by Rob Sorenson

Buffy and Dawn entered the tunnel, surprised at the size of it even with the knowledge that Willow had given them. For her part, Buffy was impressed with it's cleanliness, though admittedly her tunnel experience hadbeen for the most part sewers and caves. A clean sewer was probably a bit unrealistic.

They walked the hallways with the intention of familiarizing themselves with the layout; unfortunately it quickly became apparent that the network was simply too large and complex to memorize in one visit. A huge laundry facility chugged away to their left; uniforms and costumes

Were circling inside industrial size washers. The girl who had been Donald Duck to the world above was making her way toward the huge employee breakroom, with her human head now visible atop the character's clothing and giant orange webbed feet. Dawn looked to her sister.

"That's kind of depressing, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Kind of ruins the magic."

"I mean, on one level I know that obviously there's a person in there, it's just..."

"Sometimes we don't want to see past the surface. It's easier that way."

Dawn tilted her head slightly.

"If we look down deep, not everything is as simple as it looks, is it?"

Buffy sighed. "No. I'm afraid those days are long gone for us."

"So how do we know? When we're right?"

"We don't. Not completely. We go with what feels closest to it."

Dawn sighed. "I don't know how you did it all these years without going crazy."

"Usually Slayers die before they have to deal with this stuff."

Buffy instantly regretted what she'd said as Dawn stopped in her tracks.

"I'm not saying I want to die, Dawnie. I'm just stating the facts."

Dawn was quiet for a moment. "So how did you do it?"

"I had Giles. I had Willow and Xander. I had Angel. Hell, I even had Cordy every once in a while."

Buffy hesitated for a moment, unsure how to explain.

"A long time ago Spike told me that the Slayer is meant to be alone. Our lives are mainly about walking in the shadows and fighting demons to the death. Eventually the odds catch up to all of us, but especially Slayers. Spike believed that the constant stress of fighting for my life against anenemy that never stopped trying to kill me would be too much of a strain. The only real relief--and the crucial difference between me and all the others--was my family. Slayers weren't designed to have a support system like I have."

Again she hesitated before continuing, not wanting to give Dawn the wrong impression.

"He said that someday I would still want it."

Dawn just stared at her for a moment. She didn't have to ask what Buffy would have wanted.

"When you jumped off that tower--"

Buffy held up a hand.

"We don't have time to talk about this right now. Plus I'm not entirely sure I know the answer myself. Later, ok?"

Dawn took a deep breath and nodded.

They walked on down the tunnel, moving slightly to one side to avoid a forklift that passed by.

"You don't ever wish for it now, do you?"

Buffy turned in surprise.

"Of course not. Never. Things have changed so much since then, Dawn. You know that."

"Just checking. I sorta love you, you know?"

Buffy smiled and squeezed her hand for a second.

"Yeah. I know."

"Buffy, look."

Dawn was staring at a corridor that led off to one side. Buffy saw two men dressed in gray business suits making their way in, stealing a suspicious glance left and right. Their eyes fell on Buffy and widened. They began to run down the hallway, clearly attempting to get out of the Slayer's line of sight. Dawn started after them.

"Wait."

"Buffy, that's them. Come on, we're going to lose them."

The Slayer's voice was soft. "Dawn, I said wait."

The younger Summers didn't argue. Those who didn't know Buffy wouldn't have noticed, but Slayer mode had just been initiated. It was very subtle, but that hint of steel beneath her tone was obvious to those closest to her. Dawn had done most of the work to get them in this position, but she had no illusions: Buffy would take control of the situation whenever it was necessary. She stepped back, slightly behind her older sibling.

"That was too easy. It's like they wanted us to follow them."

Buffy looked up. Near the ceiling she spotted the blinking red eyes of security cameras all along the hallway.

"We're being watched. They know we're here. Those guys were bait."

Dawn felt a prick of fear along her spine.

"So...we bail?"

"We may not be able to. They probably have the exits covered by now. Let me think for a second."

Buffy looked around. Her eyes fell on something sitting on a wooden pallet that the forklift had brought. She quickly retrieved it. Dawn raised an eyebrow.

"A hammer?"

"I work better without an audience. Keep a lookout. Let me know if anyone is coming."

Buffy began leaping to the top of the tunnel, smashing lenses as she went.

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

"Sir? We're losing visual contact. The Slayer is disabling the security cameras." Martineau sighed. "Can anything ever go as planned these days? Apparently not. All right, we move to the contingency plan. Send Squads A and B into position. Squad C comes with me. Let's say hello to the Summers family."

