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Title: The Lost City Of Atlantis Chapter: One Rating: NC-17 Pairing: Willow/Kate Status: Complete Time line: Last seen episode Spoilers: Maybe Beta Readers: Dark Gremlin Author: Aeris Jade Orion Co-Author: Dark Gremlin Summary: Willow decides that she needs to get away from the hell mouth for a while, so when her Archeology professor asks her to go on a six month trip to find the lost city of Atlantis, she agrees. But when they get there, the paradise of mythology they were expecting, turns into a nightmare unlike anything that she's experienced at home. Notes: This story is Willow/Kate, but the sequel will be Willow/Buffy, and yes you will need to read this to understand the sequel. This is also in response to Gremlins pleas that I put her into one of my stories. Disclaimer: Willow belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant enemy productions, and Paramount studios. <><><><><><><> Man, it was hot. No that was wrong it was absolutely roasting, and then some. Which was somewhat weird since the condensed forest didn't let much of the sun light in, keeping it dim and sort of beautiful in it's own way. Except for the fact that it felt like it was about two hundred degrees, and that wasn't even including the humidity. Then there were the noises. The sound of the wind rustling through the trees and overgrowth. The distant thunder of the river, and the chatter of the animals. It was...unlike anything she'd ever heard before. On the first day Willow had done everything to keep from letting the heat beat her. She'd kept the heavy safari shorts and t-shirt on, but by mid afternoon she was covered with so much sweat that she looked like she'd dived head first into the river. By the second day she had Kate cut her hair short, and stopped wearing shirts all together, instead opting for her sports bra. On the third day, Kate had taken it upon herself to throw all her safari shorts into the river, leaving her with only the light nylon shorts she'd been using for sleeping. After the fourth day, her muscles were in such pain and so over used they were practically rubber. She found that her body had swollen up from the new muscles that were developing. But that was over a month ago. Now she was adjusting to her new, more athletic body, and she was no longer embarrassed by her attempts to keep cool. Of course, by now she was used to the temperature and the need to wear so little. The humidity at the best of times was painful, and deadly to material of all kinds. An unfortunate fate they'd discovered one morning after washing certain unmentionables in a local stream. " Hey, Will? Have you seen my flashlight?" The short haired red head blew on the dust covering the ancient altar, barely acknowledging the colleges track star. " Kate has it." " Damn it, why doesn't she get her own already?" " That's a little hard considering we're about a thousand miles from the nearest store." The bald African American runner stopped beside her to get a look at the writing that she was working on. " Yeah, well, she should've thought of that before she got here." " You're the one that threw her flashlight into the foliage." She liked the prankster, he reminded her a lot of Xander, including his habit of doing things that backfired on him. " Hey, how was I supposed to know that it would get lost?" " To quote you. You should've thought about that before..." " Yeah, yeah. Sure, take her side." She paused in her work to watch Mike continue grumbling on his way out of the chamber. She really couldn't fault him. They'd been in the Congo for a month, and there wasn't a lot a person could do in the middle of the primitive forest. Despite the attention consuming surroundings, it did get a little tedious. Before she could get back to work, a tall lean platinum blonde with electric blue highlights scrambled into the room through the crawl space under the statue of Poseidon, with a cheeky grin that reminded her of a certain ex- vengeance demon after one of her public trysts with Xander. " Where's Mikey?" Willow snorted at Kate's behavior. " You just missed him." " Awesome." Kate giggles softly, plopping down next to the altar while she worked. " So? Whatcha doing?" Willow picked up the larger brush and began to sweep at the dirt in the cracks. " You are way too happy." She paused and glared suspiciously at her friend. " What did you do now?" Kate gasped in shock, grabbing her chest. " Why, madam, I am hurt. Why I would never..." She stopped at the red heads cocked eyebrow. " Oh alright. Let's just say that Mikey will never touch my stuff again. At least for a while that is." " Kate wh..." " AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! KATEEEEEEEEE!!!" " Whoops. That's my cue to scoot. Later hon." Kate kissed her lightly then took off into a sprint through the back hall. Seconds later a black streak shot by her, with a roll of toilet paper hanging by the skin of his palm, and in his other hand... She laughed