Odd, random thoughts swirled through Joyce’s mind as she and Buffy followed the young Arabic man. She thought of the Bible story of Sodom and Gomorrah and how Lot’s wife looked back only to be turned into a pillar of salt. She thought of the Satchel Paige quote, “Don’t look back. Something may be gaining on you.”

But she couldn’t help looking back. She had to see if Rupert and Daniels and the other strangers were following them.

A quick glance over her shoulder revealed only the barren landscape they had just crossed. Gray. Bleak. Absolutely empty. Joyce stopped in her tracks.

Instantly Buffy turned and grabbed her mother’s elbow, trying to pull her along. “Mom! Come on!”

Joyce allowed herself to be led away. “Where’s Rupert?” she asked breathlessly. “And the others?”

This time Buffy stopped to look back. The young man ran back to them. “They are safe or they are gone,” he said flatly. “We must get to the caverns.”

Buffy’s features reflected her mother’s worry and indecision. Their eyes met and they silently came to the agreement that their guide was right. No matter what their feelings for Rupert Giles, they could not take the time to go back to search for him. With Garoth back there, it was much too dangerous. They continued behind the young man. Joyce knew that her daughter wanted to turn back but stayed only because of her. That was something she could understand. Joyce herself was doing the same thing.

Only a few yards farther they saw a fire. For Joyce, fires always meant warmth and comfort and bright colors. But here, in this land of gray, the fire looked cold and most definitely uninviting. A man and a woman stood on either side of the fire, watching the landscape. As the trio approached, the sentries beckoned to them. Buffy, Joyce, and the young man hurried over the last few yards.

“Joao and the other new one are inside,” the woman said as they reached the fire. Joyce had been right about the fire. As large as it was, it seemed to offer little warmth. She examined the guards. They looked alike, although the man was several years older. The woman appeared to be in her late 20s or early 30s. They were incongruously dressed in worn and faded evening attire. From years of watching old movies, Joyce knew that the clothing was from the 1940s.

The young man with Buffy and Joyce nodded and turned back to them. “Garoth is afraid of fire,” he explained. “We always keep a fire burning near the mouth of the cave and keep two sentries on duty to make sure that it doesn’t go out. The fire serves as a beacon for anyone who has wandered away. They know that there is safety here.” He motioned toward the guards. “This is Tina Wittingham and her father George Chambers.”

Joyce nodded, still trying to catch her breath. Buffy made the introductions. “I’m Buffy Summers. This is my mother Joyce.” Buffy looked back at the guide. He smiled a little and nodded. Joyce realized that he must not be much older than Buffy.

“I am Muhyi,” he said. “And I’m sorry that you are here. Come. I’ll take you into the caverns.”

Daniels was stunned into silence by Francois’s announcement. “Laura?” the Frenchman said. “She is back at our main sanctuary… with her lover. You, too, I now welcome to hell.”

After a moment, Daniels spoke. “No,” he said quietly, his voice choked into near unintelligibility. “That cannot be. Laura is my wife.”

“That may be, monsieur,” Francois replied. “But she is also Jerrod’s lover.”

Giles watched as Daniels’s face fell. He wouldn’t be human if he didn’t take some pleasure from the other man’s distress. Daniels had brought Giles, Buffy, Joyce, and Ethan against their will to this prison. Giles felt an old part of himself emerge from the shadows, the same side of his personality that attacked Daniels on the beach – and still wanted to beat the man until he bled. The part of Rupert Giles that lived up to the nickname he was given as a small child. The side of himself that he hated and usually kept under control.

But now, with Buffy and Joyce endangered, rage burned inside of Giles. Concentrating on Daniels, Giles didn’t notice that he himself had come under scrutiny by Francois and Karl.

Daniels sank to the ground. “No,” he muttered. “No. She is my wife. All I’ve done.”

“All you’ve done!” Giles sneered. “All you’ve done is make a fool of yourself and destroy others!”

Jumping to his feet, Daniels yelled and went for Giles’s throat. Giles was more than ready and met Daniels halfway. Before either man could inflict any injury, Karl and Francois pulled them apart.

“Enough!” Karl barked, holding onto Daniels. “There is no fighting here!”

Giles wasn’t sure he had just heard that pronouncement. His fingers still itched to tear Daniels apart, but Francois held him fast.

“Listen to me!” Francois hissed into his ear. “Listen to Karl! There is no fighting here! No matter how much you want to destroy this man, you will not!”

