FIC: The Woes of Myth and Language (2/2)

[Patrick Kelly <bandits@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: The Woes of Myth and Language (2 of 2)
Author: Pat Kelly
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Part 5 of what I've now deemed simply, "The Season 5 Series".
Disclaimer: Joss and Mutant Enemy only. I do not own..
No money is being made. Thanks to Alex for the title. :-)

THE WOES OF MYTH AND LANGUAGE
(2/2)

Bill Palmer and his two buddies were walking through the halls of UC Sunnydale at night.
It was a twenty-four hour campus and they were residents, so all they had to do was check
in with the security guard. They told him they were going to the library, but really,
studying was the last thing on his mind. Bill was in World Mythological Studies, and as
soon as that new professor had started teaching, he got an idea.

He told his friends, and now they were headed toward the classroom.

"Look, they said if we wanna join the frat, we gotta get something Greek. A myth counts,
right?" Bill said.

"Gamma Alpha Kappa's the coolest frat on campus, Jack." Andy reminded his nervous friend.

Jack nodded his head. "I know&I know. You're sure he left his books here?"

"He locked him in the closet. Trust me." Bill said, as the came up to the door. "Pick the
lock, Andy."

"Why do I have to do it?" Andy asked.

"Just do it."

Grumbling, Andy did it. When they got inside, they turned on their mini-flashlights.
Hurrying to the back of the room, Bill and Jack shined their lights on the closet handle
as Andy jimmied its lock too. On the high shelf, there were three books. Jack grabbed them
and sat them on the desk. Bill started skimming through them.

"This isn't right." Jack said again, feeling guilty as hell.

"Man, will you relax? From the look of the guy he's got plenty old books just like this."
Bill said. "Oh, this is great! This whole thing's in Greek!"

Jack walked back to the door. He didn't want to do this. The book he was looking at was
open to an old drawing of the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. There was a slip of cloth
sticking out in between one of the pages. Bill took it out, and there was a handwritten
Greek on it.

"What the hell is that?" Andy asked. "An ancient bookmark?"

"Hey Jack. You can read Greek, right? Get over here."

Bill's reluctant friend came back over. "My grandfather was Greek. He taught me a little,
but&"

"We need to know if this is the real deal." Bill said, handing Jack the cloth.

Jack took a deep breath and looked at the words. "Uh&If you wish to understand these
stories of the Gods and their lower subjects&of Ares, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Dionysus,
Hera&"

"Speed it up." Bill said.

Jack glared. "Respect these tales&be careful to follow what they teach&the Great Ones of
Mount Olympus have blessed the words on this parchment&if fools and non-believers speak
them aloud and do not heed what they say or the lessons of the Gods&" Jack stopped, and
gulped.

"What?" Andy said, beginning to feel less than safe.

"They will be punished in the name of Zeus and experience these lessons firsthand. They
will be made into believers. Even at the expense of their mortal lives."

"Bull." Bill said, grabbing the book. "This is good enough, let's get out of here."

A flash of lighting crackled through the air, and Bill not expecting it, dropped the book.
Somehow, wind began to blow inside the room, and the book opened, pages fluttering. The
three students ran for the door, but a large gust of wind knocked them down. The room
began to glow a blinding gold, and when they could see again, they wished they were blind.


A muscular, deformed figure, that appeared to have the head of a bull, and the body of a
man, snarled, screeched and howled all at once. They were paralyzed, and the Minotaur was
looking at them as a predator looked at prey.

***

Buffy and Willow went straight to Giles'. Willow was holding Buffy in a comforting embrace
on the couch, as Giles tested Buffy's new "talent". She could read Gaelic, Sumerian,
Native American, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, even Japanese. He was
astounded. And dumbfounded.

"So you're saying I'm on my own with this?" Buffy asked.

"You're not on your own." Willow told her.

"I can make guesses, Buffy. I can tell you that it may be an extension of your Slayer
abilities, a temporary flux of magickal energies&but the truth is that I'm inclined to
believe that it does have to do with your long life as a slayer. As soon as I saw you
reading, that's the first thought that entered into my mind."

"I'm kinda thinking that too." Buffy had to admit.

"That's the only remotely plausible explanation I can think of. But, again, it's just a
theory." Giles said.