violently at the sight of him with his hand stuck on his zipper, or was it in? " I never should've encouraged them to come." Dr. Stone followed Mike into the chamber from the entrance, her _expression_ anything but amused. She smiled kindly at the grey haired professor. Dr. Stone was without a lot of the social etiquette needed to survive, reminding her of Anya, but she was still nice. Just a little rough. " They're just restless. We've been doing nothing but walking and working for the last month." " Yes, but that is what they signed on for, not playing around." Dr. Janice Stone glanced at the inscriptions that she'd already uncovered. " I'm glad to see that someone is responsible around here." " Oh, I recognize most of the words too." Willow promptly dropped the brush and grabbed her small note book. " Really?" " Yeah, the first part says. ' The seeker of the city of the fallen god, shall find the entrance below their feet. ' " She flipped the page to check the words against the altar. " And?" " The next part is some sort of warning." She dropped the note pad and squinted at the faded carvings. " But use.. knowledge with caution, for the city is hidden not for it's protection, but those who are strangers." " Anything else?" " I won't know until I finish cleaning away the dust." Dr. Stone eyed her for a long moment. " You're a curious one." " What do you mean?" " How does a twenty year old know so many languages?" " Oh, I collect old books. You just sorta pick it up after a while, you know?" " Yes, I suppose I do." Dr. Stone stood back up. " You know, my assistant is leaving the university when this is over." " What? Why?" " He's gotten a better offer. What I'm getting at is that I believe you should apply for the position." " But I'm still in college and..." " Willow, you have an eye for this. Besides, it doesn't matter. Half an archaeologist schooling is done in the field." " And the other half?" " In the library." Dr. Stone clapped her shoulder then strode away, leaving her more puzzled than she was to begin with. She shrugged at the air around her. Things were just getting started, but they seemed to get crazier by the minute. " Next thing I'll know, I'll fall down some hidden tunnel and get all bruisy and..." She leaned against the head of Poseidon on the altar, squeaking as it moved in. " Me and my big mouth. Eeeeek!!" The floor under her feet opened up, sending her into a plummet into endless darkness rushing over her body. Years of fighting evil kicked her instincts into over drive, and she balled up throwing her body into a roll the minute she hit the ground. She grunted as she impacted with some sort of statue, head first. " WILL!! Are you down there?!!?" " You don't have to shout you know." The ex-witch shook her body out like a dog, then crawled over to where her flashlight had landed. " Yeah, I'm down here alright, and I've got the ouchies to prove it." " Hey, are you okay?" She squinted up at the entrance about five foot above her head. " I'll live." She turned slowly in a circle, running the beam of light over the area around her. " Ohmygod." " What is it? What's down there?" Kate leaned further in, her short spiked hair glinting slightly. " It looks like some sort of.." She trailed off as she caught sight of a series fully colored cartoons on the floor. But around them were four tunnels. Each one running in a different direction. North, south, east, and west. Each tunnel seemed to be about fifty yards wide and made of thickly made stones. " It's a system of tunnels." " Well, Miss. Rosenberg, it seems that you also have the touch for this also." Dr. Stone dropped down through the passage. " Mike is getting the rope ladder." Willow paused in her examination of the floor paintings. " Shouldn't we finish studying the upper parts of the guard post?" " James will be staying behind with the others to finish here. In the meantime I want to find out where these tunnels lead." " I agree with Willow. I don't think it's safe." Kate dropped down into the tunnel. " I don't recall asking your opinion." Dr. Stone snapped, then glared up at Mike as he let the rope ladder unroll. " Hurry up, we've only got a few hours left before the sun sets." The track star dropped Willow's and Dr. Stones, small hiking packs into the cavern, then proceeded to climbed down. " So which tunnel?" The professor snatched up her pack and sped towards the Northern tunnel. Leaving the others scrambling to catch up with her. At the edge of the tunnel, Willow stared nervously at the gruesome drawings on the floor and walls. All of which seemed to be discouraging using this particular tunnel. " Uh, Dr. Stone. Those drawings..." " ..are simply false warnings. Willow, relax, I've been doing this for thirty years, I know what I'm doing." She fell silent, but the scooby in her didn't believe a word the other woman was saying. She'd dealt with forces of evil and skankiness for a number of years, and slayer or not, she'd developed her own spider sense, and right now it was