“Do you understand?” Karl asked Daniels.

Both Giles and Daniels nodded, albeit reluctantly. Francois and Karl released them.

The men were silent. The only sound heard was Garoth, still growling at the mouth of the cave. Giles wondered how long the demon would remain there. Then he remembered Francois statement that they had nothing but time.

Francois took a crude canteen from a belt around his waist and offered it to Giles. Karl was doing the same for Daniels. “I wish that I could offer you some wine,” the Frenchman said, “but water is the best we have.” The newcomers took a sip of tepid water. As difficult as it was, Giles forced back the anger he felt and took a deep breath.

Another growl from Garoth echoed in the cave. “Do not worry,” Karl said. “The beast will soon leave. He is impatient.”

Once again Daniels sat on the floor, his head in his hands. “Laura,” he whispered.

Giles bit back several nasty comments that came to mind.

“Monsieur Giles,” Francois said softly. Giles met Grilliot’s eyes. “Believe me when I tell you that Karl and I know what is in your mind and heart at this moment. It appears that this man is responsible for your being here. It was through another’s actions that Karl was brought to this place. I have no one to blame but myself. But what we have learned is that we cannot fight among ourselves. Revenge is a luxury we cannot afford.”

“There are too few of us,” Karl added. “We must work together.”

Daniels spoke up. “Why?” he asked bitterly. “Look at you! You’re from another time. Decades, centuries ago! You’re both already dead! Why do you care about working together?”

Karl drew himself up. “My body may be dead. My ~soul~ is still captive. And must be free.”

Giles looked at each of the men. Karl’s uniform was from the First World War. Francois’s clothing must date from the eighteenth century. Yet they survived in this place with the hope that one day, in some way, they would be free. And their souls would be at rest.

That might eventually be all that they could hope for. He and Buffy and Joyce.

Giles leaned his head back against the wall of the cave and closed his eyes and listened to the growls of the Soul Eater.

When Buffy was a little girl, her parents took her to Carlsbad Caverns one summer. She remembered well the cool, damp feeling of the caves. There was little of that in the caverns they entered now. It wasn’t hot. It wasn’t cold. The place was only slightly cooler than the outside, but there was a feeling of dampness. Buffy wondered if there was a spring somewhere providing water for the captives.

Captives. The word had come to mind automatically and it gave her a chill. But that’s what they were. Captives of the gem. Captives waiting to be devoured by a demon hungering for their very souls. Already Garoth might have taken Giles’s soul.

Buffy mentally shook herself. They couldn’t admit defeat yet. It was still early in the game.

Muhyi motioned for them to follow him deeper into the caverns, but both Buffy and her mother hung back, gazing over the land in hope of seeing Giles and the others. Their guide once again reminded them of the facts.

“If they are still well, Francois and Karl will lead them back here,” he said. “If Garoth has taken them, there is nothing to be done about it.”

Buffy met his dark eyes. “How can you be so – so –“ She paused, groping for the right word. Her mother provided it.

“Cavalier!” Joyce said.

“Yes! Cavalier. About your friends. About our friend.” Buffy fought back tears. Without Giles, she wasn’t sure that they’d have a chance of getting out of this prison. Joyce put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders.

Muhyi appeared unperturbed by the accusation, and Buffy realized that he’d probably heard the same thing from other newcomers. “I understand,” he said quietly, his voice betraying a slight accent. “If you had known the consequences, perhaps you would not have tried to release the demon.”

“We didn’t!” Joyce snapped. “It was the other man back there with our friend. He dragged us into this against our will.”

Nodding, Muhyi gestured again toward the interior of the caverns. “Then you’ll fit right in,” he told them. “Many have come here the same way. I am not one of them. I was one who tried to release the demon and now I am paying the price for my arrogance. Are you hungry?”

The abrupt change of subject took Buffy off guard. “Thirsty,” she answered.

“Then come. We will return later to wait for them.”

Joyce looked over her shoulder. “What if they’re not here before dark?” she asked.

“There is no darkness here,” Muhyi replied. “There is no light, either. It is always as you see it.”

With that news, Buffy and Joyce reluctantly followed Muhyi into the caverns.

A short distance from the mouth of the caves, the trio entered a large, open area. Like any cavern, the place was decorated with stalactites and stalagmites. Buffy heard a gentle trickle of water nearby, confirming her suspicions of an underground spring. A few torches lit what was obviously a living area. A rough, crude, large table and a few chairs provided the only furnishings. The young woman who had met them at the cliff sat in one chair. Ethan Rayne, looking perfectly at ease, sat in another. Like the gentleman he wasn’t, he stood and offered seats to Buffy and Joyce.

