The slayer  looked around her.  Nothing seemed to have changed.  She
pulled herself out  of her introspection as the little red sports car
pulled up in front of Giles' apartment.  "So, Giles, how do we do
this?  You wouldn't turn on the radio cause I might hear something.
All of you have made it clear something is very wrong.  When do I get
to find out what?"

Giles set the brake on the little red tramp, as he considered how
best to answer.  "Buffy, there are some very ... intriguing questions
that need to be answered before I can disclose what appears to have
happened. And I am truly sorry for  that, but we must be sure."  His
fingertips pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to say enough
to satisfy the girl in front of him, while not telling her that she
might very well be their Buffy.  He shook his head.  Stranger things
then this had happened.  "Well, let's get in and try to get you
comfortable."  Suiting action to words he climbed out of the sports
car and headed for his door.

Buffy followed him only to be stopped on the doorstep.  "Er ...
Buffy, I need to blindfold you for a few moments, while I deal with a
couple of items."

The blonde looked up at him, "What, left the centerfolds out where
innocent slayers might see them?"

The Englishman blushed a painful red, "Er ... N no.  I have to remove
several pieces of information that are  pertinent to the situation."
He left unsaid, that the information consisted of calendars and
current newspapers.  It wouldn't do for her to realise that it was
October and not May.

                                                *********************

Anya sat calmly while being barraged by questions from Xander and
Dawn.  Spike sat on the sofa, one arm wrapped around Willow and the
other around Dawn.  He listened quietly while the redhead by his side
shivered.

"So, you think there is a chance, that this is the real Buffy, er our
Buffy cause she came back convinced the fight happened yesterday?"
Xander shook his head in confusion.

"So, like is this really my sister?"  The pretty teenager was a
mixture of emotions. Her moods appeared to fluctuate.  Hope, fear,
love, loss  and need crossed her face in turn.

The ex-demon answered calmly, "We won't know if she is our Buffy
until after we do the divination spell.  She has a working knowledge
of the history of our universe, but there are a multitudes of
universes out there.  So one might be more closely intertwined with
our own, than the other alternate we dealt with was.  I think it is a
strong possibility, but we have to be sure.  The divination spell
will tell us for certain.  Willow, the spell is one that will tell us
conclusively whether she was created in this world, in this universe."

"What will I have to do to make this spell work correctly?"

"For the most part, it is a case of connecting with the energy flow
of the universe and then comparing it to the slayer's.  If she is
Buffy, they'll match.  You need to be calm and able to place yourself
into a deep trance.  That is the majority of it.  I suggest that you
start to meditate and begin to calm yourself for the whole
experience.  We need to get out of here, and go home and to bed,
cause all of us need to be rested for this ritual tonight."  She
looked at Xander, "Come Xander."

One quick hug later they were gone.  "Can you sleep, Platelet or will
you need help?"

"I think I can sleep, I'm really tired and confused and I just don't
know what to think."  She hugged her care takers, then headed for bed.

Spike's keen hearing heard the door shut, then he turned to face his
Willow.  "Girl, you have something to say to me, don't you?"

The little redhead looked up at her master, one glance was enough to
have her dropping to her knees.  "Yes, Master, I must apologise for
not telling you I had removed the chip."

"Yes, girl, you must, the question now is what will be suitable for
atonement.  What do you think is appropriate for your punishment?"

Willow dropped her eyes to the floor as she considered the question.
She felt horrible, she had lied to her Master.  True it was a lie by
omission, but still a lie.  Finally she looked him in the eye.  The
vampire smiled as he recognised her `resolve face'.  "Master, my
punishment should be whatever you think suits what I have done."

"I hope you remember your safe word.  That's the only limit tonight?"

"There are no limits on you, Master."

"Al right girl, downstairs now."  As the redhead started to rise, he
added, knowing that she had massive amounts of guilt to
overcome, "Crawl girl."

He followed behind her, admiring the view as she crawled to the
basement door, then stopped her and helped her to stand for her
descent.  Once she was safely at the bottom of the stairs, he ordered
her to resume crawling.  Finally they reached the door that was kept
locked.  It wouldn't do for Platelet to get into the play room.
Spike unlocked the door and  after she entered immediately relocked
it.  He fastened the heavy black leather collar around her neck,
padlocking it in place.  "Do you remember what you swore when you
accepted my collar, girl?"

"Yes, Master, I remember, I promised to obey you and to always be
honest with you.  To honour the collar which marked me as yours.
Yours to protect and yours to teach."  The redhead looked up at the
vampire momentarily, her eyes reflecting her tormented heart.  "I
failed you, Master."

"Strip!"  The command caught Willow by surprise and she responded by
frantically removing all her clothes.

"First position!" She responded to the instruction, her knees spread
wide and her back straight, hands flat on her thighs.  He examined
her from the top of her head to the soles of her feet.

"Supplication pose."  She quickly lay prone on the cold floor, her
body straight and her arms by her sides.  While he considered what to
do with her, Spike examined a rack with all manner of toys on it.

Finally he chose a slapper paddle.  It was a pretty piece of work,
two pieces of leather around a foot  long, and a soft doeskin covered
handle.  He slapped it against his palm, smiling as his slave, his
property shuddered at the sound.

Willow's mind raced, torn between her fear of the slapper and the
pleasure of having her guilt washed away by it's cleansing pain.  The
pleasure won, as she knew it would.  Goddess, she hated to admit it,
but she was well aware Spike could smell her arousal.  She could feel
it rising even as she thought.

"Cross, NOW."  She scurried to the huge wooden X and stood before it
waiting for further instructions.  Large, pale hands grasped each
wrist firmly, fastening leather cuffs around them.  He fastened the
cuffs to rings set in the cross, then did the same with her ankles.
He looked but felt something more was needed.  He found the leather
belly band and secured her to the cross.  She was pressed firmly into
the cross, her stomach and breasts caressing the unyielding wood.

Two fingers dipped into her cunt from behind, finding it dripping
with need.  A smile crossed his face, she would be drenched before he
was done with her.  He stepped back and began to stroke her arse with
the paddle, warming the muscles up for what was to come.  Slowly as
her butt turned a beautiful pink, he increased the force of the
blows, never breaking his rhythm.  Slowly her colo ring deepened to a
bright red.  He paused to admire his handiwork.  Then released her
from the cross, smiling as she winced when she moved.

Seating her on a hard bench, knowing how her bruised arse felt, he
stood in front of her, blue eyes locked on green, "Do you understand
the main reason that you have to be  punished, girl?"

"Because I did something that affected you and didn't tell you about
it, Master."

"That is part of it, but not the most important part.  The main
reason is that you are mine and by not telling me what you had done,
you deprived me of the ability to mark you as mine.  That was
completely unacceptable."  Fingernails scraped over her shoulders, as
he dragged the hair from the back of her neck.  He unlocked the
collar and removed it.  "Normally this would be much more pleasant,
but because of your omission it is going to hurt, not a lot, but you
will  remember it."  Spike bent her neck to the side, lapped at her
jugular, then with one thought, vamped out and sank his fangs deeply
into her flesh.

She whimpered and then screamed softly at the pain, but made no
attempt to safe word.  She felt a slight tugging as her blood was
drawn from her, then a rough tongue licking the wound in her neck.
Cool lips caressed her and hands softly stroked her hair.

"You are mine now, and no one can take you away from me.  Now, get
upstairs, I want you rested for the spell tonight.  I will take care
of Platelet, get her to school and all.  You, my darling witch, will
sleep."
 

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