Chapter Summary: A clue to the Gem of Amara's location is found.
Chapter Word Count: 5,815
Posted: 29-Sep-2020
Notes: There's a short fight scene. Not something I have a lot of talent for writing. But hopefully it works well enough for this story.
They'd just finished packing their equipment in their van when Buffy, Oz, and Willow joined them behind the Bronze.
"This was your last night playing here," Buffy said, poking her head into their van for a moment to look around. "What do you plan to do next?"
"We still need to find the Gem of Amara," Mika said, shrugging.
"We have a deadline," Sita said, leaning against the van, next to Buffy. "If we don't find it by then we'll have to move on, and someone else will try to get it the next time one of us passes through Sunnydale."
"So, not world endage if you can't find it," Buffy said, nodding.
"It won't be a good thing to leave it here," Yuki said. "But there are others who may be able to find it if we don't."
"Well, I hope you do find it, and I'll help if I can," Buffy said. "If Spike is looking for it I don't really want him to find it. An invulnerable Spike can't be a good thing. He's annoying enough now."
"Harmony getting it can't be good either," Willow said.
"Xander can take Harmony," Buffy said, dismissively. "She's not the smartest vamp on the block. She was dumb before she became one, and she hasn't gotten any smarter."
"So, you need to find the Gem, which Anya says is in a ring," Willow said. "There are a lot of caves and tunnels in Sunnydale, and whole buildings swallowed up by earthquakes, so you'll need a better clue than somewhere underground in Sunnydale."
"I've scanned the entire town," Yanzy said, shaking her head. "Most of the hotspots it revealed are from demonic creatures, like that bar, Willies, and a few places like the Hellmouth."
"So, the Gem ring isn't powerful enough to register on your thing," Buffy said, frowning. "Where does that leave you?"
"Mr. Giles said he would look through his books to see if it is mentioned anywhere, but he originally believed it was a legend," Mika said. "So it is not very likely he will find any information about it now."
"The books are great, but only if someone wrote it down," Buffy said. "A legend of some thing that makes vampires invulnerable? They probably didn't believe it, or it was mentioned in some prophecy by some blind monk."
"Some of those monks could really jam," Oz said. "They had some rocking parties."
"We should jam," Yuki said, poking Oz. "We probably won't be by here again for a while."
"The Pump has open mic night tomorrow," Willow said. "You could do something then, they always have openings."
"If not we can always scare someone away," Buffy said. "No one needs another hour long epic in Klingon."
"It was well done," Willow said, giggling. "They even got the pronunciation correct for the shouty bits."
"What are you doing tomorrow," Buffy said.
"Same thing we do every morning," Yuki said. "Go for a run and then practice our forms. And then have breakfast."
"You can join us, again," Mika said.
"I have to get up early to help my mother in her gallery," Buffy said. "She got in a new shipment today, and I need to check it for contraband. Maybe some other time?"
"Contraband?" Sita said, curious.
"Last year, Ms. Summers bought some things from an estate sale, and there was a demon mask," Willow said.
"A zombie summoning demon," Buffy said. "So we have an agreement. If she buys any estate sale items, sight unseen, Giles and I check them out for anything dangerous."
"And they get donuts and coffee," Willow said. "It's a whole thing."
"Mom bonding," Buffy said, "though Mom isn't bonding with Giles. That would be icky, especially after that whole band candy thing."
"Band candy?" Yuki asked. "Why don't we have band candy?" She looked at Sita.
"You would eat it all," Mika said. "There wouldn't be any to sell."
"This was enchanted candy," Willow said. "Made the adults in town behave like teens. It wasn't pretty."
"Disturbing," Oz added.
"We don't need that kind of candy," Mika said, scrunching her nose.
"You can stop by the gallery tomorrow morning," Buffy said. "We'll probably be there all morning."
"Mika and I have a thing tomorrow morning," Yuki said.
"We do?" Mika said, frowning.
"We do, you remember, that thing," Yuki said, nodding her head.
"I need to go over our equipment before we leave town," Yanzy said. "Our next gig is out in the middle of nowhere. If I need any replacements I'll have to get them while we are in Sunnydale."
"But Sita can join you," Yuki said. "She doesn't have anything to do tomorrow morning. And she likes art."
Sita glared at Yuki but didn't contradict her.
"Great!" Buffy said. "You remember where it is, right ?
"Yes," Sita said.
