Damned if I don't, damned if I do.

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They were ambushed only twenty feet away from Tantalus’ pool. At first Toni thought he had sounded the alarm and then she thought that Faith had been discovered missing and this was the hunting party sent to retrieve her. However, mostly she was thinking that the tall, skeletal devils attacking them were a bugger to kill. Faith was trying to assist but her cumbersome body made hand to hand combat difficult and Toni, although it was probably the right thing to do, was loathe to give up her sword. Instead she took them all on herself, dancing between the five of them and Faith as she slashed and parried with all her strength.

Eventually four were dead and the fifth – armless thanks to two of Toni’s sword swipes – Faith took down easily enough with a roundhouse kick. When it was on the ground Toni stabbed the point of the sword into its bare skull, smashing its forehead and killing it.

Overbalanced by her kick, Faith was also on the ground. Toni told herself it wouldn’t help her situation with Buffy to repeat her skull smashing move no matter how tempting it was.

“Are you okay?” she asked instead, sheaving the sword.

“Dandy.” Faith slowly got back to her feet. “Guess we forgot to drink some more of the invisibility potion, huh?”

“Si.”

It was an oversight on her part. She unhooked the canister from her belt. It felt far too light. Giving it a shake didn’t reassure her. Unscrewing the top, she peered inside but it was designed such that it was impossible to tell just how much liquid remained.

She tried to remember how much they had already drank. A generous mouthful each at the cages, when the flask had been full. A more conservative amount when Toni had judged they’d been walking for roughly twenty-four hours, and again, after their battle with the giant snake. It had seemed prudent when there was no way for Toni to be sure whether the snake had been able to see them or had merely sensed Faith standing against its tree.

How long had those sips lasted? How long had it been between leaving the edge of the swamp and finding themselves at Tantalus’ pool? It had felt like they had been walking for days but that was unlikely. Twelve hours? Thirty-six at most she would guess; and she was gauging that by how tired Faith was looking since her nap, which was no reliable judgement considering Faith had looked nothing but exhausted ever since Toni had found her.

She shook the canister again as if it would offer more insight this time. Faith was silent, watching, obviously guessing where her concern lay.

Reluctantly, Toni held it out to her. “We must sip only a little. It is better to risk travelling short distances without protection than to run out of the protection before we may need it the most.”

“You brought it, you go first,” Faith offered.

She shook her head. “Your safety is more important.”

Faith worked up the energy to smirk. “Yeah, well, I know that and B knows that but…”

“Drink it!” Toni growled.

Still smirking, Faith took it and had the smallest of sips. Snatching it back, Toni did the same before screwing the cap back on and reattaching it to her belt.

“We will save the rest for when we approach the gate.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

They walked away from the piles of dry bones left by the dead devils.

“So this gate, how come you didn’t mention it? Thought it’d be funny watching me climb a nine-day cliff like this?”

“I have never heard of the gate before.” She still wasn’t entirely sure Tantalus hadn’t been misleading them for his own amusement.

“Thought you said you guys researched this place top and bottom before you came to get me?”

“We did, but as I said, details are sketchy. Nobody has ever escaped Tartarus before.”

“So no Lonely Planet travel guide.”

“Exactly.”

“Maybe we should write one,” Faith said, grinning slightly. “Get rich off of our experiences.”

“If we escape alive, maybe we should. Although I doubt there is much demand for a guidebook to a place that most do not believe exists.”

“Take it you never played anything like Dungeons and Dragons as a kid, then.”

“Only if you’re referring to actual dungeons and dragons.”

They walked in silence for a while. Toni kept her eyes on the sparse grass in front of her feet; after a while one tree was just as dull as the hundred before it. She had never expected Tartarus to be so green although it was a welcome substitute for the fire and brimstone landscape she had expected.

“So you were all researching this place?”

Toni looked over as Faith’s question broke the silence. She nodded once. “The whole family.”

Faith sneered at Toni daring to call herself one of the family, but as Toni had meant it to aggravate her she simply smiled.

“What about B?”

“Buffy researched too…when she had time.”

Faith nodded like she was thankful, and then sharply asked, “What do you mean when she had time?”

“I cannot help it if my presence distracted her on occasion,” Toni said smugly, even if it was only a half truth.

Faith was walking a few paces behind her again and Toni hissed as a fist unexpectedly smashed into her ribs.

