Pairing: W/S
Rating: PG for now, NC-17 later
Summary: Giles receives a present that has some interesting consequences
Spoilers: Season 5, Oz is gone and Dawn has come into the picture.
Disclaimer: I did not build the Buffyverse that would be Joss; it is merely my playground, as are the stories and rhymes of my childhood.
Distribution: If you want it, fine by me, just drop me a line first.
Feedback: Pretty please with sugar on top!
Special Thanks: Kat for checking over my ramblings and Aden for always being happy to see me.
A/N: There is no Tara in this one, she and Willow were only friends and she is not a Scooby, and Spike never had a thing for Buffy. Oh, and I know I promised not to start anymore WIPs until I finished with ‘Making a Princess’ but I was attacked by this plot bunny, and when I ignored it, it grew fangs and tried to kill me in my sleep. So I had to write this before I suffered death by bunny!
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~Part: 1~ The Bad Beginning
The Scooby gang had assembled for the latest creature feature at the Magic Box, and all were in attendance. Willow was working on her laptop, trying to dig up any possible info she could on Kirari demons, while the others went through the books. Xander and Anya, of course had to take a break every five minutes for a little smoochie time, and Buffy was sighing heavily, simply turning pages without reading any of them. Spike wasn’t reading his book either, instead he would stare at the pictures for a moment and then stare at the redhead working hard across the table from him, only to have Buffy clear her throat loudly, catching him in the act, and driving his gaze back to the book in front of him. It was after about the third time of this that Buffy decided to confront the bleached wonder about what exactly it was he thought he was doing and why he was even there in the first place, when Giles suddenly came through the curtains leading to the back, making a small clucking sound.
“Giles? What is it?” Willow asked, drawn from her work by the soft noise, knowing full well that it was a sound the watcher only made when upset or highly perplexed. She was completely oblivious to the vampire that was studying her every move.
“What? Oh, nothing. It’s just this book I found. It wasn’t here before,” he replied, holding up a large volume with the words ‘Tales from the Nursery’ emblazoned across the front in gold.
“Well are you sure? I mean you do have a lot of books here,” the redhead offered.
“No, I’m quite sure. I did an inventory of all the books last week, and this one simply was not here.” He had opened the book and began leafing through the colorful pages, marveling at the detail of the pictures.
“Well, what kind of book is it? Another demon text?” Buffy asked, not really understanding the direness of the mysterious book.
“No, actually it appears to be a book of fairytales,” Giles responded, still perplexed.
“Evil fairytales?” Anya offered, but Giles simply shook his head.
“Oh, and nursery rhymes…”
“Evil nursery rhymes?”
“No, Anya, not ‘evil’ nursery rhymes, just nursery rhymes,” the watcher said in frustration. “Oh look, there’s an inscription in the front. Oh, bloody hell!”
“What G-man? Don’t keep us in suspense, what does it say?” Xander asked somewhat nervously. Giles let out a heavy sigh and began to read the message out loud.
“Ripper,
Since you didn’t like my candy, maybe you’ll like this little treat instead. It’s fun for the whole family. Well, if you survive at any rate. Have a smashing good time!
Cheers mate,
Ethan”
Just then, the world began to spin around them as everyone in the room was lifted into the air, feeling their bodies being twisted. It felt like being in a taffy pull, as their bodies were stretched and then squashed. Each were able to catch brief glimpses of their friends as they flew by them in a whirlwind, all of them circling like some sort of cyclone towards the open book that was lying on the floor.
The impact was painful and disorienting as they felt themselves being pulled into the pages with brutal force. As the last of them were sucked into the book, the cover slammed shut behind them and darkness, total and absolute, settled over their new world, rendering them all unconscious.
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Dawn came through the Magic Box doors an hour later than usual, carrying her backpack and trying to think of a way to explain her tardiness other than admitting she had detention. She was relieved and a little surprised however, to find that no one was there. ‘Huh, weird,’ she thought. The shop was open, but she didn’t see either Giles or Anya anywhere. It wasn’t like the watcher or the ex-demon to leave the front room unguarded. Giles was always worried some inexperienced customer would wreak havoc with some of the more dangerous magic items, and Anya was afraid a gang of thieves would come in their absence and cart the whole store away. Something weird was going on.
The first beginnings of panic began to settle into her gut, as she looked around, calling out to Buffy and the others. When no reply came, she really began to worry, and started running through her head all the possible horrors that could have befallen the gang. On her way back into the main room, she tripped and fell over a book lying carelessly on the floor. She picked it up, wondering what it was doing there. It wasn’t like Giles to just leave his books lying around, and then a thought occurred to her, maybe it was a clue. She sat the large volume on the table in front of her and flipped past the table of contents to the first page. There across the top were the words, ‘Little Boy Blue’, and below it was a picture that so closely resembled Spike, that she let out a small gasp. Definitely something very strange was happening here!
~Part: 2~ Little Boy Blue
Dawn looked down at the picture on the page and couldn’t get over how much it looked like Spike. It was as if someone had captured his face mid-scream, down to the last detail. The resemblance and his total look of horror were enough to make a shiver run down the girl’s spine. She cautiously turned the next page to find the familiar rhyme written in large blue letters…
Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn,
The sheep’s in the meadow,
The cow’s in the corn…
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Spike’s mind swam back into consciousness, painfully. He was vaguely aware of feeling warm, a bright light shining on his closed eyelids. Sunlight. Sunlight?! His eyes flew open in shock as he frantically tried to bury himself in the hay he had been sleeping on moments before. However, he soon realized with a pleasant surprise that he was not bursting into flames! The blonde vampire let out a loud whoop of joy, spinning around a few times before throwing himself back onto the pile of hay, a fit of giggles falling from his mouth. He didn’t know where he was or how he had gotten there, but he was determined to enjoy every glorious moment of sunshine he could.
As his laughter began to die down, Spike glanced around, taking in his surroundings for the first time. He seemed to be on some sort of farm. There were sheep grazing in the nearby meadow, and somewhere in the distance he could hear the low mooing sound of cattle. He did not see Red or any of the other Scoobies anywhere, and looking down he realized that wasn’t the only thing that was wrong here. What the hell was he wearing?!