"You came," Buffy said, bouncing over to the door when Sita entered the gallery. "Come meet my mom."
Sita followed her into the back of the gallery where the tall blonde and Mr. Giles were looking through a box of books.
"Some of these are rare," Mr. Giles was saying as they approached, "but most are later editions." He held up a book. "For example, this one looks old but is a recent bad translation of a much earlier tome. It has value if you are interested in badly translated early Frankish prophecies."
"Is it possible to badly translate a prophecy?" Buffy asked. "They never make much sense anyway."
"This refers to a cache of Holy relics buried in a valley of the sun, on the shore of an ocean," Giles said. "Which could be anywhere. It's possible the original had more explicit directions. Or less, and the translator padded it."
"Why would someone make something longer, Mr. Giles?" Sita asked.
"Paid by the word?" Buffy said. "Or by weight?"
"Buffy?" Ms. Summers said.
"Yes, Mom?" Buffy said.
"Introductions?" She said.
"Oh, right," Buffy said. "This is Sita. Her band played at the Bronze the last couple of nights. She's in town for a couple more days. Su, this is my mom, Joyce Summers."
"It is an honor to meet you," Sita said, bowing slightly.
"This is fascinating," Giles murmured. "There appears to be something in the binding."
"Does it have any value?" Joyce said, perking up.
"As I said, the translation really has no value," Giles said. "These are from the estate of the former assistant mayor." "Which means there could be evil books in there," Buffy said. "What else is there?"
"What was in that book?" Joyce said, not distracted.
Sighing, Giles put the book down, and removed a folded piece of old paper. Carefully unfolding it, he placed it down on the crate. "It's a map, of some sort."
"Treasure map?" Buffy said. "I could use new shoes." Her mother gave her a look. "And a new sword."
"It doesn't say," Giles said. "But it appears to be of this area."
"How can you tell?" Buffy asked, squinting. "Just looks like squiggly lines to me."
"Boca del inferno," he said, pointing at faint writing along the edge. "It isn't to scale. This is likely the Hellmouth." He pointed at a spot on the map."
"And this?" Sita asked, pointing at another mark.
"A trail going through this area," Giles said. "And an old Spanish mission."
"There isn't a Spanish mission anywhere near here," Buffy said.
"It was destroyed in an earthquake," Giles said. "But this entire area has been known about for a number of years, even before Wilkins built the town."
"No treasure?" Buffy said, disappointed.
"Any treasure would have been removed when the town was built," Giles said.
"What about this?" Joyce said, holding up the book, showing a page with a drawing on it.
"Directions? To something," Giles said. "It seems to reference the Hellmouth."
"So, it might not be a bad translation?" Buffy said. "If the mayor's minion had it there might have been a reason."
"Possibly," Giles said. "I'll need to examine it and the prophecies more closely."
Joyce held out a hand. "Hmmm?" Giles said looking up from the book.
"Not free," Joyce said. "Our agreement is that you pay for anything you take."
"Yes, of course," Giles said, taking out his wallet and giving her a twenty dollar bill. "That should cover it."
"And if it leads to real treasure?" Joyce asked.
"New shoes," Buffy said, grinning, "or a new sword."
"It isn't likely to lead to anything useful," Gile said.
"You don't know that," Joyce said. "I expect a finder's fee."
"Go mom!" Buffy said, smirking.
"We're almost done here," Joyce said, "if you wanted to go, girls," she said to Buffy and Sita. "No need to stick around."
"Okay Mom," Buffy said. "I'll call you later. Hey Giles, I'll see you later."
"Yes, yes," Giles said, briefly looking up from the book.
"You might have to pry him loose from that," Buffy said to her mother. "Shall we?" She said to Sita. "Want to get something to eat?"
"Yes," Sita said.
"Sunnydale has all of the usual fast food joints," Buffy said, "but nothing beats this deli for sandwiches, unless you want coffee." She held open the door for Sita.
"It is a very busy looking town during the day," Sita said.
"Yes," Buffy said. "Looks normal during the day. Even the local demons who come out during the day, you couldn't tell if you didn't already know."
"What do you recommend?" Sita asked.
"Well, everything here is great. No hidden surprises like the sandwich shop. I usually go for the hot pastrami," Buffy said. "But the portions can be huge."
"I'll just have a salad," Sita said.
"Those are great also," Buffy said. "All locally grown."
