do it," Xander commanded, nodding at Giles.

Giles quickly worked the spell and in moments the flames peeled back, leaving a narrow gap extending all the way through. It still seemed pretty bad though and Giles looked disappointed.

"That's as well as I can do, I'm afraid. Pure salt would have been better."

"It'll have to do." Xander started hyper-ventilating and Zelinda followed his example. She nodded her head once and Xander slapped her on the shoulder. They took one last great gulp of air before taking off into the narrow opening between the licking flames.

Xander nearly lost it the moment they entered. Despite the warding spell and his wet clothes, the flickering heat was intense and almost unbearable. He struggled to prevent himself from losing his breath, to keep on going, pushing as hard as he could. Ahead he noticed Zelinda was also having trouble, catching her once when she stumbled. He felt his clothes drying out fast, and wherever skin was exposed he could feel it getting parched, cracking open like the mud flats in Africa after the seasonal lakes receded. The smell of burning rubber wafted up from his shoes. The only part of Xander Harris that didn't feel like it was already on fire was his back, protected by the heavy pack which got heavier by the second.

The passageway seemed very much longer then at first. At some point he had to take a breath and Xander felt lava pouring down his throat. He cried with the effort to take only small breaths.

A fireball exploded on the right, and even though he knew the spell was working Xander flinched away, turning his head to see where it had come from. For a brief moment Xander wasn't looking down at the lumpy rocky ground as he stepped onto some small loose pebbles on his blind side. His leg started to slide out from under him and his ankle twisted. Xander flailed to keep his balance, reaching down with his hand to hold himself up, screaming when he touched the scorching rock. He yanked his hand back but hadn't regained his balance yet and instead fell to his knee, the jarring impact causing his helmet to roll off. Overbalanced by the heavy pack Xander toppled onto his side. Partially damp clothes started to sizzle and steam with the contact and the new pain bursting from that side made Xander howl.

Nothing like going out in a blaze of glory, he thought bleakly, as the pain started to engulf his vision. Scratch that, he wanted nothing to do with Glory. But he knew he was done for.

Zelinda hadn't seen him fall behind her and didn't turn back to look until she was all the way through. She screamed his name when she finally did make it and saw he wasn't right there behind her. Even though she knew it would probably kill them both if she tried to go back all dry now she started anyway. She hesitated only slightly when Xander waved her back and yelled at her to stop.

Xander didn't want Zelinda to come back and get him, knowing it would only get them both killed. Just before the pain nearly overwhelmed him and he would fall flat against the super-heated rock he felt strong hands grabbing him under his right shoulder and pull him up. Through the pained and heat-warped blurry vision he couldn't make out his rescuer's features and assumed it was one of the slayers. Another set of hands gripped his other side and they quickly pulled him through.

Xander didn't remember actually being dragged along, or whether or not he was completely out, or even helpful, but he blinked and gasped when he was suddenly bathed in blissfully cool air. He felt himself being unceremoniously dumped as he heard the two woman collapse themselves. When his vision finally cleared he noticed the slayer on his left was Fulani. He looked to his other side to thank the slayer who'd reached him first, Carole or Tarian, but saw Cordelia, looking bedraggled and limp, but otherwise okay.

He stared at her before he turned his head to see Giles, assisted by Tarian, pop through, followed by Carole.

All of them sat there, breathing deep of the relatively cool air.

"Sucks to be the marshmallow," quipped Xander in a painfully rough voice, shifting around to look over the situation. "Ow," he hissed in reaction to a sharp pain shooting up from his left ankle.

Giles passed his pack over to Zelinda, who dug out the first aid kit. Xander was by far in the worst shape of all of them and she set about looking after him first. "You have some mild burns," she announced after a few minutes, "but nothing too bad. You are very lucky." Then she probed around his ankle, watching his facial expression as she gently moved his foot about. "You may have broken something, I'm not sure." She continued to check.

"That fall looked pretty bad," said Giles judiciously. "If Cordelia hadn't gotten there so quickly the burns would have been much more serious. Fatal, perhaps."

"Cordelia?" Xander asked dumbly, turning to look back at her, still hardly believing the plain evidence.

Cordelia looked on wordlessly as Zelinda continued to gingerly probe and test his ankle.

"I do not think it is broken," Zelinda finally said. "It's probably sprained. We have aspirin and Advil, but no ice. Do not take the boot off, you must leave it on until we get out of this place."

At that moment, with an audible pop, the passageway that Giles had cleared, collapsed.

Giles looked back with a frown, then smiled in satisfaction. "Hmph! That lasted longer than I thought it might."

Xander looked thoughtful before his face registered shock. "Y-y-you mean there's a good chance you cou--"

"Yes."

"But why didn't you say anything?"

Giles bemused satisfied expression became serious as he addressed Xander. "What good would that have done?"

