Lilith stepped out of the shadows on the other side of the divide just as the trespassers blinked out of the tunnel.  A shame, really, Lilith was interested to see how they would tackle the latest challenge.  It had been fun to lay down obstacles just to see how they would respond.  Of course, the obstacles had been, with each step, becoming more difficult to overcome, and then at some point, one or more of the intruders would die.  Even the Archangel wouldn�t be able to prevent it, the closer they came to Vahla ha'nesh.  Because Abel and Lilith were restoring the citadel, building it into a power center, drawing on the remnants of the Old One�s power, which was literally infused into the stone columns, the rocks in the walls, and the stone blocks that made up the floor.  That power had radiated from Illyria and whatever other Old Ones frequented this place, infecting the place with it, inoculating it.  It was only a matter of cultivating that power and nourishing it, letting it grow like a fruit tree, to the point where it would bear fruit in sinister profusion.

But that wasn�t the only thing Lilith and Abel were cultivating.  There was the child now, too.  The little girl had been the one stumbling block that could derail their plans for Evil�s Rebirth.  She was such a small and insignificant thing.  And so very easy to kill.  Of course the Watcher had been so very easy to manipulate, too.  It was all easy, and getting easier for them with each passing day.  And now that a rot was growing inside little Samantha like a cancer, the road ahead was clear and unfettered.  Clear sailing as they say.  All Lilith and Abel needed now was time. 

Natural means would not get them across the divide. There weren�t any boards, grappling hooks, or bridges they could simply apply to remedy the problem.  There was nothing in their possession that could span the distance. They couldn�t take risky chances. The fall would be the end. It would take something supernatural in nature to bridge the gap. It would have been nice to have one of the witches around right about now. Azrael the angel could teleport or blink them across, but the angel was speaking. She was distracted. �Az,� she tried to capture her attention.

�There has to be another way,� she turned back to Angel and Buffy. �Vampires and demons don�t fly,� she knew there were a few technicalities with this theory. One some creatures could fly, but they were not the norm. Two throw an evil witch in the mix and the baddies could have the access they needed to the other side of the riven. It was one hell of a way to stay hidden or protected. No one could find them unless they had a way to cross. Faith used the light of her cell phone to study the surrounding area. The rocks on the edge of the cliff were jagged. They could climb down, but it could be endless with no guarantee they could get back up. �We could get the witches. Red or Kat could wiggle their noses or something get us across,� tossing the idea out there. �Dude is something wrong?� Azrael still had yet to chime in. �Kinda running out of options here,� she cocked her head.

He knew what Buffy meant.  But in reality, Angel didn�t really like the idea of unicorns. He�d had plenty of experience with horses, and knew that some of them could be cranky. They bite and they kick.  But a horse with a Narwhal horn coming out of its forehead?  That could be downright dangerous.  Still, he smiled anyway, and led the way into the passageway.

It led upwards, but only briefly.  It narrowed at the top, both vertically and horizontally, then plunged steeply downward into darkness.  Angel fished a small flashlight out of a pocket in his duster.  He switched it on and pointed it into that darkness.  About 20 feet in the steep decline turned into a stairway, where it appeared to get even steeper.  As Angel descended towards those stairs, he noticed the air was getting warmer, and moist.  �Watch your step here.  You wouldn�t want to lose your footing.�  The stairway had no railing, but the passageway was narrow enough now that one could use both hands to steady his or herself on both sides as the descent was made.  They went in single file downward for 20 minutes, then 40 and finally for an hour.  By the time they got to the landing the temperature must have been 80 degrees and it felt downright tropical.  From the landing, a tunnel, now broader and taller that the stairwell, led off to the right.  Angel�s flashlight revealed an unremarkable door at the end of that tunnel.  Like something you�d see in a motel room.  He stepped up to it, put his ear to it.  No sounds were discernable on the other side.  He put his hand on the doorknob and looked back at his friends.  He turned that knob � it was not locked.  Not knowing what to expect on the other side, he motioned for his companions to press themselves against the wall of the passageway, in case someone was waiting for them with a weapon.  Then he quickly flung the door open while squatting off to the side.