After ordering, they found an empty table near the back and waited for their sandwiches to be brought out.
"How long have you been traveling with the others as a band?" She asked. "You play like you've been together for years."
"We've been playing together for years," Sita said. "But we've only been a band for the last two years. Before that we were part of an idol group."
"That must have been a change," Buffy said. "Isn't the music very different?"
"Yes," Sita said. "There is a big difference from an idol group and a band. In the idol group we didn't play our own instruments. The music was recorded and we sang to it."
"Like karaoke?" Buffy said.
"That is one way to put it," Sita said. "Except it was the group's songs and not cover songs. With the band, we play our own instruments, and write our own songs, most of the time."
"It sounds exciting," Buffy said.
"It can be," Sita said, "but what you do is more exciting."
"I'm not the only one who spends their time hunting demons," Buffy said. "How much time do you spend demon hunting while on the road?"
"It depends on the town," Sita said. "Some towns have no demon presence. Others have multiple swarms of them."
"Do you know ahead of time if a town has a large demon population?" Buffy asked.
"We do have a list of towns to watch out for," Sita said. "But most might have one or two demons, not hordes. And often they are so well hidden that we don't see them unless they come looking for us."
"It still sounds exciting," Buffy said. "More exciting that my daily graveyard patrols."
"It's a different life," Sita said, shrugging. "We can go weeks without running into anything worth investigating."
"So, what do you do?" Buffy asked. "To avoid getting bored?"
"The usual things on a long road trip," Sita said. "We play games and explore when we have time. Though Yanzy said if we stop at the world's biggest ball of string again she might quit."
"Are there many of those?" Buffy asked, pausing to make room for the waiter to put their sandwiches on their table.
"More than one," Sita said. "And not all the same size. Every town with the World's Largest Ball of String has different ideas on how to promote it."
"Who decides which one is the largest," Buffy said. "And do they have to find someone official to say they have the largest one?"
"I can't answer that," Sita said. "It is one of the imponderables of being on the road for months at a time. Eventually, everything repeats. Every state seems to have a John's Hollywood Diner and they all serve barely edible mac-n-cheese and hotdogs but they have different movie themes."
You could write a book," Buffy said. "About all the things you've seen, or not seen. I'd read it."
"It's an interesting idea," Sita said. "But it would take time that I don't have. Sometimes we have to leave town in a hurry."
"Why?" Buffy asked. "Why leave in a hurry."
"It depends on the town, but some have demons in powerful positions so we can't do anything about them," Sita said. "Except run away."
"Ah, there you are," Giles said, interrupting their lunch. Grabbing an unoccupied chair from another table he sat down at theirs.
"Have a seat," Buffy said, raising an eyebrow at his sudden appearance.
"This map," Giles said, opening it on the table in front of them. "It shows where a cache of old artifacts can be found. According to this passage, a G'ctul demon lived in Sunnydale for a number of years, before the Master killed it."
"What's a Gactul demon?" Buffy said, frowning. Sita giggled at her pronunciation.
"It's the demon equivalent of a magpie," Giles said. "It collects magical trinkets and buries them in its lair."
"And you have directions to it?" Buffy said. "Why didn't the Mayor find it and dig it up?"
"We don't know if he did," Giles admitted. "But it is possible that this Gem of Amara is there."
"You're jumping to conclusions, off a deep pier," Buffy said. "If it is in Sunnydale, assuming we trust Su's source, why would it be there? It could be anywhere."
"This book includes several mentions of the Gem," Giles said.
"But didn't you say it was a bad translation?" Buffy said. "Why should we believe the map is correct? It could be a trap."
"We don't have anything else to go on," Sita said. "If this is correct, we can find the Gem and destroy it."
"Where is it?" Buffy said, nodding. "We can at least check it out."
"The east side of Restfield," Giles said. "If this is correct, there are several mausoleums in the area, connected to the Sunnydale tunnels."
"So, we explore them and find out if one of them has an entrance to this demon lair? We'll need weapons, and a shovel or two," Buffy said.
"Did you want to call your friends?" Sita said.
"Willow has classes all afternoon," Buffy said. "Xander works, and I'm not sure where Oz is. What about Yuki, Mika, and Yanzy?"
"They can meet us there," Sita said, pausing for a moment to relay the information to Yanzy. "We don't have shovels or other digging tools."
