Chapter 6: The Creature

It had existed here in this prison for thousands upon thousands of years. It stayed hidden from the larger predators by clinging to the dark upper corners of the caverns. Three feet long and about a foot wide with hundreds of tiny legs running along the sides of its body, the creature resembled a large, grotesque centipede. Only instead of a head, two large antennae sat at one of stretching almost eighteen inches out from its body.

The antennae were used to detect food for the creature; it fed off of the life force of other beings. Creatures without life forces, vampires or other demons, it couldn’t even detect if they were next to it. It used its numerous legs to navigate the space, many time before it was wounded from unknowingly crawling upon a demon, mistaking it for just another facet of the cavern and being torn apart.

Its kind couldn’t die, they could be incapacitated if their antennae were removed or severely damaged, but they could not die. They did not know illness and any wounds received, even their antennae would eventually heal. And if they couldn’t feed, they just went hungry. Year after year with the gnawing pain of hunger eating them from the inside, making them vicious in their need for sustenance. Not that they weren’t vicious before.

Once in a while it would sense a food source down here and it would race towards it. Sometimes the fact that it could travel along any surface gave it the edge it needed to reach the prey first. However, these beings were usually so weak in life and power they barely even whetted its appetite, usually just working it up into a frenzy.

A short while ago it sensed something.

Power.

Life.

Strong.

The strongest life force it had encountered since its capture so long ago. A being such as that would not only finally satisfy its hunger, but make it stronger as well. And unlike the weaker signatures that had appeared down here in the past, this being had lasted much longer than the others. The only problem was that it kept moving, so the creature scuttled along walls chasing the life force. Determined not to let this source of food get away from it.



They walked in silence for what seemed to be hours. Buffy wanted to do something, anything, to break the awkward silence, but she was afraid anything she would say would only make things worse.

At first she was embarrassed by what had happened and found it hard to even glance at Spike. Then as time passed she found herself growing curious.

Did she really make him…

She couldn’t even think it without getting embarrassed.

But still how could he react to her like that?

He hated her, found her repulsive. He told her that often enough.

She thought she understood a little bit about men from her experience with Angel. Although granted Angel wasn’t really a man, but then neither was Spike.

Why did Angel vamp out just from kissing her and Spike didn’t vamp even when he was…

God, she hoped he didn’t notice the way she kept blushing. He would probably think she wanted him or something.

Which was completely repulsive.

Spike was disgusting.
And rude.
And mean.
And arrogant.

She could never want him.

So what if he had a really nice body underneath that leather coat? And so what if he could make a fight look like a well choreographed dance? And so what if his hands rubbing on her back had been one of the most luxurious things she had ever felt? And so what if she almost had an orgasm from his bite?

Buffy shook her head. It was just this place. It was confusing her. She knew logically that Spike was evil and if they weren’t in this situation he would waste no time in ripping her throat out to drain her of all her blood.

Spike hated her and she hated him and that was the way things were and that was the way things should be. She just had to remember that. Nothing else that happened down here mattered, in the end they were mortal enemies and at some point one of them was going to kill the other. If they ever got out of here.



Spike’s thoughts were very similar to Buffy’s only his were also filled with self-loathing. He couldn’t believe that he had come in his pants just because the twit gave him a grab or two in the crotch.

Sure it had been a while since Drusilla had let him touch her. And since he was a one-woman vamp a substitute was out of the question, so he had been left alone with his hand for longer than he liked to think about.

But what kind of self-respecting vamp would get hard for the Slayer?

It was one thing when they were fighting. A good fight always got his juices going and she was the best he had ever come across. But to have that kind of reaction when she was asleep on his lap?

And just how did she come to be on his lap anyway. He had just laid her on the ground after she passed out. Sure he had given her his coat, but that was just cause she looked cold and uncomfortable. And if she were cold and uncomfortable then she wouldn’t sleep well and if she didn’t sleep well then she wouldn’t be able to fight well. That was the only reason. That was also the only stupid reason he let her snuggle up with his lap in her sleep, too.

He had been sitting there thinking his evil thoughts. He hadn’t been daydreaming about how soft her hair felt and wondering if it could actually feel as soft as he imagined. He had been thinking of how much he wanted to kill her. Then the next thing he knew, she was curling up with his lap, rubbing her warmth all over him and it was all he could do not to grab her pull her up, strip her and press her against him.

To feel that warmth seeping into his body all over. Spike almost stopped short at the thought, his chest felt like it was going to explode. He glanced over at the Slayer walking beside him; a pink blush tinted her cheeks, further evidence of the warmth inside of her.

What would it be like to be buried in that heat? In that flesh?

He quickly looked away from Buffy, his head felt like it was swimming.

How long had they been walking for anyway? It felt like days to him. The silence was grating on him, but he knew that anything he said to the woman next to him would probably result in another punch to the nose.

He sighed. She was such a judgmental uptight bitch. He needed to remember that. Remember the way she threw herself at the poof of a Grandsire. Remember that this was the bitch that put him in a wheelchair for all those months.

The bloody bitch threw an incense burner at him and put him in a fucking coma for months.

She threw an incense burner at him, knocked him out into an organ and it fucking paralyzed him. Fucking brilliant really. Not that she planned it that way, but she had the talent that things like that happened to her in fights. She was good. The best he ever fought.

Probably going to be the one to kill him some day. That was if he didn’t kill her first.

For some reason those thoughts didn’t bring him the satisfactory feeling they should have.

Deciding that he must just be exhausted he stopped walking. “You up for a bit of watch duty, Slayer?”

She looked at him like she didn’t understand what he was saying.

“Hello?” Spike waved a hand in front of her face. “Anyone home in there?”

“What? I’m fine.” Buffy said, irritated.

“Oh really, that’s good. I don’t really give a fuck.” He continued speaking over her look of outrage. “I was asking if you could take a watch while got a bit o’rest.”

“Oh.” Buffy looked disappointed, but she quickly hid it. Spike wondered what the hell was running through that blonde brain of hers. “Yeah, I can watch. Where do you want to rest up?”

“Right here looks good to me.” Spike said, removing his coat and laying it out on the ground.

“Ok.” Buffy said, sitting down not far from him.

Spike looked at her suspiciously. She was being way to agreeable. Maybe she was up to something. Maybe she had found a way out of here and was just waiting for him to go to sleep so she could abandon him.

He shook off those thoughts about as quickly as they came. This wasn’t Darla he was dealing with. The Slayer was a White Hat and they didn’t do things like that.

He lay down on his coat and fashioned the sleeve into a pillow of sorts. “All right, wake me up if anything suspicious heads this way, or even if you hear something that may be something suspicious. Got it?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Yes, sir.” She gave him a mock salute to which he glared at her.

“And don’t forget to keep sucking on that moss, I don’t want you getting dehydrated.” He told her.

“Ok. Will you just go to sleep already?”

“Don’t get your knickers all upset, I’m working on it.”

“Well work faster.”

