Author's Note: I've added a new twist, just cos I'm evil. What if this
quest not only decided the outcome of season two, but the entire series
itself? Okay. So, the text between **** and **** are flashbacks. You'll
understand as you read down. Oh yeah. and there's an angsty bit from
Spike's past. I don't go into detail, but you get the picture. Enjoy! . xx
oo B. Allen.
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Chapter Five
Good Morning Star Shine.
Buffy stretched out and rolled over. 'What a horrible, horrible nightmare.' She closed her eyes again and attempted to go back to sleep. 'Mom should be in any minute now to see if I'm awake.' Suddenly, she sat up right and turned. The sound of a deep growl waking her. 'No. Not fair!' She sighed as she looked over at Spike who was still asleep, his long legs stretching out in front of him, his arms splayed out to the side. 'Well isn't he just a bed hog.' She covered her mouth to hide her giggle. 'He looks so. well. dead I guess.' She stood up and stretched her arms above her head, yawning.
"Hey, Spike." She called out to him. She sighed as he rolled over and continued sleeping. 'Sleeps like the dead too. I could probably have a rock concert going on and he'd never even notice.' She ran her hands through her hair and combed away any tangles before pulling it back into a ponytail. 'S'pose I should wake him. Eurynome told me last night to keep him close.'
He stifled a moan as he rolled onto his side, oblivious to Buffy calling his name. She walked over and nudged him with the toe of her boot. "Hey William!" She yelled. "Get up!"
He sat up straight, his true vampiric nature rushing to the fore ground. "What!" He cried. Looking about for possible danger and something to maim.
She had taken a step back. Afraid he'd break the rules and hurt her. He had seemed so nice last night when he had spoken about his mother; it had made her twice as curious about vampire life then what she already was. "Sorry, I just meant for you to wake up. I'd called to you five times."
He looked up at her as she stood over him, his face slipping back into its human planes. "Oh, sorry Pet, didn't mean to scare you, just.old habit I guess. Only ever get yelled at when I'm asleep if something's wrong." He stood up and rubbed his eyes. "We should get going yeah?" He asked as she continued to fold her blanket and put it in her bag along with the book she had received from Eurynome earlier.
"Yep. The sun just set. I figure, if we walk all night, we'll sleep during the light hours, that way you don't get all crispy critter, and I can easily kill demons more readily in the dark then in the light." She closed her backpack and began folding his blanket.
"What?" He looked at her slightly confused as he pulled a blood bag out of his own backpack and began to drink from it.
"Oh, I'm just.never mind, I'm just rambling." She put his blanket in his backpack and threw it at him. "Let's go." And she headed out the door.
"Okay." Spike looked at her slightly confused and hurried to catch up to her. 'Is she mad cos I woke up and went all 'grrrrr' on her?' He thought to himself. 'Cos, I really didn't mean.WHAT is your problem!' His brain argued, 'She is The Slayer. Who gives a damn if you scared the shit out of her when she woke you up? You're supposed to drink her blood and kill her! Not care if she's scared or upset.' He sighed and slowed to walk beside her. His mind waging a silent war on the do's and don'ts of being a vampire.
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She had been holding her breath, and let it out with one long sigh. "You okay Luv?" He asked looking at her.
"What?" She asked, shaking her head slightly and looking at him.
"The sigh. What's the matter?" He looked at her, unsure of what it was exactly, that he was feeling.
"Huh? Oh, that," She shook her head. "Nothing's wrong, I didn't even know I'd been holding my breath." She nodded and kept walking straight ahead.
"If you say so Pet." Spike followed closely, letting his gaze travel over her every now and then.
"You drive me crazy, I just can't sleep. I'm so excited I'm in too deep." She began to sing as they continued their quest to the center of the maze.
"Oh god Slayer, please." Spike hurried up and stopped in front of her. "Please, anything but that."
"Huh?" Buffy asked, stopping to look at him.
"Stake me, pour holy water on me, BURN me with crosses, anything but making me listen to that. that.wench!"
"Brittany?" She looked at him confused. "She's not a wench." He shot her a look that sent shivers down her spine. "Okay, so maybe she's a sort of wench, but her music is okay.some of it." She continued to hum softly to herself and began walking again. Spike sighed and followed.
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Along the way, they had stopped to break off bits of wood from some of the hedges. They now both new of the potential danger of collecting wood, especially Spike. Twice he had almost fallen onto a broken branch as they had been rushed by a small group of vampires. Buffy had saved him just in time but catching him by the back of his duster and flinging him forward, away from the sharp pieces of wood that threatened to impale his heart
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"Why can't they just all be vampires?" Buffy whined as she wiped some purplish-bluish goo from her nose.
"It isn't meant to be easy Luv." He turned to look at her and began to chuckle.
"What?" She began to look nervous, looking down and inspecting her chest, hoping that the goo hadn't made her white shirt see through and allowed him to see her light pink bra with the purple stars scattered across it.
He stepped up and stretched out his hand. Gently he wiped a glob of the goop from the center of her forehead. "Nothing Pet, you just missed a bit is all." Her blood rushed to her veins and she could feel it creep slowly from her collar up her face. She whimpered and leaned into his touch. His hands were soft and gentle.
'Not exactly the hands of a killer.' She thought to herself, 'They aren't even like Angel's hands. His hands are rough and callused. From many years of hard work, from before and after he was made a vampire.' She looked up at him and felt a bolt of electricity shoot through her spine. "You're not exactly 'Mr. Clean' either Spike." She smiled and wiped some goo away from the corner of his mouth. "When those things explode, they really explode don't they?" She giggled nervously as her hand remained there for a moment longer then needed. His gaze was intense; she could feel his eyes boring into her heart and soul, trying to find out what was going on inside her mind.
"We should keep moving, it'll be day soon, we've been walking for almost seven hours." She stepped back from him too quickly and lost her balance.
Spike moved to catch her. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist. "You okay Buffy?" He asked, his voice full of concern.