"Can't you research or something?" She wanted more concrete answers.

Giles knelt in front of her with a smile on his face. "Buffy, you are the only slayer to
live this long. There's been nothing recorded or even speculated. I say this with all
honesty and pride. You are the best slayer the world has ever had. It doesn't even seem
like much of a stretch anymore to say that you are the true Chosen One.

"I don't see how this new ability can't be anything but beneficial to you. Accept it. If
you start gaining new 'talents', then I'd embrace them as well. If they start to become a
problem, then we'll deal with it accordingly. You know I'll look into this, but for now,
consider what's happening to you as a bonus for a job well done."

Buffy pulled him up and gave him a hug.

"Well, it's about time I got something out of this 'destiny' thing."

"You're like all super-lingual." Willow said, excited,

"Where was this during high school, I ask you?"

"Cáidh baineannach." Giles said in Irish Gaelic.

"Holy female? Really, Giles. You're just sucking up right&oh. I can understand it when
it's spoken too."

"I probably butchered the pronunciation and used it -" Giles started, when the phone rang.

As he went to answer it, Buffy kissed Willow. Something she'd been wanting to do all day.

"Now if I ever go to France, I can curse at them in their own language."

"What if you get smarter than me?" Willow asked, suddenly feeling a little jealous.

"Not possible, Will. Besides, what do I need to speak different languages for? Tongues are
better for so many other things."

Willow whimpered, and as they leaned in for another round, Giles came back. "Go away.
Please?" She pleaded.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but that was Xander on the phone. He said he just got back to
campus and that something, ah, really weird, was going on."

Both girls groaned, and Buffy said something very loudly in German. Giles looked shocked,
as did Willow. As they were on their way out, the redhead sounded very upset.

"I know you probably have to slay right now, so I'll wait, but when we go home, I'm
washing your mouth out with soap."

***

They got to the campus, only it didn't look much like one anymore. It looked like a
gigantic cave. The entire college building itself was transformed, but not the dorm halls.
At least it was localized. They were more than a little hesitant to go charging inside. As
they walked around the perimeter of the cave trying to figure out was going on, a voice
spoke from behind them.

"Freaky, huh?" Xander asked.

Buffy felt her heart stop for a second, Willow had to hold back the scream that wanted to
come out of her mouth, and Giles jumped.

"Don't -" Buffy started to yell at him.

"Sneak up on people?" Xander finished.

"Yes!" Buffy and Willow said together.

"What happened here, Xander?" Giles asked once he regained his composure.

Xander looked at the cave. "First there was a college building, then this." He shrugged.

"That's it?" Willow asked.

"What were you expecting?"

Buffy led the group back around to the entrance, and two men, who weren't there a second
ago, stood on either side. They were wearing togas and sandals, and looked very scared. If
she didn't know any better, she'd say they were Ancient Greeks. But that wasn't possible.

"Go in." One said, fear evident in his voice.

"The beast requires four more to satisfy his hunger. He's had ten, and needs two more men,
and two more women." The other one said.

Buffy looked at her friends. "Beast?"

"I don't like this." Willow said.

In the next second, they were all being thrust inside. They hit the dirt cave floor, and
when they got to their feet, they couldn't see the entrance, the exit, or much of anything
for that matter.

"Is everyone okay?" Giles asked.

"I will be once we find the way out." Xander said.

"And then get out." Willow added.

"Then let's get started." Buffy said, taking charge.

An inhuman howl suddenly sounded through the cavernous halls.

"That can't be good." Xander commented.

***

"The Minotaur." Giles said in a mix of fear and wonder.

Buffy faced her teacher and parental figure, and looked at him with her "you've got some
explaining to do" expression. "Excuse me?"

"The men outside, feeding the 'beast' fourteen people, seven men and seven women, the
howl, the passageways&we're in the Labyrinth."

"Whoa. Back the mythological truck up." Xander said. "Are you saying that the Ancient
Greek myth about the man-bull who eats victims sent from Athens as a tribute to King Minos
who ruled over Crete, is now in this cave, this Labyrinth, in Sunnydale, and we're trapped
with it?"

After Giles got over his surprise that Xander had absorbed so much of his lesson, he
answered him. "Yes. Exactly."