Spike was dressed all in blue, which was in itself not so bad; it was the style of clothing that was the problem. He was wearing some sort of wool suit, in bright blue. There was an old style jacket that came to just above his waist that was covering a blue dress shirt, topped off with a blue bowtie. But that wasn’t the worst of it, the worst was the pants or well knickers really that came to just below his knees, with little buckles on the side at the bottom. Blue stockings, a shade paler than his suit, covered the rest of his thin legs, and to top it off he even had blue shoes (although nowhere near as cool as the suede ones Elvis had), these resembled something the pilgrims would have worn, complete with buckles on top. ‘Bloody hell,’ he thought in disgust, ‘someone has got a really sick sense of humor.’
He pushed himself to his feet, determining that he should probably start looking for the others, but as he went to stand, his hand pushed against something hard in the hay pile. He reached his hand in and pulled out a medium sized brass horn, vaguely resembling a trumpet, which was dangling on a long gold cord. ‘Well,’ he thought, ‘it goes with the outfit about as well as anything.’ He slung the trumpet over his shoulder and headed out.
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Dawn turned the next page and found another picture of Spike in the most ridiculous outfit she had ever seen. She tried hard not to chuckle, after all something hellmouthy was definitely going on here, but still seeing the ‘Big Bad’ dressed like some kind of little Dutch boy, well it was just too funny for words. However, as her chuckling died down a bit, she noticed for the first time the sheep standing behind him. Since when do sheep have red eyes and long sharp teeth? She tried frantically to flip ahead in the book to see if there were any further clues as to what was happening and what, if anything, she could do about it. But the rest of the pages were sealed together. She stared down at the picture of Spike with a growing sense of horror, wishing desperately she could warn him somehow to look behind him, when a new rhyme appeared on the page in front of her.
Little Boy Blue,
Come blow your horn,
The sheep are hungry
For flesh to be torn.
How can the boy
Escape these beasts?
He cannot escape,
He must bloody their fleece…
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Spike began walking across the meadow, heading toward the farmhouse on the other side. With any luck he would find the others there, and they could start working out how to get out of this place. But as the sun beat down on his face, his steps slowed, and he realized he wasn’t in such a hurry after all. His hand trailed into the longer grass growing up around him, and he plucked a piece placing it in his mouth. He always had loved the countryside. As a lad, his mother would send him to spend summers in the country with his aunt. As an adult and especially as a vampire, he came to appreciate the practicality of the city, but there was still something about looking out over rolling hills and taking in the peace and quiet that was still so appealing to him.
As the bleach blonde strolled along happily, he heard the occasional bleating sound of the sheep grazing around him. However, as he began to pass the small flock, their baaa’s became more insistent and seemed to be getting closer. ‘Must be curious about me,’ he thought, as the wooly creatures continued to draw nearer to him. Suddenly, a loud bleating sound came from directly behind him, causing him to jump from the shock of it. Spike spun around to face the creature that dared to sneak up on him, and came face to face with some sort of monster.
It was still short and fluffy, but its eyes were glowing red in a fashion that was most unnatural, and its teeth had grown long and jagged. Spike had never spent much time around farm animals, but it didn’t take a genius to recognize that this creature and the others as well, were somehow evil. That’s right, they were demon sheep.
Spike took one step back, and then another, but his retreat was soon halted by another lambkin beast that had moved up behind him. This was definitely not good. As his attention was focused on the creature behind him, the one in front of him lunged forward, attaching its razor sharp teeth on Spike’s arm. A scream tore from his throat as he felt the teeth sinking into his flesh. The bleach blonde grabbed the monster by its wooly head, trying to dislodge the limb, but found his vampire strength failing him.
His mind was reeling with the pain as he tried to yank his arm free, but as he was busy with this task, a second attacker came from behind, biting him high up on the back of his right thigh. Spike screamed again as the new pain caused his leg to go out and he fell onto one knee. Luckily, the sudden motion managed to pull his arm free, and he came back up swinging. With the horn grasped firmly between both hands, he swung with all his strength, bashing one creature in the head with the up swing and the other with the down swing. Sadly, the blows didn’t kill either of them, but it did seem to stun them momentarily, giving Spike a chance to make a run for it.
He got to his feet and began limping as quickly as possible towards the farmhouse, yelling for help. He glanced behind him and saw that more than a dozen of the bleating, drooling beasts were now quickly closing in on him. If he didn’t get some help soon, he was done for. Then a thought occurred to him, the horn. Maybe its sound would travel farther and bring help. He put the now slightly bent horn to his lips and tried to blow as he ran for his life, but he had trouble catching his breath enough to produce more than a mere squeak. Breath?! Since when did he need to breathe, and why hadn’t he noticed this before?! It was a question that would have to be answered later though, assuming he survived.
Spike saw the farmhouse drawing closer, and cursed himself for spending more than a hundred years as a chain smoker. In a last ditch effort, he drew in the largest breath he could, not daring to look behind him, the sounds of hooves pounding the earth drawing nearer as he blew in the horn with everything he had, his very life depending on it.
The sounds of hooves behind him stopped, and were replaced by a squealing sound that could only be described as blood curdling. Spike reluctantly turned to face the sound, seeing that no help was coming and that he was surely turning to face his own demise. The sight that met his eyes however, filled him with hope. The sheep creatures were falling to the ground, seemingly in pain. Their red, glowing eyes rolled up into their heads as their bodies began to swell. Spike began backing away again as their bodies burst one after another, in an explosion of blood and thicker things, crimson fleece flying everywhere.
When it was done, he just stood for a moment, staring at the remaining gore in shock. He looked down at the horn still clasped in his hand, and a lopsided grin spread across his face. ‘Damn,’ he thought, ‘and I’ve never even had one lesson.’
~Part: 3~ Spike and the Seven Dwarves
Spike stumbled toward the farmhouse, the wounds on his arm and leg bleeding heavily. He needed to find help, or he still might be done for, and his only hope was that there was someone home up ahead. But as ‘Little Boy Blue’ drew near, he was shocked to find that it wasn’t real, none of it. He reached his hand out in front of him to touch the large blue house with grey shutters, but all it was was a picture. The house, the grass, the barn and fields beyond it, even the sky was nothing more than a very detailed drawing that stretched out in every direction as far as the eye could see. He glanced behind him, and again the world looked real, but there was something about the way the clouds in the distance weren’t moving that gave him the wiggins, like he was stuck in a box or something. He turned back to face the wall in front of him where the real world seemingly ended and reached out to touch it again. It felt like paper. He gave it a slight push and found that it moved slightly with the effort. Spike swung his fist into it with all his force, pulling it away again to reveal a neat hole where he had struck the surface.