"Yup." She nodded and moved her hands to rest on his own. She didn't pull his from around her waist, but leaned into his hold, resting her head against his chest for a moment before looking up at him and stepping away slowly. "We should really keep moving now. I think we still have another hour before we find today's shelter." She continued going in the direction they were headed.
Spike stood still for a few moments. She hadn't turned away in disgust as he held her. He wondered why, had she too, felt the jolt of electricity just before she lost her balance? Is that what made her jump back quickly. 'Get a grip man! She's the Slayer; of course she was disgusted when you held her in your arms! To her, your nothing but a childhood monster come to life.' "No mate, that is NOT it." He whispered to himself and started after her.
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Chapter Six
Some Things Change.
The last hour had been silent. No talking, no laughing, no arguing, not even a fight with a demon or vampire. Buffy could see the shelter down at the end of the row of hedges. It was, at least another half an hours walk from where she stood. Spike had trailed behind her for some time, and now was at her side.
"Tired yet Pet?" He asked casually. 'Would you like me to carry you? Wrap you in my arms; hold you close as you. William! Shut the bloody hell up!' He scolded himself. He had spent the last hour in a silent war with his own thoughts. Compiling a 'Should I?' 'Shouldn't I?' debate in his mind. Something was not right with him... he was. 'Attracted', for lack of a better word, to the young slayer.
"Nope, not tired." She covered her mouth as she yawned. "Okay maybe a little." She grinned sheepishly at Spike before nodding in the direction of the shelter. His response was a curt nod and they continued on. 'Did he feel it?' She mused over in her head again. 'He had to of felt it. It's not the kinda thing a person doesn't feel. What's that old saying? Love strikes where it is least likely. or, some crap like that. and. Okay! Where in the Hellmouth did THAT come from? LOVE? Spike? Me? Nooooo, no no no no no.' She shook her head vigorously. Trying to get that thought out of her head, "he doesn't and I don't."
"What's that Luv?" Spike looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
"Nothing," She replied, "just thinking out loud. We should hurry to the shelter cos it'll be day soon, and . Eurynome would get upset if. you were to.uh.go poof or something like that." She stammered and fell over her words. 'Two points for covering your talking to yourself Summers. Minus two points for babbling like a dick head and coming up with a lame ass lie.Shut. Up. Now.' She threatened herself. 'C'mon Buff. You KNOW you're hot for him. Look at him! Except for the whole, evil undead thing he has going, you'd be ready and willing to jump his oh so jump-able bones.' Her conscious persisted. 'You KNOW he felt the zappy thing before. Ask him if you don't believe yourself. You saw it in his eyes when he held you. It was like.magic, or something.Okay, okay, I'll speak to him when we are inside.' She sighed again, she knew that she was right. "No point in lying to myself is there?" She whispered, thankful that Spike had run ahead to the shelter as the dawn began to break over the horizon.
"Slayer!" He called out to her. "Hurry up!" 'I wonder what she's thinking.Probably thinking of the perfect way to stake me without pissing off the Gods.' He frowned. She had been warm when he held her. Her warm to his cold. Something he hadn't felt in a century. Not since he'd.Cecily. He felt the tears prick his eyes and his undead heart twisted with pain at the memory of the way she had begged him not to rape her, as she pleaded with him to not do it. He'd only been a vampire two weeks before he'd found her at a party and offered to escort her home.
**** "William, I'm sorry for what they said, back at the party." She had whispered as they walked along the darkened streets of London.
"That's okay Cecily, it was not your fault." He had everything planned, he'd wait until the alley just before her home and then he'd make her feel like he had been made to feel for the last five years. Incompetent, not worthy enough for her love or affections. He smiled in spite of himself. Angelus had given him the permission he needed to take this human girl and brake her like she had broken him.
"You are happy because we teased you and made fun of your poetry?" She looked confused.
"What? Oh, no," He shook his head, "I'm smiling because, you allowed me to walk you home this night. There are unforeseeable dangers that lurk in the shadows once the sun goes down, it wouldn't do to have them get to you Cecily dear."
"Yes, thank you, I wonder what could have happened to Lucas?" She had smiled at him and continued on how nice it was to just be friends, he could stop obsessing over her. "Even though you are quite eligible, I mean, your father is richer then mine, but, it's just, easier to be friends, I mean."
He cut her off, dragging her into the alley. His borrowed blood rushing through his veins. "You're lucky I ate before I came to the party Cecily." He growled. "Lucas didn't even make this much noise when I sucked his life from him." Her eyes widened in terror as he gave mention of her fiancées name. "Sure he was shocked, much like you are now, but he was not scared, he even pleaded with me to spare you. Such a martyr. But you. you are full of fear, which, is fine, because it makes the blood taste sweeter." His face had then slipped into its demon mask and he sank his fangs into her soft neck. As he drank from her, he ripped her dress up and pulled his breeches down and began to rape her.
"William.please.no, don't." She begged as he stopped drinking of her. He wanted her to survive, so she could live with the shame and humiliation of the night's events. She had continually flirted with all the men at the party. Nothing too forward, they had all been friends since childhood and most men knew of her engagement to Lucas, her first love. The friends from the party knew she was chaste and pure. She hadn't even kissed Lucas on the lips until he had proposed. And here was William Campbell, taking her innocence and smashing it upon the ground just as she had done to his heart. *****
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She had gotten closer to the shelter in the last few minutes. Spike had called to her then he'd gone completely silent, his eyes had taken on a glazed look, as if he'd tuned out with his surroundings and was thinking about something else. 'Is he okay?' She thought to herself, she had stopped and was watching him. She was still a few yards away from him, but could see the way his face was etched with memories of a painful past. Buffy turned and looked at the horizon, the sun had just reached the top of the hedges, threatening to spill light onto anything in its path. She turned back to face Spike and realized that he wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.
