Chapter 9

So far so good

They moved forward for long minutes in the darkness pierced only by the flashlight that Buffy held in front of her. The stairs became wet and slippery and the descent was more and more perilous.

"It's freezing down here!" Xander complained, trying not to trip.

"We must be quite deep underground," Angel said behind him.

"Who had the idea to dig so deep and not make it a more accessible place? They could have put a banister at least." The young man grumbled as he continued to walk cautiously.

Suddenly, Buffy stopped and Xander, busy looking at where he was setting foot, couldn't help but bump into her. He stumbled but the Slayer caught him firmly.

"Buffy? What is it?" He whispered, massaging the hand that had tried in vain to hold him to the stone wall.

"I think there's light over there," she whispered back.

The staircase stopped a few meters below and opened into several corridors in opposite directions. Chandeliers were fixed to the walls and allowed better visibility. Buffy turned off her flashlight and grabbed the stake hidden under her coat.

"It looks like it's coming from that way," Angel murmured, nodding towards the left corridor. He then slowly ventured towards the source of light and Buffy and Xander followed suit after a few seconds. It was better not to part when they didn't know the place.

After a few meters, the stone walls widened and the light became brighter. While Angel got as close as possible to see something, Xander and Buffy stayed behind in the shadows. Guttural sounds were heard and it was definitely a bad sign…

"There's nothing in this book!" Dawn was angry and she pushed it back onto the table. Willow gave her a sympathetic smile. She hadn't found anything interesting so far either. "Don't be discouraged, Dawnie. There are still some books that Angel brought," she told her kindly.

Dawn shrugged. "I'm not sure his books can help us anyway."

"Why do you say that?" The witch asked, looking up from her book.

"He knows these books. If there was anything interesting in it, he'd have told us!" Dawn continued, visibly annoyed.

"He doesn't know them by heart, Dawn. And it's already very nice of him to have brought them."

"Yeah, of course." The Slayer's sister ground her teeth, "That's very kind of him."

Willow looked at her for a moment, surprised by her reaction. "Is something wrong, Dawnie?" She asked gently. The girl sighed before picking up another book. "No, it's okay. It's just that I'm frustrated because I can't find anything and…" Dawn shook her head.

"And?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine."

"It's just that Dawn has a grudge against this new vampire," Andrew explained.

"What? Why?" Willow asked, surprised, and Dawn glared at her boyfriend who instantly got back to his book.

"I don't!" She exclaimed before scowling. "Well, maybe a little but he deserves it!"

"I don't understand, Dawn. Did Angel do something to you?" Willow asked again.

"Not to me but to Buffy!"

Willow narrowed her eyes for a second before her face lit up with a grin. "Oh, you're worried about your sister, Dawnie! This is so cute!"

"Maybe, and so what?" The young woman replied, straightening up in her chair. "She's my sister and he hurt her a lot. You and Xander told me about it!"

"That's true, but it was a long time ago. First love is always difficult to overcome and that of Angel and Buffy ended in a particularly… tragic way," the witch grimaced.

"I don't want him to hurt her again, Willow," Dawn replied firmly. "They have remained very close despite the fact that they don't see each other often and today, he's here! He's coming to help us without being asked!"

"We asked him to help us," the young red-haired woman pointed out with a mocking smile.

"Yeah, well, maybe," Dawn admitted. "All I'm saying is… Buffy feels very alone and I don't want her to fall back into a destructive passion. With Angel or anyone else for that matter."

"Buffy feels alone?" Willow noted, remembering her own worries from the previous night about her friend.

"Before you came back, she barely saw anyone besides me and Xander. A handsome teacher has his eye on her and she doesn't care at all… I'm a bit worried about her sometimes, Willow…"

Willow was silent for a few moments. She was also worried about Buffy but first, she had to reassure her sister because the Slayer was the most extraordinary person she knew.

"It must have been difficult for Buffy to start a new life here, Dawnie. Her whole life has been conditioned around her role as the Slayer until the last six months and she has to reinvent a place for herself now. I know she can seem distant sometimes but she'll bounce back. Despite everything that happened in her life, she always did."

Dawn stared at her sister's best friend. Willow was calm and confident. She knew Buffy better than anyone. She was probably right.

"Okay… But I still think that she should see more people and find a boyfriend with whom she could share her daily life. I don't get why she doesn't like this teacher! He's totally her type and he's totally hot!"

"Hey!" Andrew was indignant when he heard her rave for the second time about this man he didn't even know and Willow burst out laughing. "I meant he's hot for Buffy," Dawn tried to explain with an apologetic smile.

"Yeah… I don't see why Buffy would want to date him now that Spike is back anyway," he concluded, shrugging his shoulders before continuing reading.

"What?!" The two young women exclaimed in unison.