He took a moment to peer through the opening, but it was too dark to make out anything. He was filled with a sense of dread at the thought of going in there, but he needed help, and he needed to find the others. So, with fear in his heart, Spike grabbed onto the opening and began to tear at it until he had made a hole large enough to stumble through. But no sooner did he pass through the opening than he felt a heavy blow come down on top of his head, and he fell into unconsciousness again.
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Dawn couldn’t believe her eyes when she was suddenly able to turn the next few pages. First she was horrified to see a picture of Spike as he was being attacked by the sheep monsters, then relieved when she saw that he had somehow defeated them. The next page struck her as particularly odd, because there was a tear in it, right in the middle of the farmhouse. When she turned the page again, she saw Spike, still in his blue suit, laying on the ground near the tear, almost as if he had fallen through it. But that was impossible, wasn’t it? In a half circle around him was a group of short little men with picks, axes, and shovels. At the top of the page in blood red lettering were the words, ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’.
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Spike felt consciousness slipping back to him once again. There was a sharp pain in his head, but the pain in his arm and leg had been reduced to a low throbbing. He couldn’t quite figure out yet how to open his eyes, but his ears seemed to still be working as he heard gruff voices talking nearby.
“He could be the prince.”
“Prince, hah! Ponce is more like it.”
“I agree. Just look at those clothes.”
“Well, I say he ain’t no prince and we should just kill him.”
“But what if he is a prince? We could finally get the girl off our hands.”
“Yeah but we’ve been waiting around for ages, and no prince ever came before.”
“Even if he is a prince, she don’t look too good no more. How we going to get him to kiss her?”
“Oh he’ll kiss her all right, or I’ll chop his head off.”
Eyes working or not, Spike decided then that it was time to get out of there. He did manage to peel one peeper open, but instantly wanted to shut it again as he looked up at the seven little faces staring down at him. They were hideous. Their skin was mottled and grey, their faces smashed looking as if someone had been smacking them with a board. They had no hair on top of their potato shaped heads, but most of them did have long and rather dirty looking beards, excepting one who seemed to be younger than the rest, with no beard at all and ears resembling satellite dishes sticking out on either side of his head.
“W-where am I?” Spike managed to get out, moving his hand up to his forehead in hopes of keeping his head from falling off altogether.
“Oh good, he’s awake. How ya feelin’?” asked one of the little men.
“Lousy,” Spike said, finally getting his other eye open and sitting up slightly to see the extremely filthy cottage he was lying in. There were dirty dishes and laundry piled everywhere. There was also a layer of dirt and grime over everything, including the floor he was lying on. One of the little men helped him sit up, flashing him a frightening smile with teeth that were brown and mossy looking. “Who are you people?”
“I’m Happy”
“Well good for you mate,” Spike said sarcastically, “But I asked for your name not how you were feelin’.”
“That is my name. I’m Happy. To your left we’ve got Doc, then Bashful, and next to him is Grumpy…”
“Wait a minute, Doc, Bashful, Grumpy? Man, your mum must have really hated you to saddle you with names like that.”
“We’re not brothers of the flesh,” Grumpy said with a scowl, “We’re comrades and co-workers. This is ridiculous, I still say we should chop his head off.”
“Well, I know why they call you Grumpy. Oi! Hang on, I think I remember reading this one when I was a lad…hmmm…seven little blokes, one lucky bird, chokes on an apple…Snow White?” The dwarves looked around at each other excitedly. He knew the story! Maybe he was the prince they had been waiting for after all. “So we’ve got Happy, Bashful, Grumpy, and Doc, that leaves…hmmm, don’t tell me…Daffy, Tweety, and Bugs?” Spike asked hopefully.
“That’s Sneezy, Sleepy, and Dopey, mate,” Grumpy quipped.
“Oh right, sorry.”
“So, if you’re really a prince, why don’t you just get on with it and wake our girl up,” Doc said.
“Right, yeah,” Spike stalled, knowing full well he couldn’t wake the chit up, but not wanting to mention it after the head chopping comment, “Well you know, I’m feeling a bit peckish, and a bloke’s got to have his strength up if he’s going to be lifting a magical curse ya know.”
“He’s right,” Happy interjected, giving Spike a look resembling a leer, “The poor fella’s been through a lot. We should let him rest and build his strength up a few days before he tries. It’s not like she’s going anywhere.”
“He has until nightfall, then he either brings her back or he loses his head,” Grumpy said, looking around the room for nods of approval. Spike rubbed his neck in an unconscious gesture as he looked at the large axe the man held. “For now Happy and Dopey tie him up and get him some food. Me, Bashful, and Doc will head off to the mines. No sense in losing a whole day’s work. The rest of you guard our prince here.”
Soon after they left, the others forgot all about their guard duty and moved on to playing cards and drinking. Spike kept hoping they would eventually get drunk enough that they would pass out and he could find a way to escape, but so far no luck. Happy finally came back with something that looked like stew but smelled foul. He offered to feed it to the blonde man, flashing him another mossy grin, but Spike shook his head in refusal. The little man frowned looking slightly hurt, but sat next to his hostage, taking occasional bites from the bowl with a wooden spoon.
“You know they’re going to kill you if you don’t wake her,” Happy said carefully.
“Yeah, I kinda got that impression, mate.”
“You can’t wake her, no prince could. She’s been dead for years, but the others are convinced that since it was a cursed apple that’s killed her, somehow it could be reversed. Don’t know why they want her back anyway, stupid girl was always in the way. She couldn’t even cook properly.”
“Right. Well, you seem like a reasonable fellow, how’s about loosening these ropes a bit and letting me go?”
“Wish I could, but then they’d chop my head off. It’d almost be worth it for a cutie like you though,” Happy said wistfully, running his hand up Spike’s leg.
“Oi! What do you think yer doin’ ya bloody poofster!” Spike squeaked out in surprise, trying unsuccessfully to scoot away.
