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Author's Chapter Notes:
Still trying to get caught up...
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.





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