“Maybe I could if you would shut your yap.”

Spike turned his back to her and shut his eyes. For some reason, though even with his eyes closed he could still see her face glaring at him, but with that small smile at her lips that made him want to…

Spike quickly tried to shut his brain down before he could finish that thought.

Sleep. He needed sleep. His head would be that much clearer in the morning.



Ipwet walked into the Council’s sitting room cautiously. It had never been stated that it was forbidden to enter here unaccompanied when the Council wasn’t in session. However, Ipwet wasn’t certain how the Older Ones would view her sneaking in to check on William’s progress.

She had assumed after the crystal had been activated he would have found a way to contact her immediately, but so far there had been nothing. She knew the mist was keeping him under constant watch and he also had that Slayer with him, but with his resourcefulness he should have been able to come up with something.

She knew he was still alive, her crystal showed that he was still moving, but again he had not contacted her.

Ipwet had bought the crystals about five hundred years ago from a peddler, in, what she knew as, Constantinople. They could be used to relay messages back and forth between the holders and also they could be used to track the person holding the other crystal. While the crystals couldn’t be used as two-way communication devices the messages were usually only delayed by a few minutes.

Ipwet was worried that maybe the Slayer found the crystal somehow. She knew William had offered her his shirt, but she saw him take the crystal from her and put it in his pocket.

Finally deciding she couldn’t wait any longer, Ipwet ignored Rangda’s pleas for her to be patient and headed for the sitting room to see for herself what was happening down below. She had planned and waited for this opportunity for too long, to let it pass now. She was determined that William would be the key to her taking down the Council, allowing her kind to rule over the humans.

Ipwet was so caught up in her plans and concerns she never noticed that she wasn’t alone in the room.

“Did you need something, Ipwet?”

Mastema asked.

Startled she looked up to find him sitting in his chair in the center of the room, staring into the wall of mist intently.

Knowing he would be able to sense a lie, she decided to go with the truth.

“No Sire, I just wanted to see how the prisoners were doing.” From where she stood Ipwet couldn’t make out anything in the mist.

Mastema raised his head and looked towards her, his sharp gaze seemed to pierce right through her.

“You have a special interest in the traitor.” He said. It was not a question.

“Yes Sire, I do.” She admitted.

“And what is it you find so interesting about our traitor?”

Ipwet tilted her head as if she were hesitant. “Well Sire, there are many things.”

Mastema raised what might have been an eyebrow and gestured for her to continue.

“The way he sought out not one, but two Slayers, challenging the one thing we have all been taught to fear. Yet he is not above teaming up with a Slayer when it comes to matters of survival. I find him to be very resourceful and determined. He would make a powerful Master and ally.” She paused. She knew she was about to cross a line that would very likely get her killed, but if it paid off it could get her everything she ever wanted. “You really don’t think he reminds you of the Masters of old, Sire?” She asked.

Mastema flew from his chair and stood before her, proving despite his aged appearance the aura of power that surrounded him, was in fact, accurate. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her above him. “That is the second time you have compared that traitor to me.” He snarled at her.

“Please Sire, I meant no disrespect.” She whispered.

“How could this be seen as anything but disrespect?” He bellowed throwing her to the ground. While she didn’t need air to breath the intense pressure on her vocal chords caused her to choke and wheeze.

She knew she shouldn’t push this any farther, but she had come too far to back down now.

“When was the last time one so young accomplished so much?” Mastema approached her with fire in his eyes. “Sire, he was raised by a mad woman, Angelus and the whore, Darla. Had he been trained properly who knows where he might stand today. Is it right that he be punished for their ignorant ways and teachings?” Ipwet practically pleaded with him as she scrambled backwards along the ground.

Mastema stopped cold and considered her carefully. “Perhaps you are right, my Childe.” Ipwet felt her limbs go weak with relief. “But I cannot overturn my ruling. Besides William won’t last much longer. I believe his food source is about to be drained of life.” He stepped out of the way giving Ipwet a clear view of the screen of mist.

She saw Spike asleep on the ground and not far from him sat Buffy. Ipwet cursed when she saw the Slayer’s attention was focused on the vampire in front of her while behind her a large insect creature crawled down the wall of the cavern towards her.




It didn’t take Spike long to fall asleep. It was funny; once he fell asleep he began to breath heavily, just like a human. It was like his body forgot he didn’t need to breathe when he was asleep.

For a while Buffy sat there and scanned all the tunnels, extending her senses as far out as they would go, searching for anything that could mean trouble for them. After a while she got bored with that and began to make little designs in the moss growing along the wall. She would pick some out, drain it of its water then put it back on the wall in a different spot.

She had just made a cute little house out of the furry substance when Spike rolled over.

It was a simple thing. Everyone who slept probably did it. But not everyone looked so delicious when they did it. She couldn’t help but admire the muscular chest that now lay before her.

Why wasn’t Angel’s chest and stomach that well defined? Did Spike work out? Did vampires even need to work out?

Buffy ran her eyes up over his chest, to his face. He looked so peaceful while he slept. His face was smooth and soft and she felt the urge to run her fingers against his cheeks.

For the first time she wondered what Spike had been like as a human. Was he like Angel before he was turned? Supposedly Liam O’Connor was not a nice human being. Darla wasn’t much better from what she had read. She knew Drusilla’s story, but she never thought about what Spike had been like.

From the way he talked and acted most of the time she bet he was some kind of robber or something. Then again he really didn’t have the stealth to be a robber. Granted as a vampire he had supernatural grace, but she couldn’t see him being like a cat burglar or anything before he was turned.

From the way he doted on Drusilla, and how upset he was over their break up, Buffy was certain he had been hurt before. Badly.

She wondered if his first experience at love ended a horribly as hers had.

She was so caught up in her contemplation of Spike and what his life had been like before she never noticed the large centipede that was crawling down the wall behind her.

Suddenly a large antenna appeared in her line of sight. She went to move or jump up, but by the time her brain got the message to her muscles it was too late.

The creature had established a connection with her and she could feel her life force being pulled out of her. She tried to move or shout out to alert Spike, but she no longer had control over any of her bodily functions. She couldn’t see anything but the large appendage about an inch away from her eyeball and all she could feel was an alien, cold numbness running up her limbs as she slowly lost herself to this creature.



Spike was buried deep in his dreams. Buried deep in warmth. The warmth of the Slayer. In his dream he hadn’t just bit her, he also stripped her and took her right there against the wall of the cave, making her scream out his name over and over again until the water poured out of the moss from their pressure against it. The cold water sent a chill through him, counteracting the dream of Buffy’s warm flesh.

The chill didn’t dissipate, instead in grew, filling him up inside.

Spike jerked awake, certain that something wasn’t right. He turned to look at the Slayer.

She sat not far from him, her face a chalky white color that live humans should never have and her cheeks were sunken so far into her flesh he thought for a moment that she had lost her flesh and just her skull sat atop of her neck. He caught site of the antennae next, before raising his eyes to the creature it connected to.