“Well, normally I’d be more subtle, but you’re the first real man to come along in ages, and since they’re going to kill you tonight anyway, I thought maybe…”
“Maybe what?! You’d bugger me while I’m bound and helpless?!”
“Oh dear, no. I’m not that kind of dwarf, I was just kind of hoping you swung my way. I mean you can’t really blame a fellow, can you? After all, look at the way you’re dressed.”
“Well, yeah, I guess I can see how you’d make a mistake like that. But I’m strictly a ladies man, got it?”
“Got it,” he said regretfully, “So does that mean there’s a lucky lady out there that gets to snuggle up with all that lovely flesh at night?”
“Well, not at the moment. There was a chit that I had around for years, but she was loony that one. I finally had to give her the brush off,” he lied.
“But no new lady yet?”
“Yeah, there is this one bird, but I don’t have her yet. She’s got hair like fire and a temper to match. Usually she’s kinda quiet though, helping her mates, doing research on her computer, stuff like that. Not sure if she even knows I’m alive, or well un-dead. Although, ‘could be that I’m alive now, I mean the sun didn’t burn me up, and I did need to catch my breath before I could blow my horn and blow those sheep up…hmmm…”
“Sneezy must’ve hit you on the head harder than I thought,” Happy said with concern, checking the lump on his head.
“What’s with the names anyway, Sneezy, Grumpy, Sleazy…”
“It’s Sleepy, if anyone is sleazy, it’s Bashful. Don’t let that shy routine fool you. Anyway, they’re nicknames. Really their name is Joe.”
“All of them?” Spike asked in disbelief.
“Yep, had their own little club going but it got right confusing so they came up with these other names.”
“So I suppose your name’s actually Joe too.”
“Nope, it’s Cyril, but don’t tell them that or they’ll kick me out, and I need the work.”
The rest of the day passed quickly, with Happy telling Spike all about their diamond mine, and Spike sharing about his past adventures as a vampire and how they all came crashing to a halt after meeting Buffy. Before they knew it, the others were back, and it was time to kiss the girl and prove once and for all if he could wake her.
They led Spike out into the woods by torchlight to a small awning that was providing cover to a glass coffin propped up on a pedestal. Sleepy slid back the bolt on the side and lifted the lid to reveal the lifeless corpse of a girl that was long dead. Her skin was sunken and shriveled so that she more closely resembled a mummy than the fair maiden she once was. Happy was right, no magic kiss was ever going to wake this girl up. Spike looked over his shoulder at the little men holding picks and axes, ready to chop him to pieces if he failed. There was only one thing left to do, stall.
“Hey, fellas, how ‘bout a joke first?”
“No jokes, just kissing,” Doc said.
“Yeah, but I gotta loosen up my lips first. A joke would help.”
“Let him tell the joke, Doc, she’ll keep, and besides I know I could do with a bit of a laugh,” Happy offered helpfully, hoping the gorgeous man had some sort of plan.
“Right,” Spike began somewhat nervously, “What’s red and has seven dents in it?”
“What?” Grumpy asked with a snarl.
“Snow White’s cherry! Hah! Get it?” He glanced around and saw seven confused looks. “Wow, tough crowd. Oh well.”
And with that Spike grabbed Sleepy and hurled him into Sneezy, or maybe it was Bashful. It was hard to tell the little guys apart. Suddenly, a spray of blood washed against his back, and he turned to see Doc, axe still in hand, fall to his knees with a pick sticking out of his head. Turning further, he saw that Happy was now fighting Grumpy, and hoped the little guy could hold him off for a bit while he took care of the other four. Grabbing up Doc’s axe, Spike went after the four dwarves with a vengeance. He made quick work of them too. They may have been strong, but they were still small and slow, and frankly didn’t have the leverage that the blonde man did. A few decapitations later and all that was left was Happy and Grumpy, swinging back and forth with their weapons. Unfortunately, as Happy was dodging a swing of Grumpy’s axe, he stumbled, dropping his pick. The other dwarf gaze an evil grin, convinced that victory would be his.
“Oi, Cyril! Heads up!” Spike yelled, throwing him the axe in his hand. Happy caught it and swung it, continuing with the momentum and cleanly cut Grumpy’s head off.
“That’s for never telling me you liked my bunt cake, you bastard.”
~Part: 4~ Grandmother, What Big Teeth You Have
Spike and Happy walked for what seemed like an eternity through the
woods, unsure of what exactly they were looking for, but the blonde vampire
had a hunch that somewhere out there was another creepy paper wall leading
to the others. Spike mopped at his brow and was startled to discover he
was sweating. His head was aching, and his body had the chills. If he didn’t
know it was impossible, he would guess that he had a fever. Then again,
ever since he had landed in this crazy world, everything that had happened
he would have said was impossible. If he had to guess, he would say that
he was human again, but when he searched inside of himself, there was no
soul, only a twisted, evil demon. Whatever was happening must be some side
effect of the spell that had brought him there, and with any luck he would
be back to his happy corpse like status the minute he got back home.
For hours they had moved in silence, having run out of things to discuss.
Truth was, Spike got the impression that his little companion was miffed
at him. They had stopped back by the cottage after their battle to get
Spike’s horn and a bit of food for the trip. Happy didn’t see what the
big deal was about a slightly bent trumpet, but who was he to question
the actions of the blonde god before him? He was just content to bask in
his glow; that is until they stopped for dinner and Spike turned his nose
up at his grub casserole. The blonde man claimed that being a vampire he
only drank blood, but when Happy willingly offered him a nip of his own
blood, finding the opportunity to neck with his Adonis irresistible, Spike
again gave him a lame excuse about some wee bit of plas-tick being stuck
in his head by a bunch of soldiers, making it so he could only drink bagged
blood. This ended all discussion on the subject.
After Spike’s
refusal, relations had become a bit curt between the two, but still the
dwarf insisted on coming along. After all, he and Spike had killed all
his co-workers, so there was no one to help him in the mine, and it was
too much for just one man. So, the best he could hope for was to either
find new men to work with, preferably tall ones with large muscles, who
could appreciate fine cooking, or he needed to find work somewhere else.
Either way, it was safer to travel through the woods with a companion,
and even if he was perturbed with Spike at the moment, at least he was
pretty to look at.