"Xander can get those for us if we need them," Buffy said. "Can you drive us?" she asked Giles. She dropped money on the table, waving over their waitress.
"Of course," Giles said, standing.
"You have that fighting suit," Buffy said, looking at Sita. "Do we need to stop at your motel so you can change?"
"They'll bring it in the van," Sita said. "Although I would prefer to wear it if we are going down into demon caves, I don't absolutely need it."
"You don't have super powers, and Giles has his tweed which is almost as good as armor," Buffy said. "We'll wait for it."
The van was at the Restfield entrance when they arrived. Giles parked next to it and Sita jumped out of his car, and climbed in.
"Unfortunately, we aren't all magical girls," Yuki said, sauntering over to them wearing her own battle suit. "It'll take her a couple minutes to change."
"How are we doing this?" Buffy asked, once Sita rejoined them.
"A quick recon," Yuki said. "Split up into pairs. We can check out the two mausoleums faster."
"That bow and your katanas aren't going to be very useful underground," Mika said.
"Thought of that," Yuki said, showing them her knives. Sita nodded, displaying a long knife.
"Yanzy and Mr Giles can stay with the van," Sita said, "until we find it."
"No objection," Yanzy said. Giles frowned but nodded.
"Will your not-telepathy work underground?" Buffy said.
"If we don't go too far underground," Yanzy said. "It only has limited use through solid rock."
"How do you want to split up?" Buffy said.
"Well, we have three short people and one taller, so we can't do it by height. You and Sita can have one mausoleum. Mika and I can take the other," Yuki said. "And meet back here?"
Good," Sita said. "Do not get hurt," she told the others.
"I excel at not getting hurt," Yuki said, twirling around, before running off.
"And I'll keep her under control," Mika said, sighing, following her.
"Not very homey," Buffy said, pushing open the mausoleum door "But it looks unoccupied."
"Were would the entrance to the tunnels be?" Sita said.
"Over there?" Buffy said, pointing at a rusted gate.
"This seems to be too easy," Sita said, tugging at the chain wrapped around the gate, welded to keep it closed.
"Just a chain? That wouldn't keep anyone out," Buffy said. "Stand back. That's gonna dull," she said, grimacing. She swung her small hand axe at the chain several times before it broke.
Sita pushed the gate open, which it did with a loud screech. "Dust," she said cautiously stepping through the gate.
"So, it's been a while since someone came this way," Buffy said. "Hopefully there isn't another way to get there."
"They've both entered the tunnels below the mausoleums," Yanzy said to Giles. "Or at least I'm assuming they've entered the tunnels, I don't have a map."
"You device still shows them underground?" Giles said.
"It's tracking the suits Su, Yuki, and Mika are wearing," Yanzy said. "The suits will record their location so we can reconstruct the tunnels later but I don't have enough power to do more than that through the rock."
"Those suits aren't normal demon hunter equipment," Giles said. "I was expecting something a little more traditional."
"Sita isn't a traditional Kitsune team leader. She is willing to try new things if it will help us survive longer," Yanzy said. "We haven't had the suits very long but they've saved their lives multiple times already."
"Who is she, exactly?" Giles said as they watched the glowing trails slowly converge.
"They're outside the cemetery now," Yanzy said. "Su? She's team lead for this Kitsune team."
"And?" Giles said. "The Watcher's Council has not had much contact with any of the Kitsune, but this team does not fit the profile of any of the known teams the Council has encountered."
"How much do you know of the leadership of the Kitsune?" Yanzy said. "If you know nothing, who she is doesn't matter. If you do know, it still doesn't matter."
"It is matriarchal," Giles said. "Which is why the Council rarely works with the Kitsune. And the different approaches to demon hunting do not work well together."
"Afraid we'll steal your magical girl warrior?" Yanzy said, smirking. "We would welcome her, but we wouldn't steal her."
"I cannot speak for the Council in this matter," Giles said. "Assume I have some familiarity with your structure."
"Sita is the leader of the Ninth Cohort," Yanzy said. "She is also the high priestess of the Fox God, our sponsor."
"So, not just a simple demon hunter?" Giles said, nodding at the confirmation.
"None of us are simple," Yanzy said. "And it looks like they've met up."
"Dead end?" Yanzy said over the comm. "It looks like you've met up."
"No," Yuki said, "No sign of them."
"The scanner says all four of you are right there," Yanzy said over the group comm.
