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"I'm telling you, something's wrong," Willow said worriedly as she walked into the Magic Box with Tara, Giles, Anya, and Xander following close behind. "I know Buffy was bored to death but I don't think she would've just taken off without a word like that."

Off of Anya's look, the redhead added, "Did I say ‘bored to death'? Cause what I really meant was bouncing off the walls with excitement," with a sheepish smile.

"Buffy?" Giles called out.

"I'll check the basement," Xander said.

"I'll check the cash register," Anya said, earning glares from the rest of the group. With a sigh, she finished reluctantly, "I mean, help Xander check the basement because Buffy's well being is more important than the safety of the money on which I make my livelihood."

"You've got a heart of gold, Anya," Willow said dryly.

"Maybe she just stepped out for a minute," Tara offered optimistically as she hung up the discarded phone on the front counter.

Willow looked at her girlfriend disbelievingly. "And leave the store all open for robbery?" She stopped in her tracks to pick up the battered canister. "What's this?"

Turning away from the shattered window with a frown, Giles said, "I'm guessing, the thing that didn't like my front window."

**

Oh. Headache.

Oh. Blinding light.

Headache plus blinding light. As soon as he figured out where the bloody hell he was, the first thing he laid eyes upon would die bloody.

Spike's baby blues reluctantly flickered open and he took an unnecessary deep breath. The banging at the back of his skull only worsened when he made a feeble attempt to sit up. Last thing he remembered was being in the Magic Box annoying the living hell out of the Slayer; did she get so angry with him that she decided to finally and literally knock him out cold?

Noticing her small and rather unconscious form slumped against him, he quickly discarded that idea. The thought of Buffy landing a punch to his head that made him see darkness was not totally impossible, however the thought of her deciding to turn her fist on herself was.

"Slayer?" Just the sound of his own voice was enough to make his head throb, but Spike grit his teeth and continued to gently shake the girl. "Slayer, wake up. Slay – Buffy? Buffy, luv..."

A soft stirring was followed by a loud groan as Buffy opened her eyes. "What...what happened?"

"Good question," Spike said straightening up.

"Spike?" There was a flash of something in her eyes – something akin to relief and real warmth. Of course that disappeared within a nanosecond and was replaced with the standard anger. "What did you do?!"

His eyes widened. "What did I do?!"

"Did I stutter?"

Spike frowned. "Well, Buffy, you just looked so lovely after I knocked you unconscious that I had to join you,"

Cheeks flaming with embarrassment Buffy mumbled an apology.

"What did you say, Slayer? Couldn't quite hear you," he grinned.

Brows knitting in annoyance, she grumbled, "I said ‘I'm sorry'." A beat, "Ass."

The two fell silent the moment they noticed they weren't alone. In the small, bunker-esq room, there were at least eight other people all beginning to wake from their unwanted slumber. Buffy and Spike exchanged confused looks as the door suddenly burst open and a spiny-skinned demon, dressed to the nines, expensive looking sunglasses hiding his eyes, barged inside.

The demon headed toward the desk that sat at the head of the room and without a word, picked up a small, black remote.

"Pay attention," he grunted as a large projection screen lowered behind him.

"Let me start by welcoming everyone." The Ringmaster smiled brightly. "Hey! Wake-y, wake-y people! If you sleep through this bit, you're just going to be kicking yourself later on. I'm sure you all have absolutely no idea how lucky you are to be here..."

"Where the fuck is here?!" someone called out in anger.

"In fact, you're probably saying ‘where the fuck is here' to yourself right now," the Ringmaster continued. "Let me answer that for you; ladies and gentlemen, you have been hand picked – that's right, hand picked, to participate in the Thorine's Battle of the Cows 2001! Everyone, give yourselves a round of applause!"

The room remained deafeningly silent.

"He said clap!" the bulky demon commanded and weak applause scattered throughout.

"As for the ‘where'; you are in Pylea. A cozy little hell dimension where humans are the lower beings on the totem pole – or ‘cows' as Pylea's fine residents like to call them. As slaves in this dimension, humans are forced to do back breaking work and are punished in the worst of ways when they're naughty and don't adhere to the rules."

Teeth gritting in anger, Spike called out, "Some of us aren't exactly human, mate."

"Hey, I know you vampires out in the audience have got to be ready to tear my head off for referring to everyone as human," he laughed. "But, you do have human visages – and that, my friends is the driving force behind this game. Five humans and five vampires battling it out to ultimately see who is the better cow. Humans, you will each be given a weapon..."

As that was said, the spiny demon opened a nearby cabinet and removed five backpacks and dumped them on top of the empty desk.

"Some are admittedly better than others, but all are no less key to your survival. Since the object of the game is to be the last one standing, you're going to have to take out your opponents any way you can. Killing is of course encouraged, but a player can also be knocked out of competition if he or she is caught and enslaved by one of the locals."