Spike had tried
a couple of times to smooth things over with Happy, he was in fact a rather
decent fellow, cooking aside, but at the moment all he could really focus
on was the pain in his arm and leg returning full force. Then, just when
he was about to give up and call it a night, he ran smack into a wall.
In the dim light his eyes hadn’t been able to make it out, but now that
he was here touching it, he was sure it was the same type of barrier he
had encountered before. Happy reached a hand out, touching the slightly
pliable barrier and swore under his breath, his expression turning to pure
horror.
“Cor, I’d heard
rumors growing up about the edge of the world. Me mum said that if’n I
travel too far from home I would cross over that edge an’ never be heard
from again. I always thought she was jus’ tryin’ to scare me, now it looks
as though she may’ve been right.”
“Look, mate,”
Spike said seriously, “I don’t know what we’re gonna find on the other
side of this here wall. The last two places have been none too safe, so
I’ll understand if you want to turn back. Hell, for all I know you may
not even be able to cross the threshold.”
“Me mum didn’t
raise no coward. If you’re goin’ through, then so am I.”
“Alright then,
here we go…”
Spike slammed
his fist into the barrier, and like before it gave way with the blow, leaving
a neat hole behind which the two men began tearing. Soon they had made
an opening large enough to climb through, but Spike hesitated, remembering
that the last time he went through one of these someone was waiting on
the other side to knock him out. He took a step back and allowed Happy
to go first. He liked the little fella, but friendship aside, he still
had a headache from the last time, and if someone was going to get knocked
on the head, better it was someone else besides him.
The little man looked up at him suspiciously, knowing full well that
Spike was no gentleman and therefore wasn’t trying to be polite by allowing
him to go first, but he had his pick in hand and Dopey’s axe on his back.
If anything tried to get him, he was as prepared as he was going to get.
He stepped over the edge into the blackness on the other side and fell,
with an unflattering shriek, several feet to the ground below, landing
on his back with a hard THUD.
“Oi, Cyril, you
alright?”
“Aye, I’m fine!”
Happy growled back.
“Yeah, sorry.
I forgot to warn you,” Spike said, gazing down on the little man with a
sheepish grin, “that first step can be a doozey.”
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Dawn flipped
through the pages, at times trying hard not to laugh and at other points
wanting to scream. She couldn’t believe Spike’s luck at befriending a gay
dwarf named Happy, but it was a good thing he had, otherwise he may never
have gotten out of that last situation alive. Not to mention barely escaping
having to kiss that shriveled up old corpse, ewww! It seemed the two of
them were moving on to the next story now, judging by the tear in yet another
page and the conspicuous absence of either character. She didn’t know how
it was possible, but living on the hellmouth had taught her to take some
things at face value, and it was clear to her now that Spike was somehow
trapped in the book she was holding, and perhaps so were the others. So
far he had managed to escape death twice; she only hoped the others would
be as lucky.
She turned the
next page and gazed down at another picture of dark woods, with Happy and
Spike standing in the center of the page. Across the top in bright blue
were the words, “Little Red Riding Hood.” She gulped audibly and hoped
that the big bad wolf wouldn’t eat any of her friends.
@@@@@@@@@@
Willow woke to
the smell of dampness, moss, and trees. She tried opening her eyes, but
was having some difficulty due to the pounding in her temples. She was
also having trouble breathing, but soon her eyes adjusted to the darkness
around her, and she was able to identify that she was in a forest somewhere.
She was also able to see why she couldn’t breathe; someone had dressed
her in the most ridiculously short dress she had ever seen. The top half
consisted of a corset that was painfully tight, seemingly holding up the
skirts and petticoats which barely covered her fanny, so that the slightest
breeze would lift her skirts, showing off her panties which had ruffles
on the bottom. To top it all off was a red velvet cape that came down to
just above the hem of her dress. She was glad it was a warm evening; otherwise
she would be freezing her patootie off.
The redhead stood a little too quickly for someone unaccustomed to wearing
a corset and nearly fainted, holding herself up by a nearby tree until
she could catch her breath. Then she took a few tentative steps down the
tiny path she was on, but hadn’t even made it five feet before she tripped
over some unseen object and fell flat on her face, skinning her knee. She
let out a small whimper of pain and kicked at the object of her downfall,
but instead of knocking it away from her it rolled toward her on its side,
revealing itself to be a picnic basket. ‘Of course it’s a picnic basket,’
she thought sarcastically, ‘after all, I’m dressed like the stripper version
of little red riding hood. Now if only it had a cold bottle of water and
some aspirin inside.’
She popped open the lid of the basket and hesitantly peeked inside.
To her surprise it contained just the items she had been hoping for. She
was suspicious of her good fortune, but too thirsty to give it too much
thought, so she opened the bottle and took a tentative sip of the clear
liquid and found it to be wonderful and refreshing. Feeling more confident,
she popped open the aspirin bottle and found generic tablets within. Throwing
caution to the wind, she tossed a couple in her mouth and washed them down
with the water. Then, loosening her corset a bit so she could breathe better,
she stood again, clutching her basket and started down the path again.
@@@@@@@@@@
Spike was disappointed
to find that they had gone through the hole only to land themselves in
the middle of more woods, but Happy on the other hand was elated to discover
that the world had not ended beyond the barrier. Both men stood and began
making their way toward a small path they could see winding through some
nearby trees. It was slow progress, because Spike had begun limping severely.
Happy watched him in concern for a bit and finally offered to carry the
much larger man on his back. Ego aside, there was still no way the blonde
could see this as a plausible option. The sheer physics of it were beyond
impractical. He took a moment to lean against a tree, panting heavily,
and gave his little friend a weak smile. Standing again, he shook his head
‘no’ and kept moving, having to grit his teeth through the pain. So far
there was no sign of the others and Spike was beginning to lose hope, but
what else could he do at this point but continue on this new path?
Happy looked on in awe as the proud man before him continued to bear
his pain in silence, not wanting to burden the little dwarf who adored
him so. ‘They just don’t make enough men like that,’ he thought with a
sigh, ‘Oh, if only I had enough rum to get him good and drunk, and maybe
a nice big pot o’ melted chocolate.’
@@@@@@@@@@
After a brief
walk through the woods, Willow came upon a small cottage nestled among
the trees. She was tired and scared and wanted to know where her friends
were, but there was something about her clothes and the woods and the little
house before her that screamed out danger. She stood for a few moments,
just looking at it and shuffling her feet. ‘Well,’ she thought, ‘Oz was
a werewolf and I was able to handle him okay…with a big tranquilizer gun.’