Spike didn’t waste anymore time. Panic almost as bad as the time Buffy held a stake to Drusilla, filled him. He vamped out, stood up and grabbed the antenna in front of her face with one hand and the middle of the creature with his other and threw it off the wall away from Buffy. The antenna ripped off in his hand when he did so.

He heard Buffy gasp when he broke the creature’s connection with her, but he didn’t stop to see if she was ok, wanting to deal with this threat first. He grabbed the claw from where it lay just out of reach of her grasp and leaped after the thing.

The creature had only fallen a few yards away and even after loosing and antenna it still headed straight back after Buffy. Spike pushed the claw underneath it and threw it back again, only this time he rushed after it and speared it through the middle. The creature continued to fall, landing on its back. Spike brought the claw down again and again spearing it repeatedly until the thing finally lay still.

Only then did he look back towards Buffy, still snarling and in game face.

She looked pale and haggard still, but not nearly as bad as she had when the creature was feeding off of her. He could already see color beginning to return to her cheeks. Still she was visibly shaking and he breathing was coming in sharp gasps.

She raised her head, met his golden eyes and then her face seemed to dissolve as tears began to pour over her eyelids.

In an instant Spike was on his knees next to her. Even if he weren’t a vampire he would have been able to sense the bone chilling terror inside of her.

Without even thinking about what he was doing or why he felt the overwhelming need to do it, he pulled her into his arms and began stroking her hair, holding her shivering form close to him.

She whimpered then began to sob against him. “I felt so cold and empty.” She cried. “I couldn’t move, I couldn’t stop it.”

“Shhh. Its ok, luv. I’ve got you now. Its dead.” He told her quietly, never ceasing his movements.

He rocked her back and forth, talking to her softly and occasionally brushing his lips softly against her forehead. It was all completely instinctive. He wasn’t consciously aware of what he was doing, all he knew was that she was scared and upset and he wanted to make it better. Who they were and what their roles were never entered into his mind.

Her sobs quieted after a time, then her crying slowed before coming to a stop. He could feel the fear draining out of her slowly.

She pulled away from him finally, still sniffling. She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes determinedly.

“Some Slayer I am. She turned her face away from him. “I fall apart over a stupid bug. No wonder I never got a Slayer handbook.” She started to stand up, but Spike grabbed her arm and made her look back at him.

“You are one of the bravest creatures I’ve encountered, Slayer.” He told her seriously. “It’s ok to have things that scare you, but you have never let that fear rule you.”

Buffy stared at him in shock. The look in his eyes made her feel warm inside, it shook her to the bone. Who was this vampire? She had now idea there was so much more to him than she assumed.

The stayed that way for a few seconds, Buffy lost in his eyes and the words he had spoken. Neither one of them seemed to be aware that they were gradually moving closer and closer to each other.

Buffy tilted her head slightly, and her eyes almost closed as she prepared for the inevitable touch of his lips against hers. She licked her lips, and watched his eyes focus on her tongue before he opened his mouth and moved his head forward to close the last distance between them.

Just then the creature managed to flip itself over, causing them to jump apart and look at it in apprehension. They could see its wounds were beginning to close and where Spike had torn off the antenna a new one was already starting to grow back in its place.

“I thought you killed it.” Buffy said nervously.

“I thought I did.” He answered.

He glanced down at the claw, their only weapon. He looked at her, shrugged, then leapt forward and drove the arm down through the top part of the creature, near its antenna. It went through its body and down into the rock below. It jerked, and then lay still.

“Is it dead now?” Buffy asked.

Spike didn’t answer her at first, just watched it carefully. He saw one of its back legs start to twitch, then the others followed suit as it tried to move and wriggle, but couldn’t because of the claw.

“No.” Spike turned and walked towards Buffy, he took her arm and began to lead her away from the thing. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Don’t you think we should take the claw?” She asked.

Spike turned back to the creature. “I think that will buy us time. It will take it a while to get out of that, I hope.”

Buffy looked back worriedly.

“Come on pet, we need to get moving.” They turned as one and began to move through the corridors.

After a few steps Buffy spoke quietly. “Thank you.” She said. “For saving my life and for what you said.”

Spike didn’t respond. He honestly didn’t know what to say.

Behind them the creature began to heal itself again, its remaining antenna reaching out in the direction Buffy had gone, its legs squirmed to be moving again. It had a taste of her sweet life and it wasn’t going to stop until it devoured it all.

Chapter 7 Trust Given

After walking in silence for a while, Buffy finally spoke. “Spike, do you have thrall?”

“Thrall?” He snorted. “No. That’s for pansies who don’t want to do any work when they go hunting.”

“But Dru has thrall doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So it would stand to reason that you have some of the same gifts she does, right?” Spike stopped walking and turned to stare at her incredulously. “So maybe you have it even if you don’t realize you have it.” Buffy continued not looking at him.

“Bloody hell. You think that I put some kind of thrall mojo on you to make you react the way you did to my biting you?!”

Buffy still wouldn’t look at him, but her face turned a bright red color. Spike grabbed her arm and turned her to face him.

“Listen to me very carefully, Slayer, because I WON’T be saying this again. I don’t have thrall and I’m not doing anything to you. I won’t hurt you, I’m not playing with you and I’m not trying to make you do or feel anything against your will. We have a deal, you and I. We are working together to get out of this mess and I don’t break my deals. When I give my word to something than it means something. Just because you can’t control your body’s reactions is no reason to put that off on me.”

“I CAN too control my body. I am very good at controlling myself, just ask Angel. And if you don’t have thrall than why didn’t Angel ever have that kind of effect on me, huh?”

The smile that spread across Spike’s face should have let her know she just said something wrong, but she was too upset to think about it. She was hungry, tired and scared; and these feelings, or whatever they were, that kept popping were confusing her.

Spike, meanwhile, had been berating himself in his mind since the incident before. It had been one thing to have a truce with the Slayer not once, but twice. However, his reaction to washing her back and what had happened while she was sleeping was completely unacceptable.

He was a vicious killer and this was his prey, the Slayer!!!

The worst part was after he pulled that centipede creature off of her he had the overwhelming urge to comfort her and be nice! And for a brief moment, he even wanted to kiss her; he wanted to find out if those lush lips tasted as sweet as they looked.

But as it turned out, the Slayer wasn’t as disgusted by these events as she pretended. In fact, it seemed like she was as affected as he was.

‘Angel never had that affect on her?’ he thought to himself. ‘Well, well, well.’

“So you get more of a reaction from the Big Bad biting you, than you did from the Poofter?”

“I didn’t say that!”

“Yes you did. You said ‘why didn’t Angel ever have that kind of effect on me’. ”

“You are just impossible. Forget I said anything.” Buffy fumed. She wrenched her arm away from him and stormed down the cavern.

Unwilling to let this go, Spike followed after her still wearing his large grin. He let her stew for a few minutes before speaking.

“Maybe its because Angel’s too tame for the likes of you. Maybe you need a bit more edge to your man.”

