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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.





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