“I wish this
basket had a tranquilizer gun or some other useful weapon in it…”
She opened the
basket and peered inside, but it appeared to empty for the moment. ‘Oh
well,’ she thought, ‘it was worth a try. At least I have my magic.’ She
called to mind a few simple spells that would be good in a tight spot,
then summoned up her courage and knocked on the door.
“Um, hello? Is
anyone home?” she asked as she let herself in.
“Come in, dearie,
I’ve been waiting for you all day…” came a gravelly old voice from the
bedroom that gave the redhead the wiggins.
Willow prepared
herself to magically strike as she moved back to the bedroom, but let out
a sigh of relief as soon as she entered it. There, lying on the bed was
a little old lady that in no way resembled a wolf.
“Come closer,
child, granny can hardly see you from there,” she motioned with her hand
and Willow moved to sit on the bed beside her. “Have you brought an old
lady some goodies to eat?”
“Well,” said
Willow, trying to pop open the basket, “there was some bottled water and
aspirin in there, but they seem to have disappeared when I wished for the
tranq gun, or maybe it was the other weapons, I’m not sure.” She had finally
gotten the lid open and bent over the basket, peering inside for some sort
of hidden goodies.
With her back
turned to the woman, she was unaware of the way her face had begun to shift,
revealing a long snout. Hands became claws, ripping away the flowered nightgown
to reveal a creature that was more human than the other werewolves she
had seen, but still an animal, and seemingly very male as well. Willow
shrieked and darted across the room, but the creature lunged in her direction,
blocking the door. The redhead screamed again, diving away once more but
only managing to scramble up onto the bed with no other retreat. She summoned
all her strength to cast a defensive spell that would easily knock the
creature out, but the moment the words left her mouth, all the power they
created within her fizzled into nothing. Panicked, she tried again, but
it was no use, her magic was not gone, but it wasn’t working either.
“Well, my sweet,
since you haven’t brought me any goodies, I guess I’ll just have to eat
you,” the creature said through his long teeth.
Willow did the
only thing left that she could, she screamed herself hoarse, and flailed
her arms and legs as the creature pinned her to the bed. She might not
be able to escape, but she was certainly going to do everything in her
power to make this an unpleasant dining experience for him. Just then she
heard a heavy THUD from the other room, and looked up in relief when what
appeared to be a lumberjack came through the door. She smiled widely, fully
expecting him to take his axe and lop the monster’s head off. However,
her relief turned to further horror when instead the man began undressing.
“Geez, Kevin,
couldn’t you wait for me? I told you I would be over right after work,”
the large sweaty man asked in irritation as he unfastened his pants to
reveal a frighteningly large and very erect penis. Willow shook her head
as if trying to rid herself of the horrible visions surrounding her. The
man leered at her, stroking his cock a few times before turning his attention
back to the wolf-man pinning her to the bed.
“Hey, I thought
the brat was coming at seven sharp, not my fault if she was a bit early.
Besides, I didn’t hurt her or nuthin’, just scared her a bit. Tell you
what, Larry, why don’t I let you have first go at her, I don’t mind sloppy
seconds, and by then the barbeque will be good and ready and we’ll grill
her up,” Kevin offered civilly.
“Thanks, Kev,
you’re a true friend,” Larry replied, making his way over to the bed.
“Wait!” Willow yelled
out, making the man pause for a moment, “You’re going to fuck me AND eat
me?! Isn’t raping me bad enough?! And you, you ‘woodsman’, aren’t you supposed
to KILL the wolf?!”
“Where’s the
fun in that? No, I think having my way with you, then watching Kevin have
his turn while he kills you is much more fun. Besides, who can say no to
a good barbeque?”
At this he lunged
forward, grasping the front of her bodice and giving it a sharp tug. The
laces gave way, snapping apart and revealing her bare bosom. Willow screamed
again, and wished she was already dead rather than have to endure this,
when suddenly she heard another loud noise coming from the other room.
She was beyond hoping anyone would help her, it was probably just another
one of their buddies coming to join in, but then she heard it…
“WILLOW!!!”
She lifted her
head up in time to see Spike, a blur of baby blue as he swung hard with
an axe, separating the wolf-man’s head from his shoulders. Larry the lumberjack
only had a moment to register his surprise as a giant potato with a beard
planted a pick into his chest. The big man collapsed to his knees, reaching
out for Happy, intent on breaking his neck, but the much smaller man dodged
him with ease. Happy gave him a once over and thought to himself what a
waste it was that such a nice piece of man flesh had to die. In his reverie
he didn’t notice the big ham fist coming from the other side that sent
him flying. The little man pushed himself back onto his feet, picking up
the woodsman’s own axe, ‘Hunk or not, this guy’s going down!’ he thought,
and buried the blade in the man’s torso. He then watched with a smug grin
as he keeled over dead.
All of this seemed
to happen in a flash, leaving Willow still on the bed, staring at the scene
before her in shock. Her mouth hung open, as did her top, her pert breasts
still fully exposed. Spike limped the last few feet to the bed, practically
collapsing on it, as he crawled up her body. Willow was so relieved to
see him that she didn’t question his actions or her state of undress, she
just wanted him to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay.
Spike pulled
himself fully on top of her, turning her face to meet his, and kissed her.
Not a gentle, sweet kiss, but passionate and demanding, his tongue forcing
her mouth open. Willow was briefly caught up in the gesture, returning
the kiss with equal fervor, and then she felt his hardness pressing against
her stomach, and she began to pull away. She wondered if it was the outfit
that was making all the men react to her this way, and if so perhaps she
should get one for special occasions. But in the meantime, she and Spike
needed to get to the bottom of whatever was happening to them, and making
out was not going to help matters any, regardless of how good it felt.
Reluctantly,
she pushed the blonde off of her, as Spike moaned in protest. It was then
that she noticed he didn’t look quite right. Aside from the clothes that
resembled the little Dutch boy, his face was flushed and sweaty. She touched
his forehead and found that he was burning up.
“Oh, god, Spike!”
she exclaimed in panic.
“Willow, I...love…” and with that he passed out cold.