Angel gritted his teeth. He was at the top of a huge room. Each corridor they had seen at the foot of the main staircase joined a part of this elevated circle which went around the place. Stairs led down to the center of the room where all the demons were gathered. The room looked like a huge opera house, except that there were no chairs, only cold, smooth stone. He couldn't believe what he was seeing…

"Angel? What's going on?" It was Buffy. He turned towards the sound of her voice before whispering in turn, "There are lots of demons and it's not a pretty sight…" The Slayer appeared immediately and approached cautiously to take a look. She then turned back to the vampire, confused. "But… What are they…"

"They're eating them," he replied gravely.

"Eh? Who eats what?" Xander asked, coming closer.

Without waiting for a response, he leaned over the small wall that blocked him from seeing the center of the room. His eyes widened in horror as a violent retch rose in his stomach. He barely had time to turn around before throwing up against the cold stone.

Angel grabbed him by the shoulder and helped him back into the darkness so he could catch his breath and they wouldn't be spotted. Buffy approached her friend and ran a hand over his sweaty forehead.

"Xander, are you okay?"

"I… No, I'm not okay." He pulled away to throw up again and Angel turned to Buffy, worried. "I've never seen demons do that," he whispered.

"Did you recognize them, Angel?" He shook his head, "No, but I guess I didn't want to look too much…"

Buffy nodded. She had been on the verge of throwing up too. She closed her eyes for a few seconds. Her mind was racing and she was having trouble concentrating.

"I'll try to look better," he whispered to her.

"Yes, you're right. We need identification," the Slayer replied. "I can do it if you want."

"Don't, it's okay. I have a better chance of identifying them than you anyway."

With these words, he walked again towards the small wall and leaned down to observe one of the most disgusting sights he had even seen.

Andrew jumped and raised his head. Dawn and Willow stared at him in confusion. Uncomfortable, he tried to remember what he could have said wrong.

"What do you mean 'now that Spike's back'?" His girlfriend repeated, her eyes bulging.

"Well, uh… I don't know," he stammered. "It's just that I felt like the two of them got along well… before he died saving us and all that…"

"You're right," Willow admitted. "But from there to… Well, you think that…"

"I don't know!" Andrew defended himself. "I'm just saying they were close and it'd make sense for them to be close again, that's all! You were there, too! Have you forgotten everything or what?"

Willow shook her head. "No one knows where he is. He hasn't even seen Buffy and…"

The witch fell silent. Maybe Spike's absence explained a lot of things about Buffy's behavior. Or maybe the Slayer was simply trying to resume a normal life as best she could despite the loss of several loved ones around her. Anything was possible.

"Willow?" Dawn looked at her intently, "Did Buffy say anything?"

The young red-haired woman shook her head again. "I think we're extrapolating a little too fast. Buffy and Spike were rather close, true, but in a friendly way. It's not unusual to want to find a friend you thought was dead," she argued.

"But he's a vampire! And a vampire who attacked her!" The Slayer's sister choked.

"Dawn," the witch replied calmly, "As far as we know, Buffy and Spike haven't even seen each other. I mean, even if they had, it wouldn't prove anything. I understand you're worried about your sister but you need to trust her."

"I just want her to be happy," she whispered. "And she can't be with a vampire…"

"For now, let's focus on research. It'd be really great to have found some information when they return."

Angel tried to focus on the demons and ignore what they were doing. The sooner he recognized them, the sooner they would go away, he reminded himself. It was already pointless to think about killing them given their number.

The vampire quickly realized that demons didn't all belong to the same race. He recognized a few of them and frowned more. It was rare for demons to associate. They formed groups among themselves and lived separately from each other like the rival bands that existed among humans.

"Angel?"

He turned around to confirm to the Slayer with a nod that he hadn't yet finished his reconnaissance. Buffy stood next to Xander, on alert. She stared at him worriedly and frequently glanced towards the exit to make sure they hadn't been spotted. Xander seemed to have stopped throwing up but his face was still dangerously greenish.

The vampire looked down again and this time, he couldn't avoid the scene that was playing out before his eyes. Every detail jumped out at him. The demons were literally devouring what were almost certainly human corpses. He heard the crunch of bones beneath their teeth, the gurgling of blood gushing from veins, and the rustling of intestines scattering across the floor. Angel noticed that a few vampires were participating in the orgy. They were draining unconscious humans of their blood and then the emptied bodies passed under the fangs of the demons who crushed their flesh with sharp jaws.

Angel moved away from the wall and joined the Slayer. She was staring at a distant, high spot on their right.

"Did you recognize them?" She asked him in a low voice.

"They're all different but I spotted a few," the vampire replied.

"Look," the Slayer whispered. "It seems that they're heading up there after they… eat them," she finished with a grimace of disgust. He looked up in the direction she was pointing and saw two demons heading towards a small corner before disappearing there.