Three passageways, but only one of them was tiled.  Only that one had been here last time Angel cruised these storm drains.  The other two were newly carved from bedrock and, and both of them angled upwards a little.  �To keep them from flooding during storm runoff.�  Angel had answered his own question without voicing it, so looks of confusion from his friends weren�t unexpected.  �Somebody was thinking about drainage when they built these, which by the way, wasn�t long ago. I was in these tunnels two weeks ago and there was only the one passageway.�

Buffy asked about the symbols above each tunnel entrance.  Angel looked back at the Archangel, who had been silent of late.  If she knew anything, she wasn�t talking.  Angel stepped up and examined them, first looking at the symbols, then reaching up to touch them.  They were raised up, sort of like braille, and the stone under Angel�s fingers was ice cold.  �I�ve seen symbols like this before.  It was Romania, 1838, in the basement of a castle.  But those were really old, the demons that had inscribed them were long dead.  Not the case here.�  Angel glanced around at his friends, �It�s a demonic language. I can�t read it, or not much of it anyway.� He wished Wesley or Giles were here.  He pointed at a group of symbols, �This says providence, or maybe its destiny.�  He walked to the next new passageway, �And this, I think it says ancient one or old thing.  But it could say cheese, too.�  He shrugged. �Sorry, the symbols are similar and I wasn�t exactly paying attention in demon languages 101.�

He pointed to the tiled passageway, �That one is just the L.A. storm drain.  So we chose from the other two.  Or we could split up, but I don�t recommend that.  I say we go down destiny road.�  It was a pathway Angel was familiar with. �If we hit a dead end (something else he was familiar with), then we come back and take the other new passageway.�  Angel glanced around at his companions.  �Anybody disagree?  Anybody have a better plan?�

�Oh hell.�  Faith was already head first into that hole, shoveling out rocks and debris with her bare hands.  Yeah she was right, whoever was on the other side of that debris was doing their best to keep them out.  Obviously there was something over there they didn�t want them to see.  So, what the hell?  They may as well try.

Angel squatted down to see what Faith was doing.  There was really only room for one person in that hole.  But she seemed to be making progress.  Rocks and stuff Faith was scooping out were accumulating around her feet.  So Angel went about clearing that away, making room for more debris.  Just her feet were outside the hole when Angel heard something shift above her.  Then another rock shifted.  �Faith!  Get outa there!�  He grabbed her work-boot shod feet and pulled her free in the nick of time.  The entire debris pile collapsed in on that hole.  A choking cloud of rock dust billowed up from the blocked passageway.  The others coughed and hacked, but Angel didn�t breathe, so no problem for him.  He inspected the damage.  The hole Faith had been in had collapsed completely, but in the process it opened up a passageway just below the ceiling.  When the dust cleared, Angel could see a way through.  On the other side, maybe 20 feet in, was flickering torchlight.

Faith shook her head. Her remark was lost on Buffy. It was a reference hard work the kind that got your hands dirty being used to divert one�s focus off of a problem. It was a way to let off steam. Of course there was also the double mean. The other was more efficient. None of which had anything to do with the sewers.

Azrael healed her wounds alleviating the pain.  �Thanks,� her expression softened, but not her resolve. Angel explained the problem to Azrael. He was reluctant to go forward. It was dangerous. �What? We can�t just give up? Angel man we are obviously on to something here. We�re close. They don�t want us to find it. There are doing everything in their power to keep us out. There has to be another way. We can�t just back down,� she felt helpless. She hated that feeling. It made her want to punch something. He was right about moving through the debris.

�We�ve got to do something. This is to keep Samantha safe,� and well the rest of the world. Priorities. Hers lied with her daughter. The hero bit came second to her duties as a mother. The family had already had dealings with Lilith. They had barely survived. She had almost lost everything. What if this time? She�d be alone again without a place in the world to call home. Everything she ever wanted gone in the blink of an eye. Everyone she ever loved. This wasn�t an option. Everyone was silently standing back. Faith began trying to clean the rubble by hand.

Angel squeezed Buffy�s hand and smiled, �Yeah, I�m ok.  It�ll take more than an over-sized gecko to take me out.�  But he rubbed at his neck, which had almost snapped when he hit the wall.  Almost.  Azrael had asked what was happening.  Angel obliged, �We�re on a scouting mission.  I know a way into the ancient tunnels that connect, or maybe once connected with Vahla ha'nesh.  We were on our way to check them out when things got weird.  First there was a plague of rats, then swarms of beetles, and then this thing out of Jurassic Park.�  The head of the creature was lying on the tile floor, trailing various blood vessels and other tissues.  Its eyes had that 1000-yard stare, and maybe it looked just a little surprised, too. 

Angel picked up the hilt of his sword.  About half of the blade remained attached to it.  Maybe it would do. He glanced towards the tunnel ahead.  It was littered with rock, broken tiles, and debris.  �I�m not convinced there�s a way forward here.�  He walked to the rock pile and squatted down to inspect a hole, a possible passageway through.  He glanced back at his friends.  �I can�t see very far, it�s too dark.  But we could probably squeeze through this.  Problem is, it may very well be a dead end, and then we�d have to shimmy back out.  And these rocks above it are unstable.  They could shift at any time and close off the passageway, maybe crushing us.  Worst case, something might be waiting for us in there.