“Ehi!” She spun around, her own fists raised. “Do you truly wish to fight me now? In your state? I had Buffy backed into a corner while sparring not three weeks ago and she was in perfect health. How do you think you will fare?”

She saw the anger rise in Faith’s eyes and then saw it simmer down into something the slayer obviously found manageable for she chuckled, shaking her head a little.

“Was just a playful punch, Tone.” She started walking again. “Gee, you can’t even handle that, dunno how the fuck you managed to best Buffy.”

Toni watched her walk away, trying to decide whether to let things go or to let her irritation force a confrontation between them. In the end, remembering where they were, she chose to follow Faith’s lead.

“It was fairly easy considering how aroused she was.”

She saw Faith’s fists clench at her sides but the slayer kept her tone light. “Really? Good for you. Usually, the hornier I get her, the harder she hits.”

Toni smiled automatically until the true nuances of the statement occurred to her. Whether Buffy cared to admit it or not she equated passion with violent reactions – both internal and external – their time in Greece had proved that much. So while she was able to feel exactly how turned on Buffy had been in the training room that afternoon, her mute response was perhaps not very encouraging.

“You were going to marry Troy.”

“What of it?” Faith glanced up as Toni walked by her side.

“I was just wondering what you are going to do if we return home.”

Faith looked down at her sizable bump. “Guess that depends.”

“On what?”

“None of your fuckin’ business is what.”

“Scuzi, but if you intend to include my girlfriend in your future I think I have a right to know in advance.”

Faith turned to her again. “Why, you think I got a shot?”

How Toni’s fist didn’t lash out to smack that evil grin away was a miracle.

When she didn’t answer Faith seemed to take the question more seriously. “I think I’m screwed either way. B got all caught up in the romantic side of it but I know she don’t really want a kid. So she ain’t gonna be happy about this, is she? Not long term anyhow. And Troy probably ain’t gonna wanna know me now, right? He didn’t even know we were still screwing but I turn up carrying her brat it’s gonna be a pretty big give-away. He’s not gonna be happy either.”

Toni had no idea what she was talking about – in fact she was starting to think there had been a little something extra in that pool water to make it so sweet. Before she could ask, Faith went on.

“And I ain’t gonna apologise to you or nothing, but I get why you wanna beat the crap outta me. Seeing this,” she pointed at her distended stomach, “must have been a hell of a shock. Fuckin’ Easter Bunny, huh? Bitch screwed us all over.”

“I am sorry, I think…” Toni began, but then Faith grabbed her arm and shushed her.

She pointed through the thinning trees and Toni could see what alarmed her. A rocky plain was once again before them, even from here she could see the yellowish steam gushing up from various fissures. Tantalus had said they would have to cross it to get to the gate but they had arrived sooner than Toni expected.

They crept to the final edge of the forest, their conversation forgotten. The gate itself could not be seen from here – if it even existed – but there did seem to be a clear sandy path stretching out between the jagged rocks.

“Coast looks clear,” Faith muttered.

Toni watched the emptiness a moment longer before shaking her head. “No, see?” She pointed into the middle distance.

Faith looked. “What?”

“Between the steam you can see the sand spraying up.” She pointed again. “There…and there…and there.”

Faith nodded. “So what is it?”

“I do not know yet.”

She bid Faith be quiet and once their ears attuned to the apparent silence they both heard the distant sound of something heavy meeting hard packed sand, over and over.

“But we still have to go down there, right?” Faith sounded less sure of herself now.

Toni nodded, “Unfortunately, I think we do.”

They decided to sit and rest for a while before tackling it. Faith fell asleep again and Toni lay back against the trunk of a tree and closed her eyes. Perhaps she dozed for a while, she couldn’t be sure, the thoughts of what lay ahead were plaguing her too greatly for relaxation.

Faith waking as abruptly as before stirred Toni from her perturbed rest and with no more ceremony than the slayer having to relieve herself again, they walked steadily out of the trees. Within minutes there was no cover at all. When the invisibility potion failed the next time they would be in plain sight of anyone around immediately.

The darkness was once again very smoky now that they were out of the forest but it was a shade or two lighter, as if the light of a bright orange moon was permeating a layer of dense cloud. The strange glow made the regular bursts of rising sand on the horizon more prominent.

As they walked on, the heavy thuds in the distance grew louder.

“Really not liking the sound of that,” Faith said, agitated.