"Just checking." Xander said, rubbing his hands together. "So, who's for hiding?"

"How would it come to life, Giles?" Willow asked.

"Did you bring the wrong book to class?" Buffy inquired, glaring.

"All the books were perfectly normal." Giles said, defending himself.

"Okay, forget the 'how did it get here' question. Let's go with the 'how do we kill it and
leave' question."

"In the story, Theseus had that ball of string that showed him the way." Willow
remembered.

"Anyone have magic string?" Xander asked.

"No&" Buffy said, thinking. "But&we do have a spell."

"The revealing spell!" Willow exclaimed, wondering why she hadn't thought of it. "Oh.
Wait. I don't have the book. And this isn't a tomb in a pyramid."

"It looks enough like a tomb to me, and I remember the spell. It's worth a shot. You'll
have to say it, though. You are the witch in the group."

The Minotaur howled again.

"Can we hurry?" Xander asked.

"You ready? Buffy asked. Willow nodded. "Just repeat what I say. Lost in the darkness, I
pray for a light to guide me on my way." Willow repeated. "Guide me to safety, guide me
away from harm. I ask the heavens to show me the right path. I -"

Buffy was interrupted as a group of Ancient Greek men appeared, and stood poised for
battle. They began to advance. Fighting in darkened, enclosed, somewhat claustrophobic
spaces, was something she liked to avoid. So, she did the only thing she could think of.

"Run!"

The gang was quick to follow her suggestion, and they took off down the passageways.
Turning, twisting, they had no idea where they were going. They were driven simply by the
need to escape the charging soldiers, who were on their heels. They reached two forks in
the cave, and halted. There was total silence now. They didn't hear the men anymore.

"What the hell is going on?" Buffy asked.

"It must be a trick." Giles said. "The Minotaur can fool the human mind."

"Fool the mind?" Buffy asked herself quietly.

She started to get flashes. Of Krischten in the park the night before. Standing next to a
dead homeless man on a bench. His hand waving in front of her, and then him taking the
body, and leaving her there in a hypnotic state. Earlier tonight, fighting him, him
leaving her hurt in the cemetery, before waving his hand in front of her again, and
putting her into yet another, hypnotic state. Suddenly, she got all the answers she
wanted.

"That's how he did it."

"Huh?" Xander asked.

"Later." Buffy said, focusing back. "Let's try the - Willow?"

The wicca had gone over to the corner, and was holding her hand over her mouth. Buffy,
Giles, and Xander went over and joined her. Once they saw what she was looking at, they
did the same thing. There were bodies, well, parts of bodies, all in a pile. No one had
time to comment though, because the Minotaur came rushing out of the left fork, and
tackled Buffy to the ground.

***

"Buffy!" Willow screamed.

The slayer was more revolted by the look and smell of the creature than anything else. She
brought her fist up, and connected with its jaw. It recoiled, and she scrambled to her
feet.

"Do the spell and get out!" Buffy screamed back, as she got cut on the side of her face by
the Minotaur's claws.

"You can do it, Willow. Just try and focus." Giles said.

Willow tried to calm her breathing, and recall the spell.

"Lost in the darkness, I pray for -"

She felt something crawling. Lots of things crawling. All over her. Spiders. She started
to scream and knock them off with her hands.

"Get off! Get off!"

"They're not real, Will." Xander said.

"Spiders! They're everywhere!"

She felt Xander grab her shoulders, and suddenly, she didn't see the spiders any longer.

"Okay?" He asked.

"Okay? Sure. Yeah." She said, trying to assure herself more than Xander. "How's Buffy
doing?"

Buffy grabbed the creature by one of its horns, and yanked. It snarled in rage, and threw
her up against the wall. She slid to the floor.

"She'll be fine. Concentrate." Giles said.

Willow started again. "Lost in the darkness, I pray for a light to guide me on my way.
Guide me to safety; guide me away from harm. I ask the heavens to show me the right path.
I - uh oh. What's the rest?"

Buffy brought her leg up, and connected with its face, It turned away from her, and she
jumped onto its back.

"I implore you - OW!" Buffy said as the beast tried to shake off by backing up hard into a
wall. She held on. "I implore you, let me see the way to freedom!"