off the charts. ' Why did I think this was a good idea again? ' <><><><><><><> " Are we almost there?" " I don't know." Willow said. Again. " How long has it been?" " About a minute after the last time you asked." She growled dangerously. When her sometimes lover, Kate pouted she sighed. " It's been about three hours." " Damn. Shouldn't we be heading back?" Mike asked. " NO!" Dr. Stone glared over at the three of them. " Not yet, we're almost there. I promise." Mike held up his hands. " Okay, no need to get cranky." The professor picked up the pace yet again, causing both women to reach over and slap Mike on the head. It was the fifth time he'd caused the older woman to speed up and they were on the verge of a total melt down. " Hey, I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel." Kate chirped up, going into a jog. Willow felt the exhaustion lighten somewhat and raced after Kate, with Mike racing past them both. In a few more minutes they were standing on the top of a hill looking down onto a massive city that was alive and active. " My god..." It looked like it was bigger than Sunnydale, and sure as hell larger than a one Star Bucks town. It was in a circle patterns, layered. The very middle of the city was an enormous palace, and wide enough to take up a small town. It was made of light brown bricks, carved statues decorated the courtyard. Next, was a series of buildings, that were similar but on a tinier scale. It was impossible to tell what they were for, but from the looks of the armed men walking around them, she guessed that they were for military purposes. The next layer were smaller buildings, markets, shops, businesses. It was a market place of some kind, and after that layer. Came a layer of houses that went on past what her eyes could see. " Well, Doc, it seems that I owe you a..." His body jerked back as the thick spear shot straight through his chest, killing him instantly. In the next moment, the professor was laying next to him, while her head rolled down the hill. Willow started to head for the tunnel, but a large, very hairy man blocked her path. The man sized lion held a sword to her neck, until a tiger had chained her hands behind her. " Take them to, Lord Otin." " Yes, sir." Snapped the tiger, jerking her down the path that they'd missed in their shock. She glanced over at Kate, to make sure that she hadn't been killed as well. Thankfully, the blue haired athlete was in the same situation that she was. The question was, what situation had they gotten into? " Is this Atlantis?" " Silence, girl!!" She eyed the large were-tiger. She'd dealt with weres before, but all the ones she knew about was brought on by a curse. This guy was in complete control though, or he seemed to be. The large tiger pushed her ahead of him, into the cities market. Each person stopped to stare at them, but the thing that had her the most worried, was that each person was male. The only female's around were wearing slave collars, and had different tattoos over there bodies. Each one was either naked, or barely clothed. Their bodies were scarred and thin from constant abuse. They kept there heads bowed, kneeling at the feet of their owners whenever they stopped. When they weren't they stayed bowed, following behind like a dog. " Move it, slave." Willow stopped at the base of the palace, and glared at the tiger, refusing to move. " I am not now, nor have I ever been a slave, and if you yell at me one more time I will turn you into a throw rug." " You insolent slut..." He raised his hand to hit her. She simply smirked as a large man grabbed the tigers arm, mid-swing. " So, Jir, I see you've brought me some new toys." The six foot, two hundred something man studied the two women. " Sir, I believe there's been a misunderstanding. I'm from..." Willow whimpered as the large man punched her in the stomach. " Cor?" " Yes, sir." The large panther stepped forward, relinquishing his hold on the silent blonde. " I want you to personally break this one for me." Willow gasped out through the pain, trying to talk, to make this Lord or King or whatever he was understand. This wasn't right, she didn't belong there. She..couldn't " Yes, my Lord, as you command." Cor grabbed her hair in a painful grip. " You're mine now." She glared up at him, " I. Will. Never. Be. Yours." The panther's teeth flashed in a deep growl that vibrated his entire body and on into hers. She meet his gaze fully, not giving into her fear, unwilling to let this creature turn her into some mindless droid. " I think it's time you learned your place." Somehow, the quiet statement was more terrifying than any yelling or screaming. The pure control behind the rage was so precise that she doubted she could find his chink. She was thrown back into two other werecats, and her handcuffs removed. She kicked out, punched out, squirmed, screamed, and refused to move willingly as they drug her over to two poles. The bindings hanging from them only added fuel to the adrenalin that pumped through