"It's wrong," Sita said faintly. "Can you detect elevation?"
"It's not 3D," Yanzy said. "The signal is too weak. Are you seeing anything?" Yanzy adjusted a setting on her scanner. "They aren't together," she told Giles. "One of the tunnels is lower."
"Do we know which one?" Giles asked.
"Sita and Buffy look like they are below the others. Their signal is much weaker." Yanzy said.
"The tunnel continues," Sita said. "I can hear something. Buffy said it sounds like digging."
"Buffy is hearing digging," Yanzy told Giles. "They must be close to something."
"Buffy hasn't had a lot of training fighting underground," Giles said. "Any demons or vampires will have an advantage."
"Mika and Yuki are good in caves," Yanzy said. "Sita isn't bad, but they are better. Their size gives them more room to maneuver."
"Can we get them back here?" Giles said.
"Our tunnel is starting to go down," Yuki said, over the comm. "But still no sign of Sita and Buffy."
"Be careful, you're moving away from them," Yanzy said. "Sita says they are hearing digging."
"If we go back it would be a while before we could catch up with them," Yuki said.
"Forward," Mika said, "hopefully we'll meet up with them ahead."
"The digging could be anything," Yuki said in a low voice. "Could be the vampires looking for something. Could be some other demon digging a lair. Could be moles."
"As long as it's something we can fight, we'll be okay," Mika said.
"We're armed for self defense," Yuki said. "Not for attacking. And running around down here is going to be suicidal."
"Just need to find the chamber with the shiny magical trinkets," Mika said. "Then we can go home."
"We should probably find it first," Yuki said. "What's that?"
"A large shiny circle on the wall?" Mika said.
"Like a door?" Yuki said. "A dumb demon wouldn't make a people door. Probably."
Mika tapped on it lightly and then tapped on the wall around it. "It's thinner than everything else," she said.
"So, a big shove and we're through?" Yuki said. "We don't have a hammer or anything. What if it's occupied?"
"Run?" Mika said.
"Do you have any of that paralyzer with you?" Yuki said.
"Yes, but it's only enough for two darts, and we might need that later," Mika said, pulling out her dart holder. "I have a couple others that might do some damage, but no guaranties."
"Better that than getting stomped on," Yuki said. "Ready?" She picked up a large rock.
"Ready," Mika said. Yuki started pounding on the wall with her rock.
"Is it even chipping it?" she asked, as she continued to bang on it, making a lot of noise.
"There's a crack," Mika said. "Keep hitting it."
Yuki stopped for a moment, and looked at the crack. "I think I've made a hole," she said, and continued bashing her rock against the wall.
There was a sudden cracking noise, followed by the wall in front of them collapsing inward. Dust billowed out.
"We're through," Yuki said over the comm. "Not sure to what."
"Brighter in there than out here," Mika said.
"It's another tunnel," Yuki said, groaning. "That slopes down at a steep angle. The tunnel is littered with junk."
"What's the status on Sita and Buffy," Mika asked over the comm.
"They've found some vampires digging," Yanzy said. "It's not clear if this is part of Spike's gang or something different."
"You can plunder later," Mika said, poking Yuki. "First we need to get to Sita and Buffy, then we can see what's there."
"Another tunnel?" Yuki said.
"There must be something important there," Yuki said, "if the vampires are digging."
"We don't have any long range weapons," Mika reminded her. "If we're going to help we'll have to get a lot closer than this.
"Are they fighting?" Yuki said. "We can't tell from here, Buffy and Sita are on the other side of them."
"Any signs of Spike or Harmony?" Mika asked. "We need to get closer."
"Can you kill a vampire from here?" Yuki said. "Without explosions or alerting the others?"
"Not a good place for a fire," Mika said. "Nothing to burn and the winds are swift."
"They are guarding something," Buffy said, relayed by Sita. "Two groups. One guarding something and the other digging."
"They must have found something, though they are showing unexpected restraint for demons," Sita said.
"Must be some important relic." Buffy said. "Like the gem?"
"Possibly," Sita said. "Or something more powerful than that."
"We aren't equipped for anything like that," Mika said. "Unless you can blast them from here."
"What's that cat doing down here? Buffy said.
"Cat?" Mika mumbled. "We didn't bring a cat with us. Did it follow us or them?"
"Us?" Yuki said. "Don't demons like to play kitten poker? It probably escaped from a kitten poker game."