”That ridiculous!!” Buffy scoffed. “Angel’s a vampire too, remember? He was the Scourge of Europe.” She stopped and reminded herself that wasn’t a good thing and Angel certainly wouldn’t appreciate her bragging about that fact.

“He WAS part of it, so was I. The key word in his case being ‘WAS’. Now he’s just an ineffectual, brooding, whining, git who can’t even get his rocks off without become a supreme wanker with more than a few screws loose.”

Buffy glared at Spike. “I really hate you, you know that right?” She looked away. “And Angel is not ineffectual. He helps me all the time.”

‘With cryptic clues and disappearing acts.’ A voice in her head sounded. ‘Lets not forget the mixed signals about our whole relationship I have been wading through for over two years now.’

Buffy pushed aside the treacherous thoughts.

“I love Angel and there is nothing you and your thrall can do to make me stop.”

Furious, but unable to explain why, Spike moved without thinking. Without another word he spun around, grabbed her hips and pushed her back against the moss covered wall. Buffy put her hands against his chest to push him away, but found herself unable to do so.

Boy, her hands fit nicely over his pecs.

Spike pressed the full length of his body against hers. “I told you before I don’t have thrall Slayer.” He whispered against her ear, causing her to shiver against him.

Bad shivers.

Not good shivers.

Not the kind of shivers that raced through her body and centered in her groin.

And she certainly did not feel heat radiating through her hips from where his hands gripped her.

“So when you have reactions like that.” He said noticing the increase in her heart rate. “Its all on you pet, not me.”

He watched her eyes darken and felt himself harden against her. He knew he should let her go, get away from her and get himself under control. But he couldn’t seem to make himself let go.

He was shocked when he eyes took on a defiant edge to them and she pressed herself more tightly against him, grinding her hips against his pelvis.

A strangled moan escaped, before he could stop himself.

“Really, Spike?” Buffy murmured. Her voice was as sweet as honey. Her warm hands began to move slowly over his chest. “Because it feels to me like it’s on both of us.”

She looked up into his clear blue eyes now unfocused with lust. She felt his hands move lower trying to get beyond the thin material of his shirts that covered her. She arched even more towards him, trying to help him.

This was not what she had planned, she had just wanted him to shut up and quit playing with her. She wasn’t planning on getting caught in her own trap, but his hands felt so good and his body pressed into her had her trembling in his arms.

‘God, she was warm’, Spike thought.

Trying to hold onto Drusilla, even when she was lucid and not crying for her ‘Daddy’, was like trying to hold onto a shard of ice.

Cold and sharp. Satisfying in its own way for a vampire.

Never before had Spike felt anything like this. Buffy was warm and soft, with an underlying steel. He remembered his dream before, pounding inside of her, while drinking her blood. Surrounded by this warmth, while at the same time feeling it coursing through his veins. Feeling her hot breath whimpering in his ear, crying out for him, not Angel.

With a growl he gripped her bottom tightly completely unable to let her go. He forced himself to pull back slightly to look into her eyes needing to see if this is what she really wanted. He found no hesitation, confusion or fright. Just a desire that seemed as out of control as his own.

Her eyes were so clear and deep, he felt like she was already swallowing him up whole.

“Buffy…” He stopped, unsure of what to say, but certain if he kept speaking love sonnets would pour from his lips.

“Spike…” She answered. It was a plea. A plea for him, sounding so much like his dream he lost all control.

He kissed her hard, her mouth opened under him automatically under his without any hesitation. Their tongues curled around each other, trying to alleviate some of the need that was building up inside of them.

One of her hands stopped its exploration of his chest and wrapped around his neck, trying to make sure he couldn’t get away from her, couldn’t stop whatever it was he was doing that was causing this burn inside of her.

Spike growled again at her gesture, causing her to gasp against him when she felt the vibrations run through her whole body. She raised on leg and wrapped it over his hip, needing to feel him closer.

He needed to be closer to her. Much, much closer.

Spike couldn’t take it anymore; he had to be inside of her. The warmth of her sex was burning him, even through the heavy denim and zipper of his pants. He tore his mouth from hers, giving her one more deep kiss when he saw her tongue slip out as if chasing his.

He rested his forehead against her while he tried to collect his tangled thoughts enough to form words. He noticed he was gasping in time with her so that every exhale she made he inhaled it; the intimacy of the act had him trembling.

“Slayer.” He gasped. “Buffy, if we don’t stop now, I won’t be able to. So you have to be sure.”

He watched his words sink into her brain through her lust. Her eyes widened as she realized exactly WHAT was going on.

Spike cursed himself for giving her an out, but he couldn’t take her with the risk that she would later regret it and look at him with loathing.

The irony of that wasn’t lost on him either.

“Behind you.” Buffy gasped out.

Her voice startled him back to the present, but he was confused. “What?” He asked dumbly.

Her eyes were wide with panic now. “Behind you!!!” She screamed. She dug her nails into his flesh where her arms were and threw them both to the side so they landed inelegantly in a heap on the ground.

Just barely missing a large stone club that fell where they were just standing.

Buffy immediately untangled herself and jumped up. While Spike’s brain tried to catch up with what was happening. His eyes followed the source of the club to a large lizard creature that stood a good foot taller than either of them. It had long arms that ended with sharp claws and razor sharp teeth in its large mouth.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Spike saw something moving towards him quickly. He moved instinctively, rolling backwards on the ground, over his head. When he came to his feet he stood quickly and jumped back. The end of the creature’s tail, which looked almost like and axe blade, missed his nose by a fraction of a centimeter.

He glanced towards Buffy and saw her looking at him worriedly. He couldn’t help the cocky grin that came over him and he raised an eyebrow as if to say ‘Well of course I’m all right.’

She shook her head, and then jumped farther away from him to avoid the tail as it swung towards her.

Spike couldn’t see her land because the creature was suddenly facing him and between them. He did hear her yell, though. “Spike!!! There are more of them back here.”

The one in front of him tried to strike at him with its mouth, looking like a bird trying to catch a worm. Spike managed to avoid it, but then the stone club met him directly in the chest and batted him back towards the creature’s mouth. He lay on his back, stunned. It probably would have been the moment that he died, if he hadn’t seen something that scared him into action.

He moved without thought. His voice was already screaming out Buffy’s name as he vamped and launched himself at the lizard, deftly avoiding its talons as he moved towards its throat.

“Buffy, run!! Get out of here, now!” He screamed. Whether she couldn’t hear him over the noise of the battle or she couldn’t get away, he didn’t know. He grabbed the creature’s head and twisted it violently. Its teeth managed to grab onto one of his arms, but he moved quickly and while the bite was painful, but his arm was still attached.

Spike didn’t even pause, as the creature’s neck snapped and it fell to the ground. He moved on, until he was standing next to Buffy who was facing four more of the creatures.

She had several cuts on her; he could smell the perfume of her blood in the air. None of her injuries appeared to be too serious, but he could see the exhaustion in her eyes as she tried to avoid all four tails, clubs, and teeth.