her system, forcing her to redouble her efforts. But no matter what she did, she couldn't get the super naturally strengthened creatures to notice. First one then the other wrist was bound tightly with the metal cuffs attached to the poles. Each with little slack to them, holding her in place as they ripped her cloths from her body. She stared straight at the King standing in front of her clearly amused by her display. She could feel the embarrassment of her nudity, but she refused to drop his gaze. She would not be broken, not by some pompous arrogant bastard. The large panther stepped in front of her with a smirk. His fangs glistening under the dying suns light. The cat seemed to glide forward until their bodies were pressed together, and then sank his teeth into her throat, licking at the deep bloody wound. " Just to make sure." He whispered, disappearing behind her back. " Count." SNAP!! Her body jerked as the sharp pain cut across her back, sending tears into her eyes. A scream fought against her tightly sealed lips, threatening to rip from her throat. " I said to count!!" SNAP!! SNAP!! The thick leather tore into her back, and she kept her eyes locked with the King. " I. Will keep going until you count the lashes." SNAP! SNAP!! SNAP!! Willow simply stared numbly ahead of her, never letting her eyes leave King Otin. She would not let them break her. <><><><><><><> It was dark. Nice and cozy and safe and dark. Dark was good. Dark was very good. Dark usually meant she was unconscious, and being unconscious was a good thing. It was a very good thing, especially when there was pain involved. Pain was bad. Pain was very very not good and bad. Except when the unconsciousness became consciousness and then she felt the pain again. Cause she was in pain. A lot of pain. Pain that made her want to go all scream on that bastards ass. Pain that made her want to inflict lots of Angelus type of nasty tortures. Pain that... " Are you awake?" Damn. The woman, feminine sounding voice just had to go and interrupt her inner babbling that was currently distracting her from the intense, sharp, constant, concentrated, inhuman, fire like burning pain that was blanketing her entire back or at least what was left of her back, and was currently spreading out into every other part of her body. Of course the spreading part might also have had to do with the tattoo of King Otin's symbol, which looked suspiciously like an evil merman. Then there was Cor's symbol with was intertwined with the evil, skanky, and probably gay merman, which surprise surprise had turned out to be a panther. Both of which had been forced onto the left side of her stomach. Then again, it could be the fact that they left her hanging by her wrists in the middle of the square all night. Or the way that they hung weights from her ankles. Or maybe it was from when the different citizens had taken to punching her around. Or when they'd shaven her head. Or when they'd reduced her to a number. 23. " I've brought you dinner." Or then it could have been when he'd... She shook of those thoughts before they caused her more pain. " W-who are y-you?" The room was huge. The walls were made of carved marble, the complicated designs let the outside air flow through it. The only source of heat from the atmosphere was from the five foot by five foot circular fireplace that was sunk down in the middle of the room. The walls were bare except for the long dark colored banners with finely stitched threads, that wove into animals and symbols of godhood. She tried to swallow around her swollen, scrapped up throat. Leaving her hoarser than before. When that failed, she slowly lifted her one good eye lid and stared at the female demon. The demon was no more than three feet tall, and petite in frame. Her skin was leathery and grey. She reminded her of a cross between a bat and a gargoyle. Her eyes were completely human though, with a clear mixture of shyness and mischief that struck so close to home for her. Then there was her wings... She had wings. Bat like wings at that. " You're a gremlin." She muttered with a hoarse raspy voice. " What's your name?" The small creature ducked her head in obvious sadness. " It's against the law to name a gremlin." Willow slowly inched her way off her side, until she was sitting up on the stone floor of Cor's bedroom. The pain flared throughout her body, making it harder to breath, but she determinedly pushed it away. " H-how do you know when they want you and not another gremlin?" " Oh. Well, I just sorta know." Willow stared at the forlorn creature that seemed so human to her. " Then I guess I'll just have to be the one to name you. How does Francie sound?" " Francie." The gremlin lit up so bright she was nearly blinded from the sheer joy. " I..I have a name..No gremlin has ever had a name before...Thank you." The small creature suddenly blushed and popped out of sight. " Hey, Francie, if you're still here. Would you come back later? I'd like to talk you. That is if you don't