cjlasky7

The rusted chains of prison moons
Are shattered by the sun
I walk a road, horizons change
The tournament's begun
The purple piper plays his tune
The choir softly sing
Three lullabies in an ancient tongue
For the court of the Crimson King

**********************

The Scoobies reconvened in the library two hours later. Giles and Willow were hip deep in ancient tomes, still researching the counterspell. Xander pushed the door open with his shoulder and ambled in, looking slightly distracted; Buffy charged in, extremely agitated:

"Giles!" she shouted. "My mother is gone!"

All research stopped. "Good lord. Are you sure?"

"She's not home. There's nobody at the gallery. I checked--everybody just left the building and wandered off. Giles, this was an attack on me. On my family. We have to find this guy. NOW."

"We will." Giles shuffled through the pile of papers on the table. "Willow--the map." Willow reached under the pile and easily pulled out the requested item. Giles unfolded it and spread it out on the table so the whole gang could see the detailed map of Sunnydale.

"Fortunately, the bell gives off an enormous amount of mystical energy, even when dormant. We've been able to pinpoint its location." His finger tapped a spot in the northeast section of town. "Here. Corner of Lake and MacDonald."

"That's the old restaurant," said Xander. Nobody's been there for years."

"Actually," said Giles, "there's a series of ancient catacombs directly underneath that block. It would be the perfect place to perform the ritual to reactivate the bell."

"So...there's a series of ancient catacombs under Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles."

"I believe that's what I said, yes."

Xander nodded. "Just checking."

"Great," said Buffy. "Let's load up and get our rescue on."

"No. We can't. Not yet," said Giles. "We haven't completed the counterspell. "The bell is far too dangerous, especially in the hands of this vampire. We have to destroy it while we have the chance."

"Giles, I'm not going to wait around here while you run through the history of ancient Egypt."

"Babylonia."

"Whatever! This is too--"

Buffy's rant was interrupted by the sound of an envelope sliding under the library door. Willow walked over, picked it up and read what was written on the front:

"'To Rupert Giles, Sunnydale High School. Please open immediately.'"

Giles opened the envelope; inside was what appeared to be a xerox copy of a piece of parchment. "What the devil...?"

"What is it?" asked Willow.

"It's the counterspell. Complete. In the original Akkadian. How on Earth--?"

Xander checked outside the library door. "Nobody home. Must've left in a hurry."

There was a moment of confused silence. "OK, it's a little weird," said Willow, "but are we gonna look a gift horse in the mouth?"

Obviously not. The Scoobies went to work stocking up on supplies for their rescue mission. "Willow," said Buffy, "everybody okay on your end?"

"My parents are at a symposium in Chicago. They'll be there for a week. The Dingoes are in San Diego, so Oz is okay. Xander?"

"My folks are fine." He almost sounded disappointed.

Willow didn't really want to do the follow up, but somebody had to ask: "What about Cordelia?"

"We haven't talked in a while." Off Buffy and Willow's look, he quickly corrected: "Today. We haven't talked today."

Buffy and Willow decided they didn't want to know.

The Scoobies headed out.

**************************

With Buffy out front, the gang moved quickly and quietly through the abandoned restaurant. The chairs and tables were long gone; there were cobwebs on the walls and the counters were covered with a thick layer of dust. The small amount of daylight refracted by the dust-covered windows threw disturbing shadows into every corner. Buffy found the atmosphere depressing. "God, can you imagine working in a place like this?"

They moved behind the counter, past where the heat lamps and deep fryers had been removed. They stopped in front of a panel on the back wall. No cobwebs. No dust. Buffy removed the panel with a loud crunch, and the Scoobies stepped inside. They were surrounded by rock on all sides; a stone staircase spiraled down into the darkness. Xander flicked on a flashlight and the gang descended.

They emerged in a large chamber carved out of the rock, with a single tunnel in the back leading into the catacombs. Freshly-lit torches illuminated the room.

"Nice design," said Buffy. "Very House of Frankenstein. Now what?"

Before the Scoobies could make another move, the Sunnydale football team emerged from the tunnel and set up a blockade.

Buffy calmly and confidently walked up to the line.

"Be careful," said Willow.

Donnie, the team's enormous offensive tackle, stiff-armed her and shook his head. Buffy, with a sly grin, lifted Donnie six inches off the ground, then bounced him off the rock face.

A wild melee broke out.

Buffy turned to the other Scoobs, who were frozen in place. "GO!" she shouted. She mashed a fist into a skinny wide receiver's face. "I'll hold them off! Do your spell! FIND MY MOTHER!"

Giles, Willow, and Xander bolted into the tunnel, running until they left the sounds of combat far behind.

"It's imperative," said Giles, "that the three of us stay together. If we're separated, we're more vulnerable to the Crimson King's control."

They reached the end of the tunnel, emerging into a smaller chamber. A low hum, nearly imperceptible, echoed off the rocks.

"They've started the ritual," said Giles. "We have to hurry."

There were three more tunnel entrances in the back of the chamber: left, right and center. After a moment's hesitation, Giles ran into the center tunnel, Willow and Xander seemingly right behind him.

Fifty feet into the tunnel, Giles stopped, turned around and looked back. He was alone.

And then he wasn't.

A tall, skeletally gaunt figure wrapped in an ornate, red velvet robe materialized beside him.

"Rupert," said the Crimson King. "A pleasure to finally meet you." He gestured to the path ahead. "Walk and talk?"