"There must be a passage that leads to another room," he whispered.

Buffy nodded. "We gotta see what's going on."

"There are a lot of them and there are only three of us. Well, two," the vampire said while glancing at Xander.

"I'm fine and I won't slow you down!" The young man, who had heard them, replied.

Buffy glanced towards the place she wanted to reach then returned her attention to her friend. "You're in no condition to come, Xander. You and Angel go back to the car. I'll take a look and meet you."

"No, you won't!" Xander exclaimed but faced with the angry eyes of his best friend, he lowered his voice. "Buffy! You can't go alone!"

"I hate to admit it, but he's not wrong," Angel added. "There are far too many of them."

"All the more reason not to be noticed," the Slayer cut him short, "If I'm alone, I'll be less likely to be spotted." Xander sighed, defeated, and Buffy smiled warmly. "Don't worry about me. Remember? I'm the Slayer!" She added with a wink.

The young man nodded and leaned on the wall to get up before starting to slowly walk towards the way back. Before following suit, Angel moved closer to Buffy. "As soon as I drop Xander off at the car, I'll come back and pick you up," he told her.

Buffy couldn't help but smile at his concern. "I'll be careful."

The Slayer watched Angel turn around and quickly join Xander. The latter walked with difficulty and held his stomach in pain.

She took a breath and focused on her goal. She could access the door along the wall thanks to the corridor which ran around the room. This way, she had less chance of encountering a demon because they went back up the central aisle. Despite her confidence in front of her friends, Buffy didn't feel so good and that worried her. She had taken risks many times in her life and she knew this was the best solution at this moment. Xander wouldn't have been able to accompany them since they would have been more easily spotted. Buffy absolutely didn't want to take any risks. She had already lost too many people. Her heart was racing in her chest and the Slayer suddenly felt oppressed.

She shook her head and moved as silently as possible towards the place where a vampire had just entered. As she reached her goal, she crouched behind the low wall and waited for another demon to enter. She then checked that no one saw her and reached the room. As a door, the opening was a large hole roughly cut into the rock which made it easy to move around. She entered a smaller room, although dark and spacious enough to allow her to go unnoticed and hide behind a wall.

She glanced at the center of the room to assess the situation. Demons and vampires sat in a circle around a glowing object. The Slayer focused on them and her eyes widened. It was not this object that produced light, but the demons who projected a kind of radiation towards this object! Buffy tried to lean closer to identify it but she couldn't make out anything in the near darkness.

Suddenly, the feeling of suffocation she had felt moments before intensified. The Slayer leaned firmly against the wall and tried to regulate her breathing. Her heart was now pounding wildly and she had the distinct impression that her strength was leaving her. She felt like she was about to pass out and her limbs began to shake.

"What's happening to me?" She whispered, distressed. A wave of panic was now sweeping over her and the Slayer felt herself losing control over her emotions. This feeling of suffocation choked her. Her muscles no longer responded well enough. This trembling prevented her from focusing. And she was alone in the middle of a nest of demons engaged in a weird ritualization! The Slayer had only one idea in mind: flee. Flee this place urgently and at all costs.

She rushed towards the exit without thinking and ran into a huge demon who had just entered the room. Its victim's blood was still dripping from its mouth. In shock, Buffy fell to the ground with a thud. The demon took a few moments to realize what had happened and these precious seconds allowed Buffy to get up. She tried to hit it in the face but barely reached it. The Slayer's panic intensified when she realized that her body had indeed lost its strength and her need to flee continued to grow. The Slayer tried to compose herself and calm her spasmodic breathing. The demon took the opportunity to grab her around the neck and squeezed with all its strength. Buffy began to see stars flashing before her eyes and struggled as best she could. Unfortunately, her feet didn't reach the demon and her hands couldn't get it to release the pressure…

Finally, the demon loosened its grip and Buffy slipped to the ground. With her hand at her throat, she eagerly sought to swallow some air. Her gaze was still veiled in black and her sensations numbed when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and jumped up, ready to defend herself again.

"It's me!" Angel whispered. Buffy breathed a sigh of relief and felt the fear finally ebb a little. "Are you okay?" He asked her, looking worried.

The Slayer nodded while catching her breath. She searched for the demon's body and discovered it was knocked out against one of the walls of the corridor.

"We gotta go before the others find out what happened!"

When Buffy didn't move, Angel grabbed her arm firmly and forced her to walk. She didn't try to stop him and obediently followed the vampire. She felt her muscles relax and her heart begin to beat more regularly. They took the same corridors and finally arrived at the stairs they had taken to go down. Without wasting a moment, they rushed towards the steps that would bring them back into the open air.

