Setting: The Pit of Despair (Hell) Following Broken Machine parts 1-4

[...still cannot fix this...]

"Buffy, we need to find the river, now we are just wandering through Purgatory." Angel looked back at Buffy over his shoulder. Everything was so bland and lifeless here. Shades of grey all mixed together to form the sky and the ground. It was like some old black and white film.

"Your the veteran hell-go'er, don't you remember the way you went to leave?" Buffy's smug and sarcastic reply was almost refreshing for its contrast to the order and lifelessness around them.

"I was not really paying attention to where I was going, I was just kind of running mad and somehow being lead. There were powers involved there, we are on our own."

"Well a big old river into the inferno of hell itself cant be hard to miss. I mean come on, how many are there I would think just the one."

"Be careful Buffy, we aren't on Earth, the rules are different, don't be so linear."

"Right, sorry." Their eyes met for a second and Buffy could tell she is still being drawn towards him, but she couldn't feel anything like before. She could remember how he made her feel, but she just felt numb now. Angel looked back into her eyes, and looked away almost confused.

"Buffy, we have to get out of here, we are becoming lost souls in Purgatory. This is where the dead wait to be judged, there are no emotions, no color, we have to go or we will become listless and apathetic."

"Saying, OK worst case scenario, we lose heart or whatever and wander as lost souls, what would happen?" Buffy started walking towards the brightest horizon on the endless grey mass they existed in.

"My best guess is we would hang around until we get judges or something else intervenes." He looked over at her with that gorgeous half smirk of his, trying to lighten the situation.

"Goodie. Xander better be appreciative of what I do for him."

They walked on, feeling seeping out of them more and more. Tiredness, the strain of moving, time all started fading from their minds, like a druggish haze settling into their heads. Dark and sooty clouds rolled about above them, the ground seemed to be like a conveyer belt and they, just riding. 

Buffy looked over at Angel, he seemed to be fainter and less tangible. He wasn't 4 feet away but it looked like he was in a sandstorm. He was light and with diminished shadows, his features almost blended in around him, making him look smooth and inhuman. She looked down at her own hands, and saw the exact same thing. She wanted to stop it but she didn't feel the urgency to. She realized she was giving up. Then all at once she snapped out of it as she felt a strong grab for her by the shoulder and around the waist. The arms held her tightly against cool skin and a leather jacket as every sense resharpened itself. Everything was brighter she became overwhelmed by the sensation of falling and tumbling down a steep slope. The world twisting and flipping around her was a red desert with no life or vegetation. Sharp stones were biting her as she continued to fall down what must be the biggest hill in all of hell.

Angels arms still holding her tight they came to a crashing stop at a level area at the bottom of the slope. As she tried to regain her senses a downslide of loosened gravel and flat red shale like rocks flowed around her. The rockslide pushed her forwards and buried her and Angel up to their knees as they gained their feet. Both covered in crimson powderish dust and little cuts they found each others hands and waited for the dust all around them to settle, in hope of regaining their bearings.

The cloud settled, and there it loomed before them a mighty flowing river. It flowed lifelessly and in complete silence. The water looked brackish and black, but in the shallower areas it almost emanated a luminescent green. They could not see the other side, or even tell if there was one. The water pushed along to their right, ripples and eddies here and there, but as it seemed almost in slow motion.

"Well, we found our river of sticks, now where is our faerie."

"Buffy, you really shouldn't spend so much time with Xander, it is the river 'S-t-y-x' and the Ferry Man, Cheron, you know ferry like boat."

"Whatever, lets go and get the man's loose change."

"My best guess is we should follow the flow of the river until we find a dock or something. In the legends there is a tall pole with a horn on it, and the horn is used to call the boatman." Angel looked over into Buffy's eyes. He was relieved to feel his desire and need for her again. It tortured them so, but not having it at all seemed like a fate so much worse.

"Lead on, I have no better idea." Buffy broke eye contact and started walking on the rocky shore with the flow. She held her arms out and she balanced on the jutting edges of the rocks and stones.

"Buffy, lets walk up here," Angel nodded towards a part of the slope they fell down." We don't want to get splashed with that water, and we don't know if it has a tide or anything."