"Spike!" She screamed as she looked back at the sun before bolting to the doorway of the shelter. Her legs began pumping as she ran the last few yards to the doorway, flinging herself at Spike and knocking them both to the ground, her on top of him. "You really got a death wish don't you?" She gasped for breath as she used her foot to kick the door shut.
"What? Slayer?" He looked up at her confused.
"I called you three times,' She lied 'Okay so it was only once, he doesn't have to know that.' "You just stood in the doorway with a really sad look on your face and then you were almost toast when the sun broke the tops of the hedges. So I ran to get you out of the way. It just wouldn't be. 'Yay! Summers! Let's enter you in the Olympics for the Mentally Challenged at Conversation!' Right. It wouldn't be right if you didn't complete this thing with.me." She looked down into his eyes and saw something there that made her heart pound faster and her blood rush to the tips of her ears.
"Oh, really?" Spike looked amused, she had seen something that made her blush. 'Something in me?' "That's three times you've saved my ass Slayer."
"Yeah, but, it's such a cute." She stopped as it dawned on her that he was grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Habit.of.mine."
Now it was his turn to look into her eyes. 'If I had a pulse, I'm sure it would be going crazy by now.' His words caught in his throat as her eyes, filled with lust, and longing and love spoke volumes to him. He reached a hand up to pull her head closer.
"We.we can't." She whispered, "It's wrong." 'If it's so wrong, then why do you let Angel touch you like this? Why do you let him hold you? Why do you let him make you feel guilty about loving him? Remember what you told Willow almost a year ago? Carpe Diem. Seize the day, go forth young person, have F.U.N.'
He had stopped and watched her. She was fighting an inner battle. He smiled to himself in relief because that meant he wasn't going crazy. Soft maybe, but not crazy. "Ellesbeth?" He whispered.
She looked at him, startled. "W.William?" She looked at him questioningly. 'It can't be.' She thought. 'Oh, it can be. Summers.Party of One, a nice little padded room overlooking the bay please.' She thought to herself. 'I'm in love with another vampire.'
"Please?" He asked, "Don't be scared, I swear on my.our destiny that I won't hurt you." He looked at her with longing and passion.
"I'm not scared of you William," She whispered, "I'm scared of me. I.I don't know how to feel, or if I should be feeling this way." Her eyes reflected his longing and passion, but also showed her confusion. "I'm The Slayer. It's my duty to hunt you and kill you, not find you, argue, work with you then fall in love." She closed her eyes, the words accidentally slipping out of her mouth before she could think.
His face lit up with hope. She had just said she loved him. "I love you too Ellesbeth."
She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him. "You do?"
"Yeah, well, at least I think I'm starting to. Earlier, when you almost fell and I caught you, I felt."
"A zap, like electricity?" She asked him, looking into his eyes, hoping for the truth to be anything but that he felt it. She was too scared to explain the rights and wrongs of her feelings, and 'Angel. What about Angel? Yes. What about Angel?' She looked at Spike as he nodded that he felt the same spark as she did. 'Angel. I love him, but he makes me feel guilty about our love. Spike, I think would at least make me laugh or smile or would tell me yes what we are doing is wrong, but we'd have fun anyway.' She smiled and he felt her heart flutter against his chest.
"Ellesbeth, just, let's enjoy what we have? Please? We won't worry about what's going to happen once we are out of here." His eyes pleaded with her. 'Not another Cecily. Don't let this be another Cecily.'
She thought about it carefully, then Eurynome's words came back to her slowly while they had been talking and Spike had been paying no attention. "At the end of this test, you will have no knowledge of what happened here. Your memory of this place will be erased. You will be shown a piece of your destiny at the end, and given the choice to leave it as it is, or change it. But, either way, when you are home at Sunnydale, you will not remember anything from this place, you will not know about your future." She sighed; Eurynome's point had been simple. Do this, and we make your life easier, or harder, we'll tell you about it, but then, we'll brainwash you into forgetting about it.
He was looking at her mull it over in her head. Suddenly, nervously, her head dipped to meet his and she kissed his lips softly. "We'll take it as it comes." She whispered. He moaned as she nipped at his lower lip, tilting his head to increase the depth and passion of their kiss.
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Chapter Seven
Waiting it Out.
The dark haired beauty smiled and raised an eyebrow at her lover. "I TOLD you Ophion." She giggled and raised a glass in a mock toast. "I think, a speech is in order, don't you? Or at least an apology."
"You are beginning to get as bad as our children with your gloating Eurynome." He chuckled. "But, you were right. AND before you say anything, I am sorry, I should have listened to you in the beginning. And, even though I would have helped with Angelus if they made it to the end of the maze or not, I think it was a good idea for them to fall in love, even if they won't remember it." He nodded and raised his own glass to hers.
"Yes. Their love although already within them, needed the right environment to grow. Our maze was the perfect place. And, even if they don't remember, they will, be drawn back to each other throughout time. They will come and go like the tide against the sea. But, in the future, their bond will increase, and blossom into something more than trust and friendship. It will bloom into a tremendous love, that will take each of them to Heaven and back again." Her gaze shifted and looked into the shimmering pool where the couple could be seen lying on the floor of the shelter locked in a warm embrace.
"Heaven? For a vampire?" Ophion looked at her.
"Yes, she will take him there. They will go to Heaven, one after the other, then they will journey back together."
Ophion looked confused. "What do you mean dear?"
Eurynome sighed and shook her head. "After Angelus, there will be more for her. But, she will reach Heaven first by the hands of a God."
"A God?" Ophion was dumbstruck. Never in his time, had he heard of a God killing a warrior of the people.
"Oh no my love, not one of OUR children." She saw relief flood his face. "You remember, the young Glorificus? She will return, looking for a way back into the hell dimensions. Our Ellesbeth will sacrifice herself to save not only her world, but the Heavens as well."
"She won't have it easy will she Darling?" Ophion asked as Eurynome waved her hand over the shimmering pool and the colorful mists hid the loving couple from sight.
"No. But she will survive. William will help her survive."