“Please,” he said smoothly. “Take my chair.”

Buffy preferred to stand. “You look right at home, Ethan,” she sneered.

He merely shrugged and sat down again. “You know the old saying. Anywhere I hang my hat.” He nodded toward Muhyi. “Ethan Rayne,” he said, introducing himself.

Muhyi acknowledged the introduction with a nod. “Muhyi,” he replied.

Joyce was paying more attention to the young woman. “I’m Joyce Summers,” she said. “This is my daughter Buffy.”

“I am Joao,” the woman replied. Buffy suspected that Joao was not much older than Buffy was. Muhyi brought water to them and Joyce and Buffy drank thirstily. As the young man set the cups down and moved to join them at the table, Buffy couldn’t help watching him. He moved in ways that could almost be described as graceful. Totally unlike the other men near her own age. Even Oz, with his laid back style, could not match the easy catlike movements of Muhyi’s tall frame. Added to that was a handsome, mature face with eyes that reached depths she could not even imagine.

And he knew that she was staring at him. Buffy blushed and glanced away as Muhyi dark eyes swept over her, sizing her up just as she had done with him. At the same time, she wondered what exactly he saw when he looked at her. And what he felt.

Buffy’s attention was drawn away as her mother sat down facing Ethan but spoke to Joao.

“Is this where everyone lives?” Joyce asked.

“Not everyone,” Joao replied. “We do not know how many are here. We’re scattered into different groups.”

“This is one place of sanctuary,” Muhyi explained. “Some of us stay here at all times. But no one ‘lives’ in this place.”

“I don’t understand.”

Ethan spoke up. “What he means, I believe, is that it’s hard to define this as living when our bodies are as good as dead. I meant everything I said to Daniels down there on the beach.”

“Shut up!” Buffy ground out.

“Why?” Ethan stood and strolled about the underground room. “How long have you been here, Joao?”

The young woman met his eyes. “Over 300 years.”

“And you?” Ethan addressed Muhyi.

“Longer,” he answered. He looked toward Buffy. “Much longer.”

Buffy tried to keep from wincing. What was it with her and much older men? Immediately she pushed aside such thoughts. This was no time to be pondering such things. This was a serious, deadly situation. And Ethan’s observations weren’t making it any easier.

“That means,” Ethan said, “that you’re both already dead, for all intents and purposes. Of course,” he continued, leaning closer to Joyce, “I’d like to think that we’ll escape before our bodies have completely withered away to nothing.”

Joyce met his eyes but didn’t say anything. It was Joao who spoke up.

“We know that our bodies are nothing now.” Joao’s voice was soft yet full of emotion. “We know that all around us might be an illusion. Our minds holding on to memories. Yet we are here. We still feel. We still think. And we still want to be free. But not for the reasons that you do. Our souls must be at rest. That is why we still survive.”

More and more the full impact of their situation was settling on Buffy. She saw the same realization in her mother’s soft brown eyes. This was only the beginning. They might be here for years, decades, centuries. Always hiding from Garoth. Always wanting rest.

She reached for her mother’s hand. Joyce grasped Buffy’s hands with both of hers. They were both trembling and held each other tightly and did not try to wipe away the tears that slipped down their cheeks.

Daniels wasn’t sure when Garoth’s growls subsided. They seemed to grow ever fainter, until there was only the sound of Francois and Karl talking quietly. He was only aware that Francois had moved to the mouth of the cave and was now gesturing for Giles and Daniels to stand. Slowly, they exited the small sanctuary, with Karl bringing up the rear.

During the time they had spent, listening to the wordless threats of the demon, Everette Daniels had thought about the past seven years. He thought of how much he had loved his wife. Of how empty his life had been without her. Of the long hours spent at her bedside, longing for some miraculous cure. Of the measures he had taken to try to bring her out of the coma.

And all that time, she had been fucking Jerrod. And not giving a damn about her husband.

The shock of hearing about Laura and Jerrod had begun to wear off. Daniels now considered something besides rescuing his wife. It was obvious that he was trapped in the same hell that Laura and Jerrod had made a sort of heaven for themselves.

That wouldn’t last much longer.

His drive and motivation for existence had changed. No longer was he thinking of saving his precious Laura. Now, his only motivation was revenge.