The creatures, seeing Spike’s arrival decided to split up their attack with two of the reptiles focusing on him instead.

“RUN!” He roared at her. She looked at him surprised. “Don’t look at me stupidly, run!” He insisted. “I’ll hold them off until you get away.”

They both ducked and rolled away from two different attacks.

“Have you lost your mind?” She yelled when she stood up. “I’m not leaving you here alone.”

“You have to get out of here now.” He screamed. Then, he launched himself at one of the creatures. This time he wasn’t so lucky and felt one of its talons rip into his legs. He didn’t stop moving though, even as he yelled out in pain. He grabbed the creature’s head and snapped its neck.

Before the creature could fall, another one grabbed him by the waist and threw him against the wall. He was dismayed to find Buffy by his side instantly.

“Run.” He gasped. “It’s going to get you.” His voice wasn’t nearly as strong as before since the pain was beginning to sink into him.

“What..” Then she saw. It was moving quickly along the ceiling, about to overtake the reptiles.

The centipede creature.

“Oh my god.” Buffy said.

“You have to run, Slayer. You have to go now.”

Buffy shook her head no, but her eyes never left the creature moving along the ceiling. She watched as it came to where the reptile creatures now circled her and Spike who were back against the stone wall.

The reptiles lifted their clubs and Buffy decided that she would rather die like that, than let the centipede steal her life force. She wasn’t even aware of the fact she was gripping Spike’s hand tightly, as she faced, what she was certain was her death.

Luckily fate intervened. The centipede creature decided to drop down on the unmoving reptiles, thinking them to be boulders. The reptile it landed on, screeched out in shock and its comrades acted immediately. Thinking their brother was in danger; they began clubbing the centipede that crawled down his head.

The attacked reptile retaliated by swinging at his attackers and soon all three were busy trying to kill each other, forgetting about Spike and Buffy. The centipede was partially smashed in between them, but parts of it were still moving and its working antenna reached out towards Buffy from the melee.

Spike slowly stood up, letting go of Buffy’s hand. He stretched trying to make sure all of his parts were attached. He looked down at the Slayer who was still crouched there anticipating a deathblow.

“We need to get out of here.” He told her quietly, not wanting to attract their attention again. He extended his hand to her, to help her up.

She looked up at him for a moment. He was still in game face; blood soaked his jeans and ran down his arm.

“You are going to need to feed to heal fast.” She stated.

Spike didn’t say anything, knowing she was right, but unable to ask.

Buffy looked into his eyes as she reached up to take his hand. “But we need to get a lead on them first. Then we can stop get some blood into you.”

After he helped her stand she squeezed his hand lightly. They moved away from the fight still going on behind them. Every few steps until they rounded the corner, one of them would look back to make sure the centipede hadn’t escaped yet.
 