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Chapter Eight
Seizing the Moment.
She wouldn't let him go any further, not yet. They had spent a bit of time just wrapped up in each other's arms, kissing and snuggling. They had fed each other fruit from their bags, Buffy had drunk most of their water supply and Spike still had a few bags of blood to last him for the next two days. Appetites sated, thirsts quenched and feelings discovered, the pair sat under their blankets, clinging to each other.
"My mum, she works at a gallery." Buffy began, "She says that the artwork is an expression of life and life's emotions."
"It's quite possible Luv, an artist may well draw or paint or sculpt his feelings, much the same way a poet or singer writes down their feelings in their music." He brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. 'Such beautiful, green eyes. So deep and full of sparkle.'
"I suppose, but, then my Watcher has pieces of potentially dangerous art work.you know, effigies and talismans that help invoke evil or open the hellmouth. delivered to the library for study and to keep them safe. And when I see them, I think to myself, 'what on Earth was the artist thinking when they made this?' It's as though they have seen what I've seen, that they know the darkness that lurks in the shadows of office buildings after the sun goes down." She sighed and ran her hands down his chest.
"Maybe they have Pet. Maybe they have seen what monsters are real.Lawyers, Politicians."
"School Principals." She cut him off and giggled. "Sorry, principal at school is, I think, an evil troll in disguise.Long story." She said as he gave her a funny look.
"Vampires, Accountants, Polgara demons. Maybe they have seen them. Maybe their art is a reflection of nightmares come true." He whispered, holding on to her tighter. "Everyone depicts 'evil' in their own way. Even us monsters. You see me as something evil, my kind see you as something evil."
"But, I'm good." She looked at him confused. "How can I be evil?"
"Good to us IS evil Buffy. It is something that we feel the need to quash."
She made a small 'Oh' with her lips. "Okay, no more talk of evil. Let's change topic." She snuggled closer to him. "Do you really want to kill me, or get rid of me?" She looked up into his eyes. 'So big. Baby blues. My baby's baby blues.'
"Right now? No. I want to do many more things other then kill you," He watched the color creep into her cheeks. "I want to kiss you and hold you Ellesbeth, not kill you. Before, I did want to get rid of you because I saw you as one more obstacle to overcome. Now, the only obstacle I can see, is what will happen at the end of this quest."
"We'll figure it out." She smiled softly and held him closer. "So, what were you thinking about before?"
"When before Pet?" He asked kissing the top of her head.
"When I saved your butt from becoming toast. You had this really far away look in your eyes. Like you regretted something, which I know sounds weird cos, vampires don't generally tend to regret or feel guilty." She moved her head to rest on top of his chest.
"Now hang on Pet. That isn't true. We CAN feel regret. We just don't have a conscience that lets us feel guilt. Most of our feelings are made by a conscious choice. When we are turned, our soul dies, and the demon takes over. The demon makes us live carefree, but our decisions are conscious choices. My ability to love is a conscious choice, as is my ability to regret. And, as for what I was thinking, I was regretting hurting someone I used to once hold very dear to my heart."
"Oh. Would you tell me please?" She asked running her fingers through his hair.
"Would you think less of me if I told you?"
"Are you going to do it to me and are you going to do it to my mom?"
"N.no. I can certainly say that I would never be able to do that to you. I mean, I could do it and I wouldn't feel guilty about it, but, I wouldn't do it, because I'd hate to see the pain in your eyes, knowing that I was responsible for that pain." He looked at her. "It's the best way I can explain it Luv."
"Okay, then, nope I wouldn't think less of you."
"Right then, well. When I was young, around the age of four or five, I was introduced by my parents to a small girl my age named Cecily. She was very nice to me in front of our parents. However, when she was left alone with me, she said I was too small to be her friend. You see, I was born premature, and my parents didn't think I'd survive my first year, but I did, and I've always been a bit small for my age." He stopped and looked at her, her gaze never leaving his face.
"Right, so, when we were older, I got a little taller and I fell in love with her. She never gave me the time of day. She knew that I loved her and that I cared for her a great deal, but she never fully appreciated that love. She took me for granted, when one of her suitors would marry another girl, she would use my shoulder to cry on, and then, when I expressed my love to her, she would humiliate me and make me feel completely unworthy. Then, one night, two weeks after I'd been turned, I gained my sire's permission to make her feel my humiliation and pain. So, I killed her fiancé and then, under the guise of walking her home to protect her from evil monsters, I raped her and drank some of her blood, leaving her beaten and bloody in an alley just outside her home.
"And now you hate me for that right?" He looked questioningly into Buffy's eyes.
"Wow, what you did, was.awful." She looked away sheepishly, "I mean, what she did was pretty bad, but, it's part of your past isn't it? You're not going to do that to me are you? And, I don't hate you."
"No, I don't do that sort of thing anymore. I mean, the raping thing. I. I have a new found respect for women." His mind flashed to Drucilla and her incredible rage the night she found out how he had abused Cecily. His chest still carried faint scars from where she had tore at his skin with her nails before Darla and Angelus pulled her from him. "I still kill women, drain their blood, turn them into vampires. But, I will never bring myself to rape another woman for as long as I unlive."
"Okay then." She smiled and leant up to kiss him before stifling a yawn. "Sleepy Slayer." She smiled at him, glad to be wrapped up in the arms of someone strong and who would keep her safe.
"Yes, it is getting late. Get some rest Luv, long walk tomorrow night, we don't know how far we've got 'till we reach the center of this damn labyrinth." He kissed her nose and her eyes, bidding sleep come and ease their weariness.
"Oh. Will we get to fight the Goblin king in the tights?" She murmured sleepily and held onto him tighter.
"I'm sure we would Luv, if I even knew what you were on about." His arms snaked around her again, holding her close.
"He the mnamsh..goomove." Her words ran together and made no sense as she drifted into a deep sleep.
"Love you Ellesbeth." Spike closed his eyes and concentrated on listening to the girl's heartbeat begin to find a steady pace.
