PART IV
The outside of the casino was rundown, with paint chipping off the outside, and beams blocking part of the entrance. The garden area surrounding it was overgrown, and off to one side was some sort of a breeding ground for rodents of some kind. The sign was still in perfect condition though. All in all it was a pretty shabby place, a pretty shabby big place which made it the perfect dwelling for a vampire.
After picking our way through the parking lot we entered the foyer of the casino. It was dark inside and we couldn't see a thing. Buffy dug into her pack and took out a flash light shinning it around the room. The foyer was pretty much in the same shape as the outside. The burgundy carpet was stained and ripped in places, and the paint on the walls was peeling or missing altogether. Parts of the ceiling were gone, and there was dust and parts of the ceiling scattered on the couches and chairs that remained in the room.
Before we even had a chance to discuss a course of action there was a crackling sound then the speakers hanging around the room turned on.
"Welcome to 'Picture Perfect', the perfect place to win," said the disembodied voice. Even through the static filled speakers I could tell that it was Rio. "Today, we play," the voice continued. "It has always been a postulate of mine that the best games are the ones where the most is at stake. They're the ones that get your blood pumping, that make you want to win. And when it comes right down to it, a big part of what decides whether someone wins or loses is their dedication to the game, to the cause. You see, I play with the best, because I want the best, and in order to ensure that all the participants give it their finest effort, I always provide them with a suitable galvanizing impetus. However, seeing as how you arrived so promptly I think you already know who's waiting at the end of the rainbow, don't you?" she asked sounding thrilled. "Anyway if you don't know who it is you will soon enough. So, in closing I'd like to wish you look luck, and happy hunting," she continued before pausing. "Oh, don't forget that once you enter the course you only have an hour before the axe falls…literally. Bye, now."
"Does that bitch always talk in exclamation marks?" Faith asked once the speakers had clicked off.
"Yeah, and scary part is that isn't her worst attribute," Buffy responded, beginning to flash the light around again. "The question now is where to?" None of us had an answer to that right away so we just continued to look around the room trying to figure out what to do next. After a moment the lights to the main game room and the first slot machine by the door started to spin.
"You think she's trying to tell us something," Xander commented. Our response was simply to head in the direction of the room. We would see what she had planned soon enough.
* * * * * *
We all gathered around the machine and watched as the sectors spun around, and around, waiting to see what would dock. The first icon to appear was an apple, a moment later another apple appeared, and then a third.
"Guess this is clue number one," I said as we stared at the screen.
"Great, what does it mean?" Faith asked. "That it was Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with an apple?"
"That could be it," I said ignoring the Colonel Mustard part and concentrating of kitchen part of her statement.
"Will?" Xander said reaching out his hand and placing it on my forehead. "Colonel Mustard is fictional. Fic-tion-al," he repeated phonetically as if that would help.
"Not that part," I said slapping his hand away. "The kitchen. She could want us to go to the kitchen."
"Kitchen," Buffy repeated turning it over in her mind. "Let's go," she said a moment later.
"Buffy are you sure?" Giles asked.
"I sure as hell don't have a better idea," Buffy responded. "We've only got an hour and I say checking out the kitchen is better than standing here staring at the machine waiting for the casino gods to give us clue." No one could really argue with that so we headed further into the room and started in search of the kitchen.
"Found it," Buffy called a few moments later. We had split into two groups, Buffy and I comprising group one, and Giles, Faith and Xander making up group two.
"Are you sure?" Giles asked as the others made their way over.
"Well unless the sign that says 'kitchen' is an elaborate ploy, then yes," Buffy responded.
"I still suggest we exercise caution," Giles said as Buffy stepped towards the door. "She seems to like surprises which doesn't bode well for us."
"Aye, aye," Buffy responded. "Stay behind me," she directed the rest of us. She slowly approached the swinging doors then pushed them open stepping in cautiously. Stopping just inside the doorway she started feeling around for a light switch. The lights flickered on a off for a moment before finally settling.