As they journeyed toward the other cave, Giles kept an eye on Daniels. He would never trust the man. And in spite of the rules that Francois and Karl had laid out, Giles doubted that Daniels would abide by them. A man who had spent seven years with one goal in mind was not likely to accept graciously the news that he’d been given.

And Giles really didn’t give a damn about Daniels or his wife or her lover. He only cared in as much as Daniels might be able to help them escape from the gem.

Of course, Giles himself possessed knowledge that might help free them. With Ethan there as well, the two of them working together…

Ethan. Giles didn’t give a damn about him either. But if his friend turned enemy knew of spell or incantation, Giles would make certain that Ethan would share the information. Community rules notwithstanding.

As for the present, Giles only hoped that Joyce and Buffy were safe with the others.

Ethan watched as the Slayer and her mother walked back out toward the mouth of the caverns. He allowed a few minutes before following them. As he reached the opening, he saw that Joyce had stayed just inside the cave. Buffy had gone out to the fire. They were both waiting for Ripper. How sweet.

Of course, Ethan suspected that it was Joyce who might actually be waiting for ‘Ripper.’ He had heard her call Giles by that nickname on the night that the Sunnydale adults were transformed into irresponsible, uninhibited ‘kids.’ Ethan had certainly enjoyed that aspect of the evening. Ripper and the Slayer’s mum. Buffy had had her hands full keeping them apart. But even Ethan knew that she’d been a little too late.

The images of that night had stayed with Ethan. Seeing Giles very much as he’d known him over twenty years ago. Seeing Joyce as a teenaged girl who liked bad boys and didn’t even flinch when her ‘Ripper’ put a gun to his old friend’s neck. Ethan wondered just how much of that part of Joyce’s personality was still active today. Giles was still very much ‘Ripper.’ Perhaps Joyce retained a bit of that young girl who wanted to be wild. Wouldn’t that appall the Slayer?

He approached Joyce quietly but not quietly enough. She turned as he walked toward her.

“Mr. Rayne,” she greeted coldly, turning her back to him.

“Please,” he replied. “Call me Ethan.” When she didn’t respond, he moved to stand beside her. “He might already to gone, you know.”

Even though they were at least three feet apart, Ethan could feel her stiffen. He went on. “Old Ripper is strong. And, as you’ve seen, quite rough and ruthless. But even he may not be able to outrun a demon.”

Joyce crossed her arms and continued her silence. Suppressing a smile, Ethan continued on a slightly different tack. “I can understand why you’d be upset. After all you and he have meant to each other.”

Finally a reaction. Joyce looked at him. “What do you mean?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Well, that night. When you were both under the spell of the chocolate. It was clear that the two of you had been thoroughly enjoying each other’s company. Everything about the two of you reeked of sex. The way you looked at each other. The way you touched. The way you smelled. You’d fucked each other and were aching have at it again. Tell me. Were you lovers before that night? I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ve always suspected that the Watcher’s duties encompassed more that just looking after the Slayer. Especially when there’s a beautiful mother around. A male Watcher might want to keep the nerves of the Slayer’s mother soothed and keep her distracted while the Slayer was out risking life and limb.”

Joyce narrowed her eyes. Her voice was low as she said, “I’m beginning to understand why Rupert pulled a gun on you.” Ethan smiled, knowing that the gesture would further infuriate her. “You’re dressed differently now. That night, you were a woman who knew that she was attractive and wanted to look sexy. Alluring. Fun. Provocative. Now, you’re looking rather matronly. Covering your body in baggy clothing that hides your shape.

“Come to think of it, that does answer one thing I was curious about. You two certainly aren't shagging now. You’re so afraid of your own sexuality. You’re afraid to really let go, the way you did that night. Because you know that if you ever did, you might never get control again.”

Joyce stared at him, then abruptly walked away. If there had been any color in this gray world, Ethan was sure that he’d have seen her blush. He moved closer and lowered his voice to a whisper.

“What is it you really want, Joyce? What desires have you kept hidden all these years? And why are you so afraid to express them?”

She turned around to face him. “Go to hell!” she spat out.

Ethan threw back his head and laughed. “My dear Joyce, I’m already there! And so are you!”

Joyce stormed away, heading out of the cave and toward her daughter. As she drew near Buffy, Ethan saw them both point toward the horizon and run to the men walking toward the caverns. One of the men broke into a run to meet them.

“Well, Ripper,” he murmured. “You’re still here. And that makes things all the more interesting.”