~Part: 5~
Two days. It had been two days since Spike had fallen unconscious with a horrible fever, and Willow was really starting to get scared. She had managed to procure some antibiotics and chicken broth with her handy dandy basket, which she hoped was helping some, but it was hard to tell. On the first night she had tried to get some pig’s blood down him, but it made him violently ill, and in the end she and Happy had to strip all of his clothing and the bedding to wash the blood out.
As he was lying on the bed naked, while Happy rooted around for more bed coverings, Willow noticed, among other things, the sickly green color and foul smell that were coming from his wounds. After placing a pillow over her patient’s surprisingly large ‘equipment’, (much to Happy’s disappointment), she used her basket to acquire some disinfectant, but was forced to make do with moonshine. The substance clearly stung and Spike squirmed to escape her as she sponged out the infected areas. Finally, Happy had to hold him down to make the process a bit easier, but the little man didn’t have any complaints about this task.
The blonde vamp would drift in and out of consciousness long enough for her to get a little bit of fluids and medicine into him, all the while babbling deliriously about some sort of ‘wooly beast,’ which she assumed was responsible for the wounds on his arm and leg. The fever was the worst though, at times making his skin feel like it was on fire while at the same time he shivered violently and complained about being cold. Willow and Happy took turns lying with him, trying to keep him a bit warmer, but if his fever didn’t break soon, Willow was afraid his chances weren’t good, vampire or not.
----------@----------@----------@----------@----------@----------
Reality came back slowly. Spike tried to pry his eyes open, but they didn’t seem to be quite working yet. With a sigh he stretched out under the pile of blankets, noticing for the first time the petite hand on his bare chest. He searched his mind to try to recall where he was and what was happening. The last thing he remembered was Willow, kissing Willow. He smiled smugly to himself, and began tracing light patterns upon the little hand, gently pulling it up to kiss the fingertips.
“Good morning, pet, how’s about a little kiss?” Spike asked with a seductive purr.
“I thought you’d never ask,” came a gruff reply.
Spike gave a WHOOP of surprise, and leapt from the bed. In his haste however, his foot became tangled in the bedding and he started to fall. Happy quickly reached out, grabbing his arm to steady him, but unfortunately only succeeded in being pulled out of the bed as well, landing with a THUMP on Spike’s back.
Willow heard the ruckus from where she was reading in the other room, and came rushing in to see what the trouble was, but stopped short the moment she opened the door and found the pair in a very compromising position.
“Oh, god, sorry! I didn’t mean to…sorry!” she gasped and rushed back out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
“Willow, wait! It’s not what it looks like!” Spike called after her, but it was too late. He banged his head on the floor in frustration, listening to the sound of Happy chuckling away. “Do you mind getting your boys off of me?! And what’s so damn funny anyway?!”
“You are,” Happy replied, disentangling himself. “I’m glad you’re feelin’ better though.”
“Yeah, well what were you doing in that bed with me anyway?”
“Keeping you warm, of course.”
“Why weren’t you wearing any clothes?” Spike asked with a hard stare.
“Well, I didn’t want them to get all rumpled, now did I?” Happy replied with a sheepish grin, pulling his shirt and trousers on. “Don’t worry; I’ll straighten everythin’ out with the lady. Then, I think I might do a little huntin’, I just don’t trust eatin’ food I don’t kill myself. I should be back in a day or so, that should be ample time I think for you two to sort things out,” and with a wink and another grin, the small man was out the door, leaving Spike still sitting on the floor with nothing on but a sheet.
When Willow came in a few minutes later, Spike had moved back up to the bed and was holding his head in frustration.
“Happy said you wanted to talk to me?”
“Willow, yeah, ummm come in…” he sputtered, scooting over and patting the space next to him on the bed. Willow sat, but didn’t quite make eye contact with him. “Listen, about what you saw before…”
“Oh don’t worry, Happy explained everything,” she said nervously.
“He did? Good…”
“Yes, and I just want you to know that I’ll fully support you if you decide to come out.”
“What? What do you mean, ‘come out’?”
“Now, Spike, you don’t have to play the denial game with me. I mean I think that whatever two people, or in this case a vampire and a fairy book dwarf, do in private, is no one’s business but their own.”
“What exactly did Cyril tell you?” Spike asked through clenched teeth.
“Oh, he didn’t give me any details if that’s what you mean; he just told me that when you met you came to realize just how much you liked, umm, shorter men.”
“But…he…I…that’s not…”
“Really, Spike, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Even I have taken notice of a pretty girl now and then,” at this Spike’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline, but before he could get a word in she continued, “Not that I’ve ever acted on those impulses, but I understand them. It’s natural, I think, for people to be attracted to both sexes…and sometimes monsters,” at this she gave him a brief look of longing, “I mean especially for someone like you, a vampire and all. You guys live so long you probably need a little, ummm, variety. Although you were with Drusilla for over a hundred years, so not much variety there, although she was crazy, so maybe that made her more creative, ummm…” she glanced up at him quickly and seeing his amused smirk, instantly turned red, but still her mouth kept on going. “Of course then there was that whole thing with Harmony, you know I never did understand that one, I mean compared to her, Happy is a real catch, no offense, I just never pictured you dating someone like him, I mean I always assumed there was something between you and Angelus, but…”
Spike tried to wait patiently for her to finish, but she didn’t seem to be tapering off at all. In fact, he was pretty sure she hadn’t even paused to breathe since she had started on her babble rampage. In a way it was impressive, but it was time to put a stop to it. He leaned over toward the chattering redhead and planted a firm kiss on her mouth. All talking abruptly ceased.
Spike snaked one hand behind Willow’s head, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss. Her lips were warm and sweet and as his tongue gently caressed hers, he realized that he no longer cared if he ever got back to the real world; so long as he was with Willow, he was happy. He slid her willing body onto his lap and she gave a little gasp when she came in contact with his rigid cock. Spike slid one hand up her thigh, coming into contact with her ruffled knickers, and pulled back slightly so he could get a good look at what she was wearing. The moment he pulled back though, oxygen leaked back into Willow’s brain and suddenly she realized what she was doing and started to push herself farther back.
“Spike, we shouldn’t…I mean you’re a vampire, and I’m best friends with the slayer, and Happy could come back at any moment, and I already did the boyfriend stealing thing once with Xander and it turned out really bad, and…” Her protests were cut off with another powerful kiss.