“It may be nothing,” Toni said, reassuringly. “Thunder, a waterfall.”

It sounded like neither, and Faith gave her the dubious look her comment deserved, but nodded anyway. “Let’s hope you’re right.”

They had walked for roughly an hour through the open ground before ridges began to rise up on either side of the wide sandy pathway. The low ridges soon became steep banks and not long after that the source of the noise was revealed, along with the reason why the sand sprayed up.

They stopped, surveying the scene.

“Thunder?” Faith asked.

Toni pursed her lips and said nothing as her gaze moved from the giants standing on one high bank, to the giants standing on the other.

“A waterfall?” Faith said even more pointedly.

Toni chuckled at the tone in her voice and the boulders that were peppering the sand before them. Tiredness was obviously bringing on delirium.

The rocks were not that big – the size of soccer balls at most, they looked like marbles in the giants’ hands – but to walk into a shower of them would probably prove fatal, for Faith anyway. It was unclear whether the giants were throwing them at each other or were deliberately aiming for the unoccupied sand, but either way they all rained down into the gorge.

Faith crossed her arms and nodded her head forwards. “So now what do we do?”

“I have no idea, but there is a bright side, I think.”

“And that is?”

Toni pointed. Through the darkness, beyond the rocks and the spraying sand, fires burned furiously. It had taken her a moment to realise that the flames were not uncontrolled infernos but blazing lamps set to mark an important feature.

“I believe we have found the Gate.”

“Cool.” Faith uncrossed her arms, but then re-crossed them with a tired sigh. “Fat lot of good it does us though. There’s no way I can run and dodge fast enough to avoid all these rocks like this.”

She was right. Normally Faith, as a Slayer, would have stood a fair chance at making it through unscathed, but pregnant and exhausted – there was no chance.

Faith looked back the way they had come. “So we retrace our steps and find a way around?”

Toni thought about it but it was not a good option. They would probably get lost again, or find that this was the only way to the Gate. She could only assume that the giants were here for discouraging or killing any who tried to escape Tartarus, and that would be pointless if there was a safer route to take. Besides, with the Gate – and freedom – so close, she was loathe to lose sight of it again.

“I do not think that would be our wisest move.”

“Then what do you suggest then, Tone? ‘Cause I ain’t keen on getting splattered down here, ‘specially now there’s more of me to splat!”

Toni spent another couple of minutes thinking about it, enough time that Faith started making impatient faces, and then she laughed.

“You’re finding something about this funny?” Faith accused.

“Not particularly. It is just that I could walk through there and emerge on the other side with no more than a bad headache.”

“So what? Because you’re made of steel that makes you the better chick for Buffy?”

Toni chuckled again. “No, but it does mean I can get back to her.”

“Fine, fuck off then. Go tell her how you abandoned me here.” Faith sneered. “See how lucky you get then.”

Toni watched the rocks fall for some time. Studying them, it soon became apparent that it wasn’t completely random. The giants threw in a repeated sequence. The speed varied, meaning sometimes two hit the sand almost simultaneously while another time there might be as much as a ten second gap between drops, but if you had the kind of mind that could recognise and anticipate patterns it was possible to lower the probability of being hit on the head by one of the big balls of stone.

Toni’s mind wasn’t that adept at such things, but where pattern recognition failed her hopefully her lessened vulnerability and quick healing would pick up the slack.

“Have you ever heard the tale of the hare and tortoise, Faith?”

Faith was about to snap out a venomous retort, Toni could see it in her eyes, but decided she didn’t have the energy. “Yeah, the Hare thought he was so fast he had time to piss around on the way, but the tortoise just kept plodding along and won – what’s your point?”

“Tortoises are clever! They also have shells that would have seemed like steel to the idiot Hare.”

“Are you calling me a hare…?” Faith paused, pulling a face. “Wait, what sort of insult is that? I think you’ve lost it, dude.”

“You are probably right but this is still the only thing I think will keep you alive long enough to reach the other side. Get on your hands and knees.”

Faith gave her a blank look. “Told you before I ain’t fuckin’ you; not even to save my life.”

Toni laughed and gestured at the ground.

Slow and awkward and grumbling all the time, Faith did as she was asked. “You better have a good reason for this because it’s already fuckin’ killing my knees!”

“Pregnancy does not agree with you, Faith.”