"Shoo," Mika whispered, trying to push the cat back down the tunnel away from the vampires.
"We can take them," Yuki said, peeking around the corner. "There are only six, total."
"Kitten poker?" Buffy said.
"Apparently it's popular?" Sita said. "The Kitsune aren't really cat people. Or dog people."
"I don't want to know what they do with the kittens, do I?" Buffy said.
"No," Sita said. "You don't see many strays in demon towns. And you don't want to go to certain restaurants on 'kitten' nights."
"There are a couple restaurants in Sunnydale that only demons go to." Buffy said. "Never really asked why."
"Yuki thinks we can handle this," Sita said. "She is being overly optimistic, I believe."
"Six?" Buffy said, peaking around the corner again. "If they are Spike minions? Maybe. It really depends on who created them and how old they are. I don't recognize any of them so they probably aren't locals."
Sita nodded.
"And there's Harmony," Buffy said. "I can't believe some vampire thought that was a good idea."
"She is going to be a problem?" Sita said.
"Only if she gets in the way," Buffy said, grimacing. "Not sure how she survived becoming a vampire, I thought even they had standards on who they'd vamp."
"How do you want to do this?" Sita said. "There are now seven."
"No range weapons so this is going to have to be up close and personal. Just make sure you don't get bit. Vampire bites can be nasty, even if they don't draw blood. Do this in pairs? You and me, and Yuki and Mika?" Buffy said. "Or we leave and come back with better weapons and more help?"
"They may not be here when we get back," Sita said. "Now would be best."
"Agreed," Buffy said. "Do you do banter?" She subtly gestured behind her.
"As a distraction technique?" Sita said, nodding. "Yuki can do that, I prefer not to."
"Okay, I'll do it for the both of us," Buffy said. "I'm surprised they haven't heard us, they've got very good hearing."
"That's because you won't shut up, you stupid bint," Spike's voice said from behind them. "How I ever thought you'd be worth fighting, only Dru knows."
"I'm not the one hanging around Harmony," Buffy said, turning around with a kick aimed at his face.
"Oi! Watch the face," Spike said. "Just got my teeth sharpened."
"Well, bite on this," Buffy said, swinging her hatchet at him as she recovered from missing him. Behind her, out of the corner of an eye, she could see Sita engaging another vampire, while Mika and Yuki tried to even the odds.
"So, you brought your twee little friends on a field trip," Spike said, casually swinging at her, as if bored. "Running a touring service now?"
"Not that it matters what you think, but no," Buffy said. "We were just exploring, getting a feel for the underground ambiance. Didn't know there were some rats running around."
"At least we aren't eating rats," Spike said. "Not like his noble foreheadness. Never could stand the taste of 'em."
As they fought, Buffy stepped back through a large cloud of dust. "Hope that wasn't a friend of yours," she said. "He's gone all to pieces."
"Bah, just another one of the daft bint's minions," Spike said. "Not worth the time it takes to grow them."
"I guess they don't make minions like they used to," Buffy said, stabbing him with her stake, just barely missing his heart. "When'd Dru ditch you? You've come down in the world if you're hanging with Harmony."
"Be careful with that thing!" Spike said. "You could have put a hole in my jacket."
"I wasn't aiming for your jacket," Buffy said, spitting out some dust.
"Hey! She stabbed Freddy again!" Harmony shouted. "Spike, tell her to stop killing my minions."
"Poor, sickly Freddy," Spike said, grimacing. "Now she's going to make another one even dumber."
"Don't worry," Buffy said, "I'm sure you won't have to worry about her for much longer."
"You couldn't take me on a bad day," Spike said. "No blonde bimbo can take this Big Bad."
"Wasn't talking about you," Buffy said, "but we can adjust things if you feel like that."
"Why did you do that!" Harmony protested. "That was my favorite unicorn!"
"Well, that was surprising," Buffy said, dancing around Spike to see what was going on with Harmony.
"Mika," Sita said, over the comm, "we appear to have a vampire that can't be staked."
"Blonde and dumb must have found the ring," Yuki said. "We need to get rid of these other ones so we can get the gem from her."
"On it," Mika said. "But we need to do something about that Spike character. Buffy-san can't hold it off for much longer. Even magical girls can run out of energy."
"One each left," Yuki said. "Not counting the two blonde ones."
"Fire form?" Sita said.
