Chapter Thirty-Five
Where’s The Key?
Brad saw the warty little demon just in front of him and with an extra burst of speed that he didn’t know he possessed, pushed him out of the way and ran in through the doorway. With a bone shaking crash he ran headlong into Spike who, at the same instant, had dived for the door. The two of them fell dazed to the floor. Spike recovered first and crawled towards the door.
“Stop him! Pin him down! Nemol’s done something. Remember Laura’s warning,” Brad yelled at Angel.
Angel grabbed hold of Spike, who struggled frantically until he was overcome by another spasm.
“The cell,” gasped Brad, “Put him in there.”
Angel dragged Spike to the glass walled cell and locked the door once he was inside. As soon as it closed Spike feebly banged his fists against it, his body wracked with more pain.
George walked towards the cell holding a bag of blood. “He needs this, Angel.”
“How can we be sure that it’s not poisoned?” asked Brad as he staggered to his feet.
Angel glanced around the room, noticing the mug that Nemol had used.
“Pour some in there and I’ll take a sniff. I’ll be able to tell if it’s been doctored.”
George carefully opened the bag and poured its contents into the mug. Angel vamped up and inhaled deeply.
“No, it’s pure. It hasn’t even been cut with other blood. No wonder Spike’s in such a mess.”
The three of them glanced back towards Spike who was tapping pitifully at the glass.
“Okay, here goes,” said Angel, opening the door and offering the mug to Spike.
Spike snatched it and managed, despite shaking violently, to drink most of it in just a couple of large gulps. He closed his eyes and sighed as the blood hit its mark, taking away the pain and the tremors.
Just as he put the mug down Buffy ran into the room, her blouse covered with gore. No one commented on it. She put the briefcase that she was carrying on the floor.
“Why is he still in there?” she snapped as she saw Spike lying on the floor of the cell.
“We were afraid that Nemol had set a trap or poisoned the blood that he’s addicted to,” explained Brad.
“Well, Nemol’s dead so let’s get him out of here. Angel, do you think you’ll be able to carry him?”
“I won’t need to, Buffy. I don’t know what happened to him but he can walk again.”
“What?” She looked at Spike.
His mind had cleared as the cravings were appeased and he stood up. His eyes never left her face and as he smiled at her, tears fell slowly from them.
Buffy went to him, putting her arms around him. He clung to her, unable to believe that she was there, that he was safe.
“Oh, Spike, thank God.” She wept with relief as she held him.
Spike tried to tell her that he loved her but his words couldn’t be understood. Buffy glanced back at the others fearfully. Why couldn’t he talk? George spoke before she could ask.
“Nemol gave him something; it’s temporary. Don’t worry, it will wear off.”
“Yeah, and then we’ll all be wishing that it hadn’t,” joked Angel.
Buffy took her arms from around Spike and held one of his hands in hers.
“We’re getting out of here – now.” She cuffed Angel on the arm as she and Spike walked past him.
Brad was leaning on the doorframe, not wanting to intrude on the reunion. As Spike walked towards him he noticed the blood dripping from the scratches on his neck.
“What happened to his neck?” he asked. They were obviously fresh wounds.
“When he was craving the blood he tried to claw the collar off,” explained Angel.
“Why haven’t you taken it off?” asked Brad as he stepped back to let Buffy and Spike pass. As he watched Spike he saw something flicker through his eyes. It looked like fear but he was just calmly walking beside Buffy.
“We haven’t got its key,” replied Angel.
Metal! The word seared Brad’s brain. He pushed Spike backwards with all his strength just before he stepped over the threshold.
“What the hell are you doing?” yelled Buffy as Spike’s hand was ripped from hers as he fell sprawling to the floor.
“Saving his life maybe?” replied Brad.
“What?” said Buffy.
All of them were staring at Brad but he concentrated on Spike’s face as he spoke.
“I think that collar is wired up to kill him. I don’t know how but I’m guessing that he shouldn’t leave this room. Remember what Laura said about him not being safe when we thought he was? Something to do with a piece of metal, she said. The collar is metal and so will be its key.”
“But why do you think that it’s the collar?” asked Angel.
“Because you said he’d tried to claw it off,” said Brad, eyes still on Spike who nodded slightly.
“But that was when he was getting withdrawal symptoms. He was going to walk out with Buffy without worrying at his collar again,” said Angel.
“Wait!” said George.
He went to the cupboard where Nemol had kept the supplies of drugs. He rummaged through the contents and then went and knelt next to Spike who was still on the ground.
“Spike, did Nemol put this in the blood? Can you remember?”