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

Faith was patiently waiting outside the bathroom for Xander to exit so he could receive his punishment. What exactly that would be, she wasn't sure...but she had some wicked ideas. While smiling to herself about some of the things she could do to blow his mind, the Slayer heard the notes from the chorus of "Born To Be Wild" playing in her pocket. Frowning, she took out her cell and answered.

Xander had been in the bathroom for five minutes. He'd just decided it might be safe enough for him to leave when Faith's strong voice carried in from outside.

"Xand, you in there alone?"

"Why, you getting kinky ideas?"

"Xander, are you alone or not?"

He recognized Faith's Slayer voice immediately. "Yeah, nobody in here but me. What's--"

Before he could finish his sentence, Faith had joined him in the men's room, phone to her ear.

"How close can you get us?"

(I can't put you directly into a tunnel, but I'm picking one in a central location at random. It's the best I can do. You guys ready?)

Xander's eyes were questioning. Faith said one word.

"Buffy."

He nodded and she spoke one last time into the phone.

"Do it, Red."

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

Buffy had taken out every security camera in the hallway. She turned to Dawn.

"Ok, they're going to come to us now. We need to get out of sight."

Dawn pointed at a huge hamper back in the laundry room. Buffy nodded. At the very least they would force the soldiers to spread out and search for them.

"Good. That'll work."

They quickly made their way back down the cement hallway and jumped into the hamper, burying themselves in the piles of clothing. Dawn's voice came out slightly muffled.

"Is it too much to ask to hide in a hamper with clean clothes?"

"We'll shower when we get back. Be quiet. Any second now."

The tunnels were suddenly deserted. Buffy wondered if the Council had some sort of magical assistance to cloak their presence here. Just as she was about to whisper this theory to her sister she heard the telltale sound of steel toed combat boots on concrete. For a brief moment she

Felt like she was being pulled back in time. A strong, clipped voice sliced through the silence.

"Buffy Summers? I congratulate you. For the moment you have me at a disadvantage. I imagine you're nearby, though."

She didn't dare raise her head out of the hamper for fear of being discovered. She found Dawn's hand and gripped it tightly as they heard the rattling of guns being cocked.

"It would be best if you show yourselves now. I just want to talk to you for the moment."

Buffy found Dawn's eyes and communicated with her silently. Her sister nodded in understanding: wait for her signal.

She could hear and feel the closeness of the men searching for them as Martineau went on speaking conversationally, clearly attempting to distract her.

"I won't insult your intelligence by saying I don't wish to hurt you. You and your people have hurt us severely; we simply must defend ourselves."

Two men were approaching the hamper, guns at the ready. Buffy squeezed Dawn's hand, and they leaped from their hiding places and attacked.

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

Xander and Faith materialized in a bright flash of light in the Magic Kingdom, causing screams of shock from guests. They looked at the wide eyed people for a moment. One elderly lady grasped her chest in terror and began backing away. Thinking quickly, Xander walked slightly forward and spread his hands with a flourish.

"Do not be alarmed, ladies and gentlemen! This is simply a small demonstration of the many wondrous illusions that await you in the magic castle. I am the great... Barbarino, and this is my lovely assistant, Barbarella."

Faith forced a smile and followed his lead, attempting to wave her hands as he was.

"Please proceed to Space Mountain and observe events that defy the imagination. The next show begins in thirty minutes. Thank you for your attention."

He backed toward the tunnel entrance around the corner, joined by his lovely assistant. They got out of sight and Xander took a deep breath. The crowd began to break out in applause, much to Faith and Xander's astonishment. Shrugging his shoulders, he went back out and faced the guests, bowing in an exaggerated manner.

The guests renewed their cheers, causing Xander to flash a bright smile. He was interrupted by a hand reaching out and yanking him back toward the tunnel by his neck.

"Hey Houdini. Buffy, remember?"

"Right. Sorry. I was in the moment."

She shook her head and walked in the door as he followed. He stopped immediately and grabbed her arm.

"Listen," he whispered.

Faith heard a metallic clicking of boots and a sharp voice, tinged with a British accent.

"You and your people have hurt us severely; we simply must defend ourselves."

They moved as quietly as possible in the direction of the voice. Both stiffened as they heard two female war cries that both knew quite well.

Buffy and Dawn were making their move.

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

The blonde Slayer was more than a little dismayed that she didn't get much height on her leap. Still, she managed to shock the soldier enough to make him hesitate. She grabbed his gun, using his resistance to fling herself into him, knee making solid contact with his groin. He groaned and slumped to the ground. She quickly followed up with a sharp immobilizing blow to his neck.