mind?" The gremlin reappeared in the exact same spot as before looking curious. " About what?" " You, your life, the city, the cities history. Anything you can tell me to get us out of here." Francie deflated quickly. " Oh. Sure." " Great. Maybe if I know about this place I can find a way to get the three of us out of here." " B-but there's only two of you." Willow frowned a the gremlin. " Oh, I thought you wanted to go with us." " Y-you want me to go with you?" " Of course, why do you think I asked for your help? Unless, I read you wrong, cause if I did I'm sorry. I just don't think that you're the type to want to be here, not that there's a type. It's just that you don't seem to be so hell bent on being all arrogant and bossy and mean and just plain bad." " I want to go with you." Francie said firmly. " I'm glad." Willow pulled the grey creature onto the floor beside her. " Now is this Atlantis?" " Yes." " But the myth's are always making this place sound like a paradise." " Poseidon's twin spread the story after his fall from Olympus." " Twin? And why isn't this place on an island, not to mention closer to Greece?" " Th-that's all I know." Willow leaned forward, onto her knees with a grimace. " What would happen if one of the weres bit someone?" " They'd become a basset." Willow winced as the fire in her body became more unbearably. " Why would he bite me?" She muttered to herself. " All slaves are turned, it makes them easier to control." " So now I'm some sort of were cat?" " If Lord Cor bit you, then you're a werepanther." " How do I shift?" She questioned quietly. She didn't want to be another Veronica or Oz, but if the human in her was in control then she could use it to her advantage. " I don't know." She nodded slightly, then closed her eyes, just imagining what it would be like to be a panther. The way the fur would feel, the lean muscular body. The senses she'd have... " Wow." She forced her eyes open at the gremlins soft exclamation, and looked down. Her body was black...and furry...very furry. That's when it started. The blinding pain that flared throughout her body... forcing her onto her side, curled up, trying to get away from it until it enveloped her and... " Willow?" She looked around her in confusion. She was no longer in the Congo, or at least her astral body wasn't. She seemed to be standing on one of the many astral planes. " Dawnie?" " Willow." The short haired red head staggered under the force of the dark haired teen. " I miss you, and it's just no fun without you here. You have to come home. Please?" " Dawnie.." " I know you said you needed to get away from the hellmouth for a while, but I can't do it. The homework is too hard, and even with Tara explaining it, it just doesn't make any sense. And Anya is always glaring at me, and being mean. And Buffy is all depressed and she beat up Spike really badly. And..." " Dawn!!" She hugged the teen close to her. " I want to come home, but somethings happened." " What? Are you okay?" She ran a hand through the girls hair. " No, I'm not, and I won't be unless you help me." " What? What do I have to do? Should I come after you?" " I need you and the others to get all the information you can on The city of Atlantis, Poseidon's brother Trition, Bassests, and gremlins." " Why?" " When you get the information, I need you or Tara to bring me back here to tell me what you found. Can you do that?" " What if they don't believe me?" " Tell Tara that I have a birthmark on my right cheek." " I don't see a..." Dawn gaped slightly. " ..oh. Right. What's it look like?" " I'd rather not say." Willow blushed slightly under the teens gaze. " Dawn, promise me that you won't let them come after me." " I promise." The teen tightened her hold on her, " How bad is it?" " Bad." Willow whispered tiredly. " I promise we'll get you back." Dawn backed off quickly. Willow smiled then turned to go back to her body. " I'll talk to you later, Dawnie." The teen watched the red head disappear. She couldn't believe this was happening. Even thousands of miles from the hellmouth they still couldn't get a break. The worst was the sudden aching that was engulfing her stomach. She couldn't handle it if anything happened to the red head. It would be too much like losing her father again. <><><><><><><> Aeris Jade Orion Grey Fox, and cause of Discord. Gabrielle: "Do you deny spying on these women?" Joxer: "I resent that." Gabrielle: "Do you deny it?" Joxer: "No, I just _resent_ it." Joxer: Hello--heh-heh-- name's Joxer-- spelled, uh [Clears throat]-- J-o-x-e-rrrrrrrr. Rh: "Would you wanna make a baby with me?" Jox: "What?!" Rh: "Will you help?" Jox: "Wait a minute! You want me to-- to-- to-- make a-- " Rh: "Right-- will you?" Jox: "Of course not! Hey, listen! We're not just machines, you know, you can use to-- . Besides-- you know, uh-- we can't just do it on command. We need stuff like, uh-- cheap motel rooms and dirty pictures and lingerie-- stuff like that! We're _not_ animals! But I can get those things!" |