The door opened to show Skuttle himself who ordered, “Enough!”
Everyone’s eyes were on him even Buffy as he entered the room gesturing for Buffy to sit in a chair placed behind her. She glared at him but sat as he took the seat opposite of her. Her injures were starting to be felt by her and she could smell her own blood fill the room.
She wiped the blood that had been dripping into her right eye as she grunted pulling the last of the arrow through her arm. It was the fleshly part of the arm luckily so could have been worse. Buffy peered around to the natives and finally settled her eyes upon Skuttle. He cleared his throat and spoke in English towards Buffy, “I’m not really speaking English but this room is enchanted so I can understand you, and you understand me. We have many demons that come through this place and get brought to me and therefore I have to find a way to understand them. I hope this is convenient for you.”
Buffy scowled, “What would be convenient for me is if you sent me and Spike home where we belong. I have people to do and vampires and demons to slay. Plus I have friends and a family in the real world who is probably looking for me already. So if you would just…”
Skuttle ordered loudly cutting her off mid-sentence, “Enough of your silly babbling slayer. This is a time for me to talk and you to listen if you hope to get out of here alive. You are a slayer. You are human and not meant to be captured by me. In fact you never were meant to be trapped in here only you managed it somehow. Your friend, Spike, on the other hand, is a demon and should be trapped here. This is the deal, you can take it or leave it.”
Buffy listened as he continued, “I can send you back to where you came from still in tact except for the wounds you just were dealt because of your indiscretion and decision to cause trouble. The catch is, you must leave behind everyone else, including Spike. You as a human will have the ability to walk away back home, and this will all seem like a bad dream.”
Buffy hated the deal and replied, “So what happens if I don’t take this disgusting deal?”
Skuttle laughed, “You would not take the deal? Spike is a vampire without a soul. He is a demon who must kill to feed. He lives on blood, lives in the darkness, and hunts to survive. The only reason he is in your little slayer life is because he has a piece of metal in his head. Take the leash off him and he would destroy all you know and love, including yourself. A hunk of metal my dear, doesn’t mean it’s really love.”
Buffy heard the sound of her own voice stating loudly, “You can’t love. Demons can’t love. You can’t love without a soul.” Then she heard her own words echo again, “What, that chip in your head? That's not change. Tha-that's just ... holding you back. You're like a serial killer in prison!” Then she heard the words she spoke to him once after he had chained her up, “It changes everything, Spike! I want you out. I want you out of this town, I want you off this planet! You don't come near me, my friends, or my family again ever! Understand?”
Buffy sighed listening to all her cruelly spoken words and she realized something once and for all, she wanted Spike in her life. Not just a convenient little boyfriend who came and held her close, scratching an itch when she had one. She remembered his words, ”So, what now? You go back to treating me like dirt till the next time you get an itch you can't scratch? Well, forget it. Last night changed things. I'm done being your whipping boy.”
She realized that is what she was still treating him as sometimes. Things had changed since she had said those words last year. She had become a different person as did Spike. He had changed so many ways that she doubted even losing the chip would have an affect on his behavior. He was trying to be good and doing a good job of it if she let herself admit it. She was tired of holding back and waiting for something when she had the something right here in front of her face. Well not right now since the ugly Skuttle was in front of her so she made a decision. She glanced up at Skuttle standing up willing to accept her death, “I have a deal for you. You let Spike go, no questions asked and I’ll stay behind and fight for my right to live or you can just kill me. The only way the deal works though is if you let him go.”
Skuttle looked shocked as he stared at Buffy with wide eyes. Apparently this was not part of his plan, “You’d do that? You’d sacrifice yourself for your dead lover? What kind of slayer are you?”
Buffy stood up a little straighter as she stated, “The kind that’s in love. Do we have a deal?”
Skuttle laughed as he stood up walking towards the door as his natives followed him, “No, you just signed both of your death warrants. Enjoy life while you still have one.”
Buffy sat down on the chair in the room, which was now empty and cried realizing she loved Spike and would never get to chance to make things right and tell him.
Spike paced in the room as the natives held wooden arrows towards him. He had already been shot once in the back by a native as he had broken two of their necks. The fighting had stopped once Spike was told Skuttle wanted to see him and offer him a deal. He looked up as the door opened and without a sound, he killed another native quickly leaving only one to guard him. Skuttle sighed as he shook his head, “I should have known better than to think you would sit restless while I talked to your beloved slayer. Oh well. I have come to offer you a deal. It’s a deal that I know even you won’t resist.”
Spike turned away quickly to kill the last remaining native then turned to Skuttle, “What is to say I won’t kill you like I killed them?”
Skuttle sat down unphased, “I have come to offer you a deal. Sit.”
Spike sighed and sat down muttering, “Bloody demons always offering deals. I’d rather dust than take a deal…”
Skuttle ignored his mutterings as he started, “I have come to offer you a way out. The deal is a take it or lose it kind of deal so listen up, I will only be saying this once. It’s a one-time offer. You can walk out of here unharmed, no questions asked, and pretend like it was a bad dream…”
Spike spoke up in harsh tones, “So what’s the bleeding catch?”
Skuttle sighed, “I was getting there. The catch is, you leave behind the slayer. She has been killing our kind including your friends and family for years. She will continue probably getting to the point of where she dusts you some day. You know it as well as I do that you are on borrowed time. You walk away leaving her behind and you will be free. I’ll even remove the chip from your head as a bonus.”
Skuttle snapped his fingers to make his point even more intense as Spike looked on shocked. He was still amazed and confused as quickly he heard the room fill with Buffy and his voices, “I'm just sayin' ... vampires get you hot.” Buffy voice echoed into the room loud and clear, “*A* vampire got me hot. One. But he's gone. You're just…You're just convenient.” The voices continued as he heard Buffy’s voice again quite angry speaking towards him, “Will you quit that? The only thing that's different is that I'm disgusted with myself. That's the power of your charms. Last night ... was the most perverse ... degrading experience of my life.” “We don't need to do anything! Okay, there is no we! Understand?”
Spike blocked the other voices out as he stood up already having made his decision when he first heard it. Buffy was his love and was something he never thought he’d have. He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. She was the woman he loved and always would. He stepped up right in front of Skuttle, “No deal. Leave Buffy go but kill me. I won’t leave her die without a fight and you of all people should know that.”
Skuttle sighed and got up walking to the door obviously frightened by Spike slightly, “I was afraid you’d say that. I’ll be back soon bringing you into the main room so you can watch Buffy die before we kill you. I’d like to see you suffer before disposing of you. Enjoy your last moments before you dust.”
Spike kicked the chair across the room ignoring the way wood splintered everywhere as he started punching the wall. He ignored the blood and ignored the pain as he just kept punching. After a huge dent was formed he walked over to the door where Skuttle had left and started beating that to a pulp hoping by some miracle it would open. It did not and instead only left him tired and upset. Spike sat to the ground with his head in his bleeding hands as he sobbed. He had never felt so helpless in his life as he did this very minute knowing his beloved Buffy was about to die and there was nothing he could do to stop it.