Chapter 8: Dreams of the Past

After they were well beyond the fight, still raging behind them, Spike started to run.
He ran blindly.
He was only aware of two things, the feeling of Buffy’s hand in his and the need to get as far away from the centipede creature as possible. He could hear her heartbeat pounding in his own ears in cadence with their feet. The scent of her fear burned into his nose.
Taking sharp turns whenever he could, Spike hoped to confuse the creature of their whereabouts. Several times now, they’d had to stop short and backtrack quickly because of something large and nasty. Neither one had the strength or stamina for another confrontation.
It was only when Buffy stumbled, pulling sharply at his arm, did he notice she was on the verge of collapse. He slowed his pace only slightly and tore his hand away from hers. When she stumbled into him, he grabbed her around the waist pulling her along next to him.
The jolt of pain through his arm reminded him of his wounds and he almost stumbled himself.
“Just a bit more, pet.” He said. “Just a bit more and we can stop and rest.”
Buffy nodded her head in agreement, too out of breath to speak. Spike knew from the exhaustion on her face she wasn’t going to last too much longer though.
As they ran he started to pay more attention to their surrounding. He extended his senses outward trying to see if there was anything dangerous close by, he also looked for an easily defensible place for them to hole up in.
After a few minutes something caught his eye. One tunnel, almost hidden by a sharp turn to the left, dimmer than the other tunnels around it.
Spike slowed to a walk, Buffy leaned heavily against him, and approached the small opening. He looked up at the mist moving above them and realized that it didn’t enter into the aperture; it appeared to flow around it instead.
“I think I’ve found something.” Spike told Buffy cautiously. It didn’t appear as if she even heard him, her eyes were glassy, and Spike was certain if he let her, she would fall on the ground and not get up.
When they reached the entrance, Spike could see the alcove was only about seven feet deep and there wasn’t any of the phosphorescent moss growing on the back wall. Most of the moss on the sides were thin and didn’t produce much light at all either. Looking upwards revealed that the mist did in fact enter into this cubbyhole, but it was also much thinner.
“I think this it.” He said aloud. He shook Buffy to try and get her to focus her attention on their surroundings.
A shiver ran through her as her eyes focused. A slight movement of her head, up and down, was the only acknowledgement he received. Then a deeper shiver ran through her. The air in the hole was more damp without the insulation of the moss on the walls it was obviously chilling her sweat soaked body.
Spike again loosened his grip on her as quickly stripped off his duster and wrapped it around her tightly. Then he led her to the back of the alcove and helped her sit down near the back wall.
“I’m going to go grab some of that moss stuff so you can hydrate. I’ll be right back.”
When he returned a few moments later, she was still trying to catch her breath. He handed her a fistful of the colorful, glowing substance.
“Here you go.” He offered it to her, but she didn’t reach to take it. Confused he knelt down in front of her; her eyes were focused and awake. “Slayer?” He offered her the moss again. This time she shook her head no.
Spike sighed. “Come on now. Don’t be difficult.” He tried again to hand it to her, this time when she didn’t move to accept it he grabbed her hand and pushed it into her palm.
“No.” Her voice, clear and strong surprised him. He looked at her and could see fierce determination in her gaze. He looked away and clenched his jaw. For a few seconds neither of them moved. Then he grabbed one of his few remaining cigarettes out of his jeans pocket. He lit it as he moved across the narrow space to sit with his back against the wall and face her.
He smoked about half of the cigarette before he looked up at her again. “So that’s it, you’re just going to give up then?”
“Not exactly.” She answered, the steel in her voice mirrored the strength in her gaze.
“Really?” He chuckled, and then took another drag. “See, you could have fooled me. Because this,” he gestured towards her. “This looks like giving up.”
She leaned forward and stared at him intently. “That thing is hunting me. It seems to be able to track me somehow and we can’t kill it.” A visible shiver ran through her. Spike wanted to go over to her and ease her shakes, but he didn’t. He wasn’t going to condone her self-pity. “You told me that my blood could sustain you for a long time. What would it be like if you took it all?”
Spike froze with the cigarette halfway to his mouth. “What are you on about?”
Buffy swallowed. “If you kill me, then you might have the strength…
“NO!!” Spike yelled.
“…to kill that thing.”
“NO!!” He yelled again, jumping up.
“Spike…”
“Get it out of your head right now, Summers.”
“…you might be strong enough to make it out of here.”
“I am NOT helping you kill yourself.”
“If you don’t then we are both probably going to die.” Buffy yelled back.
Spike shrugged.
“Spike, don’t you want to get out of here.”
“Don’t know. I’m kind of getting used to this lighting down here.” Spike looked down at himself. “I think it flatters my complexion, don’t you?”
“Would you get serious?” Buffy snapped, finally losing the calm and controlled act she had put on.
“I am being serious.” Spike looked over at her. “You mean you don’t think this is good lighting for me. I bet I look pretty damn sexy in this light.”
Buffy gaped at him disbelieving. “Did those things hit you on your head?”
Spike knelt down in front of her again. “Maybe that’s it.” He commented.
“What? You’ve suffered brain damage?”
“No.” He answered with a grin. “Maybe you’re just afraid that if you are around my sexy body much longer, you won’t be to help yourself. You’ll just jump my bones.” He leaned in towards her, planning on kissing her.
Buffy pushed him away angrily. “Would you get over yourself?” She snapped.
Seeing that she wasn’t going to let him distract her from her plan Spike took another course. Grabbing her shoulders so she couldn’t turn away he looked her straight in the eye.
“Remember how I told you before how brave I thought you were? How you didn’t let your fears rule you?”
Buffy ducked her head, so he grabbed her chin and made her face him.
“I know you are afraid Buffy. I know that you are far from home and you don’t have your Watcher or your friends here to back you up. I know that you miss your mum and you are tired and hungry.” Tears began to fill in her eyes. “But you can’t give up. You can’t let these wankers win.”
“How can I fight them when every day it gets harder and harder just to keep up with you?” She asked him quietly. “Soon I won’t be able to and then you’ll have to leave me behind anyway.”
“Never.” He swore. “We made a deal, you and I. And while I may not be your first choice of back up, I DO have your back, Slayer. I promise you, I won’t let that thing get its mitts on you. We are going to walk out of here together, you have my word on that.” He finished earnestly.
Buffy stared at him. “Who are you?” She asked.
Spike grinned. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Now, how about you get some sleep?”
“Ok.”
“But first, I want you to try and get some liquid in you.” Buffy looked at the moss she dropped on the ground.
“But it’s all icky now.”
Spike rolled his eyes and stood up. “Well, it just so happens I know where there’s more.”
This time when he returned he was relieved to see her accept the moss and immediately begin sucking on it.
“You know after this, I’m never going to complain about tap water again.”
Spike made a face. “You don’t actually drink that, do you?”
“No, mom won’t let me drink any water that actually fizzes after you get a glass.”
“Your mum’s a smart lady, drinking town water, when that town is over a Hellmouth isn’t usually a good idea.”
Buffy didn’t answer right away, then, “What do you think she’s doing right now?”
“She’s probably with the Watcher and the rest of your little friends trying to figure out where you are.” Spike sat down next to her.
“I miss them a lot.” Buffy whispered.
“Try and get some sleep. You’ll feel better after a kip.”
“What’s a kip?”
Spike sighed. “Its means ‘get some sleep’. So go to sleep.”
“This isn’t exactly the most comfortable place to sleep, you know.”
“Come ‘ere.” Spike said.
“Where?” Buffy asked suspiciously.
“Move closer to me and you can put your head on my shoulder.”
“On your shoulder?”
“Yes, Slayer on my shoulder. Its not a down pillow, but I bet its better than damp stone.” Buffy still looked doubtful. “Look, its not like I’m going to do anything while your asleep, provided you keep your hands to yourself.”
Buffy turned bright red, but finally moved over and lay her head down on his shoulder.
“But you still need to eat to heal.” She protested tiredly.
“You just want to get my hands on your body, huh Slayer?”
“You PIG!! Forget I said anything, sit there and bleed for all I care.”
Spike chuckled at her vehement denial.
‘The lady doth protest too much.’ He thought smugly.
Buffy ignored him and made a production of getting comfortable on his shoulder.
Then, for a long while they sat like that in complete silence.
“Slayer.”
“Hmmm.”
“Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“How do you know I’m not?”
“I can tell by your breathing, and the fact you’re answering me.”
“I don’t know.” She whined. “I’m trying, but I can’t relax.”
“Well try.”
“I usually listen to music before I go to sleep.”
“I don’t exactly have a radio at my disposal.” Spike said.
“I know.” Buffy pouted, then she brightened. “But you could tell me a story!”
“A story? What kind of story?”
“A good story, something to take my mind off this place.”
“I don’t know any stories.”
Buffy raised her head to look at him.
“You mean to tell me you’ve lived this long and you don’t know any stories?”
“None that you would want to hear.” When she glared at him, he further explained. “Do you want to hear about the glory days when your ex was his soulless self?”
“I guess not.” She grudgingly admitted. “It was just an idea.”
Spike sighed and shook his head.
God she was a pain. She couldn’t go to sleep so he was supposed to entertain her.
Spike sighed.
“Once a long time ago there was this poncy little boy named Billy. Billy was your typical poncy momma’s boy. He wrote poetry and believed in true love and he was certain that someday he would grow up and find the woman of his dreams. She would love him in return and the two of them would have a relationship that was so strong it would be the stuff great stories were written about. Their love would be like magic, able to work miracles. They would travel the world together, always taking his mother along, of course. Traveling to see all the beautiful sites there are to see in the world.”
When the words started to come out he didn’t even realized they were coming from him until she raised her eyes to stare at him. The amazement and gratitude in them made him continue on when embarrassment threatened to quiet him. As he continued, his voice changed into a much more cultured and smooth voice. It lulled her eyes closed in a manner of seconds. The story he told now becoming a part of her dreamscape, but Spike didn’t notice, too caught up in the memories and feelings from years before, and a person he had long since ceased to be.


Meanwhile upstairs, the Vampire Council was in the middle of one of its sessions when suddenly there was an interruption.

“My lordssss, forgive me.” In the center of the room, a cloud of mist suddenly bubbled up.

“What is the meaning of this?” Mastema yelled out.

“My lord, the Sssslayer and the vampire have dissssappeared.”

“Disappeared? How? That shouldn’t be possible. Have they escaped somehow?”

Quiet murmurs began to occur around the room as several members of the Council wondered how something like this could have happened.

“No Massster, they were running from the Ugallu-demon and then they disappeared.”

The murmurs became louder at the mention of an Ugallu-demon.

“…Thought it was destroyed before the Earth was made…”

“…belonged in the army of Tiamak…”

“…Marduk destroyed before creating Babylon…”

“…hunting the Slayer…”

“Ipwet, why would your vampire still choose to side with the Slayer, they won’t be able to escape it or kill it?” Rangda hissed.

Ipwet silenced her with a glance, focusing instead on Mastema and the mist in front of them.