Nodding her agreement Buffy ran onto the slope with him. The slope followed the river, to suggest the idea the river and the gate to hell must be all inside one crater like valley. They jogged along scanning the bank finding nothing for miles. Oddly though they weren't feeling tired or hungry.

"We don't seem to be getting anywhere." Buffy said between labored breaths.

"Well I still don't see any other options, can you think of something?"

"I want to try something." Buffy walked towards Angel and wrapped her arms around him. He froze in her warm embrace. Then she pulled his jacket off and spun it around.

Quickly recovering like nothing happened, Angel said "What are we doing?"

"I want to know if we are going in circles, remember the rules are different here right?" She stacked up some rocks into a pillar about shoulder height. Then she hung the jacket on it, making it look like some headless person staring out into the river.

"Alright, lets go" Buffy started jogging with the current again.

"Right behind you." Angel looked to make sure she wasn't looking back, then ran to his coat and grabbed the stuff he had in his coat pockets. He stuffed the items into his cargo pants pockets and ran to catch up with Buffy.

* * *

"WHAT DID YOU DO!!!!" Giles accent was lost in the plain loudness of his yell.

"We're helping the cause." Willow said defending herself but still sounding very guilty.

"By turning the members of a government anti-demon program into the vessels for a breed of carnage loving, blood demons!" Giles started pacing back and forth repeatedly pulling off his glasses and cleaning them.

"W..well, it seamed like a good idea at the time, and besides w..we command them and can tell them to return to their dimension at any time." Willow's anxiousness showed with her stutter.

"But those lads, they have been touched by the essence of a god of blood and war... They will never be the same." His voice became more of an explanatory tone, as if he were trying to simplify things for a child.


"Giles, I agree with Willows decision, extreme measures were needed and she may have saved their lives." Wesley came from the living room still holding a book to the defense of Willow, Tara, and Cordelia.

"What is done is done, girls you are going to have to continue the ritual though, otherwise you will lose control of them." Wesley was all practicality at this point.

"Giles, you need to help me continue the research on Xanders condition. Now." Wesley's forcefulness brought Giles back to thinking rationally

"Yes, your right. I hope they can handle the power of this spell though." The trio of two witches and an assistant ran back up the stairs hopping to their task.

"Xanders awake!" Anyas voice shouted from the couch

Giles and Wesley spun about and hurried to the couch. Xander was lying there in a daze, completely incoherent. Threads of blood snaked down from his eyes and ears. His body, coated in sweat and the veins stood out all over him, almost like he was about to explode. Terrible sounds like someone ripping a thick notebook and other sounds like the cracking of bones emanated from him also. He was saying strange things all in english.

In a voice deep and sinister he spoke "Do not strike until you are ready to crush the enemy utterly, and then attack without mercy, destroy every vestige of resistance, leave no-one to work against you." He repeated it twice.

Anya looked up at Wesley and Giles who were both peering at each other perplexed at this. It almost sounded like he was being tough lessons.

He spoke again.
"Love the Laughing God,
for He is the salvation of our kind.
Obey His words,
for He will lead you into the light of the future.
Heed His wisdom, for He will protect you from evil.
Whisper His prayers with devotion, for they will save your soul 
Honor His servants, for they speak in His voice 
Tremble before His majesty, for we all walk in His immortal Shadow." He was reciting these words in a monotone almost prayerful.

"Wesley, we need to find out who the 'Laughing God' is."

"On it." Wesly started scanning the stacks of books.

"Anya, if you could leave Xanders side for a moment, I'm going to need your assistance." Anya nodded, wiping away tears from her reddened eyes.

* * *

"Look, there it is." Buffy pointed to the horizon. Angel could make out the makeshift coat-rack they used to mark their starting point.

"So we are going full laps around this river, where is our boatman?" She slowed down and put her hands on her hips.

Angel went to his coat and pulled it back on. On top of the rocks where it hung was a long, bleached white horn. The end and point of the horn connected by a ratty brown strap of leather.

"Buffy, look." He held up the horn

"Where did you get that?" She walked up and looked at it.

"It was just sitting here with my coat." He handed it to her as he discretely switched his stuff back from his pants pockets to his coat pockets.

"Well, you blow on it. I have an aversion to putting dead animal parts from hell in my mouth."

Angel took the horn back from her an raised it to his lips.


TBC.....