"I--" Xander stuttered to a stop as he understood the simple truth of Giles' statement. He bowed his head in acknowledgment. "How are the others?" Xander eventually asked, indicating the other slayers.

"I think a few small burns here and there, but otherwise we are in good shape, I'll check." Zelinda informed him.

Giles gave Xander a questioning look and Xander grunted and waved him off to go help Zelinda, leaving only Cordelia nearby.

Xander eyed her speculatively. Cordelia, her back to him, was attending to some detail he couldn't see.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" she turned and asked when she heard some mumbling.

Xander knew she heard him the first time but repeated himself just the same. "I said--" he started again, "I said... Thank you."

Cordelia arched her eyebrow. "Ah, In other words, you mean I was right and you were wrong."

"Maybe."

She cocked her head slightly to one side, her expression a mixture of expectation and accusation.

"Okay, yes. You were right, I was wrong. It's a good thing you're here. Satisfied now, Cordelia?"

"Perfectly." She brightened suddenly as if a switch had been thrown, and she beamed a familiar megawatt smile at him him. "And no need to be so formal, doofus. Cordy's good." Standing, she held out her hand to him and Xander raised his to take it, expecting a helping hand up. When their hands almost touched she dropped some Advil into his palm. "Take two and call me in the morning." She smiled again at him and turned on her heel to go help with the others.

When Xander lifted his head to swallow the pills he saw Giles standing some distance away, looking at him with the beginning of smirk forming.

"What?" Xander peevishly demanded.

"Ah, ahem... nothing." Giles smiled. "Nothing at all."

Xander scowled after Giles retreating back.

---

Unlike most of their journey thus far, the present section of passageway constantly wound around on itself. And as they continued around the many twists and turns Xander realized they were getting too spread out. Giles had taken to moving up with the lead slayers and, although Xander could hear chatter from ahead and behind, they were far enough around the turns he couldn't actually see them.

He realized they were in a tactically vulnerable situation and called back to Fulani and Tarian for them catch up. When they came in view he increased the pace to catch up with Zelinda, Carole and Giles.

Xander caught a glimpse of Zelinda and Carole disappearing around the bend just before he heard them cry out and the sound of clanking metal. He ran forward as best he could on his injured ankle. When he cleared the corner he saw three dark shadows just beyond the two lead slayers, engaged in heavy fighting. Giles was down on the ground but seemed otherwise unhurt as he scrambled to his feet. Giles withdrew his sword and tried to work his way around the girls to add a new threat to the unrecognized demons.

Surprised that Tarian and Fulani hadn't already caught up, and even rushed past to help Zelinda and Carole, Xander unsheathed the shotgun and was preparing to push forward for a clear shot. But he stopped when he heard Cordelia yell out a warning from behind him.

Twisting back he saw more shapes come down the tunnel toward Tarian and Fulani, who were already fully engaged in a fight not ten yards from him. Part of his mind noted and was proud to see that none of the girls were panicking, each of them displaying their training and fighting as disciplined co-ordinated pairs.

However, as the fighters turned and maneuvered for position, and despite the tight confines, two demons were able to fight past the rear slayers and come at Xander and Cordelia, brandishing fingerless club-like arms.

Xander pulled the trigger and hit the closest demon on its side, but the demon's momentum carried it into Xander as his second shot went wild, sending buck-shot caroming off the walls in a shower of lead and sharp-edged chips. He brought up the gun and used it as a club against the wounded demon. Between the damage from the first shot and whatever effect his pounding had Xander was able to shove it away and into the second demon bearing down on Cordelia.

With the second demon spun around from the collision, leaving its side exposed, Cordelia stepped forward and whipped her sword into it, slicing deep.

Xander saw Cordelia's sweeping sword strike and grinned his admiration at her skill with it. He moved forward to batter at his demon with the gun, realizing in this disorganized melee that any missed and ricocheting shot could be more dangerous to him and Cordelia than the enemy. He saw her take off after putting the demon down. He continued to pound on his demon which was still gamely fighting on despite a loose appendage flopping about, some kind of orange-red fluid spraying everywhere from its wound. He finally was able to get the shotgun clear and, with no one around and at point-blank range, unloaded a blast at its head.

All around him Xander heard the sound of loud fighting: the desperate grunts and yells, the angry roars, the clashing scraping of weapon on weapon, or the sickening thunk of weapon into flesh. The noise came from both in front and in back of Xander's position. He'd seen Cordelia finish off her demon and take off but couldn't remember which way. He decided to go help Tarian and Fulani, their fight having moved back around the curve. Just as he hobbled around the corner and spotted the engagement he was immediately taken down by a slayer being tossed into him. The slayer, he wasn't sure which one, jumped off him and rejoined the fight with a warbling banshee screech. Fulani, he figured. Tarian tended to growl rather than shriek.