"Far out," Xander commented once the lights were on. In the center of the room on one of the islands was a plate spinning around on a pole. "I've gotta see this," he continued and started to step into the room.
"Wait," Buffy said, shooting her arm out and stopping him from stepping further into the room.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Something's not right here," she said, looking around the room.
"You mean besides the whole 'being lured here by a psychotic vampire to play her psycho games' thing?" Faith asked.
"Can't you see it," Buffy asked. The question was directed at Faith which lead me to believe that Buffy was on to something that required Slayer power.
"You mean like the light reflecting?" Faith asked. She was now concentrating too.
"Yeah, it's like it's bouncing off of something," Buffy responded, squinting.
"But there's nothing there," Faith said, moving her head around looking for something, anything.
"Maybe…" Buffy started, then she reached her hand out in front of her moving it back and forth, and side to side. "Ouch," she said a second later, pulling her hand back and cradling it with her other one. I reached out my hand and removed her other one so that I could see what was wrong. The tips of two of her fingers had a deep cuts across them and were bleeding.
"That happened, how?" I asked looking to where Buffy's hand had been when she pulled it back. There was nothing there.
"Watch," Buffy said reaching for the light switch again. Turning the lights off she took out her flash light and shone it into the room. As she moved the beam around every once in a while the light would jump. Suddenly I realized what Buffy was onto.
"Cables," I said.
"The thin, translucent, not to mention razor sharp kind," Buffy responded. From what I could tell they were crisscrossed throughout the room.
"If we had gone rushing in there…"
"The saying 'it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye' would have taken on a whole new meaning," Buffy said, flicking the kitchen lights back on.
"Now what?" Xander asked.
"We try to figure out what that spinning plate means," Buffy said. "That's got to be the clue."
"Then why bother with the rest of it?" Faith asked indicating the wires.
"To see if we would figure it out. Not every obstacle we face tonight will be directly related to finding Mrs. Summers, some of them will simply be for the love of the game," Giles responded thoughtfully.
"Roulette," Buffy said suddenly. "It's got to be the roulette wheel."
* * * * * *
After a short discussion we all agreed that it seemed to be the most likely meaning of the clue and headed out in search of the roulette wheel. Finally, we found one near the left side of the room and headed over to it.
"Now what are we suppose to do?" Faith asked, staring at the stationary wheel like she wanted to smash it. I didn't think that she was enjoying the game so far, I really didn't.
"Here's an idea," Buffy said, "let's play it." The ball was already sitting in one of the spaces and Buffy just reached out and turned it. We watched as the ball spun around at a dizzying speed before starting to slow down. Then just as it looked like it was about to come to a stop it jumped coming to rest in the red five.
"Oookkkaayyy," I said, drawing the word out. I wasn't really a roulette expert but I was ninety-nine percent sure it wasn't suppose to do that.
"That was weird," Xander said from his position around the wheel.
"Ya think?" Buffy asked sarcastically as eyed the ball.
"Let me try," said reaching out for the wheel. I gave it a spin and once again we all watched as the ball spun around the wheel before jumping again as it neared a stop. It landed on red five.
"Once more for good luck then," Giles said, reaching out and spinning the wheel. It came to rest on red five just like the other two times.
"Ideas?" Buffy asked a moment later. "Anyone?" No one answered so we all stood around the table looking at it and the rest of the room trying to figure out what it meant, if it meant anything at all.
"Over there," Faith said a moment later, pointing at one of the back walls. Turning around I saw what she was looking at. It was a red door with the number five written on it.
"Shall we?" Giles asked making a gesture towards the door.
"We shall," Buffy responded leading the way.
* * * * * *
Once we arrived at the door, Buffy opened it cautiously then peered inside before moving to let the rest of us in. It was a medium-sized room, about the size of a bedroom with a table set up for some sort of card game in the middle, and a television set in the right corner. The room was lit when we walked in, and the television in the corner turned on.