“Never in a million years thought it would. Not like I ever had any plans to get knocked up, just happened.”

The reminder of her part in Faith’s condition was enough to keep any further comments to herself. Instead Toni started to get into position behind her.

“You’ll have to bend your arms so that you’re lower to the ground,” she said as she lowered herself over Faith.

“What did I just say about sex?” Faith snapped mildly, glaring over her shoulder.

“Can you not be quiet for one minute?” Toni kept her feet on the ground but now her palms were flat to the sand too, just in front of Faith’s, so that she was tented over the slayer. “In fact, as a thank you for me doing this, I would be obliged if you did not speak again until we are out of Hades altogether.”

“Yeah, don’t see that happening,” Faith muttered.

Toni checked that she was covering as much of Faith as possible. Her extra few inches in height meant that it was easy enough for her to shield Faith’s head and all the way down the length of her spine without making it too difficult to move forward. If one of Faith’s feet were hit they would have to deal with the consequences, but at least they would be unlikely to include death.

“Are you ready? We will have to take it very slowly.”

“Not like I can go anything but slow with you riding me like a freakin’ donkey!”

“I am putting no weight on you at all!”

“Yeah, keep it that way.”

“I can still change my mind about this. It is not as if I am retaining any dignity in helping you this way.”

“Sorry,” Faith muttered. “Hormones are turning me into a bitch.”

“I was not aware that you have been pregnant the whole time we have known each other.”

Faith laughed. “Yeah, well I ain’t apologising for none of that; just for now.”

Toni nodded. “Then I accept. Shall we begin?”

It was not easy to gain forward momentum in this position but slowly they edged towards the rain of rocks. They were both holding their breath and wincing occasionally, which made things harder, but the anticipation of the first strike was enough that they couldn’t help it.

Toni kept repeating the patterns she had noticed in her mind, remembering to slow down here and try to speed up there. Occasionally she used her body to shunt Faith a little one way or the other. She couldn’t look up to see where the boulders were falling from though, in fact she couldn’t even really keep her eyes open because the sand spraying up as rocks fell soon had them watering constantly. It was only a matter of time before she was hit.

The first struck the left side of her lower back. It didn’t give her pause but her grunt of pain alerted Faith.

“You okay?”

“Si.”

The next bounced off of her right buttock and she hissed at the sting of it but kept going. For a while after their timing was perfect and they avoided every projectile, but her arms were beginning to ache from keeping herself propped up above Faith’s head and shoulders, and beneath her Faith was getting slower as her knees were sanded raw and her general strength ebbed further.

They could see the end of the showering rocks, only fifteen feet away, when Toni’s shoulder was struck. It felt as if the bone had shattered into pieces and her hand went out from under her, dropping her left side heavily onto Faith’s back.

“Hey!”

Toni grunted an apology and tried to put weight on her hand to push herself back up but couldn’t. More rocks fell to the side and in front of them, and as she panted through the pain, sand coated her tongue and throat, making her cough.

“Shit!” Faith grunted, trying hard not to collapse herself under the added weight.

Toni grimaced and buried her face in the back of Faith’s hair as she tried to force her hand to take the pressure. “I think my shoulder is broken. I cannot move!”

“You think you got problems,” Faith said, trying to sound cheerful. “I need to fuckin’ pee again!”

Toni grinned despite the tears stinging her eyes. “Please try and hold it in – you smell bad enough as it is.”

“Like you’re a freakin’ bouquet of pine-scented kittens yourself,” Faith replied amiably.

Toni began to chuckle but it ended with a gritting of teeth when even that caused strings of pain to flare up her neck and across her shoulder blade. The joint had taken the full impact of the heavy rock and her arm was still hanging loose and useless over Faith’s shoulder.

“You’re gonna have to lift yourself higher,” Faith complained. “Unless you want my kid to come out looking like it got sandblasted.”

She tried again but it was impossible. “I will have to rest my arm on your back and keep all of my weight on my right side.”

“I can’t crawl like this!”

“And I cannot crawl any other way!” She bit back a sob, pain and frustration weakening her mental strength as well as physical. “I do not understand, even a severe break should have knit enough by now to allow some mobility.”

Faith lifted the hand she wasn’t using to support Toni’s injured side and pushed at the limp limb, making it swinging out at an unnatural angle. Toni yelled and cursed her, the pain enough to make her see black stars before her eyes.