Dawn had less luck. Her target had swung his weapon her way and caught her with a glancing blow to the forehead with the butt of his M-16. Ignoring the pain, she dropped to the ground and caught him with a leg sweep. He landed hard butt-first on the concrete and she grabbed the gun, trying to yank it out of his grasp. He resisted, and both were grunting with the strain. The soldier removed one hand from his weapon and yanked his knife out of it's sheath, viciously swiping it toward her.

The youngest Summers saw it coming and rolled away, but she felt the sting as the knife sliced her flesh through her jeans. She gasped in pain and kept rolling, willing herself to rise and face her adversary. He rose just as quickly and took aim. Dawn was instinctively repeating her drop and roll tactic when the soldier's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed in a heap. Dawn looked up from her squatted position to see Buffy, rifle stock in hand.

Martineau's voice rang out strongly.

"Laundry room! Laundry room!"

Buffy leaned down toward a wincing Dawn.

"Are you hurt?"

"A little."

"How bad?

"It's no big."

"Don't lie to me. How bad?"

"Just a cut on my leg. Come on, we have to move, Buffy. Don't worry about me."

Buffy nodded quickly and turned toward the exit. Dawn grabbed her unconscious enemy's gun and limped after her.

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

"Laundry room! Laundry room!"

Faith was peering around the corner, observing the group of men quickly making their way to Buffy and Dawn's location, guns at the ready.

"Stay back, Xand. I got this."

"Let me cover your back. They probably have a reserve--"

She spun on him, whispering harshly.

"No! You stay back behind this wall and out of harm's way. No arguments."

He simply nodded, a doubtful expression on his face. She held his gaze for a moment, hoping he understood the seriousness of the order. She nodded back sharply and made her way into the hall silently, staying low and hugging the wall.

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

Buffy and Dawn were clearly going to be pinned down. The Slayer looked to her sister.

"There's only one way to play this. Face them down and pray they don't open fire."

Dawn nodded, swallowing hard. She hoped big sis didn't see what she was feeling. Buffy gave her a soft smile.

"Scared?"

"Pretty much."

"Me too. I sorta love you too, by the way."

Dawn smiled back. "Let's do it."

The sisters stepped into the hallway, guns at the ready.

Eight men pointed back at them from roughly twenty feet away. From slightly behind, Martineau's voice rang out strongly.

"Hold fire!"

No one moved for a moment. Martineau smiled.

"We seem to have a situation. It's fair to say that your lives are in my hands, yes?"

Buffy spoke in a tone just loud enough to be heard.

"It's also fair to say that a few of you would go down if we do."

"Quite true," Martineau said agreeably. "Of course, you're the great Buffy Summers. I daresay your little band would fall apart if you were eliminated."

He looked down slightly, noticing blood clearly visible from the slash on Dawn's leg.

"Dawn Summers, I presume? Looks like you have a bit of a nick on your leg. I can't say that bothers me one bit. Ray Huddleston was a friend and colleague for many years."

Dawn tilted her head at him.

"I guess those who rape together, stay together."

Martineau's eyes flashed.

"Watch your mouth, little girl."

Suddenly he was grabbed around the neck from behind. Faith grabbed his service revolver from the holster and pressed it to his temple.

"She's not a little girl any more, asshole."

Buffy smiled through her tension.

"Hey. Nice of you to show up."

"I got a good tip."

Martineau thought quickly. It appeared the Slayers were getting some help.

"Hans never did know how to keep his mouth shut."

Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"Wanna try that in English?"

Martineau would've responded, but Faith gripped his throat too hard for him to speak.

"Here's how I see it, dude. We're gonna walk out of here. All of us--including your goons after they put down their toys. Then we're gonna have a nice chat about the ethics of torturing and shooting at people I care about."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Faith. You are Faith, yes?"

"I am."

"Where is your Xander? I cannot imagine him being far from your side so soon after you failed to protect him from harm."

Faith's eyes were slits.

"You talk big for a guy with a gun to his head. Apparently no one told you that I'm the ruthless bitch of this bunch. You think I'd lose a wink of sleep if I sprayed your brains against that wall?"

"As a matter of fact, I don't. That's why I'd much rather have you as the only active Slayer. Interested in working for us? You'd fit right in."

"I got a job, thanks."

"You need guidance, Faith. You're a ruthlessly efficient blunt instrument, but no more than that. Strategy, planning...you're sorely lacking in those areas. Let us do that for you. You belong with us."

Faith shook her head in disbelief.

"You can't be serious. You say I can't plan anything and yet...I have a gun on you. What does that tell you, dumbass?"