"Pull up a chair," Buffy said, moving into the room and dragging a chair over to where the TV was set up.
We all picked up a chair from around the table and settled in around the television.
"What now?" Xander asked.
"We watch," I responded. Whatever was playing on the screen was sure to be our next clue.
We watched for a few minutes as clips from various TV shows flickered across the screen. Friends, ER, The Simpsons, and many more appeared and disappeared on the screen. When all of them finished it looped around and played them again, and again.
"What the hell is this? An ad for 'must see TV'?" Faith said after about the third cycle.
"Well, since only three of the ten shows that were showcased were on NBC, I don't think it has anything to do with the peacock," I responded.
"Well, what do they have in common?" Buffy asked, still looking at the screen.
"They're all shows, shows that are on TV. Shows that are on TV that people watch," Xander said with a shrug.
"Shows," I repeated. "Didn't this place used to have a showroom?" I asked emphasizing the 'show' part of the question.
"You think?" Buffy asked hopefully, turning to look at me.
"I think," I responded.
"Let's go," Buffy said, standing up. "We don't have much more time." We all got up and filed out of the room. Buffy was at the back of the pack, and I dropped back so that we were walking side by side.
"We'll find her," I said softly, taking her hand in mine.
"You think?" she asked, turning to face me. Buffy was always the strong one; she was the Slayer, the chosen one, she had the fate of the world on her shoulders, all of which required her to be strong 24/7. But, she was also just a girl, a girl whose mother had been kidnapped, and who was a little bit scared at the moment, and I was the one who could offer her some comfort, no matter how small, and I would. I owed her that, I needed to give her that.
"I know," I answered simply. Buffy squeezed my hand and smiled.
"Sometimes I love you so much it hurts," Buffy whispered.
"Ditto," I responded softly squeezing her hand.
* * * * * *
When we arrived at the showroom, it was dark. We searched for a light-switch around the area of the door, but found none. Finally Buffy just pulled out her flash light and entered the room with us in tow. Once we were all inside the door swung shut behind us and we heard a clicking sound.
"Shit," Faith said heading back to the door. "Shit, shit, shit," she added after trying to open it and finding it locked.
"Now wh…" Xander started, but stopped when a pale blue strobe light was turned on illuminating the room partially.
"Fan-freaking-tastic," Faith said, looking around the room. We were surrounded by mirrors. Variously distorted images of ourselves were all that we could see.
"Well, I suggest we choose a direction and take it," Giles said.
"Left," Buffy said, looking down the corridor.
"Why left?" Faith asked, looking around. If Buffy said left, without fail Faith said right.
"Why not?" Buffy responded before heading down the corridor.
We headed down the left corridor moving slowly. Everywhere we turned there were meet by more images of ourselves and it was very disorienting. More than a few times I wasn't sure whether I was standing upright, or upside down. As we tried to navigate our way through the maze of mirrors we got separated more than once. Most of the time we didn't even notice someone was missing from the procession until we ran into them again because all around us were images of them. We couldn't have been in the maze for more than ten minutes but it felt like we were in there forever, until finally we found a door.
"Well, let's see what's behind door number one," Buffy commented, reaching out for the door handle. "Bastard of a bitch!" she exclaimed a moment later. Peering over her shoulder I saw why she was upset.
"What? What is it?" Xander asked jumping up and down behind us.
"It's the room we just left," I answered, stepping away from the door. "We must have circled around."
"I hate to say this yet another time tonight but…now what?" Faith asked.
"We go back in," Buffy said with a sigh. "We've got to find the other exit."
"If there is another exit," Giles said from his spot beside me.
"There has to be, why else would she lead us in here?" Buffy asked. "Wait, don't answer that," she said cutting of what ever reply he was going to make.
"Why don't we split up this time?" I suggested. We had pretty much walked the entire place already and there didn't seem to be any traps. If one group found the other door the other group should be able to find them by the sound of their voices and it would cut our time in half.