“You dumbass!” Faith snapped impatiently. “It’s just dislocated.”

“Dislocated?” Toni asked when she could speak again. “But the pain is so severe?”

“Fuckin’ pussy,” Faith muttered, awkwardly rolling onto her right side before wriggling around onto her back. The action pushed her out from under Toni’s protection and she had to throw an arm up quickly to deflect a crushing blow to the face. “Ow! Fuck! That hurt.”

She pulled her arm into her chest, cradling it.

“Exactly,” Toni snapped, feeling mildly better now that Faith had experienced some of the pain for herself. “And what in Hades are you doing? Get back up! Somehow we have to keep moving.”

“I’m fixing your shoulder.”

Faith squirmed down until her face was once again protected by Toni’s head and then, more gently than she would have given her credit for, took hold of Toni’s limp upper arm with one hand and placed her other hand palm-to-palm with Toni’s.

Once she was in position Faith gave her a joyful grin.

Trying to ignore the rocks falling all around them, Toni stared down at her dubiously. “What are you smiling for?”

“This is gonna really fuckin’ hurt.”

“And that is a happy thing?”

“Hell yeah, for me, I’m not the one gonna be screaming in agony in five…four…”

Toni tensed, waiting for her to reach one, but Faith slammed the shoulder back into place before she reached three. She did not scream, but from behind her gritted teeth came a primal yell that echoed off the walls of the gorge. Luckily, the eardrum was a proportionate organ and, as compared to the giants high on the ridges, their size was the equivalent of a rat; their voices were equal to a rodent’s squeak, making them nearly as audibly undetectable as they were invisible down there.

Once the ball of her shoulder was back in its socket the relief from pain was almost instant. Still kneeling, she slumped down onto her elbows, panting hard and trembling as she recovered from Faith’s first aid.

Faith was still lying on her back, looking up at her. “Better?”

“Si, thank you.”

She rested a few moments more, allowing her strength to return, but when the initial adrenaline crash had passed she became aware of Faith’s stomach. Although they were touching no where else, her body had sunk low enough that the swell of Faith’s belly was brushing her own flat stomach every time they breathed. It felt very strange.

Toni tucked some hair behind her ear before allowing her gaze to travel slowly over the compromising position they were in. When their eyes met again Faith was smirking, proving she was thinking the same thing.

“Guess you finally got me where you want me, huh Tone?”

Toni leaned closer, cocking one eyebrow as she reminded her, “You are the one who gave into Buffy’s plea for a threesome, not I. Perhaps it is more accurate to say this is where you always wanted me.”

Faith’s grin grew bigger. “Maybe it is.”

“And now is when you choose to succumb to my seduction,” Toni groaned and, ignoring the lingering pain, pushed herself back up to the full length of her arms, putting space between them. “Buffy will be disappointed she was not here to take advantage of it.”

It only took a few inches of distance for Faith’s strength of will to reassert itself, and rather than be confused by the fading feelings of desire she took a practical view.

“Yeah, maybe we shouldn’t tell B we ended up all cosy like this. It’ll only give her ideas.”

“I agree. Could you get up now?”

With difficulty Faith squirmed around until she was back on her hands and knees. “I swear this bump is getting bigger by the minute.”

“It only feels like that because your human body is not used to the fast passage of time here,” Toni said as she rearranged herself as comfortably as possible over Faith. “It is not much further now.”

She was right; when they began their slow crawl forward again they cleared the gorge relatively quickly. On the other side was open rock once more but at least no one was throwing it at them.

They stopped for a while, Faith taking a breather and Toni revelling in the fact that she wasn’t being pelted with large boulders, before standing up and surveying what lay ahead.

“Whoa!” Faith said.

Toni felt the same. The Gate was now no more than one hundred feet in front of them. Two pyres rose up on each side, the flames climbing high into the darkness. Between them the iron gates shone, the dull metal made bright by the blaze. Toni looked up but couldn’t see the top of them, they were shrouded in smoke.

“This is it.”

“What, exactly?” Faith asked.

“Our way back to Buffy.”

“Then let’s do it.”

Toni’s eyes never left the tall Gate. It wasn’t going to be easy. They couldn’t just walk up to them and expect to be let through. She didn’t know what to expect but she knew it would never be that straightforward. This would be the hardest trial they had faced, she was sure of it.

But Buffy was on the other side.

Toni nodded. “Let’s do it.”