“It issss like what happened before.” The mist said softly, Ipwet didn’t think any of the others heard, too intent on their gossip.

“But that one, was an exception, he built the Garden.”

Mastema spoke so sharply that it silenced everyone. “Then I’ll send guards down. They will come back with the Slayer’s head and Williams coat or they will STAY there!!!” He ended in a roar.

Guards standing next to the doorways into the meeting room scurried out to assign vampires to go investigate, hoping they wouldn’t also have to go down into the Garden.


Buffy didn’t know exactly how she had gotten here, but she was in a large parlor, dressed in some frilly dress that was more overdone in lace and frou-frou than the dress she had worn for Halloween. All around her young people talked and laughed, none of them looked familiar.
One voice suddenly rose above the others and started reciting poetry. Buffy moved in closer to hear him better. She enjoyed the poem; she thought it sweet that this man had written a poem for his ladylove. No one she knew had ever written a poem like that.
Whoever, his girlfriend was, she was a lucky woman, Buffy thought jealously.
Her thoughts were cut short by the cruel and bitter laughter that erupted around her. In the center of the group of people, was another man. Buffy couldn’t make out what he looked like because he had his back to her. She watched him rush off after a woman who had left moments before looking upset.
It took a few moments before she caught up with the comments from those standing around her.
“You know they call him ‘William the Bloody’ because of his bloody awful poetry?” A snotty young man said, next to her.
Buffy felt compelled to follow after the poet. She wanted to see the eyes of the man who could put himself out like that. She took off, hoping he hadn’t gone too far ahead of her. She just about gave up hope, thinking she lost him when she heard voices talking.
“William, you’re beneath me.”
Buffy had been approaching a curtained off couch, when those words were spoken, she wasn’t prepared for the young poet to come storming out. He moved to fast for her to see what he looked like. He mumbled an apology for pushing into her and ran past. Buffy stared at the couch he just departed and gasped when she saw a female demon sitting there quite comfortably, looking very pleased with herself.
Suddenly, afraid for the young poet she took off after him again. She raced outside with no thought of a coat and chased after his back as he moved quickly down the street. She saw him turn into an old barn, and she barreled in right after him. He turned towards her surprised at her presence. His eyes were a deep blue and filled with sadness and tears. It seemed then that tears filled her eyes because the young poet swam before her vision and then Spike stood before her with the same blue eyes.
There was movement off to the side and then Drusilla seemed to step through her towards Spike.
No, it wasn’t Spike it was the young poet. Then it was Spike again.
Drusilla reached out and touched his cheek and then Buffy knew. Before she could even react though, if felt like someone pushed her hard.
“Buffy, we’ve got company, luv. Time to wake up.”
Her body shook again and her eyes flew open. “Spike, it was you. It was you that…”
Rocks rained down on her as the entire tunnel shook.
“What the hell?” She shouted.
“Our exit is blocked and unless we can convince that thing to go away we’re going to get crushed.” Spike shouted. More rocks came down as something loud roared at the entrance and what looked like a large stinger entered and raked against the ceiling pulling down boulders.

Chapter 9: An Ally

“Spike!” Buffy yelled over the sound of falling rocks. A boulder dropped onto her should pushing her to her knees. “Do Something!”

Even though he was only on the other side of the narrow space, he couldn’t reach her with the stinger flying wildly through the air and the rocks falling down on them.

“I can’t.” Spike yelled back in frustration. “I can’t get around this damn thing and I can’t get a hold of it either.”

Buffy struggled to climb to her feet, but soon gave up, feeling all of her injuries screaming in protest. Instead she crouched on the ground with her arms covering her head trying to avoid being knocked unconscious.

“If you would have listened to me in the first place, maybe you would be able to do something.” She cried.

Spike flattened himself against the wall, as the stinger flew towards him but it still managed to cut into his chest. Thankfully the poison that dripped from the end didn’t have time to get into his system. “What are you blathering about, Slayer?” He gritted his teeth against the pain.

“If you had finished me off like I told you to.” She insisted. A whimper of pain escaped her as more rocks fell on top of her.

“Bloody buggering hell!!” Spike swore. This stupid fucking stubborn bint, any excuse to prove that she was right and he was wrong.

“Get your arse over here, Slayer. I’ll be more than happy to drain you RIGHT now!” He roared. Deep inside he knew his rage was also fueled by his concern that she wasn’t going to make it against this new attack.

“No!” Buffy yelled back, trying to keep from crying at the pain, exhaustion and the helplessness of the situation. “You had your chance and you turned me down.”

“ARRGH!!” Spike growled out. “Well, you had better hope we die here, because if we don’t, I’m going to wring your bloody neck!”

Buffy didn’t have the strength to yell anymore. “You are more than welcome to try Blood Breath.” She gasped.

Spike saw her drop her arms as more rocks poured over her. He waited until the stinger drew back and then tried to dive across the space to shelter her from the falling rocks, but he didn’t take into account the rocks that were also falling on him. One hit him in the leg, and he fell flat on his face across the tunnel.

Buffy raised her head and met his eyes. In that instant it all disappeared, the rocks, the creature, even this dungeon. It was just the two of them.

She reached out and took his hand, tears gathered in her eyes, but didn’t fall.

“I saw you.” She whispered.

Spike’s eyes widened. “Buffy…Ahhh FUCK!!” He yelled as the stinger came down and pierced his shoulder. This time he could feel the poison pumping through his veins paralyzing him.

“Spike.” Buffy cried, but knew there was nothing she could do. She was too weak. In a matter of seconds, he lay there immobile. “Don’t you dare dust on me, Bleach Brain.”

The creature must have known it hit something because instead of trying to attack now it seemed to be trying to pull its prey out of the tunnel by dragging along the ground. Buffy tried to keep a hold of Spike’s hand and not let the creature have him, but she was too weak and it kept pulling him closer to the entrance.

“Over here.” A loud voice bellowed. Buffy looked behind them and where there was once a solid stone wall there was now a doorway and a dull red arm poking though gesturing her over. “Well, come on. What are you waiting for?” The voice urged.

“He can’t move.” Buffy said desperately. “Please help us.” The thought that this being might not be friendly never crossed her mind.

The creature was getting frustrated the its prey wasn’t coming out as easily as it wanted so again it raised up preparing to sting again. This time when it loosened rocks along the ceiling one came crashing down on Buffy’s head knocking her unconscious.


Upstairs Mastema sat alone in his hall wondering what to do about William and the Slayer. That they were still alive he had no doubt, he could feel the younger vampire clearly and he was certain the Slayer was still with him.

He could only assume that the Wild Card had decided to step in again.

Mastema cursed aloud as he wished once again he could get rid of that one once and for all. Honestly, if he could just find the creature he would be willing to send him back to his own people just to be rid of him, but he couldn’t find him.

Not too surprising since that creature was the one who had built the Garden. Mastema had planned on killing him, but he had found out and had gone into hiding down there many years before.