"Fine, one Slayer per team," Buffy said. "Faith you hang with the boys," she continued, taking my hand and heading right.
"Remember to play safely kiddies," Faith said with a smirk before heading left.
"Should I respond to that?" Buffy asked, turning to face me.
"No," I responded quickly.
"Why?"
"Because if you kill Faith, your work load doubles taking away from 'me' time," I answered.
"Oh, well, we can't have that can we?" Buffy asked, smirking.
"Absolutely not," I confirmed.
"Come on," Buffy said, tugging my hand. "The faster we find my mom and get out of here, the faster I can show you that thing with the whipped cream."
"Mentioning your mom and that thing with the whipped cream in the same sentence was not a good idea," I said, scrunching my face up.
"You went to a scary visual place didn't you?" Buffy asked knowingly.
"Oh, yeah," I responded.
"Well, if it's any consolation, after you said that I went there to," Buffy said, scrunching her face up as well.
"Oddly, that is consoling," I responded, smiling. Buffy just shook her head and we continued down the corridor.
* * * * * *
Moments after we entered the corridor that funny feeling came back again and I really wished we had found the door the first time. We continued to wonder around picking corridors that we thought we hadn't chosen before until we spotted a door at the end of one.
"Cross you're fingers," Buffy muttered as we headed for it. I did.
As we exited the corridor we saw Faith and the guys coming out of the one to our right.
"Well, who feels lucky?" Buffy said, eyeing the door.
"Me! Over here," Xander said, waving his hand. If only he could learn to do that in class, I thought to myself. Buffy simply waved her hand in the direction of the door and Xander headed towards it.
Sidling up behind him, we all looked out the door once it was open. Buffy muttered something under her breath, then stepped out into the main room with us in tow. Before we had a chance to comment the speakers clicked on once more.
"Remember what they say: All roads lead to Rome." Rio's voice was conversational. She could just as easily have been telling us the day's specials.
"Let me speak to my mother!" Buffy yelled into the air, looking around. It was a shot in the dark-so to speak-we knew that we could hear Rio, but it was a toss up on whether or not Rio could hear us.
"Now why would I do that?" Rio asked.
"To prove that you have her," Buffy answered. "How do I know that she's even here, or that you haven't killed her already?" she demanded. "You said before that you wanted the best from us, so help us give our best. That is if you're really concerned about the game. Let her speak to me."
"Very well," Rio responded, sighing. This was perhaps the first time I had heard her sounding anything but delirious. "But know that I'm only doing it so that you'll shut up and continue the game."
There was a rustling for a moment, but nothing that could give us a clue where they were.
"Buffy?" Mrs. Summer's voice came over the speakers.
"Mom," Buffy said. I could see she was relieved, but it didn't show in her voice, it couldn't. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," Mrs. Summers responded before pausing. "Though I'm being driven to drink," she added quickly. After that there was more rustling, then Rio voice came back on.
"Well, that's that. Let's carry on shall we. You don't have much time," then she was gone.
"What now?" Buffy asked turning to face as. "We have no clue, we have no nothing."
"That's not true, when Rio came over the speakers she said to remember that all roads led to Rome. I think perhaps that could be the clue that we're missing," Giles said in response to Buffy's comments.
"But what does it mean?" I asked. I think that was the question that was on all of our minds.
"That remains to be seen," Giles responded as he moved to lean against one of the craps tables.
"So all we have to work with is, 'all roads lead to Rome'? That, and your mother is becoming an alcoholic," Faith commented. "That's great."
"Wait a second," I said an idea starting to take shape in my mind. It wasn't anything concrete, anything I could grasp fully at the moment but I knew it was important. "Those two are interconnected, Rome and drinking," I continued.
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.
"I think your mom was giving us a clue," I responded, my conscious mind still trying to wrap itself around what my unconscious mind was already aware of.
"But what does it mean?" I wasn't sure who asked the question though, I was too busy looking around the room. I wasn't even sure what I was looking for, just that when I found it, I would know.