Buffy climbed to her feet, fists clenched and steam practically shooting from her ears. "If you think I'm gonna play your little game, then you obviously have no idea who you're dealing with."

The Ringmaster's mocking smirk made the Slayer see a special, deep shade of red. "And if you think you're going to get out of participating, check the bracelets around your necks..."

Hand shooting to her neck, Buffy fingered the tight, metal collar she'd failed to notice earlier.

"These not only allow us to track your every move, but also your life force and they carry a handy feature that lets me communicate with you," The Ringmaster said matter-of-factly. "Amazing how far technology has come, isn't it?" He paused to light his cigar. "The game lasts exactly one week – and moves into sudden death mode if there are three or more players left. Good luck to you all. And remember," his smile widened, showcasing his pointy, yellow teeth, "play hard."

The screen went black and was quickly raised.

"Humans, come and collect your packs," the spiny demon ordered. "Vampires, head out into the playing field; the Ringmaster will let you know when the game has officially begun."

"This can't be serious..."

A sigh. "Sounded pretty serious to me."

"This has to be some kind of fucking joke! I mean... vampires are real?!"

Buffy shot the guy next to her a withering look. "You're stranded in a hell dimension where we're referred to as cattle, and literally told to kill off the people around you – and your brain is stuck on the vampire thing?!"

He shrugged. "I watched The Lost Boys, I just never thought it was based on a true story."

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you clowns, but I'm gonna figure out a way to get out of here," another man spoke up as he hoisted the backpack on his shoulder.

"Yeah, we should all be doing that. We've got to stick together. Come up with a plan of action or something. Maybe we should start by learning each other's names; who wants to go first?" When no one replied, the spindly man continued, pushing his floppy, red hair out of his face. "Okay, then. I'll go. The name's Rob and I'm an accountant in Stockton. I'm less of a Lord of the Flies and more of a Dilbert kind of guy," he rambled. "Although, I did audition for Survivor last year..."

"Hey, Robbie?"

"Yeah," Rob answered him expectantly.

"I know this may come as a shock to you, but no one gives two shits about your name," he said nastily. "But, just to play along..." with a smirk he pointed to himself, "I'm Jase. You, freckles..." Jase gestured toward the brunette girl at Buffy's right, "What's your name?"

"Uh, Kelly?"

He raised a brow. "You asking me or telling me?"

"It's, Kelly." she rolled her eyes.

"And you; the jar-head," Jase continued, "what good Christian name did your mother grace you with?"

Eyes narrowed, the bulky man with the standard military-issued crew cut answered, "Rick."

Jase's smile widened as he turned his attention on Buffy. "Saving the best for last – what's your name, cutie?"

Arms folded, Buffy looked truly annoyed. "It's, Buffy."

"Buffy..." he nodded. "My sympathies." Turning to Rob, he said, "There you have it, Robbie. Kelly, good ole Rick, and Buffy – the people you will be trying to kill. I hope you feel all acquainted." And with a snicker, Jase broke away from the group and headed for the door.

"Hey! Rob's right; we've all got to be in this together!" Buffy called after him.

He turned around to flash a smile, dark eyes focusing in on her,

"Every man for himself, cutie."

Giving an apologetic shrug, Kelly followed and not soon after so did Rick, leaving Buffy and Rob alone.

"Guess it's just you and me, Buffy." he smiled.

**

"So, what should we do first? Wait, stupid question – we should probably find some kind of shelter, huh? Grab something to eat, make a plan of action...?"

Without uttering a single word Buffy stopped dead in her tracks and tilted her head in the direction of a large tree to the right of them. "I guess oaks are good for the lurking, huh?" she yelled.

Spike stepped out, smirking as he came closer. "I wasn't lurking. I was standing about - whole different vibe." Sizing up Rob with one roving eye, he turned to Buffy. "Who's the wank?"

"This is Rob – he's sticking with."

"Oh, goodie."

Exchanging a look from one to the other, Rob's face scrunched up in total confusion. "This guy wasn't a part of our little group just now. Isn't he a vampire?!"

Buffy ignored him. "What? I couldn't just leave the guy to die. Besides, any extra help with figuring out how to get the hell out of here, can't hurt."

"And out of everyone, you pick Opie here to tag along?"

"Hello?!" Rob cried out frustrated. "Vampires equal bad last time I checked!" A beat, "Right?"

Buffy finally answered him, "It's okay; Spike can be trusted."

"So, you're a good vampire?" Rob asked, brow quirked.

"Something like that, yeah," he answered.

"Wow. What do you like have a soul and fight for the greater good or something?" Pausing, Rob added, "Because that would be incredibly lame."


TBC





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