When they reached the top, Buffy stopped, out of breath. She gradually regained her senses but running up the stairs didn't help her recover the oxygen she had lost. She was still shaking a little and Angel noticed it.

"Buffy, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes… Yes, I catch my breath."

The vampire didn't insist and turned towards Xander's car which had just stopped alongside them. "Get in the car!"

They didn't wait to be told twice and rushed to the doors before Xander sped off.

"Oh my God!" Willow exclaimed as she saw the trio enter the house.

Xander was still very pale and his coat was stained with traces of vomit. As for Buffy, they could already see red and purple marks appearing on her neck and testifying to the attempted strangulation of which she had been the victim.

"What happened?" Dawn asked, looking closely at her sister. "Buffy…"

"It's okay, Dawn," she replied simply.

"But your neck…"

"There'll be nothing left in two or three days. Bonus gift of the Slayer's powers," she grimaced, running a hand over her aching neck.

"I'll get you some ice," Dawn decided as she headed towards the bathroom.

Buffy was relieved that her sister didn't insist further. She didn't need to see her sister's eyes fill with worry about her. She watched as Xander headed upstairs, probably to wipe his face with some water. Andrew looked like he wanted to scribble something. His splint immobilizing his right hand prevented him from writing and he seemed to have trouble with holding his pen with his left hand. Angel had approached Willow and seeing her best friend's face, Buffy had no doubt what the vampire was telling her.

She turned towards the large mirror fixed above a small pedestal table where she had gotten into the habit of putting her keys when she got home. She peered into her reflection and found she was surprisingly calm. Yet she had been on the verge of death. Maybe she no longer really reacted to taking risks, maybe her body had gotten used to it, maybe her mind had accepted it… She closed her eyes for a few seconds and remembered the events.

Even more than the fiasco of her fight against the demon, it was the panic fear that had invaded her that she remembered. A fear so uncontrollable that she had burst out of hiding and put herself in danger. Yet mastering fear was a central element of her training as a Slayer, which she had always managed until now. However, this apprehension was different from what she usually felt in battle. It was a dull terror that had come out of nowhere in a situation that was no more dangerous than any other for her.

Buffy clearly felt that she was missing something essential, but she felt far too tired to discover the underlying reasons. Besides, on the way back, she had already fought against sleepiness that she had trouble suppressing.

"Buffy, you coming?"

The Slayer instantly snapped out of her thoughts and turned around quickly at the sound of Willow's voice before heading towards the living room where everyone had already sat around the table. As she did the same, Dawn handed her an ice pack which she took, thanking her with a smile.

She then heard Xander recount their adventures until their horrifying discovery and then the withdrawal of their little troop.

"Are you sure you saw… that?" Willow asked, visibly troubled.

"All three of us saw the same thing," Angel replied, nodding.

"It's… It's really weird and… perfectly disgusting," the witch continued with a disgusted pout.

Andrew had turned as pale as Xander and Dawn's eyes had widened in shock upon hearing the news.

"Why do you think my jacket is like this?" Xander tried to joke.

The witch didn't have the heart to smile back and she turned to the Slayer who was still silent. "What happened with that demon, Buffy?" She asked her.

"I… I didn't see it coming," the Slayer replied uneasily. "I was busy trying to see the object that all the demons had gathered around and it appeared out of nowhere…"

"Did you manage to see what it was?" Her sister asked.

Buffy shook her head, visibly annoyed. "No, all I could make out was that it wasn't the object that was emitting light rays but the demons that were transmitting them to this object."

"You mean that light was coming out of the demons and heading towards the object?" Xander asked with a frown.

"Yes, exactly. They were all in a circle around and they were giving out this light," the Slayer replied.

"These characteristics don't match those of the demon we identified," Willow sighed.

"The Kraktus demon," Andrew read while looking at his notes. "He's the one who attacked you, Buffy. It doesn't say anywhere it emits light rays. He's even a demon preferring darkness…"

"I don't know many demons attracted to light and sun," Xander remarked wryly.

"Anyway, there were at least ten races of demons," Angel chimed in. "They were all doing the same thing and heading towards this room afterwards."

Another silence fell over the group as everyone was immersed in gloomy thoughts.

"We need Giles," Buffy finally said. "If the demons start to organize, it's because they're planning something. We also need to continue looking for any information that might be in the books that Angel brought."

A few minutes later, the Scooby Gang decided to call it a night and everyone returned to their homes, leaving Buffy and Willow alone. The Slayer wasted no time and immediately went into her room.

Lying in her bed, Buffy no longer wanted to sleep so desperately. She felt calm and she almost thought she had imagined this moment of panic if it hadn't almost cost her her life. She must have been tired. She might even have had hypoglycemia since she hadn't eaten lunch.

Quickly, she fell into a deep sleep.

Spike is coming back soon!