"Hmmmph.. llub eww woo." She buried her face in his chest and welcomed the inky blackness of sleep once again.
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Chapter Five
Good Morning Star Shine.
Buffy stretched out and rolled over. 'What a horrible, horrible nightmare.' She closed her eyes again and attempted to go back to sleep. 'Mom should be in any minute now to see if I'm awake.' Suddenly, she sat up right and turned. The sound of a deep growl waking her. 'No. Not fair!' She sighed as she looked over at Spike who was still asleep, his long legs stretching out in front of him, his arms splayed out to the side. 'Well isn't he just a bed hog.' She covered her mouth to hide her giggle. 'He looks so. well. dead I guess.' She stood up and stretched her arms above her head, yawning.
"Hey, Spike." She called out to him. She sighed as he rolled over and continued sleeping. 'Sleeps like the dead too. I could probably have a rock concert going on and he'd never even notice.' She ran her hands through her hair and combed away any tangles before pulling it back into a ponytail. 'S'pose I should wake him. Eurynome told me last night to keep him close.'
He stifled a moan as he rolled onto his side, oblivious to Buffy calling his name. She walked over and nudged him with the toe of her boot. "Hey William!" She yelled. "Get up!"
He sat up straight, his true vampiric nature rushing to the fore ground. "What!" He cried. Looking about for possible danger and something to maim.
She had taken a step back. Afraid he'd break the rules and hurt her. He had seemed so nice last night when he had spoken about his mother; it had made her twice as curious about vampire life then what she already was. "Sorry, I just meant for you to wake up. I'd called to you five times."
He looked up at her as she stood over him, his face slipping back into its human planes. "Oh, sorry Pet, didn't mean to scare you, just.old habit I guess. Only ever get yelled at when I'm asleep if something's wrong." He stood up and rubbed his eyes. "We should get going yeah?" He asked as she continued to fold her blanket and put it in her bag along with the book she had received from Eurynome earlier.
"Yep. The sun just set. I figure, if we walk all night, we'll sleep during the light hours, that way you don't get all crispy critter, and I can easily kill demons more readily in the dark then in the light." She closed her backpack and began folding his blanket.
"What?" He looked at her slightly confused as he pulled a blood bag out of his own backpack and began to drink from it.
"Oh, I'm just.never mind, I'm just rambling." She put his blanket in his backpack and threw it at him. "Let's go." And she headed out the door.
"Okay." Spike looked at her slightly confused and hurried to catch up to her. 'Is she mad cos I woke up and went all 'grrrrr' on her?' He thought to himself. 'Cos, I really didn't mean.WHAT is your problem!' His brain argued, 'She is The Slayer. Who gives a damn if you scared the shit out of her when she woke you up? You're supposed to drink her blood and kill her! Not care if she's scared or upset.' He sighed and slowed to walk beside her. His mind waging a silent war on the do's and don'ts of being a vampire.
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She had been holding her breath, and let it out with one long sigh. "You okay Luv?" He asked looking at her.
"What?" She asked, shaking her head slightly and looking at him.
"The sigh. What's the matter?" He looked at her, unsure of what it was exactly, that he was feeling.
"Huh? Oh, that," She shook her head. "Nothing's wrong, I didn't even know I'd been holding my breath." She nodded and kept walking straight ahead.
"If you say so Pet." Spike followed closely, letting his gaze travel over her every now and then.
"You drive me crazy, I just can't sleep. I'm so excited I'm in too deep." She began to sing as they continued their quest to the center of the maze.
"Oh god Slayer, please." Spike hurried up and stopped in front of her. "Please, anything but that."
"Huh?" Buffy asked, stopping to look at him.
"Stake me, pour holy water on me, BURN me with crosses, anything but making me listen to that. that.wench!"
"Brittany?" She looked at him confused. "She's not a wench." He shot her a look that sent shivers down her spine. "Okay, so maybe she's a sort of wench, but her music is okay.some of it." She continued to hum softly to herself and began walking again. Spike sighed and followed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Along the way, they had stopped to break off bits of wood from some of the hedges. They now both new of the potential danger of collecting wood, especially Spike. Twice he had almost fallen onto a broken branch as they had been rushed by a small group of vampires. Buffy had saved him just in time but catching him by the back of his duster and flinging him forward, away from the sharp pieces of wood that threatened to impale his heart
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Why can't they just all be vampires?" Buffy whined as she wiped some purplish-bluish goo from her nose.
"It isn't meant to be easy Luv." He turned to look at her and began to chuckle.
"What?" She began to look nervous, looking down and inspecting her chest, hoping that the goo hadn't made her white shirt see through and allowed him to see her light pink bra with the purple stars scattered across it.
He stepped up and stretched out his hand. Gently he wiped a glob of the goop from the center of her forehead. "Nothing Pet, you just missed a bit is all." Her blood rushed to her veins and she could feel it creep slowly from her collar up her face. She whimpered and leaned into his touch. His hands were soft and gentle.
'Not exactly the hands of a killer.' She thought to herself, 'They aren't even like Angel's hands. His hands are rough and callused. From many years of hard work, from before and after he was made a vampire.' She looked up at him and felt a bolt of electricity shoot through her spine. "You're not exactly 'Mr. Clean' either Spike." She smiled and wiped some goo away from the corner of his mouth. "When those things explode, they really explode don't they?" She giggled nervously as her hand remained there for a moment longer then needed. His gaze was intense; she could feel his eyes boring into her heart and soul, trying to find out what was going on inside her mind.
"We should keep moving, it'll be day soon, we've been walking for almost seven hours." She stepped back from him too quickly and lost her balance.
Spike moved to catch her. His arms wrapped tightly around her waist. "You okay Buffy?" He asked, his voice full of concern.
"Yup." She nodded and moved her hands to rest on his own. She didn't pull his from around her waist, but leaned into his hold, resting her head against his chest for a moment before looking up at him and stepping away slowly. "We should really keep moving now. I think we still have another hour before we find today's shelter." She continued going in the direction they were headed.