Xander levered himself up, but before he could bring his weapon to bear he was immediately set upon by a compact bear-like demon with three eyes and multiple sets of razor teeth. He remembered seeing pictures of it in some book but for the life of him couldn't remember its name. More importantly, he couldn't remember its strengths and weakness. It didn't seem to have much skill at anything, but it was strong and very very fast. Xander unloaded a grazing shot at it, but its hairy pelt, which Xander realized wasn't even real hair, protected it.

Enraged, the demon barreled into him. Xander braced himself for the impact, trying to side-step at the same time and swinging the gun, but the demon followed the motion and the impact was like greeting a Mack truck head-on. Despite having braced himself, and favoring his good leg, his ankle gave way and he fell, the snarling demon on top of him. Xander struggled to push the demon away but his strength was failing and the demon's claws were tearing at him, getting closer and closer to slicing through his neck.

Suddenly the demon fell off, grunting in pain from a huge kick to its midsection. Xander looked up gratefully, about to nod his thanks to Fulani or Tarian. The sight of his wickedly grinning savior held him speechless.

"Fa--huh!" he blubbered.

"Hey, Xand! Love to chat but looks like I've still got some work to do!" Faith winked and waved to him before dashing off around the corner toward the commotion still coming from the front.

Twisting around to get off the ground, using the gun as a crutch, Xander followed as best he could. He caught sight of her in time to see her launch herself the fray of battle.

Xander made to follow but Tarian's shout brought him up short. Looking back it appeared more attackers had joined the fracas from behind. Tarian and Fulani were now barely holding their own against a pair of Ffipth demons, who were small, lightning fast and with a set of appendages like kitchen knives, a Montrusk Devil, and two vampires.

Not willing to take a chance with Tarian and Fulani so near the line of fire, Xander dropped the gun and retrieved a crossbow that had fallen to the ground. He got in a good shot against the Devil, the bolt burying itself in the gap between its upper and lower thoracic armor plates. It wasn't a killing shot, the bolt too small to do that much damage, but it paralyzed the demon for a moment, allowing Tarian's roundhouse kick to twist its head around and kill it.

It fell into one of the vampires, which gave Fulani an opening for her own killing blow. Xander missed the remaining vampire with the next bolt when it unexpectedly ducked. Feeling it would take too long to reload, and that his slayers would be worn out if the evidence of all the bodies laying around attested to, he dropped the crossbow and charged one of the Ffipth demons, hoping to at least keep it occupied while Fulani and Tarian dealt with the remaining Ffipth and vampire.

Xander's approach was good enough but his ankle wouldn't support his leap, which turned into more of a roll into the back of the Ffipth's legs. In desperation he attempted wrap up the demon and prevent it from reaching down and goring him with its horns.

He only had to struggle for a moment before the demon suddenly went limp in his arms. He looked up to see a huge brilliant grin plastered across Fulani's dark features before she turned to help Tarian with the remaining vampire. Against two very angry, very well-trained slayers the vampire barely lasted seconds.

Oddly, he still saw the remaining Ffipth, not killed by Fulani as he had assumed, still fighting someone. Fulani and Tarian also seemed astonished and stood back to watch. Meanwhile, Faith came up behind Xander and helped him to his feet, thumping him on the back. "We're finished back there," she crowed, "and it looks like you guys are nearly done here."

The two remaining fighters shifted around and for the second time in as many minutes Xander's voice caught in his throat. The Ffipth reeled back as its opponent delivered a blinding flurry of punches, capped by a powerful front kick to its midsection. Faith stepped forward at that moment and sliced its head off.

"Looks like our job here is done," Faith happily pronounced into the sudden quiet, broken only by everyone's labored breathing. The other slayers started to form up in attack postures around the newcomer until Faith stepped in. "Relax! He's with me."

Still speechless, Xander blinked when Faith's companion approached and nodded to him.

"Xander." The man looked Xander up and down, a certain distaste quite plain. "Looks like the knuckles are all better."

Shaking himself out of his confusion, Xander briefly looked down at his own hands before snapping his attention back. "Yeah. Yeah, some people get better. Some obviously don't. What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

Cordelia, who had been at the front of the fight, came stumbling back to help. In the wavering shadows cast by lights that had either been dropped or knocked away she didn't notice the tall figure standing in the shadow thrown by Xander's body. "Oh, God, Xander, are you okay?"

Xander hesitated before turning to let Cordelia know everything was fine. She rushed up to give him a quick hug, pulling away when he stumbled over a bit. Only then did she look around to assess the rest of the situation.

Cordelia's eyes grow wide as saucers when she recognized who was standing behind him.

"Angel!" she blurted out.


to be continued in Part 5b...