That's when I saw it. On the left side of the room there was a gold sign with black lettering located next to a passage way. The sign read: Play like a God, now feel like one… Come to the Bacchus Lounge, it's just a step below Olympus!
"Bacchus, the Roman god of wine," I said. My voice was barely more than a whisper. "The lounge," I continued pointing towards the sign. "That's got to be where they are."
"Sounds good to me," Buffy said, following my gaze. "Shall we?"
* * * * * *
The passageway that was leading us into a separate building was dimly lit, but from what I could see the walls were covered in beautiful paintings. Even through the years of abandonment the colors used in the artwork managed to maintain their vibrant, clear appearance. As we walked down the hall it felt like not only were we being transported to another place but another time as well. It almost seemed wrong that a thing of such beauty was in a broken, tarnished place like this.
The hallway came to end a few moments later. At the end of the hallway was a beaded entrance to the lounge. Buffy motioned for us to stay behind her, then carefully separated the beads and walked into the lounge with us following close behind. The room was large, spacious, giving the impression that you were in an area larger than you really were. The floor was tiled and in the corners of the room were Corinthian columns that seemed to be supports the ceiling. Off to our left was a bar, and over on the right side was a fire place. Except for the manacles on the walls to our left and right, and the various pieces of armor mounted on the walls, the place was very nice, almost majestic in its design. If there was a place to hide away in this casino, this lounge was definitely it. Glancing over at Buffy, I followed her gaze straight to her mother. Mrs. Summers was seated in a large wooden chair with leather bands tying her legs and arms down, and had a gag in her mouth. The chair itself was probably part a of the original design of the room which seemed to be an interesting cross between elegant, and barbaric. It could have been used for wild parties, or refined whippings.
As for Rio, she was nowhere to be seen when we walked into the room, but as we came together and moved further inside, she stepped out of the shadows behind Mrs. Summers. She regarded us for a moment with her head cocked to the side, much like a dog when they hear a noise, then she smiled and shot her arms out in front of her. Before I even had a chance to blink the manacles which had been hanging impotently of the walls to our sides shot outwards and attached themselves to various parts of our bodies. They got me on the legs. The only one left unhindered was Buffy.
Once the rest of us were locked up, Rio made her way around the chair so that there was nothing between herself and Buffy but about thirty feet.
"You've done well," Rio said approvingly.
"Thank you," Buffy responded. "Now let my mother go."
"Not just yet," Rio said, her eyes never leaving Buffy's. She looked contemplative as she spoke, almost sad. "You know, when a you live in the shadow of insanity, the appearance of another mind that thinks and talks as yours does is something close to a blessed event," she continued. "R. Pirsig said that. He knew what he was talking about. Of all the people I've played, of all the Slayers I've encountered over the centuries, you're the one that reminds me most of me. Even your contempt for me, what I do, what I've become, is familiar. In another time, another place we could have been quite a team, you know. We would have made the demons quake with fear, and the rest of the world raise their voices in praise. We would have been gold, like I once was, and you now are. But I suppose nothing gold can last. No one gold can last," she concluded almost wistfully. While she was speaking I could believe that at one time she had been a Slayer, and good one. I could even have seen her as a good person before she was turned. But I knew that she was no longer that person, no longer human, and she knew it too.
"That's all very enlightening. I'll meditate about it later," Buffy responded. "Give me my mother." Rio just smiled in response.
"Truthfully, before this exercise, I just planned on killing you all, but I must say that I've found this entire thing to be very entertaining. If I still had a heart, I think I would have found it to be touching even. It's rare to see the kind of camaraderie that you all exhibit in this time. In any time really. It compels me to make you this offer," Rio answered. "We fight, and if you win you and friends walk out of here alive, relatively no worse for the wear. In addition, you maybe even get to stake me. But, if I win, well…the mortality count will be a lot higher."