Spike stood still for a few moments. She hadn't turned away in disgust as he held her. He wondered why, had she too, felt the jolt of electricity just before she lost her balance? Is that what made her jump back quickly. 'Get a grip man! She's the Slayer; of course she was disgusted when you held her in your arms! To her, your nothing but a childhood monster come to life.' "No mate, that is NOT it." He whispered to himself and started after her.
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Chapter Six
Some Things Change.
The last hour had been silent. No talking, no laughing, no arguing, not even a fight with a demon or vampire. Buffy could see the shelter down at the end of the row of hedges. It was, at least another half an hours walk from where she stood. Spike had trailed behind her for some time, and now was at her side.
"Tired yet Pet?" He asked casually. 'Would you like me to carry you? Wrap you in my arms; hold you close as you. William! Shut the bloody hell up!' He scolded himself. He had spent the last hour in a silent war with his own thoughts. Compiling a 'Should I?' 'Shouldn't I?' debate in his mind. Something was not right with him... he was. 'Attracted', for lack of a better word, to the young slayer.
"Nope, not tired." She covered her mouth as she yawned. "Okay maybe a little." She grinned sheepishly at Spike before nodding in the direction of the shelter. His response was a curt nod and they continued on. 'Did he feel it?' She mused over in her head again. 'He had to of felt it. It's not the kinda thing a person doesn't feel. What's that old saying? Love strikes where it is least likely. or, some crap like that. and. Okay! Where in the Hellmouth did THAT come from? LOVE? Spike? Me? Nooooo, no no no no no.' She shook her head vigorously. Trying to get that thought out of her head, "he doesn't and I don't."
"What's that Luv?" Spike looked at her and raised his eyebrows.
"Nothing," She replied, "just thinking out loud. We should hurry to the shelter cos it'll be day soon, and . Eurynome would get upset if. you were to.uh.go poof or something like that." She stammered and fell over her words. 'Two points for covering your talking to yourself Summers. Minus two points for babbling like a dick head and coming up with a lame ass lie.Shut. Up. Now.' She threatened herself. 'C'mon Buff. You KNOW you're hot for him. Look at him! Except for the whole, evil undead thing he has going, you'd be ready and willing to jump his oh so jump-able bones.' Her conscious persisted. 'You KNOW he felt the zappy thing before. Ask him if you don't believe yourself. You saw it in his eyes when he held you. It was like.magic, or something.Okay, okay, I'll speak to him when we are inside.' She sighed again, she knew that she was right. "No point in lying to myself is there?" She whispered, thankful that Spike had run ahead to the shelter as the dawn began to break over the horizon.
"Slayer!" He called out to her. "Hurry up!" 'I wonder what she's thinking.Probably thinking of the perfect way to stake me without pissing off the Gods.' He frowned. She had been warm when he held her. Her warm to his cold. Something he hadn't felt in a century. Not since he'd.Cecily. He felt the tears prick his eyes and his undead heart twisted with pain at the memory of the way she had begged him not to rape her, as she pleaded with him to not do it. He'd only been a vampire two weeks before he'd found her at a party and offered to escort her home.
**** "William, I'm sorry for what they said, back at the party." She had whispered as they walked along the darkened streets of London.
"That's okay Cecily, it was not your fault." He had everything planned, he'd wait until the alley just before her home and then he'd make her feel like he had been made to feel for the last five years. Incompetent, not worthy enough for her love or affections. He smiled in spite of himself. Angelus had given him the permission he needed to take this human girl and brake her like she had broken him.
"You are happy because we teased you and made fun of your poetry?" She looked confused.
"What? Oh, no," He shook his head, "I'm smiling because, you allowed me to walk you home this night. There are unforeseeable dangers that lurk in the shadows once the sun goes down, it wouldn't do to have them get to you Cecily dear."
"Yes, thank you, I wonder what could have happened to Lucas?" She had smiled at him and continued on how nice it was to just be friends, he could stop obsessing over her. "Even though you are quite eligible, I mean, your father is richer then mine, but, it's just, easier to be friends, I mean."
He cut her off, dragging her into the alley. His borrowed blood rushing through his veins. "You're lucky I ate before I came to the party Cecily." He growled. "Lucas didn't even make this much noise when I sucked his life from him." Her eyes widened in terror as he gave mention of her fiancées name. "Sure he was shocked, much like you are now, but he was not scared, he even pleaded with me to spare you. Such a martyr. But you. you are full of fear, which, is fine, because it makes the blood taste sweeter." His face had then slipped into its demon mask and he sank his fangs into her soft neck. As he drank from her, he ripped her dress up and pulled his breeches down and began to rape her.
"William.please.no, don't." She begged as he stopped drinking of her. He wanted her to survive, so she could live with the shame and humiliation of the night's events. She had continually flirted with all the men at the party. Nothing too forward, they had all been friends since childhood and most men knew of her engagement to Lucas, her first love. The friends from the party knew she was chaste and pure. She hadn't even kissed Lucas on the lips until he had proposed. And here was William Campbell, taking her innocence and smashing it upon the ground just as she had done to his heart. *****
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
She had gotten closer to the shelter in the last few minutes. Spike had called to her then he'd gone completely silent, his eyes had taken on a glazed look, as if he'd tuned out with his surroundings and was thinking about something else. 'Is he okay?' She thought to herself, she had stopped and was watching him. She was still a few yards away from him, but could see the way his face was etched with memories of a painful past. Buffy turned and looked at the horizon, the sun had just reached the top of the hedges, threatening to spill light onto anything in its path. She turned back to face Spike and realized that he wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.
"Spike!" She screamed as she looked back at the sun before bolting to the doorway of the shelter. Her legs began pumping as she ran the last few yards to the doorway, flinging herself at Spike and knocking them both to the ground, her on top of him. "You really got a death wish don't you?" She gasped for breath as she used her foot to kick the door shut.