Spike shifted his gaze from Brad to George. He stared at the brown powder and then nodded.
“That explains it,” said George, standing up again. “This is what Nemol used to make Spike mute. Another side effect is total obedience if told to do something. Buffy, when you said that you were getting out of here, he had no choice but to do what you wanted.”
“Oh my God,” cried Buffy, aghast, “Spike, will something happen to you if you go out of the room?”
Spike nodded again.
They stood in silence for a moment when they realised how close they’d come to disaster.
“So Nemol meant to kill him and keep your money?” Brad asked George.
“I don’t think so, it wouldn’t be good for business. I told him that I was going to open a portal to my home dimension. We wouldn’t have technically left the room.”
“There must be a key here somewhere so that we can get the thing off him,” said Buffy as she helped Spike to his feet.
“When you grabbed Nemol, I’m sure that he dropped something. I was too busy grabbing the briefcase to see what it was, though,” said Brad.
“You guys go and see if you can find it. I’ll stay here with Spike,” said Buffy.
All three left without protest, knowing that she needed to be alone with Spike. She stood on tiptoe and cupped his face in her hands.
“I love you so much. You do know that, don’t you?” She gazed deeply into his blue eyes.
He nodded and pulled her into his arms, wishing that he could tell her that he loved her too. That he’d known that she’d come for him.
“You’re safe Spike, and Nemol is dead. He can’t hurt you again.” She felt Spike’s body tremble. “What is it? Do you need more blood?”
He shook his head and scowled. Buffy realised that he was shaking with rage. She knew him well enough to know that he would have wanted to kill Nemol himself.
“It’s okay, Spike, it wasn’t quick,” said Buffy coldly, “He suffered for what he did to you.”
Spike looked off, not wanting her to see the tears in his eyes. He nodded his head sharply, let go of her and walked across the room. He kicked angrily at the chains that had held him, wincing at the pain it caused in his bare feet but not caring. He kicked them again and again until Buffy put her hand on his arm.
“Hey, stop that, you’ll hurt yourself,” she said softly, “It’s over, Spike. You’ll never be chained again, I promise.”
He fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands. It was all too much. He knew that he’d stopped kicking the chains because she’d told him to and not because he wanted to. The drug was still controlling his reactions. Then he remembered that he’d always had trouble refusing anything that Buffy had wanted and started to laugh hysterically, closer at that point of breaking down mentally than ever before.
Buffy stared at him in horror, not knowing what to do. You couldn’t tell from the noises that he was making but it looked for all the world like he was laughing.
“Spike?”
He didn’t react to her voice. Unnerved by his behaviour she slapped his face. His head snapped up and he stared at her for a second until his face crumpled and he gave way to the tears that he’d fought for most of his captivity.
Buffy knelt beside him, hugging him tightly as tears of her own ran down her face, crooning soothing words as she stroked his bare back with her hands.
00000000
Spike pulled himself together as he heard the others returning. He sniffed a few times and wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands. He didn’t meet Buffy’s eyes, ashamed at his display of weakness. She kissed his cheek before they both stood up.
Brad walking into the room first, triumphantly holding a strange piece of metal. “We found it! Well, Angel found it when he vamped up and used his special vampy senses. He smelled Nemol on it, for God’s sake! The cops could definitely use him to sniff out drugs.”
Even Spike managed a weak smile at the thought.
“Does this open the collar, Spike?” asked Brad.
Spike wasn’t totally sure but nodded anyway. He wanted the hateful thing off him as soon as he could. He shuddered at the memory of the fate of the demon that wore it before him.
Brad walked up to him and looked at the collar and then the key in his hand. “I’m not sure what to do with it,” he said.
“Let me have a look,” said Angel.
He studied carefully and then slotted the key into the collar and rotated it counterclockwise. With a click the collar snapped open. Angel pulled it off and threw it onto the floor in disgust.
Spike nodded his thanks and rubbed at the raw flesh where it had sat.
“Do you want to go home now?” asked Angel, careful to word it as a question and not an order whilst the obedience drug was still in his system.
Spike nodded and took Buffy’s hand in his. Angel walked in front, picking up the briefcase full of cash. Buffy and Spike were followed out by Brad and George. Buffy felt Spike’s grip on her hand tighten as they stepped through the doorway. She squeezed back to reassure him. She couldn’t help but stare at Spike as he walked beside her. He favoured his right leg a little but he was walking beside her without effort. She bit her lip to keep her tears at bay. She’d gotten him back and he was healed.
tbc
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BANNER BY DAWNOFMEAuthor's Chapter Notes:
Thanks as ever to Carol for her beta work:)