Willow quickly finished the spell by saying what Buffy said, and then she, Xander and
Giles watched as the fork the Minotaur had emerged from was bathed in blue light.

"Go!" Buffy told her friends.

They reluctantly began running, following the light. The Minotaur finally flung his
nuisance off, and decided to try and run for the escapees. Once Buffy got to her feet, she
chased after it.

"Now I'm pissed."

***

The rest of the group continued to follow the lighted passages, knowing the Minotaur was
after them. They knew they must have been getting closer to the exit, because the
brightness increased with each new corridor they went down. Then something they didn't
expect happened. They hit a dead end.

"This is just&great!" Xander said, feeling very trapped.

"I don't get -" Willow started, and then got cut off by a growl.

The Minotaur grabbed her leg, and pulled her down. It was dragging her towards to it. She
clawed at the ground, trying to resist, but it wasn't helping. Xander jumped for her
hands, and grabbed them. He started to pull against the Minotaur, but soon he was being
dragged too. He didn't let go of Willow, though. Giles, knowing it was foolish but going
to do it anyway, ran up to the creature, hoping to distract it so it would release its
hold.

It did, and just as it was about to swat Giles away, Buffy came running up behind it, and
wrapped her arms around its neck. Willow and Xander, along with Giles, scrambled away as
far as they could while Buffy wrestled with it. It couldn't knock her off this time, and
using all the slayer strength she possessed, she snapped its neck, and it fell to the
ground.

The dead end then became the exit, and they all immediately ran out. The cave slowly
changed shape back into the familiar college they were used to.

"Everyone&okay?" Buffy panted, exhausted.

Three heads nodded a weary affirmative, and with that assurance, Buffy collapsed to the
ground, too tired to stand. Willow was by her immediately, kissing her, glad she was
alive. And she didn't even mind the overall dirtiness of Buffy's face. The blonde somehow
found the strength to wrap her arms around the redhead, and they laid, kissing, in the
grass.

Giles and Xander looked away. As Xander was looking at the ground, he noticed a book by
his feet. He picked it up, and as he did, something fell out. Giles reached down and
snatched the cloth.

"This yours?" Xander asked, referring to the book.

"Yes, but I have no clue how this got in there." He looked at the small piece of cloth. "I
wonder what it is." Giles began reading it silently to himself.

Buffy and Willow had ceased their smooching session, and were now standing by the two men.
Buffy noticed Giles' face, and took the cloth out of his hand. She began to read it.

"Care to explain this?" She asked.

"I have no idea where&I got the book from a garage sale last summer." Giles said,
completely clueless.

"Uh huh." Buffy said, clearly not believing him. "Well, this is getting torn into little
pieces."

As she went to tear it up, the cloth flew out of her hands, and into the air. It began to
glow, and then they were looking at the almost surreal form of Zeus. They were in awed
silence as he spoke.

"You are believers. Hopefully you have gained knowledge from this trial you have survived.
Lesson learned."

And then, he was gone.

"O.&&.kay." Buffy said, slowly.

"That pretty much blew my mind." Xander said, once he could speak again.

"No offense, Giles," Willow said, "but I'm really glad we don't have your class again
until Thursday. I don't think I can handle any more myth stuff right now."

"I'm glad I don't have to teach it until Thursday." Giles said.

"Who wants to vedge?" Buffy asked.

She was answered by the two raised, right hands of her fellow college-goers. Giles just
wanted to sleep. The four of them wordlessly began to walk towards his house. They had an
intense desire to not be around the college at the moment.

***

Krischten watched the Slayer and her friends leave the college grounds. By the looks of
them, they had earned a rest. The Hellmouth was full of surprises, as he was quickly
finding out. What pleased him, was that he knew the Slayer had begun to receive her
rewards. Her mental abilities were sharper. She had seen through his mind games. Soon
other abilities would follow. The Powers were so predictable.

Things were progressing nicely. He disappeared into the darkness with a smile on his face.

--
"I wanna set the record straight. I thought the cop was a prostitute." (Homer J. Simpson)

"You think you know? What's to come? What you are? You haven't even begun."
(Tara to Buffy, BTVS)


"Since when is there a cowboy in 'Death of a Salesman' anyway?" (Willow, BTVS)