Most of the time Mastema could forget about him, but then he would appear again, or do something that made it apparent that he still lived down there.

On top of all of this Mastema sensed there was trouble within the Council. He wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but he was certain there were those among them plotting against him. He suspected it was Baraqel, that one was hungry for power. Yet there were many others who also hungered for power.

And losing William in the Slayer would be seen as weakness to those who were plotting against him.

Mastema thought about Ipwet. That one had been a surprise. She was bold and cunning, yet she also had intelligence enough to know her limits. Maybe he could use her to try and find out which of the Council were plotting his demise. He could offer her a more powerful seat on the Council if she succeeded in helping him. The bucking of traditions would upset the older members, but maybe they needed to be upset. Maybe it would put them back in their place to lose some of their power.

His mind again when back to the now missing William. Perhaps Ipwet was right about that one. He would have made a spectacular ‘Second’ to him. All that would be needed would be to reign in his free spirit and rebellious nature, but most vampires could control that if they were offered the right incentive.

It was such a shame that instead he would have to be killed.



Buffy came awake slowly. She opened her eyes and saw a red face with bright white hair staring down at her. She scrambled backwards only to bump into someone else. She turned her head and saw Spike sitting up against a stone wall.

“Spike are you ok?” She asked urgently, glancing back at the creature who had by now backed up away from her.

“Ah, he’s a vampire. He’ll be just fine once the poison gets out of his system.” The creature drawled. Buffy turned to face him fully.

His skin was all the same dull red color; the only break in it was the bright white hair that only stood about a quarter inch off his head and what appeared to be blue jeans that covered his four legs. He stood about six and half feet tall and also had an extra pair of arms to match his extra pair of legs.

“If you try anything, I will gut you.” Buffy told him, hoping she sounded stronger than she felt.

“Hey now, is that anyway to treat someone who just helped you?” She noticed he had a deep Southern accent. Actually, his voice sounded almost exactly like that actor who married Angelina Jolie. Billy Bob Something.

“The question is why did you help us?” Buffy asked suspiciously.

“Well shoot, I see someone about to get eaten by one of those things, I figured you might need a hand.”

“Are you one of the Old Man’s ‘pets’.” Spike’s voice rasped. Buffy looked back at him relieved to see he was indeed regaining control of his body.

“More like one of the inmates. Actually I’m usually the only one, most of the others I find too late, and they’ve already been dinner and they are on their way out the other end. Know what I mean?” He gave a chuckle.

Spike and Buffy exchanged a look; Buffy tried a polite smile and nod.

“How long have you been here?”

“I have no idea. You can’t really tell time down here, you know. I tried to keep a count of the days at first, but then some days I forgot to mark and other days lasted so long I marked them twice. I’ve never been real good at keeping up with things.”

“How did you get here?” Buffy asked.

“I was here before all those monsters. I built this place.”

“What do you mean you built this place?” Spike asked. He kept trying to move his arm, but so far with no luck. Without him saying anything Buffy seemed to know what he was doing. She moved carefully so she didn’t aggravate any of her injuries and began to rub on his arms, attempting to get them moving again sooner.

“I mean I built it.” The creature told them. “My kind are known for our digging abilities. We have a way of working with dirt and rock. We can make a palace out of a coal mine, know what I mean?”

Buffy gave Spike an incredulous look.

“Sure we do.” Spike said, to keep the guy talking.

“So this vampire shows up and offers a good deal of gold to anyone willing to come and work on his dungeon. Now my people don’t usually take contract work, but I had made some mistakes in my past, so I didn’t have all of the things most of my people did. Personally, I couldn’t care less, but then I had a litter. That changes a man.”

Buffy was saw that Spike was now able to move his arm, so she moved so she could rub on the other one.

“So you decided to take the job?”

“Shit yeah. For what he was willing to pay, I could guarantee my girls got into the best schools and had the best things.” The creature smiled proudly. “They were all girls, my litter. And the prettiest little girls in the whole community. Even the ones who didn’t like me had to admit that.”

He sighed. “They probably think I’m dead now, either that or their momma convinced them I abandoned them with the gold.”

“What happened?” Buffy asked gently.

“I was just about finished here when I heard some of the vampires talking about how they needed to finish ME off. Well I showed them. I took off into the ground and they haven’t been able to find me since. Plus all those nasty creatures they keep in there can’t get to me either.”

“Why didn’t you just dig your way out then?” Spike asked.

The creature looked very sheepish. “That’s the one problem with my people, we can’t dig up and to get out of here I would have to dig up.”

“What do you mean you can’t dig up?” Buffy asked.

“Just that, we can’t dig up.”

“You can’t dig up.”

The creature looked at her like she was stupid. “No. We can’t dig up. I just said that.” He looked as Spike. “Kinda slow is she?”

Spike grinned. “You get used to it.”

Buffy hit him in the arm. “Ow.” Spike snapped.

“Look’s like you have feeling back in this arm too.” Buffy said sweetly.

“I have a few other appendages you can rub, pet.” Spike said with a grin.

“Gross, Spike.” She said. Then looked away quickly hoping he didn’t notice the blush that crept across her face. “So you save our lives and we don’t even know your name.”

“Oh sorry about that.” He stuck out one of his hands. “Solum. Solum Rocca, Jr.”

“I’m Buffy and this is Spike.” Buffy shook his hand. “Thank you for saving us.”

“Not a problem. You’d be surprised how lonely you get down here after a few years.”

Spike started shaking his legs trying to get the feeling to move down towards his feet so he could walk again. He looked at Buffy and saw how tired and worn she still was, not too mention hungry.

“So what do you eat?” Spike asked him.

“Oh, there’s food all over the place.”

“Please tell me you aren’t talking about demon meat.” Buffy couldn’t help but say.

He gave her a strange look. “Shoot, no. I was talking about fish.”

“Fish!!”

“Yeah, come on I’ll show you.”

Buffy looked at Spike. “Can you walk yet?”

Spike could see the hope in her eyes and even though he really wasn’t ready to, he tried to stand up. “I think I could if you help me.”

She was at his side in an instant. He was surprised at how comfortable he felt in her presence now and how much he had come to depend on her.

“And you left this on the ground, but I grabbed it for you.” Solum said picking Spike’s duster up and handing to him.

“There’s my baby.”

“Its sick how much you depend on that coat.” Buffy said teasingly. Even though things were far from solved, she felt much better here on Solum’s side of the dungeon.

Solum moved off in front of them, leaving them to follow behind.

“Can we trust him, you think?” Buffy whispered soft enough so only Spike could hear her.

“Everything down here has tried to kill us so far.”

“But if he really does have food…” She said longingly.

Spike looked at her. Her cheeks were gaunt and her eyes had dark rings under them. “We’ll check it out. But stay on your guard Slayer.”

"I'm always on my guard Spike." She said.

"Unless you are asleep, or.."

"You do realize I could drop you any time right?" She said.

He just smiled at her certain she would do no such thing.

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