“Willow,” he began a bit breathlessly, as he reluctantly pulled away from her again, “Cyril and I are NOT a couple; he was just pulling your leg. As for Buffy, it’s none of her damn business what we do, and the part about me being a vampire, well, I’m not sure what it all means, but…” He took her hand and placed it firmly on his chest, searching her eyes for some spark of understanding. Suddenly her eyes grew large, and she yanked her hand back in surprise.
“Your heart, it’s beating!” she exclaimed.
“That’s right, pet. So you see, there are no real reasons why we can’t do this,” he said in a low voice, now running his hand up between her thighs until he found their moist juncture, “Unless of course you don’t want to.”
At that he gave her a long pleading look, desperate for her consent. She gave it by trailing her hand back down his chest and circling it around his erect shaft, as she leaned forward for another passionate kiss. This time when they broke apart, Spike lowered her back onto the bed, pulling himself up to lay next to her, propped up on one elbow as his free hand made quick work of the laces to her bodice. He soon freed her pert breasts from their confines and wasted no time in taking one of the rosy tips into his mouth. Willow gasped again and writhed in pleasure at his ministrations.
“So, Miss Riding Hood, are you ready for the big bad wolf?” he purred in her ear. Suddenly she froze as images of Oz, and the wolf-man that had attacked her, floated through her head. It took Spike a minute to realize what he had said wrong, and he groaned in frustration at his own stupidity. “Willow, I’m sorry, I didn’t think…I’m so sorry.”
His sincere apology snapped her back out of the daze she was in, as she focused on the concerned look in his blue eyes. She smiled slightly, and ran a hand gently across on chiseled cheek bone. “Don’t worry about it. How about if I be Little Bo Peep instead, the outfit’s pretty much the same,” she suggested.
“Bo Peep?”
“Yeah, you know, Little Bo Peep, she lost her sheep…”
It was Spike’s turn to flinch at the mention of sheep.
“How about you be Willow, and I’ll be Spike,” he said, and then kissed her again. Soon her costume was in a pile on the floor, and there was nothing but bare skin touching.
Willow pushed Spike onto his back, enjoying a feeling of control she had never had before as she kissed her way down his chest, teasing his bellybutton slightly with her tongue and continuing on down, skirting her way around his shaft. Spike moaned in frustration, but it quickly turned to a girlish squeal as she found a ticklish spot on his inner thigh. Relenting with a smirk, she turned her attention back to his cock, which bobbed under her scrutiny. She had done this once with Oz, but he was much smaller, and she had a moment of doubt about her ability to please. But when she glanced up and saw the look of complete adoration on Spike’s face, her confidence returned. She took him tentatively in her hands, running her pink tongue up the length of his shaft, and then circling his tip before bringing it into her hot mouth. Spike made a sound somewhere between a moan and a growl and arched his back slightly as the feeling of warm wetness enveloped him. She began taking him in an inch at a time, working slowly and relaxing her throat, until she was finally able to take in his entire length, her hand caressing his heavy sack. Spike’s hands were clenching and unclenching almost in rhythm with her ministrations, resisting the urge to bury themselves in her hair and speed her movements. He was trying hard to keep himself under control as his breathing became ragged panting, and his eyes rolled up in his head from the ecstasy. It wouldn’t be long now.
Willow suddenly felt a hand, bury itself in her hair and begin to gently pull her up and away from the object of her affection. She looked at Spike, confused and concerned about what she had done wrong, but he only smiled and kissed her tenderly.
“I couldn’t let you go on or I would have lost control,” he began, “That sweet mouth of yours could bring any man to his downfall, but this time, the first time, I want to be inside you, really inside you.” Then he kissed her again, more forcefully this time, as she spread her legs and opened herself to him.
He was too large, and it had been a long time since she had been with anyone. Spike tried to be gentle, but there was no way around the pain, and the thought of going slow was more than Willow could bear.
“Spike, please…” she begged, pulling at his body in desperation.
He forced his length into her, knowing that his abruptness had hurt her, but the look of pleading in Willow’s eyes ended any thoughts he had of being slow or gentle and he quickly began a brutal pace, pounding her into the mattress with the force of his thrusts. Spike gasped for air as he watched the redhead below him moan with pleasure, her sweaty locks fanning around her head like a halo, her skin flushed. She was beautiful.
Willow was keening in pleasure, a delicious tightness beginning in her belly, the heat of their combined flesh making her feel like she was on fire. Then it hit her, like a wave of tiny explosions inside of her. Every inch of her felt incredibly alive and aware. The force of her orgasm shook her small frame, making her muscles clamp around Spike’s cock convulsively as her nails raked bloody trails down his biceps.
Spike felt a wave of relief at her cries of rapture, realizing that he no longer had to keep himself in control. His intense rhythm picked up a notch as he found his own release, shooting his warm seed into her as he too began to shake.
When it was all over, the pair collapsed in a sweaty heap of tangled limbs, sighing happily and clinging to each other in their mutual exhaustion. Spike rolled onto his back, pulling Willow with him, and pushing her damp hair out of her face. He struggled to breathe, not remembering the last time he had felt so wonderful. His body was aching and he couldn’t quite catch his breath, but at the same time he felt totally content, and delightfully drowsy. Was this what it was like to be human? It had been so long, he couldn’t quite remember, but if it was he could definitely get used to it, he thought as he drifted off to sleep with the lightly snoring redhead in his arms.
----------@----------@----------@-----------@-----------@-----------
Dawn looked down at the page in front of her in shock, her cheeks flushed. She had been so terrified when Willow had been attacked, then relieved when she was rescued. But that had quickly turned back to concern when Spike took ill, and now looking at the page in front of her, she mostly felt embarrassed. She felt like a peeping Tom, watching the two people she looked up to most having sex. Not to mention, the surprise she felt that those two would ever get together in the first place. Sure they were both single, and smart, and they both had a quirky sense of humor, but still she had never seen that coming. It was all too weird, and she couldn’t help but think that she would never be able to look at either of them again without turning red as a beet. But then again, at least they looked happy, and it was about time those two had a little happiness in their lives. Good for them. Of course, who knew how long it would last, she wondered as she turned the next page.
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