"What? Slayer?" He looked up at her confused.
"I called you three times,' She lied 'Okay so it was only once, he doesn't have to know that.' "You just stood in the doorway with a really sad look on your face and then you were almost toast when the sun broke the tops of the hedges. So I ran to get you out of the way. It just wouldn't be. 'Yay! Summers! Let's enter you in the Olympics for the Mentally Challenged at Conversation!' Right. It wouldn't be right if you didn't complete this thing with.me." She looked down into his eyes and saw something there that made her heart pound faster and her blood rush to the tips of her ears.
"Oh, really?" Spike looked amused, she had seen something that made her blush. 'Something in me?' "That's three times you've saved my ass Slayer."
"Yeah, but, it's such a cute." She stopped as it dawned on her that he was grinning like the Cheshire cat. "Habit.of.mine."
Now it was his turn to look into her eyes. 'If I had a pulse, I'm sure it would be going crazy by now.' His words caught in his throat as her eyes, filled with lust, and longing and love spoke volumes to him. He reached a hand up to pull her head closer.
"We.we can't." She whispered, "It's wrong." 'If it's so wrong, then why do you let Angel touch you like this? Why do you let him hold you? Why do you let him make you feel guilty about loving him? Remember what you told Willow almost a year ago? Carpe Diem. Seize the day, go forth young person, have F.U.N.'
He had stopped and watched her. She was fighting an inner battle. He smiled to himself in relief because that meant he wasn't going crazy. Soft maybe, but not crazy. "Ellesbeth?" He whispered.
She looked at him, startled. "W.William?" She looked at him questioningly. 'It can't be.' She thought. 'Oh, it can be. Summers.Party of One, a nice little padded room overlooking the bay please.' She thought to herself. 'I'm in love with another vampire.'
"Please?" He asked, "Don't be scared, I swear on my.our destiny that I won't hurt you." He looked at her with longing and passion.
"I'm not scared of you William," She whispered, "I'm scared of me. I.I don't know how to feel, or if I should be feeling this way." Her eyes reflected his longing and passion, but also showed her confusion. "I'm The Slayer. It's my duty to hunt you and kill you, not find you, argue, work with you then fall in love." She closed her eyes, the words accidentally slipping out of her mouth before she could think.
His face lit up with hope. She had just said she loved him. "I love you too Ellesbeth."
She opened her eyes slowly and looked at him. "You do?"
"Yeah, well, at least I think I'm starting to. Earlier, when you almost fell and I caught you, I felt."
"A zap, like electricity?" She asked him, looking into his eyes, hoping for the truth to be anything but that he felt it. She was too scared to explain the rights and wrongs of her feelings, and 'Angel. What about Angel? Yes. What about Angel?' She looked at Spike as he nodded that he felt the same spark as she did. 'Angel. I love him, but he makes me feel guilty about our love. Spike, I think would at least make me laugh or smile or would tell me yes what we are doing is wrong, but we'd have fun anyway.' She smiled and he felt her heart flutter against his chest.
"Ellesbeth, just, let's enjoy what we have? Please? We won't worry about what's going to happen once we are out of here." His eyes pleaded with her. 'Not another Cecily. Don't let this be another Cecily.'
She thought about it carefully, then Eurynome's words came back to her slowly while they had been talking and Spike had been paying no attention. "At the end of this test, you will have no knowledge of what happened here. Your memory of this place will be erased. You will be shown a piece of your destiny at the end, and given the choice to leave it as it is, or change it. But, either way, when you are home at Sunnydale, you will not remember anything from this place, you will not know about your future." She sighed; Eurynome's point had been simple. Do this, and we make your life easier, or harder, we'll tell you about it, but then, we'll brainwash you into forgetting about it.
He was looking at her mull it over in her head. Suddenly, nervously, her head dipped to meet his and she kissed his lips softly. "We'll take it as it comes." She whispered. He moaned as she nipped at his lower lip, tilting his head to increase the depth and passion of their kiss.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter Seven
Waiting it Out.
The dark haired beauty smiled and raised an eyebrow at her lover. "I TOLD you Ophion." She giggled and raised a glass in a mock toast. "I think, a speech is in order, don't you? Or at least an apology."
"You are beginning to get as bad as our children with your gloating Eurynome." He chuckled. "But, you were right. AND before you say anything, I am sorry, I should have listened to you in the beginning. And, even though I would have helped with Angelus if they made it to the end of the maze or not, I think it was a good idea for them to fall in love, even if they won't remember it." He nodded and raised his own glass to hers.
"Yes. Their love although already within them, needed the right environment to grow. Our maze was the perfect place. And, even if they don't remember, they will, be drawn back to each other throughout time. They will come and go like the tide against the sea. But, in the future, their bond will increase, and blossom into something more than trust and friendship. It will bloom into a tremendous love, that will take each of them to Heaven and back again." Her gaze shifted and looked into the shimmering pool where the couple could be seen lying on the floor of the shelter locked in a warm embrace.
"Heaven? For a vampire?" Ophion looked at her.
"Yes, she will take him there. They will go to Heaven, one after the other, then they will journey back together."
Ophion looked confused. "What do you mean dear?"
Eurynome sighed and shook her head. "After Angelus, there will be more for her. But, she will reach Heaven first by the hands of a God."
"A God?" Ophion was dumbstruck. Never in his time, had he heard of a God killing a warrior of the people.
"Oh no my love, not one of OUR children." She saw relief flood his face. "You remember, the young Glorificus? She will return, looking for a way back into the hell dimensions. Our Ellesbeth will sacrifice herself to save not only her world, but the Heavens as well."
"She won't have it easy will she Darling?" Ophion asked as Eurynome waved her hand over the shimmering pool and the colorful mists hid the loving couple from sight.
"No. But she will survive. William will help her survive."
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Chapter Eight
Seizing the Moment.