"It tells me you came up from behind me without checking to see if I had any men in reserve to the rear."

Xander spoke softly from behind her.

"Faith."

She turned her head slowly to see his hands on his head, two men training machine guns on him. Martineau was smiling with satisfaction.

"It appears your man is again in peril. You really are rather dim, aren't you? Pity you didn't take our offer. Ah, well. It appears we have a standoff. Let's make a deal, as they say on that American television show. I wish to show you something. You give me five minutes of your time, and everyone walks out of here alive. How does that sound?"

No one spoke for a moment. Buffy had thought Xander would be panicking, but he was steady as a rock. She found her voice first, eyes locked on him.

"Ok. What do you want to show us?"

"Come with me. So far we've been remarkably lucky that no employees have walked by."

Buffy turned her eyes to Faith. "Let him go, but keep the gun against the back of his head."

Faith took a deep breath and complied. "Fine. He makes a wrong move, he dies."

Martineau nodded gravely. "Fair enough."

They slowly made their way down the corridor Buffy and Dawn had first noticed fifteen minutes earlier, entering a room filled with color monitors and communications equipment. Martineau nodded toward them and spoke.

"From here we can see and hear virtually everything that goes on in Walt Disney World, just as their security does. I've dispatched both my remaining squads to the parks. They have a variety of nasty things; rocket launchers, grenades, machine guns, that sort of thing. If they do not hear an order from me to stand down in the next--" the Colonel checked the clock on the nearest monitor--"four minutes, they will release the full arsenal on the Magic Kingdom."

Buffy looked at him and spoke quickly.

"You wouldn't do that."

"You don't think I would? Why do you think I want our base of operations to be here? Because I enjoy the company of Mickey Mouse?"

"You would kill thousands of innocent people?"

"Yes, indeed I would. A necessary sacrifice for the greater good. I've done that before, and I will do it again if I must."

"You're insane."

"I am a soldier. I am a realist. Compassion cannot enter into doing our duty to the world. Your pitiful little band operates outside our authority. That cannot be allowed. Someday your weakness will end the world as we know it. You, Buffy, do not have the strength to do what you must. That is why the Council exists in the first place. As long as I breathe, the Council will continue to make the world a safer place."

Buffy saw it in his eyes. He was indeed insane.

"Fine, ok, you showed me what you can do. Stop this."

"Say please."

Buffy couldn't believe this guy.

"Ok...please stop this."

"As you wish."

Martineau slid his eyes back toward Faith.

"May I?"

She moved back from him without a word, motioning with the gun.

The Colonel stepped toward a pair of headphones.

"Hannibal to groups A and B. Copy?"

Both groups responded immediately.

"Stand down. Repeat, stand down. Report back to base."

Both squads responded affirmatively and signed off.

Martineau turned back to them, spreading his hands out wide.

"And there you have it. I control the lives of all these people. I know you, Buffy. You will not allow innocent blood to be spilled. I give you my word that it will happen if you don't come to me with your entire group in 24 hours, unarmed. You will all be executed, of course. That is non-negotiable. However, I further give you my word that it will be quick and as painless as possible for you all...including your insolent sister, despite my inclinations to make her feel great pain. I also pledge that the Council will vacate these premises, never to return."

Silence reigned in the room.

"You don't have to say yes or no at this time. I will take your presence--or lack thereof--tomorrow by 9 P.M. as your answer. That is when the park closes. Everyone will be gathered at the exits, and that is where my men will commence firing. If I know you, however, that will not happen.

You will foolishly sacrifice yourselves for the sake of a few tourists. Nothing new for you, Buffy....you've sacrificed yourself before, yes?"

Buffy had nothing to say.

"Well then...you've heard my terms. You're free to go...for the moment."

Faith walked toward him, pistol now pressed between his eyes. All guns turned toward them. For a frozen moment, everyone thought it would end here. Buffy finally stepped gently toward her.

"Faith. Let's go. Come on."

She stood firm, lip quivering with rage. Xander spoke next.

"Faith. Not like this. Come on, baby."

Slowly, Faith backed toward the exit as Martineau watched calmly.

"You really should have stayed with us, Faith. You have such splendid qualities."

The four Scoobies left and headed for the tunnel's exit, Dawn now noticeably limping. Buffy moved to her and her younger sister put an arm around her shoulder. Their eyes squinted closed at the harsh sunlight. No one moved for a moment, possibly wondering if this was the second to last day of their lives. Finally Faith picked up the phone and dialed with shaking fingers.

"Red. Bring us home."

- End Chapter Twenty-one