Part Twenty Five: Along Came a Spider

Xander could feel them, hundreds perhaps thousands of them, skittering across him. Of all the Hellmouthy things to happen having countless spiders wrap him in their webbing and bite him was definitely the worst so far.

You have been chosen.

"Sorry, wrong guy. Just ask my gym coach, I never get chosen for sports."

You fight the demons even though there are others better suited to do so, this intrigues us. You are prey to your own kind but kill those that hunt your species, this confuses us.

"Oh crap, you are the spiders on me. First bug lady, now you guys, I need to start investing in some serious bug spray."

Perceptive. We give you our power so that you will no longer be prey. Even though you may be swarmed with foes do not become prey again.

Xander would have responded to that, but as soon as the voice finished he felt thousands of fangs pierce his skin. The rest of the night was spent screaming as his blood turned to fire.

One month later a black and red figure was crawling down a tunnel. His mind felt like it was about to explode, but the way he figured it that was a good thing.

"If you hadn't come, I couldn't leave," said a dark voice.

"Ooh, dark dialogue from the bad guy, color me impressed. With a forehead as big as yours, you should be able to think up some better stuff," said the costumed man as he came out of the tunnel.

"This doesn't concern you," hissed the Master has he gripped Buffy closer.

"You see it does," said the man as he reached into a bag he had brought with him. "I brought you a present and if you destroy the world I can't give it to you."

The Master grinned at this news and said, "You see Slayer, others already know of the destiny I am to fulfill. I wonder what gift has been brought to me on the night of your death."

"Nothing much," said the man picking as a small white ball. "It's just a little nightmare I caught in my web a couple of weeks ago." When the last of the webbing was removed from the ball it shot from the mans covered hands and into Buffy.

Suddenly Buffy broke out of the Masters hold, with no real sign of effort. Soon the Master was under attack by the petite blond, and this time she was winning.

"Just incase you were wondering, the nightmare was yours. You were afraid that she would somehow beat you despite the prophecy, so now she will," said the man as he tossed a stake to Buffy. Catching the wooden instrument with ease Buffy quickly plunged the stake into the Masters dead heart with a satisfied grin.

"We probably shouldn't leave those there," said Buffy with a nod towards the Masters bones.

"Got you covered," said the man. Extending his arm towards the bones the man began to shoot a grayish liquid from his wrist, encasing the bones in a cocoon.

"Eww," said Buffy. "I was thinking more like getting a bigger bag, not gross web stuff."

"Hey, I just saved your life. The least you could do is wait until I leave before you start on how gross I am," said the man.

"Whatever," said Buffy as she picked up the webbed remains. "After I drop these off I'm going to get something to eat. I'd invite you, but mask wearing demons make me uncomfortable."

The man stood there in shocked silence as Buffy left the tunnel. Finally after several moments he shouted, "I'm not a demon!"

"Then don't wear the mask next time!" Buffy shot back over her shoulder.

As Xander watched the sun rise he thought back on his new life. The extra strength, reflexes, and stamina the spiders had given him were beyond cool. The danger sense, useful, but too painful at times to be cool. Okay, so maybe the webs were ew worthy, but vamps were easier to kill when they couldn't move.

Of course there were down sides to the gig, like being possessed by Iktomi to weave the dreamcatcher web. Stupid wisdom had rubbed off and he had to spend all his money to make a costume to hide his identity.

Well good, bad, and ew aside the future looked promising. No not just promising, it looked amazing.