"In the words of some guy I don't know," Buffy responded. "Let's dance!" There was a moments hesitation before either of them moved, but then they were on each other like Roseanne on a Twinkie. They were a mass of kicking legs, and punching arms, tangled together in a flurry of movement. At one point Rio managed to kick Buffy up against the bar where she proceeded to punch her in the ribs repeatedly before Buffy managed to work one of her legs between them and fling Rio off of her. Once free from the bar Buffy made a running start towards the still off balance Rio and jumped up kicking her in the chest with both feet. Rio was flung up in the air which she sailed through until landing against one of the columns in the corner of the room cracking it slightly with her impact.
Shaking her head, Rio quickly caught up, barely managing to avoid a kick Buffy had aimed at her head. To my left I could hear Faith tugging at her manacles trying to free herself, but my attention was focused on the fight taking place in the middle of the room. Rio had just dropped and rolled over to one of the far walls a grabbed one of the broad swords that was hanging there.
"Cheater," Buffy muttered, backing up so that she could grab the staff that was hung near the bar she had just been pressed against.
"We vampires aren't exactly known for our integrity," Rio said in response to the comment as she charged Buffy.
They continued to trade blows as they slowly moved their way across towards the back of the room. Rio made an arcing swing with the sword and Buffy raised her staff to block it causing the staff to snap in two. Throwing the pieces to the side Buffy barely had enough time to block the punch Rio threw at her face. Using her left arm to block the blow, Buffy shot her knee out catching Rio in the stomach. When Rio hunched over slightly Buffy used her arm to hit her in the spine, however instead of going down like she should have, Rio pushed forward into Buffy picking her up and slamming her against one of the columns repeatedly until Buffy managed to make a chop to her shoulder which caused Rio to loose her grip.
Picking up on of the nearby chairs, Buffy smashed it over Rio's head, then picked up the sword and headed towards her supply bag which had been dropped near us. Quickly grabbing a bottle of holy water out of the bag, she ran over to where Faith was still tugging away at her manacles and cut her free.
"Take care of them," Buffy told Faith once she had freed her and tossed her the sword. As Buffy headed back out to meet Rio who was walking towards Mrs. Summers, Faith started to cut us loose while muttering about how Buffy got to have all the fun.
Moving faster than I thought was possible, even for a vampire, Rio descended upon Buffy who barely had enough time raise the bottle of bottle of holy water and break in on her face.
"Bitch!" Rio howled in pain as she twirled away from Buffy and held her smoking face in her hands. As she stumbled around Buffy headed over to her mom and ripped the leather bands that were binding her off.
* * * * * *
By the time Buffy had her mother free, Rio was ramming herself into the column she had been kicked into earlier. Looking over I saw what she was doing. The column had cracked earlier because of the force with which she had hit it, and now she was trying to crack it more. Buffy saw what she was up to as well and headed over.
Rio saw her coming and backed away from the column waiting for her. Moments before Buffy reached her, Faith tried to attack her from the side and Rio extended her leg kicking her so that she ended up stumbling back into the column. With that last impact I noticed dust starting to float down and realized that the ceiling was starting to collapse.
Shaking herself off, Faith got back up and joined in the fray. Within seconds the two of them were pummeling Rio pretty well. This continued until she was actually beaten to the ground, then she growled loudly and just started kicking madly, indiscriminately until she was able to get herself upright again. As this was all going on the column continued to weaken, and the floor was starting to be covered with parts of the ceiling. As Rio stood up I saw her look at the ceiling just as I had, and I saw a smile work its way across her face. Jumping onto one of the tables, she jumped over Buffy's head onto the one in front of it. Hopping down off of that one, she picked it and then heaved it at the column, then started to retreat towards the back of the room as the rest of us watched as the table sailed through the air knowing that the impact was all the column would need to go down.
It hit, then the creaking and particle showers started.
"Out, us, now!" Buffy yelled stepping back to herd her mother towards the door.
As we ran out into the passageway it all started to come down around us. Pieces of shrapnel started to fly around us. As we continued to run I felt something connect with my head followed by a moment of pain before everything went black.