She wouldn't let him go any further, not yet. They had spent a bit of time just wrapped up in each other's arms, kissing and snuggling. They had fed each other fruit from their bags, Buffy had drunk most of their water supply and Spike still had a few bags of blood to last him for the next two days. Appetites sated, thirsts quenched and feelings discovered, the pair sat under their blankets, clinging to each other.
"My mum, she works at a gallery." Buffy began, "She says that the artwork is an expression of life and life's emotions."
"It's quite possible Luv, an artist may well draw or paint or sculpt his feelings, much the same way a poet or singer writes down their feelings in their music." He brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. 'Such beautiful, green eyes. So deep and full of sparkle.'
"I suppose, but, then my Watcher has pieces of potentially dangerous art work.you know, effigies and talismans that help invoke evil or open the hellmouth. delivered to the library for study and to keep them safe. And when I see them, I think to myself, 'what on Earth was the artist thinking when they made this?' It's as though they have seen what I've seen, that they know the darkness that lurks in the shadows of office buildings after the sun goes down." She sighed and ran her hands down his chest.
"Maybe they have Pet. Maybe they have seen what monsters are real.Lawyers, Politicians."
"School Principals." She cut him off and giggled. "Sorry, principal at school is, I think, an evil troll in disguise.Long story." She said as he gave her a funny look.
"Vampires, Accountants, Polgara demons. Maybe they have seen them. Maybe their art is a reflection of nightmares come true." He whispered, holding on to her tighter. "Everyone depicts 'evil' in their own way. Even us monsters. You see me as something evil, my kind see you as something evil."
"But, I'm good." She looked at him confused. "How can I be evil?"
"Good to us IS evil Buffy. It is something that we feel the need to quash."
She made a small 'Oh' with her lips. "Okay, no more talk of evil. Let's change topic." She snuggled closer to him. "Do you really want to kill me, or get rid of me?" She looked up into his eyes. 'So big. Baby blues. My baby's baby blues.'
"Right now? No. I want to do many more things other then kill you," He watched the color creep into her cheeks. "I want to kiss you and hold you Ellesbeth, not kill you. Before, I did want to get rid of you because I saw you as one more obstacle to overcome. Now, the only obstacle I can see, is what will happen at the end of this quest."
"We'll figure it out." She smiled softly and held him closer. "So, what were you thinking about before?"
"When before Pet?" He asked kissing the top of her head.
"When I saved your butt from becoming toast. You had this really far away look in your eyes. Like you regretted something, which I know sounds weird cos, vampires don't generally tend to regret or feel guilty." She moved her head to rest on top of his chest.
"Now hang on Pet. That isn't true. We CAN feel regret. We just don't have a conscience that lets us feel guilt. Most of our feelings are made by a conscious choice. When we are turned, our soul dies, and the demon takes over. The demon makes us live carefree, but our decisions are conscious choices. My ability to love is a conscious choice, as is my ability to regret. And, as for what I was thinking, I was regretting hurting someone I used to once hold very dear to my heart."
"Oh. Would you tell me please?" She asked running her fingers through his hair.
"Would you think less of me if I told you?"
"Are you going to do it to me and are you going to do it to my mom?"
"N.no. I can certainly say that I would never be able to do that to you. I mean, I could do it and I wouldn't feel guilty about it, but, I wouldn't do it, because I'd hate to see the pain in your eyes, knowing that I was responsible for that pain." He looked at her. "It's the best way I can explain it Luv."
"Okay, then, nope I wouldn't think less of you."
"Right then, well. When I was young, around the age of four or five, I was introduced by my parents to a small girl my age named Cecily. She was very nice to me in front of our parents. However, when she was left alone with me, she said I was too small to be her friend. You see, I was born premature, and my parents didn't think I'd survive my first year, but I did, and I've always been a bit small for my age." He stopped and looked at her, her gaze never leaving his face.
"Right, so, when we were older, I got a little taller and I fell in love with her. She never gave me the time of day. She knew that I loved her and that I cared for her a great deal, but she never fully appreciated that love. She took me for granted, when one of her suitors would marry another girl, she would use my shoulder to cry on, and then, when I expressed my love to her, she would humiliate me and make me feel completely unworthy. Then, one night, two weeks after I'd been turned, I gained my sire's permission to make her feel my humiliation and pain. So, I killed her fiancé and then, under the guise of walking her home to protect her from evil monsters, I raped her and drank some of her blood, leaving her beaten and bloody in an alley just outside her home.
"And now you hate me for that right?" He looked questioningly into Buffy's eyes.
"Wow, what you did, was.awful." She looked away sheepishly, "I mean, what she did was pretty bad, but, it's part of your past isn't it? You're not going to do that to me are you? And, I don't hate you."
"No, I don't do that sort of thing anymore. I mean, the raping thing. I. I have a new found respect for women." His mind flashed to Drucilla and her incredible rage the night she found out how he had abused Cecily. His chest still carried faint scars from where she had tore at his skin with her nails before Darla and Angelus pulled her from him. "I still kill women, drain their blood, turn them into vampires. But, I will never bring myself to rape another woman for as long as I unlive."
"Okay then." She smiled and leant up to kiss him before stifling a yawn. "Sleepy Slayer." She smiled at him, glad to be wrapped up in the arms of someone strong and who would keep her safe.
"Yes, it is getting late. Get some rest Luv, long walk tomorrow night, we don't know how far we've got 'till we reach the center of this damn labyrinth." He kissed her nose and her eyes, bidding sleep come and ease their weariness.
"Oh. Will we get to fight the Goblin king in the tights?" She murmured sleepily and held onto him tighter.
"I'm sure we would Luv, if I even knew what you were on about." His arms snaked around her again, holding her close.
"He the mnamsh..goomove." Her words ran together and made no sense as she drifted into a deep sleep.
"Love you Ellesbeth." Spike closed his eyes and concentrated on listening to the girl's heartbeat begin to find a steady pace.
"Hmmmph.. llub eww woo." She buried her face in his chest and welcomed the inky blackness of sleep once again.