"In a confined space? Your funeral, if you lose control," Mika said. "You need to warn Buffy, but that'll warn the vampires."
"Buffy?" Sita said.
"Yes?" Buffy said, passing Sita while dodging another Spike punch.
"Remember that form I didn't demonstrate the other day?" Sita said. "Because of all of the wood?"
"Yes..." Buffy said, breathing hard as she continued to evade Spike's punches.
"Here's your demonstration," Sita said. She stopped defending herself against the big vampire, and took up a stance, as if praying, palms flat against each other. The vampire stopped and looked at her, very puzzled. And then she spread her hands, an orange glow appearing between them.
"That's cheating, Slayer," Spike said, noticing the glow. "Bringing a mage to a Spike fight."
"Should have brought your own," Buffy said. "I bet Harmony accidentally ate him, didn't see."
"He tasted funny," Harmony said, also stepping away from them, towards the opening, as the glow intensified.
"Hie!" Sita shouted, slamming her hands back together. Flames flew out and struck the remaining vampires, except Spike who'd ducked down as if knowing what was coming. Buffy, Yuki, and Mika dropped flat to avoid being burnt.
Growling, Spike stood up and stomped back down the tunnel, "We'll do this when you don't have a firebug with you," he shouted without looking back.
The remaining vampires went up like gas soaked torches, silently screaming. Except for Harmony who stared down at herself, as if waiting for that final dusting.
As soon as the flames died down, and before Harmony could escape, Mika shot her with a paralyzing dart.
"Spike!" Harmony whined as she fell over onto her face, into the dust of one of her minions. "Come back!"
Buffy stood up, and cautiously joined the others surrounding Harmony. "Yeah, that would have been a bad thing in a wooden building. How often do you use it?"
"That was the first time, in real combat," Sita said. "It was quite effective."
"And hot," Yuki said. "It must be fifty degrees warmer in here now."
"I'm surprised nothing else caught on fire," Mika said, poking Harmony with a foot. "If she has it, we need to take it from her now. She's already starting to move."
"But it worked," Buffy said in amazement. "The Gem of Amara doesn't make a vampire completely invulnerable."
Lying on her face, Harmony Mikaned. "Spike?"
"It's a ring," Yuki said. "Think she is wearing it or is it in a pocket?"
"I'm not checking her pockets," Buffy said. "Who knows what she's been putting in them."
"Ask her?" Yuki said. "She's a vampire so she might lie, but if she's as dumb as you say?"
"Harmony?" Buffy said. "Where'd you get the ring?"
"It's mine!" Harmony mumbled, her face still planted in the ash pile. "I found it!"
"How many rings does she have?" Mika asked, preparing her last paralyzing dart. "Take them all?"
"Works for me," Buffy said. "We won't be able to chop them off."
"Unless it glues itself on, it should just come off," Yuki said, pulling out a pair of rubber gloves. Squatting down, she pried open Harmony's fists, revealing several fancy rings and only one that was a simple iron band with a gem attached to it. She started pulling on the rings, putting them into small plastic bags as she removed them.
Hey!" Harmony shouted. "Those are my rings!" She started shaking in fury as the rings came off.
"Last," You said, grabbing the one that look most like it could be the Gem of Amara.
"Now what?" Mika said. "Kill it?"
"I'll play nice," Harmony whinged when she heard that. "I'll be a nice vampire."
"Harmony, you weren't a nice person. You wouldn't know how to be a nice vamp," Buffy said, stabbing her with her stake. Harmony turned to dust with a wail that was abruptly cut off.
"Anti-climactic," Buffy said. "We've got the ring. What about that?" She waved at the opening in the tunnel wall.
"We have the gem," Sita said. "We don't have any need for any of that."
"Why not?" Yuki said. "We could always get a bigger van, or more clothes."
"It's probably booby trapped," Sita said.
"We don't know how many vampires Spike started with," Buffy said. "We can get Giles to come down here and seal it up, and we can go through it later."
"I let Yanzy know, and she's telling Mr. Giles," Mika said.
"Dibs on the shower, I need a bath," Yuki said, brushing off her suit. "Hot vampire ashes stick to everything."
"Tunnel fighting isn't the cleanest," Mika said, nodding in agreement, as they followed Buffy and Sita back up the tunnel.
"They're coming back up," Yanzy said, looking at Giles. "That Spike got away but they have the ring."
"Good, good," Giles said.